The Anti-Solar Panel

There are different kinds of solar panels. The most typically used is a type that generates electricity from the sun through a physical process called the photo-voltaic (PV) effect – when light exposure on certain materials generates an electric current. Another kind of solar panel is the one that inspired a team of researchers at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California to develop a new system that can harness energy in darkness. It’s based on the concept of using heat to generate energy but an inverse version of the solar panel. While the solar panel uses the heat difference between the sun and Earth with the Earth being the cooler side – their system makes use of the heat difference between the coolness of the night atmosphere and the Earth with the Earth being the hotter side. 

Named as “anti-solar panel” by some, the device has the potential to bridge the gap left by solar energy, collecting energy from the night sky. The thermoelectric generator-based device harnesses the variance in temperature between Earth and outer space by using “a passive cooling mechanism known as radiative sky cooling to maintain the cold side of a thermoelectric generator several degrees below ambient.”

The researchers have only tested their system with a very small prototype. The device was a 20-centimeter (8-inch) aluminum disk painted black and hooked up to commercial thermoelectricity generators. It successfully created enough energy to power a single small LED lightbulb–a small success with immeasurably massive potential. It’s even possible that the device could act in reverse during the daytime, absorbing sunlight and producing electricity from a heat travelling from the sun to the disk and into the outside environment.

For now, this device doesn’t come close to the energy harvesting abilities of a solar panel but the technology is still only in the research and development stage. The researchers have already planned improvements including enhanced insulation around the top plate that could potentially raise the device’s energy production to 0.5 watts per square meter or more, and this is only the beginning.

Once they are able to refine the system to produce anywhere close to as much energy as a standard solar panel, it could completely transform the renewable energy sector. It’s cheaper to make and can provide a way to generate electricity at a time that solar panels can’t.

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GRIHA: Renewable Energy Utilization- A step towards sustainability

GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment. GRIHA Council, is an independent platform (registered as a society) for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to sustainable habitats in the Indian context. GRIHA Council, is mandated to promote development of buildings and habitats in India through GRIHA. It was founded by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi) with support from MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India) along with a handful of experts in the sustainability of built environment from across the country. 

In this blog we will be discussing on Energy section of GRIHA out of may other section which will include points and ways to sffirm them."Renewable Energy Utilization" criterion is a part of Energy section. The purpose of of this criterion is to ensure that building incorporate renewable energy as a source in the project and partially or completely get independent from the conventional source of energy such as coal petroleum etc. By fulfilling the criterion, a project can claim maximum of 7 points.  This criterion contributes 7% of total points.

In order to claim points in this criteria, a project has to meet below mentioned conditions:

• On-site/Off-site renewable energy system installation to offset a part of the annual energy consumption of internal artificial lighting and HVAC systems as mentioned in the table below: 

Daytime Commercial/ Institutional Buildings	Residential Buildings	24 X 7 occupied buildings	Points
2.5% (only On-site)	-	0.5% (only On-site)	Mandatory
5%	5%	1%	1
10%	10%	3%	2
15%	15%	5%	4
20%	20%	7%	5
25%	25%	10%	7

                                                                             OR

• Off-site renewable energy system to offset 100% building energy demand (this appraisal is available for only non-residential buildings) – Mandatory +7 points 

If the project is meeting the above mentioned conditions, following documents has to be submitted. The nature of documents can change but the purpose needs to be fulfilled in order to claim points

• Calculations/simulations for renewable energy system sizing & on-site annual energy generation potential. 

• Specification sheets and purchase orders (reflecting full quantities) of the renewable energy system, highlighting the panel performance (as tested under standard test conditions). 

• Drawings in CAD format to show location of renewable energy systems. 

• Documents supporting off-site generation of energy through renewable energy systems. These may be either: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for at least 2 years along with a declaration that the RECs are not being used for any other obligatory requirements and will be purchased every year OR Power Purchase Agreement from the utility for purchase of green power. In the agreement, the address of the particular site must be mentioned. 

• Photographs, with description, of the measures implemented.

For more details on green building and its other criterion visit GRIHA website. To download copy of GRIHA manual V 2015, click here

Har Ghar Solar: Grid Connected

We all understand the benefits of solar energy. Currently, it is the hot topic among residential sector. And why not? With reducing price of Solar system and constant support from government on form of subsidies, it is great time to invest on SOLAR and enjoy butter for next 25 years.

Tea is best prepared when one knows about the quantity of ingredients to be added. So, the question is HOW MUCH? How much capacity of solar system can you install in your premise. In the current blog, we will be talking about grid connected Solar PV system. The capacity of system is dependent on the load of the consumer. In simpler words, it is dependent on how much appliances one use during the day.

In the below example, we have considered a typical 2 BHK house with basic electrical appliances.

Let’s assume that the below chart represents consumption of a house in a day;

Equipment	Quantity	Power Consumption (W)	No. of Hours	Total consumption (Wh)
Fan	3	50	6	900
Tube light	3	35	6	630
CFL	3	12	8	288
AC	1	1200	4	4800
Washing Machine	1	750	0.5	375
Refrigerator	1	150	10	1500
Miscellaneous	1	200	1	200
Total Consumption				8693
Margin@10%				869.3
Total Consumption in kWh				9.56

A typical solar system with capacity of 1 kWp generates 3.5-4 kWh. The solar calculator by NREL; PVWatt gives consumer an idea about the annual generation by solar PV system.  Considering the same, a solar system of 2-2.5 kWp would be sufficient for the above table. One need to consider peak consumption during the day.

A better and accurate method to calculate the load would be an electricity bill. Analyse the electricity bill to find monthly consumption & daily peak consumption and accordingly install the PV system.

Apart from the consumption of the house there are some other factors which has to be considered while determining capacity of the system, such as:

Sanctioned Load

This can be determine by going through the electricity bill. Government allows only a percentage of total sanctioned load to be capacity of system. Kindly refer the solar state policy to know the allowed percentage.

Shadow Free Area

One of the key factor when it comes to installing solar system is shadow free area. Shading on single module affects the performance of whole string by increasing shading loss. Hence it is important to identify area without obstacle before installation. To install 1 kWp of system, approx. 100-125 sq.ft. is needed.

  

     Orientation of House

This is one factor which is not in your control. There are scenario where the house/ flat are not facing true south. In such cases, it is advised to change the orientation of the system to true south to achieve maximum output. This would definitely reduce the capacity of the system which you could have installed in orientation of house.

SRISTI for Solar Rooftop Plant Scheme 2018

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Central Government has proposed SRISTI Scheme. Subsequently, this “Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI) scheme” will provide incentives for the installation of rooftop solar power plant projects in India.

This concept of solar power plant subsidy will form the basis of the revised scheme of MNRE to implement solar rooftop projects in Phase II. Moreover, CCEA note which was submitted earlier to the Union Cabinet in April will get replaced by this SRISTI Scheme.

The primary objective of this proposed scheme is to generate 40 GW power from the solar rooftops till the financial year 2021-2022. For this reason, central govt. is going to spend Rs. 23,450 crore for this scheme.

SRISTI Scheme – Features

The important features and highlights of this scheme are as follows:-

• This Solar Power Plant Subsidy Scheme will provide incentives for the sustainable implementation of Rooftop.
• Subsequently, this scheme will form the advanced version of the previous MNRE scheme in Phase II.
• Accordingly, govt. will integrate Discoms to implement this solar subsidy scheme.
• Central govt. will provide financial assistance to implement rooftop solar power plants for the residential users.
• Henceforth, users of the residential sectors can install the particular in-line capacity as per their necessity and their SERC (State Electricity Regulation Commission) Regulation.
• Central govt. will provide subsidy up to 5 KWP capacity of power plant.
• Furthermore, govt. aims to generate 40,000 MW power with a total outlay of Rs 23,450 crore.

SRISTI Scheme – Incentives

Central Govt. is going to provide incentives for successful installation of solar projects:-

1. Govt. provides incentives for subsidy to users of the residential sector at Rs. 18,000/KW which will get calculated at benchmark cost of Rs. 60,000/KW.
2. Subsequently, govt. will also provide incentives to the Discoms for various sectors which includes social, institutional, government sectors, commercial and industrial sector. The rates are fixed at Rs. 5,500/KW which govt. will calculate at total cost of Rs. 55,000/KW.
3. Under this solar subsidy scheme, govt. will provide total incentive of Rs. 9000 crore for installation of power plants of 5,000 MW capacity.
4. Moreover, govt. will provide incentives for Discoms of total 14,450 crore for installations of solar rooftops of 35,000 MW.
5. Furthermore, total outlay of this scheme is Rs. 23,450 crore for power generation of 40 GW capacity of solar rooftops.

The notice from MNRE on SRISTI can be downloaded from here.

Solar Buzz: SECI’s 3 GW Auction

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has auctioned 3 GW of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) in which ACME emerged as the lowest (L1) bidder by quoting a tariff of ₹2.44/kWh to develop 600 MW.

Auction Result for 3 GW Solar Project
Bidder	Capacity (MW)	Quoted Tariff (Rs./ KWh)
ACME Solar	600	2.44
Azure Power	300	2.64
Rutherford SolarFarm (Canadian Solar)	200	2.70
Mahoba Solar UP (Adani)	300	2.71
Renew Solar Power	500	2.71
SBE Renewables (Soft Bank)	1800	2.71
Mahindra Susten	250	2.72
Mytrah Energy	200	2.72
Tata Power (TTREL)	250	2.72
Hero Solar Energy	250	2.81
SPRNG Vaayu Urja (Actis)	250	2.90

Note*- SB Energy (SoftBank) bidded for 1800 MW but won 1100 MW

The tariffs quoted in this auction ranged between a high of ₹2.90/kWh and a low of ₹2.44/kWh a ₹0.46/kWh difference between the lowest and highest bid.

Azure Power bid for 300 MW quoting a tariff of ₹2.64 /kWh and emerged as the L2 bidder. Rutherford Solar Farms (Canadian Solar) quoted a tariff of ₹2.70/kWh to develop 200 MW. Adani Green and ReNew Power quoted a tariff of ₹2.71/kWh to develop 300 MW and 500 MW respectively.

SBE Renewables (SoftBank) also quoted a tariff of ₹2.71/kWh to develop 1,800 MW but was awarded 1,100 MW. The 1,100 MW project won by SoftBank is the single largest capacity bid in India to date in a reverse auction.