HYDERABAD: Tamil Nadu is set to power 300 households in Telangana using solar energy developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras is being distributed by Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSSPDCL) and Rural Electrification Corporation.
The solar powered system was transferred to and commercialized by Cygni Energy, an IIT Madras-incubated firm. It has already been installed in all the houses by June this year and the performance and health of all the installed systems are being monitored remotely, with data being collected via mobile phones and synchronized to a central server.
Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, principal advisor, Ministries of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, and professor (on sabbatical), IIT Madras, said, “Today, millions of homes in India either do not have grid connectivity, or suffer from power outages for large fraction of the day. Solar DC Inverterless technology deployed in the 300 homes of Devarakonda, Telangana tackles this problem and shows how, with a small 125W solar panel on the home rooftops, the dynamics of electricity in India could be transformed.”
The inverterless system, comprising a 125Wp Solar Panel, a 1kWh battery, an Inverterless controller unit and DC loads operating on a 48V DC internal distribution line, were installed in all houses. It powers a DC fan, a DC tube light, two DC bulbs, a DC mobile charger, a DC power socket and a remote controller to operate the fan and tube light.
The entire project was funded by Verizon Data Services which invested Rs 75 lakh in it.
Ramunigundla Thanda, Kesya Thanda, Jogi Thanda and Mantriya Thanda are the four rural hamlets of Devarakonda Mandal in Nalgonda district of Telangana, about 100 km from Hyderabad which will be illuminated under this proposal.
These hamlets together have around 300 households, most of which fall under ‘Low Income’ Category. They have been suffering from frequent power outages, especially during monsoons and ‘peak-demand’ times.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes
