BHEL Commissions Two Solar Power Plants

The company has commissioned a total of eleven Solar Power Plants in the Lakshadweep islands
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has commissioned two Grid-Interactive Solar Power Plants of 100 KWp each in Lakshadweep. With this, the company has commissioned a total of eleven Solar Power Plants in the Lakshadweep islands, adding over 1 MW of Solar Power to the power generating capacity of the coral islands in the Arabian Sea. The plants have been set up at Chetlat and Amini islands of Lakshadweep. BHEL has earlier commissioned Solar Power Plants of various ratings up to 150 KWp at the islands of Agatti, Andrott, Bangaram, Bitra, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Kiltan and Minicoy. BHEL’s Solar Power Plants cater to about 15 per cent of the Union Territory’s energy demand and Lakshadweep boasts of having the country’s largest solar power-based island electrification project. The Lakshadweep islands were wholly powered by DG sets using diesel transported from the mainland (Kochi), reports IndiaInfoline. Transportation of diesel is a cumbersome and costly process, largely depending on sea conditions. Continuous running of the diesel generators was also leading to noise and air pollution. Besides, contamination of the ground water by the stored diesel was another concern which prompted the Lakshadweep Administration to opt for environment-friendly Solar Power. The projects will greatly reduce the problems faced in transportation and storage of diesel, besides safeguarding the fragile ecology of the coral islands hitherto threatened by the use of diesel. The Solar Power Plants supply energy to the main Diesel Generator (DG) grid which in turn powers the entire island including Tourist Cottages, Residential Houses, Cottage Industries etc. The Photovoltaic (PV) modules convert sunlight to electricity directly and using state-of-the-art Power Conditioning Units (PCUs), the DC power is converted to AC and synchronised with the diesel grid. The SPV modules are manufactured at its ultra-modern manufacturing facility located at Bangalore. Starting from small applications like Solar Powered Street Light, Rural Water Pumping System, Railway Signaling, Offshore Drilling Platforms, BHEL has supplied and commissioned large size Stand-alone as well as Grid Inter-active Solar Power Plants in a number of major cities and remote areas of the country. The Solar cells and modules manufactured are also exported to various countries like Germany, Australia and Italy. The company’s PV modules are certified to international standards by JRC, Ispra, Italy.