Modhera: India’s first solar-powered village
Synopsis
- Modhera, a village in Gujarat, becomes India’s first village to be fully powered on solar energy.
- 1300 rooftop solar panels with 1KW capacity have been installed to provide energy 24*7. The excess unused energy is sent back to the transmission grid.
- Modhera uses 1Mw and rest is bought back by the government.
- The sun temple based in Modhera, now runs 3D project light show, provides EV charging stations, all powered on renewable energy.
- The entire project worth around $9.7 million was funded by Governments of India and Gujarat.
India is world’s third-largest Co2 emitter, but also ranks 4th in solar generation. It has targeted to reach 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 with over 60 percent to be achieved from solar power. And now it has successfully made its first fully solar-powered village.
Modhera, a village in Gujarat is home to the iconic Sun Temple, which was built after 1026-27 CE. The project was inaugurated to power the temple and entire village through sun, a renewable source of energy. Now, all the power requirements of the temple are served by solar energy. The parking area of the temple also provides charging stations for vehicles.
About Modhera’s solar-powered project
Government of India and the Government of Gujarat together funded the project worth $9.7 million to provide power to Gujarat’s village through solar energy. More than 1,000 solar panels, with 1KW capacity have been put on rooftops of houses, schools, government buildings, and also in the sun temple that provides electricity round the clock.
Village consumes only one to two MW and excess electricity is added to the transmission grid. With the excess electricity sold, villagers are now able to earn money from it.
“There are 3 major components to this entire project. One is our ground mounted 6 MW project. The second is the 15 MW battery storage system and the third is 1 KW rooftops installed on 1,300 houses,” the Chief Project Officer of Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL), Rajendra Mistry, explained.
Presently, Rajasthan is leading in solar power generation with present capacity of 10,506 MW followed by Karnataka (approx. 7500MW) & Gujarat (6300MW).
The government has also launched other solar-based initiatives like, National Solar Mission, One Sun One World One Grid, Green energy corridor and Rooftop solar Installation.
Share
