Solar Installation Countrywise

The worldwide solar installations continues to grow at a rapid rate and it seems to double itself in this year. And it has now broken 12GW mark. The figures as at April 2013 are shown below

This clearly shows worldwide awareness and going towards sustainable development.

Roof top solar in 6 cities in Phase II: SECI

After allocating 5.5 MW of Solar rooftop projects in 4 cities(details available here), Solar Energy Corporation of India(SECI) has invited RfS for allocation under Phase II. This covers 6 cities, including Bhubaneswar and Raipur which were part of the Phase I, but did not receive allocation, and Gurgaon, which received only a partial allocation of 0.5 MW out of 2 MW. The new cities in the list are Jaipur, Hyderabad and Noida.

City wise allocation of projects

Some of the highlights are as follows

a. The size of each project can be in the range of 100 kWp to 500 kWp. This can be achieved through aggregation. A bidder can apply for projects in the range 250kWp and 2 MWp.

b. Technical eligibility criteria – The bidder should have installed at least one grid connected solar PV project of minimum capacity 25 KW 6 months prior to the Techno-commercial bid opening date.


c. Financial eligibility criteria – Average Annual turnover  of Rs. 5 Crore/MW for the past 3 years or Net Worth of at least Rs. 3 Crore/MW.

d. Scope of Work : “Identification of buildings/leasing rooftop of buildings, Obtaining “No ObjectionCertificate (NOC)”from Distribution Company (DISCOM)for grid connectivity, complete design, engineering,manufacture, supply, storage, civil work, erection, testing & commissioning of the grid connected rooftop solar PV project including operationand maintenance(O&M)of the project for a period of two years after commissioning. ”

e. Plant Performance Evaluation : “The successful bidder shall be required to meet minimum guaranteed generation with Performance Ratio (PR ) at the time of commissioning and related Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) as per the DNI levels of the location during the O&M period. PR should be shown minimum of 75% at the time of inspection for initial commissioning acceptance to qualify for release of 20% subsidy.Minimum CUF of 15% should be maintained for a period of 2 yearsfor release of performancerelated subsidy.”

Final opening of techno-commercial bid is 30th May 2013 at 3PM

Bid document available here DOC

Graphene paint could harness Solar Power

Graphene is the new wonder material of the future. It can mop up oil spills, be used as lubricant and now, it could be used to power our homes. Researchers have discovered that by combining graphene with other one-atom thick materials, they can create the next generation of solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

Graphene is the world's thinnest, strongest and most conductive material. Not surprisingly, it holds enormous potential to revolutionize a huge number of diverse applications--everything from smartphones to drug delivery and computer chips. In addition, the isolation of graphene has also led to the discovery of a whole new family of one-atom thick materials.

These materials, collectively known as 2D crystals, demonstrate a vast range of superlative properties. When combined in layers, these materials can add new functions to the material with each new addition. Called heterostructures, these layered materials are ideal for creating new devices that can perform a variety of things at once. That's why researchers decided to utilize these heterostructures in particular to design their latest creation.

The researchers combined graphene with monolayers of transition and metal dichalcogenides (TMDC), which allowed them to create very sensitive and efficient photovoltaic devices. These devices could potentially be used as ultrasensitive photodetectors or very efficient solar cells.
"Such photoactive heterostructures add yet new possibilities, and pave the road for new types of experiments," said Kostya Novoselov, one of the researchers, in a news release. "As we create more and more complex heterostructures, so the functionalities of the devices will become richer, entering the realm of multifunctional devices."

Although the applications are exciting, the more interesting point is how this new material could affect the future of sustainable energy. The multi-layered heterostructures could, in theory, be "painted" onto an outside wall and power entire buildings as they absorb the sun's rays. In addition, the material could be used at will to change the transparency and reflectivity of fixtures and windows, which could lead to a whole new era of controlling environmental factors within an office or house.

Don't get excited just yet, though. It will take quite some time before this material could be scaled up to accomplish such feats. In the meantime, we'll have to subsist on standard solar panels in order to harness the sun's energy.

The details of this new material are published in the journal Science.

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