Apr 16 2010
Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that its high-performance solar cells are powering India’s first 1MW rooftop solar plant. Implemented and commissioned by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) Solar Group, the 1MW solar plant was built on the rooftop of Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi.
“With the solar plant being located on the rooftop of Thyagaraj Stadium, we needed to minimize the overall footprint of the plant, while ensuring that it would generate enough energy to fulfill the stadium’s requirements,” said Rabi Satpathy, president, Solar Energy Group, Reliance Industries Ltd. “Suniva’s high-performance solar cells deliver more power per cell, which enabled us to build a 1MW plant that surpasses the energy needed in the rooftop space available.”
Designed incorporating Suniva’s high-efficiency ARTisun® series solar cells in RIL modules, the Thyagaraj power plant was developed using a total of 3,640 280Wp modules. The project is expected to generate around 1.4 million kWh of electricity per year to fulfill the power requirements of the stadium, with surplus electricity being fed into the grid at 11KV. The solar power generated from this project is expected to result in emissions reduction of more than 2,640,000 lbs. of C02 per year. The Thyagaraj Stadium, developed by the Government of Delhi, is planned to be a model green stadium and will host Netball in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
“The Thyagaraj project is a clear demonstration of Suniva’s prominence in the rapidly growing solar market in India,” said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. “Our continued commitment to increasing solar cell efficiency will enable our great partners like RIL Solar Group to build more powerful plants in any location.”