Vikam Solar- India's largest solar panel manufacturer becomes self-reliant

Case Study

At Vikram Solar, we generally believe in the theory of “walking the talk”. Therefore, as a symbol to that concept and with our strong focus on innovation and continuous improvement research, we recently commissioned a solar plant on the rooftop of one of our manufacturing units at Falta, West Bengal. Understanding the need for immediate transformation in the behind the meter energy conservation space where a huge potential of industry lies, Vikram Solar commissioned this solar plant to encourage, inspire and to raise awareness within the state and the nation.

In this project, Vikram Solar focused on creating an amalgamation of product types and capacities in PV modules, inverters, and cleaning systems to evaluate performance of latest products developed by the company (solar modules) and to assess quality/performance of other equipment (inverter, robotic cleaners).

This project is expected to provide valuable information on degradation factor, actual soiling loss, and performance of Anti-PID kits, thus allowing us to innovate, provide excellent value proposition for clients.

This rooftop plant at Vikram Solar’s manufacturing unit stands as a threshold for a sustainable future for the state and the country!

Owner

Vikram Solar Limited

Project

919.73kWp/722.5kW Rooftop Project

Location

Falta, West Bengal, India

Module Type

Somera Monocrystalline & Monocrystalline Perc, Half-Cut & Full Cell Modules – 325Wp – 400Wp

Connection Type

Grid Tied System Solar PV Plant

Technical Specifications

Rated System Power

919.73kWp/722.5kW

Inverter

Solar Grid Connected Inverter: 14 Nos

Number of Modules

2574

Coordinates

Latitude: 22.5617° N
Longitude: 88.3676° E

CO2 savings per Annum (approx.)

1,645 tonnes/ year

Space Coverage

6500 sq meter

Annual Energy Yield

1350.58 MWh

Module cleaning system is fully automated and configured through timer operation so that the soiling loss can be maintained at < 0.5%. There are soiling sensors to indicate the time when robotic cleaning movement is needed depending on the transmissivity of the solar module
Through AC modules we are also testing the module level monitoring to ensure safety of operation for residential rooftops where actions like, rapid shut down and low voltage operation is required
Through the Anti-PID kits we would like to experiment the effect of the modules due to PID

Project USP

PROJECT DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Basic requirement kept in mind while designing this project:

Reduction in energy consumption and allied expenditure- related to factory energy & overhead cost
Analysis on modules and inverters w.r.t rooftop business
Module level “monitoring”
Analysis on concepts of “automated” module cleaning system

Establish a demonstration project for rooftop clients where live generation & etc can be shown.

Objective

PROJECT BRIEF DETAILS

Covering an area of 6,500 square meters and saving more than 27% of the entire manufacturing unit’s electricity consumption during normal time of the day operation
The solar plant has been installed on Vikram Solar’s Galvanized Iron Factory Shed number 1, stretching across 2.1 acres (98.7% utilized)
The solar plant is expected to generate 1350.58 MWh of green energy annually
This solar plant is expected to save 1645 Tonnes of CO2 per year
Solar inverter used in this project are from Sungrow, Huawei, Solis & Enphase
We can set alarms in SCADA through its RS485 communication to indicate when a certain soiling % has been reached.
The plant is expected to save INR 98.8 Lakhs/annum in electricity bills in the long run
The plant also has Robotic cleaning facilities which will help in:

-Evaluation of Performance of manual cleaning vs robotic cleaning
-Analysis of module degradation factor after robotic cleaning
-Monitoring the actual soiling loss of the site w.r.t the PVsyst consideration

Challenges & Solutions

We used 12 different types of modules in this project to maximize the green energy generation results. In pursuit of that, mounting 12 different types of modules on the Galvanized Iron Factory Shed number 1 was a challenge. The size difference in modules led us to tailor-made the installation profile for every module to maintain the performance criteria and uphold the functionality, longevity and replace-ability of the products as we commit in every project.

As we anticipated through pre-execution strategy, usage of a combination of half-cut and full-cut modules to build the solar plant brought forward a challenge in module-to-module looping. However, with an experienced, dedicated team focusing on actionable intelligence derived from meticulous strategy, we completed the project successfully.

Uniqueness Of The Project

This project is a diverse mix of PV Module, Inverters, robotic cleaning systems, each including multiple variations in product type and capacity
This not only caters to the captive energy requirement of the manufacturing unit but also contributes towards making it a green energy unit
This is a showcase of multiple technologies in Solar PV at single location contributing towards a goal of a sustainable source of energy
The work started in the beginning of November,’20 & ended within the end of the month

Financial Benefits

The plant is expected to save INR 98.8 Lakhs/annum in electricity bills in the long run