| | JUNE 20218Consultants ReviewWHY DO INDIAN SOLAR COMPANIES NEED TO START WORKING WITH LITHIUM BATTERIES?Having started his career in the field of Data science and analytics he has had the opportunity to lead cross-functional teams at ZS Associates and Novartis before developing an interest to build sustainable renewable solutions to alleviate rural electrification in 2017By Rahul Raj, Co-founder, Inverted EnergyHow much solar energy is produced by India?India's solar power capacity stoodat 35 GW as of 30 June 2020, power capacity to light up approximately 7 million houses. With recent projects such as the "Rewa Solar Power Project", India will definitely be able to maintain its position as one of the top ten solar energy producers in the world.Karnataka produces the largest amount of solar energy among various states in India. Karnataka's solar energy ca-pacity was 7,100MW as of 2020, which holds the capacity of powering approx 14000+ houses.Why will batteries work with solar?Batteries are an important component in the solar energy ecosystem as they have the potential to store solar energy. When sunlight is not available at night, the stored solar en-ergy can be used to power the homes and offices.Let us start with the example of using solar energy for street lighting. A solar panel is generally fixed on top of the pole which supports the street lamp. During the day, the solar panel generates electricity when sunlight shines on it. The generated electricity is stored inside a battery which is located inside the lighting pole. The battery uses this stored energy to light the lamp at night.Companies that are working in the field of solar ener-gy also work with inverters. Inverters are the devices that help convert the DC power generated by solar panels to AC power. Once DC power is converted to AC, it can be used to power appliances in the homes (eg: Geysers, phones, lights etc.) Indian solar companies are now moving towards mak-ing inverters with in-built Lithium-ion batteries. These in-verters can be made in such a way that they are compact and can even be mounted on a wall.Why are Lithium-ion batteries the future?Lithium-ion batteries outshine other batteries in more than just a few ways. Let us take a look at some of the advantages of Lithium-ion batteries.People are currently using Lead-acid batteries in their home inverters in India. Lead-acid batteries are often re-placed around 2-3 times in a span of ten years whereas Lithium-ion batteries come with a performance warranty of at least 7 years. So lithium-ion batteries score pretty high when it comes to longevity. Not only the battery is going to last much longer, but it will also recharge much faster. Lith-ium-ion batteries can be charged in about 2 hours whereas a lead-acid battery will take around six hours.People often worry about maintenance and safety when it comes to installing components such as inverters. Well, here is another feather in their cap, Lithium-ion batteries come with a protection circuit installed in them. Basically, the protection circuit is like the bodyguard of the battery. IN MY OPINION
< Page 7 | Page 9 >