Jason Ford

Solar OASIS gives villagers a reliable source of renewable energy

News

An Active Building that generates, stores and releases its own solar power is providing the village of Khuded in rural India with a reliable supply of electricity for the first time.

The new Active Building in Khuded, India, just completed. The integrated solar panels are visible on the roof. A reliable electricity supply means residents can charge batteries for phones and lamps. It also powers a rice husking machine, refrigeration unit and flour mill, which residents identified as essential, as many of them earn their living from agricultural produce
The new Active Building in Khuded, India, just completed. The integrated solar panels are visible on the roof. A reliable electricity supply means residents can charge batteries for phones and lamps. It also powers a rice husking machine, refrigeration unit and flour mill, which residents identified as essential, as many of them earn their living from agricultural produce - SUNRISE, Swansea University

Khuded is connected to the grid, but the electricity supply is unreliable and expensive, forcing many villagers to burn fuels including kerosene and firewood.

The Solar OASIS technology demonstrator – which is equipped with sustainable technologies for lighting and food production - was co-designed by village residents and delivered in partnership with Tata Cleantech Capital.

Arunavo Mukerjee, vice president of advisory services, Tata Cleantech Capital, told The Engineer that the building took four months to construct and commission and cost a total of £100,000.

As well as charging batteries for phones and lamps, the new facility provides electricity to a rice husking machine, refrigeration unit and flour mill.

Features of the Solar OASIS building include a modular ‘Nest-In’ design by Tata Steel, so it could be constructed offsite and assembled on site; a roof made of integrated CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) thin film solar panels, made by Newport-based BIPVco; and energy storage in the form of 1000 Ah lead acid storage batteries manufactured by Exide, so that surplus solar power is not wasted. 

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Solar OASIS Active Building