<p>Indian space scientists have identified vast tracts of solar energy hot spots in central and western India with high electricity generation potential, nine months in a year.<br /><br /></p>.<p>These spots may aid the Central and state energy departments plan their solar energy expansion scheme as the NDA government targets generating 100 GW solar energy by 2022.<br /><br />Relying on the satellite (Kalpana-1) data, researchers categorised the country from “very low”; to “very high” solar energy potential. The zones with high to very high quantity (2,500–3,500 kilowatt hour per sq mt per year) of assured solar energy are identified as hot-spots.<br /><br /> One kilowatt hour is the energy consumed by 10 100-watt bulbs in an hour.<br />The hot spots fall in parts of western and central India, including Chhattisgarh, with promising pockets in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.<br /><br />“We have shared our data with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It will be useful for anyone planning to set up commercial solar energy plant,” space scientist Bimal K Bhattacharaya, who led the effort at the Isro’s Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad told DH.<br /><br />The SAC team used satellite data between 2009 and 2011 to show that a majority of Indian landmass receives solar energy above 1,750 kilowatt hour per sq mt.<br /><br />The SAC solar map is better than the existing government maps that are prepared on the basis of data from 45 ground stations.<br /><br /> The interpolation from such sparse network produces large errors (60–70%) due to large uncertainties coming from the cloud cover estimates.<br /> </p>
<p>Indian space scientists have identified vast tracts of solar energy hot spots in central and western India with high electricity generation potential, nine months in a year.<br /><br /></p>.<p>These spots may aid the Central and state energy departments plan their solar energy expansion scheme as the NDA government targets generating 100 GW solar energy by 2022.<br /><br />Relying on the satellite (Kalpana-1) data, researchers categorised the country from “very low”; to “very high” solar energy potential. The zones with high to very high quantity (2,500–3,500 kilowatt hour per sq mt per year) of assured solar energy are identified as hot-spots.<br /><br /> One kilowatt hour is the energy consumed by 10 100-watt bulbs in an hour.<br />The hot spots fall in parts of western and central India, including Chhattisgarh, with promising pockets in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.<br /><br />“We have shared our data with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It will be useful for anyone planning to set up commercial solar energy plant,” space scientist Bimal K Bhattacharaya, who led the effort at the Isro’s Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad told DH.<br /><br />The SAC team used satellite data between 2009 and 2011 to show that a majority of Indian landmass receives solar energy above 1,750 kilowatt hour per sq mt.<br /><br />The SAC solar map is better than the existing government maps that are prepared on the basis of data from 45 ground stations.<br /><br /> The interpolation from such sparse network produces large errors (60–70%) due to large uncertainties coming from the cloud cover estimates.<br /> </p>
