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    Clique Solar is the first Indian finalist for CSP Today Awards Sevilla!

    CSP Today announced the finalists in each of the categories of the CSP Today International Awards 2012 on 26th September

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    Solar Cooling project at NTPC inaugurated by MoP Shri Sushilkumar Shinde

    "Honorable Union Minister of Power, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde, inaugurated India’s largest solar HVAC system with storage installed at NETRA (NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance), Greater Noida on 29th June 2012."

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    ARUN® in Dairy Industry

    Mahananda dairy saves 125 liters of furnace oil using a single ARUN dish on a clear sunny day.

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    Comfort Cooling using ARUN®

    Clique Solar bags another turnkey order for solar assisted comfort cooling of an office in Greater Noida

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    Read what our clients say about us

    "Looking at the ARUN dish performance and Clique Solar's after sales service, we have placed an order for another dish"

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    Clique Solar becomes MNRE Channel Partner

    This would enable a quicker turnaround in obtaining project approval and subsidy disbursement as compared to submitting proposals through the State Nodal agencies.

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    ARUN® in community cooking

    ARUN can achieve up to 280-300°C which is required in frying or baking chapattis using a thermic oil cooking system.

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FAQs


  • General

     
    What does Clique Solar do?

    Clique Solar in India’s first solar boiler company and a pioneer in the concentrated solar thermal industry. With our indigenous and commercially proven solar concentrating technology ARUN, Clique Solar provides economical process heat for heating and cooling requirements in various industries, hotels and residential and commercial complexes.


    I am currently seeking information on solar thermal technology.

    More than 50% of solar energy lies in far infra-red spectrum. This provides a significant heating capacity to be utilized for thermal application like generating hot water or steam. Solar Thermal is a form of technology that harnesses the heat energy of solar for thermal application like heating and cooling. Depending on the temperature at which this heat energy is available, Solar Thermal can be classified into:

      • Low Temperature (<100 oC)
      • Medium Temperature (100 - 250 oC)
      • High Temperature (>250 oC)

    you want to know more, please write to us at:info@cliquesolar.com


    How is Clique Solar related to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)?

    Clique Solar, India’s first solar boiler company, is a Channel Partner of MNRE.

    The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is one of the eight National Missions launched by the Government of India as part of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. JNNSM aims to promote ecologically sustainable growth, while addressing India’s energy security challenge. Clique Solar is a proud channel partner of MNRE through this scheme and can route all its projects through MNRE directly.

    Also, Clique Solar is the only certified vendor for fully automatically tracked large dish technology (double axis), manufacturer & installer on MNRE website.


    What is ARUN concentrated solar thermal concentrator?

    ARUN is the trade name of our solar concentrator dish. It is patented by Clique Solar. It is a concentrated solar thermal technology that works on the principle of a parabola and is also known as a solar boiler. It uses an ingenious, two dimensional, fresnelized mirror arrangement scheme to get the parabola effect. ARUN solar boiler design integrates the latest technologies for complete automated operations with minimum maintenance with all built in safety provisions as well as two axes tracking of the Sun.


    Do you offer turn-key Solutions?

    We have already offered turn-key solution to most of our clients. Moreover, being a self-sufficient company in terms of integration & civil work, we can design the best turnkey solutions for our clients.


    Who can benefit from your products and services?

    ARUN solar thermal concentrator system or solar boiler can be used wherever there is a need for thermal energy. Industries, commercial & residential complexes, religious places, etc will have use of ARUN solar boiler. A few applications are mentioned below:

      • Steam generation
      • Water heating
      • Oil heating
      • Community cooking
      • Solar-assisted comfort cooling
      • Effluent evaporation, etc
  • Technical

     
    What is the delivery medium for thermal energy?

    ARUN solar boiler can assist in delivering pressurized hot water, steam or hot thermic fluids like oil.


    What temperatures can be delivered by ARUN?

    ARUN solar boiler can deliver thermal energy up to 400°C while the stagnant temperature (i.e. temperatures possible under no load condition) is 1500°C.


    What is the height of the dish?

    ARUN 160: 18.5 m from top to bottom.

    ARUN 100: 11.5 m from top to bottom.


    What is the weight of the dish?

    Approx Static load of ARUN160 is 20 tons.

    Approx Static load of ARUN100 is 12 tons.


    What is the size of ARUN dish?

    ARUN 160 is 169 sq m in aperture area.

    ARUN 100 is 104 sq m in aperture area.


    How much foot print is required for installation of the ARUN dish?

    1m X 1m is required for the dish, whereas 2mX2m is needed for the integration. This may vary from project to project.


    What is the effect of high wind on ARUN dish?

    ARUN solar boiler can sustain in wind speed of up to 45 m/s i.e. 162km/hr in non-operational mode, and can operate effectively in wind speed of up to 10m/s i.e. 36km/hr.


    What happens in monsoons?

    ARUN solar boiler dish is not functional when it rains. Hence a back-up heating system needs to be provided.


    What are the factors that impact the performance of ARUN solar steam generating system?

    Optics, receiver and integration scheme are the three most crucial components in any solar concentrator system.

      • Optics of ARUN is based on the Fresnel concept, allowing simplicity in structure, while maintaining maximum accuracy.
      • The cavity shaped receiver is designed to withstand high temperatures & minimize losses.
      • Clique Solar is particularly skilled in integrating ARUN with a variety of industrial processes.

    This enables ARUN solar boiler to achieve very high temperatures. ARUN solar boiler can deliver temperatures up to 350-400C; in comparison, most other commercially available technologies in this sector can reach only about 130-140C.


    What is accuracy of delivery: temp, pressure, etc?

    The accuracy of the delivery of the output by the ARUN system is about ±1 ºC.


    What is concentration ratio?

    Concentration ratio for ARUN solar boiler is about 600x.

    What is the basic operation philosophy of the ARUN solar steam generating system in case it is used for, say, steam generation?

    The basic operation philosophy of the ARUN solar boiler is very simple. The system operates during sunny hours. The receiver at the focus of the dish transfers the heat of solar radiation to a heat transfer medium, that is, water. This water is pumped from the condensate tank through the ARUN dish using a reciprocating pump. Once the water is converted into steam, and desired pressure & temperature is achieved, the steam is delivered to the common header in the boiler room. The steam is then used in the application area. The return condensate is delivered back into the condensate tank. The operation principle of a hot water or oil heating system will be similar to this.


    How does ARUN dish track the Sun?

    ARUN solar boiler uses a two axis tracking system (horizontal and vertical axis). The system uses micro controller based electro-mechanical tracking system. The dish remains perpendicular to the sun rays with the accuracy of ±0.1°. Cloudy weather does not affect the tracking of dish but the output of the dish will be reduced due to lower radiations.


    Can the energy produced by ARUN concentrated solar thermal system be stored for heat delivery in non-solar hours?

    Energy produced by ARUN solar boiler can be stored in the form of pressurized water up to 200°C & in the form of hot oil up to 400° C in an insulated storage tank. This can then be delivered to the application either directly or through a heat exchanger.


    What is the energy payback period of ARUN?

    The energy payback period of the system is 8 to 10 months, i.e. the energy consumed in the manufacturing of ARUN dish is recovered by ARUN dish in only 8 to 10 months. The typical energy payback period for solar photovoltaic modules is 4-5 years.


    What are the activities involved in the commissioning process?

    Once the installation activities and the mechanical job are completed, pre-commissioning checks and trials are carried out by the commissioning team deputed from H.O. During the commissioning phase, the client’s operators are trained for the operations and maintenance of the system. When the plant is commissioned, all performances are jointly recorded and signed. After the trials and guarantee runs, the plant is handed over to Client.


    How many units of energy are consumed in tracking by pumps & what is the total energy consumed by the dish?

    Operating energy of ARUN CST system is negligible & accounts for 1 unit of electricity in tracking. Majority of the energy consumption is by pumps, in the range of 10 to 15 units per day of electricity. Hence the total electrical energy for ARUN system is about 11-12 units of electricity.


    Tell me something about the government subsidy for ARUN.

    Clique Solar is responsible for obtaining the subsidy as we are a channel partner under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The company charges the client net of subsidy. MNRE provides subsidy at the rate of Rs. 6000/- per sq. meter for the ARUN dish.


    What is accelerated depreciation? Is any certification required to avail the same?

    Accelerated depreciation is a method of depreciation used for accounting or calculating income tax, that allows greater deductions in the earlier years of the life of an asset. This helps the owner of the ARUN concentrated solar thermal system asset to claim substantial tax savings in the initial years. No separate certification is required for the same.


    How about the insurance cover?

    Till the time of erecting & commissioning, insurance will be provided by Clique Solar. Subsequently, the coverage will be taken by the client.

    What is payback period?

    Due to accelerated depreciation and government subsidies, equity payback is less than 2 years. Project payback would range between 3 and 5 years.

  • Installation

     
    What is life span of the ARUN concentrated solar thermal dish?

    The dish can last around 25 to 30 years.


    What are safety measures required for operators during operations & maintenance, cleaning, parking?

    Normal safety gadgets like safety belts, helmets, shoes will be taken care of.


    What are the operational and maintenance requirements of the dish?

    ARUN is designed to have minimum maintenance requirements which can be covered under AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) provided by Clique Solar. We can train selected personnel to operate and maintain the dishes at the beginning of operation, though only person is required to operate the dish. Generally client’s operator of boiler can do this task as operating the dish is not a full time job.


    How much time required in installing the ARUN concentrated solar thermal dish and who installs it?

    The total time required after the completion of civil foundation is about 4 weeks. We have our own in-house team for installation of the ARUN dish.


    What are the activities involved in commissioning process?

    Once the installation activities are completed and the job is mechanically completed, pre-commissioning checks and trials are carried out by the commissioning team deputed from H.O. During the commissioning phase, client’s operators are trained for all operations and maintenance. When the plant is commissioned, all performances are jointly recorded and signed. After the trials and guarantee runs, the plant is handed over to Client.


    Does client require shut down of operation during the installation?

    Usually shut down of existing operations for only one shift of 8 hours is recommended for installation but this might vary from case to case.


    Who does the civil designing for the dish installation?

    The civil design is provided by Clique and usually depending upon the client requirement & specification, Clique Solar can undertake foundation and construction, or can be done by the client itself.


    What is the procedure for cleaning the concentrated solar thermal dish?

    Clique Solar provides water jet machine integrated with the ARUN dish to the clients for regular cleaning of the dish.


    How about performance assurance/guarantee provided by company?

    We assure the performance of the system for a given input solar radiation.


Clique Solar has received developmental support from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and I.I.T. Bombay for its ARUN Solar Boiler Technology