MOP SHRI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE INAUGURATED SOLAR HVAC SYSTEM AT NTPC
World’s Largest Solar Thermal HVAC System With Storage Developed by Clique Solar
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. Shri Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC, Shri Ashok Lavasa, Addl. Secretary Power and senior officials of Ministry of Power and NTPC were present on the occasion. Representatives of Clique Solar, the company which provided the solar technology & executed the project on turkey basis, were also present.
"This is a one-of-its-kind installation in the country aimed at establishing technical as well as commercial viability of solar cooling. The JNNSM puts emphasis not only on grid solar power, but on various solar thermal applications as well. Such projects have very important role in opening up newer areas for mass replication and thereby facilitating movement towards achieving the mission objectives in letter and spirit. We look forward to great success of the project", said Dr. Ashvini Kumar, Director, MNRE.
While leading the nation’s power generation capacity, NTPC’s focus has been on developing cutting edge technologies which will help in cost reduction and environment protection. To this end, NETRA has set up a Solar Energy Research Facility at Greater Noida. As part of this facility, Clique Solar, a Mumbai based Solar Thermal company, has installed world’s largest solar thermal HVAC system with storage.
This Solar Thermal HVAC (ST-HVAC) System consists of two numbers of high optical efficiency, point focus, two-axis tracking solar concentrator of Fresnel design, called the ARUN® concentrator dish. The ARUN dishes provide dry saturated steam at 180°C at about 200kg per hour. The steam is fed to a 50 TR (i.e. about 175 kW of cooling) Vapour Absorption Machine (VAM). In turn, the VAM utilizes the thermal energy of steam to produce the cooling effect. The distinguishing feature of the system is the storage tank that can store up to 2 days of chilling. Offices are generally closed on weekends. To avoid wasting the solar energy, this 2-day storage facility has been included. This stored energy can be utilized to provide air-conditioning during lean / non-solar periods or to cool a larger area. The system is also capable of running as a heat pump in winter without any alteration of pipework.
This Solar Thermal HVAC system is low carbon, green house gas free air conditioning solution. It has an efficiency of 80%, consumes less auxiliary power and occupies less area compared to the conventional AC system. For NETRA, improving the availability, reliability and performance of the existing power stations and new power plants is not only a priority but also a challenge. This technology offers an opportunity for replication in power stations.
"The ARUN® solar concentrator is the most efficient solar concentrator, both in terms of thermal efficiency as well as land usage. Till date, we have focused on supplying solar steam generating systems for industrial process heat & mass cooking to replace expensive fuels like Furnace Oil, LPG, Natural Gas, etc. However, solar cooling too has an immense potential due to the natural match between the cooling requirement and availability of the sun", said Mr Ashok Paranjape, Managing Director of Clique Solar, a company promoted by IIT-Bombay alumni. One ARUN®160 solar concentrator delivers about 1 ton of steam per day, while occupying ground area of less than 10 sq.m. It can deliver steam up to 25 bars pressure or thermic oil up to 400°C.
Dr Shireesh Kedare, Director and Head of R&D at Clique Solar said, "This project has been commissioned well in advance of the scheduled completion date. Credit goes to the experience our team has gained through the various installations across diverse applications like effluent treatment, milk pasteurization, degreasing process in automobile factory, mass cooking, etc over the last 6-7 years".
SUN SHINES BRIGHTLY AT MAHANAND DAIRY
Clique Solar, India’s first solar boiler company has been at the forefront of developing technologies for solar thermal applications in industries. It has indigenously developed and successfully commercialised the ARUN® dish – a Fresnel Paraboloid concentrated solar thermal (CST) system with applications in industrial process heating, comfort cooling, community cooking and in commercial and residential complexes. The first ARUN CST system was installed in Mahanand Dairy in Latur, Maharashtra in 2006. This system continues to save about 100 to 115 litres of Furnace Oil on a clear sunny day, completely avoiding the firing of the conventional boiler. In all 12 dishes of ARUN (169 sq.m each) save an equivalent of about 1500 barrels of oil per day.
At Mahanand dairy, a single dish is operational for hot water generation for milk pasteurization. The system pressure and temperature is 18 bar and 180°C respectively. Due to a mismatch in the working hours of the plant and availability of sun, an insulated pressurized water storage tank with capacity of 5000 liters has been provided for non-solar hours operation. Pressurized water was selected as the medium of heat transfer and storage as it has high specific heat, no fire hazards, no possibility of accelerated oxidization overnight (as in case of tarring of thermic oil), compatibility with food products and low operational cost.
A two-dish ARUN CST system has also been installed at Chitale Dairy in Sangli. The system generates steam which is used for pasteurization, can washing, cleaning in place (CIP) and crate washing. Both these ARUN dishes are installed on the terrace of its 3-storey building. The footprint area is less than 3m x 3m per dish. The civil engineering and integration challenges were innovatively handled by Clique Solar’s multi-faceted engineering team. The ARUN dish tracks the sun on two axes. Water circulates through the receiver coil which is placed at the focus of dish transferring the thermal energy from the sun to the circulating water and converting it to pressurized steam up to 152°C & 5 bar.
Mahanand and Chitale dairies have set an example by pioneering the successful use of solar thermal technology for satisfying their thermal energy needs in various applications. Not only have the systems been operating successfully, but the economics of the investment also makes a strong case for all industries in general, and dairies in particular, to install such systems. Clique Solar , India’s first solar boiler company is capable of providing an end-to-end solution – from identification of applications where thermal energy from solar system can be used to complete integration of the ARUN dish with the existing process.
Such ARUN systems have now been installed at various locations across India for diverse applications like milk pasteurization, effluent treatment, steam for laundry & cooking in hospitality sector, comfort cooling, cleaning in automobile sector, etc. Clique Solar’s clientele now also includes Mahindra Vehicles at Chakan, Pune (1 dish), Turbo Energy Limited near Chennai (2 dishes), Heavy Water Board near Kota (4 dishes), ITC Maurya, Delhi (2 dishes) – all leaders in their particular industries.