Tata, Dell build 45m vertical solar farm
Article By : EE Times India
The structure is part of the Dell's green initiative and can produce enough energy to power the cafeteria and basement parking at its Bengaluru campus.
Tata Power Solar and Dell International Services India Pvt Ltd have together built a 120kW vertical solar farm on Dell's Bengaluru campus. The 45m structure, believed to be the largest vertical solar farm in India, provides the campus with sustainable green energy as well as insulation for the building.
The south facing vertical solar farm was a very complex project as it needed to be integrated on the façade of the building without compromising on the aesthetics. The project is a foray for Tata Power Solar into vertical solar structures, which have the potential to transform urban energy management, utilising a fraction of the real estate, which is at a premium in cities.
The solar farm, envisaged by Dell, produces enough energy to light up its entire cafeteria and basement parking. While this significantly reduces the energy consumption of Dell, the panels itself act as solar insulation by blocking the south sun and thus reducing the power consumption of the air conditioning.
Custom structures
The project, by virtue of its unique design, needed significant innovation and customisation of the structures, load bearing characteristics and anchorage. To integrate 480 modules, a specially designed, complex scaffolding was built. Safety was of utmost importance as the entire project was on an 11-storied building wall. The vertical structure was designed with a 30&#deg; moving tilt to better enable maintenance.
Commenting on the solar farm, A. Anil Uthappa, Advisor- Ops & Fac Management-Global Facilities at Dell International Services India, said, “While solar energy generation was one of the qualifiers to attain the prestigious Green Building Platinum LEED certification, we have created the plant at almost four times the requisite capacity, demonstrating our commitment to going green”
Ashish Khanna, ED & CEO, Tata Power Solar, said, “We see tremendous opportunity, especially in urban regions, to deploy such vertical solar projects with multiple benefits. We hope more corporates follow Dell in implementing such pioneering and green initiatives.”