A landmark network for Solar Radiation Resource Assessment established by us for Center for Wind Energy Technology (CWET), an autonomous Research and Development Institution under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.
SRRA site conceptualization and installation is displayed.
Vellore Institute of Technology campus has been chosen as one of the stations.
The site is surveyed for sun movements and shade which will fall though out the year during seasonal changes with an integrated shade analysis instrument called SUNEYE.
A report is generated to find the most favorable place for installation of a station one which is shade free throughout the year.
Alignment of the station is crucial for accurate measurements. The site is installed on the terrace.
A rugged foundation is crucial due to harsh and extreme weather conditions. All precautions are considered so that the foundation withstands high wind load, extreme temperature variation and heavy rain conditions.Foundation is cured for 48 hours with proper dampness for settlement.
A pre-fabricated, SGS 6 meter triangular tower made from rust proof galvanized steel members is slowly lifted and placed on the grouted bolts.
A similar procedure is adopted for constructing a 1.5 meter tower for installation of solar equipment.Now, skilled and trained SGS engineers start the task of installation of the weather and solar system.
The solar tracker is a key system for solar radiation measurement. Extreme precaution is observed for assembly and alignment of the solar tracker.
After assembly of the solar tracker is successfully completed, Global & Diffused Radiation Pyranometers and a direct radiation Pyrheliometer are mounted on the assigned platform.
The shading disk arm is also mounted on the solar tracker. It is mechanically connected so that in all solar elevation and azimuth conditions, the Pyranometer measuring diffused radiation is always shaded.
The assembled solar tracker is then fixed and leveled on the top of the base plate of the 1.5 meter solar tower.
The latitude and longitude of the station are precisely recorded with a hand held GPS. These coordinates are fed into the data logger for precise tracking of the sun by the solar tracker.
A tipping bucket rain gauge is installed on a separate mast for to record the rainfall.
To operate all the systems in the field station, solar panels have been installed for power autonomy.
Installation of weather sensors is a high-precision task. The field engineer fixes them at predetermined heights using safety belts.
All the cables are routed through UV-protected and rodent proof flexible covers.
See here the visually pleasing view of the installed system on the tower showing the NEMA enclosure for the external battery, IP67 box for data logger, temperature and humidity sensor in the radiation shield, GPRS antenna, GPS antenna and ultrasonic wind sensor.
A push button switch is provided and connected to the data logger to record cleaning operation of the sensors.
After the power is switched ON, a self test is performed and the tracker calibrates using the GPS position of the sun. On completing the self calibration, it starts pointing to the sun.
Before commissioning the site, the site engineer thoroughly checks every weather and solar radiation parameter installed at the site through the front panel display of the data logger which has the facility to display real time measured parameters. The display of each parameter can be seen sequentially.
In all, 115 such stations have been installed and are operational in all Indian states and union territories.
The sites are spread all over the country to record 18 parameters of solar radiation and weather data which will be utilized to create the “Solar Map of India”.
All field stations are connected to a central server located at CWET, Chennai through two way GPRS connectivity. Each site has its own SIM which system uses for transmission of data in real time to the fix static IP at central server.
A dual hot redundant server is installed at CWET to ensure that this crucial data is not lost even in the most adverse conditions.
The solar radiation monitoring network is commissioned and operational. SGS Weather takes pride in being part of this national endeavor, a step towards providing the country clean energy. In keeping with company policy, we focus on human resource development. Regular training programs are conducted for operators besides the on-the job expertise that they acquire. In order to maintain the quality of measurements, a world class calibration facility using WRR standards has been created at CWET Chennai.
This success story is dedicated to officials of MNRE, CWET and SRRA Division expert consultants, our partner Geonica S.A. Earth Sciences, Spain and all participants who have directly and indirectly contributed to implementation of this complex network, which is largest and most unique in the world.
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