India Launches 'Solar Power Tree' in Green Energy Push

A solar powered "tree" developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has gained the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

The "Solar Power Tree" was designed capture energy using an innovative vertical arrangement of solar cells, reducing land requirements as compared to conventional solar photovoltaic layouts. Now, even farm land can be used for energy production.

Feel happy to launch the 5 KW Solar Power Tree developed by CSIR-CMERI Durgapur in New Delhi Big boost-clean energy👍 pic.twitter.com/TIPrkQq7am

— Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 22, 2016

​"The ‘Solar Power Tree' innovatively addresses the challenge of increasing demand for green energy by gainfully utilizing scarce land resources in the country," Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.   

Harsh Vardhan further added that, "In order to produce 1 MW of solar power, 3.5 acres of land was needed for conventional solar panels layouts. Therefore, for any state in the country to survive on green energy, there will be requirement of thousands of acres of land. Acquisition of land is a major issue in itself." 

The Director General of CSIR Dr. Girish Sahni said, "the device has been functioning effectively at three places in West Bengal as a pilot project. ‘Solar Power Tree' takes only 4 square feet of land to get 5 KW Solar Power Tree, whereas in conventional layout it requires 400 square feet of land."