Citizens of Kohima, rejoice! No more electricity problems for us anymore?
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has selected Kohima for the Solar City programme. As a electronics engineer, the first thing that struck me was to think what any common man would think – To harness solar energy, we need solar energy. Solar energy comes directly from sunlight, but considering the case of Kohima where the sun teases us all year around by showing its face only once in a blue moon, a solar city? Is it a feasible idea? Let’s predict the productivity of the plant using simple analytical thinking –
Kohima climate,
God and Economics
Sunlight is a gift from God. But God is a little more partial to Dimapur than Kohima when it comes to the Sunlight department isn’t He? Let’s assume a hypothetical situation - Suppose God is in a good mood and blesses Kohima with 3 hours of sunlight every day. Assume the department has set up 1 Sq Meter of Solar panels on the roof! If price of electricity is about Rs 2 per KWH (Kilo Watt Hour), 3 hour of direct sunlight will give us returns of 3KWH i.e Rs 6 worth of electricity. But hey! Photo Voltaic panels have a problem; they have a radiant energy conversion rate of about 20%. So, 1 hour of sunlight on your department office’s roof will give you only Rs 6 x 20% = 1 Rupee 20 Paise worth of electricity! Thus undermining the investment and planning of this project.
1 Mega Watt solar plant can cost up to 20 Crores. As per the latest news, Rs 2.75 crores has been sanctioned for setting up a solar city in each respective state. However, my humble question to our respective State Nodal Agency and New Renewable Energy (NRE) would be why Kohima and not Dimapur? Considering utilization of the technology and huge funds available for setting up such a project, we also need to reap the full benefits and attain full productivity of these super expensive solar panels.
I believe Dimapur is also included! If there are so much funds to invest in renewable energy, why not influence the MNRE to divert the funds to invest it in Mini Hydro projects rather than waste Crores of Rupees in a unproductive and inefficient project! Leaders have pledged to take responsibility for the people and the choice is yours to decide – Best decision would be to change the plan and install all these plants in Dimapur where efficiency of the panels can generate a reasonable ROI rather than decorating the government buildings in Kohima and under utilizing the cost and benefit of this project!
If given an opportunity to discuss with the decision makers, we the new Naga generation would like to invite our State Government politicians and policy makers to an open discussion in The Naga Blog on facebook. This would be a very positive step in gaining a deeper understanding of our needs right from social issues to technology/energy consultation and even direct feed backs openly to gain public trust, enhance the credibility of our leaders and ultimately to bring change to our society. Log on to the Naga Blog and feel the voice of the people - www.facebook.com/groups/thenagablog
(Yanpvuo Kikon is B.E. Electronics Engineer and the creator of The Naga Blog)
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has selected Kohima for the Solar City programme. As a electronics engineer, the first thing that struck me was to think what any common man would think – To harness solar energy, we need solar energy. Solar energy comes directly from sunlight, but considering the case of Kohima where the sun teases us all year around by showing its face only once in a blue moon, a solar city? Is it a feasible idea? Let’s predict the productivity of the plant using simple analytical thinking –
Kohima climate,
God and Economics
Sunlight is a gift from God. But God is a little more partial to Dimapur than Kohima when it comes to the Sunlight department isn’t He? Let’s assume a hypothetical situation - Suppose God is in a good mood and blesses Kohima with 3 hours of sunlight every day. Assume the department has set up 1 Sq Meter of Solar panels on the roof! If price of electricity is about Rs 2 per KWH (Kilo Watt Hour), 3 hour of direct sunlight will give us returns of 3KWH i.e Rs 6 worth of electricity. But hey! Photo Voltaic panels have a problem; they have a radiant energy conversion rate of about 20%. So, 1 hour of sunlight on your department office’s roof will give you only Rs 6 x 20% = 1 Rupee 20 Paise worth of electricity! Thus undermining the investment and planning of this project.
1 Mega Watt solar plant can cost up to 20 Crores. As per the latest news, Rs 2.75 crores has been sanctioned for setting up a solar city in each respective state. However, my humble question to our respective State Nodal Agency and New Renewable Energy (NRE) would be why Kohima and not Dimapur? Considering utilization of the technology and huge funds available for setting up such a project, we also need to reap the full benefits and attain full productivity of these super expensive solar panels.
I believe Dimapur is also included! If there are so much funds to invest in renewable energy, why not influence the MNRE to divert the funds to invest it in Mini Hydro projects rather than waste Crores of Rupees in a unproductive and inefficient project! Leaders have pledged to take responsibility for the people and the choice is yours to decide – Best decision would be to change the plan and install all these plants in Dimapur where efficiency of the panels can generate a reasonable ROI rather than decorating the government buildings in Kohima and under utilizing the cost and benefit of this project!
If given an opportunity to discuss with the decision makers, we the new Naga generation would like to invite our State Government politicians and policy makers to an open discussion in The Naga Blog on facebook. This would be a very positive step in gaining a deeper understanding of our needs right from social issues to technology/energy consultation and even direct feed backs openly to gain public trust, enhance the credibility of our leaders and ultimately to bring change to our society. Log on to the Naga Blog and feel the voice of the people - www.facebook.com/groups/thenagablog
(Yanpvuo Kikon is B.E. Electronics Engineer and the creator of The Naga Blog)
