Indian space agency develops app to chart solar potential

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed an android app for computing the solar energy potential of a given location in any part of the country.

The ISRO announced the launch of the app – which was developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC) – on Monday 24 April.

According to a press release issued by the organisation, the app was developed “at the behest of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy” and is considered a “very useful tool” for the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for tapping solar energy.

The app provides monthly and annual solar potential data (in kWh/m2) in addition to the minimum and the maximum temperatures at any location to calculate realistic solar potential, the ISRO said.

It also displays the location of a place with satellite data in the background as well as providing “azimuth and elevation angles, and day length over different time periods in a year.”

The obstruction of sunlight due to terrain is also calculated using Digital Elevation Model (DEM), which – with the help of the app – can suggest the optimum angel for solar PV installation.

The app uses Indian Geostationary Satellite data (Kalpana- 1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR) in order to configure the monthly and yearly solar potential.

The app is now available for download at: vedas.sac.gov.in

Under the Paris Agreement, India has committed to increase the share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40 per cent of installed electric power capacity by 2030.

In February 2017, India’s solar power capacity generated a total of 1.355 billion kWh of electricity, according to the Central Electricity Authority of India.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the nation’s solar energy capacity almost doubled in 2016 to 2017 – with a record 5,526 megawatts (MW) of new capacity added.

India has now surpassed the 10 gigawatt (GW) solar PV installation milestone, having tripled its capacity in less than three years.

The country’s cumulative solar capacity is currently estimated to be over 12 GW, compared to just 6.8 GW at the end of March 2016.

To receive similar updates, sign up to our free newsletter here.