India’s first industrial solar microgrid commissioned in Gujarat

30th April 2018

Swedish-Swiss multinational giant ABB recently announced it has commissioned India’s first industrial solar microgrid at its Vadodara manufacturing facility in Gujarat.

Microgrids with integrated battery energy storage allow cutting down of planned and unplanned power outages. When are often connected to renewable energy sources and provide more control to companies on how and when to deploy the stored power. A key benefit is the reduction in overall operational costs and reduced electricity bills.

The Vadodara factory is ABB’s largest facility in India with over 3,000 employees and among its biggest manufacturing hubs in the world. “The microgrid is the first-of-its-kind to be installed at a manufacturing campus in India and will harness the area’s abundant solar energy supply to help the expanding factory meet its growing electricity needs, while lowering its carbon footprint,” the company said in a statement.

The microgrid’s rooftop photovoltaic field and its battery-energy storage system will support the factory’s productivity and enable green power supply. A sophisticated control and automation system serves as the brain of the microgrid which ensures maximizing renewable energy use. The facility’s carbon footprint is expected to be reduced by around 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

“Growth demands power and access to clean, reliable electricity sits at the heart of India’s economic development,” said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids Division. “The solar energy driven ABB Ability microgrid at our Vadodara campus reinforces our commitment to clean energy as we lead by example to enable a stronger, smarter and greener grid,” he added.

ABB India Managing Director Sanjeev Sharma said reliable, resilient and cost-effective power supply through microgrids is key to achieve Make in India targets, speed up industrial development and realize the vision of round-the-clock power for all.

ABB manufactures critical power equipment including transformers, high voltage products, distribution relays, motors, generators and turbochargers at the Vadodara facility. The company is present in the areas of electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids. It operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees.

Source: ET ENERGYWORLD