Solar power as a viable business opportunity remains a hot proposition. And developers across the world are still in quest of that elusive technology for a better production rate. Raghuram Kondubhatla from India might have just cracked the code — his idea based on controlled systems seems full of promise, which lets panels keep track of the sun throughout the day to extract more power.
SmatTrak Solar Systems in Hyderabad is basically a step in that direction, which has been founded by this 30-year old electronics engineer from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) and MBA graduate from Troy State University, Alabama, US, along with his friend Bhagwan Reddy Gnanapa.
“Our tracking systems move solar panels in the direction of the sun. This will help the solar power developer tap more of solar energy and increase energy output,” Kondubhatla said. There is also a significant cost advantage, he added, claiming that the technology is the first of its kind to have been developed by any Indian company.
“It costs about Rs47.5 crore for a 5 mw solar unit to produce about 80 lakh units of energy. By using the tracking system and increasing the exposure of the panels to the source of the energy, a 4 mw solar farm with an investment of about `38 crore will produce the same amount of energy,” he said.
A start-up with revenues of about Rs2 crore, SmartTrak came into existence a year ago, with friends and relatives of the founders chipping in with the seed capital. “We are slowly able to attract the attention of solar power developers. Right now, we are executing a tracking project for a 1.25 mw solar plant in AP. At least 20 other developers are interested in talking to us. We are confident of taking our revenues to Rs10 crore in the next financial year,” he said.
The on-grid solution for tracking the sun has two models - single axis and dual axis. The single axis system rotates from east to west during the course of the day and has been developed based on sun positioning data from Sandia National Laboratories. The dual axis aligns with the sun throughout the day and all seasons. “Normally, solar farms have fixed panels. As the sun starts setting, the energy output too drops. Tracking systems help panels move along with the sun. While the single axis generates up to 38% more power compared to fixed panel systems, the dual axis tracking provides up to 48% of more output,” he said.
The company charges about Rs50 lakh per megawatt of capacity for solar units with over 5-MW capacity and Rs65 lakh for the units with less than 5-MW capacity.
Meanwhile, the company is also scouring the off-grid solar solutions market by setting up solar panels on rooftops of buildings, including residential units, colleges, hospitals and agriculture fields. “The off-grid market is slowly improving. The government is also providing subsidy to users. For instance, if a farmer installs an off-grid solar system for running his pumpsets, he pays 20% of the cost upfront. There is a 30% subsidy offered by the government and banks offer loans for the balance 50% at a rate of 5%,” Kondubhatla said.
The company has formally established a proof of concept for off-grid power systems at an engineering college in Hyderabad and is now keen on expanding its presence.
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