IIT Madras and Verizon Data Bring Solar Technology to Rural Telangana
- IIT Madras, Verizon Data Services, Rural Electrification Corporation & TSSPDCL collaborate to provide solar technology to 300 households in Telangana.
- A financial assistance of Rs. 75 lakh was provided by Verizon under its CSR wing to carry out the project.
Verizon Data Services and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in collaboration with Rural Electrification Corporation and TSSPDCL i.e. Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited will now provide power through solar technology to almost 300 households in four villages in Telangana.
IIT Madras has developed the solar technology which was commercialised by Cygni Energy Private Limited, an incubated-firm of IIT Madras to carry out further installations. Verizon Data Services under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provided financial assistance of Rs. 75 lakh for the project.
The four villages in Telangana that were selected for this project are: -
- Mantriya Thanda
- Jogi Thanda
- Kesya Thanda
- Ramunigunda Thanda
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All these villages or hamlets are located in Deverakonda Mandal of Nalgonda District. The families living in these hamlets are mostly dependent on paddy and cotton cultivation for livelihood. These hamlets are located about 100 km from the capital of Telangana, i.e., Hyderabad.
The technology developed by IIT Madras is known as The Inverterless System that comprises of 125Wp Solar Panel, DC loads operating on 48V DC international distribution line, an Inverterless controller unit and a 1KWh Battery which was installed in all the houses. The Solar Technology powers a DC power socket, DC mobile charger, two DC bulbs, a DC tube light, a DC fan and a remote controller to operate the tube light and fan.
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The installation process of solar technology in all the four hamlets was completed in June 2017, after which everything has been working flawlessly. IIT Madras is monitoring the health and performance of installed systems through the data that is being collected via mobile phones and is synchronized to a central server.
Prof. Ashok Jhunjunwala, Professor (On Sabbatical) at IIT Madras has played a vital role in developing this project.