With rapidly increasing competition in the Indian solar power market project developers are looking to get the most out of their solar power panels in order to increase revenue and profit. Robotic panel cleaning solutions could be one such method to increase power generation.
Solairedirect India has signed an agreement with Eccopia, a provider of robotic panel cleaning solutions. As per the agreement, Eccopia shall service a 168 MW solar power project being developed by Solairedirect India in the Badhla solar power park in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.
The contract is the first for Eccopia which claims that its cleaning solutions shall save more than 1.5 billion liters of water. Located in India’s That desert, Badhla sees frequent sand storms that can cover the solar panels in dust and reduce power generation by up to 40%.
Badhla solar power park will be among the largest solar parks in India. The park is expected to host projects allocated under the state as well as the central policies. Once fully operational the park is expected to house more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity.
“We expect to harness Ecoppia’s revolutionary cleaning system to dramatically raise output and lower costs. This type of technological breakthrough not only benefits our own business interests, but the solar energy sector as a whole,” said Gaurav Sood, Managing Director of Solairedirect India. “We are proud to be one of the world’s first solar energy providers to adopt Ecoppia’s cutting-edge, autonomous robotic panel cleaning paradigm,” he concluded.
“We’re proud to cooperate with forward-thinking companies like ENGIE in what is truly a true revolution in renewable energy,” said Eran Meller, CEO of Ecoppia. “By ensuring cost-effective panel cleanliness on a day-to-day basis, we’ve created a new standard of plant output that is changing the way operators, investors and governments view the benefits of solar power,” he continued.
Eccopia has worked with some of the leading solar power project developers in India, including NTPC, SunEdison and Adani Power.