International Solar Innovation Council
Innovating Solar Solutions for Billions
SOLAR VISIONS
How India’s Solar Technologies Can Save the World from Climate Chaos
ABOUT- SOLAR VISIONS
India has, during the last twenty years, produced an amazing array of new kind of solar energy inventions. Among them are second-generation pumped storage hydropower plants, ultra-cheap solar space heaters, many kinds of floating solar power installations and solar cookers that can be used inside, even after the sun has set.
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India’s already existing, extremely affordable solar technologies – and numerous other inventions that will follow – will play a crucial and perhaps decisive role in the fight against global warming, if they spread to other continents in a large scale.
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India’s solar technologies can accelerate the electric vehicle revolution, produce carbon-negative power, eliminate the need of water in cleaning solar panels and solve the problems related to storing wind and solar electricity. They could reduce or eliminate methane emissions from reservoirs and eutrophic lakes, provide rural schools with clean water and reduce pressure on forests and other vegetation, thus increasing the amount of carbon stored in natural ecosystems. They could reduce the evaporation of water from irrigation channels and produce food and solar power on the same patches of land.
At the same time India’ s new solar technologies can eliminate deep poverty and reduce air pollution, which is currently causing nine million premature deaths per year.
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Solar Visions Unveils India’s Latest Breakthroughs in Solar Technology
Solar Visions is the first volume introducing dozens of India’s new solar innovations – many of which are likely to have major global importance – to the world.
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The book has been produced by INTO Publishing in cooperation with InSIC, the International Solar Innovation Council, a small but efficient international network of solar energy scientists and activists. It contains a popular narrative about the potential of India’s solar energy technologies, and seventeen more detailed scientific articles written by India’s renewable energy experts.
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The book’s preface is written by Dr. Ajay Mathur and Foreward is written by Prof. Peter Lund. Dr. Ajay Mathur was the then director-general of ISA (International Solar Alliance), an inter-governmental organization of 120 countries founded to promote solar energy. The establishment of ISA was India’s and France’s joint initiative. Prof. Peter Lund is the professor for advanced energy systems at Aalto University, Finland.
BOOK CONTENTS
CONTENTS
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Preface by Ajay Mathur, Director-General, International Solar Alliance (ISA).
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Foreword by Peter Lund, Professor of Advanced Energy Systems, Aalto University, Espoo (Finland).
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Introduction by S.P. Gonchaudhuri, Richik Ghosh Thakur, Risto Isomäki, Pekka Järvilehto, Elina Mähönen, Markku Tahkokorpi, Swarnendu Bhattacharya & K.P. Eashwar.
PART ONE SAVING THE WORLD WITH INDIAN SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES
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Surya Jyoti’s Ray of Hope.
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Clean Cooking Energy for the Billions.
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Solar-Driven Greywater Purification.
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Cleaning Solar Panels without Water.
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Low-Cost Solar-Powered Wheelchairs for the Disabled and Elderly People.
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Replacing Structural Steel with Bamboo.
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Solar-Based Sanitation and Water Purification for Rural Schools.
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Recharging Electric Rikshaws and Other Small Electric Vehicles with Solar Power.
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Reducing Food Waste with Convective Solar Driers.
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How to Store the Extra Solar and Wind Power.
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How to Cool and Heat Our Houses in the Warming World.
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Integrating the production of Food and Solar Power.
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Floating Solar Power Plants.
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PART TWO NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN HORIZON
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Solar Electricity: Past, Present, and Future.
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Solar Energy Ideas and Innovation in India.
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Hydrogen: the fuel of the future.
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Energy Security and Equity for All through Distributed Solar Energy Deployment.
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Solar Mini-Grids in the Indian Context.
PART THREE INNOVATION IN SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATION: CASE STUDIES
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Fabrication of Phase-changing Material-based Portable Solar Cooker.
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Electro Dynamic Screen for Automatic Cleaning of Solar Panels.
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Illuminating Rural India with a Sustainable Symphony of Solar and Biogas Energy: a case study of a rural village at Bolpur, Santiniketan, India.
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Innovative Mountain Solar Water and Space Heating Systems for Domestic Use in Indian Himalayan Mountains.
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Electric Rickshaws Charging Up with Solar Power.
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Harnessing Solar Energy for Accessible Menstrual Care in Rural Areas.
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Greening the Solar Industry: Bamboo’s Role in Achieving Carbon Neutrality.
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Low-cost Solar-powered Wheelchair for Elderly and Differently-abled Persons.
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Solar-powered Grey Water Recycling: using every drop of water.
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Indoor Solar Cooking System with ‘Thermal Batteries in Composite Matrix Structure’.
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Enhancing Rural Living with Clean Lighting and Efficient Cooking through Micro Solar Dome.
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Experiences in Developing and Promoting an Improved Natural Convection Solar Dryer for Drying Fruits and Spices in South India.
Distinguished Authors who have contributed articles in Solar Visions Book:
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Risto Isomäki.
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Subhendu Guha.
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Rabindra Satpathy.
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Bibek Bandyopadhyay.
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Priyadarshini Karve.
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Santipada Gonchaudhuri, Richik Ghosh Thakur.
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Dwaipayan Sen, Amit Kumar Prasad, Sulagna Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee
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Jitendra Nath Bera, Amitava Biswas, Swati Saha.
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Srinivasan Balachandran, Shibani Chaudhury, Amit Kumar Hazra, Sambhu Nath Banerjee.
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Lal Singh, Maninder Jeer Kaur, Dakesh Kumar.
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Joydip Jana And Abhijit Das.
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Anupam Baral, Rai Dhar Ruchi.
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Pranoy Lahiri.
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Shantanu Acharya.
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Yogesh Kulkarni.
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Ajay Chandak, Anurag Chandak.
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Subhadeep Bhattacharya, Swarnendu Bhattacharya.
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Reghu Rama Das.
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Edited By:
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S.P. Gonchaudhuri.
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Richik Ghoshthakur.
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Risto Isomäki.
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K.P. Eashwar.