India's first portable solar rooftop system unveiled in Gandhinagar

The country's first portable solar rooftop system was inaugurated at Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar on Monday.

The installation of 10 PV Port systems in the temple complex has been supported by the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a statement said.

The systems have been installed under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's initiative to develop renewable energy cities across India.

Designed by GIZ, the PV Port systems are standard plug and play photovoltaic systems of a minimum of 2 kWp that come with or without battery storage.

"India's first portable solar rooftop system was inaugurated at the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar...," the statement said.

The PV Ports have been manufactured by New Delhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd (SPSL), a leading maker of high-end solar products like LEDs, oxygen concentrators and EV charging equipment under the Make in India project, it added.

"The unique PV Port system is the way ahead for greater adoption of solar power in the country," said Raman Bhatia, founder and Managing Director of Servotech Power Systems Ltd.

The 10 PV Port systems were inaugurated in the presence of Shwetal Shah, Advisor, Climate Change Department, Government of Gujarat, and officials of GIZ, GERMI and Swaminarayan Akshardham temple.

Jorg Gabler, Principal Advisor of the Integration of Renewable Energies in the Indian Electricity System (I-RE) project, GIZ India, said that "such collaborations and the resulting synergies are expected to benefit consumers to a huge extent. We are very optimistic that the partnerships will provide us insights to deal with emerging challenges and capitalise on opportunities on the city level, which help us replicate the results in other cities across India".

Of the 40 PV Port systems to be installed in Gandhinagar, Servotech Power Systems has already installed more than 30 systems at Pandit Deendayal Energy University, GSPC Bhavan, Indroda Park, NIFT, Arya Bhavan, and other places.

The PV Port system is highly cost-effective, requires low maintenance, has a long shelf life of 25-30 years, can be easily installed by a single person and is ideal for the Indian climate.

It is designed for 100 per cent self-consumption, and no power is fed into the grid.

Unlike other conventional solar PV systems, the design of the PV Port system allows the space below the panels to be utilised. Each system leads to an average annual savings of Rs 24,000 on electricity bills.