Tata Power Solar Ltd and Dell International Services India Pvt Ltd. have together built India’s largest vertical solar farm of 120 kW. The first of its kind, a 45m structure built on Dell’s Bengaluru campus provides the dual benefit of producing sustainable green energy and insulation of the building, thus helping reduce power consumption, a release from Tata Power Solar said.
The south-facing vertical solar farm was a very complex project as it needed to be integrated on the façade of the building without compromising on the aesthetics. The project is a foray for Tata Power Solar into vertical solar structures which have the potential to transform urban energy management, utilizing a fraction of the real estate which is at a premium in cities.
The solar farm, envisaged by Dell, produces enough energy to light-up its entire cafeteria and basement parking. While this significantly reduces the energy consumption of Dell, the panels itself act as solar insulation by blocking the south sun and thus reducing the power consumption of the air conditioning, the release noted.
Intricacies: The project, due to its unique design, needed significant innovation and customization of the structures, load bearing characteristics and anchorage. To integrate the 480 modules, manufactured by Tata Power Solar, a specially-designed, complex scaffolding was built. Safety was of utmost importance as the entire project was on a 11-storeyed building wall. For optimized plant performance, the vertical structure was designed with a 30 degree moving tilt to better enable maintenance.