On October 9, Modhera in Gujarat was declared as the first round-the-clock solar powered village in India.
Key facts
- The Modhera village in Mehsana district of Gujarat became the first 24X7 solar powered village in India.
- The village has a ground-mounted solar plant.
- More than thousand solar panels with 1kW capacity are also installed on the homes in this village, enabling its residents to receive cost-free solar energy 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
- All these solar systems are connected to the battery energy storage system (BESS) – the country’s first grid-connected megawatt hour scale battery energy storage system.
- During the day time, the solar panels will provide power to the village and in the evening, the houses will be powered by the BESS.
- The project was implemented in two phases, with state allocating 12 hectares of land for its implementation. Both the central and state governments have invested around Rs.80 crore for this project.
- It will enable people to save 60 to 100 per cent on the electricity bills.
About Modhera village
The Modhera village is situated 25 km from Gujarat’s Mehsana district and about 100 km from the state’s capital, Gandhinagar. The village is situated on the banks of River Pushpavati and it spans across 2,436 hectares of land. It hosts the famous Sun Temple, which was built during the reign of Chalukya dynasty’s Bhima I. The temple was built in Maru-Gurjara style (Chaulukya style) of architecture. Recently, this ancient site was equipped with a solar-powered 3D projection facility that will provide information about the history of the village to tourists. The recent inauguration of the Heritage Lighting at this temple made it the first heritage site in India to be powered by only by solar energy.