Astonfield Renewables, a leading solar independent power producer across India, and Solesa, an international engineering and project management leader in commercial and industrial solar projects, have announced a strategic partnership to deliver solar power solutions to industrial businesses with a focus on combating rising energy costs in India. The partnership also announced the commissioning of its first project in the state of Tamil Nadu - a 100 kW ground-mounted solar-diesel hybrid system for Indo Shell Cast Pvt Ltd, a leading iron manufacturer for motorcycle, automotive and other industries.

Marketed as Astonfield Solesa Solar, the company deploys customisable solutions that can save commercial and industrial businesses up to 30-40 per cent on their diesel fuel costs. Its innovative solar PV-diesel hybrid system, the Hybrid Power Controller, integrates solar PV with existing diesel generators and grid power to deliver low-cost uninterrupted power supply. Based on Italian engineering expertise and a long track record of successful international projects, Astonfield Solesa Solar's solutions have been customised to meet the unique grid and industrial load characteristics found in India and include a full range of configurations, from industrial rooftop solar systems to ground-mounted solar and off-grid systems.

Installed on the company's factory campus in Coimbatore, the Indo Shell Cast system reduces costs by feeding uninterrupted power to the factory from a combination of three generation sources - solar, diesel gensets and the power grid. It consists of 384 solar PV modules and two diesel gensets, all of which are controlled by the Hybrid Power Controller to prioritise consumption of the most cost-effective power source at any given time. The system is expected to produce close to 150 MWh per year.

"Many of our customers were surprised to learn how much money they can save on their power bills by integrating our hybrid control technology and solar PV-diesel system with their existing power supply. They also realise that with a payback period of three years or less, this investment in uninterrupted power makes their businesses more cost competitive overall," said Srini Viswanathan, Managing Director of Solesa Solar Engineering.

"We wanted to reduce our operating costs from our diesel backup generators and needed more reliable power than what we get from the grid. It was really hurting our business," said S V Jagadesan, Managing Director of Indo Shell Cast. "We saw no better solution in the market that delivers uninterrupted power at an attractive cost than what Astonfield Solesa Solar provided to us. Our experience working with Astonfield Solesa Solar has been exemplary. They were very thorough in studying the load pattern of our factory and developed a customized engineering solution that we will benefit from for many years."

"Our solutions are scalable and customisable to building type and power need, enabling an efficient management of power supply even in fluctuating load environments," said Sushil Vohra, Head of Business Development in India for Astonfield. "They are also designed to prevent downtime and performance degradation, maximising savings for the customer."

It is estimated that diesel gensets total 30 GW of capacity in India. Industrial companies rely on diesel as a hedge against frequent power shortages from the grid. According to a leading research firm, the market growth for diesel gensets between 15 kW and 6 MW for residential, commercial and industrial applications will reach 82 GW globally per year by 2018. The potential for solar rooftops for industrial and large roofs in India has been estimated to be 27GW.

Contact: Srini Viswanathan, MD, Solesa Solar Engineering Private Limited. 
Email: srini.viswanathan@solesa.eu