In the past few years, India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets in the world. And to promote and expand the usage of solar energy, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) has developed the world’s largest solar tree. This solar tree has been installed at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-CMERI-Centre for Excellence for Farm Machinery, Punjab.
The Guinness World Records has officially certified it as the World's Largest Solar Tree. The solar tree resembles an actual tree in shape, but it has Photovoltaic (PV) panels in place of its crown. The ‘leaves’ of the solar tree capture solar energy and convert it to electricity, with the branches funneling the electricity down through a trunk and into a central battery.
The solar panels of the tree have a surface area of 309.83 square meters, surpassing their previous world record of 67 square meters. The total area used for the civil structure and foundation is 28 square meters. It is rated for a capacity of 53.6 kW, and it has used 160 PV panels with a rating of 335 W each. With its 25 years rated lifetime, the total cost of the solar tree has been Rs 41.6 Lakhs. The founding institutions have stated that solar trees will be beneficial to farmers and it will also cut down carbon dioxide emissions with minimum cost.
The largest solar tree in the world can be used by both Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) power, and it can be used by appliances and applications developed by the institutions by CSIR and CMERI. In recent years, India has seen many such innovations and start-ups in the renewable energy sector. And with the country’s suitable geographies and incredible innovations, it has become one of the most prominent global players in energy renewables.
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