25 Apr ISRO develops app which computes solar energy potential
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has revealed that its Space Applications Centre has developed an app which computes the solar energy potential of any given location in India.
The application will be available across android devices and is being considered as a ‘very useful’ tool for the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels across the country.
Developed at the request of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in Ahmedabad, the app provides monthly and yearly solar energy potential along with the minimum and maximum temperatures of any location.
Sunlight obstruction due to terrain is also calculated using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with the app suggesting optimum tilt angle for the solar PV installation.
The ISRO said that the app utilises Indian Geostationary Satellite data, including information from the Kalpana-1, the Insat-3D and the Insat-3DR satellites.
This widely accessible technological innovation follows the path of Google’s Project Sunroof which launched in 2015, calculating the solar energy potential of building roofs in California and Massachusetts.