Gurgaon may be known as the Millennium city but when it comes to power supply, the city is reeling alike under dark age. To combat power shortage and frequent power cuts, people in the city are resorting to utilise alternative renewable sources of energy, which is where the solar-powered products are making a beeline in Gurgaon.
“Although solar energy has been around for well over four decades, it has now started picking up and the demand has really picked up in the past one year. The reason for this is probably the fact that this technology is now relatively cheaper than it was earlier. In some cases, solar energy now can compete with diesel generators,” said Sanjay Dhawan director and promoter, Punchline Energy, which deals in solar water pumps (for farming/irrigation purposes),solar power-packs, mini/micro grids, solar lighting, as well as high-end LED streetlights.
The city’s decision to switch to solar has been enforced by factors like, rising petrol prices, power-tariff hike and acute power shortage. The products that are high in demand at the moment are solar pumps and solar power packs, solar powered streetlights etc. And when you have demand, you have suppliers and the city has solar-product makers in abundance, who range from manufacturers to importers.
One of the many companies looking to offer affordable solar-products is, Gurgaon-based Su-kam Power Systems Ltd, which has a pan-India presence. The company has developed solar inverters and solar charge controllers for converting the solar power into electrical energy and is bullish about the potential of solar product market in the country. “We have developed various products for using solar energy as a cost effective alternative to some of the other non-renewable energy resources,” said Kunwer Sachdev, managing director and founder, Su-kam, adding that the demand for solar power products has picked up in the past one year.
Su-kam’s solar inverters provide a sinusoidal output with stable voltage and frequency. As per Sachdev they provide good conversion efficiency even in partial load, high overload capability, and tolerance against battery voltage fluctuations.
While the apparent need for power alternatives in Gurgaon has always been visible, the steps taken by various companies like Su-Kam re-iterates the fact that unless the state government joins hands with the makers and offer them attractive subsidies and schemes, the road to ensuring a fully-lit Gurgaon could be a distant dream.
