Kerala Plans To Solarise Healthcare Facilities To Boost Efficiency

Kerala Plans To Solarise Healthcare Facilities To Boost Efficiency

The Agency For New and Renewable Energy Research & Technology (ANERT) has planned to solarise Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS). The institute campus is spread over a large area, favourable for solar projects. ANERT has planned to use several ways to bolster the growth of solar in the institute.

ANERT has now also issued a tender in this regard, seeking vendors. It has asked the vendors to submit their bids by December 6. It plans solar power on the campus by roping in ground-mounted solar projects, carport and rooftop solar projects.

KUHS is spread in an area of 30 acres excluding buildings. “Kerala University of Health Sciences, Thrissur (herein referred as Owner) is in possession of approx 30 Acres of land (5 acres excluding buildings) in its possession at Medical College Campus, Thrissur. They Intent to put up a 1 MWp capacity of Solar Power Plant at this land and utilize the electricity generated for its captive consumption in the Diary within the premise,” the tender said.

Mandate for mono-PERC modules 

The ANERT tender asked vendors to use only mono-PERC half-cut cell-based modules, it asked for solar panel with a capacity of 525 MWp from the solar module makers. It also said that the modules must be registered under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).

“The PV modules must be PID compliant, salt, mist & ammonia resistant and should withstand weather conditions for the project life cycle,” the tender said. The tender also asked for ensuring a minimum Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF). It mandated to maintain a CUF of 21%>

Taking about the plant performance, the tender said, “The successful bidder shall be required to meet minimum guaranteed generation with Performance Ratio (PR) at the time of commissioning and related Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) as per the GHI levels of the location during the O&M period. PR should be shown minimum of 75% at the time of inspection for initial commissioning acceptance. Minimum CUF shall not be less than 21% for a period of 5 years. The bidder should send the periodic plant output details to ANERT to ensure the CUF. The PR will be measured at the Inverter output level during peak radiation conditions.”

Kerala’s tryst with solarising healthcare 

Notwithstanding the latest tender, the Kerala government has tried to infuse more solar energy into its healthcare systems to boost its efficiency. Earlier, ANERT also worked to try using solar energy with battery energy storage for the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram. This was done through the Smart City project.