Israeli company to shift production base to Chennai

Renewable energy has become the key word these days in the global path way to progress. India has a target to achieve 100 GW by 2022, in order to meet both domestic energy demands and to tackle climate change. But water scarcity could hold the country back.

The apt environment for installation of solar power panels is where there is abundant of sunshine and land, making the deserts of India the most preferred. But the major problem here is soiling, which according to the International Journal of Sustainable Energy, can cause loss of upto 40%. This can be solved with cleaning using water based solutions. But the water requirements for operation and maintenance in India to lie between 7000 and 20000 litres per MW per wash, where panels are to be cleaned on a weekly basis (though this amount will vary with the scale and location of plants). The water constraint if not factored in could result in poorer efficiency of the solar installations and hence lower energy generation. The solution to this is water-free solar array cleaning that enables solar parks to maximize energy output using neither water nor manual labour.

Here comes Ecoppia, an Israeli company, dedicated to maximising solar park value creation by increasing output and lowering production overhead. Its autonomous, energy-independent water-free E4 robots use a soft microfiber and controlled air flow cleaning system to remove 99% of dust daily, keeping panels at optimal production. The robot demonstrates an ROI in as little as 18 months only. By both optimizing energy production and reducing O&M costs, Ecoppia offers its customers value creation of millions of dollars.

"Greatly focusing on the local market, Eccopia has shifted its production centre from Israel to India, and have opened a local sales and support office. Chennai is also be our export base, to other regions such as the Middle East," said Mr Eran Meller, its Chief Executive Officer. He was here to attend the three-day Renewable Energy India Expo held at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida.

"Our autonomous, water-free, field-proven solar array cleaning solution cost-effectively keeps photovoltaic panels at peak performance, even in the toughest desert conditions, cleaning 5 million solar panels every month. We are backed by major international investment funds and led by energy and robotics experts, with broad and multidisciplinary experience and proven records of success in operations, management, engineering and product development," he said.

"India is the next big place for solar energy. Indian big companies like NTPC and Adani Power have shown interest in our products, as well as international players operating in the Indian market. This is a great opportunity for us to provide our innovative E4 robots, supporting the industry’s challenging target for 2022,enabling shorter payback for the entire project" he said.

Jose Kalathil