Reliance Solar, the solar energy initiative of Reliance Group, has successfully executed and commissioned India’s first one-megawatt (MW) solar plant to power Thyagaraj stadium to be used in the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010. The Thyagaraj Sports Complex is a model Green Stadium with world class facilities in India and will host NetBall in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The solar power generated through 1 MW solar PV power plant at the Thyagaraj Stadium is expected to result in emission reduction of more than 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year thereby setting a benchmark in terms of energy efficiency.

In addition, building-integrated photovoltaic concept is also implemented by Reliance Solar Group. So, the stadium can start feeding electricity to the grid. The good news is, henceforth, this power will be made available for public consumption, except during the period when the Games take place in October. The Government of Delhi is already in talks with NDMC, BSES and PWD to sell the electricity thus generated, for consumption. KK Sharma, principal secretary (PWD) said, “The amount of solar power generated is substantial, and we wanted to utilize the power plant properly, especially as around 1MW of power will be generated every day, depending on the weather.”

Reliance Solar Group installed and commissioned the country’s first 1MW solar plant in a record duration of less than 3 months. The power plant is expected to generate around 1.4 million units of electricity per year. It would cater to the power requirements of the stadium and the surplus would be fed to the grid at 11KV. Reliance Group has also implemented three 2.6 KWp solar PV power plants on the roofs of individual tennis courts in the R K Khanna Tennis Complex, which will play host to the tennis event during the games. Further, there are 34 back-up solar PV systems of 3 KWp each along with 180 solar LED street and 500 garden lights in the Commonwealth Games Village, which will house athletes, coaching and support staff.

Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) said, “We have always believed that the renewable energy space is a natural extension of our strengths in the conventional energy platform. The nature of technical expertise and project execution demonstrated in developing the solar power infrastructure is a defining achievement for our Solar Group. We will continue our efforts in research, understanding and scaling up the deployment of these environment friendly sources of energy. Reliance Industries is privileged and honored to work with the Government of Delhi and Organizing Committee and be an integral green part of a show case event like the Common Wealth Games 2010.”

Important facets of the 1MW solar PV plant at the Thyagaraj Stadium include:

• A kalzip type roof that minimizes the use of mounting structures in the system
• A total of 3,640 no of 280Wp modules with one of the highest efficiency of 14.1% have been used in the project.
• The entire system has been installed within a roof-space of 10,000 sq. m. (2.5 acres).
The inverters and power evacuation systems used in the project are the best in class and have been executed by partnering with leading global companies to ensure best quality and results.

Source:http://news-views.in/reliance-solar-to-power-the-common-wealth-games/

Reliance Industries Limited, the largest and the most valuable business conglomerate in India ventured into a new arena of harnessing solar energy and set up the Reliance Solar Group. This initiative by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited, attempts to harness solar energy using photovoltaic technology in order to improve the quality of life in the remote villages of rural India. Reliance Solar Group, the solar energy initiative of RIL has been appreciated by many development experts within a short span of time. As part of this Solar energy initiative, Reliance has developed a myriad of systems, solutions and products spanning across solar lanterns, street lighting systems, refrigeration systems, solar air conditioners and home lighting systems.
The past six months have been quiet eventful for the Reliance Solar Group due to a number of fruitful and supporting events. The Reliance Solar Group, one of the most successful developmental projects of RIL, got an opportunity to display its products and solar solutions at the 29th India International Trade Fair between the 14th and 27th of November, 2009. Reliance intelligently tapped the potential of this academic event at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi to exhibit its spectrum of solar products to the flock of overseas exhibitors and visitors. Reliance Industries Limited applied for the tender issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in order to display its new range of Solar systems for the rural population. The Reliance Solar Group won the bid and got the approval to display new models of renewable sources of energy that have helped power the solar steam cooker, a solar hut, a wind farm and solar water heating systems.

The participation of the Reliance Solar Group at the 29th IITF turned out to be a great platform to expand the solar business of RIL. The IITF saw participation from over 5,500 organizations, which gave a fair chance to various enterprises to interact with foreign business delegates. This was the new beginning for the Reliance Solar Group also in the year 2009 this solar initiative for the betterment of the quality of village life in India bagged the PV certification for its photovoltaic modules. TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd, a Yokohama based firm conducted the tests for the modules including crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic module, thin-film terrestrial photovoltaic modules and many others. Around 20 PV modules got the green signal on the parameters of global safety and quality certification. This PV qualification and certification plays a crucial role in the growth of Solar Group. The photovoltaic modules qualified for the IEC 61215 certification for quality and have been safety tested for the IEC 61730 certification. The IEC certification of the solar products offered by the Reliance Solar Group is recognized by most of the countries. This is a much needed achievement on Reliance’s part as after qualifying the quality tests, buyers across the world can rely on each solar module or product of the Reliance Solar Group.

On January, 24, 2010 PTL Solar, the Dubai based experts is solar street lighting solutions announced the Dubai Reliance Solar Dealership. Under this dealership agreement PTL Solar became the exclusive distributor for the Reliance Solar Group in Africa and the Middle East. Looking at the fast expanding Reliance Solar Group, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy inaugurated the first ever international Reliance showroom in Dubai. After all the certifications and agreements, the Reliance Solar Group is presently working on the lines of developing some of the upstream and midstream components from polysilicon to ingotsm cells, wafers and modules. With the sole aim of transforming the quality of life in rural India, Reliance Industries Limited forays into the solar business and the eventful past six months from July 2009 to January 2010 have been witnesses to the success of this group.

Reliance Solar Group, the solar energy initiative by Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries Limited, had applied for the tender issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for an exhibit to display new and renewable sources of energy at the 29th India International Trade Fair. The trade fair that is held each year at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi scheduled exhibits this year between the 14th and 27th of November. It is the only event of its kind which is a business to business as well as business to customer model. Each year a large number of visitors from India and Abroad flock to the pavilions at Pragati Maidan.

The event is an exhibit of multiple products along with arrangements for entertainment and food for visitors. The Reliance Solar Group’s bid won approval and earned them the rights to display their exhibit at the indoor and outdoor pavilions of Hall No. 6. The display was to include models of new and renewable sources of energy that helped power solar water heating systems, a wind farm, a small hydro power model, a renewable energy village, a solar hut, a solar steam cooker and a solar photovoltaic pump.

The yearly exhibit also has attractions in evenings which range from theatre and cultural shows to puppetry and music. The pavilions of Pragati Maidan act as a major interactive hub between businesses and customers. The exhibits have on display an array of products which include dyes and chemicals, footwear, garments, costumes, home furnishings, kitchen appliances, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, real and artificial jewelry, leather goods and garments, readymade garments and apparels, sports goods and equipment, textile, clothing, yarn and fabrics and handicrafts. The fair is open to all visitors and industries. The annual event provides an international platform for manufacturers, traders, exporters as well as importers. The fair saw participation from over 5,500 enterprises. The list of foreign participants included exhibits from Germany, Japan, UK, Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan. The Indian State pavilions are also a regular feature of the India International Trade Fair each year and also have on offer regional delicacies.

Source:http://greenforever.info/reliance-solar-group-at-india-international-trade-fairs

History:
Founding –
The Reliance Solar Group is an initiative by Reliance Industries Limited and attempts to harness solar energy by using photovoltaic technology for the betterment of the quality of life in rural areas and remote areas. The head office for Reliance Solar is located in Navi Mumbai. As a part of the initiative Reliance Solar is developing and offering a range of products based on solar energy. The products, systems and solutions currently on offer are part of the downstream component of the solar value chain. Reliance is also working to develop the upstream and midstream components from polysilicon to ingots, wafers, cells and modules. For making PV modules Reliance Solar has a 30 MW facility, the unit can make modules of ratings up to 250 Watts. The unit can also make glass Building Integrated Photo-voltaic laminates.

Important past events –
The Reliance Solar team completed installations and implemented a large electrification program at the community and village level in Maharashtra in 2007-2008 that too within a span of three months. The project was to provide lighting for over 14,000 households spread over 84 villages in the districts of Nandurbar, Thane, Dhule, Amravati, Nasik, Raigad, Kolhapur and Chandrapur.

In 2008 Reliance Industries announced that it would set up its first solar power project of 5 MW capacity at Khimsar in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. An MoU was signed between the Managing Director of Rajasthan Vidyut Vitran Corporation and the President of Reliance Solar for purchase of power by the Rajasthan Government for 10 years on September 16, 2008.

The Reliance Solar Group won an award for the best stall for “Popularization of PV for Off-Grid Rural Application during an exhibition at the 18^th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference and Exhibition held at Science City, Kolkata. The exhibition was held from 19^th to 23^rd of Januray of 2009. The conference was attended by more than 600 participants whereas 57 Indian and international companies participated in the exhibition.

Products:
Product/Business Divisions –

The solar energy based products offered by the Reliance Solar Group are:

Solar Home Power System –

• CFL Based Home Power System – It is a system that would provide solar lighting solutions to houses, shops, clinics, banks, post offices, etc. as well as small scale industries.

• R-Lite Solar Led Home Power System – It would provide illumination without fumes or smoke and give a 3 day autonomy for operation during non-sunny days.

• R-Lite Plus Solar Home Power Led System – It would provide illumination with a 2 day autonomy for operation during non-sunny days and the module also includes 15’’ LCD DC colour TV or 12’’ DC table fan with a LED luminaire.

Solar Street Lighting System –

• CFL Based Street Lighting System – It is a system that would provide solar lighting solutions for streets, walkways, gardens, parking areas, malls, commercial buildings, etc. with automatic dawn to dusk operations.

• R-Lite Solar Led Home Power System – It is a stand alone system that would eliminate the need of laying cables for street lighting and would also give autonomy of operation during non-sunny days.

Solar Lantern –

• CFL Based Solar Lantern – These are portable solar lanterns available for rural homes, shops, farms, clinics and community centres.

• Arushi Solar Led Lantern – These would provide illumination without smoke or fumes with a 3 day autonomy for operation during non-sunny days.

Solar Water Purifier – It is a purifier that can deliver 2500 litres or pure drinking water a day and could be a water solution for communities, organizations, schools, health centres and Panchayats.

Solar Air-conditioning Solution – It is a 0.85 ton solar powered air conditioner with a charging option for both the solar and AC grid.

Solar Roof-top System – A system that would harness solar energy and provide reliable power for break free operations even during non-sunny days. It can provide power for AC loads like fan, TV, tube light, computer, etc.

Building Integrated PV System – It is intended for the corporate market.

Products for the industrial market:

- Telecom Solutions
- Oil & Gas Solutions
- Banking Solutions – To provide break free power to banks and facilitate smooth function of operations.

Corporate Structure:
As a subsidiary the Reliance Solar Group shares its corporate structure with Reliance Group.

Stock : Listing and Performance over time –  It is not listed separately on any stock exchange.

Slogans/Mission Statements -

The Solar energy initiative of Reliance aims to bring solar energy systems and solutions primarily to remote and rural areas and bring about a transformation in the quality of life.

Subsidiaries: The Reliance Solar Group has no subsidiaries as of now.

Sponsorships: Only as part of the Reliance Industries Limited Group