The author has been using solar dryers for food processing especially for making amla candy, for the last five years. Solar dryer is an innovative design with combined draught, natural and induced with fan.
BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd)realized the importance of renewable energy sources as early as in the 1980s development, manufacture, and supply of a range of renewable energy products and systems. BHEL developed a range of renewable energy products and systems.
Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable resource on earth. Lignocellulosic materials, including wood, grass, forest residues, agricultural residues, pulp and paper mill wastes, and municipal solid wastes can be used for bioethanol production. Among these resources, agricultural residues, such as sugarcane bagasse, dominate in terms of tonnage and can serve as feedstock.
Biogas represents an alternative source of energy, derived mainly from organic wastes. In India, the use of biogas derived from animal waste, primarily cow dung, has been promoted for over three decades now. According to the 1997 Livestock Census, the cattle population in the country is about 290 million.
The use of solar energy is now moving into new frontiers, some as varied as illuminating the billboards. Perhaps the sun is becoming brighter as the day progresses more so in the rural landscapes and lately within the urban ambiences too. The moot question that remains is whether there is a compulsive need to use solar energy for urban uses like advertising?
The Ladakh Ecological Development Group or LEDeG for short is an NGO (non-governmental organization), which came into being in 1983, and has been actively involved in awareness generation programmes related to the environment and sustainable development. LEDeG is a firm believer in being a real practitioner of alternate energy technologies like solar PV (photovoltaic).
Wind energy continues to be the dominant source of renewable power in India. About 8000 MW of wind power capacity has been installed in the country so far. As against this, the share of solar power is abysmally low mainly due to its high initial capital cost and thus, a higher cost of per unit power generation.
For a country like India, which already depends on the imports of
vegetable oil, we have to see another viable a novel alternative for bio-diesel production. This scenario changes dramatically if microalgae are used to produce bio-diesel.
Tanzania has one of the lowest rates of electrifi cation in the world. Zara Solar and its sister company Mona-Mwanza Electrical & Electronics both based in Mwanza provide high-quality, aff ordable PV systems in Northern Tanzania. Zara Solar is a rapidly growing business that uses a network of self-employed technicians to reach out to the remote rural areas.
