Solar Power - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Council on Environment and Water

Explanation:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has signed an MoU with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a policy research institution, to launch a new ‘Initiative on Solar for Healthcare’.

• The collaboration will focus on providing effective health care delivery at the last mile by reducing uncertainty in critical infrastructure, particularly electricity supply via cost effective solar-based solutions.
• As of 2015, nearly 35 million citizens in rural India rely on un-electrified PHCs for primary health services.
• The synergy between health and energy are the two specific goals of this initiative, and the efforts within this collaboration advances on both fronts.

ANSWER: Dera Baba Jaimal

Explanation:
World’s largest single rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 Mw capacity was inaugurated in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab.

• Spread at a single rooftop stretch of 42 acre at Dera Baba Jaimal, the project was synchronised earlier this year.
• In addition to single largest rooftop solar power plant, seven rooftop solar power plants of 8Mw capacity were also inaugurated in Beas Dera campus making this place the highest single campus generating solar power of 19.5 Mw at multiple rooftops in the country.

ANSWER: Gujarat Energy Development Agency

Explanation:
In an attempt to scale up the present solar power generation in Gujarat, the state government is now all set to launch its much awaited project of grid-connected rooftop solar power units, wherein residential property owners will be encouraged to install this new system.

• The Solar Rooftop project was initiated by Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA), which is the state nodal agency to promote renewable energy.
• In the current fiscal of 2016-17, GEDA has set a target of generating 50 megawatt (MW) of electricity by installing such rooftop solar photovoltaic (SPV) units across Gujarat.
• This rooftop solar project is for residential consumers only

ANSWER: Transparent

Explanation:
Stanford engineers Shanhui Fan, a professor of electrical engineering, research associate Aaswath P Raman and doctoral candidate Linxiao Zhu at Stanford University in US, have found a solution which is based on a thin, patterned silica material laid on top of a traditional solar cell to boost its efficiency and cool the solar cells. As the heat of the solar cells increases, they become less efficient at covering photons in light into electricity with can be used. Material of the coating is transparent to the visible sunlight powering solar cells, yet captures and emits thermal radiation or heat from infrared rays. In 2014, the same researchers developed an ultrathin material radiating infrared heat directly back toward space without atmospheric warming. For a typical crystalline silicon solar cell with an efficiency of 20 per cent, minus 5 degrees Celsius of cooling would improve absolute cell efficiency by over 1 per cent, a figure that represents a significant gain in energy production. The transparent thermal overlay works best in dry environments.

ANSWER: 1 Lakh MW

Explanation:
The Cabinet gave its approval on 17th June’15 for stepping up India’s solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by five times, reaching 1,00,000 Mega Watt by 2022. The target will principally comprise of 40,000 mega watt Rooftop and 60,000 mega watt through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. With this ambitious target, India will become one of the largest Green Energy producers in the world, surpassing several developed countries.