India's first net zero emission building equipped with SunPower PV modules

15 September 2013

The Indian company Swadeshi Civil Infrastructure has completed the installation of a 930 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system on the rooftop of the Indira Paryavaran Bhavan building in New Delhi, India. SunPower's high efficiency PV modules have been chosen for the project given its energy generation requirements and the limited rooftop area.

Building expected to reach LEED India Platinum standard

According to SunPower Corp. (San Francisco, California, USA), the state-of-the art landmark will be India's first net zero energy building. Its design emphasizes conservation featuring trees to reduce adverse environmental impact, adequate natural light and shaded landscaped areas to reduce ambient temperature.

The building is targeted to achieve Platinum from the leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system, known as LEED INDIA. It also is expected to receive a five star Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment from the rating system developed by the Energy and Resource Institute and supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the nodal ministry of Indian government. Managed by the Central Public Works Department of India, the project is being spearheaded by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests.

High-efficiency modules gain high solar power yield from limited roof space

The high-efficiency SunPower E-Series PV panels were installed on the building with a five-degree tilt to fully optimize its expected energy output of 1.5 million kWh annually.

"SunPower's world leading solar panel technology will help the Indira Paryavaran Bhavan project in New Delhi generate enough electricity from its rooftop solar system to cover 100 percent of its energy demand," said Howard Wenger SunPower president, regions.

"For this urban project, with very limited rooftop space and high energy generation requirement, the selection of high efficiency solar panels was the most critical aspect," said Ram Avatar, CMD of Swadeshi Civil Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd (New Delhi, India).