Dehradun is Home to North India’s First Solar-Powered Hydroponic Plant

North India’s first solar-powered hydroponic plant has been inaugurated in Dehradun. With capacity at 71kw, the solar power plant sprawls to 6,000 square feet of area. It consists of 36 panels. Under these panels, 6000 vegetable pots can be positioned three feet above soil. This makes the plant extremely productive in nature. With the establishment of this plant, North India has got its first solar-powered hydroponic plant.

The solar powered plant was inaugurated by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

What is a solar-powered hydroponic plant?

A hydroponic system is used in agriculture. In this method, water rich with nutrients is used to grow plant instead of using soil.

When solar energy is used to power a hydroponic plant, it becomes a highly energy efficient means of growing food worldwide. Earlier, a larger number of hydroponic plants would rely on LED lights, however, now solar power is becoming a preferred source of energy to power them.

For indoor hydroponic plant, one needs to have a window to make the plant 100% solar reliant.

How does it work?

With the nuclear fusion from the sun, the radiation is converted into solar power. With the use of solar cells, the power from the sun is transformed into electricity. The orientation of solar panels is significant in order to enhance the efficiency of the cells. Azimuth angle and elevation angle are used for this orientation.

Helping plants grow with solar powered hydroponic lights

Grow lights that are powered by solar power help one to control light cycles, determine plant’s growth phase. Typically, for every square meter of area, solar panels produce 1000 watts of power when exposed to full sunlight. These hours, will vary, of course.

In order to set up the solar light, one would need a solar panel to collect solar energy, a maximum power point tracking (MMPT- it refers to an algorithm in charge controllers that enable it to extract optimum power from a photovoltaic module.

Benefits of solar powered hydroponic plant

The main idea behind powering hydroponic plants with solar energy is to help a plant grow without soil with the use of solar supply. With this method, 90% of water is used up efficiently while the productivity is enhanced by three to ten times.

Coupling with IoT 

Interestingly, there is widespread use of IoT (Internet of Things) in solar-powered hydroponic plants. The IoT system is connected to sensors. These help regulate factors such as temperature and humidity, light intensity, and rainfall. These help keep a track of changes in weather.