ENERGY

Solar Powered 10 Tonne Cold Storage Project at Mangalore

Considering the need for a cold chain in the northern part of Karnataka, a joint project with KFDC on solar powered cold storage unit was initiated. Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation is providing the infrastructural facilities. The project is being funded by the Department of Non conventional Energy sources, New Delhi and KFDC. The northern part of Karnataka receives maximum insolation as compared to the other parts of Karnataka and the availability of electricity is not ensured throughout the day. There are two possible ways of utilising solar energy to operate cold storage units viz., vapour absorption refrigeration system (VAR) and vapour compression refrigeration system (VCR). The coefficient of performance of VCR is 2.5 to 3.0 while for VAR it is 0.2 to 0.3. In view of this a vapour compression refrigeration system is proposed for the cold storage unit. The solar photovoltaic module will be used to convert the solar energy to electrical energy which will then be used to derive the mechanical energy needed to run the compressor through a battery bank.

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