Innovative Solutions at Aditek, India

Project Background

Aditek is a manufacturer based in Kolhapur MH, India. Working in an industry with high power usage, a solar solution offers compelling benefits, from reduced operating costs to greater energy independence. Going solar also makes a significant positive impact on a business’ environmental impact, enhancing its sustainability credibility in a relatively easy and straightforward way. With all this in mind, candi initially consulted with the client to understand their specific requirements, and installed a 158kWp solar plant for the business. After some time, however, an issue started to emerge. The system was not performing as well as expected and Aditek wasn’t seeing the full benefit and candi's engineers went in to find the best way to optimise it.

The Issue

The candi team found that the manufacturing process was causing a layer of sticky dust to settle on the solar panels, reducing their generation capacity. The expected solution would be to regularly wash the panels manually, but the consumption of water and labour resources made this a non-viable option over the long term. Clearly, another approach was required – one which was both cost-effective and resource-efficient over time. According to Rana Pratap Singh, who is responsible for optimising the performance of candi’s Indian portfolio, “Ultimately what we want is to maximise generation so the client can get the best benefit. We want to find a way to make a small investment result in a bigger ROI.”

The Solution

The candi approach to solving this challenge was two-fold. To start with, the panels were given a chemical clean to completely remove all the residue that had accumulated over time. After considering a range of options, the engineers opted to use a solution from the cement industry, carefully diluted to the right pH to thoroughly clean the surface without damaging the modules.

With this completed, the objective was then to find a way to keep the panels cleaner for longer, maximising generation and cost-savings. There was no precedent for a solution of this nature, so the candi team had to come up with one themselves. After some experimentation, the engineers found a hydrophobic coating which could be applied to the module surface, preventing contaminants from settling and becoming stuck in the first place. This was applied to the panels, and the plant was put back into action.

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Aditek, Kolhapur MH, India.

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