UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently visited Modhera, India’s first solar-powered village. Guterres considered Modhera, a moderately sized village in the state of Gujarat in Western India, as an excellent example of “reconciliation between humankind and planet.” 

As per statistics, India stands as the world's 3rd largest carbon dioxide emitter. The country intends and is working towards shifting half of its energy demands to renewable sources like solar and wind energy by 2030. The solar power project was commissioned in 2021 and provided the residents with more than enough renewable energy to power their homes and their work. It is planned well for the village to have regular power supply from solar energy, 24/7! The solarisation was carried out to ensure non stop supply that was achieved by integrating the village with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). While solar panels can directly supply the power during day time on sunny days BESS ensures uninterrupted power at night and when the sunlight is not enough. It is also notable to mention that Modhera is also India's first modern village to have its own so electric vehicle charging station that works with solar energy.

The project is spread over nearly 12 hectares and covers over 1,300 rooftop solar panels that have been installed on residential and government buildings and connected to a power plant to generate 1kW of energy. This supply being more than the daily requirement of the residents, allows them to feed energy back into the electricity grid. Therefore, while residents of the village can save about 60-100% of their electricity bills, they can also earn by selling excess energy to the government.

Potters, tailors, farmers and shoemakers, comprise a majority of the 6500 people who live in the village and have benefitted from the project. They are happy that their energy needs are being met at low cost while ensuring environmental safety by using clean energy. The UN Chief heard first hand accounts from villagers to understand the positive difference that solar energy had made in their lives.

Kesa Bhai Prajapati is a potter in the village. The quantity of earthenware that he makes has now doubled as his machine moves on solar power. Hee can now afford to use electricity to turn the pottery wheel that he was earlier turning manually, thus enabling him to produce more products in lesser time. 

Reena Ben, a tailor was able to increase her output by attaching a solar power run electric motor to her sewing machine thus helping her to stitch more clothes in lesser time, as compared using a manual machine while stitching.

Modhera was an apt choice for this project considering that it is home to a centuries-old ancient Sun Temple dedicated to the sun god. Therefore it is iconic that now solar energy powers Modhera’s new ‘Temple of the Sun’! During his visit, the UN Chief also visited the temple. Interestingly, he drew a link between the ancient history of the temple and the present solar powered innovation. 

“One thousand years ago, the ancestors of those that live today in this village built this marvelous Temple of Sun, and they did it recognising that the origin of all energy that we have on Earth comes from the sun.” Guterres highlighted the significance of the project by explaining that while the solar power project contributing to the health and prosperity of Modhera, at the same time it was also combating climate change. He appreciated that the residents of Modhera were self sufficient and self reliant, in their dual role as consumers and producers of electricity considering that they were selling additional generated power to the government. He lauded the efforts and encouraged that such successful attempts must be replicated across the country.

I conclude with the tweet on the UN Chief's official Twitter handle as below, which summarises the importance of renewable energy:

“I was happy to meet the community of the first village in India to have round the clock solar energy. Renewable energy is the answer to limiting climate disruption and boosting energy security.”

Image Credits

The images below show the solar panels as installed. Also shown is the beautiful solar energy empowered 3D Light and Sound Show at the Sun Temple.