Home (/) > cold storage (/industry-term/cold-storage) > Government extends subsidy scheme

to solar-powered cold storages

Government extends subsidy scheme to solar-powered cold storages

Aug 19, 2016

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Source Name:
The Economic Times

Source Url:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/government-extends-subsidy-
scheme-to-solar-powered-cold-storages/articleshow/53747502.cms

In a bid to boost the use of solarpowered cold storages, the Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy has extended its subsidy scheme to solar refrigeration units as well. Most solar powered
items, including solar lamps and solar heating systems, enjoy a 30% subsidy under different MNRE
programmes.
"Solar-powered cold storages are still at an experimental stage. We hope the subsidy will
encourage their use," said Tarun Kapoor, a joint secretary at the ministry. There are barely 10 solar
cold storages being used in the country so far, the first having been installed about three years ago.
Costing around Rs 30-40 lakh, they are manufactured by a handful of private companies such as
Ecozen Solutions and Promethean Power Systems. They mostly use phase change material as
insulation to trap sola ..
"Government support should enable many more to be set up, while existing ones can scale up,"
said Kapoor. The shelf life of solar cold storages is around 15 years. Conventional cold storages
cost half that of solar-powered ones, but require grid power which comprises around 20-30% of
their running cost. Solar cold storages not only remove this cost, but can also make a key
difference in distant rural areas which are not yet electrified, or where power supply is poor.
India is the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China, with an output of
82.63 million tonne of fruits and 121.02 million tonne of vegetables in 2013 (the latest year for
which figures are available). However, around 30% of this produce perishes for lack of adequate
cold storage facilities. "Even the rest has to be quickly brought to market and sold, or the quality
deteriorates," said Kapoor. The pressure to sell early regularly leads to glut and shortages of these
co ..
The ministry's move makes eminent sense. India needs to augment its cold storage chains.
Providing a subsidy for solar powered ones will avoid the potential increase in carbon footprint, and
drive down operational costs of cold chains. It would also ensure that cold storages are self reliant
for power, not affected by the vagaries of power supply. They also do not have to depend on
expensive and polluting fossil fuel options like diesel.

Author: SustainabilityOutlook

Industry Term: cold storage (/industry-term/cold-storage) solar energy (/category/industry-

term/solar-energy) renewable energy (/industry-term/renewable-energy-0)
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