How is sunshine of India rated — a poor or good quality? How much sunshine does India receive? A Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) mission has been set up under the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) to collect this data which in turn will help them determine just how much solar can be converted to generate energy. This information is of key importance to the energy starved nation which has set a target of generating 20,000 MW by 2022.
A network of 51 solar measuring stations equipped with pyranometers that measure radiation have been set up to study various parameters to help build up a solar radiation database along with providing other weather-related data .
The parameters include DHI, DNI and GHI, relative humidity, ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, wind speed and direction along with temperature.
This information is relayed 24x7 to the Centre for Wind Energy Technology in Chennai which hopes to put it together to prepare a solar radiation atlas in the future. A dedicated SRRA website and a national Level Solar Data Centre has also been created to disseminate this data.