The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has invited proposals for projects using concentrating solar thermal technology for industrial process heating, offering financial assistance of up to 50 per cent of the project cost.
Government support will be capped at Rs 2 crore for each project and may be provided in the form of viability gap funding. The last date for submitting proposals is October 7. The initiative is aimed at replacing fossil fuels used to generate industrial heat across sectors including food processing, textiles, chemicals and metals.
Focus On Solar Thermal For Industrial Heating
Solar thermal systems use solar radiation to produce heat that can be directly deployed for applications such as water heating, steam generation and industrial process heating. The technology can also be combined with thermal energy storage, allowing the heat generated during periods of solar availability to be used beyond sunlight hours.
The proposals have been invited under MNRE's Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme and are open to industry, start-ups, private institutes and entrepreneurs. The programme will focus on developing commercially viable and scalable solar thermal systems that can be integrated with thermal energy storage as well as existing industrial processes. The financial support is intended to encourage research and technology development while accelerating the use of solar heat in industrial applications that currently depend on fossil fuels.