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a structure that looks like a tree. the 'branches' each have a solar panel. people are sitting under the 'tree'

This work is a derivative of "solar tree" by Riccardo Rossi via Flickr under CC BY SA. This derivative is licensed CC BY SA by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

Indian scientists have designed a “solar tree”. They hope it will help solve one of India's main challenges with solar power.

Solar trees have panels placed at different levels on branches made of steel (a strong metal) . This makes them look like trees. This design reduces the amount of land needed to develop solar parks.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CISR) developed the solar tree. CSIR chief scientist Daljit Singh Bedi says that the solar tree saves a lot of space. "A solar tree can produce energy in four square meters of space. You would need 400 square meters to produce that much energy in a traditional solar park. Almost 100 times the space."

Land is a very scarce resource in India. As the country grows, people may be forced to move or give up their land. New development projects to build roads, factories and other infrastructure often displace people. This is a sensitive issue that has led to frequent and sometimes violent protests.

Scientists say solar trees can help solve this problem. The energy generated by a solar tree could light up five homes. They say the tree would make it easier to increase solar power to light up homes and streets in cities. It would also help in rural areas where farmers often don't want to give up large amounts of land.

The solar tree will also produce more energy compared to rooftop panels, which are used on top of buildings and homes. The design places the solar panels in a very efficient way. More sunlight can reach the panels of the solar tree. "They are able to harness 10 to 15 percent more energy. This is around one hour more than the conventional format," said Bedi.

India is the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. In 2015, India promised to slow its greenhouse gas emissions rate. By 2030, India promised to reduce its emissions by one-third over 2005 levels. By 2030, India will emit 33 percent fewer greenhouse gases than it did in 2005. Generating solar energy is an important part of India's plan to reduce emissions.

To achieve this, India has set a big goal. It will generate 40 percent of its energy from renewables 2030. It will also reduce its reliance on coal. India is a very sunny country. The main focus will be on solar power.

The cost of solar panels has fallen in recent years. This has made solar power more attractive. There has been a lot of new investment in the growing solar industry. Land remains a complication, though. Many people worry about how to get large amounts of land to set up solar parks.

Amit Kumar works at the Energy and Resources Institute, a research institute in New Delhi. He says that time is also a concern. “It takes quite a bit of time which results in cost escalation and all those things,” he says.

But will solar trees provide a sustainable option? Kumar cautions solar innovations have not made much progress so far.

Unless we put those [trees] on a large scale, [only] then will we be able to get that answer,” he said.

Still, Indian officials like Dr. Bedi are hopeful.

"When we talk about plantation of trees, we would now talk about plantation of solar trees,” he said.

Source: © 2021 by FHI 360. "Intermediate Reading Practice: Indian Scientists Design Solar Trees to Save Space" for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of "Indian Scientists Design Solar Trees to Save Space for Solar Power Generation", by VOA News licensed under public domain / U.S. Government Works. Adapted content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/