Auroville turns model to go off power grid

Puducherry: As most cities struggle to shift gears to electric vehicles, an experiment in the tiny township of Auroville near Puducherry is making a silent and sustainable statement on electric mobility.
A solar technology hub and a community committed to being eco-friendly, Auroville has been chosen for a unique experiment in green mobility that is independent of the power grid. The technology for the project is simple: Use a combination of solar power and battery storage packs to power street lights and charge e-vehicles used for public transport. As part of the project, Mahindra Electric, the e-mobility business of Mahindra & Mahindra, is helping the Auroville community to make the change with 14kWh energy storage battery packs which will use a combination of solar and grid power.
“This concept is one of the ways ahead because of the kind of voltage generated by solar panels,” says Chetan Maini, pioneer of India’s electric vehicle industry with the first desi e-car Reva.