The Modhera village in the Mehsana district of Gujarat is set to become the first completely solar-powered village in India. PM Narendra Modi will declare Modhera a net renewable energy generator on Sunday along with laying the foundation for projects worth over Rs 3,900 crore in the village.

Modhera is known all over India for the sun temple built centuries ago between 1026-27 CE, when Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty ruled that region. The village is in the Becharaji taluka and is situated on the banks of the river Pushpavati. 

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According to an announcement on social media by the PMO, the Prime Minister is on a three-day visit to Gujarat during which he will make the Modhera announcement.

The solar power project has been built jointly by the Central and the state governments with an expenditure of Rs. 80.66 crores. As part of the project, more than 1,300 rooftop solar panels were installed to tap solar energy and store it in a massive battery energy storage system (BESS). 

The battery has been mounted on the ground and the 1300 rooftop solar panels connected to it can generate power worth 1 kW. While the rooftop solar panels can directly power the houses during the day, the BESS will provide power at night.

According to the official announcement, the BESS is India’s first grid-connected megawatt-hour scale battery energy storage system.

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The Gujarat state government said in a press release that the villagers in Modhera will be able to save 60% to 80% on their electricity bills due to this project.

Modhera village is about 100 kilometers away from the capital city of Gandhinagar. It has a total geographical area of 2,436 hectares and as per the 2011 census, it has a total population of around 7,000 people.