Modhera village in Gujarat will be announced as the first fully solar-powered village in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, October 9 during his three-day Gujarat visit. 

Modhera is located in the Becharaji taluka of Gujarat’s Mehsana district. It is famous for the Sun temple which was built around 1026-27 CE, when king Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty ruled that region. The village lies on the banks of the Pushpavati river. 

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The solar project in the Modhera village has been developed by the Gujarat state government and the central government in a joint venture. It was also announced that the total cost for the project has been Rs 80.66 crore and it was divided between the two governments.

The official announcement said that more than 1,300 solar panels were installed as part of the project which will tap solar energy and store it in a battery energy storage system (BESS). While the panels have been installed on the rooftops of individual houses, the BESS has been mounted on the ground.

The solar panels will directly feed the houses with power during the day and the battery will use the stored energy to power the village at night. The announcement says that the panels can churn out power worth 1 kW per hour.

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Modhera is situated roughly 100 kilometers away from Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar. It is spread across a total of 2,436 hectares of land. The last published census in 2011 says that there are about 7000 people in the village, but that number has increased in the last 10 years.

After the solar project is made operational, Modhera residents will be able to save at least 60% to 70% on their electricity bills.