Solar Installations

Surya Aranya, meaning Forest of the Sun in Sanskrit, is a revolutionary outdoor solar-powered lighting installation created by CERE for Tata Capital, to spread the message of investing in renewable sources of energy to save India’s rapidly diminishing ecosystems. There is a cluster of six trees in this installation and their heights range from 12 feet to 18 feet. These are located on the main south lawn of the i-Think Techno Campus at Thane city where the Tata Capital office is located. There are a total of 14 solar panels embedded within the leaves of the trees which produce 750 watts of energy that self-illuminates the installation and powers the 28 surrounding garden lights from dusk to dawn. The entire system is fully automated through light sensors and is also synchronized with the main grid through a master control panel to accommodate any fluctuations in solar power during the monsoon season. The trees are built of all-weather proof fibre-glass with leaves in different hues of green, orange and red representing the changing seasons reflected in the Indian Almond tree (Terminalia catapp). Each tree trunk bears two icons of plants and animals, covering all 12 phyla in nature, that depict species that are highly endangered or threatened in India due to habitat destruction caused by conventional energy.

You can say that Surya Aranya or the Forest of the Sun is a renewable energy nano power plant, a sculpture, an outdoor light solution, a symbol of nature and a communicator for conservation.