Unlike conventional refrigeration trucks where diesel generators power the refrigeration system, solar panels will power the system thus bringing down significant costs on fuel and emission, reports the TimesOfIndia.
Dr P Paulpandian, executive director of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) which launched the initiative said that fishermen can take processed or preserved fish in the truck which will maintain the temperature at 5°C.
"It is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the entire country where solar power will be used to refrigerate fish while transportation. The fishermen society has approached us with the proposal and we have funded Rs 9.7 lakh (970,000 rupees) out of the total cost of Rs 13.5 lakh (1,350,000 rupees)," he said.
The truck comes with 1.5 KV solar panels and two 150 ampere batteries running the refrigeration unit. In case the batteries fail, there is a provision to switch to diesel power so that stored fish are not spoiled.
Further, there is also provision for night operation using the stored power in batteries. For the next year, the refrigerated truck will be exhaustively tested.
