The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute has created the world's largest solar tree,' which was launched by Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu of Ludhiana in an effort to promote the use of solar energy.

At the CSIR-CMERI Centre of Excellence for Farm Machinery, a solar tree has been erected. The Guinness World Records (GWR) has officially recognised it as the world's largest solar tree. The total surface area of solar PV panels is now 309.83 square metres, breaking the previous record of 67 square metres.

What is a solar tree?

A solar tree is a tree-like structure that uses photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate solar energy. It uses biomimicry concepts to solve a serious global challenge: replacing greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and gas with renewable energy.

The National Parks Board of Singapore presented Gardens by the Bay in 2012, a unique botanical project that included an installation of 18 artificial solar-powered Supertrees soaring up to 150 feet high with canopies like upside-down umbrellas. These vibrant steel trees help regulate temperature, collect rainfall, and function as vertical gardens for flowers, ferns, and climbing vines, in addition to generating solar energy.

The photovoltaic "leaves" of the solar tree capture sunlight and convert it to power, which is then sent down the structure's trunk-like central pillar to an internal battery. Many designs have rotating panels that can move throughout the day to gather as much sunlight as possible. While most solar trees do not produce the same amount of energy as a rooftop solar system, certain designs are surprisingly effective.

Solar trees do not require as much area as other types of ground-mounted solar panel installations. They enable solar energy generation in land-scarce locales that cannot sustain large solar canopy arrays, as well as in areas where rooftop space for panels is limited.

The team at CSIR-CMERI remarked that they were thrilled to be part of the Guinness World Records (GWR) as the largest solar tree. Prof Harish Hirani remarked that solar trees have a wide range of applications, including distributed power generation to meet the needs of various integrated farming activities, such as charging e-tractors, e-power tillers, and EV stations, running irrigation pumps, solar-based food cooking on the farm site, and powering cold storage.