SOLAR ENERGY AVAILABILITY IN INDIA

Solar power in Gujarat (Gujarat Solar Park) Gujarat has been a leader in solar power generation and contributes 2/3rd of the 900 MW of photovoltaics in the country !he "tate has co##issioned $sia%s biggest solar par& at 'haran&a village !he par& is already generating 2() MW solar power out of its total planned capacity of *00 MW !he par& has been functioning on a #ulti+developers and #ulti+beneficiaries paradig# and has been awarded for being the #ost innovative and environ#ent+friendly project by the ',, -'onfederation of ,ndian ,ndustry) With a view to #a&e Gandhinagar a solar city. the "tate govern#ent has launched a roof+top solar power generation sche#e /nder this sche#e. the "tate plans to generate five #egawatt of solar power by putting solar panels on about *0 state govern#ent buildings and on *00 private buildings !he "tate has also a plan to e#ulate this project in 0aj&ot. "urat. 1havnagar and2adodara in 20(2+(3 !he "tate plans to generate solar power by putting solar panels on the 3ar#ada canal branches $s a part of this sche#e. the "tate has already co##issioned a one #egawatt solar plant on a branch of the 3ar#ada 'anal near 'handrasan area of $nand talu&a !his also helps by stopping 90.000 liter water/year of the 3ar#ada river fro# evaporating Solar power in Rajasthan4 0ajasthan is one of the leading states of ,ndia in the field of solar energy !he total photovoltaic capacity has passed *00MW. reaching *(0 2*MW at the end of the 20(2+ (3 fiscal year !he district of 5odhpur leads with )2 projects totalling 293 MW. followed by 5aisal#er and 1i&aner ,n total there were 6) projects with installed capacity of *(2 9 !he 7rench group $082$ solar is currently engaged in constructing a 2*0MW concentrated solar power -'"9) installation which will beco#e the largest '"9 installation in $sia $ )000MW Mega Green "olar 9ower 9roject is being built near "a#bhar :a&e in 0ajasthan /pon 'o#pletion. it would be world;s largest "olar 9ower 9lant !he first phase of the project. which will be of (000 MW capacity. is li&ely to be co##issioned by the end of 20(< Solar power in Maharastra !he "hri "ai 1aba "ansthan !rust has world;s largest solar stea# syste# ,t was constructed at the "hirdi shrine at an esti#ated cost of 0s ( 33 crore. 0s *6 ) la&h of which was paid as a subsidy by the renewable energy #inistry !he syste# is used to coo& *0.000 #eals per day for pilgri#s visiting the shrine. resulting in annual savings of (00.000 &g of coo&ing gas and has been designed to generate stea# for coo&ing even in the absence of electricity to run the feed water pu#p for circulating water in the syste# !he project to install and co##ission the syste# was co#pleted in seven #onths and the syste# has a design life of 2* years

!"RT#ER SOLAR A$$LI%ATIONS IN INDIA Rural ele&tri'i&ation :ac& of electricity infrastructure is one of the #ain hurdles in the develop#ent of rural ,ndia ,ndia;s grid syste# is considerably under+developed. with #ajor sections of its populace still surviving off+grid $s of 200) there are about 60.000 unelectrified villages in the country =f these villages. (6.000 could not be electrified through e>tension of the conventional grid $ target for electrifying *.000 such villages was set for the !enth 3ational 7ive ?ear 9lan -2002@200A) $s of 200). #ore than 2.A00 villages and ha#lets had been electrified. #ainly using solar photovoltaic syste#s Bevelop#ents in cheap solar technology are considered as a potential alternative that allows an electricity infrastructure consisting of a networ& of local+grid clusters with distributed electricity generation ,t could allow bypassing -or at least relieving) the need to install e>pensive. lossy. long+distance. centralised power delivery syste#s and yet bring cheap electricity to the #asses 9rojects currently planned include 3000 villages of =rissa. which will be lighted with solar power by 20() Solar la(ps an) li*htin*4 1y 20(2 )<.00.000 solar lanterns and 6<(.<*) solar powered ho#e lights have been installed !hese typically replace &erosene la#ps and can be purchased for the cost of a few #onths worth of &erosene through a s#all loan !he Ministry of 3ew and 0enewable 8nergy is offering a 30C to )0C subsidy for the cost of lanterns. ho#e lights and s#all syste#s up to 2(0 Wp 20 #illion solar la#ps are e>pected by 2022 A*ri&ultural support "olar 92 water pu#ping syste#s are used for irrigation and drin&ing water !he #ajority of the pu#ps are fitted with a 200@3.000 watt #otor that are powered with (.600 Wp 92 array which can deliver about ()0.000 liters of water per day fro# a total head of (0 #etres 1y 30 "epte#ber 200<. a total of A.0<6 solar 92 water pu#ping syste#s had been installed. and by March 20(2. A.AA( had been installed "olar driers are used to dry harvests before storage Solar water heaters 1angalore has the largest deploy#ent of roof top solar water heaters in ,ndia !hese heaters generate an energy eDuivalent of 200 MW 1angalore is also the first city in the country to put in place an incentive #echanis# by providing a rebate of *0 on #onthly electricity bills for residents using roof+top ther#al syste#s !hese syste#s are now #andatory for all new structures 9une. another city in the western part of ,ndia. has also recently #ade installation of solar water heaters in new buildings #andatory

%hallen*es an) opportunities :and is a scarce resource in ,ndia and per capita land availability is low Bedication of land area for e>clusive installation of solar arrays #ight have to co#pete with other necessities that reDuire land !he a#ount of land reDuired for utility+scale solar power plantsEcurrently appro>i#ately ( &#2 for every 20@<0 #egawatts -MW) generated E could pose a strain on ,ndia;s available land resource !he architecture #ore suitable for #ost of ,ndia would be a highly distributed set of individual rooftop power generation syste#s. all connected via a local grid Fowever. erecting such an infrastructure. which does not enjoy the econo#ies of scale possible in #ass. utility+ scale. solar panel deploy#ent. needs the #ar&et price of solar technology deploy#ent to substantially decline. so that it attracts the individual and average fa#ily siGe household consu#er !hat #ight be possible in the future. because 92 is projected to continue its current cost reductions for the ne>t decades and be able to co#pete with fossil fuel Govern#ent can provide subsidies for the production of 92 panels .in which there will be reduction in the #ar&et price and this can lead to #ore usage of solar power in ,ndia "o#e noted thin&+tan&s reco##end that ,ndia should adopt a policy of developing solar power as a do#inant co#ponent of the renewable energy #i>. since being a densely populated region in the sunny tropical belt. the subcontinent has the ideal co#bination of both high solar insolation and therefore a big potential consu#er base density ,n one of the analysed scenarios. ,ndia can #a&e renewable resources such as solar the bac&bone of its econo#y by 20*0. reining in its long+ter# carbon e#issions without co#pro#ising its econo#ic growth potential Govern#ent of ,3B,$ supports for "=:$0 8380G? /!,:,"$!,=34

SOLAR RADIATION RESO"R%E ASSESSMENT STATIONS IN INDIA

*( "olar 0adiation 0esource $ssess#ent stations have been installed across ,ndia by the Ministry of 3ew and 0enewable 8nergy-M308) to #onitor the availability of solar energy Bata is collected and reported to the 'entre for Wind 8nergy !echnology -'+W8!). in order to create a "olar $tlas !he govern#ent of ,ndia is pro#oting the use of solar energy through various strategies ,n the latest budget for 20(0/((. the govern#ent has announced an allocation of (000 crore towards the 5awaharlal 3ehru 3ational "olar Mission and the establish#ent of a clean energy fund ,t is an increase of 360 crore fro# the previous budget !his new budget has also encouraged private solar co#panies by reducing custo#s duty on solar panels by *C and e>e#pting e>cise duty on solar photovoltaic panels !his is e>pected to reduce the cost of a roof+top solar panel installation by (*@ 20C !he budget also proposed a coal ta> of /"H( per #etric ton on do#estic and i#ported coal used for power generation I6(J $dditionally. the govern#ent has initiated a 0enewable 8nergy 'ertificate -08') sche#e. which is designed to drive invest#ent in low+carbon energy projects

!he Ministry of 3ew and 0enewable 8nergy provides A0 percent subsidy on the installation cost of a solar photovoltaic power plant in 3orth+8ast states and 30 percentage subsidy on other regions !he detailed outlay of the 3ational "olar Mission highlights various targets set by the govern#ent to increase solar energy in the country;s energy portfolio !he Mysore 'ity 'orporation has decided to set up a #ega "olar power plant in Mysore with *0C concession fro# the Govern#ent of ,ndia !he Maharashtra "tate 9ower Generation 'o#pany -Mahagenco) has #ade plans for setting up #ore power plants in the state to ta&e up total generation up to 200 MW 0eeling under an acute power crises. the Govern#ent of !a#il 3adu has recently unveiled its new "olar 8nergy 9olicy which ai#s at increasing the installed solar capacity fro# the current appro>i#ate of 20 MW to over 3000 MW by 20(* !he policy ai#s at fi>ing a <C solar energy reDuire#ent on industries and residential buildings for which incentives in the for# of ta> rebates and current tariff rebates of up to 0s ( / unit will be applicable to those who co#ply with the "olar 8nergy 9olicy !he policy also gives an option to those industries/buildings who do not want to install rooftop solar photo+voltaic syste#s to invest in the govern#ent;s policy and be given the sa#e incentives as e>plained above Solar Ener*+ Answer to In)ia,s Ener*+ Nee)s Beveloping countries. in particular. face situations of li#ited energy resources. especially the provision of electricity in rural areas. and there is an urgent need to address this constraint to social and econo#ic develop#ent ,ndia faces a significant gap between electricity de#and and supply Be#and is increasing at a very rapid rate co#pared to the supply $ccording to the World 1an&. roughly )0 percent of residences in ,ndia are without electricity ,n addition. blac&outs are a co##on occurrence throughout the country%s #ain cities !he World 1an& also reports that one+ third of ,ndian businesses believe that unreliable electricity is one of their pri#ary i#pedi#ents to doing business ,n addition. coal shortages are further straining power generation capabilities ,n order to #eet the situation. a nu#ber of options are considered 9ower generation using freely available solar energy is one such option ,ndia is endowed with rich solar energy resource !he average intensity of solar radiation received on ,ndia is 200 MW/&# sDuare -#egawatt per &ilo#eter sDuare) With a geographical area of 3 26A #illion &# sDuare. this a#ounts to <*A ) #illion MW Fowever. 6A *C of the land is used for agriculture. forests. fallow lands. etc . < AC for housing. industry. etc . and * 6C is either barren. snow bound. or generally inhabitable !hus. only (2 *C of the land area a#ounting to 0 )(3 #illion &# sDuare can. in theory. be used for solar energy installations 8ven if (0C of this area

can be used. the available solar energy would be 6 #illion MW. which is eDuivalent to * 909 #toe -#illion tons of oil eDuivalent) per year ,ndia has a vast potential for renewable energy sources. especially in areas such as solar power. bio#ass and wind power !he current installed capacity of renewable energy is around 9220) MW. constituting about A 3 percent of ,ndia%s total installed generation capacity ,ndia is already the fourth largest in the world in ter#s of wind energy installations and we are seeing significant invest#ent activity in this area !echnological brea&throughs for cost+effective photovoltaic technology could generate a Duantu# leap in the renewable energy sector since ,ndia is well endowed with solar isolation -average of < &wh/ sD #t /day) ,ndia just had 2 (2 #egawatts of grid+connected solar generation capacity $s part of the 3ational "olar Mission. the #inistry ai#s to bolster the annual photovoltaic production to at least (.000 #egawatts a year by 20(A With an installed capacity of (23 GW. the country currently faces energy shortage of 6 percent and a pea& de#and shortage of (( < percent ,n order to sustain a growth rate of 6 percent. it is esti#ated3< that the power generation capacity in ,ndia would have to increase to 30< GW in the ne>t ten years which is 2 * ti#es current levels INDIA #AS #IG# SOLAR IN%IDEN%E T#RO"G#O"T T#E YEAR,t can be seen that 0ajasthan. Gujarat. west Madhya 9radesh and north Maharashtra receive #ore than 3000 to 3200 hours of bright sunshine in a year =ver 2<00 to 2600 hours of bright sunshine are available over the rest of the country. e>cept Kerala. the north+eastern states. and 5a##u and Kash#ir where they are appreciably lower Buring #onsoon -5une @ $ugust). a significant decrease in sunshine occurs over the whole country e>cept 5a##u and Kash#ir where the #a>i#u# duration of sunshine occurs in 5une and 5uly. and #ini#u# in 5anuary due to its location !he north+eastern states and south+east peninsula also receive relatively less sunshine during =ctober and 3ove#ber due to the north+east #onsoons $s far as the availability of global solar radiation is concerned. #ore than 2000 &Wh/#2+year are received over 0ajasthan and Gujarat. while east 1ihar. 3orth West 1engal and the north+eastern states receive less than (A00 &Wh/#2+year !he availability of diffuse solar radiation varies widely in the country !he annual pattern shows a #ini#u# of A)0 &Wh/#2+year over 0ajasthan increasing eastwards to 6)0 &Wh/#2+year in the north+eastern states. and south wards to 920 &Wh/#2+year $ huge #ar&et for solar energyL given the high solar incidence in ,ndia -there are about 300 clear sunny days in a year in #ost parts of ,ndia and the daily average solar energy incident over ,ndia varies fro# )+A &Wh/#2
Govern#ent%s support in for# of subsidy !he govern#ent has envisaged a capacity addition of around (0A.000 MW* by 20(2 !he govern#ent has with it several new proposals with invest#ents running into billions of dollars for per#ission to set up #anufacturing

facilities and reDuests for concessions under the "e#iconductor 9olicy and "pecial ,ncentives 9ac&age "che#e announced two years ago !hese proposals are now in li#bo and are li&ely to be considered only after a new govern#ent is in place 1an&s and lending institutions have -concessional) loans for people for establishing solar energy products + !he !har Besert in ,ndia is also a pro#ising location for a solar energy + 9rivate investors have put up nearly H20 billion build plants in ,ndia to #a&e photovoltaic cells and panels "o#e are see&ing federal and local subsidies and other concessions under a national progra# to pro#ote solar #anufacturing =ne of the projects announced + "ignet "olar + is bac&ed by 8B$ industry veteran 9rabhu Goel + Govern#ent officials concede that the cost of generating power through large solar energy installations faces high initial start+up costs !he federal #inistry for new and renewable energy has already funded 33 grid+interactive solar photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 2 (2* #egawatts + 8ven the hours of sunshine in "pain can by no #eans co#pete with. for instance. the "tate of 0ajasthan in ,ndia !his "tate. with between (600 and 2200 hours of sun each year. is putting together a plan to develop at least *0 MW of 92 power plants Li(itations ( !he co#panies #ay find it tough to sell solar energy in the do#estic #ar&et as the cost of producing solar energy is high !he cost of production ranges fro# 0s (* to 0s 30 per unit co#pared to around 0s 2 to 0s < per unit for ther#al energy 2 !he energy collected by ( # sDuare of a solar collector in a day is appro>i#ately eDual to that released by burning ( &g of coal or (/2 litres of &erosene !hus. large areas are needed for collection 1esides. the efficiency of conversion of solar energy to useful energy is low 3 !he serious fall in global de#and for 92 #odules. and the rapid e>pansion of the #ore than )00 #odule #anufacturers worldwide. is putting #odule prices under pressure =versupply. coupled with the global financial crisis. is hitting the solar industry hard ) 1an&s are highly hesitant to finance new projects and developers are waiting for better returns in a cli#ate of decreasing #odule prices =n top of that co#es the worsened dollar+ euro ratio !he result is that e>ports to 8urope will collapse * $t the sa#e ti#e. their current invest#ents in capacity e>pansion reDuire high levels of cash ,n #aintaining their cash flow. they will encounter fierce co#petition with all the 'hinese co#panies also desperate for cash flow With only a tiny do#estic #ar&et. around 2 * MW in 2006. the ,ndian 92 industry is in a dangerous position ,t needs the funds for e>pansion. but lac&s sufficient sales to 8urope in a #ar&et cli#ate of rapidly decreasing prices %on&lusion !he country should support its solar energy cell industry. as the cli#ate is conducive. there is a high dependence on foreign oil. and there is an opportunity for innovation in the solar cell process and very high do#estic de#and with relatively low capital reDuire#ents $nother possible solution to develop the ,ndian solar #ar&et is to set up. or sti#ulate. new solar funds to guarantee project financing