Solar power in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
National Solar Mission in India

India is densely populated and has high solar insolation, an ideal combination for using solar power in India. India is already a leader in wind power generation. In the solar energy sector, some large projects have been proposed, and a 35,000 km2 area of the Thar Desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 GW to 2,100 GW.

In July 2009, India unveiled a US$19 billion plan to produce 20 GW of solar power by 2020.[1] Under the plan, the use of solar-powered equipment and applications would be made compulsory in all government buildings, as well as hospitals and hotels.[2] On 18 November 2009, it was reported that India was ready to launch its National Solar Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, with plans to generate 1,000 MW of power by 2013.[3]

According to a 2011 report by GTM Research and Bridge, India is facing a perfect storm of factors that will drive solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption at a "furious pace over the next five years and beyond". The falling prices of PV panels, mostly from China but also from the U.S., has coincided with the growing cost of grid power in India. Government support and ample solar resources have also helped to increase solar adoption, but perhaps the biggest factor has been need. India, "as a growing economy with a surging middle class, is now facing a severe electricity deficit that often runs between 10 and 13 percent of daily need".[4]

Contents

[edit] Current status

Solar Resource Map of India

With about 300 clear, sunny days in a year, India's theoretical solar power reception, on only its land area, is about 5 Petawatt-hours per year (PWh/yr) (i.e. 5 trillion kWh/yr or about 600 TW).[5][6] The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 kWh/m2 with about 1500–2000 sunshine hours per year (depending upon location), which is far more than current total energy consumption. For example, assuming the efficiency of PV modules were as low as 10%, this would still be a thousand times greater than the domestic electricity demand projected for 2015.[5][7]

[edit] Installed capacity

The amount of solar energy produced in India is less than 1% of the total energy demand.[8] The grid-interactive solar power as of December 2010 was merely 10 MW.[9] Government-funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 MW-yr of power as of 2005.[8] However, as of October 2009, India is currently ranked number one along with the United States in terms of solar energy production per watt installed.[10]

India's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants
Name of Plant DC Peak Power
(MW)		 GW·h
/year[11]		 Capacity
factor		 Notes
Mithapur Solar Power Plant - Mithapur, Gujarat (Tata Power)[12]   25 02011-11-29 November 29, 2011 Commissioned February 2012
WAA SOLAR POWER PLANT - Surendranagar, Gujarat (MADHAV POWER) [13][14][15]   10.22 02011-11-29 November 29, 2011 Commissioned January 2012
Reliance Power Pokaran Solar PV Plant, Rajasthan[16]   40 02011-06 June 2011 Commissioning in March 2012
Adani Bitta Solar Plant,Gujarat[17]   40 02011-06 June 2011 Completed in January 2012
Mahindra Solar Plant, Jodhpur, Rajastan[18]   5 02012-01 January 2012 Completed in January 2012
Sivaganga Photovoltaic Plant[19]   5 02010-12 December 2010 Completed December 2010
Kolar Photovoltaic Plant[20]   3 02010-05 May 2010 Completed May 2010
Itnal Photovoltaic Plant, Belgaum[21]   3 02010-04 April 2010 Completed April 2010
Azure Power - Photovoltaic Plant[22]   2 02009 2009 2009
Chesdin Power - Biomass and Solar Photovoltaic Plants[23]   4.1 02011 2011 Completes December 2011
Citra and Sepset Power Plants - Solar Photovoltaic Plants[24]   4 02011 2011 Commissioned October 2011
Jamuria Photovoltaic Plant[25]   2 02009 2009 2009
NDPC Photovoltaic Plant[26]   1 02010 2010 2010
Thyagaraj stadium Plant-Delhi[27]   1 02010-04 April 2010 April, 2010
Gandhinagar Solar Plant[28]   1 02011-01-21 January 21, 2011 21 January 2011
Tata - Mulshi, Maharashtra[29]   3 02011-04 April 2011 Commissioned April 2011
Azure Power - Sabarkantha, Gujarat (Khadoda village )[30] 10 02011-06 June 2011 Commissioned June 2011, 63 acres, using 36,000 Suntech Power panels.[31]
Moser Baer - Patan, Gujarat[32] 30 02011-06 June 2011 To Be Commissioned July 2011
Tata - Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu[33]   1 02011-07 July 2011 Commissioned July 2011
REHPL - Sadeipali, (Bolangir) Orissa [34]   1 02011-07 July 2011 Commissioned July 2011
Tata - Patapur, Orissa [35]   1 02011-08 August 2011 Commissioned August 2011
Tata - Osmanabad, Maharastra [36]   1 02011-07-01 July 1, 2011 Commissioned 1st Aug 2011
Abengoa - Gwal Pahari, Haryana[37]   3 02011-07-01 July 1, 2011 Commissioned September 2011
Chandraleela Power Energy - Narnaul, Haryana (EPC by Aryav Green Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) [38]   0.8 02011-07-01 July 1, 2011 To be Commissioned December 2011
Green Infra Solar Energy Limited - Rajkot, Gujarat [39][40][41]   10 02011-11-29 November 29, 2011 Commissioned November 2011
Total 182.1

[edit] Solar engineering training

The Australian government has awarded UNSW A$5.2 million to train next-generation solar energy engineers from Asia-Pacific nations, specifically India and China, as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP).[42] Certain programmes are designed to target for rural solar usage development.[43]

[edit] Future applications

[edit] Rural electrification

Lack of electricity infrastructure is one of the main hurdles in the development of rural India. India's grid system is considerably under-developed, with major sections of its populace still surviving off-grid. As of 2004 there are about 80,000 unelectrified villages in the country. Of these villages, 18,000 could not be electrified through extension of the conventional grid. A target for electrifying 5,000 such villages was set for the Tenth National Five Year Plan (2002–2007). As of 2004, more than 2,700 villages and hamlets had been electrified, mainly using solar photovoltaic systems.[5] Developments in cheap solar technology are considered as a potential alternative that allows an electricity infrastructure consisting of a network of local-grid clusters with distributed electricity generation.[8] It could allow bypassing (or at least relieving) the need to install expensive, lossy, long-distance, centralised power delivery systems and yet bring cheap electricity to the masses.

Projects currently planned include 3000 villages of Orissa, which will be lighted with solar power by 2014.[44][45][46][47]

[edit] Agricultural support

Solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water. The majority of the pumps are fitted with a 200–3,000 watt motor that are powered with 1,800 Wp PV array which can deliver about 140,000 liters of water per day from a total head of 10 meters. By 30 September, 2006, a total of 7,068 solar PV water pumping systems had been installed.[8]

Solar driers are used to dry harvests before storage.[48]

[edit] Solar water heaters

Bangalore has the largest deployment of rooftop solar water heaters in India. These heaters will generate an energy equivalent of 200 MW every day .[49]

Bangalore is also the first city in the country to put in place an incentive mechanism by providing a rebate (which has just been[when?] increased to INR50) on monthly electricity bills for residents using roof-top thermal systems. These systems are now mandatory for all new structures.

Pune, another city in the western part of India, has also recently made installation of solar water heaters in new buildings mandatory.[50]

[edit] Challenges and opportunities

Land is a scarce resource in India and per capita land availability is low. Dedication of land area for exclusive installation of solar arrays might have to compete with other necessities that require land. The amount of land required for utility-scale solar power plants—currently approximately 1 km2 for every 20–60 megawatts (MW) generated[8]—could pose a strain on India's available land resource. The architecture more suitable for most of India would be a highly-distributed set of individual rooftop power generation systems, all connected via a local grid.[8] However, erecting such an infrastructure, which does not enjoy the economies of scale possible in mass, utility-scale, solar panel deployment, needs the market price of solar technology deployment to substantially decline, so that it attracts the individual and average family size household consumer. That might be possible in the future, because PV is projected to continue its current cost reductions for the next decades and be able to compete with fossil fuel.[5]

Some noted think-tanks[5][51][52] recommend that India should adopt a policy of developing solar power as a dominant component of the renewable energy mix, since being a densely populated region[53] in the sunny tropical belt,[54][55] the subcontinent has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation[54] and therefore a big potential consumer base density.[5][56][57][58][59] In one of the analyzed scenarios,[52] India can make renewable resources such as solar the backbone of its economy by 2050, reining in its long-term carbon emissions without compromising its economic growth potential.

According to a 2011 report by GTM Research and Bridge, India is facing a perfect storm of factors that will drive solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption at a "furious pace over the next five years and beyond". The falling prices of PV panels, mostly from China but also from the U.S., has coincided with the growing cost of grid power in India. Government support and ample solar resources have also helped to increase solar adoption, but perhaps the biggest factor has been need. India, "as a growing economy with a surging middle class, is now facing a severe electricity deficit that often runs between 10 and 13 percent of daily need".[4]

[edit] Government support

The government of India is promoting the use of solar energy through various strategies. In the latest budget for 2010/11, the government has announced an allocation of INR10 billion (US$220 million) towards the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and the establishment of a clean energy fund. It is an increase of INR3.8 billion (US$83.6 million) from the previous budget. This new budget has also encouraged private solar companies by reducing customs duty on solar panels by 5% and exempting excise duty on solar photovoltaic panels. This is expected to reduce the cost of a roof-top solar panel installation by 15–20%. The budget also proposed a coal tax of US$1 per metric ton on domestic and imported coal used for power generation.[60] Additionally, the government has initiated a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)[61] scheme, which is designed to drive investment in low-carbon energy projects.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)provides 70 percent subsidy on the installation cost of a solar photovoltaic power plant in North-East states and 30 percentage subsidy on other regions. The detailed outlay of the National Solar Mission highlights various targets set by the government to increase solar energy in the country's energy portfolio.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ India to unveil 20GW solar target under climate plan, Reuters, 28 July 2009
  2. ^ "India’s national solar plan under debate". Pv-tech.org. http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/indias_national_solar_plan_under_debate/. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  3. ^ Nitin Sethi, TNN, 18 November 2009, 12.42am IST (18 November 2009). "1gw solar power in 2013". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-targets-1000mw-solar-power-in-2013/articleshow/5240907.cms. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  4. ^ a b Steve Leone (9 December 2011). "Report Projects Massive Solar Growth in India". Renewable Energy World. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/report-projects-massive-solar-growth-in-india?cmpid=SolarNL-Tuesday-December13-2011. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f Muneer, T.; Asif, M.; Munawwar, S. (2005). "Sustainable production of solar electricity with particular reference to the Indian economy". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 9 (5): 444. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2004.03.004.  edit (publication archived in ScienceDirect, needs subscription or access via university)]
  6. ^ "(look for heading: Solar Photovoltaics)". Renewing India. http://www.renewingindia.org/finren.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  7. ^ "Status of Solar Energy in INDIA – 2010". http://thesolarity.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/status-of-solar-energy-in-inida-2010/. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f Roul, Avilash (15 May 2007). "India's Solar Power: Greening India's Future Energy Demand". Ecoworld.com. http://www.ecoworld.com/products/electronics/indias-solar-power.html. Retrieved 2012-02-28. 
  9. ^ Estimated medium-term (2032) potential and cumulative achievements on Renewable energy as on 30-06.2007[dead link]
  10. ^ Chittaranjan Tembhekar (26 October 2009). "India tops with US in solar power". Economic Times. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/India-tops-with-US-in-solar-power/articleshow/5161932.cms. 
  11. ^ PV Resources.com (2009). World's largest photovoltaic power plants
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ http://www.mnre.gov.in/pdf/powerplants-241111.pdf
  14. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhav_Power_Private_Limited
  15. ^ http://www.madhavpower.com
  16. ^ "Reliance Power to Buy First Solar Panels for U.S.-Backed Project". Bloomberg (India). 5 September 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-05/reliance-power-to-buy-first-solar-panels-for-u-s-backed-project.html. 
  17. ^ "Adani Power to start two solar projects". The Wall Street Journal (India). 7 June 2011. http://www.livemint.com/2011/06/07001344/Adani-Power-to-start-two-solar.html. 
  18. ^ "Mahindra Solar Rajasthan unit on stream". The Hindu (India). 10 January 2012. http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2788249.ece. 
  19. ^ Jaishankar, C. (23 December 2010). "Solar farm launched in Sivaganga district". The Hindu (Chennai, India). http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article971279.ece. 
  20. ^ "Karnataka gets India's first 3 MW solar plant". Deccan Herald (Kolar, India). 17 June 2010. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/75926/indias-first-3-mw-solar.html. 
  21. ^ "Conergy deploys 3 MW solar PV power plant in India". renewableenergyfocus.com (Itnal, Belgaum District, Karnataka, India). 21 April 2010. http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/8897/conergy-deploys-3-mw-solar-pv-power-plant-in-india/. 
  22. ^ [2]
  23. ^ [3]
  24. ^ [4]
  25. ^ [5]
  26. ^ [6]
  27. ^ [7]
  28. ^ [8]
  29. ^ [9]
  30. ^ "World-Bank Backed Azure Starts Up Solar-Power Plant in India". Bloomberg. 8 June 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/world-bank-backed-azure-starts-up-solar-power-plant-in-india.html. 
  31. ^ Bay Area News Group, Sunday 1 January 2012; Sun-drenched India sucks up the rays, author=Vikas Bajaj
  32. ^ "Moser Baer May Start India's Largest Solar Plant in 3 Weeks". Bloomberg. 21 June 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-21/moser-baer-may-start-india-s-largest-solar-plant-within-3-weeks.html. 
  33. ^ "Tata BP Solar installs first plant in Tamil Nadu". The Times Of India. 8 July 2011. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/tata-bp-solar-installs-first-plant-in-tamil-nadu/articleshow/9152390.cms. 
  34. ^ [10]
  35. ^ "Tata BP Completes Solar Photovoltaic Plant in Eastern India". Bloomberg. 29 August 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-29/tata-bp-completes-solar-photovoltaic-plant-in-eastern-india.html/. 
  36. ^ http://www.tata.com/article.aspx?artid=pfG3q5JjhJU=
  37. ^ http://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-news/current/2011/kw39/abengoa-completes-indias-first-csp-plant-at-3-mw.html
  38. ^ http://www.aryavgreenenergy.com
  39. ^ http://www.mnre.gov.in/pdf/powerplants-241111.pdf
  40. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Infra_Limited
  41. ^ http://www.greeninfralimited.in
  42. ^ Australia to train solar engineers from developing countries[dead link]
  43. ^ Barefoot college solar programme[dead link]
  44. ^ "Solar power in 3,000 Orissa villages by 2014 [newkerala.com, The Netherlands, 84794]". Newkerala.com. http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-84794.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  45. ^ "The Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) was constituted as a State Nodal agency in the 1984". Oredaorissa.com. http://www.oredaorissa.com/admin.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  46. ^ by panchabhutha. "orissa « Panchabuta – Cleantech & Renewable Energy in India". Panchabuta.wordpress.com. http://panchabuta.wordpress.com/tag/orissa/. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  47. ^ "The Energy Business – India Energy News, Nuclear Energy News, Renewable Energy News, Oil & Gas Sector News, Power Sector News » Orissa approves nine solar power projects". Energybusiness.in. http://energybusiness.in/orissa-approves-nine-solar-power-projects/. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  48. ^ "Solar chilli drier". Informaworld.com. 1 September 2005. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a723775318~db=all. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  49. ^ "Solar Water Heater". Dnaindia.com. 28 November 2009. http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_live-life-off-the-grid-or-tap-the-sunshine-in-your-backyard_1317492. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  50. ^ Dipannita Das, TNN, 29 November 2009, 04.34am IST (29 November 2009). "More homes opt for solar energy". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/More-homes-opt-for-solar-energy/articleshow/5280270.cms. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  51. ^ Press release - 13 April 2007 (13 April 2007). "Energy (R)evolution: A sustainable Energy Outlook for India". Greenpeace.org. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/greenpeace-proposes-a-sustaina. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  52. ^ a b Press release - 9 April 2007 (9 April 2007). "Greenpeace announces comprehensive energy strategy for India to tackle Climate Change without compromising economic development". Greenpeace.org. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/greenpeace-announces-comprehen. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  53. ^ "NASA population density map". Visibleearth.nasa.gov. http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_detail.php?id=116. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  54. ^ a b "Energy-Atlas Solar radiation". http://www.meteonorm.com/media/maps_online/world_beam_8100_1.png. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  55. ^ "Regional and World Energy-Maps of Solar radiation". Meteonorm.com. http://www.meteonorm.com/pages/en/downloads/maps.php. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  56. ^ "Solar LEDs Brighten Rural India's Future". Treehugger.com. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/01/solar_leds_brig.php. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  57. ^ Dutt, Ram (5 September 2004). "Solar plan for Indian computers". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3623864.stm. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  58. ^ "Barefoot solar engineers". Worldchanging.com. 22 February 1999. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000954.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  59. ^ "Solar powered rickshaw". Speedace.info. http://www.speedace.info/solar_powered_rickshaw.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
  60. ^ SolaRishi[dead link]
  61. ^ http://mnre.gov.in/pdf/MNRE_REC_Report.pdf

[edit] External links
Wind
by region
Australia · Austria · Belgium · Brazil · Canada · China ·  · Croatia · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · India · Iran · Ireland · Italy · Japan · Malta  · Morocco  · New Zealand · Pakistan · Portugal · Romania · Serbia  · Spain · Sweden · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
Solar
by region
Australia · Canada · China · Germany · Greece · India · Israel · Italy · Japan · Morocco · Pakistan · Portugal · Romania · Spain · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
Geothermal
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solar_power_in_India&oldid=479337903"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export