SOLAR ENERGY IN INDIA OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS KRISHNA KUMAR BRANDENBURG TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
About India It is a country in South Asia. It is the seventhlargest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, The Indian economy is the world's tenth-largest India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories
Indian Power Sector The electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of 207.85 Gigawatt (GW) as of September 2012. Captive power plants generate an additional 31.5 GW. Thermal power plants constitute 66% of the installed capacity, hydroelectric about 19% and rest being a combination of wind, biomass,solar and nuclear
Indian Power Sector Challenges Country of 600,000 villages 1/3 rd of which doesn t have access to grid Nearly 600 million Indians do not have access to electricity grid Peak deficit of 12% and Energy Deficit of 11% One third of power generated is lost before getting utilized (30% AT&C Losses) High use of Fossil Fuel for Generation, extensive use of diesel for back up and captive power units, kerosene lamps Per Capita Energy consumption of 704 kwh
Renewable Power Capacity Renewable energy accounts for approximately 12% of a total 200 GW of power generation capacity installed in India. Demand for power in India has been increasing due to the rising population, growing economy, and changing lifestyles.
Solar Insolation in India India is endowed with rich solar energy resource since it is located in the equatorial sun belt of the earth. Theoretically India s solar power reception is about 5000 trillion kwh/year with about 300 clear sunny days in a year. The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 kwh/m2 with about 2,300 3,200 sunshine hours per year, depending upon location.
The daily average global radiation is around 5 Kwh/m2 in north - eastern and hilly areas to about 7 Kwh/m2 in Western regions and cold desert areas. The annual global radiation varies from 1600 to 2200 kwh/m2, which is comparable with radiation received in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.
The amount of solar energy produced in India in 2007 was less than 1% of the total energy demand. The grid-interactive solar power as of December 2010 was merely 10 MW. Government-funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 MW as of 2005. 25.1 MW was added in 2010 and 468.3 MW in 2011. By July 2012 the installed grid connected photovoltaics had increased to 1040.67 MW, and India expects to install an additional 10,000 MW by 2017, and a total of 20,000 MW by 2022.
GUJARAT-SOLAR CAPITAL OF INDIA First state in India to set up a Climate Change Department and launch a comprehensive solar policy in 2009 to address growing environmental concerns Leader in solar power generation: Contributes 2/3rd of thè total 1040 MW power generated in thè country First State in India to achieve thè mandatory requirement of energy generated from renewable resources under Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO)
Gujarat Solar Park It is the name used for a group of solar parks being constructed in Gujarat, India. Certificates of completion were issued on April 19, 2012, for a total of 605 MW, which included some sections that were already operational, and 695.4 MW had been completed by November 1, 2012. One is the Charanka Solar Park, a group of 17 thinfilm photovoltaic (PV) power systems, on a 2,000- hectare (4,900-acre) site in the district of Patan 600 MW of solar panels will save around 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere and save around 900,000 tonnes of coal and natural gas per year.
With a view to make Gandhinagar a solar city, the State government has launched a roof-top solar power generation scheme. Under this scheme, the State plans to generate five megawatt of solar power by putting solar panels on about 50 state government buildings and on 500 private buildings. The State plans to generate solar power by putting solar panels on the Narmada canal branches. As a part of this scheme, the State has already commissioned a one megawatt solar plant on a branch of the Narmada Canal.
Asia s Largest Solar Park Location of Charanka Solar Park Solar farm information: Type Flat-panel PV Land area2,000 ha (4,900 acres) Installed capacity214 MW Maximum capacity500 MWAs of 19 April 2012 The largest site within the Gujarat Solar Park is being built on a 2,000-hectare (4,900-acre) plot of land near Charanka village in Patan district, northern Gujarat. This hosts about 17 different projects by different developers. On 19 April 2012, a total of 214 megawatts had been commissioned.it also became the world's largest photovoltaic power station. When fully built out, the Charanka Solar Park will host 500 MW of solar power systems using state-of-the-art thin film technology, and should be finished by the end of 2014.The investment cost for the Charanka solar park amounts to some US$280 million.
Canal Solar Power Project The pilot project has been developed on a 750-m stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network. Energy, water security The pilot project will generate 1.6GWh of clean energy per annum and also prevent evaporation of 9 million litres of water annually from the canal. The cost of per megawatt of solar power, in this case, is likely to be much less than the estimated Rs 10-11 million, as the two banks of the canal will be used to cover the canal by installing solar power panel and the government will not have to spend much on creating basic infrastructure, including land acquisition.
Canal Solar Power Today, Gujarat has about 458 km of open Main Canal, while the total canal length, including sub-branches, is about 19,000 km at present. When completed, the SSNNL's canal network will be about 85,000 km long. Assuming a utilisation of only 10 per cent of the existing canal network of 19,000 km, it is estimated that 2,200 MW of solar power generating capacity can be installed by covering the canals with solar panels. This also implies that 11,000 acres of land can be potentially conserved along with about 20000 million litres of water saved per annum.
Solar scenario in other States Solar power in Rajasthan Next to Gujarat, Rajasthan is India's sunniest state, and many solar projects have been proposed. The 40 MW photovoltaic Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park was completed in April 2012. A 250 MW compact linear fresnel reflector (CLFR) plant is under construction, consisting of two 125 MW sections. Solar power in Maharastra The Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust has world's largest solar steam system. It was constructed at the Shirdi shrine at an estimated cost of Rs.1.33 crore, The system is used to cook 50,000 meals per day for pilgrims visiting the shrine, resulting in annual savings of 100,000 kg of cooking gas The project to install and commission the system was completed in seven months and the system has a design life of 25 years
Solar scenario in other states Solar Power in Karnataka Bangalore in Karnataka has the largest deployment of rooftop solar water heaters in India. These heaters generate an energy equivalent of 200 MW. Bangalore is also the first city in the country to put in place an incentive mechanism by providing a rebate of 50 Rs on monthly electricity bills for residents using roof-top thermal systems.these systems are now mandatory for all new structures. Solar Power in Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu has recently unveiled its new Solar Energy Policy which aims at increasing the installed solar capacity from the current approximate of 20 MW to over 3000 MW by 2015. The policy aims at fixing a 6% solar energy requirement on industries and residential buildings for which incentives in the form of tax rebates and current tariff rebates of up to Rs.1 / unit will be applicable to those who comply with the Solar Energy Policy. The policy also gives an option to those industries/buildings who do not want to install rooftop solar photo-voltaic systems to invest in the government's policy and be given the same incentives
Solar Cities Striding toward the goal of becoming the topmost player in the renewables industry to sustain economic development, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India formulated the scheme for development of solar cities last year. The solar city program is deemed to be the most powerful and effective way of implementing energy sustainability in culturally diverse communities across India because of the involvement of each and every stakeholder in a community. 60 cities in India have been proposed for solar cities program out of which 48 cities have been approved. 31 cities have received in-principle approval for planning and master plans for 11 cities have been drafted and solar cells are being set up.
Thar Desert Project Thar Desert in Rajasthan is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent Area: 200,000 km2 Solar Intensity: approx 6 kwh/m2/day Sun Availability: 345-355 days in a year Rains occur only for 10-20 days in a year 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.
Floating Solar Power Plants The first floating solar power plant in India to be developed as a pilot project by Tata Power in association with Australian solar power company Sunengy Pty Limited is likely to be established in one of the lakes near Pune,Maharashtra. Liquid Solar Array (LSA) technology, invented by Phil Conor, executive director of Sunengy, is used for floating solar energy plant. The LSA uses traditional concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology a lens and a small area of solar cells that tracks the sun throughout the day, like a sunflower. Floating the LSA on water reduces the need for expensive supporting structures to protect if from high winds. The lenses submerge in bad weather and the water also cools the cells which increases their efficiency and lifespan. LSA effectively turns a dam into a very large battery. It needs no heavy materials or huge land acquisition.
Floating Solar Power Plant
Issues of concern. The first and the foremost challenge is the cost of installation of grid connected solar PV and thermal power plants currently ten times the installation cost of coal-based power plants. Adding to the cost are T&D losses that at approximately 40 percent that make generation through solar energy sources highly unfeasible. Funding of initiatives like JNNSM is a constraint given India's inadequate financing capabilities. Manufacturers are mostly focused on export markets that buy Solar PV cells and modules at higher prices thereby increasing their profits. Many new suppliers have tie-ups with foreign players in Europe and United States thereby prioritizing export demand
Conclusion India s solar energy holds great promise. India must accelerate its investment in Renewable Energy resources, specifically solar and wind energy. This can lay the foundation for an energy independent future one in which the Government of India takes advantage of the vast amounts of energy available from its own backyard to power its future energy needs. In addition, solar energy would not only create millions of jobs, but also sustain India s positive economic growth, help lift its massive population out of poverty and combat climate change.