Harnessing Energy From The Sun

Solar energy has almost doubled its total installed capacity over the last one year and the pace of growth is set to increase further, with gigawatts of solar capacity being tendered by the government... - Sneha Shah

India is making rapid strides in the renewable energy space, as part of its global climate change commitments. The country has pledged to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022, out of which approximately 100 GW will be from solar power installations alone. Given its clean nature and increasing affordability, solar energy is gradually gaining popularity around the globe. With millions of its citizens still living in darkness, India needs to increase its electricity generating capacity substantially. Not only is solar energy green, but is also becoming one of the cheapest energy options.

Indian solar energy landscape

Solar energy has almost doubled its total installed capacity over the last one year and the pace of growth is set to increase further, with gigawatts of solar capacity being tendered by the government. Not only are the local players benefiting from the growth of solar in the country, but many large foreign players are also eyeing this as an excellent opportunity to expand their footprint in India. Solar energy has become highly competitive, with solar prices ranging between around INR 4.5-5.5 per unit these days. This makes it much cheaper than gas based power and almost equal to imported coal power. With storage costs expected to fall in the future, it will be possible for people to become completely independent of the power grid in the near future.

Total installed capacity has already touched more than 8 GW in India. The leading Indian states are Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat which have already installed more than 1 GW of solar power as of today.

Strong support from the Central government has paved the way for solar to succeed in India. The government increased the subsidy levels for rooftop solar to promote the same. Solar water pumps and solar lights are also increasingly being used in the country especially in remote areas, with no grid connectivity. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong commitment of India’s green credentials in the Paris summit and has been instrumental in forming the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

States with installations >500 MW (orange)
States with installations between 100 MW-500 MW (blue)
States with installations <100 MW (green)

Key components of a solar PV system

A typical solar system consists of solar panels or modules, inverter and balance of system like wires, cabling, mounting structures, junction boxes etc. A typical solar system could be a rooftop solar system or a ground mounted solar system. The latter is more prevalent in India. The growth in solar rooftop market has been slow and tedious due to the dependence of local distribution utilities and lack of financing and awareness. However, the country has set a lofty target of achieving 40,000 MW of solar rooftop capacity by 2022 and has also announced large subsidies for the same.

When sunlight falls on silicon based solar panels, electricity is generated. However, since the electricity generation is DC (direct current), an inverter is required to convert the DC into AC (alternating current), on which most of our home appliances run. The extra power generated can be stored in batteries for use later (during the night, when the sun is not around). This way our homes or commercial establishments can run on solar power either exclusively or partially.

Different solar products in India

Not only is solar energy competing with the mainstream sources of power like coal in India, different solar products are also gaining traction. Solar powered lights, water pumps, toys, inverters, ACs, cookers etc. are being increasingly used in the nation. Solar water pumps and lights are the two most popular solar products being prevalent in the rural parts of India, owing to the intermittent supply of power there. These solar powered products have not only made the lives of the villagers easier, but also improved their lifestyle as they do not have to depend on kerosene lights and diesel generators.

The Union Ministry of MNRE released a draft policy on micro and mini grids that will run on renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy. India is planning to set up 10,000 such projects, with average capacity of 50 kW each, to help the rural population in India.

Why do we need solar in India – comparing solar tariffs?

Solar power tariffs are gradually declining with each passing day, and has even started to reach grid parity in various places around the globe. In India too, some states are fast approaching this status. Solar tariffs have become competitive with the industrial and commercial tariffs across various states in India like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat etc. In Maharashtra, the industrial, commercial and domestic power tariffs are infact higher than the solar tariffs during 2015-16 itself.

The costs are declining and efficiencies are improving, leading to a large scale adoption of solar worldwide. Solar modules which are the integral part comprising a solar system today cost just ~39 cents/ watt in India.

Rooftop solar in India

With India facing severe power problem and rising electricity tariffs, saving in power bills is one of the major attractions in installing these rooftops. India has one of the highest irradiation levels in the world, when compared to other countries. Rooftop solar has tremendous potential in India because of its massive advantages like low gestation period and reduced electricity bills. It also solves the problem of land scarcity and transmission issues in India.

Rooftop Solar in India…

Benefits of rooftop solar

  1. No delays in permitting, environment clearance, and land citing – Large solar farms have to go through a myriad of regulations and clearances. There have been instances of lawsuits by wildlife and environmental groups against solar thermal and solar PV plants in California. This problem is non-existent in case of a rooftop installation. Free area of your home’s rooftop can be easily utilised for installing a rooftop.
    2. Electricity transmission costs – Grid connection leads to additional costs for solar farms, while rooftop solar can use existing transmission infrastructure.
    3. More grid stability – A large part of distributed solar is consumed locally, while farms supply 100% to the grid. That makes managing the grid difficult when solar penetration increases. A rooftop installation leads to a more balanced grid.

A rooftop system can be self-owned or third party owned, financed either through 100% equity or a combination of debt and equity. If it is self-owned, an individual can claim benefits of metering (net or gross) policies, or can enter into solar PPA/ leasing with the third party. In India solar leasing is not popular, generally finance is through equity and debt.
 Customer owned – This is the oldest type of rooftop installation, wherein the customer is the owner and installs the system with his own equity or debt. The power generated is used for self-consumption and excess can be fed to the grid. The customer may use the entire power generated (captive/ off grid), feed all energy generated to the grid (gross feed) or use a part of power generated and supply the extra power to the grid (Net metering).
 3rd Party owned – In this type of rooftop installation, third parties install these systems on the rooftops of its customers, either through solar leasing or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The customer foregoes high capital investment for lease payments to these installers, who are the owners of this system installation.
• Integrated with utility – In the third type, utilities will install solar system on the rooftop of the customers and the power generated is fed to the grid.

Solar parks in India

India has some of the largest solar power plants (known as solar farms) worldwide. Solar parks are becoming popular in India because they address the land acquisition problem, which is a major issue in the country. Other advantages include lower operational expenses, faster and easier clearances and shared development costs. The government plans to increase its target from solar parks from 20 GW to 40 GW, out of the 60 GW capacity allocated for grid connected solar power plants.

  1. Charanka Solar Park– is the first and the largest solar park built in Gujarat, India under the leadership of the now PM of India. It has a planned capacity of 500 MW.
    2. Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh India – The upcoming 750 MW solar park in Madhya Pradesh, India has been developed as a joint venture between SECI and MPUVNL. This will be the world’s largest solar park. This plant will be funded by a massive loan from World Bank. Once the project is completed by early 2017, it will be 3 times bigger than India’s solar park at Charanka, Gujarat. The power costs from this plant are set to establish new benchmarks for solar power in India, with tariff of Rs 5.5 /kWh only. The power will be sold to different states with MP getting 40% of the power.
    3. Ultra Mega Green Solar Power Project in Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan India – A 4000 MW solar farm spanning across 23,000 acres of land, is being planned to be built in the sambhar Lake district of Rajasthan, India. ~1000 MW are expected to be constructed by the end of 2016 and the entire project is expected to be completed in 7 years. This project will be set up and run by a JV between five public sector units in India.

Charanka Solar Park…

Major domestic players in the Indian solar market

  1. Tata Power Solar– Backed by the Tata Group in India, the company is engaged in manufacturing and EPC services. Tata Solar is trying to increase solar awareness in the remote parts of India. The company has commissioned 175 MW of EPC projects, 43 MW of solar rooftop projects, and exported 600 MW of modules till date.
    ii. Su-Kam – is the largest solar inverter manufacturer in India. It is India’s largest power solutions company. Su-Kam also has presence in the residential EPC market in India. The company has a global presence in more than 70 countries. Su-Kam was the first sine-wave inverter manufacturer and has launched hybrid solar inverter that is perfect for every home.
    iii. Vikram Solar – Vikram Solar is a manufacturer of PV solar modules. It also has a manufacturing plant producing polycrystalline modules that are available in six series under the name Eldora.
    iv. Waaree Solar – The company is one of the biggest manufacturers of solar panels in India with a manufacturing unit at Surat. The company has an experience with solar thermal and EPC utility grid projects.

Challenges facing the Indian solar industry

Despite a rising demand for solar, India does not have a robust manufacturing industry, with the country totally lacking in production of the key raw materials of polysilicon and solar wafers. The country remains completely dependent on imports for these crucial raw materials. The solar energy sector also faces issues in scaling, due to an absence of adequate transmission facilities. The poor health of distribution utilities may also lead to challenges in growth of the sector in India as there might be payment issues. Land acquisition and lack of skilled manpower are also minor issues which may hurt the growth.

Though India has made grand plans like “Make in India” and “Ease of doing business” for encouraging foreign solar companies to set up business in India, the country still needs to provide land, utilities and clearances fast and at a cheap cost. India operates in an opaque manner with no one knowing what the subsidy is and how to get it. Countries like Malaysia on the other hand provide fast approvals and easy access to land and utilities, giving subsidies, which are streamlined and easily understandable.


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