Features of Solar energy in India

India is both densely populated and has high solar(APP). Certain programmes are designed to target
insulation, providing an ideal combination for solarfor rural solar usage development.
energy in India. Much of the country does notApplications:
have an electrical grid, so one of the firstRural electrification:
applications of solar energy has been for waterLack of electricity infrastructure is one of the
pumping, to begin replacing India's four to fivemain hurdles in the development of rural India.
million diesel powered water pumps, eachIndia's grid system is considerably
consuming about 3.5 kilowatts, and off-grid lighting.under-developed, with major sections of its
Some large projects have been proposed, and apopulace still surviving off-grid. As of 2004 there
35,000 km² area of the Thar Desert has beenare about 80,000 unelectrified villages in the
set aside for solar power projects, sufficient tocountry. Of these villages, 18,000 could not be
generate 700 to 2,100 gigawatts.electrified through extension of the conventional
In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan togrid. A target for electrifying 5,000 such villages
produce 20 GW of solar power by 2020. Underwas fixed for the Tenth National Five Year Plan
the plan, solar-powered equipment and applications(2002–2007). As on 2004, more than 2,700
would be mandatory in all government buildingsvillages and hamlets had been electrified mainly
including hospitals and hotels.using SPV systems. Developments on cheap solar
18 November 2009, it was reported that India istechnology are considered as a potential
ready to launch its Solar Mission under the Nationalalternative that allows an electricity infrastructure
Action Plan on Climate Change, with plans tocomprising of a network of local-grid clusters with
generate 1,000 mw of power by 2013.distributed electricity generation. That could allow
Annual insulation:bypassing, or at least relieving the need of
With about 300 clear sunny days in a year, India'sinstalling expensive, and loss, long-distance
theoretical solar power reception, just on its landcentralized power delivery systems and yet bring
area is about 5 PWh/year. The daily average solarcheap electricity to the masses.
energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7Agricultural support:
kWh/m2 with about 2,300–3,200 sunshineSolar Water Pumping System:
hours per year, depending upon location. This isSolar water pumping systems are used for
far more than current total energy consumption.irrigation and drinking water. The majority of the
For example, even assuming 10% conversionpumps are fitted with a 200–3,000 watt
efficiency for PV modules, it will still be thousandmotor that are powered with 1,800 Wp PV
times greater than the likely electricity demand inarrays which can deliver about 140,000 liters of
India by the year 2015.water/day from a total head of 10 meters. By 30
Present Status:September, 2006, a total of 7,068 solar water
Installed capacity:pumping systems have been installed.
The amount of solar energy produced in India isHarvest processing:
merely 0.4% compared to other energySolar driers are used to dry harvests before
resources. The Grid-interactive solar power as ofstorage.
June 2007 was merely 2.12 MW.Cooling:
Government-funded solar energy in India onlyAnother e.g. is the cost of energy expended on
accounted for approximately 6.4 megawatt-yearstemperature control — a factor squarely
of power as of 2005. However, as of Octoberinfluencing regional energy intensity. With cooling
2009, India is currently ranked number one alongload demands being roughly in phase with the
with the United States in terms of potential solarsun's intensity, cooling from intense solar radiation
power generation capacity.could be an attractive energy-economic option in
Still unaffordable:the subcontinent.
Solar energy is currently prohibitive due to highChallenges and Constraints:
initial costs of deployment. To spawn a thrivingLand scarcity:
solar market, the technology needs to bePer ca-pita land availability is a scarce resource in
competitively cheaper — i.e. attaining costIndia. Dedication of land area for exclusive
parity with fossil or nuclear energy. India is heavilyinstallation of solar cells might have to compete
dependent on coal and foreign oil — awith other necessities that require land. The
phenomenon likely to continue until non-fossil /amount of land required for utility-scale solar
renewable energy technology becomespower plants — currently approximately 1
economically viable in the country. The cost ofkm² for every 20–60 megawatts (MW)
production ranges from Rs 15 to Rs 30 per unitgenerated — could pose a strain on India's
compared to around Rs 2 to Rs 6 per unit foravailable land resource. The architecture more
conventional thermal energy.suitable for most of India would be a highly
Government policy:distributed, individual rooftop power generation
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energysystems, all connected via a local grid. However,
(MNRE) have initiated schemes and incentiveserecting such an infrastructure — which doesn't
— like subsidy, soft loan, concessional duty onenjoy the economies of scale possible in mass
raw material imports, excise duty exemption onutility-scale solar panel deployment — needs
certain devices/systems etc. — to in Europethe market price of solar technology deployment
and East Asia.to substantially decline so that it attracts the
Thar Desert:individual and average family size household
In 1996 Amoco/Enron Solar Power Developmentconsumer. That might be possible in the future,
planned to build a 50 MW solar photovoltaic plantsince PV is projected to continue its current cost
in the Thar Desert near Jaisalmer in Rajasthanreductions for the next decades and be able to
state. Two other projects were proposed, one acompete with fossil fuel.
50 MW photovoltaics plant and the other a 200Slow progress:
MW solar chimney. None of these have beenWhile the world has progressed substantially in
completed. The Rajasthan government, however,production of basic silicon mono-crystalline
has set aside a 35,000 km² area of the Tharphotovoltaic cells, India has fallen short to achieve
desert for solar power. Astonfield Rajasthan Solarthe worldwide momentum. India is now in 7th
Pvt Ltd, promoted by Astonfield Group ofplace worldwide in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cell
Companies has started developing the first solarproduction and 9th place in Solar Thermal
PV project in Rajasthan, which will beSystems with nations like Japan, Europe, China,
commissioned by early 2010.and the US currently ranked far ahead. Globally,
PV manufacture in India:solar is the fastest growing source of energy
Current PV manufacturing in India includes:(though from a very small base) with an annual
• Titan Energy Systems Ltd, Hyderabadaverage growth of 35%, as seen during the past
• SHARP (JAPAN). BP-Tata joint venture.few years.
•  Moser-Baer signed up for a thin film Si plantLatent potential:
provided by Applied Materials. Solar SemiconductorThink-Tanks have recommended that India should
Pvt in Hyderabad, AP. Green Brilliance Pvt. Ltd.adopt a policy of developing solar power as a
•  ICOMM TELE Limiteddominant component of the renewable energy
• Waaree Energies Ltd. Surat, Gujarat, Indiamix, since being a densely populated region in the
• KCK Energy Systemssunny tropical belt; the subcontinent has the ideal
• Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Jalgaon,combination of both high solar isolation and a big
Maharashtrapotential consumer base density. In one of the
Solar engineering training:scenarios, India could not only rein its long-term
The Australian government has awarded UNSWcarbon emissions, but do so without compromising
A$5.2 million to train next-generation solar energyon its economic growth potential, with renewable
engineers from Asia-Pacific nations, specificallyresources like solar becoming the backbone of
India and China, as part of the Asia-PacificIndia’s economy by 2050.
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate