Solar Energy Industry in India: Problem and Prospects

India, with a population of around 1.22 billion is in a condition of a perpetual energy shortage. If we talk about access to power then around 40% of the countrys population currently un-electrified. In the past years, India had a demand- supply gap of almost 12 % of the total energy demand. Everyone is in favor of supporting the most promising source of renewable energy that uses sunlight to generate thermal and electrical energy. But when we consider the fact that around 87-90 % of the Indias energy comes from coal, oil and gas so where does Solar fit into the comparison. Moreover, Solar, currently provide nearly 1 % of the Indias power requirements from renewable resources.

When we consider geographical location of India, which is near the Equator, makes India have an immense potential for generating solar energy. With 3,166,414 square kilometers land area and nearly 3000 hours of sunshine per year, Indias total solar power reception is around 4500-5000 trillion kWh of electricity annually. If India can generate over 1500-2000 billion units of solar energy annually, we can serve the annual power demand even in 2030. History of Solar energy in India is not new, India started Solar Photovoltaic program in the mid 70s but fallen short as compared to worlds progression in production of silicon mono-crystalline PV cells. However, India is way ahead of other countries in terms of solar energy production per watt installed, with an insulation of 1700 to 1900 kWh per kilowatt peak. The main actors in Solar PV are BHEL, Rajasthan Electricals and Instruments Ltd, Central Electronics Ltd, as well as private players like Tata BP solar.

In India, Gujarat has been a leader in generation of solar power and provides 2/3rd of 900 MW of PV in the country. The Gujarat Solar Park of 214 MW solar capacity is spread across a deserted band, making it bigger than China's 200 MW Golmud Solar Park. Also In Rajasthan, a 4000 MW Ultra Mega Green Solar Power Project is under construction near Smbhar Lake. It will become the worlds largest Solar Power Plant upon its completion. First phase of project is going to be complete by the end of 2016 with thousand MW capacity, and full project is expected to be completed in next 7-8 years.

When it comes to defining needs of Solar Power in India, one can segregate the driving factors and future growth in solar energy into two drivers; Demand side and Supply side. India experiences energy shortage with a demand-supply gap of 12% of total electricity. The Power Ministry also estimates electricity usage to surge from the current use of 660 kWh to around 1900 kWh by 2030. Some other factors like spreading awareness among public for issues like energy scarcity and environment preservation also fuel the demand for eco-friendly solar power. Even Government policy such JNNSM (also known as the National Solar Mission), aimed at encouraging ecologically sustainable progress and investment in the solar energy sector while tackling Indias energy security challenges. All these factors hint at magnificent opportunities for solar power production.

Now for Supply-side Growth Factors, we know India is greatly reliant on non-renewable natural reserves such as coal and diesel, which are depleting at a very fast rate. So Government and the power companies are now forced to look into renewable sources, particularly solar energy. The major factor driving the need for solar power is enormous demand for electricity in rural areas. Rural areas lack in connectivity to grid, but they are abundant in availability of sunlight throughout the year that makes them appropriate to focus on solar power.

If we consider problems associated with solar power generation, then list is exhaustive. The solar industry incurs high cost to generate power, and cost of electricity produced through solar grid is Rs 18.44 per unit as compared to Rs 5 to Rs 8 per unit of conventional thermal energy. This cost is because of dependence on imports for solar wafers used for manufacture of solar cells. Also

Solar power plants are considered to be the most capital intensive, which is another problem in setting up infrastructure for power plant. One more challenge is disparity in potential across different state in India for generation of solar energy. Another major problem is slow advancement in Research and Development in this sector because of less collaborative efforts from private and public sector. Currently, Solar power industry is facing many other challenges like lack of standards, government cooperation, and consumer awareness.

Government is trying to introduce new R&D scheme along with current systems to facilitate technological innovations for improving efficiency of energy system. Fast growth of solar energy Industry in India requires some implementation measures that can offset the high cost of electricity production. Solar power generation emits less amount of carbon dioxide as compared to electricity production from other sources such as coal. Solar energy Industry uses this reduction of emission in emission trading market as a source of income. Also from current Technology perspective, solar energy works at 15-20 % efficiency. Under this condition, large-scale on-grid application in areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat are more feasible as there is ample of unproductive land and high degree of irradiance.

Conclusion

Solar Power industry has tremendous potential in bridging up the energy demand-supply gap of India. There are numerous challenges to confront for Solar Power Industry, including investing in R & D, reducing cost of production, increasing awareness among consumers. It is imperative to overcome all the challenges for mass agreement of the technology and steadfast progress. A few innovative ways and efficient implementation of actions are required to encourage the confidence of the investors and financial institution in solar power sector. Mini grids can support areas those lack in connectivity today, and large-scale grids can be built in areas like Rajasthan and Gujarat. And to become one of the world leaders in Solar energy and to realize the dream of becoming a superpower, India has to be self-sufficient in its energy requirements.[Words: 1010]

Statista (2014). Total Population of India. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/. [Last Accessed 9 January 2015]

Government Of India Ministry of Power Central Electricity Authority (2014). Highlights of Power Sector. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/executive_rep/nov14.pdf . [Last Accessed 9 January 2015].

Britannica (2014). Facts about India. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India. [Last Accessed 9 january 2015].

Government of India Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (2013). solar. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mnre.gov.in/schemes/grid-connected/solar/. [Last Accessed 9 january 2015].

The Secretaries of Energy and GERC (4 nov 2011). Proposed Gujarat Solar Policy Tariffs for period 29th Jan 2012 to 31st March 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: e.g. http://www.microsoft.com. [Last Accessed 9 january 2015].

Chittaranjan Tembhekar (Oct 26, 2009). India tops with US in solar power. [ONLINE] Available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-10-26/news/28443220_1_solar-power-renewable-energy-india-ranks. [Last Accessed 9 january 2015]

Indianpowersector (2013). Jawaharlal Nehru national Solar mission targets 20,000MW by 2022. [ONLINE] Available at: http://indianpowersector.com/electricity-regulation/national-solar-mission/. [Last Accessed 9 January 2015].