Tapping the sun - the next frontier for Solar India

Abdul Sarkar was worried after he retired as headmaster of a village school in India\’s eastern West Bengal state. How would he read? His home had no electricity. So this resident of Mousuni village on the edge of the famed mangrove forests of Sundarbans bought a solar panel for about $220 that would light two bulbs for five hours every evening.

India\’s ambitious solar energy mission plans to ensure millions of people have the same option as Sarkar did.

The big goal of the mission, launched at the beginning of 2010 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under the brand name Solar India, is to generate 20,000 MW from the sun by 2022, a hundredfold increase over the next 12 years. This makes it the world\’s biggest solar energy project.

Though the mission plans to help develop only 2,000 MW through solar power by 2022 outside the main electricity grid, this will be sformational in places like Mousuni village, where due to prohibitive costs the grid may not be extended in the foreseeable future. Through these 2,000 MW, the mission plans to bring solar lighting to 20 million rural homes across India.

Solar energy can transform India in so many ways. As the prime minister said at the launch, it could be the country\’s next scientific and technological frontier after the atomic energy, space and information technology revolutions.

The mission\’s success \”has the potential of transforming India\’s energy prospects, and contributing also to national as well as global efforts to combat climate change\”, he pointed out.

The target of building 20,000 MW of solar generating capacity by 2022 was \”no doubt ambitious\”, Manmohan Singh admitted, \”but I do sincerely believe that the target is doable and that we should work single-mindedly to achieve it as a priority national endeavour\”.

With its abundant sunshine for most of the year, India is in a particularly advantageous position to develop solar power. The country gets about 5,000 trillion kWh per year over its land area with most parts receiving 4-7 kWh per sq m per day.

The big problem with rapid rollout of solar power is its high cost compared to other sources of power such as coal. Current industry estimates say it will cost Rs.17.50 to produce a unit of solar power, well over double the cost of production through coal.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the nodal ministry for Solar India, says the objective of the mission \”is to create conditions, through rapid scale-up of capacity and technological innovation, to drive down costs towards grid parity\”.

\”The mission anticipates achieving grid parity by 2022 and parity with coal-based thermal power by 2030,\” says MNRE\’s mission document.

The economics of solar power looks better as the price of electricity generated from other sources goes up. Price of electricity traded internally has already touched Rs.7 per unit for base loads and around Rs.8.50 per unit during peak periods.

This will go up further as the country moves towards imported coal to meet its energy demand. The price of power will have to factor in the availability of coal in international markets and the cost of developing import infrastructure. It is also evident that as the cost of environmental degradation is factored into the mining of coal, as it must, the price of this raw material will increase.

With energy shortages biting harder, India is increasing the use of diesel-based electricity, which is both expensive - costs as high as Rs.15 per unit - and polluting. It is in this situation the solar imperative is both urgent and feasible to enable the country to meet long-term energy needs.

The mission will adopt a three-phase approach, spanning the remaining periodof the 11th Plan and first year of the 12th Plan (up to 2012-13) as Phase 1, the remaining four years of the 12th Plan (2013-17) as Phase 2 and the 13th Plan (2017-22) as Phase 3.

The MNRE says the first phase will focus on capturing the easy options in solar thermal; on promoting off-grid systems to serve populations without access to commercial energy and modest capacity addition in grid-based systems. In the second phase, after taking into account the experience of the initial years, capacity will be aggressively ramped up to create conditions for up scaled and competitive solar energy penetration in the country.

The mission targets include ramping up capacity of grid-connected solar power generation to 1,000 MW by 2013; and then an additional 3,000 MW by 2017 through the mandatory use of the renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff.

\”The ambitious target for 2022 of 20,000 MW or more will be dependent on the learning of the first two phases, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power,\” says the mission document.

The authorities will make solar heaters mandatory by changing building by-laws, and ensure the introduction of effective mechanisms for certification and rating of manufacturers of solar thermal applications.

The mission will facilitate promotion of these individual devices through local agencies and power utilities, and support the upgrading of technologies and manufacturing capacities through soft loans.

As the prime minister put it, \”technological innovation will be a key factor in ensuring the success of this mission\”.

\”We will need to find ways of reducing the space intensity of current solar applications, including through the use of nano-technology. Cost-effective and convenient storage of solar energy beyond daylight hours will be critical to its emergence as a mainstream source of power. In the meantime, we may need to explore hybrid solutions, combining solar power generation with gas, biomass or even coal-based power,\” he said.

Indian industry will obviously have to play a key role in ensuring the success of the mission, and for this it should set up \”solar valleys\” across the country along the lines of the \”silicon valleys\” that have been set up, according to the prime minister.

\”These valleys will become hubs for solar science, solar engineering and solar research, fabrication and manufacturing. I urge Indian industry to see the national solar mission as the huge business opportunity that it is going to be.\”

In an ancient civilisation like India, the sun has always been worshipped as the god who bestows life and sustains it. As Manmohan Singh said: \”It is to this source of energy that humankind must turn to meet the twin challenge of energy security and climate change.\”