SOLAR POWER IN INDIA – ENVIRONMENT
News: India
plans to export solar power: official
What's in the news?
● By
2026, Indian industry will be able to manufacture solar modules worth 100
gigawatts (GW) annually, and help the country be a net exporter of solar power.
● This
would significantly aid India’s target
of installing 500 GW of electricity
capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
Key takeaways:
● Countries
can produce solar modules annually that can generate 100 GW and become a net
exporter of power.
● High customs duty on
Chinese components, land acquisition challenges hamper switch to non-fossil sources.
● The
future phase of India’s renewable energy development will be led by hybrid projects and renewable energy parks that will host
solar and wind projects along with battery storage systems.
Solar Energy in India:
● Solar
power as a source of renewable energy has gained new impetus owing to the threats of climate change and depletion of
fossil fuels, in this respect.
● Location of industry
is dependent on many factors such as latitude, those areas lying in the
tropical regions such as in India, south east Asia, parts of Africa have more
insolation hence greater potential for solar power generation.
Solar Power Status in India:
● India
was to have installed 175 GW of renewable
energy - from solar, wind, biomass and small hydropower sources by December
2022 but has only installed 122 GW.
● Of
this, solar power was to have been
100 GW though only 62 GW has been
installed.
● A
key bottleneck has been the cost of solar modules (or panels). While India has
traditionally relied on China-made components such as poly-silicon wafers,
necessary to make modules, higher customs duty on them (to make equivalent
India-manufactured components more competitive) has shrunk supply.
Reasons for India’s Solar Energy Push:
● To
ensure energy security as India’s
energy demands are largely fulfilled by non-renewable sources of energy.
● To
ensure environmental sustainability
as solar energy is clean form of energy resource.
● There
is an abundance of free solar energy in almost all parts of country as India is
a tropical country.
● It
can help India to be self-reliant in the
energy sector.
● It
can promote green energy in rural area which is crucial for
agri-business in farms for running irrigation, green-houses, and crop and hay
dryers, making agriculture risk free.
Potential of Solar Energy:
1. A limitless source of energy:
● Unlike
conventional sources of energy like fossil fuels, solar energy is limitless.
● Solar
power is inexhaustible. In an energy deficient country like India, where power
generation is costly, solar energy is the best alternate means of power
generation.
2. Clean source of energy:
● Solar
energy is a non-polluting source of energy.
● Solar
energy is environmentally friendly. When in use, it does not release CO2 and other
gases which pollute the air. Hence it is very suitable for India, India being
one of the most polluted countries of the world.
3. No fuel required:
● Solar
energy is itself the fuel. Once installed, solar energy becomes a cheap source
of sustainable energy in the long run.
4. Combats Climate Change:
● Solar
power can restrict climate change as it produces no carbon emissions.
5. Small and Decentralized Electricity Source:
● Electricity
can be generated using photo - voltaic cells installed on roof - tops of individual
buildings.
6. Green energy in rural area:
● This
is crucial for agri-business in farms for running irrigation, greenhouses, and
crop and hay dryers, making agriculture risk-free.
7. Cheap and Reliable Energy Source:
● The
price of solar PV panels have decreased by 60% and the cost of the solar
electricity system by 50%.
8. Employment Generation:
● It
provides employment opportunities such as small businesses engaged in
installations, followed by solar designers, sales person and service
professionals.
Challenges:
1. Lack of Domestic Manufacturing of Solar Parts:
● The
domestic manufacturing industry of solar PV cells and modules is severely
lacking in India due to the lack of infrastructure, skilled workforce and high
cost of production.
2. Space Scarcity:
● One
of the major solar energy challenges in India is the scarcity of land to
install large-scale ground-mount solar systems, solving which scope for greater
R&D and innovation could be increased tenfold in terms of installation.
3. Financing Mechanism:
● The
absence of innovative financing options for installing large-scale solar PV
parks is another big part of solar energy challenges in India that could offer
higher sums at lower interest with longer durations.
● However,
some government initiatives like National Clean Energy and Environment Fund,
Green Masala Bonds, etc., have slightly resolved this issue.
4. Low Tariffs:
● Since
the Indian government enforces one of the lowest solar tariffs, it makes the
prospect of purchasing solar parts unsustainable for some developers which
further leads to compromise in the quality of solar panels.
5. Waste Management:
● India’s
solar waste has been predicted to grow by 1.8 million tonnes by 2050.
Currently, India’s e-waste rules are not mandatory on solar cell manufacturers
which leads to a large generation of solar waste every year.
6. Evacuation of power:
● Many
regions in some states don’t have a required power grid. It is responsible for
very high Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses.
● There
is no set up for exclusive transmission lines for evacuating energy from
renewable energy sources.
7. Environmental concerns:
● Recently
a capacity in Rajasthan was stalled after it was found that 40% of the land
allotted was part of a lake which would get submerged when the water level
rises during monsoon.
● That
could have also resulted in a major ecological issue, as that lake is the
second largest breeding ground for flamingos in India.
Government Initiatives:
1. 'One Sun One World One Grid’ (OSOWOG) is
an initiative proposed by India to set up a framework for facilitating global
cooperation which aims at building a global ecosystem of interconnected
renewable energy resources that can be easily shared.
2.
Solar mini-grids project by the
Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to take renewable energy to remote
areas It also aims to promote universal energy access by 2025 and reduce
electricity costs and tariffs.
3.
National Solar Mission, a major
initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote
ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security
challenge.
4.
The Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency (IREDA) is a Non-Banking Financial Institution Under the
administrative control of MNRE for providing term loans for renewable energy
and energy efficiency projects.
5.
National Institute of Solar Energy,
an autonomous institution under MNRE which is the apex body for R&D.
6.
Establishment of solar parks and ultra
major solar power projects and enhancing grid connectivity infrastructure.
7.
The Central Government has announced the Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan
Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme, which
aims to increase solar electricity output in India while also providing farmers
with the benefits of solar farming.
8.
The International Solar Alliance was
developed in 2015 as a joint effort by India and France during the United
Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties' 21st session with the goal of promoting
solar energy in member nations and mobilising over $1 trillion in funding for
solar energy installations at a low cost.
9.
The National Solar Mission's goal is
to make India a global leader in solar energy by establishing the policy
circumstances that will allow it to spread as swiftly as possible across the
country with the aim of developing 1,00,000 MW by 2022.
10.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched a rooftop solar programme and is expected to generate a total
capacity of 40,000 MW by 2022.
11.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy adopted the National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy intended to reduce renewable
power generation unpredictability and improve grid stability.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Use of waste lands -
Based on the assumption that 3% of wasteland in each state can be used for
solar power projects.
2. Promoting decentralized plants
- To promote the usage of rooftop solar power and other solar appliances
schemes should be introduced, based on the existing schemes for LED
distributions.
3. Manufacturing
- The production of flat glass and its raw materials must expand to eliminate
supply constraints or future imports
4. Hybrid solar plants
- Solar panels can be located in the space between the towers of wind - power
plants. This type of plants are already setup in Himalayan regions this can be
extended to other terrains.
5. Financing mechanisms
- Ministry of finance should come up with innovative financing measures to
promote these capital - intensive renewable energy projects. Financing measures
such as clean energy fund, generation based incentive linked loan repayment and
green bonds are some of those.
6. Infrastructure
- To support growing renewable energy, the expansion of transmission
infrastructure, for both intra and inter-state should be strengthened.
7. Domestic content requirement
- It should be carefully assessed to ensure that domestic content requirement
does not hinder the growth of solar capacity.
8. R&D
- Investment in R&D programmes, as well as human resource development is
necessary in addition to local content requirements
9. Institutional strengthening
- Strengthen the institutional structure to facilitate effective flow of
central financial assistance. It is also important to strengthen institutional
structure to monitor implementation of Government policies and programmes.
10. Capacity building
- The government also needs to ensure that India’s distribution companies have
the capacity to continue to purchase renewable electricity, especially if bid
prices level off or rise.