SOLAR POWER STATUS IN INDIA – ENVIRONMENT
News: An
energy conundrum: On India betting big on solar power
What's in the news?
● At
the core of India’s energy transformation is its bet on solar power.
● Based
on a commitment to address the global climate crisis, India has promised to source nearly half its energy from non-fossil
fuel sources by 2030 and, in the shorter term, source at least 60% of its
renewable energy from solar power.
Key takeaways:
● However,
a disclosure in Parliament by the Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy
suggests that India faces a significant headwind in this quest.
● A
key central policy to source solar power is facilitating the establishment of large solar parks as
the small solar power projects usually translate to higher per-unit production
costs.
● In
2014, the Centre announced the ‘Solar
Parks and Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects’ policy to facilitate the
creation of large parks.
● The
initial plan was to set up 25 parks capable of generating at least 20,000 MW by
2019. In 2017, the Government scaled
this to 61 parks with a target of 40,000 MW.
● However,
as of 2022, that only a fourth of the capacity has been achieved, that is,
projects worth 10,000 MW have been commissioned. Four projects have been
canceled, by the Centre’s own admission, due to tardy progress.
● Challenges:
○ Acquiring
land with a clear title.
○ Setting
up the infrastructure necessary to transmit power produced at these parks to
the grid.
○ Environmental
issues in Rajasthan and Gujarat, where projects have been halted because their
transmission lines encroach upon the habitat of the critically endangered Great
Indian Bustard.
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.
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
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 programs, 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 programs.
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.