Solar energy in India

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Rishirishi
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Rishirishi »

Even the Delhi metro would yield some electricity. It will also save energy on Air conditioning, by reducing he direct sunlight.


The top floor of any house gets very warm. Place such roof panels would reduce direct sunlight (which also dries out the roof and makes it leak.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

There is no technical barrier at present to 2 cents a kw. About a Rupee a kw. I think 2050 is very pessimistic. By 2025 we should be very close.

- Poly silicon price is set to decline by half to ~ $10,000/ton. With further declines in the works.
- Modules can decline to 30 cents/watt with present technology.
- India already has 6 cents/watt inverters.
- racking needs to be made cheaper.

Can India, which is uniquely energy starved, take advantage.

Solar at 2c/kWh? Not a matter of if, but when – and by whom

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/solar-2 ... tter-70307

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SanjayC
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by SanjayC »

Just got a 1.5 KW solar system installed at our two-bedroom farm house in Noida on the banks of the Yamuna river -- very happy with it. Cost about Rs 1.5 lakhs for the whole thing. The area has not been provided water or electricity connection by the Government, so people have installed solar pumps for water, solar panels for electricity and got a pit dug for the toilet, and become totally independent of the state. There are no monthly bills, no voltage fluctuations and there is assured 24 hr supply of clean power. The two batteries have to be changed every five years (cost a total of Rs 25,000 but there is a discount in exchange for old batteries).

The system runs a 32" inch TV, all lights and fans and even a halogen heater. The charging is very quick, even in winters. I foresee that in another 10 to 15 years, independent solar systems will start to be preferred by people instead of getting connected to the grid.
Last edited by SanjayC on 31 Jan 2014 22:54, edited 1 time in total.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

^^^

Thanx for posting that. This is increasingly true for India with its 300+ days of clear blue skies.
Already 1 kw solar systems are advertised in TN for Rs 75,000 - Rs 80,000. Not sure if it is subsidized or not.
Data indicates that in 10 years +/- the same 1 kw system will be available for Rs 30,000 +/-. And keep getting cheaper.
From my experience ALL the batteries provided are simple recycled truck/car batteries.
Supplier takes them and reconditions the battery and resells.

Met with an engineer from Neyveli who pointed out that extending a simple 1500 kva transformer to one village costs about 3 Crore per km.
At that price you can provide everyone in village with their own solar system. Zero electricity bills.
V_Raman
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by V_Raman »

What system would I need if one fridge needs to run as well in addition to lights and fans?
SanjayC
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by SanjayC »

V_Raman wrote:What system would I need if one fridge needs to run as well in addition to lights and fans?
1.5 kw is sufficient for a small or average household. With fridge and TV, I think 2 KW should be more than enough. The cost for a good system with imported components comes to Rs 1 lakh per KW. You can run anything in day time as the battery keeps getting charged simultaneously. It is only in night that you have to be a bit conservative. Despite that, 2 kw is more that sufficient power for a two bed room house to run anything you want even in night.
Last edited by SanjayC on 31 Jan 2014 22:56, edited 3 times in total.
SanjayC
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by SanjayC »

Theo_Fidel wrote:^^^

Thanx for posting that. This is increasingly true for India with its 300+ days of clear blue skies.
Already 1 kw solar systems are advertised in TN for Rs 75,000 - Rs 80,000. Not sure if it is subsidized or not.
Data indicates that in 10 years +/- the same 1 kw system will be available for Rs 30,000 +/-. And keep getting cheaper.
From my experience ALL the batteries provided are simple recycled truck/car batteries.
Supplier takes them and reconditions the battery and resells.

Met with an engineer from Neyveli who pointed out that extending a simple 1500 kva transformer to one village costs about 3 Crore per km.
At that price you can provide everyone in village with their own solar system. Zero electricity bills.
In my case, the batteries and inverter are imported from Germany. The panels are made by a company in Kolkata. They come with a 25 year life.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Rishirishi »

But what about running an AC unit? would that be approx 1,5kw each? For a family with 2 AC and other stuff, one would require 5KW. If the government tendered large contracts and sold it off online, it could probably be supplied for 350K. At an interest rate of 8% and 20 year depreciation, the monthly cost would be Rs 3800. Smaller system would only cost 1800 rupees. Everyone could install a set at home and India would have solved much of its electricity problem.

The question is, can it really be that easy? I guess one may have to double the capacity, as there is only 8 hours of sunlight per day.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

The Amp draw of a A/C system may be too much for a solar panel system. Might need a proper generator for that.

My dad has a 2 kw system connected to his microtek battery inverter. We were told max draw is only about 3 amps. It runs 3-4 tubelights + 2 fans + 1 tv. During sunshine hours it can run non-stop. During evening it runs on battery for 2 hours. Upto 6 hours on 1 fan. BTW the microtek system is bullet proof. zero maintenance for 5+ years now.

The majority of folks in TN at least will settle for 1 fan. BTW IIRC the average electricity consumption of an Indian is just 500 kw per year. This is the annual output of a single 250 watt solar panel. If you give everyone in India 2 solar panels 500 watts you will double electricity use!
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Rishirishi »

Theo_Fidel wrote:The Amp draw of a A/C system may be too much for a solar panel system. Might need a proper generator for that.

My dad has a 2 kw system connected to his microtek battery inverter. We were told max draw is only about 3 amps. It runs 3-4 tubelights + 2 fans + 1 tv. During sunshine hours it can run non-stop. During evening it runs on battery for 2 hours. Upto 6 hours on 1 fan. BTW the microtek system is bullet proof. zero maintenance for 5+ years now.

The majority of folks in TN at least will settle for 1 fan. BTW IIRC the average electricity consumption of an Indian is just 500 kw per year. This is the annual output of a single 250 watt solar panel. If you give everyone in India 2 solar panels 500 watts you will double electricity use!
The power consumption is not evenly distributed. You have the industry offices as the largest consumers. Next come the well to do, who own AC´s etc. Then comes the typical middle class. People in villages hardly use any electricity at all.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by saip »

The problem for AC and the fridge is not the power to run them but the surge needed to start them
Rishirishi
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Rishirishi »

saip wrote:The problem for AC and the fridge is not the power to run them but the surge needed to start them
would it be possible to make appliences that do not have this "surge" issue ? I am just trying to figure out when it will make economical sense to become self sufficient. It would be a great boost to the economy.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Yes. With Adiabatic coolers. Both A/C & Fridge. We had a long discussion on this a few pages ago.

In fact Adiabatic coolers can use hot fluid, now down to about 70C, to run the cooling loads. The hotter the sun the more efficiently it runs.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Yogesh »

SanjayC wrote:Just got a 1.5 KW solar system installed at our two-bedroom farm house in Noida on the banks of the Yamuna river -- very happy with it. Cost about Rs 1.5 lakhs for the whole thing. The area has not been provided water or electricity connection by the Government, so people have installed solar pumps for water, solar panels for electricity and got a pit dug for the toilet, and become totally independent of the state. <Snip> .

Though I have solar panel installed at my house for fan, tubes, and tv - all runs good. I am looking for solar water pump supplier but could not get through much success - could you be of some help ?
TIA
SanjayC
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by SanjayC »

Yogesh wrote:
SanjayC wrote:Just got a 1.5 KW solar system installed at our two-bedroom farm house in Noida on the banks of the Yamuna river -- very happy with it. Cost about Rs 1.5 lakhs for the whole thing. The area has not been provided water or electricity connection by the Government, so people have installed solar pumps for water, solar panels for electricity and got a pit dug for the toilet, and become totally independent of the state. <Snip> .

Though I have solar panel installed at my house for fan, tubes, and tv - all runs good. I am looking for solar water pump supplier but could not get through much success - could you be of some help ?
TIA
Sure. Send me your email id.
If you are looking for heavy duty stuff, see this: BSES introduces solar-powered water pumping system
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Yogesh »

Sanjay jee,
here you go- yogi 007 itb (@chacha mail) remove spaces- pls let me know once note down i'll edit the post.

My need is for agri land of @ 40-50 acres approx. any feedback on the how it works esp- in winters when ravi (wheat, in my case would be major crop) crop is to be sown . How deep ( from group level) can the system can pull the water? I know there are lot of brouchere figures but first hand experience is always more useful :)
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by disha »

Rishirishi wrote:India has a lot of hydro electric and could probably use a simmilar strategy. India is the 5th largest hydro electric producer in the world with a installed capacity of 35 000 MW. The identified potential is some 94 000 MW. Hence a solar, wind and hydro strategy is workable for India.
Hydro-electric and Thermal power plants are worse than Nuclear. Without a proper plan, HE should at best be avoided. Instead each town or large industrial cluster should have its own nuke complex. Basically the nuclear powerplants which drive the submarines (>80 MWe and <200 MWe) can be used to power towns and industrial clusters.

Each of the nuke complex should be contained within 2Km radius (and underground)., further any spare electricity should be used to churn out PVs or splitting water to produce hydrogen (which can be later used as fuel) or incinerating solid waste (my favourite) or waste-water treatment (another favourite).

NPCIL is already operating PHWR-220 types., the next stage should be thorium based.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Solar module costs are down to 48 cents/watt. Projected to drop to 42 cents/watt by 2015. Cost to be 30cents/watt by 2020 or 2025.

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Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Meanwhile…

Tamilnadu tells TANGEDCO to use Solar energy for 2% of its use. About 5 MU at present demand. That should start off about 800mw-100mw of capacity. Much of it was already bid at Rs5.86.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-1 ... ndate.html
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Also. This fight is about CDTE technology. It works better in hot climate, meaning India, so First Solar is reluctant to give it up. Most of first solar manufacturing is already in Malaysia. The solution is for First Solar to move a manufacturing plant to India. India should not back down.

U.S. launches new trade action against India over solar program
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/ ... W220140210
vishvak
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by vishvak »

Even more surprising is how USA has taken up trade action in solar energy field. After all renewable energy domain needs no such problems. There are enough problems in oil sector already.

Shouldn't we expect USA to make solar energy tech or such renewable energy tech open source.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Denis »

Hi, I want to get solar electricity (to the maximum extent possible) to run appliances at my home. I have recently purchased a 4 bedroom flat that is on the 22nd floor (top floor). Though I do not have access to roof, I can put panels in the balconies. Since the house is in raw stage now, it would be worthwhile to get any wiring etc done. Requesting knowledgable Gurus to guide me to vendor / sites hich can help me with the setup in Gurgaon.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Javee »

How big of a balcony do you have? In general a decent PV module will get about 250W. So you can roughly calculate the number of modules you will need to run all your appliances. AC's, refrigerators have special requirements, so you will need to check on that. Also never heard of having modules in a balcony, check your local building code on that.

Here is a list from TN State Govt, likewise check your respective state govt policy for rebates and installer addresses,
http://www.teda.in/pdf/manufacturer_list_new_2013.pdf
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Denis,

I can not recommend this.

Unless there is very little shading, the solar power output at the balcony won’t be enough to make it worthwhile. Solar is meant for South/West facing roof and net metering systems or completely off grid with battery, like Sanjay and Yogesh above. India does not have net metering so for residential loads it is expensive meaning you will never make your money back. Just to give you a reference point my 2 kw system in Chennai cut the electric use from 750kw /month to 600 kw/per month. So very marginal. And this is using 11+3 panels in a perfect south facing system on the terrace. If you want to do it as a hobby please go ahead but don’t expect the system to pay for itself. You will be disappointed with actual performance.

Can I highly recommend that you install a Solar hot water system on your balcony. There are some very cheap systems available for Rs25,000+. This will eliminate your hot water expense and save you a lot more money. Probably payback in 3-4 years. Also it is not electricity so cheap and easy to install.

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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by krishnan »

Sprawling across 3,500 acres in the Mojave desert near the California-Nevada border, the $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar thermal power plant has more than 300,000 mirrors that reflect sunlight onto boilers housed in the top of three towers, each of which is 150 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.
first time reading of such a tech
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

I'm not sure this VGF approach is good.

Phase-II of National Solar Mission gets good response

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/com ... 713993.ece
SEI and Azure Power bagged 100 MW of projects each, while ACME got nearly 80 MW of new capacities.

Other companies that bagged projects include Tata Power Renewable Energy (35 MW), IL&FS Energy Development (40 MW), Solairedirect Energy India (30 MW), Gujarat Power Corporation (10 MW), Hero Solar Energy (20 MW) and Today Homes and Infrastructure (40 MW). Among those who failed to bag any projects were Welspun Renewables Energy, Shapoorji Pallonji Solar and Renew Solar Power.

The latest bidding saw a good response for more than 120 projects from nearly 68 companies. Of these, five companies were disqualified on technical grounds and 63 were asked to submit price bids.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

More details.

Tariff of Rs5.50 per unit. Fixed for 25 years. No inflation adjustment.
total VGF of Rs 1,200 Crore.

List of winners.

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Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the executing body for JNNSM phase -2 under the aegis of ministry of new and renewable energy, had invited project developers to set up solar power projects under PPP mode with government support through viability gap funding (vgf) for a solar tariff of Rs 5.50 per unit.

The second leg of government's flagship program on solar power development received bids totalling 2,170 mw, triple the proposed requirement, from 53 companies including state ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 988114.cms
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by a_bharat »

There was a post above on roof over road for solar panel installations on highways. This will have a high cost in terms of roof construction. Here is an alternative approach -- installing panels on the surface of the road; can also light up the road surface at nights with LEDs.

Solar Roadways
Each interlocking hexagonal segment is covered with toughened and textured glass that's capable of withstanding 250,000 pounds. Beneath that, you've got a solar panel, a series of LED lights and a heating element that'll keep the ice and snow off the hardware in winter. The lights are used to replace conventional traffic lights, offering constantly updating safety warnings and guide lines that can adapt to traffic conditions on the fly.
krishnan
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by krishnan »

these thing will never work in india...
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Probably not today but standards are improving every year….
-----------------------------

The main problem with all these techniques is they are competing with straight up solar installations which are most cost effective meaning energy efficient. There is so much unused roof and poramboke land lying around that we will never run out of space to install straight forward panel installations. There was a study recently that showed the just 2%-3% of TN land/area is enough to install the equivalent of 200,000 MW of solar electric capacity! It is even less for bigger states.
-------------------
Meanwhile

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-1 ... ducts.html
India has found U.S., Chinese, Taiwanese and Malaysian solar-equipment makers dumped products in the local market, according to a document sent to parties involved and obtained by Bloomberg News.

The dumping caused “material injury” to domestic manufacturers Indosolar Ltd. (ISLR), Websol Energy System Ltd. (WESL) and Jupiter Solar Power Ltd., according to a document dated today and signed by D.P. Mohapatra, a director in India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Mohapatra didn’t respond to two e-mails and four phone calls seeking comment.

The ministry estimated that more than 20 companies sold equipment in India at as little as less than half the regular price in their home markets, according to the document. Parties involved have until May 16 to respond to the ministry’s findings, according to the document.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by krishnan »

problem is you need clean surroundings , you dont wants dirt and sand to scratch the surface , not to forget the spitting
Lalmohan
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Lalmohan »

the way to think of solar is as augmentation and not replacement. you can reduce bills with solar, but not eliminate them. i think best useage is for lighting and hot water. heavy duty like pumping and a/c is more difficult

(richer) people in rural areas should also consider (under) ground water heat exchangers, although apart from the mountains, may not be very economical in india
amitvora
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by amitvora »

Has anyone looked at this article? Would this not be perfect for Dry Indian conditions (specifically in Kutch, Gujarat Area)?

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/07/sola ... rgy-tower/
vasu raya
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by vasu raya »

Wind, Solar Energy to Get Big Push Under Modi-Led NDA
NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government is likely to harness solar power and give a fillip to development of offshore wind energy so as to provide electricity to every household in the near future, industry officials said today.

Modi will be country's first energy literate Prime Minister and expanding clean power generation will be his administration's top energy-related priority, especially solar and wind energy, because it has the potential to create jobs and supply power to millions of scattered households not connected to the grid.

About 400 million people in India lack access to electricity, more than the combined population of the US and Canada.

Industry officials said the NDA government may come out with a separate offshore wind energy policy and allow companies to initially set up offshore wind farms up to 12 Nautical Miles from Coast as part of its overall plan to achieve energy security and bring down carbon emission.

The new government is also expected to reinstate accelerated depreciation for investments into wind energy projects and accord priority sector lending for the entire renewable energy segment to give a fillip to non-conventional energy resources.

Tulsi Tanti, Chairman Suzlon Group, said, "We believe the BJP-led government will provide an environment conducive for growth and investments, with major reforms in the infrastructure and renewable energy sector. This is important as India's economic environment will act as a catalyst in reviving the global economy." {Would like to see DRDO step in with composites and Blade design and a turbine, hopefully they consider A&N island chain too}

Suzlon has already announced plans to enter offshore wind power generation in India in a big way. It has already successfully set up a number of offshore wind generation units globally with Germany's Alpha Ventus Project 60 kms from shore.

"Renewable energy is the only long-term sustainable solution and an answer to issues around global warming. Within this, the solar power specifically can address rural electrification challenge.

"Two key factors are cost effectiveness and maximising deployment -– policy changes supporting land acquisition, ease of finance and long-term PPAs would boost the renewable energy sector," said Sameer Gupta, Managing Director, Jakson Group.

The BJP's election manifesto promises a 'comprehensive energy policy' to harness oil, gas, hydro, ocean, wind, solar, coal and nuclear energy.

In Gujarat, where Narendar Modi was chief minister for 12 years, political appointees were ejected from state ventures and power utilities and made the companies autonomous and professionally run, helping them turn profitable.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

100,000 MW of Solar. Now that's a useful target. Go NM....

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed ... 67280.aspx
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek US technology and investments for setting up 100,000 MW each of solar and wind energy generation capacity in India over the next 10 years, according to official documents in HT’s possession.

This is expected to be part of the Prime Minister’s agenda during his US visit starting September 27 and forms an important part of his plan to provide 24x7 power across the country within five years.

The average price of setting up 1 MW of solar or wind power is about Rs. 7 crore. At this price, the initiative will need an investment of Rs. 4 lakh crore at current prices. The initiative can also generate up to 670,000 jobs in the country.

India’s total installed capacity across thermal, hydel, wind, solar and nuclear power currently stands at 250,000 MW. Of this, only about 140,000 MW is actually available because of coal and gas shortages and sub-optimal capacity utilisation.

The government wants the public sector NTPC and Coal India Ltd (CIL) to implement this mega initiative as they have strong balance sheets and also the experience of rolling out mega projects. NTPC has cash reserves of Rs. 16,000 crore and CIL has reserves of Rs. 57,000 crore.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by alexis »

A practical way to utilise solar energy for public use is to install solar panels on top of each streetlight for uits own use. I have always wondered why this has not taken off in a big way in cities like Delhi and Mumbai where the municipal corporations are cash rich.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by chaanakya »

Battery and accesories get stolen fast. can't keep watch all the time. Though it does solve a lot of problems.
Yagnasri

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Yagnasri »

e20 car of Mahendra is being offered with a 1Kv solar panel. Free power for car but bit costly car and only 80Km per charge.
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Re: Solar energy in India

Post by RamaY »

I am against huge solar farms taking up thousands of acres of land. That land should go back to forests.

Instead GoI should focus on making sure that every pucca house has 2-5KW solar panels. We have about 200million households (Avg 50% are pucca = 100m houses). This can be done using 2 models

1/ House owner pays for the (subsidized?) installation & will receive 4Rs/KWH electricity added to Grid.
2/ House owner allows the private corp to set them up on his house in return for 1Rs/KWH generated.

This will ensure the goal of 100K MW capacity is reached without any need for land acquisition.

Just to put things perspective, each MW solar farm requires 7Acrs land. 100k MW solar farms will require 700,000 acres. This is neither economic nor eco-friendly.
Yagnasri

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Yagnasri »

I agree. Rural areas wherein houses have more space for solar panels. In fact all the national highways and also the Gov buildings rural roads etc can be used for this purpose. For example all the stairs of Turupathi temple in the 7 Hills have top covered by slab. We can put Panels there also. There are several solutions which do not involved any land extra than already in use. Solar panels in fact solve lot of problems in rural areas. There can be a mobile Solar panel - I saw one on internet - 1kv unit being taken on a cycle. Such things can provide power for farms and fields and with almost entire day power supply. Only problems will be the solar power can not be helped for night requirements and some cheap and innovative solutions are needed for to store power.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Solar energy in India

Post by Theo_Fidel »

While distributed production has its place it cannot be the entire package. I don’t know the situation today but even back in the 1980’s 60% of power in TN went to industries. With all the new factories one of my relatives said Chennai factories alone require 2,500MW of dedicated 24/7 capacity. This power has to come from 1000 MW type farms.

We absolutely need the 1000 MW farms as well. There is plenty of waste non-forest land in India. Just TN has ~ 10 Million acres of un-usable scrub/marginal crop land. KA/TG/Vidharbha have many millions more. This is just in the south. Under no circumstance should we touch our forests and there is no need to either. The thing to look at with solar is that it is a type of crop. It has yield year round and has low input costs once established. It requires little to no water, no fertilizer, no pesticide, etc and farmers can crop low growing produce under the panels if they are up to it. 5 acres of land with 1 MW of installed capacity will produce ~ 2000 MW of electricity ‘crop’ per year. The farmer can sell on the market at R 5,000 per MW. So 2,000x5,000 = Rs 1 Crore per Annum. /5 acres = Rs 20 lakhs per annum per acre. There is no crop, even basmati or Teak farm or coconut farm that can compete with this sort of yields. The only fly in this ointment is that upfront cost. ~ 5 Crore per MW. So investment of Rs 1 Crore per acre gets you an yield of Rs 20 lakhs per acre for 25+ years.

Most studies show we can do up to 30% of our power straight from solar right now.( http://www.bridgetoindia.com/blog/india ... -upgrades/) Without any storage. With storage we can increase the penetration. So for a state like TN with a projected capacity need of 20,000 MW in 2030+- we can provide about 6,000 MW with solar. Considering capacity factor of 20% solar vs 80% for coal, roughly 24,000 MW of installed capacity. If 4,000 MW can be distributed on roof tops, 20,000 MWx5 = 100,000 acres. Just Ramanathapuram district has 1.2 million acres of land. So covering 10% of Ramanathapuram district will essentially cover TN's entire solar need till 2035 or so. Since it is solar houses, farms, business can live right up next to the solar farm. No need for high security, shoot on sight, 1000 ton coal trains, fights with tribals, etc. Well maybe a random security type to do the rounds and chase off the crows. Consider that TN already has ~12,000 MW of capacity. So all future capacity can be Solar to about 2030 or so gradually increasing in the mix to 30%+-. with an odd small coal plant thrown in occasionally.

Commercial solar farms are extraordinarily cheaper to build in India now as well. They have dropped under $1 per watt, installed vs the world average of ~ $1.4 / watt. This is our competitive advantage. Typically rooftop/distributed solar power still runs at ~$2-$2.5 per watt. So this 24,000 MW of solar will cost ~ $24 Billion in investment. Most other power sources need heavy upfront investment as well. For instance a COAL UMPP using scrubbers and SC technology is running in the $1.5-$2.5 Billion per 1,000 MW of capacity once the cost of rail/ports/pollution/evictions are factored in. Add to that the cost of coal ~ 3 million tonnes per annum, which at present international prices ~$75-$100 per ton makes it ~ $300 million per year. To do the same 30% with coal would require ~8,000 MWx2 = $16 Billion + coal import cost 300x8 = $2.5 Billion (year 1) x25 = $62.5 Billion (cumulative year 25). Nuclear is 3-4 times more expensive, at least the newer plants.

http://www.statensolar.com/dollarbreak.html
Solar EPC Price Drops Below $1/Wp In India
January 2014

And that is all inclusive turn-key price - components, installation, taxes and duties, shipping, insurance and the rest. Complete system - in the ground producing power from the limitless (well, almost) source of energy.
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