SOLAR POWER

Conversion of renewable energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination.

HOW IS SOLAR POWER GENERATED

Photovoltaic electricity

• Solar panels are attached to an aluminium mounting system. Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made up of at least 2 semi-conductor layers – a positive charge, and a negative charge.
• As a PV cell exposed to sunlight, photons are reflected, pass right through, or absorbed by the solar cell. When enough photons are absorbed by the negative layer of the photovoltaic cell, electrons are freed from the negative semiconductor material. These freed electrons migrate to the positive layer creating a voltage differential.
• When the two layers are connected to an external load, the electrons flow through the circuit creating electricity.
• The power generated is direct current (DC), which is converted to alternate current (AC) with the use of inverters.

Solar-Thermal electricity

• It utilizes focused sunlight and converts it into high-temperature heat. That heat is then channeled through a conventional generator to produce electricity.
• Solar collectors capture and concentrate sunlight to heat a fluid which in turn generates electricity. There are several variations in the shape of the collectors. The most commonly used are parabolic troughs.
• A parabolic trough power plant use a curved, mirrored trough which reflects the direct solar radiation onto a glass tube containing a fluid and the fluid gets heated owing to the concentrated solar radiation and the hot steam generated is used to rotate the turbine to generate electricity. Commonly used fluids are synthetic oil, molten salt, and pressurized steam.
• The power generated is the direct current (DC) which is converted to alternate current (AC) with the use of inverters.

SOLAR POWER IN INDIA

• India lying in tropical belt has an advantage of receiving peak solar radiation for 300 days, amounting 2300-3,000 hours of sunshine equivalent to above 5,000 trillion kWh.
• India’s current installed solar power capacity, according to Central electricity authority, is 26025.97 MW which is 34% of total renewable energy sources i.e, 75055.92 MW till February 2019.
• India facing problems in fulfilling its energy demand, solar energy can play an important role in providing energy security.
• Debate of global warming and climate change is compelling the world to move from fossil based energy towards clean and green energy.
• With its pollution free nature, virtually inexhaustible supply and global distribution, solar energy is very attractive energy resource.
• India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC’s) commitment include 100 GW of solar power out of 175 GW renewable energy by 2022.
• Even as India continues down this impressive journey, there are some areas of concern to highlight. First, of the 50 GW installed solar capacity, an overwhelming 42 GW comes from ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and only 6.48 GW comes from roof top solar (RTS); and 1.48 GW from off-grid solar PV.

WHY IS INDIA FALLING SHORT IN ROOF-TOP SOLAR INSTALLATIONS?

• Limited financing for residential consumers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• Lukewarm responses from electricity distribution companies (DISCOMS) to supporting net metering
• Governments, utilities, and banks will need to explore innovative financial mechanisms that bring down the cost of loans and reduce the risk of investment for lenders
• Increased awareness, and affordable finance for RTS projects could potentially ensure the spread of RTS
• Aggregating roof spaces could also help reduce overall costs of RTS installations and enable developing economies of scale.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO INDIA’S SOLAR POWER CAPACITY ADDITION?

Despite significant growth in the installed solar capacity, the contribution of solar energy to the country’s power generation has not grown at the same pace. In 2019-20, for instance, solar power contributed only 3.6% (50 billion units) of India’s total power generation of 1390 BU.

The utility-scale solar PV sector continues to face challenges like land costs, high T&D losses and other inefficiencies, and grid integration challenges. There have also been conflicts with local communities and biodiversity protection norms. Also, while India has achieved record low tariffs for solar power generation in the utility-scale segment, this has not translated into cheaper power for end-consumers.

WHAT’S THE STATE OF INDIA’S DOMESTIC SOLAR MODULE MANUFACTURING CAPACITY?

• Domestic manufacturing capacities in the solar sector do not match up to the present potential demand for solar power in the country
• Crisil’s report on the subject highlights that as on March 31, 2021, India had 3 GW capacity for solar cell production and 8 GW for solar panel production capacity. Moreover, backward integration in the solar value chain is absent as India has no capacity for manufacturing solar wafers and polysilicon
• In 2021-22, India imported nearly $76.62 billion worth solar cells and modules from China alone, accounting for 78.6% of India’s total imports that year.
• Low manufacturing capacities, coupled with cheaper imports from China have rendered Indian products uncompetitive in the domestic market. This situation can, however, be corrected if India embraces a circular economy model for solar systems. This would allow solar PV waste to be recycled and reused in the solar PV supply chain
• By the end of 2030, India will likely produce nearly 34,600 metric tonnes of solar PV waste. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that the global value of recoverable materials from solar PV waste could exceed $15 billion.
• India could look at developing appropriate guidelines around Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which means holding manufacturers accountable for the entire life cycle of solar PV products and creating standards for waste recycling. This could give domestic manufacturers a competitive edge and go a long way in addressing waste management and supply side constraints.

WHAT ARE THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM INDIA’S SOLAR STORY?

India has grown from strength to strength in overcoming barriers to achieve the 50 GW milestone in Feb 2022. The destination is clear, and the journey is progressing. As India attempts to deal with some of the shortcomings identified above, India’s solar story will continue to provide important lessons for other developing countries that are looking to transition to clean energy.

In addition to an impressive domestic track record, through the International Solar Alliance (ISA) established by India and France at COP-21 in 2015, there is a global platform to bring countries together to facilitate collaboration on issues such as mobilising investments, capacity building, program support and advocacy and analytics on solar energy. Technology sharing and finance could also become important aspects of ISA in the future, allowing a meaningful cooperation between countries in the solar energy sector.