Entrepreneurship Development

Program in Solar Energy

by Mrinal Roy (Soleltherm Technik OPC Pvt Ltd)

Why Produce Electricity from Solar Resource?

Abundantly available: India has on an average more than

300 days with abundant sunshine in a year.

Freely available: No cost of raw material to produce

electricity.

Sustainable: Sunlight is going to illuminate earth for

atleast next 2.5 billion years. So continuity of source.

Eco-friendly: Pollution free process to generate electricity.

 How is electricity produced using sunlight?
Visible wavelength of sunlight has capability to make
electrons flow in certain type of material (semi-
conductors).
This phenomenon is called photoelectric effect and
these photoelectric materials in the form of solar cells
are used for electricity generation in Solar PV plants.
The electricity produced in this way is Direct Current
(DC) and proper electrical arrangement is made to
convert this to usable form (AC) in our households.
A electricity generating plant by sunlight is designed in
such a way to produce uniform voltage to our household
in spite of varying sunlight in day time.
 Solar Energy is an Electro Magnetic Radiation
Radiation emanated from the sun at a temperature of 50000K
Magnetic Wave travels a distance of 1.5x108 km
The Sun subtends an angle of 31 (~0.520) at an observer with on the earth
Amount of peak solar energy at the top of atmosphere is 1.367kW/m2 and this is termed as Solar
Constant.
Energy decreases as it passes through the atmosphere reaching approx. 1kW/m2 at sea level.
Nominal accepted value at field : 0.8kW/m2
Solar Radiation on Different Planets

Only Visible spectrum of Solar

radiation is responsible for
Photoelectricity i.e. PV Electricity
Generation.
 INSOLATION PARAMETERS
Amount of solar power available per unit area is called Irradiance. [SI unit : Watt/
m2 ]
Irradiation is the total quantity of radiant energy per unit area received over a given
period (daily/monthly/annually). [SI unit of energy : Joule(J) ;or Megajoule (MJ)]
Conversion Factor of Solar Energy (MJ) to Irradiation (kWh) is: 1kWh = 3.6MJ

PEAK SUN HOUR (PSH)

Daily Irradiation is commonly referred as Peak Sun Hour (PSH)
No. of PSH for the day is the no. of hours for which power @ 1kW/m2
would give an equivalent amount of energy to the total energy gained
for that day.
AVAILABLE SOLAR RESOURCE WORLDWIDE

Location Average High Low

Spain 1812 2250 1365
Solar Radiation in India
is comparable / better
Nevada 2168 2448 1836
than world solar
California 2155 2474 1588
resource distribution
Australia 1600 2200 1000

India 2100 2500 1700

kWh/m2/year
INDIA SOLAR MAP
TRENDS IN SOLAR PV COST OF INPUTS

PV Module Cost ~30%

Inverter Cost ~33%
TRENDS IN SOLAR ELECTRICITY PRICING

Cost of conventional electricity YoY @6%

Input Cost for Solar PV plants YoY >20%
GLOBAL vis-a-vis INDIAN CONTEXT IN SOLAR PV
COUNTRYWISE SOLAR PV INSTALLED CAPACITY by 2030
 FACTS ON INDIAN ELECTRICITY TO RECKON
India is the 5th largest producer of electricity in the world.
India, home to 18% of the worlds population, uses only 6% of the worlds primary energy. Indias
energy consumption has almost doubled since 2000 and the potential for further rapid growth is
enormous.
Total installed capacity as on June-2016 is 303GW.
Renewables (Solar & Wind) constitutes 42GW.
Renewables produced 65BU against a target of 70BU out of total units of 1100BU.
Electricity demand is likely to reach 315-355GW by 2016-17 & 217 GW by 2021-22.
Renewable power planned to constitute 30% of the total installed capacity by 2021-22.
India is facing a coal power bubble that will have serious impacts on existing plant operators as well
as the banking/investment sectors.
An industry-wide average PLF of 64% represents Rs 4.6 lac crore, or nearly $70 billion in foregone
earnings across the sector.
The 61.7 GW of idle coal based plants represents a stranded capital of approximately 3,20,000 Crore
rupees (49 billion USD).
Additionally, there are 178 GW of coal power plants that are in varying stages of approvals. Even if
one third of this capacity gets commissioned (around 58 GW), an additional 3,00,000 crore rupees
($45 billion) of capital expenditure would be at risk as all of these plants would lie idle, or
alternatively 58 GW of existing plants would have to be shut down as compensation.
People without access to electricity by state in India, 2013
FEATURES OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION
FEATURES OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION
FEATURES OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION
FEATURES OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION
 NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION
Revision of cumulative targets under National Solar Mission from 20,000 MW by 2021-22 to 1,00,000 MW:

1. On 15-Jun-2015, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, stepped up
Indias solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five
times, reaching 1,00,000 MW by 2022.

2. It comprises of 40 GW Rooftop and 60 GW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power
Projects.

3. The total investment in setting up 100 GW will be around Rs. 6,00,000 cr.

4. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) intends to achieve the target of 1,00,000 MW with
targets under the three schemes of 19,200 MW.

5. Apart from this, solar power projects with investment of about Rs. 90,000 crore would be developed
using Bundling mechanism with thermal power.

6. The Government of India may also approach bilateral and international donors as also the Green
Climate Fund for achieving this target.

7. The new solar target of 100 GW is expected to abate over 170 million tonnes of CO2 over its life cycle.
This Solar Scale-up Plan has a target of 40 GW through Decentralized Solar Power Generation in the
form of Grid Connected Rooftop Projects. While Decentralized Generation will stabilise the grid, it will
minimise investment on power evacuation.
 NODAL AGENCIES OF GOVT. OF INDIA

MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of
India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy. The broad aim of the Ministry is to
develop and deploy new and renewable energy for supplementing the energy requirements of
the country.

IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency)

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.

SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India)

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), New Delhi is registered under Section 25 of Companies Act,
1956, as a Company not for profit, under the administrative control of the Ministry of New &
Renewable Energy (MNRE).

SECI is engaged in planning and executing an integrated programme on development and deployment
of solar energy technologies to achieve commercialization.

NISE (National Institute of Solar Energy)

National Institute of Solar Energy (NIWE), an autonomous institution of Ministry of New and
Renewable (MNRE), is the apex National R&D institution in the field Solar Energy.
 RATING OF AGENCIES/CHANNEL PARTNERS
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is one of the eight National Missions
launched by the Government of India as part of the Indias National Action Plan on Climate
Change.

To scale up the said program and increase participation of capable entities as well as reduce
transaction time, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has envisaged an
alternative route wherein channel partners can directly submit their project proposals to
MNRE.

In order to ensure that only capable and well-meaning channel partners are allowed through
this new route, the mission has envisaged that such entities get an accreditation by reputed
rating agencies for submission of projects directly to MNRE.

This publicly available and highly credible benchmarking exercise can act as a powerful tool
for effective promotion of best-practices in this sector.

It will also ensure optimum and effective use of the subsidies, resulting in an increase in the
number of off-grid solar projects. This will also function as a tool to monitor performance
capability over time, incentivize efficient players and at the same time penalize weaker
performance.

The grading will also enable the channel partners to showcase their capability in executing
projects to various other stakeholders like lenders, customer, suppliers and community groups.
 Ratings of Grade
The grading is done on a 5x3 matrix (5x3). This matrix will assess the entity on two broad
parameters; performance capability and financial strength.

Validity of Grading
The grading will be valid for a period of two years for entities with the highest performance capability
(graded 1A/1B/1C); for all other entities the grading will be valid for a period of one year, to offer them
an opportunity to move up the grading scale.
 KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESS OF NATIONAL SOLAR
MISSION ON SOLAR ENERGY
Cost and T&D Losses: Solar PV is some years away from true cost competitiveness and from being able to
compete on the same scale as other energy generation technologies. Adding to the cost are T&D losses
that at approximately 40 percent make generation through solar energy sources highly unfeasible.
However, the government is supporting R&D activities by establishing research centers and funding such
initiatives. The government has tied up with world-renowned universities to bring down the installation
cost of solar power sources and is focusing on upgradation of substations and T&D lines to reduce T&D
losses.

Land Scarcity: Per capita land availability is very low in India, and land is a scarce resource. Dedication
of land area near substations for exclusive installation of solar cells might have to compete with other
necessities that require land.

Project Funding: Funding of initiatives like National Solar Mission is a constraint given India's inadequate
financing capabilities. The finance ministry has explicitly raised concerns about funding an ambitious
scheme like NSM.

Lucrative Export Market: Manufacturers are mostly focused on export markets that buy Solar PV cells
and modules at higher prices thereby increasing their profits. Many new suppliers have tie-ups with
foreign players in Europe and United States thereby prioritizing export demand. This could result in
reduced supplies for the fast-growing local market.

Industry-Government Cooperation: The lack of closer industry-government cooperation for the

technology to achieve scale.

continued to next slide

.continued from previous slide..
KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESS OF NATIONAL SOLAR
MISSION ON SOLAR ENERGY
Financing Infrastructure: The need for a better financing infrastructure, models and arrangements to
spur the PV industry and consumption of PV products.

Skilled Manpower: Training and development of human resources to drive industry growth and PV
adoption

Intra-Industry Cooperation: Need for intra-industry cooperation in expanding the PV supply chain, in
technical information sharing through conferences and workshops, in collaborating with BOS (balance of
systems) manufacturers and in gathering and publishing accurate market data, trends and projections

Consumer Awareness: The need to build consumer awareness about the technology, its economics and
right usage

Simplification of Subsidy Structure: Complexity of subsidy structure & involvement of too many
agencies like MNRE, IREDA, SNA, electricity board and electricity regulatory commission makes the
development of solar PV projects difficult.

PPA Signing Time Frame: Land allotment & PPA signing is a long procedure under the Generation Based
Incentive scheme.

Limited & Diffused R&D: The need for focused, collaborative and goals driven R&D to help India attain
technology leadership in PV.
 FORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE

The International Solar Alliance is an alliance of 121 countries, most of which come either completely
or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The alliance's primary objective
is work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. This initiative
was first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech in November 2015 at Wembley
Stadium, in which he referred to sunshine countries as suryaputra ("sons of the sun). The alliance is
a treaty-based inter-governmental organization.

BROAD OBJECTIVES OF ISA:

Collaborations for joint R&D and demonstration, sharing information and knowledge, capacity
building, supporting technology hubs and creating networks.
Acquisition, diffusion and indigenization and absorption of knowledge, technology and skills
Creation of expert groups for development of common standards, test, monitoring and
verification protocols.
Creation of partnerships among country specific technology centres for supporting technology
absorption
Exchange of officials/ technology specialists for participation in the training programmes
Encourage companies in the member countries to set up joint ventures.
Sharing of solar energy development experiences.