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Renewable Power Generation Indian Scenario: A

Review
a a a
Chilakapati Nagamani , Ganesan Saravana Ilango , Maddikara Jaya Bharata Reddy , Mohan
a b
Anitha Asha Rani & Zachariah Varghese Lakaparampil
a
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, National Institute of Technology,
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
b
CDAC(T), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
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To cite this article: Chilakapati Nagamani, Ganesan Saravana Ilango, Maddikara Jaya Bharata Reddy, Mohan Anitha Asha
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 Electric Power Components and Systems, 43(8–10):1205–1213, 2015
Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1532-5008 print / 1532-5016 online
DOI: 10.1080/15325008.2015.1013164
Renewable Power Generation Indian Scenario:
A Review
Chilakapati Nagamani,1 Ganesan Saravana Ilango,1 Maddikara Jaya Bharata Reddy,1
Mohan Anitha Asha Rani,1 and Zachariah Varghese Lakaparampil2
1
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
2
CDAC(T), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
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2. Electricity Production in India
3. Emergence of Renewable Power Generation in India
4. Energy Policies in India
5. State Policies in India
6. Renewable Energy Technologies in India
7. Challenges for Indian Power Sector
8. Technical Challenges Associated with Renewable Power
Generation
9. Future of Renewable Power Generation in India
10. Conclusions
References
Keywords: renewable power generation, India, wind, solar, Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy, Electricity Act 2003, Tariff Policy 2006
Received 29 November 2014; accepted 15 January 2015
Address correspondence to Dr. Chilakapati Nagamani, Department of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, National Institute of Technology,
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620015, India. E-mail: cnmani@nitt.edu
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online
at www.tandfonline.com/uemp.
Abstract—India is faced with the major challenges of (a) providing
energy access to all its citizens, (b) heavy dependence on fuel imports
for energy security, and (c) complying with international protocols on
climate change mitigation, although the economic and social devel-
opment is the foremost priority. The increase in energy demand due
to growing population and industrialization in the face of depleting
fossil fuel resources has stimulated the country’s efforts in adopting
power generation from renewable energy sources. Starting with 0.34
GW (2%) out of 17 GW of the country’s total installed capacity in
the year 2002, the share of renewable power generation has reached
31.7 GW (12.5%) of 250 GW as of 2014. In the aspect of total in-
stalled renewable power generation, India occupies the fifth position
in the world today. While the governmental policies have steadily en-
couraged the adoption of renewable power generation, there is need
and potential for more vigorous engagement in pursuit of achieving
power for all citizens along with economic development. This article
presents a brief review of emergence and growth of renewable power
generation in India, wind and solar sectors in particular.
1. INTRODUCTION
Owing principally to the significant gaps between the energy
demand and installed capacity and inadequate infrastructure,
nearly one-fourth of the 1.24 billion population of Indian [1]
does not have access to electricity, with the result that the per
capita energy consumption in India is one of the lowest in
the world. Even though 85% of villages have been electrified,
they get only an intermittent, poor quality electricity supply on
availability basis. The increasing population, rapid industrial-
ization, and urbanization have boosted the country’s energy
consumption levels to the extent that India is now the fourth
biggest in energy consumption after China, the United States,
and Russia [2]. While it is identified as one of the fastest grow-
ing economies, the country is faced with the major challenges
of (a) providing energy access to all, (b) heavy dependence on
fuel imports for energy security, and (c) complying with in-
ternational protocols on climate change mitigation, although
the economic and social development is the foremost priority.
1205
 1206 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 43 (2015), Nos. 8–10
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FIGURE 1. Total installed capacity in India as of 30 Septem-
ber 2014.
According to International Energy Agency (IEA), India will be
the second largest contributor to the hike in the global energy
demand by 2035 [3, 4].
2. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION IN INDIA
India’s electricity generation is mainly from fossil fuels fol-
lowed by coal, crude oil, and natural gas, which contribute to
about 70, 40, 28, and 6%, respectively [2]. As per the Cen-
tral Electricity Authority (CEA), Government of India, the
electricity production in India is close to 250 GW as of 30
September 2014, of which nearly 60% is coal based followed
by hydel (16.3%) and renewable (12.51%). Figure 1 shows the
share of different sources in the total installed capacity.
3. EMERGENCE OF RENEWABLE POWER
GENERATION IN INDIA
The benefits of deploying renewable energy sources are in
providing clean energy while reducing reliance on fossil fuels,
thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Using renewable energy to
supplement the energy needs and to reduce environmental im-
pact is a significant target of many countries around the world.
Technological advancements, reduced cost, and governmental
incentives have made some renewable energy sources, such as
wind and solar, more competitive in the market. Figure 2 shows
the distribution of renewable sources in the total installed ca-
FIGURE 2. Total renewable installed capacity in India as of
30 September 2014.
pacity of renewable power (including on grid and off grid).
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE), grid-connected renewable energy sources include
small hydro power projects (<25 MW), bagasse cogeneration,
biomass power, and urban and industrial waste power apart
from wind and solar power. Among these, the largest share is
22 GW (65%) from wind power, followed by 3.87 GW from
small hydro power (about 11%), 2.97 GW (9%) from solar,
2.69 GW from grid-connected bagasse (about 8%), and 2.09
GW from biomass (6%).
4. ENERGY POLICIES IN INDIA
The increase in the country’s energy demand, the depleting fos-
sil fuel reserves, and the growing concerns over environmental
degradation have brought in new paradigms in Indian perspec-
tive. The electricity sector has been largely dominated by fed-
eral and state governments, with very limited private players.
Burdened with about 10% (CEA) power deficit, huge aggre-
gate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses, and unviable
tariff structure, the government initiated norms for checking
excessive usage of energy, incentives for energy conservation,
and deployment of renewable energy sources.
The development in wind power generation started in 1983
with a national wind power program initiated by the govern-
ment of India with an aim to have a wind resource assess-
ment along with project demonstrations and also to initiate
 Nagamani et al.: Renewable Power Generation Indian Scenario: A Review 1207

an industry–utility partnership. Further, an extensive wind re-

source assessment was made in 1985 [5]. Even though gov-
ernment incentives and national policies existed to encour-
age renewable power generation in India, until 1990, there
was no significant participation from the private sector. The
participation from the private sector started effectively after
the declaration of the “private power policy” in 1991, which
led to significant improvement in wind power generation with
substantial increment in the power generation capacity in the
country. As a result, India became the fourth country in the
world in total installed capacity by 1993, and by 1996, with
the announcement of the minimum alternate tax (MAT), wind
power generation reduced slightly as the incentive package
was not appealing to wind mill owners. However, after 1998,
some of the state governments started supporting the private
sector wind power companies and investors with liberal policy
initiatives, and since then, the growing trend in wind power
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generation is again picking up.
The renewable energy sector of India is governed by the
MNRE (formerly known as the Ministry of Non-Conventional
Energy Sources). The Energy Conservation Act 2001 was es-
tablished to encourage bulk consumers to cut their excess con-
sumption by adopting more efficient processes, establishing
energy conservation building codes, labeling products with
energy rating, and later established the Bureau of Energy Effi-
ciency (BEE) under this act. However, renewable power gen-
eration in India is governed solely based on two major national
policies: the Electricity Act 2003 [6] and the Tariff Policy 2006
[7].
Further, there has been a steady increase in the govern-
ment’s emphasis to increase the renewable power generation
capacity through various public policies. Among the energy
policies announced by the government, the three major poli-
cies are five-year plans, the Integrated Energy Policy in 2008,
and the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
in 2008. Figure 3 shows the structure of the energy policies
announced by the Indian government to enhance power gener-
ation from conventional and non-conventional sources in the
country, especially focusing on renewable power generation.
The energy policies announced by the Indian government [8,
9] follow.
4.1. Electricity Act 2003
In 2003, the Electricity Act came into existence, originating
from three of the earlier acts that regulated the electricity sec-
tor, viz., the Indian Electricity Act (1910), the Electricity (Sup-
ply) Act (1948) [10], and the Electricity Regulatory Commis-
sions Act (1998) [11]. The act focuses toward rural electri-
fication, generation, transmission and distribution, consumer
FIGURE 3. Energy policies announced by the government of
India.
protection, tariff principles, establishment of the CEA, trading
development, measures against electricity theft, restructuring
of state electricity boards (SEBs), etc.
4.2. Five-year Plans
The first five-year plan introduced by the Indian government
in 1951 brought some policies to project the energy demand.
Later several five-year plans came into existence to encour-
age the public sector participation in energy sector (eighth
and ninth five-year plans, 1992–2002). The main objective of
the five-year plans focused on growth rates. The 11th five-year
plan (2007–2012) proposed a target of 8.2% growth rate, while
the 12th five-year plan suggested involvement from state gov-
ernments for implementation. Moreover, as per the 12th five-
year plan, the target power generation from renewable sources
will be 41.4 GW [12] by 2017.
4.3. National Electricity Policy 2005
The National Electricity Policy was introduced in 2005 to
overcome the energy and peaking shortages, to supply re-
liable quality power at reasonable rates, to increase the per
capita availability of electricity by 1000 units, and also to
make the electricity sector commercially viable to take care of
consumers’ interests.
4.4. Tariff Policy 2006
In 2006, the Tariff Policy was announced for fixing a minimum
percentage for purchasing energy considering the availability
 1208 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 43 (2015), Nos. 8–10
of resources and its impact on retail tariffs, regarding procure-
ment of electricity by distribution companies, etc.
4.5. National Rural Electrification Policies 2006
The National Rural Electrification Policies were established
in 2006 to come up with the objectives of providing access
to electricity (reliable quality power supply) to all households
by the year 2009 and to provide energy to all villages either
through grid connected or through off-grid solutions, such as
stand-alone systems.
4.6. Integrated Energy Policy Report (Planning
Commission) 2006
The Integrated Energy Policy Report by Planning Commis-
sion, Government of India, had an exclusive focus on renew-
able energy development, suggesting the ways and means to
meet the power demand of the country in an integrated manner
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until 2032.
4.7. The Integrated Energy Policy 2008
The Integrated Energy Policy 2008 has been the foremost com-
prehensive policy dealing with all energy sectors. It ushered in
measures to permit private players in energy sector and stated
the resolve to ensure efficient and sustainable use of energy
[4]. The Feed In Tariff (FIT) was introduced in 2009 to make
renewable power generation (REP) more attractive (than gen-
eration based on coal or oil) for private generating companies.
The renewable power obligation (RPO) was an option whereby
distributors can either own or purchase renewable power, and
to enhance further the flexibility in implementing RPOs, a
tradable renewable energy certificate (REC) was launched in
2010.
4.8. The NAPCC 2008
The NAPCC was announced in 2008 [13, 14] in view of the
climatic changes and environmental issues in the country to
achieve sustainable development, which gives way to eco-
nomic objectives and environmental obligations. Moreover,
this policy reflects the commitment of the government to the
world, toward India’s per-capita carbon emission, regarding the
protection and improvement of vulnerable parts of the society
through sustainable development. The NAPCC includes eight
missions of which the major two energy related missions are
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and the
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE)
[15].
With a vision to have a considerable increase in power gen-
eration from solar energy, the government of India launched the
JNNSM [12] on 11 January 2010 with a target to install 22,000
MW of solar power through grid-connected and off-grid power
plants by the year 2022. The objectives of the NMEEE to be
implemented by the BEE include demand management with a
target to save at least 10 GW of energy by the end of 2012 as
per the 11th five-year plan.
5. STATE POLICIES IN INDIA
Even though renewable power generation in India is predom-
inantly based on Electricity Act 2003 and the Tariff Policy
2006, some state-level policies [16] also came into existence
in addition to this act to encourage the power generation from
renewable sources as explained in what follows.
The Government of Tamil Nadu set up the Tamil Nadu En-
ergy Development Agency (TEDA) in 1984 to create aware-
ness to start using renewable energy. The state of Tamil Nadu
is the leading contributor of renewable power in the country
by contributing about 25.44% of the total installed capacity of
34.31% of the total wind energy installed capacity in India (as
per TEDA [17]).
In 2002, the “Hydel Policy for Allotment of Sites and In-
centives to Small Hydel Projects up to 25 MW” was intro-
duced by the government of Chhattisgarh, which was effec-
tive till 28 August 2010. It was meant for small hydel power
plants to be installed by private companies or through joint
venture companies formed by Chhattisgarh Renewable En-
ergy Development Agency (CREDA). In addition, the gov-
ernment of Chhattisgarh came up with a wind energy pol-
icy in 2006 to accelerate the investment in this sector to re-
duce CO2 emissions and to tap further the potential of wind
energy.
Likewise, in 2003, the government of Rajasthan introduced
a policy for promoting wind power in the state based on wind
resource studies and assessment and to attract investment. In
the same year, the government of Jammu and Kashmir came
up with a hydel policy for 40 years from the date of award (9
October 2003) for increasing the generation in this sector to
20,000 MW from the harnessed capacity of 1500 MW.
Later in 2005, the governments of Orissa and Haryana in-
troduced renewable energy policies. The policy of the gov-
ernment of Orissa is for 10 years to reduce dependence on
conventional sources for power generation and also to encour-
age entrepreneurial investment, whereas the policy of Haryana
is to achieve at least 10% of total capacity of 5000 MW of
conventional power to be generated through renewable energy
projects by 2006.
The government of Kerala came up with a hydel policy in
2006 that was for a period of 30 years from the scheduled
date of allotment; the objective of the hydel policy was for
exploitation of natural resources to avail cheaper power for
 Nagamani et al.: Renewable Power Generation Indian Scenario: A Review
small hydro projects with a criterion that only power producers
with installed station capacity of up to 25 MW as eligible
producers.
Similarly in 2007 the state governments of Andhra Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam came up with hydel policies.
The government of Andhra Pradesh came up with objectives,
such as a “No Objection Certificate” for small hydel power sta-
tions on major canals and rivers, viz., Krishna and Godavari.
The government of Arunachal Pradesh initiated private partic-
ipation with attractive incentives for the development of mini
hydro project involving private entrepreneurs, cooperative so-
cieties and NGOs, etc., in a policy valid for 50 years. Likewise,
the government of Assam brought in the hydel policy (valid
for 35 years) to increase the installed capacity up to 25 MW
and also to allow any new development of small hydropower
(SHP) sites identified by independent power purchasers (IPPs).
In the same year the government of Gujarat came up with a
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wind power policy for three years to ensure continue growth
of wind power sector in the state.
Further, the government of Andhra Pradesh came up with
a wind policy in 2008, and the governments of Maharashtra
and Uttarakhand came up with policies for renewable energy.
The wind energy policy by the government of Andhra Pradesh
is valid for five years and is meant for tariff determination,
potential sites allotment and wheeling charges, and allied is-
sues, while the renewable energy policy of the government of
Maharashtra is to commission wind power projects of 2000
MW, cogeneration projects with bagasse of 1000 MW, elec-
tricity generation projects using biomass (400 MW), and hydel
power projects (100 MW) in the state. However, the policy put
forward by the government of Uttarakhand is for promoting
renewable power generation through energy sources with pri-
vate participation with an objective of power generation in
such sectors as hydro-electric power (600 MW), co-generation
(220 MW), biomass and waste (300 MW) to set up solar power
projects; to assess and exploit the available potential from wind
power; to start a few projects based on urban, municipal, and
industrial liquid/solid waste; and also to exploit the available
potential from geothermal power. Later in 2009, the govern-
ment of Gujarat set up a solar power policy that was the first
solar policy introduced in the country [12] and was operative
until 31 March 2014.
The government of Karnataka sanctioned the “Karnataka
Renewable Energy Policy 2009-14” in 2010 for the develop-
ment of all sectors of renewable energy sources along with
conservation of energy and to maintain energy efficiency.
The Rajasthan solar policy [18] introduced in 2011
aimed at developing the state of Rajasthan as a global hub
with 10,000–12,000-MW solar power capacity in the next
10–12 years. Likewise, the government of Karnataka came
1209
FIGURE 4. Technology-wise renewable energy installed ca-
pacity in India.
up with Karnataka Solar Policy 2011-16 targeting 126 MW
of solar power by 2013–2014. Further, the states of Madhya
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (targeting 500 MW in-
stalled capacity by March 2017), and Chhattisgarh announced
solar policies in 2012.
The government of Tamil Nadu also came up with the Tamil
Nadu Solar Energy Policy in 2012 [19] with such objectives
as to achieve energy security, to reduce carbon emission, to
generate 3000 MW by the end of 2015, to promote research
and development activities in the state for solar sector and
hybrid systems, to encourage solar manufacturing facilities,
etc. Apart from this, there have also been other schemes, as
the Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Greenhouse Scheme, the
Chief Minister’s Solar Rooftop Capital Incentive Scheme, etc.,
for increasing the power generation capacity. Several other
schemes also came into existence in the state with assistance
from the government, such as solar domestic lighting systems,
street lights in public places and streets mainly in villages
and panchayats, solar water and air heating systems, biomass
gasifiers of 5444-kW capacity, etc. Figure 4 [12] shows the
technology-wise renewable energy installed capacity in India
for the past 15 years from 2000 to 2014.
6. RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN
INDIA
Among the various renewable sources, the wind energy
conversion system (WECS) is rapidly growing to become
the largest. With the development of wind turbine technol-
ogy, large-scale wind farms of the MW level are being in-
stalled in many countries, including India. In wind farms,
the power output of wind-driven generators depends upon the
 1210 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 43 (2015), Nos. 8–10
stochastic nature and chronological variability of the wind
speed. Generally, fixed-speed and variable-speed WECSs are
used for wind power generation. In fixed-speed wind turbines,
the speed of the turbine is almost constant for a wide range of
wind velocities, whereas in variable-speed wind turbines, the
speed varies widely with wind velocity. Moreover, variable-
speed wind turbines are attractive owing to their increased
power output, improved power quality, and reduced mechan-
ical stresses over fixed-speed wind turbines. Variable-speed
WECSs are further classified as full speed and limited speed
turbines depending upon the ratings of the power converters
used. Moreover, asynchronous generators are more common
for variable-speed WECS because of their smaller size, lower
cost, and low maintenance.
Among the variable-speed asynchronous generators, the
variable-speed concept with partial scale converters is eco-
nomically viable due to the versatile four-quadrant opera-
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tion of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) with decou-
pled power control in sub-synchronous and super-synchronous
speed ranges, reduced rating of power converters, DC bus ca-
pacitor, and line side inductor. Moreover, the DFIG supports
a wide speed range, typically ±30% on synchronous speed,
which facilitates improved efficiency by feeding back the ro-
tor energy to the grid viz. power converters by controlling the
rotor frequency and hence the rotor speed. Most of the in-
stalled machines for wind power generation in India are of a
fixed-speed asynchronous type, such as squirrel cage induction
machines (SCIG). However, in recent times, DFIGs and per-
manent magnet synchronous machines (PMSGs) are coming
up [20–22].
Likewise, the technology to use direct solar radiation with
solar collectors and photovoltaic (PV) modules is now at the
edge of a breakthrough. Growth in the PV sector has also been
very fast in India in recent years after the announcement of the
JNNSM in 2009. Solar energy is acquiring much acclaim due
to the decreasing cost of PV cells and recent advancements
in power conversion technology in addition to its eco-friendly
and maintenance-free nature. Generally, the PV applications
range from small-scale installations of a few kW located in
individual premises to large power plants generating several
MW of power. Generally, PV plants are connected to the grid
through inverters using two major configurations, string and
central. However, string inverter configuration based PV plants
are popular over the central inverter configuration because of
the drawbacks associated with the latter, such as the need for
high-voltage DC cabling between the module and inverter and
also because of the power loss in the string diode. However,
most the Indian solar plants are of the central inverter type and
very few of string inverter type.
7. CHALLENGES FOR INDIAN POWER SECTOR
Among the lakhs of villages all over the country, only one-third
of the Indians have access to the grid [23]. In India, a majority
of the power is generated from thermal power plants and fossil
fuels. Even though many of the Indian states have sufficient
potential for wind power generation, effective utilization of
resources is still lacking. Most of the existing wind turbines
are old and less efficient. Moreover, the major challenges in
wind power generation include lack of incentives to replace
old turbines [24], high capital cost, and delays in rectifying the
problems associated with maintenance of turbines, equipment,
and controllers, as almost all the installed wind turbines and
associated equipment are imported.
Likewise, the major challenges faced by solar power gen-
eration are inadequate technical expertise, high capital cost,
dependability on imported wafers for cell manufacturing, lack
of availability of land due to huge population, etc. The follow-
ing section focuses more on technical challenges in detail.
8. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED
WITH RENEWABLE POWER GENERATION
The increasing penetration of a distributed generation system
into the grid requires cheap and integrated control systems with
better efficiency. Since, the penetration rate of wind farms into
the grid is increasing, grid codes have been developed in most
of the countries for the reliable and secure operation of wind
farms to avoid the instability in the power system. The advance-
ment in the power electronics technology has made the grid
integration of renewable energy system easier. However, grid
integration needs interfacing of power electronic converters
to the grid for proper synchronization. Voltage sags and grid
voltage unbalance are the two most significant issues that need
to be addressed with respect to grid integration of a WECS.
With disturbances such as sag, swell, or unbalance in the grid
voltage, the generator encounters fluctuations in electromag-
netic torque, leading to mechanical stresses and subsequently
to wear and tear of the rotating parts. In addition, consider-
able oscillations occur in the active and reactive powers and
DC-link voltage [25]. The DC-link voltage oscillation is the
most severe problem under unsymmetrical voltage sag, which
reduces the life of the DC-link capacitor.
In India, wind farms connected to the grid at 66 kV or above
and are governed by the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC)
[26, 27] as per the Electricity Act 2003. The grid code stipu-
lates the limits of acceptable performance of the wind farms in
terms of power control, fault or low-voltage ride through, total
harmonic distortion (THD) in voltage and current, etc. under
 Nagamani et al.: Renewable Power Generation Indian Scenario: A Review
disturbed grid conditions, such as sag, swell, and unbalance.
During grid voltage unbalance, oscillations in the electromag-
netic torque, active and reactive power, DC-link voltage, and
also THD in the grid current need to be curtailed. Hence, the
power electronic controllers play a key role in incorporating
the features of minimizing oscillations in addition to power
control under disturbed grid conditions. Control schemes for
reducing the oscillations in the electromagnetic torque, active
and reactive power, DC-link voltage, etc. have been proposed
by several authors [20, 25, 28–34].
In addition, the major challenges facing the wind power
generation in India are due to the variations in wind speed,
such as seasonal variation, diurnal variation, and turbulence
variation, which can even lead to shutting down of the plant
due to failure or maintenance of power electronic controllers,
which needs skilled manpower. Generally, almost all the in-
stalled wind turbines in India and the associated equipment
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and controllers are foreign made, and thus, any rectification or
any sort of maintenance takes time until the concerned supplier
rectifies the problem.
Similarly, PV sources exhibit non-linear V-I characteristics
and vary with solar irradiance and temperature. To utilize the
PV power effectively, maximum power point trackers (MPPTs)
are normally employed in conjunction with the power elec-
tronic converters (DC-DC converters). However, for MPPT
and for achieving greater output voltage with a reduced num-
ber of panels in the series string, boost converters are widely
adopted [35]. Generally, the panels are connected in series and
parallel to meet the load power requirement.
The challenges facing the solar power generation are that
the output power of the PV array decreases considerably when
one or more of the panels in the array are subjected to shad-
ing [36, 37]. The power reduction due to partial shading is
not proportional to the shaded area but depends on the shading
pattern, array configuration, and location of the shaded module
in the array. Different array configurations have been proposed
to reduce the mismatch losses in the array. Three interconnec-
tion schemes, viz., series-parallel (SP), total cross tied (TCT),
and bridge linked (BL) are compared [38, 39] for their losses,
maximum power, fill factor, reliability, and energy yield due to
mismatch caused by the manufacturer’s tolerances in cell char-
acteristics and by partial shading. A study of the operational
lifetime of PV arrays based on the probability theory indicates
that the introduction of cross ties (TCT or BL schemes) in
the array almost doubles the lifetime of the array [40]. Chang-
ing the interconnection schemes of the modules from SP to
TCT increases the power by more than 4%, and the TCT con-
figuration is considered as the best solution to mitigate the
mismatch losses under partially shaded conditions. To tackle
this problem, a technique to configure the modules in the array
1211
so as to enhance the generated power from the array under
partial shading conditions is reported [41]. In this approach,
the physical location of the modules in a TCT-connected PV
array is arranged based on the Su Do Ku puzzle pattern so as
to distribute the shading effect over the entire array. Further,
this arrangement of modules is done without altering the elec-
trical connection of the modules in the array. The Su Do Ku
arrangement reduces the effect of shading of modules in any
row, thereby enhancing the generated PV power.
9. FUTURE OF RENEWABLE POWER
GENERATION IN INDIA
It is noticeable from Figure 4 that after the starting of the
five-year plans from 2002 (10th five-year plan), 2007 (11th
five-year plan), and as of September 2014, there has been a
consistent increase in renewable power generation in India.
The estimated power generation from renewable sources is
15.9% of the total installed capacity of India by 2022 [1].
From the recent reports [12] the generation from renewable
energy sources is 31.692 GW, which forms 76.55% of the
target as per the existing 12th five-year plan.
The Indian government is coming up with an idea to boost
“clean energy” in the country [42]. The main focus is to provide
support to the central public sector units for setting up over
1,000-MW grid-connected solar PV power projects in three-
years duration, from 2015–2016 to 2017–2018, for setting up
25 solar parks each of 500-MW capacity in collaboration with
state governments in 12 states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Te-
lengana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Megha-
laya, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
and Odisha) and also for establishing solar power projects by
defense and para military of over 300-MW capacity. In addi-
tion, to enhance wind power generation in India, accelerated
depreciation (AD) benefits were restored on 18 July 2014.
Moreover, to facilitate faster growth, the MNRE is preparing
a renewable energy bill and a scale-up plan for solar power
development for the next five years. With these initiatives in-
corporated, India will emerge as a major contributor of solar
power in the world on a large scale.
10. CONCLUSIONS
This article presents an overview of the emergence of renew-
able power generation in India. The focus is on the national
and state policies for promoting renewable power generation
in the country, the technologies involved, and the challenges
faced by the Indian power sector, especially in wind and solar
sectors. From the present scenario, it is anticipated that India
is poised to meet the required power demand as per the 12th
 1212 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 43 (2015), Nos. 8–10
five-year plan if the growth rate of renewable power generation
is maintained. Though it is a great challenge for the govern-
ment, it is a target to strive through realistic governmental
policy framework and effective implementation.
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BIOGRAPHIES
Chilakapati Nagamani received her B.Tech, M.Tech and
Ph.D. degrees from S.V.U.C.E, Tiruapati, I.I.T., Kanpur and
University of Technology, Sydney respectively. From 1985 to
1991 she was with the Central Power Research Institute, Ban-
galore, India. Subsequently she joined the E.E.E. Department,
National Institute of Technology (then known as Regional
Engineering College), Tiruchirappalli, India as a lecturer. At
present, she is a professor in the same department. Her areas
of interest include Power electronics and Drives, Renewable
Energy Systems and FACTS controllers.
Ganesan Saravana Ilango graduated from Madras Univer-
sity, Chennai, India in 2000. He received his Masters degree
from Bharathithasan University, Trichy, India in 2001. From
2001 to 2004 he worked as a lecturer in Noorul Islam college of
Engineering, Kumaracoil, India. He received his Ph.D degree
from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India.
Currently he is working as an Assistant professor in the same
institute from 2006. His areas of interest include Power elec-
tronics and Drives, Renewable Energy Systems and FACTS
controllers.
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1213
Maddikara Jaya Bharata Reddy received the B.E. degree in
Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Nagarjuna Uni-
versity, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, in 2002. He received
the M.E. degree in electrical engineering and the Ph.D. de-
gree from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi, India,
in 2004 and 2008, respectively. He is currently an Associate
Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronics En-
gineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchi-
rappalli. He has an experience of 10 years in teaching and
research. In 2010, he received the prestigious national level
IEI Young Engineers Award in the field of Electrical Engi-
neering. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE. He is an edi-
tor of Electrical Power Components and Systems. His current
research interests include smart grid, substation automation,
wide-area protection, digital relaying, soft computing applica-
tions in power system, power quality analysis and power system
protection.
Mohan Anitha Asha Rani received her B.Tech from Col-
lege of Engineering Perumon (CUSAT), Kerala, India in 2004.
She received her Masters degree from Rajiv Gandhi Insti-
tute of Technology, Kottayam, India in 2007. From 2004
she is with the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engi-
neering, Caarmel Engineering College, Pathanamthitta, India.
Currently, she is a full time research scholar (under QIP) at
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India. Her ar-
eas of interest include Renewable Energy Systems and Power
quality.
Zachariah Varghese Lakaparampil was born in
Changanacherry, Kerala, India on 17th October 1956.
He received BSc (Engg.) in Electrical Engineering from NIT
Calicut, Kerala, India, in 1979, and DIISc in Electronics
Design Technology and PhD in Electrical Engineering from
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India in 1980 and
1995 respectively. From 1979 to 1988 he was with Keltron.
Since then he is with ERDCI & CDAC-T. Currently, Dr.
Lakaparampil is the Senior Director at CDAC (T). Dr. Laka-
parampil is a Member of IEEE, life member of Institution of
Engineers (India), Member of Engineering and Technology
Programmes KSCSTE, Government of Kerala, India and
Member for EV/HEV panel for Collaborative Automotive
Research. His areas of specialization includes embedded
controllers for power electronics, vector/ field oriented
control, real-time simulator etc.