Bharat SainiLast Updated on July 11, 2017 by Bharat Saini
Solar power tariffs in India have plunged to a new low of Rs 2.44 per unit. Solar energy is cheaper than coal-based electricity in India, for the first time ever; the average price charged by NTPC for electricity generated by its coal-fired plants is Rs. 3.20. India’s solar energy generation capacity continues to rise as it has added more than 10GW of solar capacity in the last three years – starting from a low base of 2.6 GW in 2014. India may become top solar energy producer in the World as the government plans to build 175 GW in renewable energy generation by 2022 and to have renewable energy account for 40 per cent of installed capacity by 2040. Due to a combination of strong government support and increasingly attractive economics India has already moved up to the second spot from third position in this year’s ‘Renewable energy country attractiveness index’ released by EY. China has been ranked first and India has surpassed the US, which fell for the first time since 2015 to third place in the ranking of top 40 countries.
Solar Energy Corp of India recently conducted an auction that closed on May 12, 2017; for the Bhadla Solar Park, India’s largest solar park, having a capacity of 2255 MW, spread over a total area of 10000 acres in Bhadla, Phalodi Tehsil of Jodhpur District in Rajasthan. This auction proved continuing free fall in the cost of green energy after Acme Solar Holdings and SBG Cleantech, the joint venture of SoftBank, Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises, won the latest auction for 500 megawatt as solar power tariffs in India have plunged to a new low of Rs 2.44 per unit. The auction highlights India’s success in rapidly expanding renewable energy capacity at a low cost, and attracting ambitious bids from reputed companies.
Solar energy was priced at Rs 15 per unit only four years ago and it was on the initiative of Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujrat who promoted the first 1,000 MW of solar, that kick-started this entire industry. That is how the technology cost curve evolves. New technologies are expensive in the beginning. But with continued investments and resultant ecosystem development, they stabilize over time.
A solar rooftop installation has been invented by IIT Madras that is smaller and much cheaper than present installations, costing just Rs 20000 that can run couple of tube lights, fans, charging points and a TV. This rooftop plant has been installed under CSR and government sponsorship in 15000 rural homes and was successful in facing a three-day power cut during Chennai floods in December 2015.
Rural Electrification Corporation has electrified 4,000 off grid homes in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan and 7,500 homes in Assam. Another 12,000 more homes are being taken up in hills of Assam, while some grid-connected installations have been undertaken in Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Solar power looks great when the sun shines but stops at sunset, just as power demand soars to its evening peak. It is intermittent and fails at night and works weakly on cloudy or foggy days. Ideally, plants should store part of their generation during the day and then release it after sunset. As renewable energy penetration increase, the government will have to turn its attention to the ability of India’s grid to manage intermittent renewable, especially around the evening peak, when solar availability falls away.
