States Come Together To Fuel India's Solar Mission

The developments in the solar energy sector have recently picked up pace in India. With states, including Goa and Uttar Pradesh, announcing their respective solar policies to the launch of 15-mw power-grid plant at the Kolkata international airport, acitivity is seen picking up nationwide.

Under the National Solar Mission or the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, India aims to tap the natural resource available in abundance in the country.

Here is all you need to know about India's National Solar Mission and also, about the latest developments:

*The National Solar Mission is one of the many initiatives that are a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It was launched in January 2010 by the then prime minister Manmohan Singh with a target to produce 20 gigawatts (gw) of solar energy by 2022. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the bar and increased the capacity to 100 gw.

Source: mnre.gov.in

*Of the 100 gw, 60 gw of power will be achieved through large and medium scale solar projects while the remaining 40 gw will be through rooftop solar projects.

*An initiative by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the solar mission aims to reduce the cost of solar power generation in the country through long-term policy; large-scale deployment goals; aggressive research and development; and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products.

*In the current phase of development, the government is working towards adding 20 gw of installed solar power capacity. It was in December 2014, that the Central government introduced a scheme to establish 25 solar parks and ultra-mega solar power projects. Until December 2016, the government had given in-principle approval to set up 34 solar parks across 21 states. Each power project has a minimum capacity of 500 MW.

Source: mnre.gov.in

Here are some of the latest developments contributing to the 2022 target:

Goa eyeing solar: The state Cabinet of Goa recently approved the solar policy that would become functional by the end of the current fiscal year. Under the policy, Goa aims to generate 150MW of power by 2021. The policy that is divided into three categories has compensations for even a unit producing up to 100KV power.

According to the policy, the residential societies in the state that generate less than 100 kilovolts (kv) of power would be compensated based on the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission rates depending on the gross metering. On the other hand, the units producing more than 100KV power will be compensated on net metering as the unit operator would be participating in the reverse gridding of the power, he said.

The policy also encourages power generation by individuals. Units implementing solar energy, according to the policy, will be provided 50 per cent of the project costs as interest-free loans, which can be repaid in the form of supply of power to the state, six months after the unit is functional.

For housing colonies, Parrikar says, rooftop solar power generation by employing one contractor if all the owners come together.

UP gears up: Under the new solar policy for 2017, the state plans to explore the many possibilities the solar sector offers. "The new policy will bring investment worth crores to the state by 2022. This will help in generating direct and indirect employment. UP will become a leading partner in the International Solar Alliance – an initiative of the Central government," UP's Additional Energy Resources Minister Brajesh Pathak said.

According to Pathak, industrial units in Bundelkhand will get electricity from solar energy at cheaper rates.

Kolkata airport's green move: The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) in Kolkata will soon be commissioning a ground-mounted grid-connected solar plant. The 15-MW plant, capacity wise the largest among all the Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports across the country, was recently inaugurated by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The solar power plant, once commissioned, would be able to meet the power requirement of the terminal building at the airport which was around 10-11 MW per day.

India's largest floating solar power plant in Kerala: The plant, that became operational on December 4, is located at the Banasura Sagar dam. The solar power plant that floats on the surface of the water has a capacity of 500 kilowatts (kw).