“India added 10 gigawatts to its solar power generation capacity in 2021, registering nearly 200% year-on-year growth. A record. The country has now surpassed 50 gigawatts of solar capacity”reported The Hindu in March 2022. Traditionally driven by coal, India’s energy supply growth is now driven by renewable energy capacity additions.
A trend that reflects the commitments expressed by the Indian Prime Minister at the climate summit in Glasgow (COP 26) in November 2021. Narendra Modi then declared that 50% of the country’s energy needs would be covered by renewable energy sources. renewable energy by 2030. Today, 72% of India’s electricity demand is still met by thermal power plants, mainly coal-fired.
However, the country faced coal shortages from August to October 2021, mainly due to the growing demand for electricity, explains The Economic Times. The crisis has translated into price volatility and energy security risks, which became apparent in January 2022 when Indonesia blocked its coal exports in order to prioritize its domestic supply. The development of solar energy is therefore both a response to economic, climatic and energy independence issues.
Published in April 2022 in theInternational Journal of Mechanical Engineering, a study led by Sunil Singh, from HNB Garhwal University (Uttarakhand), takes stock of the development of solar energy in India. As of March 31, 2021, 42 solar parks, with a combined capacity of 25,751 megawatts (MW), were connected to the grid. These photovoltaic power plants are among the largest in the world. The largest, in Gujarat, extends over 11,000 hectares, roughly the surface of Paris intramural.
Competitive rates
India’s model of solar mega-parks has rapidly increased solar power generation capacity, points out The Economic Times. And, thanks to reverse auctions, which award contracts to companies that make the lowest bids, to make prices very competitive, “nearly 50% lower than those of coal-fired power plants.” Most “Despite these achievements, solar capacity growth is still far from the average annual construction rate of 30 gigawatts (GW) needed to reach the goal of 300 GW of solar capacity by 2030,” notes the Indian business daily.
To fully exploit the country’s solar potential, Indian authorities have taken steps to boost rooftop solar, including requiring states to buy power from homeowners. A decentralized solution which has the double advantage of not monopolizing cultivable or useful land for other economic activities and of reducing the pressure on the electricity network. Thus, of the 47 GW of solar generation capacity as of November 30, 2021, just over 6 GW came from rooftop installations, according to the study by HNB Garhwal University.
Roof panels
“Delhi will soon become India’s capital of solar rooftops”, announced in May 2022 an article from theIndia Times, stating that the territorial government was likely to mandate the installation of solar panels on the roofs of all public buildings. “Through the development of rooftop solar, the city government will explore innovative mechanisms to efficiently manage peak loads, which is also complementary to the growth of electric vehicles in the city,” Delhi executive Satyendra Jain was quoted by the weekly as saying. “Over the past five years, Delhi has emerged as an environmental leader by becoming the only state to shut down all of its thermal power plants,” said Jasmine Shah, deputy chairman of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, the newspaper reports.
Rural areas have not been forgotten. Launched in 1992, the off-grid solar photovoltaic applications program aims to provide energy to the most isolated villages and hamlets of the country, through the deployment of street lamps, study lamps, pumps and small solar power plants. As of March 31, 2021, it had electrified 11,308 villages, says the study by HNB Garhwal University, including 1,953 in Assam, a northeastern state located in the foothills of the Himalayas.
“India has electrified 96% of its villages and yet around 300 million people have no access to electricity, temperate The Hindu. A village is declared electrified if 10% of households receive electricity as well as public places such as schools, panchayat office [conseil local]health and community centers. Clearly, this can leave a large number of households without a connection”, specifies the center-left daily. And to cite the example of Madhya Pradesh, which recently indicated that it had reached 94% electrification, while nearly 45 million households did not have access to electricity.
power outages
Moreover, even when electricity is introduced in a village, studies have shown that households continue to use kerosene or diesel generators to meet their energy needs. This is due to power cuts at peak times and an irregular supply.
“Electrical infrastructure outside of urban centers has been built on the simplistic assumption that a rural household consumes one unit of electricity per day, which compared to the national average of 12 to 15 units, is an understatement. rough estimate”, explained the economic daily Mint end of 2017. Who added: “It’s like plugging a geyser into a power outlet and then wondering why the fuse blew.”
By reducing reliance on central power infrastructure, the development of solar microgrids is a step in the right direction. But, as concludes the study published in theInternational Journal of Mechanical Engineering, in view of the objectives announced by the Indian government, “it is necessary to install more solar power plants […] and to set up many more small-scale projects at the local level”.