A Tale of Two States

 

 

Here are two tales

One from South Australia and another from Maharashra ( India )

 

First Tale :

South Australia 100% Powered by Solar Energy Alone in a World First

Extract :

Ø  Solar energy is mustering speed and advancements in many parts of the world, this includes the state of South Australia that saw 100% of its energy needs met thanks to solar energy alone. 

Ø  Moreover, the majority of the power was generated from home rooftop solar systems, giving 77% of the needed energy output, per the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Ø  So it's no wonder that one in three homes in the state sports solar panels on their rooftops.

Ø  Just this year, around 2,500 homes have been kitted out with their personal solar panels, per New Atlas

Ø  In total, around 228,000 rooftop systems in South Australia already exist, and these assisted in providing 992 megawatts (MW) during the hour of pure solar energy use on October 11th.

        

Second Tale :

Less than 0.5% households in Maharashtra have solar home system: Report

Extract :

Ø  Only 41% households in Maharashtra are aware of the solar home system while only 0.43% have installed it in their homes, a survey by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) reveals.

Ø  The report also stated that only 7.29% households have considered buying a solar home system

Ø  Sunil Mani, programme associate at the CEEW said, “Most of the households who are aware of the system said that it is expensive and also requires more space which is not feasible. 

Ø  The survey reveals that 91% of the households use liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking and 5% of the households utilise electricity for cooking.

Ø  A large number of rural households - 36% - still use traditional cooking fuel.

Ø  “People in rural households still have a preference for the traditional cooking fuel as it is available cheap

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MY TAKE :

Ø  Indian cities are full of high-rise ( 5 – 20 stories ) buildings , having very small terrace area for installing rooftop solar panels – may be just enough to power the staircase lights. There is not enough area for larger installations which can supply any meaningful power to 20 – 100 flat-owners

Ø  Under such condition, it becomes very difficult to convince all the flat-owners to cooperate and fork out initial capital costs ( even after 30 % subsidy ) , which would only light up staircases !

Ø  Flat owners are vary of signing a 25 year PPA with the DISCOM , especially at (may be ) Rs 6-7 per unit

Ø  Rooftop Solar installation capital costs are much higher than GRID level Solar Farm installations

MY SUGGESTION :

Ø  Out-of-the-Box Concept :

In my building, we are 10 flat-owners. Each needs 20 KW of solar – total of 200 KW

That would require 20,000 sq ft . But the terrace is no more than 2,000 sq ft . Not enough for all

So, I ask :

      Why do we need space in our own terrace in a Mumbai building for getting

      200 KW of Solar Power ?

      Why cannot we use 20,000 sq ft of space, 500 Km away from Mumbai, in

      Kutch desert ?

      In a nut-shell, produce solar power in Kutch desert and consume it in

      Mumbai !

      Or produce power in Ladakh and consume it in Kolkata

Here is a broad / conceptual frame-work :

Ø  Introduce “ Co-operative Farming of Solar Power / CFSP “ { call it a kind of “ Contract Farming “ }

-( incorporate this into just released FARM LAWS to encourage setting-up of “

   Solar Power Farmers Cooperative Society “, along the lines of Dairy Farmers’

   AMUL Milk Cooperative Society )

       

Ø  Under CFSP, provide 30 % Capital Cost Subsidy to companies setting up large ( > 500 MW ) Solar Farms in remote areas ( eg : desert areas of Kutch – Spiti – Lahul – Ladakh etc , which have a potential to generate 315 GW of Solar power )

Read : https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/08/from-ladakh-with-love-and-sun-shine.html

Ø  1 MW of ( grid ) solar will need 100,000 sq ft of solar panels ( 1 KW will need 100 sq ft )

Ø  The estimated cost of 1 MW solar power plant is approx. Rs 4 - 6 crore.

Ø  That works out to approx. Rs 400 - 600 / sq ft of Capital cost for Solar panels

Ø  Solar Farm company can “ Sell “ ownership rights of solar panels to individuals in modules of 1000 sq ft, ( costing Rs 4- 6 lakh per module ) . These rights can be sold / transferred to any buyer, only with prior permission of the Solar Farm Company concerned

Ø  Each module ( of 1,000 sq ft ) will generate 10 KW of power, which Company will feed into a NATIONAL GRID ( free ) .

Ø  Each such Co-operative Company can reserve / own by itself, 30 % of Solar Panels for generating power for sale in free market   

Ø  My nearest DISCOM will supply me those 10 KW, free of cost ( ie: deduct from my monthly usage ) . Any excess over my actual consumption, to be credited to my account

Ø  Depending upon my usage / need , I as an individual CO-OPERATIVE OWNER , can “ buy “ any number of STANDARD MODULES, and from any number of Cooperative Farming companies or other Co-op Owners

Ø  This set-up will require NATIONAL SOLAR EXCHANGE in which ALL discoms will be mandated to become members

 

Dear Shri R K Singhji,

 

..as of October 15, 2019, only 1,826 MW capacity has reportedly been installed, which means that the achievement is only 11.50 per cent 

 

If we want to achieve 40 GW of Solar by 2022, we need to think “ Out of Box “

 

I urge you to consider my suggestion ( - no doubt with suitable modifications )

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  29 Oct 2020

 

Related Readings :

Elon Musk Says The Sun Can Power All of Civilization 

Tesla Launches Tesla Energy Plan in UK

State of Electricity Access in India

 

NPAs in the making ?

Look Before You Leap

Is Sun setting on Solar ?

Roof Top Solar : Better Alternative

Transmission  Capacity is  the  Culprit  !

This  was   Expected  !

Clean Power ?

Solar Roofs ? Why not ?

Solar Power : Internal Rate of Return 

Unsustainable SRISTI ? 

“  Rent – a – Roof “  for  Solar  Power 

Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana 

Roof Top Solar : Stuck at Plinth Level ? 

Green Buildings ? Put Greed to Work ! 

Solar Power at Rs 1 per Kwh ?

 ===========================================

Added on 22 Dec 2023 :

 

India Witnesses Soaring Growth in Open Access Solar Installations, Adding 20.6% Capacity in Q3 2023: Report      

In the third quarter of 2023, India experienced a notable surge in new open access solar installations, marking a substantial 20.6% increase to reach 907 MW, as reported by Mercom India. 

This growth is particularly significant when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, during which 752 MW of open access solar capacities were added. 

The quarterly addition, when viewed on a quarter-on-quarter basis, revealed a remarkable 36% uptick from the 666 MW recorded in the April-June quarter. As of September 2023, India’s cumulative installed open access solar capacity stood at an impressive 11 GW.

Under the open access model, individuals or companies have the opportunity to establish green energy plants, subsequently selling the generated clean power in the open market to distribution companies (discoms) or private consumers.

 The attractiveness of this model has been heightened by a decline in solar project costs, prompting a resurgence in the signing of power purchase agreements that were previously delayed.

India concluded the September quarter with 12.5 GW of open access solar projects in various stages of development, indicating sustained momentum in the sector.