Two days back , Union Cabinet approved this scheme, as
reported at :
Cabinet approves PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana for
installing rooftop solar in One Crore households
Dear Shri R K
Singhji
,
Although, this scheme echoes a number of suggestions which I sent through
following e-mails, there is
no mention of my following KEY suggestions :
Incentivizing
:
( A ) Consumers
# By giving 100 % subsidy . Totally FREE installation of 3 Kw Roof Top
Solar
( B ) DISCOMS
# By fully
compensating for loss of revenue + some incentive
( C ) Funding Agency ( REC )
# By transferring all Carbon Credits earned by 1 crore ( 10 million )
installations
In absence of these, the Scheme is unlikely to achieve its target of 1 crore
households in 3 years
What is equally important is to integrate National Clean Cooking Scheme with
Surya Ghar scheme , by EESL installing its 20 lakh, 1.5 Kw Electric Induction
Stoves, along with 3 Kw Roof Top solar ( which will consume 180 units out of the
360
units generated per month ) . There will be a huge upside in the form of :
( 1 ) Additional Carbon Credits earned
( 2 ) Saving in use / import of LPG ( subsidy on just 3 cylinders will recover the
cost of Electric Stove )
( 1 ) Sun : Our Soul ( A New SOS ) ……………………………………
02 Jan 2017
Extract :
If we were to
cover our entire land area ( of 3,000,000 sq km ) with Solar Panels , we could
get enough electricity in one year ( ie: in 1800 hours ) , which will meet our
power needs for 1800 YEARS ! ( about 5000 trillion Kwh ! )
But , at the
most , we need to store the Solar power for a few days only ( even if Sun does
not come out for a couple of days ) . Certainly not for 1800 years !
So , there is no
need to cover up our entire land mass with Solar Panels
A very small
fraction need be covered . Say, all roof tops in India ?
Why install
small solar power plants on roof
tops ?
Simple :
With roof-top based solar plants
, we don't need to distribute power over long distances , using nation-wide
distribution network. We produce / store / consume power in same place
So no
transmission costs / losses / thefts !
There are no
" intermediaries " between producers and consumers ( eg: DISCOMS )
No need of
elaborate " metering / billing / accounting "
No need for PPA
( Power Purchase Agreements ) between producers and DISCOMs
A roof top solar
installation can be done in a matter of hours, providing employment to lakhs of Installation Technicians,
employed by thousands of MSME engaged in such work
Many more lakhs will find jobs in companies engaged in
manufacture of allied
electrical / electronic / storage batteries etc
So enormous " Job Generation " as
a by-product
These local MSME
manufacturers / installers , will aggressively compete and provide quick /
efficient , after-sales service
Of course , roof
top solar power's Capital Cost per kwh is higher than same for large land based
installations . Over the next couple of years, this will even out
But as I
mentioned in my earlier blog :
* COST OF FUEL ( Sun ) is ZERO
* COST OF
MAINTENANCE , too , is nearly NIL
Practically ,
the only cost of a roof top based solar plant is " INTEREST ON CAPITAL "
Now NDA
government has announced a Capital Subsidy of 30 % on
" Competitively Discovered Price " for roof top installations and made an allocation
of ( approx ) , Rs 5200 crores ( $ 750 million ), for putting up 4200 MW
But , on the
balance 70 % of Capital Cost , users will need to borrow
money from banks at 10 % - 15 % interest and go through a lengthy approval
process and hypothecate the assets
And ensure
timely repayment of EMI in order, not to get their plants " repossessed
" !
But imagine
following scenario :
* Government declares units belonging to " Solar Power ( Panel Mfr /
Power Production &
Distribution / Ancillary Mfr ) "
as a " SOS " industry
* Units will need to register as such with Department of
Company Affairs ( DIPP )
* Units will be exempt from paying Corporate Income Tax
for 10 years , on
whatever
income they earn ( only those starting operations latest by 31
March 2018 )
* No questions will be asked as to the " source " of
funds invested in the shares of such
units ( a kind of Temporary
Amnesty Scheme - 01 April 2017 till 31 March 2018 - to
channelize BLACK MONEY into creation of PRODUCTIVE /
NON-POLUTING assets )
* Units cannot engage in any other Industrial / Commercial /
Financial activities
* Units cannot declare any dividends to share-holders for 10
years
These are just broad outlines and details need to be worked out
If there is political courage to pull off such an initiative , government
will NOT need to allocate ANY AMOUNT !
NO NEED TO SUBSIDIZE THESE UNITS OR THE USERS , WITH THE TAX PAYERS' MONEY
!
Instead of that $ 750 million allocation ( from tax payers' money ) , Black
Money holders will readily pump in $ 750 BILLION into the SOLAR INDUSTRY ( enough for additional installed capacity
of 750 GW - as
against our current installed capacity 8.63 GW of solar , and a target of 100 GW , by 2022 ! )
Remember , how ,
only a few months back , tiny Indonesia managed to
collect $ 300 billion of its Black Money , by
levying tax ( no penalty ) of just 4 % !
And with this
kind of INCENTIVE WINDOW ( to convert BLACK into WHITE ) , expect
* Hundreds
of SOS Units to spring up before 31 March 2018
* They
will have ZERO cost as far as servicing of EQUITY is concerned ! No dividends !
* They
will not need to borrow funds from banks and pay interest ( no danger of NPA !
)
* They
will say : We are not in the business of " manufacturing of panels "
but we are in
the
business of " Delivering electric power to homes / businesses "
( I
am reminded what my one time boss, Helge Hansen told me :
" Hemen , we are not in the business of manufacturing Diamond Drilling
Bits : We are in
the business of selling Industrial Diamonds " )
* They
will compete with each other fiercely and ( as it is already happening in USA )
,
start offering roof top installations, absolutely FREE, and
selling the generated power at
20 paise/Kwh, for 10 year purchase agreement and with a 5 % tariff reduction per year !
We
can look forward to witnessing similar competition among large , land-based ,
solar
power installations which will be the main suppliers to large commercial
establishments /
industrial factories / infrastructure projects / Electric Vehicle Charging
stations , etc
Just imagine
* how much,
our LOW ENERGY COST
ECONOMY can make
us , INTERNATIONALLY
COMPETITIVE !
* the rise
in GDP !
* the
possibility of being able to export our surplus power to neighbouring countries
* Being
able to replace 6 million petrol / diesel vehicles with EVs by 2020 , due to
easily available charging
stations on every street corner
*
Reduction in pollution by shutting down of hundreds of existing fossil fuel based
power
plants , whose
utilization will drop below 10 % by 2022 ( as against National Electricity
Plan expectation of 48 % , and a un-viability threshold of 55 % )
I hope my
suggestion will be supported by Shri Piyush Goyal ( Minister for Energy ) , who referring to
" innovative financing such as reverse bidding for projects as a smart way of saving public money " , said :
" By adopting
such principles, I have been able to reignite the power and coal sector "
( Source :
Business Line / 19 Dec 2016 )
Dear Piyushbhai :
By " harnessing
GREED to harness SUN " , we
could achieve 100 GW of Solar
by 2019 , instead of
government target of 2022
I hope you
succeed in persuading Arunbhai , to incorporate this proposal in his
forthcoming budget speech on 01 Feb 2017
Unless ,
Narendrabhai decides to announce this as a Republic Day gift to the Nation !
( 2 ) Solar Power at Rs 1 per Kwh ? ..
………………………..29 Jan 2017
( 3 ) How Cheap can it get ? ……………………………………. 14 Mar 2017
( 4 ) INDIA : the NEW LAND OF THE RISING SUN ? ..
01 Apr 2017
( 5 ) Green Buildings ? Put Greed to Work !............... 05 June 2017
Extract :
I urge
Maharashtra government to adopt this innovative
financing model for roof top solar plants where :
· Individual building owners or Societies will install
the plants on their roofs ( model / size / supplier etc to be decided by each
consumer )
· Plants will need to be installed only by Channel Partners ( supplying agencies ) which are empanelled by
the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy , who have submitted installation data
( Project Completion Report for grid connected rooftop projects ) on the SPIN portal
· Submit “ Bill / Certificate of Grid Connectivity “ to govt for “Green Solar Loan “
· Loan will be repayable at 5 % interest rate , over a 15 year period
· SOCIETY WILL BE ABLE TO PAY
THE EMI FROM THE SAVINGS IT WILL MAKE BY NOT HAVING TO BUY
THE GRID POWER FROM STATE DISCOM
· Societies will even be allowed to repay the EMI in the form of the solar power it
generates and FEEDS into the
State Grid , under the “ Reverse Metering “
Scheme
( 6 ) Roof Top Solar : Stuck at Plinth Level ? .. ……….13 July 2017
( 7 ) Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana ……………………………
24 Sept 2017
( 8 ) Not Good Enough ! 02 Dec 2017
( 9 ) India Solar Policy : Too Little : Too Late ? .. …..18 Dec 2017
( 10 ) Unsustainable SRISTI ?................................ 22 Dec 2017
( 11 ) Solar Power : Internal Rate of Return .. …………27 Jan 2018
( 12 ) Solar Roofs ? Why not ? ………………………………… 06 Feb 2018
Extract :
Why not design ( or
mandate – if those houses are going to be built by private builders ), those 55
lakh houses with a “ pre-installed “ Solar Panel on their roofs , to start with ?
That would eliminate
later on “ connection “ and also guarantee FREE ELECTRICITY from
the day occupied ! Poor people deserve this !
PS :
Only recently ( Feb 2024 ) , Assam Government implemented this suggestion , as per
following news report :
https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/assam-government-mandatory-rooftop-solar-panels.html
( 13 ) Clean Power ? …………………………………………… 16 Mar 2018
Extract :
If we were to go all out and enable citizens to
install ROOF TOP solar plants , then none of those highlighted things would be
required !
Each residential building will produce / store
and consume its OWN power , without having to depend upon DISCOMS
No need for metering / transformers
/ substations / cables / transmission lines !
No need for DISCOM to maintain the
infrastructure ! or worry about thefts ! or sign Power Purchase Agreements –
and then worry about rescinding !
Now , recognizing that it is just not possible
to switch-over to ROOF TOP SOLAR , overnight, we must
appreciate what the government is doing ( ref : above advt )
But what I fail to understand is :
Why is govt not going all out to encourage
ROOF TOP SOLAR ?
I urge the Policy Makers to read :
SolarRoofs ? Why not
? [ 06 Feb 2018 ]
https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/02/solar-roofs-why-not.html
For roof top installations , currently govt gives 30 % subsidy
Change this as follows :
# 30 % by way of subsidy
# 70 % by way of interest
free loan ,
repayable over 10 years
Why not save all the funds required
for the above-mentioned infrastructure and use for the interest free loans /
subsidy for Solar
Roof Tops ?
( 14 ) Roof Top Solar : Better Alternative …………………. 24 May 2018
Extract :
Now under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana , we , in India plan
to construct 11 million homes
by 2022
As I have repeatedly advocated in my previous blogs ( sent
as emails to all Policy Makers ) , this is our opportunity to clean up our
polluted environment by mandating that ALL of these 11 million homes will have Roof Top Solar power plants –
along with storage batteries
This will produce all the GREEN POWER that we have targeted
for 2022 ( 100 GW )
( 15 ) Is Sun setting on Solar ? ………………………………………. 20 Sept 2018
Extract :
What is the way out ?
Shift focus to Roof Top Solar ( of course ,
continue with Utility Scale )
What is required to be done ?
Solar Bank will
finance Roof Top projects at 2 % interest rate ( to replace 70 % Bank funding
of 15 % interest rate ) .
Solar Bank to
tie up with India Post Payment Bank to extend such loans through its network of
145,000 post offices
It should be
made mandatory for all those 22 million Affordable Houses ( also targeted for
2022 ) to have pre-installed Roof Top Solar plants , before handing over to the
occupants
( 16 ) Rooftop Solar : An Opportunity Lost ?.. …………………………..16 Dec 2019
( 17 ) Appalled ! .. ……………………………………………………………………..26 Jan 2020
( 18 ) A Tale of Two States …………………………………………………….. 28 Oct 2020
(
19 ) Congratulations , Shri R K Singhji ………………………………. 19 Nov 2020
(
20 ) Reinvigorating Rooftop Solar Power ………………………….. 25 Nov 2020
(
21 ) Congratulations, Shri Vijaybhai Rupaniji, …………………….30 Dec 2020
(
22 ) Congratulations , Shri Saurabh Patelji ……………………….. 31 Dec 2020
( 23 ) Carbon Finance through Carbon Credits ……………………… 12 Mar 2021
( 24 ) No Godfather for Rooftop Solar ?
……………………………….. 01 June 2021
Extract :
Dear
Shri R K Singhji ( Minister for Power ) :
Ø It is high time we stop limiting our SOLAR
VISION HORIZON like a “ Frog in the Well “
Ø It is time to remember that the nomenclature
: Roof Top Solar “ , somehow ties us down to the words ROOF TOP , which is only
just one of the locations which can be used to harness Solar Energy
Ø Solar Energy can also be harvested at other
locations on Earth, such as FARMS , DESERTS, LAKES, MOUNTAIN TOPS, HIGHWAYS ,
TRAIN TRACKS, etc., or even through solar panels farms in SPACE (
low earth orbits ? ), beaming electricity down to Earth-based receivers ( using
micro-waves ? )
Ø We must break loose from the
narrowly defined, Roof-Top Solar / Land-based Solar and latch on to the
all-encompassing concept of ,
SOLAR ENERGY TRADING INFRASTRUCTURE ( SETI )
( 25 ) If you don’t obsolete yourself… ………………………………….24 Aug 2021
( 26 ) Vishwa Karma V 2.0 ? …………………………………………….
04 Nov 2021
( 27 ) Congratulations, Dr Harish Hiraniji …………………………. 13 Nov 2021
( 28
) Manyachiwadi shows way to become Atm Nirbhar .. 16 Nov 2021
Extract :
Dear Shri R K
Singhji
I believe a breakthrough in generation of ROOFTOP Solar can come, only when individual
household owners can generate Rooftop Solar, AND be able to SELL the same on a
Solar Power Trading Exchange
( 29 ) Topmost Candidate for PLI ? ……………………………………… 19 Jan 2022
( 30 ) RKS liberates RTSP …………………………………………………… 23 Jan 2022
Extract :
Dear Shri R K Sighji (
Minister for New and Renewable Energy ),
While
congratulating for this “ minor liberalization “ of current ROOF TOP SOLAR
REGIME , please ask if this is enough, considering :
# Our
installed capacity of Roof Top Solar was a meagre is 6.0 GW By Oct 2021
# Our
target is to achieve 40 GW
by the current year ( 2022 )
Obviously an
impossible task, with just 11
months left to install 34 GW
Could we achieve
this target in next 22 months ?
Yes
By UNLEASHING
the power of the sun through implementation of suggestion in my following
e-mail :
Sun : Our Soul ( A
New SOS ) …………………………………. 02 Jan 2017
( 31 ) Dear Narendrabhai : Thanks for reminding ….. 04 Mar 2022
( 32 ) Mission Possible ( Failure is not an Option ).. . 31 Mar 2022
(
33 ) Gross Metering : a Cooperative Concept ? …… 16 May 2022
(
34 ) Thank You, Shri Bhupender Singh Yadavji .. …29 May 2022
(
35 ) Congratulations, Calicut Cooker-Walas .. ……..10 June 2022
(
36 ) My Solar Cooker dream about to materialise ? 07
July 2022
(
37 ) R K Singh : A Solomon come to Judgment …….. 01 Sept 2022
( 38 ) Modhera : From Sun Temple to Sun Village …….. 09 Oct 2022
( 39 ) Dear R K Singhji : This is YOUR chance …………… 01 Nov 2022
Extract :
Dear Shri
R K Singhji { Minister - MNRE }
For past
few years, we have been reading about various organizations ( including
ONGC - IOC
), coming out with designs / prototypes of SOLAR
CHULHAS
Despite
licensing of the design / technology to several PRIVATE SECTOR parties,
unfortunately
there is no news of any commercial MASS PRODUCTION
As
repeatedly urged in the past, I urge you
once again to make MODHERA a "
laboratory " and
distribute FREE of COST , one SOLAR COOKER each to 1300 villagers
of Modhera
Its
success will ensure all 600,000 villages of India wanting to REPLICATE the Modhera
Model
( 40 ) Dear Shri R K Singhji : Please Hurry ! ……………………. 17 Nov 2022
( 41 ) Solar Cookers : Of course , but Delivery When ? ……. 03 Feb 2023
( 42
) Kardinia - a warm / sunny Welcome ………………………… 25 May 2023
Extract
:
Dear Anthony Letmon,
I was absolutely thrilled to read your following post
on Linkedin yesterday :
“ It was a pleasure to meet
with Rajesh Kumar Singh,
( secy-ipp@nic.in )
Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and International Trade
for India and the broader delegation to discuss how Kardinia
Energy and Printed Solar can
provide low-cost and highly scalable solar
energy, potentially creating thousands of local jobs. [ info@kardiniaenergy.com ]
With follow-up actions discussed combined with considerable interest already
from dozens of companies across India, we look forward to working through a strategy towards
the scale-up of operations in India.
Thank you to Irfan Malik (MAICD) and
the Australia India Business Council for facilitating this meeting.”
My Comment :
In
Feb 2022, I sent following e-mail
to Indian Cabinet Ministers and
> Mr Harsh Shringla ( Foreign Secretary / psfs@mea.gov.in ) :
Procuring Technology for “ Printed
Solar Film “
https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2022/02/procuring-technology-for-printed-solar.html
( 43 ) Co-operative Farming of Solar Power ……………….. 29 Oct 2023
( 44 ) Congratulations , Mathew Samuel …………………. 09 Nov 2023
(
45 ) From Induction Stove to Solar Cookers……………. 10 Nov 2023
(
46 ) Roof Top Solar for a Single Apartment ? …………. 02 Dec 2023
( 47 ) Harvesting Solar Power Through Cooperation .. 30 Dec 2023
( 48 ) Suryodaya Yojana … …………………………………………..28 Jan 2024
Extract :
How can Govt overcome these obstacles ?
By
incentivizing :
( A ) Consumers
# By giving 100 % subsidy . Totally FREE installation of 3
Kw Roof Top
Solar
( B ) DISCOMS
# By fully
compensating for loss of revenue + some incentive
( C ) Funding Agency ( REC )
# By
transferring all Carbon Credits earned by 1 crore ( 10 million )
installations
( 49
) Unleashing, Electrifying, Roof Top Solar Power .. ………. 29 Jan 2024
( 50
) Correction : Suryodaya Yojana ……………………………………
01 Feb 2024
Extract :
How much can REC earn by selling Carbon Credits earned by this COMPOSIT
scheme ?
Ø Proposed solar-powered cooker will be entitled
to 51.48 carbon
credits per year
Ø Each Solar Cooker will earn $
514.8 / year by way of selling Carbon Credits (@ $ 10 / credit )
Ø That is approx.. Rs 41,200 ( at $ 1 = Rs 80 )
Ø For
1 crore COMPOSIT installations, REC will earn ……….. Rs 41,200 crore / year
( on investment
of Rs 1.46 lakh*crore )
Ø REC
will recover its entire investment in 3 years !
( 51
) R K Singhji : Saluting a Revolutionary Reformer …………. 02 Feb 2024
( 52
) Thanks, Shri Modiji – from 250 Million Families ……………. 03 Feb 2024
Extract :
Where did
you find acceptance of your suggestion ( for merging of two schemes ) by Shri
Modiji ?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that government initiatives such
as solar panel rooftops for 1 crore households announced in the interim
Budget along with a clean cooking mission will be a boost for the
battery manufacturing industry and bring down the cost of batteries for
electric passenger vehicles.
Speaking at the inauguration
of the three-day Bharat Mobility Summit, he said,
“ If I push the clean cooking movement [in the country with] 25 crore households so that you have rooftop solar
[panels] and provision for battery storage, this will fuel clean cooking and demand for
batteries. This will bring down the cost of car batteries.”
( 53
) Found : Missing piece of Jigsaw Puzzle ………………………….. 05 Feb 2024
( 54
) Surya Ghar : Missing the Wood for the Trees ? ……………… 15 Feb 2024
Extract
:
DISCOMs
already have this data for each and every consumers ( look up any monthly
Electricity Bill of any DISCOM )
Why ask
this data from an applicant ?
In
fact, why ask ANY ONE to “ apply “ in
the first place ? To me, it seems totally UNNECESSARY
Every
DISCOM has an elaborate DAABASE of its consumers . In matter of seconds , a search will produce a list of
those consumers whose last 12 months average consumption was LESS THAN 300
UNITS
And since
full address of each consumer is also available with the DISCOM , it can
tabulate for each building :
Ø Which ( and how many ) consumers are ELIGIBLE for the scheme
Ø Which are NOT ELIGIBLE
All that
DISCOM has to do is to send out appropriately worded E Mail ( Scheme / Purpose
/ Funding / Eligibility Criteria / Benefits / Obligations etc ) to
the eligible consumers, requesting them to click :
# Yes
, I am interested to avail of this scheme. Please send someone to my residence
to conduct FEASIBILITY study
# No , I am not interested
( 55
) Surya Ghar Yojana : How to motivate DISCOMS ………… 15 Feb 2024
Extract
:
I urge you to consider sharing the income
generated from CARBON CREDITS / GREEN CREDITS, as follows :
# For REC ……………… 70 % ( since, as
per my suggestion, REC would bear total
cost of each RTS )
# For DISCOM…………30 % ( this could
be restricted for first 3 years / thereafter
NET METERING will kick in )
Of course, this ( generation / encashment of
GREEN CREDIT ), is contingent upon
my proposal to make this a COMPOSIT scheme by
linking it with distribution of
Electric Induction Stoves under National
Clean Cooking Mission
( 56
) Nuclear or Solar ? Choice is clear …………………………….. 23 Feb 2024
( 57
) Dr Murmuji : Your Opportunity Knocks ……………………. 25 Feb 2024
Extract :
SOLUTION :
We need to
find a way to sqeeze in ( say ) 20 installations ( 3 Kw each ) needing 6,000 sq
ft , on a roof area of 1,000 sq ft
That is
where CMERI innovation of Solar Tree , could be the PERFECT solution . “ Grow
Vertical “ is the answer
I could
not find any latest information about this Solar Tree
But, NOW is the time to seize this opportunity and come up with a
perfected / commercial version proto-type , on the double ( 4 weeks ?
) , with features / specifications which are equal to or better than the
following American Solar Trees :
Dr Murmuji ,
Under
Surya Ghar yojana, Govt has estimated the “ Sale Price “ of a 3 Kw installation
at Rs 1.2 lakh
Four of
these ( 12 Kw ) will sell for Rs 4.8 lakh ( as against CMERI estimate of Rs 7.5 lakh for 11.5 Kw )
But if EESL / CESL are mandated to conduct a MASS PURCHASE ( 25 lakh “
Solar Trees “ , each of 12 Kw ) , then, I am sure that price can be brought
down to Rs 4.5 lakh
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