Capturing the Sun

“Energy storage clubbed with solar power can almost eradicate the need for conventional energy systems as it makes the renewable energy predictable and round the clock,” says Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Chairman, ACME
 Solar is all set to become a crucial component of India’s energy portfolio. In an exclusive interview with EPR, Manoj Kumar Upadhyay suggests the roadmap to make solar power competitive with grid parity. He observes that the target of generating 20,000 MW under JNNSM is not a tough target.
Can solar power reduce India’s dependence on imports of diesel and coal for power generation?Sure!  The country’s dependence on conventional fuels that fulfil most of its energy demands can be curtailed by the uptake of solar power. We have an ideal location for solar power generation; our country has a great advantage of being in the equatorial sun belt of the earth thereby receiving abundant radiant energy from the sun. Clear sunny days are experienced 250 to 300 days a year in most parts of India. The annual global radiation varies from 1,600 to 2,200 kWh/m2 which is comparable with radiation received in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.
On the financial parameters, during the last few years, cost reduction in solar and cost increase in conventional power have shown significant potential for solar to compete with conventional, grid-connected electricity.
Here, we would like to add the element of energy storage that can revolutionise the entire energy infrastructure.  Energy storage clubbed with solar power can almost eradicate the need for conventional energy systems as it makes the renewable energy predictable and round the clock.  The surplus power generated can be stored in the energy storage device and then drawn back in the absence of the generating source or during peak demand.
Solar will soon become a crucial component of India’s energy portfolio. Solar will fill India’s supply gap while tackling unmet demand.
India sets a target of generating 20,000MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022. Is it an achievable target?We believe that the target of 20,000 MW is not a tough target and will be fully achievable with the support of the central and state governments, efficient solar policies and conducive regulatory framework along with the support from financial and banking institutions.  
On the implementation front, over the last few years, the technological advancements and manufacturing at a decent scale brought down the cost of the solar photovoltaic panels and have helped bringing down the levelised cost of energy.
However, to make solar power competitive with grid parity and to achieve the target successfully, support from financial institutions is a must. Incentives like priority sector lending, long tenure financing i.e. up to the life of the plant and low cost funding will be a boon for solar industry in achieving grid parity.
What are the steps to be taken to achieve this target?The current uptake of renewable energy can be scaled up in multiples with effective policy and regulatory support.
One of the most influential plans in India is National Action Plan for Climate Change, under which the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is playing a key role for most of the solar power investments in the country. Most of the states have also come up with their own feed-in-tariff mechanisms.
However efforts are still lagging for setting up solar projects under Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) issued by various State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).The penalty mechanism is unclear under RPO mechanism and there is a lack of clarity in terms of project cash flows beyond 2017 under REC mechanism. It is further leading to difficulties in financing and paying collaterals and securities to achieve financial closure.

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