Viability of Solar Cities in India
Published on : Sunday 14-06-2020
India receives more than 3,000 hours of sunshine every year which is equivalent to 5000 trillion kWh of energy. Moreover, the country has an aptitude to generate approximately 1.9 trillion units of solar power annually. It is predicted that this is equivalent to the entire annual power demand until 2030.
Considering the future trend and past developments, it is predicted that India intends to generate solar power 100 GW by 2022. Moreover, Indian solar power accounted for over 11.4 BUs of electricity produced in Q1 2019, compared to 8.5 BUs generated in the Q1 2018. This showcased the growth of 34% y-o-y, as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). There is drastically reduced in the tariffs by the government is expected to raise the demand. Moreover, the collaboration and partnership of the Government of India (GoI) with the NTPC, NLC, CIL, NHPC, and Railways are further enhancing the investment in the solar sector to further enhance the scope for solar cities in India.
According to the Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2017 report stated that the country is lacking in generating solar energy to meet the demand for the solar cities in India. Moreover, the foreign investment in the partnership with the domestic energy companies to provide more efficient solutions to generate solar energy to meet the goal for the establishment of solar cities in India. In addition, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released around USD 1 billion for the formation of 60 solar cities along with the development of 52 green campuses.
Based on these preconditions about how India can develop in the field of solar energy to formulate its strategy to develop solar cities. Moreover, there are many factors that enhance the possibility for the development of solar cities based on solar energy –
Geographical Advantage – Indian enrich with its geographical location as it can produce enough energy to meet its own requirements along with the supply to the global market, as it has the power to receive about 3,000 long hours of sunshine
Ongoing Solar Cities Project in India – Under “Development of Solar Cities” schemes, India has inaugurated to developed 60 solar cities including 13 pilot and 5 model cities up to 12th five-year plan period.
Highly Advantageous at Lower Cost – In the current market, there is a high cost of solar panels and solar systems, which reduces its use in the residential application without government rebate scheme involvement. However, the foreign direct investment and investment from the government in the solar infrastructure are expected to create the scope for advancement and innovation to lowering the cost of the solar equipment to further meet the demand for solar panels in the development of solar cities in India.