Policy Niggles Put Indias Solar Dream Under A Shadow

The ministry of new and renewable energy set a target of adding 1,100 Mw of solar power capacity in 2014-15. The ministry's website puts the achievement at just 750 Mw. The shortfall wouldn't seem as significant if it wasn't for the fact that the National Democratic Alliance government hopes to generate 100,000 Mw of power through solar projects by 2022.

The underperformance highlights the optimistic expectations of the government in revising the previous regime's target of 20,000 Mw under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission fivefold, despite the country adding less than 1,000 Mw of solar capacity per year in the five years since the scheme's inception. The current installed solar power capacity in the country is a mere 3,062 Mw, and the 2022 objective is, therefore, looking increasingly improbable. Targets beyond that look almost impossible to achieve.

"If India is to get 60 per cent of its 2035 electricity needs from solar power, it would need to build solar power plants that generate 1,600 gigawatts," points out Tobias Engelmeier, founder and director, Bridge to India, a consultancy firm monitoring foreign investment in India's renewable energy sector. "From today's base, that would require 35 per cent growth every year. And given today's solar cell efficiencies, the solar cells would occupy around 1 per cent of India's total landmass."

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Credit: green-energy-digest.blogspot.com