Indian Govt offers 80% incentive to push solar power

Chennai, July 13. 2008 The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has fixed an interim tariff of Rs 3.15 a kWh for grid connected solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation plants.

The cost of generating 1 MW of power from a solar plant is Rs15-20 million.
asr: Rs. 20 million => 20/40 = $1/2 Milion => $500,000 ( as per indian estimate )


This will be the purchase rate at which the distribution licensee – the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board – will buy power from the solar power producers.

The order is significant in that this paves the way for the proposed grid connected solar power projects to get additional benefits offered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to promote solar power.

The Ministry will offer priority to those projects in the States where the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved or notified a tariff for solar power.

The Ministry, through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, will provide a generation-based incentive of Rs 12 a kWh for solar photovoltaic projects and Rs 10 a kWh for solar thermal power generation projects eligible for such incentives. Only units that are commissioned before December 31, 2009 are fully eligible for this support.

Under this programme the Ministry plans to support installation of up to 50 MW of solar power projects. Projects with an aggregate capacity of up to 10 MW in a State would be considered for the incentive. Developers can set up a maximum aggregate capacity of 5 MW through a single project or multiple projects of at least 1 MW each.

The incentive offered is to develop and demonstrate the technical performance of grid interactive solar power generation and reduce cost of the grid connected solar power generation.
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Govt flooded with applications for new solar plants
Tuesday, 24 June , 2008, 16:07
Last Updated: Tuesday, 24 June , 2008, 16:24


Asansol (West Bengal): The Central Government has received several proposals for setting up solar power plants that would generate a total of 2,000 MW, New and Renewable Energy Secretary V Subramanian said.

"We have got proposals to set up solar power plants across India. Taken together, the proposals add up to 2,000 MW capacity. We will forward the proposals to the cabinet committee concerned and carry forward whatever decision they take," Subramanian said.

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He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the country's first grid-connected solar power project here. "We had earlier planned to give incentives for generating an additional 50 MW from solar plants this year and have asked for expression of interest for that," he said.

“The Department has kept aside Rs.1 billion for this. But now, after receiving proposals for 2,000 MW, this cost will multiply."

The cost of generating 1 MW of power from a solar plant is Rs15-20 million.
asr: Rs. 20 million => 20/40 = $1/2 Milion => $500,000 ( as per indian estimate )

Subramanian said the centre has also received applications for generating a total of 500 MW by setting up solar thermal plants.

Incidentally, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) is executing a Rs 400 million solar power project at the Dishergarh Power Station Complex in Burdwan district. The company has taken a Rs 309 million loan from the Power Finance Corporation for the project.

The Central Government would pay a generation-based incentive of Rs10 per unit.

Subramanian said although the cost of producing green power was quite high, it would be at par with conventional energy costs by 2017.
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Govt offers 80% incentive to push solar power
BS Reporter / New Delhi January 02, 2008
In a push to develop solar energy in the country, the government has announced that it would bear up to 80% of the cost of generating power.

The cost of generating one unit of solar power is Rs 15. The central government, in partnership with state governments, will give incentives of up to Rs 12 per unit of the cost of generating the power.

The ministry of new and renewable energy, has drawn up a roadmap of generating 50 MW of solar power in the current Five-Year Plan that ends in 2012. "Some states such as Punjab and West Bengal have already shown interest. Each state can easily generate up to 10 MW of solar power. Together with the state governments, we want to incentivise this clean energy source," said minister of new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar.

The incentive for generating the planned 50 MW of solar power would result in government spending of close to Rs 90 crore.

The incentive is being given "in view of the present high initial capital cost of setting up solar power plants and the cost of electricity from such plants," the minister said.

The cost of setting up a solar power generating unit is around Rs 20 crore per MW. For setting up a thermal power plant, the cost is around Rs 4 per MW, while for hydropower it is around Rs 6 per MW.

"The gestation period of a solar power unit is much shorter than that for a thermal or hydropower plant," Muttemwar said.

The government is focussing on setting up solar power generating unit in west and central India, "which receives the maximum sunlight," Muttemwar said. He added that the main states would be Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

"The 50 MW generation could come up as early as in the next year and a half," he said.

The power generated from the solar unit would be fed into the grid. "The incentives will be given only for the electricity that is fed into the grid and not for that which companies use for captive purposes," Muttemwar said
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Power in the wind
Bikram Singh Virk :The writer is from NJSA Government College, Kapurthala

asr: article is dated 20051118 , so info is 2006 January info .
Historically, India has witnessed energy shortages. According to the Central Electricity Authority, in fiscal 2005, demand for electricity exceeded supply by an estimated 7.3 per cent (7.1 per cent in fiscal 2004) in terms of total requirements and 11.7 per cent (11.2 per cent in fiscal 2004) in terms of peak demand requirements. Although power generation capacity has increased substantially in recent years, it has not kept pace with the growth in demand or the growth of the economy generally.

According to the United Nations,
India, with 355 kwh per capita electricity consumption in 2000, has one of the lowest electricity consumption levels in the world, in part due to unreliable supply and inadequate distribution networks.
This contrasts with 827 kwh per capita in China,
1,878 kwh per capita in Brazil and
12,331 kWh per capita in the United States, in 2000.

As of March 31, 2005, India’s power system had an installed generation capacity of approximately 115,544.8 MW. Of the installed capacity, thermal power plants powered by coal, gas naphtha or oil accounted for approximately 69.4 per cent of total power capacity. Hydroelectric stations accounted for approximately 26 per cent and others (including nuclear stations and wind power) accounted for approximately 4.5 per cent.

Wind energy is emerging as a strong source of power generation in the world. From a meager share of 0.2 per cent in the total installed capacity, share of wind power is expected to go up to 3 per cent by 2030. The countries like Denmark are meeting 20 per cent of their power needs from wind energy.

Wind power exploration started in India way back in 1983-84 with the information of an independent Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES). The MNES has promoted a market-oriented strategy which has led to commercial development of wind technology.

The total wind power potential in the country’s 45,000 MW.

Seven states in India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh) have the highest potential and account for over 99 per cent of wind power installations in India.

Five companies, Suzlon, NEPC, Vestas RRB, Enercon and GE Wind in the private sector are establishing wind farms in these seven states. Suzlon at the moment is the market leader with 42.8 per cent of the total installed capacity in India, followed by Vestas with 32 per cent and Enercon with 15.2 per cent of the total installed capacity in the country. The wind power is gaining popularity due to its clean generation process and falling per kilowatt hour cost of generation. According to US, the cost power kwh of wind power, which was $ 0.38 in 1980s had come down to 0.03 to 0.08 $ per kwh. Moreover, the carbon credits which are given to the clean energy generators under the Kyoto Climate Summit of 1997, are also an attraction to the power generators in this sector.

The wind turbine generators (WTG) in the wind farms set up in Maharashtra, MP, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have been purchased by some of the leading companies like Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, John Deere and Nirma. The power generated at the wind farms is supplied to the state electricity boards at a pre-agreed price ranging between Rs. 3 and 3.48 per unit. The state electricity board supplies the power to these industries at their factories after receiving the wheeling charges. If the power is not used by any owner, he may get the payment in cash after deduction of certain charges by the SEB as per agreement.
(asr: it seems this is the way Private companies ensure they get electricity they want by giving it to grid with their own Wind turbines some where so they do not have power cuts )

Earlier, the WTGs installed by the power generating companies were 750 kwh to 1000 kwh capacity. But due to improvement in technology, the WTGs with higher capacity of 1250 kwh to 2000 kwh are being installed at the new sites. The cost of installing one WTG of 1000 kwh ranges from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 5 crore. The companies provide support from installation to running, maintenance and management for 20 years. If tapped fully, India inc. can harness energy equal to 45 Bhakra dams from this environment-friendly source of energy.
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Title:
Observational evidence of solar dimming: Offsetting surface warming over India
Authors:
Padma Kumari, B.; Londhe, A. L.; Daniel, S.; Jadhav, D. B.
Affiliation:
AA(Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India); AB(Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India); AC(India Meteorological Department, Pune, India); AD(Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India)
Publication:
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 34, Issue 21, CiteID L21810 (GeoRL Homepage)
Publication Date:
11/2007

Abstract
Monthly mean surface reaching solar radiation (S) measurements under all sky conditions have been evaluated for 12 stations, which are widely distributed over the Indian region, for the period 1981-2004. It is noteworthy that all the stations showed decline in S ranging from -0.17 to -1.44 W/m2 per year. The average solar dimming observed over India for the period 1981-2004 is ~-0.86 W/m2 per year while during winter, pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons it is ~-0.94, ~-1.04 and ~-0.74 W/m2 per year, respectively. Decadal monthly mean S for the two decades 1981-1990 and 1991-2000 showed strong decline during the second decade with an average reduction of 5% per two decades. Despite the drastic decrease in S, the all India averaged surface maximum and minimum air temperatures have been increasing. But, the change in increase in maximum temperature from the first decade to second decade is only marginal under the present situation of drastic increase in greenhouse gas emissions, while the increase in minimum temperature has been doubled.