Solar Energy thread

[ericos87]

Hi guys,

Instead of putting Solar Energy related news under the Renewable Energy thread, I thought of creating a separate thread which focuses exclusively on Sun, and Solar Panels, Solar Power, the JNNSM, and everything solar related. So, I would encourage all of you to post every solar related information here.

Thank you

[ericos87]

Status Of Solar Energy In INDIA – 2010
September 26, 2010 | By sunfeed | In solar

India is a country of over a billion people. There are around 60,000villages which are still un-electrified and 75% of the rural population still depends on bio-fuels. India as a country still depends heavily on imports of oil and natural gas when it comes to meeting the daily energy needs. Using these sources of energy is an economic burden to the government and at the same time they heavily contribute to the pollution. To realize the dream of becoming a superpower by 2020 India needs to be self-sufficient in its energy needs. Even though non-renewable sources of energy such as oil and gas are cheaper to work with than renewable sources, Renewable sources have an advantage in terms of the pollution they create, hence if we can work towards bringing down the cost of working with these energy sources, we can kill two birds with a stone. Since India lies at the tropic of cancer we get abundant sunshine to make full use of solar energy. Solar energy has become an attractive source of renewable energy because of reduction in the cost of manufacturing of solar panel these days.


Moody sun burst hovering over a trough at Kramer Junction

With about 300 clear sunny days in a year, India’s theoretical solar power reception, just on its land area, is about 5 PWh/year (i.e. = 5 trillion kWh/year ~ 600 TW). The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 kWh/m2 with about 2,300–3,200 sunshine hours per year, depending uponlocation. This is far more than current total energy consumption. For example, even assuming 10% conversion efficiency for PV modules, it will still be thousand times greater than the likely electricity demand in India by the year 2015.

Presently India fulfills only 1% of the total need with renewable sources of energy while solar accounts for a total of 0.4% only. These non-conventional sources of energy have the capability of fulfilling the need without harming the environment. As of October 2009 the country had around 50,000 solar lighting systems and around 3,42,000 home lightning systems. The combined number of solar lanterns and box type solar cookers is around 1.1 million. The total power generated by solar-voltaic power plants is around 1,556kW. Considering India as a large country these numbers are miniscule. The present government has taken some steps to utilize the solar energy. A solar mission named “Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission” was launched in January 2010, which promises to generate 1,000MW by 2013 and 20GW by 2020. However a point to note is that India is now ranked number one with United States in terms of total solar power generation capacity. Experts are recommending that India should adopt a policy to create solar energy as a backbone of its economy by 2050.

Corporate houses like INDOSOLAR have started producing world-class solar panels with high efficiencies ranging up to 17.2%. Indosolar is currently producing 160MWp and plans to produce 260MWp by 2011. Non-Profit organizations like TERI (The Energy and Resource Institute) have also come up with projects like LABL (lighting a billion lives) Campaign to enhance access to clean energy and ease in creation of rural green jobs in association with The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.

While the merits of installing solar equipment are large it suffers from a few drawbacks. The efficiency of solar panels is still 15% of the sunlight energy received. The cost of production ranges from Rs. 8 to Rs. 30 per unit compared to Rs. 5 to Rs. 8 per unit of conventional thermal energy. We can store solar energy only using large batteries, which can be an environmental risk. There has been a slow progress over the years and India has fallen short of achieving the desired momentum. India is now 7th worldwide in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cell production and 9th in Solar Thermal Systems production with nations like Japan, China, and the US currently ranked ahead of it.

To summarize we can see that some steps have been taken to tap the potential of solar energy but still more effort needs to be put in. We need more private investments so that the initial costs of the panels come down. We need the government to fund research projects to develop solar panel with high-efficiency. Also common man needs to be made aware about the merits so that he is convinced to use solar energy in his day-to-day life.

The pie chart for the worldwide use of Renewable Energy is shown below:

Source

[ericos87]

India's solar mission is off to a shining start
Lee Hong Liang, Singapore
Published: Friday, October 8 2010

Photograph: Government of India

Farooq Abdullah, left, India's Minister for New and Renewable Energy, at the inauguration of a PV project in Karnataka state

First round of project bidding exceeded government offer by more than six times

About 400 companies are believed to have applied for the 150MW of solar PV on offer, resulting in bids of nearly 2GW. Some 30 companies will be selected to build one 5MW plant each by 2013.

For solar thermal, 40-50 companies submitted a total of about 2GW, compared with the target of 500MW.

The bids came despite efforts by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to set a limit of 5MW per applicant for PV and 100MW for solar thermal.

The 650MW bidding round forms part of the first phase of the ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which aims to install 20GW of on-grid solar power by 2022.

India currently has total on-grid power production capacity of about 150GW, but no more than 15MW comes from solar.

The authorities require bidders to state the lowest price at which they are willing to sell solar power.

The electricity regulator has set a guideline price of 15.31 rupees ($0.34) per kWh for solar-thermal projects, which are likely to require lower capital costs, compared with 17.91 rupees for PV.

Solar-thermal projects, however, will take longer to be built. The mission's guidelines require those projects to be commissioned within 28 months of signing power-purchase agreements (PPAs), while PV projects are given 12 months.

PPAs are likely to be signed in November or December, according to local reports.

After awarding the 650MW capacity under the first round, the authorities are likely to call for a second round of bidding for 350MW of solar PV early next year, Raj Prabhu, managing partner of Mercom Capital Group, tells Recharge.

This will add up to 1GW of grid-connected capacity in 2013 under the phase-one target. PV and solar thermal will take up 500MW each. Phase two (2013-17) development will be followed by a final phase (2017-22) that will see India commission 20GW of installed solar and 2GW of off-grid solar.

Developers of PV projects must procure all their modules from the domestic market, while solar-thermal developers must ensure 30% local content.

Source: http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/s....ece?lots=site

[ericos87]

SOLARPLAZA to organize The Solar Future: India 2011 show in Delhi
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010

NEW DELHI, INDIA: SOLARPLAZA, one of the leading international event organizers in the renewable energy space has now extended its footprint to India.

After six years of successful existence and over 25 events in other markets, the firm will kick-off its India footprint through The Solar Future: India 2011, which will be held over two days at The Grand, New Delhi on January 24-25, 2011. The theme for the India edition will be “India: Development of a New Solar Super Power".

“The Solar Future” PV conferences worldwide have been known for their large scale presentation, besides delivering significantly high value for the local solar/PV industry. The Delhi edition of this world-class, two day international conference is expected to not only attract high profile speakers from across the world, but also attract delegations who will visit India to understand the market, the potential and opportunities here.

According to Edwin Koot, CEO, SOLARPLAZA: “Endowed with abundant sunlight 300 days in a year, having the cost advantage in the production of solar cells & modules and the impetus provided by the rolling out of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by the central government and followed upon by many state governments, India today has a huge opportunity to become a Solar Super Power.

The need of the hour is for the world to know firsthand of the opportunities here and for Indian companies to learn the best practices of other markets. This is something that SOLARPLAZA is positioned to do well and “The Solar Future: India” is the first step in that direction. We look forward to the successful conduct of this Delhi edition and there are more planned or on the anvil for the Indian market.”

Key topics deliberated at the two-day conference will be:

* The JN-NSM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) and related solar PV targets, incentives, perspectives of international market and industry trends.
* Policy plans, programs and incentives of Indian states.
* Business opportunities in the Indian PV market, Practical experiences and challenges faced by established players in the industry.
* Very large scale PV power plants - Is cheap solar energy possible in three years? Can solar power plants compete with fossil fuel power plants?
* Crystalline silicon or thin film - which is better for power generation in India?
* The Solar Future in India: Will India become the New Solar Super Power?

The Solar Future: India 2011 is being held at the time that challenges related to capital cost, high expertise of the technology-intensive manufacturing processes and the environmental costs are being addressed with the support from the Government and breakthroughs are happening in R&D.

Source

[ChennaiIndian]

Cross-posting from TN thread. Courtesy: think_different

Originally Posted by think_different

[ericos87]

Cool!

[Theta1]

Solar power is another way to go for India, we get more sunshine than many parts of the world, I heard somewhere that India and USA are researching together to make a solar collector in space, is there any news on this?

[Kewl Batty]

5MW seems to be very low! We need solar farms producing around 1000 MW ;-) [I know its difficult, but achievable.. ]

[SSCaddict]

are you sure? from where will you get Rs12,000 cr for that

[Theta1]

From India's corrupt politicians, bureaucrats.

[SSCaddict]

[bonoslack7]

Cross-posting from TN Projects and Developments thread

Originally Posted by bonoslack7

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...roject/420116/

R.P.P. Infra Projects Limited, primarily engaged in the business of infrastructure development such as highways, roads and bridges plans to enter into Solar Power project. The company plans to set – up a plant of 5 MW to generate electricity from non-conventional sources as solar power with the total investment of Rs. 80 crores. The company plans to commence the operation in the financial year of March 2011 - 2012.

The project will utilize crystalline technology for producing power by solar energy. This project foresees generation of safe, reliable electricity in an environmental friendly way. The company has selected the site at Kamudhi, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, aggregated 92 acres of land in Tamil Nadu to set – up their ambitious project of the non-conventional energy as solar power plant. This site is considered to be one of the most potential areas identified for the solar energy, in South India. As per the geographical location of this site, latitude: 9° 25' 17" N, longitude: 78° 21' 45" E the annual solar radiation in the site is 5.6 Kwh/Sq.m.

For the solar power project, the company plans to enter through Joint Ventures with potential solar cell manufacturing companies in Thailand and China. The company is in advance talks with Thai Agency Engineering Cooperation Limited from Thailand. The company is also looking for the prospective partners from the company in China to commence their operation for Solar Power Projects.

The investment for the solar power project would be based on the agreement between the company and its Joint Venture partner. Funding for the project shall be finalised once the JV is crystallised.

Commenting on this project, Mr. Arul Sundaram, Chairman and Managing Director of RPP Infra Projects Limited said that “Solar power is one of the major non conventional energy resources available in plenty in this sub continent. Government of India has formed Jawarharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and fixed the targets for the year ending 2012, 2015 & 2020 totaling to 20000 MWs. This clearly depicts the focus on the sector and to meet up the rising demand for the energy.

He further added: “We are looking for the prospective partners in China location for our ambitious project. We be finalizing the potential partner in coming months”

Apart from this project, the company also plans to set - up a manufacture unit for Solar PV module in coming years as the demand for the PV module is growing at a very fast pace.

[ericos87]

It's time for India to turn to the sun
Kirit Parikh, Hindustan Times
December 30, 2010

A major energy transformation is around the corner. A shortage of hydrocarbons in light of the rapidly growing economies of developing countries, their continuing profligate use in developed countries and the growing threat of climate change ordain it. By 2030, India will need three to four times as much energy as we currently use, if our economy is to grow at 8% to 9% a year. We face huge challenges here. We import nearly 80% of our oil consumption - which was 133 metric tonnes (Mt) in 2008-09 and is expected to be around 142 Mt in 2010-11. By 2030, we may need from 350 Mt to 500 Mt of oil a year, depending on our growth rate and the policies we follow. Our domestic production of crude is expected to be around 35 Mt and we will need to import the rest. Will we be able to access the oil we need?

While we have the resources to produce the coal we require, our ability to produce it as needed has been constrained by a number of hurdles. Environmental and other clearances form one such block - I am told Coal India needs 26 clearances before it can open a mine. The public sector monopoly and procedures that tie it up are another hurdle. Concern over climate change is a third.

Meanwhile, though total coal production in 2011-12 is expected to be around 570 Mt, from a long-term point of view, we are short of coal. Our known extractable reserves will not last beyond 2050 if our coal consumption continues to grow as it has been growing over the past 25 years. Meanwhile, the recently prescribed 'no-go' areas for coal mining, as laid down by the environment ministry, have also reduced extractable coal reserves and we may now run out of coal earlier than expected.

Thus, we face two main challenges: Where do we get our oil, and what to do when our coal runs out?

World oil production is currently at about 4,000 Mt and is expected to reach 5,200 Mt by 2030. Of course, depending on the price of crude oil, production could vary between 4,700 Mt to 6,000 Mt. India's import of 300 Mt to 450 Mt will constitute 6% to 9% of global production, up from less than 3% today. We could try to access oil by acquiring oil assets abroad. While this would help us face the market risk of high oil prices, it would not necessarily increase our access to oil. In times of global shortage, the government of our host country could forbid the export of its oil. Instances of such resource nationalism are already being seen.

We can diversify the risk of such nationalism by acquiring assets in many different countries - and by having strong trade relations with these countries, so that we could pose the counter threat of halting vital exports to these countries if they threatened to stop the export of oil. In other situations, how worthwhile it is to acquire assets abroad depends on the price we have to pay, the probability of finding oil and the projected price of crude oil in the future. It is largely a commercial decision. If other investments promise higher returns, then the foreign exchange earned could provide the same insurance against high oil prices as oil assets abroad would have done.

So how high can oil prices go? In the very short term, they could go quite high if countries fail to mobilise alternatives and restrict demand. However, in the long run, price rise will be restrained by the availability of alternatives. Among these are shale gas or tar oil and renewables such as ethanol and biodiesel. Sugarcane- and corn-based ethanol require land and water and are therefore not a serious option for us, since this would compete with food production. Cellulosic ethanol made from agricultural waste and byproducts could be a very large and very important source that would not compete with food production. We could produce 200 Mt to 300 Mt of cellulosic ethanol a year. The only catch is that the technology is not yet economically viable. Many countries are working on it and Denmark is even in the process of setting up a commercial plant. I therefore expect a major breakthrough in this technology over the next few years. Once that happens, oil prices will level out.

Shale gas production is increasing rapidly too, and this is one reason gas prices today are almost delinked from crude prices. Shale gas production will help moderate oil prices on the international market.

Natural gas could also be an important substitute, even for transport fuel, as we have seen in CNG buses, taxis and three-wheelers. Due to the increased availability of natural gas, most cities will be served by piped gas instead of LPG, with the latter provided to rural households as a clean cooking fuel. Most rural households cook with biomass-based fuels such as wood and dung, which cause much indoor air pollution and lead to respiratory diseases, eye infections and premature deaths - by some estimates, as many as half a million death a year.

The dual threat of high oil prices and climate change has stimulated action towards energy efficiency around the world. In fact, the younger generations, feeling the burden of climate change, will push even harder for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

So how do we replace coal? Alternatives that greatly reduce carbon emissions are nuclear and solar energy. Their carbon emissions come from the construction of the plant and equipment manufacture, but not from the plants themselves.

We are, unfortunately, short on nuclear fuel, with domestically available uranium enough to run over their lifetime only 10,000 MW of first-generation nuclear plants of the type we have today. To put that in perspective, our installed capacity in the country is currently about 170,000 MW and the projected requirement for 2030 is about 800,000 to 1 million MW. However, our strategy is to build fast breeder reactors that can run on the plutonium and depleted uranium produced by the first-generation plants as they generate electricity. The fast breeder reactor in turn generates more plutonium than is put in. Thus it breeds plutonium, as the name implies, and after eight to 10 years, there is enough plutonium to start a new breeder reactor. This way, when fully recycled with the domestically available uranium, we could set up and operate 500,000 MW of fast breeders. The catch is that this takes time and, over the next 20 years, based only on our own resources of uranium, we could set up no more than 50,000 MW of nuclear plants.

Of course with the agreement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, we could import uranium as well as first-generation plants and nuclear capacity could be created earlier.

In the third stage, the fastbreeders are used to convert thorium to uranium 233, which is a fissile isotope, and then run nuclear plants on it. We have vast amount of thorium and the ultimate capacity could be as large as 5 million MW.

Given the timeline for developing a nuclear plant, solar energy becomes our most readily available energy resource. With just 10 million hectares of land covered with today's commercially available photovoltaic cells with an efficiency of 15%, we could collect all the projected energy requirements of 2035. The land could be desert land or other unproductive land and there would be no competition with food production. Unfortunately, the cost of this electricity is around Rs 13 per kilowatt hour (kWhr), compared to Rs 3 per kWhr for power generated by coal-based plants. With technical progress and mass production, the costs could be brought down. Thus the primary objective of our solar mission is to make the cost of solar energy comparable to the cost of coal-based energy by 2020. In order to do this, the first 20,000 MW would need to be subsidised in a way that encouraged innovation and cost reduction. I feel confident that we will make solar cost-competitive to coal by 2020 or soon after.

Once we have abundant power, we can think of using it to produce hydrogen, which can be used as a transport fuel. Also, if the technology could be developed to cheaply convert solar energy directly into hydrogen, one could even envision small power packs that could be mounted on the roof to supply electricity for lighting at night and hydrogen to run the car as well. This could be as revolutionary a game-changer as the cellphone. Such a development is feasible, but one cannot count on it to come about soon enough.

Given the limited hydrocarbon resources of the country, even if there were no threat of climate change, it would be imperative that we develop solar technology for power and cellulosic ethanol for transport fuel. I am confident that we will see these get developed over the next decade or so, heralding a transformation of the country's energy sector.

(Kirit Parikh is the chairman of independent research institute Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) and former member of the Planning Commission)

The views expressed by the author are personal

Source

[ericos87]

India researchers look to solar to fix energy problem
Samanth Subramanian
Last Updated: Jan 11, 2011



Villagers inspect solar panels at the Gujarat Solar Park in Charanka village, in
Gujarat state. Research suggests that the state, along with Rajasthan and
Karnataka, is flooded with enough sunlight to accommodate large solar
power plants.

SAM PANTHAKY / AFP

NEW DELHI // In a country that can appear to be perpetually awash with sunlight, TV Ramachandra is working hard to find the sunniest spots in the land.

Prof Ramachandra, from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, is leading a group of researchers analysing 22 years of solar energy data from the records of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

The objective is to find India's solar hotspots - locations that are best suited for the installation of commercial solar power plants.

"As a country as a whole, India is blessed with solar energy," Prof Ramachandra said. Even in Himachal Pradesh, a hilly state in India's north, he said, there is some potential. "But you have to look at the data to figure out the best spots."

Renewable resources contribute about 11 per cent to India's electricity generation; of that, solar energy comprises merely 0.01 per cent or about 18 megawatts per year.

India's plans for solar energy are ambitious. Under the US$19 billion (Dh90bn) National Solar Mission, launched last January, India hopes to generate 1,000 megawatts of solar power annually by 2013, and as much as 20 gigawatts by 2022. A gigawatt of energy can power nearly a million homes. The scope for solar power in India is immense. A recent infrastructure advisory report from Crisil, a ratings and research agency, estimated India's solar potential to be five trillion kilowatt-hours per year. That figure is far higher than the 568 billion kilowatt-hours of power consumed in 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The solar mission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last year, occupies "pride of place in India's National Action Plan on Climate Change". The government's encouragement of solar power plants - and the subsidies and incentives available therein - have tempted many companies into the solar energy field.

Last September, for instance, when the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation invited bids for solar power plants, it received more than 400 applications - what one executive called an "overwhelming response".

But most of these companies are, by necessity, basing their strategies on the shallow fund of solar radiation data currently available. India has only 45 radiation stations across the country - hardly enough to provide a comprehensive picture of its solar energy potential.

"Right now, the meteorological department is the main source for most of the data, and whatever is available is not all that accurate," said Jagat Jawa, the director general of the Solar Energy Society of India, the country's chapter of the non-profit International Solar Energy Society.

The ministry of new and renewable energy is trying to establish more radiation monitoring stations around the country, said Mr Jawa. That new data will be supplemented by studies such as Prof Ramachandra's, which is supported in part by the ministry of environment and forests.

"Looking at the country, you have to ask which pockets are really good for solar energy - whether they get, say, sufficient sunlight for six months of the year or eight months of the year," Prof Ramachandra said.

Many places in India, the research group found, receive an average of four radiation units per square metre - enough to set up solar water heaters. Some hotspots received six or eight units per square metre, indicating a suitability for larger power plants.

The research - which Mr Ramachandra is now preparing for publication - suggests that the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka are flooded with enough sunlight year-round for large power plants. The states of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, he said, are better suited to smaller plants.

Radiation data aside, Mr Jawa noted other challenges to the solar mission.

"You have to look at how available land is, and at what rate. In cities, even if the radiation is sufficient, the land is often not there to build plants," he said. "You also need a lot of water for solar thermal power plants."

But Mr Jawa is optimistic: "I'm very confident. Solar energy is going to be big."

Source

[ericos87]

Solar Energy to Dominate in India in the Future
Posted in | Renewable Energy | Solar Energy

Fossil fuels like natural gas, petroleum and coal dominate the world but the future seems to be in renewable energy sources, as fossil fuels are rapidly disappearing.

The Oil and Gas Journal, World Oil indicates that oil reserves in the world would be depleted more or less in 43 years, coal in 417 years and natural gas in 167 years. Most countries including India are banking on solar power, which can generate electricity by PV or indirectly by Concentrated Solar Power CSP. Research is being conducted to develop solar energy powered devices such as iPhones for aircrafts.

In India adoption of green technologies has relatively been much slower. However, in 2008, a massive program was launched under the aegis of the National Solar Mission (NSM) for generating 20,000 MW power by 2020. By 2035, India would lead the solar energy industry by producing 8% of the total electricity generated in the world.

Currently, the major hurdle for the solar industry in India is the prohibitive costs of the solar equipment. 1MW of solar power needs an investment of almost Rs 14 Crore, which is double the investment needed for thermal power. Furthermore, over an acre of land is required for establishing a solar unit, which could generate 1MW of power. India has a plan of subsidizing an amount of Rs. 90,000 Crore for setting up solar power plants and is concentrating on powering the remote and inaccessible villages. Corporates both in India and abroad are attracted mainly because of the huge volume of business and have shown interest for supplying the solar equipments. However, in the month of April, a regulation is to be effected, which would prevent companies from importing solar panels for the NSM (National Solar Mission). This has created a furor among the high level lobbyists in the US. But India plans to utilize locally manufactured solar panels in the NSM projects and has made it clear that NSM could utilize foreign solar panels only if they have set up manufacturing facilities inside India via joint ventures. Some of the US firms have agreed to this proposal.

Despite raising the solar energy issue during the talks conducted by Gary Locke, the US Commerce Secretary with India’s Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma, nothing has been done so far to alter the policy. Solar energy would immediately start bringing in revenues for the Indian Government as it would decrease the subsidies given by the Government for importing fossil fuels and even conventional electricity.

First Solar and SunPower are some of the US firms, which lead the solar market in the supply of solar panels. The key players in the Indian solar industry are likely to be Moser Baer India and a joint venture between BP Solar and Tata Power, the Tata BP Solar India along with a few small and medium solar panel manufacturers. Hyderabad seems to be the central point with more than 35 large and medium solar companies, and all of them through the Solar Energy Manufacturers’ Association have urged the Non-Conventional Energy Development of Andhra Pradesh (NEDCAP) to promote solar power in such a way as to reduce the production costs. The government is trying to promote the Sunder bans Solar Plant as a model for all other to emulate, as it has over 18 to 20 PV projects that supply electricity for the one lakh population.

Source

[ericos87]

Research: Solar PV installation in India to grow at 134% CAGR during 2009-2013

Date: 20th Mar 2011

RNCOS has said the solar energy installations in India have been growing at a phenomenal pace for the last few years. Most of the states are deploying PV power plants and with the implementation of the National Solar Mission, it is expected that the annual PV installed capacity will grow at a CAGR of around 134% during 2009-2013, according to RNCOS.

The study acknowledged that, India is expected to become one of the world's fastest-growing energy consumers during 2009-2013, trailing only behind China among the larger emerging-market economies. Additionally, with the growing competitiveness of the industrial sector, the energy consumption in India will spiral in coming years, which will further fuel to the development of renewable energy sector in India. Solar energy, being on top of the charts, will be benefitted the most from the public and private focus.

As per the study there is a huge potential for off-grid PV deployment, which is based upon the real requirements and benefits in areas, such as rural lighting, back-up power generation for expanding network of cellular towers across the country, electrification for powering irrigation pump sets, urban applications, etc. With more presence of private sector companies in solar, in the coming years, attractive growth opportunities will lure new market players and the market will become more competitive, as per RNCOS.

RNCOS report titled "Indian Solar Energy Market Outlook 2012", has been authored to evaluate the future growth potentials of Indian solar energy sector and its various segments.

For more information visit: http://rncos.com/Report/IM187.htm

[gtmashok]

Glad to see some projects coming up in TN. I thought that largest solar farm is coming up somewhere in Gujarat with help from Clinton foundation. Can anyone clarify this?

Also, I think Farooq Abdullah is doing a decent job in his portfolio though he doesn't seem to be an expert on renewables, judging from his generic public statements.

[ericos87]

India Set to Expand On Global Solar Energy Map in Coming Years

April 1, 2011 | Author: rncos | Posted in Utilities

According to our research report “Indian Solar Energy Market Outlook 2012”, Indian solar energy industry exhibits huge potential to become one of the top producers of solar energy in the world in coming years. The country receives about 300 sunny days annually, which is very favorable for harnessing this source of energy. The sector is now receiving continuous support from both the central and the state governments, as well as, activities from international players is increasing. With the implementation of the National Solar Mission, it is expected that the annual PV installed capacity will grow at a CAGR of around 134% during 2009-2013.

Our research has found that many Indian states (e.g. Rajasthan – there are no grid connectivity charges apart from regular tariffs provided by MNRE) have formulated transparent and coherent regulatory environment to boost the domestic solar equipment manufacturing. Additionally, the global environmental obligations related to climate change are shifting the Indian government focus from conventional to non-conventional energy sources.

Further, our report provides thorough research and prudent analysis to determine the direction, in which, the Indian solar energy market is likely to move in next few years. The report is divided into two segments, thermal and photovoltaic, and provides forecast for growth in both segments. It also includes state level analysis, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, based on recent regulatory changes and growth in the solar industry. The report thoroughly studies key industry indicators and players in the Indian solar industry.

“Indian Solar Energy Market Outlook 2012” evaluates prevailing trends and provides valuable information about the solar industry in India. Our team of experts has taken their utmost effort to understand the current trends. The report reflects the true picture of the Indian solar industry to help clients in making prudent investment decision.

Source

[ericos87]

Two new software tools from C-DAC

PUNE: The city-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will release two new software on its foundation day on Monday. 'TaxoGrid' is mainly for applications in drug discovery and 'Namescape' is a search engine used on a pilot-basis in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) project of the Union government.

Addressing the media on Saturday, Rajan T Joseph, director general, C-DAC, said, "The two tools have been developed by the bioinformatics and the multilingual departments of C-DAC. Both are extremely vital technologies that will impact the sciences as well as the masses in a big way."

According to Rajendra Joshi, head of the bioinformatics group of C-DAC, "The tool will be of immense help in vaccine development. Drug discovery usually takes five to 20 years with billion dollar investment. TaxoGrid will marginally help the discover time, but it will be a big contribution."

The tool will mainly be helpful to pharmaceutical companies in their re-search laboratories as well as those companies who are involved in vaccine development. The Bioinformatics group is looking for a tie up with the city-based National Institute of Virology in the future. The users will get infrastructure as well as technical support from C-DAC.

The software deployed for the UIDAI is a detailed search engine for identifying similar sounding words and variants in spellings of one word. Mahesh Kulkarni, programme coordinator of the Graphics and Intelligence based Script Technology (GIST), which developed this tool, said, "Its application in the Indian context is tremendous, especially with the public utility services such as the UIDA programme, the election commission, income tax department, passport and visa services among others."

Kulkarni further said, "For instance, there are 67 variants of 'Chowdhary'. If a person searches this name, then normally he/she would get only the results of the spelling typed in the search engine. But, 'Namescape' would give results of all 67 variants. In UIDAI, the search would help avoid duplication."

Source

[DS9]

SunBorne and Suntech to Partner on 100MW of Solar Projects in India

NEW DELHI and WUXI, China, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- SunBorne Energy, a leading specialist in utility scale solar solutions, and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE:STP - News), the world's largest producer of solar panels, have entered into a framework agreement for the supply of 100MW of solar panels over the next two years for projects in India.

Suntech will supply 280Wp polycrystalline silicon modules for projects that will be designed, installed and commissioned by SunBorne Energy. The agreement includes an initial order for 10MW of solar panels for a project in Gujarat, India. Through this partnership, SunBorne will deploy proven, world-class solar technology and build local solar expertise to deliver affordable solar power throughout the country.

"We chose Suntech because of their clear technology leadership and long-term commitment to India. We are proud to support the Gujarat government in their endeavour to bring clean power to India and attain energy security. This partnership reiterates our action plan of providing cost-effective utility scale solar solutions and targeting grid parity by 2017," said James Abraham, Managing Director & CEO, SunBorne Energy.

"We're excited to partner with SunBorne Energy to drive solar industry growth in India," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO. "Currently, one in three people in India lack reliable access to electricity, and the rapid deployment of solar energy has the potential to help close this gap. This project will provide thousands of people in India with clean and affordable power."

The solar industry in India has been growing rapidly, backed by government support at both the federal and state level. India has a target to reach a cumulative installation of 2GW of off-grid and 20GW of on-grid PV installations by 2022 to help meet the country's burgeoning energy demands.

Solar technology is particularly well suited to address booming energy consumption across India, as total primary energy demand is expected to increase by 3.1% annually from 2008 to 2035, according to the IEA's 2010 World Energy Outlook. The country's average annual solar insolation is one of the best in the world reaching 2000 sun hours per year in some locations. Solar technology also helps to address peak power shortages, which can be particularly severe during summer months. The power production of solar panels roughly coincides with peak demand hours, as electricity is consumed during daylight for commercial and industrial activities.

About SunBorne Energy:

SunBorne Energy is a leading specialist in Utility Scale Solutions (50MW+) in the solar power sector. SunBorne will deploy proven technologies and indigenize the entire value chain to drive affordable solar power. Its scope of functions includes localizing capabilities in design, manufacturing, engineering, construction, distribution and operations. SunBorne is developing Utility Scale Solution Plants in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with other States in the pipeline. It aims to deploy 20 percent of the Solar Mission target in the next decade. SunBorne will make solar power an attractive investment option creating sustainable, clean and green energy. SunBorne has been established by internationally recognized experts in solar thermal power generation. Our investors include large Private Equity firms, like General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon (Haryana).

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