Renewable Energy is transforming from alternate to mainstream sources of power generation. Solar Energy, harnessed through a suite of genuinely matured, sternly tested, dynamic and smart, state of the art technologies, has so far evolved as an economical, sustainable and one of the most commercially viable sources of Renewable Power generation. Solar Power generation Projects (SPPs) with all their attributes of a dogged success, have demonstrated promising prospects for Renewable Energy development across the globe.
What powers the Sun? The nuclear fusion reaction of the Hydrogen nuclei into Helium is an ongoing process on Sun. The inefficiency of the process dissipates packets of energy more popularly known as the ‘Photons’. The incoming electromagnetic radiations (from Sun to Earth) are scattered across a wide range of frequency spectrum. In this context, principally two different phenomena are observed – The photovoltaic effect, and thermal upshots of the incoming solar radiations; solar photovoltaic is associated with the generation of electric power (or more specifically with the transformation of solar energy).
Solar insolation data can be classified into - Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), and the Diffused Irradiance (DI); specific data is referred to as per its applicability and relevance into different contexts. ‘Crystalline’ and ‘Thin Film’ solar Photovoltaic (PV) are by far two of the most popular prevalent solar PV cell fabrication technologies. Due to its abundance in the nature, Silicon (Si) is indisputably the most widely used (and highly preferred) element for fabrication of solar cells. Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) type solar cells can further be classified as ‘Monocrystalline (mono-Si)’ and ‘Polycrystalline (or Multicrystalline (multi-Si))’. Amorphous Silicon (a-Si), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS), as of now are the three predominant Thin Film solar PV cell technologies. Amorphous Silicon based solar cells have the least efficiency (low cost) whereas Monocrystalline cells have the highest (high cost). Several individual solar cells compose a solar panel (or solar module).
In most parts of India, clear sunny weather is experienced 250 to 300 days a year.
India has high solar insolation and favorable government policies, an ideal combination that selectively promotes the development of solar power project in the country. Among other existing prominent sources of Renewable Energy like wind, biomass, geothermal, etc., with over 4 GW, solar power installed capacity is the highest in the country.
The promotional policies and incentives of the Government of India have profoundly instigated the rapid R&D of solar power projects in the country; in the past two years, solar energy market has secured a competitive edge in the Indian Renewable Energy domain. The government has announced its ambitious plans to increase the 22 GW capacity addition target to 100 GW by 2022.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), formerly known as the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), is the dedicated ministry of the Government of India set up to encourage and motivate the research, development and commercialization of the renewable energy projects in India. The Ministry has reported an operational solar power capacity of over 4 GW, with significant jump caused by direct contributions from the country’s National Solar Mission, i.e., Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
By the end of this year (i.e., 2015), India may break into the top 10 solar power markets in terms of the total installed capacity. In the past three years, solar-generation costs in India have dropped from around INR 18 a kWh to about INR 7 a kWh, whereas power from imported coal and domestically produced natural gas still currently costs about INR 4.5 a kWh - an amount which is incessantly increasing with time.
According to MNRE, Rajasthan has now surpassed Gujarat as the state with the largest installed solar power capacity. Madhya Pradesh holds the second position in terms of installed capacity under the state policy.
The 130-MW Solar Power Plant by Welspun Solar MP Project at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, operational since 26 February 2014, is the Asia’s largest SPP installed till date. The state will soon be home to the world's largest (750 Mega Watts) solar power plant, proposed to be set up in its Rewa district.
The ‘Renewable Energy Project Transaction Portal (RE-PORT)’ is an exclusive and the first of its kind, IT driven dedicated online Renewable Energy Project transaction platform that primarily bridges the existing gap between the sellers and buyers of Renewable Energy projects including Solar Power Projects (SPPs), facilitating fair trade propagation among the concerned stakeholders.
RE-PORT is a platform for you to buy and sell vetted renewable energy projects and sites. Land will be introduced by the developer with all required approvals and accordingly basic reports will be prepared by CECL Engineers, if required vetted reports can be prepared by the CECL with a very nominal cost.
Total installed solar power capacity in India as on 11 June 2015 is 4,011 kW.
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Source: mnre.gov.in, indrainfra.in, pvtech.com, wikipedia.org.