International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN (Online): 2319-7064

Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391

A Review of Solar Energy - Challenges,

Economics & Policies in India
Arun Kumar Singh Tomar1, K. K. Gautam2
1, 2
Rustamji Institute of Technology, BSF Academy, Tekanpur, Gwalior (M.P.)-475005

Abstract: In recent years the solar energy technologies has experienced phenomenal growth. The realization of technological
improvements, growing public awareness of environmental issues, the economic climate and number of policy instruments have
facilitated and sustained this strong interest in these technologies. Solar energy in one form or another is the source of nearly all energy
on the earth. Humans, like all other animals and plants, rely on the sun for warmth and food. However, people also harness the sun's
energy in many other different ways. For example, fossil fuels, plant matter from a past geological age, is used for transportation and
electricity generation and is essentially just stored solar energy from millions of years ago. Solar energy has experienced phenomenal
growth in recent years due to both technological improvements resulting in cost reductions and government policies supportive of
renewable energy development and utilization. This paper provides an overview on solar energy in India. The paper also focuses on the
technical and economical barriers and challenges for development and utilization of solar energy technology.

Keywords: solar energy, renewable energy, challenges, economics, policies

1. Introduction world with an exclusive Ministry to promote the renewable

energy sources. This paper analyzes the technical, economic
Source of reliable renewable energy production and barriers and policy aspects of solar energy development and
development become a major challenge to the most of the deployment [6].
part of the world. For human development renewable energy
source specially solar power can have positive effect, since 2. Solar Energy in India
energy is one of the important factor for the development of
country as well as individuals, also as we all know that many India lies in the sunny belt of the world. India is endowed
other renewable energy plants are of large scale. During the with vast solar energy potential. Most parts of India get 300
past few years, a significant trust has been given to the days of sunshine a year. About 5,000 trillion kWh per year
development and induction of solar energy technology for energy is incident over Indian land area with most area
use in different sectors. Solar power can be harnessed in two receiving 4-7 kWh per sq. meter per day [7]. India is ranked
ways, in the form of heat (or thermal energy), and in the 11th in solar power generation in the world as on Jan. 2014.
form of light energy. The light rays of solar energy are Government funded solar energy in India only accounted for
harnessed for power generation through solar cells and are about 6.4MW/yr of power as of 2005. In 2010 capacity of
called Photovoltaic (SPV) systems, where light is directly 25.1MW was added and 468.3MW in 2011. In 2012 the
converted into electricity using silicon (solar) cells. The capacity increase more than two times and become 1205
electricity thus generated can be used for lighting or other MW. During 2013 capacity added by 1114MW and during
electrical applications. For the development of country 2014 capacity added by 313MW [8]. In August 2015, the
energy sector plays an important role [1]. Power Generation installed grid connected solar power capacity is 4.22 GW.
has always been a challenge to the modern world. The status The price of solar energy has come down from Rs. 17.90 per
of a country’s development is proportional to its energy unit in 2010 to about Rs.7 per unit in 2015. The Charanka
consumption. India is the fourth largest energy consumer in Solar Park [9], at current installed capacity of 224 MW is the
the world after the United States, China, and Russia. In largest Solar Park in Asia, was commissioned on April 19,
future, India and China will account for the biggest share of 2012[10]. Some solar power plant of India is shown in the
Asian energy demand growth through 2035[2]. Electricity is Table 1.
very important for any country for urbanization,
industrialization, economic growth and improvement of Table 1: Some solar plants of India
living standard of society. India was the first country in the Name of Plant Peak Power Commission
world to set up a Ministry of non- conventional energy (MW) Year
Charanka Solar Park, Charanka village, 224 April 2012
resources in early 1980. India is ranked fifth in the electricity
Patan, Gujarat .
generation in the world [3]. Presently, India has installed
Welspun Solar MP project, 151 March 2013
capacity of 276.783 GW out of which 69.6% is from Neemuch,(M.P.)
thermal, 15.2% from hydro, 2.1% from nuclear and about Mahagenco Solar Project, Maharashtra 130 March 2013
13.2% from renewable energy Sources (as on August 2015). Rajgarh Solar PV (NTPC),Rajghar 50 March 2014
Currently, the installed capacity of solar energy projects in (M.P.)
India is about 4.22 GW. India is planning to produce 100
GW of solar power by 2022[4], [5]. Solar energy has Welspun Energy Rajasthan Solar Project 50 March 2013
experienced phenomenal growth in recent years due to both ,Phalodhi, Rajasthan
technological Improvements resulting in cost reductions and Talcher Kaniha Solar PV (NTPC), 10 March 2014
Odisha
government policies supportive of renewable energy
Unchahar Solar PV(NTPC),(U.P.) 10 March 2014
development and utilization. India is the only country in the
Volume 6 Issue 1, January 2017
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Paper ID: ART20164611 2080
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
In India, Rajasthan has the largest share of solar power 1) The efficiency constraint is one of the main barriers to
generation of 28.4% and Gujarat share is 24.4% as on widespread use. The thin-film and crystalline-silicon
September 2015[11]. Table 2 shows current solar power modules have efficiency ranges of 7% to 10% and 12% to
capacity in different state of India. 18% respectively. Even as PV technologies with
significantly higher efficiencies are under development,
Table 2: Current solar power capacity in some state as on the present efficiency ranges constitute a barrier .
September 2015[12] 2) In the case of solar thermal parabolic trough systems, one
S.No. State or U.T. Capacity in MW of the most proven solar power technology, the upper
1 Andhra Pradesh 279.44 process temperature is limited by the heat carrying
2 Arunachal Pradesh 0.265 capacity of the thermal oil used for heat transfer. Thermal
3 Chhattisgarh 73.18 loss from heat storage in such system remains an
4 Gujarat 1000.05 important technical challenge in solar thermal
5 Haryana 12.8 technologies [6].
6 Jharkhand 16 3) Per capita land availability is a scarce resource in India.
7 Karnataka 104.22
Dedication of land area for exclusive installation of solar
8 Kerala 12.025
cells might have to compete with other necessities that
9 Madhya Pradesh 673.58
10 Maharashtra 378.7
require land. The amount of land required for utility-scale
11 Orissa 56.92 solar power plants — currently approximately 1 km² for
12 Punjab 200.32 every 20–60 megawatts (MW) generated could pose a
13 Rajasthan 1199.7 strain on India’s available land resource [13].
14 Tamil Nadu 157.98 4) Storage problem is also very serious. Suppose if the
15 Telangana 72.25 demand of power is not so high then the electricity
16 Tripura 5 produced by the solar plant will have to be stored
17 Uttar Pradesh 71.26 somewhere to supply when demanded. This increases the
18 Uttarakhand 5 cost of the project .
19 West Bengal 7.21 5) 100 GW of solar would mean about 10.5% share for solar
20 Andaman & Nicobar 5.21 power in total generation of power in India. Such large
21 Delhi 6.712 share of intermittent sources requires huge investments in
22 Lakshadweep 0.75 the power grid infrastructure for transmission smart
23 Puducherry 0.025 supply and demand management [14].
24 Chandigarh 5.041
6) To achieve a capacity of 60 GW for utility scale projects
25 Daman & Diu 0.25
by 2022, there would be a requirement of about $40
26 Others 0.79
billion. The government currently expects a big share of
Total 4346.818
this to come from international sources. But an
international fund for solar projects in India is very less
3. Benefits of Solar Energy [15].
1) Solar energy is a clean, renewable resource that is
continuously supplied to the earth by the sun.
5. Energy and Economic Development
2) Solar resources are available everywhere in the world. It
For social as well as economical development of a country
gives out no emissions i.e. environmentally safe.
power sector plays an important role. However for the
3) Energy security to the country. No dependency on foreign
development it is essential to improve efficiency of the
resources for electricity generation.
energy generation and avoiding too much dependency on
4) Can be permitted and installed faster than other
fossil fuels, as the use of fossil fuel plays a key role for
traditional or renewable power plants.
pollution and undesirable change in climate conditions. The
5) Produces local, on-site energy, which reduces the need
power sector is the essential part of a country’s economy as
for extensive high-voltage transmission lines or a
well as it contain the interaction of demand and supply of
complex infrastructure.
energy. Almost every economic activity requires energy. For
6) Reliable over the long term. With no moving parts, fixed
the continuous production and final consumption supply of
photovoltaic systems last longer than other energy
energy is essential need, hence enhancement of power sector
sources.
is important for the economic development. But the
7) Clean, quiet and visually unobtrusive in nature. Solar
economic factors like prices of energy, costs of capital,
energy plants do not have any polluting emissions, do not
infrastructure etc affect the development and enhancement
make any sound, and are not considered to be an
new technologies of power generation system. In concern to
"eyesore."
the environment, demands of energy should be combined
8) Creates clean, renewable energy that will sustain and
with the affect on ecological system locally as well as
support the health of future generations [6].
globally. Hence the economical and environmental factors
are considered in the planning and preparation of the energy
4. Barriers & Challenges of Solar Energy generation to meet the demand of energy for the
development of that region. India faces a significant
Various barriers and challenges on solar energy in India have challenge in providing access to adequate, affordable and
been pointed below. clean sources of energy, especially cooking fuel to a large
section of the population, most of who live in rural areas
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Paper ID: ART20164611 2081
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
[16]. Solar energy is also a sustainable source of energy 6.4 Government acts and policies:
which is produced without any type of pollution, green house
effect or other affect to the environment. The development of Government of India has come out with Acts and Policies to
low cost solar technologies can be a potential alternative support renewable Energy [24].
with distributed energy generation consisting of a cluster of  The Electricity Act 2003 has promotes electricity
local grid of electricity network. It could be a cheap and generation from co-generation and renewable energy
environment friendly alternative to the centralized power sources. This Act accelerated the process of renewable
grid system having long distance, expansive wires delivery energy development in the country. The guidelines for
system. Fuel consumption in the vehicles can be reduced by competitive procurement have been framed under Section
using solar panel for air conditioning purpose [17]. 63 of the Electricity Act 2003 it states:
 ―The Appropriate Commission shall adopt the tariff if such
6. Indian Government Incentives and tariff has been determined through transparent process of
Promotional Policies bidding in accordance with the guidelines issued by the
Central Government‖ [25].
6.1 Incentive mechanisms  The National Electricity Policy 2005 stipulates that the
share of electricity from non- conventional resources
Because the point of grid parity has not yet been reached in would need to be increased such purchase by distribution
many parts of the country, solar generating stations need companies shall be through competitive process [26].
some form of financial incentive to compete for the supply of  •According to Tariff Policy 2006 states the Appropriate
electricity. Many states have introduced such incentives to Commission shall decide a minimum percentage for
support the deployment of solar power stations. Another purchase of energy [27].
form of indirect incentive which has been used to stimulate
investment in solar power plant was tax credits available to 7. Conclusions
investors. In some cases the credits were linked to the energy
produced by the installations, such as the Production Tax Physically, solar energy constitutes the most abundant
Credits. In other cases the credits were related to the capital renewable energy resource available and, in most regions of
investment such as the Investment Tax Credits [6]. the world, its theoretical potential is far in excess of the
current total primary energy supply in those regions. Solar
6.2 Solar mission energy technologies could help address energy access to
rural and remote communities help improve long-term
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) was energy security and help greenhouse gas mitigation.
launched in 11 Jan. 2009 with the target for Grid Connected
Solar Projects of 20,000 MW by 2022[18]. The Mission had In this paper, we have discussed about the current status of
adopted a three-phase approach. First four year (2009-13) solar energy in India. The Ministry of non- convection
had marked as Phase-I. The remaining 4 years of the twelfth energy resources, government of India is trying to increases
Plan (2013–17) had been marked as Phase-II and the the power capacity and achieve the target of 100 GW by
thirteenth Plan (2017–22) will be Phase-III of the project 2022. This discussion shows that the status of solar energy is
.The aim of this project was to add 1,000 MW of grid solar satisfactory in India but some extra effort is required for
power by 2013, and another 3,000 MW by 2017[19]. The betterment of solar source. Such efforts may require
target for 2017 may be higher based on the availability of revisiting role and mandate of Jawahar Lal Nehru Solar
international funds and technology transfer [20]. But in June Mission (JNNSM) and to position an institution that can lead
2015 The Union Cabinet of India gave approval for stepping new initiatives in solar resources assessment and technology
up of India’s solar power capacity goal under the Jawaharlal development.
Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five times,
reaching 100 GW by 2022. The target will comprise of 40 References
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 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
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