Solar Power Mission in India – National Solar Mission

Can you imagine the cost of producing solar electricity to Rs 4-5 per unit? Can you imagine buying a solar home lighting system?  The Government of India has announced the National Solar Mission. The mission, which is part of NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change), aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation

The government has tried a lot to subsidies the price of solar energy. Still, it’s costlier than a geyser or an oven. One unit of producing solar power varies between Rs 13 & Rs 17. The cost of generating solar electricity with this new technology is expected to come down to one third.

The mission was announced on November 14, 2009, the birth anniversary of India’s first PM.

Solar Power Mission in India – National Solar Mission

How does Solar technology works?

The technology has been developed by Japan-based Kenko Corporation and Chem-Well Co Ltd. They have developed high-performance coating cells that will enhance a solar panel’s power generation capacity by 5%. The demonstration will be done with the Indian technology Indian photovoltaic module manufacturers. As per the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) managing director SP Gon Chaudhuri, this coating will work as a spray on the solar panels. It will activate the materials of the solar cell by 5%. One might think that the cost of this material will be high. But surprisingly the price is very nominal.

The technology has already been implemented in the US, Germany, and Japan. The Renewable Energy School headed by Gon Chaudhuri will organize the demonstration.

The mission is an ambitious and challenging one. It will lead to an archetype stand for India. The National Solar Mission aims to produce 20000 MW of electricity from solar energy by 2020.

Benefit from the mission

According to the mission, India’s carbon dioxide will drop from 1510 million tonnes to 1450 million tonnes. It will also save 1.35 billion liters of kerosene and diesel every year. Can you imagine in turn it will be a saving of Rs 4000-4500 crore annually for the Indian economy?

Target

The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022 is aimed at reducing the cost of solar power generation in the country through (i) long term policy; (ii) large scale deployment goals; (iii) aggressive R&D; and (iv) domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, as a result to achieve grid tariff parity by 2022. Mission will create an enabling policy framework to achieve this objective and make India a global leader in solar energy.

Further, Government has revised the target of Grid Connected Solar Power Projects from 20,000 MW by the year 2021-22 to 100,000 MW by the year 2021-22 under the National Solar Mission and it was approved by Cabinet on 17th June 2015.

Solar energy product variants

Solar home lighting – You can buy this lighting system at Rs 13000 – Rs 15000. In return it will provide you a light for 4-8 hours, will support one fan and even one small black and white TV. What else can one demand? This works more than the best of the inverters.

Can you believe that the picture of the house above will never receive a bill from the PG&E-free solar energy system? This house operates 100 percent off of solar energy. It is the latest trend in the solar construction that the homes are built complete with a solar panel system. Indeed, this technique is yet to come to India.

Lighting a Billion Lives

The Energy Research Institute is concentrating on the mission “lighting a billion lives.“ These solar lanterns are also better known as “the kerosene killer.”

These lanterns need 8 hours of sunlight for a full charge (or 4 hours plugged into AC with a standard Nokia mobile phone adapter). They provide you a light for almost 7hrs. It promises to be four times brighter and longevity. These lanterns cost you Rs 2200 for the no-frills model but with the solar panel to charge the battery. It is also available with extra features like a mobile charging facility costing you around Rs 3500.

Related: Surya Bijlee: A Cheaper Solution to light up nights of poor people