India on its way of using its solar energy potential

India is on its way to improve its economic and industrial health through structural reforms. The country wants to decrease the fossil-based energy generation and adopt renewable energy sources. This has been setting a path to transition towards sustainable energy. The country’s growing need for energy perfectly follows the country’s green energy vision to harness the unlimited source of power - solar energy. Solar rooftop systems are playing a fundamental role in this transition which accounts for 5.2 GW of the country’s total solar capacity.

Have you ever wondered how fortunate we are with this massive solar energy potential? India is one of the very few countries in the world which receives sunshine for over 300 days a year. About 5000 trillion kWh of solar energy is collected every year over Indian peninsula, which averages to 4-7 kWh per square meter per day. The country also experiences the highest annual global radiation in its states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. So how does India is utilising this huge solar potential of its geography to its benefits? Here’s how:

Using unproductive land 

To meet the country’s current target of land-based energy, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) is allowing state governments to use non-agricultural and unproductive land for solar installations and has emphasised minimum use of the private property.

The emergence of distributed generation 

The trend towards distributed generation has been noticed in the past years and has played a significant role in electrifying villages and helping meet the hidden demands in the system. Distributed generation also helps in overcoming the shortfalls in the transmission, thus mitigating the apprehensions of the solar energy suppliers to some extent. This is the best way to reduce the gap between supply and demand of energy. This is the best way to reduce the gap between supply and demand of energy. 

The increasing popularity and use of renewable energy solutions in companies worldwide

More companies are turning to the use of renewable energy sources such as industrial solar panels. This is in response to concerns about climate change and saving huge amounts of money. This helps companies in PR and also helps them to save big chunks of money so that they can invest this money in running their business or for growing it. 

If we take a look at the challenges faced by renewable energy all over the world, we can see some common trends. One thing that can be easily observed is that there is a significant increase in the deployment of large-scale projects, but rooftop deployment has not picked up a considerable pace. This lower growth in the rooftop segment is due to the lack of policy initiatives.

Moving forward

Usage of solar energy has increased leaps and bounds during the last five years. However, in terms of manufacturing of solar equipment, it is dominated by only a few countries. India, in order to become a solar country, cannot just rely on imported solar equipment. There is an immediate necessity to start manufacturing solar equipment to become competitive and achieve sustainable growth in the long run.