Seeing Green: What is the Impact of Utility-Scale Solar Projects on the Environment in India?
The year 2016 marked the beginning of an ambitious era of solar energy in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi setting a new target to increase domestic solar power generation to 100 GW by 2022. Meeting this target would make India one of the largest producers of solar energy in the world and contribute significantly towards energy security. For a country that, on one hand, imports 80 percent of its oil and 20 percent of its coal to meet energy needs, and receives close to 300 days of sunshine on the other, solar energy presents a tremendous potential to not just strengthen the Indian economy but also reduce our greenhouse gas-emissions. Aided by technological innovations and best practices, utility-scale solar power projects can have far-reaching positive impacts on the environment in several ways.
Countering Climate Change
Sustainable solar energy will play a vital role in facilitating India’s goal of reducing the emissions intensity of the country’s GDP by 20-25 percent by 2020 over 2005 levels. Burning fossil fuels for energy is still the leading cause of environmental pollution in the country. Given that emissions from solar energy production are nearly negligible, barring those released during the construction of solar power projects, solar energy is a huge step forward toward helping India to counter climate change.
Conserving Water
Traditional means of generating energy are water-intensive. Conversely, most solar photovoltaic systems do not require water. The use of water for cooling in concentrating solar thermal plants can be minimized with intelligent recycling, and by adapting the plant’s design, location and type of cooling system.
Reusing Land
Solar energy projects, on account of their very nature, are land intensive. In a country where land is a scarce commodity, utility-scale solar projects present an interesting opportunity to reuse brownfield sites or low-grade agricultural land as well as abandoned mining sites to generate solar energy. In India’s canal-top solar power projects, such as that implemented in Chandrasan village in Gujarat, solar panels have been mounted on irrigation canals, thereby eliminating land disputes and optimizing utilization.
Less Wastage
While the process of manufacturing photovoltaic cells does involve the use of hazardous materials such as hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric acid, regulating these processes can reduce the amount of hazardous materials required. Measures can also be taken to direct their disposal in a manner that is the least damaging to the environment. Manufacturers must be encouraged to recycle rather than throw away discarded photovoltaic cells to further reduce the environmental and health implications.
To date, up to 75 percent of India’s energy requirement is fulfilled by coal-fired plants. With more than 300 million Indians still starved of reliable energy and burgeoning industrial demand, India’s energy requirements will triple by 2030, bringing about strong environmental implications unless appropriate measures are taken to switch to a greener, more sustainable source. India stands to gain immensely from solar power plant projects from an environmental point of view. Solar plants can also be built much faster than coal, gas or nuclear plants, making it a natural choice for policymakers seeking a greener way. Simply put, the road to a greener India is definitely solar.
Countering Climate Change
Sustainable solar energy will play a vital role in facilitating India’s goal of reducing the emissions intensity of the country’s GDP by 20-25 percent by 2020 over 2005 levels. Burning fossil fuels for energy is still the leading cause of environmental pollution in the country. Given that emissions from solar energy production are nearly negligible, barring those released during the construction of solar power projects, solar energy is a huge step forward toward helping India to counter climate change.
Conserving Water
Traditional means of generating energy are water-intensive. Conversely, most solar photovoltaic systems do not require water. The use of water for cooling in concentrating solar thermal plants can be minimized with intelligent recycling, and by adapting the plant’s design, location and type of cooling system.
Reusing Land
Solar energy projects, on account of their very nature, are land intensive. In a country where land is a scarce commodity, utility-scale solar projects present an interesting opportunity to reuse brownfield sites or low-grade agricultural land as well as abandoned mining sites to generate solar energy. In India’s canal-top solar power projects, such as that implemented in Chandrasan village in Gujarat, solar panels have been mounted on irrigation canals, thereby eliminating land disputes and optimizing utilization.
Less Wastage
While the process of manufacturing photovoltaic cells does involve the use of hazardous materials such as hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric acid, regulating these processes can reduce the amount of hazardous materials required. Measures can also be taken to direct their disposal in a manner that is the least damaging to the environment. Manufacturers must be encouraged to recycle rather than throw away discarded photovoltaic cells to further reduce the environmental and health implications.
To date, up to 75 percent of India’s energy requirement is fulfilled by coal-fired plants. With more than 300 million Indians still starved of reliable energy and burgeoning industrial demand, India’s energy requirements will triple by 2030, bringing about strong environmental implications unless appropriate measures are taken to switch to a greener, more sustainable source. India stands to gain immensely from solar power plant projects from an environmental point of view. Solar plants can also be built much faster than coal, gas or nuclear plants, making it a natural choice for policymakers seeking a greener way. Simply put, the road to a greener India is definitely solar.
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