Solar Energy Independence

as Used in Rural India

Given: April 27, 2007

Overview of Presentation

 India demographics and need for resources

 India’s energy profile
 Why solar?
 Governmental and Private Initiatives
 Problems
 Conclusion
India: Land of a Billion Energy
Needs
 2.4% of land area with 16%
of the world’s population
 Life Expectancy 64.71
years
 Household sector: largest
consumer of energy
accounting for 40-50 % of
total energy consumption
 In rural areas, the domestic
sector accounts for nearly
80 percent of total energy
consumption
 About two thirds of India’s
more than 1 billion people
live in rural areas
India’s Energy Crisis - Dependence

 India is currently importing 100 million tons of

crude oil
 Foreign exchange outflow of Rs.1.5 trillion
per year (nearly $34 billion)
 At this rate, in 2030 the country may have to
import 300 million tons of crude oil.
 The President’s Message: Independence

 Cut down energy losses

 Utilize technologies to provide
a diverse supply of
environmentally friendly
energy
 “We must achieve Energy
Independence by 2030”,
including a cut down in ALL
sectors
 Increase the power generated
through renewable energy
sources from 5% to 25%
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
 This is the nation’s “first and
highest priority” (Rocket Scientist)
President’s Solar Message
 Kalam pushes solar as a
key part of the 2030 energy
independence plan
 Agricultural sector - both for
powering farms and for
desalination plants to bring
in fresh water
 Nanotechnology research --
something that India has
already embraced -- to a
drive to improve solar
efficiencies.
Two ways to Solar

 Thermal Energy
 Research and development for technologies.
 Example: A large solar dish has been set up
under a research project at Latur in Maharashtra
to provide process heat for milk pasteurization.
 Photovoltaic Energy
 Brief Overview of Solar PV
Technology

 Solar cells are made of silicon (microelectronics/semiconductors)

 Treated to be positive on one side and negative on the other.
 When light energy hits the cell, electrons are knocked loose from
the atoms in the semiconductor material.
 If electrical conductors are attached to the positive and negative
sides, forming an electrical circuit, the electrons can be captured in
the form of an electric current.
India’s Solar Profile
 India ranks 3rd in
annual production
capacity of solar PV
ahead of Germany,
France and Australia
 India increasing budget
for implementing solar
power plants
Why is Solar so easy for
Rural India?
Rural Needs are Simple

 Fuel for cooking

 Water for drinking
 Light for studying
 Television and telephone for entertainment
and connectivity
India Has a Lot of Sunlight
 Sunlight on the surface of earth is the radiation
received from sun.
 India has adequate sunshine available for most
parts of the year, including rural areas.
 The amount of solar energy impacting the surface of
earth is 1000 watts per square meter, which is about
32.8 million MW every second on the Indian land
mass.
 *A large part of the incident heat is reflected to the
outer space or radiated back to space.
Solar: Easy Energy In Rural India
 Solar energy is
practically inexhaustible
 Widely distributed
 Environment friendly
 Cost free in raw form
 No need to transport
raw materials to
villages
 No towers, heavy
cabling, etc.
Governmental Rural Initiative:
Solar Cooking Project
 Current sources available
for cooking are firewood,
crop residues and animal
dung in rural areas
 Promoted by the
Government of India
 Parabolic Dish Solar
Cookers
 Solar Box Cooker
 Community Solar Cooker
 Solar Steam Cooking
System
Private Initiative:
Solar Loans from Selco India
 Customers: poor daily-wage
laborers to institutions

 All buy solar panels at the

same rate: about $450 for a
40-watt system that can light
several 7-watt bulbs for four
hours between charges.

 Persuaded rural banks to lend

hundreds of dollars to rural
people
Governmental Rural Initiative:
Solar Farms
 100 MW sized Very
Large Scale Solar
Photovoltaic (VLSPV)
Stations
 Program to develop
efficiency of solar cells
from 15% to 50%
 Make farmers “farm the
sun”
Private Initiative:
Tata Power makes life Solar
 Sunbank, a customized package for rural
banks
 Coming soon : ATMs
 Suraksha, a solar-powered communication
system, helps police stations function
effectively
Private Initiative:
Tata Power contd.

 Solar powered vaccine

refrigerator
manufactured
indigenously by the
company and approved
by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
 Low cost solar lantern
Private Initiative:
Tata Power contd.
 Currently powering houses, schools,
police stations, etc.

My Uncle’s House – powered by solar

Disadvantages of Solar Energy for Rural
India
 Low intensity or dispersion
 Its unpredictability, which varies with the whims of
weather (Monsoon Season)
 Cost of Solar Equipment for the poor – Financing
schemes
 Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

(IREDA) - a Public Limited Company, providing

revolving fund to financing and leasing companies
offering affordable credit for the purchase of PV
systems
But is it working?
 Thermal Program:
 600,000 solar cookers have
been produced.
 2000 concentrating dish
cookers
 12 community village cookers
and 1.5 million sq m of
collector area for water heating
systems have been achieved.
 Photovoltaic Program:
 55000 street lighting systems
 340,000 home lighting systems
 1566 kW of power plants
 540,000 solar lanterns have
been produced
Conclusion

700 Million Rural People

x
80% of total energy for these needs
___________________________________
Making India’s rural population and India
more energy independent