Eb april may 2014 (1) by EnergyBlitz

APRIL-MAY 2014

5 Management of Lead-Acid Batteries By Salman Zafar

Rooftop Solar Plants a Viable Business Opportunity By Richa Chakravarty

A Case Study: Roof Top Solar PV System (SPV) for Residences - My Experience By Shankar Sharma

Solar Energy: Grid Parity In India, Italy, and More to Come in 2014

With Rooftop Solar on Rise, U.S. Utilities Are Striking Back

How much does a rooftop solar PV system cost? The Case For An Impending Solar Clean Break

Ecological Solutions for Industry By Dr. Asoor Shyam Solar Power Off the Grid: Energy Access for World's Poor By Carl Pope

Solar energy is a solution to pollution, global warming and power shortage

ENERGY

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APRIL-MAY 2014 Advisory Board Arvind A. Mule | India Dr. A. Jagadeesh | India Dr. Bhamy Shenoy | USA Er. Darshan Goswami | USA Elizabeth H. Thompson | Barbados Pincas Jawetz | USA Editorial Board Salman Zafar | India Editor & Publisher M. R. Menon Business & Media P. Roshini Designs Shamal Nath Circulation Manager Andrew Paul Printed and Published by M.R.Menon at Midas Offset Printers, Kuthuparamba, Kerala Editorial Office 'Pallavi' Kulapully Shoranur 679122, Kerala (E-Mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com) Disclaimer: The views expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and the Editorial team / Energy Blitz does not take responsibility for the contents and opinions. Energy Blitz will not be responsible for errors, omissions or comments made by writers, interviewers or advertisers. Any part of this publication may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the author and the magazine. Registered and Editorial Office 'Pallavi, Kulapully, Shoranur 679122, Kerala, India Tel: +91-466-2220852/9995081018 E-mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com Web: energyblitz.webs.com

It is heartening to note that the solar industry is becoming very bright and hot. Record amounts of new solar capacity have been installed over the past couple of years. The accelerating pace of adoption of solar panels for distributed generation (installed at the point of use, rather than sold into the power grid) and the downward trend of module prices have created exuberance over the industry's future. Solar has reached and eclipsed price parity with traditional fuel sources in some markets, and ultimately the potential market for solar PV is huge. A solar module costs approximately 1% of what it did 35 years ago and prices for solar pv panels have plummeted since 2010, with an average price per watt for panels falling from $1.81 in 2010 to less than $0.70 and today. It is clear that the future is very bright for the industry. What is less clear is when growth will accelerate and how near-term challenges for the industry could create some rough patches for the industry before widespread adoption drives truly explosive industry growth. However, we hope that the longer-term future of the solar industry, especially the future of distributed solar PV, is exciting and the economic potential is simply immense. The industry will certainly go through a period of exponential growth. For organisations planning to shift from conventional energy to solar power use, a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant can not only be a money saver but also money spinner with excess power supplied to the utility grid. While the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is still in the process of laying down specifications for incentives, experts feel that with the right policies and execution, solar rooftop installations can be a hot trend in green technology. It is a profitable business concept, and hence a viable investment option. We believe our readers will enjoy reading this issue of Energy Blitz focusing on rooftop solar energy technology and installations.

Ramanathan Menon

A Case-Study:

By Evvi Rollins, Freelance writer for DE Canada

Photo Credit: Tom Arban Architectural Photography (University of Calgary's EnergyEnvironment and Experiential Learning building) With the recent announcement that the University of Calgary's Energy Environment and Experiential Learning building has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the University is now home to two of only four Platinum projects on Canadian post secondary education campuses. Add to this a LEED Gold project and four additional projects now in for certification, the University is emerging as one of Canada's leaders in green buildings in post secondary education. A key contributor to this success is mandatory energy performance requirements for new buildings. Behind this success though, is a much larger plan to lead in slashing institutional operating costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Plan established institutional goals and strategies for how the University will reduce institutional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Ambitious targets were set: GHG emission reductions of 45% by 2015, and 80% by 2050. Strategies touch most aspects of institutional operations from business travel and waste management to energy supply and community engagement. The University's Energy Performance Initiative (EPI) addresses GHG emissions in the built environment the largest contributor to institutional emissions. Following are six key strategies within the EPI program: 1. Rethinking energy supply: As the aging central heating and cooling plant was nearing capacity the University needed to upgrade and expand capacity. This provided the opportunity to rethink energy supply given that procurement of electricity from the largely coal fired provincial grid was resulting in very high institutional emissions. Last year, installation of a 13 mega Watt cogeneration system (combined heat and power) was completed in a retrofit of the central heating and cooling plant. The university now produces 100% of the base load of electricity on campus, displacing a significant portion of electricity historically purchased from the provincial grid. Waste heat is captured and used for space heating and domestic water on main campus. The completed project is resulting in an 80,000 metric tonnes annual emissions

Since the 2008 signing of the University and College President's Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada (UCPCCSAC), the University of Calgary, along with about 28 other universities and colleges across Canada, has developed and implemented a plan to drive down institutional greenhouse gas emissions and sharpened their focus on research initiatives to address the climate change challenge. A similar declaration in the United States has nearly 700 university and college president signatories. In 2010, after input from students, faculty, and technical staff, the University released a Climate Action Plan. The 5

reduction. With a five-year payback on the incremental cost of co-generation, this also represents a very good economic and business strategy for the university;

all desktop computing equipment; (b) An exterior lighting upgrade program is underway to retrofit all exterior lighting to LED; (c) An assessment of the 1000 or so research related refrigeration units has been completed. A sterling engine 80C freezer pilot is underway; (d) A peer-to peer engagement project called “Sustainability On” to engage the campus community in energy efficiency and sustainability. Using the principles of Community Based Social Marketing, the Sustainability Office has trained 70 coordinators across departments and residences who in-turn train their peers to take action on sustainability. The program includes building-to-building competitions in which buildings have realized as much as a 24% reduction in energy use over a three-week period;

2. Controlling emissions growth from new buildings. Since every time a new building is added, overall emission reductions become more of a challenge. To control growth a change in design standards was implemented to establish mandatory energy performance requirements for all new buildings and major retrofits; 3. Retrofitting of existing buildings. To date three phases of existing building retrofits have been completed totalling more than 35,000 tonnes of emissions reductions. A master plan for the 4th phase has been completed and a 5th phase is in the wings for the Foothills Medical Campus. Collectively, Phases 4 and 5 have the

6. Staff capacity building. Driving emissions down and keeping them down requires a diverse, engaged, and knowledgeable internal team. To support this, the University has invested in training and education programs aimed a both building operations staff as well as technical engineering staff. Additionally, a new energy management system provides operating staff the capacity to analyze energy use data to observe trends or changes in energy use patterns. Opportunities for greater efficiency or corrective action can be identified and promptly acted upon to increase opportunity for both energy and cost-savings. Energy Performance Initiative Results to Date: ⇓Approximately $7.4 million in annual cost avoidance ⇓An equivalent of a 35% reduction in Main Campus GHG emissions - positioning the University at the forefront of progress on Canadian campuses and well on the way to the 2015 target of a 45% reduction; ⇓Enhanced staff engagement and pride from working on innovative projects that make a tangible difference in reducing operating costs and GHG emissions. About DE Canada DE Canada is a registered, national, non-profit industry association, which supports modernization of the DE sector. It fosters the competitive advantages of its members by facilitating commercialization of decentralized energy (DE) technologies and projects, bringing policy issues to the table, attracting capital and new entrants to this key industry sector. Its vision is a sustainable energy future where affordable, efficient, reliable and clean decentralized energy technologies are deployed in community driven markets and enabled by progressive policies and legislation. Its mission is to sustain the accelerating growth of DE through innovation and collaboration. What brings DE Canada's members together is its common interest in the production, management and storage of clean and green energy closer to the end user. What keeps DE Canada together are trusting relationships built on open and honest discussion and realistic expectations. For further information regarding the University of Calgary's energy initiatives and the “Sustainability On” program, please visit http://www.ucalgary.ca/sustainability or email to: info@deassociation.ca

emissions reduction potential to go the extra distance to the 2020 target of a 60% reduction; 4. Existing building recommissioning. Just like a car needs tuning up over time, the university iscommitted to bringing buildings back to their optimal performance as they deteriorate over time.Following completion of a recommissioning pilot project this summer, an ongoing program and continuous improvement process will be rolled out across campus; 5. Demand reduction and occupant engagement. Despite greater energy efficiency in the overall buildings, the density of energy use inside of buildings is rising. To address this demand reduction and engaging building users is key. A few initiatives in support of this include: (a) A desktop computer power-down pilot program was successfully completed and will be rolled out across campus. This complements energy efficiency standards for 6

Management of Lead-Acid Batteries By Salman Zafar

Lead-acid storage batteries are widely used on a massscale in all parts of the world. They act as power sources in a wide-range of equipment and appliances used by households, commerce and industry. Lead-acid batteries finds application in all modes of modern transport including cars, trucks, buses, boats, trains, rapid masstransit systems, recreational vehicles etc. During powercuts, lead-acid batteries provide emergency power for critical operations such as air-traffic control towers, hospitals, railroad crossings, military installations, submarines, and weapons systems. Every telephone

company in the world, including mobile telephone service providers, uses lead-acid batteries as backup power to the telecommunications systems. There are two types of battery: primary cells which cannot be recharged and secondary cells which can be recharged. Batteries are normally split into three categories, depending on their use: consumer or portable, automotive and industrial. All automotive batteries and 95 percent of industrial batteries are lead-acid secondary cells whilst over 95 percent of all consumer batteries are primary cells. 7

Harmful Effects of Lead-Acid Batteries

Recycling of Lead-Acid Batteries

Lead-acid batteries contain sulphuric acid and large amounts of lead. The acid is extremely corrosive and is also a good carrier for soluble lead and lead particulate. Lead is a highly toxic metal that produces a range of adverse health effects particularly in young children. Exposure to excessive levels of lead can cause damage to brain and kidney, impair hearing; and lead to numerous other associated problems. On average, each automobile manufactured contains approximately 12 kilograms of lead. Around 96% lead is used in the common lead-acid battery, while the remaining 4% in other applications including wheel balance weights, protective coatings and vibration dampers. Lead is highly toxic metal and once the battery becomes inoperative, it is necessary to ensure its proper collection and eco-friendly recycling. A single leadacid battery disposed of incorrectly into a municipal solid waste collection system, and not removed prior to entering a resource recovery facility for mixed MSW, could contaminate 25 tonnes of MSW and prevent the recovery of the organic resources within this waste because of high lead level.

The lead-acid battery recycling sector has a wellestablished infrastructure in many parts of the world, especially North America and Europe. Recycling of leadacid batteries, provided it is done in an environmentally sound manner, is important because it keeps the batteries out of the waste stream destined for final disposal. Lead from storage batteries placed in unlined landfills can even contaminate the groundwater. Recycling prevents the emission of lead into the environment and also avoids the energy usage associated with manufacturing lead from virgin resources. Obtaining secondary lead from used lead-acid batteries can be economically attractive, depending upon the market price of lead. Recovery of lead from batteries is easier and requires significantly less energy than producing primary lead from ore. Recycling also reduces dispersal of lead in the environment and conserves mineral resources for the future when undertaken in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. It needs to be mentioned that recycling of used lead acid batteries is not a simple process that can be undertaken in small scale enterprises. Certain control measures should to be taken to prevent adverse impacts to people and the environment.

Collection of Lead-Acid Batteries The most common and most efficient method for the collection of lead-acid batteries is through the battery retailer where a discount is given against the purchase price of a new battery provided the customer returns the used battery. In some countries a deposit has to be paid when a new battery is purchased and is only returned to the customer when the battery is returned to the retailer for recycling. In several parts of the world, reconditioned lead-acid batteries are offered for sale. In the Caribbean islands there is a thriving second-hand auto trade and thousands of used Japanese cars are imported into the region every year to be broken up for spares. Many of these vehicles have a used lead acid battery, which is removed from the vehicle and shipped to Venezuela for recycling. Another collection mechanism is through rag-pickers who scavenge for discarded materials that can be reused or recycled. Rag-pickers scour waste dumps, strip abandoned vehicles and wrecks and even collect batteries that have been used for standby power in domestic houses.

Salman Zafar is a renowned expert in waste management, biomass energy, environment protection and sustainability. He is proactively engaged in popularizing clean energy, environment and sustainable development through his websites, blogs, articles and projects. He has participated in numerous conferences as session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. Salman is a prolific professional cleantech writer and has authored numerous articles in reputed journals, magazines and newsletters. He holds Masters and Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and can be contacted at: salman@cleantechloops.com

Rooftop Solar Plants a Viable Business Opportunity By Richa Chakravarty

For organisations planning to shift from conventional energy to solar power use, a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant can not only be a money saver but also money spinner with excess power supplied to the utility grid. While the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is still in the process of laying down specifications for incentives, experts feel that with the right policies and execution, solar rooftop installations can be a hot trend in green technology. It is a profitable business concept, and hence a viable investment option.

surrounding structures is available. If there is shadow on a part of the terrace during the day, PV solar panels are unable to harvest the sun's energy for that period of time. Let us look at the key considerations while evaluating solar rooftop options. First, it is important to have a basic understanding of the components of a solar power system and how these generate electricity. PV solar power systems are very simple electric power generating systems comprising the following basic components:

Installation and Requirements 1. A set of PV panels that convert sunlight (photons) into direct-current (DC) electricity 2. A racking system that firmly holds the panels to the roof, exposing these to the sun at an advantageous angle 3. Inverters that convert DC electricity into alternating current (AC) electricity 4. Wiring that connects everything 5. A storage battery (in the case of a grid-fed power plant, a large-sized battery is not necessary to store and use that power after sunset) 6. A variety of means to tilt the panels toward the sun to generate more electricity 7. Energy meters to record the energy that is supplied to the grid 8. Junction boxes 9. Earthing kits

When solar PV modules are installed on a building's rooftop to generate solar power, it is called a rooftop power plant. Rooftop PV installation can either be done for standalone use or to feed into the grid. Some of the factors to consider before installing a solar power plant on your building's rooftop include electrical load, current rate, roof size, load capacity and geographic location of the building. The subsidy given by the central and state governments, local utilities, and local community regulations and incentives are also some key determinants in the evaluation. Rooftop solar arrays are best installed on a large and flat roof where direct sunlight without shadow from the 9

Currently, commercially available silicon-based solar PV panels are made from solar cells encased in a special type of toughened glass. Silicon solar modules have been in the field for more than 50 years and perform quite predictably. These are guaranteed for 25 years of field life but the power yield drops about 0.6 per cent a year. One can use monocrystalline (made from a single crystal) or polycrystalline (made from multiple crystals) panels. Monocrystalline panels are a little more efficient but the cost per watt is almost the same.

Roof condition. The roof should be in a good state prior to solar installation. If it needs significant repair or replacement, get this done before installing the solar array. Space availability. Solar power projects work best on flat roofs without obstructions. Weight load. Some roofs are not designed to hold much additional weight. Ascertain the acceptable weight you can add to your roof before signing a contract.

How to supply solar power to the grid? If the solar power generated from a rooftop installation is to be injected into the grid, one needs to enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the local distribution utility in whose area the solar system is located. Under this agreement, a tariff is determined by the appropriate State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC). However, the issues related to grid integration, metering, measurement and energy accounting for projects are under consideration with the government. There is no cost involved in the transmission of energy unless the power is transmitted at high tension (HT) levels (11 kV or 33 kV), and special monitoring and metering hardware are deployed at HT levels. In the current scenario, metering arrangements for rooftop grid-interactive power plants are under active consideration by the government. While no special arrangements are required to inject power into the grid, there is a safety aspect that needs to be factored in while transmitting energy. There is always a risk involved, as when the grid fails the solar power system automatically stops injecting power into the grid. This is called islanding, where the inverter isolates itself. This is a standard feature built into solar power inverters, making these safe for residential and commercial applications. A standalone feature in the inverter would enable captive consumption of the solar power generated in the event of any grid outage.

Copper-indium gallium-diselenide (CIGS) panels may become the preferred type for commercial rooftop projects in another five years. These have the potential to deliver reasonable efficiencies at a lower cost than traditional crystalline panels. However, the cost per watt may not necessarily go down, only the panel size per watt may drop. Today, solar panels (depending on the brand) are bankable, that is, banks loan capital for their purchase.

Investments involved Of all the components of a solar PV plant, solar module accounts for the biggest costit can be 70 per cent of the total project cost. The cost per watt is currently Rs. 130150 ex-factory. The investment primarily depends upon the size of the power plant, which varies from a small kilowatt to multi-megawatt plant. At present, good-quality off-grid rooftop solar power plants can be installed at a cost of Rs. 250,000 per KW.

The solar energy can be used for captive consumption or exported to the grid. The electrical energy (DC) or the solar power generated by the solar PV modules during the sunshine hours is stored in the batteries for use, as and when required. The energy stored in the batteries is converted into 230V AC mains using an inverter. This energy automatically synchronises with the grid and gets injected into it.

Under the National Solar Mission policy, the benchmark price for an off-grid system is Rs. 270,000 per kW peak. For a grid-connected system, it is Rs. 190,000 per kW peak. The government also provides a 30 per cent subsidy on the benchmark price. Installation costs would differ in case of remote installations and poor site conditions.

Installation by integrators

Economic advantages

Many solar system installers and owners have had good experience in anchoring the panel structures. This has to be done scientifically and with care. It is possible to have non-anchored installation systems but these need to be very carefully designed to with-stand heavy winds. Such systems are designed to connect the solar power system to a roof using weights, rather than fasteners that must be anchored to the roof.

The total investment per kW in a small power plant, for example, 10kW, will be the same if not less than in a large 5MW plant. It is therefore viable to go for small grid-fed plants owned by small privately-owned utilities. A buying rate of Rs. 17 or 18 per unit of electricity from such plants will attract thousands of small investors like a magnet. In most areas in India, solar power can then be a fiscally sound investment that reduces electricity payments immediately, as well as hedges the small solar plant owners against local utility price increases.

Solar installation companies, often called integrators, can complete a small rooftop project within a few weeks. Before signing a contract with an integrator, evaluate the roof for solar installation with respect to:

If solar power is fed into a small city grid like Miraj, Ratnagiri or Ratlam, all consumers in that area will get cleaner uninterrupted power from the local copper grid.

The high impedance of the local grid helps power to remain local, improving the local power quality. That's why all other countries in the world allow solar plant owners to feed power into the local grid at the low voltage end.

The return on investment (ROI) completely depends on the power purchase agreement signed by the project developer. While earlier the buying rate for power was Rs. 17 per unit, today companies are ready to sell it at Rs. 11 per unit, making only a marginal profit. Considering the current trend, the power purchase price can be estimated at Rs. 13-14, so one can expect ROI within six to seven years.

It therefore makes sense to set up a solar rooftop plant in cities or towns facing severe electricity shortages. Today,

Eligibility criteria for project proponent While the government is yet to announce the policy for rooftop grid-connected power plants, it has laid down certain guidelines for rooftop PV and other small solar power plants connected to distribution networks at voltage levels below 33 kV. Hereinafter, the programme is referred to as Rooftop PV & Small Solar Power Generation Programme (RPSSGP). Technical criteria. The project schemes that propose to deploy PV modules and inverter systems are considered to be technically qualified and eligible for participation in the RPSSGP scheme only if these comply with relevant IEC/BIS standards and/or applicable standards as specified by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). For solar PV projects to be selected under this scheme, it is mandatory that these are based on crystalline silicon technology and use modules manufactured in India. There will be no mandatory domestic content requirement for projects based on other technologies. For solar thermal technology, it is mandatory that the technology is demonstrated and such projects should be operational for one year. Project proponents should submit documentary evidence and an undertaking in this regard along with their applications to the competent authority in the state. Metering arrangements. Metering arrangements should be made by the project proponents in consultation with the distribution utility keeping in view the guidelines or regulations notified by the respective state electricity regulatory commissions, if any. Meters should comply with the requirements of CEA regulations on the meter installation and operation. Financial criteria. The project proponents should submit their letters of commitment along with board resolution for equity investments in the project, calculated on the basis of Rs. 40 million per megawatt on a pro-rata basis. Infrastructure criteria for land requirement. The project proponents should make arrangements for land required for the project as per conditions outlined by respective state competent authority. Infrastructure criteria for grid connectivity requirement. The plant should be designed for interconnection with the grid at the distribution network at the voltage level depending on the installed capacity of the rooftop PV or small solar system generator. the cost of generating electricity using a diesel generation (DG) set is in the range of Rs. 20-22 per unit, whereas generating solar power costs only Rs. 13-15 per unit.

More benefits for commercial units Rooftop installation makes more sense for commercial establishments as these can utilise the solar power during peak-load daytime periods, thus saving the money required to set up battery banks. Any amount of power not used can be stored in a battery bank for use at night when energy consumption is the least (about 10 per cent compared to the day).

Based on the current prices and assuming that one takes advantage of the 80 per cent depreciation permitted on such investments, in the first year the cost of power per unit (kWh) from a well-maintained solar plant will be less than Rs. 8 per watt for a plant of any capacity between 5 kW and 1 MW. Thus solar rooftop installation is a good investment option considering both tangible and intangible benefits.

Moreover, for small business establishments or small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a rooftop installation for grid connection is far more profitable than a multi-megawatt plant which requires installation of six to eight transformers. Transformers are at most 98 per cent efficient and therefore while generating solar power, some energy is lost due to the inefficiency of these transformers. So it is profitable to install smaller power plants with 100 per cent of electricity production, which can then be transferred to the local utility.

The government is also encouraging the use of rooftop power plants as a substitute for diesel-consuming and polluting DG sets. Most commercial buildings are dependent on diesel generators during power cuts. Investing in a rooftop solar power plant can offset diesel consumption and make the returns attractive. Added to this, the 30 per cent central finance assistance (CFA) in the form of capital subsidy would encourage investors. With a rooftop installation, one can recover the project's cost within five t six years. Also, typically, a solar power plant has a life of 25 years with proper maintenance.

Government's role in encouraging small producers Change in government policies will help rapid growth of 11

the solar power sector in our country via rooftop and other low-power solar plants. MNRE should quickly clarify when the power utilities will be instructed to buy solar power from 5kW-100kW solar plants at the same rate as +1MW plants. As more and more rooftop solar power

and Rs. 10-12 per unit for commercial establishments. The government is yet to announce the final specifications and subsidies (or incentives) for rooftop installations that feed into the grid.

plants feed power into the grid, local power utility companies should be happy to buy power at a higher price as this will help them earn carbon credits.

Some challenges The major challenge faced by the project developers is to realise the benefits of the policy. Not only do the specifications vary from state to state but also the buying rates. Some companies are buying power at as low as Rs. 11 per unit, thus discouraging players from venturing into this segment as they make only a marginal profit.

MNRE needs to remove all the remaining roadblocks to encourage rooftop and backyard solar power plants of 5 kW to 500 kW capacity to feed their solar power into the grid and augment shortage of supply from utility companies. Every other country in the world pays a high rate for such solar power fed into the grid and this makes such an investment very rewarding. The available metering technology is secure enough for the government to not worry about misuse.

Another challenge is that some unscrupulous players, instead of injecting solar power from their panels, may connect the mains power (conventional electricity) from their neighbour's building to the grid. In such a scenario it becomes difficult for the energy meter to detect the mode of power. However, this challenge is being overcome by introducing innovative DC energy meters that detect the kind of power being transmitted and accept only the power generated by solar PV panels. While this concept is yet to take off in India, there are some specifications laid down y the government with regard to metering.

Government subsidies Government subsidies for standalone rooftop PV installations vary from state to state. For standalone use, today, there is a system that comes with a 40-watt solar panel, 40V battery and two LED bulbs for around Rs. 8000, to which the government provides close to a 50 per cent subsidy. By installing this solar system, monthly electricity bills fall by about Rs. 60 a month (calculated at the rate of Rs. 2 per unit). Conventional electricity bills are currently about Rs. 6-7 per unit for residential purposes

(Editor's Note: The author is an assistant editor atElectronics Bazaar Magazine. We have republished this article in our journal with the permission of the author and the Electronics Bazaar magazine.

A Case Study:

Roof Top Solar PV System (SPV) for Residences - My Experience By Shankar Sharma I have installed a SPV system on my roof top as a back up to grid supply few years ago, and is functioning satisfactorily although some improvements in the overall operation of the system is desirable and achievable.

power was necessary for me to be able to use my PC at any time. 6.

Reasons for choosing the SPV roof top system: 1.

Renewable energy sources are the future; and solar power has the most advantages;

Conventional power sources are fast depleting and getting costlier; social and environmental concerns with these sources are huge and cannot be ignored any longer. Their real cost to the society is much more than what we see now as electricity prices.

In order to make use of SPV systems effectively, the electricity demand has to be managed carefully. Usage of heavy duty appliances such as fridges, ACs, washing machines, water pumping, electric iron box, etc should be avoided as far as possible OR carefully managed so that they are used only during the sunshine hours OR with the grid supply. My requirement for the SPV was only for lighting, PC, TV, and cell phone recharging.

I wanted to demonstrate to others (especially the authorities: I demonstrated my SPV system to the state energy minister in 2009) the efficacy of these systems.

Experience: *A system of capacity [50*2 watts, 125 AH battery, control cubicle] (for charge controlling, changing over from grid to solar and vice versa, preference to charge the battery either from grid or from solar, a switch and few indicating lamps), iron stand, testing and commissioning all included] was quoted for about Rs. 80,000 in 2008. Warranty of 20 years for the panels, and 5 years for the battery was obtained. I held back about Rs. 10,000 as performance guarantee. The supplier never asked for this money; so huge must be the profit.

Some financial risk taking may seem inevitable for individuals if we want to hasten the wider use of these renewable energy sources. Since the SPVs are being widely used for many years such risks can be said to be low. Living in a village a decent backup for the grid 13

The system is functioning satisfactorily for my uses: CFLs, TV, PC, two small table fans, two small table lamps, and power sockets for charging the cell phones. System is connected to the AC wiring of the house, and hence the solar power can be used anywhere in the house.

Once the battery is charged fully (say about 4 hours of sunlight), I can manage without grid supply for one whole day. Supply changeover from grid to solar and vice versa is generally smooth and is almost un-noticeable.

* *

I also have a decent after-sales-service as can be expected in a rural environment.

Since the system is modular in nature number of panels can be added; accordingly the cable, battery and control cubicle may also need to be changed.

Since the system is modular one can go for a smaller system to start with, and decide to upgrade the depending on one's experience and needs.

There can be no doubt with more and more people opting for such systems the prices will come down further and better systems will be made available.

Subsidy may be available for systems of capacity more than 1 kW; need to verify with state agency responsible for the development of REs and MNRE, Delhi.

As always the pioneers in applications will have to bear some extra costs and risks; but that is why they are called as pioneers. But as of 2012 there are a goof number of SPVs in most states, and hence the uncertainty is much less.

As a thumb rule about 1 kW of SPV can be installed in a surface of 60 Sq. ft. Even if it is 100 Sq. ft per kW it is adequate in most cases. A house built on a 30*40 Feet site can offer a surface of more than 500 sq. ft. for SPV system. Hence getting a minimum of 5 kW of solar power capacity is feasible on most of the roof tops.

Observations: * The price for a similar system has come down by more than 50%. In 2012, I am given a quotation for a larger system (500 Wp, 125 AH battery and 800 VA inverter along with the necessary peripherals) for Rs. 75,000. *

The system can be very useful in most parts of Karnataka including Bangalore. There will be some charging of the battery even on cloudy and rainy days, but to a reduced extent;

If we know our load requirements well and are ready to accept small sacrifices SPV systems can provide good service for our basic needs.

Most residences will not need more than 2 kW capacity for the system, if we manage the usage carefully

Best usage is to make use of all the solar energy generated during day time; and keep the battery energy only for lights, TV and PC for the night.;

* * *

Installing SPV for a group of house will become little bit more complicated not only in the cost, design and operation, but there may be licensing issues to be considered. Someone has to take the ownership of the entire system and may have to get license from the electricity regulator.

There can be no doubt that responsible usage of the scarce energy resource we have cannot be compromised with. We have to decide whether some of the appliances such as fridge, AC, washing machine, micro wave oven etc. are indispensable depending on our individual circumstances.

Conclusions: SPV systems have matured adequately to provide guarantee of service for a number of years. Roof top PV systems have many advantages as compared to large scale SPV systems. They are particularly ideal for captive power usages. Keeping in view the ever increasing tariffs of grid supply, power cuts, and the overall health of the environment Roof top PV systems are highly suitable for Indian conditions for domestic and small size commercial applications. Roof top PV systems also can be seen as the future of power supply to our villages.

Small size water pumping sets can also be used. Best to use them during day time. Cost of 1 KW SPV system can be less than Rs. 2 lakhs; one has to shop around for best buy. Bangalore may offer many good options. Before finalising the buy it is advisable to check with few people who are already using the system; preferably consult a professional.

Shankar Sharma, a B.E (Electrical) graduate from University of Mysore (1979) and a PG Diploma (Technology Management) holder from Deakin University, Australia (2001) had worked with Karnataka Electricity Board: O&M of sub-stations and distribution systems; Testing and repair of Transformers; Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India; Regional Load Despatching, Coordination & preparation of Technical Reports; Bangalore, Shillong & New Delhi; Electricity Corporation of New Zealand, New Zealand; Project Management & Technical support to Hydro Generation group; Queensland Electricity Transmission Corporation, Brisbane, Australia; HV Switchgear Procurement & Contracts Management. Presently working as a consultant to power sector, and as a power policy analyst. Authored a book on Integrated Power Policy published by PEACE, Delhi; Written another handbook on the relevance of nuclear power in joint authorship with Dr. A N. Nagaraj. Mr. Sharma has over 31 years of professional experience in electricity industry in the areas of generation, transmission and distribution. Widely travelled in India, Australia and New Zealand. Working with many NGOs and institutions on energy efficiency and environmental protection. His contact email address: shankar.sharma2005@gmail.com

Ecological Solutions for Industry By Dr. Asoor Shyam

TRY MIS CHE

ECO NO MI C

GE OB OT AN Y

E IN IC D E M

ENVIRONMENT

ECOLOGY

Nutrients through WATER

SUB- TERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT 1.INTRODUCTION

atmosphere (aerial) are in fact, mute spectators of the entire nuisance that humans expose them to industrial pollution for example.

“True Beauty lies in beholder's eyes”, the saying seems to have first appeared in the 3rd Century BC in Greek. The person who is widely credited in its current form is Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, who wrote many books, often under the pseudonym of 'The Duchess'. In Molly Bawn, 1878, there's the line "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", which is the earliest citation in print. The proverb perhaps is loaded with amusing perceptions of human beings.

Plants are the only living organisms that tap the solar energy and store it over centuries all for humans to exploit it to their energy needs. Plants have been the sole energy source for human evolution on this planet earth. Fossils fuels Coal, oil and Natural gas (Natural substances made deep within the earth from the remains of ancient plants and animals. Formed by natural processes anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms) have sustained the energy needs of the globe till date and it would perhaps be plants that would meet this requirement in future as well biomass, biofuel as renewable energy.

An extension of a similar annotation could perhaps be appropriate to 'Plants' as they perform several roles in meeting a variety of human needs. You could therefore, rephrase the proverb as “The unlocking (tapping) of plant resource depends on the key that an individual deploys” in addition to its blessed role of providing vital element of survival (Oxygen), plants are indeed a great source of medicine apart from fuel, food, clothing and shelter. In a way, human life cannot be sustained without plants. Moreover, plants inspire humans in several ways merely by their architecture, color and fragrance.

Plants either buried as fossil fuels or living, provide vital energy to all animals on this planet including humans. With this background, I wish to outline the role of ecology in the industrial sector with particular reference to two striking examples.

Plants, anchored in soil (sub-terranean) and exposed to 15

Humans have always strived to develop ways to expand the ability to harvest energy. Increase in energy consumption has been gradual and with industrialization, the rate of energy consumption increased dramatically. The technological man of 1970 (US) consumed approximately 230,000 Kcal of energy per day, almost 115 times that of a primitive man out of which 26% being electrical energy. Just about 10% of this 26% electrical energy resulted in useful work with the remaining 16% going waste due to inefficiency in generation and transmission. Looking at the progressive energy requirement of 'Technological Man', it is quite obvious that it attracts a combination of resources as single one of them cannot meet this high requirement. Tracking the energy source tells us that wood, the sole resource of earlier days made way for coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydroelectric power and ending, perhaps with nuclear electric power.

MEANS AND METHODS

locating mineral deposits successfully. This method of prospecting mineral deposits is often referred to as 'Geobotanical Prospecting' (Indicator Botany). There is indeed a striking relationship between plants and minerals some of which grow in soils rich in certain minerals as for example, wild pansy (Viola calaninaria) is zinc loving (one percent of its constituting zinc); pennycress (Thlaspi) (16% of whose ash constitutes zinc); Tragacanth is quite intensive in selenium rich soil; Alyssum (Alyssum bertoloni) is highly tolerant to nickel; Panicum crusgalii (grass) indicates lead in the soil. There are innumerable examples for other minerals as well. More than 100 species indicative of one or

Plants still are good prospects for solutions to the impact that we induce while on road to development. The TWO examples that I am citing here are a little different although the main focus is on minerals. A.Mineral Prospecting: Vegetation stand and the mineral deposit below seem to have a strong connection so much so that they would guide

more of 24 elements have been reported between 1900 & 1965. Many new accumulator plants have been reported since 1965.

approach could be through 'Known Mineralization'. The information and knowledge gained through known mineralization could help prospecting newer deposits. Natural plant groups indicate a particular environment around Halophytes, for example which withstands high salinity is a good example. Avicennia, Lumnitzera, Spinifex & Rhizophora tolerate high salinity unlike others. Classification of plants with reference to minerals therefore, is most desirable prior to actual geo-botanical investigations. This needs to be supplemented with distribution of species over the mineralized belt. Plant chemistry renders a great service not only in screening plant species based on elemental concentration but also provides useful data on recurrence over the mineral gradient (concentration variation along the mineralization). It helps determining the accumulating sites of the individual species and thus the overall botanical observations. The botanical and chemical findings lead to species that show preferential affinity to a particular element. High concentrations in selected species warrant impact on the physio-morphology. Such distinct features from non-mineralized areas provide cream of data for trial on the unexplored areas to prospect newer ore deposits.

B.Ash Pond Reclamation Ash, a derivative of coal based thermal power plants is normally mixed with water and pumped out through pipeline (Conventional method of ash disposal) into the designated area ash pond. Generally, one acre of land per MW is required just for ash disposal for the life of the power plant (Normally 25 years). Ash, being a derivative of coal comprises almost all the toxic elements of coal. It has been apprehended that these toxic elements may percolate through soil and pollute ground water.

Detailed orientation survey along the mineralization, sample collection and analysis provides useful information not only on the behavior of species but also the minimum and maximum concentration assimilated by different species. Soil samples collected simultaneously from the field and a correlation of plant-soil relationship establishes close affinity between them.

The knowledge on 'Indicator botany' proved pretty beneficial here as examples of plant affinity to specific minerals could provide a solution to this crucial apprehension. The primary objective is to establish a correlation between the vegetation and mineral substrate and to identify 'Indicator Plants'. In the absence of sufficient data on the response and behavior of plants on metalliferous soils, the

Methods Ash pond reclamation

1.MAJOR FINDINGS Mineral prospecting

India, ranks fourth in the world in the production of coal ash as a by-product after USSR, USA and China. Anthracite and bituminous coal ash is classified as Class F whereas coal ash of lignite or sub-bituminous coal is classified as Class C. The latter has self-cementing properties. The estimated coal consumption and ash generation in India is given in the figure below.

The plant mineral affinity has been exploited to locate new mineral deposits more economically than conventional methods of exploration. In fact, the relationship is so strong that Astragalus, accumulating uranium emits a smell similar to garlic and one would surely strike uranium once he smells garlic. Certain plants are associated with specific rock types limestone, dolomite, shale, gypsum, rock salt and ultramafic rocks facilitating as guide to find minerals. This method is even cost-effective to geologist.

The disposal of the increasing amounts of fly ash from coalfired thermal power plants is becoming a serious concern to the environmentalists. Coal ash, 80% of which is very fine in nature and is thus known as fly ash is collected by electrostatic precipitators in stacks.

Mapping of indicator plants; plant appearance and physiology and chemical analysis of plants known to accumulate specific elements have yielded strong correlation between the iron ore and manganese deposits in Goa; Copper, gold and other elements in Karnataka and copper in Singhbhum copper belts. Hyptis suaveolens, was distinct on uranium deposits.

In India, nearly 110 mt of fly ash is generated per annum at present and is largely responsible for environmental pollution fugitive dust reaches pulmonary region of the lungs and remains there for long periods of time; submicron particles enter deeper into the lungs and are deposited on the alveolar walls where the metals could be transferred to blood plasma; all the heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Sb, As, Cr, Pb, etc.) found in the ash are toxic in nature.

Ash pond Reclamation Ash pond reclamation initially, with select species did prove that they establish well even on such harsh sites ash being an inert material and with no substantial nutrients to support plant growth. This initial success encouraged us to try not only species of interest but also look at enhancing the plant growth and facilitating nutrient enrichment in ash substrate.

With the present practice of fly ash disposal (wet disposalmixed with water and pumped through pipeline as slurry) in ash ponds, the total land required just for the ash would be around 80,000 ha by the year 2020 at an estimated 0.6 ha per MW.

An experiment over just nine acres of abandoned ash pond at Korba, NTPC with 'Mycorrhizal Bio-fertilizer' a group of soil microorganisms for intimate organic association with feeder roots yielded excellent results. Application of biofertilzer not only promoted faster plant growth than normal but, more importantly enriched phosphorous content to appreciable levels. Once reclaimed, the ash pond site looks like any other soil supporting vegetation.

Extensive research has been carried out over the last 3-4 decades to utilize fly ash fly ash bricks; fly ash in the manufacture of cement; fly ash in distemper; fly ash based ceramics; fly ash as fertilizer and fly ash in road construction. However, the problem still persists as the quantum of fly ash generated is pretty huge and that the fly ash applications mentioned above do not account for substantial consumption. Fly ash, a derivative of coal poses serious environmental problems not only in India, but elsewhere in the world as well. The problem assumes astonishingly greater dimension in India owing to the deployment of the worst coal (unfit for any other use) in the power industry with ash content between 35 and 50%. Additional land would be warranted for the projected coal based generation by 2020. It may therefore be seen that the precious land would be locked up for dumping this inert material ash over the next 20 25 years or life of the power plant. Ash pond reclamation has been quite a challenging task considering the physical properties of ash. However, there are now, innumerable examples of successful reclamation through a variety of plant species, world over. It is the extension of this ash pond reclamation that has been outlined for the abandoned ash pond sites, of power plant. The initial hurdles of growing vegetation over fly ash were overcome owing to new outlook of treating them as a "special kind of soil" which led to the analysis of ash. The physico-analysis of ash warrants selection of best-suited species for trials and reclamation of ash ponds. 18

A.K. Shyam is an Environmental Specialist and had authored few publications on energy efficiency. He had headed the department of environment, health and safety with Reliance Energy Ltd. His major achievement was getting the Environmental Clearance for the 7,480 MW Gas Based Combined Cycle Project. He is a B.Sc. (Hons.) Botany Major, Zoology & Chemistry Minor, M.Sc. Botany (Plant morphology specialization) and Ph.D. in Plant Taxonomy. His contact email address: asoorshyam_delhi@yahoo.com)

Solar Power Off the Grid:

Energy Access for World's Poor By Carl Pope

solar panels, power electronics, and LED lights. And this creates an opportunity for which the economics are compelling, the moral urgency profound, the development benefits enormous, and the potential leverage game changing.

“More than a billion people worldwide lack access to electricity. The best way to bring it to them while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to launch a global initiative to provide solar panels and other forms of distributed renewable power to poor villages and neighborhoods”

As the accompanying graphs show, the cost of coal and copper the ingredients of conventional grid power are soaring. Meanwhile, the cost of solar panels and LEDs, the ingredients of distributed renewable power, are racing down even faster.

After the Durban talks last month, climate realists must face the reality that “shared sacrifice,” however necessary eventually, has proven a catastrophically bad starting point for global collaboration. Nations have already spent decades debating who was going to give up how much first in exchange for what. So we need to seek opportunities arenas where there are advantages, not penalties, for those who first take action both to achieve first-round emission reductions and to build trust and cooperation.

If we want the poor to benefit from electricity we cannot wait for the grid, and we cannot rely on fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency, historically a grid-centric, establishment voice, admits that half of those without electricity today will never be wired. The government of India estimates that two-thirds of its non-electrified households need distributed power.

One of the major opportunities lies in providing energy access for the more than 1.2 billion people who don't have electricity, most of whom, in business-as-usual scenarios, still won't have it in 2030. These are the poorest people on the planet. Ironically, the world's poorest can best afford the most sophisticated lighting off-grid combinations of

Fortunately, the historic barriers to getting distributed renewable power to scale in poor villages and neighborhoods are rapidly being dismantled by progress in 20

technology, finance, and business models. Getting 1.2 billion people local solar power they can afford is within grasp if we only think about the problem in a different way. In fact, the world can finish this job by 2020.

electricity they use, at the price it really costs, which is a lot less than kerosene; *Financing, public policy, and partnerships to create the supply chains and distribution networks capable of getting distributed electrical systems to every household that needs them. (These needs might require $6 billion in credits and loan guarantees.)

The poor already pay for light. They pay for kerosene and candles. And they pay a lot. The poorest fifth of the world pays one-fifth of the world's lighting bill but receives only .1 percent of the lighting benefits. Over a decade, the average poor family spends $1,800 on energy expenditures. Replacing kerosene with a vastly superior 40 Wp (Watts peak) home solar system would cost only $300 and provide them not only light, but access to cell-phone charging, fans, computers, and even televisions.

The money is on the table. It's just on the wrong plates. Purchase and finance of solar power for 1.2 billion people would cost about $10 billion a year over a decade. The 11 countries with the largest number of households without electricity spent $80 billion each year subsidizing fossil fuel only 17 percent of which benefits the poor. In 2010,

VIEW GRAPH: The costs of solar panels (above) and LEDs have dropped steadily over the last 25 years, while the costs of the ingredients of conventional grid power coal and copper have soared.

Kerosene costs 25 to 30 percent of a family's income globally that amounts to $36 billion a year. The poor do not use kerosene because it is cheap they are kept poor in significant part because they must rely on expensive, dirty kerosene. And the poor pay in other ways. A room lit by kerosene typically can have concentrations of pollution 10 times safe levels. About 1.5 million people, mostly women, die of this pollution every year, in addition to those who die from burns in fires.

the World Bank spent $8 billion on coal-fired power plants, few of which provided meaningful energy access to the poor. The UN's Clean Development Mechanism is proposing to give $4 billion a year to anything-but-clean coal-plants. So there is already far more capital in the system than is needed. Even five years ago the business models did not exist to enable the poor to afford solar. Solar was much more expensive. The only alternative to buying a solar system with cash was a bank or micro-credit loan for which most of the poor could not qualify.

So why do the poor use kerosene? Because they can buy a single day's worth in a bottle, if that is all they can afford. For the poor, affordability has three dimensions: total cost, up-front price, and payment flexibility. Solar power comes in a panel that will give ten, or even 20, years of light and power but the poor cannot afford a ten-year investment up front. And many cannot handle conventional finance plans, which require fixed payments regardless of their income that month.

Cell phone companies have a powerful motivation to get renewable power into rural areas. But the combination of dirt-cheap solar, the cell-phone revolution, and mobile phone banking has changed everything. There are almost 600 million cell-phone customers without electricity using their phones very little, still spending $10 billion to charge them in town. There are hundreds of thousands of rural, off-grid cell towers powered by diesel at a price of about $0.70/kilowatt hour. All over the world cell-phone towers are being converted from diesel to hybrid renewable power sources. So cell phone companies have a powerful motivation to get renewable power into rural areas, to get electricity to their customers, and to charge for electricity through their mobile phone payment systems.

Nor, for the record, do the electrified middle class pay for electricity up front. When I moved into my house in San Francisco, I did not get a bill for my share of the power plants and transmission grid that give me power each month. I pay as I go, based on how many kwh's I use that month. So lighting the lives of 1.2 billion people with off-grid renewable electricity requires three ingredients: *Capital to pay for solar or other renewable electrical generation for 400 million households that depend on kerosene; *Business models for those households to pay for the

At least three commercial models have been launched in the last several months. India's Simpa Networks in partnership with SELCO in India and DT-Power in Ghana,

India and Kenya are testing models in which solar distributors can allow customers to pay for electricity through mobile banking “pay as you go” plans. Zimbabwe's Econet Power has launched an even more intriguing model, in which it provides its cell-phone customers with solar power as a customer benefit, charging them only $1 week to use a home solar system provided by Econet, with the bills tied to the customer's cell phone account.

by 50 percent or more by providing more time and opportunities for home-based income generation. But the leverage is actually much greater. If one-fifth of the world is on solar, as these people prosper and can afford more electricity, they are going to expand solar systems, rather than turning to coal or nuclear. Their neighbors include the one-third of humanity with “spasmodic” electricity wires that in rural areas work only at night, and in urban areas go down in the afternoon. These customers would find distributed solar far more reliable than the current grid. If we add those 2 billion to the 1.2 billion who are not on the grid, virtually half of humanity could be turning to renewable power as the cheapest, most reliable and most available form of energy. The fossil fuel interests would lose completely their current moral argument that more carbon will power the poor.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has proclaimed 2012 the Year of Universal Energy Access. His initiative is keyed not to the UN climate talks, but to the Rio +20 Earth Summit talks scheduled for June. Imagine that at Rio, instead of embracing business-asusual solutions to energy access, the world decided to empower the poor with the electricity they can truly afford distributed solar?

That, I would argue is a phenomenal game-changer and a powerful first step in building a trusting, low-carbon coalition of rich and poor nations. And that coalition could lay the groundwork for the more challenging global efforts that will be needed to stabilize and eventually restore the climate.

What would the benefits be? In carbon terms alone, kerosene for lighting emits almost as much greenhouse-gas pollution as the entire British economy. 1.5 million lives a year would be saved from respiratory ailments. The available income for the world's poorest fifth would be increased by 25 to 30 percent a pretty big development bang-for-the-buck. Numerous studies have shown that providing basic energy access increases household income

Carl Pope, chairman and former executive director of the Sierra Club, has served on the boards for the National Clean Air Coalition, California Common Cause, and Public Interest Economics Inc. A regular contributor to the Huffington Post, he co-wrote the book Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress, which was published in 2004.

Roof Top Solar Tariff The Roof Top Grid connected solar KWp level projects of 5 KWp to 100 KWp will be allowed connecting at 415 V, 3 phase, 11 KV level of distribution system of the licensee in such a manner that the maximum energy injection will not be more than 70% of the consumption from the distribution licensee's source by the Solar Roof Top consumer. Any injection in a billing period exceeding 70% of the consumption will be treated as inadvertent and will not be considered for commercial purpose; neither the deficit is carried forward to next billing period. Such injection will be settled on Net Basis with the consumption of the said consumer from the distribution licensee's source in each billing period. Roof Top Grid connected solar power quantum fed to the Grid will be eligible for a Tariff of Rs. 3.40 per KWh along with Net Metering facility. If any incentives available from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India, it will be passed on to the Developer. However, Roof Top systems will be additionally eligible for any other subsidies extended to the Roof Top Projects. Solar

Photo Voltaic systems below 2 KWp will be battery backed isolated stand alone systems. Isolated Solar Photo Voltaic sources up to 200 KWp will be for Rural Applications. 22

Five things to consider before you plan for a rooftop PV plant (A) Shadow test: To collect maximum sunlight during the day, the solar PV panel should face as much south as possible. The rooftop must be checked for the shadows of trees or adjoining builds etc., particularly from south direction. A clear rooftop without any shadow from all around is an ideal case for solar PV installations. In case there is shadow on rooftop, a detailed analysis of time and direction of sunlight needs to be performed by an expert to estimate the energy received by rooftop.

business cases. A quick overview of the financial incentives available for the solar projects is presented below. Financial incentives from MNRE Cap Subsidy: MNRE provides 30% capital subsidy on capital expenditure for rooftop solar PV system. For commercial and non-commercial entities in grid connected area, subsidy can be granted to plant size upto 100Kw. However entities setting up solar plant for rural electrification can claim subsidy for upto 250Kw plant size.

(b) Rooftop type: The load carrying capacity of the roof should be checked. The solar panels with structure typically weigh 15Kg per Sq. meter. This weight varies with technology and type of structure.

Interest Subsidy: The government provides soft loans at 5% per annum on 50% of capex amount for 5 years tenure for solar projects by both commercial and non-commercial entities. Commercial entities can claim either of capital or interest subsidies. But a non-commercial entity can claim

(c) Sizing of solar system: Size of solar system depends on the rooftop area available for panels. This can be calculated by dividing the available area by each panel area and multiplying it by panel's rated output. For estimate purpose, 70% of rooftop area can be used for panel's installation. Certain solar panels in market can use as high as 90% of rooftop area, but have much higher cost. As a thumb rule, 10 Sq meter area is required for 1 Kw capacity solar system. Size of solar system = Panel's rated output*(Rooftop area / each panel area)*70% (d) System output (annual units generated): The output per panel and hence system output depends on panel efficiency and the solar radiation at the site. These two factors define CUF (Capacity Utility Factor) for solar system for a particular location. For India typically 19% CUF is taken for estimation. The annual number of units generated by solar system can be calculated as:

both subsidies simultaneously. Accelerated depreciation: For solar system, a company can claim 80% depreciation in the first year itself leading to savings on income tax on overall profit. This benefit can be claimed by both commercial and non-commercial entities. Process of claiming financial incentives: The financial incentives mentioned above can be availed by writing an application to MNRE in the prescribed application form for project approval. A commercial entity has to indicate its preference for capital or interest subsidy. Once approved, in case of interest subsidy, the MNRE forwards the application to a commercial bank for the soft loan. In case of capital subsidy option, MNRE provides subsidy money in 3 trenches: start of project, mid-way through the project and after a successful inspection postcompletion of the project.

Units Generated Annually (in Kwh) = System Size in Kw * CUF * 365 * 24 As a thumb rule, 1 Kw capacity solar system generates 1600 1700 Kwh of electricity per year. The CUF varies with the geographical location of the installation site. Following table summarizes indicative CUFs at different cities in India. (e) Pricing of solar system: A typical rooftop solar system without battery and without grid connection costs Rs.125 per Wp. A system with battery with 5 hrs backup typically costs Rs.200 per Wp. These rates are for smaller systems upto 250 Kw capacity. For larger systems, price per Wp reduces and is typically in the range of Rs.100 per Wp for MW size systems. In addition to the above decision criteria, it maybe worthwhile for the prospective project developer to weigh in on the financial incentives in their

Other sources of finance: Apart from incentives from MNRE, an entity can avail of commercial loans from organizations such as SIDBI at 15% interest rate typically for terms of 7 years with 1 year moratorium period. There are no special loans from commercial banks for solar systems.

Installing roof-top grid-connected Solar PV system on your building still more expensive than conventional grid electricity, however it all depends on how much is the opportunity cost of displaced electricity. If the displaced electricity is a combination of grid and DG based electricity, in that case the cost of displaced electricity is about 9 Rs. / unit which makes solar PV system much more attractive to the roof top installer. Although the utility grade solar pv is now costing about 80-90 Rs/Wp, the rooftop PV systems will cost about 120-150 Rs/Wp due to economy of scale. Considering a cost of 150 Rs/Wp for a typical roof top system a 10 kW roof top system will cost about 15 Lac. The building owner is also eligible for 30% capital subsidy (4.5 Lac) and accelerated depreciation 9about 4 Lac). Hence the building owner has to spend about 40% of the total cost of the systems, which makes PV attractive in terms of low capital cost.

Installing a solar Photovoltaic system require a basic understanding of technical, economic and regulatory aspects to take a call for the viability of these systems. Installing a solar PV system is different than installing a typical solar water heating system as it has many sub systems such as inverter selection and net metering etc. PV systems have limitations that they produce power intermittently because they work only when the sun is shining. It is difficult for PV systems to furnish all the power you need, and are typically used in conjunction with utility-supplied electricity.. Is your roof good enough to install solar PV? The best orientation for a PV system is on a south-facing roof; hence it is important that your roof has a south facing option available to install solar PV system. A flat horizontal roof is also eligible for solar PV facing clear sky and having shadow free area. The amount of roof space needed for a roof top solar PV systems is determined on the basis of your selection of your PV generating capacity. Typically you require about 100 sq.ft. area to house a 1 kW solar roof top system.

How do I get finance for my roof top system? Government of India has launched a low interest based financing scheme for roof top systems and it is available from many commercial banks and also through NABARD. The interest rate charged for the roof top systems is of the order of 5%.

How much does a roof top PV system produce? PV systems produce the most electricity during the October to March when the sun is shining. Energy production will vary, of course, depending on geography and climate. A typical 1 kW roof top PV system will produce about 16002000 kWh in a year depending the location. If we consider a typical household demand of 12000 Units a year, then a typical 5 kW roof top system will meet about 60-70% of the household annual electricity demand.

What is net metering? Net metering allows a roof top solar PV system owner to connect his solar PV system to the grid and sell its surplus electricity to the grid. Net metering allows electricity meter to spin forward when electricity flows from the grid into your building, and backward when your system produces surplus electricity that is not immediately used. Your excess electricity is “banked” on the utility grid. Currently CERC is under developing guidelines for net metering for roof top systems.

Is solar PV really expensive? PV-generated electricity is

Rooftop Solar PV System Off-Grid Policy With the success of JNNSM policy for the projects of grid connected MW capacity and continuous declining movement of panel cost will make the rooftop systems economically more viable option. The Government's policy will act as a catalyst for the same. Here the First Green is providing you a gist of the policy for off grid Roof top system (programme on “Off-grid and Decentralized Solar Applications”, 8th June 2012)

*Government of India (MNRE) provides 30% of capital subsidy on the roof top systems (off grid). Based on the benchmark cost for solar photovoltaic panels (revised on 01/04/11 by MNRE) the available subsidy is of Rs. 81/Wp with battery and Rs. 57/Wp without battery storage system.

*80% accelerated depreciation benefit is available as per Section 32 of Income Tax Act. *Rs. 100/Wp for SPV modules used subject to a maximum of 40% of the cost of the system to non-profit making organizations only *Support will be available for systems capacity varying between 25 to 100kW. *Proposals in prescribed format will be considered on firstcum-first basis through SNAS by MNRE *Capital subsidy would be released to the banks upfront, on

*Promoters' equity contribution should be at least 20% of the project cost

receipt of sanction of loan by the bank to the borrower.

*The loan amount is repayable in monthly installments *Rest of the amount can also be financed by MNRE by a

within 5 years.

soft loan @5% will be available. 24

How much does a rooftop solar PV system cost? â&#x2C6;&#x2014; Grid-tied These rooftop systems are primarily designed to supply the generated power to the grid and also power the load. These systems will NOT generate power during a power failure as the inverter shuts down the system to stop sending power into the grid and avoids the risk of electrocuting utility personnel who are working to repair the grid â&#x2C6;&#x2014; Grid-interactive This system works in conjunction with either a battery backup or diesel generator to support the load even during a power failure. â&#x2C6;&#x2014;

Off-grid This system does not work with the grid and is designed to work only with a battery backup or diesel generator in off-grid applications

The difference between the systems lies in the kind of inverter used, and the inclusion of batteries. As various vendors use different terminology for these systems we urge you to verify the functions of the offered system rather than going by the name alone. Component cost of rooftop PV systems A rooftop solar PV system costs approximately Rs. 1,00,000 per kWp (kilowatt peak) including installation charges but without batteries and without considering incentives (which are discussed further down). The cost breakup for a 1 kWp system is given below: Note 1: The above prices are for components from Tier 1 manufacturers with 5-year manufacturer's warranty. In addition the PV modules have output warranty of 90% of rated capacity for the first 10 years and 80% of rated capacity for the next 15 years.

The cost of a rooftop solar PV system depends on the function it serves (to feed power into the grid, to support the load during a power failure, etc.) and

Note 2: We have not considered battery backup as that can alter the economics significantly depending on the extent of battery backup (autonomy) required. Not only do batteries add to the initial cost, recurring maintenance, and replacement expenditure, the energy loss on charging and drawing from the battery also adds to the cost of power. A battery backup would add about Rs. 25,000 to the cost of the above system.

incentives/subsidies available. It should be noted that all solar PV systems function by matching the voltage from some other source. Therefore the system has to be integrated with the grid, a battery backup, or a diesel generator. Types of rooftop solar PV systems Rooftop solar PV systems are of 3 types: 26

Accelerated Depreciation (AD)

Note 3: We have not considered Thin-Film modules as they require more installation area for the same capacity as Crystalline modules and are therefore not preferred for rooftop installations where space is usually a constraint.

Accelerated depreciation of 80% is available under the Income Tax act for rooftop solar PV systems. This can provide significant savings to a solar plant developer who is a taxable assesse and has sufficient profits against which the depreciation can be charged. This is illustrated in this table:

Incentives/Subsidies Several incentives are available for rooftop solar PV plants through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

MNRE Subsidy

will be deemed to be the benchmark cost for calculating the subsidy.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides Central Financial Assistance through capital and/or interest subsidy (depending on the nature of the

Note 2: Benchmark costs are for systems with 5-year warranty for all components (inverters, batteries,

applicant). The summary of the subsidy scheme is provided in the table:

switchgear, etc.) other than PV modules which are warranted for 90% of output at end of year 10 and 80% at end of year 25. PV modules have to be made in India to avail subsidy.

*for commercial/ industrial entities either of capital or interest subsidy will be available Note: 1 The benchmark cost for setting up a solar PV plant

Note 3: Capital subsidy is increased to 90% of benchmark cost for special category states (North Eastern states,

is Rs. 170/Wp (With battery providing 6 hours of autonomy) and Rs. 100 per Wp (without battery) i.e. if the actual project cost exceeds this amount then project cost

Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand). The subsidy calculation is illustrated in this table: 28

Final cost of Rooftop PV system factoring in AD and Subsidies

more expensive but offer much better performance and reliability ∗Certifications/Standards Products that are certified and meet quality standards are more expensive ∗Warranties The price of the system can depend on the

Rooftop PV system cost after factoring in AD and Subsidy benefit The final cost to setup the PV plant, after factoring in

warranties offered. *PV Panels Industry standard warranty is *5-year manufacturer warranty *0-10 years for 90% of the rated output power *10-25 years for 80% of the rated output power *Other systems Inverters, mounting structures, cables, junction boxes, etc. typically come with a 1 year manufacturer warranty which can be extended to 5 years

Accelerated Depreciation and Subsidy benefit will be:

Irena launches roadmap to double renewable energy by 2030

Prospects for further cost reduction

Cutter, Editor of Outreach One ofBy theAmy questions we are regularly asked is if project cost is likely to reduce significantly in future, as the price of solar PV modules has seen a substantial decrease in recent years. This chart shows the proportion of the prices of each component (from the table above) to the total project cost: Though PV modules have decreased in price they form only half the cost of the total project; further decrease, if any, will only affect that portion and therefore impact on total project cost will be limited. The prices of the other components have not decreased the way the price of PV modules has decreased. Therefore we do not expect to see much reduction in project cost in the near future.

Takeaways ∗ A 1 KW rooftop plant costs about Rs. 1,00,000 ∗ A battery backup would add R.s 25,000 to this cost but is not recommended unless absolutely necessary due to losses when charging or drawing power ∗ Any further decrease in PV module prices are not likely to significantly reduce project cost as modules comprise only half the total cost of the project ∗ Customers should check that the PV plant capacity quoted by vendor is for the module capacity and not the inverter capacity

Variations in pricing Prices of solar PV systems offered by various vendors can differ significantly. There can be several reasons for the variations in price, such as *Overstatement of capacity Some vendors advertise a rooftop system with 1 KW modules (solar panels) and a 5 kW inverter as a 5 KW system. As the electricity is generated by the modules this system only has a 1 kW capacity and the price offered by the vendor should be compared with other 1 KW systems and not 5 kW plants

(Editor's Note: This article is republished with the permission from Energy Alternatives India (EAI). This article was originally published by EAI under the title ‘Solar Mango’ on Nov.1,2013 in their Website: http://www.solarmango.com)

∗Brands Products from Tier I manufacturers are typically 29

Largest Solar Rooftop In Europe Complete, In Germany (which could power up to about 1,846 homes). The record-breaking solar roof is on top of the Pfenning Logistics distribution centre named multicube rhein-neckar, which is located in the Heddesheim municipality, a bit south of Frankfurt. The building was recently constructed and has been owned by Union Investment as of 2012. Dennis Seiberth, president of international large-scale projects at the project development company Wirsol, said: “In this size we usually build solar parks.” He added that Wirsol was ambitious in its aims to build the plant in four weeks. The largest self-consumption rooftop solar array in Europe has been completed, and it is of course located in Germany. It is eleven hectares in size, consists of 33,000 solar panels, and has a generation capacity of 8.1 MW

“We are happy that we can now partially generate electricity by ourselves,” said Karl-Martin Pfenning, owner and managing partner of the Pfenning group. “With the photovoltaic installation we can annually save up to 5, 171 tons of Co2.”

Rooftop solar could power all households, slash electricity prices What would happen if every Australian household installed solar PV on their rooftops? That's the hypothetical question a new study has set out to answer, with the main aim of proving a solar point (while rattling a few cages along the way): that solar power is a viable solution to Australia's energy challenges and has the potential to dramatically change the nation's energy landscape. The study, conducted by solar provider Energy Matters using government data, found that if every suitable rooftop in Australia was turned into a solar power station, the amount of energy generated would supply more than 134.8 per cent of the country's residential electricity needs, and would drive down power prices from an average of 30c per kilowatt-hour to 7c/kWh. According to Energy Matters, there is just under 400 square kilometres of available roof space on residential roof tops in Australia that could accommodate solar panels equal to the size of inner Melbourne. By the company's calculations, each one of the suitable houses could theoretically hold an 8kW, 32-panel solar power system. The cost for each system at the current market rate would be less than $14,000. These houses would then generate 36kWh per day; and with the average household currently consuming 18kWh per day, the excess electricity would earn the household between $2100 and $3,200 per year. This way, the study estimates each household's solar system would be paid off in between four and six years. And then there is what Energy Matters describes as the “knock on effect” to factor in, with energy prices and CO2 emissions reduced dramatically, and a huge boon in green jobs.

As for the cost of the installation, the study finds this would represent 8 per cent of Australia's yearly GDP, or 0.4 per cent per year when amortised over 20 years. This compares to the $15 billion Australia currently spends on electricity each year, which amounts to 1 per cent of it GDP. What would happen to Australia's current electricity production facilities under this scenario? “There would be almost no need for base load power stations on a sunny day,” said Brass. “Australia could close down most of its coal-driven power stations overnight, except for those in heavy industrial areas. Under-utilised gas fired peaking plants, which are already in existence, would be called upon to generate Australia's night time and cloudy day electricity needs. Shutting down Australia's coal power stations alone would mean our emissions targets would be met almost immediately.” It all sounds pretty sensational, but according to Energy Matters, who released the results of the study today, the figures it has turned up are “extremely conservative” (the company's calculations show solar can supply 134 per cent of Australia's residential needs, but it says the actual figure would be much higher), and its hypothetical scenario of a rooftop solarpowered Australia “could easily become a reality.” “Our vision is not too dissimilar to Bill Gates', who predicted every household would have a computer,” says Energy Matters' Nick Brass. “People at first scoffed at this vision, but the advent of the affordable personal computer changed the world. Energy Matters' grand plan is to help convert every suitable rooftop in Australia into a solar power station.” “The idea is for the eligible houses to produce more electricity than they need with the excess supply fed back into the grid in order to power Australia's residential and non-residential needs,” said Brass. “Further calculations we performed indicate the amount of electricity generated would supply 38.8% of Australia's total electricity requirements (inclusive of all residential, industry, commercial services, metal production 31

The Case For An Impending Solar Clean Break “Despite the long-standing assertion by proponents that solar energy is nearing a breakthrough, the failure of solar energy to achieve significant market penetration despite heavy and sustained public subsidies over the last two decades is no mystery. The costs of scaling solar remain reliably higher than not only fossil energy but also other non-fossil alternatives, most notably nuclear”

be generated from 2,400 gigawatts of solar capacity, compared with today's 100 gigawatts. In Greentech Media, Chris Nelder, citing MacDonald, further projects that “solar will overtake nuclear generation globally by 2020.” Leading environmentalists like Bill McKibben and Robert Kennedy, Jr. have seized on these talking points. Achieving these levels of solar deployment will require exponential growth in both demand for and production of solar panels. Global annual solar manufacturing capacity

of 60 gigawatts today is twice that of demand for new installations, which in 2012, a banner year for solar, were 30 gigawatts. In order for solar to reach 8% of global electricity generation by 2020, global manufacturing capacity will need to triple over the next three years, rising from 60 gigawatts presently to over 170 gigawatts in 2016, and will need to expand by a factor of 14 over the next seven years, rising to over 850 gigawatts of PV panel manufacturing capacity in 2020 this at a time when the global solar industry is experiencing a period of heavy consolidation, international trade wars, dwindling Chinese production subsidies, and declining solar deployment subsidies in the United States and much of Europe.

Leading solar analysts project rapid growth of solar globally based upon extrapolations from the growth of solar over recent years. Energy analyst Gregor MacDonald looks at solar growth rates since 2008 and predicts rapid continuing growth: Over the past 5 years, growth of power consumption from solar has run at a compound annual growth rate of 63.2%. Solar can easily maintain its current fast growth rate through the year 2020. Assuming this is the case, and also projecting strong annual growth in overall global power consumption at 3.4% per year, solar will be making a meaningful contribution to total global power supply by 2020.

Where Nelder and MacDonald imply 170 gigawatts of solar capacity to be installed during 2016, GTM Research, a leading solar industry analyst, expects annual global solar installations to expand to only 50 gigawatts by 2016. And where Nelder and MacDonald predict 2,400 gigawatts of installed capacity to be in place globally by 2020, experts at Global Data expect total installed solar capacity

Assuming (conservatively in MacDonald's estimation) a 50% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) going forward to 2020, and 3.4% annual growth for total electricity, that implies solar generation will increase by a factor of 20 over the next 7 years, rising from 0.4% today to supply 8.1% of global electricity by 2020. That electricity would 32

in 2020 to reach 330 gigawatts, seven times less than MacDonald's and Nelder's projections.

operation Italian feed-in tariff rates currently range from about $0.15-0.36/kWh. Before the Spanish government suspended their national FIT in 2012, rates ranged between $0.163-0.378/kWh. Cost declines for rooftop solar in California also appear to have hit a wall. Severin Borenstein, an economist and energy expert at UC Berkeley, finds that installed costs in California remain stubbornly high, between $5000-7000/kW, despite substantial efforts to drive costs down.

Projections of continuing annual growth rates at 50% or higher in the coming years are based upon the assumption that recent, very high growth rates from a very small base can be sustained as that base grows. Growing at 50% from 2012's global solar generation requires installing about 45 gigawatts of new solar capacity in 2013. Sustaining that growth at even modestly higher levels of solar penetration requires vastly higher levels of annual solar installations. Sustaining 50% growth from a generation benchmark of 3% of global electricity, for instance, would require installing over 350 gigawatts in a single year. For this reason, the rate at which solar generation is growing has been slowing over the last few years, even in Germany. Solarbuzz, for instance, expects global solar capacity growth to slow to 30% in 2013, less than half the compounded growth rate that MacDonald calculates over the last five years. Global Data expects solar capacity's CAGR through 2020 to be about 16.5%.

Larger, utility scale solar projects (typically classified as 20 MW and above) have achieved significantly lower installed costs. The US Solar Energy Industry Association estimates that total installed costs for these projects can reach as low as $2000/kW, thanks to better economies of scale. However, these costs remain well above those necessary for solar to compete with conventional wholesale energy costs. The US Department of Energy SunShot program has set 2020 targets for solar to become cost competitive with conventional fossil-fueled electricity generation. Compared to current utility-scale installed costs of $2000-4000/kW, SunShot targets $1000/kW by 2020.

Less Than Meets the Eye

Nate Lewis, an energy expert at the California Institute of Technology, sets the bar even higher, suggesting that total installed costs of solar would actually need to fall closer to $100/kW to be competitive with fossil fuels worldwide. Lewis writes that solar needs to be between $10-100/m², which multiplied by 0.15kW/m² works out to $66-666/kW. CO2 dramatically, emissions to a range Lewis: "The cost must be lowered within $10-100/m², probably closer $10/m², to provide cost effective energy, not just cost-effective peak energy."

Claims that solar will continue to see rapid global growth rates are largely predicated upon assumptions regarding sustained subsidies and cost declines. Feed-in tariff support in Germany has fallen from $0.50/kWh in 2000 to below $0.16/kWh in recent years. The installed cost of solar in Germany has fallen correspondingly, dropping from above $6500/kW in 2006 to approximately $2250/kW today. Germany today has the cheapest solar in the world, and the country's FIT program has been instrumental in driving these cost declines. This, unfortunately, has limited impact to countries outside of Germany. That is because twothirds or more of the installed cost of residential solar systems are soft costs, unrelated to the cost of the modules. Owing to costs related to permitting, installation, supply chains, mounts, inverters, and other non-module costs, solar PV systems cost as much as two to three times more in other countries than they do in Germany. In the United States, the installed costs of residential solar remain about $5000/kW, according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industry Association. According to the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA), most major solar markets have installed costs for residential solar significantly higher than those in Germany. In short, German policies have made solar's soft costs much cheaper in Germany, but they haven't done so for the rest of the world.

Current installed costs for rooftop solar in the United States range from approximately $3000-8000/kW, while SunShot targets suggest that costs need to reach below $1500/kW to be commercially competitive. Even Germany, with the lowest soft costs in the world, has only achieved average installed costs for rooftop solar as low as about $2250/kW, of which non-module costs exceed $1200/kW, according to researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. So even if the panels were free, rooftop solar would be too expensive in most of the world to displace significant amounts of conventional fossil energy without subsidies. Unfortunately, the modules aren't free. But unlike soft costs, declines in the cost of manufacturing modules redound to the benefit of all new solar installations. However, it is not clear how much of the recently observed declines in module costs are attributable to sustainable declines in production costs, rather than massive overcapacity driven by state subsidies to Chinese firms and dumping of solar commodities on global markets. The European Union alleges that Chinese dumping has resulted in module prices 88% lower than the cost of production, and has proposed border tariffs on Chinese solar products of 47.6%. The United States International Trade Commission and the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing allege similar levels of below cost dumping in their complaint against China. As such, even the observed declines in module prices likely overstate the reductions in module production costs that have been achieved due to manufacturing efficiencies in

To date, there is little evidence that it is possible to rapidly reduce domestic solar soft costs without spending a decade subsidizing production and installation as Germany has. Japan, for instance, recently established a solar PV feed-in tariff starting at $0.42/kWh on 10-20 year contracts. Despite Germany's decade and $100 billion plus investment to make solar cheaper in Germany, it appears Japan will incur similar costs to reach similar scales. Moreover, other efforts to use heavy public and ratepayer subsidies to drive down solar installation costs have not been nearly as successful as Germany's. After years of 33

response to the scale up of solar deployment in recent years.

excess generation. Moreover, experts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and elsewhere have estimated that, due to the mounting challenges of managing intermittency, renewables pose increasing costs at higher penetration levels. With approximately 30 gigawatts of installed capacity, solar famously generated 50% of German electricity load for a few hours on a sunny Saturday last May, but only generated about 5% of total electricity over the whole year. Managing these wild variations will come at considerable cost. The surcharge on all electricity to fund the FIT rose nearly 50% this year, to $0.069/kWh, and is expected to increase again to $0.079 next year. The FIT, meanwhile, is now being reformed to accommodate this by establishing a curtailment tariff through which utilities will pay solar generators 95% of the full FIT not to generate electricity. So even as installed solar costs continue to decline in Germany, German ratepayers will need to begin paying solar operators not to generate power in order to continue expanding solar installations. Policymakers are also considering the introduction of capacity markets in Germany, which would provide a subsidy to conventional power plants to ensure profitability in the face of variable renewables generation.

Thanks to the glut of solar panels on the market today, solar module prices will likely stay low for some time although European and Chinese trade negotiators are currently discussing a minimum price for modules, which could be higher than today's prices and would obviously inhibit opportunities for sustained price declines. Meanwhile the flip side of these artificially low prices due to overproduction is that there is little need or demand for new production capacity. Declines in the real costs of producing modules are largely driven by investment in new, more efficient and productive manufacturing facilities as production scales up. As such, declines in module prices in recent years not only significantly overstate declines in real module production costs but are likely to significantly depress the pace of cost decline in coming years, as the industry consolidates and the manufacturers that survive are forced to clear existing inventories and max out current capacity before investing in new facilities.

Misrepresenting Costs Even in the best case scenarios that advocates often cherry pick as evidence of solar's competitiveness, installed solar costs still exceed the costs of new nuclear power, which itself remains significantly more expensive than coal and natural gas generation.

In response to our recent estimate of the costs of scaling solar in Germany, Nelder points to declining solar costs in the United States as evidence that solar is competitive elsewhere. He cites the 50-megawatt Macho Springs solar power plant in New Mexico, which will sell power for $0.058/kWh to El Paso Electric, a power utility. But Nelder cites the cost at which Macho Springs has agreed to sell its power while excluding the heavy state and federal subsidies that the project developers receive from state and federal programs on top of the revenues they will receive from selling the electricity. GTM Research notes that Macho Springs developers will receive an additional production tax credit from the state of New Mexico, which if included increases the total cost to about $0.085/kWh. In addition the project receives a federal investment tax credit for renewable energy (ITC), which covers 30% of the financing costs for developing the project. Including all these subsidies pushes all-in costs for the Macho Springs project above $0.12/kWh. Renewable Energy World notes that the Macho Springs PPA is going for about a third of the average costs of similar PPAs, which Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates at $0.163/kWh. Using a more representative figure for recent utility-scale power purchase agreements and accounting for federal subsidies yields an all-in cost of approximately $0.21/kWh for utility scale solar projects of this nature.

Using current FIT prices in Germany, rather than the average cost of the decade of heavy subsidies makes this comparison look more favorable for solar. But as noted above, the present day costs of installed solar in Germany are only as low as they are due to $130 billion in subsidies locked in over the last decade and haven't resulted, for the most part, in lower soft costs elsewhere in the world. The German solar FIT currently ranges between $0.100.15/kWh. The United Kingdom recently announced new â&#x20AC;&#x153;strike prices,â&#x20AC;? similar to FITs, for zero-carbon electricity: solar's strike price in 2019 will be over $0.165/kWh, while nuclear's strike price is expected to be $0.150/kWh. Further, while Germany will continue to subsidize expanded solar capacity in the coming years with declining FITs, those policies will soon hit a ceiling, wherein installed solar capacity approaches average electricity load. Without costly energy storage technologies that do not presently exist, Germany will not be able to generate much more than 10% of its total electricity from solar without curtailing or exporting not only its entire non-solar energy generation capacity, but also much of its solar generation capacity on sunny days. As such, the reductions in installed solar costs that Germany has been able to realize through subsidizing the development of a highly efficient domestic solar installation industry are already hitting a point of diminishing returns, where the potential for additional solar generation is likely to be significantly outstripped by the capability to install new capacity. Neighboring countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, are already seeking to block transmission from the German grid, which is largely how Germany currently deals with

Solar advocates claim that nuclear generation carries heavy subsidies as well, including waste disposal costs, decommissioning costs, and liability limits on nuclear accidents, that result in nuclear costing substantially more than its sticker price. These claims are, however, either incorrect or exaggerated. The NRC requires plant operators to accumulate decommissioning funds over the operating life of the plant. Some utilities collect the money for decommissioning through ratepayers, while others set aside a lump sum at the beginning of operation. All 34

nuclear operators in the US are required to pay into a federal fund to handle spent nuclear fuel deposition, and most utilities pass this fee on directly to ratepayers. According to an MIT analysis, the all-in costs of decommissioning amount to just $0.001-0.003/kWh. Similar funds are required of nuclear operators elsewhere around the world. These costs are included in EIA and IEA estimates of the levelized cost of new nuclear power generation.

decades is no mystery. The costs of scaling solar remain reliably higher than not only fossil energy but also other non-fossil alternatives, most notably nuclear. Continued growth of solar will require continued heavy subsidies for the foreseeable future. Scaling solar without heavy subsidies will require bringing both module and installation costs down dramatically, significant breakthroughs in electricity transmission and storage, and perhaps greater pursuit of centralized solar plants that can benefit from economies of scale and superior citing. As a long-term strategy to develop better and cheaper technologies, continuing and even expanded solar subsidies may be justified. But heavily subsidized solar does not represent a serious short-term strategy to replace either fossil energy or nuclear.

Limited liability, via the Price-Anderson Act, likewise can be considered a subsidy. However the value of the subsidy is extremely modest. Nuclear power operators are required to purchase private liability insurance, which covers $375 million for offsite damages. In addition, every reactor operator must pay into a second tier of insurance in the event of an accident up to $11.6 billion. Only after these insurance pools are depleted does Congress have the authority to allocate federal money to cover damages. It is this guarantee that some consider an implicit subsidy, which given a Fukushima-type accident, would infer a subsidy of about $2 million per reactor per year, or $0.0003/kWh.

Nuclear energy too, remains reliably more costly than fossil energy. But the difference in costs is lower and unlike solar and other intermittent, low-power-density renewable energy technologies, nuclear has demonstrated, across multiple decades and multiple locations, the ability to scale quickly, achieve high economy wide generation shares, and replace large amounts of fossil generation. But to displace fossil energy significantly beyond what has already been accomplished, nuclear too will require significant cost reductions. New reactors will need to demonstrate considerable reductions in upfront capital costs, improvements in efficiency, and standardization of design and components.

Bottom line, even cherry-picking best case solar facilities, ignoring heavy subsidies, ignoring artificially low module prices, ignoring costs of backing up solar and balancing intermittency, and assuming the worst case for nuclear in terms of cost overruns, scaling solar still costs substantially more than scaling nuclear today. While nuclear has displayed negative learning rates in many countries, recent nuclear deployment efforts have achieved substantial reductions in upfront capital costs over time, including in South Korea and China. Moreover, due to the difficulty of exporting soft cost gains and to enduring austerity, solar cost declines experienced recently will likely prove difficult to sustain and replicate globally in the coming years.

Despite its challenges, however, analysts at Global Data expect that more than 60 gigawatts of new nuclear will be added this decade, increasing total global nuclear generation from 2,386 TWh in 2012 to 3,078 TWh in 2020. This represents 30% more total generation in 2020 than even Nelder and MacDonald's wildly unrealistic estimates of total solar generation and almost ten times the amount of generation expected from solar in 2020 by analysts at Global Data and GTM Research. While nuclear generation will grow by about 600 TWh by 2020, solar is expected to grow by about 220 TWh to ultimately supply about 1.0% of global electricity.

Conclusion Recent relative gains in solar costs and deployment provide a highly questionable basis for sustained progress over the coming decade. Costs remain high and are declining significantly more slowly than proponents suggest. Module costs will continue to decline over the long term, as solar efficiency improves and manufacturing efficiencies are realized. However real module costs have not come down as quickly as proponents claim. Nor do module costs represent the primary barrier to low costs.

Nonetheless, global energy demand will grow even faster and will largely be met by neither nuclear nor renewables but coal, which in 2012 grew by a larger amount than any other energy supply technology including in Germany. So long as economies around the world continue to prioritize economic and development concerns over climate concerns, neither nuclear or renewables are likely to challenge the dominant share of global electricity production that fossil energy currently provides unless they become much cheaper.

Balance-of-system and other soft costs now represent the lion's share of installed solar costs, particularly for rooftop solar, which cannot benefit from economies of scale, as large industrial solar installations can. Lacking some major breakthrough in solar installation technologies, solar deployment is likely to remain costly and labor intensive. Reductions in cost will come incrementally, in response to the scale up of domestic solar industries and will continue to require heavy, sustained subsidies in order to realize.

But were the world, today or in the near future, to decide that climate change represented a planetary emergency requiring a rapid deployment of zero carbon energy to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, the choice would be clear. Perhaps, as advocates claim, solar will ultimately become the zero-carbon energy technology of the future, able to scale quickly and cheaply while providing reliable power in place of coal. But at present, nuclear is the only zero carbon technology we have today that has proven capable of achieving rapid reductions in global emissions.

Despite the long-standing assertion by proponents that solar energy is nearing a breakthrough, the failure of solar energy to achieve significant market penetration despite heavy and sustained public subsidies over the last two 35

Solar Energy: Grid Parity In India, Italy, and More to Come in 2014 Solar power grid parity Deutsche Bank just released new analyses concluding that the global solar market will become sustainable on its own terms by the end of 2014, no longer needing subsidies to continue performing.

load profile to achieve up to 90 percent self consumption are also finding solar as an attractive source of power generation. Deutsche bank says demand expected in subsidised markets such as Japan and the UK, including Northern Ireland, is expected to be strong, the US is likely to introduce favourable legislation, including giving solar installations the same status as real estate investment trusts, strong pipelines in Africa and the Middle east, and unexpectedly strong demand in countries such as Mexico and Caribbean nations means that its forecasts for the year are likely to rise.

The German-based bank said that rooftop solar is looking especially robust, and sees strong demand in solar markets in India, China, Britain, Germany, India, and the United States. As a result, Deutsche Bank actually increased its forecast for solar demand in 2013 to 30 gigawatts a 20 percent increase over 2012. Here's Renew Economy with a summary of Deutsche Banks's logic:

As Renew Economy also points out, this is the third report in the past month anticipating a bright future for the global solar market: UBS released a report that concluded an “unsubsidized solar revolution” was in the works, “Thanks to significant cost reductions and rising retail tariffs, households and commercial users are set to install solar systems to reduce electricity bills without any subsidies.” And Macquarie Group argued that costs for rooftop solar in Germany have fallen so far that even with subsidy cuts “solar installations could continue at a torrid pace.”

The key for Deutsche is the emergence of unsubsidised markets in many key countries. It points, for instance, to India, where despite delays in the national solar program, huge demand for state based schemes has produced very competitive tenders, in the [12 cents per kilowatt hour] range. Given the country's high solar radiation profile and high electricity prices paid by industrial customers, it says several conglomerates are considering large scale implementation of solar for self consumption. “Grid parity has been reached in India even despite the high cost of capital of around 10-12 percent,” Deutsche Bank notes, and also despite a slight rise in module prices of [3 to 5 cents per kilowatt] in recent months (good for manufacturers).

Here in America, solar power installations boomed over the course of 2011 and 2012, even as the price of solar power systems continued to plunge. To a large extent, the American solar boom has been driven by third party leasing agreements which are heavily involved in rooftop installation.

Italy is another country that appears to be at grid parity, where several developers are under advanced discussions to develop unsubsidized projects in Southern Italy. Deutsche Bank says that for small commercial enterprises that can achieve 50 percent or more self consumption, solar is competitive with grid electricity in most parts of Italy, and commercial businesses in Germany that have the

Meanwhile, on the international scene, the cost of manufacturing solar panels in China is expected to drop to an all-new low of 42 cents per watt in 2015, and power generated from solar is predicted to undercut that produced by both coal and most forms of natural gas within a decade.

Report: Solar Could Meet All The World's Electricity Needs In 2050 Using Under One Percent Of World's Land Highlighting the fact that a global switch to renewable energy is not just necessary, but doable, a new report released by the WWF concludes that the solar arrays necessary to meet all the world's projected energy needs in 2050 would cover under one percent of global land area. Obviously this is a theoretical exercise, and 100 percent of the planet's electricity needs are not actually going to be filled through solar. But several credible scenarios suggest that solar could provide about 30 percent of global total electricity in 2050, up from the 0.1 percent it provides now. By going through the numbers, the Solar 36

PV Atlas demonstrates both the practical feasibility of renewable energy, and the possibility of harmonizing solar energy with conservation goals:

In the map of Madagascar above, the small read and blue squares represent the land area needed for solar to meet 100 percent of the country's projected electricity needs in 2010 and 2050, respectively. They're drawn to scale relative to the map, in order to provide a straightforward visual comparison.

The atlas considers electricity demands in seven diverse regions and calculates the area (land or roof) that would be needed for PV to meet these demands. In each of these cases, less than one per cent of the region's total land cover would be required to host solar PV panels in order to meet one hundred per cent of the region's projected electricity needs in 2050, taking into account solar resources and predicted electricity consumption and demographic changes.

The Atlas also goes through Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, and the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh as examples. “The regions represent diverse geographies, demographics, natural environments, economies and political structures,” the Atlas points out. “They receive different average levels of sunshine, and all show vast potential for widespread development of solar PV.”

With its selection of diverse areas, the atlas illustrates that PV technology, when well-planned, does not conflict with conservation goals. On a macro level, no country or region must choose between solar PV and space for humans and nature. Quite the opposite. As climate change threatens humans and the environment, it is more important than ever to work for the efficient and wide-scale adoption of well sited, responsibly and effectively operated renewable energy generation facilities. Environmental protection and renewable energy can and must develop in parallel.

The Atlas builds on the earlier Energy Report from the WWF, which anticipates a total drop in global energy production by 2050. That's due to increased efficiency outpacing population growth, thus allowing the same energy needs to be met with less energy. At the same time, it anticipates renewable-based electricity ramping up massively, finally displacing all other forms of electricity by 2050.

With Rooftop Solar on Rise, U.S. Utilities Are Striking Back

Faced with the prospect of a dwindling customer base, some U.S. power companies are seeking to end public subsidies and other incentives for rooftop solar. In Arizona, the issue has sparked a heated public relations battle that could help determine the future of solar in the United States. Issues of electricity regulation typically play out in drab government hearing rooms. That has not been the case this summer in Arizona, where a noisy argument featuring TV attack ads and dueling websites has broken out between regulated utilities and the rooftop solar industry.

a year in fees to rooftop solar customers.

Today's solar industry is puny it supplies less than 1 percent of the electricity in the U.S. but its advocates say that solar is, at long last, ready to move from the fringe of the energy economy to the mainstream. Photovoltaic panel prices are falling. Low-cost financing for installing rooftop solar is available. Federal and state government incentives remain generous.

“The industry is divided on how to deal with the opportunity or threat,” says Nat Kreamer, Clean Power Finance's CEO. “Some utilities are saying, how do I make money off distributed solar, as opposed to, how do I fight distributed solar.”

But other utility companies are adopting a different strategy they are joining forces with solar interests. NRG Energy, based in Princeton, N.J., has created a rooftop solar unit to sell systems to businesses and, eventually, homeowners. New Jersey's PSE&G is making loans to solar customers, and Duke Energy and Edison International have invested in Clean Power Finance, a San Francisco-based firm that has raised half a billion dollars to finance solar projects.

Distributed solar which produces electricity outside the grid “has become one of the more polarizing topics in the power industry, with some utilities joining the party, some doing just what is legislatively mandated, and others remaining reluctant and not being true believers,” according to a new report from Citi Research, called Rising Sun: Implications for U.S. Utilities. The report warns the utilities that “solar is here to stay, and very early in the growth cycle in the U.S.”

Yet opposition from regulated utilities, which burn fossil fuels to produce most of their electricity, could stop a solar boom before it gets started. Several utilities, including Arizona Public Service and Denver-based Xcel Energy, have asked their state regulators to reduce incentives or impose charges on customers who install rooftop solar; so far, at least, they aren't making much headway. A bill in the California legislature, backed by the utility interests would add $120

Until recently, utilities could ignore solar. Although the sun's rays have been touted as a clean energy solution 38

since Jimmy Carter first installed photovoltaic panels on the White House roof in 1979, solar remains barely a blip in the U.S. power market. In 2012, solar power provided a mere 0.11 percent of U.S. electricity generation, according to the Energy Information Administration, a government agency. By comparison, coal delivered 37 percent, natural gas 30 percent, nuclear 19 percent, and wind 3.5 percent. And that solar percentage includes utility-scale projects, like the big solar farms in California and Nevada that feed into the electricity grid, as well as distributed solar.

utilities to buy back excess electricity from rooftop solar systems, at retail prices in some locales. Arizona Public Service, which has asked regulators to impose higher costs on solar customers, says current rules essentially allow those customers to use the grid for free. As a result, customers who can't afford solar panels or don't have a place to put them end up paying higher rates. That, in turn, will help drive more customers to solar, increase the burden on those who don't have it, and, not incidentally, eat into the utility's earnings. That's not a sustainable model for the future, the utility argues.

But the solar industry is growing fast, and much of the growth is distributed solar built “behind the meter” that is, on commercial and residential rooftops, where electricity from solar panels eliminates the need for power that would otherwise be generated and sold by the utilities. Last year, nearly 90,000 businesses and homeowners installed rooftop solar projects totaling about 1.15 gigawatts, roughly the amount generated by a large coal plant. That represented a 46 percent growth over 2011, according to the Solar Electric Power Association. By the end of last year, the number of customer-sited photovoltaic systems in the U.S. topped 300,000, the association says.

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), whose members include utilities and solar firms, is trying to help the industries find common ground so both can thrive. “People need to be equitably compensated for the services they are delivering in both directions,” says Eran Mahrer, executive vice president of strategy and research at SEPA. “At the end of the day, that's a negotiation.” But because utilities are regulated, and because regulators in some states, including Arizona, are elected, the argument has turned political. It has also led to some unorthodox alliances.

Most industry experts expect that growth will accelerate as prices for solar continue to fall, to the point where rooftop solar will eventually cost less than the retail price of griddelivered electricity. According to the Citi Research report, solar is already cheaper than electricity at the plug in several states, including Arizona, and in many countries, including Germany and Spain, where solar subsidies are generous. Last month, Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,told GreenTechMedia that “solar is growing so fast it is going to overtake everything...It could double every two years.”

In Arizona, solar firms formed an advocacy group called TUSK (Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed) and hired as chairman Barry Goldwater Jr., a former Republican congressman and son of the 1964 presidential nominee. True to his heritage, Goldwater casts the issue as one of giving consumers “the freedom to make the best choice.” The utilities, he says, “don't like competition. Competition tends to drive the price down and the quality up.” In Georgia, too, Tea Party conservatives have allied with environmentalists to form a Green Tea Coalition to oppose the local utility, again under the banner of free choice.

No wonder the utilities are nervous. Just as personal computers threatened the manufacturers of industrial-sized mainframes, and the rapid adoption of cell phones shook up once-formidable landline operators, distributed solar could disrupt the de facto monopoly long held by regulated utilities.

Houses in Tucson, Arizona, tap solar energy with rooftop panels. But other conservatives, including a group funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, are loudly opposing government support for solar. A Virginia-based advocacy group for senior citizens called the 60 Plus Association has built an Arizona website, and an accompanying web video attack on solar subsidies. The video seeks to link Californiabased rooftop firms SunRun and Solar City, which are operating in Arizona, to bankrupt manufacturer Solyndra, calling them “connected companies getting corporate welfare.” An APS spokesman told Yale Environment 360 that it was not responsible for the video or any campaign against rooftop solar. But APS has confirmed that its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., hired Sean Noble, an Arizona political consultant who also has worked for the 60 Plus Association. 60 Plus has received funding from Charles and David Koch, whose conglomerate, Koch Industries, includes fossil fuel holdings.

“From the utility's perspective, it's a mortal threat,” says NRG Energy's chief executive, David Crane. As an independent power producer, NRG competes with regulated utilities; it has been selling rooftop solar directly to commercial customers, including hotels, Arizona State University, and NFL stadiums in Washington, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. “Big corporations are realizing that they can openly display their commitment to sustainability with solar panels without having to pay any more for electricity,” Crane says. The regulated utilities say they welcome the growth of rooftop solar, as long as businesses and homeowners who install rooftop panels pay their fair share of the costs of maintaining the electricity grid, which they rely on when the sun isn't shining. The utilities say solar customers currently benefit from subsidies and regulations, particularly the policy of “net metering,” which requires

The fact that organizations funded by the Koch brothers are going after solar subsidies may be the best evidence of all that the industry's future is bright.

Global solar PV capacity crosses 100 GW In their annual report released in June 2013, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) have highlighted that the cummulative global solar PV installaed capacity has crossed 100 GW ending up a shade over at 102 GW. It has been estimated that 2012 saw the addition of 31.1 GW of new PV capacity (up from 30.4 GW in 2011). Europe, for the first time has witnessed a decrease in the annual installed capacity with the capacity additions being bolstered by emerging markets such as Japan, China, India and Australia. Europe's share of the global PV market also fell from 74% in 2011 to about 55% in 2012.

of the peak electricity demand in Europe

∗Commerical solar PV installations are gaining ground in Europe with 32% of the total installed capacity estimated to be systems set up for commercial use followed by ground mounted systems with a 28% share ∗European industry represents only around 13% of the global market in terms of actual module production and around 24% of its own market. The rest is imported mainly from China and APAC countries which supply around 70% of the global PV demand. ∗c-Si is expected to maintain is market share of about 80% till 2017 with TF's share hovering around 10-12%

The report makes for an interesting read. Some of the highlights from the report have been reproduced below

Indian View

∗Around the world 31.1 GW of PV systems were

India accounts for about 7% of the installed PV capacity (excluding the European market). Driven by local and global energy demand, the fastest PV growth is expected to continue in China and India, followed by Southeast Asia, Latin America and the MENA countries. EPIA expects the APAC region (without China) to represent between 10 and 20 GW each year until 2017. India, along with China, Singapore, Australia and Mexico ranks amongst the top countries which has a high investment attractiveness index.

installed in 2012, up from 30.4 GW in 2011;PV remains, after hydro and wind power, the third most important renewable energy source interms of globally installed capacity

∗17.2 GW of PV capacity were connected to the grid in Europe in 2012, compared to 22.4 GW in 2011; Europe still accounts for the predominant share of the global PV market, with 55% of all new capacity in 2012 ∗Germany was the top market for the year, with 7.6 GW of newly connected systems; followed by China with an estimated 5 GW; Italy with 3.4 GW; the USA with 3.3 GW; and Japan with an estimated 2 GW ∗For the second year in a row, PV was the number-one new source of electricity generation installed in Europe ∗Under a pessimistic Business-as-Usual scenario, the global annual market could reach 48 GW in 2017; under a Policy-Driven scenario, it could be as high as 84 GW in 2017 ∗PV now covers 2.6% of the electricity demand and 5.2%

It is expected that the initial growth in installed capacity will be driven by utility scale installations with residential/commercial installations expected to gain momentum over the course of the coming years. It has been estimated that the rooftop segment in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region would increase from about 3.23 GW in 2012 to about 12.6 GW by 2017. Year on year, the rooftop segment in this region is expected to be atleast twice that of the utility scale segment indicating a strong trend in market shift towards the rooftop segment.

Centre plans 4 solar UMPPs, entails investment of Rs. 90,000 crore According to reports, the Centre has proposed four ultra mega solar power projects (UMPPs) with generation capacity ranging between 2,000 MW and 5,000 MW. These projects are planned in Rajasthan (4000 MW), Gujarat (4,000 MW), Kargil (2,000 MW) and Ladakh (5,000 MW).

(3%) will form a joint venture company (JVC) to develop UMPP in Rajathan. According to Kapoor, BHEL which will be a lead company in the proposed JVC, will manufacture solar panels needed for Rajasthan project. Kapoor informed that the first phase of 1,000 MW of Rajasthan UMPP is expected to be operational in three years while the entire project in seven years. The land has already been identified. He said the power to be produced from Rajasthan UMPP will be sold to Solar Energy Corporation which will trade it to various distribution companies.

These projects to be developed in phases entail an investment of Rs 90,000 crore. Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy told reporters at the sidelines of Inter Solar conference that the per megawatt capital cost for proposed UMPPs has been estimated at Rs 6 crore against the existing cost of Rs 77.5 crore while the per unit tariff at Rs. 5.50.

As far as Gujarat UMPP is concerned, it will be developed with five to six companies. However, Kapoor said the Centre has yet to finalise details in this regard. Further, a lot of private developers have desired to develop 1,000 MW to 3,000 MW on their own. However, it won't be possible as the project will be tendered, he added. According to Kapoor, transmission is a major issue for the development of Kargil and Ladakh UMPPs.

”The UMPP in Rajasthan will be developed on engineering procurement and construction (EPC) basis. Six public undertakings including BHEL (26%), Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (22%), PowerGrid Corporation, Hindustan Salt and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (16% each) and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd 40

Solar energy is a solution to pollution, global warming and power shortage Life has become easier for his wife Hemalakshmi, too. “Continuous power cuts made it impossible to store food in the fridge. I had to think long and hard before I planned meals. Now, life is simpler. I can cook food for two or three days and store in the fridge.” The sun is a non-polluting source of energy. It does not release carbon dioxide, says Shreegopal Maheshwary, an industrialist. Shreegopal used a diesel generator before he installed the solar panels, to run the electronic devices at home and at work. “However, I could not afford it for long. That would cost me at least Rs. 25,000 per month.” So he installed a five kilo watt solar panel. “Now the appliances, including the computers, run on solar panels whenever there is power shut down. There is no maintenance cost. ” A few things need to be kept in mind while going in for solar panels, advises businessman R. Palaniswami, who also uses solar panels . “The solar panel should last for at least 20 years. Do not buy from manufacturers who assemble the inverter, battery and panels from different sources and sell them at high prices. Regularly wipe off the dust from the panels as it affects the process of conversion of heat energy into electricity.” R. Raveendran, Secretary of RAAC, says one of the main reasons they installed solar panels at home was because of the hours of sleepless nights they had, thanks to the power cuts. “That is why we installed the solar panels, so that we could get a good night's sleep!” What about the cost factor? Raveendran argues that panels, with a capacity of 100 and 200 watts, are available in the market at reasonable rates. “These are available along with the UPS at a rate of Rs. 30,000. This is enough to run the lights and fans.”

R.R Balasundharam is a happy man. From Rs. 2,400 his electricity bill has dropped to Rs.100. All thanks to the 1.6 kilo watt solar panels that stand on the terrace of his house-cum office. The President of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, says that he got the idea from a corporate company he visited last year, that used solar energy.

Economical In his house the mixie, grinder, fans and lights are connected to solar panels, with a capacity of 400 watts. His electricity bill has reduced by 30 per cent in the last six months. “I had to bear only the initial cost. It is maintenance free and there are no safety issues,” he says. Spending money on solar panels should be seen more as an investment.

All electronic equipment in his office and home, except the air-conditioner, run on solar energy. “When you buy solar panels, you get an inverter and a battery. When the power goes off in the evening, we use the power stored in the batteries.” The installation of these panels cost him Rs. 2.5 lakh. However, there has been no other expenditure after that, says Balasundharam. “The raw material, the sun, is free! So, except for two months during the rainy season, the panels work for the rest of the year,” he explains.

“When we build a house, we waste so much money on luxuries. Instead, if we invest in solar panels, we can contribute to solving the power crisis and help those who cannot afford power.”

Bahrain students develop water producing fuel cell car

Tata Solar Sees Over $1 Billion Opportunity in India

Even Coal India - the world's largest coal mining company - says it will install solar across its operations to save on energy bills!

Tata Power Solar Systems, a division of India's biggest company Tata Group, sees installing solar systems in India as a $1.3 billion opportunity.

Solar is cheaper than grid-based electricity now in about 10% of India's states for hotels, shopping malls and other commercial enterprises that pay the highest rates (electricity rates differ depending on the type of business and its location). Rates have risen 15% since 2010, while solar electricity dropped 39%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

That's because it will cost more for commercial and industrial customers to get their electricity from the grid by 2016 than from their own solar systems. "We're seeing a huge uptake as we get closer and closer to grid parity," CEO Ajay Goel told Bloomberg. "Corporate customers are coming to us to install solar on their rooftops or land on the side of their factories because it can provide energy cheaper than from the grid.â&#x20AC;?

By 2016, solar will be cheaper than grid-based electricity in 60% of states and by 80% if government subsidies are included in the calculation, Goel told Bloomberg. In 2009, India set a target of building 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2020, under its National Solar Mission, or 10% of electricity. For renewable energy, the target is 80 GW by 2020. Last year, Tata Power, India's largest utility said it's giving up on new coal plants and focusing on renewable energy instead.

Formerly a joint venture with oil company BP, the company has been manufacturing solar panels, but it needs to move beyond that because of the world glut caused by Chinese manufacturers. So far, Tata has developed and installed solar systems for Indian divisions of Dell and IBM, among others. The payback period can be just a year if a company can depreciate the systems on taxes and four years if it can't. And the economics look even better if the cost of diesel is included to cope with daily blackouts, says Goel. Using diesel generators costs double that of solar.

Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group is one of the leaders involved in launching The B Team, which wants to transform businesses into a "force for good," instead of focusing solely on profits.

ANERT to set up 2-MW solar farm in Palakkad Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) will implement the project estimated to cost Rs.16 crore. Utilising crystalline silicon technology, the grid-fed solar power plant of 2 MW capacity will come up on 12 acres of land. Designed in-house by ANERT, it features flat plate collectors and intelligent inverters. Once commissioned, the farm will feed 30 lakh units of power to the grid every year. Officials said the project was designed to assist in research and development of grid-interactive power plants. The farm would be established as a turnkey project. DPR released Chief Minister Oommen Chandy released the detailed project report (DPR) of the solar farm during the inauguration of the new headquarters building of ANERT here on Wednesday. He said the availability of quality power was a critical element in Kerala's development. He said the power situation in the State warranted a focus on non-conventional energy sources and energy conservation. Mr. Chandy said mini-hydel projects and solar power offered clean and eco-friendly means of power generation ideal for a State like Kerala. Solution to power crisis Delivering the presidential address, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed said non-conventional energy sources were the obvious solution to the power crisis faced by the State. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With no further scope for additional generation through conventional means, the State will have to make maximum use of wind and solar power to bridge the widening gap between demand and supply.â&#x20AC;? Pointing out that 5,000 houses across the State had been provided with subsidized rooftop solar panels generating a total of 5 MW, he stressed the need to popularise the initiative. Mr. Mohammed stressed the need to equip government buildings with green features to save energy. Saving energy Highlighting the need for energy conservation, he directed the officials at the open-air venue to switch off the lights that were kept on in broad daylight. With a built-up area of 25,000 sq ft., the new headquarters complex of ANERT is built on the Green Building concept. It will feature a roof top solar power plant of 15 kW capacity, solar-wind hybrid system, biogas plants, and solar water heaters. K. Muraleedharan, MLA, Additional Chief Secretary Niveditha P. Haran, and ANERT director M. Jayaraju were among those who spoke.

Kerala's first solar farm on the Mega Watt scale is expected to become operational at Kuzhalmannam in Palakkad district by March next year. The Agency for 43

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Battery-Stored Solar Power Sparks Backlash From Utilities By Ehren Goossens & Mark Chediak The dispute threatens the state's $2 billion rooftop solar industry and indicates the depth of utilities' concerns about consumers producing their own power. People with rooftop panels are already buying less electricity, and adding batteries takes them closer to the day they won't need to buy from the local grid at all.

renewables by requiring utilities to buy electricity from consumer solar installations, typically at the same price that customers pay for power from the grid. The policy, known asnet metering, offers a way for households to reduce their bills. It underpinned a 78 percent surge in the state's residential installations in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

California's three biggest utilities are sparring with their own customers about systems that store energy from the

sun, opening another front in the battle that's redefining the mission of electricity generators.

Battery Costs Solar systems with batteries attached have gained a foothold in the market as costs fall, allowing customers more flexibility for using their own power at night or when local supplies fail. The systems average about $12,000 to $16,000, adding about 25 percent to the cost of rooftop power plants, according to Outback Power Inc., an Arlington, Washington-based provider of battery-backed solar systems. Matthew Sperling, a Santa Barbara, California, resident, installed eight panels and eight batteries at his home in April.

Edison International (EIX), PG&E Corp. and Sempra Energy (SRE) said they're putting up hurdles to some battery backups wired to solar panels because they can't be certain the power flowing back to the grid from the units is actually clean energy. The dispute threatens the state's $2 billion rooftop solar industry and indicates the depth of utilities' concerns about consumers producing their own power. People with rooftop panels are already buying less electricity, and adding batteries takes them closer to the day they won't need to buy from the local grid at all, said Ben Peters, a government affairs analyst at Mainstream Energy Corp., which installs solar systems.

“We wanted to have an alternative in case of a blackout to keep the refrigerator running,” he said in an interview. Southern California Edison rejected his application to link the system to the grid even though city inspectors said “it was one of the nicest they'd ever seen,” he said.

“The utilities clearly see rooftop solar as the next threat,” Peters said from his office in Sunnyvale, California. “They're trying to limit the growth.” California is the largest of the 43 states encouraging

“We've installed a $30,000 system and we can't use it,” Sperling said. Utilities say the storage systems open the possibility of fraud. The issue is whether all the electricity 45

being sold through the net metering program is generated only by renewable sources, as required. Consumers in theory can fill the batteries with power from the grid and then send it back designated as renewable energy. With the solar-battery systems, there's no way to determine the source of the energy. Solar suppliers say that's not happening.

projects has declined 15 percent to $3.71 a watt in the second quarter from $4.35 a year earlier according to the Washington-based trade group SEIA. Battery systems are the latest innovation that's unraveling the traditional monopoly utilities have enjoyed in supplying consumers with electricity. Two decades ago, federal regulators opened the system to independent power producers, eating away at the utility's control of generation. The battery systems will put more customers out of reach.

Storage Rules Power-market regulations and the industry's ability to monitor flows from solar systems haven't kept pace with the technology, said Gary Stern, director of regulatory policy at Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International. “Our rules are not really caught up to effectively include issues with energy storage,” Stern said in a phone interview from Rosemead, California.

Rejected Applications “What we are seeing now as a fairly rare event may be more common by the end of the decade,” said Southern California Edison's Stern. Mainstream began hearing in May that Southern California Edison was rejecting some of its clients from the net metering program. As many as 60 projects with panels and batteries have been turned down by California utilities, the company estimated.

The company doesn't want to “discourage solar” and is working with regulators to come up with “reasonable policies” for battery-storage systems, said Vanessa McGrady, a Southern California Edison spokeswoman. State regulators are aware of the problem and are working on guidance to offer both solar installers and utilities, according to Terrie Prosper, a spokeswoman for the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco.

PG&E Corp. (PCG), the owner of California's biggest utility, has also rejected standard net metering applications from customers with both panels and batteries, and referred them to another program that requires an interconnection fee. “The key is that the full retail net energy metering credits and subsidies are only available to renewable facilities,” Lynsey Paulo, a PG&E spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

Some Complaints “There have been some complaints from developers in Southern California Edison's territory that Edison has inconsistently applied the benefits of net energy metering to energy-storage projects,” Prosper said in an e-mail. The commission is working with all three utilities “to provide formal direction on these issues in the coming months.” The utilities said they would approve systems that have panels and batteries if they had two meters to verify that only solar energy is sold to the grid. Such a configuration would boost installation costs by at least $1,300, according to Neal Reardon, the state utility regulator's interim supervisor of customer generation. The dispute is expanding as California promotes wider use of batteries. Regulators in June proposed that the top three utilities procure 1.3 gigawatts of storage capacity by 2020. The state has set a goal of obtaining 33 percent of its power from renewables by 2020, the nation's strongest requirement. With more electricity coming from intermittent sources such as wind and sunlight, storage systems will be an important tool to manage the grid.

San Diego Gas & Electric, a unit of Sempra Energy, said it hasn't received any such applications, and it would deny them if it did. Sempra slipped less than 0.1 percent to $85.43 at the close in New York. PG&E climbed 1.5 percent and Edison gained 1.1 percent. 'State of Flux’ “Technically, a customer who now has a combined system that includes both rooftop solar panels and battery storage, the battery storage may not qualify for net energy metering under current rules,” said Stephanie Donovan, a spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric. “The rules are in a state of flux.” Mainstream's Peters said Southern California Edison is now rejecting systems that are identical to ones it had approved in the past. The developer had been installing two to three solar-storage projects a week in Southern California at the start of this year. That's dropped to zero in recent weeks, and some orders have been canceled. “Net metering is the lifeblood of solar in America,” Peters said. “That's why this seemingly inconsequential issue is getting so much attention.”

Falling Prices Demand for the systems may grow as prices decline. Battery costs are forecast to fall 57 percent to $807 a kilowatt-hour in 2020 from $1,893 for a kilowatt-hour of storage capacity now, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The global market for solar systems combined withenergy storage will rise to $2.8 billion in 2018 from less than $200 million this year, according to Boston-based Lux Research Inc.

Solar panel owners aren't trying to “game the system,” said Adam Browning, executive director of the San Francisco-based lobbying group Vote Solar Initiative. “The next step is that people with solar and batteries will find a way to make it work without utilities.”

About 391 megawatts of solar panels were fitted at customer sites across the state last year, according the California Solar Initiative. The price to install residential 46