Punjab launches scheme for harnessing solar energy

One more state follows the lead of NDPL.

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/23/stories/2009072352360300.htm

The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has come out with the comprehensive plan to provide financial support to all government institutions, private commercial establishments, industries, housing complexes to install SPV systems from 1 KW capacity to 100 KW capacity. As the government has offered 33 to 40 per cent subsidy, Mr. Khanna said the SPV system would pay back the cost incurred in 5 to 6 years. This system doest not require maintenance and has a life of about 25-30 years. A 100 KW capacity system would save around 50,000 litres of diesel per year, he said.

Exotic Solar Cells Get Cheaper

Any progress on developing low cost solar cells with better efficiency is welcome. The use of organic solvents / coatings and elimination of expensive co-evaporation technique that involves vacuum, is also a good step in the right direction. But the key bottleneck is going to be availability of elements like Indium, Selenium etc which are considered to be rarely available in earth's crust. This would impose limits of how far the industrial production can go and what the costs are going to be.

On the other hand, Silicon is the 2nd most abundunt element of earth and consitutes roughly about 23% of the total. So low cost solutions to produce Solar grade silicon cheaply on a large scale could be a better option. But that would require a breakthrough in silicon processing.

There are a few labs in India, which also are working on organic methods, but most of the work I have seen is pretty basic. Hence it may be unlikely that we will see anything significant coming out of India in this domain in near future.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=solar-cells-cheaper-copper-indium-diselenide

Hou and his colleagues report in this week's Thin Solid Films the development of a low-cost processing method for solar cells made from copper, indium and diselenide. Those cells, they say, will have the potential to be produced on a large scale for a number of applications, including placement on backpacks or clothing.

NDPL's bright idea: Get your own solar power

Few points to be noted:

1. If we add the Balance of Systems costs, the total cost of the system may be closer to 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh. Which means the payback would be even greater, in true economic sense.
2. Solar PV is probably the most expensive form of renewable energy available as of today. It is primarily used in India for off-grid applications where grid connectivity is relatively expensive.
3. Silicon prices have been falling of late and are expected to fall significantly in near future. New technologies for Solar cell fabrication are being researched in developed economies, with lot of money being spent on developing low cost solutions.
4. Installation based incentives (IBI) have been majorly exploited by Wind farm developers in India, with depreciation tax benefits being the key driver than power generation.
5. 40% subsidy on solar panels is significant and the actual utilisation of panels needs to be monitored.
6. Focus on energy efficiency could provide a much larger amount of energy at much lower cost, than a one-time lock-in into a massive Solar PV system, in the current scenario.

Given the above, a careful analysis of the entire proposal is required. We should neither create a distorted system like artificial subsidising of Diesel fuel nor allow large players to exploit the power crisis to push expensive solutions which may not suit the needs of the comman man.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/NDPLs-bright-idea-Get-your-own-solar-power/articleshow/4739191.cms

"Discom NDPL is planning to give its consumers the option of setting up solar (photovoltaic) panels on the rooftop. The decision will be implemented as soon as a proposed 40% rebate on solar panels by Delhi government comes through and Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) fixes the tariff for the power produced from these panels."