Case Study

Towards Roof
Top Solar

Setting up a PV Plant in Chandigarh

To fulfill its renewable purchase obligation, one option for the Chandigarh Electricity
Department is to develop its own solar power facility. This study examines the
feasibility of setting up a 1 MW roof top solar power facility in Chandigarh.
Sulata Bhandari and Ashish Kundu

he Electricity Act 2003 mandates the State

Commissions to specify a percentage of the
total consumption of electricity in the area of a
distribution licensee, for purchase of electricity
from renewable sources - renewable purchase obligation
(RPO). The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission

(JERC) in its draft regulations for the development of

power generation from renewable energy sources and
for procurement of energy from renewable sources by
distribution licensee has defined minimum quantum of
purchase (in per cent) from renewable energy sources (in
kWh) as shown in table 1:

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Case Study
Table 1: Minimum quantum of purchase from renewable energy sources as per JERC
Minimum quantum of purchase from renewable energy sources (in kWh)

Year

Total

Solar

Non Solar

2010-11

1 per cent

0.25 per cent

0.75 per cent

2011-12

2 per cent

0.3 per cent

1.7 per cent

2012-13

3 per cent

0.4 per cent

2.6 per cent

In this context, the Chandigarh Electricity Department

may have to consider procurement of power from renewable
sources for its electricity requirement to fulfill this obligation.
One option for the Department may be to develop its own
solar power facility. This study examines solar energy options
for electricity generation that are appropriate for installation
on roof top government/semi government buildings in
Chandigarh.

Solar PV technology
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology collects and converts
solar radiation directly into electricity. PV generation
technology is commercially proven and large multimegawatt generation plants have been operating since the
1990s. Costs associated with the technology are high, but
the technology is well-known and reliable.
PV panels convert sunlight to electrical energy. They
generate direct current (DC) that is converted to alternating
current (AC) to be used by the electricity grid. Regardless of
the PV configuration, inverter hardware is required to change
the direct current PV output to useable AC power for the grid.

Solar thermal technology

Solar thermal generation systems collect solar energy
as heat to raise steam for use in a conventional thermal
electricity generating plant (steam turbine). Solar thermal
energy systems use the sun to supply heat and in higher
temperature systems produce sufficient energy to drive

Solar panels on a roof top

machines for power generation. There are a number of

solar thermal technologies that are considered for power
generation such as Lower temperature solar thermal systems
and Concentrating solar thermal (CST) power systems.

Key study assumptions

 is study considers technology issues and high level

Th
costs. The guidelines issued by Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) have been considered for
availing financial assistance.

Fig 1: Monthly solar radiation in Chandigarh

8
7
6
5
4
3
2

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Daily solar radiation - horizontal kWh/sq m/d

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June 2011
Volume 4 Issue 6

Aug

Sep

Annual Average

Oct

Nov

Dec

Case Study
Table 2: Assumptions considered for the calculation of estimated
cost of generation as well as levelised cost spread over a period of
25 years
Particulars
Capacity Utilisation Factor
Operation and Maintenance
charges
Depreciation
Interest charges on loans
Loan repayment period
Return on equity
DE ratio
Life time
Discount rate
Operation and maintenance
expenses
Interest on working capital

The daily solar radiations have been considered as per

NASA report taken from the NASA web portal (Fig
1). While global solar radiation data is readily available
and reliable for all locations, this is not true for direct
radiation. The success of a solar thermal project depends
heavily on the quantity and quality of the resource data.
It is therefore prudent that site specific monitoring be
carried out at one or more potential sites.
The regulations notified by Central Electricity Regulatory
Commission (CERC) for the procurement of power
from Solar Plant by the distribution licensee have been
considered for assessment of revenue from sale of power
and some of the assumptions for estimating the cost of
generation have been adopted from the same.

Possibility of roof top SPV in Chandigarh

Land availability: The approximate land requirement
for 1 MW of solar PV plant is 2 hectares (20,000 sq m).
Considering the availability of roof top areas of all the
government/semi government buildings in Chandigarh,
about 28 buildings of about 700 sq m clear roof top area each
(70 per cent of roof top area of the building is considered
usable for installation of PV panels) are envisaged for a 1
MW solar PV plant.
Size of the solar plant: With the available roof tops of the
government/semi government buildings, 1 MW solar PV is
achievable.
Hours of generation: The Solar plant is expected to achieve
a plant load factor (PLF) of 19 per cent with expected annual
energy outflow of 1.664 million units.
Capital cost - Rs 17 crores/MW: The above cost is as per
the regulations of CERC, therefore, the capital cost for

Rate
19 per cent
0.5 per cent of the capital cost
7 per cent for first 10 years,
thereafter 1.33 per cent
14.29 per cent
10 years
19 per cent for 10 years and 24 per
cent 11th year onwards
70:30
25 years
16.60 per cent
Rs 9 lakhs with 5.72 per cent
escalation per annum.
13.79 per cent

Based on these assumptions, the estimated costs are worked out as:
First Year Cost
Rs. 23.78/kWh
Levelised Cost
Rs. 18.44/kWh
The above costs may vary on either side in case of any variations in the
above assumptions

putting up 1 MW PV solar plant is considered.

Estimated cost of generation: The assumptions that have
been considered for the purpose of calculation of estimated
cost of generation as well as levelised cost spread over a
period of 25 years are given in table 2. These assumptions
have been adopted from the solar power regulations notified
by CERC.
Electrical connection to the network: Chandigarh
Electricity Department operates the distribution network
in entire Chandigarh city. The system shall be connected
to the nearest 33/11 kV distribution network available with
the local utility.
Before finalisation of the connection arrangements, it
will be necessary to negotiate a network connection and
access agreement and undertake further activities, such as:
Stability studies;
Investigation of connection issues including assessment
of the need to upgrade or modify the Departments
equipment due to an increase in fault levels;
Protection modifications; and
Regulatory Commissions approvals.
Services and infrastructure: This project will require
the normal services and infrastructure expected for any
small power generation plant. For a PV solar plant there
is apparently less or no requirement of water and access to
road should be available. For the proposed roof top solar PV
plant, both road access as well as water is available.

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With the available roof tops of the government/semi
government buildings, 1 MW solar PV is achievable.

With installation of 1 MW solar PV

on government/ semi government
buildings in Chandigarh, the Electricity
Department would be partly meeting its
RPO as per JERC draft regulations.

nearly 2 MW of solar PV plants, which may necessitate

putting up such plants in open area apart from roof tops.
In such a scenario, the incremental increase in the power
purchase cost and the average retail tari is likely to be
2 - 3 paise per unit.
Carbon credits: The project shall also qualify for earning
carbon credits under Clean Development Mechanism.

Conclusions
Environment: There are a range of drivers for renewable
energy, over and above green house gas (GHG) reductions,
in particular the environmental impacts of conventional
power generation plants. For the proposed solar plant these
environmental impacts are unlikely to be major constraints
for the chosen site.
Electricity sales and revenue: For the purpose of this
study, it is assumed that electricity produced by the
solar PV plant on the buildings shall be consumed by
the Electricity Department, Chandigarh, which will
constitute 0.12 per cent of the total annual energy
consumption (procurement) of about 1680 million units,
which is just half of the Electricity Departments RPO.
With a 1 MW solar roof top PV plant, there will be an
incremental increase in the power purchase cost for the
Department and also in the average retail tari by about
1 - 2 paise per unit. For the Department to fulfill its
RPO of 0.25 per cent from solar energy, it has to put up

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The annual average daily solar radiation at the proposed

site is 5.44 kWh/sq m/d which is suitable for the proposed
solar plant.
With installation of 1 MW solar PV on government/
semi government buildings in Chandigarh, the Electricity
Department would be partly meeting its RPO as per
JERC draft regulations.
Solar PV represents a true zero carbon emission generation
option and for the proposed 1 MW Solar power plant, the
Solar PV technology may be a better choice.
The available land, roof top area in this case in Chandigarh
is suitable for this project.
The connectivity of proposed solar plant to the nearest 11
kV grid or LT grid is easy and favourable.

The authors are Associate Professor, PEC, Chandigarh and Deputy

General Manager, NTPC Electric Supply Company Ltd., respectively,
sulatabhandari@pec.ac.in