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Project Overview

The aim of this project report is to estimate and calculate the
approximate design of a 1MW solar PV power plant (utility scale).
The total no. of solar panel required and the different parameters
of the solar panel estimated. A site in West Bengal is taken
virtually to estimate the solar intensity of the site which is most
important for calculation of such type of report.
A Single Line Diagram (SLD) has been introduced in this report.
Also the brief details of the materials/equipments (solar panels,
inverters, protective gears, transformer, SCADA etc.) used to set
up a 1MW power plant have been highlighted.
A financial overview with a possible income datasheet included in
the project report.


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Executive Summary

With its abundance of sunlight, India has tremendous potential to
emerge as one of the leaders in solar power generation.
According to the Government of Indias policy for the solar sector
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) a target of
20 GW of solar installations by 2022 has been set.
Global Scenario
Solar Energy demand globally has been growing at about
30% per annum over the past 15 years.
In comparison, the hydrocarbon demand growth rate is 02% per
annum. This high growth rate in solar energy is due to many
reasons increasing cost of petroleum products and the parallel
decreasing cost of producing power from solar, and a concern
world over on the harmful effects of using fossil fuels.
Solar Energy in India
India is one of the few countries in the world that has a
dedicated ministry for New and Renewable energy
In India, the high GDP growth rate has created a huge demand
for energy, but the supply is unable to match the demand. The
total installed capacity of power as of January 2012 is 187 GW.
The per capita total consumption is 778 kWh. The estimated
shortage of power in India is about 20 GW.
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Why In India
India is in the sunny regions of the world with most parts of the
country receiving 47 kwh (kilowatthour) of solar radiation per
square meter per day, 250300 sunny days in a year. Even
though Solar energy constitutes a miniscule part in Indias
installed power generation capacity (with grid connected solar PV
generation at a mere 6 MW as of March 2010), in the medium and
long run, it is expected that solar energy, especially solar PV will
form a vital component of the country's energy mix.

Aim of the project
Aim of this paper is to give an overview of a 1MW solar PV power
plant (utilityscale).
How the project will work?
1. Using solar pv modules, solar power generates in DC which is
converted into
AC power and then using a power transformer the generated and
modified
AC power will be fed to the grid.
2. No battery storage introduced here because the plant will only
functions in the
daylight and here the generated power will be sold to the grid.
3. For the minimal operation and maintenance of the plant, an off-
grid/stand
alone 5KW solar power can be introduced.
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Incentives from Government

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (also known as the
National Solar Mission) is a major initiative of the Government of
India and State Governments to promote ecologically sustainable
growth while addressing Indias energy security challenges. It will
also constitute a major contribution by India to the global effort to
meet the challenges of climate change. Named for Jawaharlal
Nehru, the Mission is one of the several initiatives that are part of
National Action Plan on Climate Change. The program was
officially inaugurated by Prime Minister of India, Manmohan
Singh.

Scheme on financing of OffGrid and
Decentralised Solar Applications
Government of India, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) has formulated a scheme on financing of OffGrid and
Decentralised Solar (Photovoltaic and Thermal) applications as
part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
Under the scheme, banks may extend subsidised loans to
entrepreneurs at interest rates not exceeding five per cent where
refinance of two per cent from Government of India is available.

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Excise Duty Exemption on Transmission
Equipments
Exemption of Excise Duty on procurement of Transmission
Equipments for initial setup of Solar Power Plant. The exemption
would be available on transmission equipments wherever the
contractual obligation for installing transmission lines/equipments
up to the point of delivery is c0st on the solar power developer.

Subsidy in installation of Solar Power plant
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides 70
percent subsidy on the installation cost of a solar photovoltaic
power plant in NorthEast states and 30 percentage subsidy on
other regions. The detailed outlay of the National Solar Mission
highlights various targets set by the government to increase solar
energy in the country's energy portfolio.

Major other incentives
In the budget for 2010/11, the government has announced an
allocation of US $ 220 million towards the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission.
They encouraged private solar companies by reducing customs
duty on solar panels by 5% and exempting excise duty on solar
photovoltaic panels.
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The budget also proposed a coal tax of US$1 per metric ton on
domestic and imported coal used for power generation.
The government has initiated a Renewable Energy Certificate
(REC) scheme, which is designed to drive investment in low
carbon energy projects.

Incentives from State Government

Government of Gujarat declared comprehensive Solar
Policy 2009, wherein Govt will purchase the power at the
following minimum rates.



First 12 year Next 12 year
Solar PV

Rs. 12/ kWh

Rs. 3/ kWh

Solar Thermal

Rs. 9/ kWh

Rs. 3/ kWh



Govt.s Initiative
The Government of Gujarat is promoting Solar Power Parks in the
Sate.
Rolled Out Special Policy in 2009.
Already few Plants are operational in the State.
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The development of solar parks will streamline the project
development timeline by letting government agencies undertake
land acquisition and necessary permits, and provide dedicated
common infrastructure for setting up solar power generation
plants largely in the private sector.
The State Government is taking initiative in providing the common
infrastructure/ facilities like site preparation and leveling, power
evacuation, availability of water, access roads, security and
services. In parallel with the central government's initiative.

Opportunities and Challenges
Land is a scarce resource in India and per capita land availability
is low. Dedication of land area for exclusive installation of solar
arrays might have to compete with other necessities that require
land. The amount of land required for utilityscale solar power
plantscurrently approximately 1k2 for every 2060 megawatts
(MW) generated could pose a strain on India's available land
resource. The architecture more suitable for most of India would
be a highlydistributed set of individual rooftop power generation
systems, all connected via a local grid. However, erecting such an
infrastructure, which does not enjoy the economies of scale
possible in mass, utilityscale, solar panel deployment, needs the
market price of solar technology deployment to substantially
decline, so that it attracts the individual and average family size
household consumer. That might be possible in the future,
because PV is projected to continue its current cost reductions for
the next decades and be able to compete with fossil fuel.
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How does a solar power plant work?

What is Solar Power?
Solar Power plants convert the suns energy into solar electricity.
The sun is the largest source of energy in the form of heat and
light energy. Solar Power has a huge potential to make a major
impact on the electricity requirement in homes and industries.
That the sun supplies as much energy onto the earth in a single
day that equals the annual energy requirement is enough to judge
the amount of solar energy that goes untapped



The solar panels capture the suns light energy which is
converted within the cells to create DC electricity.
This DC electricity is then converted by a solar inverter
to regular household AC electricity to power your lights
and appliances.
At all times your home stays connected to the national
power grid.
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If your household uses more electricity than your solar
power system generates, the grid will seamlessly
provide any additional power you need.
Any surplus power generated by your solar power
system is exported to the grid and purchased by your
energy retailer at the agreed feed in tariff.

How Solar Plants Work
There are two ways we can produce electricity from the sun:
Photovoltaic Electricity This method uses photovoltaic
cells that absorb the direct sunlight just like the solar cells you see
on some calculators.
Solar-Thermal Electricity This also uses a solar collector:
it has a mirrored surface that reflects the sunlight onto a receiver
that heats up a liquid. This heated liquid is used to make steam
that produces electricity.
Photovoltaic Electricity
Photovoltaic solar plants work like this:

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As light hits the solar panels, the solar radiation is converted into
direct current electricity (DC). The direct current flows from the
panels and is converted into alternating current (AC) used by local
electric utilities. Finally, the electricity travels through
transformers, and the voltage is boosted for delivery onto the
transmission lines so local electric utilities can distribute the
electricity to homes and businesses.
Solar-Thermal Electricity
Solar-Thermal plants work like this:


Solar collectors capture and concentrate sunlight to heat a
synthetic oil called therminol, which then heats water to create
steam. The steam is piped to an onsite turbine-generator to
produce electricity, which is then transmitted over power lines. On
cloudy days, the plant has a supplementary natural gas boiler.
The plant can burn natural gas to heat the water, creating steam
to generate electricity.
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Solar Power Systems
Solar Power can be used to supply electricity to homes,
commercial settings and RVs. There are various types of Solar
Power systems. In an RV, it would be ideal to use a stand-alone
solar energy system. This type of system has lesser number of
solar panels and batteries, making them economical. The function
of the batteries is to collect solar energy during daytime. The
system has an inverter that transforms the DC current into AC
current that can be used by the appliances.

Grid-Tied Solar Power System
You can also choose the grid tied Solar Power system, where you
can enjoy the benefit of the savings offered by solar energy and
the dependability offered by the utilitys power. You may also
receive rebates or tax rebates in the form of incentives when you
buy Solar Power systems

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It is essential that the grid-tied system has an inverter that
transforms DC current into pure sine-wave AC current in order to
optimally mesh-in with the utility grid. During nighttime and on
cloudy days when solar energy is not available, you can rely upon
the utility grid. Hence, generally these types of Solar Power
systems dont have batteries for storing energy. But, you can use
batteries in these systems in order to ensure that you are not
without power in case there is power failure at the grid.
Stand-Alone Solar Power System

When you want to be entirely free of the utility grid, you can install
a completely stand-alone Solar Power system. Such a system is
quite environment-friendly, whereas other systems are based
upon fossil fuels, directly or indirectly. In its construction, the
stand-alone system is highly sophisticated. There are several
inverters, at least two, ensuring sufficient amount of current for
running larger appliances such as air conditioners. in addition,
several batteries are required for storing energy. So far, a stand-
alone solar energy system was generally found in places where
utility grid system was not able to reach.

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Hybrid Solar Power Systems

There are hybrid Solar Power systems, where solar energy is
used in conjunction with a backup generator. Compared to stand-
alone solar energy systems, hybrid systems have lesser number
of solar panels. The generators can be relied upon when there is
unavailability of sunlight, as during cloudy conditions and at night
time.
With all these different types of Solar Power systems, you can
choose the one that is ideal for your requirement.

Solar Power Home

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Solar Power systems used in homes generally are based on
heating air or liquid in residential solar panels. Liquid based solar
energy home systems heat an antifreeze solution or water inside
a hydronic collector. Air based Solar Power systems heat up air
inside an air collector. Sunlight is collected by the system and
heat is transferred direct to the building or storage system.
When the Solar Power system doesnt provide the necessary
heating, a back up system is also installed in order to provide the
extra heating. Usually, where the energy is required for storage-
based systems, liquid solar energy systems are used. Such
systems are ideal for boilers, absorption coolers and heat pumps,
and radiant heating systems. While both the air and fluid systems
can be used for enhancing forced air systems.

Solar Power Cost
The cost of power generated from coal and natural gas can range
from Rs. 2 to 3 per KWh. The cost of wind power falls between
Rs. 3 and 3.2 per KWh. However, as of 2009, the cost of Solar
Power from photovoltaic cells and solar thermal falls between Rs.
10 and Rs 15 per KWh.

Solar Power Lights
There are many types of Solar Power lights that can be used to
illuminate your home and surrounding and at the same time
saving the natural resources. These lighting systems will not only
save electricity but also cause less pollution, emitting less amount
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of heat when compared to conventional lighting sources like
bulbs. Solar lantern lights are extensively used for indoor lighting.
All the solar lighting devices used for indoor lighting need to be
charged when sunlight is available and used during nighttime.




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Eco-friendly solar shed light

Blue Solar Powered Path Light


Advantages Of Solar Power
Solar Power is becoming increasingly practical every day.
From being an expensive source of electricity, solar energy
has turned into an economical power source in the long-run.
In addition to these savings, you are also going to save the
monthly electrical bills as there are no recurrent bills to be
paid.
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The amount of electricity generated from solar energy
depends upon the available sunlight. However, with new
advances in technology it is possible to generate sufficient
amount of electricity even in cloudy conditions.
The biggest advantage of using Solar Power is that it is an
inexhaustible source of energy. Once you have installed the
system, you dont have to worry that you would ever be
without electricity because the sun is always going to be
there. However, at times the amount of electricity generated
may be lesser and you would have to depend upon the utility
grid. But, there are going to be times when you would be
able to sell the excess electricity.
The next advantage of using solar energy is that it doesnt
emit any pollution into the environment. Solar panels dont
release any emissions into the atmosphere while generating
electricity. This is not something that can be expected from
electricity generated from thermal sources and hydroelectric
source. Additionally, there are efforts on way to recycle solar
panels.
Solar Power is flexible in its setup. When you want to power
your entire home, a large number of solar panels can be
mounted on the roof, and when you require solar energy to
power the garden lights or something that requires less
electricity, a smaller number of solar panels are required.
Installing Solar Power systems can be timesaving because it
doesnt require running long wiring.
Solar Power can also be used for running a wide range of
devices. It is suitable for running homes, industries and even
for powering satellite. Even, solar powered cars have been
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developed, and efforts are on way to make these vehicles
more economical. solar energy technology is also
developing at a fast rate, making it more practical and
economical.
Nowadays, even government is offering rebate and tax
exemptions to those who install Solar Power in their home.
This makes it possible for homeowners to install these
systems at affordable prices. In the most remote locations,
solar energy is the ideal source of electricity. In fact, it is
more economical to install solar panels in such areas than
running power lines.
A big advantage of solar energy systems is that a properly
installed system doesnt require much maintenance. When
compared to other power sources, this is a big advantage
because you cannot bear the heavy cost of power system
maintenance.

Disadvantages of Solar Power

There is one disadvantage to Solar Power systems
regarding reliability and consistency. A regular supply of
sunlight is essential to keep generating electricity.
Although, once the sun goes down, the solar energy
level drops very fast. This makes it important to have a
power storage device in the form of batteries so that
you can have uninterrupted supply of electricity. If there
are no batteries, there is going to be no electricity
without sunlight.
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The majority of disadvantages about Solar Power are
more economical in nature. Even after lots of
technological development, the solar panels used to
produce electricity are quite expensive. A single solar
panel can generate only a small amount of power. This
means a large number of solar panels are required to
generate enough amount of electricity to power houses
and industries.
It is also required that the panels are angled properly
through the day in order to align with the direct sunlight.
Hence, it is essential to implement a mechanical
adjustment system so as to turn the panels according to
the angle of sunlight.

Future of Solar Power

Even though some critics argue that the future of Solar
Power is based upon its reduction in cost, it is imminent that
coal and fossil fuels are soon going to get depleted. Some
utilities have reported that they cannot increase their rates in
order to supply Solar Power to their customers as their
customers stick to them due to the availability of low-cost
electricity. But, solar energy beats these traditional sources
of power when it comes to consideration for the planet and
sustainability of the environment.
As per some experts grid parity, which is the point when
solar energy is going to cost equivalent to traditional
electricity, is going to take a decade more in some areas,
and less in other areas. But, one thing is for certain that
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Solar Power is going to be the mainstay for electricity and
other power requirements in a few years from now.