Solar power in Gujarat[edit]

Main article: Gujarat Solar Park

Gujarat has been a leader in solar power generation and contributes 2/3rd of the 900 MW
of photovoltaics in the country.The State has commissioned Asias biggest solar park at Charanka
village. The park is already generating 2 MW solar power out of its total planned capacity of 500 MW.
The park has been functioning on a multi-developers and multi-beneficiaries paradigm and has been
awarded for being the most innovative and environment-friendly project by the CII.
With a view to make Gandhinagar a solar city, the State government has launched a roof-top solar
power generation scheme. Under this scheme, the State plans to generate five megawatt of solar
power by putting solar panels on about 50 state government buildings and on 500 private buildings.
The State has also a plan to emulate this project in Rajkot,Surat, Bhavnagar and Vadodara in 201213.
The State plans to generate solar power by putting solar panels on the Narmada canal branches. As
a part of this scheme, the State has already commissioned a one megawatt solar plant on a branch
of the Narmada Canal near Chandrasan area of Anand taluka. This also helps by stopping 90,000
liter water/year of the Narmada river from evaporating.

Solar power in Rajasthan[edit]

Rajasthan is one of the states of India in the field of solar energy. The total photovoltaic capacity has
passed 500 MW, reaching 510.25 MW at the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year.[58] The district of Jodhpur
leads with 42 projects totalling 293 MW, followed by Jaisalmer and Bikaner. In total there were 84
projects with installed capacity of 512.9.[56] The French group AREVA solar is currently engaged in
constructing a 250 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) installation which will become the largest
CSP installation in Asia.[59][60][61] A 4,000MW Ultra Mega Green Solar Power Project (UMPP) is being
built near Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan. Upon Completion, it would be world's largest Solar Power
Plant. It is expected to be built in 4 phases, with the first phase likely to be commissioned by the end
of 2016 with 1,000 MW capacity. The total cost of each phase of the project is estimated to be 70
billion (US$1.1 billion) and the entire project is expected to be completed in 7 years. The present
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put great emphasis on solar projects and is inviting FDI in this
sector.[62]

Solar power in Maharashtra[edit]

The Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust has the world's largest solar steam system. It was constructed at
the Shirdi shrine at an estimated cost of Rs.1.33 crore, Rs.58.4 lakh of which was paid as a subsidy
by the renewable energy ministry. The system is used to cook 50,000 meals per day for pilgrims
visiting the shrine, resulting in annual savings of 100,000 kg of cooking gas and has been designed
to generate steam for cooking even in the absence of electricity to run the feed water pump for
circulating water in the system. The project to install and commission the system was completed in
seven months and the system has a design life of 25 years.[63][64][65] Osmanabad region in Maharashtra
has been blessed with abundance of sunlight and is ranked the third best region in India in terms of
solar insolation. A 10 MW solar power plant in Osmanabad, Maharashtra by RelyOn Solar,
generates approximately 18 Lac units per MW which is the highest generation in Maharashtra by
any other solar power plant. This plant was commissioned in 2013 and the records of one complete
year are available. [66]

Solar power in Madhya Pradesh[edit]

The Welspun Solar MP project, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100
crore on 305 hectares of land, will supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh. The project of a 130MW solar
power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch was launched by Gujarat chief Minister, Narendra Modi.
Ujaas Energy Limited , an Indore based company which is listed on BSE /NSE . It has installed over
105 MWs in five solar parks viz. , Rajgarh , Barod, Ichchhawar , Rojhani and Susner , in Madhya
Pradesh . The company is proud to be backed by Mr Amitabh Bachhcan who holds 1.6 % stake
according to latest filing. Ujaas is the pioneer of solar REC Mechanism in India". Apart from
companys innovative PLUG & PLAY Ujaas Park model where it provides an end to end solution to
the investors, the company has also done substantial solar roof top installations in Chennai, UP,AP,
( Noida,Greater Noida )Delhi/NCR region etc... under the allocation from SECI-Phase-II and under
JNNSM.
Ujaas has ranked at No 2 as Indias Fastest Growing Company by a renowned magazine on
Renewable Energy, Business World .
The company has made it onto prestigious Forbes Asia's 200 Best Under a Billion dollar Companies
list..
Vivaan Solar, Gwalior based company started in Aug. 2012 has also completed 15 MW Solar Power
Plant in Kadodiya Village, Ujjain. Moving forward they are working on another Solar Power plant in

Ujjain with capacity of 30 MW. The company has also stepped forward in providing rooftop solar
solutions for homes and business users.[67][68][69]

Applications[edit]

Rural electrification[edit]
Lack of electricity infrastructure is one of the main hurdles in the development of rural India. India's
grid system is considerably under-developed, with major sections of its populace still surviving offgrid. As of 2004 there are about 80,000 unelectrified villages in the country. Of these villages, 18,000
could not be electrified through extension of the conventional grid. A target for electrifying 5,000 such
villages was set for the Tenth National Five Year Plan (20022007). As of 2004, more than 2,700
villages and hamlets had been electrified, mainly using solar photovoltaic systems. [7] Developments
in cheap solar technology are considered as a potential alternative that allows an electricity
infrastructure consisting of a network of local-grid clusters with distributed electricity generation. [11] It
could allow bypassing (or at least relieving) the need to install expensive, lossy, long-distance,
centralized power delivery systems and yet bring cheap electricity to the masses.
India currently has around 1.2 million solar home lighting systems and 3.2 million solar lanterns
sold/distributed.[70] Also, India has been ranked the number one market in Asia for solar off-grid
products.[71][72]
Projects currently planned include 3,000 villages of Orissa, which will be lighted with solar power by
2014.[73][74][75][76]

Solar lamps and lighting[edit]

By 2012, a total of 4,600,000 solar lanterns and 861,654 solar powered home lights had been
installed. These typically replace kerosene lamps and can be purchased for the cost of a few months
worth of kerosene through a small loan. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is offering a
30% to 40% subsidy for the cost of lanterns, home lights and small systems up to 210 Wp. [77] 20
million solar lamps are expected by 2022.[78]

Agricultural support[edit]
Solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water. The majority of the
pumps are fitted with a 2003,000 watt motor that are powered with 1,800 Wp PV array which can
deliver about 140,000 litres (37,000 US gal) of water per day from a total head of 10 metres (33 ft).
By 30 September 2006, a total of 7,068 solar PV water pumping systems had been installed, [11] and
by March 2012, 7,771 had been installed.[79]

Solar driers are used to dry harvests before storage. [80]

Solar water heaters[edit]

Bangalore has the largest deployment of roof top solar water heaters in India. These heaters
generate an energy equivalent of 200 MW.[81]
Bangalore is also the first city in the country to put in place an incentive mechanism by providing a
rebate of 50 (79 US) on monthly electricity bills for residents using roof-top thermal systems.
[82]

These systems are now mandatory for all new structures.

Pune has also recently made installation of solar water heaters in new buildings mandatory.[83]

Challenges and opportunities[edit]

Price history of silicon PV cells since 1977

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 utility-scale solar power plants currently approximately 1 km2 (250
acres) for every 2060 MW generated[11] could pose a strain on India's available land resource.
The architecture more suitable for most of India would be a highly distributed set of individual rooftop
power generation systems, all connected via a local grid.[11] However, erecting such an infrastructure,
which does not enjoy the economies of scale possible in mass, utility-scale, 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.[7][84] Government can provide subsidies for the production of PV panels, in
which there will be reduction in the market price and this can lead to more usage of solar power in
India. In the past three years, solar-generation costs here have dropped from around 18 (28 US) a
kWh to about 7 (11 US) a kWh, whereas power from imported coal and domestically-produced
natural gas currently costs around 4.5 (7.1 US) a kWh and it is increasing with time.[62] Experts

believe that ultra mega solar power plants like the upcoming worlds largest 4,000 MW UMPP in
Rajasthan, would be able to produce power for around 5 (7.9 US) a kWh.[62]
Some noted think-tanks[7][85][86] recommend that India should adopt a policy of developing solar power
as a dominant component of the renewable energy mix, since being adensely populated region[87] in
the sunny tropical belt,[88][89] the subcontinent has the ideal combination of both high solar
insolation[88] and therefore a big potential consumer base density.[7][90][91][92][93] In one of the analysed
scenarios,[86] India can make renewable resources such as solar the backbone of its economy by
2050, reining in its long-term carbon emissions without compromising its economic growth potential.

Government support[edit]

Solar Radiation Resource Assessment stations in India

51 Solar Radiation Resource Assessment stations have been installed across India by the Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) to monitor the availability of solar energy. Data is collected
and reported to the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), in order to create a Solar Atlas. [94]
The government of India is promoting the use of solar energy through various strategies. In the latest
budget for 2010/11, the government has announced an allocation of 1000 crore towards
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and the establishment of a clean energy fund. It is an
increase of 380 crore from the previous budget. This new budget has also encouraged private solar
companies by reducing customs duty on solar panels by 5% and exempting excise duty on solar
photovoltaic panels. This is expected to reduce the cost of a roof-top solar panel installation by 15
20%. The budget also proposed a coal tax of US$1 per metric ton on domestic and imported coal
used for power generation.[95] Additionally, the government has initiated a Renewable Energy
Certificate (REC)[96] scheme, which is designed to drive investment in low-carbon energy projects.

Timeline of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy provides 70 percent subsidy on the installation cost of a
solar photovoltaic power plant in North-East 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.
The Mysore City Corporation has decided to set up a mega Solar power plant in Mysorewith 50%
concession from the Government of India.[97]
The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) has made plans for setting up
more power plants in the state to take up total generation up to 200 MW.[98]
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation plans to install rooftop solar power plants at Anand Vihar and Pragati
Maidan Metro stations and its residential complex at Pushp Vihar.[99]
Reeling under an acute power crises, the Government of Tamil Nadu has recently unveiled its new
Solar Energy Policy which aims at increasing the installed solar capacity from the current
approximate of 20 MW to over 3000 MW by 2015. The policy aims at fixing a 6% solar energy
requirement on industries and residential buildings for which incentives in the form of tax rebates
and current tariff rebates of up to Rs.1 / unit will be applicable to those who comply with the Solar
Energy Policy. The policy also gives an option to those industries/buildings who do not want to install
rooftop solar photo-voltaic systems to invest in the government's policy and be given the same
incentives as explained above.[100]

Statistics[edit]
Main article: Growth of photovoltaics
Installed PV capacity (in MW)[101]

Year

Total

Yearly

End

Capacity

Installation

2010

161

2011

461

300

2012

1,205

744

2013

2,319

1,114

NOIDA: A 5MW solar power plant of NTPC - the first non-conventional energy plant in the
district - was inaugurated for commercial operations in the Dadri unit of the company on
Saturday. The plant is also the first solar project of the public sector company to be
commissioned anywhere in the country. Built at a cost of Rs 48.59 crore over an
area spread over 27 acres, the plant is expected to generate around 7.26 million units of
power every year. The plant is expected to reduce carbon emissions of 0.82 metric tonnes
per every megawatt-hour of electricity produced. NTPC will sell the power generated from
this solar plant to GRIDCO.
the Odisha-based public sector power purchasing company. GRIDCO has already entered
into a power-purchase agreement with NTPC to purchase electricity generated from this
plant. The energy purchase made by GRIDCO would go towards the state's obligation to buy
a certain quantity of renewable energy from the total quantity of electricity purchased by it.

FIRST SOLAR TO DEVELOP 45 (MW)AC OF UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS IN

TELANGANA
GENERATED ELECTRICITY WILL IMMEDIATELY HELP REDUCE ENERGY DEFICIT
Hyderabad, Telangana, August 05, 2014 - First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), the world's biggest thin film solar module
manufacturer and one of the largest developers of utility scale solar projects worldwide, with a global project pipeline
of more than 2500MW, today announced its first development project in India. Through its Indian subsidiary, the
company plans to build 45Megawatt (MW) AC capacity of solar power generation in the new state of Telangana,
which will supply electricity through the grid to the Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana State Limited
(TSSPDCL), at a levelized tariff of Rs. 6.49p/kwh for a period of 20 years.

The project will include construction at two different sites in the Mahabubnagar district, and is expected to be in
commercial operation by May of 2015.
"The state of Telangana has an energy deficit that demands immediate creation of incremental generation capacity.
The excellent solar resource in the state combined with our CdTe thin film module technology that is ideally suited for
hot climates like India, allows us to bid tariffs that brings solar energy pricing to parity with diesel/gas and potentially
imported coal, for the consumers across all segments. We are optimistic that the state will enhance their plans for
creating a higher deployment of solar in the overall energy mix to address the energy deficit in a sustainable manner,"
said Sujoy Ghosh, Country Head for First Solar India.
Mr. Ghosh said construction of the project was expected to begin by October of this year.
On completion, the projects are expected to produce approximately 86,880 Mwhr of electricity each year which will be
sufficient to meet the needs of over 92,000 average homes in Telangana.
About First Solar, Inc.
First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar systems which use its advanced
module and system technology. The company's integrated power plant solutions deliver an economically attractive
alternative to fossil-fuel electricity generation today. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life module recycling,
First Solar's renewable energy systems protect and enhance the environment. For more information about First Solar,
please visit www.firstsolar.com.
For First Solar Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements, among other things,
concerning: our business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and management plans for our
business and the markets in which we operate; future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin,
operating expenses, products, projected costs, warranties, solar module efficiency and balance of systems ("BoS")
cost reduction roadmaps, restructuring, product reliability and capital expenditures; our ability to continue to reduce
the cost per watt of our solar modules; our ability to reduce the costs to construct photovoltaic ("PV") solar power
systems; research and development programs and our ability to improve the conversion efficiency of our solar
modules; sales and marketing initiatives; and competition. These forward-looking statements are often characterized
by the use of words such as "estimate," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe," "forecast,"
"foresee," "likely," "may," "should," "goal," "target," "might," "will," "could," "predict," "continue" and the negative or
plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on
our current expectations and our projections about future events. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any
reason. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that
may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the matters discussed in Item
1A: "Risk Factors," of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, as updated and
supplemented by risk factors included in our Prospectus dated June 12, 2013 filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule
424(b)(5) (the "Prospectus"), Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports filed
with the SEC.

TOPICS

India
Madhya Pradesh
economy, business and finance
energy and resource

Inaugurates Indias largest solar power plant at Neemuch in the presence of his
Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in
Neemuch, about 400 km from here, on Wednesday. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan was present.
The Welspun Solar MP project, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100
crore on 305 hectares of land, will supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh.
Calling it a saffron revolution, Mr. Modi said: We have already seen the green and the white
revolutions; soon, we are going to see a saffron revolution in the country ... The sun was there even
during the time when there was a Congress Chief Minister. But the Congress never thought of using
it to develop solar energy, and it was Chouhan who used it for energy production.
Hitting out at Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh, he said, During his regime [as Chief
Minister], many power plants were closed down because of which we have been pushed into the dark
ages.
Mr. Chouhan alleged that the Centre was cheating Madhya Pradesh. Wait for Narendra Modi to
become Prime Minister and farmers will get their due, he said.
The inauguration of the plant comes a day after the former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani
launched the linking of the Narmada and the Kshipra rivers in Ujjain. Mr. Modis absence from the
programme and publicity materials raised questions within party circles. The exclusion of
Satyanarayan Jatiya, Rajya Sabha member, who was instrumental in getting the waters of the
Narmada to Malwa, also raised eyebrows.
In the past two days, the State has seen a flurry of inaugurations of projects, including the opening of
the Betul-Nagpur link in Chhindwara on Tuesday by Union Ministers Kamal Nath and Oscar
Fernandes and flagging off an express train from Gwalior to Pune by Union Minister Jyotiraditya
Scindia on Wednesday.

1. Load Supported
They are usually the largest single influence on the size and cost of a PV system. A PV system designer
can minimize a PV systems cost by efficiently using the energy available. The first step is to estimate the
average daily power demand of each load to be use. It is important to note that one should be thorough,
but realistic, when estimating the load. A 25 percent safety factor can cost a great deal of money.
2. Type of Loads
While estimating the load, it is necessary to calculate for both ac and dc loads.
3. Hours of Operation
An hour of operation is an important factor. This value helps us determine the exact consumption of
electricity (kWh) of each appliance. Calculating this value will help the designer in the first level
assessment of the size of the solar system that will be needed to power the site under consideration.
More importantly the time of operation during the day will enable a designer to do a more accurate sizing

of the PV system. For example, a refrigerator runs for 24 hours in a day. Other appliances like washing
machine will run 2 hours a day in the afternoon. So a PV system can be designed to supplement grid
electricity by providing electricity during peak hours. It is also possible, if the user wishes, to design a
complete solar system to provide electricity throughout the day with battery backup.
4. Days of Autonomy
Autonomy refers to the number of days a battery system will provide a given load without being recharged
by the PV array or another source. General weather conditions determine the number of no sun days
which is a significant variable in determining the autonomy. Local weather patterns and microclimates
must also be considered. Cross-check weather sources because errors in solar resource estimates can
cause disappointing system performance.
The most important factors in determining an appropriate autonomy for a system are the size and type of
loads that the system services. The general range of autonomy is as follows.

2-3 days for non-essential uses or systems with a generator back up

5-7 days for critical loads with no other power source

5. Space Available
For setting up 1 kW SPV system without batteries, the required shade free area is 100 sqft.
Knowing the installation site before designing the system is recommended for good planning of
component placement, wire runs, shading, and terrain peculiarities. The primary requirement in selecting
the space is that, it should be shade free. Shading critically affects a PC arrays performance. Even a
small amount of shade on a PV panel can reduce its performance significantly. For this reason,
minimizing shading is much more important in PV system design. Carefully determining solar access or
shade-free location is fundamental to cost effective PV performance. . When a site is selected, be sure
that the following parameters are met and tasks completed.

Be sure that the array is not shaded from 9 A.M to 3 P.M.

Identify the obstacles, if any, that shade the array between 9 A.M and 3 P.M

Make recommendations to eliminate any shading, move the array to avoid shading,
or increase the array size to offset losses due to shading.
Other factors to be considered

Keep it simple - Complexity lowers reliability and increases maintenance cost.

Understand system availability - Achieving 99+ percent availability with any energy
system is expensive.

Know what hardware is available at what cost - Tradeoffs are inevitable. The more
you know about hardware, the better decisions you can make. Shop for bargains, talk to
dealers, ask questions.

Install the system carefully - Make each connection as if it had to last 30 years-- it
does. Use the right tools and technique. The system reliability is no higher than its weakest
connection.

Safety first and last - Dont take shortcuts that might endanger life or property.

Comply with local and national building and electrical codes.

Plan periodic maintenance - PV systems have an enviable record for unattended

operation, but no system works forever without some care.

Calculate the life-cycle cost (LCC) to compare PV systems to alternatives LCC

reflects the complete cost of owning and operating any energy system.
Know Whether Rooftop Solar Generates Power During Power Failure
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