Solar PV Solutions For Academic Campuses

Solar PV Electricity Solutions for Academic
Campuses in India
A white paper

Chetan S. Solanki
Department of Energy Science and Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay)
October 2010
Solar PV Electricity Solutions for Academic Campuses in India

Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Solar Radiation Map of India ........................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Peak hours of solar radiation ................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Horizontal surface and tilted surface .................................................................................... 7
3. Solar PV technologies: Converting light to electricity ....................................................................... 7
3.1 Efficiency of PV modules of different technologies ............................................................ 10
3.2 Rated power of PV modules ................................................................................................ 10
3.3 Cost of PV modules of different technologies ..................................................................... 11
4. Per unit area PV Electricity Generation Potential .......................................................................... 11
4.1 Efficiency of PV module ........................................................................................................ 12
4.2 Per unit area electricity generation from PV modules ........................................................ 13
4.3 Daily solar radiation data ..................................................................................................... 13
4.4 Optimum tilt of PV modules – permanently fixed............................................................... 14
4.5 Optimum tilt of PV modules – seasonally fixed ................................................................... 15
4.6 Example calculations: PV electricity for three story academic building .............................. 16
5. PV system configurations .............................................................................................................. 17
5.1 Possible PV system configuration for academic campuses ................................................. 18
5.2 Commonly used PV system configurations ......................................................................... 19
5.3 Designing a PV system ......................................................................................................... 20
5.4 Example calculations for standalone PV system design ........................................................ 21
5.5 Typical Cost of PV system components ............................................................................... 23
6. Spaces for PV installations in academic campus ............................................................................ 23
6.1 Installation on building roof tops & sun shades .................................................................. 24
6.2 Solar PV Installation on parking lots/path ways .................................................................. 25
6.3 Solar PV installations on ground .......................................................................................... 25
7. Cost of solar PV electricity ............................................................................................................. 26
7.1 Calculating Life Cycle Cost ................................................................................................... 26
© C.S. Solanki, Dept. of Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay 2

7.2 Comparison of LCC of Solar, Diesel and Grid electricity ...................................................... 28
8. Energy efficiency is recommended ................................................................................................ 29
8.1 Energy efficiency of buildings ............................................................................................... 29
8.2 Energy efficiency of electrical loads ..................................................................................... 30
8.3 Energy efficiency of users ..................................................................................................... 30
9. Subsidies for installing solar PV systems ....................................................................................... 30
9.1 Subsidy for rooftop PV systems ........................................................................................... 31
9.2 Interest rate subsidies ......................................................................................................... 32
10. Recommendations for use of Solar PV electricity .......................................................................... 33

Appendix: Monthly average daily solar radiation data of various cities of India; Global (on horizontal
surface), diffused (on horizontal surface) and Global (on surface tilted to latitude of location)
represented in kWh/m2‐day………………………………………………………………………………………………………………35


Solar PV Energy for Academic Campuses in India
A White Paper

Chetan S. Solanki
Department of Energy Science and Engineering
IIT Bombay
1. Introduction
Electricity from renewable energy (RE) sources is increasingly been seen as the viable solution for energy
deficiency, energy security and for social development. Among the many RE technologies and sources,
electricity produced directly from the sun using solar photovoltaic (SPV) technology is gaining interest
from government and investments from private enterprises.

Historically, it has been about 50 years since the first operational silicon solar cell was demonstrated.
However, the last 15 years have seen large improvements in the technology, with the best confirmed
cell efficiency being over 24%. The main drivers have improved electrical and optical design of the cells.
Improvements in the first area include improved passivation of contact and surface regions of the cells
and a reduction in the volume of heavily doped material within the cell. Optically, reduced reflection
and improved trapping of the light within the cell have had a large impact. These features have
increased silicon cell efficiency to a confirmed value of 24.7%. Together with technical progress there is
support from the government for solar PV technologies around the world. Overall effect is significant
growth of the PV technology. Currently the world annual production is over 10,000 MW. The solar PV
technologies are now increasingly seen as major electricity source for Indian scenario. The
announcement of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission confirms this, which target to install about
10,000 MW of solar PV modules in India by 2022.

On a practical level, the peak of solar electricity generation correlates with the consumption almost
perfectly. The main reason for not having to look at SPV technology so seriously earlier was because of
its high initial cost of installation. The cost is still formidable, but the alternative is to use diesel based
electricity to cover for the peak shortages. With rising diesel costs, worrisome suppliers and dwindling
global supplies, solar electricity from SPV has just turned competitive to diesel. The next target in
making solar PV widely acceptable is making electricity from it as cheap as that from coal. Though there
is still a long way to go, the trend is unmistakable. SPV is here to stay and the faster we accept its utility,
the easier it will be to solve much of our current concerns.

Overall considering the concerns about rising electricity cost, increased concern for climate change and
need to find alternative energy solutions, and with considerable government support, solar PV
technology is increasingly seen as viable option for our current and future energy supply.


Academic campuses are ideal places for use of solar PV modules for the following reasons:
1. Most of the operation of academic campuses takes place in the day time, which is in
synchronous with the availability of sun light. With this condition the expensive battery storage
is minimized.
2. Academic campuses do not have significant heavy loads like ACs, meaning that the required
power density is low. It is easier to generate smaller power density with solar PV solutions.
3. Use of solar PV modules in campus will sensitize young minds on importance of renewable
energy technologies who would become future scientist, academicians or policy makers.

This document describes the solar PV potential, particularly for academic institutions in India. The
Section 2 describes the available solar radiation at various parts of the country, followed by Section 3
giving the commercially available solar PV technologies for electricity generation. Available surface area
in academic campuses may be a limitation. Therefore Section 4 describes the per unit area electricity
generation potential of PV technologies. Configuration of PV systems and system design is explained in
Section 5. Several spaces can be used to install solar PV modules in academic environment; the
possibilities are described in Section 6. The cost of electricity generated using solar PV modules is
described in section 7 while Section 8 looks at possibility of minimizing energy consumption in order to
reduce the overall cost of PV systems. At the end various subsidy scheme of government for promoting
use of solar PV technology is described and recommendations were made for using solar PV electricity in
academic campuses in India.
2. Solar Radiation Map of India

Electricity from the SPV is dependent on the amount of sunlight falling on the solar panels. The longer
the hours of sunlight falling on them and the greater the amount of sunlight falling on them the better it
is for electricity generation. Solar insolation in a given location is given by the unit kWh/m2‐day. In India,
the average solar insolation varies between 4 – 7 kWh/m2‐day. This solar radiation referred as global
solar radiation and it consist of direct and diffuse solar radiation (due to cloud cover, dust, etc) reaching
at a point on earth. What it means is that every day the amount of solar energy falling on 1 m2 area in
India is about 4 – 7 units. Given India’s location in the equatorial belt, it is abundant sunshine. Also the
fact that we have between 250 and 300 days of clear sunny days, gives the location year round reliable
source of energy. Given the above figures the annual solar radiation falling on 1 m2 area in a given year
is between 1600 and 2200 kWh. (To give a perspective, the solar industry leader, Germany’s annual
global solar radiation is between 950 and 1350 kWh/m2‐day.) For India that translates to about 6000
million GWh. That’s a huge potential to tap.



Fig: Solar radiation map of India

It can be observed from the solar radiation map of India that although the highest annual global
radiation is received in Rajasthan and northern Gujarat, other regions also receive fairly large amounts
of radiation as compared to many parts of the world including Japan, Europe and the US where
development and deployment of solar technologies is maximum.

2.1 Peak hours of solar radiation
The solar cell efficiency and module output power is specified for W/m2 of radiation intensity and at 25
degree centigrade of cell temperature. This condition is known as standard test condition (STC).
Normally the solar radiation intensity varies from morning to afternoon to sunset. A typical variation of
solar radiation intensity as a function of time in hours is given in Fig. below. One can notice from the
figure that the intensity of global radiation varies from 0 W/m2 at the sunrise and sunset to about 0.9
kW/m2 at the noon time. The integration of the solar intensity curve, gives solar insolation falling at a
unit area over a day and therefore the unit of solar insolation (loosely also referred as solar radiation) is
Watt‐hour/m2‐time, for instance Wh/m2‐day or kWh/m2‐day. It is mentioned in the previous paragraph
that the annual solar insolation in India varies between 4 – 7 kWh/m2‐day or 1460 to 2555 kWh/m2‐year.

Since the solar cells and modules are characterized for 1000 W/m2 or 1kW/m2 of solar radiation
intensity, it is useful to represent the daily or annual solar radiation data in terms of ‘number of hours’
of 1000 W/m2. For instance, a 5 kWh/m2‐day of global solar insolation is equivalent of 5 hours of 1000

W/m2 of solar intensity. This concept is demonstrated in Fig. below and very useful in estimating the
amount of energy generated from a given PV module. In the Fig. below the area of the global radiation
curve and the dotted rectangle should be equal.

1
5 hours
0.8
Radiation (kW/m2)
0.6
Global
0.4 radiation
0.2
Diffuse radiation
0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Hours

Fig: Daily variation in global and diffuse radiation intensity at a given location and equivalent ‘number of
hours’ of 1000 W/m2 (for which solar cells and modules are characterized). Typically diffuse radiation is
about 10 to 20% of global radiation in India for a clear sky. During monsoon or cloudy sky conditions
diffuse radiation is about 50 to 80% of the global radiation.

2.2 Horizontal surface and tilted surface
The global solar radiation data are typically represented as amount of solar radiation received on a
horizontal surface at a given location. In order to intercept more solar radiation, the solar PV modules
are mounted at an angle to horizontal plane. Therefore, sometimes, it is useful to know the global solar
radiation data on a tilted surface. This is discussed in detail in later sections.
3. Solar PV technologies: Converting light to electricity
Solar PV is a semiconductor device which converts sunlight directly into electricity. The operation of light
to electricity conversion requires a built‐in electric field, normally obtained by making P‐N junction or P‐
i‐N junction structures. A solar PV panel or a solar PV module when exposed to sunlight generates
voltage and current at its output terminal. This voltage and current can be used for our electricity
requirements. The amount of electricity a solar PV module can generate depends on the amount of
sunlight falling on it. The higher is the intensity of the sunlight the more will be the electricity generated
from it. When no sunlight falls on a solar PV module, no electricity is generated.
The development of solar PV technologies has been taking place since 1950s. The solar cell development
was being done mainly for space applications till 1970s. After the first oil shock of 1973 the solar cell
technology has been seriously considered for terrestrial power generation applications. Since then lot of
development has occurred in cell design and cell material with an objective to increase in efficiency and
decrease in cost per Watt. There are many technologies which are still under research and some of them

have come to a commercial stage. Among the commercial SPV technologies, wafer crystalline Si
technologies are most commonly fabricated and used.
The commercial SPV technologies can be divided in two categories:
1. Crystalline Silicon (c‐Si) wafer‐based cell technologies
2. Thin film substrate‐based cell technologies
The c‐Si wafer based technologies are divided in to mono‐crystalline, multi‐crystalline, electronic grade
Si, solar grade Si and ribbon Si. The overall scenario c‐Si wafer based technologies is shown in Figure
below.
Raw Si in the form of SiO2
Metallurgical grade Si
High purity chlorosilanes gases Purification
High purity electronic grade Si Thin film Solar grade Si

deposition
Ingot pulling Block casting Sheet pulling Block casting

or sheet
pulling
Wire sawing Wire sawing Laser cutting
Multi‐crystalline
Wafer dicing
Mono‐crystalline
wafer wafer
Si sheets Wafer or
Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell

Route‐I Route‐II Route‐III Route‐IV Route‐V

Fig: Overview of Si based technologies. It also shows the route of thin film Si cell technologies1.
Overall thin film technologies can be divided in two categories: Si based and non‐Si based, which can
further be divided in flexible and rigid substrates. Categorizations of thin film technologies and leading
companies in various categories are given in the figure below.

1
C.S. Solanki, Solar Photovoltaics: Fundamentals, Technologies and Applications, Prentice Hall of India, 2009.

, Nex Power
Fig: Tree of thin film technologies and leading companies.
Both Crystalline Si wafer (c‐Si) based technology and amorphous Si (a‐Si) thin film solar cell technology
makes use of Si but they are fundamentally quite different technologies. C‐Si wafers have ordered
arrangement of Si atoms while in a‐Si it is completely disordered (amorphous), which is the main reason
for different (a) solar cell structure, (b) different way of making contacts and finally (c) different
performance of the devices. C‐Si is based on p‐n junction while a‐Si is based on p‐i‐n junction. Other thin
film technologies like CdTe and CIGS have poly‐crystalline material and cells are based on p‐n junction.
Today solar PV modules of following technologies are commercially available:
 Mono‐crystalline wafer‐based modules
 Multi‐crystalline wafer‐based modules
 Cadmium Teluride (CdTe) thin film modules
 Copper Indian Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin film modules
 Amorphous Si (a‐Si) thin film modules


3.1 Efficiency of PV modules of different technologies
PV modules from different technologies vary in terms of efficiency and cost per Watt. The efficiency of
cells and modules of different technologies are listed in Table below.
Technology Highest Cell Lab Highest module Typical commercial

Efficiency*(%) Efficiency*(%) module efficiency(%)
Mono c‐Si 25 22.9 14 to 16
Multi c‐Si 20.4 15.5 14 to 16
a‐Si (single junction) 9.5 8.2 5.5 to 6.5
a‐Si (double‐junction) 10.6 ‐ ‐
a‐Si/micro c‐Si ~14.2(unstabilized) ‐ 8 to 10

(double junction)
a‐Si (triple‐junction) 13.0 10.4 ‐
CdTe 16.7 10.9 8 to 9
CIGS 19.9 13.5 10 to 12.5
*Ref: Martin A. Green, Keith Emery, Yoshihiro Hishikawa and Wilhelm Warta, Solar cell efficiency table
(version 34), Prog. In Photovoltaic: Res. Appl. 2009; 17:320–326. Efficiency measured under the global
AM1_5 spectrum (1000W/m2) at 258C (IEC 60904‐3: 2008, ASTM G‐173‐03 global) stable efficiencies.
3.2 Rated power of PV modules
The efficiency and power output of a solar cell and modules are given for light condition corresponding
to 1000 W/m2 and at 25oC temperature, known as standard test condition (STC). The rated power of a
cell and module is referred as peak power or Wp. The peak power of PV module changes with change in
falling solar radiation and temperature of the cell under real life conditions. Typically one does not get
the condition corresponding to STC. Solar radiation is normally lower than the STC condition and cell
temperature is normally higher than the STC condition, both of these have effect of decreasing power
output from the PV module.
The conditions specified in the STC does not occur for most of the time and locations. This happens
because of two reasons; the real solar irradiation is normally less than 1000 W/m2 and the module
temperature under real operation is more than the STC specified temperature of 25oC. Both of these
reasons result in lower module power output than the expected under the STC condition. Thus, in order
to have more realistic figure for the possible power output from a PV module, the performance of the
modules is described in two other test conditions; standard operating conditions (SOC) and nominal
operating conditions (NOC). Both of these use a different concept of temperature, called as nominal

operating cell temperature (NOCT). The NOCT is defined as the temperature reached by a cell in open
circuited module under following conditions:
‐ Irradiation: 800 W/m2,
‐ Ambient temperature: 20oC
‐ Wind speed: 1 m/s
‐ Mounting: open back side

The NOCT can be used to give more realistic cell temperature of the module under operating conditions.
The NOCT lies usually between 42 to 50oC. Under different ambient temperature and solar radiation the
NOCT will change. In India, since ambient temperature is always quite higher than 20oC considered in
NOC, therefore actual cell temperature lies between 55 to 70oC.
Table: Comparison of test condition under which PV module characteristics are described.
Conditions STC SOC NOC
(Standard test (Standard operating (Nominal operating
condition) condition) condition)
2
Irradiation (W/m ) 1000 1000 800
o o
Temperature ( C) 25 NOCT (42 to 50 C) NOCT (42 to 50oC)
Rated power (Wp) 100 (reference) 91 to 94 72 to 75

Since the NOC conditions are more common in real life situations, therefore for PV module power rating
under NOC conditions (or prevailing conditions) should be considered. And the rated power under NOC
conditions is smaller than rated power under STC conditions. But note that in most designs the STC
rated power of PV modules is considered, which is then discounted in terms of efficiency to consider
losses for higher operating cell temperature.

3.3 Cost of PV modules of different technologies
The cost of solar PV technologies is stated in terms of Rs per Wp. The cost of PV modules varies between
75 Rs/Wp to 125 Rs/Wp. This variation is due to the technology and also due to the volume of purchase.
Normally for higher volume purchase, like several 100 kWp or few MWp, the cost of c‐Si based PV
modules was between 90 to 110 Rs/Wp in Sep. 2010.
4. Per unit area PV Electricity Generation Potential

In the last section it is mentioned that the average solar radiation in India is quite high. But the question
how much of that radiation can be extracted into electricity from SPV module covering certain area. The
calculation is very simply dependent on the efficiency of the SPV used and available solar insolation at a
given location. If high efficiency modules are used, more of the solar energy can be converted to
electricity. Lesser efficiency would mean less electricity conversion.


Depending on the kind of technology, efficiencies vary between 8% for thin film SPV and 16% for mono‐
crystalline SPV. It should be, however, noted that higher efficiencies mean greater generation of
electricity for a given unit area. A 100 watt solar module will generate the same amount of electricity in
a given locality no matter how efficient or inefficient it is. The only thing that may differ is the size of the
100 Wp module. A less efficient module will be bigger than a high efficiency module. A PV module of 1
meter square area with efficiency of 14% and 8 % would generate 140 Watt and 80 Watt respectively
under standard test condition (1000 W/m2 and at 25oC).

4.1 Efficiency of PV module
Efficiency of PV modules is calculated as follows:
A commercially available module has the following given parameters:
 The peak power rating of the module (Wp)
 The area of the module (m2)
Dividing the peak power rating by t he area of the module, we get Wp/m2. Since the modules are rated
at STC of 1000 W/m2, the efficiency of the module can be written as:
 Wp / m2 
Efficiency    *100%
 1000 W / m 2 
 
For instance a 200 Wp and a 230 Wp Moser Baer crystalline silicon solar module has the L x W of 1661
mm x 991 mm. Similarly a 340 Wp and 380 Wp thin film solar module has the dimension of 2600 mm x
2200 mm. The estimated solar PV module efficiencies are given in Table below.

Table: Estimated efficiencies of PV module
Parameters 200 Wp c‐Si 230 Wp c‐Si 340 Wp thin film 380 Wp thin film

Type of Module Crystalline Silicon Thin Film
Power Rating 200 230 340 380
2
Area (m ) 1.64 5.72
2
Wp/m 121.2 139.4 59.4 66.4
Efficiency 12.1% 13.9% 5.9% 6.6%

As can be seen from the above example, the crystalline modules have higher efficiency than thin film
ones. The information about efficiency of PV modules is useful in determining the total area of PV
modules required to generate given amount of energy.

Alternatively a 13.9% efficient SPV of 200 Wp will have the area of 1.43 m2. This is calculated by dividing
200 Wp by the efficiency. In this instance the area of the module can be calculated as follows:

 Wp 
Area(m 2 )   
 Wp / m2 
 
4.2 Per unit area electricity generation from PV modules
From the efficiency of the modules one can then calculate how much electricity can be generated in a
given area. Suppose the location has an average daily solar radiation of 5.5 kWh/m2‐day, then using the
various efficiencies one can determine the electricity generated from the modules.

Electricity generated from individual panel of a given power rating is the product of the efficiency of PV
module and average daily solar radiation.

Electricity Generated (kWh / m 2 / day )  Eff . of mod . * Ave. daily radiation(kWh / m 2 / day )

Table: Estimated electricity generation on per unit area basis from PV modules of different efficiencies.
Parameters c‐Si Low c‐Si High Thin Low Thin High

Efficiency 12.1% 13.9% 5.9% 6.6%
Average Daily Solar Radiation
(kWh/m2‐day) 5.5 ( or 5.5 hours of 1000 W/m2)
Electricity generated
(kWh/m2‐day) 0.66 0.76 0.32 0.36

Thus from a PV module data sheet its efficiency can be estimated and from a given global solar radiation
data, per unit area electricity (on daily, monthly or yearly basis) can be estimated.

4.3 Daily solar radiation data
Global solar radiation data are normally available for main locations in the form of daily average.
Multiplying the number of days in a month to daily average global solar radiation data one will get
monthly global solar radiation data. As an example monthly averaged daily global solar radiation for
Hyderabad is given in Table below. For many other locations across India the monthly averaged daily
global radiation data are given in Appendix.

Table: Monthly averaged daily global solar radiation on horizontal surface and at surface tilted at latitude angle for
Hyderabad.
Month Average Daily Global Solar Average Daily Global Solar

Radiation (Horizontal) Radiation (Latitude)

January 5.5 6.7
February 6.2 7.1
March 6.5 6.8
April 6.9 6.7
May 6.9 6.4
June 5.8 5.3
July 4.9 4.6
August 5.2 5.0
September 5.2 5.2
October 5.8 6.3
November 5.4 6.4
December 5.1 6.3
AVERAGE 5.78 6.06

The figures here represent the energy falling on the surface during the day or the number of hours when
the radiation is 1000 W/m2. Note in the above Table that that during the summer the radiation on
horizontal surface is greater than that of the radiation on the latitudinal tilted surface.

4.4 Optimum tilt of PV modules – permanently fixed
In order to maximize the interception of solar radiation, and hence maximize the generation of solar
radiation, the solar PV modules should be kept perpendicular to the sun rays. Since the position of the
sun is changing throughout the day, the position of the PV modules should also be changing throughout
the day, i.e. sun tracking is required. The precise tracking of the sun, in most cases, is not possible due to
the additional cost of infrastructure required for tracking. Also, it requires maintenance. Therefore fixed
mounting of solar PV modules, over certain period, months or even year, is advised and preferred
option.
The question is how the collector should be optimally oriented for capturing maximum possible
sunlight? For a clear day, the intensity of solar radiation at a given location is symmetrical around the
solar noon time of the location. Also the radiation intensity is maximum at noon time. Therefore the
solar PV modules are oriented to maximize solar radiation interception at noon time. It can be shown
that if the PV modules are to be fixed throughout the year, at a fixed angle, the optimum tilt of solar PV
modules should be equivalent to the latitude angle of the location. Also, if the modules installation is
done in the Northern hemisphere the orientation should be South facing and if the PV modules are
being installed in Southern hemisphere then the PV modules should be installed North facing.
Thus, if PV modules are integrated as part of roof of a building in academic campus, the roof should
have a tilt angle, equivalent to latitude angle of the location and in India the roof should be south facing.
The latitude angle of Hyderabad is 17.37o North and hence the buildings on which solar PV modules are
to be mounted should have 17.37o tilt, and the roof should be facing South.

4.5 Optimum tilt of PV modules – seasonally fixed
It can be noted from the Table of daily global solar radiation for Hyderabad that during the summer the
radiation on horizontal surface is greater than that of the radiation on the latitudinal tilted surface. Thus,
tilt of PV modules in a given season can affect the energy generated from it. This knowledge can be used
to optimize the electricity generation for a given season.
In the previous section it has been discussed that a fixed solar collector installed in the Northern
hemisphere should be facing South and should be inclined to an angle equal to the latitude of the
location. But adjustment of solar PV modules inclination few times a year can enhance the energy
collection over the year, by enhancing the intercepted radiation. The PV module inclination adjustment
can also improve the system performance for a given season. For instance, an academic building will
require larger energy for running fan in summer. Or if solar PV modules are installed for a ski resort, it
would be desirable that the collector perform better in winter.
The optimized tilt angle of solar PV modules in winter season should be equal to latitude angle+15o and
for the summer it should be latitude angle‐15o. The relative gain in the electricity production of a PV
module when it is mounted to latitude15o as compared to its performance when it is mounted at the
latitude angle is shown in Fig. below. Note that the graph is only an indicative relative gain. Different
locations will have different relative gain as it will depend on the local weather, percentage of diffuse
radiation and seasonal change of the weather.
1.4
Relative energy production
1.2 Latitude ‐ 15o
1
Latitude
0.8
Latitude + 15o
0.6
0.4
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Fig.: Relative collector performance as a function of collector tilt angle
Periodically changing the tilt of the PV modules requires additional structural arrangement that allows
change in tilt, manually or automatic. This can add to the cost but results in additional energy
generation. In general, 15 to 25% additional energy (as compared to permanently fixed mounted PV
panels) can be generated with 5 to 10% higher life cycle cost.

4.6 Example calculations: PV electricity for three story academic building
Based on the information discussed so far in this section, it is now possible to estimate whether there is
enough space or not in a building to supply all its electricity requirement using solar PV modules. Other
than the cost of PV system, there is limitation of availability of open area, like terrace, to install solar PV
modules. The calculations given in Table below are based on certain assumption for the electricity
requirement of a building and terrace area availability. First order calculations suggests that academic
buildings, tall up to three floors, have sufficient space at the terrace to fulfill most if not all of its
electricity requirement, provided there is no AC load.
Table: Examples calculations for satisfying electricity needs of a academic building using PV modules
Total floor area of building
Description Quantity Units
No of floors in building 3
Area per floor
(this is taken as example, calculations for any other
area would be valid as well) 1000 Sq ft
Total floor area 3000 Sq ft
Estimation of load
Estimated Load per unit area of the building 100 Sq ft
Hour of
Item No. Wattage usage per day
Lights
(assuming
efficient lights) 2 50 9 900 Wh
Fans
(assuming
efficient fan) 1 50 9 450 Wh
Computers
(assuming one
computer in
every 200 sq ft) 1 50 4 200 Wh
Total daily electricity required 1550 Wh
Total daily energy required for whole building

(all three floors) 46500 Wh
46.5 kWh
Available space of PV installation on roof 70% of total floor area

Total available space for PV module installations 700 Sq ft
63.6 Sq meter
Total possible installation of PV modules (in terms of Watts)

Solar radiation intensity (Standard Test
Condition) 1000 W/m2
PV module efficiency 15%
Wattage of PV modules per sq meter 150
Total wattage of PV modules that can be installed on
roof 9545 Watt
Daily generation of electricity from PV modules
daily available solar radiation 5 kWh
5 Hours of 1000 W/m2
Energy that can be generated per day using PV modules 47727.3 Wh
47.7 kWh
Comments: One can see from the above calculations that even for three story building there is
sufficient generation of electricity from PV modules to full fill all the electricity requirements of the
building. Please note that no PV system losses are taken in calculations, which invariably are there
up to 15 to 20%. In summary, one to three story buildings always have sufficient roof area to full fill
most of its electricity requirements.

This is only example calculations, proper calculations should be done for each building. The steps for
designing solar PV systems for a given electricity requirement is given in section 5.

However one should note that several assumptions, which are very reasonable, are made in this
calculation. The actual electricity requirement can be higher or lower, the actual roof area available
for PV module installations could be higher or lower, the actual amount of solar radiation available
at a given location could be higher or lower.

5. PV system configurations

The PV systems are designed to supply power to electrical loads. The load may be of DC or AC type and
depending upon the application, the load may require power during the day time only or during the
night time only or even for 24 hours a day. Since a PV panel generates power only during sunshine
hours, some energy storage arrangement is required to power the load during the non‐sunshine hours.
The load can be a DC or an AC load. This energy storage is usually accomplished through batteries.
During the non‐sunshine hours, the load may also be powered by auxiliary power sources such as diesel
generator, wind generator or by connecting the PV system to the grid or some combination of these
auxiliary sources.
PV systems can be broadly divided into the following three categories:
1. Standalone PV systems
2. Grid connected PV systems and

3. Hybrid PV systems

A standalone system is the one which is not connected to the power grid. In contrast, the PV systems
connected to the grid are called grid connected PV systems. Hybrid PV systems could be standalone or
grid connected type, but have at least one more source other than the PV.
The primary difference between the standalone and grid connected systems comes from the energy
storage feature, which is a direct consequence of their connection (or absence of connection) with the
grid. While the standalone PV systems usually have a provision for energy storage, the grid connected
PV systems have none or rather they don’t need one. The excess or deficit energy produced by the PV
source in grid connected systems (difference of energy produced by the PV source and the energy
required by the load) is supplied to the grid or drawn from the grid. As a standalone PV system is not
connected to the grid, it must have battery support or an auxiliary source to supplement the load
requirements during the night hours or otherwise.
Be it the standalone system or the grid connected system, other sources of power (other than the PV as
the main source) may also be connected to them for auxiliary support and better reliability. For
instance, a standalone PV system can also have a wind generator connected to it or it can have two
power sources, a wind generator and/or a diesel generator, connected to it. The same is true for the grid
connected systems. Whenever there is more than one type of power sources connected in a system, the
configuration is known as hybrid system. A hybrid system with PV as the main source, is called a hybrid
PV system. Factors such as resource (solar, wind, grid) availability, initial cost of the system, criticality of
the load, etc. influence the decision as to whether or not to have a hybrid system and if yes, what
configuration? For instance, a PV‐wind hybrid configuration can be installed when both solar and wind
resources, at a given location, are abundantly available. Similarly, when the amount of PV power
installed is not adequate to meet the load demand (say due to cost factor), a diesel generator or another
renewable energy (RE) generator can be installed along with the PV source.
5.1 Possible PV system configuration for academic campuses
A possible PV system configuration, incorporating various sources of electricity like PV modules, grid,
and diesel/Wind generator is shown in the Fig. below. It should be noted that it is optional to connect
one or more sources of electricity in the system. The system can only run on Solar PV electricity or it can
also be coupled with grid electricity. Many times, when grid electricity connected is not available or not
reliable, then it is advisable to have solar PV with diesel generator, wherein diesel generator may be
used for emergency conditions when there is not enough sun light, like in rainy season.


Grid DC‐AC AC

Converter Load

Electronic DC
PV
Controller Load
Panel
Diesel /wind Generator

Fig: Possible configuration of solar PV system with option of connecting the system with grid or diesel or
wind generator.

5.2 Commonly used PV system configurations
The current trend in usage of PV systems is in providing day time electricity needs and supplying
electricity to the grid. This usually reduces the cost of storage for night time application and manages to
solve the peak time energy shortage. These are grid connected systems without any battery storage. As
per the prevailing policies, the gird connection in India is possible for power plants of 1MW and larger
capacities. For connecting PV systems of smaller sizes, less than MW, institution are required to have
arrangement with state electricity board, regulatory boards.

In a number of industrial and commercial locations SPV is replacing diesel as the preferred source of
electricity generation. While in industrial locations the quantum of power and therefore energy
requirement is very high, the size of PV systems tends to be large as well. So most of the time the PV
plant is setup in roof‐top as well as over land dedicated for SPV power plant. These systems are almost
always grid connected to switch seamlessly between SPV electricity when it is available and grid
electricity when the sun is unavailable, such as during monsoons.

In academic locations the need for electricity is usually to power office equipments and basic needs such
as lighting and ventilation. This is an example of captive power plants where PV plants are installed to
satisfy the electricity needs of campus only. In most instances the SPV is installed over building roof‐
tops. In absence power source, other than PV, battery storage is required.


5.3 Designing a PV system

Design of grid connected system:
A grid connected system will not have any battery back up as the grid itself acts as medium to store
energy. Therefore one need to put enough solar PV modules to fulfill daily energy requirements. Since
the PV systems are connected to grid, one can install less than the required PV modules or more than
the required PV modules. The amount of PV modules to install may then be govern by the availability of
money, availability of roof top area, upper limit set by policies, etc.

For instance, if you install 2 kWp of PV modules (normally would take about 15 square meter of roof
area) on your roof and you daily solar insolation in your area is 5 kWh/m2‐day, then PV modules would
be generating 10 kWh or 10 units of electricity every day. In order to connect a PV system to the grid,
one requires electronic components like Maximum Power Point Tracker, DC to DC converter and an
Inverter. All these components may come as single unit, as an inverter for grid connection. Efficiency of
such electronics is over 80% at small power level (few kW) inverter, but the large power (several
hundred kW) grid connected inverter would have efficiency above 92%. One must consider the electrical
losses in electronics required for grid connection to estimate what is the actual energy fed in to the grid.

Design standalone PV system
A standalone PV systems are designed to full fill all the electrical energy requirement of a premises,
wherein the load can run during day time or night time. In such systems, a battery bank is used to store
the electricity. A PV system design requires the estimation of load (in terms of daily energy), estimation
of battery in a PV system and estimation of size of PV modules, etc.

The design of PV system is normally done in three steps:
Step 1: estimation of daily electrical energy required
Step 2: Estimation of battery requirement
Step 3‐ Estimation of PV module requirements

In order to estimate the electrical load, one must know the power ratings of various appliances used in
institute and the number of hours of daily usage of each appliances. Table below provides the
appliances along with their power rating and the approximate hours they are used.

Table: Power ratings of various appliances used in academic institutions
Appliance Power Rating (Watt)
Tubelights 40
CFLs 8 – 28
Ceiling Fans 55 – 85
Wall Fans 65 – 100
Air‐Condition Systems 1000 – 5000

Appliance Power Rating (Watt)
Laptops 80 – 100
PCs 250 – 300
TV 150 – 250
Printers 300 – 500
Projectors 1000 – 3000
Water Pumps 350 – 3500

5.4 Example calculations for standalone PV system design
Let us design a PV system to power a typical academic establishment with the following loads. They are
to operate between 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Table: Estimation of daily electrical energy requirements
Load Power Rating Usage in hours per No. of Units Electricity

(Watt) day (Wh)
Tubelights 40 9 6 2160
Fans 80 9 6 4320
CRT PCs 300 8 6 14400
Printer 500 2 1 1000
920 Watt
Total daily electricity demanded (Wh) 21880
Total daily electricity demanded (kWh) 21.88

Solution: Daily energy required is 21.88 units or 21.88 kWh. The location is in Hyderabad. The average
annual global solar radiation is 5.78 kWh/m2‐day.

Simplistically, the panels required can be found by:

Electricity Needed (kWh)
SPV (kW ) 
Global Solar Radiation(equivalent hours )
In this case, 21.88 kWh divided by 5.78 hours = 3.78 kW

However, there are other additional components that are needed. Batteries to provide for non‐peak
solar hours or when there is no sunlight. Usage of inverters, batteries and other electronics bring their
own inefficiencies. An SPV system has to be designed keeping these factors in the picture. Table below
indicates the steps to design an SPV system.



Table: Design steps for estimating the required size of batteries and PV modules for given daily electrical
energy needs
Steps Description Values

Calculating the 21.88 kWh
electricity needed
Inverter Rating Slightly greater than the 1 kW
total load rating
Inverter Efficiency 85%
Energy to the load and 25.74
inverter

Sizing of batteries
Estimating the energy 33% This is an assumption, if
that needs to be stored loads run in the night
hours then battery
storage capacity may be
much higher (in worst
case 100%).
Battery Efficiency 85%
Energy that needs to be 10 kWh
stored
Battery Voltage 12V
Battery Ampere‐Hr 840 Ah
capacity
Battery Depth of 60%
Discharge
Actual Battery capacity 1400 Ah

Sizing of PV modules
Energy needed during 25.74 kWh
the day
Total system efficiency 80%
PV Panel operating 85%
performance
Average global solar 5.78 hours
radiation
Actual PV size 6.54 kW

Thus PV modules of 6.54 kWp are required to provide the daily electricity of about 21.88 kWh in an
standalone PV system.

The battery acts as a storage when the office functions during the non‐peak sunshine hours such as early
morning and late in the evening. The excess electricity generated during noon time is stored in the
battery which is used when the intensity is less. The figure of 33% is arbitrary figure taken here. Ideally it
should be arrived after having analyzed the load pattern during the day. Battery size would double if 2
days of autonomy is needed. Autonomy means when the system can provide reliable electricity when
the sun is down, such as during monsoon.
5.5 Typical Cost of PV system components
The Table below gives the typical cost of various PV components that are used in PV system, both for
grid and off‐grid systems.

Table: Typical cost of PV systems
Component Specified in terms of Available in range of Typical cost
“unit” “units”
Solar PV modules Peak wattage, Wp 40 Wp to 300 Wp 90 to110 Rs per Wp
Battery Ah capacity and terminal 20 Ah to several 60 to 80 Rs / Ah @ 12 V

Voltage hundred Ah, 12 V
Inverter (off‐grid) kW 1 to 25 kW 16000 to 2000 Rs per 5
kW
MPPT (off‐grid) Input DC voltage, current 12 to 72 Volt, 10 A to 16000 to 20000 Rs for 24
handling capacity 50 A V, 30 A
Inverter (grid‐ kW 1 to 10 kW 30,000 Rs Per kW
connected), 100 kW 15000 Rs per kW
250 kW 10000 Rs per kW
Charge controller (off‐ Input DC voltage, current 12 to 72 Volt, 10 A to 10000 to 12000 Rs for 24
grid) handling capacity 50 A V, 30 A
Fabrication cost of PV Rs per Watt of system 10 Rs per Watt
system (supporting capacity
frames, wires, etc.)
6. Spaces for PV installations in academic campus

There are several locations in the academic campus that can be utilized for installation of solar PV
modules. Since most of the buildings in a given campus are of same height, building terraces offer
excellent locations for SPV installations. Parking roof‐tops, PV shelters for open restaurants with
campus, unused land parcels can all be possible locations for PV installation.


Thus the possible spaces for installation of PV modules could include:
‐ Roof tops of buildings, both academic and residential
‐ Roof tops of canteen
‐ Roofs of parking area and path ways
‐ Any other open area

If the planning for use of solar PV modules is done in advance the solar PV modules themselves can be
used as roof material. Use of solar PV modules as roof material has potential of saving the cost by saving
the construction materials for roof tops. This is particularly suitable for spaces like roof tops of parking
areas, roof top of sports complex, canteen etc.

Some of the examples of use of Solar PV modules for various applications are discussed here.
6.1 Installation on building roof tops & sun shades
Roof tops of buildings are good places to install PV modules. Normally the roof tops are not used for
useful purposes and available for use. Installing PV modules at the rooftop will have additional
advantage of reducing the heat gain of the building from the top, which would reduce the cooling
requirement or increase the comfort level.
For one to three story buildings (e.g. department buildings, households etc.) there is always enough roof
top space to generate electricity for supplying the complete load of the building, if air conditioning load
is not there (refer to section 4).

Fig: Solar PV modules on roof tops

Fig: Solar PV modules as Sun shades
6.2 Solar PV Installation on parking lots/path ways
Parking lots are one of the ideal spaces for installation of PV modules, specially when PV modules
themselves are used as roofing material. Image below depicts the use of solar PV modules on a very
large size parking lot.

6.3 Solar PV installations on ground
If there is not sufficient space available on the roof tops and parking lots, then solar PV modules can be
installed on ground. It requires dedicated space for installation of PV modules. Image below depicts the
installation of PV modules on ground.

Since India is in the northern hemisphere, only south facing panels can have maximum solar radiation.
The most important factor for SPV location selection is shadow‐free eastern, southern and western
sides. Trees shades and building shadows should be accounted for ideal SPV placement.
7. Cost of solar PV electricity
The cost of installation of SPV is formidable because of the fact that all the future expenses are incurred
at the beginning of the project. Since all future expenses mainly involve only nominal operation and
maintenance and fractional replacement expenses. In most cases the investor is discouraged by the
possibility of spending so much before the solar PV project is implemented.
In this section basic calculations are given in order to find out the cost of electricity generated from PV
modules and other resources like diesel generator so that the comparison between solar PV electricity
and other sources can be made.
7.1 Calculating Life Cycle Cost
While calculating the cost of generating per unit of solar electricity, we use the concept of Lifecycle Cost
of Electricity (LCOE). LCOE is the ratio of Total Lifecycle Cost (TLCC) and the Total Lifetime Energy
Production (TLEP). TLCC calculates the present worth of all the expenses incurred by the system during
its lifetime. It includes costs such as initial cost of installment, recurring expenses such as operation and
maintenance and replacement expenses for battery, inverter and balance of systems. TLEP sums the
total electricity generated during the life of the plant. The present worth of all the electricity generated
in 25 years of the life of the system is calculated discounted at some prevailing rate. It should be noted
that the amount of electricity generated falls steadily during the life of the system. And as the value of
investment changes as time changes, so does the value of electricity generated.

TLCC
LCC of elecricity  N

 [ Initial kWh * (1  System deg radation) ]
n 1
n
Where is N is life of system in years.
TLCC can be calculated as follows:
TLCC = LCC (Initial investments + Recurring Cost + Replacement cost)
Thus in order to find out the TLCC one needs to know (i) initial investments, (ii) recurring cost (the cost
of maintenance) and (iii) replacement cost incurred for the operation of system during its lifetime.
(i) Initial investments mean the cost of system is estimated at the time of installation. This is nothing but
the sum of all costs of the PV system components.
(ii) The recurring costs are given as:
 1  Inflation   1  Inflation  
N
LCC Re curring Cost  OM *   *   

 Discount rate  Inlation   1  Discount Rate  
Here the OM is nothing but Operation and Maintenance cost of the system at today’s rate.
(iii) LCC Replacement Costs are given as:
   1  Inflation  R y 
LCC Re placement Cost    Item Cost * 1    
   1  Discont Rate  
  
Where Ry = Replacement year
Generally discount rate is greater than the inflation rate. Complex formula can be formed around tax,
depreciation and debt components.
For calculating the LCC of Diesel based system, one must calculate the LCC of diesel annual expense,
diesel generator replacement, its respective O&M and initial expenses if any.
 1  Fuel Escalation    1  Fuel Esc.  

N
LCC of Diesel  Ann. Diesel Cost *   * 1    

 Discount Rate  Fuel Escal.    1  DiscountRate  
Here N is life of system during which the operation is considered.
Diesel based systems will face replacement expenses in generator and parts replacements and recurring
expenses in operation and maintenance. Environmental costs are difficult to calculate but a very

conspicuous component of costs; they are not included. Adding them will give the LCC of diesel based
system.
Similarly, the LCC of grid electricity can be calculated, only the annual diesel expense would be replaced
by annual electricity expenses. Since there are no other additional expenses in terms of recurring or
replacement costs, the LCC of grid electricity will be the lowest.
7.2 Comparison of LCC of Solar, Diesel and Grid electricity
We shall now compare the cost of generating one unit of electricity from these various options. Table
below describes the assumptions and the LCC.
Table: Comparison of Life Cycle Cost of Solar, diesel and grid electricity for the load of about 3 kW.
Parameter Solar Diesel Grid Electricity
Interest Rate 14.29% 14.29% ‐
Discount Rate 16.6% 16.6% ‐
General Inflation 5% ‐ ‐
Fuel Inflation ‐ 10% ‐
Electricity Inflation ‐ ‐ 10%
Unit Price Rs. 100/W Rs. 38/litre Rs. 5/kWh
No. of Years 25 25 25
Units generated in a 1,80,161 1,99,655 1,99,655

year
Cost of Electricity Rs. 13.94/kWh Rs. 18.77/kWh Rs. 3 to 5 / kWh (domestic)

(Rs/kWh) Rs. 6 to 8 / kWh (commercial)
Rs. 8 to 15 / kWh (industrial)
Rs. 14 to 15 / kWh for grid+diesel combined option
From the Table it is obvious that the grid electricity when available will have to be utilized. But between
solar and diesel, solar has already proved competitive. Going forward, assuming a 10% drop in SPV
prices and 10% increase in diesel, the difference between the two would increase to Rs. 6.29 per kWh
from the current Rs. 4.83 per kWh.

One can note from the above table that solar PV electricity is competitive with diesel+grid option, even
in today cost terms. For the diesel based system other than cost, the factors like availability, cost
uncertainty, maintenance, and storage of diesel also does not favor the use of diesel generator.
The above table gives an estimation of cost of electricity for solar, diesel and grid electricity. However,
the final cost of electricity depends on many parameters related to site where the electricity is
generated and used. Therefore there will always be some variation in the cost of electricity from one
location to other location. The Table below gives an indication of range of prices of electricity on per
kWh basis for various electricity sources. These prices are indicative prices of prevailing condition as in
year 2009‐10 and can change with the time. As noted earlier, the cost of diesel based electricity is
expected to rise further while the cost of PV based electricity is expected to decrease further with time.
Table: Typical values of cost of electricity for various sources
Source LCOE (Rs per kWh)
Grid electricity Rs. 3 to 5 (domestic)
Rs. 6 to 8 (commercial)
Rs. 8 to 15 (industrial)
Diesel based electricity 17 to 21
Solar PV electricity (grid connected) 10 to 15
Solar PV electricity (off‐grid) 12 to 17
Wind based electricity 4 to 6
8. Energy efficiency is recommended
As can be seen from the calculations shown in the previous section that the cost of electricity generated
from PV modules is much more expensive as compared to grid electricity. Therefore all efforts should be
made to decrease the electricity requirement of a given building, before planning to use solar PV for
electricity generation. Reduced energy consumption without affecting the operations can greatly reduce
the amount of PV modules and battery required and, therefore, it can reduce the cost of PV system.
Decrease in electricity requirement, without decreasing the usage of loads or functionality, invariably
requires increase in energy efficiency. The increase in energy efficiency for an academic building and
appliances can be obtained in several ways. It includes the way building is constructed and used, the
way electrical loads are selected and the way the users of electricity treat it. These are listed here:
8.1 Energy efficiency of buildings
If PV electricity generation is planned before construction of building, then design the building using
what is known as “solar passive architecture”. In such design the heat intercepted by building wall and

roof is minimized, use of day light for illumination is increased, arrangements are made for proper
ventilation of spaces. Thus by incorporating the principles of solar passive architecture, one can reduce
the energy consumption for cooling, light and ventilation.
If building is already in place for which PV modules are to be installed, make efforts to decrease the heat
gain of the building. This can be done in several ways; make the outer surfaces (walls and roofs) white
(or light in color) so that some of the energy is reflected, make arrangements for sunshades particularly
for south facing walls. A roof can be covered with white shiny tiles (may be broken tiles available at low
cost) or in best case mirrors can be installed on the roof top to reflect most of incoming radiations.
8.2 Energy efficiency of electrical loads
Electrical loads as efficient as possible should be used. Investment in more efficient load pays back
within few months to few years time. Light source can be replaced with more efficient florescent lamps,
or LED based lighting. Also an electronic choke should be used with tube lights. More efficient fans are
available now a days. Star rating system is being used to mark the efficiency of air conditioner and
refrigerator. These systems with higher star rating should be used. Laptops consume much less power as
compared to desktops PCs (about 70 Watt as against 250 Watt), therefore as long as possible lap tops
should be promoted for computing.
Following are some of options that are available and can be used for electrical loads:
 People detector based on IR signal
 Timer based load switching
 Light dimmers
 Solid state lighting (LED)
 Solid state fan regulators
8.3 Energy efficiency of users
Users of electrical energy play very important role in determining the effectiveness of energy used.
Efforts should be made to make all users aware about the negative environmental effects of use of fossil
fuel based energy. In case of PV system usage, users should be made be aware to saving of electricity
whenever possible, they should be made aware of high cost of solar PV electricity. Well designed
posters, awareness generation workshops and e‐mail reminders can play important role in promoting
efficient use of electricity.
9. Subsidies for installing solar PV systems

Various kinds of subsidies are provided by both central and state government for installation of solar PV
systems. These subsidies can be divided in following categories:
 Subsidy for SPV rooftop systems for replacing diesel generators

 Subsidy for off‐grid PV systems
 Subsidy for rural electrification
 Interest rate subsidy
Details of available subsidies are given in following sections. The details of subsidies can also be
obtained from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Webpage, http://www.mnre.gov.in/
It must be noted that these subsidies are policy matters of the MNRE and may change time to time.
9.1 Subsidy for rooftop PV systems
Rooftop solar photovoltaic systems (with or without grid interaction) will be supported for installation in
industrial and commercial establishments/ complexes (excluding manufacturers of SPV cells/modules),
housing complexes, institutions and others which face electricity shortages and are using diesel
generators for backup power.

Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for SPV rooftop Systems (with or without grid interaction) will be
limited to 100 kWp capacity. Minimum capacity of installation will be 25 kWp. In special cases, smaller
capacity systems, not less than 10 kWp, could be considered for financial support from the Ministry.
Beneficiaries will exclude manufacturers of SPV cells/modules. Maximum system capacity for sanction of
CFA will be linked to the capacity of the existing diesel sets installed by the beneficiary entity. An entity
seeking CFA for a particular kWp SPV system must have a DG set of at least that capacity installed in its
premises.

The Central Financial Assistance is mentioned in Table below. The Government’s intent is to phase out
the CFA scheme and emphasis on the Interest rate subsidy scheme mentioned in Table below.

Table – Central Financial Assistance for decentralized Solar PV Applications

System Capacity Central Finance Assistance
Stand‐alone SPV Power Plants
>1 kWp Rs. 225/Wp Rs. 125/Wp
>10 kWp with distribution line Rs. 270/Wp Rs. 150/Wp
SPV Traffic Lights Rs.150/Wp for systems with battery bank of 6

hrs/Rs.115/Wp without battery bank for organizations
SPV Blinkers not availing accelerated depreciation.
SPV Power Packs < 1kWp Rs.100/Wp for systems with battery bank of 6 hrs /

Solar Billboards <= 1 kWp Rs.75/Wp without battery bank for organizations availing
accelerated depreciation.
Other systems for Commercial and Urban
areas
SPV Rooftop Systems in Urban Areas – Rs. 75/ Wp, limited to 30% of the cost of systems to profit

from 10 kW to 100 kW making bodies availing depreciation benefits Rs. 100/ Wp,
limited to 40% of the cost of systems to non‐ profit
making bodies
9.2 Interest rate subsidies
There is also scheme for providing subsidy in the form of soft loan or low interest loans. Almost all
interested people can avail this type of subsidies. The details of interest rate subsidy program is given
below in Table.
Table– Interest Rate subsidies available through IREDA and Banks
Features Implementation through
IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Banks
Agency)
Eligible Categories All categories of users including intermediaries Individuals and organizations

and commercial organizations. Manufacturers which do not claim any
of PV systems are not available. depreciation benefits on the
investment
Rate of Interest 7% (commercial borrowers, who can claim 5%

depreciation benefits)
5% (individuals and other organizations which

undertake not to claim depreciation benefits).
Financial intermediaries who borrow funds
from IREDA for on‐lending at 5% or 7% rate of
interest, will be charged an interest rate of
2.5% or 4.5% respectively by IREDA. Such
intermediaries will not be able to claim
depreciation benefit and the on‐lending
arrangement will not be treated as a lease
arrangement.

Loan Period 5 years 5 years
Moratorium 1 year No moratorium
Amount of Loan Upto 80% of the cost of the Upto 85% of the cost of the
Project systems
Upper limits for a No limit Rs. 5 lakhs

loan
Service Charge 1% of the loan disbursed Rs.300 per loan disbursed
Systems covered All types of SPV systems are covered under this All types of SPV systems are

scheme. Loans will not be provided at covered under this scheme.
subsidized rates for systems that are available Loans will not be provided at
with capital subsidy, with the exception of solar subsidized rates for systems that
generators and solar pumps for which both are available with capital
subsidies and soft loans will be available during subsidy, with the exception of
2005‐06. solar generators and solar
pumps for which both subsidies
and soft loans will be available
during 2005‐06. For solar home
systems installed as part of the
MNRE programme for
electrification of remote villages,
banks may provide soft loans for
the unsubsidized portion of the
cost of the systems.
Note those users can either available subsidy in capitol cost or interest rate subsidy (soft loan) but not
both.
10. Recommendations for use of Solar PV electricity
The report has described how PV modules can be used to generate electricity for academic campuses in
India. The emphasis is given to academic campuses for the report can be used to design and implement
solar PV system for other applications as well.
The report has brought out the points, particularly from technology perspective to demonstrate how it
is possible to use solar PV power for electricity generation. It is feasible to install solar PV power for

fulfilling electricity needs of academic campuses in India. It is feasible both from technology as well as
economic perspective. Therefore it is recommended to install PV modules.
There are some other points, which are important considering the long term perspective on the growth
of the country, mentioned here which support the recommendations for installing PV modules for
electricity generation in academic campuses. These points are:
 There are power shortages in many areas of the country where there is grid. But there are large
number of areas where grid has not yet reached. Supplying power to all requires use of
alternative sources.
 India is blessed with good amount of sun shine. The sunshine is available bright enough is most
of the areas of the country for generation of electrical energy.
 There are favorable government policies exist in the country for promotion of solar PV
technologies for power generation.
 Use of PV power is useful in reducing the pollution.
 Installation and use of PV modules would result in public awareness. Increased public awareness
can be useful in setting appropriate policies for long term sustainable development.
 Installation of PV modules for power generation would results in creation of employment for
hundreds of thousands of people across the country over coming decade.
 Use of solar PV power in the campus would sensitize young people about the climate change,
availability and use of alternative energy sources. These young students in future would become
researchers and policy makers of future. Skilled researchers and knowledgeable policy makers
are desirable for the country’s growth.

Appendix‐A
Monthly averaged daily global (G), monthly averaged daily diffused (D) and monthly averaged daily
global radiation on the horizontal surface and on the surface tilted at latitude of the location (GL). G, D
and GL are in kWh/m2‐day (kilo‐Watt‐hour/ m2‐day).
January to April
Jan Feb Mar Apr
G D GL G D GL G D GL G D GL
City
Ahmedabad 5 1.2 6.8 5.9 1.3 7.3 6.6 1.6 7.2 7.3 1.8 7.2
Bangalore 5.6 1.6 6.4 6.4 1.6 7.0 6.8 1.9 7.0 6.8 2.2 6.6
Bhubaneshwar 5.2 1.4 6.7 5.9 1.4 7.0 6.3 2 6.8 6.5 2.4 6.4
Bhopal 4.8 1 6.6 5.9 1 7.4 6.3 1.6 6.9 7 1.8 6.9
Chandigarh 3.6 1.6 5.4 4.7 2 6.2 5.6 2.4 6.4 6.6 2.6 6.6
Chennai 5.4 1.8 7.5 6.3 1.7 6.9 6.6 2 6.8 6.8 2.2 6.6
Delhi 4.3 1.3 6.3 5 1.4 6.6 6 2 6.8 6.8 2.4 6.8
Gwalior 4.5 1 6.5 5.5 1 7.1 6.2 1.6 7.0 7.5 1.8 7.4
Goa 5.6 1.4 6.7 6.3 1.4 7.1 6.6 1.8 6.9 6.8 2.4 6.6
Guwahati 3.8 1.6 5.2 4.8 2 6.0 5.4 2.4 5.9 5.8 2.8 5.7
Hyderabad 5.5 1.4 6.7 6.2 1.5 7.1 6.5 2 6.8 6.9 2.4 6.7
Indore 5.1 1.1 6.9 5.9 1.3 7.3 6.4 1.6 6.9 7.4 2 7.3
Jabalpur 4.9 1.1 6.6 5.7 1 7.1 6.2 1.6 6.8 6.9 1.8 6.8

Jamnagar 4.9 1 6.5 5.8 1.2 7.1 6.2 1.8 6.8 7 2.2 6.9
Jodhpur 4.6 1 6.7 5.6 1.1 7.3 6.6 1.7 7.4 7.3 1.8 7.2
Kolkatta 4.7 1.4 6.1 5.6 1 6.7 6.2 1.6 6.7 6.6 1.7 6.5
Lucknow 4.3 1.4 6.2 5.2 1.2 6.7 5.9 2 6.6 6.8 2.4 6.7
Mumbai 5.2 1.4 6.6 5.9 1.4 6.9 6.5 1.8 6.9 6.9 2.2 6.7
Nagpur 5 1.2 6.6 5.9 1.2 7.1 6.3 1.8 6.8 6.8 2.2 6.7
Patna 4.4 1.6 6.0 5.3 1.7 6.6 6.1 2.2 6.7 6.7 2.5 6.6
Pune 5.3 1.4 6.6 6 1.4 7.0 6.6 1.8 7.0 6.8 2.2 6.6
Ranchi 4.7 1.2 6.4 5.6 1.0 7.0 6.4 1.8 7.0 7 2.2 6.9
Solapur 5.6 1.4 6.9 6.3 1.4 7.3 6.6 2.0 7.0 6.8 2.4 6.6
Trivendrum 6 1.8 6.5 6.6 1.8 7.0 6.8 2.0 6.9 6.5 2.4 6.4
Visakhapatnam 5.3 1.5 6.5 6 1.6 6.9 6.5 2.0 6.9 6.5 2.5 6.3

Appendix‐A (continued)
May to August
May Jun Jul Aug
City
Ahmedabad 7.6 2 6.9 6.6 3 5.9 5 3.4 4.6 4.6 3.3 4.4
Bangalore 6.4 2.6 6.0 6 3 5.6 4.6 2.9 4.4 4.8 3 4.7
Bhubaneshwar 6.4 2.6 5.8 5.3 3 4.8 4.6 3 4.3 4.8 3 4.6
Bhopal 7.2 2 6.5 6.2 2.9 5.5 4.7 3.2 4.4 4.4 3.1 4.2
Chandigarh 7.3 2.8 6.7 7 3.2 6.2 6.2 3.2 5.6 5.8 3 5.5
Chennai 6.3 2.4 5.9 5.5 2.8 5.1 5.2 2.9 4.9 5.6 2.8 5.4
Delhi 7.2 2.8 6.6 6 3.1 5.3 5.7 3 5.1 5.6 2.9 5.3
Gwalior 7.1 2 6.4 6.5 2.8 5.7 5.2 3 4.7 5 3 4.8
Goa 6.6 2.6 6.1 4.9 3 4.6 3.8 3.1 3.6 4.4 3 4.2
Guwahati 5.6 3 5.1 4.6 3.2 4.2 4.8 3.2 4.4 5 3 4.8
Hyderabad 6.9 2.5 6.4 5.8 3.2 5.3 4.9 3.3 4.6 5.2 3.2 5.0

Indore 7.4 2.1 6.7 6.4 3 5.8 4.9 3.4 4.6 4.4 3.2 4.2
Jabalpur 6.6 2.2 6.0 5.8 2.8 5.2 4.8 3 4.5 4.4 3 4.2
Jamnagar 7.4 2.1 6.7 6.2 3.1 5.6 5 3.4 4.7 4.8 3.2 4.6
Jodhpur 7.8 2.2 7.1 7.4 3 6.5 6.2 3 5.6 6 3 5.7
Kolkatta 6.4 2 5.9 5.2 2.8 4.7 4.8 3.1 4.4 4.8 3.1 4.6
Lucknow 7.2 2.6 6.5 6.4 3.2 5.7 5.6 3.1 5.1 5.6 3 5.3
Mumbai 7.2 2.4 6.6 5.4 3 4.9 4.4 3.3 4.1 4 3.2 3.8
Nagpur 6.8 2.5 6.2 5.6 3.1 5.1 4.4 3.2 4.1 4.4 3.2 4.2
Patna 6.8 2.7 6.2 6.2 3.2 5.5 5.2 3.2 4.7 5.6 3 5.3
Pune 7.2 2.4 6.6 5.6 3.4 5.1 4.4 3.4 4.2 4.4 3.4 4.2
Ranchi 6.9 2.3 6.3 6 2.9 5.4 4.8 3 4.4 5 3 4.8
Solapur 6.6 2.6 6.1 5.7 3.3 5.2 4.6 3.4 4.4 4.8 3.3 4.6
Trivendrum 6.8 2.6 6.5 5.2 2.6 5.0 5.4 2.8 5.2 5.8 2.8 5.6
Visakhapatnam 6.4 2.6 5.9 5 3 4.6 4.8 3 4.5 5 3 4.8

Appendix‐A (continued)
September to December
Sep Oct Nov Dec
City
Ahmedabad 5.6 2.7 5.8 6 1.7 7.0 5.3 1.1 7.0 4.8 1 6.7
Bangalore 5.2 2.9 5.2 5.4 2.6 5.7 5 2 5.1 4.9 2 5.6
Bhubaneshwar 5.2 2.8 5.3 5.2 2.2 5.8 5.3 1.5 6.6 5.1 1.4 6.7
Bhopal 5.1 2.6 5.2 5.8 1.6 6.8 5.3 1 7.1 4.7 1 6.6
Chandigarh 5.8 2.5 6.2 5.2 1.9 6.6 4.3 1.4 6.3 3.5 2 5.4
Chennai 5.8 2.8 5.8 5 2.4 5.3 4.9 2.2 5.4 4.7 2 5.3
Delhi 5.7 2.2 6.0 5.4 1.5 6.7 4.7 1.1 6.8 4 1.2 6.1
Gwalior 5.6 2.3 5.9 5.8 1.5 7.1 5 1 7.0 4.3 1 6.4
Goa 5 2.8 5.0 5.4 2.4 5.8 5.7 1.6 6.7 5.4 1.4 6.5
Guwahati 4.6 2.8 4.7 4.6 2.2 5.4 4.5 1.6 6.1 4 1.4 5.7
Hyderabad 5.2 3 5.2 5.8 2.3 6.3 5.4 1.8 6.4 5.1 1.4 6.3
Indore 5.2 2.8 5.3 5.8 1.8 6.7 5.4 1.2 7.1 4.8 1.6 6.6
Jabalpur 5 2.5 5.1 5.6 1.6 6.5 4.9 1 6.4 4.5 1 6.3
Jamnagar 5.6 2.6 5.8 6 1.6 7.0 5.3 1.1 6.9 4.8 1.1 6.6
Jodhpur 6.2 2 6.5 6 1.2 7.4 5.1 1.1 7.2 4.5 1.1 6.8
Kolkatta 5 2.4 5.1 5.2 1.4 5.9 4.5 1 5.7 4.2 1.5 5.6
Lucknow 5.5 2.4 5.8 5.2 1.6 6.3 4.8 1.3 6.7 4.2 1.2 6.2
Mumbai 5.2 3 5.3 5.6 2 6.3 5.3 1.4 6.5 4.9 1.1 6.3
Nagpur 5 2.8 5.1 5.6 1.8 6.4 5.3 1.2 6.5 4.8 1 6.5

Patna 5.4 2.8 5.6 5.2 2 6.1 4.9 1.6 6.6 4.3 1.5 6.1
Pune 5.4 3 5.4 5.6 2.3 6.2 5.4 1.5 6.6 5 1.3 6.4
Ranchi 5.2 2.6 5.3 5.2 1.8 6.0 5.4 1 7.2 4.8 0.9 7.0
Solapur 5.3 3 5.3 5.6 2.2 6.1 5.4 1.7 6.4 5.2 1.4 6.5
Trivendrum 6 2.6 6.0 5.4 2.4 5.6 5.3 2.4 5.6 5 2.1 5.4
Visakhapatnam 5.2 2.8 5.3 5.2 2.4 5.7 5.2 1.8 6.2 5 1.4 6.3

Solar PV Solutions For Academic Campuses

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High purity electronic grade Si Thin film Solar grade Si

Ingot pulling Block casting Sheet pulling Block casting

Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell Solar cell

Technology Highest Cell Lab Highest module Typical commercial

Mono c‐Si 25 22.9 14 to 16

Multi c‐Si 20.4 15.5 14 to 16

a‐Si (single junction) 9.5 8.2 5.5 to 6.5

a‐Si/micro c‐Si ~14.2(unstabilized) ‐ 8 to 10

a‐Si (triple‐junction) 13.0 10.4 ‐

CdTe 16.7 10.9 8 to 9

CIGS 19.9 13.5 10 to 12.5

Parameters 200 Wp c‐Si 230 Wp c‐Si 340 Wp thin film 380 Wp thin film

Parameters c‐Si Low c‐Si High Thin Low Thin High

Month Average Daily Global Solar Average Daily Global Solar

1.2 Latitude ‐ 15o

Total daily energy required for whole building

Available space of PV installation on roof 70% of total floor area

Grid DC‐AC AC

Load Power Rating Usage in hours per No. of Units Electricity

Steps Description Values

Battery Ah capacity and terminal 20 Ah to several 60 to 80 Rs / Ah @ 12 V

Fig: Solar PV modules as Sun shades

LCC Re curring Cost  OM *   *   

 1  Fuel Escalation    1  Fuel Esc.  

LCC of Diesel  Ann. Diesel Cost *   * 1    

Parameter Solar Diesel Grid Electricity

Interest Rate 14.29% 14.29% ‐

Discount Rate 16.6% 16.6% ‐

Unit Price Rs. 100/W Rs. 38/litre Rs. 5/kWh

No. of Years 25 25 25

Units generated in a 1,80,161 1,99,655 1,99,655

Cost of Electricity Rs. 13.94/kWh Rs. 18.77/kWh Rs. 3 to 5 / kWh (domestic)

>1 kWp Rs. 225/Wp Rs. 125/Wp

>10 kWp with distribution line Rs. 270/Wp Rs. 150/Wp

SPV Traffic Lights Rs.150/Wp for systems with battery bank of 6

SPV Rooftop Systems in Urban Areas – Rs. 75/ Wp, limited to 30% of the cost of systems to profit

Eligible Categories All categories of users including intermediaries Individuals and organizations

Rate of Interest 7% (commercial borrowers, who can claim 5%

5% (individuals and other organizations which

Moratorium 1 year No moratorium

Amount of Loan Upto 80% of the cost of the Upto 85% of the cost of the

Upper limits for a No limit Rs. 5 lakhs

Service Charge 1% of the loan disbursed Rs.300 per loan disbursed

Systems covered All types of SPV systems are covered under this All types of SPV systems are

Jan Feb Mar Apr

May Jun Jul Aug

Gwalior 7.1 2 6.4 6.5 2.8 5.7 5.2 3 4.7 5 3 4.8

Jodhpur 7.8 2.2 7.1 7.4 3 6.5 6.2 3 5.6 6 3 5.7

Ranchi 6.9 2.3 6.3 6 2.9 5.4 4.8 3 4.4 5 3 4.8

Visakhapatnam 6.4 2.6 5.9 5 3 4.6 4.8 3 4.5 5 3 4.8

Sep Oct Nov Dec

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