Solar Energy Applications in the Textile Industry

The Indian Textile Industry The Indian Textile Industry is an extremely vast sector, providing employment to millions of people. The textile industry has three basic areas of operation: yarn making, cloth making and cloth processing. The yarn produced is broadly classified into three categories: cotton yarn, blended yarn, and, 100% noncotton yarn. The share of the three categories has remained more or less constant over the years. The Garment manufacturing units are dominated by small scale fabricators. Small-scale fabricators dominate garment manufacturing. Most garment manufacturing units fare reasonably well on the technology count. The bulk of apparel is produced by about 65000 small-scale units classified as domestic manufacturers, manufacturer exporters, and fabricators (subcontractors). Out of this, about 88 per cent units are for woven cloth while the remaining units are for knits. The fragmented structure of the industry provides the advantage of a large pool of skilled workers in different areas of textile manufacturing, and also gives scope for entry of organized integrated textile manufacturers. Small scale units in different sectors can also be leveraged as a supply base for sourcing materials at low cost. Apart from these advantages, the industry has also been experiencing consistent growth across different sectors, making it one of the key potential sectors in India. The country s production is expected to be around 7 million tons per annum in the year 2020 and 10 million tons per annum in the year 2030. Energy Consumption in Textile Industry The specific energy consumption in the year 2008 for yarn making was 2,040 KWh/ton of product. The total energy consumption for yarn production in the year 2007 08 was 8,166 Million KWh. Major quantum of the energy consumed in yarn production is in the form of electrical energy, there being no significant application of thermal energy. In yarn production, 80% of the energy is consumed in the operation of the various electric motors. Of these electric motors, machines like ring frame machines, yarn making machines, etc., inherently have Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) built into their systems; therefore they are optimized. These machines consume about 50% of the total electrical energy consumed by electric motors in a spinning unit. Utilities constitute about 40% of the total energy consumption in a spinning unit and have substantial energy saving potential. The sector is expected to consume approximately 13,048 KWh in the year 2020 and 19,281 KWh in 2030 and contribute 11 million tCO2 and 17 million tCO2 in the years 2020 and 2030, respectively Thermal energy requirements in textile industry Solar thermal technology harnesses solar energy into thermal energy for non-electrical applications, and is already a mature and economically viable option. Following processes of textile manufacturing require energy other than electrical energy, i.e., thermal energy. The range of temperature required for a given process is also mentioned. y Silk o reeling: 50-90 C o Dyeing: 90-110 C y Cotton dyeing: 90-110 C

y y y

Wool dyeing: 90-110 C Washing: 40 80 Bleaching: 60 100

By adopting solar thermal applications, the annual fuel replacement (%) is possible for some of the process as mentioned below: y Silk o Reeling: 50% o Dyeing: 100% y Cotton dyeing: 100% y Wool dyeing: 100% Washing processes Cleaning processes are a typical application in many industries, and for most of them hot water is needed at a temperature level between 40 to 90C, which can be easily provided by flat plate collectors (FPC) and evacuated tube collectors (ETC). Because the two systems operate in a similar temperature range, the system design is quite similar to large scale hot water systems for residential properties. Typical applications for solar thermal washing systems are feed water for bottle washing and washing processes in the textile industry and transport sector. Case Study: Water heating system in textile mills Solar water heating system is a solution for low and medium pressure process heating and boiler pre heating in industrial applications. Textile is one such industry which requires hot water for dyeing purposes. Following is an example of a 25 Kcal per day system in Chelsea Jeans mill in Haryana which helped the company to save 271 liters of diesel per day. Considering an average price of Rs.30 per liter of diesel, the payback to the company would come in approximately 3 years of time. Financial Analysis for Solar Heating System at Chelsea Mills, Manesar Solar Flat Plate Collector 410 Nos. Size of Tank 10000 Ltrs. Size of System 50000 Ltrs. Energy Saved 271 Liters of Diesel per day Cost of Project 46.50 Lacs Year of Installation 2006 Depreciation Benefit 80% for 1st year Diesel savings 271.00 Liters / Day Annual Diesel savings (325 days of operation) 88075 Liters / year Annual Energy Saving Rs.1585350 @Rs.18/Liter Diesel in 2006 Rs.1761500 @ Rs.20/Liter Diesel in 2007 Rs.2201875 @Rs.25/Liter Diesel in 2008 Rs.2201875 @Rs.25/Liter Diesel in 2009 Pay Back Period 2.37 years Solar power industry in India India s Rs 4,800 crore solar power industry, which exports around 60 to 70 percent of its wares to Europe, North America and China, is bringing its focus on domestic market. India, where most regions

enjoy nearly 300 sunny days a year, is an ideal market for solar power companies. However, the high cost of light-to-electricity conversion prohibits many. It costs around Rs 12 to Rs 20 per kWH (kilowatt hour). Currently India has around 60 companies assembling and supplying solar photovoltaic systems, 9 companies manufacturing solar cells and 19 companies manufacturing photovoltaic modules or panels. Current Policy Central government also has recently approved 12 proposals under the Special Incentives Package Schemes (SIPS). Under this scheme, the government provides an incentive of 20 percent of the capital expenditure during the first 10 years to a unit located in special economic zone (SEZ). Units based outside get a 25 percent incentive. Incentives could be in the form of capital subsidy or equity participation. The MNRE (The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, India) provides a capital subsidy of 30% of the normative capital cost. This is specified per square meter of collector area for solar thermal collectors. The normative capital cost and the subsidy are reviewed and revised annually. The capital subsidies for various collectors are: y For FPC with air as the working fluid, Rs. 2,400/m2; and with water as the working fluid, Rs. 3,300/m2 y For ETC, Rs. 3,000/m2 y Solar concentrator with a single-axis tracking system, Rs. 5,400/m2; and double-axis tracking system, Rs. 6,000/m2 y Solar concentrator with manual tracking system, Rs. 2,100/m2 of collector area; and for solar collector system for direct heating applications, Rs. 3,600/m2 Soft loans are also available at a 5% interest rate, which may be used towards the balance of the system that comprises of installation, civil work for large systems and for accessories. To meet the unmet demand for thermal energy or for electricity generation in un-electrified rural areas, solar thermal power plants and local distribution networks are provided capital subsidies of 60% and soft loans at 5%. These may be in either standalone, or in co- or poly-generation mode. Solar heat for industrial applications: The current application of solar energy for industrial process heat is negligible around the world. However, the potential for this is large, both worldwide and in India. Industries account for about 40% of the total primary energy consumption. As of 2008, there were only ninety solar thermal plants for process heat operating in the world. For low temperature applications of up to 100C, such as for solar drying, water heating and industrial heat processing, flat plate collectors (FPC) and evacuated tube collectors (ETC) are prevalent. An FPC is the most common type of non-concentrating solar collector. Cost of solar panels Various factories located in India are offering solar panels at competitive prices. Of course the cost of a panel would depend on factors such as the dimensions of the product as well as the unique requirements of the customers. Another factor which determines the price of these solar panels is the place of delivery in the country and the type of panel required.

Levelized Costs for Renewable Power Coal-based and natural gas-based power cost anywhere between Rs 2 and 3 per KWh; wind-based power costs slightly more Rs 3-3.2 per KWh. Solar-based power currently costs over Rs 15 per KWh this is for solar PV. Solar thermal costs about 2 rupees less per kWh. All the above mentioned costs are the levelized costs they take into account all direct and indirect costs, including amortization of capital costs. Solar Panels prices differ widely depending on the technology, power, brand and quality. Thin Film Panels in general cost lower than crystalline silicon panels. Higher Power Panels have a higher price as they generate more electricity. Good Brands also have a higher price tag while imported Chinese panels cost less. Solar Panel prices have decreased by almost 50% in the last 2-3 years and now sell for around Rs 1800-2500 ($400-$550) per panel internationally and are expected to fall to around Rs 1000 in the next 3-4 years. However for small installations, panels can only be bought from distributors which is more expensive and can cost you almost 50% more. Solar Panels form only a part of the total Solar System Cost. The total cost of installation, equipment and wiring can cost up to Rs 300,000 ($6500)/Kilowatt. Reasons for High Costs The primary reason for the high cost of solar power is the high capital cost. Currently, it costs about Rs 15 crores per MW of capital cost for a solar PV power plant [MNRE has taken a benchmark capex (capital expenditure) of Rs 16 crores]. About 50% of this cost is owing to the cost of the panels and the rest are for balance of systems (inverters, transformers, monitoring systems, wires and cables etc), the civil support infrastructure and the cost of installation. Among the balance of systems, inverters contribute the highest cost component, at about Rs 2.5 crores per MW. There are currently just a few of these in India. Moreover, each unit is customized for a specific application and location. Hence, there is less data on the economics and energy savings from the use of solar thermal technology in industrial applications.