Solar panels at the Welspun Energy Ltd. solar power plant in Neemuch, India. Feb. 26, 2014. Bloomberg via Getty Images
On January 7, India invited solar developers to bid on 300 megawatts (MW) of new projects to be installed on military land through 2019. Of the estimated $386 million cost, the government plans to provide nearly $120 million in “viability gap funding” to make this happen. The solar panels would have to be Indian-produced, in an attempt to spur the country’s meager domestic industry, and sold to the military at a fixed price for 25 years, with excess power sold to other utility companies.
But while the Indian military supports greater energy security, particularly through self-sufficiency in remote areas, it is lukewarm as a partner in jumpstarting India’s solar ambitions. The military slashed the government’s initial proposal of 1000 MW of projects by 70% because it argued that it needed most of its land for defense purposes.
This 300 MW is just one part of India’s ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which had an original target of adding 20 gigawatts (GW), or 20,000 MW, to India’s national grid by 2022. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in May 2014, he has accelerated and expanded renewables development, and pushed the goal to adding an astonishing 100 GW from solar power by 2022. (In November of 2014, India crossed the 3 GW mark of total installed solar capacity.) Fifteen GW are planned to be added by 2019, with gigawatts then increasing exponentially in the final years of the mission.
While the enthusiasm for solar is welcome news for India (and the world), these targets are more aspirational than realistic. For example, China’s goal is 100 GW total solar capacity by 2020 (if not sooner), for which it is in a vastly better relative position to fulfill. It is already the world’s largest exporter of solar panels, has over 30 GW of installed solar power, and is increasing its domestic annual GW of solar power at a rapid rate, adding the equivalent of India’s entire supply in the first six months of 2014 alone! Better infrastructure, more effective bureaucracy, and experience in financing and constructing massive projects also favor China. India still has a lot of room for improving its business environment.
That said, India may surprise us all. It will host its first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo on February 15-17, looking to attract major long-term capital. It will need around $35 billion per year for its renewables targets (not just solar, but wind too), up from around $6 billion currently.
Regardless of the degree of ultimate fundraising, India has pioneered one innovative idea that would be very beneficial to expand — the canal-top solar panel. It is a win-win for solar power generation and water conservation, both of which are major needs in a hot, sunny country where over 300 million people still lack electricity, and chronic shortages and blackouts are the norm.
Solar panels built over flat open canals eliminate the need to purchase land elsewhere, which is otherwise a major limitation. Meanwhile, the shade from the panels reduces evaporation of the water below, leading to greater amounts of water flowing to its final destinations for irrigation, industrial use, and personal use. While only about 10 MW have been installed in Gujarat as a pilot project, the state now aims to cover 10% of its canals, or 1,100 miles, which would generate 2.2 GW of power. Whereas the military’s 300 MW projects won’t have much of a national impact, there are many more canals available for solar panels.
