30/11/2016 IndiasSolarStride

PressInformationBureau
GovernmentofIndia
SpecialServiceandFeatures
02August201611:10IST
IndiasSolarStride

*NiveditaKhandekar

Indiaplaceshugebetsonsolarpower,whichwillnotjustfulfillitsenvironmentalobligationtowardsUnitedNations
climatechangeagendabutwillalsocontributetowardsincreasedjobavailabilityinthesector

Rinchin Choton of Thumbra village, deep inside the Tawang district of the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh is no
ordinary youngster. I met her during my recent travel to the state, which perennially battles power shortage. The young
schooldropoutgirldailyusesasmallPVpaneltochargehermobileandanemergencylamp.
Despitehundredsofproblemsvisvisaccessibilityandavailability,Chotonchoseheroptionwisely.Thecoldplace,atan
altitudeofalmost7,000feet,receivesverylessrainandgetsbrightsunshineformostmonthsoftheyear.Delhireceives
intensesunlightformostmonthsofayearbarringafewdaysofshowersspreadoverthreemonthsofmonsoon.Buthow
many literate, highly educated youngster Delhiites hooked to Temple Runs and Pokemon Gos use solar energy to
rechargetheirmobilephones?
Perhaps,youknowtheanswer.ThatiswhyIcallChotonanextraordinaryyounggirl.Chotonembodiesthemodelcitizen
thatthegovernmentofIndiaenvisagesasithopestotapthevastsolarpotentialinoursunbakedcountry.
Indiasenergymatrixsawrejigwiththeuppingofsolarpowertargetsandlessemphasisonconventionalpollutingenergy
that goes on to damage the environment. India has placed huge bets on solar power, which will not just fulfill its
environmentalobligationtowardsUnitedNationsclimatechangeagendabyreducingemissionofpollutinggasesbutwill
alsocontributetowardsincreasedjobavailabilityinthesector,fuelinggrowthinremoteareas,asfarflungasLadakhorfor
thatmatterRannofKutch.
InitsactionplantocombatclimatechangetheIntendedNationallyDeterminedContributions(INDCs)submittedtothe
UN,Indiahaspromisedtoincreaseitsrenewableenergytargettoamassive175GW,ofwhichsolarenergyisexpectedto
riseto100GWbyyear2022.Ofthis,asmuchas40GWisslatedforrooftopsolar.
Aspergovernmentrecords,thetotalinstalledcapacityforsolarpowertillMay2016is7564MWandthetargetforcurrent
year is 10,500 MW for grid connected solar power. After assuming power two years ago, the government had also
announcedsettingupofSolarParksandsanctioned34ofthemwithanaggregatingcapacityof20,000MWin21states,
includingtheAndhraPradeshs1500MWcapacityunit,thelargestsuchprojectintheworld.
The best part is, apart from private players and the designated agencies to carry out the task to enhance solar power
generation,itistheotherarmsofthegovernmentthataremakingmajorinroadsintosolarpowerproductions.KochiAirport
was the first airport to go all solar in 2015. Other airports, Delhi metro, Indian railways and if not all state government
buildings,butdefinitelycentralgovernmentbuildingsbuiltbyCPWDandsolarpoweredtollplazasalltheseandmany
morearealreadyfunctionalorinthepipeline.
SolarPower:DriverforSocialTransformation
Going beyond, rather than looking at these development as just energy sector phenomenon, the need is to look at solar
powerasadriverforsocialtransformation,especiallywhenitcomestooffgridplaces/villages.Definitely,severalStates
havecomeupwithpoliciesthatsuittheSolarFirstrequirement,however,theymustensurethatimplementationofsuch
policiesiseffective.
MaharashtragovernmentinJanuarythisyearclearedasolaroffgridpolicyaimingtosaveatleast500MWinthenext
fiveyears.Aspartofthispolicy,urbancivicbodiesandmunicipalauthoritieshavebeendirectedtochangedevelopment
control(DC)normssoastoensureconstructionpermissionaregiventoonlythosebuildingsthattakeupsolarwaterheater
panels.Allbuildingsingovernmentcolonies,tribalschoolsandevennewprivatebuildingswillcompulsorilyneedtofollow
thedirectives.
With ample fluid currency, scores of private units have already turned to solar. Imagine the kind of changes power
availabilitycanbringinplacesfarfromthestatecapital.Butwhenitcomestoplacesreallyoffgrid,inphysicalterms,such
asSironcha,asmalltownineasternMaharashtra,thestoryisnodifferentthanChotonsArunachalPradesh.
TheArunachalPradeshEnergyDevelopmentAgency(APEDA)hasalreadyinitiatedaprocesssinceApril2016fordesign,
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30/11/2016 IndiasSolarStride
TheArunachalPradeshEnergyDevelopmentAgency(APEDA)hasalreadyinitiatedaprocesssinceApril2016fordesign,
supply,installation,testingandcommissioningwithfiveyearscomprehensivewarrantyandmaintenanceof300WpSolar
PowerPacksforRuralElectrificationof1058offgridvillages.Already,peopleinfarflungvillagesintheremotehillsin
ArunachalPradeshhavestartedoptingforsolarPVpanels,severalinstitutions,especiallyresidentialschools,havestarted
usingsolarwaterheaterpanelswhilesolarpoweredstreetlightshavebecomeafairlycommonthingacrossthestate.
Theproblemcommontobothtwostatesasextremeexamplesis:evenasprivateandgovernmenteffortsaredirected
muchtowardsintroductionand/orinstallationofsolarpowerinanyform,theinitialenthusiasmisnotsustainedinthelong
termjustbecausetherearenotadequatepostsaleservicesofferedforremotelocations.
Scoresofschoolsthatwentinforsolarwaterheaterfacedproblemssuchaslackofsparepartsandabsenceofrepairperson
totakecareofthedamageafflictingtheequipment.Infact,thiscanbeturnedintoaSkillIndiaopportunitywherebyyouth
aretrainedtoinstallandlatermaintainthesolarequipmentinremoteareastoo.
One more thing that needs to be taken care of is proper implementation of SuryaMitra app which promises immediate
solutionstotheconsumerforinstallation,serviceorrepairforsolarinstallations.Whilethiscanbeareallyhandytoolin
urbanandsemiurbanareasthathaveseenproliferationofsmartphones,thesamecannotjustbeapplicableforreallyremote
areaswhichhavepoorornomobilesignalandalsolackthecapacitytocomprehendusageofApps.
Suchlastmileissuesforthosereallyoffgridinphysicalandallegoricalsensewillactuallyensurethesuccessofsolar
powerasatoolforsocialtransformation.
*****

*Nivedita Khandekar is a Delhibased independent journalist. She writes on environmental, developmental and climate
changeissues.

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