Discovering India’s Solar Goldmine

Brief Context

There is a need for data-driven reassessment of India’s solar energy potential to unlock investment, drive innovation, and accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions by 2070.

Source Content

Syllabus: GS3/Energy

Context

• There is a need for data-driven reassessment of India’s solar energy potential to unlock investment, drive innovation, and accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions by 2070.

About Solar Power in India

• India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in clean energy, with over 110 GW of installed solar capacity.
  • India’s total renewable energy capacity reached 237.5 GW.
• India’s Solar Potential: According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India’s total solar potential is estimated at 10,830 GW. It includes:
  • Ground-mounted solar on barren land: 4,909 GW;
  • Agri-PV (on plantations): 4,177 GW;
  • Rural and urban rooftop solar: 960 GW;
  • Rail, road, and building-integrated PV: 684 GW;
  • Floating solar PV: 100 GW;
• Global Comparison: According to the World Bank’s Global Solar Atlas:
  • India ranks among the top countries with excellent solar PV conditions, with high irradiance and low seasonality.
  • Namibia, Chile, Australia, and parts of the Middle East and North Africa boast high solar PV potential, often exceeding 4.5 kWh/kWp daily.
  • China and the United States, while leading in installed capacity, have lower average solar irradiance compared to India.

Challenges in Harnessing India’s Solar Power Potential

• Outdated Estimates: India’s official solar potential estimate — 748 GWp — was based on 2010 wasteland data and 2011 census figures. It had limited strategic planning and investment in solar infrastructure.
  • Lack of granular, geospatial data on irradiance, land use, and infrastructure proximity.
  • Insufficient coordination between central and state agencies on siting and resource allocation.
• Changing India’s Land Use Pattern: Urbanisation, industrialisation, Agricultural land diversion and digitalisation are changing India’s land-use patterns.
• Grid Integration and Infrastructure Gaps: Transmission bottlenecks limit the evacuation of solar power from generation sites to consumption centers.
  • Lack of smart grid systems hampers efficient load balancing and storage integration.
• Weak Domestic Manufacturing Ecosystem: India lacks backward integration in the solar value chain—no domestic production of wafers or polysilicon.
  • Heavy reliance on imports, especially from China, and limited R&D and innovation in high-efficiency modules and recycling technologies.
• Low Adoption and Policy Barriers in Rooftop Solar: Net metering restrictions, bureaucratic delays, and inconsistent state policies discourage adoption.
  • High upfront costs and limited access to concessional loans for small consumers.

Key Efforts and Initiatives

• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Launched to boost domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar PV modules.
• Solar Park Scheme: Aims to establish 50 solar parks with a cumulative capacity of ~38 GW by 2025–26.
  • These parks attract investment and enable economies of scale.
• PM-KUSUM Scheme: Targets 30.8 GW of solar capacity by 2026 through decentralized solar for agriculture.
  • Promotes indigenous manufacturing and rural energy access
• PM Surya Ghar: Provides up to 300 units of free electricity per month to 1 crore households via rooftop solar.
  • ₹75,021 crore outlay includes subsidies, incentives for DISCOMs, and capacity building.
  • Expected to add 20 GW of rooftop solar capacity.
• International Solar Alliance (ISA): India-led global initiative with 120+ member countries.
  • Promotes solar deployment in developing nations, especially Africa.
  • Programs include SolarX Startup Challenge, Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre, and Solar Data Portal.
• Grid and Storage Integration: Green Energy Corridor project enhances transmission infrastructure.
  • Smart grid and energy storage solutions are being scaled to support intermittent solar supply.
• Policy and Regulatory Support: 100% FDI permitted under automatic route.
  • Waiver of inter-state transmission charges for solar projects commissioned.
  • Green Open Access Rules and net-metering reforms promote decentralized solar.

Way Forward: Utilising Full Potential Of Solar Energy

• Floating Solar PV (FSPV): It offers a solution to land scarcity and water body utilisation.
  • Improved mapping of inland water surfaces, better understanding of regional evaporation losses, and localised performance data can unlock ~100 GW potential.
• Methodologies Reflecting Present-Day Realities: Modern, data-rich, and granular assessments need to incorporate solar irradiance and land gradient; proximity to substations and roads; ISRO’s remote sensing data; Global Solar Atlas & NREL radiation data and Transmission grid data from CEA.
• Economic Implications of Reassessing the Solar Potential: A robust demand pipeline will catalyse the solar panel recycling industry, especially for materials like silver, copper, and silicon.
  • Attract larger domestic and foreign investments;
  • Accelerate solar manufacturing ecosystems;
  • Encourage production of cells, wafers, polysilicon, and metallurgical-grade silicon;
  • Boost ancillary industries and generate thousands of green jobs
• Enabling Smarter Land and Resource Planning: It enhances India’s energy security and supports its vision of becoming a global solar hub. State and central governments can:
  • Strategically allocate land, water, and transmission corridors;
  • Promote shared infrastructure for roads, power lines, and worker townships;
  • Achieve economies of scale and increase deployment efficiency.
• Global Leadership and Strategic Vision: India’s leadership in the International Solar Alliance and initiatives like ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ positions it to champion global solar transitions. A data-enabled approach will:
  • Set new benchmarks for solar potential assessment;
  • Drive equitable and sustainable energy access;
  • Strengthen India’s role as a clean energy superpower

Source: ORF