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India Set to Explore Geothermal Energy in Gujarat

26 Mar, 2019 by Sneha Shah

Geothermal Energy India

India lacks geothermal sources of power generation, given its long project development time and large capital investments. However, the geothermal source of power is capable of generating power 24 hours as against the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy. Geothermal energy requires no fuel, works 24 hours a day and is totally green. Read more about geothermal energy advantages and disadvantages. Major earthquake fault lines are ideal places to build geothermal energy plants. They make use of the earth’s heat to generate energy. Countries like Iceland, Indonesia, Philippines and the USA have a strong geothermal energy industry. Geothermal Energy in India is moving at a snail’s pace due to project development and financing problems. However, the potential of this energy resource is immense.

Gujarat to host the country’s first Geothermal power plant

Now, Gujarat is set to become the first state in India to use geothermal energy. The Dholera geothermal power plant is expected to be operational in April this year. It will have a 20 kW generating capacity. Dholera experiences immense heat from underground hot springs. Hot water produced from the wells would be used for generating power. Other regions in Gujarat like Gandhinagar and Unai have also been identified for the development of geothermal power plants. Some of the major companies interested in exploring the geothermal energy in India are Tata Power, NTPC, Thermax, Geosyndicate etc. NTPC was collaborating with Geological Survey of India to build India’s first geothermal plant at Tattapani in Chattisgarh.

The initial investment in geothermal energy is 20%-25% higher when compared to a conventional power plant. However, the additional cost can be recovered in three years’ time and the plant also has a longer life expectancy. India is capable of generating 10 GW potentially from geothermal sources, which is the entire world’s generating geothermal capacity. However, it needs strong government support and incentives along with financing to develop its potential.

“India’s first geothermal power plant will start operating on a pilot scale in April in Dholera, and it will produce 20 kW of electricity. Dholera was chosen for the plant as immense heat has been found under the earth in the form of hot springs,” the Centre of Excellence for Geothermal Energy (CEGE), set up by the state government at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) said.

Source: Think Geo Energy

Hyundai Pioneers Solar Roofs for Automobiles

2 Nov, 2018 by Sneha Shah

Solar Energy,Technology Sector

Cars Become Self-generators of Energy

The automobile sector is undergoing a massive change somewhat similar to the energy sector with the advent of new technologies such as EVs, sharing etc. Electric Vehicles are growing at a rapid clip. Moreover, an exponential growth in this category should be expected, given a parity is expected to be reached with internal combustion vehicles over the next 5 years. Sharing of cars has already transformed the sector with the likes of Uber having already captured a significant part of the growth.

Image Credit: Electrek

EVs have been criticized for running on electricity being generated by thermal power plants which are polluting and not really green. This problem is particularly acute in countries which are still significantly powered by fossil fuel sources. Some companies have tried to mitigate this problem with solar power EV chargers but most vehicles are still using fossil fuel sourced power. Now Hyundai has come up with an innovative new concept of using solar panels on the roofs and hoods of cars. While these solar roofs will not be able to fully power the vehicle, they could still supply a significant part of the power demand of EVs. Hyundai and its sister concern Kia are putting a significant amount of money into this new technology.

Also read, Solar Powers The Indian Navy Now!

The two Korean companies plan to start introducing this technology from 2020 onwards and they would be used not only for EVs and hybrids but also the normal IC powered vehicles. There will be three generations of this technology which is being developed. The second generation technology is interesting as it has a semi-transparent solar roof. Not only will this help in charging the vehicle but also will add to the aesthetics of the cars. The integration of solar panels into different modes of transport is not a new thing with trains, ships and other models of transport already piloting solar energy generation units. With the cost of solar energy falling each day and new technologies being developed we should see more and more transport companies using solar power in their vehicles. BIPV technology which has not gained traction in a long time can also be used for such applications as it can integrate easily with different kinds of surfaces.

You might also like Mumbai To Get Solarized – Sea Link And Metros To Run On Solar

All You Wanted To Know About Solar Desalination

23 Oct, 2018 by Sneha Shah

Renewable Energy,Solar Energy

Solar energy has been found to be of immense use to mankind. Can you imagine a day or two if the sun does not shine? Isn’t it so depressing? Not only for our general well being, but solar energy is being immensely used for our huge growing power needs. Solar has found a large number of applications as the technology advances. Other than the many solar products available in the market today, the social impact of solar has increased manifold. For example, mini solar grids powering many rural parts of the world. Another growing application is in Solar Desalination of Water.

Solar Desalination is the technique to desalinate water using solar technology. The major advantage of using solar is that it is not only free but also environment-friendly. Solar energy is one of the most primitive ways used to desalinate water. It was used earlier to produce salt rather than drinking water. There are two types of Solar Desalination: i) Direct and ii) Indirect.

Image Credit: RE World

The demand for freshwater keeps multiplying with an ever-increasing growth in population, and the problem of scarcity of fresh drinking water is very grave. Many parts of the world still have no access to pure drinking water. According to statistics, at least 40% of the world’s population live without drinking water. As a result, people try and convert the available seawater into a usable form. However, desalination is a very power intensive process. Many countries desalinate seawater using fossil fuels which in turn leads to air pollution. It will be good for the environment if instead of using harmful fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy like solar could be used for the process.

Could you imagine the amount of power that is being used by the thousands of operating desalination plants in the world? If solar energy could be used at a large scale to power these plants, a large amount of carbon emissions could be prevented.

The cost of deploying solar energy at desalination plants is currently high. However, favorable policies could support its adoption, just like the way solar has been largely embraced by the world in the power industry. It has been found that CSP (concentrating solar power) is best suited for solar desalination process. There are three important components to be used – CSP, thermal energy storage and reverse osmosis.

One of the major concerns with solar power is its intermittency issue. Imagine what will happen to a plant running 100% on solar energy in the event of a cloudy day or at night time. If the plant keeps on turning off or on a layer of salt deposits on its membranes which further disturbs its efficient working. As a result, solar storage is an important component of this entire process. Reverse osmosis is favored because it is cost effective.

Solar energy seems to be a good option for desalination plants given growing energy costs, rising population and depleting water sources.

German Utility setting up Large-scale Solar Plants in Australia

10 Oct, 2018 by Sneha Shah

Australia,Solar Energy

Large-scale Solar Plants in Australia

Australia has been seeing high power prices for a long time due to the oligopoly nature of the power sector. However, the advent of cheap solar energy has started to upend the power market as entrepreneurs set up large solar power plants to compete with the high priced gas and thermal power plants.

While Australia has already become a solar success with almost 20% of households using solar power, large-scale solar plants had been slow to come up. But now a number of developers and utilities are setting up these plants along with storage facilities to directly go head to head with the fossil fuel generators. These companies think that their price can compete better with the existing setup.

Read more about the Solar industry in Australia.

Germany Innogy which is a subsidiary of the utility giant RWE is setting up two large solar plants of 347 MW and 115 MW in New South Wales which will get commissioned in 2020. These two plants do not have PPAs in place and RWE is confident in building these plants at a low enough price that they will be able to sell power in the wholesale market. Solar power plants have become so cheap that they are able to effectively work as merchant power plants.

Also, read South Australia could be 100% Renewable Energy Powered by 2025

New South Wales has sanctioned 10 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 1.2 GW. With these plants getting finished, the province will see a substantial amount of its power needs being met by renewable energy.

Can Floating Solar Plants Meet the Industrial Power Demand in West Bengal?

24 Sep, 2018 by Sneha Shah

India,Solar Energy

Floating solar plants in West Bengal

Did you know that the eastern state of West Bengal is a pioneer in solar technology in India? Yes, WB government-owned WEBEL was one of the first manufacturers of solar energy panels in the country. However, the state failed to gather the required momentum around solar technology afterward. Even as other states move ahead on the solar ladder, West Bengal has always stayed behind in the renewable energy adoption. The lack of a good solar policy, stable supply of power and fair state of industrial development in the state has led to a stunted growth.

However, situations look to brighten up as the WB state looks at installing two floating solar plants with generating capacities of 5 MW and 100 MW respectively in Sagardighi and Mukutmanipur areas. The state wants to utilize raw water ponds at the thermal power plants to install these floating solar plants. The industrial demand in West Bengal has picked up the pace, increasing by more than 27% over the last seven years. Given a rise in the industrial power demand in the state, West Bengal should benefit from these floating solar power plants. The state has rich water body resources which can be easily utilized for installing floating solar power plants. The state had witnessed the installation of the country’s first 10kW floating solar panel technology, which was installed by Vikram Solar in Kolkata back in 2014.

These plants are expected to be commissioned by the next year. The cost of installing the floating plant would come around INR 5 crores, but the cost reduces with an increase in the generating capacity. Presently, there are losses at the state-owned power plants, which stands at roughly 28%. The state is also looking at thermal generation but it is trying to reduce consequences by implementing newer technology to keep carbon emission under check.

Though the floating solar plants or “floatovolataics” are getting more popular in India owing to land paucity, they do involve a higher maintenance and installation cost. However, they are regarded as a better alternative to land because they can be built on industrial water bodies like wastewater treatment plants, cooling facilities in factories and power plants etc.

You might also want to Take A Look At These Floating Solar Homes!

Record Solar Capacity Addition in Q2 – Still Future Target Seems Hard To Achieve

14 Aug, 2018 by Sneha Shah

India,Renewable Energy,Solar Energy

India Solar addition in Q2 2018

India installed a whopping 1,372 MW of solar energy in the recent April-June quarter. This marked the fourth consecutive quarter where the solar capacity addition was more than thermal power capacity addition. A total capacity of 2.2 GW was added across India during this time, of which solar accounted for more than 60%. The country has been witnessing a gradual shift towards solar and the coal share is shrinking. The net capacity addition in the coal sector has been just 2.4 GW over the last four quarters, retiring 1.8 GW in the last year. The same momentum was not seen in the wind energy sector. The pace has slowed down after the introduction of competitive reverse auction bidding in this sector. However, the sector is expected to catch up to its peer in the coming quarters.

Though the country is making a good progress in the solar energy sector, industry experts fear that India might not touch the 100 GW mark by 2022. They say that India would be close at 78-80 GW in that time frame. The imposition of safeguard duty is being blamed for the stalled growth. The safeguard duty would increase capital costs by 15-20%, and raise bid tariffs by another 30-40 paise per unit. Many leading developers are also wary of bearing the extra cost on account of these duties and might withdraw from the existing projects. Though Crisil still expects an additional solar capacity addition of 56-58 GW during 2019-2023. Poor growth in the rooftop solar sector is also a sore point in the Indian solar market. According to Crisil, India will install a total of just 8 GW of rooftop solar capacity compared to the estimated 40 GW by 2023.

The director of Crisil Research opines that “The government must be live with the outcome of bid price; it should go ahead with these projects even if tariffs are higher than what they like”.

Source: Mint

India has one of the lowest solar prices in the world. The country should try hard to build up and maintain the pace of growth, as solar will remain one of the major sources of energy in the future.

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