Solar Power Surge: Path to Energy Independence & Key Challenges
Bengaluru: Shifting to solar energy not only makes energy consumption secure but also lowers maintenance costs. It serves as a sustainable, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly alternative to other energy sources. Consumers stand to save massively in the long term by ditching traditional energy sources and adopting solar powered systems, leading to the complete eradication of expensive energy bills. Further, little upkeep of solar powered systems ensures conditions are met for a sustainable future.
Correspondingly, the active promotion of solar power has made it mein as a substitute for traditional power grids. The abundant different benefits solar energy provides, along with its low preciosu cost and holy grail forcast make it particularly captivating. With many households having their electricity bills justified to zero, solar rooftop installations have provided unprecedented relief. And, nonculminative power generated from these systems can be returned to the grid, with the government providing compensation. This reward encourages consumers to become more self-sustaining, while at the same time helping to feed in to the energy pool of the nation.
Government incentives and their problems
The increased demand for power makes it imperative that every produced unit of energy is consumed, as stated by officials from the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM). The government incentives, however, seem not to benefit the end users adequately as much is consumed by Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors. Their efforts in the profundity of sale in solar systems does benefit in some level but at the same time, they tend to overcharge which automatically suffocates the primary benefits that are meant for the customers.
One of the major problems with the production of photovoltaic (PV) power plants is solar intermittency, which is the reliance of energy output on solar irradiation. The fact that the source of solar energy is not available throughout the day, more so in the areas of median latitudes, ensures that solar energy supply is always going to be fluctuate. And the one most prominent which determines performance of the solar panels still influencing commercial attractiveness of solar systems is solar cells efficiency.
In an interview, Chellappa Tirumalai Velu, a CEO of a Bengaluru based firm focusing on power renewables, which covers the entire spectrum of services needed for the development of wind, solar, and mini hydroelectric power plants, stated that the majority of solar cells in use today are imported due to high efficiency ratings. The effectiveness and durability of domestically produced cells still remains speculative. Moreover, the level of efficiency CKD (Completely Knocked Down) or panel manufacturing quality assures on an extended basis is also an important factor to consider.
The typical home solar setup can produce about 400 watts per hour at peak sunlight during the day. On a day with about 10 hours of direct sunlight, the output may approach 4 kWh of energy. While these figures fluctuate depending on the sun exposure, generally there is a battery integrated within the system to hoard the surplus energy during the day for use at night, especially when the power grid is non-existent. Routine maintenance costs of these solar power systems do not tend to be high, considering that the only thing that needs attention is cleaning every 10 days. But, lack of skilling the consumers leaves a lot to be desired in terms of panel efficiency as well as increasing costs for long standing maintenance.
Calculation of Power Usage and Solar System Requirements
Roughly, one household in India uses approximately 240 kWh of electricity every month, which means they use around 8 units daily. Many households easily fulfill their daily energy requirements with a 2kW solar power system that generates around 8-10 units daily. The average energy production for a 3KW solar power system is 360 kWh monthly, which translates to about 12-15 kWh monthly. Ideally, a home that uses 15 kWh of power daily would need six solar panels that each generate around 2.5 kWh a day.
Average Monthly Household Electricity Consumption 8 units/day (240 kWh/month) 2kW Solar Power System Generation 8-10 units/day (240 kWh/month) 3kW Solar Power System Generation 12-15 units/day (360 kWh/month) Solar Panels Required for 15 Units/Day 6 panels (each generating around 2.5 kWh/day) The Prime Minister Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme that subsidizes solar rooftop installation has motivated people to use solar energy even more. As per BESCOM, enrollments from Karnataka under the scheme were 6.11 lakh which includes 1.7 lakh applications from Bengaluru itself. The scheme allows for the same subsidy as above but with a total cap of Rs 78000 for systems greater than 3kW. The scheme facilitates automatic approvals for systems up to 2kW which roughly accounts for 30 crore of the subsidy. By January 2025, around 8.5 lakh households from across India have benefited from the scheme. However in Karnataka it has been slower with only 2.07 lakh of 6 lakh eligible households with rooftop solar system applications. According to BESCOM about 5690 households have solar installations in bangalore. For those who adopted solar power , the installations continue to be dominated in Bangalore, Dakshina Kannada, and Mysore.
Obstacles to Achieving Full Scale Implementation in The Home Sector
The renewable energy industry is further advanced than what can be seen in the home industry due to barriers such as high upfront investment, inflation adjusted ROI, slow payback periods, subsidized consumers, and a scarcity of education. The officials in charge of the electric company of Bangalore, BESCOM, claim that the return on investment (ROI) period is shortening due to better technology which brings the capital cost down.
One of the major issues is the Gruha Jyothi Yojana, a state government scheme in Karnataka which offers qualified households 200 units of complimentary power a month. By providing this incentive, families are less likely to use solar energy due to less obvious immediate profits.
The combination of high capital expenditure (Capex) to set up solar panels, plus low ROI, makes it hard to benefit from this scheme. The average household consumes 100 to 200 units per month, which is sufficient for 1 to 2-KW solar plants, but plants below 3KW are not available. This raises the investment cost by an additional 40,000 to 50,000 rupees. In addition, the state does not have good payback rates for feeding excess power into the grid, making solar energy less appealing economically.
Moreover, policies requiring the use of DCR (Domestic Content Requirement) panels burden the consumer as they are 20% more expensive than other available options. It is difficult to promote solar because these panels are less productive and significantly more expensive. Moreover, the solar panel owners will be taken off the Gruha Jyothi Scheme as soon as the installation is done, but they will have to continue paying for fixed costs.
The Future of Solar Power: Solutions and Suggestions
Why does the residential sector fall behind in solar panel installations despite its many upsides? Chellappa Tirumalai Velu claims high Capex and limited ROI are significant challenges. The excessive capital expenditure and cost of acquisition are crucial obstacles against the commercial feasibility of developmental solar projects.
He further explained that for the subsidies, DCR panels should be utilized, which are 60 to 70 per cent more expensive with lower efficiency. People should consider projects without subsidies by using approved listed panels as it is more efficient, cost effective and has higher ROI.
Under another obstacle, Chellappa Tirumalai Velu refers to individual houses being erected in the slum area. In apartment settlements, flat owners cannot place solar plants in common portions. A new decree is about to be promulgated on the installation of solar plants by individual owners in apartment blocks, which when enacted will in the proliferation of installations. Regarding the payback, Velu stated the low rate for the surplus energy supplied to the Grid / ESCOM is so low as to render the investment unsustainable.
The cost-effective sustainable energy solution that is offered by solar energy is an unsurpassed benefit.
Image for representation (Getty Images)
In an interview conducted via ETV Bharat, M M Vijayvergia of ME Power System, a giant in the consultancy industry in Meeg Power Solar Plants, and a respected figure in solar rooftop installations, elaborated on the considerable amounts of changes in the policies surrounding the usage of DCR Domestic Content Requirement and Non-DCR solar system modules. It has massive shifts in cost and availability. DCR modules are considerably more expensive (Rs 24-26 per watt) and much less efficient than Non DCR modules which are much more affordable at Rs 13 per watt.
This means that most consumers tend to purchase Non DCR panels which are much easier to obtain and have less red tape like getting all the paperwork done for subsidy application. This has caused many EPC players to unknowingly claim subsidies by, with little to no attention from the government, installing Non DCR panels. The most common situations is that a subsidized Non DCR panel rooftop plant that produces 5 to 10 KWh is cost wise basically the same as 5 to 10 KWh of power sourced from a DCR panel.
The operational schemes regarding rooftop solar installations may appeal to certain economically powered households, especially the wealthy families with an appreciable span of roof area. On the contrary, economically weaker households consuming around 300 units of electricity do not have adequate roof space or finances to get solar panels. Moreover, the construction of other multi-story buildings surrounding their houses provides little to no sunlight for the roof areas making rooftop solar installations infeasible.
Even when considering that some people do have access to roof space, there are still many hurdles to take into account. The addition of solar panels over roofs or small structures that are raised 7-8 feet high increases the overall cost, making is unappealing to the majority of people. Moreover, placing solar panels over rooftops takes away usable space inside the households making is unappealing to the masses.
The restrictive policies combined with the astronomical price tags of DCR solar systems have rendered non-DCR panels as the go to option. Even with the subsidies being misused, there is little to no comprehensive regulation. This is why, regardless of the sheer lack of monitoring Chellappa Tirumalai Velu’s approach of switching subsidies from capital costs to productive power generation is much more advantageous. It encourages the use of expensive high power efficient products increasing long term gain for the government.