CHANDIGARH: Haryana has a plan to set up solar energy based power projects in Mega watt (MW) scale in the State and power produced from these projects will be fed to the state grid for which Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) has submitted an application with the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission for fixation of tariff under Section-3 of Electricity Act-2003.

Directory Haryana Renewable Energy Department, Sumita Misra said today that Haryana has about 320 clear sunny day in a year and the solar insolation level in the State was in the range of 5.5 KWH to 6.5 KWH per sq meter of area.

"This offered a great potential for using solar energy for various thermal and electrical energy applications but the potential available from solar energy was yet to be harnessed in MW scale in t he country", she said, according to an official release here.

Misra said that there were many factors affecting the implementation of large scale utilization of solar photovoltaic or thermal technologies.

The present generation cost through photovoltaic power generation was about Rs 15 per KWH. Though, the cost of generation was on higher side yet the other environmental benefits relating to the global warming were also to be considered, solar technology being a clean technology, it would help in reducing carbon dioxide.

New Delhi, Sept 10: The Union ministry for non-conventional energy sources (MNES) has proposed to establish a 140 MW integrated solar combined cycle power (ISCC) project at village Mathania in Jodhpur district in Rajasthan with an estimated cost of Rs 871.74 crore. It has also drawn up a detail plan for harnessing solar energy in the country.

The Mathania project will have a solar thermal component of 35 to 40 MW. The power plant will consist of a single 35 MW solar stream generating system and a 105 MWe combined cycle unit. An additional 35 MW auxiliary fired boiler will be available in non-sunny period of the day. The total gross generation would be 140 MWe. The plant load factor is expected to be 80 per cent.The estimated levelised cost of power at 80 per cent plant load factor is Rs 2.7626 per KWh at constant price and Rs 3.6708 at nominal price basis.

With a view to aid the project, the ministry has already set up a solar observatory at village Mathania in Jodhpur district in Rajasthan with a view to collect data on sunshine hours, global solar radiation, direct and diffuse solar radiation on normal surface, ambient temperature, humidity and rainfall. Another solar observatory at Jaiselmer in Rajasthan is under installation.

The ministry has estimated that 20 MW power can be generated from solar photovoltaic systems per every sq km. But so far only 50 MW power has been generated in total by this system all over the country. The solar thermal energy programme is estimated to generate 35 MW power per sq km. There are about 30 manufacturers of box solar cookers in the country and a total of around 4,85,000 solar cookers have been sold since the inception of the programme.

Keeping the estimated potential of solar power in the country, the ministry has set a target of deploying 700 solar photovoltaic water pumping systems for agriculture and related uses in the year 2000-01. It has also set the target for distribution of 70,000 solar lanterns, 50,000 solar home systems, 3,000 street lights and solar photovoltaic power plants and other systems of aggregate capacity of 275kWp in the current year. Among other programme, electrification of 100 villages are also in the agenda.

Seventeen grid-interactive solar photovoltaic power projects aggregating to 1165 KWp capacity have been installed in eight states and two Union territories and eight projects aggregating to 500 KWp in five states and two Union territories are under installation.

The ministry has assessed that there is large scope for installation of standalone village level centralised SPV power plants in remote and unelectrified areas of the country. The maintenance aspects of such power plants can be organised in a more systematic manner through the involvement of local village organisations. In West Bengal such initiatives have been taken for installation of such power plants in Sagar Island region with the assistance from the Centre and soft loans from IREDA under World Bank line of credit. These power plants are being operated on commercial mode by collecting regular monthly installation charges with the involvement of a bank.

Many state governments like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, MP, Punjab, Rajasthan and the administration of Dadra & Nagar Haveli have modified building bye-laws with a view to make mandatory provisions of solar water heating systems in hotels and hospitals and many functional buildings in the state sector and for new buildings including residential buildings having more than 150 sq mt plinth area.

NEW DELHI, INDIA — (UPI and OfficialWire) — 01/02/08 -- India has decided to launch a program to support setting up grid-connected solar power generation plants.

"The ministry has decided to launch a demonstration program to support setting up of megawatt capacity grid-connected solar power generation plants in the country," Minister for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar told a news conference Wednesday.

He said the move is aimed at developing and demonstrating technical performance of megawatt-sized grid interactive solar power generation, achieving reduction in the cost of solar components and in the cost of solar power generation in the country.

"In view of the present high initial capital cost of solar power plants and the cost of electricity from such plants, the ministry has decided to provide generation-based incentive for grid-interactive solar power generation," said Muttemwar.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (ANI): The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has launched a new scheme for installation of Megawatt Capacity Grid Interactive Solar Power Plants that will include setting up of a solar power plant of 50 Mega Watt in the 11th Five-Year

This was stated by Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar here today.

The ministry has also declared generation-based incentive for the first time under which the government would provide financial assistance amounting to Rs.12 per KW hour in case of solar photovoltaic and Rs.10 per KW hour in case of solar thermal power fed to the electricity grid.

Muttemwar also said that the private sectors would invest 10 billion Rupees as developers.

He said that this incentive would be provided to the project developers at a fix rate for a period of ten years and clarified that this incentive will be worked out after taking into account the tariff provided by the utility to the solar power producer.

Muttemwar said this programme would be limited to an aggregate installed capacity of 50MWp of Solar Power during the 11th Plan period.

He also said that each State would be allowed to set up upto 10MWp aggregate capacity under this programme.

The scheme is expected to increase the direct and indirect employment opportunities.

On an average of each MW of solar manufacturing capacity generated it is likely to produce 25 to 40 direct jobs, and solar power plants are expected to create another 400 indirect jobs, a release from the Ministry stated. (ANI)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will subsidise the running of solar power plants to help develop a renewable energy infrastructure, where high costs can be prohibitive, the minister for renewable energy said on Wednesday.

Renewable energy accounts for about 7.5 percent of India's installed generation capacity of 127,673 MW, a rate that compares favourably with much of the rest of the world.

Much of this capacity is wind-based, and the share of solar power is small.

"My ministry will provide financial assistance amounting to 12 rupees per kilowatt hour in case of solar photovoltaic and 10 rupees per kilowatt hour in case of solar thermal power fed to the electricity grid," Vilas Muttemwar said in a press conference.

The private sector is expected to invest about 10 billion rupees in solar plants eligible for aid under the scheme during the five years to 2012, Muttemwar said.

A maximum capacity of 10 megawatt (MW) in each of the country's states and a maximum of five MW per developer will be considered under the scheme. Capital investors will not be allowed to apply, a statement from the ministry said.

Developers will sell electricity to state-run utilities and the incentives will be paid to them based on the tariff the utilities provide, the statement said.

The incentives, for a period of 10 years, will be over and above any financial assistance provided by the states, said V. Subramanian, secretary to the ministry.