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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

India’s Solar Investments Explode!


Clean energy investments in India grew faster in 2011 than in any other major economy, a whopping 52% over 2010.
13 Feb 2012
India
In 2011, India’s clean energy investments exceeded any other country, with most of it going to solar energy. The country’s National Solar Mission aims to achieve grid parity for solar by 2022.

What happened

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), clean energy investments in India grew faster in 2011 than in any other major economy, a whopping 52% over 2010. Most of the money piled into solar investments. Grid-connected solar project boosted overall solar capacity from 18MW to 277MW.

Background

Of the US$10.3bn invested in clean energy projects, nearly half went to grid connected solar plants, a US$4.2bn solar tab that was a 7-fold increase on 2010.
The country’s solar capacity jumped to 277MW in 2011, and BNEF expects that figure to top 1,000MW in 2012. 40% of rural Indian households lack electricity and 30 million agricultural water pumps run on subsidized diesel.
India’s Center for Wind Energy Technology announced plans to create the country’s own solar atlas. This will simplify identification of solar hotspots for developers. This solar atlas should further motivate the solar market.
India’s government structured policy and regulatory plans to encourage investments in harnessing the rich potential for solar energy. These efforts have been so successful that India’s rural poor have given up the grid in favor of solar energy. Especially since the price of solar electricity has dropped below that of diesel.

What the general media said

At The Economic Times, Sanjay Vijayakumar explained that at present India’s solar power developers use NASA’s satellite images to identify solar sites that may become viable. He said CEO of Mahindra Solar, Vish Palekar, looked forward to not having to use NASA’s old images. Palekar felt that mapping of the India’s solar capacity will make it easier in the future for solar companies to further develop India’s solar generation.
USAToday.com says solar power is making tangible difference to people’s lives. Near Nada, some schools send students home with solar-charged flashlights to study at night, and the temple town of Dharmasthala, visited by 10,000 pilgrims a day, offers free water purified through solar filtration.

What the trade media said

RenewableEnergyWorld.com said “in clean energy circles, 2011 will be remembered as the moment when India became a major player across several industries.”
The article describes India as ripe for exponential renewable growth, adding that it has laid the type of foundation for solar growth that could make it a market leader in years to come.

Engerati-The Last Word

The growth of solar generation in India will have tremendous implications for the electrification of India, which could be completed without having to build expensive transmission. While everyone touts the cleanliness of solar and other renewables, one of the true benefits of solar is that it is ‘local’ power that does not rely upon far away governments and utilities for the delivery of electricity and can be in the long-run less expensive to deploy and maintain. Philip Bane, Managing Editor.

Sources: 

Asian Development Bank: Asia Solar Energy Initiative: A Primer [PDF]
Bloomberg: India clean energy investments reach $10.3 billion in 2011: BNEF
NewScientist.com: India’s panel price crash could spark solar revolution
RenewableEnergyWorld.com: Asia Report: India sees 52% increase in investments
The Economic Times: Government agency to develop solar atlas of India
USAToday.com: India’s rural poor give on power grid, goes solar
This article was written by: Leslie Pietersen  and edited by: Jenni McCann

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