India is improving its industrial and financial health through structural reforms.
The country no longer wants fossil-based energy generation, but it wants the
adoption of green and clean energy for sustainable growth. India’s rapidly
expanding efforts to increase renewable energy portfolio and that is one of the
primary reasons for the rise in solar power generation. The solar power industry in
India has tremendous potential to grow. India is a tropical country because of
geographic and numerous factors, it produces energy at a high rate. These
development efforts are laying a path to transition towards sustainable energy.
The growing demand for energy perfectly aligns with the country’s green energy
advancement initiatives, to satisfy future energy needs while reducing carbon
footprints.
Let’s find out a few things
● Overview of Solar Industry in India
● Future of the Solar Industry
● What are the major constraints and opportunities?
● Road Ahead
● Conclusion
Overview of Solar Industry in India
Solar power in India is one of the fastest-growing industries. India has already
surpassed the United States and became the second-largest solar power market in
the world (in terms of solar energy installations). The nation’s solar installed
capacity has reached 34.404 GW as of 29 February 2020. The installation of solar
power plants in India has the lowest capital cost per MW globally. India had a
target of 20 GW capacity for 2022, which it has accomplished four years before
the schedule. In 2015 the goal was raised to 100 GW of solar capacity (including
40 GW from only rooftop solar plants) by 2022, aiming for an investment of US$
100 billion. India has installed nearly 42 solar parks to make land usable to the
promoters of solar plants. A big reason for its tremendous growth is the average
current price of solar electricity plunging to 18% below the average cost of its
coal-fired counterpart. The growth trajectory anticipates rising exponentially in
the years to come now.
Future of the Solar Industry
Let’s take a quick look at the different factors why Solar Energy Companies in India
has a bright future coming in by 2022:
• Geographical Advantage
The geographical location of India offers supporting grounds for the solar industry.
It can not only produce enough energy to meet our requirements, but also
generate sufficient electricity for the whole planet. India is a tropical country,
which receives a considerable amount of solar radiation throughout the year.
Typically, a few states in India have a vast renewable energy capacity and hence
can generate significant amounts of electricity even on cloudy days.
• Highly profitable at Cheap Cost
We all know that solar panels and solar systems are relatively costly to install;
however, the cost of the solar product has been reduced with the help of
government subsidies. It is also the fact that once you set up the solar system, it
will certainly be worth the investment as it reduces the electricity bills to a great
extent upfront and hence increases the savings of the customer.
Solar power is also good to reduce the hefty monthly electricity bills up to zero for
the common man, and this is the reason why everybody wants to install solar
panels on their homes. People can observe a great extent of return on investment
in setting up these Solar systems and hence, solar companies have a promising
future in India.
• Employment Prospects
People are switching to solar energy, trending across the country. The problem of
unemployment is continual in India, and the growth in renewable energy
companies will assist in diminishing this issue by generating more and more job
opportunities in the market.
• Potential of the Solar Energy in India
Due to the country’s initiative and push to boost the share of solar power in the
country’s energy mix and plunging equipment (PV Module) costs, the solar energy
industry in India anticipates having almost double growth during the next few
years.
The cost of solar power has decreased together with a strategic policy of the
administration. These policies have resulted in an increase in the share of solar
power in the energy mix. Also, the Government of India has launched many plans
and regulations for a better future of solar energy in India to boost the
adaptability of solar energy in India.
The solar sector in India has enormous market potential. India has a massive
population of over 1 billion and a flourishing economy, but still has always gone
through the issue of scarcity of electricity. Our country has struggled to meet the
electricity requirements of its ever-so-rapidly increasing population, even though
India is among the largest producers of electricity in the world. Hence, In this case,
solar power companies are becoming a blessing for the people to meet their
requirements.
What are the major roadblocks and opportunities?
For India, where electrification for each home was once a dream is now close to
reality. The government’s drive of “power for all” is improving the socio-economic
structure of the country.
The sector also has an enormous capacity to generate new jobs, 1 GW of Solar
manufacturing facility produces approximately 4000 direct and indirect jobs.
Besides, solar installation, operation, and maintenance create additional recurring
tasks in the sector.
India’s solar industry mainly builds over imported products. Renewable energy
cannot replace fossil-based power production because of apparent reasons like
the unavailability of the sun throughout the day.
Solar production is highly uncertain and technological innovations yet to cultivate
an efficient storage solution. Though groundbreaking tech improvements are
underway for storage, which has the potential to revolutionize this sector globally,
then dependency on fossils can be reduced. Solar energy can replace fossil-based
production only if efficient and cost-effective mass-scale storage solutions will
develop.
Road Ahead
The Government of India is committed to increasing the use of green energy
sources. They are installing numerous large-scale sustainable power projects.
Renewable energy has the potential to create many employment opportunities at
every level, especially in rural areas.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to
set up renewable energy capacities of 175 GW by 2022 of which about 100 GW is
aimed at solar, 60 GW for wind, and other for hydro, bio, etc. India’s renewable
energy sector anticipates attracting investments of up to US$ 80 billion in the next
four years.
It predicts that by the year 2040, around 49 percent of the total electricity will be
generated by renewable energy. With efficient batteries, we can store electricity
generated from solar, which will be a cost-effective energy solution. Replacing coal
with renewables will save India Rs 54,000 crore (US$ 8.43 billion) yearly.
Conclusion
The solar sector has a bright future ahead with the support of different
stakeholders like the government, investors, businesses, and consumers. The
technology is evolving rapidly, and the cost of the solar system is reducing.
Intensive research and development are happening to make a cost-effective
battery-based solution. Investment coming in boosting the economy and
benefiting the consumers.
