On a cold winter’s morning, the 11th of January 2010, when the Prime Minister of India announced the launch of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, with a target of a deploying 20,000 MW of Solar power by 2022, many of us, hard core solar enthusiasts, read the news with much scepticism.
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What appeared to be an ambitious target, with the then installed capacity of solar being in single digit Megawatts, seemed more like an impossible task, with targets pulled from thin air. This feeling also stemmed from the fact that the Government has a historical track record of often “shifting goal posts and targets”, particularly on matters related to the electricity and energy sector.
However, the seriousness of the Government to implement the scheme started to sink in only after the first set of detailed guidelines for implementation of the Solar Mission was brought out in record time, followed by a very generous “feed-in-tariff” advisory prepared by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
The joke which went round the Indian Policy circles in reaction to the proposed “feed-in-tariff” of the CERC was that, “even the next door tobacco shop would now invest in a “solar power plant”.
However, a number of states were quick to not only take the advantage of the National Solar Mission, but went a step further in preparing an exclusive “solar policy” for their respective states, with fairly ambitious targets. In the last count, the targets of states put together for the period up to 2015 was a whooping 7000 MW, which was over and above the 20,000 MW target envisaged by the solar mission by 2022.
But the proof is in the pudding, and as of February 2013, only 210 MW of solar power plants were commissioned, a far cry from the envisaged 1600 MW per year target. But having said this, there are close to 2000 MW of solar generation plants, which are in various stages of being commissioned, with some states going the extra mile to provide infrastructure support to solar developers to fast track projects.
One of the key triggers for this is the increasing shortage of electricity that states are facing. Despite the fact that 44 percent of India’s households are not connected to the Grid Electricity Supply, the national average of deficit power supply in relation to the demand was 8.8 percent, with the deficit going up to 13 percent during summers.
Further, the shortage of supply of coal to thermal power plants, coupled with the rising prices of “imported coal” has led to a number of thermal power plants not starting operations.
The fall in prices of Solar PV systems at a fairly fast pace, has also added to the attraction of opting for solar generation.
However, the bulk of the focus on solar is for “Grid supply”, with “off-grid” solutions continuing to be put on the back-burner.
This is indeed sad, as one of the objectives of the National Solar Mission, in addition to addressing “Energy Security” was also to ensure “Energy Access” for all households.
There is a lack of clarity in the off-grid programmes in the draft policy document. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy could learn from history and consolidate all the successes and failures of the past, especially the Remote Village Electrification Programme and Phase I of the solar mission. A detailed analysis of what has worked and what has not, needs to be developed.
Moreover and importantly, the package for energy access should address holistic energy needs of consumers and not just lighting needs. The current plan seems to be focused on restricting the electricity demand of rural consumers, confining it to just lighting, and defeating the whole notion of ‘energy access.’
In order to ensure that there is sufficient investment in off-grid solutions, it is essential that the government promote grid interactive mini-grids, which would ensure that the model is not only sustained but also up-scaled.
Further, there is also no institutional mechanism that would promote business models for decentralized renewable energy, create entrepreneurial capacity building, promote social entrepreneurship and create an environment that would bring in investors.
Financing models need a complete overhaul. The role of banks, especially cooperative banks and societies, in delivering subsidies to rural areas is crucial for the implementation of off-grid energy access. They need to be included in the implementation plan of any policy framework. There are examples of how HDFC gives term loans for solar pumps or banks in Tamil Nadu now looking at options for financing renewable energy off-grid applications. Lessons from these could be used to incorporate the inclusion of banks and financial institutions in the implementation plan.
There are indeed a lot of lessons that the Indian Government can learn. The German experience of “energy transition” is perhaps one that India could easily adapt with some changes.
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, an economist by training, has over a decade of experience working on the issue of economic reforms, sustainable development and environment issues. He has worked on climate issues for Greenpeace for several years, as the first Climate and Energy head in India, and later, as Climate Advisor at Greenpeace International. He set up the Green NGO Vasudha Foundation in January 2010, with an aim to promote environment-friendly, socially just and sustainable models of development by focusing on alternative technologies and lifestyle solutions. The foundation is currently working on a wide range of projects around renewable energy, energy efficiency and policy related campaign and lobby both at the national and international level, while promoting green and alternative technologies at the grassroots level and creating the crucial link between energy and poverty alleviation.
