Solar Energy Conclave 2010

Renewable Energy is now playing a vital role in providing clean energy solutions. Being a tropical country, India is blessed with an enormous amount of solar energy, both in terms of heat and light, throughout the year. The Government of India has already started focussing its attention towards the development and deployment of renewable energy systems and devices including solar energy in the country through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Solar energy in broad terms can be harnessed through two routes: Solar Thermal and Solar Photovoltaic. The Solar Thermal route has applications such as water heating, air heating, cooking, drying of agricultural and food products, distillation of water, water purification, detoxification of wastes, cooling and refrigeration, process heat for industry, steam generation for cooking and electricity generation.

Through the Solar Photovoltaic route, solar lights, solar pumps, solar road studs, solar blinkers, solar power plants for villages, telecommunication systems, energy for computers, solar power for schools and hostels, battery charging, railway signalling etc can be powered.

The designing of energy efficient buildings based on solar passive architecture along with energy efficiency measures is also an upcoming activity. Most of these systems & devices have been developed in India through Research & Development and demonstration programmes.

Solar Energy Conclave 2010

Recently, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organized a 'Solar Energy Conclave 2010' which provided a common platform to share the experience of various stake-holders including the NRI's in promotion of Solar Energy in India and making the National Solar Mission targets, a reality.

The main objective of the event was to showcase the opportunities and the potential of solar energy development in the country. With the launching of National Solar Mission, India was set to harness its huge solar potential. At that juncture the conclave provided a common ground for Non-Resident Indians (NRI's) and Indian stakeholders to join hands for making the National Solar Mission a success and facilitate further expansion.

National Solar Mission inaugurated by PM Dr. Manmohan Singh

India’s Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on 11th January 2010 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi at the Solar Energy Conclave 2010. The Mission was launched under the brand name ‘Solar India’. While launching he said its success could transform India’s energy prospects.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that this National Solar Mission has the pride of place in India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. Its success has the potential of transforming India’s energy prospects, and contributing to national as well as global efforts to combat climate change. This Mission is one of the major priorities of the second term of our government. He congratulate Dr. Abdullah and the other colleagues particularly Shri Shyam Saran, for the work they have done in bringing this to fruition.

He said that the target of 20,000 MW of solar generating capacity by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan is an ambitious target but he believes that the target is doable and that everyone should work single-mindedly to achieve it as priority national endeavour.

The carefully crafted regulatory and incentive framework that has been unveiled today has several innovative features. We expect that it will lead to a rapid scale up of capacity. This will encourage technological innovation and generate economies of scale, thereby leading to a steady lowering of costs. Once parity with conventional power tariff is achieved, there will be no technological or economic constraint to the rapid and large-scale expansion of solar power thereafter, he said.

He hoped that the mission would also establish India as a global leader in solar energy, not just in power generation but in manufacturing and technology.

He also said-It was the vision of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that enabled India to create world-class scientific and technological capacities in the field of atomic energy and space sectors. Solar energy can also be the next scientific and technological frontier in India after Atomic Energy, Space and Information Technology.

“If the ambitious roll out of the Mission is to become a reality, we will have to create many ‘Solar Valleys’ on the lines of the Silicon Valleys that are spurring our IT industry across the four corners of our country. These valleys will become hubs for solar science, engineering and research, fabrication and manufacturing,” he added. He urged industry to see the mission as a huge business opportunity.

In his concluding remarks he said that “The Sun has long been recognized as a primal source of all energy on earth. In an ancient civilization like India, the Sun has been worshipped as the God who bestows life and sustains it. The bounty of the Sun is truly inexhaustible, renewable and free. It is to this source of energy that humankind must turn to meet the twin challenge of energy security and climate change. I wish the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission every success.”

Dr. Farooq Abdullah on the Solar Energy Conclave 2010

Dr. Farooq Abdullah said India plans to install 20 million solar lights and 20 million square metres of solar panel to generate 20,000 MW by 2022 as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy.

Farooq Abdullah, in his note address “By 2022, we aim to install 20 million square metres of solar thermal collectors and save 7,500 MW power generation capacity,” he said at the launch of the mission here. “We want 20 million solar lights to be installed by 2022, which would result in a saving of one billion litres of kerosene every year.”

“In the next three years, India plans to add 1,300 MW of solar power, of which 1,100 MW will be grid-connected and 200 MW will be off-grid. This is our first benchmark. If we achieve this, achieving the remaining target will not be impossible. A huge constraint in the commercial use of solar energy has been its cost. Today, the initial cost of solar energy is very high, especially for grid power generation. We aim to bring down the cost as quickly as possible,” Dr. Abdullah added.

Attendees of Solar Energy Conclave 2010

• Non-Resident Indian Professionals.
• Technology leaders - researchers, scientists and engineers.
• Industry leaders - manufacturers, system integrators, financial and insurance services providers, investors, entrepreneurs and analysts.
• Academic leaders - professors, teachers, university and school facilities managers.
• Government leaders - policy-makers and utility representatives.
• Future leaders - students, green builders and homeowners.

Benefits

• Better understanding of mutual need and strengths.
• Exposure to state of art technologies.
• Sharing of experience.
• Technology and research & Development Collaborations.
• Business opportunities.
• Networking among the solar community.