Feasibility of Solar Energy Developments in Urban and Rural Areas of

Southern India
Introduction
The idea of solar power plant in India is to raise the quality of life of the people subjected to
poverty in rural and sub-urban areas. This coupled with a low-gestation period, simple
operation and maintenance are resulting in installation of solar power plants in remote areas of
many states that need electrification. In addition, India has the largest growing solar power
industry. As of April 2017, India had a cumulative capacity of 12.28 Gigawatts in its solar grid.
[1]

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government
of India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy. MNRE is mainly responsible for
solar power related promotions, developments, etc., in India for supplementing the energy
demand. Vigorous efforts in solar developments during the past two decades are now showing
results as people in all walks of life are more aware of the benefits of renewable energy,
especially decentralized energy where required in villages and in urban or semi-urban centers.
So, solar energy is chosen over various other non-conventional sources for this thesis due to its
threshold of success and has also the most promising role in power generation in coming future
in India. Also India has the most solar irradiance among the world which makes photovoltaics
more attractive for India. It has a large number of cells and modules manufacturers for solar
systems.

The north Indian states with major contribution to solar parks include Rajasthan, Himachal
Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

The South Indian States with major solar parks are Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
telangana and Tamil Nadu. In total, 21 states of India have 34 solar parks with 20,000 MW
capacity. [2]

Various State Nodal Agencies under MNRE for major solar energy production in north and
south India will be briefed in the study to understand the system and solar projects.

Aim of the Study

To identify the variations in solar energy developments in Northern and Southern

parts of India
 The role of Government in Solar developments/Supply chains in Urban and Rural
areas.
Compare production, land wise installation in North and South India.
To evaluate the economic feasibility of solar power projects with reference to projects
undertaken in South in India.
To study the design and supple chains of grid connected PV system in South India.
Technical analysis to estimate the load requirement of a project in South and North
India. (Cost of project, Means of finance, Government revenue and policies, Project
supply chains)

Objective(keep it or remove this and add in description if required)

The objective of this thesis will be to develop a supply scenario for the present grid-
connected and solar projects in south India. The study will deliver insight to north and south
Indian solar energy developments to show whether they are feasible or not.

Scope of study(I am not sure what to keep in scope)

Extremely high cost of solar power plant installation is an obstacle to grid-connected

applications in urban areas. Market price of Solar Technology deployment will
substantially decline due to the projected cost reductions in photovoltaics.
Land acquisitions and low per capita land availability. The amount of land required
for utility-scale solar power plants currently approximately 1 km2 (250 acres) for
every 4060 MW generated may pose a strain on India's available land
resources.[3]

Description

1) The project will include brief study on the type of solar technology used around the
world and India along with production rates especially Northern and Southern India.
The energy scenario in India is studied.
The study will include the following aspects;
2) Energy policies for installation and running the plants or parks for south India and
also compare with northern part of India
3) Site locations, plant design and scheme, economic aspects, financial aspects in South
India and compare them with northern India.
4) Power distribution in North and South India.
 5) PV panels production in North and South of India.
6) Investments from sources (Govt. ad private) with reference to South India.
7) Power grid role for government projects supply chains.
8) (This point is similar to 2, keep any one)Indian Policies regarding renewables are
mostly applicable to solar energy also. The energy policies which will be applicable
for the production and installation of solar plants will be studied for North and South
India to compare the different aspects.
9) The parameters required for the feasibility analysis will be identified through the
study.
10) Technical Analysis in order to estimate the load requirements of the project.
11) Finally the Technical and financial feasibility of the projects will be evaluated to
identify the most desirable aspects for solar projects in rural and urban areas of south
India.

References:
[1] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/indias-solar-energy-capacity-
expanded-by-record-5525-mw/articleshow/58037873.cms

[2] http://seci.gov.in/content/innerpage/statewise-solar-parks.php

[3] http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2017/02/solar-floats-sunshine-state/

the demand for an environmentally friendly and cost-effective energy source in the home.