Cochin International Airport to be completely powered by Solar energy

According to the press release from the airport authority, Hon. Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 12 MWp solar power plant, on 18th August 2015, comprising of 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres near cargo complex. About 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity will be consumed by the airport for all its operational functions, and this will be provided by those 46150 solar panels that generate electricity.

This is not something new for the Cochin International Airport, as there was already a 100 kWp solar PV Plant installed on the roof top of the arrival terminal block, and it is there since March 2013. Later, 1 MWp solar PV power plant was placed partly on the roof top and partly on the ground in the Aircraft Maintenance Hangar facility within the Airport premises.

Given how these two plans generated electricity and were successful in providing what was expected, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) decided to scale up and set up a 12MWp solar PV plant, and this aids in the green initiative. The installation is going to be done by M/s Bosch Ltd.

For the need at night hours when sunlight is not available, CIAL has worked out a plan with Kerela State electricity board, where a power banking module will provide the power to the module during the day time, and at night, it would be bought back by CIAL. With this plant, the annual generation of power would account to about 18 million units (which according to CIAL, would normally be enough to power up 10000 homes for one year).

CIAL also said that they would be looking at more alternatives, and given how many water bodies the state has, they will look to take advantage of that and install dam-based solar panels, or hydro power projects to generate electricity with the renewable sources.

This installation will finish by May 2016, and the Chennai International Airport will be fully solar-power operated by then.

India to respond to US WTO notice on domestic sourcing rules under National Solar Mission

India has said it will respond to the United States’ notice challenging the domestic sourcing requirement in its National Solar Mission in 10 days’ time as stipulated under the rules of the World Trade Organization.

The US, on Wednesday, filed an official dispute against India at the WTO claiming that the domestic sourcing rules flouted global trade norms. It has asked for consultations with India on the matter.

“Our Mission in Geneva has been delivered a notice under Dispute Settlement Understanding that the US has sought a consultation in respect to domestic content policy of National Solar Mission. According to the laid-down procedure, India has to respond within 10 days. We have received the notice and will respond within the prescribed time period,” said Rajiv Kher, Additional Secretary, Commerce Department.

On the basis of the consultations that the US has with India, it will decide whether it wants to take the dispute further by asking for a dispute settlement panel to settle the issue.

India’s national solar program required solar energy producers to use Indian-manufactured solar cells and modules, which in fact put foreign solar products at a disadvantaged position. India has favoured its own solar products since Jan 11, 2010, when it launched national solar program. India also promises solar energy developers participating in the program that the government will buy a certain amount of solar power at a highly subsidized tariff rate, provided that they use Indian made solar equipment instead of imports.

Consultations are the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process. Under WTO rules, if the matter is not resolved through consultations within 60 days, the accuser may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel.

The US has now placed six complaints against India at the WTO, and while India has eight against America.

US Approves Blythe Solar Power Project

The biggest solar project that plans to provide power to more than 3,00,000 homes in southern California was permitted by the US interior department.

The US$6 Bn, 1,000MW project, a joint venture of Solar Millennium AGand Ferrostaal AG, will be located on federal lands near Blythe, in the southern tip of California.

“The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation’s renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future,” said US interior secretary Ken Salazar.

This the 6th solar power project approved by the department in the last few weeks, which together have the potential to generate 2,800 MW of electricity, enough to power 2 million homes.

The project will consist of four concentrated solar electric generation facilities that would equal to the generation capacity of a large natural gas or coal-fired power plant.

Rows of curved mirrors up to 192m long will collect heat energy from the sun. The project will have thousands of mirrors lined up on the desert floor.

The project will be built in four units of 250MW each. The first 250MW should be up and running in 2013 and the second one in 2014.

Project’s operators expect approval from the Energy Department by the end of the year for a loan guarantee to cover 75 to 80% of the estimated US$3 Bn cost for the first units of the project.

The solar project, once fully operational, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 1 MMTPA, which is equivalent to removing 1,45,000 cars off the highway.

Solar PV modules in India touches 1250MW

The capacity of photovoltaic cells and modules in India is estimated to cross 750MW and 1250MW by the end of year 2010 as per report “Solar PV Industry 2010: Contemporary Scenario and Emerging Trends”.
The report was released by R Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser, government of India, chief guest for the function with professor Juzer Vasi, IIT Bombay and head core committee and BV Naidu, advisor, ISA. The report was supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA and aims to serve as an important reference source for the various stake holders in the solar PV industry.

Solar Photovoltaic is a key technology option to realise the shift to a decarbonised energy supply and is projected to emerge as an attractive alternate electricity source in the future. The solar PV manufacturing base in India comprises primarily of cell and module manufacturing; with the bulk of the value addition taking place outside the country. The current scale of manufacturing in India is small in comparison to global standards.

The capacity in India is currently estimated in excess of about 400MW for cells and about 1,000 MW for modules. Based on the interactions with the industry, the capacity of PV cells and modules in India is estimated to cross 750MW and 1250MW by the end of year 2010. The production in India for year 2008-09 is estimated at 175MW of cells and 240MW of modules. A large proportion of the production was exported.

Solar energy is an important mitigating technology in the context of the climate change threat. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is an important component of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.

The current report essentially captures the status of the global PV industry, status of the Indian solar PV industry including its strengths and challenges and the Indian government initiatives to promote this industry. It also includes a detailed discussion on the recently announced National Solar Mission.

Strengths and challenges of the Indian solar PV market

Even though the industry operates at a smaller scale as compared to other solar PV producing nations, production in India is very cost effective as compared to global standards. The price competitiveness of Indian industry makes it a preferred vendor for end users in countries like Germany and Spain.

With government initiatives in place to support and develop infrastructure for solar PV production (refer to SIPS scheme) and JNNSM to promote application of solar PV in domestic market, the Indian solar PV industry is likely to gain further edge over other solar PV producing nations.

There is no manufacturing base in India for the basic raw material silicon wafers. The industry hence relies on international markets to source the raw material.

The silicon market has been highly fluctuating in the past, leading to imbalance in demand supply equation, fluctuating prices and availability of raw material. Currently, the silicon production capacity is much higher than the demand and prices are at significantly low levels compared to the scenario a year back. In the past, some of the solar PV firms have entered into rate contracts with silicon wafer suppliers to ensure availability. With a sudden reduction in prices, the contracts now prove to be a loss making proposition for these firms.

Over the last 5 years, China has emerged as the largest producer of solar cells in the world. The country currently has about 2,500MW of production capacity for solar PV as compared to India’s 400 MW. Apart from that, Taiwan, with annual capacity of 800MW, is also emerging as a major threat to the Indian industry.

Price reduction is another major challenge for the industry as this would have greatly impact the future growth of the market.

Emerging trends

Solar PV applications in India have followed a different trend from global practices. While globally, there has been higher focus on grid connected applications, the Indian PV market has predominately focused on off-grid applications.

JNNSM is a welcome step from the government, to accelerate growth of the Indian PV industry. The policy addresses all the major issues currently being faced by the industry and also acknowledges key challenges in achieving the Mission objective. Grid connected solar power generation is a key thrust area of the JNNSM.

The proposal to extend PPA duration to 25 years will improve the financial feasibility for power developers. JNNSM is technology neutral and defines a research & development roadmap to develop indigenous strengths in technology and reducing the dependence on international markets. The JNNSM also addresses issues of manpower development for the industry.

Browse related books:

Renewablesmart.com

Category: Solar