India's Ambitious Solar Energy Projects Are Set to Make Them Renewable Energy Leaders

For the last several years India has been slowly working towards developing a renewable energy infrastructure to efficiently power the second most populous country in the world. So, it is no surprise that despite continuing efforts to integrate solar power into the nation that it all seems to be a mere drop in the bucket compared to the vast nuclear and fossil fuel energy resources already available. However, India presses on with several plans to complete even greater solar projects in hopes of achieving their 20 gigawatts goal for the next four years.

So far, India's many solar renewable energy projects are diverse in size and the impact that they will have on the country's overall energy output. One of the smaller projects is the current proposal to install a photovoltaic solar power generator in the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. The project is currently accepting bids from five companies for the government proposal and is aiming to construct an 80 kilowatt generator on the site for use as a backup power source. Once completed, the generator would also divert about 50 kilowatts of renewable energy into the nearby power grid for regular use. While this is a far cry from fully converting India's government buildings towards being powered entirely by renewable energy, the Indian government believes that it is a step in the right direction. T.P.S. Sidhu, Chief Executive of the Punjab Energy Development Agency, believes that by installing this generator at the Parliament building it will demonstrate how effective they can be and perhaps gain more support for solar power.

Though the Parliament project is starting out small, one of India's most ambitious renewable energy projects is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Usually just called the National Solar Mission, the project seeks to make India a leader in solar power generation within the next decade. The multi-phase plan is expected to eventually generate 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2022 and act as India's effort to work on a global scale to contribute to the development of clean energy. The first phase of the plan, which is set to go forward in November of this year, will result in the construction of several solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants that will generate a combined 1,100 megawatts of renewable energy for use in public electricity grids by 2013. The first phase will be led by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd, an energy subsidiary, with government agency support. Since it is being spearheaded by a subsidiary, however, and does not operate as a direct utility, the company will be selling the power it generates to state owned power utilities.

Since India relies so heavily on coal as one of their primary energy sources, it is hard not to hope they can succeed with the National Solar Mission and other renewable energy projects. If they can pull them all off without a hitch, India stands to radically change the way they generate power while simultaneously vaulting themselves into the position as one of the world's solar energy leaders. Hopefully we'll see promising progress in the coming years as India moves into Phase One of the National Solar Mission and continues to investigate other methods of bringing renewable energy to their country.

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