SUN GOES WHERE WIRES DON’T IN INDIA

'Solar energy can light up India's villages'
Stuart Irvine, director, Centre for Solar Energy Research , 21 January 2009 (Times of India)

"… efficient and affordable third generation [III-Gen] solar technology could help reduce [India’s] dependence on polluting fuels…

"…I-Gen cells were of crystalline silicon, fairly high-cost, manufactured in relatively small volumes. The II-Gen cells had higher efficiency, whether made of thin wafers or silicon. The III-Gen has more complex, integrated devices that can reduce reflection and capture more of the solar spectrum…

"…Cost components are photovoltaic (PV) modules, power electronics and installation. One-half of the total cost you pay would be the module cost. The rest is spread over the balance of the system…solar power is not the cheapest of options; as production increases, however, the costs tend to decrease…China and India are now becoming manufacturing centres. A company in Kolkata, for instance, is working on an innovative technique to make PV modules with thin film made with cheaper, compound material to increase conversion efficiency…

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"…There are two kinds of storage as far as solar energy is concerned: on-grid and off-grid. In the UK, it's largely the on-grid that's important. The DC electricity produced by PV modules are converted to AC in the grid. There's two-way energy traffic. The building will supply electricity to the grid during the day and buy from it in the night…If you have large tracts of unproductive land that gets sunlight, it's attractive from a seller's viewpoint because you can feed energy to the grid and get paid for that without having to buy back.

"Off-grid needs battery storage. This is important in India where you have the rural electrification scheme; solar energy can light up India's villages. Solar energy would charge batteries that are then used to power lighting, television sets and refrigerators. Solar energy-charged batteries would be for high-efficiency lighting purposes and for other low-power domestic requirements."