CLEAN ENERGY

National Solar mission going slow… The MNRE has released draft policy of phase 2 National solar mission on December 2012. The ministry conducted various consultative meetings with various stakeholder groups, hoping to be able to launch the program in February of this year. As of September, there is still no final policy document. In a related disappointment, as of February, the MNRE stopped accepting applications for the 30% subsidy it offered to all rooftop and off-grid power projects, too. And, it is not yet clear as to when this window will reopen. MNRE also stopped the new channel partner empanelment. The second phase of the National Solar Mission, which was targeted to achieve installations of almost 4 GW of solar power projects under a federal scheme, and 6 GWs under state schemes, has not yet taken off. The second phase of the solar mission surely will take a hit as its most critical component is viability gap funding - a direct subsidy to cover the cost of ...

Maharashtra leads to push clean energy It's rare that cheery environmental news comes out of India, especially when it comes to clean energy. But a July 22nd order by the electricity regulatory authority of Maharashtra (MERC), India's most industrialized state, is being welcomed as a possible game changer. The government has ordered 93 entities to attain renewable power obligation (RPO) targets by March 2014, which include government distribution companies (discoms) as well as large private consumers of electricity. Also significantly, companies that do not comply will be fined Rs 13.40 per unit (about 13p), higher than ever before. The state is one of only two states in the country to take such strong action (the state of Punjab, also one of the country's richer states, has issued a similar, though not quite as radical order). The entities named will have to add approximately 400 MW of solar capacity in Maharashtra. Until now, Indian states have made miserab...

The key parameters to decide Solar PV power plants   The Key parameter discussed during Solar PV power plant is Performance Ratio. Performance ratio” gives insights how efficient the available solar energy is converted into electrical energy. It is possible to compare the performance of various plants at different locations on a normalized – independent from climate conditions – level over a long period of time. Deviations in the PR (e.g. values below the expected range) indicate a possible fault or problem in the solar PV plant. PR can therefore be understood as an early warning system. PERFORMANCE RATIO(PR) of a plant for a period of Time = Energy measured(kWh)/(Irradiance(kWh/m2) on the panel x (Active area of PV module(m2)) x (PV module efficiency) Many of the report speak about more on capacity utilisation factors(CUF). Capacity Utilisation Factor(CUF) =Energy measured (kWh) / (365*24*installed capacity of the plant). So on one side, PR is a measure for th...