Effect on other sectors

The significant decrease in the solar power costs in India has given the industry a huge boost and made it a viable option across the country. Solar contributes significantly to critical sectors like power, health, and agriculture. It also contributes generously toward sustainable development, job creation, emission reduction, and technological innovations.

Upgraded technology

Technological advancement signals a further reduction of solar power costs in India. According to a study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, and US-based think-tank Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), the solar power generation cost is expected to drop to INR 1.9 per unit over the next decade through 2030 in India. (1)

Technical improvements are also expected to enhance the sector’s productivity. ‘Monocrystalline’ technology has already become mainstream since it promotes higher efficiency. The future is expected to witness the ‘heterojunction cell’ technology, which successfully captures more wavelengths. Improvement in power storage technologies will also help reduce the cost of storage from INR 13.6 per kWh to INR 6.34 per kWh in the next decade. The cost of standalone storage is expected to dip from around INR 29.0 kWh to INR 11.9 per kWh in the same period. (1)

India: Consolidating its position

India already enjoys the status of the lowest-cost producer of solar power – a recent analysis by The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) revealed that the costs of setting up solar PV panels had reduced by about 80% between 2010 and 2018. This boom in the industry will be a testament to the favourable policies and focused approach of the Indian government, as well as the positive responses from solar developers across the country. This lowered solar power costs in India, along with the country’s aggressive energy installation target of 175 GW by 2022, will open up enormous investment opportunities in this sector.

Nimbus Solar: Contributing to the growth story

As one of the industry’s top players, Nimbus Solar Solutions has been an active contributor to the Solar Revolution in the country and aims to reduce solar power costs in India. Keeping the customer as the fulcrum of all its activities, the company boasts an empowered workforce driven by passion and purpose. Denoting the values of trust, reliability, and tremendous experience in the sector, Nimbus Solar strives to help India become a global leader in solar energy. It is committed to delivering world-class services and products across all businesses. With strong financial relationships and in-depth knowledge regarding tax implications, Nimbus Solar ensures that every investor receives the maximum return from their solar power investment.

For more details, visit nimbussolar.in

Reasons India is facing quality issues

Due to low prices, the trend that has prevailed in the country is that of importing PV modules from China, Malaysia, or Taiwan. But low prices come with low quality, which considerably hinders the solar industry in India. With PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, India is working towards developing a dynamic manufacturing market in the solar sector. But the real question we face today is whether the quality of the locally manufactured products meets the required standards. Unfortunately, the answer is not in the affirmative.

This can predominantly be attributed to the inherent attitude amongst Indians to seek the lowest prices rather than the best quality. The bidding process in solar tenders introduced by the Indian government favours the lowest bidders. This has made solar EPC companies work at shoestring margins. They are finding avenues to cut costs to increase their profitability, thereby providing low-quality products. China’s Top Runner policy that prioritizes new technology and efficiency over price should set a solid example for the solar industry in India, which is too focused on low tariffs.

The drive towards cutting costs has also led to EPC companies not offering adequate maintenance of the systems installed by them. In addition, the panel structures provided are of low quality and, more often than not, designed inefficiently. This has led to the systems’ inability to withstand the harsh weather conditions in India.

The solar industry in India has lured many individuals and companies toward the business, but providing quality service is next to impossible without adequate knowledge and technical know-how. Some key factors essential to properly installing solar panels that are mostly missed by EPC providers/installers include – near and far shadow analysis, access to solar radiation, the height of the building, terrain, weather conditions, etc. Several parameters are likely to be variable from one site to another, even in the same geographical area. Therefore it is crucial to plan a solar PV project to suit the site parameters, the knowledge of which can only come through experience and technical excellence, which most of the EPC providers in India lack.

The Government of India has set a target for 40 GW of solar power from rooftop installations by 2022. (1) However, as reported by MNRE, a cumulative capacity of only 1.35GW has been achieved until 31st December 2018. (2) In this desperate attempt to meet targets, along with factors such as price pressure, lack of awareness about the sector and its risks, extreme climatic conditions, and lowest bidder requirements from the government, the quality of the solar industry in India has taken a significant hit.

Nimbus Solar – Focusing on quality

We at Nimbus strive toward providing quality solar systems and transforming the solar industry in India. Our well-trained technicians not only install the panels and the system at your place but also educate you on how to maintain the same. Further, we employ cutting-edge optical technology in renewable and sustainable energy in an original and novel way to deliver autonomous electrical charging systems solutions.

We hope that the highest quality will hold a higher place in India’s future than the lowest bidder.

Website: https://nimbussolar.in/

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1539238#:~:text=A%20target%20of%20installing%20175,year%202022%20has%20been%20set&text=The%20Government%20has%20set%20a,(NCR)%20by%20year%202022.
2. https://taiyangnews.info/markets/india-25-gw-total-pv-capacity-end-of-2018/

A single 2-day trip to a village in India was enough to help me realise the truth of rural development in India. I’ve often wondered when the day would come when India will receive the status of a “developed nation”. After all, we have all the modern facilities and live in air-conditioned homes. We have premium medical facilities, bullet trains, expressways, fast-growing economies, world-leading fortune 500 companies, and so on. However, step into a village, and you’ll find the sequestered truth about India and the conditions under which most of the country, 69%, lives. I went through a typical day in the life of a villager. Seeing this vast difference between our lives was an eye-opening experience. 

Life in the day

A typical day starts even before the sun’s rays hit the ground. In the faint light, you’ll find men, women as well as children walking great distances, sometimes as far as 2km, to the nearest water source to fill empty buckets, bottles, and large cans with water for use by the family for washing, cleaning, cooking and even drinking. 

• The lucky few with wells on their premises spend the better part of their morning manually tugging on the ropes to lift the water from the well one bucket at a time.
• Since most villagers are farmers, their dependency on the water is very high, especially for the irrigation of their crops. Men and women spend most of their day tending to their farmlands. During dry seasons, with wells and nearby water bodies barren, there is little they can do but watch their crops dry up and wither before their eyes.
• While parents tend to business, the children who are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get an education find themselves in sub-standard schools that have an erratic power supply, if any at all. Staying focused during lectures is hard enough, but doing so in the sweltering heat and bad lighting is practically unimaginable.

These are just some problems in a typical day of life in a village. However, the solution is simple – Solar power. Here’s a list of solutions Nimbus Solar has successfully implemented in various villages to address rural development in India.

The Solar Solutions

• Solar-powered rural water transportation – These systems use solar pumps to transport water from different sources over a distance or height. These systems address rural developments in India by solving water shortage issues in hilly areas at altitudes as high as 200m and distances as much as 2 Km from the water source. Click here to know more: http://bit.ly/2I8M6HK

• Solar-powered irrigation solutions – Starvation still haunts our nation. In India, the people who do not have enough food to feed their families are the same people who supply food to the rest of the nation – our farmers. To protect this section of our society, we have designed and executed several projects to help increase their income and bring about ease in farming practices. The key to raising their incomes and boosting production to meet the growing demands lies in proper irrigation practices, enhanced organisation, community farming, and efficient land utilisation. Our endeavours could inspire many other efforts to improve rural development in India. We are attempting to revolutionise farming practices by introducing solar power to as many farmers as possible. Solar pumps help power drip irrigation systems, mobilise natural water sources for farmlands irrigation, power lift irrigation systems, etc. Click here to know more: http://bit.ly/2I6zFMj
• Solar power for schools and colleges – These solutions aim at providing schools with a reliable source of energy during school hours. Schools benefit from solar power as they require electricity only during the day and do not need to invest in batteries. Click here to know more: http://bit.ly/2I5iI55

Life at night

• The gravity of this grim situation indeed strikes once the sun sets. With no access to grid electricity in most homes, darkness ensues post 7 pm. These homes rely heavily on kerosene lanterns to brighten up an otherwise bleak world. It is then that you truly realise how we city dwellers have taken electricity for granted. The darkness in villages is absolute. It is something you will never be able to experience in a city.
• The kerosene lamps they use in their homes exude harmful fumes, which can cause severe damage to human lungs when inhaled over long periods. Adults and children alike are exposed to these fumes all their lives.
• In the rare instance where a child in these villages attends school, they cannot study in the evenings due to the shortage of light.
• Most of these houses do not have toilets. So nature calls at night would require one to walk into the wilderness in the dark with a lantern in hand, which is no short of a scene from a horror film.
• The absence of fans only adds to discomfort in these rustic homes.
• The stillness, the lack of air movement, the lack of light, and the sweltering heat are visions of life in a village on a typical night.

The Solar Solutions

• Even if a government body focuses on these remote villages, extending electric grid lines to such great distances can be challenging and expensive. What’s the next best option? Solar energy. Rural development in India could significantly benefit from the use of solar energy. 
• In one of the CSR projects by Nimbus, more than 1000 homes in a village were lit up by installing the NIMBUS SOLAR HOME LIGHTING KIT. This kit includes a solar panel, 3 LED bulbs, 1 LED tube light, and a DC fan. These kits have contributed their share to rural development in India. This simple yet effective project allowed thousands of village dwellers to finally enjoy the simple luxuries of life by protecting these families from harmful kerosene fumes, saving on kerosene costs, and providing better light for the children to study after sunset. Click here to know more: http://bit.ly/2I5ZyMg

• Nimbus implemented a project with an NGO to install solar-powered drinking water booths to deal with sanitation and water issue. The project provided clean drinking water to all these households. The run-off water from the filtration units was then fed into toilets built in these households. It not only safeguarded their hygiene and sanitation but also helped restore the dignity and peace that is rightfully theirs. This project is a perfect example of how a simple solution can improve rural development in India. Click here to know more: http://bit.ly/2I9KRIg

The problems in rural development in India are grave, but the solutions are simple and easily achievable. Although the Indian government’s efforts towards putting in place infrastructure for electrification deserve mention, they are insufficient. We at Nimbus are committed to making the villages more habitable and providing the villagers with the basic amenities that will help them live a life of dignity, respect and comfort. However, we cannot do this alone and need your help. So let’s join hands and put together our resources and guide India towards better rural development in India, one village at a time.

Website: https://nimbussolar.in/

To quote George Curzon, “The central position of India, its magnificent resources, its teeming multitude of men, its great trading harbours, its reserve of military strength – all these are assets of precious value.”

India has the world’s second-largest population, with about 50% below the age group of 24. It provides the nation with a great pool of manpower, helping in its growth. We are also a nation gifted with abundant land and water resources, which most of its population is heavily dependent on. So why has India not made it to the list that includes countries like the United States, Britain and Russia?

The energy crisis could be one of its main concerns among the several factors curbing its development. The government of India promised to electrify all villages in India. However, extending power lines to remote villages is costly, and paying for conventional electricity is something the villagers cannot afford.

With the government failing in this endeavour, we cannot hope to propel development at the pace we desire. In addition, accelerated urbanization and industrial development have put our environment at risk. Our greenhouse gas emissions are increasing by the day. With the per capita population at a record high, this number will only increase if there is no conscious human intervention.

Moreover, India is the country most affected by climate change as this phenomenon directly impacts natural resources. So what can we, individuals of this beautiful country, do to help India reach its development goals?

Adopting solar energy in India is a sensible, simple, and feasible solution to this problem. Solar energy is the most promising, affordable, and reachable of the various sources of renewable energy.

The sun provides enough energy in one minute to supply the world’s energy needs for one year!

Solar energy is non-polluting, requires little maintenance and supervision, and has a life of 20-30 years with low running costs. It is incredibly unique because no large-scale installation is required. Credit must be given to the Indian government for identifying the value of solar energy in India and thus implementing several schemes to promote its use in India’s remotest villages. It has also provided several tax benefits and incentives for adopting solar energy in India. As a recent addition to its plan, the government has taken on a mission to solarize street lights all over the country.

Solar energy in India is now adopted by individual urban homeowners to power their homes. Corporations are now giving impetus to solar energy in their CSR agenda. Most industries that pay lakhs per month on their electricity bills are now leaning towards solar power to ease this incredible burden on their pockets.

India being a tropical country, will for eternity enjoy the benefit of having the sun shine on it abundantly. With the government of India and its citizens identifying this valuable asset, there is a fast yet steady shift in the trend toward using solar energy in India. That said, I, for one, am anticipating a future wherein the satellite image of India will show a country studded with solar panels. The future of solar energy in India is indeed bright.

Website: https://nimbussolar.in/

What do domestic solar kits in India mean?

India has the largest population that does not have access to electricity or an interrupted power supply. The number is roughly 304 million, constituting 6% of the urban and 33% of the rural population.

What’s the cost of having no electricity?

Lack of electricity has enormous implications – families forego entrepreneurial endeavours, children cannot study after dark, and health and women are burdened with time-consuming chores such as pounding grain or hauling water, leaving them with less time to engage in income-generating activities. If organizations take the initiative through CSR to energize the household with electricity, it will undoubtedly affect the whole community. Energy will bring more income to the household and the scope of education, leading to higher productivity and development for individuals in the community.

The implementation part is straightforward.

The solar power will charge the battery through an inverter, which will power the household electric appliances. The system will power daily household equipment and irrigation system for a particular number of hours in the day and after sunset.

The system – 

Domestic solar kits in India are comprised of the following components –

• Solar source
• Inverter
• Battery
• Fan
• CFL bulbs
• Pump
• Storage tank
• A small drip irrigation system and
• A water filter

Power stored in the battery will pass through an inverter, and it will run a fan, CFL bulbs, and a pump. The pump will feed water into a storage tank from the nearby lake or groundwater. Water in the storage tank will be used for drip irrigation, drinking water, and other household chores.

What can be the impact of this project –

These kinds of projects broadly impact individuals, families, and the community. These projects encourage education, empower households, provide better earning opportunities, and have a healthy life.

To add to the impact list, here are some pointers –

1. Reliable access to energy will make their summers more comfortable; increase their productivity hours, thereby increasing the per capita income and standard of living.
2. Encourages sustainable development & food security and helps empower rural households by providing them means to indulge in backyard farming. The product can then be sold at the local market or used for self-consumption.
3. Women burdened with time-consuming chores are relieved, giving them a chance for better livelihood, income opportunities, self-sufficiency, and independence.
4. Solar run bulbs will replace kerosene, which produces toxic fumes and black carbon, and increase the risk of burns.
5. Providing a better study environment and opportunities for children improves school enrollment.
6. The system helps to reduce carbon footprint and wastage of water and enhance green technology.
7. The project will give the families fundamental rights for a better life, such as electricity and running water.
8. This project combines energy conservation, water management, agricultural revolution, educational impetus, and women empowerment.

Project Viability:-

Domestic solar kits in India will have a significant impact on the lives of the people. Each household’s system will give them a sense of belonging and contribute towards its up-keeping. The warranties and guarantees on the products will ensure that suppliers deal with any issue swiftly and efficiently.

After 5 years of supportive system service, the pump, battery, and inverter cost relatively less, and the households can buy this from sales of products and savings from alternate fuels. Every person in a household can do the maintenance and cleaning, and the panels need to be cleaned weekly.

Website: https://nimbussolar.in/