International solar body sees Indian promise

The Indian state of Rajasthan could become a world leading location for solar projects due to the high levels of solar radiation the region receives. Edwin Koot, CEO of international […]

The Indian state of Rajasthan could become a world leading location for solar projects due to the high levels of solar radiation the region receives.

Edwin Koot, CEO of international trade body Solarplaza said: “The conditions in Rajasthan are so favourable, that it will be amongst the most logical places in the world to implement solar power. It’s only a matter of time for solar power to take off on a large scale in Rajasthan.”

On average, India has 300 sunny days per year and receives an hourly radiation of between 4 to 6 kWh/m2/day. Solarplaza say that if just 10% of India’s land mass was used for harnessing solar energy, installed solar capacity would be at 8,000GW.

Satya Kumar, managing director of Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Ltd said: “In western Rajasthan, a Capacity Utilisation Factor of 21% can be achieved. In Germany, the world solar capital, this is typically 13%. This means that a 1MW solar plant in western Rajasthan can produce 1.85 million units per year, compared to around 1.6 million units elsewhere in India.”

The Indian Government’s ‘National Solar Mission’ is targeting installations of 20GW of grid-connected and 2GW of off-grid solar power by 2022.

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