Sunny Days
Solar energy commission proposed to help meet future energy needs
Asense of urgency in developing alternative energy options is evident in the way corporations and the government are turning their sights on non-conventional sources, particularly solar. Few countries have Indias solar potential. Experts say that if just 2 per cent of the land area were used to harvest energy from sunshine, the power so generated would meet all our energy needs and more.
Currently solar energy is expensive. But economies of scale would kick in once we turn to solar energy on a large scale, and prices will drop with further research. Solar electric or solar voltaic panels made of wafer-thin silicon sheets generate electricity when solar-heated electrons whizz all over the panel surface. Solar energy can be transmitted directly as electricity or stored in batteries for use at night or during rainy weather. The governments proposal to invest $10 billion to set up a solar energy commission should herald the launching of a countrywide programme.
Operating under the department of science and technology, the autonomous solar energy commission will have equal private and public participation. The Eleventh Plan allocation for R&D in photovoltaic (PV) technology is Rs 600 crore. The PV market is drawing investment from foreign as well as Indian corporations. The challenges they face include shortage of raw materials like polysilicon used in the making of PV panels.
Futurist-physicist Michio Kaku, speaking to The Times of India recently, projected that globally, oil prices will keep rising and the price of solar-hydrogen power will keep falling and this will ultimately usher in a solar-hydrogen age. How long the transition takes depends on how soon and efficiently we take up the challenge of conversion. Sporadic efforts by individuals and NGOs are not enough. The Energy Research Institute is steering a project to make solar lamps available in rural areas charged with solar-powered batteries at low rentals of Rs 3-5 per day, to help light a billion lives, as their slogan says. Grass-roots efforts and creation of public awareness need to go hand in hand with high-end manufacturing initiatives so that there are enough PV panels and solar films available for large-scale domestic solar power generation and not just to feed export markets. India has abundant sunshine. Its time to harness some of it.