Long live the King - moving from 'King Coal' to the sun

If we are not adopting solar power, we are missing out on the greatest chance to convert our world to a cleaner and more livable world.

At the Paris summit in December 2015, more than 190 countries will meet to sign a new climate change agreement. Scientists have warned that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we will pass the threshold beyond which global warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible. One of the resources driving us quickly past the threshold is coal.

Coal is the planet’s most widely distributed and abundant fossil fuel. Sometimes, it is referred to as King Coal. At other times, it is referred to as Buried Sunshine, because coal is nothing but the fossilized remains of plants that grew in swamps millions of years ago, plants that captured sunshine for their life-giving process of photosynthesis. 

The sun, thus, is the source of two very different sources of power in use today: coal and solar photovoltaic (PV).

Let us take a look at some of the applications which can be easily adopted as against using power from coal (thermal) plants.

Solar pumps for irrigation: Replacing water subsidies 

India is the largest groundwater user in the world. There are more than 8 million diesel gensets being used in the irrigation sector, as more than 12 million farmers face erratic power supply. 

When we analyse the need to install electricity infrastructure in rural areas, it should be noted that a large portion of the electricity is required for pumping of ground water. Farmers are charged subsidised electricity costs. Hence, it can be said that a large portion of the electricity subsidy is actually a water subsidy. 

When we do the math of installing and maintaining power infrastructure, and providing subsidised electricity, it is simple to see that solar pumps are a more sensible way of powering rural India. 
 

Not only are solar pumps closer to nature, but they are smart. 

(Disclaimer: The author of this blog is the founder, MD of a company that manufactures solar agri pumps)

Solar Villages: Net producers of power

The state of Gujarat, has piloted the country’s first solar village, which means powering a village with clean power and smart metering to measure the power being used. The plant produces power and feeds it into the grid during the day. At night, the village takes power from the grid. This reduces the peak load on the grid during the day when the demand is the highest.

Today, more than 60% of the communities in the rural world have no power.To bring all these users online and provide them with more polluting power will only be a recipe for further increasing environmental woes of a planet which is screaming under the pressure from climatic changes. Instead, solar villages which can become net producers of power and not only consumers of it, is a smarter option. 

Solar on wastelands and arable land

Solar PV requires 3.5-4 acres of land per MWp of installation. Out of the 3,166 lakh hectares of land area, approximately 15% is wasteland which comes to 465 lakh hectares. This can accommodate approximately 32,000GW of solar plants. Clearly, a closer look at wastelands can provide the solar sector with optimal land for use. 

It should also be noted that a pilot is underway to install a solar plant on arable land and grow crops under the solar panels. If this proves to be successful, then solar plants would also be seen on arable land depending on crop to be grown. 

Conclusion

With Solar PV looking up, the concept of mining coal in one country, transporting it to another, and burning it in a rural location to power the development in cities, seems flawed. When we have a powerful source for local energy generation such as Solar PV, and when it is making economic sense, it seems almost 17th century-like to use coal. 

Agreed that the renewable sources of power are volatile and cannot be depended upon all the time and would need a backup resource. However, it is possible to depend almost entirely on solar power and also wind power. 
 

Considering the above, it is fair to say that if we are not adopting Solar PV, we are missing out on the greatest chance to convert our world to a cleaner and more livable world.

Karan Dangayach is Managing Director and founder, Shashwat Cleantech. Views are personal. 
Email:   karan@shashwatcleantech.com