Solar Power in Punjab, India

According to The Economic Times the government of Punjab, a northern state in India,  has initiated steps to develop solar power in India. The Punjab government is now currently inviting proposals from Indian and global companies to set up photo-voltaic power projects in the state.The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) declared that the "photo-voltaic projects would be developed on the built operate and own basis while inviting proposals from domestic and international companies." The term built operate and own "is used to describe public facilities funded, built, and owned for a fixed number of years by a private contractor" (msn.com). 

The PEDA claims that the "state is endowed with vast potential of solar energy estimated at 4-7 KWH/ sq meter of solar insulations levels and the government is keen to tap this resource for increasing the renewable energy share in the state by setting up solar photo-voltaic power projects." Private sector companies have until March 4, 2008 to submit their proposals with PEDA for setting photo-voltaic power projects. Furthermore "Companies with net worth of Rs. one crore (Rs. 10 million) and turnover of Rs three crore (Rs. 3 million)  would be eligible to submit their proposals with PEDA" (The Economic Times). 

I found this article very interesting considering that I was in Punjab and other parts of India for 3 weeks during our winter break. In India the majority of vehicles are 2-wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) while the rest are small cars and some SUVs. Indian cities are extremely densely populated, so you can imagine the amount of smog that is created. In mumbai (formerly bombay) the smog was so intense that even if it were a clear day it would seem overcast because of the pollution. This was characteristic of many big cities that I visited in India. 

North India, however, was somewhat different in that most of the rikshaws did not run on diesel but LNG or CNG. New Delhi, although India's 2nd largest city, was substantially less polluted than many cities that are even smaller in population. 

According to Forbes. com "Oil reached record highs in the last year as booming economies in China and India have increased global demand." I think that having solar power in India, whether it be in Punjab or other states, is a feasible solution to India's increasing energy demand. One of the major drawbacks of solar power, as we discussed in class, is that weather is unpredictable and that the sun isn't out when electricity is needed during the night. However, much of India is asleep by 10 p.m., more so than I would say here in the U.S. It literally is a night-and-day difference in the amount of people out on the streets in the day and in the night in India. Secondly, India's weather patterns are more clearly defined than in the U.S. In the winter much of India gets little rain, especially in areas like Punjab and New Delhi. Furthermore, there is a monsoon season in the summer which lasts 1-2 months, so solar power during that time could be cut and energy could easily be predicted to come from alternative sources. I'm not saying that solar power should replace existing energy sources in India, I'm stating that solar power is a viable clean energy solution that could take a substantial chunk out of India's rising demand for foreign oil.