Events & Issues

New Delhi, 13 June 2011

German Solar Tech

EXPLOIT INDIA’S SUN

 By Proloy Bagchi

Post Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster many countries, including those which hope to be India’s civil nuclear suppliers, are having a re-think about nuclear power. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel a nuclear power enthusiast, after Fukushima has heeded the widely shared concern in Germany about the hazards of nuclear power and has gone by the recommendations of a panel to re-consider the matter in depth.

Importantly, Germany had decided to phase out all its 17 nuclear power plants by 2022. Juxtapose this against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assertion that by 2020 the country expected to raise the installed nuclear power capacity to 9000 MW (as against the current around 6000 MW) in an effort to “meet its emission targets”.

Indeed, New Delhi has been busy negotiating agreements with various countries for establishment of nuclear power plants following the 2004 US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement. Presumably on India’s request, the German Chancellor on a visit to New Delhi earlier this month agreed to help India in areas relating to nuclear safety. Germany is the largest trading partner of India in the European Union.

Chancellor Merkel also underscored that Germany would ensure that the Indian nuclear power plants safety standards would be world class. Adding, that Germany would help India achieve a “broad energy base” and help development of renewable energy.

So obsessed with costly and hazardous nuclear power is UPA II that it failed to raise the issue of German assistance in solar energy, a field in which the Germans have expertise. Instead of tapping this and other alternative energy sources, New Delhi kept in abeyance a series of agreements signed during Merkel’s earlier visit in 2007. These included, among others, enlarging the ties in environmental technology. 

Shockingly, barring seminars and presentations by German experts and entrepreneurs no headway has been made in this direction, even after three years. In fact, last year representatives of German solar technology companies visit Kolkata last year as part of Renewable Energy Export Initiative initiated by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology and jointly executed by the Berlin-based Renewables Academy and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. But the excitement generated by the delegation somehow dissipated with the initiative, fizzling out.

Raising a moot point. Why is the Government not interested in making use of German expertise in solar energy? Incredible as it might sound; cloudy Germany is a power-house of solar power today. With an average of only 1500 hours of sunshine and around 60 sunny days in a year, the country has become a world leader in solar power.

Besides, as the world’s sixth biggest emitter of carbon, Germany is trying to slash its carbon emissions and wants renewable sources to supply a quarter of its energy needs by 2020.  It has almost half of the world’s solar installations and is way ahead of everyone in production of photovoltaic cells.

A law adopted in 2000 requires the country's huge power utility companies to subsidize the solar start-ups by buying their electricity at marked-up rates that makes it easy for the newcomers to turn a profit. Their green power enters the grid for sale to consumers. The law was part of a broader measure adopted by the German Government to boost production of energy from renewable sources.

Moreover, the country has embraced solar technology not just for its environmental benefits and spectacular increase in solar power. But also as it has translated this into generating employment in this sector.

As it stands, the German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and now has 16,500 MW of solar PV capacity on line in Germany. Solar PV provided 12 TWH (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity, about 2% of total electricity. The country’s thriving solar technology industry has been looking for markets in the US, China, India and Pakistan.

Obversely, India has vast solar power potential, far more than that of an overcast Germany. With about 300 sunny days (as against 60 of Germany) and about 3000 sunshine hours per year, despite three monsoon months (as against 1500 in Germany) India can produce solar (photovoltaic) power enough to outstrip the domestic electricity demand in 2015.

Pertinently, by as much as a thousand times, even if the efficiency of PV modules is taken as mere 10%, though currently their general efficiency is almost twice as much. True, producing solar (photovoltaic) power is, presently, a costly proposition but with time, further R&D and proliferation the costs will come down.

Initially, like in Germany, the Government might have to subsidise solar power to make it affordable but it would be energy with zero emission and would also help set at rest PM Manmohan Singh’s unease about India’s emission targets.

In any case, nuclear power, too, is not cheap. With its high capital cost and rising prices on measures for several safeguards including those relating to environment, security and radio-active waste disposal.

Most scandalous, reports indicate that the nuclear power lobby in India has consistently lied and understated costs to make nuclear power look economically viable. Notably, Belgium decided way back in 2003 to phase out its seven reactors supplying 60% of its energy needs after 40 years of use due to the expensive energy they produced as also for safety reasons.

The Fukushima disaster acted as a catalyst and turned the tide against nuclear energy globally. Not only in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and China – but even in the US.

However, for reasons best known to it, New Delhi continues to hoot for nuclear power. Clearly, it would be worth India’s while to seriously take up the German offer of assistance in renewable energy. Specially, as Chancellor Merkel articulated Germany’s ambition of generating 20 GW solar power (against current mere 10 MW) by 2020 during her visit. Having established a special relationship with Germany, New Delhi must seize Berlin’s offer. The synergy between the German expertise and sunny India needs to be exploited for the mutual benefit of both. ---- INFA

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