SKY- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana

The Gujarat government on Saturday launched a solar power scheme for farmers- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) enabling them to generate electricity for their captive consumption as well as sell the surplus power to the grid and earn an extra buck.

Announcing the pilot project of the scheme in Gandhinagar, chief minister Vijay Rupani termed it a revolutionary step towards empowering farmers to generate their own electricity using solar energy and help doubling their income.

As per the scheme, farmers having existing electricity connection will be given solar panels as per their load requirements. The State and Central governments will give 60 per cent subsidy on the cost of project. The farmer is required to take 5 per cent cost, while 35 per cent will be provided to him as an affordable loan with interest rates of 4.5-6 per cent. The scheme duration is 25 years, which is split between 7-year period and 18-year period.

"For the first 7 years, farmers will get per unit rate of Rs 7 (Rs 3.5 by GUVNL + Rs 3.5 by state govt). For the subsequent 18 years they will get the rate of Rs 3.5 for each unit sold," said Saurabh Patel, State Energy Minister.

The move is being seen as an attempt to pacify the farmers, who are reportedly angry with the ruling party.

Below is the link for the media session of Gujarat CM for announcement of Suryashakti Kisan Yojana, click here. To know more about subsidy, read MNRE Rooftop Solar Power Plant Subsidy Scheme.

Har Ghar Solar: Grid Connected

We all understand the benefits of solar energy. Currently, it is the hot topic among residential sector. And why not? With reducing price of Solar system and constant support from government on form of subsidies, it is great time to invest on SOLAR and enjoy butter for next 25 years.

Tea is best prepared when one knows about the quantity of ingredients to be added. So, the question is HOW MUCH? How much capacity of solar system can you install in your premise. In the current blog, we will be talking about grid connected Solar PV system. The capacity of system is dependent on the load of the consumer. In simpler words, it is dependent on how much appliances one use during the day.

In the below example, we have considered a typical 2 BHK house with basic electrical appliances.

Let’s assume that the below chart represents consumption of a house in a day;

Equipment	Quantity	Power Consumption (W)	No. of Hours	Total consumption (Wh)
Fan	3	50	6	900
Tube light	3	35	6	630
CFL	3	12	8	288
AC	1	1200	4	4800
Washing Machine	1	750	0.5	375
Refrigerator	1	150	10	1500
Miscellaneous	1	200	1	200
Total Consumption				8693
Margin@10%				869.3
Total Consumption in kWh				9.56

A typical solar system with capacity of 1 kWp generates 3.5-4 kWh. The solar calculator by NREL; PVWatt gives consumer an idea about the annual generation by solar PV system.  Considering the same, a solar system of 2-2.5 kWp would be sufficient for the above table. One need to consider peak consumption during the day.

A better and accurate method to calculate the load would be an electricity bill. Analyse the electricity bill to find monthly consumption & daily peak consumption and accordingly install the PV system.

Apart from the consumption of the house there are some other factors which has to be considered while determining capacity of the system, such as:

Sanctioned Load

This can be determine by going through the electricity bill. Government allows only a percentage of total sanctioned load to be capacity of system. Kindly refer the solar state policy to know the allowed percentage.

Shadow Free Area

One of the key factor when it comes to installing solar system is shadow free area. Shading on single module affects the performance of whole string by increasing shading loss. Hence it is important to identify area without obstacle before installation. To install 1 kWp of system, approx. 100-125 sq.ft. is needed.

  

     Orientation of House

This is one factor which is not in your control. There are scenario where the house/ flat are not facing true south. In such cases, it is advised to change the orientation of the system to true south to achieve maximum output. This would definitely reduce the capacity of the system which you could have installed in orientation of house.

SRISTI for Solar Rooftop Plant Scheme 2018

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Central Government has proposed SRISTI Scheme. Subsequently, this “Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI) scheme” will provide incentives for the installation of rooftop solar power plant projects in India.

This concept of solar power plant subsidy will form the basis of the revised scheme of MNRE to implement solar rooftop projects in Phase II. Moreover, CCEA note which was submitted earlier to the Union Cabinet in April will get replaced by this SRISTI Scheme.

The primary objective of this proposed scheme is to generate 40 GW power from the solar rooftops till the financial year 2021-2022. For this reason, central govt. is going to spend Rs. 23,450 crore for this scheme.

SRISTI Scheme – Features

The important features and highlights of this scheme are as follows:-

• This Solar Power Plant Subsidy Scheme will provide incentives for the sustainable implementation of Rooftop.
• Subsequently, this scheme will form the advanced version of the previous MNRE scheme in Phase II.
• Accordingly, govt. will integrate Discoms to implement this solar subsidy scheme.
• Central govt. will provide financial assistance to implement rooftop solar power plants for the residential users.
• Henceforth, users of the residential sectors can install the particular in-line capacity as per their necessity and their SERC (State Electricity Regulation Commission) Regulation.
• Central govt. will provide subsidy up to 5 KWP capacity of power plant.
• Furthermore, govt. aims to generate 40,000 MW power with a total outlay of Rs 23,450 crore.

SRISTI Scheme – Incentives

Central Govt. is going to provide incentives for successful installation of solar projects:-

1. Govt. provides incentives for subsidy to users of the residential sector at Rs. 18,000/KW which will get calculated at benchmark cost of Rs. 60,000/KW.
2. Subsequently, govt. will also provide incentives to the Discoms for various sectors which includes social, institutional, government sectors, commercial and industrial sector. The rates are fixed at Rs. 5,500/KW which govt. will calculate at total cost of Rs. 55,000/KW.
3. Under this solar subsidy scheme, govt. will provide total incentive of Rs. 9000 crore for installation of power plants of 5,000 MW capacity.
4. Moreover, govt. will provide incentives for Discoms of total 14,450 crore for installations of solar rooftops of 35,000 MW.
5. Furthermore, total outlay of this scheme is Rs. 23,450 crore for power generation of 40 GW capacity of solar rooftops.

The notice from MNRE on SRISTI can be downloaded from here.

Solar Buzz: SECI’s 3 GW Auction

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has auctioned 3 GW of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) in which ACME emerged as the lowest (L1) bidder by quoting a tariff of ₹2.44/kWh to develop 600 MW.

Auction Result for 3 GW Solar Project
Bidder	Capacity (MW)	Quoted Tariff (Rs./ KWh)
ACME Solar	600	2.44
Azure Power	300	2.64
Rutherford SolarFarm (Canadian Solar)	200	2.70
Mahoba Solar UP (Adani)	300	2.71
Renew Solar Power	500	2.71
SBE Renewables (Soft Bank)	1800	2.71
Mahindra Susten	250	2.72
Mytrah Energy	200	2.72
Tata Power (TTREL)	250	2.72
Hero Solar Energy	250	2.81
SPRNG Vaayu Urja (Actis)	250	2.90

Note*- SB Energy (SoftBank) bidded for 1800 MW but won 1100 MW

The tariffs quoted in this auction ranged between a high of ₹2.90/kWh and a low of ₹2.44/kWh a ₹0.46/kWh difference between the lowest and highest bid.

Azure Power bid for 300 MW quoting a tariff of ₹2.64 /kWh and emerged as the L2 bidder. Rutherford Solar Farms (Canadian Solar) quoted a tariff of ₹2.70/kWh to develop 200 MW. Adani Green and ReNew Power quoted a tariff of ₹2.71/kWh to develop 300 MW and 500 MW respectively.

SBE Renewables (SoftBank) also quoted a tariff of ₹2.71/kWh to develop 1,800 MW but was awarded 1,100 MW. The 1,100 MW project won by SoftBank is the single largest capacity bid in India to date in a reverse auction.

MNRE Rooftop Solar Power Plant Subsidy Scheme

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Central Government is inviting application forms for the Rooftop Solar Power Plant Subsidy Scheme. Subsequently social sector and residential users can adopt solar rooftop connections and earn regular income from the power generated. Accordingly, interested users can contact their electricity providers to set up grid connections.

 Application Procedure

Candidates can apply to install these rooftop connections as described below:-

• Firstly, people have to contact their electricity providers to know the procedure and fees to install rooftop connection.
• Subsequently, interested candidates must get an approval from the Electricity providers for installation of rooftop solar capacity panel.
• Accordingly, then candidates have to contact solar rooftop developer to install such systems at their rooftops.
• Afterwards, people have to intimate the successful completion of installation process to their Electricity Providers.
• Finally, Electricity providers will carry out an inspection and gives it final approval to provide them grid interconnection.

After obtaining grid connection, people can earn money according to the amount of electricity generated through their solar rooftops.

Rooftop Solar Connection – Specifications

Specifications
Rooftop Area Required (per KW)	100 sq. ft
Cost of Installation (per KW) – Without Subsidy	Rs. 60,000 – Rs. 70,000 (MNRE Benchmark Cost)
Cost of Installation (per KW) – After 30% MNRE Subsidy	Rs. 42,000 – Rs. 49,000 (Residential sector only)

Incentives 

• Central govt. Incentives – All the people belonging to residential, institutional & social sectors who opt to install solar connections can avail subsidy of 30% on the total cost. Accordingly, MNRE will provide this subsidy through EE and REM, state nodal agency of Delhi
• Delhi govt. Incentives – For residential users, Delhi govt. will provide Generation Based Incentive (GBI) of Rs. 2 per Unit (KWH) which is generated for the first 3 years.
• Generation Based Incentives (GBI)-

1. Eligibility Criteria: 1,100 to 1,500 KWh / KWp per annum
2. Annual Revenue: Rs. 2,200 to Rs. 3,000 /KWp per annum

• Other Incentives –

1. Home Loan Scheme – To install rooftop solar connections, people can avail loans from bank at a subsidized rate.
2. Priority Sector Lending Scheme – Under this scheme, people can take loan of up to Rs. 10 lakhs to install rooftop connections.

For more details, people can visit the official website – mnre.gov.in .