When his design didn’t find takers nationally, Narendra Modi went local. A few years ago, the Gujarat chief minister was at an international summit. When a session on energy crisis cast light on solar power , Modi thought of the Rann of Kutch in his home state, where the land was endless and the sun’s heat relentless. He wondered: could countries blessed with sunlight form a solar alliance, led by India, to mainstream this promising source of power?
He wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with a broad concept of such an entity. He called it ‘Sun-Son’ — offspring of the sun. The Prime Minister’s Office acknowledged the proposal, but left it at that. So, Modi turned inwards. He asked his trusted lieutenants, energy minister Saurabh Patel and principal secretary S Jagdeesan, for a plan to turn the state into a hub in solar power.
The maiden expression of that vision came in January 2009, when Gujarat became the first Indian state to launch a solar-power policy. Several states followed suit. Like Gujarat, they also showed a long list of companies interested in generating solar power. But, unlike them, Gujarat is following through with an unmatched sense of purpose.
This June, it signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) — an operational and financial commitment from both the state and the developers — with 21 companies to generate 365 MW of solar power. At an estimated capital cost of Rs 15 crore per MW of solar capacity, that’s a likely investment of about Rs 5,500 crore. And supply is expected to begin by December 2011.
By all markers, Gujarat is the clear leader in solar power. Other states, notably Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, have installations or commitments of a capacity in double digits. At an all-India level, the National Solar Mission, launched by the Centre in November 2009, has set a target of 1,000 MW target for 2013. In other words, Gujarat is on its way to rolling out one-third, probably more, of what the Centre is targeting for all of India in the next three years.
“Gujarat has the most aggressive plans,” says Ratul Puri, executive director, Moser Baer India , a sister company of which is setting up three solar plants of 15 MW each in the state. The plans also have a big idea: integrate solar into Gujarat’s power ecosystem by simultaneously smoothening both the demand and the supply sides.
On the supply side, Gujarat is incentivising developers by announcing solar tariffs for 25 years. The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC), the state distribution arm, has fixed tariffs for the two kinds of solar technologies. And, many say, the rates are generous to developers.
The first technology is photovoltaic (PV) cells. Here large, solar panels made of silicon are erected on land in such a way that sunlight falls directly on them, and gets converted into power. Solar producers in Gujarat using the PV technology will get Rs 15 per unit for the first 12 years and Rs 5 per unit from year 13 to year 25. By comparison, thermal and hydro cost Rs 4-6 per unit.
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