Pioneering Solar Energy in India: Perspectives from Dr. Bijendra Negi, Former Adviser, MNRE

In this insightful interview, Dr. Bijendra Singh Negi, former Adviser and Scientist-G at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and now Director of the Centre of Excellence for Clean Energy at Graphic Era University, shares his expert insights on India’s solar energy future. With over 30 years of experience in policy-making, research, and international collaboration, Dr. Negi emphasizes the crucial role of solar power in meeting India’s renewable energy targets.

He highlights the potential for solar energy to drive sustainable development, particularly in regions like Uttarakhand, where challenges such as land constraints can be addressed through innovative solutions like rooftop solar systems and solar farming. He also discusses the latest advancements in energy storage and microgrids that can revolutionize energy access in remote areas. Drawing on his extensive experience, including his role in developing quality control standards and technical regulations for solar projects in India, Dr. Negi underscores the importance of research, policy, and technology to drive future growth in the sector.

1. Given India’s geographical advantages and growing renewable energy sector, how do you see the future of solar energy in the country over the next decade?

India’s current growth of 90 GW solar power and the government commitment for 500 GW clean energy by 2030 and net zero emission mission by 2070 establishes bright prospects for enormous solar power over the next decade. Technology is developing fast and more efficient solar modules and high-quality components are available which will help produce more electricity form solar plants. Further, developments in storage technologies have improved reliability of solar power supply. It is expected that solar will meet 30% of electricity demand of India by 2030. Solar power integrated with farming has tremendous potential for sustainable development of agriculture making farming as an industry. This would require a robust policy and ecosystem for solar farming for agriculture sector.

The government policy and the scheme on PLI for indigenous manufacturing of SPV module and the thrust on to exploit the full potential of solar energy through various approaches for all possible applications is expected to make solar power as the most prominent source of renewable energy sources in the next decade in India. There should be a review on policy making it conducive to installations of plants and grid connection with given tariffs in terms of availability of solar energy.  In addition, skilled work force is needed to cater to the requirements of research, technology development, manufacture, installation and maintenance of projects.     

2. What are the main obstacles to expanding solar energy infrastructure in regions like Uttarakhand, and what strategies do you suggest to overcome these challenges?

Uttarakhand has main constraint of availability of suitable land specially in mountainous region for setting up solar power plants. However, there is a considerable potential for solar roof top systems on all public, private including residential areas. It should be mandatory for all buildings to have roof top systems and the installations should be done by approved project developers who will have commitment to attend repair and maintenance of projects. There should not be any subsidy. Solar should be treated as a fuel and therefore the cost of the project should be borne by either project developers or power producers. The beneficiary should be charged the real price of electricity produced from solar which should be cheaper than conventional power. In case the cost of project is borne by the beneficiary, the benefit of power generation should be given to beneficiary.

However, in the mountainous region since the contour farming land has extremely poor yields and irrigation is a constraint, solar farming on this land getting sufficient solar energy offers twin benefits of electricity generation and revenue generation which has tremendous prospects of socio-economic development. This configuration would require integration of rain water harvesting for cleaning panels. The cost of construction may be higher than usual ground mounted plants in plains but the approach has value for both sustainability and economic development. Schools, health clinics and residential houses should have roof top systems. This will reduce the pressure on construction of hydro projects which have proved high risk of safety in the mountainous region of Uttarakhand.  

3. In your opinion, which recent innovations in solar technology, such as energy storage or microgrids, have the most potential to transform energy access in remote areas?

Energy storage has witnessed tremendous developments in recent years offering a sustainable solution to energy access in remote areas. Battery storage systems in conjunction with solar panels offers a reliable means for improving reliability in supply of renewable power. There is a need for further research and innovation for indigenous development and manufacture of energy storage systems for sustainability. Microgrid has advantage of supplying sustainable energy generation utilizing local resource at local level at reduced cost. However, microgrid will also need energy storage systems for uninterruptible supply of power.

4. How significant is the role of solar energy in combating climate change, especially in vulnerable regions, and what further actions should be taken to maximize its impact?

The global action to transition to renewable energy to achieve net zero emission mission by 2070 is a solid step towards protection of our environment and hence lives on the planet earth. Solar PV modules offer the most promising means for combating climate change in vulnerable regions. High efficiency SPV modules have the advantage of utilizing maximum area for conversion of solar energy into electricity. In addition, small capacity floating SPV power projects on such locations offers another approach towards maximizing the impact on sustainability in such region.

5. What are the key areas of solar energy research that you believe will drive the next wave of advancements in the renewable energy sector?

Research and development is the most important need for technology development for sustainable supply of power from the sun. The focus of R&D should be on development of high efficiency solar cells and power electronics for indigenous production of SPV modules, systems integration, energy storage systems, manufacturing, solar concentrators and evacuated tube collectors for solar thermal systems, etc suitable for Indian conditions. The focus of R&D efforts should be to achieve efficiency (more than 20%) with reliability and cost reduction competitive at global level. It is high time for India to haver a robust policy with ecosystem for supporting R&D in association with industry for development of products and production processes for technology needs of the country with quality at global level. This entails heavy investments from the government and industries.