December 21, 2017
Dinesh Trivedi asks a Question on solar power generation
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Will the Minister of NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY be pleased to state:
(a) whether the target of generating 100 GW power through solar energy will be achieved by the Government by 2022 and if so, the steps taken and the achievements made so far in this regard;
(b) the demand for fuels of the solar energy sector and the details of the investment attracted by the Government for the purpose so far;
(c) the current status of the domestic industry of polysilicon, PV modules, Lithium ion batteries in terms of costs and the measures taken by the Government to incentivise indigenous solar energy capacity building using tax credits or subsidies;
(d) whether the Government can achieve its targets for generation of solar energy along with ‘Make in India’ agenda keeping in view the low cost of inputs in Chinese markets vis-a-vis the cost of indigenous generation of solar energy; and
(e) if so, the details thereof along with the manner in which the target is likely to be achieved by the Government?
Supplementary Question
Environment is a huge issue, not only in the country but in the world. So I will ask a simple question, Madam, the question is, whether the target of generating 100 GW of power through solar energy would be achieved by 2022 or not? Unfortunately there was no specific answer. But Madam, if you look at the answer itself, you would see that there is no way you can achieve this target. So would it not be a proper thing to have a realistic target? Both in terms of investment and capacity it’s just not possible.
It is also very clear from the answer that at the moment the bids are very, very low, and there are multiple challenges. So my Supplementary Question is, while it’s laudable that we all talk about ‘Made in India’, and we all support that, if you look at the cheap import of the solar cells and the modules, which are the solar panels, will the Government consider giving enough importance to indigenous industry so that we do not have to import anything related to solar energy manufacturing?
The other question is about the reliability of the grid itself because the resources of solar and wind – renewable energy sources – is not under one’s control; they are in the control of nature. Let’s say, the peak hour requirement is at 6 pm. But at 6 pm, there is no sun, and there is not too much of energy to retain this sort of energy. Germany is supposed to be very efficient. Even Germany is finding it difficult to manage the grid.
So my question, to be very short, is how are you going to manage the grid in a very efficient manner and secondly, are you thinking of shutting the other power plants, be it water supply, be it normal energy supply?
