Solar power generation across India

Context

India’s energy needs are rapidly increasing, with growth in electricity and energy demand among the highest in the world. Although there has been progress in renewable energy generation, 54.67% of energy in India still comes from coal. There needs to be a rapid transition towards clean energy, of which solar is particularly important in India, which has the third-largest solar market in the world. 

Solar PV (photovoltaic) energy is generated by transforming solar energy into electricity. This is done by using special materials within cells of a solar panel called semiconductors. When light hits these semiconductors it displaces electrons from the semiconductor’s atoms, and these electrons can be captured in the form of an electrical current.

Project

The purpose of this project is to generate electricity using solar energy at a number of sites across India, and sell the power generated to the state grid. The generated electricity will be exported to the regional grid system which is under the purview of the new, interconnected national electricity grid of India.

Each year, the solar farms which make up this project will produce 480 MW of electricity for the grid, which is currently dominated by fossil fuel based power plants. The power generated will displace the fossil fuel power in the grid, avoiding emissions which would be produced by fossil fuel electricity generation. The emissions reductions are projected to equal approximately 860,000 tonnes CO2e per year. 

The project also contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through providing access to affordable clean energy (SDG 7), providing good employment to local people (SDG 8), and of course, emissions reductions to contribute to climate action (SDG 13).

Verification

This project is verified by the Verified Carbon Standard. You can view it on the Verra Registry here.

Climate Solution #8

Utility-scale solar photovoltaics

The sun provides a virtually unlimited, clean, and free fuel at a price that never changes. Solar farms take advantage of that resource, with large-scale arrays of hundreds, thousands, or in some cases millions of photovoltaic (PV) panels. They operate at a utility scale like conventional power plants in the amount of electricity they produce, but dramatically differ in their emissions.

In many parts of the world, solar PV is now cost competitive with or less costly than conventional power generation. In tandem with other renewables and enabled by better grids and energy storage, solar farms are ushering in the clean energy revolution.

The significant increase of the solution use could avoid 44-119 gigatons of greenhouse gases emissions depending on the climate mitigation ambition and electrification of demand side sectors.