The Suryashtakam is an eight-verse Octet, extolling Surya or the Sun God. While Indians chant the mantra, Germans are building solar panels on their rooftops, dominating the world stage as the leader in solar technology and, accounting for half the world's megawattage of solar power. Germany sees solar energy as the energy source of the future. After all, the amount of solar energy reaching the earth is around 10,000 times more than the amount of energy we use.
Govt backing
In a country such as Germany, which is not exactly known for its sunshine, every roof has become a potential mini-power plant and can not only produce electricity but also make money. Even agricultural fields are transforming rapidly, despite grey, gloomy weather and dribbles of winter sunshine. Thanks to the generous subsidy programme, land that used to produce sugar beet, potatoes and corn has now been replaced with bluish glistening modules mounted on automated stands and slanted toward the sun.
It is the government's generosity towards solar power that has encouraged thousands of ordinary Germans to invest in solar panels on their rooftops. German rooftops today account for over 1.8 GW of solar that was installed last year. German solar power has been rapidly expanding, because it has generous ‘Feed-in Tariffs' that pay solar owners to make power for the grid. What was once a niche industry has turned into a sector of global magnitude. The solar industry is responsible for almost 80,000 jobs in Germany.
Feed-in tariffs
Around the world, many look to Germany as the birthplace of feed-in tariffs. Germany got many aspects of the FITs scheme right. That is why India could take the best learning from Germany.
German banks have set aside over 100 billion euros in support of green power and smart grid projects — for just the next five years. The overall effect has been to harness individual German angst over pollution and global warming into a national movement to build renewable power. It is estimated that the total subsidy payout over the last 10 years has been over ¤60 billion. What also seems clear in Germany is that the old grid network model which saw electrons flow only one way from colossal, expensive, and often hazardous power plants, is out.
This is now being reinstated by an interactive, collaborative electron flow which reacts in milli-seconds to user demand and supply preferences.
Safe investment
Thanks to the Feed-In Tariff law enacted in 2000, operators of solar systems collect a fixed payment of (now) 39 euro cents for each kilowatt hour that they feed into the grid, at prices guaranteed for 20 years. By comparison, the producer price of electricity is approximately 5 euro cents per kilowatt hour. The rate paid to solar power producers, in the system known as net metering, will be reduced each year in a sliding scale. This is prompting a rush among homeowners to have solar panels installed on their roofs. Many installers have their order books sold out for the next 24 months.
Let me explain. A 2kWh system costs around ¤10000-12,000. This system typically gives a return of ¤700-800 per year and will recover the cost of installation in 12-14 years. This represents a return on investment of over 7 per cent. For many Germans, feed-in tariff is a safer investment than putting your money in the stock market.
The subsidies have led to fantastic growth in the photovoltaic market. There are now more than 3,00,000 photovoltaic systems in Germany — the energy law had planned for 1,00,000. Spread out across the country, they are owned by legions of homeowners, farmers and small businesses who are capitalising on the government-backed march into renewable energy.
The feed-in tariff has been vital in developing Germany into the world's leading and most successful solar energy producer. Currently, Germany has an installed PV capacity of 9 GW and the government targets achieving 66 GW by 2030.
The results are visible across the country today. Germany has more than 12 million sq.m of roofs and fields covered in solar panels.
The Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel's vision of completing Germany's conversion to provide 25 per cent of the nation's electricity from solar by the year 2050 is bold, ambitious but well on its way to becoming a reality.
(The author is a former Europe Director, CII and lives in Cologne, Germany.)
Keywords: Germans, building solar panels, rooftops
Comments:
Considering that solar panels produce for 20 years or more, it is
actually quite stupid not to invest in it at the current prices
gracefully subsidized for us by the Chinese Government.
When many parts of the country is suffering from shortage of Power,
it is impossible for the Government to convince the 'power starved'
citizen,what is holding up the MASS INTRODUCTION,SUBSIDY FOR TAPING
SOLAR ENERGY?We have to be contended with reading this kind of pieces
in the columns of news papers to satisfy ourselves.What a sad state?
Germany and India are two different countries. We cannot afford such
high FiTs for roof tops. Heck, DISCOMs are not even able to pay Rs. 3
- 4 per unit on time, let alone think of paying Rs. 17 - 18 that
certain states like Maharashtra & Gujarat have mandated for solar roof
tops.
Besides, pure economics favours rolling our of PV panels on MW scale
like the National Solar Mission. Developers are better able to reduce
the capex and hence prices due to economies of scale and ease of
logistics compared to roof top installations.
This has lead to capex falling to nearly Rs. 12 Crores from Rs. 17
Crores per MW and average tariff to around Rs. 7 per unit.
It is better India focus on large scale MW class installations instead
of limiting project sizes to around 5 MW.
Roof tops have a long way to go. An island of hope (in roof tops) that
the Gujarat Energy Management Research Institute wants to create does
not hold that much potential to recreate in India very soon.
This is posssible in developed counries which have adequate generating capacity . Additional capcity would be expensive and low Plant load factor . The feed in tariff is almost replacement tariff
But in india with perpetual deficit power this is economic stress. . Indian and state govt are overruling this aspect and copying western concept are puting power economics under strain
Absolutely unconnected and unwarranted reference to Indians' chanting of mantras extolling Sun god, in a deprecating tone. The first sentence has no connection to the rest of the article except to denigrate India's culture.
Author has indeed rightly brought out how industrialized country Germany has been supporting application of solar enegy to her citizens. India has been spending quite significantly on subsidies in fuel, food, fertilizers etc but not investing adequately in research and development efforts such as harnessing solar energy, wind power, geothermal enegy etc as part of renewable sources of energy. Bio-gas sourced from cattle dung has the potential to provide unfathomable source of energy required by rural households. Khadi & Village Industry has done excellent work in this area but half-hearted support by the Government in the form of provision of capital subsidy and credit by banks without earning the confidence and participation of ultimate users as well as utter lack of concern, commitment and accountability resulted into putting this project on the shelf whereas China did contribute quite significantly in this area. Germany has established bio-gas research institute in Nashik. Dr Patel
Despite huge potential for generation of solar power, we are simply not wise enough to realize its vast benefits. There is a ministry for promotion of renewable sources of energy. But, unfortunately, that is not good enough as the basic enthusiasm and missionary drive to explore all kinds of renewable energy, particularly solar energy, is not at all felt as the bureaucratic shackles have not been broken. We are also having dishonest companies who in the past claimed to have invested in wind energy turbines but it turned to be a fraud by these companies to claim tax deduction.Perhaps the crude price rise in the international market may wake us up.
How many of us know that most of India and Pakistan kind of countries
receive the sunlight double the duration when compared to India and when
Germany charges ahead in solar power why not countries like India can
lead in solar energy like they lead in IT?
Think about it!
No wonder the country in such a deep financial mess. Germans spent $130 billion in subsidies, this reminds me of the huge subsidies which our Government gives out to Oil companies, and to of no avail. Such a high cost of FIT's was never sustainable and Germany has now taken the right step of reducing FIT's by 30% and phasing them out completely in the next 5 years. Wise thing to do.
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