India’s ambitious solar targets of 100 GW by 2022, and 450 GW by 2030, are largely built around massive ramp ups in large scale deployments, or ‘utility scale’ solar. These comprise designated solar parks, even ultra large parks, and other hundred MW plus installations that will feed into the grid directly. But the country has a clear problem. The whole focus on going large was driven by expected economies of scale, and consequently, lower costs per unit of power. Quite simply, that might have built us one of the world’s largest and possibly most outdated solar capacity network so far. Based on polycrystalline solar for instance, even as the rest of the word moves on to Mono Perc and beyond. ...

This article is prompted by a report (in the Times of India of 1st December) that for some roof-top solar projects, a tariff of Rs 3 per unit has been quoted, which is same as the average cost of power from the coal-fired plants of NTPC. The report also gives the impression that solar power is going to be cheaper than power generated by thermal power plants. While it is true that the cost of solar power has been coming down, it is necessary to understand certain aspects of solar power, particularly regarding its impact on the overall cost of power supply, so as to be able to take informed decisions without being carried away by some simplistic facts. ...

In today’s environmentally conscious world, finding smart solutions to save the planet’s resources is high on the agenda. Damage to our environment is pressing issue, and more and more people are making changes to reduce their carbon footprint. In light of the growing seriousness of climate change, and motivated by the uncertainty of the future, positive steps are being taken around the world. For example, the ban on avoidable plastic waste (thus the ban on plastic straws and other single-use plastics) is imminent in many countries, with the ban in the UK set to be introduced as early as next year. ...