[Wolfheart]

My family has some ancestral land of a few acres in Gujarat state. Though it's agricultural land, farming is not realy our cup of tea and the land remains unused.

I have been thinking about using it for solar energy generation since the area is blessed with sunshine throughout the year. I've also heard that the govenment may offer incentives and even low cost technology to support solar farm.

Does anyone have any experience with Solar or Wind energy generation?

[SS-Traveller]

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Official Website, Govt. of India ) looks after this, and folks like you who are interested to set up wind/solar farms on their land, are given large subsidies to help them do so (esp. if the land is found suitable for such use). Also, I understand that part of the power generated from your wind farms is offered to you as credits, for your own use elsewhere in the country.

It might interest you to go through these websites also:
http://www.windpowerindia.com/govtcent.html
Ireda Ltd.
www.cwet.tn.nic.in

[aargee]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Also, I understand that part of the power generated from your wind farms is offered to you as credits, for your own use elsewhere in the country.

Doc, is this serious? It means that, I produce electricity & distribute anywhere in this country? How about pulling the over hear wires etc and what about the standards? I doubt on this; may be, may be, the generated electricity can be availed for self use without questions.

Also what I heard was, Gujarat & AP are the only states who encourage production of electricity by paying more to the producers with TN being the worst!!!

[indian21r]

Hi wolfheart,

I am working in the Solar field. Drop me a pm with the coordinates of your site so that I can see if it is suitable land. Also mention the parcel of land that you have. There are different schemes that are there, but at this point we have to see what can be applicable

There are Renewable energy certificates which can be traded on certain exchanges. Renewables are picking up in India big time. They are good long term investment.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by aargee

I produce electricity & distribute anywhere in this country? How about pulling the over hear wires etc and what about the standards?

No, it's not as complicated as that! The electricity produced at your wind farm goes into the Indian electricity grid (Map of Indian Electricity Grid - India - National Energy Grids - Library - GENI - Global Energy Network Institute). And you use electricity from the same Grid somewhere else, isn't it? So the govt. gives you something like an IOU, which you can encash with your electricity supplier at another corner of the country.

[absynthguzzler]

Planning to install 4KVA rooftop solar at our residence in hyderabad. Is Net-metering tariff the same for with/without subsidy in Telangana? The policy only mentions "cost of average annual pooled tariff" will be paid for the surplus.

[navpreet318]

What are the current prices for rooftop solar power plant per KW and what is the rule of thumb for area required per KW?
I'm planning for a plant without batteries as the facility where it will be used won't need electricity at night.
Maybe just a few batteries for the few LED lamps around the facility.

[absynthguzzler]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

What are the current prices for rooftop solar power plant per KW and what is the rule of thumb for area required per KW?
I'm planning for a plant without batteries as the facility where it will be used won't need electricity at night.
Maybe just a few batteries for the few LED lamps around the facility.

My estimate is 35-45rs per watt for solar panels(cheaper if it's Indian/Chinese) including civil works + 1-1.5 lac for high efficiency inverter and electricals. Area required is 100-120sq feet/1000watts .

The prices I've got are for Bosch Solar. I've been trying to find a vendor for same but it looks like they're out of this business after more aggressive companies came into market.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

What are the current prices for rooftop solar power plant per KW and what is the rule of thumb for area required per KW?
I'm planning for a plant without batteries as the facility where it will be used won't need electricity at night.
Maybe just a few batteries for the few LED lamps around the facility.

You will require batteries and inverter as a solar panel doesn't produce same power throughout the day and the electricity produced is DC which needs to be converted to AC through an inverter. Please do some thorough research as to how many KWH of electricity you need.
Then check how much sunshine you get on average via a NASA link you can find on Google.
Say you need 4KW of energy 9hrs a day i.e. 36Kwh every day. On average in India you would get 4-5 Peak Sunlight Hours. So for getting those 36Kwh of energy you will have to get a 9KW system.

[navpreet318]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Absynthguzzler: that is a good ballpark figure. I think I should be able to get lower since we are working for a larger capacity plant. About 80KW.

Rdst_1 : Yes the Invertor will definitely be used. What I'm planning is an online system where the power is used from the solar and any shortage is made up by pulling additional power from the grid. Since this is a fairly decent sized plant, using batteries will take up too much space and wouldn't exactly be an economically viable option. This is particularly a commercial use facility with morning to evening use. Any extra energy produced can then be let into the grid using net metering.
I'm trying to get as much information as possible. But it is only limited to Websites and vendors. There hasn't been much foray into solar power in Uttarakhand as of now.

[Samurai]

There is no escaping batteries because Solar is not a stable power source. However, every electrical appliance expects stable power source.

Even a moving cloud can bring down your power generation. You have to plan for average power generation, that means storing power in batteries when it is generated in excess and use the batteries when the generation is low due to cloud or rain.

Looks like you are planing to use grid + solar for your commercial use. Not viable, you have to plan for grid + diesel generator + solar.

Sending power back to the grid gets even more complicated. No grid wants erratic power source either. You need to use solar power smoothers to ensure constant power back to the grid.

[navpreet318]

Hi Samurai, I was told by one of the vendors that I had a discussion with that the Invertor system to be used in an on-grid system takes care of the erratic power supply and seamlessly increases and decreases power pulled from the grid or supplied to the grid. It even stops power supply to the grid incase of an electric cut in the grid.

I was particular that there shouldn't be voltage fluctuations and it was told to me that with these new Invertor systems there is non.

And as for the generator, I have taken that into account too. Overall requirement would be close to 80KW. So will need to plan that too.

[shri]

I got the following quotation from a vendor for an on-grid solar PV system

CUSTOMER ENERGY STATISTICS AND REQUIREMENT:
a. Meter Sl.No. : NA
b. Meter Type: Three Phase
c. Sanctioned Load: NA
d. Energy Consumption
a. Average Monthly Unit(KWh) Consumption: 400
b. Average Daily Unit(KWh) Consumption: 13.33
e. Solar System generation: 1KW Solar system will generate 4 Units/Day on average
a. For 100% Solar generation Solar Plant capacity required – 5KWp
f. Customer Requirement: Solar Plant Max Capacity – 6.75KWp (Because of Three phase
configuration)
a. Solar Panel capacity – 5KW
b. Solar On-Grid Inverter - 3Ø 6KW Grid-Tied Inverter
c. Average Daily Solar generation in Unit(KWh): 20-25 Units
d. Average Monthly Solar generation in Unit(KWh): 600 - 750
g. The above proposed Solar System will reduce the Grid Electricity by – 100% and export excess to
MESCOM grid

QUOTATION - ON-GRID SOLAR SYSTEM 6KW
Sl.No. Description Quantity(No’s) Rate(Rs.)
1 5KW PV Modules 250Wp X 20Nos 4,95,000
2 6KVA Grid Tied Inverter 1
3 DC Combiner Box 1
4 DC Distribution Box 1
5 AC Combiner Box 1
6 AC Distribution Box 1
7 Energy Meters 2
8 Earthing Rod, Earth Enhancing chemical 4
9 Wires, Pipes, Connectors – Other accessories As required
10 Module mounting structure 1
11 Transport, Labour Charges, Installation As required
Total 4,95,000
Tax amount(14.5% VAT on 20% Amount of bill) 14,355
Grand Total 5,09,355

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Hi Samurai, I was told by one of the vendors that I had a discussion with that the Invertor system to be used in an on-grid system takes care of the erratic power supply and seamlessly increases and decreases power pulled from the grid or supplied to the grid. It even stops power supply to the grid incase of an electric cut in the grid.

Technically, inverter, solar controller and solar smoother are different functions.

Inverter -> Converts DC to AC.
Solar controller -> Controls which power source is to be used based on load and solar power generation level. For example, generator if running should at least have 30% load to run efficiently.
Solar smoother -> Removes power fluctuations while sending power to grid.

May be your vendor has combined everything into a single system.

[inder]

I have also filled the express interest form on the MNRE website and also Mahadiscom for the rooftop solar scheme of the Govt. Yet to receive a quote. Is the grand total 5.09 lacs without subsidy ?