This document discusses the relevance of solar energy for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. It notes that climate change is a serious problem caused by greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use. Solar energy is a promising renewable alternative that can address energy security issues and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports. India receives a large amount of solar radiation that could meet its energy needs many times over through solar power. The document argues that solar technologies are suitable for small businesses, as the costs of solar have reached parity with diesel generators in some areas of India. Solar can provide process heat for industrial applications. Widespread adoption of solar energy would create domestic manufacturing and jobs while spurring economic growth for SMEs.

1. BUSINESS
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NEWS EXPRESS
Solar Energy - Relevance to SMEs
Personal Information
Name : Mr. Rohan Badade
Working Background : aima Co-opted NEC Member from Western Region &
Convenor of Renewable Energy Cell.
As we all know, climate change is
a reality. We feel its effects in the form
of irregular monsoon patterns,
extreme summers. The recent
Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines, with
an estimated death toll of 10000 may
or may not have been caused by
climate change, but extreme weather
events are becoming more frequent
and severe. The energy supply is the
largest single source of global
greenhouse emissions, which are
known to cause global warming and
climate change.
In addition, fossil fuels which
account for roughly 80% of global
final energy consumption, are finite
in nature. They are liable to be
exhausted eventually, 50 years or a
100. Obviously alternatives must be
developed.
Energy security is another
concern. Roughly 400 million
Indians lack access to electricity.
Worldwide the number is 1.4 billion
or 20% of world population. India is
largely dependent on fossil fuel
imports to meet its energy demands by 2030, India's dependence on
energy imports is expected to exceed
53% of the country's total energy
consumption.In 2009-10, the country
imported 159.26 million tonnes of
crude oil which amounts to 80% of its
domestic crude oil consumption and
31% of the country's total imports are
oil imports.
Renewable Energy has the
potential to address each of these
concerns
• No Greenhouse Emissions
• Inexhaustible Resources
• Distributed Generation
• No Fuel Price Risk
• Reducing Dependence on Fuel
Imports
Solar Energy is the most promising
Renewable Energy Source.
The Sun is the ultimate source of our
planet’s energy. The fossil fuels we
burn today are an inventory of
prehistoric solar energy.
Sun-->Plants-->Animals
Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas
are the remnants of prehistoric plants
and animals that ultimately derived
their energy from the sun.The amount
of solar energy reaching the surface of
the planet is so vast that in one year it
is about twice as much as will ever be
obtained from all of the Earth's nonrenewable resources of coal, oil,
natural gas, and mined uranium
combined. Having said that, with
about 300 clear, sunny days in a year,
India's theoretical solar power
reception, on only its land area, is
about 5000 Petawatt-hours per year
(i.e. 5000 trillion kWh/yr or about
600 TW).
The daily average solar energy
incident over India varies from 4 to 7
kWh/m2 with about 1500–2000
sunshine hours per year (depending
upon location), which is far more
than current total energy
consumption. For example, assuming
the efficiency of PV modules were as
low as 10%, this would still be a
thousand times greater than the
domestic electricity demand
projected for 2015.
Solar Energy and Small Business
Solar Technologies can be
deployed by Small Businesses. It has
been proven that the unit cost of Solar
Energy is lower than that of Diesel
Gensets. In certain regions of India,
Solar Energy has reached Industrial
and Commercial Cost Parity.
Another application area is
industrial process heat. Industry is
responsible for consuming a third of
the overall energy produced; where
over 70% is used to generate Process
Heat alone. About 57% of this falls
within the temperature range of up to
400°C. Solar collectors can provide
this energy. The indirect benefits of
Large Scale Solar Energy deployment
include the creation of a domestic
manufacturing industry, with the
government imposing Domestic
Content Requirements, and the
possibility of anti-dumping duties.
New jobs will be created, as there
will be a need for vocational training.
Considering the scale of the power
sector, and that solar is expected to
grow to a respectable share of the pie
over the long term, investments in
this sector will spur economic growth
and trickle through the value chain to
benefit one and all.
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