There is total confusion and chaos in the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy if the first day’s proceedings of International Conference on Renewable Energy (RENERGY 2013) which began in Chennai on Thursday are any indication.
Financial institutions turn a blind eye towards the requests of entrepreneurs desirous of setting up solar power plants. Surprisingly, the Union Government is yet to think about launching training programmes to youth in setting up solar and wind energy stations.
The conference labelled as the biggest ever renewable energy conference held in the country gave conflicting versions on the state of affairs of the functioning of the Ministry and the sector as a whole. “Wind farms are set up in places where they are not supposed to be. There are effective grid facilities to evacuate the electricity generated in wind farms,” said Narasimhan Santhanam, director, Energy Alternatives India, the organiser of this summit.
He said there was a lack of cohesion and synchronisation between various agencies involved in the sector.
P Kumar, general manager, Power Gear ltd, a company specialised in setting up solar photo voltaic power stations was heard lamenting that financial institutions including banks were reluctant to lend loans to solar power plants. “I was shocked when I was told by the managers of nationalised as well as private banks that they would not lend money to entrepreneurs interested in setting up solar power plants. They do not know the scientific and technical advances happening in the sector,” he said.
But Tarun Kapur, joint secretary, MNRE, had a solution. “You supply them with leaflets and brochures of your company. Give them some short films about the solar power plants functioning all over the world. We will also try to put in some words to them,” said Kapur. Though the country has come out with an ambitious solar mission, banks and financial institutions are yet to hear about it.
India has the potential to emerge as the solar capital of the world provided the Government comes out with right policies and incentives, according to Vivek Chaturvedi, Moser Boer Solar. “There was a time when it took us 20 months to set up a 5 MW solar power plant. Now we can set up and commission a 60 MW plant in just 35 days,” he said.
Vineet Mittal, co-founder of Welspun Energy, too expressed his reservations about the attitudes of financial institutions towards renewable energy. “The laws on land acquisition need a lot of clarification and simplification. Conventional power like power from coal based power stations are heavily subsidised. Coal itself is sold in the country at subsidised rates which cut into the operations of solar power stations,” said Mittal.
Chaturvedi of Moser Boer pointed out that one has to get 26 different approvals to set up a solar farm. He too expressed reservations about the rules governing land acquisition process for solar farms. “Evacuation facilities and formalities too have to be simplified. These processes itself will bring down the cost of solar power,” he said.
The only inspiring statement was made by Pashupathy Gopalan, managing director, SunEdison, who explained how his company set up the unique solar power station on River Narmada as per the wishes of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. “It is a fantastic plant measuring 850 meter long and 16 meter wide and is built over the Narmada River,” he said.
Gopalan had reservations about the quality of most of the solar power stations set up in the country. “A big section of the entrepreneurs want to make quick bucks and hence they compromise on quality. They use substandard and cheap equipment which go bust within one year. All these plants need refurbishment and repairs within one year and they end up as junk . This approach has to go,” he said.
Tarun Kapur said as on date there are no facilities under the Government of India to train people to set up wind and solar power stations.