{"id":5156,"date":"2012-01-28T22:25:39","date_gmt":"2012-01-29T05:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=5156"},"modified":"2012-01-28T22:26:19","modified_gmt":"2012-01-29T05:26:19","slug":"5156","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/5156\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Power Cheaper than Diesel Generators – in India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Care2.com<\/a><\/em>, a catch-all web site that distributes free e-greeting cards and a blend of new age health care, pet care, and environmental news, caught this editor\u2019s attention with the news that solar power is now cheaper than Diesel-generated electricity\u00a0in India – without subsidies<\/em> –\u00a0and by the manner in which private industry and government agencies are adapting to this.<\/p>\n

Two giants on the industrial side have thrown their substantial resources behind solar.\u00a0 BHARTI, the largest mobile phone company, is using the sun to power rural cell towers.\u00a0 Jaine Irrigation, the world\u2019s biggest mango puree producer, is building an 8.5 megawatt solar power plant, according to Care2.<\/p>\n

On the governmental side, Sustainable Business.com<\/a> <\/em>explains the reverse auction approach that helps India get cheaper power than other countries manage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn India, those that bid the lowest in a reverse auction win the right to build solar plants up to 20 megawatts (MW) and sell the electricity under a 25 year contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinners are required to buy solar cells domestically. After the auction, they have seven months to arrange financing and 13 months to complete the plants, according to government guidelines<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 (One contradictory element in the report was solar\u2019s low cost caused by dropping Chinese <\/em>solar prices, although guidelines required domestic panels.)<\/p>\n

The second such\u00a0 auction was held December 2 and awarded 28 plants with 350 megawatts capacity\u00a0to the lowest bidders.\u00a0 France\u2019s Solairedirect\u00a0SA bid $147 per megawatt hour to win the right to build a 5 mW plant,\u00a030-percent cheaper than solar\u2019s worldwide average.<\/p>\n

SustainableBusiness.com\u00a0<\/em>reports, \u201cGlobally, power project developers are paid about $208 per\u00a0megawatt-hour to build a solar plant, $78 for a wind farm and $76 for a coal\u00a0plant, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance levelized cost of energy\u00a0analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy forcing companies\u00a0to compete on price, India is turning solar subsidies on its head – it wants to\u00a0avoid the high payments that Germany and other EU countries face from paying\u00a0above-market prices to incentivize growth in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video gives some idea of the enthusiasm brought about by aggressive development of solar in at least one province.<\/p>\n