Business Line : Opinion : Solar power on every rooftop

A solar panel atop every house should be the model for providing electricity to all. The grid should merely serve as a back-up.

With will and vision, India’s energy prospects can be changed from grim to green, and the world will benefit as a result.

The failure of the country’s electricity grid on July 30 and 31 highlights its vulnerabilities and underscores a larger national need: about 400 million Indians are not connected to the grid at all, and those who are have unreliable access. At 571 kWh per capita, India’s electricity consumption is one-fifth of China’s (2,631 kWh) and less than one-twentieth of the US’ (12,914 kWh). India’s electricity demand will only grow.

Burning coal for electricity is increasingly expensive, causes global warming, and jeopardises the planet’s health. In any case, India has ash-rich coal, limited oil, unknown amounts of gas, poor mining productivity and inadequate transport. Power plants struggle to get reliable fuel supplies. Solar electricity today at Rs 7.50 a kWh is economical compared with subsidised diesel-generated power at roughly Rs 15 a unit, but more expensive than coal-based electricity at about Rs 6. What, however, is the true cost of coal-based power? Prices are distorted by subsidies, State boundaries, vote-bank politics, and uncharged carbon-emission costs. Average prices matter less than peak prices. When India sheds load to manage peaks, customers use expensive diesel power.