ASSIGNMENT

ME 431 - NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES

SOLAR RADIATION

Group 3
Vasundhara Sharma 2K16/EC/183
Pranav Narang 2K16/ME/114
Rahul Pandey 2K16/ME/129
Reetik Kaushik 2K16/ME/132
Roopa Singh 2K16/ME/144
Shashank Bansal 2K16/ME/153
Vishesh Kashyap 2K16/ME/192
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In completing our report, we took the help and guideline of some respected
persons, who deserve our greatest gratitude, and greatly contributed to the
completion of the project.

We would like to show our gratitude Dr. Pushpendra Singh, Department of

Mechanical, Production & Industrial and Automobile Engineering, Delhi
Technological University for giving us lucid guidelines.

We would also like to expand our deepest gratitude to all those who have
directly and indirectly guided us in writing this report.
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CONTENTS

Introduction 4
India Solar Energy Data 6
Current Status 25
Previous Research 41
Future Scope 52
References 56
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1. INTRODUCTION
Nuclear fusion deep within the Sun releases a tremendous amount of energy that is slowly
transferred to the solar surface, from which it is radiated into space. The planets intercept minute
fractions of this energy, the amount depending on their size and distance from the Sun. A 1-
square-metre (11-square-foot) area perpendicular (90°) to the rays of the Sun at the top of Earth’s
atmosphere, for example, receives about 1,365 watts of solar power. (This amount is comparable
to the power consumption of a typical electric heater.) Because of the slight ellipticity of Earth’s
orbit around the Sun, the amount of solar energy intercepted by Earth steadily rises and falls by
±3.4 percent throughout the year, peaking on January 3, when Earth is closest to the Sun.
Although about 31 percent of this energy is not used as it is scattered back to space, the remaining
amount is sufficient to power the movement of atmospheric winds and oceanic currents and to
sustain nearly all biospheric activity.
Most surfaces are not perpendicular to the Sun, and the energy they receive depends on their
solar elevation angle. (The maximum solar elevation is 90° for the overhead Sun.) This angle
changes systematically with latitude, the time of year, and the time of day. The noontime elevation
angle reaches a maximum at all latitudes north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N) around June 22
and a minimum around December 22. South of the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S), the opposite
holds true, and between the two tropics, the maximum elevation angle (90°) occurs twice a year.
When the Sun has a lower elevation angle, the solar energy is less intense because it is spread
out over a larger area. Variation of solar elevation is thus one of the main factors that accounts
for the dependence of climatic regime on latitude. The other main factor is the length of daylight.
For latitudes poleward of 66.5° N and S, the length of day ranges from zero (winter solstice) to 24
hours (summer solstice), whereas the Equator has a constant 12-hour day throughout the year.
The seasonal range of temperature consequently decreases from high latitudes to the tropics,
where it becomes less than the diurnal range of temperature.

Fig 1.1: Radiation Budget

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Of the radiant energy reaching the top of the atmosphere, 46 percent is absorbed by Earth’s
surface on average, but this value varies significantly from place to place, depending on
cloudiness, surface type, and elevation. If there is persistent cloud cover, as exists in some
equatorial regions, much of the incident solar radiation is scattered back to space, and very little
is absorbed by Earth’s surface. Water surfaces have low reflectivity (4–10 percent), except in low
solar elevations, and are the most efficient absorbers. Snow surfaces, on the other hand, have
high reflectivity (40–80 percent) and so are the poorest absorbers. High-altitude desert regions
consistently absorb higher-than-average amounts of solar radiation because of the reduced effect
of the atmosphere above them.
An additional 23 percent or so of the incident solar radiation is absorbed on average in the
atmosphere, especially by water vapour and clouds at lower altitudes and by ozone (O3) in the
stratosphere. Absorption of solar radiation by ozone shields the terrestrial surface from harmful
ultraviolet light and warms the stratosphere, producing maximum temperatures of −15 to 10 °C (5
to 50 °F) at an altitude of 50 km (30 miles). Most atmospheric absorption takes place at ultraviolet
and infrared wavelengths, so more than 90 percent of the visible portion of the solar spectrum,
with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.7 μm (0.00002 to 0.00003 inch), reaches the surface on a
cloud-free day. Visible light, however, is scattered in varying degrees by cloud droplets, air
molecules, and dust particles. Blue skies and red sunsets are in effect attributable to the
preferential scattering of short (blue) wavelengths by air molecules and small dust particles. Cloud
droplets scatter visible wavelengths impartially (hence, clouds usually appear white) but very
efficiently, so the reflectivity of clouds to solar radiation is typically about 50 percent and may be
as high as 80 percent for thick clouds.
The constant gain of solar energy by Earth’s surface is systematically returned to space in the
form of thermally emitted radiation in the infrared portion of the spectrum. The emitted
wavelengths are mainly between 5 and 100 μm (0.0002 and 0.004 inch), and they interact
differently with the atmosphere compared with the shorter wavelengths of solar radiation. Very
little of the radiation emitted by Earth’s surface passes directly through the atmosphere. Most of
it is absorbed by clouds, carbon dioxide, and water vapour and is then reemitted in all directions.
The atmosphere thus acts as a radiative blanket over Earth’s surface, hindering the loss of heat
to space. The blanketing effect is greatest in the presence of low clouds and weakest for clear
cold skies that contain little water vapour. Without this effect, the mean surface temperature of 15
°C (59 °F) would be some 30 °C colder. Conversely, as atmospheric concentrations of carbon
dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and other absorbing gases continue to increase, in large
part owing to human activities, surface temperatures should rise because of the capacity of such
gases to trap infrared radiation. The exact amount of this temperature increase, however, remains
uncertain because of unpredictable changes in other atmospheric components, especially cloud
cover. An extreme example of such an effect (commonly dubbed the greenhouse effect) is that
produced by the dense atmosphere of the planet Venus, which results in surface temperatures of
about 475 °C (887 °F). This condition exists in spite of the fact that the high reflectivity of the
Venusian clouds causes the planet to absorb less solar radiation than Earth.
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2. INDIA SOLAR ENERGY DATA

2.1. Introduction
India is endowed with rich solar energy resource. The average intensity of solar radiation received
on India is 200 MW/km square (megawatt per kilometre square). With a geographical area of
3.287 million km square, this amounts to 657.4 million MW. However, 87.5% of the land is used
for agriculture, forests, fallow lands, etc., 6.7% for housing, industry, etc., and 5.8% is either
barren, snow bound, or generally inhabitable. Thus, only 12.5% of the land area amounting to
0.413 million km square can, in theory, be used for solar energy installations. Even if 10% of this
area can be used, the available solar energy would be 8 million MW, which is equivalent to 5 909
mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent) per year.

However, solar energy is a dilute source. The energy collected by 1 m square of a solar collector
in a day is approximately equal to that released by burning 1 kg of coal or 1/2 litre of kerosene.
Thus, large areas are needed for collection. Besides, the efficiency of conversion of solar energy
to useful energy is low. Therefore, the energy actually available would be order of magnitude
lower than the aforementioned estimates. Nonetheless, it is obvious that solar energy can be a
good source of meeting energy demands.

On the applications side, the range of solar energy is very large. While at the high end there are
megawatt level solar thermal power plants, at the lower end there are domestic appliances such
as solar cooker, solar water heater, and PV lanterns. Then, in between, there are applications
such as industrial process heat, desalination, refrigeration and air-conditioning, drying, large scale
cooking, water pumping, domestic power systems, and passive solar architecture. Solar cookers
and hot water systems based are gaining popularity in India and to a large extent attained
commercial status. Solar energy can be harnessed to supply thermal as well as electrical energy.
Those technologies that use solar energy resource to generate energy are known as solar energy
technologies.

India Meteorological Department carries out the radiation measurements for the country on a
network scale. There are a number of organisations in the country, who make these
measurements, though not necessarily as a routine. Some of the organisations that are engaged
in these activities are:

(i) Defence Research Organisations

(ii) Solar Energy Centre, New Delhi and associated regional test centres
(iii) Atomic Energy Centres
(iv) Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment
(v) Indian Space Research Organisation and its sister organisations
(vi) Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee
(vii) National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur
(viii) Various Indian Institutes of Technology
(ix) Various Research Institutes under ICAR
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(x) Different Scientific Departments of Universities including Agricultural Universities and

Institutions
(xi) Different entrepreneurs engaged in manufacture of meteorological instruments

Fig 2.1: India Radiation Network

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Figure 2.2: Monthwise (Jan-Dec) Sunshine Hours

2.2. Global Solar Irradiation

India, on an average, receives about 7000 MJm-2 of global solar radiant expure in a year over
most parts of the country. The peninsular India receives 7200 MJm-2 in a year over major parts
while the annual highest dosage is over the Rann of Kutch which receives over 8000 MJm-2 in a
year or an average daily of 22 MJm-2. The Kashmir valley receives 97 about 16.5 MJm-2 per day,
whereas it is around 15 MJm-2 over North-East India. This is the general picture.

The Kashmir valley receives less than 5 MJm-2 every day during January while the Deccan
Plateau receives nearly 20 MJm-2 of global solar irradiation. The north Indian plains receive 15
MJm-2 and less during January. The major reason for this is to be attributed to the low solar
elevations and the shorter duration of the day. By April the entire country is bathed with a daily
irradiation of more than 20 MJm-2 with Saurashtra and Rajasthan receiving more than 25 MJm-2.
This regime continues in May too over the country outside NE India and the extreme South where
the irradiation is less than 20 MJm-2 per day. Due to the higher incidence of clouding over the
Andamans, the global irradiation during the monsoon is at a level lower by about 1 MJm-2 than
over major parts of the country. The NW India and Kashmir, however continue to receive more
than 19 MJm-2 per day. Andamans receive around 14 MJm-2 only while it is about 16 MJm-2 over
Lakshadweep. The Tamil Nadu area and the adjoining region also continue to receive 19 MJm-2
or more. October once again shows a generally uniform range 15-19 MJm-2 except the Kashmir
Valley where the values drop to less than 14 MJm-2 from a high value of more than 18 MJm-2 in
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September. The NE monsoon with its clouding mainly affect South Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu where the global irradiation is around 16 MJm-2 in October and it is less than 15 MJm-2
during November-December. The Kashmir Valley, already in the grip of winter season, receives
less than 10 MJm-2 a day during this period.

The global irradiation field on cloudless days does show, as it should, a higher incidence of energy
levels. Even the Kashmir Valley which was receiving less than 10 MJm-2 per day under general
sky conditions receives more than 14 MJm-2. Being outside the monsoon regime, it receives a
maximum of 27.7 MJm-2 per day during June. The period March to September records global
irradiation of more than 20 MJm-2 per day when the skies remain cloudless over Kashmir Valley.
The entire country including NE and the Kashmir Valley receives more than 25 MJm-2 per day on
any cloudless day during the year, excepting the islands in the Bay and in the Arabian Seas where
the irradiation is around 24 MJm-2. Even the Tamil Nadu region with its heavy clouding during
November receives more than 21 MJm-2 on a cloudless day.
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Figure 2.3: Monthwise (Jan-Dec) and Annual Global Solar Radiation in India
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2.3. Diffuse Solar Irradiation

The diffuse solar irradiation is mainly due to the downward solar radiant energy scattered by the
suspended particles and air molecules and the clouds. Under general sky conditions about 7
MJm-2 of irradiation per day is contributed by the diffuse component, 98 constituting about 40 per
cent of the global irradiation. The coastal areas naturally record more than 8 MJm-2 per day, mainly
due to more clouding. The winter months of December and January, a period with minimum
cloudiness generally, receive around 4-5 MJm-2 per day which is less than 30 per cent at most of
the places.

The monsoon season has a diffuse field of about 10 MJm-2 or more over most parts of the country,
constituting even more than 70 per cent of global irradiation. The post monsoon sky conditions
cause a steep fall in the diffuse component to an average of 6-7 MJm-2 per day at most of the
places. The Kashmir Valley being separated by tall mountains in the west and the south from the
dusty plains has a low diffuse irradiation regime. The annual value there is 5.4 MJm-2 only. The
winter months receive less than 4 MJm-2 per day. After the effect of extra tropical disturbances
from the West decreases by April, the diffuse values show a marginal increase to about 6 MJm-2
per day. The effect of summer heating is seen to be nominal as the diffuse component builds up
laboriously from 6.1 MJm-2 in May to 7.2 MJm-2 in August. The autumn season causes a steep
fall of 32 per cent to 4.9 MJm-2 per day. The diffuse irradiation field over the islands in the Bay of
Bengal and the Arabian Sea is entirely different. Being warmer, the Bay area’s higher cloud cover
causes the diffuse irradiation to be generally higher than the Arabian Sea area except during
January to April period.

The dominant factor, the clouds being absent on cloudless days, the diffuse irradiation values
under cloud free skies are in the range of 5-6 MJm-2 at many places in February. The diffuse
irradiation is then mainly due to the air molecules and particulate matter in the atmosphere. Thus
this is also a measure of the extent of pollution over different areas of the country. Expectedly,
the hilly areas of NE have a low incidence of diffuse irradiation. Shillong has an annual value of
less than 4.2 MJm-2. The lowest recorded is just 2.0 MJm-2 in October at Shillong. It remains less
than 3.0 MJm-2 during the period November to January. This constitutes just 14 per cent of global
irradiation. Another salient feature is the high ratio of diffuse to global solar irradiation over
Mumbai. It constitutes more than 40 per cent almost throughout the year. Even under cloudless
sky conditions, it is on an average 35 per cent. The lowest ratio of 0.21 is recorded in February,
a drier month of the year at Mumbai. The island areas of the Bay and the Arabian Sea have a 20
per cent component of diffuse irradiation in the global solar irradiation, under cloudless sky
conditions.
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Figure 2.4: Monthwise (Jan-Dec) and Annual Diffuse Solar Radiation in India

2.4. Reflected Solar Radiant Exposure

Reflected solar radiant exposure from the earth’s surface depend on mainly two factors - on the
angle of incidence of the irradiance and on the nature of surface. The nature of surface depends
on (i) the texture of soil, (ii) the type of the soil, (iii) the colour of the soil and (iv) the vegetation on
the soil and its different stages of growth. Expectedly, the amount of irradiance reflected reaches
maximum around the noon, even though a surface reflects maximum at high angles of incidence.

The ratio of the reflected to the global irradiance gives the reflectance of the surface. It is referred
to as albedo in meteorological parlance. The albedo values are high at the times of sunrise and
sunset as most of the incident irradiances are reflected at low elevation angles of the sun. As the
day advances towards the noon time, the values decrease reaching a minimum at noon.
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Reflected irradiation is being measured at Pune only in the Indian network of radiation stations.
The reflected irradiation is minimum-2.42 MJm-2 per day-during July when the soil becomes fully
saturated with the monsoon rains and even a thin water layer remains stagnating on the soil. The
albedo value also reaches a minimum of 0.15 during this period. Pune has black cotton clay soil
whose reflectance is very low, varying from 0.12 to 0.15. It is to be noted that the hourly albedo
values are minimum during June and July with noon value around 0.14 even when there is grass
coverage over the soil.

Measurements made at New Delhi during earlier period indicate an albedo of 0.20.The site of
measurement was of fine alluvial soil with grass growth on it. Unlike Pune, the minimum was
recorded in September.

The net solar irradiation which is the difference between the reflected and the global energy values
is absorbed by the earth and causes a series of changes in the energy levels inside the soil and
in the atmospheric layers above it.

2.5. Direct Solar Irradiation

The Indian radiation network makes measurements of direct solar irradiation in two forms using
pyrheliometers, Ångström pyrheliometers are used at 13 stations where instantaneous
measurements of spectral direct solar irradiances are made at six specific optical air masses. Ten
other stations use thermopile pyrheliometers mounted on solar trackers to record continuous
irradiances of direct solar radiant energy in the total solar spectrum (0.3 to 3.0 µm).

2.5.1. Direct Solar Irradiances

The measurements are made at six optical air masses, viz. 3.0, 2.0 and 1.5, both in the forenoons
and in the afternoons, whenever the sun is not covered by the clouds. All the stations excepting
New Delhi and Pune use only RG2 filters (630-2800 nm). At New Delhi and Pune two more filters
OG1 (525-2800nm) and RG8 (710-2700nm) are also in use. Bhavnagar which was also using the
three filters is no more in operation. However, its data up to 1992 have been included in these
discussions.

The irradiances in the total spectrum (300-3000nm) increase sharply for an optical air mass of
2.0 FN from the earlier measurement at m=3.0 FN. The irradiances reach a maximum when
measurements are made at m=1.5 FN. The decrease in the afternoons is not as sharp as it
happens with the increase in the forenoons except during the pre-monsoon months, especially in
May.

The soil which has been loosened by strong solar heating in the forenoons injects a large quantity
of soil particles into the air. This causes sharp decrease in the irradiance levels in the afternoons.
This becomes very apparent at locations in the north Indian plains from NW India to Gangetic
West Bengal region. Hill station like Shillong receives an irradiance of more than 900 Wm-2 even
as a monthly average. An individual measure of1000 Wm-2 and more is not uncommon at such
locations despite the frequent clouding at such high altitudes. When direct irradiance
measurements are made using more than one filter, the data reveal the changing size distribution
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of suspended aerosol particles as the day advances. The effect of moist air in the variations in
the size of the particles can also easily be inferred. The growth of the hygroscopic particles by
coagulation and coalescence processes and by absorption processes can also be discerned. This
can be easily inferred in the case of Bhavnagar where salt farming in solar ponds is in wide use.
Even in Pune, the incursion of moisture during April and May due to sea breeze which occurs in
the afternoon scan be inferred as compared to the variations in the spectral distribution during the
dry January-February months.

Though the sun reaches its highest elevations during summers, maximum direct irradiances are
normally recorded during winter months because of the cloudless skies and substantial rainout of
the particulates in the atmosphere during the monsoon. Thus Jodhpur and Ahmedabad record
even a mean value of 700 Wm-2 and more than 750 Wm-2 respectively during December–January
periods. The highly developed Mumbai records nearly 600 Wm-2 mainly due to the blowing away
of some of the particulate matter by the sea breeze phenomenon. In the absence of such a
scavenging mechanism, the highly urbanized Kolkata records irradiances much lower than 600
Wm-2 throughout the year.

2.5.2. Hourly and Daily Direct Solar Irradiation

Unlike with global, diffuse or reflected solar irradiation, the direct solar irradiation measurements
are not affected by the cosine effect as the angle of incidence is always zero.Thus the direct solar
irradiation values are generally higher than the vertical component of global and diffuse solar
irradiation. When the skies are cloudless for extended periods, the direct solar irradiances can
reach very high values; even values consistently higher than 800Wm-2 are feasible. The recording
of direct solar irradiation is achieved by having a pyrheliometer held always normal to the incident
beam. This is done by mounting the pyrheliometer on a solar tracker (heliostat) driven by a
synchronous motor or a stepper motor appropriately configured with a PC control or otherwise.
Srinagar, which is not affected much by the monsoon currents, records a very high value of 28.3
MJm-2 in April and 33.0 MJm-2 in May. On occasions with exceptionally goodsky conditions,
Srinagar receives 1000 Wm-2 continuously for more than an hour. There are instances when the
direct irradiances exceed even 1100 Wm-2 as recorded at Bhopal in a March. A high daily value
of 35.6 MJm-2 was also recorded at Bhopal during a May. In such cases the hourly values exceed
3.0 MJm-2 for over 7-8 hours.

However, the mean values recorded for any hour or for the day in a month do not reach that level
as the irradiances vary depending on the sky conditions available. This value can be zero also,
when a thick blanket of cloud obstructs the sun’s rays. Such values have also been taken into
account in the data tabulation. Patna with its dense population and the pollution in the air, rarely
records irradiances higher than 20 MJm-2 in a day. In most of the locations, the high values during
an hour are recorded during February-March, the months when the skies are yet to get heavily
loaded with particulate matter and where the air is relatively dry at most of the places.

New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram record direct solar irradiation on a tracker and also
instantaneously using Ångström pyrheliometer. The data, even if they are co-located, need not
be the same as the data recorded continuously are the mean values and not instantaneous
values.
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2.6. Net Terrestrial Radiant Energy in the Night

Because of instrument limitations, the measurements are taken two times a day during the night
hours only, once at 2030h IST and the other at 0530h or one hour before sunrise. Except under
inversion conditions, the atmospheric layers above the earth’s surface have a decreasing
temperature regime with increasing altitude in the troposphere.

Hence the downward radiant energy from a layer to another layer below is always less than the
upward radiant energy from the lower level. Hence there is always a net outflow upward of radiant
energy at each level. The actual quantity of this net (upward) terrestrial radiant energy is
dependent on (i) the temperature of the emitting layer, (ii) the amount of moisture (water vapour)
content immediately above, (iii) the wind field and (iv) the cloud cover above. The wind field helps
in greater mixing in the atmospheric layers. The moisture has greater influence on the radiant
field due to absorption in different spectral ranges. The cloud cover has by far the greatest effect
on the radiation field – returning the upward energy back to the layer- thus decreasing the net
field. The absence of clouds and low water vapour content in the air results in higher losses in the
terrestrial radiation energy. This is easily noticeable in the data for monsoon months when the net
energy is of the order of 30-40 Wm-2 throughout the country. On the contrary, January and
February when the skies are generally free of clouds and the air drier, show the net energy of the
order of 60-70 Wm-2. Visakhapatnam makes the measurement very close to the seas and with a
strong marine environment the net energy is normally around 40 Wm-2 even during December-
February period. The monsoon months show an average value of less than 25 Wm-2 during July-
August to 55-58 Wm-2 in April-May period. Thiruvananthapuram, on the other hand, has a cloudy
sky condition on almost every day resulting in a low but uniform field with values lying between
37 and 49 Wm-2 throughout the year.

2.7. Vertical Profile of Net Terrestrial Radiant Energy

The vertical distribution of net terrestrial radiant energy is obtained using a radiometer head
attached to radiosonde equipment. These measurements are made after sunset once in a
fortnight at six of the stations included in the present book. The net radiant energy is worked out
as the difference between the downward radiant energy measured by the top sensing surface of
the radiometer head and the upward radiant energy received by the bottom facing sensor of the
head. The data are tabulated for the surface level and then for standard barometric pressure
levels, like 950 hPa, 900 hPa etc. The actual data sheets give values of pressure level, height in
metres, air temperature, dew point temperature, relative and specific humidities, upward,
downward and net radiant energy and heating/cooling rates. The tables included in this book give
only the mean net terrestrial radiant energy for each standard level for each of the six stations.

The net energy is quite low nearer the earth’s surface, obviously controlled more by the higher
incidence of moisture, carbon dioxide and cloud cover. The net radiant energy in the major
atmospheric window (approx 8-12 µm) goes on building up from the earth’s surface till it reaches
the level of about 15 hPa. This trend is broken whenever a cloud intervenes. The build-up of net
energy is retarded below the cloud base, it remains nearly steady inside the normal thick clouds
and sharply increases above the clouds due to low temperatures of cloud tops. In the case of
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clouds with large vertical thickness, a gradient of increasing net energy is also observed inside
the cloud layer itself. Similar cloud effects can also be seen if the balloon passes through thick
layers of dust. This effect could be discerned in June over New Delhi, though it is more muted
over Jodhpur.

The net energy is generally less than 100 Wm-2 at all stations up to 850 hPa. It reaches about 150
Wm-2 at 500 hPa. In the stratosphere, the values are higher than 200 Wm-2. They are influenced
drastically by severe thunderstorms and large clouds with strong temperature gradients. When
cloudless sky conditions prevail, the increasing trend in net terrestrial energy is monotonous as
is evident from the vertical distributions over Pune.

2.8. Net Total Radiant Energy

The measurement of net total radiant energy is limited to few stations only mainly due to the
limitations imposed by the inappropriate exposure conditions for such a measurement. The
instrument maintenance requirements are also more rigorous. The net total radiant energy gives
the balance between the net solar irradiation and the net terrestrial radiant energy. The net solar
irradiation is always positive as the incoming solar irradiation is greater than the small fraction of
reflected solar irradiation. Nearer the earth’s surface, the net terrestrial radiant energy is invariably
negative, as the earth’s surface is generally warmer than the atmospheric layer above. The
exception occurs only when sharp inversion in the atmospheric temperature occurs.

The controlling factors that govern the net total radiant energy over a place are (i) the cloud cover,
(ii) the angle of incidence of solar radiation, (iii) hence the changes in albedo,(iv) the emittance of
the surface, (v) the atmospheric temperature variations and (vi) the moisture content in the
atmosphere. The undergrowth of vegetation and their conditions over a year under various
weather conditions influence the albedo and emittance of the surface and also the moisture
content nearer the surface.

The net total value increases gradually from January to a maximum of 6-8 MJm-2 per day during
May over the Arabian Sea locations of Minicoy and Thiruvananthapuram. After May, the area is
affected by the monsoon. Both places show a brief increase in September to record 8 MJm-2 at
Thiruvananthapuram and 6 MJm-2 at Minicoy. Bangalore records nearly 12 MJm-2 in a day during
May-June and again in September. It is 10 MJm-2 over Pune during the same months. The diurnal
variations show low and negative values during the night time and the trends of global solar
irradiation during the daytime. The maximum values are reached around the solar noon time. The
net terrestrial radiant energy changes vary gradually from sunset (with air temperature remaining
high) to sunrise. The net total value becomes zero about 20-30 minutes after sunrise and again
about 20-30 minutes before sunset. Pune with heavy clouding during July-September has a net
terrestrial regime of values less than 0.10 MJm-2 throughout the night times. Similar is the case at
Thiruvananthapuram. Minicoy, perhaps being an island station representing the Arabian Sea
area, however has an average of 0.15 MJm-2 during the night time almost throughout the year.
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2.9. Distribution of Solar Capacity

2.9.1. Installations By Location

Delhi being a city state in India, has limitation in installing ground mounted solar power plants.
However, it is leading in rooftop solar PV installations by adopting fully flexible net metering
system. The installed solar power capacity is 106 MW as on 30 September 2018. Delhi
government has announced that the Rajghat thermal power plant will be officially shut at the 45-
acre plant site and turned into a 5 MW solar power PV plant.

Gujarat is one of India's most solar-developed states, with its total photovoltaic capacity reaching
1,637 MW by the end of January 2019. Gujarat has been a leader in solar-power generation in
India due to its high solar-power potential, availability of vacant land, connectivity, transmission
and distribution infrastructure and utilities. According to a report by the Low Emission
Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) report, these attributes are
complemented by political will and investment. The 2009 Solar Power of Gujarat policy
framework, financing mechanism and incentives have contributed to a green investment climate
in the state and targets for grid-connected solar power. The state has commissioned Asia's largest
solar park near the village of Charanka in Patan district. The park is generating 345 MW by March
2016 of its 500 MW total planned capacity and has been cited as an innovative and
environmentally-friendly project by the Confederation of Indian Industry. In December 2018, 700
MW Solar PV plant at Raghanesda Solar Park is contracted at 2.89 Rs/unit levelized tariff. To
make Gandhinagar a solar-power city, the state government has begun a rooftop solar-power
generation scheme. Under the scheme, Gujarat plans to generate 5 MW of solar power by putting
solar panels on about 50 state-government buildings and 500 private buildings. It also plans to
generate solar power by putting solar panels along the Narmada canals. As part of this scheme,
the state has commissioned the 1 MW Canal Solar Power Project on a branch of the Narmada
Canal near the village of Chandrasan in Mehsana district. The pilot project is expected to stop
90,000 liters (24,000 US gal; 20,000 imp gal) of water per year from evaporating from
the Narmada River.
Karnataka is the top solar state in India exceeding 5,000 MW installed capacity by the end of
financial year 2017–18. The installed capacity of Pavagada Solar Park is 1400 MW and its
ultimate 2,050 MW installed capacity is expected by the end of year 2020. Kerala's largest floating
solar power plant was set upon the Banasura Sagar Dam reservoir in Wayanad
district, Kerala. The 500 kW (kilowatt peak) solar plant of the Kerala State Electricity
Board (KSEB) floats on 1.25 acres of the water surface of the reservoir. The solar plant has 1,938
solar panels which have been installed on 18 Ferro cement floaters with hollow insides. Tamil
Nadu has the 5th highest operating solar-power capacity in India in May 2018. The total operating
capacity in Tamil Nadu is 1,8 GW. On 1 July 2017, Solar power tariff in Tamil Nadu has hit an all-
time low of Rs 3.47 per unit when bidding for 1500 MW capacity was held. The 648-MW Kamuthi
Solar Power Project is the biggest operating project in the state. On 1 January 2018, NLC India
Limited (NLCIL) commissioned a new 130 MW solar power project in Neyveli.
 20

Telangana ranks second when it comes to solar energy generation capacity in India. The state is
trailing behind Karnataka with a solar power generation capacity of 3400 MW and plans to achieve
a capacity of 5000 MW by 2022. NTPC Ramagundam has placed work order on BHEL to install
100 MW floating solar PV plant on its water supply reservoir. Installed photovoltaic capacity
in Andhra Pradesh is more than 2,590 MW as on 30 November 2018. In 2015, NTPC agreed with
APTransCo to install the 250-MW NP Kunta Ultra Mega Solar Power
Project near Kadiri in Anantapur district. In October 2017, 1000 MW was commissioned
at Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park which has become the world's largest solar power plant at that
time. In August 2018, Greater Visakhapatnam commissioned a 2 MW grid-connected floating
solar project which is the largest operational floating solar PV project in India. NTPC Simhadri has
awarded BHEL to install a 25 MW floating solar PV plant on its water supply
reservoir. APGENCO commissioned 400 MW Ananthapuram - II solar park located at
Talaricheruvu village near Tadipatri.

Haryana has set the 4.2 GW solar power (including 1.6 GW solar roof top) target by 2022 as it
has high potential since it has at least 330 sunny days. Haryana is one of the fastest growing
state in terms of solar energy with installed and commissioned capacity of 73.27 MW. Out of this,
57.88 MW was commissioned in FY 2016/17. Haryana solar power policy announced in 2016
offers 90% subsidy to farmers for the solar powered water pumps, which also offers subsidy for
the solar street lighting, home lighting solutions, solar water heating schemes, solar cooker
schemes. It is mandatory for new residential buildings larger than 500 sq. yards to install 3% to
5% solar capacity for no building plan sanctioning is required, and a loan of upto Rs. 10 lacs is
made available to the residential property owners. Haryana provides 100% waiver of electricity
taxes, cess, electricity duty, wheeling charges, cross subsidy charges, transmission and
distribution charges, etc. for rooftop solar projects. In December 2018, Haryana had installed solar
capacity of 48.80 MW, and in January 2019 Haryana floated tender for 300 MW grid-connected
solar power, and additional 16 MW tender for the canal top solar power.

The 125-MW Sakri solar plant is the largest solar-power plant in Maharashtra. The Shri Saibaba
Sansthan Trust has the world's largest solar steam system. It was constructed at the Shirdi shrine
at an estimated cost of ₹1.33 crore (US$190,000), ₹58.4 lakh (US$84,000) which was paid as a
subsidy by the renewable-energy ministry. The system is used to cook 50,000 meals per day for
pilgrims visiting the shrine, resulting in annual savings of 100,000 kg of cooking gas, and was
designed to generate steam for cooking even in the absence of electricity to run the circulating
pump. The project to install and commission the system was completed in seven months, and the
system has a design life of 25 years. The Osmanabad region in Maharashtra has abundant
sunlight, and is ranked the third-best region in India in solar insolation. A 10 MW solar power plant
in Osmanabad was commissioned in 2013. The total power capacity of Maharashtra is about 500
MW.

Rajasthan is one of India's most solar-developed states, with its total photovoltaic capacity
reaching 2289 MW by end of June 2018. Rajasthan is also home to the world’s largest Fresnel
type 125 MW CSP plant at the Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park. Jodhpur district leads the state with
installed capacity of over 1,500 MW, followed by Jaisalmer and Bikaner. The Bhadla Solar Park,
with a total ultimate capacity of 2,255 MW, is being developed in four phases of which 260 MW
capacity was commissioned by NTPC Limited. Total installed capacity at the end of June 2018 is
 21

745 MW and the remaining capacity is expected to be commissioned by March 2019. In

September 2018 Acme Solar announced that it had commissioned India's cheapest solar power,
200 MW at Bhadla. The only tower type solar thermal power plant (2.5 MW) in India is located in
Bikaner district. In March 2019, the lowest tariff in India is ₹2.48/kWh for installing the 750 MW
solar power plants in the state.

Table 2.1: Distribution of Solar Power in India

State 31 March 31 March 31 March 31 December 31 March

2015 2016 2017 2017 2019
Rajasthan 942.10 1,269.93 1,812.93 2,310.46 3,226.79
Punjab 185.27 405.06 793.95 905.64 905.62
Uttar Pradesh 71.26 143.50 336.73 550.38 960.10
Uttarakhand 5.00 41.15 233.49 246.89 306.75
Haryana 12.80 15.39 81.40 203.85 503.68
Delhi 5.47 14.28 40.27 58.02 126.89
Jammu and Kashmir 0.00 1.36 1.36 2.36 14.83
Chandigarh 4.50 6.81 17.32 18.89 34.71
Himachal Pradesh 0.00 0.73 0.73 1.48 22.68
Northern Region 3318.18 6102.05
(21.43%)
Gujarat 1,000.05 1,119.17 1,249.37 1,344.69 2,440.13
Maharashtra 360.75 385.76 452.37 763.08 1,633.54
Chhattisgarh 7.60 93.58 128.86 179.38 231.35
Madhya Pradesh 558.58 776.37 857.04 1,210.11 1,840.16
Dadra and Nagar 0.00 0.00 2.97 2.97 5.46
Goa
Haveli 0.00 0.00 0.71 0.71 3.92
Daman and Diu 0.00 4.00 10.46 10.46 14.47
Western Region 2701.78 6169.03
(21.67%)
Tamil Nadu 142.58 1,061.82 1,691.83 1,819.42 2,575.22
Andhra Pradesh 137.85 572.97 1,867.23 2,165.21 3,085.68
Telangana 167.05 527.84 1,286.98 2,990.07 3,592.09
Kerala 0.03 13.05 74.20 88.20 138.59
Karnataka 77.22 145.46 1,027.84 1,800.85 6,095.56
Puducherry 0.20 0.20 0.08 0.11 3.14
Southern Region 5948.16 15490.28
(54.42%)
Bihar 0.00 5.10 108.52 141.52 142.45
Odisha 31.76 66.92 79.42 79.51 394.73
Jharkhand 16.00 16.19 23.27 23.37 34.95
West Bengal 7.21 7.77 26.14 39.84 75.95
Sikkim 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01
Eastern Region 237.35 648.09
(2.27 %)
 22

Assam 0.00 0.00 11.78 11.78 22.40

Tripura 5.00 5.00 5.09 5.09 5.09
Arunachal Pradesh 0.03 0.27 0.27 4.39 5.39
Mizoram 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.50
Manipur 0.00 0.00 0.03 1.33 3.44
Meghalaya 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.06 0.12
Nagaland 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.50 1.00
North Eastern 17.78 37.94
Region (0.13%)
Andaman and 5.10 5.10 6.56 12.61 11.73
Lakshadweep
Nicobar 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75
Others 0.00 58.31 58.31 58.31 4.30
Islands and others 65.62 16.78
(0.06%)
Total 3,743.97 6,762.85 12,288.83 17,052.37 28,464.17

Figure 2.5: Cumulative Solar Power Generation Capacity

2.9.2. Installations By Application

As of July 2019, by far the largest segment of solar PV installed in India was ground mounted at
27,930 MW installed capacity. This sector comprises mostly larger scale solar projects and even
larger utility solar projects that generate power centrally and disperse it over the grid. The next
largest segment was rooftop solar at 2,141 MW which can be divided into residential solar,
commercial and industrial solar roofs as well as a range of installations including agricultural
buildings, community and cultural centers. 70 percent of rooftop solar in 2018 was in the industrial
and commercial sectors, with just 20 percent as residential rooftop solar. Rooftop solar as a
proportion of total solar installations is much less than is typical in other leading solar countries
but was forecast to grow to 40 GW by 2022 under national targets. A rough calculation would
imply that India had around just 430 MW of residential rooftop solar, whilst the UK with around
 23

half the overall solar capacity of India had over 2,500 MW of residential solar in 2018. The smallest
segment was off-grid solar at 919 MW which could help play a role in reaching villages and
dwellings without access to the national grid.

Table 2.2: Installed PV Capacity by Application

Application 31/07/2019
Solar power ground mounted 27,930.32
Solar power rooftop 2,141.03
Off-grid solar power 919.15
TOTAL 30,990.50

Table 2.3: Major Solar Power Projects

Plant State DC peak power Commissioned
(MW)
Pavagada Solar Park Karnataka 1400 March 2019
Kamuthi Solar Power Tamil Nadu 648 21 September 2016
Project
Gujarat Solar Park-1 Gujarat 221 April 2012
Welspun Solar MP Madhya Pradesh 151 February 2014
project
ReNew Telangana 143 15 April 2017
Power, Nizamabad
Sakri solar plant Maharashtra 125 March 2013
NTPC solar plants 110 2015
Maharashtra I Maharashtra 67 2017
Green Energy Odisha 50 2014
Development
Corporation
(GEDCOL)[69]
Tata Power Solar Madhya Pradesh 50 March 2014
Systems
(TPS), Rajgarh[70]
Welspun Energy, Rajasthan 50 March 2013
Phalodhi
Jalaun Solar Power Uttar Pradesh 50 27 January 2016
Project
GEDCOL Odisha 48 2014
Karnataka I Karnataka 40 2018
Bitta Solar Power Plant Gujarat 40 January 2012
Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Rajasthan 40 April 2012
Park, Pokhran[74]
 24

Rajasthan Photovoltaic Rajasthan 35 February 2013

Plant
Welspun, Bathinda Punjab 34 August 2015
Moser Baer, Patan Gujarat 30 October 2011
district
Lalitpur Solar Power Uttar Pradesh 30 2015
Project
Mithapur Solar Power Gujarat 25 25 January 2012
Plant
GEDCOL Odisha 20 2014
Kadodiya Solar Park Madhya Pradesh 15 2014
Telangana I Telangana 12 2016
Telangana II Telangana 12 2016
NTPC Odisha 10 2014
Sunark Solar Odisha 10 2011
RNS Infrastructure Karnataka 10 2016
Limited, Pavagada
Bolangir Solar Power Odisha 10 2011
Project
Azure Gujarat 10 June 2011
Power, Sabarkantha
Green Infra Solar Gujarat 10 November 2011
Energy, Rajkot
Waa Solar Power Gujarat 10 December 2011
Plant, Surendranagar[85]
Sharda Maharashtra 10 June 2015
Construction, Latur
Ushodaya Telangana 10 December 2013
Project, Midjil
 25

3. CURRENT STATUS

3.1. Introduction
Solar power is attractive because it is abundant and offers a solution to fossil fuel emissions and
global climate change. Earth receives solar energy at the rate of approximately 1,73,000 TW. This
enormously exceeds both the current annual global energy consumption rate of about 15 TW,
and any conceivable requirement in the future. India is both densely populated and has high solar
insolation, providing an ideal combination for solar power in India. India is already a leader in wind
power generation.

India was the first country in the world to set up a Ministry of non- conventional energy resources
in early 1980. The Solar and wind energy are freely available and they are environment friendly.
The wind energy systems are not possible at all sites because of low wind speeds and it is more
unpredictable than solar energy. Solar energy is the most important renewable energy resource
which is available in most of the country of the world. Even its technically available potential is
much higher than the current total primary energy demand. Solar energy technology is very
important tool which can lowers worldwide carbon emissions. The cost of solar energy
technologies are rapid declining in the recent past years and it is showing potential for continuous
declines in the near future. Currently, the installed capacity of solar energy projects in India is
about 4.22 GW. India is planning to produce 100 GW of solar power by 2022.

3.2. Radiometry
Radiometry is the science of radiation measurement. It is concerned with the detection and
measurement of radiant energy either in separate wavelengths or integrated over a narrow or
broad wavelength band. It also concerns with the interaction of radiant energy with matter in such
ways as absorption, reflectance, transmission and emission. Meteorological science normally
measures the radiation over specific wavelength bands and over a known length of time.

Radiometer is a device to measure the quantity of radiant energy. It is designed to convert the
energy of incident radiation into another form, for the determination of the quantity of the radiation
that is incident on the device. The device may provide an electrical output which will be a useful
measure of the incident radiant energy in quantitative terms.

Radiation detectors convert radiation into energy of other types, such as electrical, thermal,
chemical, optic-acoustic and pyroelectric. Even the phenomenon of heating affects the materials,
thereby, causing changes in mechanical, electrical, photoelectrical and photochemical properties.
The degree of change in the measurable output, however,depends on a variety of variables and
the quantity of incident radiant energy. A part of this incident energy always goes to change the
internal energy of the detector and hence it is not available for measurement. In addition, there
are other intrinsic losses due to reflection, exchanges with its environment etc. Thus, the quantity
as measured by a detector is always lower than the actual incident quantity of radiant energy.
Some of these losses may be accounted for by careful laboratory measurements and quantified,
 26

leading to a measurement which will be as close as possible to the true value. Such an
experimental determination is called characterisation.

Meteorological practices generally use thermal detectors and photoelectric detectors for
measuring the radiant energy. Thermal detectors are used for non-selective measurements over
wide spectral ranges. Photoelectric devices are used for measuring radiant energy in narrow
spectral bands. However, the measured value cannot be said to be accurate due to uncertainties
caused by various inherent sources of errors. The deviations from the true value give rise to
uncertainty in the measured values.

Besides, the intrinsic uncertainties due to changes in internal energy, the accuracy of measured
value depends on several factors, some of which are listed below:

(a) Resolution: the smallest change in the radiant energy which can be detected by the
instrument.
(b) Stability of sensitivity over time
(c) Linearity of output with irradiance changes.
(d) Spectral response over a wide range
(e) Directional response due to changes in azimuthal direction, zenith distance and tilt of the
sensor surface.
(f) Response time of the sensor or measuring system.
(g) Changes in sensitivity due to changes in the environment, especially the dependence on
temperature changes.
(h) Absence of zero-point depression due to sudden changes in irradiance levels. This shift in
zero-point may occur when the colder reference becomes warmer than the irradiated area
due to sudden changes in irradiance and as the colder reference is not subjected to direct
irradiation in most cases.
(i) Uncertainties with the auxiliary equipment.

Most of the radiation instruments, generally used on network scale for meteorological purposes,
have thermal detectors. They are exposed outside throughout the year under all environmental
conditions and at different locations with varying climatological conditions. Most of them have
wide spectral ranges, viz. 300 - 3000nm and 4 - 50µm. Photosensors are used mainly for
measurements of optical depths. Accordingly, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has
classified the radiation instruments into different groups.

(i) Pyrheliometers: These measure direct solar irradiances The solar radiation is incident
perpendicularly on the receiving surface. The normal incidence can be achieved by mounting it
on an electrically or mechanically driven solar tracker or manually, in case of instantaneous
measurements and using a sighting device. The field of view is 5º or slightly more. By using broad-
band filters, spectral measurements of irradiance can also be made.
 27

Figure 3.1: Pyrheliometer

(ii) Pyranometers: These measure solar irradiation received from a solid angle of 2ʌ steradians
on a horizontal surface. They give global solar irradiance. When a shading device keeps the
sensor under shade, the instrument measures diffuse solar irradiance. In an inverted position, it
measures the solar irradiance reflected by the underlying surface. The instrument can also be
used on sloping surfaces and facing different directions to obtain the solar irradiance from different
orientations.

Figure 3.2: Pyranometer

(iii) Pyrradiometers: The total energy contained in both solar and terrestrial radiant energy
wavelengths is measured by pyrradiometers, either in the upward or downward directions. In this
case, the temperature of the measuring sensor surface has also to be independently measured
or a compensation electrical circuit has to be developed, to account for the loss in thermal energy
from the sensing surface and obtain the true value of the radiant energy.
 28

Figure 3.3: Pyrradiometer

(iv) Pyrgeometers: These measure the net terrestrial radiation only. They are solar blind. These
are provided with suitable filters to prevent the strong solar irradiance during the daytime.

Figure 3.4: Pyrgeometer

(v) Net pyrradiometers: The balance between total downward and total upward radiant energy
or the net radiant energy, is measured by net pyrradiometers. The radiant field is 4ʌ steradians.

Figure 3.5: Net pyrradiometer

 29

(vi) Sunphotometers: These are used to measure the irradiance in narrow spectral bands using
narrow band pass or interference filters. These measurements are used to derive the optical depth
of the atmosphere. Photo sensing detectors are used for the purpose.

Figure 3.6: Sunphotometer

Instruments have to be selected appropriately depending on the end uses of the data obtained.
Certain instruments are designed to perform better for certain climatic conditions, irradiance levels
and orientations.

3.3. Applications

3.3.1. Solar Thermal

Solar thermal electricity technologies produce electric power by converting the sun’s energy into
high-temperature heat using various mirror configurations, which is then channeled to an on-
site power plant and used to make electricity through traditional heat-conversion technologies.
The plant essentially consists of two parts; one that collects Solar energy and converts it to heat,
and another that converts the heat energy to electricity.

3.3.1.1. Types Of Heat Collectors

(i) Evacuated Glass Collector - Evacuated-tube collector consists of parallel rows of glass tubes
connected to a header pipe. Each tube has the air removed from it to eliminate heat loss
through convection and radiation. Evacuated-tube collectors fall into two main groups.
(ii) Direct-flow evacuated-tube collectors - These consist of a group of glass tubes inside each
of which is a flat or curved aluminium fin attached to a metal (usually copper) or glass absorber
 30

pipe. The fin is covered with a selective coating that absorbs solar radiation well but inhibits
radiative heat loss. The heat transfer fluid is water and circulates through the pipes, one for
inlet fluid and the other for outlet fluid.
(iii) Heat pipe evacuated-tube collectors - These consist of a metal (copper) heat pipe, to
which is attached a black copper absorber plate, inside a vacuum-sealed solar tube. The heat
pipe is hollow and the space inside, like that of the solar tube, is evacuated. The reason for
evacuating the heat pipe, however, is not insulation but to promote a change of state of the
liquid it contains. Inside the heat pipe is a small quantity of liquid, such as alcohol or purified
water plus special additives. The vacuum enables the liquid to boil (i.e. turn from liquid to vapor)
at a much lower temperature than it would at normal atmospheric pressure. When solar
radiation falls on the surface of the absorber, the liquid within the heat tube quickly turns to hot
vapor rises to the top of the pipe. Water, or glycol, flows through a manifold and picks up the
heat, while the fluid in the heat pipe condenses and flows back down the tube for the process
to be repeated.
(iv) Flat Plate Collector - Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar collectors for use
in solar water-heating systems in homes and in solar space heating. A flat-plate collector
basically consists of an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic cover (the glazing) and a
dark-colored absorber plate. Solar radiation is absorbed by the absorber plate and transferred
to a fluid that circulates through the collector in tubes. In an air-based collector the circulating
fluid is air, whereas in a liquid-based collector it is usually water.

Flat-plate collectors heat the circulating fluid to a temperature considerably less than that of
the boiling point of water and are best suited to applications where the demand temperature
is 30-70°C (86-158°F) and/or for applications that require heat during the winter months.

Air-based collectors are typically used for heating buildings and drying crops. Liquid-based
may be glazed or unglazed. Glazed liquid collectors are the commonest type of solar collector
for providing domestic and commercial water and for heating indoor swimming pools.
Unglazed collectors are often used for heating outdoor pools. A special type of unglazed
collector called a perforated plate collector is used to preheat ventilation air for commercial
buildings or, in some cases, for drying crops.

Flat collectors can be mounted in a variety of ways, depending on the type of building,
application, and size of collector. Options include mounting on a roof, in the roof itself, or free-
standing.
 31

Figure 3.7: Flat Plate and Concentrating Collectors

3.3.2. Solar PV
(i) Solar Cell - A solar cell is a semiconductor device that transforms sunlight into electricity.
Semiconductor material is placed between two electrodes. When sunshine reaches the cell,
free negatively charged electrons are discharged from the material, enabling conversion to
electricity. This is the so-called photovoltaic effect. In theory, a solar cell made from one
semiconductor material only can convert about 30 percent of the solar radiation energy it is
exposed to into electricity. Commercial cells today, depending on technology, typically have
an efficiency of 5 -12 percent for thin films and 13 – 21 percent for crystalline silicon based
cells.

Efficiencies up to 25 percent have been reached by the use of laboratory processes. By using
multiple solar cells, efficiencies above 35 percent have been achieved.

Figure 3.8: Working of a Solar Cell

(ii) Solar Photovoltaics - Photovoltaics has been derived from the combination of two words,
Photo means Light and Voltaic means electricity. It is a technology that converts light
 32

directly into electricity. Photovoltaic material, most commonly utilizing highly-purified

silicon, converts sunlight directly into electricity.

The photovoltaic effect is the basic physical process through which a PV cell converts
sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is composed of photons, or particles of solar energy.
These photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to the different
wavelengths of the solar spectrum. When photons strike a PV cell, they may be reflected
or absorbed, or they may pass right through. Only the absorbed photons generate
electricity. When this happens, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an
atom of the cell (which is actually a semiconductor). With its newfound energy, the electron
is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom to become part of the
current in an electrical circuit. By leaving this position, the electron causes a hole to form.
Special electrical properties of the PV cell-a built-in electric field-provide the voltage
needed to drive the current through an external load (such as a light bulb).

Figure 3.9: Inside a Photovoltaic Cell

To induce the electric field within a PV cell, two separate semiconductors are sandwiched
together. The p and n types of semiconductors correspond to positive and negative
because of their abundance of holes or electrons (the extra electrons make an n type
because an electron has a negative charge).Although both materials are electrically
neutral, n-type silicon has excess electrons and p-type silicon has excess holes.
Sandwiching these together creates a p/n junction at their interface, thereby creating an
electric field. When the p-type and n-type semiconductors are sandwiched together, the
excess electrons in the n-type material flow to the p-type, and the holes thereby vacated
during this process flow to the n-type. (The concept of a hole moving is somewhat like
looking at a bubble in a liquid. Although it’s the liquid that is actually moving, it’s easier to
describe the motion of the bubble as it moves in the opposite direction.) Through this
electron and hole flow, the two semiconductors act as a battery, creating an electric field
 33

at the surface where they meet (known as the junction). It’s this field that causes the
electrons to jump from the semiconductor out toward the surface and make them available
for the electrical circuit. At this same time, the holes move in the opposite direction, toward
the positive surface, where they await incoming electrons.

3.4. Historical Growth Of The Solar Market In India

The Rural Electrification Program of 2006 was the first step by the Indian Government in
recognizing the importance of solar power. It gave guidelines for the implementation of off-grid
solar applications. However, at this early stage, only 33.8MW (as on 14-2-2012) of capacity was
installed through this policy. This primarily included solar lanterns, solar pumps, home lighting
systems, street lighting systems and solar home systems. In 2007, as a next step, India introduced
the Semiconductor Policy to encourage the electronic and IT industries. This included the Silicon
and PV manufacturing industry as well. New manufacturers like Titan Energy Systems, Indo Solar
Limited and KSK Surya Photovoltaic Venture Private Limited took advantage of the Special
Incentive Scheme included in this policy and constructed plants for PV modules. This move
helped the manufacturing industry to grow, but a majority of the production was still being
exported. There were no PV projects being developed in India at that stage. There was also a
need for a policy to incorporate solar power into the grid. The Generation Based Incentive (GBI)
scheme, announced in January 2008 was the first step by the government to promote grid
connected solar power plants. The scheme for the first time defined a feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar
power (a maximum of Rs. 15/kWh). Since the generation cost of solar power was then still around
Rs. 18/kWh, the tariff offered was unviable. Also, under the GBI scheme, a developer could not
install more than 5MW of solar power in India, which limited the returns from scale. One of the
main drawbacks of the GBI scheme was that it failed to incorporate the state utilities and the
government in the project development, leaving problems like land acquisitions and grid
availability unaddressed. As a result, despite the GBI scheme, installed capacity in India grew
only marginally to 6MW by 2009. In June 2008, the Indian government announced the National
Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). A part of that plan was the National Solar Mission
(NSM).

Figure 3.10: Punjab-I by Azure Power, India’s First Solar Power Plant
 34

The NSM guidelines indicated that the government had improved on the shortcomings of the GBI
scheme. It aimed to develop a solar industry, which was commercially driven and based on a
strong domestic industry. The extra cost of generation of solar power was being borne by the
federal government under the GBI scheme. Even before the NSM, Gujarat was the first state to
come up with its own solar policy in January 2009. The Gujarat solar policy initiated a process of
the states formulating their own policy frameworks independent of the federal guidelines. The
renewable purchase obligations for state distribution companies, a demand-driven scheme,
further accelerated the formulation of solar policies at the state level. These policies exist
independent of each other as well as the NSM. One of the key novelties of the Gujarat policy was
that it introduced the concept of solar parks. These parks offered a comprehensive solution to
concerns over land acquisition, grid connectivity, and water availability, hence offering developers
a project allocation packaged with the necessary infrastructure. Other states like Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have followed suit in developing solar power development
programs. Rajasthan has implemented land banks as well to make land acquisition easier. As
more states plan to meet their solar power obligations, new policies are expected to be offered,
creating as very vibrant set of markets across the subcontinent.

Figure 3.11: India’s first solar park in Charanaka, Gujarat

India has a great potential to generate electricity from solar energy and the Country is on course
to emerge as a solar energy hub. The techno-commercial potential of photovoltaics in India is
enormous. With GDP growing in excess of 8%, the energy ‘gap’ between supply and demand will
only widen. Solar PV is a renewable energy resource capable of bridging this ‘gap’.

Most parts of India have 300 – 330 sunny days in a year, which is equivalent to over 5000 trillion
kWh per year – more than India’s total energy consumption per year.

Average solar incidence stands at a robust 4 – 7 kWh/sq.meter/day.

 35

About 66 MW of aggregate capacity is installed for various applications comprising one million
industrial PV systems – 80% of which is solar lanterns, home/street lighting systems and solar
water pumps, etc.

The estimated potential envisaged by the Ministry for the solar PV programme, i.e. solar
street/home lighting systems, solar lanterns is 20 MW/sq. kilometer.

The potential of the solar thermal sector in India also remains untapped. The Ministry proposes
an addition of 500 MW during the phase 1 of JNNSM.

Establishing manufacturing units at Export Oriented Units, SEZs or under the SIPS programme
presents a good opportunity for firms which can leverage India’s cost advantage to export solar
modules at competitive prices to markets in Europe and the United States.

3.5. Current Status of Solar Energy in India

India is ranked 11th in solar power generation in the world as on Jan. 2014. Government funded
solar energy in India only accounted for about 6.4MW/yr. of power as of 2005. In 2010 capacity
of 25.1MW was added and 468.3MW in 2011. In 2012 the capacity increase more than two times
and become 1205 MW. During 2013, capacity added by 1114MW and during 2014 capacity added
by 313MW. In August 2015, the installed grid connected solar power capacity is 4.22 GW. The
price of solar energy has come down from Rs. 17.90 per unit in 2010 to about Rs. 7 per unit in
2015. It is expected that with technology improvement and market competition solar power will
reach grid parity by 2017-18. The Grid parity means the cost of electricity generated from
alternative energy becomes equal or less than the cost of purchasing power from the grid. Grid
parity is very important term in the solar system and preferably photovoltaic panel. The Charanka
Solar Park, at current installed capacity of 224 MW is the largest Solar Park in Asia, was
commissioned on April 19, 2012. Some solar power plant of India is shown in the Table 1. In India,
Rajasthan has the largest share of solar power generation of 28.4% and Gujarat share is 24.4%
as on September 2015.

In solar energy sector, some large projects have been proposed, and a 35,000-km² area of the
Thar Desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 GW.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change also points out: “India is a tropical country, where
sunshine is available for longer hours per day and in great intensity. Solar energy, therefore, has
great potential as future energy source. It also has the advantage of permitting the decentralized
distribution of energy, thereby empowering people at the grassroots level”.

In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan, to produce 20 GW of solar power by 2020. On
November 23, 2009, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy in a
statement in the Parliament said that “the Government has approved a new policy on
development of solar energy in the country by launching of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission”. The mission aims at development and deployment of solar energy technologies in the
country to achieve parity with grid power tariff by 2022.
 36

3.6. Potential of Solar Energy in India

In terms of all renewable energy, currently India is ranked fifth in the world with 15,691.4 MW grid-
connected and 367.9 MW off-grid renewable energy based power capacity. India is among top 5
destinations worldwide for solar energy development as per Ernst & Young’s renewable
energy attractiveness index.

With about 300 clear sunny days in a year, India’s theoretical solar power reception, just on its
land area, is about 5 PWh/year (i.e. = 5 trillion kWh/yr ~ 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. This is far more than current total energy consumption. The India
Energy Portal estimates that if 10% of the land were used for harnessing solar energy, the
installed solar capacity would be at 8,000GW, or around fifty times the current total installed power
capacity in the country. For example, even assuming 10% conversion efficiency for PV modules,
it will still be thousand times greater than the likely electricity demand in India by the year 2015.

Daytime production peak coincides with peak electricity demand making solar ideal supplement
to grid.

The main features of the National Solar Mission are:

• Make India a global leader in solar energy and the mission envisages an installed solar
generation capacity of 20,000 MW by 2022, 1,00,000 MW by 2030 and of 2,00,000 MW by
2050.

• The total expected investment required for the 30-year period will run is from Rs. 85,000 crore
to Rs. 105,000 crore.

• Between 2017 and 2020, the target is to achieve tariff parity with conventional grid power and
achieve an installed capacity of 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020.

• 4-5GW of installed solar manufacturing capacity by 2017.

The Mission will be adopted in a 3-phase approach

Phase I: Remaining period of the 11th Plan and first year of the 12th Plan (up to 2012-13)

Phase II: The remaining 4 years of the 12th Plan (2013-17)

Phase III: The 13th Plan (2017-22) as Phase 3.

The target for phase I is to ramp up grid connected solar power generation to 1000MW and an
additional 3000MW by the end of phase II through the mandatory use of the renewable purchase
obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff. The mission also plans to promote programs
for off-grid applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2022.

At the end of each plan, and mid-term during the 12th and 13th Plans, there will be an evaluation
of progress, review of capacity and targets for subsequent phases, based on emerging cost and
technology trends, both domestic and global. The aim would be to protect Government from
 37

subsidy exposure in case expected cost reduction does not materialize or is more rapid than
expected.

3.7. Installed Capacity

Solar power has so far played an almost non-existent role in the Indian energy mix. The grid-
connected capacity (all PV) in India now stands at 481.48 MW as of 31st January 2012 and of this
January alone accounted for 291.60 MW capacity additions.

However, the market is set to grow significantly in the next ten years, driven mainly by rising power
demand and prices for fossil fuels, the ambitious National Solar Mission (NSM), various state level
initiatives, renewable energy quotas including solar energy quotas for utilities as well as by falling
international technology costs. Encouraging the spread of solar power generation (both CSP and
PV) and aiming for grid-parity (currently at around RS.5/kWh) by 2022 and parity with coal power
generation (currently at around RS.4/kWh) by 2030, is a key element in India’s comprehensive,
long term energy supply strategy. Keeping in view the solar annual insolation, solar power could
therefore easily address India’s long-term power requirements. However, it has to be cost-
competitive. As of December 2011, solar power generation in India costs around RS.10/kWh, or
over 2.5 times as much as power from coal. Importantly, it is crucial that the industry receives the
right policy support to ensure that projects are executed and performed up to the mark.

3.8. National Solar Mission

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) ,the nodal agency for implementing the first phase of
JNNSM, received 418 applications against a requirement of 650 MW(500 MW Solar Thermal and
150 MW Solar PV) for Batch I. Out of this 343 applications were for solar PV and 55 for Solar
Thermal. The interest was high in the investor community for solar PV as applications worth 1715
MW (343*5 MW) were received as against a total of 150 MW. 30 bidders were selected through
reverse bidding and projects were allocated to companies that offered highest discount to base
tariff rate of Rs. 17.91/kWh. Projects totaling 610 MW were awarded with 145 MW under solar PV
and 470 MW under Solar Thermal. The winning bids for solar PV varied from Rs. 10.95/kWh to
Rs. 12.76/kWh and for Solar Thermal it was Rs. 11.14/kWh in Phase I Batch I. Camelot
Enterprises Private Ltd was the lowest bidder and other successful bidders included Mahindra
Solar One, Azure Power, SunEdison Energy, Lanco Infratech. The project capacity under Batch
I is 5 MW for solar PV and minimum 5 MW and maximum 100MW for Solar Thermal. By July
2011, negotiations were concluded, PPAs awarded and financial closure achieved for 34 projects.

Under batch II, the project size has been increased up to 20 MW and the base price for solar PV
projects is Rs. 15.39/kWh. NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) received 154 applications for
1915 MW of solar PV projects against a requirement of 350 MW. The results of the bidding for
solar PV projects indicate that the grid parity for solar power may not be too far off. The winning
bids varied from Rs. 7.49/kWh to Rs. 9.41/kWh. The average bid price for both batch I and II was
Rs. 12.15/kWh. French project developer Solairedirect emerged as the lowest bidder and Green
Infra Solar the highest bidder. The other successful bidders included companies like Welspun
 38

Solar, Azure Power, SunBorne Energy and Mahindra Solar One. Around 70% and 85% of the
allocated capacity under Phase I Batch I and Phase I Batch II respectively is to be implemented
in Rajasthan.

3.9. Gujarat: Most Progressive State In Solar Installation

Gujarat is witnessing a large market for the resale of PPAs by developers who often took up
projects with the intent to sell them at a higher price to international developers. This has
increased the project development costs and is threatening to make many projects unviable. As
a result, only a limited number of projects under the Gujarat solar policy are currently moving
forward successfully. As of 31st December, 175 MW of the 968.5 MW worth of projects with
signed PPAs have been commissioned. Many projects are finding it difficult to attain financial
closure and are facing significant delays.

Land acquisition is proving to be a challenge for projects in Gujarat. There are a limited number
of land-banks (large areas of land acquired and consolidated by the government for the use of
developers), thereby pushing developers to purchase private land, which is usually a burdensome
and slow process. Developers have to engage directly with multiple land owners, facing issues
with prices, location, land transfer procedures and right-of-way, amongst others. With the
increasing interest from developers, there is a nexus developing between brokers and land
owners impacting the price of land in Gujarat. The limited availability is leading to multiple brokers
offering the same pieces of land to different developers. Realizing this, the owners have started
quoting higher prices for the land. The brokers in turn have begun promising them a higher price
in order to secure their clientele. This is significantly escalating land prices for potential sites in
the state.

Figure 3.12: Astonfield11.5 MW Plant at Patan, Gujarat

 39

The solar park policy by the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) provides not more than
50 acres of land for a 10MW PV plant. While this is practicable for plants working with crystalline
modules, it is a limitation for thin film plants, which typically require more land for a 10MW plant.
Another challenge is that the park is required to provide under-ground transmission lines but the
transmission utility in Gujarat, the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO),
does not currently have the expertise to execute this. Such issues, while they will not necessarily
derail the solar park, will create further delays for developers who are already facing challenges
in meeting their deadlines. For this reason, Kiran Energy, with a 20MW project in the park, has
secured a guarantee by the government against possible penalties for delays in executing their
project.

3.10. Rural Electrification

Lack of electricity infrastructure is one of the main hurdles in the development of rural India. India’s
grid system is considerably under-developed, with major sections of its populace still surviving
off-grid. As of 2004 there are about 80,000 unelectrified villages in the country. Of these villages,
18,000 could not be electrified through extension of the conventional grid. A target for electrifying
5,000 such villages was fixed for the Tenth National Five Year Plan (2002–2007). As on 2004,
more than 2,700 villages and hamlets had been electrified mainly using SPV systems.
Developments on cheap solar technology are considered as a potential alternative that allows an
electricity infrastructure comprising of a network of local-grid clusters with distributed electricity
generation. That could allow bypassing, or at least relieving the need of installing expensive, and
lossy, long-distance centralised power delivery systems and yet bring cheap electricity to the
masses.

3.11. Challenges And Constraints

(i) Land Scarcity: Per capita land availability is a scarce resource in India. Dedication of land
area for exclusive installation of solar cells might have to compete with other necessities that
require land. The amount of land required for utility-scale solar power plants — currently
approximately 1 km² for every 20–60 megawatts (MW) generated could pose a strain on
India’s available land resource. The architecture more suitable for most of India would be a
highly distributed, individual rooftop power generation systems, all connected via a local grid.
However, erecting such an infrastructure which doesn’t enjoy the economies of scale possible
in mass utility-scale solar panel deployment — needs the market price of solar technology
deployment to substantially decline so that it attracts the individual and average family size
household consumer. That might be possible in the future, since PV is projected to continue
its current cost reductions for the next decades and be able to compete with fossil fuel.
(ii) Slow Progress: While the world has progressed substantially in production of basic silicon
mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells, India has fallen short to achieve the worldwide
momentum. India is now in 7th place worldwide in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cell production
and 9th place in Solar Thermal Systems with nations like Japan, China, and the US currently
 40

ranked far ahead. Globally, solar is the fastest growing source of energy (though from a very
small base) with an annual average growth of 35%, as seen during the past few years.
(iii) Latent Potential: Some noted think-tanks recommend that India should adopt a policy of
developing solar power as a dominant component of the renewable energy mix, since being
a densely populated region in the sunny tropical belt, the subcontinent has the ideal
combination of both high solar insolation and a big potential consumer base density. In one
of the analyzed scenarios , while reining on its long-term carbon emissions without
compromising its economic growth potential, India can make renewable resources like solar
the backbone of its economy by 2050.
 41

4. PREVIOUS RESEARCH

4.1. Introduction
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly
into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. It is a
form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current,
voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices can be combined
to form modules, otherwise known as solar panels. The common single junction silicon solar cell
can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts.
Solar cells are described as being photovoltaic, irrespective of whether the source is sunlight or
an artificial light. In addition to producing energy, they can be used as a photodetector (for
example infrared detectors), detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near the visible
range, or measuring light intensity.
The operation of a photovoltaic (PV) cell requires three basic attributes:
● The absorption of light, generating either electron-hole pairs or excitons.
● The separation of charge carriers of opposite types.
● The separate extraction of those carriers to an external circuit.
Solar cells were first used in a prominent application when they were proposed and flown on the
Vanguard satellite in 1958, as an alternative power source to the primary battery power source.
By adding cells to the outside of the body, the mission time could be extended with no major
changes to the spacecraft or its power systems. In 1959 the United States launched Explorer 6,
featuring large wing-shaped solar arrays, which became a common feature in satellites. These
arrays consisted of 9600 Hoffman solar cells.
By the 1960s, solar cells were (and still are) the main power source for most Earth orbiting
satellites and a number of probes into the solar system, since they offered the best power-to-
weight ratio. However, this success was possible because in the space application, power system
costs could be high, because space users had few other power options, and were willing to pay
for the best possible cells. The space power market drove the development of higher efficiencies
in solar cells up until the National Science Foundation "Research Applied to National Needs"
program began to push development of solar cells for terrestrial applications.
In the early 1990s the technology used for space solar cells diverged from the silicon technology
used for terrestrial panels, with the spacecraft application shifting to gallium arsenide-based III-V
semiconductor materials, which then evolved into the modern III-V multijunction photovoltaic cell
used on spacecraft.
In recent years, research has moved towards designing and manufacturing lightweight, flexible,
and highly efficient solar cells. Terrestrial solar cell technology generally uses photovoltaic cells
that are laminated with a layer of glass for strength and protection. Space applications for solar
cells require that the cells and arrays are both highly efficient and extremely lightweight. Some
newer technology implemented on satellites are multi-junction photovoltaic cells, which are
composed of different PN junctions with varying bandgaps in order to utilize a wider spectrum of
 42

the sun's energy. Additionally, large satellites require the use of large solar arrays to produce
electricity. These solar arrays need to be broken down to fit in the geometric constraints of the
launch vehicle the satellite travels on before being injected into orbit. Historically, solar cells on
satellites consisted of several small terrestrial panels folded together. These small panels would
be unfolded into a large panel after the satellite is deployed in its orbit. Newer satellites aim to use
flexible rollable solar arrays that are very lightweight and can be packed into a very small volume.
The smaller size and weight of these flexible arrays drastically decreases the overall cost of
launching a satellite due to the direct relationship between payload weight and launch cost of a
launch vehicle.

4.2. Research Done Over The Past Decades

4.2.1. Junction Types

The simplest organic PV device features a planar heterojunction (figure 1). A film of organic active
material (polymer or small molecule), of electron donor or electron acceptor type is sandwiched
between contacts. Excitons created in the active material may diffuse before recombining and
separate, hole and electron diffusing to its specific collecting electrode. Because charge carriers
have diffusion lengths of just 3–10 nm in typical amorphous organic semiconductors, planar cells
must be thin, but the thin cells absorb light less well. Bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) address this
shortcoming. In a BHJ, a blend of electron donor and acceptor materials is cast as a mixture,
which then phase-separates. Regions of each material in the device are separated by only several
nanometers, a distance suited for carrier diffusion. BHJs require sensitive control over materials
morphology on the nanoscale. Important variables include materials, solvents and the donor-
acceptor weight ratio.

4.2.1.1. Single layer

Figure 4.1: Sketch of a single layer organic photovoltaic cell

Single layer organic photovoltaic cells are the simplest form. These cells are made by
sandwiching a layer of organic electronic materials between two metallic conductors, typically a
layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) with high work function and a layer of low work function metal such
as Aluminum, Magnesium or Calcium. The basic structure of such a cell is illustrated in Fig 2.
 43

The difference of work function between the two conductors sets up an electric field in the organic
layer. When the organic layer absorbs light, electrons will be excited to the LUMO and leave holes
in the HOMO, thereby forming excitons. The potential created by the different work functions helps
to split the exciton pairs, pulling electrons to the positive electrode (an electrical conductor used
to make contact with a non-metallic part of a circuit) and holes to the negative electrode.

4.2.1.2. Bilayer

Figure 4.2: Sketch of a multilayer organic photovoltaic cell

Bilayer cells contain two layers in between the conductive electrodes (Fig 3). The two layers have
different electron affinity and ionization energies, therefore electrostatic forces are generated at
the interface between the two layers. Light must create excitons in this small charged region for
an efficient charge separation and collecting. The materials are chosen to make the differences
large enough that these local electric fields are strong, which splits excitons much more efficiently
than single layer photovoltaic cells. The layer with higher electron affinity and ionization potential
is the electron acceptor, and the other layer is the electron donor. This structure is also called a
planar donor-acceptor heterojunction.

4.2.1.3. Bulk heterojunction

Figure 4.3: Sketch of a dispersed junction photovoltaic cell

 44

Bulk heterojunctions have an absorption layer consisting of a nanoscale blend of donor and
acceptor materials. The domain sizes of this blend are on the order of nanometers, allowing for
excitons with short lifetimes to reach an interface and dissociate due to the large donor-acceptor
interfacial area. However, efficient bulk heterojunctions need to maintain large enough domain
sizes to form a percolating network that allows the donor materials to reach the hole transporting
electrode (Electrode 1 in Figure 4) and the acceptor materials to reach the electron transporting
electrode (Electrode 2). Without this percolating network, charges might be trapped in a donor or
acceptor rich domain and undergo recombination. Bulk heterojunctions have an advantage over
layered photoactive structures because they can be made thick enough for effective photon
absorption without the difficult processing involved in orienting a layered structure while retaining
similar level of performances.
Bulk heterojunctions are most commonly created by forming a solution containing the two
components, casting (e.g. drop casting and spin coating) and then allowing the two phases to
separate, usually with the assistance of an annealing step. The two components will self-
assemble into an interpenetrating network connecting the two electrodes. They are normally
composed of a conjugated molecule based donor and fullerene based acceptor. The
nanostructural morphology of bulk heterojunctions tends to be difficult to control, but is critical to
photovoltaic performance.
After the capture of a photon, electrons move to the acceptor domains, then are carried through
the device and collected by one electrode, and holes move in the opposite direction and collected
at the other side. If the dispersion of the two materials is too fine, it will result in poor charge
transfer through the layer.
Most bulk heterojunction cells use two components, although three-component cells have been
explored. The third component, a secondary p-type donor polymer, acts to absorb light in a
different region of the solar spectrum. This in theory increases the amount of absorbed light.
These ternary cells operate through one of three distinct mechanisms: charge transfer, energy
transfer or parallel-linkage.
In charge transfer, both donors contribute directly to the generation of free charge carriers. Holes
pass through only one donor domain before collection at the anode. In energy transfer, only one
donor contributes to the production of holes. The second donor acts solely to absorb light,
transferring extra energy to the first donor material. In parallel linkage, both donors produce
excitons independently, which then migrate to their respective donor/acceptor interfaces and
dissociate.

(j) Graded heterojunction

The electron donor and acceptor are mixed in such a way that the gradient is gradual. This
architecture combines the short electron travel distance in the dispersed heterojunction with the
advantage of the charge gradient of the bilayer technology.

(ii) Continuous junction

Similar to the graded heterojunction the continuous junction concept aims at realizing a gradual
transition from an electron donor to an electron acceptor. However, the acceptor material is
prepared directly from the donor polymer in a post-polymerization modification step.
 45

4.2.2. Self-assembled cells

Supramolecular chemistry was investigated, using donor and acceptor molecules that assemble
upon spin casting and heating. Most supramolecular assemblies employ small molecules. Donor
and acceptor domains in a tubular structure appear ideal for organic solar cells.
Diblock polymers containing fullerene yield stable organic solar cells upon thermal
annealing.Solar cells with pre-designed morphologies resulted when appropriate supramolecular
interactions are introduced.
Progress on BCPs containing polythiophene derivatives yield solar cells that assemble into well-
defined networks. This system exhibits a PCE of 2.04%. Hydrogen bonding guides the
morphology.
Device efficiency based on co-polymer approaches have yet to cross the 2% barrier, whereas
bulk-heterojunction devices exhibit efficiencies >7% in single junction configurations.
Fullerene-grafted rod-coil block copolymers have been used to study domain organization.
Supramolecular approaches to organic solar cells provide understanding about the
macromolecular forces that drive domain separation.

4.2.2.1. Perovskite Solar Cells

A perovskite solar cell (PSC) is a type of solar cell which includes a perovskite structured
compound, most commonly a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material, as the
light-harvesting active layer. Perovskite materials, such as methylammonium lead halides and all-
inorganic cesium lead halide, are cheap to produce and simple to manufacture.
Solar cell efficiencies of devices using these materials have increased from 3.8% in 2009 to 25.2%
in 2019 in single-junction architectures, and, in silicon-based tandem cells, to 28.0%, exceeding
the maximum efficiency achieved in single-junction silicon solar cells. Perovskite solar cells are
therefore currently the fastest-advancing solar technology. With the potential of achieving even
higher efficiencies and very low production costs, perovskite solar cells have become
commercially attractive.
 46

Figure 4.4: Generic Structure of a Perovskite Cell

(i) Advantages:
Metal halide perovskites possess unique features that make them useful for solar cell
applications. The raw materials used, and the possible fabrication methods (such as various
printing techniques) are both low cost. Their high absorption coefficient enables ultrathin films of
around 500 nm to absorb the complete visible solar spectrum. These features combined result in
the possibility to create low cost, high efficiency, thin, lightweight and flexible solar modules.
(ii) Materials:

Figure 4.5: Crystal structure of CH3NH3PbX3 perovskites (X=I, Br and/or Cl). The
methylammonium cation (CH3NH3+) is surrounded by PbX6 octahedra.
The name 'perovskite solar cell' is derived from the ABX3 crystal structure of the absorber
materials, which is referred to as perovskite structure. The most commonly studied perovskite
absorber is methylammonium lead trihalide (CH3NH3PbX3, where X is a halogen atom such as
iodine, bromine or chlorine), with an optical bandgap between 1.5 and 2.3 eV depending on halide
 47

content. Formamidinum lead trihalide (H2NCHNH2PbX3) has also shown promise, with bandgaps
between 1.5 and 2.2 eV. The minimum bandgap is closer to the optimal for a single-junction cell
than methylammonium lead trihalide, so it should be capable of higher efficiencies. The first use
of perovskite in a solid state solar cell was in a dye-sensitized cell using CsSnI3 as a p-type hole
transport layer and absorber. A common concern is the inclusion of lead as a component of the
perovskite materials; solar cells based on tin-based perovskite absorbers such as CH3NH3SnI3
have also been reported with lower power-conversion efficiencies.
In another recent development, solar cells based on transition metal oxide perovskites and
heterostructures thereof such as LaVO3/SrTiO3 are studied.
Rice University scientists have discovered a novel phenomenon of light-induced lattice expansion
in perovskite materials.
In order to overcome the instability issues with lead-based organic perovskite materials in ambient
air and reduce the use of lead, perovskite derivatives, such as Cs2SnI6 double perovskite, have
also been investigated.

(iii) Processing
Perovskite solar cells hold an advantage over traditional silicon solar cells in the simplicity of their
processing and their tolerance to internal defects. Traditional silicon cells require expensive, multi-
step processes, conducted at high temperatures (>1000 °C) under high vacuum in special
cleanroom facilities. Meanwhile, the hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite material can be
manufactured with simpler wet chemistry techniques in a traditional lab environment. Most
notably, methylammonium and formamidinium lead trihalides, also known as hybrid perovskites,
have been created using a variety of solution deposition techniques, such as spin coating, slot-
die coating, blade coating, spray coating, inkjet printing, screen printing, electrodeposition, and
vapor deposition techniques, all of which have the potential to be scaled up with relative ease
except spin coating.

4.2.2.2. Intermediate Band Solar Cells

Intermediate band photovoltaics in solar cell research provides methods for exceeding the
Shockley–Queisser limit on the efficiency of a cell. It introduces an intermediate band (IB) energy
level in between the valence and conduction bands. Theoretically, introducing an IB allows two
photons with energy less than the bandgap to excite an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band. This increases the induced photocurrent and thereby efficiency.

(i) One band

Luque and Marti first derived a theoretical limit for an IB device with one midgap energy level
using detailed balance. They assumed no carriers were collected at the IB and that the device
was under full concentration. They found the maximum efficiency to be 63.2%, for a bandgap of
 48

1.95eV with the IB 0.71eV from either the valence or conduction band. Under one sun illumination
the limiting efficiency is 47%.

(ii) Infinite bands

Green and Brown expanded upon these results by deriving the theoretical efficiency limit for a
device with infinite IBs. By introducing more IB’s, even more of the incident spectrum can be
utilized. After performing the detailed balance, they found the maximum efficiency to be 77.2%.
This efficiency is less than that of a multijunction cell with infinite junctions. This is because in
multijunction cells, electrons are captured exactly after being excited to a higher energy state,
while in an IB device, the electrons still need another energy transition to reach the conduction
band and be collected.

Figure 4.6: Working of IBSC

In the case of the original Grätzel and O'Regan design, the cell has 3 primary parts. On top is a
transparent anode made of fluoride-doped tin dioxide (SnO2:F) deposited on the back of a
(typically glass) plate. On the back of this conductive plate is a thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2),
which forms into a highly porous structure with an extremely high surface area. The (TiO2) is
chemically bound by a process called sintering. TiO2 only absorbs a small fraction of the solar
photons (those in the UV). The plate is then immersed in a mixture of a photosensitive ruthenium-
polypyridine dye (also called molecular sensitizers) and a solvent. After soaking the film in the
dye solution, a thin layer of the dye is left covalently bonded to the surface of the TiO2. The bond
is either an ester, chelating, or bidentate bridging linkage.
A separate plate is then made with a thin layer of the iodide electrolyte spread over a conductive
sheet, typically platinum metal. The two plates are then joined and sealed together to prevent the
 49

electrolyte from leaking. The construction is simple enough that there are hobby kits available to
hand-construct them. Although they use a number of "advanced" materials, these are inexpensive
compared to the silicon needed for normal cells because they require no expensive manufacturing
steps. TiO2, for instance, is already widely used as a paint base.
One of the efficient DSSCs devices uses ruthenium-based molecular dye, e.g. [Ru(4,4'-dicarboxy-
2,2'-bipyridine)2(NCS)2] (N3), that is bound to a photoanode via carboxylate moieties. The
photoanode consists of 12 μm thick film of transparent 10–20 nm diameter TiO2 nanoparticles
covered with a 4 μm thick film of much larger (400 nm diameter) particles that scatter photons
back into the transparent film. The excited dye rapidly injects an electron into the TiO2 after light
absorption. The injected electron diffuses through the sintered particle network to be collected at
the front side transparent conducting oxide (TCO) electrode, while the dye is regenerated via
reduction by a redox shuttle, I3−/I−, dissolved in a solution. Diffusion of the oxidized form of the
shuttle to the counter electrode completes the circuit.

4.2.2.3. Quantum Dot Solar Cells

A quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) is a solar cell design that uses quantum dots as the absorbing
photovoltaic material. It attempts to replace bulk materials such as silicon, copper indium gallium
selenide (CIGS) or cadmium telluride (CdTe). Quantum dots have bandgaps that are tunable
across a wide range of energy levels by changing their size. In bulk materials, the bandgap is
fixed by the choice of material(s). This property makes quantum dots attractive for multi-junction
solar cells, where a variety of materials are used to improve efficiency by harvesting multiple
portions of the solar spectrum.
As of 2019, efficiency exceeds 16.5%.Quantum dots
Quantum dots are semiconducting particles that have been reduced below the size of the Exciton
Bohr radius and due to quantum mechanics considerations, the electron energies that can exist
within them become finite, much alike energies in an atom. Quantum dots have been referred to
as "artificial atoms". These energy levels are tuneable by changing their size, which in turn defines
the bandgap. The dots can be grown over a range of sizes, allowing them to express a variety of
bandgaps without changing the underlying material or construction techniques. In typical wet
chemistry preparations, the tuning is accomplished by varying the synthesis duration or
temperature.
 50

Figure 4.7: Schematic of Quantum Dot Solar Cell

The ability to tune the bandgap makes quantum dots desirable for solar cells. For the sun’s photon
distribution spectrum, the Shockley-Queisser limit indicates that the maximum solar conversion
efficiency occurs in a material with a band gap of 1.34 eV. However, materials with lower band
gaps will be better suited to generate electricity from lower-energy photons (and vice versa).
Single junction implementations using lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dots (CQD) have
bandgaps that can be tuned into the far infrared, frequencies that are typically difficult to achieve
with traditional solar cells. Half of the solar energy reaching the Earth is in the infrared, most in
the near infrared region. A quantum dot solar cell makes infrared energy as accessible as any
other.
Moreover, CQD offer easy synthesis and preparation. While suspended in a colloidal liquid form
they can be easily handled throughout production, with a fumehood as the most complex
equipment needed. CQD are typically synthesized in small batches, but can be mass-produced.
The dots can be distributed on a substrate by spin coating, either by hand or in an automated
process. Large-scale production could use spray-on or roll-printing systems, dramatically
reducing module construction costs.
Early examples used costly molecular beam epitaxy processes. However, the lattice mismatch
results in accumulation of strain and thus generation of defects, restricting the number of stacked
layers. Droplet epitaxy growth technique shows its advantages on the fabrication of strain-free
QDs. Alternatively, less expensive fabrication methods were later developed. These use wet
chemistry (for CQD) and subsequent solution processing. Concentrated nanoparticle solutions
are stabilized by long hydrocarbon ligands that keep the nanocrystals suspended in solution.
To create a solid, these solutions are cast down and the long stabilizing ligands are replaced with
short-chain crosslinkers. Chemically engineering the nanocrystal surface can better passivate the
nanocrystals and reduce detrimental trap states that would curtail device performance by means
of carrier recombination.This approach produces an efficiency of 7.0%.
 51

A more recent study uses different ligands for different functions by tuning their relative band
alignment to improve the performance to 8.6%. The cells were solution-processed in air at room-
temperature and exhibited air-stability for more than 150 days without encapsulation.
In 2014 the use of iodide as a ligand that does not bond to oxygen was introduced. This maintains
stable n- and p-type layers, boosting the absorption efficiency, which produced power conversion
efficiency up to 8%.

4.2.2.4. Organic/polymer solar cells

An organic solar cell (OSC) or plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses organic
electronics, a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic
molecules, for light absorption and charge transport to produce electricity from sunlight by the
photovoltaic effect. Most organic photovoltaic cells are polymer solar cells.

Figure 4.8: Organic Photovoltaic

The molecules used in organic solar cells are solution-processable at high throughput and are
cheap, resulting in low production costs to fabricate a large volume. Combined with the flexibility
of organic molecules, organic solar cells are potentially cost-effective for photovoltaic applications.
Molecular engineering (e.g. changing the length and functional group of polymers) can change
the band gap, allowing for electronic tunability. The optical absorption coefficient of organic
molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials,
usually on the order of hundreds of nanometers. The main disadvantages associated with organic
photovoltaic cells are low efficiency, low stability and low strength compared to inorganic
photovoltaic cells such as silicon solar cells.
Compared to silicon-based devices, polymer solar cells are lightweight (which is important for
small autonomous sensors), potentially disposable and inexpensive to fabricate (sometimes using
printed electronics), flexible, customizable on the molecular level and potentially have less
adverse environmental impact. Polymer solar cells also have the potential to exhibit transparency,
suggesting applications in windows, walls, flexible electronics, etc. An example device is shown
in Fig. 1. The disadvantages of polymer solar cells are also serious: they offer about 1/3 of the
efficiency of hard materials, and experience substantial photochemical degradation.
Polymer solar cells inefficiency and stability problems, combined with their promise of low costs
and increased efficiency made them a popular field in solar cell research. As of 2015, polymer
solar cells were able to achieve over 10% efficiency via a tandem structure. In 2018, a record
breaking efficiency for organic photovoltaics of 17.3% was reached via tandem structure.
 52

5. FUTURE SCOPE

5.1. Introduction
In an indication of growing appetite for electricity in India, the country’s per capita electricity
consumption has reached 1010 kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2014-15, compared with 957 kWh in 2013-
14 and 914.41 kWh in 2012-13, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India’s apex
power sector planning body. The per capita electricity consumption reached 1010 kWh some time
back, said a senior government official, requesting anonymity. But, experts are far from enthused
from the increasing consumption figure. “Per capita electricity consumption crossing 1,000 units
a year is certainly a milestone, but without much significance. One-fourth of the households in the
country still have no access to electricity, with some states in East and North East having less
than even 30% households with (electricity) access. Most significant milestone that the nation
must achieve is 100% households having 24x7 quality supply of electricity, said Debasish Mishra,
senior director, consulting, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. India’s per capita power
consumption is among the lowest in the world. Around 280 million people in the country do not
have access to electricity. In comparison, China has a per capita consumption of 4,000kWh, with
developed nations averaging around 15,000kWh per capita. Interestingly, while the peak shortage
in the country was at 2.3% in May, many believe that the demand still looks artificially suppressed
as state electricity boards (SEBs) are not buying power. SEBs have been unwilling to procure
electricity because of their weak financials due to low tariffs, slow progress in reducing losses,
higher power purchase costs and crippling debt. India has an installed power generation capacity
of 272,503MW The Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable energy Piyush Goyal has maintained
that the states have not been buying power. “Some state governments haven’t cooperated as
much as they should... we urge them to increase it. Otherwise they would receive an appropriate
response from the electorate in the coming days,” Goyal said at a press conference on 25 May
2015. Electricity generation was the silver lining in the May index of industrial production data.
Electricity output, which contracted 0.5% in April, recovered to grow 6% in May, 2015. Of our
installed capacity, only around 145,000MW is operational. India needs as much as $200 billion to
meet its target of installing 100,000MW of solar power capacity and around 60,000MW of wind
power capacity by 2022. The Government of India had made energy security and launched a
scheme aimed at ensuring about eight hours of quality power supply to agricultural consumers
and 24-hour electricity to households in AprilMay 2014.

5.2. India’s solar energy potential

India’s plan to become of the largest solar power markets in the world has received a massive
boost as the latest estimated of its solar power potential.The National Institute of Solar Energy in
India has determined the country’s solar power potential at about 750 GW, a recently released
document by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) shows. The solar power potential
has been estimated using the wasteland availability data in every state and jurisdiction of India.
 53

The estimate is based on the assumption that only 3% of the total wasteland available in a state
is used for development of solar power projects.

5.3. Solar for grid connected electricity

Grid interactive solar energy is derived from solar photovoltaic cells and CSP Plants on a large
scale. The grid connection is chosen due to following reasons:

• Solar Energy is available throughout the day which is the peak load demand time.
• Solar energy conversion equipment have longer life and need lesser maintenance and hence
provide higher energy infrastructure security.
• Low running costs & grid tie-up capital returns (Net Metering). Unlike conventional thermal
power generation from coal, they do not cause pollution and generate clean power.
• Abundance of free solar energy throughout all parts of world (although gradually decreasing
from equatorial, tropical, sub-tropical and polar regions).
• Can be utilized almost everywhere

Figure 5.1: Schematic of Grid Connected Solar System

5.4. Solar For Off-Grid Solutions

While, the areas with easier grid access are utilizing grid connectivity, the places where utility
power is scant or too expensive to bring, have no choice but to opt for their own generation. They
generate power from a diverse range of small local generators using both fossil fuels (diesel, gas)
 54

and locally available renewable energy technologies (solar PV, wind, small hydro, biomass, etc.)
with or without its own storage (batteries). This is known as offgrid electricity. Remote power
systems are installed for the following reasons:

• Desire to use renewable - environmentally safe, pollution free. Combining various generating
options available- hybrid power generation.
• Desire for independence from the unreliable, fault prone and interrupted grid connection.
• Available storage and back-up options.
• No overhead wires- no transmission loss.
• Varied applications and products: Lighting, Communication Systems, Cooking, Heating,
Pumping, Small scale industry utilization etc. Captive power generation is done mainly
considering the replacement of diesel with solar.

Figure 5.2: Off-grid Solar System

5.5. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Solar Energy In India

5.5.1. Advantages of Solar Energy in India

Some of the advantages of solar energy which makes it all the more suitable for India are as
follows:

• This is an inexhaustible source of energy and the best replacement to other nonrenewable
energies in India.
 55

• Solar energy is environment friendly. When in use, it does not release CO2 and other gases
which pollute the air. Hence, it is very suitable for India, India being one of the most polluted
countries of the world.
• Solar energy can be used for variety of purposes like as heating, drying, cooking or electricity,
which is suitable for the rural areas in India. It can also be used in cars, planes, large power
boats, satellites, calculators and many more such items, just apt for the urban population.
• Solar power is inexhaustible. In an energy deficient country like India, where power generation
is costly, solar energy is the best alternate means of power generation.
• You don’t need a power or gas grid to get solar energy. A solar energy system can be installed
anywhere. Solar panels can be easily placed in houses. Hence, it is quite inexpensive
compared to other sources of energy.

5.5.2. Disadvantages of Solar Energy in India

Some of the disadvantages of solar energy which needs further researches are as follows:

• We cannot generate energy during the night time with solar energy.
• And, also during day time, the weather may be cloudy or rainy, with little or no sun radiation.
Hence, this makes solar energy panels less reliable as a solution.
• Only those areas that receive good amount of sunlight are suitable for producing solar energy.
• Solar panels also require inverters and storage batteries to convert direct electricity to
alternating electricity so as to generate electricity. While installing a solar panel is quite cheap,
installing other equipments becomes expensive.
• The land space required to install a solar plant with solar panel is quite large and that land
space remains occupied for many years altogether and cannot be used for other purposes.
• Energy production is quite low compared to other forms of energy.
Solar panels require considerable maintenance as they are fragile and can be easily damaged.
So extra expenses are incurred as additional insurance costs.

5.6. Future of Solar energy in India

In solar energy sector, many large projects have been proposed in India.

• Thar Desert has some of India’s best solar power projects, estimated to generate 700 to 2,100
GW.
• On March 1st, 2014, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, inaugurated at Diken
in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh, India’s biggest solar power plant.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) launched by the Centre is targeting
20,000 MW of solar energy power by 2022 Gujarat’s pioneering solar power policy aims at
1,000 MW of solar energy generation.
• In July 2009, a $19 billion solar power plan was unveiled, which projected to produce 20 GW
of solar power by 2020.
• About 66 MW is installed for various applications in the rural area, amounting to be used in
solar lanterns, street lighting systems and solar water pumps, etc.
 56

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