Planning map for solar development bonanza

Ravindra Prakash Dubey, MD,Granzor Engineering Private Limited

“The generation-utilisation marriage is a must for proper growth”

The Indian government has come up with policies to make the energy sector sustainable keeping in mind the growing environmental challenges faced by the country today. Here, Ravindra Prakash Dubey, MD, Granzor Engineering Private Limited, says that development of generation systems has become an uphill task and shares his suggestions to improve the power sector in India

Please tell us about the state of power sector in India
Power sector is the backbone of any country’s growth. At present, the environmental challenges have put a lot of variables to make the energy sector sustainable. The policies of the government are also being shaped in the same lines. However, to address the deficit of power and develop the generation systems in the exact proportion is an uphill task. Moreover, the process leaves or creates many gaps; mostly unwanted. We had sensed it in recent past that Rajasthan and Gujarat grids became vulnerable due to heavy or concentrated solar power generations in a short duration.

What steps could be taken to spread energy consumption evenly?
The rationalisation of energy consumption density is an uphill task. The consumption centres, heavy or medium industries, are mostly created under different policies under a different ministry, and “rational considerations” in setting up such industries becomes impossible or are left out unknowingly. In view of this, the heavy industry, power and distribution ministries should work out their plans in coherence and in mutual consultations. Alternatively, the energy generation and utilisation centres need to be created under a development planning ministry, which should define the prospective areas for these objectives, and the respective governments or ministries should take inputs from this planning map to declare their own developmental bonanzas to public.

Can electrification demand drive India’s growth?
Of course, yes! The whole issue is that the power is surplus at one place and deficient at another. The generation-utilisation marriage is a must for proper growth. It would also ease out undue pressure on the grids and generate additional and distributed employment across the areas. The cascading effects on other developments would automatically happen.

Has government initiatives been beneficial for the sector?
The government is putting lot of efforts through many incentives and other policies to push the renewable segment. The GBI is one of the major game changers, especially in the small and domestics segments. The motivation of the end-users for solar installation on their small houses or housing societies had not been picking up. However, the GBI has motivated the users to a large extent as it almost leads to “zero bill” situations. The main hurdle being faced by the Group Housing Societies is the funding of solar systems. In case some banking options could be created especially for such customers, there could be a big boom in the segment. I suggest the government must look into it, after due discussions with the banks.