Rajasthan: Solar energy is now the preferred source of power

Solar energy has ticked off all the necessary boxes to become a favourite of the suppliers in search of an efficient source of power. Solar energy is the way forward towards clean energy in the state rather than wind energy given its low rate in the state. 

In last few years, the rates of solar energy have come down drastically in comparison to wind energy.

A record low solar tariff of Rs 2.44 per unit was achieved in Bhadla in the state in 2017 during the bidding carried out by solar energy corporation limited in 2017 for Bhadla Solar Park.

A solar investor said that after various bidding rounds of  wind energy at the Centre it turned out to be about 10 per cent costlier than solar energy. Such is the prevailing situation in the state that not many new investments in wind energy sector are coming its way.

“There is hardly any new investment and the cost of windmill is not going down significantly thus not making the power competitive as compared to the solar energy,” said a wind energy producer from the state. The rate of wind energy is still high though no new bidding has been done in the state.

Experts believe that Rajasthan, given its geographical location, is more suited for solar plants rather than wind energy. The officials in department of energy informed that since the wind velocity is not much in the state as compared to coastal states and southern states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kutch area of Gujarat which makes Rajasthan a less attractive destination for wind energy as compared to these states.

However, the rates of solar energy in the state are amongst the lowest in the country. The capital cost of solar plants has also come down in last few years, but that is not the case for wind energy, believes wind energy investors.

Till now, wind has been bought at 8 per cent of purchase power agreement (PPO) while only 2 per  cent of solar energy has been bought. Notably, as per the trajectory given by the Union ministry, the state has to buy 10.5 per cent of solar energy and 10.5 per cent of wind energy by 2022. As such, the effort in the state will be to buy more solar energy to honor the rest of PPO.