Government and Business Case Study

Tapping Solar Energy in India: A Viable Alternative?

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Abstract:
India always had an abundance of solar energy due to its geographical location. It received an estimated 3,000 hours of sunshine every year and had the potential of 20 megawatts per square kilometer of total radiation fall on the earth. In addition, the market for photovoltaic cell, by which to tap solar energy, picked up, which not only helped India's domestic energy requirements, but also facilitated exports to countries like Germany. Yet, despite the promising future, solar energy in India faced many challenges such as:

1. High initial cost
2. Inadequate government policies
3. Less awareness among the general public etc

However, for meeting the increasing demand for energy, the government of India took various promotional initiatives for solar power generation such as subsidies and tax incentives. Yet, much remains to be done to boost solar energy usage. It remains to be seen whether the GOI's various initiatives would help to overcome challenges and result in greater adoption and use of solar energy in India, and solar energy would emerge as a viable alternative source..

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the global scenario of solar energy.
• To understand solar energy in the Indian context.
• To understand the challenges for solar energy in India and GOI's initiatives to ensure greater use of solar energy.

Keywords :  Solar energy, India, Demand, Cost, Market, Technology, Photovoltaic, Efficiency, Advantages, Disadvantages, Government policies