INDIA'S SOLAR CENTURY

The country has set its sights on adding 180GW of solar power in the next five years. A bit of a stretch, but doable if we double up

- Nandini Keshari and Aditi Ray Chowdhury

In the fictional world of Frank Herbert’s Dune, Arrakis is a mythical desert and home to the universe’s most-coveted resource— spice. Beyond its psychedelic properties, it is the fuel for space travel, so valuable that empires rise and fall for its control.

In the real world, deserts may never fuel space travel, but they can propel nations to a utopia, just as rarefied—decarbonised and emission-free. For evidence, picture this.

As the sun beats down on Rajasthan’s Thar Desert, millions of photovoltaic silicon panels light up and turn into a shimmering ocean of energy in Bhadla, Jodhpur, home to the world’s third-largest solar park. Spread across 5,700 hectares, this awe-inspiring facility pumps out 2.25GW of power, enough to light up 1.5mn homes.

Given its surreal desert setting, it might be easy to mistake Bhadla for a spectacular mirage. Except that it is not. Nor are the dozen other parks dotting India’s blazing plains, which collectively make more solar power, behind just China (886.7GW) and the US (139GW).

However, if you think that is unreal, think again as India has set its sights on adding another 180GW of solar in the next five years—four times its record.

Here Comes the Sun

There were several drivers, but none more potent than two pieces of game-changing reform. “The introduction of a market-driven procurement model and reverse auctions, which awarded projects to the lowest bidder and shares to the second and third finishers, made the industry competitive,” says Ajay Shankar, distinguished fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri).