Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

The discussion panel of the solar thermal industry was one of the star attractions at the Intersolar India conference, which took place at the Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai in the middle of December. The panel consisted of the CEOs of leading solar water heater manufacturers (from right to left): Davinder Kaushal (Inter Solar Systems), D. V. Manjunatha (Emmvee Solar), Sanjay Jinturkar (Sudarshan Saur), Tarun Kapoor (Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy), Hemant Revankar (Bipin Engineers), Gurminder Singh (Racold Solar), Sankar Dev Kunnath Kalam (Photon Solar) and Thyagamandlu Ananth (Nuetech Solar). The discussion was moderated by Jaideep N. Malaviya (standing on the left), CEO of the Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI).
Photo: Intersolar

After publishing the Memorandum “Minimum Requirements for Installation of Solar Water Heating Systems in Field” in September 2011, India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued a revised version of the guidelines on 25 November 2011. The Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) has successfully intervened against certain of its requirements. The photo shows the tank manufacturing at Indian company Anu Solar.
Photo: Anu Solar

Because of a comparably lower price, vacuum tube collectors are becoming more and more popular in India. Based on a capacity of 100 litres of warm water per day, an average thermosiphon system with flat plate collectors is sold at INR 20,000 (EUR 208), whereas a solar water heater with a vacuum tube collector costs on average INR 16,000 (EUR 167). To protect the business of the around 60 flat plate collector manufacturers in India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a memorandum on 20 October 2011. Its most important sentence says that, “manufacturers shall import no components other than ETCs (Evacuated Tube Collectors)”.

In its Circular No.147 /ICD- 36 /2011  dated 3 August 2011, the Indian National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has included solar water heating systems as an eligible technology for subsidy and low-interest loans if they do not exceed a capacity of 400 litres. The circular is addressed to all commercial banks and regional/rural banks involved. An earlier circular - No.110 dated 27 May 2011 - had already announced the Capital Subsidy-cum-Refinance Scheme for decentralised solar PV installations.

As part of the initiatives of the UNDP/GEF Global Solar Water Heating Project (GSWHP), the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has started a voice-activated National Helpline on Solar Water Heaters to raise awareness of the technology and answer the questions of consumers. The service, which has been operating since 15 September 2011, is managed by the Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI). It has a toll-free number (1800 2 33 44 77), with service hours from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM between Monday and Friday, and 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Saturdays. The two employed call centre agents offer help in both Hindi and English.

To spread information about the various developments in the country's solar thermal market, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) have started India’s first and only solar thermal e-Newsletter: InSolTherm Times. The monthly publication was formally launched on 1 August 2011 by MNRE Secretary Deepak Gupta. Considering the substantial market growth of the solar water heating sector, there is a great need to share information about the latest trends in technologies and policy.

The last 5 years have seen a strong growth in India's solar thermal market. While adverts in television, the radio, as well as the print media are all very popular forms of raising public awareness in India, thanks to the growing literacy rate, newspaper advertisement was found to be the most effective channel to disseminate information about the solar thermal sector. Some states, such as Maharashtra, put up advert hoardings at prominent places in large cities. The poster seen in the photo lists the registered manufacturers, including their contact number.
Photo: Jaideep Malaviya

To expand the solar thermal market and minimise the application time for subsidies and soft loans, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has devised a new application method for its national subsidy scheme: Since 1 April, it has offered Channel Partners (CP) to directly submit their project proposals to MNRE.

This handbook was prepared in the framework of the project ‘Solar Water Heating Market Transformation and Strengthening Initiative’ funded by the UNDP, UNEP, GEF and ICA (International Copper Association). It was done in collaboration with the Indian Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The objective of this publication is to provide adequate information and guidance to customers of solar water heater with a view of helping them in selecting the right technology and product for their applications.

This is a presentation from Dr Ashvini Kumar, Director of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India.

It provides an overview about main market applications of solar thermal energy: solar heating, solar cooking, cooling, drying, industrial process heat, etc. The presentation also touches upon issues such as R&D policies and the main pillars of the Indian government’ strategy on this regard.

Lastly the presentation refers some projects involving these technologies which are under implementation in Bombay, Bangalore, Udaipur and New Delhi.