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Solar energy is a conventional form of energy that is converted from thermal power and the use of photovoltaic cells. Thermal power produces steam which in turn is used to drive turbo-generators in order to produce electricity. In photovoltaic cells a semiconductor is used in order to produce both positive as well as negative charges using energy of the sun.

• India is one of the countries of the world, which has
good solar energy reservoir. India has been known to receive highest amount of solar radiation in the world. Average intensity received is 200 megawatt for every kilometre square.

• India has geographical area amounting to 3.287million square kilometre, which can effectively produce 657 million mega-watt of electricity. The desert land of India 20 thousand square kilometres is available in the state of Gujarat, Rajasthan. This area is not occupied with vegetation neither is it used for other industrial purpose. By just covering 15 hundred square kilometres in this stretch of desert, it is possible to produce around 3, 00,000 MW electricity.

• The first solar power plant in India is still under progress in the region of Phalodi located in Rajasthan. This solar plant is rumoured to have cost around 4 times most coal based plants. Today it is considered as a “pioneering project of solar power” in the Indian Subcontinent. This plant is expected to produce electricity of 700-2100 GW and is planned on an area of 35,000 km2. As most parts of the country don’t have any access to electricity grids so the most popular use of solar power is for pumping the water. In order to replace the existing five million water pumps, which are being run on diesel solar power plants in India, were initiated.

• It is important to note that Indian solar program for loan has been greatly supported by the Environment Program of United Nations, which has won the energy globe award in the field of sustainability. Around 16,000 solar homes have got financed by 2,000 branches of banks especially in the southern part of India.

A sneak Peek into Lanco

Lanco Power Projects too have worked on the commercialization of its alternative sources of energy generation like solar power and photovoltaic cells. The Lanco power projects work with an aim to make these sources of environment friendly energy accessible and affordable for the population of the Indian continent.

Lanco’s strategy of “sand to power” has been visualized as an important method with which the dream of solar energy can be realized. Among the organizations working on solar Power plants in India Lanco was first to integrate solar chain of value. Lanco power projects of solar power are one of the longest pipelines in the power projects in India. Lanco’s power

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

Lanco Infratech is among the top few private power players in India, and has big plans to maintain that position

The control room of the 600-MW Udupi Power Corporation in south Karnataka has a staff of just 20. With the monsoon hitting the Konkan coast, demand for power in the region has fallen sharply. The imported coal-based plant of power and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major Lanco Infratech is generating only a little over 400 MW. It has also synchronised its second 600-MW unit, which is expected to start commercial operations once the transmission link is ready by end-2011.

The fifth floor of Lanco House in Gurgaon is also sparsely populated. The floor that houses the board room and offices of the top management of the company is lined with waist-high green granite. The off-white walls are peppered with dozens of paintings including M.F.
Husain’s and Souza’s. In 2009, Lanco Infratech did a King George V when it moved its corporate office from Hyderabad to Gurgaon. It shifted 700 employees to the Millenium City. Two years later, almost a quarter of Lanco Infratech’s 7,000 employees are based in Gurgaon. Being close to the power centre is quite important, even if you are a power utility.

The Rs 8,000 crore-Lanco is among a clutch of companies that are investing in expanding India’s power generation capacity. It has an installed capacity of 3,300 MW and will add another 6,000 MW in the next few years. By 2015, it will invest Rs 35,000 crore to add another 6,000 MW, raising the total capacity to 15,000 MW. By then, Lanco will be present across 20 states and is slated to have 20,000 employees.

In contrast, in 2005-06, it was a Rs 152-crore construction company with profits of less than Rs 10 crore. In 2010-11, profits are Rs 446 crore.
Today, Lanco is among the biggest private power companies in India. Rivals include Tata Power (generation capacity 3,120 MW), Reliance Power (1,033 MW), Adani Power (1,980 MW) and Jindal Power (1,000 MW). State-owned NTPC leads with close to 35,000 MW capacity. Lanco, however, believes that for its private sector rivals, power is just another business, while it is focused on the entire power

Can Lanco pull it off over the next four years? It has incurred a net debt of Rs 23,733 crore. Around 85 per cent of the debt is long-term and repayable over 15 years. It is currently setting up eight power plants including at Amarkantak, Anpara, Kondapalli expansion and Vidarbha.
Barring power, EPC and infrastructure, Lanco has identified two new verticals — solar power and natural resources. Infrastructure includes roads, metro rail and port projects. It also plans to enter power equipment manufacturing to counter the restrictions on import of power equipment, and is identifying an international partner for the venture, as have many others

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

It is an established fact that parts of Gujarat, Ladakh and Rajasthan region are the ones which probably receive the maximum global radiation however Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh are not very behind in their quota of radiation. As per the studies the earth receives a radiation of 1600 - 2200 kWh/m2 every year which is equivalent to 6,000 million GWh energy in every year.

Due dense population as well as high solar insulation India leads in generation of wind power because of the perfect amalgamation in solar energy. Several thinkers and researcher have recommended the Indian government to undertake solar power projects in India in order to use this radiation as a renewable source of good energy. India has therefore planned a total of 35,000 km2 area in Thar Desert in order to generate a total of around 2100 gig watts of electricity through this solar project.

Solar projects in India are gathering importance as solar energy is reckoned as one of the most environment friendly resources of energy which are both positive as well as negatives in it. The biggest advantage is that solar energy is renewable, it can easily be restored.

July 2009 witnesses $19 billion solar power project in India with plans leading to generation of 20GW energy by the year 2020. This also made it mandatory to utilize solar energy powered equipment in government offices, hotels, buildings and also hospitals. India also launched National Solar Mission as a part of solar power projects in India which was also a part of the plan on the issue of Climate Change and aimed to produce around 1,000 MW energy by the year 2013.

Percentage of the solar energy generated in the country might just be 0.4% as compared to overall production on energy in the country yet the country ranks first along with US in the
field of solar power and its production capacity. As the price involved in deployment of solar energy it is still not a very popular option that people opt for and can only develop a market with clients if the technology involved gets cheaper.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco

It has been universally agreed upon that energy is one of the most important factors for economic growth and human development in any nation. Economic development and energy consumption share a strong two-way relationship. Maturity of an economy, with its global competitiveness, depends on the availability of inordinate, cost-effective and environment-friendly energy sources. The level of economic growth has also been observed to be reliant on the energy demand. In recent years, industrialization and globalization are taking place at a rapid pace in India and that leads to a huge demand on the national infrastructure. Thus, the massive demand for constant power takes place, but India is incapable of generating the amount of electricity required to meet the demand. This is crippling to its economic growth.

Energy is quite competently utilized in the economy though it has started to decrease in recent years. Compared to mature economies, the energy intensity of India is almost double. India’s energy intensity is also a lot higher than the emerging economies such as the Asian countries, which also includes the ASEAN member countries as well as China. One of the key factors that has led to this unprecedented demand for uninterruptable power supply (UPS) is the surge in national population. India ranks fifth in the world in terms of primary energy consumption, responsible for about 3.5% of the world commercial energy demand in the year 2003. Surprisingly, despite the overall increase in energy demand, in India per capita energy consumption is still quite low compared to other developing countries.

Exhaustible and renewable energy resources are available in plenty in India. Coal, oil, and natural gas serve as the three primary commercial energy resources. By far the largest source of energy is coal and it will remain so in the foreseeable future. However, India’s primary energy mix has been changing periodically. Other forms of commercial energy of a much higher quality and efficiency are steadily replacing the traditional energy resources being consumed in the rural sector. But resource augmentation and growth in energy supply has not managed to keep up with increasing demand. This has led to an increased reliance on imports to meet the uninterruptable energy demand. Increasing pressure of population and increasing use of energy in different sectors of the economy is a prime area of concern for India. It is advisable to conserve energy and reduce energy requirements by demand-side management and by adopting more efficient technologies in all sectors.

Lanco MD | Venkatesh Babu Lanco