Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently turned the spotlight on renewable energy through the \u2018Make in India<\/a>\u2019 initiative and \u2018REinvest<\/a>\u2019 Renewable Energy meeting in Delhi designed to attract investment and promote innovation. He has now revised the target fivefold to\u00a0100GW of solar energy by 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n But policies have been short on specifics and many experts are sceptical these ambitious targets can be achieved.<\/p>\n While many of the major obstacles facing India\u2019s solar industry \u2013 such as the need for low cost financing and better infrastructure \u2013 have been widely highlighted, one issue has been overlooked: increasing water scarcity could pose a severe constraint to energy supplies and solar expansion in India.<\/p>\n As water and energy are both vital resources, India needs to assess the impact of solar expansion on local water demand and supply, especially in areas proposed for large scale expansion.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n India\u2019s solar journey so far has been riddled with challenges. Key obstacles include lack of vital infrastructure such as power and water transmission lines, lack of low-cost finance, policy uncertainties and burdensome regulatory procedures causing delays and adding costs to projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no use investing in solar projects if the infrastructure to evacuate power to the grid does not keep pace. The Ministry of Power must provide detailed roadmaps for building new substations,\u201d said Arunabha Ghosh, solar expert at the Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW<\/a>).<\/p>\n Another barrier to the large scale solar expansion is lack of solar radiation data<\/a>, which leads to miscalculations of how much energy can be produced by individual projects.<\/p>\n These risks will need to be addressed before solar energy can become a significant part of the country\u2019s energy mix. Solar power currently constitutes less than\u00a01%<\/a>\u00a0of India\u2019s total energy supply and will need to grow to around\u00a010%<\/a>\u00a0if the newly pledged 100GW target is to be met.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huge amount of water is needed to produce electricity from any source and water shortages lead to increased energy demand to pump groundwater, creating a self-perpetuating vicious cycle.<\/p>\n In India, the monsoon season has become increasingly unpredictable due to climate change. This has increased stress on power supply. In 2012, the world\u2019s largest blackout in India that plunged nearly 670 million people into darkness was caused by farmers using excessive electricity to pump water to compensate for the poor monsoon season. Similarly, water shortages in\u00a02010-11 led to a decrease in power generation by 4.4Twh<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the same time, \u201c79% of new energy capacity in India is expected to be built in areas that already face water scarcity or water stress<\/a>,\u201d according to a recent report from the World Resource Institute.<\/p>\n The water consumption of producing power from solar energy using Photovoltaic (PV) technology is a fraction of that of coal, India\u2019s primary fuel. However, water constraints could still hamper the country\u2019s solar development plans, particularly since\u00a0the locations identified for large scale Solar PV parks are in water scarce regions. The two states with the largest installed solar projects<\/a> –\u00a0Gujarat and Rajasthan <\/a>\u00a0– are both water stressed.<\/p>\n It is thus important for India to consider\u00a0the implications of its solar expansion on water demand.<\/p>\n The problem with solar panels in arid and desert regions is that dust accumulates easily, drastically decreasing efficiency: \u201cjust one gram of dust per square metre of solar panel area can reduce efficiency by\u00a0around 40%<\/a>\u201d, according to one study<\/a>.<\/p>\n Solar panels require constant cleaning to maintain efficiency. In Abu Dhabi, solar plants have to send\u00a0trucks of water every day<\/a>\u00a0to clean the dust using robotic arms to spray water, resulting in higher than expected costs and water usage. CEEW<\/a> estimates the water requirements for operation and maintenance in India to lie between 7000 and 20000 litres per MW per wash, where panels are usually cleaned on a weekly basis (though this amount will vary with the scale and location of plants).<\/p>\n By not factoring in water constraints, the amount of electricity generated by India\u2019s solar plants will be much lower.<\/p>\n Washing solar panels is not the only issue. The manufacturing and transportation of solar equipment accounts for almost 80% of solar PV\u2019s water usage according to one study<\/a>. Since the government hopes to establish a flourishing domestic solar panel manufacturing sector, this important aspect of solar expansion also needs to be considered.<\/p>\n So far, project developers have relied on cheap imports primarily from China and the US<\/a>. If the \u2018Make in India\u2019 initiative establishes a domestic industry, the water footprint of solar PV will increase significantly. However, studies to analyse the life cycle water requirements for Solar PV in India remain in the initial stages.<\/p>\n While India has focused on solar PV so far, there are a few Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants under construction and in operation<\/a>. CSP plants generate electricity by concentrating the sun’s rays to boil water and produce steam to fuel turbines. These use a comparable amount of water to thermal coal plants, especially due to water required for cooling. As India looks to exponentially increase its solar power with the easier grid integration that CSP plants provide, the water consumption of this expansion also needs to be considered. The current proposed CSP plants<\/a> are also in areas of water stress.<\/p>\n (The wide parameters of water use for electricity generation in Solar PV and CSP shows that onsite studies need to be carried out to consider water usage in the planning stages.)<\/em><\/p>\n Solar power could also indirectly increase water use in India\u2019s agricultural sector, which accounts for over 80%<\/a> of the country\u2019s total water withdrawals. The growth in solar power has made solar PV water pumps accessible to farmers. As the operational costs of these pumps are very low there are risks associated with excessive water withdrawal<\/a>. The lack of foresight surrounding this issue is clear in Punjab – the \u2018grain bowl\u2019 of India. Energy demand to pump groundwater in Punjab has increased as the region faced severe drought in 2014<\/a>.\u00a0 While the region\u2019s ground water resources<\/a> are depleting alarmingly fast, there is also large investments<\/a> in solar expansion in the area.<\/p>\n The symptoms of poor resource management are evident throughout the country as various\u00a0states often cut power<\/a>\u00a0to deal with water scarcity.\u00a0The\u00a0National Water Mission<\/a>\u00a0(NWM), launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), recognises the need to address these water-energy links. The plan however has been\u00a0criticised<\/a>\u00a0for giving primary attention to the energy sector and side-lining water management by not setting concrete targets. Studies have shown India will have a shortfall of\u00a025% of its water demand by 2030<\/a>, if current trends continue.<\/p>\n There are some positive examples that show solar PV can help conserve water if used in innovative ways. In Gujarat, for example, solar panels have been installed on top of canals to decrease water loss from evaporation<\/a>. Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged innovative use of solar to address energy demand and water scarcity issues in his speech at the REinvest conference in Delhi. The primary focus, however, remains on large scale solar plants<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"India_blog_solar_goals2\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/India_blog_solar_goals2-1024x616.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEnergy and water – a solar perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"solar](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/solar-water.png\")
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