1. Raising the Demand for Solar
Narasimhan Santhanam,
Director,
Energy Alternatives India
www.eai.in

2. Solar Power…
• Smells and tastes no different from coal-
based/natural gas power
• Is available no better than wind-based power
• Is not a baseload source as hydro power
www.eai.in

3. IT COSTS FOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS COAL,
NATURAL GAS, WIND OR HYDRO
www.eai.in

4. AND YET
WE WANT EVERYONE TO USE IT!
www.eai.in

5. Why?
BECAUSE ITS POTENTIAL AS A FUTURE
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE IS IMMENSE
www.eai.in

6. But…
How does one create demand for a
commodity that costs four times the price
at which it is available elsewhere?
www.eai.in

7. About EAI
• Leading Indian renewable energy business
intelligence, market strategy consulting firm
• All primary renewable energy sectors – solar, wind,
bio-fuels/biomass, waste-to-energy, small hydro
• Market research, entry and diversification strategy,
economic, financial modeling and pre-feasibility
analysis
• Professionals from IITs and IIMs, with renewable
energy, industry research and economics backgrounds
• Based out of Chennai, India
• More at www.eai.in
www.eai.in

8. 5 Ways to Increase the Demand for
Solar
www.eai.in

9. Product
Place
Positioning
Price
www.eai.in

10. 1
Let Go of Grid Solar PV Fixation
“A man with only a hammer sees every
problem as a nail” – Abraham Maslow
www.eai.in

11. Not Just Grid Connected, but also
Off-grid
– Industrial rooftops
– Domestic rooftops
– Small community micro-grid power plants
for rural areas
www.eai.in

12. Not Just PV, but also Thermal
– CSP (solar thermal) has higher efficiency than PV
(21% vs. 17%)
– CSP has higher chances of becoming baseload
compatible in future
– Storing heat is less costly than storing electricity
(using batteries could increase cost by over 75%)
– Use of thermal for heating and drying purposes is
efficient (less losses as no conversion)
www.eai.in

13. Plethora of Solar Product Possibilities
• Solar Cookers International has rated
India as the #1 country in the world in
terms of solar cooking potential;
estimated potential demand of 10
million solar cookers in this country
• India has less than 2 million solar water
heaters. China has 25 million!
www.eai.in

14. Plethora of Solar Product Possibilities
Consumer Products Commercial/Industrial Products
Solar Water Heaters Absorption Chillers
Home Lighting, Street Light, Boilers
Outdoor Lighting Solar Thermal Desalination
Solar Lanterns Solar Water Pumps
Solar Power Packs Solar Dryers
Solar Submersible Pumps Solar based Electric Fences
Solar Pool Covers Solar LED Signals
Solar Pool Heaters solar LED Road Studs
Solar Cookers Exotica - Solar Panels on Sound
Solar Fencing Barriers on Roads
Solar Radio
Solar Candles
Solar Exhaust Fans
Exotica - Solar Powered Bags
www.eai.in

15. 2
Take Solar Where Really Needed
“Stop selling. Start helping” - Zig Ziglar
www.eai.in

16. Take Solar to Unelectrified Villages
– Over 60,000 villages have no grid
power
– TERI’s Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL)
– SELCO’s success
– Innovative processes - Hybrid of
biomass and solar?
– Innovative financial schemes
www.eai.in

17. Tale Solar to Areas with Long Power Cuts
• India’s peak power shortages are expected
to worsen from:
– 17% peak deficit in 2009 (23 GW gap), to
– 25% peak deficit in 2015 (over 60 GW
shortfall)
• Power disruptions cost over Rs 25,000
crores per year
www.eai.in

18. 3
Position Solar diFFeRently
“I took a child’s scribbling and sold it as
abstract art” – Groucho Marx (att.)
www.eai.in

19. Position It against the Right Fuel
(“Diesel Substitute”)
• Let solar PV be compared to diesel generated power;
Economics almost the same, perhaps even better with
govt subsidies
• Over 250,000 cell phone towers, consume about 2 billion
litres of diesel per year. Move to solar will result in a
reduction of 5 million tons of CO2 emissions and savings of
US $1.4 billion in operating expenses.
• Irrigation Pumps - Promote micro-irrigation
– 21 million irrigation pumps in India
– 9 million run on diesel
• Areas like Andamans almost fully running on diesel power
• Diesel prices will continue increasing while solar prices will
continue decreasing
www.eai.in

20. Position It as a Safer Fuel
(“Healthy”)
• Over 80 million families in India use
kerosene as a fuel
• Results in acute respiratory infections:
influenza and pneumonia
• 2.5 million people suffer severe burns each
year primarily from upturned lamps
• Solar/LED provides far better white light than
kerosene lamps, resulting in less eye strain
www.eai.in

21. Position It as the Anywhere Fuel
(“Freedom”)
• Let it not be called solar electricity; let it
be seen as “powering you anywhere”
– You cannot take the grid with you
while on a mountain hike
– Mobile applications – phones, camping
and related travel
– Using it where it is application specific
– local refrigeration for preserving milk
www.eai.in

22. Position It as a Corporate Statement
(“Responsibility”)
– Companies keen on making green
statements out of both genuine concern
and for branding
• Infosys has a CSR budget of Rs 20 Crores
– Facilitate such adoption by providing
customized solutions and benefits
• Awards and recognition
www.eai.in

23. 4
Provide External Stimuli
“Governments should act when markets
can’t” - Anon
www.eai.in

24. Stimuli Using Incentives
• Incentives
– REC
– CER
– F-I-T
– CDM
– Net Metering
– Other Financial Incentives
www.eai.in

25. Stimuli through Regulations
• Mandates such as the RPOs/SPOs
• “Increase” the prices of substitutes
• Carbon tax
• Reduce subsidies for fossil fuels and
provide it for solar
# of households using kerosene 7.6 crores
Total kerosene used per year 3.6 billion liters
Savings to govt from subsidy avoidance Rs 1200
per household per year
Cost of a solar PV solution per BPL Rs 20,000 / Approx Rs 1300
household / cost per year with 15 years
lifetime
www.eai.in

26. 5
Invent the Future
"The best way to predict the future is to
invent it." - Alan Kay
www.eai.in

27. Technology Innovations
Adapt Pure Tech Innovations Innovate on Indianized
Solutions
Cell efficiency increases India-specific applications
Storage breakthroughs India-specific products
Thin film innovations India-specific adoption
www.eai.in

28. Financing Innovations
• Microfinance
– SKS Microfinance, India's largest MFI, offers solar
lamps to its 5 million customers
– SELCO works with many microfinance institutions
• “Softer” Loans
– Already available for a range of consumer solar
products (at interest rates 5% and below)
– Capital subsidies available along with soft loans
• Public-private Partnerships
www.eai.in

29. Raising the Demand for
Solar
1. Let Go of Grid Solar PV Fixation
2. Take Solar Where Really Needed
3. Position Solar Differently
4. Provide External Stimuli
5. Invent the Future
www.eai.in

30. “The significant problems that we face
today cannot be solved with the same
mentality that created them”
Albert Einstein
www.eai.in

31. Let There be Sun!
Narasimhan Santhanam,
Director, Energy Alternatives India
narsi@eai.in, Mob: +91-98413-48117
www.eai.in
www.eai.in