Evaluating the potential of concentrating solar power generation in Northwestern India

To accelerate the decarburization in the Indian power sector, concentrating solar power (CSP) needs to play an important role. CSP technologies have found significant space in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) of the Indian government in which 20,000MW grid connected solar power projects have been targeted by 2022 with 50% capacity for CSP. In this study a preliminary attempt has been made to assess the potential of CSP generation in the Northwestern (NW) regions of India; which seems a high potential area as it has the highest annual solar radiation in India, favorable meteorological conditions for CSP and large amount of waste land. The potential of CSP systems in NW India is estimated on the basis of a detailed solar radiation and land resource assessment. The energy yield exercise has been carried out for the representative locations using System Advisor Model for four commercially available CSP technologies namely Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC), Central receiver system (CRS), Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) and Parabolic Dish System (PDS). The financial viability of CSP systems at different locations in NW India is also analyzed in this study. On the basis of a detailed solar radiation and land resource assessment, the maximum theoretical potential of CSP in NW India is estimated over 2000GW taking into accounts the viability of different CSP technologies and land suitability criteria. The technical potential is estimated over 1700GW at an annual direct normal incidence (DNI) over 1800kWh/m2 and finally, the economic potential is estimated over 700GW at an annual DNI over 2000kWh/m2 in NW India. It is expected that in near future locations with lower DNI values could also become financially feasible with the development of new technologies, advancement of materials, economy of scale, manufacturing capability along with the enhanced policy measures etc. With an annual DNI over 1600kWh/m2 it is possible to exploit over 2000GW CSP in the NW India. •An overview of Indian power sector and renewable energy use in India.•Central/State policy framework for promoting concentrating solar power (CSP) in India.•Technology overview and resource assessment of CSP in Northwestern India.•Economics of CSP technologies and impact of secondary benefits.