“The amount of solar energy hitting the earth everyday is more than total amount of energy the 6.1 billion inhabitants on the planet would consume in 27 years”.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology study

I presume the question in your mind after reading the fact above: if the potential of solar power is so galactic, why hasn’t tapping solar energy achieved the scale that other non-renewable sources of energy have achieved and why the ruckus about this now? The answer could either be the human genius or stupidity. We could blame the oil companies, successive government policies or the scientific community; but the fact that remains true is that we have used our natural resources at a rate higher than the planet could afford to and now it cannot replenish those resources. The key now is to balance economic development and consumption of resources through sustainable development and the goal of is achieve the triple bottom line or 3P’s – Profit, People and Planet. I’ll confine my views on the 3P’s with respect to the energy situation in India:

Economic –India is facing massive shortage of electricity and there is urgent need to produce alternate sources like solar and wind. Power shortage is affecting the country’s booming economy; industries cannot function to their actual potential.

Social –Many thermal and hydro power projects have run into problems because they were either a menace to local community or environment. The case of Srikakulam thermal power plant in Andhra Pradesh is one classic example; the local villagers protest that the power plant would destroy water bodies thereby stripping people of their livelihood. The hydroelectric project on the Ganges was cancelled due to religious concerns. And more nuclear power plants are under construction and in the wake of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster there is doubt and skepticism on the safety aspect of nuclear power.

Environmental – Global warming, climatic change, do I need to say more? Switching to greener methods to generate energy is more imperative now than ever.

Solar energy seems to be natural answer to all these concerns. While the technology for solar energy is still developing, the pace at which it is growing is humongous. The cost of a solar cell has come down many folds and new technologies like printable flexible nanotechnology solar cells are set to decrease the cost of solar energy by huge margins. Printing a solar cell could become as easy as printing a fabric soon.

Solar is the only form of energy whose cost has been declining over the years

Financial institutions are tuning investments into solar domain. Governments are initiating solar projects and granting enormous subsidies for firms involved in solar energy. The government of India launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) with a target of achieving 20GW of production by 2022. The first phase of the project is underway. More such projects are unveiled by private organizations and governments, for example the project approved by Govt. of Punjab, to set up solar panels by using the space over irrigation canals is highly innovative. The project will reduce evaporation of water, save land space and also produce solar power.

Such innovations will help quadruple the effects of solar energy production by offering multiple benefits and IT has a major role to play in improving the reach of solar power. I believe that applying Information Technology in Solar energy should have a three pronged approach:

• IT in power generation
• IT in management of power transmission, distribution and control
• IT in conservation of power

The focus here is not just on electricity generation but also on effective management and conservation of it by developing smart technologies.

• Solar energy needs a real time information system to handle data on solar production, weather forecasting etc so that the solar panels can be adjusted to achieve maximum efficiency. What if there is an intelligent system that can measure solar intensity everyday and directs the power station administrator to align the panels in a particular direction?
• If solar radiation levels can be mapped based on geography and a system developed to forecast the radiation levels throughout the year, power generation can be focused on areas receiving higher solar radiation.
• A system/website in the lines of “rent your terrace” can be developed to connect home/land owners with solar companies and feed electricity back into the community. The rent can be paid monetarily or better a share in the electricity generated.
• I believe in a country like ours without a proper power grid system, creating localized solar power systems is a viable option. If each house in a locality can rent part the terrace or land space, then the collective cost installing a solar production facility will be less compared to creating individual systems for each house.
• If we could develop intelligent systems to remotely monitor and manage efficient usage of electricity:
  • Control electrical devices using mobile apps.
  • Software to examine electricity usage in home/office via a control panel in PC.

While IT can play its role in creating a sustainable world, it is the ‘will’ of the ‘individual’ that will help achieve this goal and in the words of Richard Branson:

Our generation has inherited an incredibly beautiful world from our parents and they from their parents. It is in our hands whether our children and their children inherit the same world.