ABOUT
India has set a target of 100 GW Solar Installation Capacity by the year 2022.
However the loss of Solar Energy due to environmental factors like Air Pollution is not properly considered in renewable energy resource assessment.
India lost 29% of it's utilisable global horizontal irradiance potential due to air pollution between 2001 and 2018.
The average loss in output inccured by solar power systems with horizontal, fixed-tilt, single axis and dual axis trackers due to aur pollution is estimated to be 12%,26%,33% and 41% respectively which is equivalent to 245-835 million USD annually.
Mitigating the air pollution through supply of cleaner fuel for domestic use and rural electrification would allow India to generate a surplus of 6 to 16 TWh of electricity per year from existing solar power capacity. This translates to economic benefits of 325 to 845 million USD annually.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES RELATED TO CAP-SOLAR
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojna
PMUY
On May 2016, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), introduced the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY) as a flagship scheme with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. Usage of traditional cooking fuels had detrimental impacts on the health of rural women as well as on the environment. The scheme was launched on 1st May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri. Narendra Modi. The target under the scheme was to release 8 Crore LPG Connections to the deprived households by March 2020. On 7th September 2019, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India handed over the 8th Crore LPG connection in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The release of 8 Crore LPG connections under the scheme has also helped in increasing the LPG coverage from 62% on 1st May 2016 to 99.8% as on 1st April 2021. Under the Union Budget for FY 21-22, provision for release of additional 1 Crore LPG connections under the PMUY scheme has been made. In this phase, special facility has been given to migrant families.
National Clean Air Programme
NCAP
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019, is India's flagship program for better air quality in 122 cities. This review evaluates the scientific, legislative, financial, and institutional framework of the 102 publicly available clean air action plans submitted under NCAP. We assessed the robustness of the plans using the background information on pollution sources and their contribution; legal backing for the clean air action plan; cost of measures; and existing institutional accountability regime. We used the tally chart method for estimating city-specific and sector-specific mitigation measures, the number of actions under the purview of various implementation agencies, and the number of institutional, physical, and promotional interventions in the plans. Transport and road dust together cover 50% of action points, followed by interventions for the industries. Domestic cooking and heating is mentioned as a source only in 42 plans for a total of 2% of the action points. Institutional nature of the interventions was observed in 74% of the action points, using the language “overseeing, planning, proposing, preparing, investigating, identifying, ensuring, strengthening, training, studying, and engaging”. We also identified the plans that contained information on source contributions, an outline of financial requirements for executing the plans and measures for mitigating pollution from regional sources. Only 25% of the plans integrated information on the relative source contributions to formulate control strategies. Even fewer plans outlined the financial requirements for executing the plans. The institutional and administrative arrangements for ensuring inter-departmental and regional alignment in air pollution mitigation strategies are absent. We close the review with recommendations which include mandating regular updates for emission and pollution loads, granting greater fiscal autonomy for Urban Local Bodies to maintain the infrastructure necessary for sustaining air quality benefits, and moving from city-centric to airshed-centric air quality management.
World Health Organization- Air Quality Guidance
WHO AQG
The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change.
By striving to achieve these guideline levels, countries will be both protecting health as well as mitigating global climate change.
WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards.
WHO’s new guidelines recommend air quality levels for 6 pollutants, where evidence has advanced the most on health effects from exposure.
6 classical pollutants include particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna
DDU GJY
The Hon’ble President of India sanctioned the launch/implementation of DeenDayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), an integrated scheme covering all aspects of rural power distribution which was conveyed by the Ministry of Power on December 3, 2014. Under the scheme, 60% of the project cost (85% for special States) is provided as grant by Government of India and additional grant up to 15% (5% for Special Category States) is provided by Government of lndia on achievement of prescribed milestones. All erstwhile RE schemes (including Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana) have been subsumed into DDUGJY. REC Limited was designated as the Nodal Agency for operationalization of DDUGJY. Objectives- The main objectives of the scheme are- 1) To provide separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply to agriculture and non-agriculture consumers in the rural area, and 2) Strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution (ST&D) infrastructures in rural area, including metering at distribution transformers, feeders and consumers end.
The scheme also covers electricity access to all rural households and reduction of AT&C losses as per trajectory (Discom-wise) finalized in consultation with States by the Ministry of Power, so as to facilitate to 24x7 power supply for non-agricultural consumers and adequate power supply for agricultural consumers through following project components:
Segregation of agricultural feeder from the combined/common 11 KV feeders in rural areas facilitating improved quality power supply to non-agricultural consumers and adequate power supply to agricultural consumers through the dedicated agricultural feeders in the rural areas
Strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure in rural areas
Metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers; and
Rural electrification works under the erstwhile RGGVY scheme which have been subsumed into DDUGJY
In DDUGJY, the earlier population criteria for eligibility of villages/hamlets have been annulled and all villages/ habitations are eligible without any population restrictions.
In order to realize the objectives of the scheme, participation of all the stakeholders, particularly public representatives have been institutionalized through constitution of District Electricity Committees (now DISHA) under the Chairmanship of the senior most Member of Parliament. DISHA has also been empowered to monitor and review the implementatio