India to award solar array tenders for 1,300MW in 2011

India is all set to tap alternative sources of energy in a major way by issuing contracts for the supply of solar arrays that will generate 1,300MW of electricity. The awards, to be made by the end of the year, are expected to improve supply of electricity to remote rural areas, the ministry of new and renewable energy has said.

''Our biggest challenge is to get the energy to the people living in villages,'' said Dr Farooq Abdullah, minister of new and renewable energy. ''The advantage of solar energy is that it can provide electricity to remote areas.''

According to the minister, currently 40 per cent of India's population is still without access to electricity.

The minister said the government had already allotted solar projects worth 800MW to developers. The government had also made renewable sources attractive to the private sector by adopting feed –in tariffs, a quasi-subsidy which made solar power commercially viable as compared to fossil fuels.

In spite of the added cost of the tariffs, subsidies for solar power have come down dramatically, according to the minister.

''The price of solar energy has come down to 12 rupees from 48 rupees [per kw/h],'' he said.

India plans to generate 1,000MW of solar-generated electricity by 2013, and 20GW by 2020, according to the government's 2009 Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission initiative.