Ours is an energy starved country. We do not have great oil reserves. Thermal power is a cumbersome enterprise and hydroelectric power, though possible, is very expensive. Of late, scientists turned their attention to the use of solar energy because India has long and sunny days for the most part of the year. In any case, the technique of obtaining solar power was borrowed and examined. It could work though not on really very wide scale but at least it could supplement the available power from whatever source we are getting.
Way back in January 2010, Union Government launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. The focus on solar energy was laid keeping in mind the fact that it is and has zero emissions environment friendly while generating heat or energy. Moreover, from energy security perspective, solar energy is the most secure of all sources and it also leads to the ultimate objective of clean development mechanism. One important components of the Mission is off-grid renewable energy. Solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) roof-top systems are established for reducing the dependence on hydel power or diesel for power generation. Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy provided lists of empanelled and other manufacturers and supplies of solar photovoltaic plants/systems to the States including ours. Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) entered into Comprehensive Maintenance Contract with the manufacturers/suppliers. It was agreed to install solar power plants on the roof tops of Government buildings. What actually happened is that these plants are not functioning in the right way and have almost become dysfunctional. The manufacturers and suppliers have been asked to ensure the functionality of the plants in accordance with the terms of contract but there is no response and nothing is done by them to honour their commitments. Thus complaints from the consumers began to pour in one after the other during the past financial year. These complaints have accumulated and no action is taken either by the JAKEDA or by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in this behalf. Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu, which had installed off-grid Solar PV plant, had lodged complaint against REIL Jaipur about non-functioning of batteries last year but till date no action has been taken by the manufacturer. In more than a dozen of Sub-District Hospitals and Primary Health Centers in the valley where solar energy plants were installed under the plan, have reported that these are dysfunctional. Nothing has been done to look into the complaints.
In the first place the onus comes to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which had enlisted the manufacturers and suppliers of the components/batteries etc. On the ground, it is proved that either the stuff produced and supplied is sub-standard or that there is some serious lacuna in the contract which gives them a leeway and they do not respond to the complaints. How much money has been spent on these schemes is not known to us as yet but the general view is that hefty amounts have been paid. We have a full-fledged ministry at the Centre which has the responsibility of looking after the entire process of drawing solar energy and making use of it. We are energy starved country and for us every unit of energy is precious. We are bemused on knowing that on the one hand there is huge propaganda of India having plenty of sunshine and potential for obtaining fairly large quantities of solar energy to provide street light to entire country. But on the other hand, we fail to understand why the scheme is not going through even in a dozen or two sites. This is contradiction in terms. People in the State expected that they would be the beneficiaries of solar energy and would be relieved of the difficulty of recurring power cuts and power shortage. But their expectations have not come true.
We cannot jump to the conclusion that the entire project of use of solar energy is defective and hence a failure. No, that is not the situation. The point is that there is some grave manufacturing defect in the components of plants which has not been detected before the contract was given. This has to be taken up with the manufacturer and technical flaw needs to be removed. Secondly, it is important to re-visit the terms of contract with the supplier especially the aspect of defects in the components and the mechanism of removing those defects. It is that simple.
At the same time, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has to look for alternate manufacturers and suppliers. If defective components have been provided, it is an issue with legal complications. The manufacturers and suppliers have to be waned. Why the stakeholders are not resorting to that corrective measure is a mystery.
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