Friday, 27 Nov, 2020 | 1130 - 1300 IST | Virtual | Session Coordinators | ||
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Solar Power: The Future of Solar Energy |
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Solar energy has come a long way in the last decade. Back in 2010, the global market was small and countries like Germany and Italy were highly dependent on subsidies, however the situation has now changed. 2020 is expected to witness installed capacity of solar power of more than 115 gigawatts (GW across the world, which may increase to 3000 GW to 5000 GW by 2030. By that time, India will also have an installed capacity of 300 GW. In the coming years, technology improvements will ensure that solar becomes even more cheaper, having a positive impact on the environment and climate change. Going forward, the solar industry has very clear cost-reduction roadmaps, which should see solar costs becoming half by 2030. Various new and cutting-edge technologies, such as bifacial, heterojunction, tandem cells in different forms, perovskite, direct wafer etc. are under development aiming for higher-efficiency and low cost modules. Low cost of solar will also expedite the growth and uses of hydrogen technologies in grid-balancing, by industry and in the transportation sector. In future, solar energy will also drive electric vehicles and solar powered charging infrastructure. The key challenge will be to fully integrate solar into our homes, businesses and power systems by using more and more energy storage in all possible forms, such as battery, pump storage, fuel cells etc. Further, decentralized Solar PV in the form of roof top, Agro-PV and off-Grid installations will bring the technical and commercial benefits of generating electricity close to the point of consumption. This session will deliberate upon highlighting innovations and advancements in solar energy technology and its equitable adoption for empowering a sustainable future. |