Solar Power Will Be Cheaper Than Coal In India

Solar power will be the future of electricity in India.

India is one of the biggest countries in the world, which means that it has to deal with a lot of issues. One of the main problems is providing the entire population with electricity while trying to protect the planet from global warming. At the moment, the main source of energy is coal. However, researchers are expecting the solar power to be cheaper than the coal by 2020.

According to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, solar power will be more economical in India than coal. They used the levelized cost of energy to compare different methods of electricity. They also took into consideration the cost of the building. At the moment, solar power if 0.10 dollars per kilowatt hour, while the cost of coal is about 0.07 dollars.

Things are expected to change in the future. The coal prices will rise, as the solar energy systems will become more common. This would be one of the best things that ever happened, especially for almost 400 Indian people who do not have access to electricity. To understand better, think that 10 years ago, the solar energy was three times more expensive than the coal. The difference is so little now that in a few years India should take into consideration using more the alternative source of energy.

Even though solar energy has a lot of benefits for the planet, for India it means more than this. Companies are expecting 675 000 jobs in the Indian solar industry if the government will focus more on this issue. In a country where poverty is a major issue, this will be one of the biggest changes that were ever made. People need jobs and they need to pay less for electricity.

India has a lot to work until things will change, especially because changes will need infrastructure and money. The population is still growing and by 2040, the authorities will need to provide electricity to 600 million people.

Companies are warning about the open access issues too. Of course, another issue will be the coal companies which will make the process more difficult. India will have to be prepared for a lot of work. The good news is that they already have the solar potential. They just have to find a way to produce energy at a cheaper cost.

Image source: Wikipedia