Under the national solar mission, Indian Government has set an ambitious target of achieving 100 GW of solar installation by 2022. Friendly policies and appropriate implementation backed by strong business models have seen solar explode and India is currently sitting on ~13 GW of executed/auctioned solar projects until March 2017.Expected capacity addition for 2017 is poised to touch ~9 GW. Thus, making India the third largest solar market in the world just next to China and the U.S.

The next solar wave can be influenced by three things 1. Module Efficiencies 2. Transmission Losses 3. Energy Storage. An effective combination of these three things can disrupt the energy space altogether.

Is Rooftop Solar the next Big Wave?
Out of the ~22GW of Installed capacity, only ~2.5 GW is rooftop solar. In India 88% of solar projects is utility scale thus creating huge dependencies on discoms for transmission. Only 12% projects are rooftop in contrast to developed economies that are more evenly poised with Australia (97% rooftop),Germany (73% Rooftop), Spain (60% rooftop) and U.S (46% rooftop). Food for thought: If your own roof top can generate the energy you consume why do you need to setup a power plant elsewhere?

Rooftop solar is further divided into Industrial, Commercial and Residential. Due to high cost of traditional power there has been a surge of solar adoption by industries and commercial consumers and this will increase exponentially in the coming years. However the least explored segment is residential. Developing channels/new business models to tap residential rooftops could open up a potentially untapped market.

Role of battery in Solar
In India on an average Transmission and Distribution losses stand at 20% of power generated. These are among the highest in the

world and double that of the world average. How can these losses be eliminated or reduced? Imagine having a house that can power itself for a lifetime.It will change the entire scenario of energy distribution from centralized/grid to decentralized/distributed. This is when terms like Microgrid and Nanogrid come into picture. A nanogrid basically is a house/consumer that can power it and even though connected to the main grid can function independently. A microgrid similarly produces and stores power required by a group of houses/consumers. This is currently possible but not economically viable due to expensive battery technology. The concept of a microgrid can potentially result in huge savings in transmission infrastructure and losses. Thus, creating a more efficient way for producing and consuming electricity.

Due to high cost of traditional power there has been a surge of solar adoption by industries and commercial consumers and this will increase exponentially in the coming years

Technology Transforming Solar Energy
A simple Microgrid basically is a group of closely placed consumers producing and consuming their own power. But imagine if the microgrid is not just a microgrid but a Smartgrid. Just like Google Maps predicts traffic scenarios perfectly, imagine the Microgrid predicting energy requirements of all consumers 24*7. This means your neighbour powering your energy requirements during deficit and vice versa, all happening seamlessly through your Smartmeters. This will help consumers optimize their energy consumption in real-time resulting in efficient energy consumption patterns. In future, Technology and IOT will have a very important role to play in the Green energy revolution. As the saying goes "Data in the New Oil"

Ecommerce-Creates ease for Renewable Adoption
In recent times India has seen a rapid shift to digital and ecommerce has witnessed widespread adoption. From mobile phones to led tvs and from fashion to real-estate everything is selling online. Though solar is a high ticket item and is categorized as a Project rather that a Product, can a Solar Project be sold online? Can we make buying/leasing a Solar Project so hassle free and seamless that it can be as easy as selecting a Smartphone?

There are energy exchanges where power is traded like listed entities trade on the stock market. So if fuel prices are now variable and change according to demand - supply, can there be a time when everyone buy and sell power as a function of demand - supply just like refuelling your vehicles?

It's now time to put on your thinking caps, disrupt the energy sector and save the Earth while at it.

All said and done, whatever be the cause of renewable energy adoption or whichever is the next big wave driving this adoption. One thing is for sure, "The only way we are going to get to the other end of the 21st century is through Renewable Energy Adoption”