Solar energy - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Tamil Nadu

Explanation:
A 40 MW solar plant was commissioned near Sengottai in Virudhunagar district, making it the largest solar plant in Sengottai solar plant .

ANSWER: One which aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy

Explanation:

• The Solar City aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and energy efficiency measures.
• The basic aim is to motivate the local Governments for adopting renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
• In a Solar City all types of renewable energy based projects like solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, waste to energy etc. may be installed along with possible energy efficiency measures depending on the need and resource availability in the city.

ANSWER: 8

Explanation:

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved a proposed master plan to develop 50 solar cities, including three in the national capital region.
• Out of the proposed 60 solar cities, sanctions have been issued for 50 cities.
• Eight cities are to be developed as ‘Model Solar Cities'.
• Of these 8 cities, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and Mysore have so far been selected to be developed as ‘Model Solar Cities.
• Fifteen cities will be developed as ‘Pilot Solar Cities.’

ANSWER: Solar energy generation

Explanation:
Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated.

Monthly net metering allows consumers to use solar power generated during the day at night, or wind from a windy day later in the month.

Annual net metering rolls over a net kilowatt credit to the following month, allowing solar power that was generated in July to be used in December, or wind power from March in August.

ANSWER: Barefoot College

Explanation:

• Barefoot College, Tilonia (Rajasthan) has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers (solar mamas) from Africa in fabrication, installation, use, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household solar lighting under Government of India supported programmes.
• They have set up a Barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa for imparting solar electrification skills (training) and distributing solar kits to trainees.
• These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping, tailoring, etc. The solar mamas have fabricated and installed solar kits, and now maintain these solar electrification systems in their communities.

ANSWER: Women solar engineers

Explanation:

• ‘Solar Mamas’, a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under GOI-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

ANSWER: Finance small solar projects in poorer rural areas

Explanation:

• There will be a $40 million U.S.-India Catalytic Solar Finance Program, equally supported by the United States and India, that, by providing needed liquidity to smaller-scale renewable energy investments, particularly in poorer, rural villages that are not connected to the grid, could mobilize up to $1 billion of projects;
• This would help in expansion of handholding support to Indian utilities that are scaling up rooftop solar and continuation of successful cooperation with USAID on "Greening the Grid”.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- The government is scaling up of budget from Rs 600 crore to Rs 5,000 crore for implementation of Grid Connected Rooftops systems over a period of five years upto 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM)
- This will support installation of 4,200 MW Solar Rooftop systems in the country in the next five years
- The capital subsidy of 30 per cent will be provided for general category States/UTs and 70 per cent for special category States including i.E., North-Eastern States including Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- The Government has revised the target of National Solar Mission (NSM) from 20,000 MW to 1,00,000 MW by 2022.
- Of that, 40,000 MW is to come through grid connected solar rooftop systems. The approval will boost the installations in a big way and will act as a catalyst for achieving the goal of 40,000 MW.
- CFA of 15 per cent of the benchmark cost will be provided to solar rooftop projects built under residential, institutional (schools, educational institutions, medical colleges and hospitals and R & D institutions – both public and private), government (both central and state government organsiations as also all Panchayati Raj buildings) and social sectors (old age homes, orphanages, common service centres and welfare homes, etc)

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- India and Germany took a giant step towards clean energy collaboration with the creation of long-term 'Climate and Renewable Alliance'.
- Germany extended a lump sum assistance of 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion) for developing a clean energy corridor and solar projects.
- India has established a target of 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. This comprises 100 GW solar power, 60 GW wind power, 10 GW biomass-fired power and 5 GW small hydro power.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
Solar resource rich countries between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn which lie at 23.5 degrees latitude on either side of the equator are proposed to be members of this agency.
The Tropic of Cancer runs mostly cutting across Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, etc.
The Tropic of Capricorn runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, and South Africa.
Around 110 countries are bound by the Tropic of Cancer on the north and Tropic of Capricorn on the south.