Due to human activities, Greenhouse Gas emissions are increasing rapidly thereby

having an adverse impact on Earths climate with reports suggesting a rising trend
in climate. Natural calamities have been on the rise in the last couple of decades
with threat of global warming looming large. Predictive climate models hint at
human embracing extreme weather events with raised sea levels. Concentration of
carbon dioxide increased at their fastest rate due to constant burning of fossil fuel
contributing to global warming.
Currently the world is seeing a huge surge in energy demand due to population and
economic growth coupled with urbanization. Since majority of the electricity is
generated by burning fossil fuel, greenhouse gas emission problem is getting worse.
Due to this, there is now an increased need to look for alternative energy sources
and new technology for electricity generation. Thats where solar, biomass,
geothermal, wind power generation is gaining traction as alternative energy
sources. Other benefit of these energy sources are their availability in abundance
compared to fossil fuel. Generating energy from these alternate sources compared
to fossil fuel will be cheaper with the aid of newer technologies. Solar city concept
has been developed to transform the way energy is being generated by leveraging
alternate energy in conjunction with new sustainable technology. Solar cities will
help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel dependency through the
introduction of Renewable Energy Systems. 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.
Developed countries have already taken a huge leap forward in developing these
solar cities with countries like USA leading the pack. As per U.S. Department of
Energy, 25 cities have been identified to be promoted as Solar America Cities.
India is also seeing a huge growth in energy consumption. Current estimation pegs
Indias energy demand of over 300 GW by 2017 with oil demand to be at 150% in
2030 compared to 2007.Most of the Indian cities are unable to cope up with the
ever rising energy demand with around half of our population having no access to it.
In view of this, Government of India started creating plans of identifying / creating
solar cities in India as part of its 5 year planning commission (2012).The Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India has already started various initiatives for
promoting these projects (like solar water heating systems in homes, hotels,
hostels, hospitals and industry; deployment of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV)
systems/devices in urban areas; design of Solar Buildings etc.). As part of this
initiative, 60 cities have been initially identified to be developed as solar cities with
below objectives:
To enable/empower urban local governments to address energy challenges at
a city-level;

 To provide a framework and support to prepare a Master Plan including

assessment of current energy situation, future demand and action plans;
To build capacity at the urban local bodies and create awareness among all
sections of civil society;
To involve various stakeholders in the planning process; and
To oversee the implementation of sustainable energy projects through publicprivate partnerships.
Selection of cities to develop as Solar City:
Various factors are considered while identifying a city to be converted as a solar city.
As per MNRE: The city is identified based on city population, potential and commitment for
adoption of renewable energy and energy conservation in the city activities, initiatives already taken
by City Council/ Administration/ Private Developers/Industry/General Public in promoting renewable
energy and energy conservation, regulatory measures taken on deployment of renewable energy
technologies and their willingness to provide resources and sustenance of activities initiated under
the program. The cities may have population between 0.50 lakh to 50 lakh, however, relaxation could
be considered for special category States including North-Eastern States and hilly States, Islands and
Union Territories.

Once identified to be converted as a solar city, a master plan is chalked out for the
city and implementation is monitored as per the plan. Creation and implementation
of the master plan is of extreme importance while developing a solar city. As part of
master plan preparation, following is gauged:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Total and sector wise baseline data of existing supply-demand

Associated greenhouse gas emission level for the city
Sector wise projection of supply demand for next 5 and 10 years
Reduction in greenhouse gas emission level (generally 10%)

Next step is to carry out an assessment on various renewable energy sources and
energy efficiency options across sectors and draw a priority list. As part of
renewable energy source assessment, solar radiation, wind power density and
availability, biomass resources and municipal/industrial wastes for the city are
assessed. After this, Energy Efficiency (EE) and Demand Side Management (DSM)
measures are brought in to reduce energy demand. For e.g. in Municipal water
pumping systems a potential of 15-25% energy can be saved and energy savings
are also possible with efficient lighting and control systems. In Commercial and
institutional buildings, these savings can be done by using efficient lighting and
control systems, thermal storage for peak demand reduction, by following the
Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC), by using BEE star rated appliances in
residential sectors and energy efficient motors, furnaces, boilers, etc. in industrial
sector. Based on this, a five-year action plan will be devised to achieve set goals
and expected GHG emission reduction.
As part of implementation, following will be done:

1) Establishment of solar city cell within the city council to provide support for
project planning and implementation
2) Solar City Stakeholders Committee for advisory support
3) Capacity building and awareness generation along within indicative financial
outlay for implementation of the proposed five-year action plan
4) Potential sources of funding from respective sources
Cities under NE Region identified for developing as Solar Cities:
Renewable Energy technologies have an important role to play in the economic and
social development of NE Region of India. The per capita power consumption is
continuously increasing significantly in all the NE states. This shows a growing need
of power consumption in this region, which further generates the scope for RE
sources in this region. Along with other states of India, the activities and
encouraging policies of the MNRE are popularizing RE technologies in NE states and
the following cities proposed to be supported for development as Solar Cities in the
northeastern region by the MNRE.
Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6

State
Assam
Arunachal
Pradesh
Manipur
Mizoram
Nagaland
Tripura

Cities for which in-principle approval

given
Guwahati , Jorhat
Itanagar
Imphal
Aizawl
Kohima, Dimapur
Agartala

Current Status:
As per current status obtained from MNRE website as of 15/01/2015, sanctions have
been issued for all the cities under NE Region and along with master plans being
prepared for all these cities. Detailed project reports for installation of renewable
energy projects/systems have been received from Kohima, Agartala, Aizawl, Jorhat,
Itanagar cities only. Among all NE cities identified so far, Agartala, and Aizawl are
being developed as Pilot Solar City.
SPV/ SWH Projects Sanctioned under Model/Pilot Solar Cities:
Sr. No
1

Solar
City
Agartala

Aizawl

RE Project
SPV Plant at City Centre Building,
Agartala
Installation of two Solar PV Power Plants
Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant
Solar Water Heating System

Capacity
45kWp
30kW
90 kW
364 Sq.M (18200

Solar Water Heating System

lpd)
908 Sq.M (45400
lpd)

Current status on solar city development across India can be obtained here.