ISSN No. 2456-0472 The Engineering Journal of Application & Scopes, Volume 1,Issue 2, July 2016 Page:48-50 TEJAS © 2016 http://www.ij-tejas.com EMERGING SCENARIO OF UTILIZING POTENTIAL OF SOLAR POWER IN UTTARAKHAND AS A FINANCIAL VIABLE OPTION Vishal Narula 1 , Shashvat Kalra 2 , Aman Thakur 3 , Prof. G.C.Misra 4 1-4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Roorkee (COER), Roorkee 1 vishalnarula99@gmail.com, 2 shashvat25@gmail.com , 3 amanthakur7965@gmail.com , 4 gcmisrahwr@gmail.com Abstract - Uttarakhand has a unique scenario of power spectrum as there is meagre possibility of thermal power due to non-availability of fossil fuel, various environmental & ecological issues hampering the pace of harnessing Hydro potential and ruling out Nuclear energy due to vulnerable Seismic threat. Lack of adequate levelled and plain land and fuel resources in the hilly state opens up new vistas to explore more potential for renewable clean energy in Uttarakhand. Rapidly rising population, growing economy and changing lifestyles account for the continuous increase in surging demand for power. With 300 sunny days and solar radiation of 2-6 (kWh/m2/day) in Uttarakhand, Solar energy can be utilized to provide reliable and sustainable alternative. This technical paper analyzes the solar potential, its utilization and implementation by efficiently harnessing it for electrification, success stories of various modules under operation elsewhere and workout the techno-economic viability to fulfill the power demand especially in isolated and remote habitations of Uttarakhand. Keywords: UREDA, Solar Energy Potential, Uttarakhand. INTRODUCTION. Energy plays a vital role in the development of regions and communities. It is a basic necessity in all human activities as consumer good in households as well as an input into the productive sectors of the economy, agriculture and industry enhancing development of the entire region. Although, it is never explicitly recognized as a basic human need or the cause of poverty, however continuous and efficient supply of energy not only facilitates the forces of development, but also builds human capacity and enables a better quality of life. With energy issues, rises its effect on environment. The fragile ecosystem of planet earth is under the attack in many fronts as a result of rapidly using conventional sources of energy for surging the demand for energy. The increasing effects of Global warming are forewarning with the actuation of many global environmental issues. In order to avert climatic catastrophe, adaptation and development of alternative energy sources is absolutely necessary. Renewable energy is the answer to reducing the effects of climate change and help save environment. The renewable energy sources include energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, and biogas/biomass. Solar energy is the most abundant and environmentally friendly renewable source of energy. The Sun is an unlimited source of energy that could be harnessed to surge rising energy demand without resulting in harmful CO2 emissions. The present paper therefore reports the possibilities of using solar energy as a viable financial option in state of Uttarakhand, India. A techno- economic analysis has been done by studying the solar potential in different districts of Uttarakhand, government policies and cost & revenue models. It is found out that this study can be used in the state to improvise the efficient solar energy generation hence influencing economic growth positively. I. ENERGY SCENARIO IN UTTARAKHAND Uttarakhand is endowed with enormous natural resources. After bifurcation from Uttar Pradesh, it has shown positive sign of development. But the growth has not been uniform since growth process in Uttarakhand has been limited to plain districts pretermitting Hilly area. 11.62 % of state population still lives below poverty line. [1] According to the census 2001, percentage of households using electricity as their primary source of lighting in Uttarakhand was 60.3% which rose to 87% in census 2011 with only 0.4% of country’s household using solar energy. Out of 15745 villages of Uttarakhand, 15638(99.3%) has been electrified under RGGVY (Rajeev Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojna) till 31 May 2015 [2]. Power consumption in the state is about 824 kWh per person per year, which is far above the all India average of 592 kWh [3]. Power consumption in the state of Uttarakhand has grown more than 5 times in the eight years from 2002 to 2010 [4]. As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the expected demand of the energy for Uttarakhand for the year 2011-12 is 10480 MU and the available energy is 8363 MU; while the peak demand of the state is 1600 MW and the availability is of 1430 MW [5]. II.SOLAR POTENTIAL IN UTTARAKHAND In a study by Kawajiri et al. [6] on effect of temperature on PV potential in the world, it was found out that Himalaya region of South Asia and Andes of South America are the two best places in the world to produce solar energy. These areas have a lot of sunshine and therefore a high amount of solar irradiation at low temperatures helps improve solar panel performance. Just four per cent of the area with the highest potential in the Himalayas, or around 120,000 square kilometres, could power the entirety of China, based on 2007 electricity consumption data. Uttarakhand is a Himalayan state of India with some of the highest peaks of world. It has high solar potential with solar