NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Indian Solar Cities Programme: An 

Overview of Major Activities and 

Accomplishments

World Renewable Energy Forum

Denver, Colorado

Alicen Kandt

May 14, 2012

NREL/PR-7A40-55213
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Presentation Overview

• Background

• India Solar Cities Programme Overview

• Master Plans

• Sample Master Plan: Agra

• Solar America Cities

• Synergies with Solar America Cities
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India’s Energy Use

• India’s energy consumption has been increasing at one of the 

fastest rates in the world 

• Existing energy supply-demand imbalance

• Over half of the citizens have no access to energy 

(Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable 

Energy, ‘Annual Report 2010-2011’, page 1) 
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India’s RE Goals

• India’s government is aiming for 14,000 MW of RE installation 

from 2007-2012 (‘Guidebook for Developing Solar City’, ICLEISouth Asia, 2010, page 9)

• National Solar Mission (Government of India’s Ministry of New 

and Renewable Energy, ‘Annual Report 2010-2011’, page 57)

o 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar by 2022

o 2,000 MW of off-grid solar

• Created Solar Cities Programme

MNRE = Ministry for New and Renewable Energy
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Solar Cities Programme

• Supports 60 Indian cities in the development of EE 

and RE projects

• Aims to reduce conventional energy demand by 

10% by 2013, compared to a baseline year of 2008

• Support provided to municipal corporations for 

preparing and implementing a master plan
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Solar Cities Programme 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 public-private partnerships. 
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Solar Cities Programme Support

• Setting up a solar cell in the city

• Organizing promotional activities

• Preparing and implementing master plans
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Master Plans

• Provide an overview of the city

o Location, population, growth, renewable resource, 

energy use

• Outline total and sector-wide baseline data for 

2008

o Energy use and GHG emissions

– Electricity, petrol, diesel, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas 

(LPG) 

o Residential, industrial, commercial, municipal

• Project energy demand and supply for future 5-

and 10-year periods
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Master Plans (cont)

• Outline annual targets for:

o Energy conservation

o RE addition

o GHG abatement and action plan

• Outlines potential sources of funding

 Reductions must equate to at least a 10% 

reduction in projected total demand of 

conventional energy at the end of five years (end 

of 2013)

o A minimum of 5% of this reduction goal must be RE
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Sample Master Plan: Agra City

City Overview:

• Home to the Taj Mahal

• Population of 4,380,793 (2011)

o Represents a 20.96% growth from the 2001 census. 

http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-provresults/data_files/up/Census2011Data%20SheetUP.pdf

• Good average annual solar resource

• Wind resource data is not readily available

• Biomass resource data for the city is not 

available
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Sample Master Plan: Agra City

Energy Baseline:

• Projections based on historical growth in consumption levels and 

population growth projections

o The 10% reduction goal is 248.48 million kWh. ‘Development of Agra Solar City: 

Final Master Plan’, page 4.

Year 2008 2013 2018

Electricity 

Consumption

1,206.43 1,804.77 2,423.67

LPG 151.39 213.41 275.34

Kerosene 325.75 466.64 607.98

Total 1,683.57 2,484.82 3,306.99

TABLE: ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN AGRA CITY IN 2008 AND ENERGY USE 

PROJECTIONS FOR 2013 AND 2018 IN MILLION KWH

‘Development of Agra Solar City: Final Master Plan’, page 38.
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Sample Master Plan: Agra City

Renewable Energy Recommendations

• Agra’s master plan sets a target of installing:

• 5.82 million litres per day (LPD) capacity SWH with 

a collector capacity of 0.116 million square meters 

(sqm)

• 12.40 MW cumulative solar PV systems

• 7,553 cubic meters (CuM) biogas systems

• 5.12 MW waste to energy projects 

• 4,592 solar cookers 
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Sample Master Plan: Agra City

Energy Efficiency Recommendations

• Lighting retrofits

• Replacing conventional ceiling fans, AC, 

refrigerators, water pumps, motors with efficient 

ones

• Variable speed drives

• Daylight sensors for street lights
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Sample Master Plan: Agra City

RE and EE 

strategy for Agra

Energy Savings Target over 5 years % of 

Savings 

target to 

achieve

Emission 

1 Reduction/year st

Year

2nd

Year

3rd

Year

4th Year 5th Year

RE Residential 11.42 28.54 51.37 79.91 114.15 45.94 84761

RE Commercial 0.6 1.49 2.69 4.19 5.98 2.41 3486

RE Industrial 1.25 3.13 5.63 8.76 12.52 5.04 11094

RE Municipal .24 9.5 13.18 33.02 33.73 13.57 27322

Total RE Strategy 16.64 41.59 74.87 116.46 166.38 66.96 126664

EE Residential 8.68 21.70 39.70 60.77 86.82 34.94 70323

Ee Commercial 1.42 3.56 6.4 9.96 15.23 5.72 11522

EE Industrial 0.65 1.63 2.93 4.56 6.52 2.62 5278

EE Municipal 2.26 5.65 10.17 15.82 22.6 9.09 18305

Total EE Strategy 13.02 32.54 58.57 91.11 130.16 52.38 105429

RE and EE 

Combined

29.65 74.13 133.44 207.57 296.53 232092

12% 30% 54% 84% 119%
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Solar America Cities

• In 2007 and 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE) designated 25 major U.S. cities as Solar 

America Cities 

• Provided financial and technical assistance to help 

the cities develop comprehensive, city-wide 

approaches to accelerate the adoption of solar 

energy technologies. 

• Only solar technologies, unlike India Solar Cities 

Programme
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Solar America Cities Technical Support

Support provided to the cities fell into these 

categories:

• Organizing and strategizing a local solar effort

• Making solar energy affordable for residents and 

businesses

• Updating and enforcing local rules and regulations

• Improving utility policies and process
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Solar America Cities Technical Support

Support provided to the cities fell into these 

categories (cont):

• Creating jobs and supporting economic 

development

• Educating and empowering potential customers

• Leading by examples with installations on 

government properties.

• http://solaramericacommunities.energy.gov/solara

mericacities/action_areas/
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Synergies Between the Two Programs

• Draw upon experiences of Solar America Cities

o Share lessons learned and best practices

o Facilitate dialogue between American and Indian cities
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Synergies Between the Two Programs

• Provide support in:

o Developing city plans

o Implementation support for overall program 

development

o Capacity building and training activities in the following 

areas:

– Technology-Focused

– Policy-Focused

– Financing-Focused

– Curriculum Development