Conclusion

Assessment of renewable energy potential reveals that the southern part of the country receives solar insolation more than 5.2 kWh/m2/day for more than 300 days in a year. As the region is facing severe energy and peak power crisis, decentralised solar energy integration to the grid would narrow down the supply demand gap. Micro grids needs to be promoted to meet the community level demand through locally available energy resources. Wastelands in the interior taluks are best suited for grid connected hybrid energy generation, while, micro grids and rooftop generation be promoted in metropolis and biodiversity rich Western Ghats taluks. Share of energy sources in installed capacity can be decided depending on the variability and the geographical location. Renewable energy exploitation with grid integration needs to be promoted through appropriate policy interventions to mitigate the GHG emission through reduced dependence on fossil fuels.