While aggressive technological efforts are carried out to win the photovoltaic (PV) cost-versus-efficiency game and attain grid parity by 2015, successful energy policies have proven to make a more decisive impact on PV deployment today.  A PV roadmap for a government is equivalent to a business plan for a company, which systematically presents a vision, identifies the targets and milestones, and tailors a comprehensive set of policies to realize the technology to its fullest potential.  A joint effort between Kanoda Inc., Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP) at the University of Delaware, and the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) is proposing such a roadmap for Gujarat.  In the post liberalization era, Gujarat has emerged as one of India’s leading industrialized states, and with heavy investments in the pipeline, has given its highest priority to the development of her power sector.  A combination of the political will to overcome the energy deficit and plans for an aggressive economic growth combined with outstanding natural endowments creates favorable conditions for significant deployment of renewable energy, including PV, for Gujarat.

Salient features of the proposed photovoltaic (PV) roadmap and policy to efficiently transition Gujarat into a post-grid-parity era by 2020 are presented.  The vision of the roadmap is translated into the following individual targets:

- PV carve-out: Generate 1% of Gujarat’s electricity through a combination of distributed, centralized and stand-alone PV systems by 2020.
- Industry: Establish a self-sufficient PV industry/supply chain and accelerate grid-parity by achieving economies of scale and overcoming the learning curve.
- R&D: Accelerate R&D and develop technologies reducing costs and enhancing efficiencies to expedite grid-parity.
- Policy: Create and implement a coordinated policy suite for sustained support for PV.
- Social: Enhance social acceptance for PV and generate >40,000 jobs by 2020.
- Training and education: Train a skilled workforce and educate next-generation leaders.