For solar power, South Asia has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation and a high density of potential customers.
Cheap solar can bring electricity to a major chunk of subcontinent's people who still live off-grid, bypassing the need of installation of expensive grid lines. Also since the costs of energy consumed for temperature control squarely influences a regions energy intensity, and with cooling load requirements roughly in phase with the sun's intensity, cooling from intense solar radiation could make perfect energy-economic sense in the subcontinent.
Renewable energy by country
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, biomass, hydro and solar are the main sources of renewable energy and altogether these sources contribute about 60% of the nation's primary energy supply. A number of domestic solar energy systems are in use in houses around the country. The use of solar energy on this scale is highly potential and advantageous as more than 60% of areas in the country do not have access to main grid electricity. The World Bank is backing a program of making solar energy available to wider population in Bangladesh, as part of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (REREDP), which subsidizes solar energy systems.
A typical 'solar home system' can power two to eight 'low energy' lights, plus a socket for TV, radio or battery recharging, and a mobile telephone charging unit, too. Each system consists of a solar photovoltaic panel, mounted on the house roof. Depending on its size, this provides between 40W and 135W of electricity in full sunlight (the most common being 50W).
Grameen Shakti is the largest organization installing rural based solar home system (SHS) in Bangladesh. Other companies working on similar solar energy based SHS are Rural Services Foundation (RSF), Brac, Hilfulfujal and so on. The model of micro finance based SHS is now being copied in other parts of the world as a successful business model.
Rahimafrooz is a major supplier of high quality solar batteries and other solar components for the program. Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd (RRE) has been the pioneer in installing solar powered centralized systems, water pumps for irrigation and pure drinking water, water heaters, street lights, and solar-powered telecom solutions to various organizations. They are working closely with pertinent government organizations in installing solar powered medical refrigerator that provides emergency live saving medicines in the off-grid rural areas.
A company named Digital Technology is doing research and development of solar PV products like solar billboard lighting, mini grid system for irrigation etc.
China
In China there now are six factories producing at least 2 GW/year each of monocrystalline, poly-crystalline and non-crystalline Photovoltaic cells. These factories include the LDK Solar Co, Wuxi Suntech Solar Energy Co., Ltd., which produces approximately 50 MW/year of solar cells and photovoltaic modules; the Yunnan Semi-conductor Parts Plant, which manufactures approximately 2 MW/year of mono-crystalline cells; the Baoding Yingli Solar Energy Modules Plant, which manufactures approximately 6 MW/year of polycrystalline cells and modules; the Shanghai Jiaoda Guofei Solar Energy Battery Factory, which produces approximately 1 MW/year of modules; and the Shanghai PV Science and Technology Co., Ltd., which produces approximately 5 MW/year of modules.
China has become a world leader in the manufacture of solar photovoltaic technology, with its six biggest solar companies having a combined value of over $15 billion. Around 820 megawatts of solar PV were produced in China in 2007, second only to Japan. Suntech Power Holdings Co based in Jiangsu, is the world's third- biggest supplier of solar cells.
There are some obstacles to the further development of the Chinese solar energy sector that China faces. These obstacles include the lack of a nationwide comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) plan, the lack of updated facilities and sufficient financial resources to support PV research at research institutes, the lack of sufficient facilities and resources at companies manufacturing PV products, the failure of companies to be able to produce high quality, reliable and low cost PV products and the relatively weak educational and training opportunities in China for PV science and technology.