Wind makes an emphatic case
In the latest wind auction for SECI 2,000 MW tender held on February 13, 2018, winning tariffs came out at INR 2.44 – 2.45/kWh. Winners include ReNew (400 MW), Sembcorp (300 MW), Inox (200 MW), Torrent...
View ArticleTrade protection for domestic manufacturers is misguided
While the solar industry anxiously awaits the safeguard duty decision, we have examined the rationale of policies favouring domestic manufacturing in a recent study. We have assessed the complete solar...
View ArticleOpen access solar continues to be mired in uncertainty
Karnataka’s attractive open access policy for solar projects is set to expire at the end of this month. That is leading to a rush in project development activity in the state, which already leads other...
View ArticleIndia and France take star turns in ISA
International Solar Alliance (ISA) conducted a founding summit in Delhi over the last two days. The event was organized with great pomp with 21 heads of state attending besides Indian Prime Minister,...
View ArticleRooftop solar attracts more financing
As the Indian rooftop solar market grows, it is attracting more attention from investors and financiers. Shell is rumoured to be entering the market in partnership with Fourth Partner, a leading...
View ArticleString inverters gaining market share in India
Share of string inverters in the Indian solar market is increasing rapidly. It went up from only 1% until 2016 to 9% in 2017 for new utility scale solar capacity commissioned. We expect the trend to...
View ArticleMNRE’s new quality policy creates confusion
MNRE’s proposed quality testing and standards regime is facing a difficult take-off. Policy ambiguity and lack of testing infrastructure have already led to multiple revisions in implementation...
View ArticleUttar Pradesh shows open access promise
Uttar Pradesh (UP) has recently amended the Captive and Renewable Energy Regulations 2014 to provide 50% exemptions from transmission and wheeling charges for intra-state open access sale of solar...
View ArticleGujarat auction gets a tepid result
Gujarat conducted e-auction for a 500 MW utility scale PV solar tender last week. Capacity has been won by four developers at tariffs between INR 2.98 – 3.06/ kWh – Kalthia Engineering (50 MW, INR...
View ArticleMNRE allows pass-through of duty risk
Last week, MNRE issued a clarification to its guidelines for competitive bidding of solar PV projects. The clarification allows inclusion of changes in duties and other cesses in Change in Law...
View ArticleNational Electricity Plan of limited use
About two weeks ago, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), a statutory agency constituted under the Ministry of Power, released final National Electricity Plan for the five-year period beginning...
View ArticleSECI draws strong response to its 2000 MW wind auction
SECI conducted another e-auction for 2,000 MW of wind power projects on 6 April 2018. Winning bids were INR 2.51 – 2.52/kWh, just marginally higher than the tariffs discovered in the previous 2,000 MW...
View ArticleDC overloading gains increasing acceptance in India
A solar power plant rarely produces nameplate capacity power as solar modules operate at their maximum efficiency only during limited peak hours. It has therefore become routine industry practice to...
View ArticleGujarat tender cancellation is ill advised
Gujarat government has cancelled the 500-MW state tender, for which an auction was held just four weeks ago. Capacity was won in this tender by Kalthia Engineering (50 MW), Gujarat State Electricity...
View ArticleIndia launches its first offshore wind project
National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), an autonomous technical institution set up by MNRE, has invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) for India’s first offshore wind project. The 1,000 MW project is...
View ArticleISTS tenders face long delays
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), India’s chief power sector regulator, recently issued a draft procedure for applying for connectivity to the inter-state transmission system (ISTS)....
View ArticleReNew breaks away from the competition
India’s largest RE developer, ReNew Power, recently completed acquisition of Ostro Energy, a wind and solar project developer with a total portfolio of 1,108 MW. The acquisition, the largest in the...
View ArticleWind-solar hybrid policy has little substance
MNRE released the final version of National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy last week. The policy aims to “provide a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid systems for optimal...
View ArticleBidding stays aggressive in solar auctions
NTPC, SECI and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) completed auctions for their 750 MW, 200 MW and 1,000 MW tenders respectively in last two weeks. The NTPC and SECI...
View ArticleKarnataka order shows the perils of open access market in India
Earlier this month, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), the state power regulator, issued an order notifying various open access charges for renewable projects. The regulator has...
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