MNRE issues a new 12,000 MW scheme to promote domestic manufacturing
In early March 2019, MNRE finally launched the much-awaited 12,000 MW PSU scheme to promote domestic manufacturing. The scheme envisages majority government-owned entities to set up projects using...
View ArticleBold vision but half-baked implementation
Last three months have seen frantic activity in the renewable energy sector. Many new policies – SRISTI and KUSUM, FAME, storage, ALMM – and tenders aggregating 30 GW were rushed in the last quarter...
View ArticleFinancially weak DISCOMs the darkest cloud on the horizon
In November 2015, the Indian government announced UDAY scheme to restructure DISCOM balance sheets and address persistent concerns about their poor bankability. The scheme, the third such...
View ArticleTime to act on PV waste management
Following a recent blueprint on use of antimony in glass used in solar modules by MNRE, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) is expected to announce a policy on waste...
View ArticleSolar park scheme simplified and downscaled
In March this year, MNRE introduced significant changes to the government’s solar park scheme. The amendment envisages SECI acting as the solar park developer and paring down the scope of services to...
View ArticleTime to reconsider manufacturing policy
Bid submission date for SECI’s 3 GW manufacturing linked tender has been extended again due to lack of responses. We understand that SECI has received no responses so far and it looks increasingly...
View ArticlePublic sector rooftop market stays sluggish
SECI issued a new tender in February 2019 for development of 97.5 MW grid-connected rooftop solar projects. These projects will be developed on pre-identified government buildings across all 36 states...
View ArticleNeed for an urgent reassessment of tender programme
Gujarat’s latest utility scale solar tender – 700 MW in Raghanesda solar park – has been undersubscribed by 100 MW. The tender was issued by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam, the state DISCOM holding company....
View ArticleRisk profile of Indian RE not conducive for INVITs
Indian financial services group, Piramal Enterprises, and the Canadian pension fund major, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), have announced plans to set up an RE-focused infrastructure...
View ArticleOptimistic outlook for renewable energy needs backing up
BRIDGE TO INDIA has released results of the fourth RE CEO survey. The survey received responses from 41 industry leaders covering full spectrum of companies across the value chain and geographies. The...
View ArticleMono-crystalline modules beginning to gain acceptance in India
The mono-crystalline module market has finally started gaining traction in India. In April 2019, ReNew announced commissioning of its 300 MW solar project using mono-crystalline modules in Pavagada...
View ArticleBusy agenda for the new government
Contrary to most expectations, the BJP led political alliance has won the general election with a thumping majority, even bigger than in 2014. Prime Minister Modi is expected to take oath for the next...
View ArticleAncillary services market still at an early stage of development
CERC released a discussion paper for a redesign of ancillary services mechanism in India in September 2018. The paper has been issued in response to various shortcomings in the existing ancillary...
View ArticleDebt funding concerns growing
Total pipeline of utility scale solar and wind projects has reached a near all-time high of 32.1 GW. After a relatively lull FY 2018-19 when only 6,174 MW was installed (down 43% over previous...
View ArticleUS tariffs to have nominal impact on Indian module manufacturers
The US government has decided to end generalised system of preferences (GSP) to Indian exports from June 5, 2019 onwards after keeping the move on hold in light of the ongoing general elections in...
View ArticleOn the long road to electric mobility revolution
Electric mobility is expected to be the next big frontier in energy transition. But the roadmap is fuzzy and the technical and financial challenges are so arduous that the Indian government is having...
View ArticleJoint power council a permanent way out of the DISCOM bailout cycle
All eyes are on the new government as there is talk building up of an ambitious 100-day reform agenda. Expectations are rising now that the government has won a decisive mandate and there is pressure...
View ArticleAndhra Pradesh renegotiation attempt a mere bluster
The new Andhra Pradesh government led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress Party has made a sensational announcement seeking to renegotiate all renewable energy PPAs, review...
View Article2019-20 budget a non-event
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented maiden budget of the NDA government’s second term on 5 July 2019 with a renewed focus on infrastructure. Though energy including renewables received a...
View ArticleRE power trading a sensible move
The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has repeatedly proposed to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to allow spot trading of renewable energy through a separate window on its platform....
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