Regulators add to the pain
14 January 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Maharashtra state regulator, MERC, has recently rejected most of the winning bids in two renewable energy tenders as it viewed the winning tariffs as too high or unreasonable. The two tenders include a 350 MW solar-wind hybrid tender by Adani Electricity, Mumbai DISCOM, and a 1,400 MW agricultural solar tender floated by Maharashtra State Electricity Development Corporation (MSEDCL, the state-government…
Regulators add to the pain
14 January 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Maharashtra state regulator, MERC, has recently rejected most of the winning bids in two renewable energy tenders as it viewed the winning tariffs as too high or unreasonable. The two tenders include a 350 MW solar-wind hybrid tender by Adani Electricity, Mumbai DISCOM, and a 1,400 MW agricultural solar tender floated by Maharashtra State Electricity Development Corporation (MSEDCL, the state-government…
2020 – year of prayer and hope
09 January 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As we commence the new year, there is much anticipation that 2020 would offer respite from the multitude of problems faced last year. A jump in new installations – from a total of an estimated 11.4 GW last year to 15.0 GW – would certainly provide relief to equipment suppliers and contractors. Most of the increase would come from utility…
2020 – year of prayer and hope
09 January 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As we commence the new year, there is much anticipation that 2020 would offer respite from the multitude of problems faced last year. A jump in new installations – from a total of an estimated 11.4 GW last year to 15.0 GW – would certainly provide relief to equipment suppliers and contractors. Most of the increase would come from utility…
2019, RE’s annus horribilis
20 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Government of India is reportedly considering an ordinance to usher in reforms for the power sector in India. As per a news report, the government is seeking to bring about various legislative changes including timely payments by DISCOMs, reduction in cross subsidy surcharge and penalties for inadequate tariff revision through the ordinance route. These and other changes in the…
2019, RE’s annus horribilis
20 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Government of India is reportedly considering an ordinance to usher in reforms for the power sector in India. As per a news report, the government is seeking to bring about various legislative changes including timely payments by DISCOMs, reduction in cross subsidy surcharge and penalties for inadequate tariff revision through the ordinance route. These and other changes in the…
Andhra Pradesh and Centre on escalation path
14 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As per news reports, SECI is seeking to invoke its legal rights in the tripartite agreement with Andhra Pradesh and the Reserve Bank of India to claim INR 276 million (USD 4 million) of outstanding amount from the state DISCOMs. If true, it is a dramatic and unimaginable escalation of conflict between the Centre and state. It is also an indicator of…
Andhra Pradesh and Centre on escalation path
14 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As per news reports, SECI is seeking to invoke its legal rights in the tripartite agreement with Andhra Pradesh and the Reserve Bank of India to claim INR 276 million (USD 4 million) of outstanding amount from the state DISCOMs. If true, it is a dramatic and unimaginable escalation of conflict between the Centre and state. It is also an indicator of…
Recent reports
India Solar Rooftop Market Analytics
This report presents trends and observations from over 16,000 rooftop solar installations with an aggregate capacity of 2,265 MW in our database. It provides detailed insights into...
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Forecasting and Scheduling Regulations
India’s central electricity regulator, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), issued an amendment to the Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) regulations in 2015 t...
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India Solar Compass Q3 2019
Slow capacity addition in the utility scale solar sector continued in Q3 2019. Capacity addition during the quarter was 1,734 MW, 43% below our estimate of 3,034 MW. Delay in land ...
Buy Report Download Executive SummaryConsolidation underway in solar EPC market
04 December 2019 | Sai Nandamuri
India’s utility scale solar capacity reached 29.7 GW by September 2019, growing 25% y-o-y. A review of the EPC data shows two interesting trends. Contrary to popular perception, share of third-party EPC contractors is increasing and touched 77%, highest in the last five years. Second, there is increasing consolidation in the EPC market as many regional and smaller players have…
Consolidation underway in solar EPC market
04 December 2019 | Sai Nandamuri
India’s utility scale solar capacity reached 29.7 GW by September 2019, growing 25% y-o-y. A review of the EPC data shows two interesting trends. Contrary to popular perception, share of third-party EPC contractors is increasing and touched 77%, highest in the last five years. Second, there is increasing consolidation in the EPC market as many regional and smaller players have…
Fourth time lucky for the manufacturing-linked tender?
04 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
After several cancellations, extensions and modifications, SECI’s solar project development-cum-manufacturing tender finally received a somewhat encouraging response. In its final avatar, the tender was issued for 7,000 MW inter-state transmission system (ISTS) connected project development capacity. Bidders were given an option to bid for 2,000 MW project development capacity along with 500 MW cell and module manufacturing capacity, or 1,500…
Fourth time lucky for the manufacturing-linked tender?
04 December 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
After several cancellations, extensions and modifications, SECI’s solar project development-cum-manufacturing tender finally received a somewhat encouraging response. In its final avatar, the tender was issued for 7,000 MW inter-state transmission system (ISTS) connected project development capacity. Bidders were given an option to bid for 2,000 MW project development capacity along with 500 MW cell and module manufacturing capacity, or 1,500…
States moving away from net metering prematurely
03 December 2019 | Surbhi Singhvi
Indian states are turning their back on rooftop solar. Maharashtra recently signalled its intent to join Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in proposing to withdraw net metering benefit from most consumers. These four states together constitute 45% of installed rooftop solar capacity in India.
States moving away from net metering prematurely
03 December 2019 | Surbhi Singhvi
Indian states are turning their back on rooftop solar. Maharashtra recently signalled its intent to join Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in proposing to withdraw net metering benefit from most consumers. These four states together constitute 45% of installed rooftop solar capacity in India.
Fall in costs to bring respite to developers
26 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
After staying relatively stable in the past year, module prices are on the decline again. Prices of multi-crystalline modules, still the de facto choice for most Indian developers, have fallen from USD 0.23/ W to USD 0.20/ W in the last six months. Cost delta between low efficiency modules and high efficiency mono-PERC has also halved to about USD 0.02/W. Alongside fall…
Fall in costs to bring respite to developers
26 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
After staying relatively stable in the past year, module prices are on the decline again. Prices of multi-crystalline modules, still the de facto choice for most Indian developers, have fallen from USD 0.23/ W to USD 0.20/ W in the last six months. Cost delta between low efficiency modules and high efficiency mono-PERC has also halved to about USD 0.02/W. Alongside fall…
Time for grid tariffs to go up
19 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, a news report suggested that Madhya Pradesh DISCOMs have accumulated losses of INR 250 billion (USD 3.5 billion). The DISCOMs have requested the state regulator to allow increase in grid tariffs for recovery of losses. It is feared that average power tariff may have to rise by INR 2.00/ kWh or more as a result. The situation is similarly grim…
Time for grid tariffs to go up
19 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, a news report suggested that Madhya Pradesh DISCOMs have accumulated losses of INR 250 billion (USD 3.5 billion). The DISCOMs have requested the state regulator to allow increase in grid tariffs for recovery of losses. It is feared that average power tariff may have to rise by INR 2.00/ kWh or more as a result. The situation is similarly grim…
Wind faces slow going
12 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
In a major relief to the sector, MNRE has granted project completion deadline extension to wind projects allocated under SECI auction tranches 1-5. More time has been granted to these projects mainly because of delays in land allocation and completion of transmission infrastructure. A total capacity of 7,200 MW was allocated by SECI in these auctions between Feb-2017 and Sep-2018,…
Wind faces slow going
12 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
In a major relief to the sector, MNRE has granted project completion deadline extension to wind projects allocated under SECI auction tranches 1-5. More time has been granted to these projects mainly because of delays in land allocation and completion of transmission infrastructure. A total capacity of 7,200 MW was allocated by SECI in these auctions between Feb-2017 and Sep-2018,…
Lack of competitive advantage hurting developers
05 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, SECI conducted auction for a 1,200 MW utility scale solar tender. The tender received bids for full 1,200 MW but the auction was completed for only 960 MW, equivalent to 80% of the bids received, as per the rules in place. ReNew, Avaada and UPC Renewables won 300 MW each at a tariff of INR 2.71/ kWh; Tata Power…
Lack of competitive advantage hurting developers
05 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, SECI conducted auction for a 1,200 MW utility scale solar tender. The tender received bids for full 1,200 MW but the auction was completed for only 960 MW, equivalent to 80% of the bids received, as per the rules in place. ReNew, Avaada and UPC Renewables won 300 MW each at a tariff of INR 2.71/ kWh; Tata Power…
Changes afoot to improve investor risk profile
01 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
MNRE has announced various changes to the competitive bidding guidelines for utility scale solar projects. There are broadly two categories of changes – to address offtake risk and improve execution timelines.
Changes afoot to improve investor risk profile
01 November 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
MNRE has announced various changes to the competitive bidding guidelines for utility scale solar projects. There are broadly two categories of changes – to address offtake risk and improve execution timelines.
