2024: Scaling new heights

India’s solar and wind energy sector demonstrated remarkable growth in 2024, fueled by government support, declining technology costs, and increased investor confidence.

Record capacity addition: India witnessed an unprecedented surge in solar energy installations in 2024. Between January to November, the country added 20.8 GW of solar capacity and 3.2 GW of wind capacity, ~87% YoY growth…

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After ALMM tag, timely solar cell capacity commissioning crucial

Timely commissioning of the solar cell manufacturing projects announced so far will be crucial to ensure there is adequate capacity to meet demand in years to come. For while the announcements suggest supply will be adequate, the typical utilisation factor arithmetic and other imponderables…

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Domestic protection for the solar value chain comes at a cost

India’s ambitious renewable energy targets have sparked a crucial debate about the role of import duties in promoting domestic manufacturing while ensuring affordability. The government’s efforts to promote domestic manufacturing are laudable, but the higher cost of imported components and domestic capacity constraints have created challenges for developers and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors…

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COP 29 disappoints on climate finance and action

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) at Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded on November 22, 2024, on a disappointing note as countries failed to take decisive action to address the escalating climate crisis.

One of the most critical aspects of the conference was the New Collective Quantified Goal target for climate finance, which was to be revised after 15 years. Developing nations had sought a significant increase in climate finance to $1.3 trillion per year….

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Competitive landscape evolves as RE sector grows

The renewable energy (RE) sector has seen the emergence of a hierarchy among players over the years, with those consistently participating in allocations leading the pack. The initial decade of the sector’s growth, therefore, was also a period of stabilisation, establishing…

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A balancing act on PPA tenure, flexibility and tariffs

The Ministry of Power has proposed amendments to its guidelines for tariff-based competitive bidding with an aim to streamline procurement of power from renewable energy (RE) projects. These include the guidelines for firm and dispatchable power projects with energy storage notified on June 9, 2023, solar projects notified on July 28, 2023, wind projects notified on July 26, 2023, and wind-solar hybrid projects notified…

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RE on growth path despite hiccups

The renewable energy sector has seen project momentum and has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. The installed base of renewable energy (excluding hydro) has grown at a CAGR of 15% between 2014-2024. Taking a deeper view of the project level momentum in space, an analysis on 57.6 GW of commissioned and under construction projects suggests the segment has managed to avoid excessive…

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Shining through the roof

Sharper policy focus has placed the rooftop solar segment in a sweet spot as India works towards meeting clean energy targets and bring down power costs.

In February this year, the government enhanced the central subsidy programme and announced a scheme to provide 1 crore households with rooftop solar power support. The scheme seeks to reduce initial capital costs through direct subsidies and easing regulatory hurdles to rooftop solar implementation.

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End of ISTS waiver to push up RE tariffs ~Rs 1.5 per unit

The government’s decision to remove the waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for renewable energy (RE) generation projects will push up the costs for developers and consumers. The waiver, aimed at promoting RE and reducing the overall cost of these projects, was first implemented in 2018 under the National Tariff Policy and extended to solar and wind power projects commissioned before December 31, 2022. The government later extended the waiver to include projects commissioned…

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RE auctions losing steam

Tendering and allocation of renewable energy (RE) projects have slowed down this fiscal, indicating a possible loss of momentum in commissioning next fiscal. After an impressive show last fiscal, when a total of 101 GW of RE capacity was tendered and 60.2 GW allocated, in the first of this fiscal only 36 GW has been tendered and 3.5 allocated. If the trend continues, it is likely to have a...

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Powering RE with flexibility

Renewable energy (RE) procurement has advanced from pure solar and wind to hybrids and now Firm and Dispatchable RE (FDRE), which combines solar and wind energy sources with energy storage, enabling procurement in more flexible manner.

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Giving solar cells the ALMM boost

The draft amendment to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) Order issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will help boost domestic manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells substantially in years to come…

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