Blogs
Optimistic outlook for renewable energy needs backing up
21 May 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 two main findings of the survey, relating to business sentiment and expected capacity addition in the next 5 years, are...
Risk profile of Indian RE not conducive for INVITs
16 May 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 investment trust (INVIT). Initial corpus is expected to be USD 600 million with CPPIB and Piramal committing USD 360 million and USD 90 million respectively. Balance would come from other...
Need for an urgent reassessment of tender programme
08 May 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Gujarat’s latest utility scale solar tender – 700 MW in Raghanesda solar park – has been
Public sector rooftop market stays sluggish
30 April 2019 | Prantik Mitra
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 and union territories under CAPEX and OPEX modes (12.5 and 85 MW respectively). This is the first rooftop solar tender issued by SECI after the
Time to reconsider manufacturing policy
30 April 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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...
Solar park scheme simplified and downscaled
23 April 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 bare bones land and external transmission infrastructure. Internal transmission and all other infrastructure facilities (site levelling and fencing, access to water and electricity, drainage etc)...
Time to act on PV waste management
18 April 2019 | Surbhi Singhvi
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 management by end-April 2019. This process follows an
Financially weak DISCOMs the darkest cloud on the horizon
16 April 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 restructuring package for DISCOMs in the last seventeen years, was...
Bold vision but half-baked implementation
10 April 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 but we now have a relatively quiet six week period until the last votes are cast on 19 May 2019…
MNRE issues a new 12,000 MW scheme to promote domestic manufacturing
02 April 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
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 domestically procured cells and modules for consumption of power in-house or sale to other government entities excluding...
MNRE pushes for solar in north-east
27 March 2019 | Shobhit Srivastava
MNRE has issued a new viability gap funding (VGF) scheme for setting up 1,000 MW grid-connected solar PV projects in north-eastern states. The government intends to provide VGF support of up to INR 10 million/ MW for these projects. Power is proposed to be sold to DISCOMs at a fixed tariff of INR 3.00/ kWh through SECI. Minimum bid size shall be 5 MW and commissioning timeline is specified at 21...
Hydro power likely to remain a fringe resource
25 March 2019 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India’s central government recently approved some changes to promote large hydro power (capacity > 25 MW). The changes include designation of large hydro as renewable power, a sub-limit for new hydro power purchase obligation (HPO) within RPO...
