Blogs
Floating solar slow to take-off
20 August 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
In December last year, SECI announced an EOI for 10 GW of floating solar projects, which was later adopted into the government’s revised 227 GW RE target for March 2022. Several large floating solar projects have been announced subsequently over the last few months. But bid deadlines have been...
MSEDCL fights back against rooftop solar
13 August 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL), Maharashtra’s largest DISCOM, has proposed a series of measures to counter growth of rooftop solar in its latest petition to the state regulator. The proposed measures include: i)...
Tracker market slowing down
10 August 2018 | Surbhi Singhvi
In the midst of increasing competition, falling tariffs and shrinking profit margins, the market for solar trackers picked up sharply in India in 2017. Developers were increasingly keen to use trackers to enhance project performance to maximize returns. Commissioned capacity using trackers increased from 86 MW in 2016 to 1,427 MW in 2017. India being one of the largest and fastest growing...
Need to step up battery manufacturing in India
08 August 2018 | Surbhi Singhvi
In an encouraging move for prospects of domestic battery manufacturing, two government run institutions — Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) — have announced
Rooftop solar growing faster than expected
30 July 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
BRIDGE TO INDIA has released the latest edition of its India Solar Rooftop Map report. As per the report, India added new rooftop solar capacity of 1,142 MW in the financial year 2017-18, up 68% over previous year. Total installed capacity is estimated to have reached 2,538 MW as on 31 March, 2018.. OPEX market share is rising strongly, driven by increasing customer preference and investor...
The government announces yet another idea for domestic manufacturing
23 July 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Indian government appears to be working on a new scheme to support domestic manufacturing. The scheme involves procuring 12 GW of new project capacity using domestically manufactured...
DGTR announces final safeguard duty recommendation
18 July 2018 | Vinay Rustagi
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has issued its final decision on the safeguard duty petition by domestic cell and module manufacturers. It has recommended a safeguard duty on imports of all cells and modules, irrespective of technology, for a period of two years – 25% in the first year falling to 20% and 15% in the subsequent six month...
Recent solar auctions indicate a sector disconnect
16 July 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
SECI completed auction for its 3,000 MW solar tender last week. Capacity was won by 6 developers – Acme (600 MW, tariff INR 2.44/ kWh), Azure (300 MW, 2.64), Canadian Solar (200, 2.70), Adani (300, 2.71), ReNew (500, 2.71) and Softbank (1,100 MW, 2.71). The auction follows another similar 2,000 MW solar auction conducted by SECI just two weeks ago where Acme (600 MW) and five other Indian...
Madhya Pradesh issues an innovative rooftop solar tender
12 July 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL), in partnership with the World Bank, has issued a 28 MW rooftop solar tender under the OPEX model. The tender has been re-issued but the capacity has been revised down from 40...
Indian solar market records new heights in 2017-18
10 July 2018 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India’s total installed utility scale solar capacity grew by over 70% in 2017-18 to reach 21.3 GW. Total solar capacity including rooftop solar and off-grid systems reached 24.5 GW as of March 31, 2018. Total utility scale solar capacity in 2017-18 was 9.1 GW, up 72% over last year and more than all other sources combined (4.6 GW of thermal and 1.7 GW of wind power); Karnataka added 4.1...
Growing renewable energy faces new pressures
02 July 2018 | Vinay Rustagi
India has made tremendous progress in renewable energy in the last four years. Solar sector, in particular, has grown rapidly with India becoming the third largest international solar market after China and the USA. Both by total installed capacity and annual capacity addition, India is now amongst the top five renewable countries in the world. The industry is understandably upbeat about the...
