Blogs
Madhya Pradesh launches a unique 750 MW solar power project
04 April 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited (MPPM), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have announced a tender for a 3 x 250 MW solar project in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. MPPM, a holding company for all power distribution companies in the state, will buy most of the power from the proposed project but interestingly, DMRC will procure 363 million units...
SECI tender for Uttar Pradesh 440 MW solar projects gets a lukewarm response
31 March 2016 | Shaurya Bajaj
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) recently conducted reverse auctions for 125 MW of the aggregate 440 MW capacity (390 MW capacity under open and 50 MW capacity under Domestic content requirement category) tendered under government solar park projects in Uttar Pradesh as part of its viability gap funding (VGF) scheme. In this scheme, developers sell power at a fixed tariff of INR 4.43/kWh...
CERC reduces solar capital cost benchmark by 12% for FY 2016-17
28 March 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) passed a final order for determination of benchmark capital cost for solar PV projects for FY 2016-17 last week (refer). It has established the capital cost of solar PV projects including equipment, construction, land, transmission and pre-operative costs...
Indian solar industry gets busy as the financial year draws to a close
21 March 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As we come to the end of the financial year, a rush to meet allocation and announcement targets has made the Indian solar market fairly frantic. Just last week, bid results were announced for a cumulative capacity of 1,425 MW including a 1,200 MW state allocation in Jharkhand, a 125 MW allocation in Uttar Pradesh by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and a 100 MW allocation in Rajasthan by...
Kerala launches a tender for 200 MW of PV capacity; a first for the state
18 March 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) issued a Request for Selection (RFS) for allocating 200 MW of ground-mounted, grid connected solar PV power on 17th February 2016. This is the first large scale RFS issued by KSEB for consumer use. So far, Kerala has only 13 MW of installed solar capacity, most of which (12 MW) is deployed onsite at the Kochi International Airport. Salient features of the...
GST poses a big risk for the Indian solar industry
14 March 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Recent reports suggest that the changing numbers in India’s upper house of Parliament may mean that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill could be passed by July 2016 (refer)....
Karnataka bid results raise important questions
07 March 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Karnataka announced results for its 1,200 MW solar project tender last week. This tender was very unique as it sought bids for up to 20 MW capacity on a taluk-by-taluk basis in 60 taluks (refer) in an effort to distribute solar capacity evenly across the state. 100 MW of capacity was reserved for solar cell...
With a focus on financing, FY 17 budget increases fund allocation to IREDA
29 February 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Finance Minister of India presented the union budget for the financial year 2016-17 (April 16 – Mar 17) earlier today. As predicted by us earlier this month, there is no substantial change in central government outlay for the sector (refer). The most significant announcement is about an investment...
Is mandatory rooftop solar the key to rapid deployment? Chandigarh to take the test.
26 February 2016 | Shaurya Bajaj
The Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) is likely to issue a notification making rooftop solar mandatory in the union territory. If that happens, Chandigarh would follow the neighboring state Haryana and become the second region in the country to make rooftop solar compulsory. The mandate targets commercial, government and residential...
States to revamp solar targets in line with the country’s 100 GW target
22 February 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The MNRE has asked all states to revise their solar policy targets (refer) to make them consistent with the revised Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) target of 8% by 2022, as notified under the revised Tariff Policy published in the Gazette of India on 28th January 2016. States...
Scrap Dollar based bidding for solar projects
18 February 2016 | Mudit Jain
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been keen to introduce Dollar denominated bidding for solar projects. The rationale is to eliminate currency risk for international developers and manage this on aggregate basis thereby reducing the solar tariffs. When the concept was first mooted in the second quarter of 2015, the solar tariffs in India were in the range of INR 6.00 –...
No major surprises likely in the budget
15 February 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Indian government is expected to table the budget for 2016-17 on 29th February 2016. Due to severe constraints on the government’s fiscal position, room for new expenditure including spending on solar sector seems limited. Intelligent use of the available fiscal resources should be the focus for the sector. The budget is likely to approve funding for already announced schemes and higher...
