Blogs
Developers shy away from SECI’s 250 MW tender in Gujarat
13 July 2016 | Shaurya Bajaj
SECI has completed auctions of 160 MW capacity of projects to be developed in the Charanka solar park in Gujarat under the viability gap funding (VGF) scheme. The original tender of 250 MW was broken down into five projects of 40 MW each and two projects of 25 MW but bids were received for just four projects of 40 MW. Auctions for other projects may now be completed at a later date. Most private...
India trying out multiple options to promote domestic solar manufacturing; results elude
11 July 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, a news report suggested that India will shortly announce new tenders with modified Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) where modules used will need to be assembled in India but the cells may be imported (
SECI receives bids for 602 MW capacity for a 500 MW rooftop solar tender
04 July 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has received bids totalling 602 MW for a 500 MW tender where SECI proposes to provide 30% capital subsidy to the lowest cost bidders. The tender is restricted to rooftop solar projects for residential and institutional segments (
New push needed for net-metering implementation
27 June 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As the Indian solar sector continues to gather more momentum by the day, one area that often feels relatively neglected is rooftop solar. India’s rooftop solar capacity is currently estimated at 740 MW, only about 10% of total solar PV capacity in the country. Delays in approvals, undefined responsibilities and accountability, unavailability of meters, restrictions on system sizes are some...
Delhi can become a model for rooftop solar implementation across India
22 June 2016 | Jyoti Gulia
The Delhi government approved its first solar policy on June 6, 2016. The policy understandably focuses on rooftop solar development because of shortage of available land space in the city. It has many innovative provisions and provides for exemptions and simplification of procedures for rooftop system installation. The policy introduces ‘Group Net Metering’ for the first time in India,...
Successful sale of solar assets driving confidence in the sector
20 June 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As the Indian solar sector grows, there has been growing pressure on Indian project developers to churn their capital. The merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the sector is gathering pace and it is believed that as many as 3,000 MW of projects are on sale right now. Last week, a report quoted that IDFC Alternatives, an Indian private equity fund, is in advanced discussions to buy 275 MW...
Indian corporates assert themselves as bidding intensity comes down
13 June 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Results were announced last week for 1,050 MW of projects tendered by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in Karnataka (950 MW) and Chhattisgarh (100 MW) under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme. These projects will be set up outside solar parks and will have no module sourcing restrictions. Adani (350 MW), Hero Future Energies (200 MW), Energon (100 MW), Acme Solar (160 MW) and Solar...
India issues a credible draft of mini and micro grid policy
06 June 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a draft national policy for mini and micro grids (refer). The policy aims to create up to 500 MW capacity in the private sector in the next five years. India has a terrible record on providing reliable grid...
Rooftop solar market in India witnessing rapid growth but 2022 target seems elusive
31 May 2016 | Jyoti Gulia
Over the past two years, the rooftop solar market in India has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 90%. As of March 31, 2016 the cumulative installed capacity stands at 740 MW (refer INDIA SOLAR HANDBOOK 2016). This growth is directly linked to the improvement in price competitiveness of rooftop solar power...
Two-year report card: 8/10 on solar policy environment in India for Modi Government
30 May 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Modi government recently completed two years in office. Substantial progress has been made in our view on improving overall sector investment outlook and policy environment in these two years under minister Piyush Goyal. There is a very supportive broad policy framework in place; Specific policies and/or plans have either been put in place or are being deliberated upon for each of the...
India may offer direct financial incentives to boost solar manufacturing
23 May 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
In our last weekly update, we discussed the state of domestic manufacturing and Indian government’s efforts to improve prospects of the sector after the domestic content requirement mechanism was challenged successfully by the USA at the World Trade Organization (WTO) (refer). Recent reports suggest...
Curtailment risk imminent for Indian solar projects in the years to come
18 May 2016 | Jasmeet Khurana
With a target of 100 GW, India is hoping to get 8% of its power requirements from solar PV by 2022. In comparison, Germany got around 7.5%[1] of its power consumption from solar PV in 2015 and China is still at around 3%[2]. In Germany, where most of the solar capacity has been deployed in the form of distributed solar...
