Blogs
Solar developers stay away from Tamil Nadu tender
28 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last month, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) floated a tender for 500 MW of utility scale solar projects. This tender has received limited interest and that too predominantly from smaller developers who have submitted 20 bids totalling just 116 MW. This tender follows an allocation of approx. 1,200 MW in early 2015 where a fixed tariff of INR 7.01/kWh (USD...
Net-metering battles in the US hold crucial lessons for India
21 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Rapid growth in the US rooftop solar market and the number of net-metering connections has opened a battle-front between utilities on one hand and solar developers and consumers on the other hand. Utilities are arguing against the rationale of giving customers full retail credit for their excess energy and vigorously challenging the current net-metering framework in many states including
Indian solar capacity crosses 10 GW milestone
18 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India’s total installed solar capacity including rooftop and off-grid segments has crossed 10 GW mark, a major milestone for the sector. India is expected to add new solar capacity of 5.1 GW this year, which is a growth of 137% over last year. BRIDGE TO INDIA expects average annual capacity addition of 8-10 GW per annum from next year onwards. The pace of sector activity has picked up...
Launching a clean-up drive for the Indian renewable sector
14 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Indian government has launched a momentous demonetisation drive to weed out black money and clean up the economy (refer). We have often heard gossip about some of the black money, estimated to be close to INR 30 trillion (USD 440 billion) or about 20% of Indian GDP, finding its way...
MP announces a progressive decentralised RE policy
12 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Madhya Pradesh government has come out with a new decentralised renewable energy policy focusing primarily on rooftop...
Poor implementation of net-metering policies poses a major challenge for rooftop solar
07 November 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India’s rooftop solar market is growing rapidly with the country adding more capacity in the past 12 months than all previous years put together (refer). However, grid interconnection regulations and processes remain challenging in most parts of the country despite almost all states announcing net-...
UDAY success to bring huge benefits for solar sector in India
24 October 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Ministry of Power’s Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), a financial and operational reform scheme for distribution companies (DISCOMs), announced in November 2015 (refer) is bearing surprisingly quick and positive results. The scheme aims to address debilitating...
OPEX model takes hold in India but faces a key challenge
17 October 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India has added 513 MW of rooftop solar capacity over the past 12 months reaching total installed capacity of 1,020 MW. 22% of capacity addition in the last year has been built under OPEX model where a third party project developer finances and installs the system on rooftop owner/consumer’s premises and sells all power output to him under a long-term agreement. This model is extremely popular...
MP announces a progressive decentralised RE policy
12 October 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Madhya Pradesh government has come out with a new decentralised renewable energy policy focusing primarily on rooftop solar systems. The policy’s target to install 2.2 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022, is consistent with the Government of India’s national rooftop plan of 40 GW by 2022. MP is one of the first few states including Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra to revise its...
Public sector struggling to compete with private sector in solar power generation
10 October 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
News reports suggest that Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), a 90% Government of India owned company, has abandoned its plan to set up 2 x 65 MW solar projects in Rajasthan after failing to agree to sell power to local distribution companies at the required price (
Ratification of climate accord to bring more focus on India’s renewable sector
03 October 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
On 2nd October 2016, India ratified the Paris climate accord becoming the 62nd country to do so. India accounts for 4.1% of global carbon emissions. Countries with 52% of global emissions have now ratified the agreement. With European Union, accounting for 12.1% of total global emission, expected to join shortly, the 55% threshold for the agreement to come into effect would be met and the...
Understanding the solar inverter market in India
30 September 2016 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Globally, top 10 inverter suppliers accounted for around 75% of shipments in 2015. In India, the market is even more concentrated as the top 10 suppliers accounted for over 85% of shipments. Despite this, there is intense price competition and churning in supplier landscape. Prices for central inverters have fallen by 17% in the last year to about US¢ 3/W for most suppliers. SMA and GE...
