Blogs
Solar tenders like Indian rail — you can almost bet on delays
05 October 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The recent National Solar Mission (NSM) tenders have been delayed multiple times before and are again delayed now. This pattern of delays is not new. Only one of the 30 odd bids in India has gone through without significant extensions or delays Main culprits are process delays by implementation agencies and requests for time extension from developers – these delays affect sector...
Is India aiming for 250 GW of solar by 2030?
28 September 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The process to substantially alter India’s future energy mix seems to have begun. This is very good news for renewables. Prime Minister Narendra Modi re-iterated India’s current target of installing 175 GW of renewables by 2022 at the United Nations General Assembly last week. This would then be equivalent to almost 20% of India’s power generation. Over and above this, and in the context...
High cost of solar parks diluting policy objectives
21 September 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
On paper, the solar parks policy is excellent. It tackles the two major issues of land acquisition and evacuation, reducing developer risk. In theory, this should bring down the cost of solar power. However, after seeing the costs released for the recently announced solar parks in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka, most developers are of the opinion that they could have quoted...
First NSM bid under the new government oversubscribed by over 10x
14 September 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Bids were submitted last week for 10×50 MW of solar PV projects under the new phase of National Solar Mission (NSM) in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first round of NSM bids since the new government took office in May 2014. This is also the first time that bids have been called for projects to be set up in solar parks being developed under the new Solar Parks Policy. A total of 30 developers...
Energiewende “Made in India”
08 September 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
India currently consumes over 1,000 TWh of electricity a year, making it just about the world’s third largest power consumer. More than 60% of this electricity is produced from coal-fired power plants. On a per capita basis, however, India’s power consumption is still very low, at less than 800 kWh per year (compared to China’s 3,500 kWh or the USA’s 13,000). As India’s population...
India’s burgeoning solar pipeline defies sceptics
07 September 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India’s utility scale solar project pipeline is growing rapidly, bringing the government’s ambitious solar goals closer. The installed capacity stands at 4.4 GW and projects under development and allocation stand at an additional 10.9 GW. The pipeline number is expected to swell further as new tenders are released. Accounting for policy uncertainties and delays, these developments can...
Will states live up to the ambitions of the central government?
31 August 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As part of the 60 GW target for utility scale solar, the central government is taking the lead at present through projects developed under National Solar Mission. But states are expected to play a bigger role over time and develop 20 GW of capacity (refer). In percentage terms, this seems...
A New Approach to Improve DISCOM Health
24 August 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The poor financial health of India’s power distribution companies (DISCOMs) is deemed to be the weakest link in the Indian power sector and a huge headache for project developers. It is not just critical for the revival of the power sector but also for the health of public sector banks. Recent estimates by CRISIL suggest that poor progress on tariff reforms and high AT&C losses have...
Parliament’s Monsoon Session and what it meant for the Solar Sector
17 August 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Indian Parliament recently concluded a literally washed out monsoon session. The key Amendments for Electricity Act 2003, which the Parliamentary Standing Committee had already recommended was ready but not tabled (refer here to read why this matters for the...
A status check on Dollar dominated bids for solar projects in India
10 August 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
India has been discussing dollar dominated bids for solar projects in the country for some time now. The rationale is to attract low cost international capital and reduce hedging costs by pooling currency risk with the ultimate objective of reducing the cost of solar power. An initial allocation for 1 GW of projects is believed to be in planning stages and guidelines on bidding process are...
Telangana gets lowest bid at INR 5.17/kWh in India’s largest solar tender
03 August 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Financial bids were opened today (3rd August 2015) for the 2,000 MW solar tender in Telangana. This is the single largest allocation in the country till date. According to unconfirmed sources, the lowest tariff for this bid has been quoted at INR 5.17/kWh by SkyPower. Sky Power had also quoted the lowest tariff in Madhya Pradesh at INR 5.05/kWh. Despite the manifold increase in the...
Expect bruises, not bubbles in India’s solar market
29 July 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
The Indian solar market is growing at a breathtaking speed: This year alone, by more than 300%, next year perhaps by 150%. Competition is as intense as the market is enthusiastic. Projects are being won at record low tariffs – tariffs that many observers doubt will leave investors with acceptable returns. Will these projects be “stranded solar assets”? Is there a bubble in the making?...
