Blogs
Why India just might achieve 24×7 power
09 June 2015 | Gayrajan Kohli
Since taking over office, the central government, under the aegis of Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, has repeatedly stated its goal of providing 24-hour power supply across the country. Mr Goyal has laid out a detailed plan to accomplish this critical and difficult goal, the effects of which we are seeing today. A careful inspection reveals though, that...
Maharashtra has the potential to become India’s leading solar state
08 June 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
With the formation of the new BJP-led government at the state level 3 months ago, solar power is finally gaining momentum in Maharashtra. Last week, the state government cabinet approved a renewable energy policy with a target of 14,400 MW by 2020. Out of this, 7,500 MW has been earmarked for solar power. The policy document has not yet been released in the public domain but the ambitious...
Solar margins may rise in India
03 June 2015 | Jasmeet Khurana
From 2010 to 2013, solar costs have come down dramatically. For the past two years, experts had been saying that solar prices would remain stable. However, at least in India, cost reduction, while slowing, has not halted. Project implementation costs have fallen by almost 10% in 2013 and another 12% in 2014. While module costs have fallen by roughly 10%, a similar, if not higher, cost reduction...
New “entrepreneur” scheme for solar seems a non-starter, unlikely to work in current format
02 June 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) released a new policy designed to encourage unemployed youths and farmers to install renewable energy plants (refer). The idea is to increase employment as well as...
Can India achieve power for all by 2019?
26 May 2015 | Jasmeet Khurana
The Modi government has set itself the target to achieve electricity for all by 2019. While this is not the first time such a target has been set in India – in fact, similar targets have been set by previous governments for 2007 and 2012 – many observers think that if it can be achieved than by this government. However, it will not be easy. Let us look at what challenges needs to be...
Trina Solar, JA Solar and Canadian Solar to explore India manufacturing
19 May 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China last week, 3 MoUs were signed, potentially worth USD 260 million (refer) for solar cell and module manufacturing units. Trina Solar and JA Solar have signed MoUs with Welspun Energy...
Solar in the Circular Economy: a New Business Model
15 May 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
Solar is great. It is an abundant, free and omnipresent source of energy. We just need to convert it into a form of energy we can use: heat/cool or electricity. The only problem is that in order to convert it, we need to manufacture specific equipment (collectors, panels, inverters, etc.) – and that is costly. This is where our global energy transition is stuck. What we try to do is reduce the...
Why Net-metering is failing – Part 2 – The DISCOM’s side of the story
13 May 2015 | Gayrajan Kohli
From generation to delivery, India incurs one of the highest electricity losses globally. it needs to plug these losses – and grid modernization has to be a very important component of this. In a bottom up approach, a larger integration of distributed generation can be an important part of the puzzle. It can help bypass the inefficient grid altogether. In the absence of cost effective storage,...
India to allocate 10 GW under central government schemes this year?
12 May 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Today, there was a meeting called by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to discuss their revised plans for 10,000 MW of solar PV projects expected to be tendered in the next few months under National Solar Mission (NSM). These projects will be split between tariff based bidding (3,000 MW) and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) based bidding (7,000 MW). MNRE claimed that tenders for further...
Global Energy Trends and Implications for India (Part 5/5): Transitioning to a low carbon energy system payoff
07 May 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
The global energy system is in a period of rapid transformation: electricity plays an ever more important role, as do renewables, distributed generation and electric vehicles. Energy efficiency is improving. Emissions are a large and growing concern. New technologies and business models are disrupting and challenging a traditionally risk-averse and slow-moving industry. The International Energy...
100 days on, still Haryana’s innovative solar rooftop policy sees no light
05 May 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
It has been more than 100 days since the government of Haryana has made it mandatory for all buildings with an area of 500 sq. yards or more to install solar rooftop systems. Unfortunately, there has been very little progress in the implementation of the policy. A pervasive culture of delays and an expectation that policies are not enforced makes the market very slow to react. Will this well...
Global solar manufacturers look to India for new manufacturing capacity
05 May 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Over the past months, several international PV module manufacturers have announced plans to ‘Make in India’. While Trina Solar and Canadian Solar have declared that they are setting up manufacturing capacities in India, First Solar and SunEdison have stated that they are studying the viability of manufacturing capacity in India. As per BRIDGE TO INDIA’s sources; at least two other...
