Blogs
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...
Global Energy Trends and Implications for India (Part 4 of 5) : Solar will be the most competitive energy choice
30 April 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...
SECI looking to invest into 2,000 MW of solar, releases EOI for EPC
30 April 2015 | Mudit Jain
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has released an Expression of Interest (EOI) for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) for 2,000 MW of solar PV[1A]. The EOI envisages multiple projects of 250 MW or 500 MW each. EPC companies can form a consortium to bid for this...
A new tariff policy to accelerate India’s renewables growth
28 April 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Ministry of Power (MoP) has proposed amendments to the country’s existing tariff policy of 2005 (refer). Promotion of renewable generation sources has now been added as the fifth objective of the policy. There are three salient features for the solar sector in this...
Global Energy Trends and Implications for India (Part 3 of 5): Carbon intensity of electricity is stagnating, but efficiency and renewables can change that
23 April 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...
Will land be the main hurdle for India’s solar dreams?
22 April 2015 | Mudit Jain
The Indian government has upgraded the target of solar capacity from 20 GW to 100 GW by 2022. Of this, 60 GW are to be from ground-based projects. A key bottleneck for achieving this target is suitable land. Many developers believe that the single biggest factor for delay in project execution is the time-consuming process of land identification and acquisition. Even the government’s own plans...
Net-metering is essential for India, but here is why it’s failing – [Part 1 of 2]
21 April 2015 | Gayrajan Kohli
Net-metering can potentially drive widespread implementation of distributed generation by incentivising end-users to adopt localized power generation through technologies such as solar. In theory, net-metering is the proverbial silver bullet designed to help India achieve greater energy security through generation at point of consumption (distributed generation). In addition to helping consumers...
India’s First Rate Performance at the Hannover Fair
17 April 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
This week, Germany was steeped in Indian colors. At the Hannover Fair, India made excellent use of the opportunity of being the official partner country and present itself favorably to a global business community. India’s presentation at the fair was cool and exciting Modi finds the right language and understands investor concerns The international business community is ready to...
