Blogs
Rooftop Revolution: Uncovering Patna’s solar potential
23 January 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
In 2011, the per capita electricity consumption of Patna, the capital city of Bihar, was only 601 kWh[1] and even though it is a capital of one of India’s largest states, this is 23% lower than the national average of 780 kWh
Is India’s 100 GW solar road map feasible?
20 January 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Ever since the new government was sworn in, India has been making all the right noises about its ambitions for solar power. Both Prime Minister Modi, and the Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Mr. Goyal, seem determined to achieve an ambitious target of 100 GW by 2020. After the headline items have been absorbed and expectations have risen, it is now time for delivery. They have their work...
MNRE released the draft guidelines for 3,000 MW reflecting a shift away from solar park
14 January 2015 | Mudit Jain
The revised guidelines have been issued for implementation of tranche-I of batch II under phase II of NSM for 3,000 MW (see here). The development of the solar park in Andhra Pradesh is delayed due to land...
Time for the distributed solar segment to grow
14 January 2015 | Gayrajan Kohli
Since the beginning of India’s push for solar energy and the launch of the National Solar Mission in 2009, two segments of the solar market have been in focus for both corporations and national and state governments – utility scale and distributed segments. The former’s realizable potential has been estimated by BRIDGE TO INDIA at 53-69 GW by 2024 and the latter at 57-76 GW
How will ‘Make in India’ work for solar?
13 January 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
At the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015, Adani Enterprises and SunEdison have announced a partnership to explore building an integrated solar manufacturing facility worth USD 4 billion at Mudra, Gujarat (
India to revise the rooftop solar subsidy mechanism
06 January 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
On the very first day of 2015, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has notified proposed changes to the rooftop solar subsidy (refer). The two major changes are: reduction of subsidies from 30% to 15% and a lower priority for...
BRIDGE TO INDIA solar awards – best of 2014
29 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Indian solar market went through its share of ups and downs in 2014. Last week, we tried to summarize key events of the year and their impact on the market (refer). In this newsletter, we applaud key stakeholders and initiatives...
Things have come a long way for solar in India in 2014
23 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As 2014 draws to a close, it is useful to look back and summarize how the Indian solar market as shaped up over the past one year. The mood of the Indian solar market in 2014 can broadly be divided into two distinct halves; pre 22nd August and post 22nd August. No, 22nd August was not the day when the new Modi government was sworn in. It was the day when the new government decided not to act on...
India needs a global solution as hundreds of millions of Indians are vulnerable to the effects of climate change
22 December 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
In the past, China and the US, who together accounted for over 40% of global carbon emissions, rejected any official targets with respect to reductions. The recent development has been indicative, for the first time ever, they have committed to carbon targets. India is in a delicate position. On the one hand, it is already the world’s fourth largest emitter. On the other, its per capita...
The Budget 2015-16: Our solar wish-list for India’s 100 GW target
16 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, we discussed the proposed changes in the Electricity Act 2003 and, in particular, the proposed 10.5% solar RPO target (refer link 1 and link...
The recent announcement by energy giant, E.On: What are the three key lessons for the Indian utilities?
15 December 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
E.ON is among the top multi-utility player of Germany with diversified business in power generation, natural gas, energy trading, retail and distribution operations. It has decided to spin off the fossil fuel business (together with some other businesses, such as energy trading and exploration) and focus on renewables, on grid management and on “customer services”. This is a drastic step as...
Weekly update : India to amend its “Electricity Act” – what does that mean for solar?
09 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Indian government is planning to amend the Electricity Act 2003 in a fundamental power sector reform. The goal is to break the monopoly of power distribution companies on the end consumer and allow for more effective competition in the last-mile delivery and sale of power (
