Blogs
Solar modules costs in India fell by 3-6% in the last year, inverter costs by 8%
16 July 2014 | Mudit Jain
The costs for key solar equipment have fallen moderately in India over the last year. Chinese tier-1 crystalline modules came down by 3%, thin film modules by 6% and inverters by 8%. Cost reductions were thus much more moderate this year than in the year before. Nevertheless, a continuing fall in solar costs is essential for unlocking the grid parity market. This progress will now likely be...
Weekly Update: Solar manufacturing in India: can the new government make it happen?
15 July 2014 | Jasmeet Khurana
In the budget, presented last week, the new government took further measures to support solar manufacturing by eliminating the ‘inverted duty’ structure. ‘Inverted duty’ meant that while there was an import duty exemption on finished solar modules, there was no similar exemption on raw materials and components used in module assembly, thus putting Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage...
What does the new budget mean for India’s solar market?
11 July 2014 | Mudit Jain
Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the new budget for the financial year 2014-15 on 10th of July. The Indian solar sector was looking forward to it as the new administration had signalled strong support and ambitious plans for the industry. Unfortunately, there is very little in the budget for the solar sector. It is, perhaps, still too early, in the new administration, for game-changing...
Projections for solar growth in India (ADD scenarios)
10 July 2014 | Mudit Jain
The Indian solar market is at a crucial juncture. Anti-dumping duties (ADD) will impact the market – severely if imposed, still substantially even if not (just by creating uncertainty). Projects under the National Solar Mission (NSM) will be affected least. Projects under state policies and parity-based projects might not only be delayed but fully called off. For more details, please...
Analysis of the impact of anti-dumping duties on the Indian solar market
09 July 2014 | Vinay Rustagi
The Ministry of Commerce has recommended anti-dumping duties (ADD) for solar cells and modules from the leading supplier countries. The final decision on their imposition is now awaited. Since then, the solar market in India has come to a standstill, with many projects and policies on hold. For more details, please download the latest edition of the India Solar Compass (July 2014)
Weekly Update: What can India’s solar industry expect from the new budget 2014-15?
08 July 2014 | Jasmeet Khurana
The new budget for 2014-15 will be the first of the recently elected government in India. The expectations are high, but the finance minister has to walk a tightrope to ensure fiscal prudence in an economy that has been handed over to him in a bad shape. BRIDGE TO INDIA expects the government to increase the allocations to the MNRE The government should think of ways to strategically...
Why the Indian solar market is exciting and dynamic
02 July 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
Is the Indian solar market finally going to live up to its huge promise? I have hopes that it will. The new government has made all the right “noises”. It wants to embed solar firmly within a larger energy strategy for the country. The new Power Minister, Piyush Goyal, wants to take his cue from China, currently the world’s largest solar market. At the same time (and predictably) power...
Weekly Update: Rooftop solar subsidy mechanism to continue – but will the government provide funds?
01 July 2014 | Jasmeet Khurana
On 26th June 2014, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced continuation of the capital subsidy scheme for rooftop solar projects (refer). Under this scheme, the government will continue to provide 30% of the capital cost of the...
The Great Indian Pendulum: Return to Optimism
27 June 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
There is a notable change of atmosphere in India since the elections. Suddenly, business conversations are full of optimism again. There is talk of growth and investment, of a golden future. This is in sharp contrast to the debilitating gloominess that had settled over the country in the final years of the last administration. The great Indian pendulum is swinging back. India is experiencing...
Why India should have a more active climate diplomacy
26 June 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
Indians still only emit less than 40% of the Chinese on a per capita basis and hundreds of millions don’t have access to grid electricity. So the case against emissions targets remains strong, but India needs to avoid being isolated and portrayed as the villain who prevents global consensus and progress. For my previous analysis of the changing international landscape, read
Providing energy access to the poor
25 June 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
The IEA estimates that one in five people or 1.3 billion around the world lack access to electricity. There are two ways of changing that: expanding the grid around a classical centralized power generation system or creating distributed solutions around either appliances (e.g. solar lanterns), homes systems (typically also solar) or mini-grids (from different fuel sources, including e.g. solar,...
Will India be wrong-footed in a new era in climate change politics?
24 June 2014 | Tobias Engelmeier
In the past week, India (the world’s third largest emitter of carbon) has been bolted to attention by two announcements. First, president Barack Obama of the US (the world’s second largest emitter) vowed to reduce carbon pollution from power plants by 30% by 2030. The very next day, China (the world’s largest emitter), announced its willingness to set absolute carbon targets from 2016...
