Blogs
Weekly Update: Karnataka receives the lowest ever bid in India for INR 5.51/kwh
27 August 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The south Indian state of Karnataka opened the financial bids for an allocation of a capacity of 130 MW. Karnataka is expected to issue Letters of Interest (LoIs) to 16 developers for this allocation. The lowest successful bid is of INR 5.51/kWh by Sun Pharma and the highest successful bid is of INR 8.05/kWh by Welspun Solar and Heidelberg. The average bid across all successful bids is INR...
Gujarat regulator dismisses petition for retrospective tariff revision
23 August 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
On August 8, 2013, as predicted by BRIDGE TO INDIA, the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) dismissed Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s (GUVNL’s) petition seeking a retrospective revision in tariffs for solar projects in the state. The GERC concluded that the petition is ‘not maintained’, however, the GUVNL is free to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. Petition was...
Weekly Update: Another possible tariff revision in Tamil Nadu
06 August 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has published a consultative paper titled ‘Comprehensive Tariff Order on Solar Power’ on 30.07.2013 (click here for the paper). The purpose of this paper is to come up with a common tariff for all solar power projects in the state. The paper recommends an extremely low solar tariff of INR 5.78/kWh (without escalation) for all solar PV...
Creation of Telangana will impact the projects under the Andhra Pradesh solar policy
05 August 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
On Tuesday, 30th July 2013, the central government in India gave its initial go-ahead on splitting the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) into two states, i.e., Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The formalization of the split is expected to take at least another six months. Such a split is bound to have an impact on infrastructure projects in the state. Solar power projects are also expected to be...
Experts agree to findings of the solar rooftop report ‘Rooftop Revolution : Unleashing Delhi’s Solar Potential’
31 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
On 23rd July 2013, Greenpeace and BRIDGE TO INDIA launched their new report ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Delhi’s Solar Potential’. The findings were discussed at a prominent panel discussion, which included government representatives, state utility officials, solar system installers and members of resident welfare associations. There was an agreement that solar will be a key energy...
Weekly update: Indian manufacturer’s perspective on anti-dumping duties
30 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
In a follow up to our last weekly update (refer), this week, we here present a manufacturers’ perspective on the current anti-dumping investigations in India. BRIDGE TO INDIA has consistently held the view that anti-dumping duties are not beneficial for the overall development of the solar market in India. We believe that if India wants to support a domestic solar industry, it should not look...
Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Delhi’s Solar Potential
24 July 2013 | Prateek Goel
BRIDGE TO INDIA in collaboration with GREENPEACE will be launching the report ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Delhi’s Solar Potential’ on 23rd of July 2013, at the India International Centre. The report will be released as a part of Greenpeace’s campaign ‘Switch on the Sun’. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms. Sheila Dikshit will launch the report. Many key stakeholders of Delhi’s...
Weekly Update: India’s anti-dumping duties case moves forward
23 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The first hearing of India’s solar PV anti-dumping case was held on Thursday, 18th July 2013. Last month, it was announced that investigations by the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) have found enough prima facie evidence to suggest that dumped imports are hurting the domestic industry. This meeting was attended by more than 100 participants, including the three petitioners and...
Weekly Update: Mandatory CSR obligation could drive rooftop solar in India
22 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Last week, the Companies Bill 2011 finally became law after it received the Rajya Sabha’s (upper house of the Parliament) approval. The Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament) had already passed it in June 2012. The key aspect of the bill is that it mandates large-sized corporations to spend 2% of their net profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Since, solar is...
Why the gas price increase is good for India
22 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Recently the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in the price of natural gas. It will almost be doubled to USD 8.4/MMBtu from USD 4.5/MMBtu. This move was long awaited by gas producers. It will incentivize investments in the sector, make gas a more important part of the power mix and help reduce the cost of energy imports. For solar that is also good news: gas is an...
The launch of the report: ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Delhi’s solar potential’
22 July 2013 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
BRIDGE TO INDIA in collaboration with Greenpeace launched the report ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Delhi’s Solar Potential’ yesterday i.e. July 23rd 2013, at the India International Centre as a part of Greenpeace’s campaign ‘Switch on the Sun’ The report proposes that Delhi can be a 2 GW solar city by 2020 The report provides arguments, analysis and data to the Delhi...
Solar can be a win-win for all stakeholders
22 July 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
India is expected to have an energy deficiency of 6.7% in the coming year i.e. 2013-2014. The actual peak demand of power has exceeded the planned production in India for years, causing power outages for the average Indian consumer. The grid infrastructure too collapses at times under the strain of excess electricity loads during peak summer months. The Northern grid failure in 2012 disrupted...
