Blogs
Weekly Update: Revised guidelines for batch-I of phase-II of the NSM released; Many key concerns have been addressed
08 October 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released its revised draft guidelines for a capacity of 750 MW of solar PV under batch one of phase two of the National Solar Mission (NSM) (refer to this document for the latest draft). SECI...
Weekly Update: Andhra Pradesh to sign PPAs for a capacity of 140MW
01 October 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Less than planned for, but at least a start: As per the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation (APTRANSCO), 60 MW of PPAs have been signed in the state until now and around 80 MW more are expected be signed soon. The tariff will be INR 6.49/kWh (EUR 0.08/kWh; USD 0.10/kWh). Andhra Pradesh is looking to allocate a revised target capacity of 350 MW. Considering to the large shortfall with...
Weekly Update: Timelines for phase two of the National Solar Mission keep everyone guessing
24 September 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Allocations under batch one of phase two of the National Solar Mission (NSM) were supposed to begin in May 2013. However, there has been a significant delay in the process and these allocations have not yet been announced. Officials from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have been quoted as saying that the documents for phase two of the NSM are now with the union cabinet for...
Weekly Update: India likely to introduce mega sized solar projects soon
17 September 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been planning to build mega size solar projects (>500 MW) in India (refer to the July 2013 edition of the India Solar Compass). These projects would be aimed at bringing down the cost of solar power to around INR 5/kWh (USD...
Weekly Update: The real problem facing domestic manufacturing is the lack of scale
11 September 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
A recent article (refer) revealed that Indian C-si PV manufacturing is witnessing a five year low. The poor performance of domestic manufacturing in the last few years is well known. In response, the MNRE recently announced the establishment of the ‘National Institute for Solar Energy’ (NISE) to...
Weekly Update: Uttarakhand releases its rooftop solar scheme
03 September 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) has released a document explaining the scheme developed to promote grid-connected rooftop and small-size solar PV power plants in the state. The scheme provides for ‘net metering’ for grid connected rooftop solar plants and states that the solar system owner will be compensated for the excess power supplied to the grid at a tariff...
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...
