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Blogs


Fixing electricity in India

14 May 2013 | Tobias Engelmeier

The Indian electricity system is in dire need of ‘fixing’ – or, perhaps, of fundamental, paradigmatic reconfiguration? But how can complex systems be changed? This blog piece is based on a very interesting conversation with my friend and a systems aficionado, Anna da Costa, her blog piece and reading suggestion. In changing systems, too much time is spent on ‘fixing’ and too little...

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Weekly Update: Penalties for CSP projects likely to be deferred by 10 months as no project is ready for timely commissioning

14 May 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to defer the penalties that are to be levied on delayed solar thermal (CSP) projects. 470 MW were allocated under phase one of the National Solar Mission (NSM) in December 2010 and were to be commissioned in May 2013. However, none of the projects are expected to meet this deadline. No project is expected to reach completion before...

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Can Delhi become a solar city?

09 May 2013 | Tobias Engelmeier

Solar capacity addition in India has so far been centered on large, grid connected, ground-mounted PV plants. The lack of space for such power plants in a highly urbanized and congested city like Delhi is a challenge for solar energy. But, this is true only if solar deployment is restricted to large, ground mounted power plants. The potential to install rooftop solar PV in a city like Delhi can...

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Weekly Update: SECI launches the second round of competitive bidding for rooftop solar PV projects

07 May 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has announced the second round of biddings for the implementation of large scale, grid connected rooftop PV systems ranging from 100 kWp to 500 kWp for a total allocation of 11.1 MW. A developer can apply for multiple projects for a minimum allocation of 250kWp and a maximum of 2 MWp No Feed-in-Tariff is being offered. Instead, the bidder will...

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Bridge To India

Weekly Update: Andhra Pradesh changes allocation process, policy instability to hurt investor confidence

30 April 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

The south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh had carried out a bidding process for an allocation of 1,000 MW earlier this year. The state followed a L1 (lowest bid) process, where developers were required to meet the lowest tariff being offered by any other developer for a given sub-station. The policy’s bidding process accounted for different project sizes, land costs and irradiation levels...

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Weekly Update: Cross Subsidy Surcharges hiked for Open Access consumers in Maharashtra

16 April 2013 | Akhilesh Magal

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) released a commercial circular no. 190 last month (dated March 14 2013), clarifying the matter of Cross Subsidy Surcharge (CSS) for Open Access (OA) consumers. Under this circular, all generators including renewable energy generators who...

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Weekly Update: Clarification on projects commissioned under batch two phase one of the NSM

09 April 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

Last week in our April 2013 edition of the India Solar Compass we had mentioned that a number of projects under the Batch II, Phase I of the NSM had not been commissioned within the deadline of February 26th 2013. Since then, we have had a chance to interact with some company representatives and market stakeholders and would like to clarify that a few of these project have in fact been...

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On making errors: How and why we write about the Indian solar industry

08 April 2013 | Tobias Engelmeier

We regularly publish reports on the Indian solar market. These are read by a majority of national and international market stakeholders: on average by 10,000 people, including most industry leaders. We realize and appreciate that our views and opinions are taken seriously and influence the market. That only reaffirms our commitment to ground them firmly in facts. Only: facts, are not always...

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Bridge To India

The market this quarter – Installed PV capacity in India reaches 1.41 GW

03 April 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

We have released our latest quarterly update from the 10th edition of the INDIA SOLAR COMPASS. The total installed capacity in India has now reached 1.41 GW. Most off-grid projects that apply for capital subsidy from the MNRE in the new financial year will be put on hold until the end of the financial...

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Save coal for the future – a case for renewables in India?

02 April 2013 | Tobias Engelmeier

What is the cost of burning India’s coal reserves? And should that cost be added to the equation when determining whether to switch to renewables? This is a preliminary thought-piece. The thought goes like this: fossil fuels are burned and gone. Renewables are – as the name suggests – unlimited. Could coal be used more sparingly for purposes other than generating electricity? Perhaps not...

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Weekly Update: India’s largest solar REC project of 33 MW commissioned

01 April 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

India’s largest solar REC project of 33 MW was commissioned last week. The promoter of the plant is Giriraj Enterprises, which has diversified business interests. Sterling and Wilson was responsible for the EPC for the entire 33 MW and will also be responsible for the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of the plant for the next five years. The project estimates an average of 53,000 RECs...

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Weekly Update: Uttar Pradesh announces bids for 200 MW of solar capacity

25 March 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana

Uttar Pradesh has announced a bidding process for a 200 MW capacity (refer to the Request for Proposal (RfP), PPA and Escrow agreement documents). The state has also finalized its draft solar policy. It is now called ‘Uttar Pradesh Solar Policy 2013′ (refer to the

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