Blogs
Weekly Update: Rajasthan solar policy throws up lowest currently valid solar bid
31 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The financial bids for the allocation of 100 MW of solar PV projects in Rajasthan were opened on February 11th 2013. A total of 25 bids worth over 200 MW have been received. The lowest valid solar bid in India of INR 6.45/kWh was submitted in Rajasthan. This tariff only makes financial sense if the developer makes full use of accelerated depreciation benefits The Rajasthan solar policy...
Solar PV tariffs in Tamil Nadu fall to INR 5.97/kWh, but INR 6.8/kWh is more viable
31 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Tamil Nadu today opened the financial bids received for allocations under its state policy. The state had received a subdued response with bids totaling 499MW for a tender of 1,000MW (refer to our earlier blog post to read more). Initial reports suggest that financial bids have been opened for 493MW and the lowest bid has touched INR...
Weekly Update: Draft guidelines for batch one of phase two of the NSM released, serious concerns remain
30 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has today announced draft guidelines (refer) for setting up of 750 MW solar PV capacity under Phase 2, Batch 1 of the National Solar Mission (NSM). Viability Gap Funding will be provided with an upper limit of 30% of...
Goodbye NSM 2013?
29 January 2013 | Akhilesh Magal
Mr. Akhilesh Magal is the Head of Project Development at BRIDGE TO INDIA. The government recently delayed announcing the NSM Phase 2 for lack of funds. In this blog post I discuss why the phase 2 may not see the light in 2013. The underlying reasons are: The...
Weekly Update: Scaling back of government subsidies set to shake up the Indian solar market
29 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Jasmeet Khurana , Market Intelligence Consultant at BRIDGE TO INDIA, works on project performance benchmarking, success factors for module sales, financing and bankability of projects in India. Curbing the fiscal deficit has become a key priority in India....
Weekly Update: Privatization of power distribution can create a better atmosphere for adoption of solar power
23 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Jasmeet Khurana, Market Intelligence Consultant at BRIDGE TO INDIA, works on project performance benchmarking, success factors for module sales, financing and bankability of projects in India. Solar in India will, in the medium term, benefit mostly from the...
What makes the solar cowboys ride?
15 January 2013 | Jasmeet Khurana
Mr. Akhilesh Magal heads the Project Development team as Senior Consultant at BRIDGE TO INDIA. In an earlier blog post, my colleague Tobias Engelmeier suggested that the Indian market is for players...
The market this quarter: The January 2013 edition of the INDIA SOLAR COMPASS
31 December 2012 | Jasmeet Khurana
BRIDGE TO INDIA provides a precise, analytical and in-depth update on the Indian solar market every quarter as a part of its INDIA SOLAR COMPASS. This is an excerpt from the January 2013 edition of the INDIA SOLAR COMPASS. The previous quarter (October to December 2012) has seen a flurry of new solar policy...
The call of sirens: Is India really a good solar market?
28 December 2012 | Tobias Engelmeier
Dr. Tobias Engelmeier is Founder and Managing Director at BRIDGE TO INDIA. No doubt: the Indian solar market has strong fundamentals. Irradiation is very high, power is expensive and in short supply. Solar is getting cheaper. In addition, there are now a host of new policies (NSM phase II, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, etc. –...
Finally, a manual to understand the challenges of project development in India
20 December 2012 | Akhilesh Magal
Mr. Akhilesh Magal heads the Project Development team as Senior Consultant at BRIDGE TO INDIA. Since the announcement of the National Solar Mission (NSM) in early 2010, there has been considerable development in the Indian solar market. The Indian solar market...
Why the CERCs proposal to extend the validity of RECs is not a long-term solution
20 December 2012 | Akhilesh Magal
Mr. Akhilesh Magal heads the Project Development team as Senior Consultant at BRIDGE TO INDIA. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has proposed to extend the validity of RECs beyond the current period of one year. The petition is listed for...
RPOs v/s SPOs in Tamil Nadu – Whose obligations are they anyway?
12 December 2012 | Akhilesh Magal
The Tamil Nadu State Solar Policy (TNSSP) aims at achieving 500 MW till 2015 through the Solar Power Obligations (SPOs) mechanism (Read BRIDGE TO INDIA’s policy brief on Tamil Nadu for the complete analysis on the policy). SPOs are enforced on High Tension (HT) consumers of power...
