02 March 2015 | Tobias Engelmeier
On the 28th of February, India’s finance minister has presented the widely anticipated first full budget of the new Modi government. After all the fanfare around growing the Indian solar market including at the recent RE-INVEST, the industry was expecting if not real boost to the sector, at least a clear directional step towards creating a sustainable and fast growing solar market. This...
29 January 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
In a US-India joint statement released yesterday (26th January 2015), the US reiterated its intent to support India’s proposed targets on clean energy and climate change. The statement includes seven measures: expanding Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), expanding Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment (PACE-D), accelerating clean energy...
20 January 2015 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Ever since the new government was sworn in, India has been making all the right noises about its ambitions for solar power. Both Prime Minister Modi, and the Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Mr. Goyal, seem determined to achieve an ambitious target of 100 GW by 2020. After the headline items have been absorbed and expectations have risen, it is now time for delivery. They have their work...
29 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Indian solar market went through its share of ups and downs in 2014. Last week, we tried to summarize key events of the year and their impact on the market (refer). In this newsletter, we applaud key stakeholders and initiatives...
23 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
As 2014 draws to a close, it is useful to look back and summarize how the Indian solar market as shaped up over the past one year. The mood of the Indian solar market in 2014 can broadly be divided into two distinct halves; pre 22nd August and post 22nd August. No, 22nd August was not the day when the new Modi government was sworn in. It was the day when the new government decided not to act on...
16 December 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
06 December 2014 | Mudit Jain
India’s new government has been very bullish on growing solar. Plans are underway to revise the National Solar Mission (NSM) target to 100 GW by 2022. There is a lively debate in the industry about the achievability of the targets and about the best ways to reach them. Now, it transpired that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) wants to increase solar Renewable Purchase Obligation...
11 November 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced revised subsidy benchmarks for various off-grid and decentralized solar applications (refer). The subsidy amounts have been fixed in absolute Rupee terms instead of as...
04 November 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Last week, Karnataka opened financial bids for 500 MW solar PV projects, just a few days after financial bids for another 500 MW solar PV projects were opened in Andhra Pradesh. The bidding process in both the states was based on reverse bidding: on the basis of flat tariff in Karnataka; 3% escalation per year until the 10th year in Andhra Pradesh. The median winning bid in Karnataka is INR...
20 October 2014 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Statements by Mr. Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), suggest that the government is thinking about a “Renewable Energy Act 2015” to create a comprehensive framework for investment in the sector (refer). Such an act would be a part of...
