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Ministry of New & Renewable Energy

India May Withdraw Support For Renewable Energy By 2022

written by saurabh

Indian government’s think tank has proposed in the National Energy Policy to withdraw all incentives available to the renewable energy sector to be withdrawn gradually with none available from 2022.

According to media reports, quoting senior government officials, market forces will be allowed to determine the price and position of renewable energy sources within the Indian power mix after 2022. The government believes that with prices already falling to below conventional energy prices the renewable energy sector would not require any support for long.

India has set a target to have 175 gigawatts operational renewable energy capacity by March 2022, a target that will most certainly be missed by a considerable margin.

Wind and solar power projects currently enjoy policy benefits but no major direct financial benefits, except rooftop solar power projects. Transmission of electricity from wind and solar power projects has been exempted from the levy of inter-state transmission charges.

Additionally, theoretically, wind and solar power project enjoy ‘must run’ status – utilities must procure electricity from solar and wind energy projects even if they have to shut down thermal power projects. This directive from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, however, is not always followed as several state utilities have been reported to forced wind and solar power developers to back-down on generation.

Utilities across India are also obligated to procure a set minimum percentage of renewable energy. The government may abolish that requirement as well after 2022. This could prove disastrous for the renewable energy sector as even today an overwhelming majority of utilities fail to meet their renewable energy procurement targets.

Image by vectoropenstock.com for Cleantechies

July 30, 2017 0 comment

New Record-low Tariff Expected As Indian Wind Energy Tender Is Over-subscribed Three Times

written by saurabh

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) responsible to conduct wind energy auctions in India has seen tremendous response to the latest 1 gigawatt tender.

According to media reports, project developers have placed bids to set up a total of 2,898 megawatts against an offered capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The actual auction will take place soon, following some clarifications from the central regulator. This is the second wind energy auction undertaken in India at the central government level. The first auction took place in February this year.

The tender was oversubscribed with total 13 developers submitted bids equivalent to 2.6 gigawatts in comparison to 1 gigawatts bids called for. Bids were received from major giants including Adani Power, Hero Future Energies, Renew Power and Inox Wind. Most of the developers i.e. 69% bid to set up projects in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The first-ever wind energy auction in India yielded the lowest-ever tariffs of Rs 3.46/kWh (5.2¢/kWh). Four companies – Mytrah Energy, Green Infra (owned by Sembcorp), Inox Wind and Ostro Energy were awarded 250 megawatts capacity each while Adani Green Energy secured rights to develop 50 megawatts capacity. This tariff is significantly lower than the tariffs currently being paid by various power distribution companies across India.

At least four developers that won projects in the first auction – Inox Wind, Green Infra, Mytrah Energy, and Adani Green Energy – have submitted bids to set up 250 megawatt capacity each in the second auction as well. Some of the other major players in the Indian market to have submitted bids include ReNew Power Ventures, Orange Renewable, Continuum Energy and Hero Future Energies. Enel Green Energy is also believed to have submitted a bid.

All but two project developers have reportedly mentioned Tamil Nadu or Gujarat as the host state for the projects.

With such a huge response to the tender experts believe that tariff bids could drop to a new low. With the success of such competitive auctions the state governments, too, have decided to launch their own auctions. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have launched their respective tenders under the state government’s policy to meet renewable purchase obligation.

With the sharp fall in tariff bids compared to the prevailing feed-in tariffs for wind energy projects, several state governments have refused to sign power purchase agreements with under-construction or soon-to-be-commissioned wind projects.

July 25, 2017 0 comment

Indian State Generates Record Wind Power, Forced To Shut Thermal Power Projects

written by saurabh

The monsoon season in India brings with it very high wind speeds, especially in the southern part of country. This year it has enabled record wind power generation in at least one of the states.

Tamil Nadu reported highest-ever wind energy generation in the country. The state experienced more than 5,000 megawatts of wind power for more than 2 hours on 11 July. The highest wind generation was recorded at 7 in the evening as 5,079 megawatts.

The high wind energy generation forced the state utility to shutdown 1,020 megawatts of thermal power capacity and operate several other power plants at half of their capacity.

With a total demand of less than 14,000 megawatts on 11 July evening, wind power fulfilled more than a third of the total demand. The total energy generated from wind energy projects that day was 84.5 million kWh, which translates into 28% of the total electricity consumed in the state. The electricity generation was slightly lower than the all-time record of 99.5 million kWh.

Tamil Nadu has the largest installed wind energy capacity among all Indian states. The state has had several transmission issues, especially during the monsoon season, for absorbing all the wind energy generated. But the situation seems to have improved significantly now as has been demonstrated by the high share of wind energy procurement.

Things may have also improved due to an advisory issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which termed solar and wind energy projects as ‘must run’. This means that state utilities are obligated to procure electricity from renewable energy projects even if they have to shutdown thermal power plants.

July 15, 2017 0 comment

Another Indian State Launches 500 Megawatt Wind Energy Tender

written by saurabh

The massive response to the country’s first-ever wind energy auction has prompted Indian states to switch from feed-in tariff mechanism to competitive auctions.

After Gujarat, now Tamil Nadu has also issued a tender to auction 500 megawatts of wind energy capacity. This marks a major shift in India’s wind energy market which is also the largest contributor to its renewable energy capacity with a share of 56%. Tamil Nadu leads all states in terms of installed wind energy capacity.

Tamil Nadu aims to allocate 500 megawatt wind energy capacity in order to secure enough electricity to meet its renewable purchase obligation wherein all power utilities are required to source a set minimum percentage of electricity from renewable energy projects. At the national level India targets share of renewable energy at 15% of total electricity consumption by March 2022.

The maximum bid that can be submitted by a project developer for the tender is Rs 3.46/kWh (5.4¢/kWh) the tariff discovered in the first-ever wind energy auction in India. The auction was organised by the Solar Energy Corporation of India earlier this year.

The tender was oversubscribed with total 13 developers submitted bids equivalent to 2.6 gigawatts in comparison to 1 gigawatts bids called for. Bids were received from major giants including Adani Power, Hero Future Energies, Renew Power and Inox Wind. Most of the developers i.e. 69% bid to set up projects in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Mytrah Energy, Green Infra, Inox Wind, Ostro Energy and Adani Group were the successful bidders grabbing a total of 1,050 megawatt capacity at a tariff of Rs 3.46/kWh.

The auction route would be highly beneficial to the power utility of Tamil Nadu. Like several other utilities in India Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) regularly faces financial issues and delays payments to project developers.

With the benchmark set at Rs 3.46/kWh (5.4¢/kWh) TANGEDCO will get at least 16.8% discount over the prevailing feed-in tariff in the state.

Already, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat has directed their power utilities not to sign power purchase agreements with wind energy project developers at feed-in tariffs. Gujarat recently floated a tender to acquire 500 megawatts wind energy.

The state tenders will complement the aggressive push by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy at the central level.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has announced that it will auction 4,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity this financial year, i.e. by March 2018. The agency shall offer this capacity to prospective project developers in multiple trenches. SECI is also expected to launch wind energy tenders of 5,000-6,000 megawatts every year till 2022.

India plans to have installed wind energy capacity of 60 gigawatts by March 2022, these auctions are will be aligned to achieve this goal. India’s current installed wind energy capacity stands at just over 32 gigawatts.

June 23, 2017 0 comment

India Can Add 300,000 Renewable Energy Jobs In Five Years, But Likely Won’t

written by saurabh

In its attempt to meet some of the most aggressive capacity addition targets, India could add around 300,000 new jobs in the renewable energy sector, a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council states.

Authors of the report ‘Greening India’s Workforce: Gearing Up For Expansion of Solar and Wind Power in India’, claim that more than 300,000 jobs would be created in India’s solar and wind energy sectors over the next five years. The authors also estimate that an additional 45,000 jobs can be created in the solar module manufacturing market.

The report notes that India plans to have an installed solar power capacity of 100 gigawatts and wind energy capacity of 60 gigawatts by March 2022. The government has set yearly capacity addition targets which are likely to fuel the jobs growth. The rooftop solar power market is expected to contribute the most to this jobs growth.

According to the authors of the reports, rooftop solar power projects have the highest employment coefficient or job-years per megawatt of 24.7 while ground-mounted solar power projects and wind energy projects have the values as 3.45 and 1.27, respectively.

Too Optimistic Projections

The authors have assumed that 60 gigawatts of ground-mounted and 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar power projects would be added by March 2022, meaning that India would achieve its set targets. This, however, looks highly unlikely.

India missed the capacity addition target for solar power capacity in 2016-17 by as much as 54%. Against a target of 12 gigawatts, only 5.5 gigawatt capacity was added between April 2016 and March 2017. The government now hopes to add 10 gigawatts capacity in 2017-18.

The government also seems to have bitten more than it could possibly chew with its rooftop capacity target of 40 gigawatts. But the government seems to have realised this and increased its utility-scale solar power capacity target. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy doubled its target to set up large-scale solar power parks from 20 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts while keeping the overall target at 100 gigawatts. Understandably, this would mean that some part of the rooftop target would be met by solar power parks.

The estimated additional 45,000 jobs from the solar modules manufacturing sector seem a mirage in the current scheme of things. Domestic manufacturers are distressed due to low demand owning to the sharp fall in Chinese module prices. If India is to sustain the cheap solar tariffs it has seen in the recent months the government will have to incentivise the domestic manufacturers.

Officials of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy themselves have acknowledged that the capacity targets are quite ambitious. Still, whatever India could add would definitely break records, nationally and globally. A significant number of jobs would be created, even if not as many as estimated in the report.

June 22, 2017 0 comment

India Extends Exemption Of Transmission Charge For Solar Power Projects

written by saurabh

In a bid to push solar power tariffs even lower and incentivising as many states as possible to procure electricity from large-scale solar power projects through long-term agreements, the Indian government has extended a crucial incentive linked to inter-state transmission of electricity.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy recently announced that solar power projects commissioned by 31 December 2019 will be exempt from paying inter-state transmission charge. The initial deadline to avail this exemption was 30 June 2017.

The exemption is critical for states planning to procure electricity from projects located in others. Several companies are also looking to procure electricity from solar power parks.

The lowest solar power tariff in India currently stands at Rs 2.44/kWh which is cheaper than 92% of the operational coal-based power plants in the country. Apart from the falling module prices, aggressive targets and regulatory measures such as this exemption have played a major role in the steep fall in tariff bids.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Rewa solar power park located 800 kilometres away. Similarly, Noida Metro and Coal India are also planning to set up solar power parks in Madhya Pradesh. Recently, Uttar Pradesh proposed to set up a 750 megawatt solar park in neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

The extension will also compliment the Green Energy Corridors project undertaken by the Power Grid Corporation of India to facilitate easy transmission of electricity generated from renewable energy projects across India.

June 21, 2017 0 comment

End Of Wind Energy Feed-in Tariffs In India?

written by saurabh

With the Indian government planning to organised an increasing number of reverse auctions for wind energy projects, several states are rethinking whether to continue with the feed-in tariffs at all.

Karnataka has become the latest state to ask its power utilities not to sign any new power purchase agreements with wind energy developers at feed-in tariffs. Regulatory bodies in Indian state have asked power utilities to procure wind energy only up to the renewable purchase obligation targets and no more.

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission had set the feed-in tariff for wind energy projects as Rs 4.50/kWh (7.0¢/kWh) till October 2018. However, the recent auction conducted by the central government saw developers willing to pay as low as Rs 3.46/kWh (5.4¢/kWh). According to media reports, the commission believes a tariff of Rs 3.61/kWh (5.6¢/kWh) is more acceptable.

States of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have declined to sign any fresh power purchase agreements with wind energy project developers. The power distribution companies in these states have expressed reluctance to the respective regulatory bodies in signing PPAs at feed-in tariffs higher than the recently discovered tariffs.

Four companies – Mytrah Energy, Green Infra (owned by Sembcorp), Inox Wind and Ostro Energy were awarded 250 megawatts capacity each while Adani Green Energy secured rights to develop 50 megawatts capacity.

India plans to have an installed wind energy capacity of 60 gigawatts by March 2022 while the current installed capacity is just over 32 gigawatts. To achieve that target, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy shall auction five to six gigawatts capacity every year. One gigawatt capacity has already been auctioned while the Ministry is expected to put on the block an additional four gigawatts capacity by March 2018.

June 18, 2017 0 comment

Indian State Of Uttar Pradesh Plans 750 Megawatts Of Solar Power Project

written by saurabh

The unprecedented success of Rewa and Bhadla solar power auctions has promoted several Indian states to undertake similar auctions.

Now, Uttar Pradesh is planning to acquire 750 megawatts solar power from a project located within the Bhadla solar power park in neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

Officials of the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation, the Solar Energy Corporation of India and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will soon chalk out the terms of auction.

The power generated at Bhadla solar power park will be transmitted to power utilities in Uttar Pradesh at no additional charges as the MNRE has exempted solar and wind energy projects from inter-state transmission and wheeling charges.

This off-site model of solar power procurement has been in practice for a while now. The state of Haryana had auctioned projects that would be installed in Rajasthan. Better solar radiation, availability of barren land and existing transmission infrastructure makes Rajasthan an apt location to set up large-scale solar power projects.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation signed agreement to procure electricity generated at Rewa solar power park in Madhya, nearly 800 kilometres away. A Delhi-based utility also signed an agreement with SunEdison to procure electricity from a 180 megawatts solar power project that was supposed to come up in Madhya Pradesh.

The Indian government’s project of Green Energy Corridors promotes such off-site project development. It encourages states deficient in renewable energy resources to procure electricity through dedicated transmission lines.

May 27, 2017 0 comment

India Issues Draft Rules For Solar Module Quality

written by saurabh

In an attempt to ensure longevity of solar power projects and, perhaps, take greater control of the equipment used, India has issued draft rules for quality standards of solar modules and inverters.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently released the draft rules, which have also been communicated to members of the World Trade Organization. The draft outline the obligations of the module and inverter manufacturers and the specific quality standards for various types of modules.

This draft could not have come at a better time. Solar power bids are at record lows with growing concerns over the quality of solar modules being used by project developers who quote record low bids I’m every new tender.

Solar power bids in India collapsed by 26% in a matter of three months in conjugation with the steep fall in module prices. Yet, many are not convinced if falling module prices and cheaper funding justify the never-seen-before bids.

A big reason for the collapse in bid prices, according to industry sources is the jump in imports from China. In addition to modules, inverters and other equipment are being imported from China in massive volumes. The thermal power equipment manufacturers in India have voiced their concerns about the predatory prices and poor quality of Chinese imports on several occasions. Same concerns are now being raised about solar imports.

Setting standards for solar power equipment could also help Indian manufacturers expand their presence in the Indian market. Indian module manufacturers have been left behind in the race to low solar power bids as they are unable to match the Chinese prices. Perhaps, through the introduction of quality standards the Indian government would be able to provide an indirect support to these companies.

India decided not to levy import duties on imported modules, a common practice in Europe, the US and China. It, instead, pushed for mandatory use of Indian-made modules for some projects. This strategy took a hit when the US secured a judgement from the WTO against it last year.

May 23, 2017 0 comment

India Nearly Doubles Solar Power Capacity In FY2016-17, Misses Target By 54%

written by saurabh

India recorded its highest-ever solar power capacity addition in financial year 2016-17 and yet missed out on the targeted capacity addition by a massive 54%.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India has reported that a record 5,526 megawatts of solar power capacity was added in the country between April 2016 and March 2017. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy is yet to report the figures on its own website but it has communicated the same to the CEA.

With the record capacity addition took the cumulative solar power capacity in India to 12,289 megawatts as on 31 March 2017, an impressive jump of 82%. Even more the impressive is the pace of capacity addition in March 2017, the last month of the financial year. Between April 2016 and February 2017 a total of 2,804 megawatts capacity was added while 2,722 megawatts capacity was added during March 2017 itself.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy had set a target of 12,000 megawatts solar power capacity addition in FY2016-17. Despite the huge shortfall from the target ministry officials were optimistic given the record capacity addition. In FY2015-16, the ministry had set a target to add 1,400 megawatt solar power capacity while 3,019 megawatts capacity was added.

Rating agency ICRA now expects that an estimated 7.5 gigawatt solar power capacity would likely be added in the current financial year. Consultancy firm Mercom Capital Group expects almost 10 gigawatts capacity addition in the calendar year 2017.

April 30, 2017 0 comment

India Added Twice As Much Renewable Energy As Coal Power Capacity In 2016-17

written by saurabh

India witnessed an extraordinary milestone in its power sector, something one would not expect in a developing country and one which is heavily dependent on coal for power generation.

India added more renewable energy capacity than thermal power capacity in financial year 2016-17, the Central Electricity Authority of India has reported. The renewable energy capacity added during the period April 2016 to March 2017 was nearly twice as much as the thermal power capacity added during the same period.

A total of 6,990 megawatt coal-based power capacity was added in India in FY2016-17 while the thermal power capacity addition during the financial year stood at 7,655 megawatts. In comparison, 14,140 megawatts of renewable energy capacity was added in the same period.

Wind and solar power were the largest contributors among the renewable energy technologies in terms of capacity addition in FY2016-17. A total of 5,413 megawatts of wind energy capacity was added, the highest-ever in India’s history. Solar power capacity addition stood at 5,526 megawatts, also the highest-ever in India.

The share of renewable energy capacity in India’s total installed capacity increased from 14.2% at the end of FY2015-16 to 17.5% at the end of FY2016-17. India targets 40% share of renewable energy technologies in the installed capacity mix by 2030.

This could very well be the first instance when India added more renewable energy capacity than thermal power capacity. However, this would certainly not be the last given the strong pipeline of wind and solar power projects waiting to be commissioned over the next few months.

A record 10 gigawatt of solar power capacity is expected to be added in calendar year 2017 and 6 gigawatts of wind energy capacity is expected to be added in FY2017-18. The thermal power sector in India is already feeling the pinch of increase generation capacity in the renewable energy sector. Last year, the Central Electricity Authority reported that thermal power plants were operating at a plant load factor of just 50% due to the increase power generation from renewable energy projects.

April 30, 2017 0 comment

India Likely To Add Almost 10 Gigawatts Solar Power This Year

written by saurabh

The Indian solar power market is expected to see another record capacity addition this year as several large-scale power projects are lined up for commissioning.

According to India-based consultancy Mercom Capital Group, almost 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity is expected to be commissioned in 2017. The group expects just over 9,000 megawatts of utility-scale and almost 800 megawatts of rooftop solar power capacity to be added this year.

Mercom also reported that an estimated 4,311 megawatt solar power capacity was added in 2016. The 130% expected jump in installed capacity this year will make India the third-largest solar power market in the world. India’s total installed solar power capacity touched 12.8 gigawatts as on 31 March 2017. Mercom estimates a pipeline of 12.6 gigawatts capacity under development and an additional 6.1 gigawatts capacity ready to be auctioned.

Southern states have already seen several cycles of competitive auctions in a span of few months and, understandably, have large capacities under development. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are already among the leading states in terms of installed capacity and are reported to have more than 2 gigawatts of capacity under operational.

In February 2017 India generated more than 1 billion kWh of solar power for the first time-ever. Compared to the same month last year the power generated in February 2017 was 80% higher. Solar power generation in the southern states increased from 175 million kWh in February 2016 to 649 million kWh in February 2017. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka reported four times jump each in the power generation. Tamil Nadu, home to the largest solar power project in India, reported 173% increase in power generation.

The Indian solar power market is growing at a very rapid pace with no signs of slowing down. Increased support from the government and competitiveness among developers has resulted in a 73% collapse in tariff bids between 2010 and 2017 with bids falling by 27% between 2016 and 2017.

India had set a target to add 12 gigawatts solar power capacity between April 2016 and March 2017. According to data provided by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy only 2.8 gigawatts was added between April 2016 and February 2017.

April 30, 2017 0 comment

India Plans 4,000 Megawatts Wind Energy Tender This Year

written by saurabh

Following the massive success of the first-ever wind energy tender, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India is planning to launch another tender this year four times the size.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has announced that it will auction 4,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity this financial year, i.e. by March 2018. The agency shall offer this capacity to prospective project developers in multiple trenches. SECI is also expected to launch wind energy tenders of 5,000-6,000 megawatts every year till 2022.

India added a record 5,400 megawatt wind energy capacity was added during the financial year 2016-17 (April 2016 to March 2017). This is 35% more than the envisaged target of 4,000 megawatts set at the start of the financial year. Between April 2016 and February 2017, a total of 2,374 megawatts of wind energy capacity was added. In March 2017 alone the capacity addition jumped to 3,026 megawatts.

Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) recently stated that a record 6,000 megawatts wind energy capacity is expected to be added in financial year 2017-18 which will be 11% higher than the 5,400 megawatt capacity added in 2016-17, also a record.

The first-ever wind energy auction in India yielded the lowest-ever tariffs of Rs 3.46/kWh (5.2¢/kWh). Four companies – Mytrah Energy, Green Infra (owned by Sembcorp), Inox Wind and Ostro Energy were awarded 250 megawatts capacity each while Adani Green Energy secured rights to develop 50 megawatts capacity.

April 23, 2017 0 comment

India Issues Draft Guidelines For Wind Energy Auctions

written by saurabh

In an effort to incentivise power distribution companies to increase procurement of wind power the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India plans to implement a wind energy auction roadmap.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy recently issued draft guidelines for auction of wind energy projects and sought comments from various stakeholders. The guidelines are similar to the ones mentioned in the tender documents of the first-ever wind energy auction held in February this year.

As per the proposals of the Ministry, any wind energy developer can bid for minimum 5 megawatts capacity at a single site and at least 25 megawatts capacity in an auction. The power distribution company looking to acquire electricity is free to choose the tariff structure for the auction.

The power purchase agreement shall not be for less than 25 years. In case of under-performance by the wind energy project the developer shall have be liable to penalties.

Significantly for the project developers, the guidelines also specifically mention clauses related to payment security. Non-payment of dues is perhaps the biggest challenge the Indian renewable energy sector faces today. Payment security measures proposed by the Indian government would lend much needed support to the project developers. These measures could include a Payment Security Fund and guarantees issued by the state governments themselves.

Project developers may also receive compensation if they are unable to feed the grid due to lack of adequate transmission capacity at any given time. This will help address another major challenge faced by the renewable energy projects which are often forced to reduce generation by power distribution companies.

The sharp fall in tariffs discovered through the auction have resulted in several states backing-out from commitments to sign new power purchase agreements. Power distribution companies in the states of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have declined to sign any fresh PPAs with wind energy project developers. The power distribution companies in these states have expressed reluctance to the respective regulatory bodies in signing PPAs at feed-in tariffs higher than the recently discovered tariffs.

April 18, 2017 0 comment

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