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National Solar Mission

India Officially Doubles Solar Parks Target To 40 Gigawatts

written by saurabh

The Indian government has confirmed that it will ho ahead with a second phase of the solar power park program.

The announcement made by the Minister of Finance in the union budget speech for financial year 2017-18. India will increase the planned capacity addition under solar power park program from 20 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, along with the Solar Energy Corporation of India, has already identified several solar power projects with cumulative capacity of 20 gigawatts. Under the second phase an additional 20 gigawatts capacity will be added.

While the existing solar power park program has been expanded the overall installed capacity target remains the same at 100 gigawatts by March 2022.

This could essentially mean that the government recognises that the planned capacity addition of 40 gigawatts under rooftop solar segment may be too large a target.

Recent auctions for solar power parks have received huge response with tariff bids falling sharply nearly each time.

Distribution utilities remain unprepared for rooftop solar power systems and consumers too seem unaware about the benefits of the such power systems.

Large-scale solar power parks, on the other hand, have numerous advantages. Low cost, large generation potential and one-time investment in power evacuation infrastructure.

02/12/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

RenewSys Launches 100 MW Solar Cell Production Line

written by saurabh

RenewSys India Private Limited has started production at its newly commissioned 100 MW solar cell manufacturing line.

The company reported that the new production line is high automated and has been installed with the help of German consultancy Solsol GmbH. The company had announced plans to significantly increase its solar cell production capacity earlier this year.

RenewSys had a 30 MW line operational before this new line was commissioned. In January the company had announced that it would give a repeat order of 100 MW to further increase the production capacity. The company eventually aims to increase its solar cell production capacity to 500 MW per year.

Following the government-backed push for solar power, several module manufacturers have announced plans to increase their production capacity while some companies have plans to enter the solar equipment manufacturing sector.

India is looking to offer a financial support package of $3.1 billion to solar power equipment manufacturing sector. The support, possibly in the form capital cost support, could be offered on per MW basis.

11/30/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Chinese Modules Continue To Dominate Indian Solar Power Market

written by saurabh

As Indian project developers continue to expand their installed capacity base, import of cheaper solar power modules continues to increase.

According to Mercom Capital, import of solar power modules in India increased sharply. Project developers imported solar modules worth US$763 million between April and August 2016, an increase of 53% from imports worth US$497 million during the same period last year.

Share of modules from China also increased sharply. Chinese modules accounted for 85% of the total modules imported in India, followed by Malaysia at distant 9%; modules from Taiwan, the US and Singapore accounted for 3% to 1% each.

In financial year 2014-15 (April 2014 to March 2015), India imported 161.5 million with 70% of them coming from China. During the preceding financial year, the share of Chinese modules in total imports was 65%.

Import of Chinese modules has increased sharply over the last few years as project developers continue to compete aggressively with each other for solar power projects.

The regulatory push from the government for solar power market has also helped domestic manufacturers increase their production and exports. Exports of Indian solar cells and modules increased from US$27.5 million to US$45.6 million.

Solar cell manufacturing capacity in India has increased from 1,216 MW in June 2014 to 1,468 MW in June 2016. Growth in the solar PV module manufacturing capacity has been much greater than that in the solar cell manufacturing sector. From an installed capacity base of 2,348 MW in June 2014, the module manufacturing capacity has increased by nearly three times to 6,848 MW. The capacity utilisation has also increased from 28% to around 74%.

11/30/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

1.5 GW Solar Power Parks Approved In Maharashtra, India

written by saurabh

The Indian government has sanction three solar power parks, or ultra mega solar power projects, in the western state of Maharashtra.

Maharashtra state officials told Indian media outlets that approval for three solar power projects has been secured from the central government. Each of these projects will have installed capacity of 500 MW and shall be spread in different districts of the state.

The state government seems to have zeroed down on the specific sites for the projects. Each project will be spread over 2,500 acres of land. The projects are likely to be auctioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as it has already done in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, among others.

SECI currently lists 34 such solar power parks across the country that have received in-principle approval. The cumulative capacity of these solar power parks is 20 GW. The solar power park program is linked to the green energy corridors project that will see installation of dedicated transmission lines for large renewable energy projects. These transmission lines shall enable supply of electricity from states rich in renewable energy generation to other states.

In June, it was reported that Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is reportedly planning to implement a second phase of the solar parks program. Initially, the capacity addition planned through ultra mega solar power projects was 20 GW, the ministry is now considering to double that.

Maharashtra, through its state policy, plans to set up 7.5 GW of solar power capacity by 2020.

11/30/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Tariff Bids For Domestic Content Solar Projects In India Falls To Lowest-ever

written by saurabh

Even as India lost review of an earlier WTO decision that found mandatory use of Indian-made solar equipment against international norms, leading project developers in the country placed lowest-ever bids for projects based on domestic content requirement.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auctioned off two solar power projects at one of the largest solar power parks in the country. Tata Power Renewable Energy and Adani Green Energy secured rights to develop projects of 50 MW capacity each. The projects shall form part of the Pavagada solar power park in Karnataka.

Both the projects are required to use only Indian-made solar power equipment, including modules. The companies placed bids of less than Rs 5.00/kWh (US$7.5/kWh), the lowest-ever for projects auctioned under the Domestic Content Requirement scheme.

The Pavagada solar power park is still in its very initial stages of development. While a total capacity of 5 GW has been proposed, plans for only 2 GW have been shared in the public so far.

NTPC auctioned 500 MW capacity for the solar park. The capacity was allocated to six developers who are free to choose Indian or imported solar power modules for their projects. Adani Power, Tata Power Renewable Energy and Fortum India secured 100 MW capacity each at tariff of Rs 4.79/kWh (US¢7.9/kWh).

09/28/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India Auctions 450 MW Solar Capacity Under Capital Cost Support Scheme

written by saurabh

Solar Energy Corporation of India has auctioned another batch of projects under the Viability Gap Funding scheme.

A total of 450 MW solar power capacity was auctioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in the western state of Maharashtra. The auction took placed under the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) program wherein bidders quote minimum capital cost support they would need to set up the power projects.

In the current auction, tariff was fixed at Rs 4.43/kWh (US¢6.6/kWh) with power purchase agreement with SECI for a period of 25 years. A total of seven companies were allocated capacity between 10 MW and 130 MW.

The lowest bid was placed by a company names Vijay Printing Press which secured a 10 MW project at a tariff bid of Rs 4.42/kWh and did not sought any financial support. All other winners secured projects at the fixed tariff of Rs 4.43/kWh and sought capital cost support between US$28,503/MW and US$29,988/MW.

The largest capacity, of 130 MW, was secured by a company named Solar Edge Power and Energy at US$28,503/MW. Interestingly, two foreign companies also secured large capacities. UK-based Lightsource won rights to develop 50 MW capacity while Canadian Solar will develop 80 MW capacity.

Lightsource had announced last year that it will invest in India’s solar power market following an agreement signed by the company with the Indian government. The company had announced plans to set up 3 GW of solar power capacity at a total investment of $3 billion.

09/26/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

SoftBank, SkyPower Global Eye Share In 1 GW Solar Power Park In India

written by saurabh

A number of Indian and foreign project developers are looking to set up projects under the planned 1 GW solar power park in the Indian state of Odisha.

According to media reports, interested developers include SoftBank-led SB Energy and Canada-based SkyPower Global. Among the Indian developers looking to set up projects are Azure Power, Panchvaktra Holdings, Orange Renewable and Shapoorji Pallonji.

Last year, the government of Odisha has announced plans to set up 1 GW solar power park spread over 5,000 acres of land. The state would acquire 20% of the electricity generated while the developers shall be free to sell the balance in open market, perhaps one of the reasons for such great interest shown by these companies.

Under the public partnership model, Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation would be the nodal agency for implementation of the solar park. GEDCOL would partner with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for development of this park.

Auction of projects that will form part of the solar power park will likely by conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) which also recently auctioned 270 MW solar power capacity in the state.

09/24/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India To Auction Another 150 MW At Gujarat’s Charanka Solar Park

written by saurabh

Solar Energy Corporation of India continues to take steps to further increase the capacity of one of India’s largest solar power park.

Another tender of 150 MW has been floated by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the Charanka solar power park. The tender will offer the capacity in project size of 50 MW each.

The prospective project developers will be free to source the solar equipment and modules from Indian or foreign manufacturers. The solar power park already has an installed base of 345 MW while SECI has auctioned an additional 265 MW capacity recently.

In June this year, two projects of 40 MW capacity each were secured by government-owned Gujarat Industries Power Limited. The company sought capital cost support of Rs 67.99 lakhs/MW (US$101,810/MW) and Rs 69.75/lakhs per MW (US$104,446). The total capacity cost for the project is expected to be around Rs 5.30 crore/MW (US$793,640/MW).

Another 40 MW project was secured by renewable energy IPP Orange Renewables which quoted a bid of Rs 70.25 lakhs/MW (US$105,344/MW).

Two 40 MW projects have reportedly been allocated to Mahindra Renewables, part of the Mahindra & Mahindra industrial conglomerate. One of the projects is to be developed using Indian-made solar PV modules only. Interestingly, the company placed the same bids for both the projects – Rs 77.77 lakhs/MW (US$116,455/MW).

Last month, SECI auctioned 65 MW solar PV power capacity in the Charanka solar power park, Gujarat. Indian project developers ReNew Power Ventures and Mahindra Renewables secured 40 MW and 25 MW capacity, respectively. ReNew Power Ventures quoted a bid of Rs 7.01 million (US$104,700) per MW while Mahindra Renewables placed a bid of Rs 7.77 million (US$115,892) per MW. The developers shall be free to choose imported or Indian-made modules.

09/23/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Mountainous Terrain Puts 1 GW Indian Solar Power Project In Limbo

written by saurabh

While some large solar power projects in the southern region of India continue to make significant progress, some in the northern region are facing uncertain future.

According to media reports, work on a 1 GW solar power park in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh has been hit by doubts over the viability of the project.

Officials working on the project have to revealed that it is economically unviable to set up a transmission line in the area to evacuate 1000 MW of solar power. The project was planned in the mountainous district of Spiti.

Power transmission company Power Grid has stated that it is not possible to set up a transmission line over such a difficult terrain. The company had earlier raised similar issues regarding a transmission project for 5 GW solar power park in Ladakh district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Power Grid has been working on dedicated transmission projects for large-scale solar and wind energy projects around the country. The company has made substantial progress in setting such transmission lines in the southern states where large capacity of solar power capacity has already been auctioned.

The 5 GW project planned in Ladakh has already been scrapped and if the 1 GW project in Himachal Pradesh is also scrapped the supply of solar power to northern states will be seriously affected. In the northern region, only Rajasthan has ample land resource as well as a strong solar power policy.

09/20/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

ReneSola To Ship 1 GW Solar Power Modules To India In 2016-17

written by saurabh

India is slowly emerging as a major market for China-based solar power modules manufacturer ReneSola. The company is expected to ship more than 1 GW of modules during the current financial year.

According to Pradeep Sangwan, General Manager – ReneSola India, the company shipped 250 MW of solar power modules during the first half of calendar year 2016 and is expected to ship anther 450 MW by March 2017.

The company is looking to expand into the rapidly growing Indian solar market as it has incorporate a separate Indian subsidiary to service the local customers better. Shelley Xu, ReneSola’s vice president of module sales also stated that the company is now looking to increase sales to other emerging markets like Thailand and the Middle East.

ReneSola modules are being exhibited at the Renewable Energy Expo India where the management also stated that it plans to hire 25 employees as it looking to expand offer services across utility-scale, off-grid and rooftop solar power segments. The company intends to get registered in 16 Indian states which should further bring ease to business expansion and increase customer base beyond the existing 200 customers.

In 2012, ReneSola announced plans to supply 250 MW of locally-assembled modules in India. This business plan was likely pointed towards setting up a full-fledged manufacturing base in the country. Such a manufacturing capacity would not only help the company cater to the immense local demand, but also possibly bypass some of the anti-dumping duties levied on Chinese modules by the US and the EU.

The company may also be eligible to receive regulatory and financial incentives under the Make In India programme that encourages foreign companies to set up manufacturing units in India.

Image by vectoropenstock.com for Cleantechies

09/18/2016 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Indian State Of Punjab Issues 15 MW Canal-top Solar Power Tender

written by saurabh

The Indian state of Punjab has launched a tender to set up canal-top solar power projects as part of its ambitious solar power policy.

The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has issued tender to set up 15 MW canal-top solar power capacity in the state. The Punjab government had earlier announced an ambitious plan to set up 1 GW of canal-top solar power capacity over its large network of irrigation canals.

In order to incentivise project developers the government has announced a 30% subsidy in the project cost. Developers can bid for a minimum capacity of 2.5 MW and a maximum capacity of 7.5 MW.

The state government has announced a target to cover 5,000 km of canals across the state. Through this program, the government hopes to generate 15% of the state’s total electricity demand.

Canal and rooftop solar power projects are the only viable options for Punjab as it is an agricultural state and land availability for large-scale ground-mounted projects remains an issue. As a result, the state government has a relatively lower (compared to other states) capacity addition target of 2 GW.

Last month, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy reported progress on the various canal-top solar power projects being pursued across the country. The ministry sanctioned support for 50 MW canal-top solar power projects. Support for 20 MW capacity has been approved for projects in Punjab. Two projects of 2.5 MW capacity each have so far been auctioned, the ministry reported. Gujarat and Karnataka are each working on 10 MW canal-top capacity each.

The total cost of setting up 50 MW canal-top solar power capacity has been estimated at Rs 514 crore (US$77 million) which is around twice the cost of utility-scale solar power project on per MW basis.

09/17/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Coal India Announces 600 MW Solar Power Projects

written by saurabh

World’s largest coal mining company and government owned Coal India Limited recently announced the second phase of its solar power expansion plan.

According to media reports, the company announced plans to set up 600 MW solar power projects across four states. The company had earlier stated plans to set up 1 GW of solar power capacity across the country. During the first phase the company will set up two solar power projects of 100 MW capacity each in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The 600 MW capacity will be set in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. The capacity will be allocated through reverse auctions and tenders for have already been issued by the Solar Energy Corporation of India.

The 1,000 MW solar power target announced by Coal India is part of its ’green commitment’ to the government. The company shall have this capacity operational by 2019.

Another major coal mining company in India – NLC Limited – is also aggressively working on setting up solar power projects. Last month, the company announced that it started construction work on its third solar power project.

The construction of this project is part of company’s ambitious plan to establish 4,000 MW of solar power capacity in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Rajasthan. These projects would be implemented under the National Solar Mission scheme announced by the central government.

09/12/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India May Miss Solar Power Target This Year, Says Industry Body

written by saurabh

Doubts over whether India can achieve the solar power capacity addition target for the current financial year seem to be strengthening.

According to media reports, the president of Solar Energy Equipment Manufacturers Association of Telangana (SEEMAT) and chairman of Premier Solar Systems – a manufacturer of solar panels in India recently stated that the cumulative installed solar power capacity in the country will reach 15 GW by the end of the current financial year i.e., 31 March 2017.

This would mean an addition of around 8 GW between the period of April 2016 and March 2017. This addition, if achieved, will be a third less than the targeted capacity addition of 12 GW announced by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. Interestingly, however, no one seems to be bothered by this fact with SEEMAT claiming that this will be in-line with the government’s plan to have 100 GW installed solar power capacity by March 2022.

Last month, an Indian ratings agency also stated similar capacity addition numbers for the current financial year. CARE Ratings claimed that only 5.2 GW of solar power capacity is expected to be added between April 2016 and March 2017. Again, the report issued by CARE does not voiced any concerns. The report itself mentions that an increasing number of states have come out with the aggressive solar power policies and targets.

The CARE report further states that an estimated 8 GW capacity will be added during the next financial year of 2017-18. This, again, would be a massive reduction compared to the annual capacity addition targets announced by the Indian government.

The Indian government has set a target for 100 GW installed solar power capacity by March 2022. To achieve this, the government plans to add 15-17 GW every year starting 2017-18, hoping that the installed capacity at the beginning of the fiscal year would be around 19 GW.

09/12/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India To Begin Construction Of 5 GW Solar Power Park Soon

written by saurabh

Construction on one of India’s largest, if not the largest, solar power park is expected to being soon.

The Minister for Energy in the southern state of Karnataka recently told media outlets that construction on a proposed 5 GW solar power park will begin soon. The Pavagada solar power park is among the more than two dozen solar power parks with cumulative capacity of almost 20 GW approved by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

The Pavagada solar power park is still in its very initial stages of development. While a total capacity of 5 GW has been proposed, plans for only 2 GW have been shared in the public so far. India’s largest power generation company NTPC Limited and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will jointly auction and allocate the 2 GW capacity in the project size of 50 MW each.

Five power distribution utilities in the southern state of Karnataka recently signed an agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to acquire 1 GW of solar power from a solar power park currently under development. The utilities will purchase electricity from SECI at Rs 4.50/kWh (US¢6.7/kWh) for a period of 25 years.

Recently, NTPC auctioned 500 MW capacity for the solar park. The capacity was allocated to six developers who are free to choose Indian or imported solar power modules for their projects. Adani Power, Tata Power Renewable Energy and Fortum India secured 100 MW capacity each at tariff of Rs 4.79/kWh (US¢7.9/kWh).

NTPC will also hold 100 MW auction wherein developers will be mandated to use only Indian-made solar PV modules. Apart from that NTPC has been designated to auction an additional 1 GW capacity. Power generated from this capacity will be bundled with power generated from NTPC’s own thermal power projects.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will also auction 400 MW capacity for the solar power park. This capacity will be allocated under the Viability Gap Funding scheme wherein developers will bid for capital cost support needed and sell power at a fixed tariff of Rs Rs 4.43/kWh (US¢6.6/kWh).

08/28/2016 0 comment

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