Covid-19

Falling module prices will help PV post another record year after an estimated 132 GW was installed worldwide in 2020, according to an energy transition investment trends report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The private-sector arm of the World Bank, which claims to leverage $3 of its own capital and $8 from third parties for every dollar invested in its blended finance funds, has attempted to quantify what devoting Covid recovery funds to green investment would mean for emerging economies.

A report by McKinsey & Company reinforces the widely-held view renewables will supplant fossil fuels in the energy system but also joins the chorus of voices warning the world is on track to fall well short of limiting global temperature rises this century to 1.5C.

The capacity addition during FY 2020-21’s first eight months ending November is 38% lower year-on-year as the pandemic-led disruptions constrained new project development.

Simarpreet Singh, director at EPC firm Hartek Group, speaks to pv magazine about the impact of the Covid pandemic on the rooftop solar sector, technology trends shaping the market, and the outlook for 2021.

India’s new solar capacity addition was badly hit due to the pandemic. The nation installed just 2.32 GW during the first nine months of the year. However, there was a silver lining too!

The solar installation in India is making a slower-than-expected recovery as Covid-related disruption continues to hurt construction progress. Safeguard duty extension and module price increase have added to the pain.

The 438 MW of new solar capacity added during the three months ending September includes 283 MW from large-scale installations and 155 MW rooftop.

India added rooftop solar capacity of 399 MW in the second quarter (July-Sept) of FY 2020-21, compared to 188 MW installed in the corresponding period last year.

It has been a rocky year for installers with issues like availability of modules from Chinese suppliers, restricted construction due to local lockdowns, and uncertainty over import duties. Going forward, the market could see a dramatic rebound if net-metering is allowed with a current cap of 1 MW and re-introduced in the states that have shifted to gross-metering.