Markets & Policy

The developers’ body has sought the power minister’s intervention to withdraw the restriction of 10 kW capacity for net metering under the recently notified Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2020, saying the provision will prevent high-load industrial consumers from switching to solar.

The Bengaluru-based TresMoto is developing a range of smart, electric two-wheelers designed exclusively for delivery fleet usage with artificial intelligence-driven remote diagnostics and detachable batteries. 

The National Solar Energy Federation has asked the State to consider a 15-year electricity duty exemption, transmission charges on the entire capacity instead of per-kWh basis, and delinking of the secondary RE source capacity from the rated power capacity of the primary RE source to promote hybrid project deployment.

The government should consider offering a 50% capital subsidy for setting up R&D and quality testing infrastructure within the manufacturing units and a 200% super-deduction for the R&D expenditure on new and clean solar technology development. Simultaneously, it should look at implementing tariff barriers on imports for at least four-five years.

Uncertainty around generation compensation in the event of curtailment due to grid safety reasons and the requirement to maintain at least 33% wind project share in the total contracted capacity are among the deciding factors in tariff assessment.  

The Chinese manufacturer, which has a central and string inverter factory in Bengaluru, sold a minimum 3 GW of the cumulative sales last year alone. Going forward, it has a strong order book for the upcoming solar capacity too.

The 2,000ha installation, which will surpass in scale a 150 MW plant in China’s Anhui province, will reportedly require a INR3,000 crore investment.

A new report says the imposition of safeguard duties and basic custom duties is only a partial solution to help the domestically produced solar modules remain competitive with imported panels. The government needs to adopt a long-term strategy towards PV manufacturing that supports backward integration and sustained innovation.

Challenges like frequent policy and regulatory changes, high capital costs, low awareness, non-uniformity in approval processes across states, restriction on net metering, and additional charges by DISCOMs need to be addressed for rooftop solar to take off in India.

The financing scheme, available only to Tata Power customers, provides collateral-free loans at an interest rate less than 10% for both off-grid and on-grid rooftop solar connections.