Markets & Policy

Investors throughout the world made 406 investments in large-scale renewables in 2017, collectively valued at roughly €40.1 billion (US$49.5 billion), but solar is set to grow more in terms of capacity than any other clean-energy technology over the next half-decade, according to a new report. Battery storage will play a crucial role in this, it found.

Minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari drops plans to introduce national policy to support growth of electric vehicles in surprising reversal on earlier ambitions.

The India Energy access summit held in India on February 12-13, 2018 in New Delhi, saw discussions on the decentralized renewable energy sector from various organizations and institutions, including few announcements.

U.S.-based Rockefeller Foundation has partnered with cKers Finance, a New-Delhi based finance company, to help develop the decentralized renewable energy (DRE) sector in India. cKers will invest $50 million across DRE and sustainable energy portfolio in the near term.

India is planning to impose a safeguard duty this year to protect its domestic solar manufacturing sector. Many in the industry earnestly believe that if such duties were to be imposed, then a slowing down in market growth would be inevitable. However, the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) believes this will not be the case. Either way, this duty has created unwanted uncertainty in the market.

The United States blocks India’s request for a panel to investigate Indian compliance to solar cells ruling. Thus, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has deferred the establishment of a compliance panel. Moreover, U.S. reserves its right to obtain WTO authorization to take countermeasures against India, but there is desire to find a bilateral resolution.

The PV plant will be the nation’s largest once complete, and will be implemented under the International Finance Corporation’s Scaling Solar program.

As of December 31, 2017, Azure power has 1,580 MW operating & committed capacity, an increase of 48% over December end 2016. Revenue for the third quarter was INR 1,739.9 million ($27.3 million), an increase of 83% over the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was INR 1,226.9 million (US$19.2 million), an increase of approximately 76% over the fiscal third quarter 2017.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has stated that Tamil Nadu is India’s national model for low-cost renewable electricity generation. It finds that the state has the capability to increase its solar capacity six-fold in the next 10 years.

Credit Suisse, a swiss financial services firm, is appointed as an advisor for the deal, and the total value of the transaction is estimated at around $180 million.