Policy

Having bagged large orders in the U.S. and Australia, Indian multinational engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services provider Sterling and Wilson Solar is bidding for tenders in regions which have eased up business lines, Europe among them. Kannan Krishnan, S&W’s chief operations officer for solar in India and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation area, speaks to pv magazine about the impact of Covid-19 on the solar EPC business and the company’s expansion plans.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has specified how procurement of back-up grid capacity will work for electricity distribution companies. The rules consider energy storage solely as part of the 51% clean energy requirement, and instead contemplate coal – with a variable price tariff element – as necessary for evening out supply.

Rooftop solar is the obvious choice to save on electricity costs for businesses as they look to preserve capital and find ways to cut expenses post Covid-19. 

To support renewable energy integration, the government aims to make the thermal capacity flexible, almost 55% in the first stage and gradually extend it to the entire capacity.

The investigating arm of India’s commerce ministry has proposed continuing to apply the duty levied on solar cell imports from the east at a rate of 14.9% from July 30 and falling to 14.5% six months later.

India’s entire solar industry is dependent on Chinese imports to function. Hence, there is a comprehensive need to relook at the current policies and focus on building wafers and ingots capacity that will be used to manufacture the cells and eventually, modules.

Indian solar manufacturers have cried foul over a system which exempts imported panels from yet-to-be-announced tax regimes but offers no such protection to domestic products.

The state’s Solar Power Policy 2015 was due to expire since April 1, 2020. With a 9-month extension, solar power plants installed and commissioned till December end become eligible for the benefits and incentives declared under this policy.

The National Solar Energy Federation of India said the project timeline relaxation provided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is insufficient as construction continues to be severely hampered. Labour exodus and procurement delays (due to restrictions on international travel) are among the reasons affecting project progress. 

Scientists measuring air pollutants and PV performance in the city have found the lockdown conditions imposed since late March have brought about a significant reduction in air pollution which has led to an 8% increase in solar irradiation reaching rooftop arrays.