Policy

All future bids for renewable projects would have at least 50% domestic manufacturing component for developers. The government will also soon make it obligatory for project developers to manufacture storage systems.

The projects are to be developed on a build-own-operate basis for an aggregate capacity of 2,500 MW. The eligible bid capacity is 200-500 MW, with a project capacity of at least 50 MW at one project site. The maximum tariff payable to each project developer is fixed at Rs 2.93/kWh for the entire term of 25 years.

If implemented, the huge tendering exercise would dwarf anything that has gone before it. Minister explains bidding will also include solar manufacturing and storage elements.

India saw 1.8 GW of corporate solar power purchase agreements in place by the end of 2017. There was a rush of installations for PV projects due to open access waivers. The market is expected to contract slightly this year as waivers are rolled back, but there will be sustained market growth through 2023.

Underlining India’s commitment to becoming the global renewable energy leader, Shri Anand Kumar, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said the country plans 500 GW of capacity by 2030. He also underlined plans to become a solar and storage manufacturing hub; and said the International Solar Alliance needs to widen its membership.

The MNRE has removed a layer of bureaucracy by lifting the requirement of proposed projects to be registered with power bodies at sub-national level.

There was incredulity in some quarters as the federal government raised its renewables ambition another 22%, but the stellar performance of the past four years points to the new target being a realizable one.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced the new benchmark costs for off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and rooftop solar projects for the financial year (FY) 2018-19.

India saw the issuance of 13 new utility-scale solar PV tenders totaling 11,945 MW in the quarter ending March 31, 2018, which is 68% more than in the entire of 2017. However, tender capacity for rooftop solar PV (greater than 1 MW in size) was down 50%, at 102 MW.

Global solar PV demand this year will be less than in 2017, on the back of China’s latest policy decision, says TrendForce. Overall, it sees new installs dropping 40% in China to 31.6 GW. The protectionist measures taken by the U.S. will also be weakened by the resulting falling module prices.