Opinion & Analysis

With the draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2021, India is providing the right policy direction for this decade of the energy transition. Yet, there is room for further improvement. 

Modules represent 45 to 55% of the project capex. In a very competitive market like India, independent power producers have lower margins, and even a modest increase in module prices will put more pressure on them.

Until 2016, Nepal suffered from chronic power shortages. At that time, just 65% of the country’s population had access to electricity. Assessing the situation, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimated that the country has the potential for 2.1 GW of installed PV capacity. Although the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has officially been able to buy solar power under long-term PPAs since July 2014, the majority of projects granted these contracts have been large-scale hydropower plants. Following slow activity, plans are finally afoot, however, to boost the country’s solar footprint.

In the first installment of a new monthly blog by IHS Markit, Edurne Zoco, executive director for clean energy technology, writes that high prices and increased freight costs are putting solar PV procurement teams under extreme pressure, particularly those teams with connection deadlines this year that were anticipating a more favorable pricing and logistic environment in the second half of 2021.

The second wave of Covid-19 reminds us to build a resilient society. Climate Change, not unlike Covid-19, will deliver devastating effects to our planet and disrupt our way of life. So, in this climate decade, India must channel investments into sustainable activities. The first step is to construct a robust “green taxonomy” – a green list of sustainable activities. 

Gujarat tops the list of Indian states with respect to installed solar rooftop capacity, as it has already achieved around 40 percent of its allotted target. The persisting pandemic has slowed down the pace of capacity addition but policy incentives like SURYA- Gujarat are paving way towards Gujarat’s clean energy transition.

In India, the lack of suitable fiscal incentives and relevant experience, combined with high upfront capital costs, has hindered the adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in comparison to other developed countries. However, there is potential for the country to take the lead.

Drones, in combination with artificial intelligence, are helping to drive powerful insights, allowing teams to make better-informed decisions throughout the solar project development lifecycle.

For developers to close the emerging gap as the market becomes more competitive – and, crucially, build projects that perform to investors’ expectations in the long term – they need to not only develop better understanding of the factors influencing project performance but also take steps to adopt advances made in other established solar markets worldwide in the use of solar data.

A net feed-in tariff could offer a solution for consumers, developers, and distribution companies.