Opinion & Analysis

There will be plenty of opportunity for electric three-wheeler penetration in the Indian market through the model of battery swapping as well as local charging points available at delivery hubs.

The recently proposed guidelines allow electricity cost reduction of only Rs 3.64/unit for commercial and industrial consumers, which is not even sufficient to recover the capital costs of setting up the solar infrastructure.

By going for captive solar plants, MSMEs can not only contribute in addressing the challenge of global warming but also generate additional cash flows to their business. Ample funding is available for them to make the switch.

Streamlining the Discoms, better financing options, customer-centric approach, data sharing and push for residential through standardization are a few steps that can help India achieve its ambitious rooftop solar target.

India’s total installed solar capacity touched 34.1 GW on June 30, 2019. The total was split between 27.9 GW of utility-scale PV, 4.6 GW of rooftop solar and 1.26 GW of off-grid solar. The nation’s total project pipeline – projects allocated to developers and those in various stages of development – stood at 19.69 GW as of June 30. Bridge to India’s Sai Nandamuri looks at the outlook for Indian solar in 2019 and 2020.

The goal of the ‘SuryaKranti Solar Challenge’ is to develop a deeper collaboration between Indian industry and its engineering colleges. The event, on the lines of World Solar Challenge-Australia, aims to drive the culture of innovation in India by trying to solve a great challenge of climate change: building a sun powered car and driving it for a significant distance.

Most residential customers buy PV systems by obtaining quotes directly from PV installers. However, this can prove time consuming, costly and ineffective. Homeowners need an online quote platform, which offers a seamless buying experience. This can increase solar power awareness among Indian homeowners and help grow the adoption of rooftop solar power in the Indian residential market.

India needs special institutional structures within leading public financial institutions to cater to market segments that do not attract commercial capital at competitive terms.

Since 2017, several European governments have announced bans on sales of conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. Countries like France and the United Kingdom have set bans to come into force by 2040, while Norway has set a more ambitious goal of 2025. Raquel Soat, Research Analyst at Navigant, looks at how policy might affect European electric vehicle markets over the coming years.

Solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar parks. In these articles, a ‘solar park’ is defined as a group of co-located solar power plants.