IEEFA

Full ownership allowed in renewable energy projects and 25-year power purchase agreement are the major factors drawing foreign investors to India’s high-growth solar market. Major developers in India have solar portfolio distributed across States, which further minimizes the risk for investors.

According to a new report, India’s commercial and industrial sector will increase its rooftop solar deployments by 47% year-on-year, with bifacials and large-size high-wattage modules offering cost-effective support for reducing electricity costs.

Through various initiatives and schemes, the Indian government has created a conducive environment for industry stakeholders to expand domestic manufacturing. The industry should seize the opportunity to ramp up capacity and manufacture emerging technologies such as monocrystalline (mono-Si), bifacial and half-cut cells, micro-inverters, and tracking equipment, all of which promise further solar efficiency gains over the coming years.

A new IEEFA report says the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for coal in India is calculated based on an overestimation of factors such as utilization rates. The deemed low cost per unit of energy makes coal-fired plants look more attractive to potential investors than these really are!

India’s solar-powered irrigation mission has had a sluggish run despite the PM-KUSUM scheme providing ample flexibility and budgetary support for the system implementation. An IEEFA report highlights the need to address the challenges of coordination, affordability, business models, technology and awareness creation at State level to increase the uptake.

An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report says the sale of power in the futures market will benefit renewable energy developers and distribution companies alike.

A new Ieefa report discusses the viability of under-construction coal-fired power plants and evaluates the associated stranded asset risk in building additional coal-fired capacity in India’s electricity system.

A new report says the Indian States must develop plans to incentivize investments into the deployment of utility-scale battery storage—just as they did for solar. 

Nearly 19 GW of renewable energy capacity tendered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is on hold due to electric distribution companies’ unwillingness to sign the power purchase agreements. Manufacturing-linked solar projects alone account for a 63% share of the capacity in limbo.

A new report says that combining rooftop solar with storage presents an enormous opportunity for India as the combination becomes economically viable soon. It highlights the best practices from Australia—a nation with the world’s highest rooftop solar capacity per person—to serve as a guide in planning for this integration.