Commercial & Industrial PV

Greenpeace India, Germi, and the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program have released a report stating that the Indian government’s latest ambitions to deploy solar water pumps could meet the country’s solar PV target of 100 GW, if done comprehensively. So far the plan goes as far as 28 GW, and still needs legislative approval.

Inspectors from solar risk management company PI Berlin visited six projects and exposed cost-cutting in installation, non-existent warranties, serious safety concerns and improbable performance figures.

The remarkable 4 GW of solar capacity added last year has seen the state displace Tamil Nadu as the nation’s renewables top dog. And there is more to come, according to a new report, with PV set to account for a third of rising energy demand over the next decade.

While Africa has emerged as a dynamic, fast-moving hub, Asia leads in capacity deployment with its total capacity more than tripling to nearly 4.3 GW in 2017 from 1.3 GW in 2008, finds IRENA. Particularly, in India, a strong policy has pushed deployment of off-grid solar for agriculture and public end-uses.

India’s solar rooftop sector continues to disappoint with the first quarter of FY 2018-2019 achieving just 155.77 MW against the 1,000 MW EoY target.

Madhya Pradesh recently floated a tender for the implementation of grid connected rooftop solar PV projects under the RESCO (renewable energy service company) Model. Manu Srivastava, principal secretary and commissioner, New and Renewable Energy Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, and managing director of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVNL), speaks to pv magazine about the tender and initiatives taken by the state government.

On the sidelines of the Renewable Energy Dialogue 2018, organized by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) in New Delhi recently, pv magazine spoke to the Counil’s founder and CEO, Arunabha Ghosh, senior programme lead, Kanika Chawla, and Hero Future Energies CEO, Sunil Jain about the performance of India’s renewable sector over the past year, the reasons for the deferral of solar PV project auctions, and the poor uptake of rooftop solar in India.

Despite this, at least half the companies among the top 10 – in terms of shares of projects sanctioned – changed every year between 2014 and 2017. International independent power producers (IPPs) accounted for around 45% of the sanctioned projects in solar parks. Around 35% of the park projects were awarded to IPPs registered in Mauritius, where companies benefit from preferential taxation.

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.

The Indian solar PV market saw 10.4 GW of new capacity added in the 2017-18 financial year, says Bridge to India, thus bringing cumulative installations to 24.4 GW as of this March. Leading the charge is the state of Karnataka. Concerns over the industry’s development remain, however.