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As the currency continued to fall today, analysts are concerned developers will see any savings from falling module prices disappear, and lenders may get nervy, putting the national solar target in grave doubt.

The programme allows the installation of solar roof atop apartment blocks, which otherwise could not install such systems. Potential in the area is around 15 MW, of which 6 MW have been signed up for already. Another 5 MW should be developed in this second phase of the project.

Despite political hurdles in key markets including China and Japan, Asia remains highly active. This year, 59 GW of solar is expected to be installed and due to further system price declines, a phase-out of subsidy schemes can be offset.

Big players such as Acme, ReNew, Adani, Azure, Hero Future and Aditya Birla Solar are likely to stay away from procurement which requires 3 GW annual manufacturing commitment, says industry insider Gopal Lal Somani.

Developers have successfully secured relief from the federal government to mitigate the effects of GST on PV projects. One-off compensation will be paid and tariffs may be adjusted to reflect any ongoing rise in maintenance expenses.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a new report on different ways global warming can be kept within the 1.5°C limit. The panel seeks to inform policymakers before the upcoming COP24 in Poland this December. Resulting from their analysis, the 91 authors state that drastic action and significant investments are needed. Such climate action across all sectors would have significant positive effects on sustainable development progress, they say.

Saurabhbhai Patel, Minister of Energy, Government of Gujarat, has announced that the state will soon issue a 250 MW grid-connected solar tender linked with storage. He also said that Gujarat will add more than 5 GW of new PV capacity in the next three years.

Taiwan has joined Malaysia in requesting consultations with India under the safeguard agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), following India’s decision to impose 25% safeguard duties on imports of solar cells, whether or not assembled in modules.

DNV GL has issued its annual Energy Transition Outlook. It reports that global electricity demand is set to grow by a factor of 2.5. Over half of this demand is expected to be met with renewable energy by 2050, while storage will play a key role. It adds that grid infrastructure expenditures are less related to variable renewable energy assets than to increasing energy demand. In the current scenario, meanwhile, global warming is likely to reach 2.6°C.

The decision to tax the ‘service’ provided to solar developers at the full rate comes days after the Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s imposition of a 25% safeguarding duty on Chinese and Malaysian panels.