Policy

“We urge the government to take swift action in launching the National Energy Storage Mission in order to support the development of an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem for energy storage and electric vehicles,” said Rahul Walawalkar, president of the India Energy Storage Alliance.

The president of India has sanctioned setting up of 14 MW grid-connected solar PV projects with aggregate battery storage capacity of 42 MWh for Jammu & Kashmir under Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015 . The projects would be set up during 2019-20 and 2020-21, and include 7 MW solar projects with battery storage of 21 MWh each in Leh and Kargil at different locations. These would be implemented in developer mode, at a fixed tariff of Rs 2 per unit, with viability gap funding support.

Tamil Nadu government has unveiled a new solar energy policy 2019 that aims at generating 9 GW for the state by 2022. The policy would be applicable to projects, programmes and installations relating to both solar PV and thermal energy, including utility as well as consumer categories.

The interim budget has provided Rs 3,004.90 crore for solar projects development (including both grid-interactive and off-grid and decentralized) in financial year 2019-20, which is just 1 per cent increase over the estimated expenditure of Rs 2,969 crore this fiscal, according to reports.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has invited comments of all the stakeholders on the solar PV water pumping system specifications set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

For the purchase, the government of Tamil Nadu is seeking a loan from German state-owned development bank KfW, at an interest rate of 2%, according to reports.

A proposed investment in railways and roads offers an opportunity to harness solar for commercial vehicles and public transport. However, the 2019 federal budget does not address the industry’s call for varied financing options for solar projects or a plea to treat consumers’ solar borrowings as home loans.

Reaffirming Indian government’s commitment to promote renewable energy, Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal laid emphasis on the need for increased use of electric vehicles and new-age energy solutions. He also highlighted that the Indian government would meet its target of universal household electrification by the end of March 2019.

General Electric (GE) intends to consolidate all of its renewable and grid assets into a single unit, intensifying focus on the growing renewable energy market.

The overall private player driven market could grow to Rs 26,178 million by 2023 from current Rs 7,051 million, while the government driven market would increase from Rs 31,700 million to Rs 75,000 million. Most of the future sales is likely to come from solar lanterns with additional services, for example, mobile charging, radio, and solar home systems—according to a latest report by GOGLA.