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With the Indian floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) industry
still gaining ground, a recent report has said the country has achieved
the lowest investment cost for a floating solar project in the world so
far.
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“Recent bids results indicate a sharp decline in
the investment cost for FSPV. In the latest tender result of the
country’s first large-scale FSPV plant of 70 megawatt capacity, cost as
low as Rs 35 per Watt has been quoted by developers. This is the lowest
cost achieved in the entire world so far,” the report by The Energy and
Resources Institute said.
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Titled ‘Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third
Pillar to Solar PV Sector?’ the study also says the investment cost had
decreased in the past two years, with a significant drop of 45 per cent
in cost seen considering 2018.
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“A country like India has already started getting
the lowest cost in the world and one can expect it to go down further, as
more projects are about to come in the near future,” it added.
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The report said that even though the costs have
decreased, it is still very early to come to any generalization, since
the FSPV as a technology is still in its early stage of market
penetration.
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Major reasons for reduction in costs were a decline
in the cost of floaters because of improvement in manufacturing process,
reduction in the material cost, reduction in thickness of floaters, and
aggressive biddings by project developers to get some experience in FSPV
sector.
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It added that though falling cost is a good
indication it was important to check whether this is not impacting the
overall quality of the projects, since degradation in the quality of FSPV
projects has higher potential to impact local biodiversity compared to
ground-mounted solar PV.
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India’s floating solar sector is slowly advancing
with an increase in the number of tenders that were released in the past
two years.
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At present, there are more than 1,700 MW worth of
FSPV projects which are under various stages of development and more are
in the pipeline.
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India's solar energy capacity addition dipped 12 per
cent to 7,346 megawatts (MW) in the calender year 2019 from 8,338 MW in
2018, according to a report by Mercom India Research. While 2019 was a
lost year for the country's solar sector, Mercom India Research expects
solar installations to rise by 17 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to about
8,500 MW by the end of 2020.
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"The country installed 7,346 MW of solar in
2019, a 12 per cent decline year-over-year (YoY), compared to 8,338 MW
installed in 2018," according to the report titled 'Q4 & Annual
2019 India Solar Market Update'.
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It also estimates solar installations in the range
of 65-70 gigawatt (GW) by 2022, based on the current market conditions.
The government has set a solar installation target of 100 GW by 2022.
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The large-scale solar projects accounted for 85 per
cent of installations with 6,242 MW in 2019 and saw a 7 per cent y-o-y
fall, and rooftop solar made up the remaining 15 per cent adding 1,104
MW, a 33 per cent drop y-o-y.
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Karnataka was the top state for solar in 2019 with
1.8 GW, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Together, these three
states accounted for almost 70 per cent of solar installations in 2019.
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"The demand outlook for 2020 looks better with
a stronger project pipeline, and we should see the solar market resume
y-o-y growth again," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group in
a statement.
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He also said that a lot will depend on the economy
and lending situation getting back on track, the impact of coronavirus,
and the outcome of the 20 per cent basic customs duty announced in the recent
Budget.
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At the end of 2019, cumulative solar installations
reached almost 35.7 GW. Large-scale projects accounted for 31.3 GW (87.6
per cent), whereas rooftop solar installations accounted for 4.4 GW (12.4
per cent).
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The large-scale solar project development pipeline
stands at 23.7 GW, with 31.5 GW of projects tendered and pending auction
at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019.
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The Indian solar market added 1,897 MW in the
October-December 2019 period, a 12.8 per cent fall as compared with 2,177
MW installed in the preceding quarter.
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However, installations were up by 15.6 per cent
compared to 1,641 MW installed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
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In the fourth quarter of 2019, large-scale solar
projects came to 1,593 MW, while rooftop solar installations came to 304
MW, an increase of 24.1 per cent compared to 245 MW in the third quarter
of 2019, it added .
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Multiple reasons led to the fall in large-scale
solar additions in 2019 including elections, a slowing economy, liquidity
issues, tariff caps, lack of financing, curtailment, payment delays, and
power purchase agreements renegotiations in Andhra Pradesh.
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Rooftop installations declined for the first time
in five years. The report pointed to the slowdown in the economy in 2019
as a significant factor, along with liquidity issues in the market
following the NBFC crisis that made it difficult for installers to
finance rooftop projects in a tough economy.
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"There are several challenges facing the
industry but a few fixes, that could immediately turn around the sector,
would be to remove tariff caps in reverse auctions, getting government
agencies to make timely payments and facilitate lending to get the solar
market moving in the right direction again," added Prabhu.
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After five consecutive years of decline, coal
accounted for a majority of the power installations with 7.8 GW and made
up 44.1 per cent of the installed capacity, followed by solar with 7.3
GW.
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Wind energy accounted for 2.4 GW followed by small hydro
and other renewables with 154 MW and 82.5 MW, respectively. Even with
coal installations rising, renewables collectively still made up a
majority of the installations in 2019.
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India’s cumulative solar rooftop installations
reached about 4.4 gigawatt (GW) at the end of 2019, according to a recent
report by Mercom India.
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It added that last year large-scale projects
accounted for 85 per cent of installations with 6,242 MW and saw a 7 per cent
year-on-year (y-o-y) decline. Whereas, rooftop solar projects made up the
remaining 15 per cent adding 1,104 MW, a 33 per cent drop y-o-y.
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“At the end of 2019, cumulative solar installations
reached almost 35.7 GW. Large-scale projects accounted for 31.3 GW, 87.6
per cent, whereas rooftop solar installations accounted for 4.4 GW about
12 per cent,” the research firm said in its CY2019 India Solar Market
Update released on Wednesday.
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In the fourth quarter of 2019, large-scale solar
projects came to 1,593 megawatt (MW), while rooftop solar installations
were at 304 MW, an increase of 24.1 per cent compared to 245 MW in the
third quarter of 2019.
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According to the report, rooftop installations
declined for the first time in five years. Major reasons being the
economic slowdown last year, along with liquidity issues in the market
following the NBFC crisis which made it extremely difficult for
installers to finance rooftop projects.
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“There are several challenges facing the industry,
but a few fixes that could immediately turnaround the sector would be to
remove tariff caps in reverse auctions, getting government agencies to
make timely payments and facilitate lending to get the solar market
moving in the right direction again,” said Raj Prabhu, chief executive officer,
Mercom Capital Group.
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The report estimated a rise in solar installations
by 17 per cent y-o-y to about 8.5 GW by the end of 2020 and solar
installations in the 65 GW to 70 GW range by 2022.
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India installed 7,346 megawatt (MW) of solar power
capacity in 2019, down by 12 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) as compared to
8,338 MW installed in 2018.
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Karnataka emerged as the top state for solar energy
in 2019 with 1.8 gigawatt (GW), followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
These three states accounted for almost 70 per cent of solar
installations in 2019.
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“The demand outlook for 2020 looks better with a
stronger project pipeline, and we should see the solar market resume
y-o-y growth again. But, a lot will depend on the economy and lending
situation getting back on track, the impact of coronavirus, and the
outcome of the 20 per cent basic customs duty announced in the recent
Budget,” said Prabhu.
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The large-scale solar project development pipeline
stands at 23.7 GW, with 31.5 GW of projects tendered and pending auction
at the end of Q4 2019.
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According to the report, the Indian solar market
added 1,897 MW in Q4 2019, a 12.8 per cent decrease, compared to 2,177 MW
installed in Q3 2019. However, installations were up by 15.6 per cent
compared to 1,641 MW installed in Q4 2018.
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The government has set a solar installation target
of 100 GW by 2022.
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Solar consultancy Bridge to India has stated high
costs mean large scale energy storage may be at least three years away
from entering the mainstream Indian market to any significant extent.
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That pessimistic prediction was among the findings
of the consultancy’s India Renewables Outlook 2024 report, which
forecasts the nation could host 74-97 GW of solar generation capacity by
2025, with 82 GW the base case figure suggested.
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India will reach 49 GW of solar project capacity
this year, according to the base case estimate made by the Haryana-based
analyst, with another 10 GW added next year before the rate of deployment
slows to 7 GW of new capacity in each of 2022 and 2023 – for cumulative
totals of 66 GW and 73 GW, respectively – and 9 GW in 2024.
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Falling solar power tariff
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Costs of more than Rs6/kWh that came out of the
nation’s first mega storage tender will push the embrace of storage by
cash-strapped power distribution companies out to at least 2023, states
Bridge to India in its forecast.
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Policy uncertainty will continue to affect
commercial and industrial rooftop solar deployment, states the report,
even if there is more obvious backing for residential solar, boosting the
prospects of that segment of the market.
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On the positive side, Bridge to India expects
continued technological advances to get the price of solar electricity
back on the downward trajectory in India “shortly” and predicted a new
record low solar power tariff will be set “in the next year”.
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The prospects for domestic solar manufacturing,
however, remain “bleak”, according to the consultancy. With the
safeguarding duty applied by the government on Chinese and Malaysian PV
cell and module imports due to expire in July, Bridge to India dismissed
speculation the federal authorities will remove the exemption of such
products from customs duty. Moves have been made in New Delhi to
reclassify solar cell and module imports as liable for 20% customs duty
but the Bridge to India report stated the prospects of such a development
“are dim, in our view”.
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Manufacturing woes
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Lack of safeguarding duty and customs fees, while
helping down the price of solar electricity will continue to leave Indian
manufacturers unable to compete with Chinese rivals, states the 2024
outlook study.
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The elephant in the room, as far as Indian energy
policy is concerned, is the fact the nation continues to add fossil fuel
generation facilities despite having “a massive surplus in power
capacity”. With demand for power not rising as much as had been
predicted, that has seen the plant load factor of India’s coal-fired
power stations fall from 65% to 56% in five years, according to Bridge to
India.
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The report also pulls no punches when it comes to
assessing the nation’s chances of achieving renewable energy capacity
targets of 175 GW by 2022 and a recently mooted 450 GW by 2030.
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On that subject, the “narrative is usually too
zealous, self-seeking and/or lacking in intellectual rigor”, states the
Bridge to India report.
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Solar consultancy Bridge to India has stated high costs
mean large scale energy storage may be at least three years away from
entering the mainstream Indian market to any significant extent.
·
That pessimistic prediction was among the findings
of the consultancy’s India Renewables Outlook 2024 report, which
forecasts the nation could host 74-97 GW of solar generation capacity by
2025, with 82 GW the base case figure suggested.
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For the full story, please visit our pv magazine
India website.
·
The headline of this article was amended on
19/02/20 to reflect the scope of the report runs to the end of 2024, not
2023, as previously stated.
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The Andhra Pradesh government has proposed to set
up its own generating units to produce 10,000 MW of solar power to meet
the energy requirements of the agriculture sector. The government has already
issued an order for setting up the Andhra Pradesh Green Energy
Corporation Limited, as a subsidiary of Power Generation Corporation of
AP, to erect the 10,000 MW solar power plants. Chief Minister Y S Jagan
Mohan Reddy, who chaired a high-level review meeting on the power sector
here on Wednesday, directed the officials to focus on the 10,000 MW solar
power plants and also their subsequent expansion, an official release
said. The state has been incurring more than Rs 10,000 crore to meet the
agriculture subsidy, lift irrigation power charges and aquaculture
subsidy every year. The subsidy has been continuously increasing over the
years on account of increasing cost of power supply and also an increase
in the number of agricultural pump sets. To ensure that the subsidy is
provided on a sustainable basis, there is a need for evolving an
alternative mechanism to provide quality power and nine-hour day-time
free supply to farmers. Solar energy has the potential to fulfil the
above requirements due to its lower cost compared to the current average
procurement cost of Discoms, ex-officio Principal Secretary to Energy
Department G Sai Prasad said. Since solar power is generated during
daytime, it could be well utilised for agricultural needs. To provide
free power supply to the agriculture sector and lift irrigation schemes,
the total capacity of solar plants required is likely to be about 10,000
MW (including the projected annual increase in agricultural demand), Sai
Prasad pointed out. The chief minister asked officials to :Focus on
making these plants successful and also plan for expansion. Also
encourage solar and wind energy companies that come forward to sell power
at a lower price, a CMO release quoted him as telling the Energy
Department officials. This would reduce the financial burden on the
ailing power distribution companies (Discoms). Reddy said the energy
sector should be pulled out of losses in the next five years. Increase
the productivity of thermal plants by using quality coal. Get a
third-party audit done on the coal quality. Also concentrate on hydro
reverse pumping projects, he added.
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The state has the highest potential in India to
generate energy via floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) plants, a
country-wide study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) revealed.
FSPV is an emerging technology in which the solar photovoltaic cells are
mounted on a structure that floats on a water body, instead of being
placed on land or rooftops.
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Currently, solar power needs are largely met via
ground-based or rooftop installations, which, the study states, face the
challenge of land availability.
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According to the study, Maharashtra can generate
57,891 mega-watt (MW) of electricity through solar PV installations on
3,173-sqkm water surface area in 568 reservoirs. The study, ‘Floating
Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector?’, released
in February is part of the Energy Transmission Commission (ETC) India. It
provides state-wise details of floating solar potential in the form of a
web-based interactive tool called India Floating Solar PV-Tool.
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Dr Ashvini Kumar, senior director, renewable energy
technologies, TERI, said, “We looked at large and medium-sized reservoirs
in every state and Maharashtra has a natural gift in this regard. The state
is leading in terms of potential for installations of FSPV, followed by
Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.”
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The report states that India’s reservoirs have
potential to generate 280 giga-watt (GW) of solar power. In Maharashtra,
the installed capacity for energy produced through renewable sources is
9,500GW, of which 18% is met via solar energy.
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A total of approximately 27 GW (26967.75 MW) of new
solar capacity has been installed in India over the last three years i.e.
from 2016-17 to 2018-19 and the current year till December 31, 2019, in
India. In that period, Karnataka is well ahead of all of the other states
and Union Territories (UTs) with over 7 GW (7128.41 MW) of new solar
installations in the southern state alone.
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The information was provided by the Union Minister
of Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh while answering a
question raised in the upper house of the parliament recently.
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According to the data issued by the minister,
behind Karnataka, with 3572.93 MW of installed solar capacity is
Rajasthan, followed by Tamil Nadu – with 2723.45 MW of new capacity
installed over the last three years.
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The minister was answering a question on the
capacity being created for the generation of Solar power during the last
three years, State- wise? “A cumulative solar power capacity of 26.97 GW
has been installed during the last three years i.e. from 2016-17 to
2018-19 and current year till December 31, 2019, in the country,” the
minister said.
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Furthermore, 2017-18 recorded the maximum new
installations with the total for the year surpassing 9 GW at 9362.67 MW.
Well ahead of 5526 MW (in 2016-17), 6529.23 MW (2018-19), and comfortable
ahead of 5549.85 MW in the current fiscal (until December 31, 2019) with
only one quarter remaining.
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The minister was also asked to detail the amount of
funds that have been allocated to various States during the last three
years for the development of New and Renewable Energy projects especially
for solar power generation, and the amount of funds actually utilised by
the States during the last three years.
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In his response, the minister said that “Today most
of the utility-scale grid-connected solar & wind energy projects in
the country are being implemented by the private sector developers selected
through transparent & competitive bidding process.
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“However, the Ministry of New & Renewable
Energy (MNRE) has been providing assistance in the form of Central
Financial Assistance (CFA), interalia, for setting up of rooftop solar
power plants, canal top solar plants, solar parks, decentralised/
off-grid solar systems including home lighting system, solar street
lighting, standalone solar-powered agricultural pumps, transmission
infrastructure under Green Energy Corridor program, etc.”
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The details of the financial records show that well
over Rs 3000 crore in funds have been released as CFA to all the states/
UTs and the central agencies which include (IREDA, SECI, NISE, NIWE,
NIBE, NTPC, etc)in the current fiscal (until February 10, 2020). While
the amount of funds released in the entire fiscal year 2018-2019 were
well over Rs 4300 crore.
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India’s renewable energy sector has seen a total
investment of Rs 1.32 lakh crore (Rs 132625.89 crore) between the financial
year 2017-18 and the current fiscal (until December 31, 2019), Union
Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh has said.
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Answering a question raised in the Rajya Sabha,
Singh said that the country has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts
(GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2022. And that as of January 1,
2020, the country has installed 85.90 GW of Renewable Energy (RE)
capacity which constitutes 23 percent of total installed power generation
capacity in the country.”
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The year-wise breakup of the financial figures
issued by the ministry shows that 2017-18, with 11886.64 MW of renewable
energy capacity additions, saw the maximum investments over a single
fiscal year with a total of Rs 55436.41 crore invested in the sector.
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The minister had previously said that the steps
being taken by the Government to boost the investment in the sector in
the country included:
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Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to
100 percent under the automatic route, strengthening of Power Purchase Agreements(PPAs),
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Mandating requirement of Letter of Credit(LC) as
payment security mechanism by distribution licensees for ensuring timely
payments to RE generators,
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Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to
provide land and transmission on a plug and play basis to investors,
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Waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)
charges and losses for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for
projects to be commissioned by December 31, 2022,
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Notification of standard bidding guidelines to
enable Discoms to procure solar and wind power at competitive rates in a
cost-effective manner,
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declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase
Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022,
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Laying of transmission lines under Green Energy
Corridor Scheme for the evacuation of Power in Renewable rich states,
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Finalisation of manufacturing linked tender for
setting up domestic manufacturing capacity, launching of new schemes,
such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan
(PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.
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Answering another question, the minister informed
that “as per the report ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2019’ by
the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the total employment
in the renewable energy sector in India in 2018 was 719,000 jobs. IRENA
estimated the employment in solar PV as 115,000 jobs (grid-connected),
wind energy sector 58,000 jobs and in hydropower sector 347,000 jobs.”
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Standard Chartered Bank has announced its business targets
for supporting its clients as they transition to a low- carbon economy as
part of the Bank’s sustainability aspirations. By the end of 2024, the
Bank has committed to providing USD 35 billion of project financing
services, M&A advisory and debt structuring services for renewable
and clean-tech projects including solar and wind energy projects.
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The USD 35 billion investment is part of the banks’
USD 75 billion investment structure toward sustainable development goals
(SDGs), which will consist of providing USD 40 billion of project
financing services for infrastructure that promotes sustainable
development.
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Underpinning the aspirations, the bank also intends
to reduce its emissions across its global properties by 2030. With an
office footprint spanning 60 countries, including many large emerging
markets, the Bank will achieve net-zero emissions by only sourcing energy
from renewable sources and continuing to pursue energy efficiency
measures across its 12 million square feet of property.
·
Tracey McDermott, Group Head, Corporate Affairs,
Brand & Marketing, said that “over the past 18 months, we have made a
series of commitments which are all geared towards supporting the Paris
Agreement on climate change and the transition to a cleaner, greener, fairer
economy. We know that the investment required cannot be provided by
governments and NGOs alone, so it is critical that investors embrace the
Sustainable Development Goals at pace and scale.
·
“Our unique footprint means we are well placed to help
get finance to where it matters most. That is why, as well as ceasing
support for clients who generate more than 10 percent of earnings from
thermal coal by 2030, we also have a renewed target for financing and
facilitating USD 35 billion of clean technology and renewables, and USD
40 billion of sustainable infrastructure.”
·
The banking institution has a broad range of
sustainable finance product offerings that can be deployed to help
clients pivot their business towards a more sustainable model. In October
2018, it created the Sustainable Finance team and has since launched
sustainable deposit products in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and New
York; plus, a EUR 500 million Sustainability Bond, the proceeds of which
will be used to provide finance in areas aligned with the SDGs –
including clean energy projects, smaller business lending and
micro-finance loans.
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Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has issued a
tender, inviting bids from eligible firms for implementation of 2.5 MW grid-connected
rooftop solar power systems at BSNL Buildings in different zones of
Maharashtra under the RESCO model.
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The last date for bid submission is March 17, 2020,
and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the next date i.e. March
18, 2020.
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To be eligible for participating in the bidding
process, the firms should have designed, supplied, installed &
commissioned at least one grid-connected solar PV power project having a
capacity of not less than 50 kW which should have been commissioned at
least six months prior to techno-commercial bid opening date. And the
average annual turnover during the last 3 years, ending March 3, of the
previous financial year, should not be less than Rs 4 crore.
·
Furthermore, the bidder should have experience of
having successfully completed similar works in Central Government/ State
Government/ Central Autonomous Body/ Central Public Sector Undertaking
during last 7 Years ending last day of month previous to the one in which
applications are invited should be either of the following:
·
Three similar successfully completed works costing
not less than the amount equal to 40 percent of the estimated cost put to
tender with an aggregate installed capacity of power plants of 1 MWp with
a minimum single plant of capacity not less than 50 KWp. OR
·
Two similar successfully completed works costing
not less than the amount equal to 60 percent of the estimated cost put to
tender with an aggregate installed capacity of power plants of 1.5 MWp
with a minimum single plant of capacity not less than 50 KWp. OR
·
One similar successfully completed work costing not
less than the amount equal to 80 percent of the estimated cost put to
tender with an aggregate installed capacity of power plants of 2 MWp with
a minimum single plant of capacity not less than 50 KWp.
·
As per the tender, the bidding is in fixed tariff
for 25 year period. And the bidders will be required to furnish fixed
tariff for 25 years starting from the date of commissioning of the
project. And capacity under the tender will be allocated based on the
lowest fixed tariff for 25 years quoted by the bidder.
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According to Mercom India Research, The list of
participants includes ReNew Power, Softbank, Avaada, O2 Power,
Brookefield, Eden, Tata, Ayana, and IB Solar.
·
ReNew Power and Softbank bid for 600MWs each, whereas
Avaada bid for 500MW and the remaining six companies bid for 300MW each,
totalling 1.8GW.
·
The installation of the solar PV power projects
will be on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis.
·
A few days back, SECI amended the power purchase
and sale agreement (PPA and PSA) for this 1,2GW solar tender, adding
another point to the existing ‘change in law’ clause.
·
The additional clause states that in case of a
change in the law on account of anti-dumping duty or safeguard duty or
customs duty on solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, the solar power
developer will be entitled to either an increase or decrease in the
tariff.
·
Recently, Greenko Group and ReNew Power won the
auction conducted by SECI for 1.2GW of solar, wind, and energy storage
projects with guaranteed peak power supply. While Greenko was awarded
900MW, ReNew Power won 300MW of projects. Greenko Group won the bid at a
peak power tariff rate of INR6.12 (~$0.086)/kWh, and ReNew Power won at
INR6.85 (~$0.096)/kWh.
·
According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker,
SECI has tendered nearly 12.2GW under ISTS (Tranche I to Tranche VIII)
and has auctioned ~7.64GW under ISTS Tranche I to VII.
·
As part of its strategic plan to grow and maintain
leadership in the renewable energy sector, Tata Power has now expanded its
rooftop solar services to 70 cities across the country. Tata Power Solar,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has been the market leader in
rooftop segment for six years now.
·
Rooftop solar solutions (RTS) are fast emerging as
reliable and economic source of energy for the residential segment of the
market in the country. Tata Power Solar offers its RTS solutions as a
reliable long term solution from both, environmental and economic
perspectives for power consumers across the country. Tata Power Solar is
also India's leading integrated solar player, excelling across the solar
value chain right from the manufacturing of cell/modules and solar
products to executing rooftop and utility-scale solar projects.
·
Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, "Rooftop
solar is an ideal solution for consumers who are looking for a
sustainable source of clean energy that has the in-built capacity to pay
for itself in the long run. RTS is also a solution developed for a new
generation of consumers who expect more from their utilities that just
electricity. When combined with new distribution solutions like
microgrid, solar rooftop will play a big role in improving the energy
access across the country, in both urban and rural parts."
·
Tata Power Solar has so far installed over 315 MW
of rooftop projects, including some of the most industrialised states
like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The program has been launched
in prominent cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Surat, Baroda, Delhi,
Gurgaon, Agra, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Guwhati, Kolkata, Dhanbad,
Puri, Vizag, Vellore, Mysore, Coimbatore and Chennai.
·
Tata Power Solar has been a pioneer in India's
rooftop domain for over 29 years, making it the country's most trusted
and dependable rooftop solutions provider. The company has a global
footprint with over 1.4 gigawatts (GW) of modules shipped across the
world, for over 20 years. Tata Power Solar's module manufacturing lines
have an in-house production capacity of 400 megawatts (MW) and cell
manufacturing capacity of 300 MW, which can produce mono and
multi-crystalline wafers of 125mm and 156mm sizes respectively. These
integrated cells and module manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001:2008
and ISO 14001:2004 certified.
·
Tata Power Solar has also built utility scale
projects in 13 states in the country with a total capacity of around 2.76
GW. In 2017, the company executed a 2.6 megawatt (MW) solar rooftop plant
at the carport of Kochi International Airport. Incidentally, this is
India's largest solarpowered carport.
·
Other large scale solar projects executed by Tata
Power Solar includes the 100MW project in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh on
500 acres of land and 30MWp Solar Power Plant in Lapanga, Odisha. It is
one of the largest Solar Power Project in India, which is built on an Ash
Dyke area that has 60% (19 MWp) in Ash Dyke area and 40% (11 MWp) in
normal land. Apart from this, Tata Power Solar successfully executed 400
MW installations in Pavagada Solar Park, Karnataka. It has also won an
auction conducted by Gujarat for 1000 MW of projects to be built at
Dholera solar park.
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Shares of TATA POWER CO.LTD. was last trading in
BSE at Rs.51.45 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 51.7. The total
number of shares traded during the day was 353266 in over 1265 trades.
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The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 52.25 and
intraday low of 50.55. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 18092308.
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India's renewable energy sector could become a
prime destination for global investors with a potential to attract $10
billion (Rs 71,550 crore) of annual investments, Bank of America’s global
head of energy and renewable business said.
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The government's target of generating more than
10,000 megawatts of energy from renewable sources will draw big
investment into wind and solar projects, although changing regulatory
goalposts is a disturbance, Ray Wood, the head of power, utilities &
renewables at the bank, told ET.
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“What people like about renewables the most is that
you have a long-term contract of over 20 years,” he said, referring to
long-term power supply contracts that often are part of the projects
auctioned by government agencies.
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“Foreign money including pensions, insurance money
and sovereign money are the primary sources of this institutional funding
into renewables,” he said.
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Bank of America continues to deliver on its
objectives on environmental, social and governance (ESG), which is a new
theme that many international investors are allocating money to, Wood
said. In 2019, it announced the completion of a $125 billion, 10-year
green business commitment — six years earlier than planned. The bank aims
its environmental business initiative to be $300 billion by 2030.
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“We continue to serve as the largest underwriter of
green bonds, one of the largest issuers of green bonds, and have
structured a number of innovative low-carbon financing deals in 2019,”
Wood said, adding: “Importantly, global investors now are more focused on
ESG.”
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Funds could come through a mix of debt and equity,
which would be a function of what the market wants, Woods said, adding
that if the contracts were for 20 years, the amount of debt as a
percentage would be higher. Investors are said to be looking yield first
and then growth, he said.
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Large companies are going to enter this market in a
big way, he said. “They can save money for their core businesses by
pivoting to renewables, and they can do so at scale and keep bringing
down costs.”
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One risk factor is, if capital dries up then it
will make it more expensive for the country to replace fossil fuels.
“Cost of capital is critical and it impacts the renewable economics
significantly because, by its very nature, renewable plants have a high
capex and very little variable cost,” he said.
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According to Woods, abundant liquidity in global
markets at low interest rates is a perfect scenario to raise money externally
for infrastructure.
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Investors will evince interest not only in
high-growth companies but also in ports, railroads, renewables, gas and
water sectors, which can provide attractive returns, he said.
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He said India could gain from the Covid-19
epidemic. Many believe the outbreak could cripple the Chinese economy as
that country struggles to deal with the situation. “This has resulted in
a strong appetite for Indian paper in offshore capital markets,” Woods
said.
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In the renewable sector, Bank of America expects
consolidation to happen — platforms led by entrepreneurs and backed by
private equity will shift to larger companies. “Renewables is a mature
business and corporates will come in and create scale,” Wood said.
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India will consider extending deadlines for
completing solar energy projects to shield developers from stiff
penalties after the coronavirus outbreak hit component supplies from
China, a top government official said on Tuesday.
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Ratings agency Standard and Poor's Indian unit,
Crisil, warned on Monday that nearly three gigawatts of solar power
projects worth $2.24 billion could be at risk of penalties for missing a
July 2020 completion deadline as the coronavirus hit solar industry
supplies.
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India buys about 80% of its solar modules from
China, which has shut down some factories, restricted transport and
implemented other measures to combat the spread of the virus that has
killed 1,868 people in China and infected 72,436 others.
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Anand Kumar, India's renewable energy secretary,
said all the contracts have a 'force majeure' clause that companies can
invoke to secure an extension on the project schedules.
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"We will definitely consider the applications
of developers for an extension of timelines provided there is evidence
(to prove that the project has been affected due to coronavirus),"
Kumar told Reuters.
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Some of the companies running up against the July
2020 deadline include Aditya Birla Renewables and SoftBank -backed SB
Energy.
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Acme Solar also has solar projects but said it did
not face a July 2020 deadline.
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"None of our projects are affected due to the
coronavirus," said a spokesman for Acme Solar.
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"We have executed all our projects on time
always and we will continue to execute our projects in the pipeline on time,"
the spokesman said.
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Aditya Birla Renewables and SB Energy did not
respond to emails on Tuesday asking if they would meet the project
completion deadlines.
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Indian rules impose monetary penalties for a
three-month delay in commissioning of a project, while projects delayed
further also face downward revisions in tariffs.
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Tariffs at which a company will sell the power to
customers are quoted when the developer bids for a project.
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"We cannot predict when China will start
production of solar modules and cells," said C. Narasimhan,
president of the Indian Solar Association. "The government should
look at extending the deadline without renegotiating the tariff."
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Purchasing of solar modules from elsewhere would be
between 15% and 20% more costly, and could erode returns from the
affected projects, said Crisil, without identifying individual projects.
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Orders for modules are mostly placed six months
ahead of the start of commercial operations.
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Narasimhan, who also heads Raasi Group, which is
building a 100-megawatt solar power project at Tamil Nadu in southern
India, said Raasi was also requesting an extension to avoid facing any
penalties, including a downward revision in tariffs.
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"We're discussing it with state government officials
... as this particular situation is beyond our control." he said.
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Andhra Pradesh’s main power distribution company
has sought more time to clear outstanding dues of Rs 599 crore it owes to
renewable energy developers.
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In an affidavit filed with the state high court on
Monday, the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited
(APSPDCL) said, “The answering respondents seeking intervention of this
hon’ble court to grant 4 weeks further time to clear the dues as
undertaken before this hon’ble court.”
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The court had directed the state discom on December
20, 2019, to clear the dues within four weeks. The order had come in the
wake of the developers seeking the court’s intervention in the matter of
the dues pending for several months.
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“In a hearing that took place earlier this month,
the judge was frustrated that the state had not complied with the order,”
a person close to the development said on condition of anonymity.
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According to the affidavit, the state-owned utility
has paid Rs 1,955 crore to generators so far while Rs 599 crore remains
to be paid.
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“The answering respondents are in serious financial
crisis and due to which it has become difficult to secure the required
balance amount in order to clear the outstanding dues either from banks
or from central government financial institutions for the answering
respondents. In the said process there is a delay occasioned to the
answering respondents herein,” APSPDCL said in the affidavit, a copy of
which was seen by ET.
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The discom also said it had taken steps to clear
outstanding dues. It said it had recently secured a loan of Rs 1,250
crore from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and used it to
clear part of the dues.
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All wind developers have been paid at a tariff of
Rs 2.43 and solar developers at Rs 2.44 so far, in accordance with the
court directive. Developers had filed a contempt petition on this lowered
tariff and hearings have been going on.
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The YSR Congress-led government has been attempting
to renegotiate signed power purchase agreements because it believes the
contracts were signed at rates higher than those in other states. Andhra
Pradesh has around 7,700 mw of solar and wind projects.
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The government will set up a Renewable Energy Promotion
and Facilitation Board to help minimise risks for developers in the
sector that has seen a waning of investment interest mainly because of
adverse policies of state governments.
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The board will liaise between developers and
various state governments and authorities to ensure smooth implementation
of renewable energy projects in the country and also coordinate with
various financial institutions to enhance access to easy finance, the new
and renewable energy ministry (MNRE) said in an order issued on Tuesday.
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The proposed board will “deal with challenges and
issues being faced by renewable energy sector with the aim and objective
to remove obstacles and difficulties which investors face in bringing
investments in the sector”, it said.
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ET has reviewed a copy of the MNRE order.
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The board will meet once every 15 days. However,
developers and investors can meet the chairperson on every Wednesday
between 3 pm and 5 pm by obtaining prior approval, it said.
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The board will be chaired by joint secretary (solar)
and have two other joint secretaries of MNRE as members, people privy to
the development told ET. It will also have representation from senior
officials from the ministries of finance and power, and from Central
Electricity Authority, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, NTPC,
REC, Power Finance Corp, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency
(Ireda) and Solar Energy Corp of India.
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The renewable energy sector has been facing some
tough challenges due to policy uncertainty and difficulties in land procurement
and transmission connectivity. Payment delays by state distribution
companies, increasing curtailment of projects and some state governments’
move to renegotiate power purchase agreements (PPAs) have added to the
problems, industry insiders said.
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“Most problems unfortunately originate at state
level with limited ability of MNRE to directly intervene in those,” said
Vinay Rustagi, managing director at renewable energy consultancy Bridge
to India. “Nonetheless, it is heartening that MNRE is actively taking
these steps to reassure investors and address the challenges.”
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The terms of the reference of the proposed
renewable energy board include providing all assistance to the industry
in project development and implementation and suggesting steps for enhancing
ease of doing business, increasing confidence of investors, and reducing
risks and problems of renewable energy sector.
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While the NDA government at the Centre has stated
its intention to achieve 450 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity
by 2030 at the United Nations Summit 2019, the states do not look so keen
on green energy, given the overhang of contracted capacity and slack in
demand. The new governments in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are
currently trying to renegotiate renewable contracts.
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All this has impacted the sector’s growth and
investor interest.
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The sector’s growth rate this fiscal has been the
slowest in five years, growing 5.7% year on year till October against
28.5% during the same period in FY19, according to CEA data. However,
renewable energy generation grew 17.22% year on year in December after a
few months of single-digit growth.
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Also, new solar installations in the country had
declined 35% year on year in the first half of 2019 at 3.2 GW against 5.1
GW of capacity added a year earlier, according to research agency Mercom
India.
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India targets 175 GW of the green power by 2022,
against 86 GW installed capacity now. However, according to an October
report by ratings agency Crisil, this target is set to be missed by 42%
with the capacity likely to increase to only 104 GW by then due to
“lingering policy uncertainty and tariff glitches”.
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A new report by The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI) has found that India’s reservoirs have 18,000 sq. km of area with
the potential to generate 280 GW of solar power through floating solar
photovoltaic (PV) plants.
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The report ‘Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A
Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector?’ has been produced by TERI, as part of
the Energy Transmission Commission (ETC) India. ETC India is a research
platform based in TERI, New Delhi. It is the Indian chapter of the global
Energy Transitions Commission, which is co-chaired by Lord Adair Turner
and Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI.
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The findings of the report, which was released
during the recently held World Sustainable Development Summit 2020, have
the potential to help in planning out the strategies for achieving
overall capacity addition in solar energy in India. The report has
calculated the potential for floating solar photovoltaics (FSPVs), or
‘floatovoltaics’, on the basis of 30% of the water surface area of the
country’s medium and large reservoirs.
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The report provides state-wise details of floating
solar potential in the form of a web-based interactive tool called India Floating
Solar PV-Tool, which has also been developed under this study. According
to its findings, the state of Maharashtra has the most potential and can
generate 57891 MW of electricity through solar PV installations on 3173
sq. km of water surface area in reservoirs.
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At present, ground-based installations form 93.1%
of India’s grid-connected solar PV sector. The installation cost of
utility-scale solar PV in the country has reduced by 84% between 2010 and
2018, making India the country with the lowest installation cost for
utility-scale solar PVs.
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However, solar PV deployment is quite
land-intensive and scaling up projects requires large chunks of
contiguous land parcels, which has its own set of challenges. In order to
keep the pace of development commensurate with India’s national targets
for solar capacity additions, alternatives such as floating solar need to
be explored and established. It is estimated that the global annual
capacity addition from floating solar may rise from the 1.314 GWp in 2018
to 4.6 GWp by 2022. Presently, China is the leading international market
followed by Japan and South Korea for floating solar. India also has very
bright prospects to develop FSPV projects due to the availability of
large water bodies in the country.
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Dr Ashvini Kumar, Senior Director, Renewable Energy
Technologies, TERI, said, “This report is an excellent initiative opening
up alternatives for solar capacity additions. Preliminary data analysis
indicates a huge potential of 280 GW with a certain coverage of water
surface area. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are the top three
states in terms of potential for installations of FSPV.”
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Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, said,
“Floating Solar PV could be a potential option for accelerating solar
power deployment in the country, which would ultimately help in achieving
NDC goals. It is time to look for bringing a conducive policy framework
to encourage tapping this potential.”
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Power equipment giant Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited (BHEL) has won a tender floated by The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI) for installation and maintenance of battery energy
storage systems (BESS), the research institute said on Wednesday.
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“BHEL offered 410 kWh of cumulative battery
capacity for a total cost of Rs 2.51 crore, including six years of
comprehensive warranty and maintenance,” TERI said in a statement.
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TERI, under the licensee area of BSES Rajdhani
Power Limited (BRPL), is implementing a pilot project to integrate BESS
at the distribution level. This is being implemented under an initiative
of the US-India collaborative for smart distribution system with storage.
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“These tender results are game changing as they
show that it is cost effective for BRPL to add batteries instead of
adding transformer capacity in many instances, and for housing societies
to use solar-cum-battery systems for electricity supply instead of diesel
generator sets. It also shows that if time-of-day tariffs are applicable
on a year-on-year basis then batteries, along with solar rooftop, are a
cost-effective way of minimising electricity cost,” said Ajay Mathur,
director general, TERI.
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The tender was open for both lithium-ion and
advanced lead acid companies and aimed at design, supply, testing,
installation and commissioning, along with comprehensive annual
maintenance contract for five years of BESS on turnkey basis in Delhi.
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“Most of the systems and components are
domestically manufactured, and this tender suggests that there is a large
potential of growth of this domestic industry,” said A K Saxena, senior
fellow and senior director, electricity and fuels division, TERI.
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The tender received responses from Larsen &
Toubro, Mahindra Susten, Hero Solar, Honeywell Automation, Amara Raja,
Okaya Power, etc. The institute said the level of interest received for
the tender signifies the transition of electricity distribution grid with
increasing penetration of distributed energy resources
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supported by stationary battery energy storage
technologies.
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“This tender holds special importance as it
identifies appropriate technologies as per techno-economic evaluation and
validates their technical characteristics under Indian environmental
conditions,” said Alekhya Datta, Fellow and Area Convenor, Electricity
and Fuels Division, TERI.
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He added that it gathers data to explore more
opportunities for BESS in managing variability of demand and supply at
electricity distribution level.
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According to TERI, so far, there has not been any
descriptive tender of BESS at a distribution level. “This tender not only
briefly explains applications and control logic for BESS to operate but
is also technologically neutral,” it added.
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Under this tender, the bidder was expected to have
installed and operationalised BESS of cumulative installed capacity of
125 kW for two hours or higher, of which at least one grid-interactive
BESS would be of 30 kW for two hours capacity or higher in India or
globally.
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