JNNSM

September 6, 2012

India Plans to Double Existing Renewable Energy Capacity in next 5 years – Is it Possible?

Renewable Energy India India has sharply increased its target for Renewable Energy in the next 5 years to 30 GW from the earlier 17 GW. Greenworldinvestor […]
September 3, 2012

India to use Accounting Shenanigans to prevent Bad Loans from the struggling Power Industry from showing in Bank books

Problems of Power Industry in India The problems faced by the electricity companies in India are quite well known and those who did not, the biggest […]
August 28, 2012

Why is Bihar signing a Solar PPA at Rs 12.50/KwH using CPV technology when Orissa is buying Solar power at Rs 7/KwH using Crystalline Silicon Solar Panels

There are news reports that the state of Bihar is signing a PPA with a US based investor Schanti Partners for building a 10 MW solar […]
August 21, 2012

Uttar Pradesh Solar Policy promoting Land Hogging Ground Mounted Solar Farms seems Misguided – Sets 1000 MW Target in next 5 years

Solar Policy in Uttar Pradesh India’s largest state in terms of population Uttar Pradesh, is set to come out with a 5 year solar policy to […]
August 18, 2012

Why CSE is dead wrong About the Reason behind the Failure of the Indian Domestic Solar Panel Industry

Solar Industry in India Solar power in India is one of the fastest growing energy industry and with the prices of solar energy falling continuously; it […]
August 16, 2012

Do Indian State Governments’ Plans of building massive Solar Power Plants, on their own make sense?

State Governments in India have been driving the growth of solar energy in India by giving subsidies and auctioning capacities at favorable electricity tariffs. Some states […]
July 26, 2012

Wind Energy Policy of Rajasthan – What you need to Know

Rajasthan India’s western state of Rajasthan which is home to India’s only desert and with one of the least population densities has come out with a […]
July 17, 2012

India’s Second Largest State sets Attractive Solar Subsidies – What you need to know

Solar Power in India is growing rapidly despite the federal subsidy program, JNNSM not doing so well. This is mainly due to the State Government’s stepping […]
July 10, 2012

Solar Gold Rush leads to Sharp Appreciation in Land Value in India’s Southern Dust Bowls

Solar Gold Rush The Indian state of  Tamil Nadu, which is set to announce a solar subsidy policy soon, is seeing a massive gold rush. Note […]
June 28, 2012

Indian Solar Projects Highly Risky – making Financiers wary despite claims of "Solar Shining"

Indian Solar Energy has received wide acclaim in national and international media for being a great success. However compared to other countries, the claims seem quite […]
June 20, 2012

Indian Solar Water Heaters capture 30% of the Water Heating Market of $200 million

Note the market for water heaters in India is around $200 million annually and solar water heaters have managed to capture more than 30% of the market showing that solar water heaters are now a part of the mainstream. Note many solar products are starting to become more mainstream as their price competitiveness increases every year. Solar Panels which are the most widely used solar product has seen the price come down by almost 80% in the last few years .
May 28, 2012

Gujarat trailblazes solar energy growth in India with over 65% capacity and innovative 1 MW floating solar power plant

Gujarat has leapfrogged far ahead of other Indian states in solar energy installations. This is despite the fact that Rajasthan had won the lion’s share of […]
March 1, 2012

Why Indian Clean Energy Policy is Misguided by CSE

The CSE concurs and also criticizes the support for large wind farms as well . Note the capital subsidy and depreciation given to wind farms makes it much more lucrative to just build wind energy turbines rather than on focusing on the electricity generated . This has made many wind farms generate only half of the electricity given by normal wind turbines. Note the article also emphasizes on giving subsidies to the poor through loans and subsidies for biomass energy to shift them from dirty energy sources like kerosene.
February 27, 2012

Solar Electricity Price of 14c / KwH (unit) seen in Indian State Orissa Auction, Reaches Retail Electricity Price

The falling prices of solar panels has made almost impossible thought of solar electricity prices possible today. In a state auction of solar projects ,a small company Alex Green Energy bid only 14c/ KwH to win the auction. The price is lower than that seen in the Indian federal subsidy auction JNNSM. Note Rs 7/ Kwh that was bid is close to the Rs 6-7/ Kwh retail electricity prices in most cities in India.Note in the first phase of auction the lowest price was more than 50% higher at Rs 10/ kwh
February 27, 2012

Solar Rooftops in India to get Capital Subsidies – Pilots in Gandhinagar,Jaipur, Mysore and Thane

Solar Power in India grew by 400% in 2011 thanks mainly to the growth of large solar farms built using government subsidies. However there are hardly […]
January 31, 2012

Solar Energy Corporation of India to Supervise Indian Federal Solar Program

Solar Power in India has taken off under the ambitious JNNSM government subsidy scheme with almost 400 MW of Solar Capacity installed in 2011 . With various states like Gujarat, Karnataka coming up with aggressive solar subsidy schemes on their own as well, solar power capacity in India should surge by around 1 GW in 2012. This has made India one of the fastest growing solar markets in the globe right now.
January 30, 2012

Solar Insolation Map of India to be Developed by CWET as DOE,NASA Data proves Inadequate

Finding accurate Solar insolation data is a difficult problem faced in most countries except Europe and USA. The reason is that there is no history of solar radiation data in most countries as solar power is a relatively new technology. Most of the solar developers rely on data from NASA, DOE and European agencies which focus mostly on their domestic geography. This leads to faulty and inaccurate solar radiation data for other places which are seeing massive solar boom due to falling solar panel prices. India which installed 400 MW of solar power plants in 2011 and should see another 1000 MW in 2012 faces this problems also. There are no devices to record solar insolation in India with data coming from outside.
January 26, 2012

Indian Renewable Energy Stocks – Bubble Bursting or Investor Panic

Quick quiz. What is common to Suzlon, Moser Baer, Indo Solar, Websol Energy systems and Orient Green Power? All these stocks had successful runs on the stock market and hyped as the next game changers in wind energy, semi conductors, solar power and hydel/geo thermal power. Valuations were more on growth stories than through an hard nosed DCF spreadsheet. But now, they trade at record lows(like other stocks but what is different is the pressing fundamental concerns in each case). Is this a bubble finally bursting, or are investors panicking?
January 19, 2012

Indian Imports of Chinese Solar Cells to Continue despite Indian Panel Factory Closures

The Indian government is not going to impose any new duties on imports of Chinese solar cells. This is despite the petition by the Indian solar panel manufacturers to give a level playing field. Note Chinese solar panels have virtually destroyed the solar manufacturing industry in the West with big companies falling under the relentless price pressure where solar panel prices have gone down by 60% in one year. Only the Koreans seem to be standing up to the Chinese government backed top tier solar companies from China. The rest have mostly folded up and are facing survival questions including those from Taiwan. Indian solar companies were never that big and cost competitive anyway given the headstart and support of the Chinese backed companies. The price crash in 2011 has seen most of them close their factories as they can't even cover their costs at the Gross Margin Level.
January 10, 2012

Indian Desert State Rajasthan Plans four gigawatt Solar Parks in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer – Pipe Dream or Reality

The Indian Desert State of Rajasthan in the West which borders Pakistan is planning to set up four gigawatt scale solar parks in 4 districts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer. Note under the first 2 phase of JNNSM , Rajasthan has got the lion's share of the solar farms being constructed. The reasons why Rajasthan has managed to corner 80% of the JNSSM solar projects is because a) Solar Radiation is the highest in the country b) Land is cheap and plentiful in the state with the government literally given them for free to solar developers. A huge plus in a country where land acquisition is a big industrial problem c) Support from the government
January 9, 2012

Solar Cables in India becomes a Big Business with Gigawatt Market

Solar Power in India is growing by leaps and bounds with the federal and state governments heavily promoting solar energy production.India is set to become a gigawatt market in 2012 with around 400 MW already installed by 2011.The ancillary industries around the main solar power market are set to grow at a rapid clip as well.One of the unlikely sectors in solar products in India is the growth of solar cables.Note solar power plants require a lot of wire and cabling to connect thousands of solar panels to each other and to solar inverters.Besides solar power plants also require interconnection with the power grid.While today most of the solar cable is imported from outside,there is potential for a solar cable manufacturer to build a domestic capacity as well given the rapid growth expected in solar power.
January 6, 2012

India's biggest solar farm/ installation of 40 MW completed in Kutch- What we need is Net Metering

Note the Indian solar projects are growing continuously and with the possible additoin of 1000 mw of solar energy in 2012 we will see much larger solar installations with 100 MW solar farms being planned.Besides solar thermal power plants are bigger in size in general.While the growth of big solar installations is good, India really needs to move to rooftop small solar installations and off grid solar promotion.
January 4, 2012

NVVN to sign PPA with Indian JNNSM Phase 2 Winners for 350 MW Solar Plants in Jan 2012

JNNSM Phase 2 recieved almsot 8 times the bids with 2500 MW worth of bids out of which around 350 MW was selected for providing Feed in Tarifffs with the average tariff of Rs 8.77 or 17.5c/Kwh .Note India's execution record has not been great with only 400 MW solar capacity reached in 2011 against a target of more than 1000 MW.However weaker and unknown players have gone out of this business and the winners this time look more likely to construct these solar power plants.No doubt a massive glut of solar panels in the world with prices as low as 80-90c/watt helping .Compare that to prices of solar panels which were more than $2/watt last time.
January 3, 2012

What will be India's Solar Power Capacity in 2012 after 400 MW in 2011

Solar Power in India has been growing at a rapid clip due to a number of favorable factors 1) Big Energy Deficit 2) Lots of Sulight 3) Falling prices of Solar Panels 4) Favorable government subsidies. Indian Solar Power Capacity in 2012 Many of the small firms have been weeded out and the developers and banks have got some experience in this new solar industry.Expect 2012 to be much better and expect at leas a doubling of the solar power capacity as both phase 1 and phase 2 winners in JNNSM complete projects.Rajasthan,Gujarat and Karnataka state subsidies should also see some projects being complted Solar Power Capacity in India in 2012 should be around 1 GW which is not bad and will make it one of the top 10 Solar Markets in the world.
January 2, 2012

Gujarat Solar Energy Developers miss Deadline with only half of 300 MW target, want an Extension

Gujarat solar energy has been massively promoted by the state government led by Modi which has announced numerous incentives and subsidies.The state has an ambition of becoming the Germany of solar energy in India with more than 1 GW of capacity in the next 2-3 years,but the solar energy developers has missed the deadline.29 solar companies in India now want an extension which add up to 450 MW of capacity.The 300 MW of capacity target has not even been half covered with only 140 MW installed.However the problem is that on Jan 29 2012 new feed in tariffs will be announced which will be lower.This will benefit the older developers if they get the older higher tariffs with much lower equipment prices.The State has already implemented a clear and forward looking Renewable Energy Policy with emphasis on Solar Energy.It has signed PPAs with a number of solar project developers under its State Solar Subsidy Scheme.While other states are looking mainly towards the federal subsidy scheme JNNSM to push Solar Energy Generation,Gujarat is looking to push Solar Energy on its own.Gujarat now has reportedly acquired 3000 acres at Charnaka village in Patan District which it will give to solar project developers to install solar panels.
January 2, 2012

Can Ladakh the Cold Desert become India's Solar Desterec – Massive Benefits

Ladakh,one of the most beautiful hilly regions lying near the Chinese border has one of the highest potentials in generating solar power in India.Note under JNNSM,India is targeting more than 20 GW in the next 10 years and already large solar farms are coming in the desert areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat.However,Indian policy has mostly neglected the less inhabited region of Ladakh.Most of the policy initiatives have been low key in nature and mostly to provide the region with off grid solar power,solar cookers and solar lights.What has been missed is to build massive solar panel farms and connecting them with a transmission line to the power hungry states of the North.Just like Himachal Pradesh has become a masssive hydro power exporting state,Ladakh can do the same trick with solar power. Solar Panel prices have fallen by 50% in 2011 and now solar energy can be profitably be generate at Rs 7/kwh.While this is more expensive than coal at Rs 4/kwh,the thing to be remembered is that this power value is constant for 25 years and it has no coal disadvantages which kills thousands each year.Also it increases Indias 'energy security and reduce imports of expensive coal.It also will provide more employment and generate economic value internally beside supporting the Indian construction and EPC companies.
July 6, 2011

How to get Subsidy for Residential and Commercial Buildings and Home PV Solar Energy Systems in India – List of MNRE Empanelled Solar Panel Installers,Procedure

Solar Power in India is generating huge excitement with falling prices of Solar Power and government incentives under the JNNSM.However Subsidy of Home and Small Commercial Solar Energy Systems has not been big enough.Unlike Western Countries which are shifting their government subsidies towards smaller solar rooftop systems,the Indian government is supporting even larger solar panel plants.This will lead to only large investors,utilities and companies being left in the fray and lead to lesser competition.Also there is no support for rooftop solar which will help to broad base the reach of solar energy.A Policy which helps distributed solar like Germany will do much more to boost solar in the country than supporting massive solar plants that will only help large companies making the most of the taxpayer subsidies..Note Delhi is the only state in India which is giving primacy to rooftop solar systems and is in the process of announcing a capital subsidy soon.The reason may be that Delhi mostly consists of urban homes and they have little option.However there is a subsidy available for small home solar power systems though it is difficult to get and only possible for large corporates till now.
July 4, 2011

Green Banking in India Accelerates – ICICI funding Cleantech R&D,Canara Bank Solar Lighting and SBI using Wind Energy

Green Banking in India has started increasing at a rapid pace as concerns over Global Warming increase.Most of India's Banks are pushing for Clean Technology in their separate ways.Though there is lack of regulation on funding of environment friendly projects,Banks are pushing ahead on their own anyway.India's Financial Sector has seen the writing on the wall as the largest bank SBI is using Wind Energy for captive consumption to reduce its carbon footprint.The Bank is also reducing the interest rates for Green Projects beside helping in carbon consulting of customers.SBI is also implementing thousands of Green Kiosks to reduce the need for paper.ICICI Bank is helping funding research in clean technology using TFD while Canara Bank has funded almost 50,000 units of Solar Lighting .
July 3, 2011

Solar Products in India – Guide on Solar Energy Panels, Lanterns,Lights,Heating Equipment Suppliers

Solar Products in India are set to grow at a tremendous rate in the future driven by the declining costs of solar power and the increasing price of fossil fuel energy products.Already we are seeing massive power cuts across the country due to shortage of coal.Beside this,the prices of electricity has increased tremendously as well and is approaching seriously high levels due the increasing price of coal and gas.This has made it inevitable that people will turn towards solar products which are not only becoming cheaper but are also greener.Solar Products comes in a wide variety and range from almost all electrical home appliances.You can solar air conditioners,solar fans,solar toys etc.The main uses of solar products however are those in generating electric power .These are known as solar panels and poised to become ubiquitous in the days to come.The day is not far off when almost every house in India will have solar panels on their roofs to generate cheap electric power.Beside this solar lanterns are already replacing expensive and polluting kerosene lamps in poor households.Solar Lighting is also increasing particularly in those areas where the electricity power grid cannot reach.Solar Heaters have become extremely popular in southern India as solar water heaters are much cheaper than normal electricity powered water heaters.Though Solar Cookers have not caught on in a big way,there are also very cost effective and clean.Below is listed out the main solar products sold in India along-with their suppliers
July 3, 2011

Solar Power Plants in India – Types (Solar Thermal,PV) and Cost of Setting Up

What is a Solar Power Plant Solar Power Plant is a Device which generates power or electricity using Solar Energy.Note normally solar power plants refers to large ground mounted solar farms rather than the residential solar rooftop projects.However it is only a matter of usage and a solar power plant can refer to a very small solar panel of 5 watts as well as a huge solar plant of 100s of megawatts consisting of hundreds of thousands of solar panels. Types of Solar Power Plants Note there are a number of solar energy technologies which convert the power from the sun to electricity.However the two main solar technologies in use are Solar Thermal Technology and Solar Photovoltaic Technology.Current Solar PV Technology accounts of the lion's share of solar power generated globally and is gaining more marketshare as costs of solar power decrease.