PSUs were supposed to add 10 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022 but are yet to achieve even a tenth of that capacity. The report is scathing in its criticism of various government arms including the PSUs for not doing enough to build solar capacity. For the moment it must use the cheap imports to build solar capacity but increasingly rely on domestic industry to meet future demand. There is no reason why India cannot bridge the gap in a few years time. India’s SPV cell imports are to the tune of $5 billion while exports are just in the order of a few ten million dollars. Considering that the WTO has restrained the government from placing restrictions on power projects that would have forced them to purchase only indigenous SPV modules, the government certainly needs to focus on capacity building and better designing of subsidies. They have also sought zero excise duty exemption and Zero import duty on raw materials. The committee has suggested that the MNRE put more emphasis on setting up large scale manufacturing solar photo cell manufacturing hubs. Imports account for 85 per cent of India’s needs. This is in contrast to a mere 945 MW added in 2013-14 when solar module costs were 58-60 cents/watt as against 16 cents/watts now. India added 5.5 GW of solar capacity in 2016 and is reportedly poised to add 9 GW in 2017. The reality is that the low-cost Chinese imports are fuelling India’s impressive solar surge in recent years. It restricts itself to stating that an anti-dumping duty should be imposed on poor quality imported materials. Interestingly, the committee maintains equanimity on the controversial question of dumping by Chinese SPV manufacturers. If banks pull the plug on funding, or if discoms renege from their power purchase commitments, or if the costs of operation and maintenance make the projects unviable these can hurt India’s fledgeling solar industry. In 2010, bids ranged between Rs.10-12/kWh which fell to Rs.6-8/kWh in 2014 and has sharply fallen by over 50 per cent in the past one year. The report also raises concerns about whether the falling solar tariffs, which are now Rs.2.44/kWh are sustainable and whether companies are sacrificing returns on investment to corner a larger market share. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy blamed it on multiple approval processes, the reluctance of DISCOMs to set up metering applications at the customer’s ( who now also becomes a power producer) end, and lack of consistency in subsidies and regulations. However, only 663 MW of rooftop solar projects have been installed. A target to generate 100GW of solar energy has been set for 2022, of which 60GW will come from large and medium scale solar projects and the remaining 40GW from rooftop solar projects. The 28 th report of the parliamentary standing committee on energy reviewing the National Solar Mission has flagged several areas of concern.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |