Greentech Lead India: The National Solar Mission has
commissioned 89 percent of its allotted capacity in its first stage.
National Solar Mission aims to install 20,000 MW capacity
of solar energy by 2020.
The government had signed power purchase agreements (PPA) with 28 solar power
developers for 140 MW solar photo voltaic (PV) projects in January 2011, out of
which 125 MW of capacity stands commissioned currently.
“The progress so far is very good as most of the projects are
commissioned. The delayed projects have been given one month extension with a
part of their bank guarantee encashed,” Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary,
ministry of new and renewable energy told Economic Times.
For solar thermal sector, power purchase agreements were signed for 27 projects
for a capacity of 470 MW in batch 1. They would be commissioned by May 2013.
NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which executes the bidding and trades power
with the developers, is satisfied with the result. The result could have been
100 percent if hiccups like allegations against Lanco and delays by some other
developers had not taken place.
One of the major participating companies in the mission, Lanco Infratech
recently faced allegations irregularities such as creating front companies. The
investigative report on the matter will soon be presented, officials said.
“We expect to place it in a week or two. Our investigation concludes that
the company did flout some guidelines but there is no scam as such, but we are
more cautious with the batch 2 now,” Kapoor added.
The solar PV projects under batch 2 of phase 1, with the selected capacity of
340 MW, signed the PPA in January this year and will commission by February
2013. These projects are highly awaited as this round of bidding saw some big
names in the solar energy market quoting tariffs as low as Rs 7.49/unit.
The projects under batch 2 are under construction and we are hopeful that they
will start commissioning in time. The ministry also hopes to achieve grid
parity in next five years. Mission statement has set a target to achieve 20,000
MW of solar generated power by 2020.
The total installed capacity of solar generated power in the country stands at
503.9 MW so far. The total investment, as estimated by the ministry is about Rs
6,000 crore.
Solar industry revenue to drop to $92 billion in 2012 from $110
billion in 2011
Global solar industry revenue is expected to drop to $92 billion in
2012 from $110 billion in 2011 due to crashing prices.
In 2011, the increase in solar installation was 66
percent to 26.5 GW. In 2012, solar installations will grind to a near halt
adding 0.4 GW, totaling 26.9 GW of new installations.
New installations will rebound to 38.3 GW in 2017 as the
industry learns to navigate a global market fast losing its subsidies,
according to a Lux Research report.