India missed utility-scale solar capacity addition target for FY20 by 24 per cent
India added about 5.7 gigawatt (GW) of new utility-scale solar capacity in the financial year 2019-20 (FY20), which is 24 per cent less than the 7.5 GW target set for this year, according to a recent report by a research firm. “As per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), in FY20 about 5.7 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity was added in India… Compared to previous year installations, FY20 installations are also marginally lesser — about one per cent,” said JMK Research and Analytics in its report on Wednesday. It added that in FY20, Rajasthan added a maximum capacity of 1.8 GW, followed by Tamil Nadu with 1.3 GW addition, and Karnataka with 1.1 GW addition. “Together these three states contributed about 74 per cent of all utility-scale solar installations in India in FY20,” according to the study.
Sungrow backs long-term strategy to capitalise on ‘vibrant’ India market
Sungrow is backing a long-term strategy for the Indian solar market, targeting growth in the rooftop segment while lining up more deals with independent power producers (IPPs) in the country. Late last month Sungrow toasted a strategic agreement with domestic IPP Avaada Energy which will see the Chinese manufacturer supply Avaada with 650MW worth of its 1500V 3.125MW inverters for use in Avaada’s upcoming solar projects. At the time Sungrow said that the flexible 6.25MW or 12.5MW block design held the potential to minimise system costs, making them ideal for richly competitive tender-led solar environments such as India. That deal, however, is one of a number Sungrow says it has landed with IPPs in the country as it looks to target developers delivering projects under India’s ISTS tenders, due to executive in both 2020 and 2021. Sungrow said those deals had consolidated its position in India’s utility-scale solar inverter market, but the firm had also placed the rooftop and residential markets in its crosshairs.
India’s largest solar park reaches full 2GW capacity
Bhadla solar park is significant in many aspects. The solar park saw multiple record-low tariffs during some highly competitive auctions. Projects at the solar park were developed by multiple companies through public-private partnerships. State government developed 745MW of capacity, a joint venture company of IL&FS and the Rajasthan state government, developed 1GW of capacity, while another joint venture between Adani Enterprises and the Rajasthan government developed 500MW. India’ largest generation company, state-owned NTPC Limited, owns 260MW of the facility’s output capacity. Two auctions in May 2017 saw the country’s lowest-ever recorded bids, with Acme Cleantech Solutions securing 200MW of capacity at Rs 2.44/kWh (US¢3.8/kWh).
