Monday, March 24, 2014: India’s National Solar Mission is hailed with many descending speculations, due to annual budget cut and impending subsidy pay-outs. After a promising start, the solar capacity addition is likely to fall base with slower growth rate. The country will much likely see lesser implementation than last year, while the global market is up for an anticipated addition by almost 24 per cent.
Just as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) seemed to taking on a steady pace, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) was drought hit by a massive annual budget cut of more than 60 per cent. Furthering on that, the ministry owes subsidy amounts ranging over Rs 10 billion and with the end of the first phase of the mission 2010-2013, the solar power installations failed by a margin of over 800MW. The current year is likely to take a big hit from the already prevailing factors, which will bring down the growth from 2013.
According to a report from The Hindu, Mercom Capital said that the collective new solar power capacity additions in India is estimated at nearly 1,000 MW for 2014. However, there was slower growth on yearly basis in installations, and the solar facilities calculated at 1,004 MW for 2013. In 2012, the solar additions landed at 986 MW.
Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder, Mercom Capital Group, which is a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, said, “It is time for developers to go directly to consumers, there is a large power-starved market waiting to be served that looks better and better every day as diesel prices keep climbing.”
The cumulative grid-interactive solar power installed capacity in India estimated at 2,208 MW, till 31 January 2014, which is 7 per cent of total renewable power capacity. There are no JNNSM solar PV projects listed to begun till the mid of 2015. Country’s most concentrated solar power (CSP) projects have already been stalled.
The issues that have further added to lesser solar growth are delays in state policies and enforcement of renewable purchase obligation (RPO) norms. While, the national elections slated this summer have added doubts in large-scale solar project installations. On the other hand, the global market may improve capacity by about 24 per cent in the current calendar year.
