Tuesday, October 14, 2014: The latest India Solar Compass report has been rolled out with a clear message that domestic manufacturing capacity in India is not at all sufficient at this time when the government is keenly planning to roll out substantial generation capacity now. The report has been produced by Bridge to India, the solar analyst firm. The report has been prepared following interviews with leading industry figures and collaboration with government officials.
The new government has launched some very ambitious solar plans and as per the report, the government is more focused on expanding the size of the solar market before increasing domestic manufacturing. The government is willing to help grow domestic manufacturing in the solar sector through domestic content requirements (DCR) and motivating companies like National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for investment in solar projects in the country. As per predictions by industry top figures, 1.4GW will be installed by next year but Bridge to India predicts that as $1.9 billion is already in investment, then the capacity may reach 1.6GW.
In the first quarter of 2015, loads of new installations are expected and thanks to state-wide initiatives and National Solar Mission Policy, 2GW is already under development. The state legislation is topping the list of most installed solar power generation capacity followed by the NSM. NSM is already running behind its schedule and in two phases its current 9GW needs to be revamped. The new framework will match the government’s term to fulfill the annual targets. As per Bridge to India’s speculations, 15GW solar target needs to be divided into three phases by 2019 which includes three 1GW ‘mega’ solar parks. The second phase is likely to generate 5GW and it’s expected to shift from ‘bundling’, the technology which intertwines solar units with thermal power units to level out costs.
The third phase may roll out 7GW without any requirement for incentives. This plan is expected to benefit investment in bigger projects and the agenda is topped by land acquisition and capital accessibility. States are expected to continue distributed solar initiatives like net metering and also formulating local industry standards. As per the report, this kind of approach will ensure balance between central and decentralised solar energy options. The leading module providers are First Solar and Trina Solar while leaders in domestic module supplies include Waaree, Vikram Solar and ReneSola. Ray Powers Infra is the leading player for third party engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) in India.
