With the aim to generate 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), India can become a global hub for manufacturing concentrated solar thermal (CSP) systems. India has a great opportunity to build the CSP industry like China did in the wind power industry, as it has the advantage of a capital market, an industrial base and a sizeable domestic market.
According to industry experts, while solar PV is better placed to meet the requirements of decentralised generation—to supply power to areas where grid connectivity is difficult—CSP has the advantage of scalability and can be used to build utility scale generating plants. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has fixed the feed-in tariff for CSP equipment plants at a lower level compared to those based on PV equipment.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also set the threshold and maximum capacity for CSP projects at 5 MW and 100 MW, respectively, compared to 5 MW for solar PV-based plants, for allocation of projects under the first phase of the JNNSM.
