India mulls tendering 20 GW of solar capacity

The Government of India intends to launch a mega tender for up to 20 GW of photovoltaic capacity, to support local solar power manufacturing industry, lower the tariffs for solar power and helping the overarching program of Make In India.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is still working on conceptualizing the plan that will be commissioned in phases. The scheme will be awarded to developers who will quote the lowest price for selling grid connected solar power. Nevertheless, it is apparently not yet clear if this will only comprise large scale solar power capacity alone or rooftop tenders as well.

The government of India has set a target for the country to reach 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022, and goal for solar development is 100 GW. The current operational solar cell manufacturing capacity of India as on May 31, 2017 was 1.6 GW and that of modules was 5.5 GW. 

Raj Kumar Singh, Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, commented on the matter:

“It is a good plan but, will it face the challenges of who will sign the PPAs of this quantum? That has to be planned”

Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director at Fortum India, added:

“It is a great move. Bidding pipeline has gone dry for quite some time and this is very much welcome. This reinforces the government’s commitment to solar... I would also hope that issues related to land acquisition, electricity evacuation and PPAs are simultaneously addressed.”