Monday, February 24, 2014: In an on-going decline in solar power prices, India’s solar cost fell to a new low. With settling almost close to coal and with the increased competition, the country has drawn many offers for building solar plants. Groups with major foreign shares have shown some serious inclination towards the Indian solar industry, including companies that are backed by BlackRock Inc., US (BLK) and Electricite de France SA (EDF).di
According to a Business Week report, India plans a six times increase its solar capacity, by way of drawing $11.7 billion investments by 2017. This will reduce blackouts as falling panel prices help photovoltaic projects compete with coal- and gas-fired plants.
India uses competitive bidding to select companies that offer to generate clean energy at the lowest cost possible. The country granted 750 MWs of permits on 21 February, recently, of which half of the solar plant components to are allowed to use imported equipment. The Indian government further offered grants/subsidies to offset project costs for the first time. This helped in inviting bids for three times, than the capacity auctioned.
The winners of the import-eligible capacity (who reportedly bid to seek the minimum from Rs 18.75 billion ($302 million) of subsidies) have priced electricity from the solar panels for a standard amount of Rs 6,500 a MWH, down by 25 per cent from a national tender two years ago, said a Business Week report.
The Indian unit of St. Peters, US based SunEdison Inc. (SUNE), which counts BlackRock among its biggest investors , and World Bank-backed Azure Power India Pvt. won the most capacity at 100 MW,each. ACME Solar Energy Ltd. is 25 per cent owned by EDF’s renewable unit, and it got 80 MW in bid results.
