INDIA POLICY SUPPORTS BIG SUN

India’s renewable energy policy framework favours CSP in long-run
Jerri-Lynn Scofield, 18 March 2011 (CSP Today)

"India sparked the development of its renewable energy sector…in 2003…with… an Electricity Act that included…renewable purchase obligations (RPO) and Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs)…[and] many State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs)…[enacted] RPOs…[but they varied and had varied effectiveness]…

"In November 2010, India’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) responded to state-by-state disparities…by launching the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism…[It] allows states that have exceeded their RPOs to swap renewable energy with states that haven’t…[CERC has suggested] that solar power generation should be promoted…[but] each state is left…to mandate any particular percentage of solar power…States such as Tamil Nadu…are exceeding their RPOs solely by the use of wind technology…"

No distinction between PV and CSP, just solar (click to enlarge)

"…[T]here is no preferential treatment for any given solar technology…[Any] preference for PV or CSP arises from the size and resources of the developer…[B]ig companies can go for CSP projects…[B]oth big and small companies alike can develop PV…A PV plant can be 1 MW, 100 MW, or 500 MW…[limited only by the] availability of land…Some companies…are hedging their bets, and pursuing both technologies…

"As in Spain, Indian central and state government policies have promoted the renewable sector via FiTs. But unlike Spain, India’s government-mandated FiTs are no longer pivotal to CSP development…[because] contracts are no longer being awarded on the basis of the CERC FIT, due to competitive bidding driving project bids [30-35%] below the FiT price…Whether such low tariffs are viable is questionable…"

click to enlarge

"Indian regulators have also set a high local content requirement…[at] 30% for CSP and gradually increasing. India has a large domestic [wind and traditional power] engineering industry…China and India may [in the longer run] become a source for more solar-specific components, such as mirrors, based on their relative labour costs advantage, not only for supplying domestic solar facilities, but also, producing for export…Quality issues should not be a major issue for India…

"…[G]iven the healthy competition in India’s CSP market, a high level of local content will be necessary in order for developers to remain competitive…So far, the seven developers awarded CSP contracts under Phase 1 of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) are domestic companies. Given the state of energy’s electricity grid, and the expanding power needs of its rapidly growing economy, renewable power generation is expected to beckon as an attractive opportunity for major international CSP developers…"