Coal fired gencos face stiff competition from RE

Coal fired gencos face competition from RE www.infralive.com 31 Infra LIVE April 15, 2020 interactive tool called India Floating Solar PV-Tool, which has also been developed under this study. According to its findings, Maharashtra has the highest floating solar potential and can generate 57,891 MW of electricity on 3,173 sq km of water surface area in reservoirs. At present, ground-based installations form 93.1 per cent of India's grid-connected solar PV sector. The installation cost of utility scale solar PV in the country has reduced by 84 per cent between 2010 and 2018, making India the country with the lowest installa- tion cost for utility scale solar PVs. However, it said solar PV deployment is quite land intensive and scaling up projects requires large chunks of contiguous land parcels, which has its own set of challenges. The report estimates that global annual capacity addition from floating solar may rise to 4.6 GW by 2022 from 1.3 GW in 2018. India's largest solar tender stuck, firms await greenshoe option nod India's first and largest tender for setting up solar manufacturing in the country is yet to conclude. SECI has yet not finalised the letter of authorisation (LoA) for the greenshoe option in the tender, which allows companies to build additional capacity. After facing delays and exten- sions for about two years, the tender for solar manufacturing received bids in November, 2019. The government invited bids for 2,000 Mw of solar manufacturing and 6,000 Mw of linked solar power plant. This was oversub- scribed by the industry. Adani Green Energy submitted a bid for 1000 Mw manufacturing and 4,000 Mw power plant. Azure Power submitted for 500 Mw of manufacturing and 2,000 Mw power plant. Both Adani and Azure quoted a tariff of Rs 2.92 per unit. There was a greenshoe option for the bidders to increase the manufacturing and power genera- tion capacity. Under this option, Adani offered additional capacity of 1,500 MW solar cell and module manufacturing and 6,000 MW generation. Azure quoted addi- tional capacity of 500 MW manufacturing and 2,000 MW generation. Azure Power announced in December that it received LoA for primary capacity of 2 GW of power generation, Adani is yet to make a public statement. At the same time, the board of SECI has also not approved the LoA for the greenshoe portion of the tender. SECI Managing Director JN Swain said the tender would be awarded shortly. “We are seeking some clarification. We have already awarded LoA for power generation, manufacturing part and capacity under greenshoe would be awarded soon,” he said. The delay in awarding the manufacturing project comes at a time when import of solar panels is facing slowdown because of protectionist measures by the Indian government. To boost the domestic sector, the Indian government imposed safeguard duty on imported solar cells, modules and panels in 2018 for two years. The current duty is at 15 per cent and will expire in July. The tender for domestic manufacturing was also delayed during the same period. NTPC appointed as the implementing agency for long-term access in ISTS Network MNRE has designated NTPC as the renewable energy implement- ing agency to facilitate the applica- tion of connectivity and long-term access (LTA) in the interstate transmission system network. According to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), a renewable energy implementing agency is a com- pany or an entity designated by the central or state government to RSDCL, NTPC sign agree- ment to develop 925 MW solar park in Jaisalmer Rajasthan Solar Park Develop- ment Company Ltd (RSDCL), a subsidiary of Rajasthan Renew- able Energy Corporation, and NTPC on February 20, 2020 signed an agreement to develop 925 MW capacity solar park at Nokh in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district. As per the agreement, RSDCL will develop infrastructure in the solar park and NTPC will develop the solar projects. RSDCL will invest about Rs 450 crore in infrastructural develop- ment, while NTPC is expected to invest more than Rs 3,500 crore in the project. India's 18k sq km reservoir surface area has potential to generate 280 GW solar energy Reservoirs with cumulative (surface) area of 18,000 square kilometers in India have the potential to generate 280 GW of solar energy through floating solar photovoltaic, a report has said. The report 'Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV): A Third Pillar to Solar PV Sector' has been produced by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) as part of Energy Transmission Commis- sion (ETC) India. A new report by TERI has found that India's reservoirs have 18,000 sq km of area with the potential to generate 280 GW of solar power through floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, TERI said in a statement. ETC India is a research plat- form based in TERI, New Delhi. It is the Indian chapter of the global Energy Transitions Commission. The report has calculated the potential for floating solar photovoltaics (FSPVs), or 'floatovoltaics', on the basis of 30 per cent of the water surface area of the country's medium and large reservoirs. The report provides state-wise details of floating solar potential in the form of a web-based