The Indian solar sector stands at fifth position globally in terms of installed solar capacity. The sector has witnessed nine-fold capacity addition from 2.63 GW in 2014 to 24.58 GW in December 2018. Further, the solar sector received a boost during the recent Interim Budget; wherein it was recognised as a key dimension, as part of renewable energy in the government’s vision for the coming decade. India has been at the forefront of solar conversations globally.
“This has made us positive that 2019 will be the year of transformation, which will propel solar on fast track towards becoming the leading resource to answer the country’s energy needs,” Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies.
“We believe that the sector will soon gain traction with the government focusing on innovative approaches like floating solar and wind solar hybrid. The government is also weaving a ‘rent a roof’ policy that is likely to give conspicuous impetus to the rooftop solar capacity, we are inclined to believe,” informs Anmol Singh Jaggi, Founder – Gensol Group.
However, the solar power sector has experienced many fluctuations in the past year, and went through significant changes. After a record addition of 9,780 megawatt (MW) in 2017, Mercom India Research projects solar capacity additions to slow to 8,000MW in 2019. The sector has been witnessing a slowdown due to cap on tariffs, imposition of duties on solar panels, infrastructure constraints, execution and operating challenges. Due to these, the investors are wary about the viability of projects. So much so that some of auctions were withdrawn due to paucity of participants.
“This year’s story, so far, however, does not seem to be that inspiring, keeping in mind that out of the current fiscal target of 11 GW both ground and roof, only over 4 GW has been achieved as on December 2018,” says Jaggi from Gensol Group.
“While there were initiatives that helped develop the sector, it was not without its challenges, especially for manufacturers. For example, the request to consider Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification as a selection criterion was welcomed by all stakeholders, however the implementation of safeguard duty has had little effect on market dynamics,” states Rathi from Waaree Energies.
The cancellation of bids in the sector has led to sluggishness. The increasing cases of cancellations of solar auctions, along with delay in tenders, has hurt the sentiments of investors. The SECI tender for 10 GW can be one of the prime examples.
“But we are likely to see more activity given that the Government has declared the trajectory of bidding 60 GW capacity of solar energy till March 2020 and it seems to quite upbeat on tendering our 30 GW each in the year 2018-19 and 2019-20,” hopes Rathi. Further, the India solar market will gain traction with new market opportunities in combination with the energy storage and electric mobility sector.
In order to tap this opportunity, Intersolar India 2019 is being held in Mumbai, Maharashtra on April 4-5, 2019. With rapid developments in India’s key western solar markets, Maharashtra is the leading solar rooftop market and its capital city Mumbai is India’s financial hub. The event takes place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) and has a focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production and solar thermal technologies.
It brings together the entire gamut of solar sector on one platform with the aim of increasing the share of solar power in energy supply. Since being founded in 1991, Intersolar has become the most important industry platform for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers and partners of the solar industry.
Concurrent Intersolar conferences generate platforms for deliberations for the solar and energy industry. The Intersolar India Conference focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technologies and solar thermal technologies.
“Intersolar India is good platform for users and developers for molding business strategy, future business scope etc. It is a one stop solution for solar systems products,” informs Brijesh Prajapati, Managing Director, Sofarsolar. Gensol has been actively participating in the Intersolar event since last seven years. “We have been active speakers and sharing thoughts, have displayed our services multiple times and enjoyed with the solar community during the networking sessions,” states Jaggi from Gensol Group.
Apart from being a launch pad for new products, services and solution, Intersolar India 2019 will bring entire universe of the solar segment to Mumbai. So, block your dates!
Supriya A Oundhakar, Associate Editor
