India has added enormous volumes of solar to its grid in recent years, placing it consistently among the leading PV markets globally. The next chapter could be even more transformative.
In the October issue of pv magazine, we look beyond headline growth at what is driving India’s solar market forward and what could hold it back.
India’s domestic content policies have driven huge investment in PV module assembly facilities, and manufacturers are now turning their attention to making cells, wafers and other components locally. The magazine examines the challenges that come with the rapid scaleup of the more complex processes these require, and looming oversupply in the module sector as new factories continue to come online.
As it looks to maintain PV demand at a huge scale, India must also ensure its transmission infrastructure can keep pace with all the renewable capacity it is adding. Project siting is increasingly driven by availability at different substations, and India is moving quickly to develop its energy storage industry. But this comes with its own set of challenges both technical and financial.
This month we also look to Australia, where solar companies are retrofitting their projects with batteries to maximize generation value and help solar plants reach the national renewable targets. And despite Australia’s commitment to renewables, significant opportunities remain untapped. Rob Potter from the Smart Energy Council explores Australia’s commercial and industrial market gap and examines how regulations are holding the sector back.
Other topics in this issue:
Follow the money: US tracker suppliers try a one-stop shop strategy.
Beijing’s anti-involution move: Can China remove excess PV capacity without losing its edge?
Retrofits on the rise in Australia: High targets give rise to co-located battery storage retrofits.
Indian floating solar: The policies encouraging India’s build-out of PV projects on bodies of water.
Inverted ambitions: India’s inverter segment still relies heavily on imports.
