India

The developer will supply energy to India’s largest utility under a 25-year PPA and can build the project anywhere in the nation, with construction to finish in early 2021.

A failed association with IL&FS has failed to deter SoftBank from its plan to invest a staggering $1tn in Indian solar by 2030. Now the Japanese funding giant is working with Essel Infraprojects on a 500 MW plant, with further details yet to be revealed.

As the currency continued to fall today, analysts are concerned developers will see any savings from lower module prices disappear, and lenders may get nervy, putting India’s national solar target in grave doubt.

Azure Power has raised the capital since June 30th, and says it is “the largest amount of financing raised by a solar power company in India during this period”. Azure says the fund leaves it well positioned to deliver a 2 GW project pipeline.

Reporting from the first Future PV Roundtable in India, pv magazine learned about the technological innovation that will drive tomorrow’s PV arrays.

pv magazine’s Quality Roundtable at this year’s Renewable Energy Expo India (REI), attracted analysts and experts from across the industry, who gathered in Greater Noida to discuss the challenges and opportunities present in the massive Indian solar market.

Despite political hurdles in key markets including China, India and Japan, Asia remains highly active. This year, 59 GW of solar is expected to be installed and due to further system price declines, a phase-out of subsidy schemes can be offset.

Big players such as Acme, ReNew, Adani, Azure, Hero Future and Aditya Birla Solar are likely to stay away from procurement which requires 3 GW annual manufacturing commitment, says industry insider Gopal Lal Somani.

The Indian state has set an electricity price ceiling of INR3.10/kWh and reserved the right to cancel the auction if it doesn’t fancy the resulting tariff. Bidders can go for projects ranging in size from 5 MW up to the whole capacity on offer.

Analysts are weighing into the debate over the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s big solar plans, but pointing out even a partial victory would set the foundation for future solar triumphs.