rooftop solar

Under the current scheme, rooftop PV remains far below its huge potential in the country. Regulatory, administrative and financial hurdles are preventing more electricity consumers from installing rooftop arrays, as well as the resistance of local utilities.

While the Greek Government is in the midst of rolling out a successful series of solar tenders, pv magazine examines the country’s net metering scheme, which was introduced in 2014.

The recent 35.29 MW rooftop solar tender, floated by Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) hit a historic low tariff of Rs. 1.58 (US$0.022) per unit. Overall, it attracted 31 bidders, and was oversubscribed by 630%.

A deal between Xcel Energy and steelmaker EVRAZ includes the building of a 240 MW solar project near the company’s Rocky Mountain Steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado. This is by far the largest behind-the-meter solar project pv magazine staff has heard of to date.

India’s solar rooftop sector continues to disappoint, with the first quarter of FY 2018-2019 achieving just 155.77 MW against the 1,000 MW EoY target.

Together with its asset construction division, Oryx Solar System Solutions LLC (Oryx), Phanes Group is delivering the Middle East’s largest distributed solar project. Stefanos Lialios, Head of Project Execution at Phanes Group in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke to pv magazine about the challenges faced in building and operating the landmark project, and finding the right equipment and solutions to address these challenges.

Madhya Pradesh recently floated a tender for the implementation of grid connected rooftop solar PV projects under the RESCO (renewable energy service company) Model. Manu Srivastava, principal secretary and commissioner, New and Renewable Energy Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, and managing director of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVNL), speaks to pv magazine about the tender and initiatives taken by the state government.

Sembcorp Solar Singapore Pte Ltd has been awarded 50 MW worth of solar PV rooftop projects by Singapore’s Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Economic Development Board (EDB). The project is expected to be completed by 2020.

The Indian solar PV market saw 10.4 GW of new capacity added in the 2017-18 financial year, says Bridge to India, thus bringing cumulative installations to 24.4 GW as of this March. Leading the charge is the state of Karnataka. Concerns over the industry’s development remain, however.

According to Mercom India, the Indian solar PV industry has recorded its strongest quarter since the launch of the National Solar Mission. In addition to declining module prices, both rooftop and utility-scale installations saw strong growth. Clarity is needed, however, on the ongoing safeguard duty saga, to drive the industry forward.