Exclusive News

Due to an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, the state governments will reap a windfall gain of about Rs 227 billion this fiscal, claimed State Bank of India’s Economic Research Wing.

Following the lead of two wind projects at Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which are secured by the French multinational energy company ENGIE in India worth a total of 280 MW, STOA will be stepping into the Indian market.

Suzlon Energy and CLP India in an agreement will be divesting 49 per cent stake in two of its solar projects of 50 MW and 20 MW in Dhule, Maharashtra.

Amidst the chaos seen in the power sector, with 22,000 MW thermal power projects lying idle for the need of coal or gas and lenders taking power generating assets to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to recover dues, the transmission sector- with longer life cycle and lower risks- has exhibited the only ray of hope for investors and developers alike.

Manoj Gupta, Vice President-Solar Business, Fortum India opines most of the financing received for the renewable energy development comes from the domestic banks. However, with the current level of fund generation, it is difficult to sustain solar energy goals.

One of the key challenges that India faces today in the installation of GW-scale solar projects in the construction of transmission lines to dispense power at diverse locations of the country. This approach of system planning referred to as LCPV (Large Centralised Solar PV generation) is driven by the old benchmarks which are meant for large thermal or hydro projects.

India is the world's third largest producer and fourth largest consumer of electricity. With such a large size and being a capital intensive business, it has got its own importance.

Even as the role of renewables progressively increases India overall energy mix, the policymakers must not lose sight of the very significant role that coal plays in the country economy, avers Andrew DeLeone, Managing Director, GE Power India. He recommends that the country must leverage its cost competitiveness to set-up low emission thermal power plants overseas by offering attractive financing options.