Solar PV heats up in India -- NVVN signs MoU with 16 developers; new guidelines for solar projects

The solar photovoltaics segment has surely heated up in the past week in India and is currently the flavor of the year. And rightly so! Just take stock of the developments that have been happening since the past three to four days!

Let's start with Kolkata, Dominique Lapierre's City of Joy! Last week, the India Semiconductor Association (ISA), in association with Government of West Bengal, Webel and West Bengal Green Energy Power Development Corp. Ltd (WBGEPDCL) organized a workshop on solar inverters. Obviously, solar inverters are going to play a significant role in India's off-grid applications segment within the solar PV domain.

Dr Pradip K. Dutta, vice chairman, ISA, advised: “India offers a large market for solar inverters. However, the domestic companies need to improve product design and expand their capacities to be able to compete at a global level."

Today, there are two other significant news coming from New Delhi. First, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), the nodal agency to purchase solar power generated by independent solar power producers, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 16 project developers to set up to 84 MW capacity solar power projects.

Under migration 54 MW capacity will be through solar PV and balance 30 MW through solar thermal technology. These projects are expected to be commissioned by middle of next year. The table lists all of the 16 project developers.Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India.

Second, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Sushilkumar Shinde, Hon'ble Union Minister for Power, jointly unveiled the guidelines for selection of new solar power projects under the 1,000 MW solar power scheme in the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JN-NSM).

This will definitely put India in league with countries like Germany, Spain and Japan who are leaders in harnessing solar power.

The ISA has welcomed this development. It is confident that these policy measures would give impetus to the growth of the domestic solar PV industry. This is a concrete step in realizing the targets set by the National Solar Mission and will provide a significant boost to the domestic solar industry.

Stefan de Haan, senior analyst, Photovoltaics, iSuppli, said in an email response: ”According to our latest analysis global PV installations will grow to 14 GW in 2010 and 20 GW in 2011. In view of these numbers and considering the enormous potential of PV in India, the ~500 MW targeted in your country through a three-years period appear rather modest.

“The really good news is that concrete measures have been taken. It is a starting point that raises hopes for more to come in the future. Incentive schemes supporting sustainable growth of PV in India (e.g., feed-in-tariffs) would in particular help your own industry. For the future, Indian PV components suppliers bank largely on their domestic market.”

India will likely generate 1,000 MW of solar power by the year 2013, with financial assistance from Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp, under the JN-NSM. "We would be able to generate 500 MW of solar-thermal power and another 500 MW from photovoltaic cells in the next three years," said Dr. Abdullah and Shinde.

Now, all of this is really great news. With Solarcon India 2010 about to kick off in Hyderabad -- the 'City of Pearls' or the 'City of Nizams', as you want to put it, these developments have set up the show for some great action and splendid finish.