Friday, January 30, 2015

Solar PV Power Plants Under National Solar Mission

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The fast evolving solar PV industry in India presents significant opportunities to you. But you need a powerful guide that will help you benefit from this opportunity. 



The launch of the National Solar Mission has given a big impetus to solar energy in India. The highlights of the mission are given below:
  • Installed capacity of 20000 MW by 2022
  • Establishment of a single window investor friendly mechanism
  • Envisages an investment of Rs 90,000 crores over the next 30 years
  • Initial investment of Rs 4,337 crores provided by the Government of India
Target for the First Phase of the Mission
  • Total target for power generation 1st Phase (ending 2013): 1,300 MW (PV+CSP)
  • Grid Connected (33 kV): 1,000 MW (PV + CSP)
  • Rooftop PV and Small Solar: 100 MW
  • Off-Grid PV Applications: 200 MW


By December 2010, a total of 150 MW of grid connected solar plants were awarded to 30 companies, each for 5 MW. Another 350 MW of grid connected solar PV will be awarded during 2011-2012.
  1. 1000 MW of solar power projects to be selected in total
  2. Solar PV and Solar Thermal projects to be allocated in a ratio of 50:50, in MW terms150 MW of solar PV projects to be selected for 2010-11 (already completed); about 54 MW were awarded through the migration scheme.. Capacity of each solar PV project awarded in the first round: 5 MW +/- 5%
  3. The first round for the allocation of 150 MW saw applications do a reverse bidding for tariff setting, with the result that the average tariff awarded was Rs 12.16 per kWh, as against the ceiling of Rs 17.91 per kWh.
  4. An additional 350MW of solar PV power projects will be allotted during 2011- 2012. 
  5. During batch II, the minimum capacity of a single PV plant is restricted to 5 MW and the maximum capacity of a single PV plant has been raised to 20 MW. Plant capacity will be in multiples of 5MW. In other words, a developer can bid for projects of size 5 MW, 10 MW, 15 MW or 20 MW. Winners of projects under the previous round of bidding or under the Gujarat can bid for these projects.
  6. During batch II, a company in any form (including parent, affiliate, ultimate or any group company) can bid for a maximum of 3 projects totaling 50MW.
  7. Deadline for achieving financial closure has been raised to 210 days (7 months) from the earlier 180 days (6 months). The timeline for the commissioning of the project is also extended by a month � to 13 months from the date of signing PPA from 12 months earlier in batch I.
  8. For batch II, part commissioning of the project is being accepted by NVVN subject to the condition that the minimum capacity for acceptance of part commissioning shall be 5 MW and in multiples thereof.

  • As a result of the National Solar Mission and the successful completion of the first stage, it is expected that solar PV based power plants will become an exciting business opportunity. While power production through solar energy is possible using both solar thermal (using the heat in the sunlight) and solar photovoltaic (using the light energy), electricity generation worldwide is more prominent through solar PV than through solar thermal. This trend is expected to continue in India as well.

As a result of this Mission, it is expected that solar PV based power plants will become an exciting business opportunity. While power production through solar energy is possible using both solar thermal (using the heat in the sunlight) and solar photovoltaic (using the light energy), electricity generation worldwide is more prominent through solar PV than through solar thermal. This trend is expected to continue in India as well.