India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given the go ahead for the second phase of India’s mega-scale solar park plans to bring the total to 40GW up from 20GW.
The first round of bidding for the 750MW Rewa solar park in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has guaranteed that the highest tariff will be no more than 3.64 rupees per unit (US$0.054).
Plenty of naysayers have warned about unrealistic bidding and various delays damaging the Indian solar sector, but the head of ACME Solar, one of the largest developers India, approaching 1GW of installed capacity, has a very positive outlook on the industry's future. PV Tech caught up Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, the founder, chairman and managing director of ACME Group at the company offices in Gurgaon, New Delhi, to discuss delayed PPAs, transmission infrastructure, the approaching Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and a unique point of view on India's Ultra Mega solar power parks.
Indian state-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has won an order to build three extra high voltage (EHV) substations in the state of Karnataka to transmit power from a major solar park.
India is expected to add more than 9GW of solar PV capacity this year, but its long-term renewable energy future requires adding transmission capacity and removing bottlenecks immediately, according to the latest quarterly solar market update from consultancy firm Mercom Capital Group.
Solar development in India is being held back by delays in preparing the 20GW of solar park capacity planned by the central government, according to consultancy firm Mercom Capital Group.
Solar PV is taking off in Vietnam with many international and domestic investors showing intention to develop projects in the central and south of the country, according to Hoa Vu Phuong, specialist, international relations department, Institute of Energy, Vietnam.
