Deadline extended for developers of solar thermal projects

Giving a breather to the developers of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects in the country, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has extended the project commissioning deadline to ten months from May 9. (CSP plants use curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight, which is then converted into high temperature heat for generating electricity projects.) 

Solar mission phase II: viability gap funding not the best way to subsidise solar photovoltaic plants, say analysts

Sun block

Solar equipment makers at loggerheads with solar plant developers

As the second phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is drawing closer, the debate on whether use of domestically produced solar equipment should be mandated in the solar power projects is heating up. The manufacturers of solar equipments who who are demanding a mandate for domestic content requirement and the solar power project developers who would rather import cheap equipment are at loggerheads with each other. The clear divide was seen at the stakeholders consultation organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on February 15.

US challenges India's solar energy policy before WTO

The US has challenged India's solar energy policy before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), saying it favours domestic sourcing of solar panels. The challenge, filed on February 6, says the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) flouts global trade norms.

Solar mission phase II may reign in import of thinfilms

Clouds over solar

India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. And there is much that needs to be reviewed and reworked as the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) the target was to set up 1,000-2,000 MW of grid-based solar power in the country.

Solar power plants' output high, but varying widely

Solar mission’s new priority: off-grid and grid-connected rooftop solar power

Off-grid solar applications and grid-connected rooftop panels will be given more importance in the second phase of the ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Started in early 2010, the mission is a flagship programme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to promote solar energy in the country. The government plans to add 3,000 MW of solar power in the second batch of JNNSM which aims to infuse 20 GW of solar energy by 2017. In the first batch which ends in 2013, the target was 1,000 MW. The policy for phase 2 is expected to be announced in a month.

Letters - September 30, 2012

Integrated Approach