Solar policy space in India becomes of more than 20 kVA and industrial active again consumers with more

than 50 kVA on the low tension (LT) transmission network (up In the last two quarters of every to 415 V). Also, SPOs will be applicable to financial year (October March) for the all consumers connected to the high last couple of years, the solar policy tension (HT) transmission network (up to space in India has become alive. This 11 kV) and Extra High Tension (EHT) year is no exception and in the last transmission network (up to 66 kV). couple of weeks we have seen Further analysis of the Kerala solar policy announcements on phase two of the can be accessed here. National Solar Mission (NSM), Keralas Earlier, the state had already initiated a recently finalized solar policy and new project allocations in Haryana. 10,000 rooftop solar power programme (refer). The implementation of this This happens every year because state programme seems to be on track as most and central governments need to of the installations have already taken publish policies now to meet next years place. Reportedly, there has been some capacity addition targets. However, in delay in the release of subsidies to the the past, the implementation of at least empaneled installers. the state policies dragged on and most of the actual capacity addition has spilt The state government of Haryana is also over to the subsequent year. Last year, expected to begin the process of around this time, solar policies in Tamil allocating 10 projects of 5 MW each based Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh on the states draft solar policy (the draft and Punjab were doing the rounds. As policy document can be accessed here). per the original plan, a majority of the These projects are to be allocated using capacity under these policies should the standard tariff based reverse bidding have been commissioned by March process. The power from these projects 2014. However, timely meeting of these would be bought by the state distribution targets seems nowhere in sight. companies. Apart from these utility scale projects, the policy also talks about canal Even though the announcement of solar projects and promotion of rooftop phase two of the NSM has been solar installations for commercial delayed, this being a central buildings. However, no update is available government policy, the allocation on the implementation of these aspects of process will likely be implemented on the policy. schedule. The pre-bid meeting was held on 19th November 2013. Based on As things stand, execution of projects BRIDGE TO INDIAs perception, the under the NSM for the states- Andhra government officials were helpful and Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar most developers satisfied with the Pradesh and now perhaps even Haryana process. The Solar Energy Corporation and Kerala- can be expected around the of India (SECI) is expected to release a second half of 2014. Theoretically, this clarification document soon to address may add up to over 1,800 MW that would specific questions. The key aspects need to be executed in a limited span of discussed in the meeting were related time. However, if the past experience is

to the relevance of the location of a project, the working of the Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) limits set under the bid document and the possible impact of anti-dumping duties on the allocations. Read our blog for further analysis on these topics and our overall take on the pre-bid meeting. Keralas draft solar policy has also received cabinet approval and has now been finalized (the draft policy document can be downloaded from here, the final document should be uploaded soon). Under the draft policy, Kerala has set itself a target of an installed capacity of 500 MW by 2017 and 1,500 MW by 2030. Like Tamil Nadu, Kerala has also tried to pass on the financial burden of Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) from the state-owned distribution company (DISCOM) to large power consumers. Solar Procurement Obligations (SPOs) will be mandated for commercial consumers with a connected load

any indicator, many of these policies and projects are expected to hit further roadblocks. OUR BLOG Distributed power and the grid- what are the technical challenges This blog piece is based on a recent workshop that was part of a joint project by Bridge to India, Prayas Energy Group and IIT Mumbai (National Center for PV Research and Education, NCPRE). Our research results will be published in March 2014. [Read more] THROUGH OUR LINKEDIN GROUP 'INDIA SOLAR FUTURE' Where will module prices in India go in the next 6 months?