Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Solar Power : GigaWatt or GigaFlop ?




Government has set a target of achieving installed capacity of 100 GW of solar power by 2022



Of this , by end June 2017 , we have reached 15 GW , leaving a balance of 85 GW to be achieved by 2022



In simple terms , this would amount to installing 85 GW in next 60 months ( 1.4 GW / month )



During second quarter ( June / July / Aug ) , only 2,505 MW of capacity was auctioned ( against tenders for 3,408 MW )



During third quarter ( Sept / Oct / Nov ) , only 1,232 MW of capacity was auctioned ( against tenders for 1,456 MW )



{  Source  :  Mercom Capital /  Times of India /  14  Dec  }



So , in past 6 months , we auctioned 3,737 MW ( 3.7 GW ) of solar power capacity ( against tenders for 4,864 MW - no idea how much got “ installed / commissioned  !  )



Whereas , to reach that 85 GW in 60 months , we should have “ installed “ , 8.5 GW in 6 months !



This trend is ominous !



But I believe , worst is in store !



Installing 1.5 GW per month requires a capital of $ 1.5 Billion ( Rs 10,000 Crore ) per month


Private sector just does not have,  either that kind of funds , or that kind of “ Risk Appetite



And with all the accumulated NPAs , banks are unlikely to fund ANY business venture , where its “ Selling Prices “ are dropping at 19 % per year  !



And where , State Discoms are renegading on already signed Power Purchase Agreements , and demanding renegotiation on lower prices !



( Read :





To know , what is the ONLY WAY OUT , read :







I hope it is not too late to copy the Indonesian Experiment !




14  Dec  2017



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