White paper For MiniStry oF neW and reneWable energy (Mnre)

preSS releaSe
Solar round table
organized by orF and
bridge to india
Wednesday, 27 april 2011
at observer research
Foundation
20, Rouse Avenue
Institutional Area,
New Delhi, 110 002
navigating the indian Solar
induStry: policieS & proSpectS
The Observer Research Foundation
(ORF) and BRIDGE TO INDIA together
held a roundtable on “Navigating
the Indian Solar Industry: Policies &
Prospects” in New Delhi on April 22,
2011. A formative discussion took
place following the presentations
on the policy environment and on
ways to scale solar power projects in
India which looked at various facets
of the Indian solar industry, namely,
evaluating the success of Phase One of
the National Solar Mission (NSM), the
off-grid opportunities for solar in India,
financing options and reducing the cost
of solar power.
SpeakerS at the Solar round table
The present speakers were:
• Mr. lavleen Singhal
CEO, Acira Solar
• Mr. ankit Singhvi
Vice President, Sunborne Energy
• dr. raman nanda
Director, e10six Group
• Mr. nitin Zamre
Managing Director, ICF International
• dr. hermann herz
Head of Carbon Procurement Unit,
Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• dr. tobias engelmeier
Managing Director, BRIDGE TO INDIA
Dr. Hermann Herz, Head of the Carbon
Procurement Unit, GIZ, spoke about
the solar policy environment of India
and Germany including the Indo-
German energy forum (IGEF).
© BRIDGE TO INDIA, 2011 | Press Release
At the roundtable, two main questions
were discussed:
• How can developers, technology
companies, banks and the public
sector work together to establish
solar power as a viable industry
in India?
• How solar power be scaled up
to such an extent as to make a
significant contribution to India’s
energy requirements?
The discussions received positive
feedback. The participants appreciated
the in-depth discussion and the
valuable experience of industry
professionals.
Mr. Nitin Zamre, Managing Director of
ICF International, gave his expert views
on the development of other renewable
technologies that can be attributed to
technology maturity, lower cost and
the rapid evolution of the domestic
manufacturing industry. Dr. Tobias
Engelmeier, Managing Director,
BRIDGE TO INDIA, gave an insight
into ways of reducing the cost of solar
power in the context of International
companies looking to enter the Indian
solar market. According to him, the key
challenge that will be faced by these
companies would be reducing the cost
of the solar technology without losing
their USPs. As per Dr. Raman Nanda,
the off-grid solar market has the
potential of achieving 50GW of power
by the year 2020.
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dr. tobias engelmeier, Managing director,
bridge to india spoke about the ways
of reducing the cost of solar power in
the context of international companies
looking to enter the indian solar market.
participants networking during
lunch break.
the identiFied challengeS
During the discussion, key challenges
were identified:
• High capital costs
• Need for an improved manufacturing
base and R&D services
• Need to fill the gap of long term
finance schemes for solar projects
• Better qualified project developers
Many solar projects fail to attract
sufficient attention and funding. Also,
most of the developers and financiers
the identiFied opportunitieS
All participants agreed that the market
offers interesting opportunities
such as:
• On-grid projects with different
off-take opportunities for PV
• Long-term potential of CSP
• Off-grid potential in fields such as
commercial rooftops or telco towers
India has 300 sunny days per year
and receives an hourly radiation of
200MW/km2. The usage of 10% of
the land for harnessing solar energy
can produce 8,000GW of installed
capacity. Solar power, therefore, can
easily address India’s long-term
power requirements.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
under the Renewable Purchase
Obligations (RPO) have the potential
to provide a significant demand-side
pull for solar energy. RECs have
FolloW-up: White paper For
MiniStry oF neW and
reneWable energy (Mnre)
The key inputs from the roundtable will
be compiled and sent to the MNRE to
ensure that policy makers are aware of
industry concerns.
© BRIDGE TO INDIA, 2011 | Press Release
lack prior experience as solar is
still an upcoming energy resource.
This, in conjunction with poor solar
irradiation data, has made banks
hesitant to provide debt finance. The
experts at the round table emphasized
on the transparency required in the
bidding process of the solar projects.
This, according to them, would help in
procuring qualified project developers
to execute the solar projects in
a professional manner.
become a second viable off-take option
for developers. They can choose to
either sell their solar power through
preferential feed-in-tariffs under the
NSM or generate RECs.
Reverse bidding of tariffs under
the NSM has made MW scale grid
connected plants risky due to low
tariffs. This makes the diesel offset
market of 50GW more viable as this
market is self sustainable and does not
need government subsidies.
The roundtable proved to be a
successful endeavor in not only
highlighting various recommendations
that may prove effective in benefitting
the Indian solar market, but it also
provided a forum for people from the
government, think tanks and media to
consider these issues together with
industry experts.
There will be a follow up event to this
at ORF centre which will be held on
Friday, 5 th of august 2011.
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about the
organiSerS
For further information
please contact:
Ms. isabelle-Jasmin roth
Director, BRIDGE TO INDIA
isabelle-jasmin.roth@
bridgetoindia.com
For further information
please contact:
Ms. lydia powell
Head, Centre for Resources
Management
Observer Research Foundation
lydia@orfonline.org
bridge to india
BRIDGE TO INDIA is a consulting
company with an entrepreneurial
approach based in New Delhi. The
company focuses on environmental
technologies in the Indian market.
Furthermore, BRIDGE TO INDIA links
this expertise to urban planning
and processes. Through customized
obServer reSearch Foundation
Observer Research Foundation (ORF)
is a not-for-profit and multidisciplinary
public policy think tank affianced in
developing and considering policy
alternatives on a wide-range of
issues of national and international
importance. Some of ORF’s key areas
of research include security affairs,
international relations, politics and
governance, economy and development
and resources management.
© BRIDGE TO INDIA, 2011 | Press Release
solutions for its clients, BRIDGE TO
INDIA contributes to a sustainable
world by implementing the latest
technological and systemic innovations
where their impact is the highest.
www.bridgetoindia.com
The fundamental objective of ORF is
to influence formulation of policies
for building a strong and prosperous
India in a globalised world. It upholds
a range of informal contacts with
policymakers, politicians, civil
servants, the media and business
leaders in India and abroad.
www.orfonline.org
a formative discussion took place following the presentations on the policy environment and scaling solar power projects in india.
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