Tag Archives: PV

Renewable energy, grid parity – myth today or tomorrow’s reality!

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

  Grid Parity per Wikipedia is defined as “the point at which alternative means of generating *(continuous) electricity produces power*(throughout the day) at a levelized cost that is equal to or less than the price of purchasing power from the grid. … Continue reading →

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India’s transmission and distribution utilities – It’s time to transform

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

The need for power has seen tremendous growth in the last decade riding on the prosperity that various export oriented sectors, have heralded, in India. This economic growth has increased living standards for the common man who now demands more than just roti (food), … Continue reading →

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Class action lawsuit filed in US District Court against First Solar

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

While we had initially covered the unsuitability of First Solar for Hot Climates and then a reply by their PR Director, more heartache was in store for the company A class action lawsuit was filed against First Solar by Pomerantz … Continue reading →

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Lanco Group granted incorrect commissioning certificates for seven solar power plants as part of JNNSM Phase 1 Batch 1

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

In a major scam, seven associates of the Lanco Group, an infrastructure company owned by Congress MP Rajagopal Lagadapati, were granted commissioning certificates in January by a Rajasthan government body for seven 5 MW solar power plants each in Askandra village, Jaisalmer, … Continue reading →

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Bank guarantees of Lanco, Amrit Engineering and others encashed

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

Source: Business Line With companies missing deadline for the National Solar Mission, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) has encashed bank guarantees of 14 project developers including Lanco, Aftab Solar, Amrit Engineering and Alex Solar. Of the 14 projects, Lanco is … Continue reading →

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CERC issues tariff guidelines for Biomass as well as other renewable energy forms

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

The Hindu Business Line CHENNAI, FEB. 13: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has issued the norms for determining tariffs of electricity generated from various renewable energy sources. These norms apply for the five-year-period beginning 2012-13. SOLAR ENERGY An interesting … Continue reading →

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First Solar admits to unsuitability of its products to hot climates

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

The Hindu Business Line – M Ramesh American company First Solar, major supplier of cadmium telluride-based thin-film photo-voltaic modules to India, has admitted that its products are not suitable for hot climates. Reliance Power is a major customer of First Solar. … Continue reading →

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Lanco Infratech to be investigated for acquiring ineligible JNNSM Phase 1 Solar Power Plant PPAs by floating front companies

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

In the latest setback to the JNNSM allocation of Solar Power Plants amongst the fact that a number of plants may not be commissioned on the deadlines allocated, the CSE has accused Lanco of creating front companies to defraud the … Continue reading →

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Gujarat Solar Projects commissioned post Jan 28th 2012 may receive a tariff of Rs.7.49 per KWh – DJ Pandian

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

Source: DNA Gujarat government has proposed maximum tariff of Rs7.49 per unit, half of the original tariff of Rs15 per unit, to solar power developers, who fail to start their unit by January 28, 2012. The state power utility Gujarat … Continue reading →

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Solar Developers in Gujarat Get Extension to Complete Projects by 28th January 2012 post which new tariffs will apply

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Ritesh Pothan

Source: Bloomberg Developers of projects under construction in India’s largest solar program have been given a month’s extension to complete their plants without losing their preferential payment rates. The deadline for all projects has been extended until Jan. 28, after which … Continue reading →

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Interview with Solairedirect MD – Gaurav Sood

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

For all those curious to understand the strategy behind solairedirect’s lowest ever bid for 5MW, in the recent round of Phase 1 Batch 2 bidding, we interviewed Gaurav Sood, MD, Solairedirect Energy India Pvt .Ltd. to bring you the organizations thought process. … Continue reading →

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Generation Based Incentives by IREDA for the 1st Solar 100MW (100KW-2MW) connected to the grid

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy had already introduced Generation Based Incentive (GBI) schemes separately for wind and solar energy in 2009. Under the scheme for wind power, a GBI @ Rs. 0.50 per unit of electricity fed into … Continue reading →

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Intersolar 2011 – a brief update on the conference

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

Jai Rathod, From NG, was at the recently concluded Inter Solar conference at the Leela and the subsequent exhibition at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, held from 13-16 December, 2011. Below is a synopsized version of the going ons and speaker … Continue reading →

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Australian Carbon Tax Legislation has now been passed and will convert into an emissions trading system in 2015

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

For all those Renewable Energy Projects who have written off carbon credits as a funding mechanism should take heart in the form of the Australian Carbon Tax legislation which allows for purchase of carbon credits from outside Australia post 2015, … Continue reading →

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Proposed Gujarat Solar Policy Tariffs for period 29th Jan 2012 to 31st March 2015

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

The Gujarat Solar policy enters a new tariff phase for the period 2012-2013 for PV  and 2012-2015 for Solar Thermal, interestingly rates proposed for Solar Thermal are much higher than those for PV even though CSP is supposed to be … Continue reading →

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The Indian Solar Saga Part 3 of 3 – Off-Grid Solar Policies and Ground Realities

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

In part 1 and 2 of the 3 part series we covered the Indian power generation scenario, Gujarat, Centre (JNNSM) and State Solar policy with some insights into their application and risks. Our final part covers the Central Government’s Off-grid … Continue reading →

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Power Generation for 6 operating solar power plants released by MNRE

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

To date, the confusion around which Solar PV technology to use in which location was a major question on every solar developers mind. To aid resolution of this conundrum, MNRE has just released the generation details of 6 operating solar … Continue reading →

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The Indian Solar Saga Part 2 of 3 – Central and State Grid Solar Policies

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

In part 1 of the 3 part series we have covered the Indian power generation scenario and Gujarat Solar policy with insights on pros and cons of the state. In this post we will cover the Central Government Policy as … Continue reading →

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Only half of JNNSM projects under reverse bidding have been able to secure financial closure

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

PV Magazine has reported that only half of the projects allocated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) have achieved financial closure and the remaining Power Purchase Agreements stand cancelled. Documented proof of financial closure is required by the … Continue reading →

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The Indian Solar Saga Part 2 of 3 – Central and State Policies

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

The 2nd part of the series is now available on my Renewable Energy Magazine Blog and details the current state of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission JNNSM projects with insights as well as an overview of a few key solar … Continue reading →

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The Indian Solar Saga Part 1 of 3 – Grid connected Policy Framework

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

In every major city in India, smog is a constant companion. Burning of fossil fuel to power vehicles, homes, industries, and ward away insects as well as the cold have created a tremendous deficit in the human aspect of living. … Continue reading →

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New REC forebearance price target for next control period beginning 1st April 2012 announced

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

A new order released by the Central Energy Regulatory Commision (CERC) has reduced the REC prices for both Solar and Non-Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) with effect from 1st April 2012. The most significant reduction is of the Solar REC forbearance prices … Continue reading →

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The Indian Solar Saga Part 1 of 3 – Grid Connected Policy Framework

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

My articles on Renewable Energy in India will feature first on Renewable Energy Magazine, before they are posted to my blog in a couple of weeks. Please do visit the blog for my article titled – The Indian Solar Saga … Continue reading →

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My blog will now also be available at http://renewableenergymagazine.com

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

Any new articles I write, will now be posted a couple of weeks earlier on Renewable Energy Magazine before they are posted here. Please do visit The Renewable Energy Magazine website for the latest articles Regards Ritesh

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Will REC’s be the solution for grid based renewable projects in India

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Ritesh Pothan

The REC (Renewable Energy Certificate) mechanism was introduced last year with the intent to subsidize the market for renewable energy power though these certificates have only started trading in the month of March 2011. There have been numerous conferences on … Continue reading →

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