Maybe some corrections to the below. I got informed of 740 P / kWh. Different news articles below mention different figures (794 and 749) and the firm is Solairedirect SA. In any case the lowest tariff is below 800 P / kWh. Should get details of all bids in a few days.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-02/india-s-solar-power-bid-prices-sink-to-record-consultant-says.html
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article2681567.ece
http://business-standard.com/india/news/lowest-rates-at-power-generation-bid/457439/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bids for Solar PV projects were opened on Friday. The lowest tariff was reportedly offered by Sun Direct - @ 740 P / kWh. The technology is reported to be crystalline PV.
Grid cost parity has been forecast to come in for Solar by 2020; but at this rate it may happen in two years. Conventional tariffs are currently running @ ~350 P / kWh. This is the wholesale price.
Commercial retail tariffs are already in the ~700 Paisa range for many consumer categories like Industrial and Domestic. Such a tariff makes rooftop solar viable today.
But maybe there is more to it. It could be just a pricing aberration because of inventory clearance due to recession.
4 comments:
Can you post a link to this news item? Thanks!
Solar thermal is more suitable for India; its efficiency advantage over Solar PV is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
Problem with Solar thermal -- it is not rooftop. A portable model will revolutionize the market.
Problem with Solar PV -- limited life of Inverters (to convert to AC). Micro Inverters (pioneered by enPhase mitigate the problem somewhat).
In the US, the wholesale rates for electricity is around $30/MWH. It varies but this is roughly the average. 740P/kWH translates to $148/MWH. This is way too high. For a country where labor is much cheaper, you would expect the cost to be lower than in the US. Yet, it is higher.
India prices its computers in dollars (Sibal's tablet). So why did they not brag about this in USD? Even the conventional energy price you have given is way too high and it translates to $70/MWH.
Labor is cheap in India but the price of electricity, automobile fuel and even cars with the same brand name cost double that of the cost in USA. Where does the remaining money go? Somewhere into the government. No one knows what happens to it once it goes in there.
Well, solar hot water heaters have already proven themselves a hit in India. It's ironic that because India is so challenged in conventional grid power infrastructure that solar is relatively more competitive in India than in other countries.
Yes, as I recall enPhase was founded by an NRI.
Post a Comment