JNNSM Phase II Draft annaounced

Dear All,


Its sunny side up yet again.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a draft solar policy for Phase II (2013- 2017) of the country’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), outlining its strategy to install 10GW by 2017 through mostly utility-scale projects.

The objective of the MNRE’s Solar Mission is to create through rapid scale-up of capacity and technological innovation, to drive down costs towards grid parity. The ministry believes solar power could achieve grid parity and become cost competitive with coal in India by 2018 due to the decrease in module prices.

MNRE draft

MNRE envisages that of this 10GW target (see table above), 4GW would be developed under the JNNSM central scheme and 6GW under various state-specific schemes. During Phase II, MNRE expects that around 20,000 villages will benefit from these schemes for off-grid electricity generation projects, to hit its target of 1,000MW of roof-top solar

The schemes include 'bundling', which involves combining solar power with traditional sources of energy like coal, which can be sold to utilities at a cheaper rate than offered by solar power alone.
There is also a Generation Based Incentive (GBI) which increases deployment of rooftop PV systems as well as small power plants. The MNRE is required to offer utilities a set price valid for 12 years. However, the government is concerned that with falling module prices, the GBI could become an expensive incentive scheme. Project sizes under Phase II are expected to be in the range of 500kWp to 2.5MWp.

The majority of project allocations will be completed under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) offered to private investors in the form of grants from the government. The scheme aims to ensure widespread access to infrastructure provided through a public-private partnership framework by subsidising the capital cost to developers by 20% and thereby reducing the need for government involvement in solar projects.

Phase II will also include aid to solar manufacturers across the value chain, although details were not provided in the draft policy. Financing for manufacturers will be crucial at this time, with the Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association having approached the World Trade Organisation over complaints against foreign manufacturers undercutting domestic manufacturers.


Till then take care