Solar energy development in India constrained; capacity additions get delayed: CRISIL

12 Mar 2019 Evaluate

CRISIL Research in its latest report has said that the outlook for solar energy development in India is constrained as capacity additions get delayed. It noted that inconsistent policy measures on part of the government have dampened the investors’ sentiment in the sector, thereby leading to a slowdown in the capacity addition. It expects solar power capacity additions of 48-50 GW between fiscals 2019 and 2023. The country has set an ambitious target of having 175 GW of renewables including 100 GW of solar energy by 2022.

The report mentioned that over fiscals 2017 to 2019, while previously tendered capacities continued to be commissioned apace, certain risks to future project implementation manifested. There were frequent bid cancellations, lack of clarity on GST procedures, and cost pressure from the imposition of the safeguard duty on imported cells/modules. Besides, it noted that while the good and services tax (GST) clarity was lacking for over a year with a final decision taken in December by the GST council, it ended with an increase in taxation compared to what was expected by the industry.

Similarly, the safeguard duty has turned out to be a double whammy of sorts, impacting costs of solar power projects and not resulting in any significant offtake for the domestic manufacturing sector. This was coupled by the cancellation of bids post auctions as state utilities / SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India found tariffs to be higher than expectations. Close to 4.7 GW was cancelled in such a manner over March - December 2018.

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