Solar Industry Balanced for Greater Jump, After Rs 5,000-Crore of Attractions in 2017

Bhadla solar park near Jodhpur with a limit of 2,250 MW is topped off. The state government has arranged all the more such stops to expand the force.

The solar energy domain that took a major jump in Rajasthan in 2017 pulling in Rs 5,000 crore speculations is balanced for an exponential extension in 2018. In the wake of including record 955 megawatt in 2017 which is 42% higher contrasted and 2016, Rajasthan is set to twofold the current limit from 2,246 MW to more than 5,000 MW in the following two years. The year just passed by will likewise be recollected when the sunlight based levies collided with new low of Rs 2.44 for each KWh in the nation for a 200 MW venture in Rajasthan stowed by ACME Solar.

B K Doshi, managing director, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd. said “Solar sector became a running theme in the country in 2017 and Rajasthan was at the centre of it, not only attracting investments of about Rs 5,000 crore but becoming the ground zero for trends in tariffs, strategies and development. Companies offered lowest tariffs to consumers for projects in Rajasthan underscoring the state’s strong fundamentals. But what we see unfolding in the next two years is at a much larger scale.”

All the huge players in the solar industry incorporating SoftBank, Azure, ACME Solar, and so have set their foot in the state. Committed solar parks with all the important foundation have been a major draw for them. Bhadla solar park near Jodhpur with a limit of 2,250 MW is topped off. The state government has arranged all the more such stops to expand the force.

“A solar park with a capacity of 750 MW is coming up at Phalodi-Pokhran. A joint venture between Essel Infra and the state government, the development of the park will start from March 2018. Similarly, RREC is developing its own park at Nokha in Jaisalmer that will have a capacity of 980 MW. The development of the park will start again in March 2018,” Doshi added.

In the previous two years, Telengana has likewise quickened advancement of solar powered area in the state. As of now, the southern state has the most extreme limit of 2,570 MW after Rajasthan. In any case, the venture pipeline isn’t as solid as Rajasthan which is relied upon to race ahead in the following two years.

Sunil Bansal, general secretary, Rajasthan Solar Association mentioned “Already 1,000 MW has been awarded in Rajasthan early this year. Another 2,000 MW is at the tendering stage. I don’t see any other state to have such a robust pipeline of projects and this will further strengthen the leadership position of Rajasthan in the solar sector and the state will remain the number one destination in the country.”

As indicated by Doshi, a limit of 1,500 MW is required to come up in 2018-19 and 1730 MW in 2019-20. According to industry gauges, one megawatt requires ventures of Rs 5 crore. This implies Rajasthan solar industry will pull in ventures worth Rs 16,000 crore in the following two years.

Source: ET Energy World