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					</table><p>Initially launched as a non-discriminatory provision to promote other businesses to enter the power sector other than distribution companies (DISCOMs), open access is now seen as the key contributor to India’s renewable energy target for 2030.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-open-access-market-report-q1-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q1 2022</a>, India <a href="https://mercomindia.com/open-access-installations-rise-to-513-mw-q1-2022/">added</a> 513 MW of new open access solar capacity during the first quarter, recording a 22% year-over-year growth.</p>
<p>There is considerable demand for open access solar from the commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) segment, considering the options available for power procurement.</p>
<p>It has helped generators and consumers to negotiate power purchase agreements depending on the requirements rather than agreeing to a fixed tariff.</p>
<p>Mercom India recently hosted the C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet 2022 in Bengaluru, bringing together open access solar experts and C&amp;I end-users to discuss the benefits and challenges in the segment.</p>
<p>The panel of experts included Rakesh Garg, Co-founder of <a href="https://www.o2power.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">O2 Power</a>; Prashant Choubey, Senior Executive Vice President for Business Development and Human Resources at <a href="https://avaadaenergy.com/">Avaada</a>; Ramakrishnan Subramanian, Head of Business Development at <a href="https://www.vibrantenergyholdings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vibrant Energy</a>; Ashok Kumar, Manager – ESG at <a href="https://www.narayanahealth.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Narayana Health</a> and Arijit Mitra, Deputy General Manager at <a href="https://www.longi.com/in/">LONGi Solar</a>.</p>
<p>Priya Sanjay, Managing Director of Mercom India, moderated the session.</p>
<p><strong>Advantages of Open Access Solar </strong></p>
<p>Elaborating on the benefits of open access solar for businesses, Garg said, “Open access provides consumers the flexibility of purchasing power at much better prices from within the state and outside. We have seen a trend with the DISCOMs where they have been increasing the energy prices over the years, especially in the C&amp;I sector. Consumers choose open access as it helps cut down the energy cost by more than half and contribute to the environment by reducing emissions. The energy tariffs for industries are about ₹8 to ₹9 (~$0.10 to $0.11)/kWh. For commercial establishments, it is ₹10 to ₹12 (~$0.13 to $0.15)/kWh. In contrast, the green power tariffs range between ₹3 and ₹4 (~$0.04 to $0.05)/kWh, ensuring maximum savings.”</p>
<p>Choubey said, “Open access was introduced in 2003, as non-discriminatory access to power, removing the complete reliance on DISCOMs for the energy requirements. As the country and the world transition to renewables for energy needs, it won’t stay a choice anymore. With module prices increasing every day, consumers who opted for it earlier are happier as they aren’t paying the high price as the consumers joining the bandwagon now or the ones who plan to join later. And if the population like ours in India commits to net zero, the contribution towards saving the environment will be much bigger. With more new businesses moving into the country, it is even more vital to make energy consumption green and efficient.”</p>
<p>Subramanian believes that open access is the most viable option for any business which consumes power of 1 MW. and above. “Open access is an easier method for consumers to get green attributes and energy savings. Consumers who understand the rooftop limitations and have higher energy demands opt for open access. Now that industries are trying to deal with the energy shortage caused by geopolitical turmoil, most industries are opting for open access as the most viable option for energy supply. Corporates wanting to cut down on energy costs and deal with the power outages are switching to renewables and steadily making the shift. Open access also provides the ease in negotiating the contracts, as there is no site study required. Consumers must identify their power requirements and can manage the contracts online. Using offsite renewable energy solutions helps reduce carbon emissions considerably.”</p>
<p>Kumar spoke of his organization&#8217;s huge savings by switching to open access for their energy needs. He said, “At Narayana Health, we provide affordable health care services to our patients. We can do that by ensuring optimal operational cost &#8211; our main motivation to go renewable. The other reason was the Green Energy promotions done by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ensuring all businesses contribute towards the environment by following the ESG guidelines. We have a total of 18 hospitals across the country, five of which are in Karnataka; we are working towards consuming 95% of our energy through the captive solar option. We also have heat pumps that run on green energy and reduce diesel consumption. Hospitals need uninterrupted power; renewable energy options are the way to go. With the renewable shift, we are saving up to ₹40 million (~$510,545) every year with the help of captive solar. Energy consumption has a lot of scope to help reduce the operational cost-efficiently with no negative impact on the business.”</p>
<p><strong>Criteria to choose Open Access &amp; the way forward </strong></p>
<p>Choubey explains the factors consumers should consider before making the switch. It is important that consumers understand how conducive the DISCOMs in their respective states are when it comes to open access and what the ISTS and intra-state transmission policies are in the state. “For example, Uttar Pradesh is known for opening this power procurement option and has rolled out supporting policies. In most states, the policies keep changing. Some states levy additional surcharges, while others provide a waiver. So, it is important to be updated. Consumers must also identify their energy requirements and then opt for appropriate open access options, either the third party or group captive, where they need to own 26% equity and consume a minimum of 51% of the energy produced.”</p>
<p>About the way forward for open access, Garg said, “Open access has developed considerably over the years, and most of these developments have mostly been within the state and intra-transmission based. With the ISTS waiver coming into the picture, we can expect the sector to scale up even more. Policies related to the open access have also matured over the years as the open access contribution to the overall renewable energy target continues to rise.”</p>
<p>Subramanian added: “Developers are now ensuring uninterrupted power supply to their consumers by developing solar-wind hybrid projects which deliver round-the-clock (RTC) power. With very few states offering energy banking options, RTC is what most consumers are looking for, to help save more.”</p>
<p>Talking about the challenges in procuring power through open access, Kumar said, “While most states do have policies supporting the renewable transition for businesses, some states are still enforcing the dependency on their DISCOMs for this switch. For our hospital in Haryana, switching to renewable energy has been difficult because of the state’s non-supportive policies regarding group captive open access. We hope the states align themselves with the country’s renewable energy target for 2030 and help push the transition with the supportive policies.”</p>
<p>Sharing his insights on the modules used for such projects, Mitra said, “Being a module manufacturer, we help maintain the project&#8217;s sustainability, as it is a degrading asset. While most manufacturers aim for just higher watts, we limit the module sizes to ensure efficiencies and longevity. Better performing modules contribute to projects with a long lifespan. As the sector grows, the country is also adopting new technologies such as bifacial.”</p>
<p>Open access is slowly gaining ground in the C&amp;I segment. It is considered the most viable option because consumers are also not required to operate and maintain the projects.</p>
<p>The event organized by Mercom brought industry stakeholders and end consumers face to face to discuss how this transition could be made with ease. Mercom India plans to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">host</a> more industry-focused C&amp;I events in Pune, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Noida.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
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Open Access Renewables for Hospitals and Industries in Need of Low-Cost Power


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					</table><p>The Ministry of Power recently issued the Green Energy Open Access Rules, which can catalyze the transition of small-scale industries, commercial consumers, and large households to green energy.</p>
<p>According to the recently released <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-open-access-market-report-q1-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q1 2022</a>, India added 513 MW of new open access solar capacity during the first quarter of the year, registering a 58% growth compared to Q4 2021. The open access solar projects in the development pipeline were at 2 GW at the end of the quarter.</p>
<p>With the rising demand for renewables to meet the energy demands across the commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) sector, the new policy aims to provide the much-needed boost the open access market needs today.</p>
<p>As per the new regulations, consumers will be eligible for green energy open access if they have a contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more. For captive consumers, there will be no load limitation. The new rule is expected to help more businesses opt for renewables as the minimum load had to be 1 MW earlier.</p>
<p>Energy banking regulations, often considered a problem area by most open access developers, would be standardized to monthly, providing more flexibility to the power generators.</p>
<p>A central nodal agency setting up and operating a single-window green energy open access system, along with the 15 days fixed timeline for approvals, is expected to simplify and speed up the projects.</p>
<p>Green hydrogen and green ammonia projects are expected to get the necessary push with the removal of cross-subsidy surcharges and additional surcharges. The surcharges are capped at 50% for other renewables.</p>
<p>Mercom India spoke to a cross-section of stakeholders to understand how they see the open access market changing in the wake of the new open access green energy policy.</p>
<p><strong>Policy framework positive</strong></p>
<p>Srini Viswanathan, Chief Executive Officer at <a href="https://www.vibrantenergyholdings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vibrant Energy Holdings</a>, believes the policy democratizes the right of every consumer with over 100 kW sanctioned load to opt for 100% of their power consumption to be derived from renewable energy sources.</p>
<p>“The most important part of the policy is that it allows consumers to offset 100% of their consumption with renewable energy sources. Traditionally, consumers were forced to consider certain parts of their consumption to be acquired from distribution sources alone. The concept of deemed open access under the Central Nodal Agency is a welcome step given the long delays in long-term open access that can negatively affect the project outcome.”</p>
<p>Nithya Balakrishnan, Head of Marketing and Communication at <a href="https://www.fourthpartner.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fourth Partner Energy</a>, said, “The intent of the ministry is evident – encouraging adoption of Renewable Energy across consumer segments. The 15-day window for clearance of open access permits will result in quicker approvals. This is exactly the shot in the arm this sector needed in order to meet the 500 GW renewables target set by the government for 2030.”</p>
<p>“Earlier, the minimum requirement of contract demand was 1 MW which kept the Micro, Small &amp; Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment out of the net. These new rules pave the way for such smaller commercial consumers to switch to low-cost, low-carbon green electricity. The clarity in open access charges helps both developers and consumers with transparency in long-term tariffs: transmission charges, wheeling charges, cross subsidy surcharge (cap), and standby charges. Issuance of green certificates on the basis of clean energy procured or consumed and the 15-day window for fast-tracking approvals are all measures that can add tremendous traction to India’s decarbonization journey,” she said.</p>
<p>A senior executive at a leading energy development company said, “The overall framework is very positive and forward-looking. The annual energy banking regulation for all open access will help overcome hurdles developers face. The contract demand removal and limiting load to 100 kW will attract many customers who are in that range and could not opt for open access earlier. Aggregation, however, might be a challenge; nevertheless, it will open up a market for ones who wish to operate in that segment. It will also facilitate a good captive structure, where multiple parties are involved, with a big special purpose vehicle (SPV), aggregating 10 to 15 customers, contributing to that 26% compulsory equity share. So, business models of 10 MW to 20 MW will also see a rise in demand.”</p>
<p>“Also, if somebody wants to pay a third-party fare, the cross-subsidy surcharge levied will not increase beyond 50% of the current applicable amount for the next 12 years. As far as green hydrogen is concerned, no cross subsidy or additional surcharge is applicable. So you can do a third-party transaction, which opens the space for a lot of green hydrogen developers, where they can procure the power on a third-party basis,” the executive said.</p>
<p>Amit Kumar, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at <a href="https://www.altilium.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Altilium</a>, said, “The biggest game-changer is that the energy banking is a law now, which will extend benefits to new projects which are provisioned on merchant capacities with no fixed power purchase agreements. Power sale is a major challenge for merchant capacity installers in India; the new policy will encourage good merchant traction by allowing month-long energy banking and thus facilitating its sale. Adding green energy rating for the energy transactions will help add value when installing new capacities.”</p>
<p>Prashant Choubey, Senior Executive Vice President for Business Development and Human Resources at Avaada, said, &#8220;For C&amp;I consumers wanting renewable energy for sustainability, this will ease the process and allow greater accessibility. Reduction of open access threshold /ceiling, assured banking for green open access consumers, bringing green Hydrogen/Ammonia towards RPO fulfillment, as well as uniform RPO trajectory and ceiling on applicability and fixation of open access charges for green open access will prove to be game-changers. Since Forum of Regulators has been mandated to prepare model regulations on methodology for calculating open access charges within four months of issue of these rules, it is to be seen how this emerges finally.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>State approval bottleneck</strong></p>
<p>According to the senior executive of the energy development company, the broad-level policy needs to be formalized by state regulators on time. “We have seen this trend regarding the Electricity Act and Electricity Rules, where some state electricity regulatory commissions do not follow the timelines. So, how every state responds to this is very important. Electricity is a concurrent subject wherein the central and state’s decisions matter.”</p>
<p>The executive also pointed out that the policy does not outline a procedure to frame regulations like the one relating to energy banking. The policy says that banking is permitted monthly, but states have no uniformity. In Uttar Pradesh, a 15-minute block is the basis for scheduling banking and consumption, whereas, in Tamil Nadu, the cumulative unit-wise adjustment happens once a month.</p>
<p>Kumar said, “The policy is very good at the concept level. However, it can be a non-starter without approval from state regulators.” For the short-term, he said, there were hardly any benefits cost-wise. The cross-subsidy surcharge waivers on green hydrogen and green ammonia are good, but the projects in those segments would still take another three years to scale up. The policy should have been rolled out in a phased manner and by consulting the states.</p>
<p>Choubey added, &#8220;The onus of making green energy open access applications seems to have been left entirely to entities or consumers through a proposed common application format. This facility could have been extended to developers and setting projects for entities/consumers. Further incorporation and clarity on synchronization of these rules with captive rules as per Indian electricity rules 2005 would have avoided confusion regarding the same. To provide Green Energy Open Access to consumers of green energy, the appropriate Commission has been empowered to amend the relevant regulations so that these regulations shall be consistent with Green Energy Open Access rules. It would be interesting to watch for as this alignment proceeds further.&#8221;</p>
<p>Balakrishnan was of the view that states would have to walk the talk and adopt these measures to boost renewable energy adoption across the board. She also felt that the government must ensure open access project developers are not forced to procure modules from the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM).</p>
<p>She said, “The extension of six months is a breather, but the measure (ALMM Order) could be detrimental to the quick pace of renewable energy adoption. The need of the hour is incentivizing domestic module manufacturing capacities, but that cannot be done overnight by curbing/banning imports or additionally taxing developers.”</p>
<p>Echoing similar views, Viswanathan of Vibrant Energy said, “Under paragraph 9, the policy could have explicitly stated that group captive consumers choosing to buy power on interstate basis get a waiver of cross subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge. A specific direction should have been given to state nodal agencies to provide support in line with this policy. However, if there is a lack of support from the state, the central nodal agency can make the necessary process improvement to support the project clearance and open access approvals.”</p>
<p>Open Access has seen rising demand from consumers across the C&amp;I segment. The new policy is strong on intent but might not see the sun in certain states unless the state regulatory bodies approve it.</p>
<p>India has set an ambitious target of installing 500 GW renewable capacity by 2030. The latest policy intervention is a big step forward in meeting the target. Together with the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/waiving-ists-catalyze-growth-open-access/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waiver</a> and the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/almm-for-open-access-rooftop-solar-effective-from-october/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postponement</a> of the ALMM mandate for open access, the new green energy open access policy may be the answer the renewable energy sector was looking for.</p>
<p>Mercom is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/solar-summit-2022/register/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosting</a> events focused on creating awareness about renewable energy procurement by commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) entities. Under the title C&amp;I Clean Energy Meet 2022.</p>
<p>The first event in the C&amp;I Clean Meet 2022 series was held in Bangalore. Industry experts <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ci-consumers-switch-clean-energy-save-power-bills/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> the benefits of renewable energy and how the C&amp;I sector could utilize it for their expansive power needs. After an overwhelming response in Bengaluru, Mercom India plans to host more industry-focused C&amp;I <a href="https://mercomindia.com/event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events</a> in Pune, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Noida.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
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New Green Energy Open Access Policy: States Must Walk the Talk

<p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>Central Transmission Utility of India (CTUIL) </strong><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1832293" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>launched</strong></a><strong> the National Single Window System (NSWS), integrating the filing of applications</strong> for grant of connectivity, long-term access, and medium-term open access to the interstate transmission system in India as well as to participating entities located in neighboring countries. The NSWS would enable ‘single-point’ approvals and clearances needed by investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in India and facilitate ‘ease of doing business initiatives by the Ministry of Power. It is a digital platform for the guidance of investors to identify and apply for approvals per their business requirements. CTUIL, a 100% subsidiary of PowerGrid Corporation of India Limited under the Ministry of Power, is the nodal agency for the grants.</p>
<p><strong>The </strong><a href="https://doe.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Department of Expenditure</strong></a><strong>, Ministry of Finance, issued a new procedure for fund flow under Central Sector programs, including grid-connected rooftop solar program (GCRTS) Phase I and II.</strong> Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will be the central nodal agency (CNA) for the GCRTS program. The entities must open a zero-balance savings account in the Bank of Maharashtra. The bank and CNA will facilitate the opening subsidiary implementing agency (SIA) accounts. They must nominate a nodal officer for the implementation of the new procedure for fund flow to coordinate with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, SECI, and Bank of Maharashtra. The unspent amounts in the SIA accounts will be returned to CNA. All such amounts must be returned before processing fresh releases under the new procedure. Existing bank accounts used by SIAs under the program will not be used further for releasing the central financial assistance. The release of incentives to DISCOMs has been exempted from the new procedure.</p>
<p><strong>ERG, an Italy-based wind power operator, </strong><a href="https://www.erg.eu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=0b357e03-8b25-6c30-248a-f3ca16691172&amp;groupId=10181&amp;version=1.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> the commissioning of the Les Bouchats wind farm in France, situated in the Grand-Est region, with a total capacity of 19.8 MW.</strong> The wind farm comprised nine Vestas V 110 2.2 MW turbines and was developed and built in-house. When fully operational, it will generate around 52 GWh per year, preventing the emission of around 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The plant will benefit from a feed-in tariff for 20 years from its commissioning. ERG signed a partnership agreement with Volterres, a green energy supplier group, to offer approximately 200 residents in the nearby areas the possibility to access to a supply of clean, wind farm-generated electricity at competitive prices</p>
<p><strong>Plug Power, a provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions, </strong><a href="https://www.ir.plugpower.com/press-releases/news-details/2022/Plug-to-Build-Large-Scale-Green-Hydrogen-Generation-Plant-in-Europe-at-Port-of-Antwerp-Bruges/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> that it would build a 35-tons-per-day green hydrogen generation plant at Port of Antwerp-Bruges in the heart of Europe.</strong> Plug signed a 30-year concession agreement to build the plant at the Belgian port, the second largest in Europe. Plug plans to build a 100 MW green hydrogen plant on 28 acres of land leased under the agreement using its electrolyzer and liquefaction technology. It will produce up to 12,500 tons of liquid and gaseous green hydrogen annually for the European market. Construction of the plant is anticipated in late 2023. Initial production of green hydrogen is expected in late 2024 and plant commissioning in 2025.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
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Daily News Wrap-Up: Online Platform for Faster Approval of Open Access Launched

<p>Mercom India Research has released a data report, <strong><a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercom-india-solar-market-leaderboard-2020-market-shares-profiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India Solar Market Leaderboard 2020</a>,</strong> which reveals the solar industry market leaders that emerged during the calendar year (CY) 2019.</p>
<p>The report features the industry’s leaders as well as their market share and shipment rankings across the Indian solar supply chain.</p>
<p>The Indian solar market expanded during the year as participation increased, and new leaders emerged while existing players fought to retain their top spots amid rising competition.</p>
<p>India installed <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-solar-installations-2019-declined/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">7.3 GW</a> of solar capacity in 2019 and <a href="https://mercomindia.com/china-united-states-india-collectively-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">secured</a> its spot as the world’s third-largest solar market in the world. The country boasts of cumulative solar installations of about 35.7 GW at the end of December 2019.</p>
<blockquote><p>“The solar market leaders have changed in almost every category compared to 2018. With a tough year ahead, we expect strong, resilient, and innovative companies to continue to do well,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18953" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3.png" alt="2019 India Solar Market Share Leaders" width="2362" height="2598" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3.png 2362w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-273x300.png 273w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-931x1024.png 931w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-768x845.png 768w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-1396x1536.png 1396w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-1862x2048.png 1862w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-650x715.png 650w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-624x686.png 624w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-India-Solar-Market-Share-Leaders-3-600x660.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 2362px) 100vw, 2362px" /></a></em></strong><strong><em>Full list of market share leaders available <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercom-india-solar-market-leaderboard-2020-market-shares-profiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Utility-scale Solar</strong></p>
<p>Large-scale solar installations in 2019 accounted for 85% of the additions at 6.2 GW. Also, solar accounted for 41% of new power capacity additions in 2019 behind coal, which accounted for 44%. As the industry is expanding, so is the number of developers backed by domestic and international investors who see India as a promising market.</p>
<p>The top ten large-scale developers held ~70% of the market share in 2019, according to the report. There were over 300 utility-scale project developers with projects of 5 MW or larger capacity in operation in India.</p>
<p><a href="https://renewpower.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ReNew Power</a> was the top utility-scale developer in CY 2019. <a href="https://www.adanigreenenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adani</a> was the largest project developer in terms of cumulative solar installations as of December 2019.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.azurepower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Azure Power</a> had the largest project pipeline as of December 2019, and there were around 29 large-scale solar developers with a project pipeline of 100 MW or more in India.</p>
<p><strong>EPC </strong></p>
<p>Companies offering Engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) services saw a lot of projects moved to 2020 due to delays caused by general elections, land, and evacuation issues, among others. Mahindra Susten was the top EPC player for utility-scale solar installations during the year.</p>
<p><strong>Rooftop Solar</strong></p>
<p>At the end of 2019, cumulative rooftop solar installations in India reached 4,365 MW. A total of 1,104 MW of rooftop solar projects were installed in 2019, a steep decline of 33% compared to 2018. Cumulative rooftop installations still only make up 10.9% of the country’s rooftop solar target of 40 GW by 2022.</p>
<p>In 2019, the top ten rooftop solar installers represented 43% of the market share.</p>
<p>Tata Power Solar held the top spot in terms of cumulative solar rooftop installations and as well for the year 2019.</p>
<p><strong>Solar Inverter Suppliers</strong></p>
<p>Huawei was the leading solar inverter supplier in the country during 2019 followed by Sungrow.</p>
<p>Growatt, Solis, Goodwe, and Delta Power Solutions were the other top string inverter suppliers.</p>
<p>Inverter suppliers breathed a sigh of relief as the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-deadline-bis-certification-solar-inverters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extended the deadline</a> for the self-certification of solar inverters by six months from December 31, 2019, to June 30, 2020. The government had mandated that laboratories must conduct the tests for compulsory registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the implementation of the quality order.</p>
<p><strong>Solar Module Suppliers</strong></p>
<p>In CY 2019, the top ten module suppliers acquired 62% of the market share. Waaree Energies and Adani were the leading module suppliers in terms of shipments in the calendar year 2019.</p>
<p>Supported by the safeguard duty and DCR tenders, Indian manufacturers are now competing strongly with Chinese suppliers.</p>
<p>The implementation of the approved list of manufacturers and models (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/?s=approved+models" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ALMM</a>) also saw an <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-industry-covid-19-almm-deadline-extended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extension</a> of the deadline by six months from March 31, 2020, to September 30, 2020. The ALMM was mandated by the MNRE for manufacturers of solar modules to enlist if their modules are to be utilized in government-owned projects and those set up for the sale of electricity to the government.</p>
<p><strong>Solar Trackers and Mounting Structures</strong></p>
<p>In 2019, Scorpius Trackers was the top supplier of solar trackers.</p>
<p>Ganges Internationale was the top supplier of solar mounting structures during the year, followed by Purshotam Profiles and Strolar.</p>
<p>Recently, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/anti-dumping-duty-coated-flat-products/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recommended</a> the imposition of anti-dumping duty on aluminum and zinc coated flat products from China PR, Vietnam, and Korea RP to protect the domestic industry. In solar projects, the panels are placed on the module mounting structures, which are made up of aluminum and zinc-coated flat products.</p>
<p><strong>Open Access Solar</strong></p>
<p>Rays Power Experts and CleanMax Solar were the top open access developers as of December 2019.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/open-access-solar-market-india-key-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open access solar market</a> in India has been offering parallel opportunities for stakeholders, including large corporates, solar project developers, investors, and power distribution companies, to participate in the solar growth story. There is a growing demand for serious players to develop open access projects and sell power to multinational companies (MNCs) that are choosing group captive solar to go green.</p>
<p>The solar sector is currently reeling with issues like delays in DISCOMs’ payment to developers, PPA renegotiations, power curtailment, difficulty in forecasting and scheduling power, access to financing, reimbursement delays, and the looming fear of the coronavirus derailing the supply schedules.</p>
<p><strong>Solar Robotic Cleaning </strong></p>
<p>Ecoppia was the top supplier of robotic cleaning systems in India as of December 2019.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/robotic-cleaning-solar-modules-gaining-traction-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Robotic cleaning</a> of solar panels is gaining traction in India amid water scarcity. Along with this, cleaning robots eliminate the need for extensive manual labor and increases electricity generation. Most of the major developers have deployed the robotic cleaning systems installed on large solar parks such as REWA, Bhadla, Pavagada. The MNRE has also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-asks-robotics-for-water-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recommended</a> the use of robotic cleaning technology, which uses less water for cleaning solar projects.<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Get the complete list of market leaders with installation and supply numbers in the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercom-india-solar-market-leaderboard-2020-market-shares-profiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full report</a>.</strong></p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/priya-sanjay/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Priya Sanjay</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priya-Sanjay-Managing-Director-Mercom-India-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Priya Sanjay,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/priya-sanjay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Priya Sanjay.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priya-Sanjay-Managing-Director-Mercom-India-1.jpg" alt="Wendy Prabhu" />Priya currently serves as the Publisher for MercomIndia.com. With more than a decade of experience working in corporate communications, research, and policy, Priya has deep roots in the Indian energy markets and is regularly in touch with policy makers and industry leaders. Priya received her bachelor’s degree from Vidya Vardhaka College of Arts in Bangalore, India for Political Science and Economics and completed her MBA from Bangalore University. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/priya-sanjay/">More articles from Priya Sanjay.</a></div>
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