After an avalanche of low solar tariffs ending with a super low solar tariff of Rs 4.34/kWh in the latest reverse biddings held in Nov ’15 and Jan ’16, the market suddenly seems to be retracting. The recent lowest discovered tariff…
Don’t be Lakh Wise, Crore Foolish – Solar Mango’s Request to Solar Power Plant Developers
OK, so you already know the stuff that’s presented above. You have already read or heard about the fact that there are EPCs, and there are EPCs. Given that it is well known that there are a number of rather average…
Captive Solar Power Plants Becoming popular with Indian Companies
I had earlier written a blog post Captive Solar Power Plant – Is it Good for My Company? that received quite a few queries and comments, with some of them saying it is a bit too early for Indian companies…
Robot Cleaning Technology for Solar Power Plants
Even in a low cost country like India, at Solar Mango we continue getting enquiries on automating O&M for solar power plants. Well, having done the math, our team is not entirely convinced that Indian solar power plants need highly automated O&M – perhaps what is optimal…
Softbank Too Bids at Rs 4.63/kWh for 350 MW Solar – An Analysis of the Magic Number 4.63
All right, so a few weeks back, we were all circumspect when Sun Edison bid at Rs 4.63/kWh for 350 MW solar power plant in Andhra Pradesh under the National Solar Mission. How could this be? – we asked among ourselves. Perhaps Sun Edison…
Choosing the Right EPC for MW Scale Solar Power Plants
Who is an EPC and why does it matter? EPC, which stands for Engineering, Procurement, Construction, refers to the company that does turnkey work for a solar power plant implementation – from design, to procurement of components to power plant construction. Some EPCs also take…
Costs for Small MW-Scale Grid Connected Power Plants in India – LCOE and Optimal Tariff
Within this section you will find Highlights & inferences Introduction Maximising power generation – details Minimizing costs – details With solar trackers Pessimistic assumptions Acceptable assumptions Optimistic assumptions Without solar trackers Pessimistic assumptions Acceptable assumptions Optimistic assumptions Summary for small…
Indian Banks and their Lending for the Solar Sector
It is a well-known cliche that banks are most willing to lend to those who…don’t need their money. It is somewhat true for solar as well. Or at least the corollary is true – Indian banks have not exactly been…
Quality of India’s Solar Installations Compromised in the Race to Low Tariffs
Now, this should not come as any surprise at all: Many leading personalities from the Indian solar sector feel that the quality of many solar power plant installations in the country could be suffering as developers try to execute costs at really low costs to…
Solar Power Price in India Rs 4.2/kWh by 2020, Says KPMG, and Rs 3.69/kWh by 2025
Solar prices in India could be substantially lower than coal by 2020, according to a report by international consultancy firm KPMG. KPMG’s report, ‘The rising sun: Disruption on the horizon’, predicts that over the next decade solar will scale up…
