Coronavirus Impacts Corporate Funding for Solar Industry Which Dropped by 31% in Q1 2020
The total corporate funding in the solar sector, which includes venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing has plummeted by 31% at $1.9 billion (~₹143.4 billion) in Q1 2020 ...
Top Solar and Power-Related Apps to Help Consumers During COVID-19 Lockdown
The Indian solar industry is shut down because of the nationwide lockdown in place because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Current restrictions have disrupted day-to-day business activities. The Ministry of New ...
Implications of COVID-19 Lockdown on Indian Solar Industry
The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, disrupting businesses globally. To fight the outbreak, the Government of India ordered a complete lockdown from March 24, 2020, ...
Mercom Coronavirus Live Updates: Effect on Clean Energy in India
The impact of Coronavirus has finally reached the Indian clean energy sector. Mercom had forecasted solar installations in India to grow by 17% year-over-year due to a strong pipeline of ...
Indian Solar Industry Confronts Coronavirus Crisis
The Coronavirus pandemic is proving to be the solar industry’s biggest challenge this year, and the repercussions are being felt across industries all over the globe. Global supplies have been ...
Sizeable Investments Waiting to be Unlocked in India’s Solar Open Access Market
The total installed solar capacity in the open access market reached 3.6 GW at the end of the calendar year (CY) 2019 and the pipeline of projects under development and ...
Inferior Backsheets Will Cut the Life of Solar Projects
Solar project development in India has always been very competitive due to the reverse auction process and also lately because of tariff caps, which forces developers to bid unrealistically low ...
India’s Wind Power Installations Flat in 2019 with 2.4 GW
Wind installations were flat in India with 2.4 GW of wind power capacity added in the calendar year (CY) 2019, compared to 2.3 GW 2018. The cumulative wind power installations ...
At 7.3 GW, India’s Solar Installations in 2019 Declined by 12%
India installed 7,346 MW of solar capacity in the calendar year (CY) 2019, a 12% decline year-over-year (YoY), compared to 8,338 MW in 2018, according to Mercom India Research’s newly ...
Impact of Basic Customs Duty on Solar Cells and Modules: Winners and Losers
Basic customs duty (BCD) on the import of solar cells and modules was announced at 20% in the Union Budget for 2020-21. While the exemption on this duty remains in ...
Solar Imports Declined, Exports Surged in 2019
In the calendar year (CY) 2019, India imported solar cells and modules worth $2.17 billion, a drop of almost 16% compared to CY 2018. In CY2018, the Indian solar sector ...
MNRE Mulls Removal of Tariff Caps for Solar and Wind Tenders
According to industry sources, in a meeting with the developers of solar and wind projects, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed the removal of tariff caps, ...
Solar Tender and Auction Activity Surged in January 2020
Tender activity in January 2020 saw an increase of over 70% from the previous month with over 4 GWs of solar projects announced, according to Mercom India’s Solar Tender Tracker, ...
Robotic Cleaning of Solar Modules Gaining Traction in India Amid Water Scarcity
Water is a scarce commodity in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, and the use of water in energy generation is a big concern. The rise of solar and ...
Budget 2020 Allocates ₹220 Billion to Power & Renewable Energy Sector, Empowers Consumers
Amid the ongoing economic slowdown, the Union Budget 2020-21 has tried to instill hope in the investors and taxpayers. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2020-21 in ...
What the Indian Solar Industry Wants from Budget 2020
On February 1st, the NDA government will present its 2020 budget. Considering the present state of the economy and the renewable industry, the upcoming budget can be a great opportunity ...
Privatizing DISCOMs the Way Out of their Financial Mess
The Indian power sector has been reeling under enormous financial pressure over the last few decades. Distribution companies (DISCOMs), a crucial part of the power sector, have been at the ...
Venture Capital Funding for Battery Energy Storage Companies Rises by 103% in 2019
In 2019, global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) for battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency companies totaled $2.3 billion compared to $2.8 billion raised in ...
First Loss Protection Can Open up Third-Party Rooftop Solar Market
The rooftop solar market slowed down significantly in 2019 along with regulatory hurdles and the overall downturn in the economy – it has yet to recover. Because of the liquidity ...
Solar’s Share in India’s Total Installed Power Capacity Reaches 9.6% at the End of 2019
Renewable energy (including large hydro) accounted for almost 36% of India’s total power capacity mix at the end of the calendar year (CY) 2019, according to data from the Central ...
Solar Projects are Helping Generate Income, Create Jobs and New Skills in Rural Areas
The development of large solar power projects in rural areas usually gets a bad rap as it is associated with issues like land grabbing, deforestation, and disruption of the rural ...
Corporate Funding in 2019 Jumps 20% Reaching $12 Billion in the Solar Sector Globally
Total corporate funding in the solar sector increased by 20% in 2019, reaching $11.7 billion in 117 deals, up from $9.7 billion in 139 deals in 2018, according to Mercom ...
TMEIC and Sungrow Led the Solar Inverter Supplier Leaderboard in 1H 2019
In the first half of 2019 (1H 2019), TMEIC emerged as the top supplier of solar inverters to the Indian market with a market share of approximately 20% while Sungrow ...
After a Slow November, Solar Tender and Auction Activity Picked Up in December 2019
The month of December 2019 saw a significant rise in the solar tender activity compared to the subdued activity in November 2019. The last month of 2019 also saw one ...
Indian Solar Industry Optimistic Going Into 2020
After a somewhat disappointing year, the domestic solar industry’s hopes are pinned on 2020. Towards the end of 2019, Mercom revised its estimates for the calendar year (CY) 2019 down ...
