India electricity regulatory commission releases new tariff features

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

India is the latest country to release details on its solar plans, involving rebates, incentives and tariffs. The country hopes that the Indian state of Gujarat will become a hub for solar power. The National Solar Mission aims for 100GW of renewable power by 2030 and 200GW by 2050.

New guidelines issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for India released September 2009 show investments in renewable energy plants such as solar will get a pre-tax return of 19% per year for the first 10 years and 24% per year from year 11 onwards. This development is certainly a positive one for the renewable energy sector, particularly for a-Si thin film solar companies and FSLR, says Barclays Capital.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

As part of this new development, the Indian government announced plans to offer a fixed rate of return of 19% -24% through higher tariffs for the renewable energy sector. The guaranteed rate of return is significantly higher than the 14% -16% guaranteed to investors in conventional power projects. State governments determine tariffs under the current program through negotiations with renewable energy owners and IRRs under current program are similar to IRRs for non-renewable energy resources. State electricity commissions will have to follow the new guidelines and calculate tariffs according to the CERC announcement.

However, in order to prevent companies from over-investing or over-declaring costs, CERC has announced cost targets for different technologies; the target for solar is 3.20/W (Rs.170/W). Given the low labor/installation costs, US$3.20/W system cost implies US$1.50-US$1.80/W module price.

Annual subsidy reductions will be calculated using a formula and would depend on assumptions of annual cost reductions every year.  The new policy also entitles renewable energy users to claim 50% of the carbon credits from the sixth year onwards.

 

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.
June 27, 2025
The UK government has decided it will not sign a Contract for Difference (CfD) with Xlinks for the 11.5GW Morroco-UK interconnector project.
June 27, 2025
Renewables investment platform Nexwell Power has signed a round of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with “one of the largest” US tech companies for solar PV capacity to be built in Spain.
June 27, 2025
Statkraft has signed PPAs with Better Energy to purchase energy from two solar power plants in Poland with a total capacity of 64GWh.
June 27, 2025
Solar developer Lightsource bp has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of Taiwanese energy firm HD Renewable Energy (HDRE).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico