Tata Power agreed to buy Welspun Renewable Energy earlier this month for INR92.49 billion (US$1.42 billion). Against the backdrop of fiercely competitive bidding, Mercom Capital Group chief executive and co-founder Raj Prabhu, explains the scene of potential mergers and acquisitions in the Indian solar market.
The Indian state of Karnataka has released another set of letters of Approval (LOAs), this time for 260MW of solar PV capacity that were allotted in its dispersed 1.2GW solar auction in March.
The Indian state of Karnataka has revised its tariff for small-scale and rooftop solar systems downwards in the range of 25-45% in response to a reduction in the capital costs of solar.
India’s latest 400MW solar auction saw limited competition compared to recent tenders with just six bidders for the PV capacity in an Andhra Pradesh solar park.
India-based companies have dominated the latest solar auction for 350MW in the state of Telangana with winning tariffs ranging between INR4.66-4.77/kWh (~US$0.07).
Significant increases of utility tariffs in Nigeria and Ghana are improving the business case for solar by providing money to utilities and bringing competition to the power market, according to energy developers.
Difficulties in financing Indian solar projects with extremely low tariffs and the wobbling of major solar player SunEdison will not impact the long-term prospects of India’s PV market, according to two senior banking and finance representatives.
Domestic developers triumphed in Karnataka’s 500MW solar auction, maintaining the market’s fiercely competitive tariff levels with winning bids between INR4.78-4.8/kWh (US$0.072) for capacity in the Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur District.
Canadian PV company SkyPower is searching for partners for its projects in India and will begin constructing them in Fall 2016 and has denied a report suggesting it could exit the country, according to Reuters.
Indian developer Mytrah energy has received a direct loan facility of up to US$175 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help fund the development of solar and wind projects in Mytrah’s pipeline.
