IEEFA: Ultra-mega solar parks driving India’s clean energy transition
India now houses multiple ultra-mega solar parks with a capacity of more than 1 GW, two of which are the largest commissioned in the world. These solar parks have been instrumental in driving economies of scale and continue to attract global capital and some of the most renowned domestic and international renewable energy developers.
Ultra-mega solar parks have attracted foreign capital as well as top global developers to India, and in return provided investors with an opportunity to join a US$500-700 billion renewable energy and grid infrastructure investment boom in the coming decade, says a new IEEFA report.
The report titled India’s Utility-Scale Solar Parks —A Global Success Story provides an update on the Indian solar parks covering execution model, top developers and tariffs.
The ultra-mega power plant concept involves a state government or local distribution company providing a single central grid connection and acquiring land on which the project can be built, shielding developers from procurement and time-delay risks.
“This approach has driven economies of scale and attracted global capital into India’s renewable energy sector over the last five years, with an immediate boon in mid-2017 of halving solar tariffs to a record low of Rs2.44/kWh (US$39/MWh) at the prevailing exchange rate,” says author and IEEFA analyst Kashish Shah in the report.
Utility-sale solar parks in India have successfully overcome project execution risk, off-taker risk and operation and maintenance risk—the three major risks associated with renewable energy development in India—highlights the report.
Capacity installed
As per the report, currently, India has nine ultra-mega solar parks aggregating to 14,693 MW capacity under various stages of construction, including 6693 MW operational, 3000 MW partially operational and 5000 MW under development.
The country houses multiple ultra-mega solar parks with a capacity of more than 1 GW, two of which are the largest commissioned in the world.
The Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan is the world’s largest such installation to date, covering more than 14,000 acres with a total capacity of 2,245 MW.
“It is worth looking back over the last four years to see just how far the Indian renewable energy industry has advanced,” says Shah in the report.
“Indian utility-scale solar parks have kickstarted India’s energy sector transition. Amid myriad policy and project execution issues, India’s utility-scale solar park model has firmly stood its ground.”