MERCOM INDIA SOLAR FORUM 2021

Introduction to the Forum

India is targeting 100 GW of solar installations by 2022 and has a longer-term target of deploying 450 GW of renewables, with Solar making up 300 GW of that goal. Cumulative solar installations stand at 43 GWs, requiring solar to be installed at a rate of approximately 28 GW a year until 2030. 

These goals create an appealing long-term market as India transitions towards renewables. However, a clear roadmap is yet to be laid out, and renewable purchase obligation targets beyond 2022 are unclear. A clear roadmap with yearly milestones can make the market even more attractive to investors and ESG funds and bring hundreds of billions in new investments. The panel will discuss ways to deploy solar and the investments it will take to meet these ambitious targets.

Suman Sharma

Aditya Aggarwal

Raj Prabhu

Deepak Malhotra

Solar’s Dominant Role in India’s Transition: Market Outlook 2030

Networking Break

The government’s call for Make in India, the production-linked incentive plan, and duties and restrictions on imports have collectively boosted solar manufacturing in India. We have seen a flood of announcements from companies building new manufacturing capacities or scaling existing ones. The Indian government has embarked on creating a massive manufacturing ecosystem. From polysilicon to modules, vertical integration will need billions of dollars in investment. Creating an ecosystem is just the start. Success will also depend on technology upgrades, consistency in supplies, quality, and competitive pricing. As supply increases, the government needs to ensure enough projects are auctioned every year to avoid a supply-demand imbalance. 

The panel discussion will revolve around the feasibility of the domestic manufacturing initiative, market opportunity, and the plans of stakeholders to establish a market within the country, as well as export opportunities. We will speak to companies that have made their manufacturing plans known to understand their growth forecast, plans, and investments.

Amitesh Kumar Sinha

Sujoy Ghosh

Ramesh Nair

Manjunatha D V

Moving Towards a Domestic Manufacturing Base With Sustainable Demand

Lunch / Networking Break

Commercial and industrial (C&I) customers are increasingly opting for open access solar to reduce operating costs and the carbon footprint of their facilities. Initially, the market was driven by a mandate to meet part of the energy consumption from clean sources, but now it just makes business sense to go solar. 

Businesses are also driven by 100% renewable energy goals and ESG initiatives. While demand has accelerated, regulatory inconsistencies and unpredictability have proved to be the main obstacle. DISCOMs, fearing the loss of their best customers, are introducing regulatory hurdles and new charges making open access challenging, expensive, and in turn, curbing demand. The panel discussion will bring opinions from developers, consumers, facility owners, and new ideas and suggestions to make open access favorable to all.

Naveen Vunnam

Johnny N Christo

Sarathi Ghosh

Sindhu Sharma

Open Access Solar – an Ideal Solution to Reduce Carbon Footprint and Operating Costs for C&I Entities

India’s solar energy deployment goals cannot be met by large-scale projects alone as land becomes a scarce commodity. Rooftop solar is an obvious choice in a country with severe transmission issues. However, rooftop solar is mired in regulatory and policy gridlock. 

Net metering, gross metering, net billing… regulations are inconsistent and can be interpreted different ways by state entities. While the rules are made at the center, states are reluctant to implement them as they fear losing customers. 

The segment has crossed the hurdle of creating awareness, and the demand, especially in the C&I segment, is high, and the costs are down. But regulatory hurdles are plaguing the segment. Stakeholders and regulators will share their thoughts and recommendations to create a path for rooftop solar and a way forward to meet the demand for consumers wanting to go green.

J J Gandhi

Ravinder Singh

Lakshminarayanan Sankaran

Honey Raza

Rooftop Solar – Demand is Up Despite Policy Restrictions

Large-scale projects largely drive the solar sector in India. The pandemic has added to the difficulties for developers with rising component prices, supply chain disruptions, infrastructure, and regulatory bottlenecks. With the government’s push to procure domestically manufactured components, developers face the added challenge of procuring a large capacity of the latest technology modules at competitive rates. 

On the demand side, tender and auction activity has dipped lately, along with a growing backlog of unsigned power sale agreements. For developers, there are not enough projects right now to build and scale. With investor appetite growing, the expectation is for SECI to roll out auctions quickly and consistently to meet the government targets of 100 GW by 2022 and 300 GW by 2030. The discussion will tackle both supply and demand challenges and strategies for growth. Experts will discuss their experiences and provide solutions to wade through these challenges.

Dilip Nigam

Manu Srivastava

Rajesh Shrivastava

Ashish Upadhyay

Large-Scale Project Development – Growth Strategies for an Evolving Market

The production-linked incentive program by the government of India has spurred investments into the vertical integration of module manufacturing. From polysilicon to module manufacturing, the maximum incentive is for companies offering to integrate fully. There are also a large number of new module capacities along with an expansion of existing capacity in the works. 

From solar glass to EVA back sheets, how are companies planning to source raw materials, manage the supply chain, and sudden increase in demand? Panelists will discuss details of their strategies and ideas to overcome challenges. 

Developers will bring their perspective on purchasing strategies based on product availability, technology, quality, and price.

Gaurav Sood

Pradeep Kumar M

Ritudhwaj Singh

Rahul Khatri

A Look at India’s Solar Supply Chain and Sourcing Strategies

Mercom India Solar Forum 2021, organized by Mercom India, brought together industry and government dignitaries on Mercom’s exclusive platform on Thursday, October 21, 2021, to discuss a wide range of topics affecting the sector.

Mercom is widely recognized for its leadership and influence in helping shape India’s rapidly growing clean energy markets.

Despite the effects of the pandemic and the economic challenges the world over, renewables, especially solar power, have turned out to be a winner. In India, we see a strong emphasis on increasing the share of grid-connected solar. After accelerating solar project development, the government has now shifted its focus to domestic manufacturing. Businesses, industries, and even residences are increasingly embracing solar and contributing to reducing their carbon footprint. While distribution companies are driven by renewable purchase obligations, C&I entities are seeing a business case in going solar to reduce their operational costs.

The solar industry in India was negatively affected in the calendar year (CY) 2020 with the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns. However, despite a severe pandemic surge, the effect on solar was less so, with lockdowns being much more targeted. Consequently, installation numbers for CY 2021 will turn out to be much stronger.

Powered by Mercom India Research and the comprehensive reporting by the Mercom India News team, the Mercom Solar Forum 2021 broke down the current state of the Indian solar industry and the major shifts and dived deep into emerging trends in installations and manufacturing.

The virtual event brought together top investors, C-level industry executives, and government officials to discuss all that is affecting the solar landscape in India and more.