India has closed bids
for a third of its target of tendering 15,000 megawatts (MW) of solar projects
this fiscal year, a government official said, and is expecting interest from
investors such as SoftBank to lift the industry.
The tenders are part of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's ambitious plans to raise solar capacity five fold to 100,000 MW
by 2022 to meet India's growing power needs, create jobs and fight climate
change without committing to an emission target.
"We are creating the base for big
companies like SoftBank and Foxconn to participate," Upendra Tripathy, new
and renewable energy secretary, told Reuters on Monday. "We want big
players to come in, costs to come down and targets to be met."
Japan's SoftBank this month announced plans
to set up a company to invest $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,32,512 crores) in
India's renewable energy industry, with Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn and India's
Bharti Enterprise as minority partners. SoftBank's executives have met both
Modi and Tripathy.
Indian resources conglomerate Adani Group has
all but ended a deal with U.S. company SunEdison for a solar equipment plant,
only to start talks with Softbank and Foxconn for investments, sources said.
So far this fiscal year India has closed
tenders for about 5,000 MW of solar power and is seeking bids for 5,000 MW
more, Tripathy said.
Government-controlled companies Solar Energy
Corp of India and NTPC Ltd have issued most of the tenders, along with states
such as Madhya Pradesh in central India. SkyPower, Acme Solar, Suzlon Energy
and SunEdison have been among the winners.
Tripathy said though companies were keen to
invest and solar power was already competing with fossil-fuel derived
electricity, central and state governments would have to make it easier for
businesses to buy land.
Source: NDTV.com
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