As a major step to face serious energy challenges in the coming decades, India's Solar Mission draws good response since it was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January.
State-owned NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, the agency responsible for the sale and purchase of grid-connected solar power, said ,it had received 300 bids for solar photovoltaic plants and 44 for solar thermal projects in India.
The mission aimed at generating 20,000 megawatts of solar power in the country over the next decade.
The eligible bids offered a range of discounts and the average rate for selected plants would be Rs 12.16 per unit for solar PV and Rs 11.48 per unit for solar thermal plants. NVVN had invited bids for 620-Mw capacity comprising 470 Mw of solar thermal and 150 Mw of solar PV plants.
Addressing the Intersolar India conference here, I&B Secretary Deepak Gupta said the target for grid-connected plants for the first phase of the solar mission up to March 2013 was 1,100 Mw, including 100 Mw of roof-top and small tail-end solar plants.
The capacity of 1,000 Mw has been divided equally between solar PV and solar thermal projects.
About 184 Mw of grid connected plants have already been selected by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IRESA) and 84-Mw by NVVN under migration schemes. These are mostly solar PV and have to be commissioned within a year.
According to I&B Secretary Deepak Gupta, the ministry was trying to involve private players in installing solar power systems to provide electricity by setting up micro grid in the villages.
Many pilot projects have been initiated under which the ministry has received help from the government of Norway. We want to do many more. We are looking for foundations and corporate social responsibility funds to join hands with us, he noted.
In related news, the Asian Development Bank announced Tuesday that it has earmarked $150 million for guaranteeing 50 percent of loans that international and Indian banks make for solar projects that have less than 30 megawatts of capacity in India.
"In a bid to reduce the perceived risk with solar projects that banks may be funding, we have decided to share 50 percent of their exposure structure," said Sujata Gupta, head of ADB's private sector group in India.
India gets about 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, most of it from wind turbines.
State-owned NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, the agency responsible for the sale and purchase of grid-connected solar power, said ,it had received 300 bids for solar photovoltaic plants and 44 for solar thermal projects in India.
The mission aimed at generating 20,000 megawatts of solar power in the country over the next decade.
The eligible bids offered a range of discounts and the average rate for selected plants would be Rs 12.16 per unit for solar PV and Rs 11.48 per unit for solar thermal plants. NVVN had invited bids for 620-Mw capacity comprising 470 Mw of solar thermal and 150 Mw of solar PV plants.
Addressing the Intersolar India conference here, I&B Secretary Deepak Gupta said the target for grid-connected plants for the first phase of the solar mission up to March 2013 was 1,100 Mw, including 100 Mw of roof-top and small tail-end solar plants.
The capacity of 1,000 Mw has been divided equally between solar PV and solar thermal projects.
About 184 Mw of grid connected plants have already been selected by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IRESA) and 84-Mw by NVVN under migration schemes. These are mostly solar PV and have to be commissioned within a year.
According to I&B Secretary Deepak Gupta, the ministry was trying to involve private players in installing solar power systems to provide electricity by setting up micro grid in the villages.
Many pilot projects have been initiated under which the ministry has received help from the government of Norway. We want to do many more. We are looking for foundations and corporate social responsibility funds to join hands with us, he noted.
In related news, the Asian Development Bank announced Tuesday that it has earmarked $150 million for guaranteeing 50 percent of loans that international and Indian banks make for solar projects that have less than 30 megawatts of capacity in India.
"In a bid to reduce the perceived risk with solar projects that banks may be funding, we have decided to share 50 percent of their exposure structure," said Sujata Gupta, head of ADB's private sector group in India.
India gets about 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, most of it from wind turbines.
