Race Against Time

THE RISING SOLAR CAPACITY WILL REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT, BUT FACES MANY CHALLENGES

- Anilesh S Mahajan

WHEN DELHI-BASED renewable energy company Acme Solar bid a record low ₹2.44 per unit to bag the 500 MW Bhadla Solar Park in mid-May, it did not surprise anyone. Solar tariffs in India have been on the slide for some time now; every bid for a solar park brings it down further. The tariffs have fallen almost 80 per cent from ₹12.16 for the first 150 MW solar park under the National Solar Mission (NSM) Batch-I in 2010.

Thanks to falling solar tariffs, the gap between renewable and coal-based power generation is narrowing, making renewable power a preferred source in many regions. This is happening despite the fact that power, coal and renewable energy minister, Piyush Goyal, has continued efforts to reduce tariffs for thermal power generation as well. In the last fiscal, NTPC recorded an average tariffof ₹1.94 a unit, down from ₹3.25 a unit two years ago, largely because of improved coal quality and efficient logistics. “This is also reducing our carbon footprint,” the minister remarked.