Lack Of Sunshine

Production of Solar power, the most preferred renewable energy, increased only 4 per cent to 1,737 megawatt (MW) in the first quarter of 2019. More than 800 MW of solar power auctions were cancelled due to lack of interest from project developers as the government brought in tariff caps. Payment delays in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are worrying those who have projects on ground.

Apart from this, lending is an issue for new projects. In the first quarter, solar investments were lower by 12 per cent to $2.8 billion compared to investments during the same period a year ago. Rooftop solar, which was witnessing good growth over the past few years, also had negative growth during the period. A recent Mercom India Research study estimates that at the current pace, solar installations in India can reach only 71 gigawatts (GW) by end-2022, almost 30 per cent lower than the 100 GW target set by the government.