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<ul><li>A report from Deloitte and Climate Investment Funds states that lack of low-cost financing is a major hurdle in <keyword id="6393272" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="MSMEs">MSMEs</keyword> adding rooftop <keyword id="70990" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> projects. </li><li>In India, the <keyword id="3141044" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="rooftop-solar-capacity">rooftop solar capacity</keyword> stood at 3.3GW in September 2018 while it aims to have 40 GW by 2022. </li></ul>India has set high targets for itself – to achieve 40 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022 and 100 GW of solar power by the same year. The Indian MSME sector could be instrumental in achieving this target but there are multiple challenges that the government needs to address first, according to a report by Deloitte and Climate Investment Funds (CIF). The report states that involving MSMEs “requires addressing issues related to lack of low-cost financing, inadequate level of awareness, and lack of rooftop aggregation models”. India still has a long way to go in achieving its rooftop solar capacity target. According to a <a href="https://bridgetoindia.com/report/india-solar-rooftop-market-i-january-2019/">report </a>by Bridge to India, the rooftop solar capacity stood at 3.3 GW by September 2018. The report further predicts that the total capacity addition will be 18.8 GW in the next five years, which still doesn’t meet India’s target. Rooftop solar is important because it can be used for residential and commercial properties, making way for local utilization. So far, India’s rooftop solar projects have been mainly run by corporates but in order to scale up the capacity, MSMEs will have to be involved in the process. <keyword id="6357455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">Funding</keyword> will be key for growing rooftop solar capacity for MSMEs. According to a report by Climate Policy Initiative, MSMEs, “do not have high enough credit ratings to access finance under the two prevailing rooftop solar business models, the Capital Expenditure model and the Power Purchase Agreement model.” So for them to step up in the solar race, the government needs to intervene. The Deloitte report also suggested that the government needs to create a dedicated scheme “such as interest subvention and the Partial Risk Guarantee Fund mechanism”, with a proper budget allocation that can be the fuel for pilot projects in MSMEs. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/interim-budget-2019-the-state-of-indias-solar-power-is-a-matter-of-concern/articleshow/67622437.cms">India’s solar power producers are awaiting a ray of hope</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/iredas-ipo-is-likely-to-be-delayed-again/articleshow/67888133.cms">India's Renewable Energy Development Agency IPO may be delayed again</a>

India will not meet its rooftop solar power target if it doesn’t help MSMEs

<ul><li><keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> had set a target to achieve 100 GW solar energy by 2022. However, a Crisil report said that India can achieve 70-80% of its aim. </li><li>India will need to create a platform for domestic manufacturing along with favourable policies. </li><li>India recently imposed 25% safeguard duty on imports from China and Malaysia, which also hurt Indian manufacturers. </li></ul>The Indian <keyword id="163297" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-industry">solar industry</keyword> has been shining bright over the years with the government pre-achieving its initial target of 20 GW solar energy by 2022. Now, even with a renewed target of 100 GW by 2022, it is looking increasingly unlikely the country will hit the number unless the government steps up efforts. According to a recent <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/HEugjBRI2zsNDyVzB2E1kJ/India-may-not-reach-100GW-solar-power-target-by-2022-Crisil.html">Crisil report</a>, if India wants to head towards the 100 GW goal, it has to bring in policies in the <keyword id="7190005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="interim-budget-2019">Interim Budget 2019</keyword> that will change the fate of the solar industry. Thus far, the industry has seen a favourable push by the Indian government such as the development of solar parks. But also faced setbacks with an added <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/sc-lifts-stay-on-safeguard-duty-on-solar-imports/articleshow/65759673.cms">safeguard duty</a> on solar panels imported from China and Malaysia, which is adding to the costs of the manufacturers. Platform for domestic manufacturing Specifically, India will need to reduce import duties or push the growth of manufacturing in India of solar equipment, to boost growth. “The decrease in import of solar equipment will only be possible if domestic manufacturers are given a platform, through subsidies and schemes that allow us to showcase our capabilities compete with the global best. Currently, most solar manufacturers in India have to channel their focus on competing with low quality imports at unsustainable prices, said Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies. China’s dominance in the manufacturing of solar modules has resulted in many Indian manufacturers depending on them for the implementation of solar projects in India. <a href="https://www.chinabusinessreview.com/how-china-is-forging-a-new-global-clean-energy-landscape/">In 2017, </a>Chinese solar manufacturers alone were responsible for 68% of global solar cell production and more than 70% of the world’s production of solar panels or modules. “The required financial support will help, as most solar cells are imported, adding to the manufacturers’ costs,” said Rathi. Reduced taxes Experts believe that the upcoming Interim Budget will be crucial, as it not only would help manufacturers to gauge the support that the Government plans give the sector, but also understand how it envisions the way forward for the industry. “We hope that the government continues to focus on reducing the corporate tax rate to help the country move towards a lower tax regime,” said Andrew Hines, Co-Founder, CleanMax Solar. Taxes and duties remaining stable is a big hope from Indian players. “A universal anti-dumping policy and a more stringent safeguard duty would curb an influx of low quality products, and also instil confidence within the sector,” said Rathi. Rathi added that the recent proposal regarding the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Certification has been welcomed by the solar industry and will ensure quality raw materials are made available to manufacturers. It is likely to also attract more investment from players, both national and international. Rooftop solar capacity According to a report by <a href="https://bridgetoindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BRIDGE-TO-INDIA-India-RE-Outlook-2019-1.pdf">Bridge to India</a>, the rooftop solar capacity addition in India is projected to be 2,368 GW in 2019, 49% higher than in 2018. To expand the rooftop industry to other customer segments, Hines believes that incentives could be more productively redirected to the residential and MSME segments. This could help develop those segments that are nonexistent today but have huge potential. “A transparent and consumer-friendly feed-in-tariff for residential consumers would be a great way to spur growth in this segment, but the policy should be well thought through to be effective,” said Hines. With India taking the lead along with France in the <a href="https://www.thebetterindia.com/160476/india-france-modi-solar-alliance-news/">International Solar Alliance</a>, an alliance of more than 121 countries, the government will have to make way for growth by bringing forward policies the industry wants for progress. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/if-indias-solar-energy-is-cheaper-than-coal-why-isnt-the-industry-thriving/articleshow/65605221.cms">If India’s solar energy is cheaper than coal, why isn’t the industry thriving?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-solar-installations-see-a-big-drop-after-years-of-strong-growth/articleshow/67121559.cms">India's solar installations see a big drop after years of strong growth</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/niti-aayog-india-renewable-energy/articleshow/52359002.cms">Niti Aayog to promote India as renewable energy hub, output to be hiked fourfold</a>

India’s solar power producers are awaiting a ray of hope

Multi-business company <keyword id="6357073" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="itc" source="Orion">ITC</keyword> Ltd on Tuesday said it has commissioned a 14.9 MW <keyword id="59444" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-power-plant" source="Orion">solar power plant</keyword> in Dindigul, <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword>. According to the company, the 14.9 MW <keyword id="70990" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-power" source="Orion">solar power</keyword> plant was built at an outlay of Rs 76 crore thereby meeting 90 per cent of the company's power needs in Tamil Nadu from renewable sources. ITC plans to meet 100 per cent of the entire grid electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2030 and contribute meaningfully to combat the threat of climate change, the company said. Spread over 59 acres, the Dindigul solar plant will generate over 22 million units of renewable energy annually for ITC's hotels, food manufacturing plants, paper manufacturing facility, and printing and packaging factories in Tamil Nadu. "At ITC, we have relentlessly pursued a mission for environmental stewardship through a gamut of large-scale endeavours that comprehensively address the threat of climate change. Our large-scale investments in renewable energy assets are an integral part of our low carbon strategy aimed at making a meaningful contribution to a net zero economy," Sanjiv Rangrass, Group Head - ITC Life Sciences &amp; Technology, Central Projects, EHS &amp; Quality Assurance said. ITC's renewable portfolio comprises 138 MW of wind power plants and 14 MW of solar plants with 53MW of additional solar capacity under execution. Currently, projects are also underway in other sources of renewable energy like biomass boilers. The company has made investments of over Rs 1,000 crore in renewable energy assets to date. Renewable energy powers 20 factories, nine hotels, and six office buildings of ITC in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal, and Punjab. In 2018, ITC became the first private sector entity to wheel renewable energy across states through the Inter-State Open Access mechanism. Currently, ITC's 46MW Wind power plant in Andhra Pradesh supplies power to over 15 ITC establishments in eight states. This has led to a higher renewable energy utilisation for the company. Besides investing in new renewable energy assets, ITC, as part of its Sustainability 2.0 agenda aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in specific emissions and a 30 per cent reduction in specific energy consumption by 2030 over a 2014-15 baseline. Such efforts in decarbonising energy consumption through low-carbon energy solutions will be met through large-scale digitalisation and R&amp;D initiatives, cross-sectoral collaborations, and partnerships. ITC is an exemplar in environment stewardship. The Company was recently rated at the 'Leadership Level' with scores of 'A-' for both Climate Change and Water Security by CDP, one of the most reputed independent global platforms for disclosures on environmental impacts. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbl-bank-depositors-need-not-worry-assures-rbi/articleshow/88520325.cms" style="">RBL Bank depositors need not worry, assures RBI</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/rbl-bank-slumps-15-after-ceo-goes-on-leave-big-investors-are-eyeing-a-piece-of-the-pie/articleshow/88515146.cms" style="">RBL Bank slumps 20% after CEO goes on leave</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/heres-why-axis-bank-may-be-willing-to-pay-2-billion-to-buy-citis-india-ops/articleshow/88407858.cms">Here’s why Axis Bank may be willing to pay $2 billion to buy Citi’s India ops</a>

90% of ITC's power needs in Tamil Nadu will be met through solar energy

This is a concept developed by Scott Brusaw. He suggests that why not have <keyword id="71245" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Roadways">roadways</keyword> built up of hexagonal solar panels, which will supply continuous electricity to the street lights, will light up the road lanes/dividers and more. A very interesting concept video that has already accumulated over 7.3 million views within a matter of 10 days. This very well could be technology behind the roadways of the future. Scroll down to see the video.

Solar Panel Roads Will Solve So Many Problems At Once
[Video]

<keyword id="6367820" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Adani-Group">Adani Group</keyword> has joined hands with the Rajasthan government to set a10, 000 mw Solar Power plant. 
 
The company’s Renewable Energy department has signed a 50:50 joint venture that is estimated to be the largest such integrated facility in India. 
 
The park is pegged to attract investments worth over Rs. 60,000 Crore. It is said to include generation projects and a manufacturing unit for solar module, parts and equipment. The group itself plans to generate around 5,000 mw in the said solar park. 
 
The solar park is a part of the Rajasthan government’s plan to achieve 25,000 mw solar power capacities by 2022. It has claimed to set up 1, 00,000 mw of solar power by 2022. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Adani Group set to launch 10,000 MW solar power park
in Rajasthan

You may not be victim to any more power cuts and could even halve your <keyword id="100242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Electricity-bill">electricity bill</keyword>, thanks to <keyword id="6356755" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Madras">IIT Madras</keyword>' new solar rooftop installation. It's both smaller and cheaper than present installations. Priced at Rs 20,000, it can run tubelights, fans, charging points and a TV. If you go for a higher model, it will be able to run all essential load except washing machine and air conditioners. As a part of <keyword id="6354502" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="CSR">CSR</keyword> and government sponsorship, the rooftop plant has been installed in 15,000 rural homes. It was successful in facing a three-day power cut during Chennai floods in December 2015. Now, to install a rooftop of the present technology, a middle-class family would require 1kWh solar rooftop and storage costing about Rs 1.2 lakh and a space of about 100 sq ft. On Thursday, the <keyword id="70990" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> system was recognised by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), New York, as 'Technology of the year 2017 in the service of humanity'. The solar inverterless DC system is cost and energy-efficient as unlike other solar power systems, it does not convert direct current produced by a solar installation into alternate current. The system comes with a full DC wiring. Each time a unit of AC is converted into DC, there is a 15 per cent loss of energy. A DC system is 2.5 times more efficient than the AC system and hence requires lesser space. While a 125W rooftop solar, a 0.5kWh lead acid DC battery, and few DC electrical appliances will cost approximately Rs 20,000, a basic 500W solar power and 3 kWh lead acid storage will cost a bit over Rs 40,000 without taxes. It is believed that a solar-DC microgrid can help break the logjam that the domestic power supply currently faces in India. Even as its a great start, data with REC shows that about four crore households are yet to be electrified in India.

This made-in-IIT solar plant is illuminating thousands of rural homes in India

When God decided to create days and nights, and blessed the earth with sunlight, he must have assumed that humans could easily figure out how to use that light to meet all their energy needs. Although the Homo sapiens claim to be the most intelligent ‘species’ on Planet Earth, it seems their intelligence has evolved more slowly than most. Look around and be humbled as plants and shrubs have already sorted it. They thrive on <keyword id="6357019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="solar-energy">solar energy</keyword> and less water, harness both and grow without a murmur! As for humans, they have simply taken thousands of years to realise that solar energy could be their ultimate answer to energy needs. 
 
But jokes apart, India is among those countries which have caught the fancy of the world. With its futuristic use of technology (like wind turbines that power Tirupati Complex and low cost mission to Mars), this tropical country, blessed with ample sunlight, is capable to fend for itself and its ever-growing population. 
 
Due to its rapid economic expansion and futuristic policies, a traditional country like India has to meet its energy requirements by leveraging fossil fuels such as coal. Nearly 70% of the energy consumed is generated from coal, followed by crude oil (24%) and natural gas (accounting for a mere 6%). It is, therefore, not difficult to comprehend that India is largely dependent on fossil fuel imports – so much as that by 2030, more than half the country’s energy needs will have to be met with large energy imports. Our own limited fossil reserves have long threatened the country’s stability as far as energy needs are concerned. 
 With a vast population of 1.1 billion and the urban areas housing the majority of industries and labour forces, India is moving dangerously close to the greenhouse effects with every passing year. While carbon emissions are getting high, the agricultural land is also getting increasingly barren and arid due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The effects of <keyword id="6366055" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="global-warming">global warming</keyword> in this highly populated country are for everyone to see. From Tsunami in the past to the Uttarakhand floods in the recent years, from progressively botched up summers to extreme winters, the calamities are too many and India is bound to emerge as one of the foremost nations being affected by global warming. 
 
India’s energy experts have been warning against the high use of exhaustible energy resources bought from other countries, which is causing a serious dent in the country’s exchequer. 
 
Almost 400 million Indians (nearly a third of the country’s population) have no access to electricity. And this power deficit compels more than 100,000 villages to live in the dark ages, quite literally. Lack of energy sources has also left India in a rather vulnerable condition as far as growing basic infrastructure is concerned. Its per capita energy consumption stands at just 639 KWh (Kilo Watt per hour), which is among the lowest. 
 This apart, what compounds India’s energy problem is the fact that three quarters of the electricity is produced by burning coal and natural gas. India may well boast a steadily growing <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword>, but what has also been dangerously steady, and progressively high, is its carbon emissions. During the last decade, India turned out to be one of the biggest carbon-emitting countries, touching 1.6 million kilotonnes in 2007 alone. 
 Plagued by crippling energy crises that cannot be dealt with if the same pattern of energy generation, import and consumption continues in the near future, India has started experimenting with <keyword id="188239" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="alternative-energy">alternative energy</keyword> sources. Being blessed with a tropical climate and intense summers, the country is naturally predisposed to receiving abundant <keyword id="70990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> for the major part of the year. 
 
The country has already entered a solar partnership programme with the US, under the US-India Energy Partnership Programme called SERIIUS. This initiative will also enable India to take the fullest advantage of its deserts and arid lands, and reap energy benefits without harming Mother Nature. India can even supply this energy to other countries, thus encouraging bilateral trades and adding to the country’s robust economic growth. However, India will require at least $13 billion in the next three years to fund this second phase of the solar energy generation unit. 
 
Solar projects are already generating a lot of energy for some states in India. Most of these plants are located in Gujarat, with some spread across Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, among others. While Gujarat has been the bellwether in the solar projects space in India, Rajasthan will be home to the world’s largest solar plant very soon. That solar photovoltaic power plant will have an estimated life of 25 years and is expected to generate 6.4 billion kilowatt-hours per year, as per official figures. 
 
Gujarat has been clocking about 823.9 MW, with its biggest success being the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. What has boosted the power scenario here is the state’s pro-solar policies and its subsequent access to a consistent flow of clean energy. Encouraged by the positive growth, Gujarat has also launched about 75 solar projects over two years. Moreover, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has always been a believer in entrepreneurship. Therefore, harnessing the solar power is the most sensible thing the Modi government has done for the state, which is high on industrial production. 
 
India currently does not have an over-reaching energy strategy, but what it has in place could be called disparate policies. With the country being blessed with 5,000 TWh (Terra Watt per hour) of solar insolation annually, India stands to gain a lot as far as clean energy production goes. It can also set up independent energy generation units to make its villages and cities self-sustainable. 
 
Image: Thinkstock

Let’s
Harness The Sun's Energy For Better India

Summers are at peak and the power situation at specific locations is grim due to severe hydel shortfall because of bad rains. A number of measures are being taken to curb the situation and improve the overall power situation of the country.
 As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government is going to complete two years on May 26, Power Minister <keyword id="6355222" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Piyush-Goyal">Piyush Goyal</keyword>, in a free-wheeling interview, elaborated his plans about generating enough power for the whole country, Make in India and how he intends to make India a diesel-generator free nation.

	Q. Summers are here, how worried we should be about the power situation?

	A. We are absolutely prepared. Last year, I think, the entire summer we did not have any problem, except in Karnataka, which had a severe hydel shortfall because of bad rains and where there is not much of transmission ability, which of course cannot be created overnight. So except for some specific locations, where the constraints are beyond human management – like transmission or the last mile connectivity, or break down of a major power plant and not enough time to ramp up the rest of the supply lines of a particular locality-by and enlarge the nation has got power and we are totally geared up to meet any sort of requirement. 
	 

	Q: Tell us more about energy efficient pumps for agricultural sector, ceiling fans and air conditioners and that too through the EMI route?

	A: The energy efficient fans scheme has been launched in Andhra Pradesh and once we get the demand and feedback from the customers, we will scale it on a huge scale, just like we did in the LED program. These energy fans can cut down the consumption by actually 25%.

	Once we complete the LED program, for which the deadline is 2019, we will be decreasing the energy consumption by around 112 billion units only on the lighting side, such as street lights and home lighting.

	But more importantly, we are focusing on agricultural pumps. India uses nearly 20 million (2 crore) old agricultural pumps, which are energy guzzlers. We also have about 10 million (1 crore) agricultural pumps which are working on diesel or other forms of power. Therefore, the effort is to make these old pumps energy efficient and replace diesel pumps with electrified pumps.

	Q: What is the timeframe for this changeover?

	A: I am looking at accomplishing this in the next three or four years. This is a big effort and lot of work has gone into it. We want to make it a win-win for all for all stakeholders.

	Q: Coming next to electric cars, which is again a very innovative concept. How do you plan this?

	A: Prime Minister Modi has been very concerned about the environment. We believe that as days progress and renewable energy becomes more attractive coupled with cost of storage falling in the years to come, we should simultaneously see how we can bring down the expanding demand for petroleum products. So it’s a 360 degree approach to bring down usage of all fossil fuels. Electric vehicles, particularly on the passenger side, are something which is very much doable. Costs are falling and as storage costs fall and electric cars are made at a larger scale, our estimates demonstrate that we will be able to pay back the costs of the car in 7 or 8 years.

	Q: Any timeframe for this roll out?

	A: Well, I think we should plan to do this by 2030 but all this is still at a very preliminary stage. We have got some small teams working and exploring the availability of products so that we can scale up such a program.

	Q: Renewable Energy has been a focus, especially solar and wind. How long have we come in two years?

	A: We have executed our set targets. We have reset the targets (about 7 or 8) about a year ago and I have since then been creating the policy of framework — the tariff policy came out, UDAY became a reality, energy efficiency schemes under UJALA have gained a lot of momentum.
 Simultaneously we have taken out tenders of nearly 19,000 megawatt of <keyword id="70990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> in the current year which ended yesterday. Our target for next year is 12,000 Megawatt of additional installed capacity as against the original capacity of 3000 or whatever it was.

	Now we are planning to scale it to that level for which it was obvious that unless if you bid out a large number of contracts now, we wouldn’t be able to achieve it. That’s why we have focused our energies on the Solar Parks, transmission lines, working with the states for power purchase agreements, and with these 19,000 MWs, of which nearly 10,000 is awarded, another 5000-6000 mw will get awarded in this month of April and then balance by May probably,

	So I am fairly confident that in the current year itself by March 2017, we will exceed 12,000 mw, which will be twice as what we are today.

	Q: And what about the wind energy?

	A: The wind also has seen a 40% growth last year and I am fairly confident that we will continue to achieve the targets of wind also. There are certain very specific issues related to wind particularly with regards to their ability to manage the grid, forecast the demand and supply, make sure the grid does not become unstable. My people are working in the wind industry to emulate these issues.

	Q: What about transmission in Telangana, Tamil Nadu?

	A: A lot of stalled projects have also been revived in southern part of India. As a result of this, power prices for the southern region– Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh have fallen by nearly 60 or 70 % in less than two years.

	Transmission has gone up by 71% in only 18 months and most of the southern region today has power surplus– from an era when they used to buy power at as high as Rs 16-Rs 18 a unit to have reached a point when they do not have to pay more than Rs 4-5 now. Usually, it is available under 3 Rs and with the launch of Vidyut Pravah, I am sure the people of India will be benefitted with more power in their hands… or literally in their mobile phones.

	Q: Should we also worry about any tariff hikes?

	A: Personally, I think efficiency gains in terms of UDAY--where we are talking about Rs 1,80,000 crore savings per year that all the states which join into UDAY can enjoy. My sense is that when all states come on board, which I am quite sure of, all these gains will be enough to take care of the existing requirements of the discoms. I think we will have to perk up our acts, we will have to be efficient across states and the political pressure of people demanding better quality service and affordable power will make sure that (hopefully) we don’t have to increase tariffs. Unless in some stray cases where efficiency gains are not as much as we desire them to be. 
	 

	(Anupama Airy is the Founder and Editor of EnergyInfraPost.com and DefenceAviationPost.com. She can be reached at <a href="mailto:anupama.airy@gmail.com" target="_blank">anupama.airy@gmail.com</a>​, Twitter handle: @anupamaairy) 
	 
	(Image: BCCL)

We have sufficient power and progress is on for last mile connectivity, says
Power Minister Piyush Goyal

<ul><li><keyword id="460884" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SunPower">SunPower</keyword> Corporation fell nearly 7% on Thursday after the solar company was downgraded to 'underweight' by Morgan Stanley.</li><li> The bank maintained it $27 price target, indicating a nearly 40% downside from current levels. </li><li>SunPower on Wednesday <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunpower-launches-new-monitoring-app-enabling-homeowners-to-manage-solar-and-storage-301221031.html">unveiled</a> a mobile app that will allow users to review and manage their energy generation, consumption, and battery storage settings. </li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell">Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell</a>.</li></ul>Shares of SunPower Corporation fell nearly 7% on Thursday after the solar company was downgraded to 'underweight' by Morgan Stanley.Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Byrd said that while the San Jose, California-based company has outperformed solar installer and equipment stocks by as much as 200% over the last three months, SunPower now trades at a significant premium compared to other <keyword id="10114308" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="solar-stocks">solar stocks</keyword> that offer higher margins and growth. The bank's $27 price target indicates a 38% downside even with robust revenue growth, Byrd said. In September 2020, Byrd upgraded SunPower, a solar technology and energy services provider, from 'underweight' to 'equal weight.' However, the analyst is optimistic that clean energy legislation will be introduced later this year by the new administration. President Joe Biden has been <a href="https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/">outspoken in scaling up best practices</a> from state-level clean energy standards. By 2050, Biden is aiming to put the United States on an "irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide."SunPower on Wednesday <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunpower-launches-new-monitoring-app-enabling-homeowners-to-manage-solar-and-storage-301221031.html">unveiled</a> a new app that will allow users to review and manage their energy generation, consumption, and battery storage settings from a mobile device. The app will be available to all of SunPower's 285,000 monitoring customers by spring 2021.The company is expected to release its fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2020 <a href="https://investors.sunpower.com/events-and-presentations">financial results on February 17</a>.Shares of SunPower trades at $42.17 as of 1:01PM E.T. on Thursday.

SunPower shares drop after Morgan Stanley downgrades solar company to 'underweight'

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Solar+power&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Solar power</a> in India crossed 7.5 GW mark in May 2016. India's solar projects have crossed 22 GW with 13 GW under construction and 9 GW in the request for proposal process. 
 
However, while the government has shown a strong commitment to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=renewable+power&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">renewable power</a>, including solar, it only represented 2.5% of net installed power generation capacity in India, up from 1.4 % a year ago. 
 
Low bidding levels have also been a major concern. This comes at a time when the Indian banking sector has been grappling with its own challenges, making borrowing much more difficult for developers. 
 
 “Solar power is market-driven. The DISCOMs and banks will play a major role in its success in India. Developers are suffering from significant debts. The challenge here is to get connected to the grid. If DISCOMs don’t buy power, it’ll be a problem”, Shailendra Roy, Director &amp; Sr. Executive Vice President (Power, Heavy Engg. &amp; Defence) at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=L%26T+India&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">L&amp;T India</a> told reporters on Tuesday. 
 As things stand now, of the approx $8 billion collected under the Clean Environment Cess till now, only $3 billion is expected to be transferred to the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). The <keyword id="386624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ministry-of-New-and-Renewable-Energy">Ministry of New and Renewable Energy</keyword> (MNRE) is likely to be allocated only 23% of the total amount collected so far under the Clean Environment Cess. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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