India installed 7.3 gigawatt (GW) of solar power in 2019 (CY19), consolidating its position as the third largest solar market in the world, according to a study by Mercom Communications India. The report further stated that the country also had a strong pipeline of utility-scale under-development projects of 23.7 GW capacity by end-CY19, with 31.5 GW capacity tenders pending under auctions. Out of this, 7.3 GW, as per the Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), about 5.7 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity was added in the financial year (FY) 2019–20, which was 24 per cent less than the 7.5 GW target set for the year. Compared to the previous year’s installations, FY20 installations are also marginally lesser— by about 1 per cent.
To top this slow achievement, the imposition of a nationwide lockdown by the Government of India to control the COVID-19 outbreak, has had a negative impact on the whole economy. There has been an estimated 30 per cent fall in Indian electricity demand during the period from mid-April to May, due to the lockdown of industrial and commercial establishments. Consequently, this has also adversely impacted the revenues and cash collections of the power distribution companies (DISCOMs). Further downside risks may arise from any extension in the lockdown period and any delay in issuance of tariff orders, or inadequate tariffs approved by the state electricity regulatory commissions. This would aggravate the payment delays from DISCOMs to power generation companies (including solar-based projects), which are already reeling under large payment dues of more than ₹920 billion as of February 2020.
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