Solar Power Tariff Will Soon Fall To ₹1.50 Per Unit

Bringing affordable solar power on the doorsteps of common citizens and enabling Universal Energy Access seem to be the guiding force behind the unassuming, soft-spoken UPENDRA TRIPATHY, the Interim Director of the International Solar Mission. He speaks to MOUSHUMI BASU on the future of solar power in India and the world

- Moushumi Basu

With solar energy tariffs touching a new low at R2.44, what is likely to happen to the Indian energy market?

In fact, the tariff per unit of solar power is expected to fall further to R1.50 soon. This is happening due to falling capital costs and cheaper credit with assured purchase pacts. In India, the cost of capital per unit is 70 paise. This is certainly giving a big boost to our solar energy market. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has ambitious plans to scale-up solar applications in a big way for agricultural and rural use. There is an aggregated demand for 0.5 million solar pumps, 5 million street lights and 500 Mega Watt (MW) mini grids and other similar solar applications in ISA member countries of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, France, India, Nigeria, Mauritius, Seychelles, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Uganda. So, there is a flood of opportunities in the green energy market for manufacturers.

The big push for entrepreneurship in this sector began with RE-Invest 2015. This was the first major platform for investment promotion connecting the global investment community with renewable energy stakeholders in India. It generated a commitment for 266,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which the contribution of solar energy is 200,000 MW. We plan to hold the second edition of Re-Invest in December.

Since solar tariff is falling worldwide, will there be a saturation point in the future that may discourage manufactures from investing?