Table of Contents
- The 8 gigawatt solar energy contract that Adani Green Energy won from the government in June Has propelled it to become the world’s largest solar developer by capacity.
- According to a ranking renewable energy consultancy Mercom Capital Group,
- Adani Green is currently the top global solar developer with 3 GW of operational projects, 2 GW under construction, and 8 GW of awarded projects (with contracted PPAs)
- For a total capacity of 12.3 GW.
- Hong Kong-based GCL New Energy is the second largest global solar developer with 1 GW,
- Followed by SB Energy, Enel Green Power, Brookfield Renewable, First Solar, AES Corporation, Invenergy, Lightsource bp, and ENGIE.
- In June, Adani Green Energy Ltd bagged a manufacturing-linked solar contract from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) To develop 8 GW of projects.
- The transaction is valued at ₹45,000 crore,or $6 billion.
- Based on the awarded agreement, the 8 GW of solar projects will be implemented over the next five years.
- The first 2 GW of generation capacity will come online by 2022 and the subsequent 6 GW capacity will be added in 2 GW annual increments by 2025.
- To facilitate the implementation of JNNSM and achievement of targets set therein.
- It is the only CPSU dedicated to the solar energy sector.
- It was originally incorporated as a section-25 (not for profit) company under the Companies Act, 1956.
- However, through a Government of India decision, the company has recently been converted into a Section-3 company under the Companies Act, 2013.
- The mandate of the company has also been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy
By operational capacity
- By operational capacity in utility-scale solar, the top developer was GCL New Energy with 7.1 GW, followed by Enel Green Power with 4.2 GW.
- Adani ranks eighth globally on this list.
- However, Adani has the most capacity awarded and under-construction globally, with a pipeline of 10 GW.
- Adani Green is the only Indian developer among the top 10 globally.
- The company has operational solar projects in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Karnataka besides 65 megawatts in Rugby Run, Australia.
India’s solar energy progress
- Solar installations in the first half (1H) of 2020 totaled 1.3 gigawatts (GW), a 59% decrease compared to 3.2 GW of capacity added in 1H of 2019.
- India added 205 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity in Q2 2020, an 81% decline compared to 1,090 MW installed in Q1 2020.
Importance of solar energy in India
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the national goal to achieve 100 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022 when India will complete 75 years of its Independence from British rule.
Solar Park initiative
- The solar park is a concentrated zone of development of solar power generation projects and provides developers an area,
- That is well characterized, with proper infrastructure and access to amenities and where the risk of the projects can be minimized.
- Solar Park also facilitates developers by reducing the number of required approvals.
- It was planned to set up at least 25 solar parks, each with a capacity of 500 MW and above;
- Thereby targeting around 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity.
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