The hotly-anticipated first details of India’s JNNSM Phase II allocation and procedures were released last week.
One of the biggest talking points from the announcement was the delay of the CSP allocation until 2014, with the official explanation given that time needs to be taken to properly digest the results of Phase I.
In a poll conducted during a recent CSP Today webinar, over 1 in 4 participants believed that delaying the CSP bidding for Phase II until 2014 was a ‘wise choice – [the industry] needs to learn the lessons from Phase I’. A further 42% indicated that it was a ‘practical move – not ideal but the reasons are understood’.
However, the challenges are widespread. Talking to CSP Today, Gopal Somani, Project Head at Phase I developer KVK Energy, expressed his view that “in the present cost competitive market affordability are the key drivers and therefore cost cutting in CSP technology is a challenge in India. Low DNI, long gestation, variability in weather conditions, the absence of fossil back up, bankability, affordability of rate payers and limited experience in technology are the issues which will restrict the investment and interest of developers in Phase II.”
With so much now at stake for the CSP industry in India, experts have agreed that it is more critical than ever that lessons must be taken from Phase I to make the next steps successful. The organisers of CSP Today India 2013 (12-13 March, New Delhi) have recently confirmed that these topics will be a key theme of the conference, so that the industry can prove the ROI of CSP in India to win both market share and investment.
To tackle these themes, Mr. Somani will be joined by TVN Mahesh (General Manager, Corporate Ispat Alloys), UM Reddy (Assistant Vice President, MEIL) and JP Tiwari (Director, Godawari Green Energy) to analyse Phase I from start to finish.
For more details on the agenda and the conference, visit the website www.csptoday.com/india
