Latest news with #RajasthanSolarAssociation
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
BS Samriddhi: Rajasthan's solar sector doesn't need incentives to grow
The sunrise solar sector in Rajasthan does not need incentives to survive and grow, on the contrary, incentives and subsidies breed bureaucratic bottlenecks and delay execution, said panelists at a panel discussion on 'Energy: The Surging Renewables Sector'. The discussion was held as part of Business Standard Samriddhi-Rajasthan 2025. Business Standard launched its 14th English and 7th Hindi edition from Jaipur on Wednesday. The panel discussion was attended by Sunil Bansal, president of Rajasthan Solar Association; its CEO Nitin Agarwal; and Rahul Gupta, founder managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) of Rays Power Experts Ltd. 'The structure of the incentives and their disbursement also need to be transparent, quick, and smooth,' Bansal said. He said that today Rajasthan has become a preferred destination for solar projects, and is now known as the 'Solar capital of India'. 'But beyond the hype, we should also understand that the full potential of the sector is not being harnessed to the hilt,' he added. This is because though Rajasthan is leading in terms of production of solar energy at 32 Gw, yet when it comes to manufacturing of equipment that go into making a solar project, it lags far behind states like Gujarat. 'Rajasthan today has just two major solar equipment manufacturing companies while Surat has more than 50. When Rajasthan had just one, Surat too had one unit. So, in short, other states have come a long way when it comes to setting up a base for solar equipment manufacturing but we in Rajasthan are lagging in this,' Bansal said. Gupta said that the reason why manufacturing for the solar sector has not picked up in Rajasthan in the same way as it has done in Gujarat is that the state started open access way back in 2012-13 while in Rajasthan it was started in 2017 onwards. 'Overall, the industrial scenario in Gujarat was ahead of Rajasthan by five-seven years, and their producers were able to price the power themselves which is now starting in Rajasthan,' Gupta said. He said though solar equipment manufacturing in Rajasthan has been lower than states such as Gujarat, yet it is picking up in sectors such as battery storage. With power prices going down in the state, a lot of investment will come in manufacturing as well, he added. Agarwal said India has a total solar target of 500 Gw by 2030, of which Rajasthan's share is 125 Gw (that is around 25 per cent). The state at present has installed solar capacity of 38 Gw, which means that by 2030, this installed capacity needs to be tripled. All the 125 Gw solar projects to come on stream would mean a cumulative investment of almost ₹5 trillion in the state, he added. Agarwal said of the ₹30 trillion of investments signed in recent 'Investors Meet' in the state, almost ₹28 trillion has come in the renewables sector alone. 'Rajasthan alone has the potential to generate 300 Gw of solar energy. This potential is huge and it needs to be tapped fully,' Agarwal said. He said battery storage is challenging for the solar sector but here too Rajasthan is leading the way, with the central government allocating 10,000 Mw of battery storage capacity, which is the highest in the country. Of the 10,000 Mw, tenders have been floated for 2,000 Mw. Bansal said that tariff is a big issue in the solar sector. The government needs to understand tariff fixation has to be transparent and industry-friendly. It should not think of recovering its incidental costs through tariffs. Gupta said that from the producers' side, tariffs are not a problem, and due to certainty in policy, disputes between distribution companies (discoms) and power producers have come down. Agarwal said that one big factor that stops the growth of the household solar sector is that 'we give lots of free power to consumers' but don't want to incentivise the sector. 'We conducted a study and found that Rajasthan has 11 million power connections, of which almost 8 million pay zero bill. This needs to stop. We can use the money saved through this for incentivising solar power, which is clean and green as well,' he said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Renewable energy sector to transform Rajasthan: Experts at BS Samriddhi
Two factors make Rajasthan the country's solar capital: favourable solar conditions and vast land availability, said Sunil Bansal, President of the Rajasthan Solar Association, at Business Standard's Rajasthan Samriddhi 2025 event in Jaipur on Wednesday. Speaking at a panel discussion moderated by Business Standard's Agriculture Editor Sanjeeb Mukherjee on 'Energy: The Surging Renewables Sector', Bansal said the state is already generating 32 gigawatts of solar power, unmatched by any other state. However, he noted Rajasthan has been unable to fully leverage the opportunity for wider public benefit. 'While Surat already has 50 manufacturing plants, Rajasthan is trailing with only two. Manufacturing creates jobs, and the state will benefit only if large-scale facilities are set up,' he said. Manufacturing remains a drawback Explaining why Rajasthan lags in manufacturing, Rahul Gupta, Founder, MD, and CEO of Rays Power Experts Ltd, said the state is already generating 32 gigawatts of solar power, and no other state compares. However, the state has been unable to fully utilise the opportunity and extend benefits to the common people, he said. While Gujarat's Surat already has 50 manufacturing plants, Rajasthan is trailing with only two, Bansal said, adding that manufacturing is ultimately responsible for providing employment. The state will be able to benefit only if large-scale manufacturing facilities are created. 'Rajasthan to become one of lowest-cost power states' Explaining why manufacturing continues to be a drawback for Rajasthan, Rahul Gupta, Founder, MD, and CEO of Rays Power Experts Ltd, said that the state, in 2017, introduced an open access mechanism, which allowed industries to produce their own power in the state. However, Gujarat had already implemented the same mechanism in 2012–2013. Gujarat was able to bring power prices under control because of the open access mechanism and generated power on its own, he said. Even though solar manufacturing has been limited in Rajasthan, upcoming technologies such as battery storage are expected to expand significantly in the state. According to Gupta, within three years, Rajasthan will become one of the lowest-cost power states in the country, which will, in turn, bring manufacturing back to the state. Renewable sector to change Rajasthan: Nitin Agarwal Speaking on India's total renewable energy target for 2030, Nitin Agarwal, CEO of the Rajasthan Solar Association, said that while the country's total energy target is 500 gigawatts, Rajasthan's share is 125 gigawatts. He added that the sector will play a decisive role in transforming the state. Rajasthan attracts investments in renewable energy Business Standard previously reported that the state is riding the crest of the renewable energy wave as investment plans in solar and wind power have increased significantly. Rajasthan topped the fresh investment table with a total investment of ₹2,69,391.46 crore across 419 new projects. The state, one of the top producers of cement and crude oil, is now on investors' radar in renewable energy, according to a Projects Today survey. The dominance of solar and wind power projects in Q1 was clearly visible in Rajasthan, accounting for around 86.4 per cent of the state's total fresh investment. Business Standard launches Jaipur editions Business Standard on Wednesday rolled out its Hindi and English editions from Jaipur, formally stepping into the Pink City's media space. With this launch, the English daily now publishes 14 editions, while the Hindi version has grown to seven editions. Until now, Business Standard Hindi was published from six locations — New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Chandigarh. Jaipur has now joined the list as the seventh publishing hub.
