Perspective
BUDGET 2020: WHAT DOES THE INDIAN SOLAR INDUSTRY EXPECT? As the industries, businesses and financial sector set high hopes from the upcoming budget, we at SolarQuarter are keen on understanding what the solar industry really wants.
The overall industry sentiments call for standardisation of captive renewable energy policy across states to promote open access purchase of power, need for increase in fund allocation to MNRE and SECI to facilitate growth of rooftop solar; reduction in GST rates as there is no input credit that can be claimed by power companies, need to rectify absence of netmetering systems across states, rationalisation of indirect taxes, addressing the credit squeeze to bring back liquidity into the system, clarity on provisions pertaining to the recovery of dues by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), exemptions on surcharges and duties, and lot more. In a nutshell, the industry demands stability of policies by addressing regulatory uncertainties that impact investor confidence from pumping in fresh investments to promote solar sector growth in India.
Let’s hear what the industry has to say.
Mr. Sanjeev Aggarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Amplus Solar “The last year has been full of challenges for the solar industry and we hope that this year’s budget will provide the much-needed impetus to the solar industry. We believe that higher investments should be dedicated to improving and modernising the transmission networks so that power from renewable sources can be evacuated on a real-time basis across the country. We should provide open access to all industries so that they procure the lowest cost of electricity including from renewable sources that will improve their competitiveness in manufacturing.” There is also a need for a standardised uniform captive renewable energy policy at the national level, to promote open access purchase of power across states, unlike the current scenario where every state has a different policy. This would enable the transmission of power from states with higher renewable energy potential to those with lower, facilitating C&I consumers to have access to low-cost renewable energy. The government should also make sure that the confusion regarding GST goes away and the GST is notified at 5% as was the original intent during the GST roll-out phase. Subsidies and incentives should be extended in the newer technology areas like battery storage and e-mobility. Along with greater focus on electric vehicles, the government should also address related feasibility issues for a substantial roll-out, like increasing the number of charging stations and making them more accessible. The rooftop solar market continues to grow but there are several challenges including regulatory uncertainty that still pose a threat. Restrictive policies, like absence of net metering should be rectified across the states. To compensate the state distribution companies, there should be an increase in fund allocation to MNRE and SECI to facilitate the growth of rooftop solar.
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