India’s wind solar hybrid (WSH) project capacity is poised to grow from 310 MW at present to about 9,500 MW by 2025. WSH projects have garnered significant interest in recent years due to growing demand for firm green power from both DISCOMs and corporate consumers. WSH projects also promise greater transmission efficiency and lower effective cost in comparison to their standalone counterparts.

As growing renewables are at the centre of changes in upcoming years, this report tracks recent trends and events for two critical components affected by this transition: competitive market outcomes and security of supply

Improvement in bifacial technology, falling cost premium over monofacial modules and growing industry experience are finally leading to large scale adoption of bifacial modules in India. LCOE gain for bifacial modules over monofacial modules with fixed tilt structures and single axis trackers is estimated at about 1% and 6% respectively.

These recommendations include measures to enhance financial markets, improve the visibility of public policies, remove distortions from energy markets, enable grids to better integrate renewable power, empower local entrepreneurs to develop smaller-scale clean energy solutions, as in energy efficiency, and build models for universal access to modern energy.

This data from the IRENA Renewable Cost Database shows cost declines continued in 2020, with the cost of electricity from utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) falling 7% year-on-year, offshore wind fell by 9%, onshore wind by 13% and that of concentrating solar power (CSP) by 16%.