The price of solar in India could fall below that of coal within 5 years

Editor

The following commentary has been extracted from a paper by Anthony Horton [1}:

According to a recent KPMG report [2], the price of solar power has declined more than that expected by many analysts since January this year. In India currently, the price of solar is within 15% of coal process on a levelised basis. In the report titled “The Rising Sun-Disruption of the horizon”, KPMG contends that while the current price of solar doesn’t include grid integration costs, even after taking them into consideration, solar would still be competitive with coal. By 2020, they forecast that the price of solar power could be approximately 10% less than that of coal. ”

In addition to price forecasts, the KPMG report pointed to the need for stakeholders to understand the possible extent of the impact of falling solar prices on the coal industry, and to the need to face it. A new planning paradigm that takes into account a significant renewable energy input scenario (including storage and smart grids) going forward was needed in India, and the report also suggested that the Government focus on bolstering planning policy, institutions, resources and protocols. ”

Appropriate incentives for investment in the integration of solar into the grid and balancing services should be implemented early, and consideration should be given to storage technologies being promoted in a similar fashion to the way solar power was encouraged through the National Solar Mission in 2009. ”

Sources: Primary – The AIM network

1. http://theaimn.com/the-price-of-solar-in-india-could-fall-below-that-of-coal-within-5-years/

2. https://www.kpmg.com/IN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/ENRich2015.pdf

Dr Anthony Horton is an Australian with a PhD in Environmental Science amongst other awards. He has delivered customised solutions in Academia, Government, the Mining Industry and Consulting.