Solar has become a super-hit for renewable power fans. It's now far below the average of coal-fired power at NTPC (Rs 3.2 /kw). The historic low of Rs 2.44 /kw for 500MW auction at Bhadla park in Rajasthan, follows a bid of Rs 2.62 per unit also in Rajasthan earlier this week. Developers can see tariffs falling to as low as Rs 1.5 per unit !!

Nation would not pay a high price for power
Interview: Piyush Goyal, Union Power minister
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Why did you go for imported solar panels?
Manufacturing capacity that came earlier was not viable because it was very small in scale. The task was to bring economies of scale and bring down prices through transparency so that states are encouraged to buy. At Rs 3, solar power is cheap and there is security because it will cost the same for 25 years when coal power will be Rs 10-15.

What now for Indigenous solar manufacturing?
Now, when I promote domestic manufacturing, the difference could be 20-25 paise which the country can afford. We will encourage solar wafer manufacturing in India. We need to push for wafers, and BHEL will set up a plant. In modules, there is 6-7 Gw capacity and it is growing rapidly. For solar cells, we will become self-sufficient in six to eight months.

Should VGF on solar shift to the indigenous solar manufacturer?
I keep calibrating. I won’t be surprised if that happens. Subsidising manufacturing, instead, is not a bad idea. We could look at things like tighter quality control so that we get good quality equipment. You would have to be an approved supplier.

How will the next level of scaling up in solar and wind come?
I am hoping by March next year, we should cross 20,000 Mw, which was a target for 2022.

What about Ultra mega power plants?
UMPP will be a reality, as they will assure cheap, clean power over the long term. Thermal will remain the base load for power supply. I am glad we didn’t bid earlier because with interest rates falling and equipment cost coming down, we can get attractive pricing. It may not be as low as those earlier ones, because some of them were not viable. Today the nation will not pay a very high price for power. Nobody will pay more than Rs 3-3.5 (a unit) for power.

India will have some of world's cheapest solar power