WCA January 2019

India Insight

Solar deployment to decrease by 55 per cent India is expected to deploy just 4.1 GW of solar in FY2018/19, down 55 per cent year-on-year and roughly a quarter of the government’s annual target of 16 GW, according to the latest report from consultancy firm Bridge to India. The ‘India Solar Compass Q3 2018’ revealed that India added 1.2 GW of utility-scale solar capacity in Q3 2018, and 1.9 GW in the first half of FY2018-19, down 43 per cent and 44 per cent over respective periods last year. In Q3 2018, Softbank (400MW) and Acme (300MW) led capacity additions, while one state dominated with 55 per cent of deployment located in the northern state of Rajasthan. India’s total PV capacity has now reached 27.4 GW as of 30 September, with 23.2 GW of utility-scale, 3.4 GW of rooftop solar and 0.8 GW off-grid solar. Despite the overall slowdown, Bridge to India cited the rooftop market as a “bright spot”, growing 70 per cent annually and benefitting from a 30 per cent fall in module prices in the last nine months. Bridge to India – India In a recent auction for transmission projects in Brazil, Sterlite Power emerged as the largest winner, taking six lots at an investment of roughly $1 billion, and securing 65 per cent of the capital expenditure under auction. These critical projects will largely help move renewable power from northern and north-eastern parts of Brazil to southern and south-eastern regions, where the load centres are located. By 2026, the total electricity consumption of the country is forecast to increase to 741 TWh, indicating an average annual growth of 3.7 per cent. To keep pace with demand, a 64.1 GW expansion in installed capacity of the national interconnected system (SIN) is planned over the next ten years. Speaking of Brazil, and of company’s investment in the region, the group CEO of Sterlite Power, Pratik Agarwal, said: “Brazil requires an incremental 61,800km in transmission lines, and an increase of 199,200 MVA capacity. This makes the market very attractive to us and we have already committed $1.7 billion of the planned $4 billion in the region.” The Brazilian power sector is characterised by policy and regulatory maturity. Given the strong contractual framework, Website : https://bridgetoindia.com Brazil’s power expansion

including long concession tenures (30 years), and inflation-protected revenues, the Brazilian market presents an ideal environment for a private transmission investor. Sterlite Power – India Website : www.sterlitepower.com PC market update 360 Market Updates’ “Prestressed concrete wire and strand market report” informs on leading countries/regions, opportunities, size, trends and forecasts, divided by company and country, and by application/type. The report also provides key statistics on the market status of the manufacturers. Artificial compression stress applied to neutralise tensile stress deployed by exterior force is known as prestress. The structures are called prestressed concrete (PC) and the wire or strand used here is known as PC wire or strand. When force is applied to the concrete, prestressing is introduced to counter the stresses resulting from the applied load. PC wires and strands are used as a medium to attain a force that can neutralise external forces such as stress or compression. The design and manufacture of high quality PC wires and strands has been a priority in the market, as they form an integral element of bridges and building constructions. Industry analysts have forecast the global PC wire and strand market to grow at a CAGR of 3.12 per cent between 2017 and 2021. Copper wire comes under scrutiny India has initiated an anti-subsidy probe into alleged increased imports of copper wire rods from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Economic Times said that the commerce ministry’s investigating arm, the directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR), has stated that production and exports of continuous cast copper wire rods from these four countries “appear to be subsidised,” and that the activity has caused material injury to the domestic industry through volume and price effects. The authority’s investigation will cover 12 months over 2017 and 2018, as well as data from 2014 to 2017. The directorate will determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged subsidisation. If found necessary, the office will recommend the appropriate amount of countervailing or anti-subsidy duties needed to protect the domestic industry. In the application, filed by Hindalco Industries and Vedanta Industries (Sterlite Copper) on behalf of the domestic industry, it was claimed that the producers/exporters of the goods in these countries have benefited from the “actionable subsidies” provided at various levels by governments, including their different provinces and municipalities. Directorate General of Trade Remedies – India Website : www.dgtr.gov.in

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