India: Solar electricity prices in 2020 may be 10% lower than coal electricity prices

Introduction: According to a report released by KPMG on November 16th, solar electricity prices will be 10% lower than coal-fired electricity prices by 2020, thereby revitalizing the Indian energy industry.

According to the report, by 2020, solar electricity prices will be 10% lower than coal prices, thereby revitalizing the Indian energy industry.

India has developed a grand solar power generation plan, and the report predicts that by 2020, the solar electricity price will be 4.2 rupees per kilowatt hour (0.4 yuan per kilowatt hour), and it will further drop to 3.59 rupees per kilowatt hour by 2025.

India plans to reduce carbon emission intensity by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030, and solar power generation may help reduce carbon emissions by 4%.

The report states that solar power generation has strong competitiveness and may have an impact on traditional power companies, so traditional power companies should prepare in advance. In the coming years, solar electricity prices can compete with coal-fired electricity prices.

"Since the beginning of 2015, the decline in solar electricity prices has exceeded the expectations of most analysts. In the bidding process for solar parks, National Power Corporation of India (NTPC) has seen solar energy prices plummet below the benchmark of 5 rupees per kilowatt hour, which is of great significance in the Indian energy industry. Currently, according to the levelized cost calculation method, solar electricity prices in India are 15% lower than coal electricity prices," the report states

"It is expected that by 2020, solar electricity prices will be 10% lower than coal electricity prices. By 2025, solar power generation will be widely promoted and become India's main energy source. The coal industry will take relevant measures to restructure costs and compete with solar energy, thereby achieving a balance between solar and coal power," the report said.

It is expected that solar energy will account for 5.7% (54 billion watt hours) of the electricity market by 2020, and this proportion will increase to 12.5% by 2025. It is expected that the solar rooftop power generation market will generate 10 billion watt hours of electricity by 2020 and 49 billion watt hours by 2025. By 2025, renewable energy sources such as wind energy will account for 20% of the energy structure.

"We need to carry out energy restructuring to achieve clean and efficient energy utilization, so as to promote low-cost energy on a large scale. The current overall demand is to accelerate the process of delivering electricity to 200 million people. I firmly believe that any investment in the solar power industry will have a quick return," Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said after releasing the report.