Clouds Over Solar Energy Projects?

The US-based company First Solar, one of the world’s top producers of solar modules, made headlines last month when it confirmed that it would be building a 4.5 GW project in the state of Telangana. Built across two sites, the project would be in operation by May 2015, expected to power on average over 92,000 homes in the region.

The process of adding new solar projects has not been without its own share of hurdles, however.

Plans for a 4 GW solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan stalled last month, according to the Wall Street Journal, after the newly-elected local government said the land involved should be used exclusively for salt production while other officials contended the plans would threaten the ecology of the area. Should the project move forward, however, the plant would be the world’s largest such station.

Meanwhile, the National Solar Mission continues to face international scrutiny, four years after its launch. Specifically, the NSM’s local content provision has come under challenge by the US at the WTO, with Washington claiming that the requirement for new Indian solar projects to source at least half of their inputs from domestic producers is in breach of international trade rules.