India Gets Obama’s Backing for $160 Billion Solar Push By Rakteem Katakey and Chisaki Watanabe January 26, 2015 U.S. President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to a meeting in New Delhi, on Jan. 25, 2015. India’s audacious plan to create a solar industry on the scale of China’s almost from scratch gained credibility with President Barack Obama’s pledge to lend U.S. financial support for the program. Without giving any detail or making any specific grant, Obama said the U.S. will “stand ready to speed this advancement with additional financing.” The remark was made at a press conference on Sunday in New Delhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his aim for India to install by 2022 as much photovoltaic capacity as the U.S. has now. India’s ambition would require $160 billion, according to Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive officer at the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment & Water. It would spread solar panels across an area the equivalent of three times the size of India’s most populous city, Mumbai, and require the government to cut back on thickets of regulation holding up projects. “Whether Modi can achieve the target hinges on funding,” Izumi Kaizuka, manager of the research division for RTS Corp., a Tokyo-based consulting firm for the solar energy industry, said by telephone today. “The pace of solar expansion has tended to be delayed even under the previous goal which was much lower.” With a growing population increasingly vocal about pollution levels that rival the worst days in Beijing, India is racing to find ways to feed its spiraling energy needs without adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Talks The solar program would help answer how India will reduce fossil-fuel pollution as the United Nations pushes all countries rich and poor alike to adopt targets in time for a climate summit in Paris in December. India’s emissions are the third highest in the world behind the U.S. and China. In November, China joined the U.S. in pledging to cap carbon emissions under through the Paris process, raising the question of how India will address the issue. Modi built the solar industry in his Gujarat state before taking office in May and moved clean energy up the agenda for the nation since. “For President Obama and me, clean and renewable energy is a personal and national priority,” Modi said. His target is for India to have 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, the same amount as China is targeting for 2020. If the result is the same, India has a much bigger leap to make than its northern neighbor. China vs India China has 33.4 gigawatts of solar capacity installed now and custody of most of the top 10 panel makers worldwide. India has 3.3 gigawatts of capacity and no major PV manufacturers, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Though India may struggle to reach its solar goal, the government’s backing increases the prospect of success and, in any event, the target makes the country an attractive market, said Xie Jian, president of Chinese solar panel supplier JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO) JA Holdings sees India as a key market, Xie said. His view is echoed by Shawn Qu, chief executive officer of Guelph, Ontario-based Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), who said in November during an interview in Wuxi, China, that he expects India to become one of the fastest-growing solar markets in the world. Money remains an issue. For now, India is attracting a fraction of the funds heading to China, the U.S. and Japan, which were the largest solar markets last year. Wooing Developers “The important thing is to make financiers more comfortable with solar projects in India by avoiding retroactive changes and ensuring payments for solar power are actually made,” said Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst with BNEF. “India’s solar market is expected to accelerate rapidly as solar gets even cheaper and local companies and governments gain experience.” India’s solar market will rank fourth in the world this year, up from eighth in 2013, BNEF said. Clean-energy in [8:46am, 1/27/2015] Rajesh Bhatt: EDEL- Bharat Electronics (BEL) sprung a pleasant surprise by reporting strong Q3FY15 numbers, which surpassed our and consensus estimates. Revenue jumped 34% riding robust execution primarily in missile systems, radar systems and night vision devices. The company’s exports also saw ramp up (up 68%), albeit on a small base. EBITDA margin at 17.3% catapulted 250bps led by operating leverage despite dip in gross profit margin (down 310bps). PAT jumped 42% driven by strong execution and operating performance. At INR7.6bn, order intake fell 18% even as backlog remained healthy at INR220bn (down 10%), rendering over 3x revenue visibility. We continue to anticipate improvement in pace of orders over the next few quarters from armed forces given the government’s mandate to speed up piled-up defence deals. This, along with an improving outlook, places BEL in a sweet spot. Maintain ‘BUY’. Robust execution, strong operating performance aid profitability BEL’s revenue, at INR16bn, jumped 34%, significantly ahead of our and consensus estimates led by strong uptick in execution. Exports also saw ramp up during the quarter (up 68%). EBITDA margin at 17.3% catapulted 250bps led by operating leverage. Strong execution and operating performance propelled PAT 42% to INR2.7bn. Healthy order backlog of INR220bn despite muted order intake The company’s intake fell 18% to INR7.6bn, which could be due to postponement of order awarding. Healthy order backlog at INR220bn renders visibility of 3x FY15E revenue. expect ordering momentum to improve over the next few quarters. Good Morning, Have profitable Trading Day
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 03:31:17 +0000
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