中央政府支持制度企業家的工作
Support from central government andautonomy to develop specific programs
The overall policy and regulatoryincentives offered by the central government to promote solar PV energy indifferent Indian states were quite similar under the National Solar Mission.However, the differences in implementation of grid connected solar PV dependedto a large extent on a range of state specific factors such as state specific policiesand regulations, plant load factor generated, enforcement of Renewable PurchaseObligations, tariffs fixed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission andoverall commitment of the state government to promote solar energy byattracting project developers. Both Gujarat as well as West Bengal were free todevise their own policies and regulations for attracting project developers andeven came up with supportive policy and regulatory instruments (Comptroller andAuditor General of India, 2015).
Summarizing, a comparison of factors suchas historical economic
and political conditions, investment andbusiness climate, performance
of the power sector, presence of naturalconditions as well as political
support from the National Government todevelop specific policies
and regulations highlights that both thestates had more or less equal
opportunity to implement solar PV energy.Gujarat had better pre-
existingregionalconditionsthanWestBengaltosomeextent.However,
such pre-existingregional conditions cannotentirely account for signif-
icant differences between Gujarat and WestBengal. In the subsequent
section, I try to show the significantdifferences in implementation by
emphasizing the role of institutionalentrepreneurship and looking
at the role of (1) government officialswithin regional government;
(2) regional regulatory agencies and (3)regional industry associations
in shaping the implementation of solar PVenergy in the two states.
Thenextsectionwillhighlighttheextenttowhichregionalinstitutional
entrepreneurship contributed to differencesin implementation as the
two regions had quite comparablepre-existing regional conditions
with no significant differences.
Role of regional government officials
The case of Gujarat
The chief minister of Gujarat, NarendraModi, became interested in
solar energy due to the tremendouspotential of solar PV energy and
available natural resource conditions inGujarat. His intent to promote
solar PV energy was also due to hiscommitment towards climate
change as well as to resolve energy crisesin the state. Through
his strong social and political skills,Narendra Modi used his public
speeches to highlight Gujarat s achievementsas an Indian state
committed to addressing climate changeissues; additionally, he
dedicated significant budgets for thedeployment of renewable energy
in the state. These public speeches andstories helped to legitimize the
potential of solar PV in Gujarat andattempted to mobilize stakeholder
support, create credibility and develop aregional investment-friendly
identity in order to attract investors. Inone of his public speeches he
remarked.
「Whenwestartedthepriceperunitwas15rupees,todayitcamedown
to 8.5 rupees. This is the greatestcontribution to India also. Now even
other states will be able to take risk andinitiative because they will
count that now slowly how cheap the solarpower can be. This is
the greatest contribution of Gujarat to ourgreat country […]. Today
Gujarat will show the rest of the world insolar energy […]. Still the
Gujarat government is spending huge amounton renewable energy,
more than 2000 crores rupees per year. Weare doing this mainly to
contribute against the war against globalwarming and global climate
change. We have a long-term vision and wantto leave green footprint
in whatever we do […]」.
[(Modi, 2013)]
In order to implement his vision, NarendraModi – along with
Minister of Energy and PetrochemicalDepartment Saurabh, Bhai Patel,
and Principal Secretary, Energy DepartmentD.J. Pandian – collectively
showedvisionaryleadershipandexecutioncapabilitiesforimplementing
grid-connected solar PV energy in Gujarat(Interview 1; Interview 6).
This vision was translated into the GujaratSolar Power Policy, which
came out in January of 2009, before theannouncement of the National
Solar Mission by the Government of India.Gujarat Energy Development
Agency (GEDA) and Gujarat PetrochemicalEnergy Limited (GPCL) were
designated as relevant nodal agencies forthe Gujarat solar policy
(GEDA, 2009). The policy was aimed atlarge-scale deployment of
grid-connected solar PV, promoting R&Dand local manufacturing,
reducing the negative impact of climatechange and creating local
employment opportunities (Interview 1). TheGujarat policy had
several features of a lucrative policy forinvestors in terms of assured
high returns (preferential fixed tariff),instead of the reverse bidding
process used in the National Solar Missionand other Indian states for
determining price for solar PV energy(Interview 4; Interview 6; PWC
and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation,2012). An important aspect
oftheGujaratsolarpolicywasthatitdidnotmandatetheuseofcrystal-
line solar PV modules as suggested in theguidelines of the National
Solar mission. The policy wastechnologically neutral, which enabled
project developers to access low-cost solarPV modules internationally
and complete projects faster. Mostdevelopers preferred thin film
technology supplied from First Solar (US)due to its performance and
the cheap availability of low-cost financefrom the US Exim Bank
(Bridge to India, 2012; RESolve EnergyConsultants, 2013).
The Gujarat government received tremendousresponses to its
solar policy from various projectdevelopers and investors due to the
attractive feed in tariffs, higher returnon investment, good financial
positionoftheutilitiesandavailabilityoftransmissionandevacuationin-
frastructure through GETCO (Gujarat EnergyTransmission Corporation)
and Gujarat State Load Dispatch Centre(SLDC) (Bhushan and Hamberg,
2012; Kasture et al., 2013; RESolve EnergyConsultants, 2013). In order
to attract potential investors, theguidelines for the completion of solar
PVprojectswerenotstrictinthebeginningofthepolicyimplementation.
However, depending on the progress andreal-time experiences,
the conditions for project completion weremade stricter gradually,
including, for instance, penalties fordelays in project execution
(Interview 1; Interview 6; Yenneti, 2014b).As remarked by one of the
interviewees.
「Thegovernment of Gujarat did not stop at making the policy. They
further went to take proactive action. Thegovernment of Gujarat
agencies like GEDA, GUVNL, GPCL, GETCO allof them gave excellent
cooperation to the developers unlike whatpeople face elsewhere in
the country.」
[(Interview 4)]
The Vibrant Gujarat (VGGIS: Vibrant GujaratGlobal Investors
Summit), organized by the Government ofGujarat, promoted the state
asaninvestment-friendlydestinationamongnationalandinternational
investors, leading to greater investmentfor solar PV projects. The Vibrant summits conducted by the Government ofGujarat provided
opportunities for developing a futureroadmap for sustainable energy
development in the state.
These events were useful in promoting solarPV energy through
workshops and networking sessions betweenvarious industry
members, providing platforms for the latesttechnological trends and
sharing knowledge about best practices. Inaddition to the Vibrant
Gujarat summit, the India Solar Investmentand Technology Summit
held in Gandhinagar helped to stimulatelinkages between different
PV manufacturers, solar PV projectdevelopers, equipment suppliers,
government officials, consultancies,investors and policy makers, also
highlightingemergingopportunitiesandcriticalchallengestheindustry
would face (Vibrant Gujarat, 2013).Networking sessions in the summit
played an important role in facilitatingjoint ventures, mergers and
acquisitions, as well as providing accessto relevant finance knowledge
due to the presence of severalinternational firms and investors
(Indian Solar, 2013). These events played acritical role in stimulating
interactive learning between heterogeneousactors and even provided
platforms for policy initiatives. Inaddition, such events provided
opportunities for actors to gain specifictacit knowledge, learn about
new technological trends, build trust anddevelop new relationships.
These multiple events, organized bymultiple bodies and involving
heterogeneous stakeholders, stimulatedregional collective action in
Gujarat. Moreover, the summit createdopportunities for government
officials from other Indian states to learnfrom Gujarat s experiences
and apply some lessons to their respectivestates.
A state-level selection committee wascreated to scrutinize project
proposals from developers, based on theirfinancial and technical
capabilities and past track record indeveloping solar PV projects
(GEDA, 2014). The Energy and PetrochemicalDepartment also
demanded financial guarantees from projectdevelopers for the allot-
ment of projects (Interview 1; Interview6). Government bureaucrats
such as D.J. Pandian, the PrincipalSecretary of the Energy and Petro-
chemical Department, Government of Gujarat,played an instrumental
part in implementing the Gujarat SolarPolicy through his personal
commitment and motivation. He remarks onthe initiatives taken by
him for mobilizing finance forimplementation of grid connected solar
PV in Gujarat despite facing severalconstraints.
「I was fullypersonally involved, committed. Because I worked in the
World Bank, so I knew some officials there.I knew IFC. I used all my
diplomatic skills […]. It is talking,convincing them […]. I understand
the language of international bankers […].It took more than a year
[…]. It is an individual officer scommitment supported by government
policies and government support. If thegovernment is not supportive,
we do not want solar, it is very costly,and then my skills are of no
use. Or if the government is ready tosupport and if the officers do not
take it forward, then also it is a failure.It is both administrative skills
and political will both together […]. Icreated the solar park in record
time, I took the land, I developed theland, I put up the evacuation
system. Then I called reviewmeetingswithdevelopersand I understood
theirproblems[…].ThenItalktocollectors,Iwrotetoallthecollectors.I
personally monitored everything.」
[(Interview 1)]
He also remarks on the initiatives taken byhim for mobilizing
finance by drawing on internationallinkages and support from global
financial institutions.
「ThedevelopersaftergettingtheLOI(Letterofintention)werereluctant
to sign power purchase agreements (PPA). Icalled a meeting of all the
bankers. They said no one body isfinancing. Solar was not financeable.
It is a risky item […]. I arranged twothree round table conferences of
various bankers […]. I went to Washington,I talked to World Bank, I
talked to US Exim Bank, I talked to IFC, I wentto Philippines, I went to
ADB. I met all these international bankers.It is a dialogue process. Then
theyarealsoconvinced.TheyseeourcommitmentthattheGovernment
ofGujaratiscommittedtobuythispowerandtogoaheadinsolar.They
prepared some PPA. Then some internationallegal experts came. They
wanted to change certain clauses. Weamended. So, we made a robust
bankable PPA (Power Purchase agreement)[…].」
[(Interview 1)]
The actions of the head of the energydepartment were also
supported by the Gujarat state government.This was possible because
government bureaucrats in Gujarat facedlimited political interference
in allocating land for projects, issuinglicenses and facilitating corporate
investment, developing internationallinkages and facilitating private
investment in the state (Sud, 2014a,2014b). Over the years, Gujarat
became popular for its business-friendlynature. As remarked by one
of the interviewees.
「People areefficient here […]. See what happens in other states, the
Minister is notreadytotake anydecision,becauseifhe takesa decision,
he might go against his popularity, sopeople are afraid to take a
decision. Here whoever is the minister isnot afraid for taking a decision
because they are not doing anythingillegal. See in other states doing
even legitimate things, they have to wait,they don t take decisions
[…].Here it does not happenlikethat[…].Theyhave a cabinet meeting
[…] C.M. meets with all the ministers andall the principal secretaries
are always there. So, all the questions areraised there […]. The
bureaucracy is very fast here, very fast.」
[(Interview 6)]
Through the efforts of principal energysecretary, the Government
of Gujarat was able to mobilizeinternational linkages for accessing
external knowledge, expertise and financialresources through
organizations such as IFC (InternationalFinance Corporation) and ADB
(Asian Development Bank). The principalenergy secretary played
an instrumental role in resolving ongoingproblems and bottlenecks
for the implementation of the policy byorganizing several forums
(for example, forums including bankers andentrepreneurs) and
committee meetings, monitoring progress andfinding solutions
to ongoing issues and challenges faced byproject developers
(Interview 1).
The case of West Bengal
In comparison to Gujarat which was ruled bythe BJP (Bhartiya Janta
Party),WestBengalhadadifferentsocio-politicalbackground:between
1977and2011,WestBengalwasruledbyCPI(M)(i.e.CommunistParty
of India (Marxist)), which won consecutiveassembly elections due to
its pro-poor regulations and politicalpriorities for rural masses in the
state. The Communist Party of India(Marxist) (CPM) maintained its
dominance over the state and controlled allsocial affairs until the
mid-90 s. By being concerned about reducinginvestments in the state,
CPI (M) feared that it had to change itsfocus on industrial growth and
development and create conditions conduciveto private investment
(Ray, 2011; Chakravarty and Bose, 2009;Das, 2013). The government
of West Bengal took initiatives forimproving its investment-friendly
identity by setting up government-industrycoordination committees
and organizing partnership summits tofacilitate private investment in
the state. After the rule of CPI (M)leaders such as Jyoti Basu and
Bhuddhadev Bhattacharyya, the newgovernment shifted to the hands
of Mamta Banerjee, from the TrinamoolCongress, in 2011. The new
government tried to change its image fromthe older CPI (M) regime,
in which slow industrial growth was quitecommon; it started reforms
with setting single-window clearancemechanisms for attracting
industry and reducing inefficiencies inadministrative procedures
(Sud, 2014b).
During the 1980s and 1990s, Chief MinisterJyoti Basu politically
supported Dr. Gon Chaudhari in developingsolar energy in West
Bengal. Since the late 1980s, Dr. S.P. GonChaudhari was at the forefront of promoting solar PV energy in West Bengal. Infact, he was among the
first in India to develop solar energysolutions, conducting work in
the Indian state of Tripura. He was alsoinstrumental in developing
knowledge about technical specificationsand regulations regarding
solar energy in India, by developingsmall-scale solar solutions such as
solar pumps, solar lanterns and solarmini-grids. Dr. S.P. Gon Chaudhari
advocated the use of solar energy tovarious ministries and planning
commission in India. Based on his fieldexperiences, the government
of India started remote villageelectrification programs. Dr. Gon
Chaudhari then took charge of the WestBengal Renewable Energy
Development Agency (WBREDA) and became theface of renewable
energy in West Bengal through his dynamicleadership (Interview 9).
Dr.GonChaudharibecameaninstrumentaladvocateforsolarPVenergy
in West Bengal, influencing governmentpolicies and regulations in the
state (Harrison and Kostka, 2012). He alsoremarks on the initiatives
taken by him.
「In2009Icommissionedthefirst2MWplant.2MWplantcommission-
ing grid-connected means regulation, rules.It is 2 MW, 11000 V supply
system, nobody thought. It was so difficultfor me to make the first
tender of the country for a grid-connectedsystem […]. Now everything
is common. Nobody knows how I struggled fordeveloping the main
tender document for the grid-connectedsystem, regulations, the safety,
security.」
[(Interview 9)]
Under his leadership, WBREDA gainedconsiderable experience in
setting up solar mini-grids and solarhybrid mini-grid projects in differ-
ent villages in Sunderbans between 1996 and2010. The West Bengal
Renewable Energy Development Agency tookcare of negotiating with
local leaders and villagers, setting thetariffs with mutual consultation
withlocalvillagers,holdinginformationmeetings, channelingsubsidies
and carrying out surveys, maintenance andinspection of the systems.
These initiatives also resulted in theinstallation of India s first solar
mini-grid system (Ulsrud et al., 2011).Over the years, WBREDA was
successful in implementing the largestnumber of off-grid solar
programs in India (Interview 10). The ideaof setting up the first MW
grid-connected solar PV project wasformulated by Dr. S.P. Gon
Chaudhari, who was also instrumental insetting up the first grid-
connected solar PV project in India(Chaudhari, 2012). As remarked by
Dr. S.P. Gon Chaudhary.
「WestBengalwastheonlystatewhere youknow really Iwas doing this
photovoltaicprograminaseriousmanner,andIrealizedthatthiswasa
potentialarea.ThatwasthereasonthatWestBengalbecameamodelin
the country in the 1990s (1993 onwards) andit continued up to 2009–
2010, almost for 15 years. By the timeother states, also seen, learn […].
The main point is Gujarat was lagging atthat time […]. Gujarat is
leading in grid-connected, off-grid isstill West Bengal is highest in the
country […]. West Bengal was really givingthe ideas, the concepts
everything. Duringthatperiod,maybe all theotherstateswerelearning
how West Bengal is doing that.」
[(Interview 9)]
Dr. S.P. Gon Chaudhary also remarks onother initiatives taken by
him for promoting grid connected solar PVin the West Bengal.
「As managing directorof the corporation, I executed India s first
MW-level solar PV project and connected thesame with DVC grid in
September, 2009. I also solarized the firstRajbhavan of the country in
Kolkata with a grid-connected solar PVpower plant which was
inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil in2010. A solar farm
(40 MW) in the Purulia district of WestBengal was also initiated by
me. WBGEDCL prepared the Solar EnergyVision Plan of ONGC under
my leadership. The Energy InfrastructurePlan of Sundarbans was also
prepared under my leadership with fundingfrom the World Bank.
During my tenure in the Ministry of Power,the Indian government
sanctioned a major DDG project forSundarbans with a new concept,
which is currently under execution.」
[(S.P. Gon Chaudhari, Energy Next)]
This project was difficult toexecute duetolack of awarenessof solar
energyduringthattimeinIndia,inadditiontoalackofpastexperiences
in setting tariffs and power purchaseagreements, financing, operation
and maintenance. The project was successfulin demonstrating that
large-scale grid-connected solar PVprojects were possible in India
(Interview 9; Chaudhuri, 2008; Chaudhari,2012). Although Dr. S.P
Gon Chaudhary took several measures topromote grid-connected
solarPVenergyinWestBengal,themomentumwaslostafterhisretire-
mentin 2010, which led to a void in termsof creating political space for
solar PV energy in the state. These issuesare even highlighted in a
newspaper.
「According toexperts, what is unfortunate is the fact that other states
followed the model that was firstintroduced in Bengal and went ahead
to promote solar power. But due to the lackof a policy and proper
initiative, West Bengal gradually fellbehind. The picture, however,
could have been different if the governmenthad carried forward the
initiativesthatweretakenalongtimeback.ItwasinBankurawayback
in 1992 that the country s first off-gridsolar power plant was installed.
The country launched a national programbased on the concept.」
[(Chakraborti, 2015)]
Administrative problems occurred in WBREDAand the organization
lostitsinnovativecapabilitiestofurtherdevelopsolarinitiativesinWest
Bengal (Interview 9). After the firstgrid-connected project in Asansol,
several project proposals came out inplaces such as Durgapur and
Purulia, but none of the proposalsmaterialized. The state lost invest-
mentopportunitiesfromfirmssuchasAstonfieldRenewableResources,
Videocon and Reliance Power forgrid-connected solar energy projects,
which resulted in a further decline ininvestment plans for grid-
connected solar PV projects in the state;subsequent efforts to improve
the situation were not well received by thestate government or by
the MNRE (Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy) (Bhushan and
Hamberg, 2012).
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