The 2023 Playback- What Our Most Read Stories Tell Us

As a digital publisher, one of the joys of publishing is the feedback, both immediate and ongoing that writers get on their stories. Seen both in actual pageviews and in terms of traction on social media, this feedback loop is a key to decide what gets covered, and what doesn’t at times. We say at times, because there are stories we consider important and still do, despite knowing fully well that they will appeal to a small niche of our readership. Be it legal stories, stories on innovations, or even startup coverage, we believe these need to be recorded if we are to call ourself the most exhaustive repository of news related to solar and renewable sector in India.

Solar Manufacturing In Focus

So what worked in 2024 with our readers? First, the key numbers. Total unique readers on SaurEnergy crossed 3 million during the year, with the site recording over 500,000 unique readers in six of the 12 months in the year. Having such a large base means that stories that made it to the top each topped 30,000 pageviews at a minimum, with the highest story crossing the 60,000 mark.

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And that story was this feature on India’s solar manufacturing ambitions , that led a slew of stories on solar manufacturing in India during the year. The interest not only underscores the high interest in the rise of the manufacturing sector in Indian solar, but also the multiple players who are seeking to enter this still young sector. Linked to this story were stories on the evolving technologies in solar O&M, and even one on the biggest policy event, the PLI scheme Tranche 2 for solar manufacturing.

Linked to solar manufacturing was this November story on the dominance of TOPCon focused manufacturing that made it to the leading stories, despite being carried late in the year.

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Two stories from the leaderboard, that typify the sort of interest and unfulfilled potential that still exists in the countries hinterlands, are these stories on the  struggles with the PMKUSUM initiative, and a little later in the year, this story on the relevance of distributed renewable energy, powered mostly with solar and storage, for rural areas that still lack dependable power.

Among Firms, It Is Adani Green, NTPC and Suzlon 

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Not surprisingly perhaps, among the firms that garnered the highest pageviews for their stories on SaurEnergy, these three stand out. An obvious reason is the fact that they are all listed in India, and have seen significant stock price movements to justify investor interest in learning and tracking every move from them. On the other hand, the three also happen to be among the pore0eminent players in the sector in any case. Suzlon’s case might seem a little surprising, but not if you consider how its stock price has been rising a wave of optimism on its future, some of it bordering on the irrational by now, we might add. The firm, with 3 stories in the top 30, is powered by the interest among punters, besides industry, when we tracked down the source of so many of the views for stories.

Startup Funding, Especially When It Involves Big Players

We made an effort to cover startup funding in the space, and even as funding was easier to come by for players in the EV space, solar and storage startups in particular drew strong interest. Especially if the investors included big names like Reliance, as in the case of Caelux. This US based startup setting up a manufacturing plant was a surprise winner of interest, thanks to the Reliance connection we feel.   Startups as a cohort continue to attract stronger interest, be it in the R&D, manufacturing, or O&M space, leading us to believe this is one category to watch out for in 2024.

Policy Changes Keeps Everyone On their toes

Throughout the year, if there was one constant refrain we heard from developers or manufacturers, it was a request to the government for consistent, predictable, long term policy stability. That has clearly not happened yet, as multiple tweaks and announcements kept everyone guessing throughout the year. Key policy announcements were also made during the year, linked to co-branding, offshore wind, besides of course the ALMM exemption and future. Even the fear of a carbon tax is real, as this story showed. Even the power exchanges were not spared, as the premier exchange, IEX faced the risk of power coupling decimating its painstakingly built industry dominance in the future. Or maybe not.  State wise stories on Open access, Green Energy Open Access Rules, and of course, auctions and results, ruled. Gujarat, Maharashtra and clearly stole the limelight here.

The Surprise Outliers

The stories we never imagined would do well enough to make it to this list.   Like this story on Telangana’s plans to power 5200 schools with solar. Or this story on solar boats on Kerela. International stories, that we cover more to round off overall coverage was a surprise during the year, with many stories making it to the top 50. These stories were led by news from the US linked to the Inflation Reduction Act and its impact on solar manufacturing there, lessons from Australia, and the gains made by Chinese players across markets worldwide.