The Asian Development Bank says developing countries in Asia and the Pacific should consider developing their own solar industry supply chains as the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed their over-reliance on China to carry through the energy transition.

Solar season had already started in the month of March. The demand for solar consumption is the highest during April-June quarter as summer picks up. This is the time when factory runs with full efficiency. India was estimated to install nearly 8 GW of solar panels in 2020, in which 90% consumption happens in utility-scale […]

Planning ahead is crucial to ensure the Indian solar industry bounces back quickly and the slowdown is not carried forward to 2021-22, say BloombergNEF analysts even as they estimate 75% fall in PV imports in the first quarter of year 2020 over the previous quarter and revise annual capacity addition forecasts.

The project involves laying over 300 km of 765 kV double-circuit transmission lines connecting 765/400 kV Lakadia substation to Vadodara substation in Gujarat.

The ministry further announced waiver from section 144, Nationwide Lockdown, Curfew, or any other limitation on the number of people required for operation and maintenance of solar power plants. The directive came a day after lobby group National Solar Energy Federation wrote to the ministry asking for waivers.

The Chinese inverter manufacturer will supply its 1500V 3.125 MW central inverter solution for Indian developer Avaada Energy’s upcoming PV projects in India.

The solar panels shall be installed on the coal miner’s over burden (OB) dump at Ramagundam (22 MW) and Dorli (10 MW) sites in Peddapalli district of Telangana. Bidding closes on April 22.

India’s energy storage juggernaut is on a roll with the country discovering the cheapest renewables cum storage tariff in history, anywhere in the world. The technology chosen is pumped storage. And by setting up an enabling environment, the government has signalled its commitment to boosting the market!

Tariff ceiling is set as Rs 2.92 per unit for the grid-connected projects which are to be developed on ‘build own operate’ basis in 1 GW Dholera Solar Park. Bidding closes on April 18.

The digital platform automates the entire distributed solar project design and net metering approval process, which is crucial in today’s era of social distancing and remote business operations driven by COVID-19 globally.

India’s energy system immediately needs a shift from centralized commands to dynamic interactive structures. While the UK is already spearheading digitalization of its energy systems, India has ample areas demanding interventions, such as integration of decentralized energy systems using digital innovation and analytical tools.

The project—East North Interconnection Company Limited (ENICL)—provides critical inter-state connectivity for evacuation of power from generation plants in the north-eastern region. It also aims to end power shortfall in Assam during non-monsoon months.

The government has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar to inter-alia improve power connectivity and enhance energy trading in the region.

Solar PV is surging in the Middle East, due to its sustainability and decentralized nature. But with the ample sunlight of the region comes fine dust, which can sharply reduce power output. Zulfa Rasheed from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai looked at the latest research in the field and found that module-glass coating and robotic solutions appear to be the most promising options when it comes to dealing with dust.

A new, non-destructive technique has been proposed by researchers who say identifying early-stage discoloration in EVA encapsulants can help detect degradation in solar panels before power output is affected. The IIT Bombay group used an ultraviolet accelerated aging test during 34 days on three encapsulant samples.

U.S.-owned analyst Wood Mackenzie expects solar demand to decline but predicts the market will recover, with the prospects for the energy transition remaining intact.

Based in Gurugram, the factory is spread over 30,000 sq.ft and can produce 240 MWh of high-temperature battery storage solutions annually. These batteries can charge to 80% capacity within two hours and operate in excess of 55ºC, which makes them suitable for hot, humid tropical climates.

US scientists claim to have discovered a membrane which could lead to cheaper large scale flow batteries. The material is an ion-selective, aqueous-compatible polymer with intrinsic microporosity known as AquaPIM and is said to have tunable thickness and high conductivity in aqueous electrolytes.

Demand for batteries is going nowhere but up, as new factories seem to appear almost every week with promises to power electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and grid-connected storage. But the lithium-ion technology that all of these rely on is not without drawbacks, and a whole host of new storage solutions is eager to get out of the laboratory.

Developers are also expected to drag their heels over project completion during the first half of the year as the safeguarding duty applied to imported Chinese and Malaysian solar products is due to expire at the end of July.

Under joint venture ‘Shuchi Anant Virya,’ Fourth Partner Energy has commissioned solar powered charging facilities in Gurugram and Pune which will enable commercial electric vehicle (EV) fleet operator Lithium Urban Technologies to charge around 30 and 40 EVs, respectively, at the same time.

The selected developers shall set up renewable power projects on build-own-operate basis anywhere in India and complement the generated renewable power with thermal power, if needed, to ensure round-the-clock power supply.

The entire cost of charging infrastructure for these electric buses—including cost of charging equipment and installation—shall also be borne by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.

The ChargeGrid Flare, costing around Rs 95,000, shall enable faster deployment of curbside vehicle charging with less street clutter than other approaches.

The all-India installed capacity for power generation is projected to rise to 619 GW by the end of 2026-27 from 369 GW as on February 29, 2020. The optimal generation mix will, however, depend on the development of storage technology and renewable energy.

The U.S. ITC has released a report highlighting changes in the domestic solar cell and module manufacturing industry, showing that while there has been an increase in domestic module manufacturing, the overall program’s success, relative to the $740 million in tariffs, has created little measurable benefit.

Annual renewable energy balancing between resource-surplus and resource-deficit states can help solve DISCOM woes while ensuring their compliance to renewable purchase obligations.

India is fostering a digital future via Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ initiative – a national blockchain strategy that includes quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, as digital technologies become the primary platform for economic activity and growth.

The Internet of Things, cloud analytics and artificial intelligence will find their way into battery management too, enabling OEMs to precisely measure and improve the life of their deployed assets. Lower battery costs and increased adoption in high-power commercial electric vehicles and grid support are the other trends shaping the market.

While openers like SRISTI scheme for rooftop solar and KUSUM for farmland solar are likely to give a promising start, their implementation on the ground will determine our winning trajectory this year. Simply going by the connotation of 6 balls an over in the game of Cricket, this article looks at 6 factors that will push India to achieve its 2022 solar target.