Startups and individuals are invited to submit their innovative ideas to solve some of the key challenges through application of renewable energy. The innovation should at least be in prototype stage and feasible for deployment. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs10 lakh, while the first runner up will earn Rs7 lakh and the second runner up Rs5 lakh. Applications close on August 31.

The charging stations will come up in Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram districts of the state, mostly on Kerala State Electricity Board or government land. The last date for submission of expression of interest is October 4.

New incentive scheme will see state government offering up to 40% subsidy towards cost of residential solar systems with the aim of adding 8 lakh of new arrays by 2022.

The ambitious renewable energy target of 523 GW by 2030, coupled with conducive government policies announced recently, will pave the way for increased renewable investment in the coming decade.

The University of Birmingham is a research partner on the Solar Cooling Initiative of International Solar Alliance that aims to spread the use of solar and solar-hybrid energy in agriculture.

Deploying commercial and industrial PV in China without subsidy is already profitable in some areas, according to a new study, but prohibitive soft costs and cheap electricity are the main barriers for such installations in areas where grid parity remains out of reach.

Bids are invited for supply, installation and commissioning of eight 1250kW 3-phase grid-connected power conditioning units for a 10 MW (AC) solar power plant in Charanka Solar Park of Gujarat. Bids will open on August 26.

Of these, 5095 e-buses have been allocated to 64 cities for intracity operation, 400 for inter-city operation and 100 for last-mile connectivity to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Extreme wind events are the biggest cause of failure and insurance claims for any PV plant, according to Thorsten Kray, Head of the Building Aerodynamics Department at Institut für Industrieaerodynamik GmbH, Aachen. For structural reasons, single-axis trackers are more prone to the issues than fixed-tilt structures. In this two-part series, pv magazine will examine the ways that wind impacts trackers and what EPCs and investors need to look out for, in addition to outlining a range of approaches from big tracker suppliers that were designed to mitigate wind-related damage.

The plant—located at Maranthai and Pudur Villages in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu—is part of 709 MW solar power projects awarded by utility Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation.

As demand for atomic layer deposition equipment spreads among Chinese solar cell manufacturers, experts throughout the industry are sharing their insight on the merits of this emerging manufacturing technology. The numbers they crunch reveal tough competition for incumbent plasma-based deposition techniques. But beyond the hype, does atomic layer deposition truly offer the better deal?

A vision of a decentralized, renewable-powered electricity grid is being brought a step closer by scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Their project, Autonomous Energy Grids, aims to take an overarching look at the solutions that will power this grid of the future, and to fill any gaps that appear between them.

To develop cost-competitive solar modules the nation must adopt a phased program and set up 15 GW of silicon-ingot-to-solar-module manufacturing capacity by 2024, according to The Energy and Resources Institute.

Power purchase agreements for 8.6 GW of clean energy have been signed in 2019 till July—up from 7.2 GW at the same time last year—with USA alone accounting for up to 70% of the deals. India continues to lead the Asia Pacific region despite registering a slowdown in the activity.

Scientists at the Australia National University have observed a key stage in the process of photosynthesis which could be copied to greatly increase the efficiency of sunlight-powered water splitting processes used to produce hydrogen.

Tariffs will be hiked down the value chain in order to encourage domestic solar manufacturing, which currently stands at just 3.2 GW for solar cells and 8.5 GW for solar modules.

Few in the industry predicted the speed at which monocrystalline technology would develop, or the impressive cost reductions it would achieve by 2019. This has left producers of multicrystalline products facing rapidly shrinking market share and struggling to compete on a cost per watt basis. Many are now turning to cast mono processes, essentially creating a monocrystalline, or ‘mono-like’ silicon ingot in a multicrystalline furnace, to reach higher efficiencies and extend equipment lifetimes.

Micro and mini grid-connected projects will also be considered. The projects—to be developed on ‘build-own-operate’ basis—can be set up anywhere in India for self-use or use by government entities at maximum fixed tariffs of Rs 3.50/kWh. Bidding will close on August 23.

The joint venture company—Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)—will help India to secure strategic minerals from abroad for manufacturing of solar energy storage and EV batteries.

The global installed capacity will grow from a modest 9 GW/17 GWh as of 2018 to 1,095 GW/2,850 GWh in the next two decades. Just 10 countries will account for almost 75% of the overall gigawatt market, with China, USA, India and Germany leading the pack.

The ministry has invited proposals for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, solar panel recycling, hybrid inverters and new applications that combine solar and storage, among others.

Air India SATS has introduced new aircraft-boarding walkways that use integrated solar roofing panels from Visaka Industries to run two air-conditioners for up to six hours.

The projects — solar, wind or a combination thereof — are expected to supply power for a minimum of six hours per day during periods of peak demand. The last date for bids is Sept. 17.

The charging stations—to be installed in five metro cities—will come up at strategic locations frequented by potential electric vehicle owners such as Tata Motors dealerships, certain Tata Group retail outlets and other public locations.

The Palo Alto company says it has improved its large scale battery offering with the new product in the wake of the success of its Powerpack-driven big battery in Australia. The Megapack can be deployed at a 250 MW/1 GWh clean energy plant four times faster than a fossil fuel alternative, claimed the business in a blogpost.

India needs special institutional structures within leading public financial institutions to cater to market segments that do not attract commercial capital at competitive terms.

Since 2017, several European governments have announced bans on sales of conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. Countries like France and the United Kingdom have set bans to come into force by 2040, while Norway has set a more ambitious goal of 2025. Raquel Soat, Research Analyst at Navigant, looks at how policy might affect European electric vehicle markets over the coming years.

Solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar parks. In these articles, a ‘solar park’ is defined as a group of co-located solar power plants.

The state has decided to withdraw almost all incentives available to open access solar, including exemption from electricity duty and distribution losses for projects injecting power at 33 kV or below. The policy reversal—clearly to appease state discoms—is likely to impact capacity addition.

India needs a manufacturing policy that is scalable, secure, strategical and supportive and promotes both the growth and spread of solar while protecting the interests of domestic manufacturers.