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.

The energy storage market is set to be the latest affected by Trump’s trade war as lithium-ion batteries were excluded from the group of Chinese imports for which the U.S. president announced tariffs would be delayed until December 15.

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.

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.

National Thermal Power Corp. (NTPC), India’s largest energy conglomerate, has suffered a serious blow to its reputation after it failed to attract bids for its 1.2 GW solar project, despite multiple deadline extensions.

Jointly organised by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), the conclave on EV and charging infrastructure will take place on August 9, 2019 at ICAT’s Manesar Campus in Gurugram with over a hundred participating companies.

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.

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.

The plant was conceived under viability gap funding scheme for Ministry of Defence establishment to set up 300 MW of grid-connected and off-grid solar power projects at their locations.

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 winning developer will be able to use solar modules and cells of any origin for the plant, which will be built in Auraiya district, Uttar Pradesh. Bidding closes on Sept. 5.

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 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.

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 cost of solar power generation in India has fallen to half the level seen in many other markets in the region due to extensive solar resource, market scale and competition.

A gloomy atmosphere currently hangs over the lithium-ion supply chain. Stationary battery storage equipment and electromobility offer tremendous opportunities. Yet many experts have concerns about the raw material supply and recycling situation. Christian Hagelüken, the Director of EU government affairs at Umicore, a major recycler and supplier of cobalt, explains his view of the situation.

“Lead-acid batteries are comparatively cheaper than other battery types such as Ni-MH and Li-ion. Moreover, these have the highest recyclability percentage of any product, and are therefore likely to find more takers owing to their reduced cost of production,” according to industry participants at the International Lead Conference held in Spain.

Government-owned Central Electronics Limited has invited Expression of Interest for executing battery energy storage system projects on turnkey basis in India. The deadline for submission is July 31, 2019.

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.

Situated in south-east India, the state of Andhra Pradesh is a leading producer of renewable energy with 7.2 GW of installed capacity as of December 2018. The state’s share of renewable energy as part of total capacity has trebled in the last four years from 11% in 2014 to 30% in 2018.