The plant—constructed and operated by Germany-headquartered IBC Solar Energy—is NextEnergy’s first investment in India as part of its strategy to acquire ready-to-build or operational solar projects across high-growth international markets.

Scientists measuring air pollutants and PV performance in the city have found the lockdown conditions imposed since late March have brought about a significant reduction in air pollution which has led to an 8% increase in solar irradiation reaching rooftop arrays.

The expected return would leave the nation woefully short of its ambitious 175 GW clean energy target, which was laid down with a 2022 deadline. Chief executives who criticized aggressive clean power auctions said they would like to see more fossil fuel facilities thrown into the mix.

The country—which meets over 80% of the solar module demand through imports—can turn the present crisis into an opportunity by ramping up domestic manufacturing with measures like fiscal incentives.

Cost savings associated with switching to least-cost energy solutions like wind and solar can be redeployed for economic recovery. At the same time, building resilience on fronts like energy system design and supply-chain management is crucial to deal with unexpected shocks and crises.

The 1.7 MWp solar project—in Bina town of Madhya Pradesh—has been installed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to feed the Railways’ overhead traction system directly.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) and NLC India—both under India’s Ministry of Coal—would form a joint venture with 50:50 equity participation to develop 5 GW of power assets, including 3 GW solar and 2 GW thermal.

The amount of non-uniform shading an array will experience determines the technology choices that can be made. However, it can be complicated to formulate more general rules for when to use what type of technology. Most would agree that module-level power electronics are better at handling non-uniform shading, but how do they handle the sun? A recently promoted study brought the discussion into sharp relief.

The 1.95 MW solar plant with 2.15 MWh battery storage will power four islands of the union territory—Agatti, Kavaratti, BangaRam and Thinnakara. 

Domestic bids are invited for engineering, procurement and construction of a 50 MW floating solar project that shall come up over a 303-acre water body in Kollam District. Bidding closes on August 11.

The super-hydrophobic coating using functional nanoparticles repels dust deposition on the solar panels and cleans itself by the action of water on the modules. 

The renewable energy developer—which owns and operates 172 MW of wind capacity in India—has claimed its first solar tender win in the country with a SECI award for 300 MW power.

The winning bid, for 300 MW of generation capacity by Spanish developer Solarpack in a 2 GW auction is 3.3% lower than the previous record of Rs2.44.

The PV plant—the EPC provider’s largest in USA—will use bifacial modules and likely be commissioned by November 2021.

The electricity generated will be supplied to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

The state-owned power generator plans to procure around 1 GW of crystalline solar modules in the current financial year. The requirement will increase to 2-2.5 GW capacities per year in subsequent years. 

The Directorate-General of Trade Remedies has called a meeting of concerned parties as it considers whether to extend the duty on solar cells.

The levy on modules will then almost double to 40% within a year and cells will see a similar rise, from an initial rate of 15%.

July 9 is the deadline to bid for supply of five-busbar, multicrystalline ‘PERC’ solar cells with an efficiency of minimum 19.60%.

India is running the world’s largest renewable energy expansion program with a mind-boggling target of 450 GW by 2030. Can the country with a growing energy demand do more than this? Can it do what developed countries should have done years ago?

Straddling two state borders, the West Murray region in southeastern Australia has become a microcosm of technical challenges that can plague the energy transition. Faced with serious curtailment of solar farms in this electrically remote region, a remarkable inverter-based technical feat may have changed the game.

Vaibhav Pratap Singh, senior analyst at the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance, tells pv magazine about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian solar sector, green finance and investment down the line.

The global hybrid energy market, including energy storage, is projected to touch $40 billion by 2025. It is an opportunity that India has capitalized upon, earlier than others.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new kind of thermal battery that can greatly increase the energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness of many industrial processes and shows great promise for use in the solar industry. Liz Thompson reports that Argonne’s Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) can rapidly capture and store surplus heat so that it can be used as needed. With its pioneering modular design and material advancements resulting in greater efficiency, TESS is a big step forward in thermal battery technology.

The industry needs to cut a dependence on electric vehicle battery imports from China, according to the road transport minister, who said the government is looking to support research into alternatives to lithium-ion technology.

The ‘175 GW by 2022’ renewable energy target seems unachievable, necessitating the benchmark be moved to ‘450 GW by 2030’ instead. But even that will require the sector to move back to the front foot from 2021.

The near-term outlook for electric vehicles (EVs) remains bleak owing to supply and demand headwinds coupled with the expectation of sluggish investment to scale up the support ecosystem.

Market dynamics may again alter the global supply-demand picture for solar modules, leading to an increase in prices or price stabilization.

With the inclusion of battery energy storage into new building codes and safety standards, it’s obvious just how mainstream storage is today.

The inefficiency and irregularity of cleaning the solar panels manually, and the associated use of water defeat the purpose of shifting to renewable energies.