February 2020

Tariff ceiling is fixed at Rs 4 per unit for ground-mounted, grid-connected solar projects that will come up across four regions of the state. The projects are to be developed on build-own-operate basis for supply of power to Assam Power Distribution Company Limited for a period of 25 years. Bidding closes on February 21.

Having bagged 2.250 MW capacity in January, the Gujarat-based power generator has won four more solar projects—900 KW for JPB Fibers, 675 KW for N.J. Textile Industries, 135 KW for N.J. Texturisers and 950 KW for Sailaxmi Tex—aggregating to a capacity of 2.66 MW.

Delay in sourcing of PV modules from China can cause project cost and time overruns, inviting penalties for missing the commissioning date.

The state-owned engineer has specified the dimensions of the devices required and the bid window will close on Friday.

Having bagged orders for 470 chargers in pilot stage itself, Bengaluru based electric scooter startup FAE Bikes plans to aggressively expand its IOT enabled EV charging network. The chargers—costing just Rs 10,000—can be set up anywhere including small shops and homes with standard power supply.

While lithium batteries have taken center stage for energy storage, vanadium redox flow batteries could gain considerable traction in 2020. In previous years, vanadium battery installations around the world have done little more than provide proof of concept and a test bed for manufacturers, argues David Gillam from Mastermines. He looks at what may have changed since then and why a surge in batteries utilizing vanadium may be closer than many believe, with China taking the lead.

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

Scientists in the United States have demonstrated simple methods for ‘healing’ the cracks that form in perovskite solar cells. While it is far from clear how the approach could be applied commercially, the work suggests possibilities for maintaining the performance of perovskite cells in long-term operation.

The winning startups will receive lab-to-market incubation support at the Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC), which has been set up by the not-for-profit platform Social Alpha with support from Government of India and Tata Trusts in Delhi.

Removal of solar trade duties, discom reforms, and better central-state government coordination are prerequisites to increase renewable project development in the country.