The state-owned oil and gas major targets 200 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2050. It also plans to have around 2 million metric tons of green hydrogen capacity in its fold by 2050.

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and Jakson Green have partnered to build giga-scale clean energy projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Asia Pacific countries.

The MoU envisages exploring prospects in renewables, LNG for road transport, regasification of imported LNG, and import and handling of different hydrocarbons which are important chemical and petrochemical precursors. 

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has exempted solar projects to be commissioned till March 31, 2024, from the requirement to source modules from the Approved Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) list. The move provides developers with the flexibility to source modules at the most cost-competitive rates.

Using some of India’s existing gas-based power capacity as peaking plants would be more economical than the other options in the short-term market for peak power supply. Gas-based power plants can provide ancillary services to maintain the grid’s power quality, reliability, and security as renewable energy capacity increases, says a new report by IEEFA.

An international group of researchers has calculated the potential for floating solar across the world. The results show a generation potential of 9,434 TWh per year across 114,555 global reservoirs, with 30% of their area covered. The United States leads with 1,911 TWh per year of potential, followed by China at 1,107 TWh per year and Brazil at 865 TWh per year.

The solar project comprises four blocks of 300 MW (AC) each at Khavda RE Power Park in Rann of Kutch. The total project value, including three-year operation and maintenance, is INR 2,100 crore.

NTPC REL will design, develop, and install renewable energy projects (solar, wind, etc) and hydrogen energy storage systems for supplying electricity to Indian Army establishments in off-grid locations.

Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd to set up a 200 MW solar PV project in the Solapur district of Maharashtra.

Iberdrola is using a springer spaniel in a solar park to smell electrical problems that could lead to power cuts. It is also using a robotic dog to detect and analyze faults in substations.

Berkeley Lab study shows how deep cost reductions in clean technology and India’s renewable and lithium edge can enable a pathway for cost-effective energy independence by 2047.  

Ranjit Gupta-led Ocior Energy has committed a cumulative investment of INR 80,000 crore to build two green ammonia facilities of 1mtpa each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. 

Pune-based Thermax has partnered with Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries to explore opportunities for the joint development of fully integrated green hydrogen projects for commercial and industrial customers in India. They also contemplate collaborating on electrolyzer and subsystem manufacturing facilities to support green energy projects in India.

Scientists from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE and US panel maker Solaria have applied thermal laser separation and post-metallization passivated edge technology to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell production. They have developed shingle PV devices that are more efficient than cells built with conventional laser scribing and mechanical cleaving methods.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has certified that a South Korean research team has achieved a 25.73% efficiency rating with a perovskite PV cell based on alkylammonium chlorides. The champion device built by the scientists reached an efficiency of 26.08%.

Gautam Solar has supplied 70 MW of PV panels to solar projects in the states of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh over a period of four months.

TrendForce says polysilicon will be 3.2% cheaper in March than in February. This will lead to lower wafer, cell and module prices and will effectively spur installation demand.

Adani Group has committed to building 15 GW of renewable power projects in Andhra Pradesh, while Reliance announced its 10 GW solar plans for the state. Avaada, Greenko, Indosol, and ReNew have also pledged massive investments into the state’s renewables sector.

Reliance Industries Ltd will invest in building 10 GW of solar energy generation capacity in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It has also applied for 6 GW of poly-to-module capacity under the second round of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar manufacturing which received bids from eleven companies in total. 

Triveni Glass is the latest to venture into solar glass production after Asahi India Glass, Gold Plus Glass Industry, and Chiripal Group. It plans an 840tpd factory with an estimated investment of INR 1,000 crore.

Amp Energy has committed to building 720 MW of wind, solar, wind-solar hybrid, floating solar, and energy storage projects in Andhra Pradesh with an estimated investment of approx Rs 5,800 crore over the next 3-5 years.

NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) is enlisting technical consultants for green ammonia feasibility studies. Both domestic and international agencies can apply. The enlisted consultants will be awarded the study project following competitive bidding.

Fraunhofer ISE has presented the results of retrofit heat pump installations in multi-family homes in Germany. One demonstrator featured rooftop solar PV and a multi-source heat pump developed in partnership with Viessmann. It uses air and geothermal as heat sources.

SolarPower Europe says in a new report that households in Germany, Spain, and Italy can more than triple their savings by pairing PV with heat pumps. It said this combination helped families to save between 62% and 84% on their annual energy bills in 2022.

The Hyderabad-based developer will use the amount towards the capital expenditure of more than 25 GWh of pumped storage projects.

Pumped hydro energy storage can be readily scaled to any required storage capacity at a known and affordable cost.

While the current policy regime supports the adoption of flexible resources like batteries, grid flexibility and resilience require more focus and a range of calibrated efforts, including due acknowledgment as a sector priority and robust planning at the central and state level. The upcoming union budget provides an opportunity for the government to develop flexible and resilient grids.

The major impediments to floating solar photovoltaics (floatovoltaics) are the high cost of materials and the complex installation involved. 

Here are three trends in the solar sector that will gain momentum in 2023, leading to wider PV implementation.

With the latest generation of household devices increasingly connected and internet-of-things (IoT)-enabled, dye-sensitized solar cells can finally realize their latent promise and help reduce the carbon footprint of billions of manufactured goods.