Indian developer Greenko has begun construction of a hybrid energy storage project featuring 10.8 GWh of daily pumped storage, 3 GW of solar, and 550 MW of wind. It claims that it might be the world’s largest renewables-based storage project upon completion.

Rooftop and ground-mounted solar deployment is reportedly slowing down in Bangladesh due to rising prices of panels, inverters, and other PV system components.

Tata Power has signed an agreement to commission home chargers for EV owners and install its EZ Charge fast chargers (DC 60 kW) at Hyundai Motor India’s 34 electric vehicle dealer locations in 29 cities.

The International Energy Agency expects solar, wind power, and other renewable energy technologies to achieve triple-digit global growth this year, with new PV additions set to reach almost 200 GW.

In a keynote address at Intersolar Europe 2022, Indian Union Minister Bhagwant Khuba asked global investors to seize the opportunity to focus on India as it targets net-zero emissions by 2070 and 500 GW of installed non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.

A new solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh – twice as big as the state’s 750 MW Rewa plant – will be developed on 2,800 hectares of land in the hills of Behrara Mata Temple, in Morena district. It is expected to be operational within a year.

The independent power producer will supply 33 MW of wind-solar hybrid power to Saint-Gobain’s manufacturing facilities in India. 

Rays Experts has agreed to supply plug-and-play infrastructure for up to 3 GW of PV projects across 9,000 acres in Bikaner district, Rajasthan.

Israel-based Airtouch Solar has signed a $940,000 contract with Indian developer Hero Future Energies, three weeks after securing a $440,000 project with another developer in India. 

Tata Power Solar has secured an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 300 MW solar project under India’s Central Public Sector Undertaking scheme. The project, awarded by state-owned hydropower producer NHPC, will be located in the state of Rajasthan.

US scientists have developed a way to remove snow and ice from solar panels at a much faster rate than conventional approaches. It is based on a glass coating on a film with high optical transparency and superhydrophobicity.

Indian scientists have developed a system under which a pumped-hydro facility stores grid electricity during off-peak hours by pumping water to an upper reservoir. During peak hours, the system feeds the load, rather than taking power from the grid.

India is expanding solar cell production capacity in a big way. Will manufacturers go down the established mono PERC route or leapfrog to advanced n-type technologies? Uma Gupta investigates.

Germany’s paXos, whose solar roof tiles were bought by Meyer Burger and unveiled last year, has shown off its new “Beaver Tail” terracotta solar tiles at Intersolar 2022.

GAIL, India’s largest state-owned natural gas company, has awarded a contract to an undisclosed company to install and commission a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis unit in Madhya Pradesh. The system will be powered by 10 MW of renewables, to produce around 4.3 metric tons of hydrogen per day.

Noida-based manufacturer JLNPhenix Energy has expanded its lithium battery manufacturing capacity in India to 550 MWh/annum, with the addition of a 150 MWh/year plant in Maharashtra.

The S5-EO1P(4-5)K-48 series off-grid PV inverter has an efficiency of 96.7% and supports parallel operation of up to 10 units, which allows for a system capacity of up to 50 kW. According to the manufacturer, the device is compatible with all top-tier brands of lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries.

Norwegian startup Over Easy Solar AS is launching a vertical PV system for rooftop applications at this year’s Smarter E in Munich, Germany.

Bhago Mobility Solutions, the green energy vertical of automotive parts manufacturer Modern Automotive, will invest $16 million in a partnership with Pastiche. They plan to jointly develop solid-state and lithium-ion batteries for electric mobility and energy storage.

Borosil Renewables, an Indian solar glass manufacturer, has recorded net sales of around INR 644 crore ($83 million) for fiscal 2021-22. It operated almost at full capacity throughout the year and sold out of everything it produced.

India-based Hygenco has set up a green hydrogen generation plant on a build-own-operate basis in Madhya Pradesh. The alkaline electrolysis-based plant is co-located with a solar PV project in the state’s Ujjain district. 

The new high-voltage Varta.wall storage device features an aluminum design and is available in capacities ranging from 10 kWh to 20 kWh. It also boasts an emergency power function.

Lithion’s Stack’d Series LFP batteries are modular and can be scaled in 4.8 kWh increments, from 9.6 kWh to 38.4 kWh.

Uttar Pradesh-based Inficold has developed a multi-chamber, solar-powered cold storage solution that facilitates the storage of multiple perishable commodities in different temperature-controlled chambers, all under their respective ideal storage conditions.

Renac Power’s new plug-and-play battery has a storage capacity of 3.74 kWh, but it can be enhanced in series with up to five batteries to 18.7 kWh. It has a nominal voltage of 96 V and a voltage range of 81 V to 108 V.

Supply demand mismatch is the most crucial factor which is directly or indirectly leading to an increase in module prices. At present, demand (especially for poly-Si) far outstrips the supply. A balance between the supply and demand is essential for stabilization of solar module prices.

While ALMM does support domestic manufacturers, this is not a sustained solution considering the wide demand-supply gap. Disincentivising imports could be a workable strategy when there is enough capacity back home.

Although we may have just about commenced our run in the electric vehicle (EV) race, it is critical that we jump-start the pace of adoption by enhancing the overall perception of EVs from a safety and longevity standpoint.

While the Central and State Governments have taken several proactive steps to make it easier for solar developers to acquire land for their projects, land aggregation remains the single biggest roadblock in implementing large-scale projects, resulting in a slowdown in the industry.

The modernization and transition of energy sources towards environment-friendly options, jointly exercised with the capacity to conserve the proven available reserves, is an action fraught with foresight. The emergence of the future scenarios and how it will all play out in the long term remain unknown to the human consciousness. However, the foresight emanating through the intertwining of the collective consciousness of human existence shall undoubtedly provide us with a potent armory to articulate our response to the emerging scenarios.