Despite political hurdles in key markets including China and Japan, Asia remains highly active. This year, 59 GW of solar is expected to be installed and due to further system price declines, a phase-out of subsidy schemes can be offset.

SECI has opened up to 10 GW of floating PV for expressions of interest to accelerate adoption of the solar platform. The potential generation capacity for the technology in India is enormous, with 700 GW possible if just one-third of the country’s water reservoirs are exploited.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a new report on different ways global warming can be kept within the 1.5°C limit. The panel seeks to inform policymakers before the upcoming COP24 in Poland this December. Resulting from their analysis, the 91 authors state that drastic action and significant investments are needed. Such climate action across all sectors would have significant positive effects on sustainable development progress, they say.

Though lauded at times as a water-saving technology, PV’s concentration in arid and remote regions, in conjunction with inefficient cleaning methods, can exacerbate water scarcity and prompt rising water tariffs for plant operators, according to a new report on Indian PV installations, published by analysts Bridge to India.

DNV GL has issued its annual Energy Transition Outlook. It reports that global electricity demand is set to grow by a factor of 2.5. Over half of this demand is expected to be met with renewable energy by 2050, while storage will play a key role. It adds that grid infrastructure expenditures are less related to variable renewable energy assets than to increasing energy demand. In the current scenario, meanwhile, global warming is likely to reach 2.6°C.

In 2015, Germany and India signed a deal outlining plans by Germany to provide loans amounting to €1 billion for the development of Indian solar PV plans. Loans are provided through development bank, KfW. On the Indian side, REC issues low-interest loan schemes in conjunction with private sector participation to disperse the funds.

The solar company has handed in detailed project reports for a planned 100 MW PV plant in Mizoram. The state introduced an incentive scheme last year, and held an investors summit in April of this year. According to company information, the project arose from the summit held in April.

Greenpeace India, Germi, and the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program have released a report stating that the Indian government’s latest ambitions to deploy solar water pumps could meet the country’s solar PV target of 100 GW, if done comprehensively. So far the plan goes as far as 28 GW, and still needs legislative approval.

The independent power producer has continuously expanded its project pipeline, routinely winning multimegawatt tenders. The latest winning bid relates to a pending PPA at Rs2.64 per kWh.

Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.