Uttar Pradesh will get $430 million to upgrade distribution lines in rural areas and construct a parallel network of 11-kilovolt feeders spanning 17,000 km to separate electricity distribution between residential and agriculture consumers. The $132.8-million loan approved for Meghalaya will be used for the installation and upgradation of substations, distribution lines, etc.

“Efficient and economically viable energy storage, and optimal hybridization, are crucial for ensuring the expansion of renewable power generation both at the grid and micro-grid scale,” says Deepak Thakur, chief executive officer for the hybrid and energy storage business of Sterling and Wilson. He has spoken to pv magazine about the accelerated proliferation of renewables-plus-storage across markets.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has issued amendments to the procurement and extended the bidding deadline a second time.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has extended the bidding for its off-grid solar and storage project in Himalayas. The revised deadline is now December 21.

India’s Department of Science & Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency have launched a collaborative funding program for Indian and Swedish companies that aim to jointly develop new technologies, services and processes in the area of smart grids. 

The pan-Asian renewable energy development platform, owned by Australian investment bank Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), has acquired a majority stake in Hyderabad-based commercial solar developer Vibrant Energy.

Land has already been identified for the solar park in Kaza town of Lahaul and Spiti district. State-owned Satluz Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd is developing the solar park.

The nation has earned the highest score of 62.7 in terms of attractiveness for solar PV investment and deployment in the latest ranking of top 40 countries by Ernst & Young.

The analyst said currently, India and Australia are the only Asia Pacific countries where renewable power already costs lower than new-build coal. It predicted the trend would spread to the entire region by the end of the decade, while India and Australia would see renewables becoming further cheaper than coal.

Manufacturers have until December 4 to bid for the supply of 286,000 multicrystalline silicon solar cells using five bus bars. The cells are required in the peak power rating of 4.62W (10,000 quantities), 4.67Wp (60,000) and 4.72Wp (216,000).