The iSTAR-C program of India’s International Solar Alliance (ISA) was adjudged an outstanding project during the Paris Peace Forum this month. The program is one of many ISA initiatives to develop solar resources in member countries. After the first assembly of the ISA, interim Director-General Upendra Tripathy tells pv magazine about the organization’s achievements and plans.

Suzlon Energy has sold subsidiaries Amun Solarfarms and Avighna Solarfarms to Canadian Solar for Rs545 million. The company set up the units as special purpose vehicles for two solar projects of 15 MW each, at Ramannapet and Kamareddy.

The Indian Ministries of External Affairs and Power, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), organized the South Asia Power Summit 2018, held recently in New Delhi. The daylong conference highlighted that diversity of energy resources in South Asian countries brings the opportunity to provide affordable, low-carbon energy in the region. The business case for enhanced energy trading in the region, and challenges faced in inter-country electricity trading were important elements of this discussion.

The projects, in Maharashtra, will be commissioned through a reverse auction with technical bidding to close on December 19. The deadline for the submission of financial bids and the date for the reverse auction after the opening of financial bids, will be published in due course.

India added 1.2 GW of large-scale projects in the third quarter of 2018-19, taking new capacity in the first half to 1.9 GW. The numbers are down 43% and 44%, respectively, on the same periods of the previous year, according to Bridge to India’s quarterly India Solar Compass.

The world is witnessing a major shift in energy demand from advanced to developing economies, with demand growing fastest in India – according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest World Energy Overview.

While the timelines for PV power plant execution and completion of manufacturing facilities are now more realistic, production obligations – especially for capacity utilization – need to be revisited.

Big players such as Acme, ReNew, Adani, Azure, Hero Future and Aditya Birla Solar are likely to stay away from procurement which requires 3 GW annual manufacturing commitment, says industry insider Gopal Lal Somani.

The farming sector offers the largest green energy innovation opportunity, with rice transplanting, pesticide spraying and grain harvesting together having a market potential worth $40 billion – says the Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

The nation installed 4.9 GW of solar, surpassing the USA – which installed 4.7 GW – to become the second largest solar market in the first half of the year, second only to China’s 24.3 GW.