The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) says the nation will exceed 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity as plans for bidding for 115 GW of renewable power projects to March 2020 were announced. The target for PV parks has been increased from 20 GW to 40 GW with some 41 parks in 21 states – with aggregate capacity of more than 26 GW – already sanctioned.

The EV manufacturer will develop a complete system encompassing electric vehicles (EVs), smart parking, charging infrastructure and software integration platform NEMO for the experimental township of Auroville in Tamil Nadu. Mahindra has also unveiled an energy storage solution for EVs and will help harness renewable power.

Located in Hosapet, Bengaluru, this solar PV power plant will be the largest Enphase microinverter-based solar installation globally. Occupying 72,843 sq.m (18 acres) and powered by 13,235 microinverters, it will provide more than 7500 MWh of clean power annually to businesses in the state of Karnataka through a mix of short- and long-term power purchase agreements

Statkraft and Bharat Light and Power (BLP) have decided to end their partnership for distributed solar PV solutions. As per the agreement, BLP will sell its stake in joint venture Statkraft BLP Solar Solutions (SBSS) to Statkraft.

For off-grid solar PV installations, the high cost of batteries is the biggest bottleneck. However, the cost of storage is expected to drop as technology advances and volumes go up.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance says EVs will make up only 7% of new car sales in nation by 2030, compared to a predicted 44% for European sales, 41% in China, 34% in the US and 17% in Japan

To smoothen this transition, the country needs to build fast solar PV-powered charging stations. In 2017, there were only 220-250 operational charging stations in India, compared to 56,000 petrol stations.

The 5 GW PV park, planned for the Dholera Special Investment Region of Gujarat, will become the world’s largest project of its kind, when complete. It is expected to attract an investment of US$3.7 billion and generate employment for more than 20,000 people, says Jai Prakash Shivahare, managing director at Dholera Industrial City Development Limited. He takes time out to speak to pv magazine about the mega solar project.

While China continues to top EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), India has slipped from second position to fourth, due to increasing investor concerns about possible solar import tariffs and disputes between developers and distribution companies.