Highlights

The renewable energy producer will construct a 10 MW/ 20 MWh battery energy storage project for Kerala State Electricity Board.

SunEdison has partnered with Silicon Valley based startup Arka Energy to provide the Arka collection of solar roof and gazebo solutions in India. The collection is available in one hundred cities across the nation.

Solar power generators have until August 23 to bid for setting up to 1.5 GW of grid-connected solar projects (including 750 MW under Greenshoe option) for power supply under a 25-year PPA.

The electric mobility company will open its battery innovation center (BIC) in Bengaluru next month as it looks to build indigenous cell technology and manufacture Li-ion cells in India at scale.

The Delhi-based renewable project consultant has signed an agreement with Nepal-based hydro and solar power producer API Power to install a cumulative 50 MW of green hydrogen capacity in Nepal by 2025.

Hyderabad-headquartered Pennar Industries has appointed ReneSola’s former India head, Pradeep Sangwan, to lead its solar modules business. In his most recent role, Sangwan was the country head for Econess Energy—a China-based PV cells and modules manufacturer.

REMC Limited unit of Indian Railways has invited bids to install 1 GW of renewable power projects, with or without storage, for round-the-clock power supply to different zonal railways. It has also tendered to install a cumulative 1.548 GW of land-based solar plants near the traction sub-stations across various zonal railways. The projects are to be developed on a build-own-operate basis.

The average global price of solar kilowatt-hours fell 13% on 2020’s prices, as around two-thirds of the renewables capacity installed last year was cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternative.

A new study by Bern University of Applied Sciences shows that the performance of most PV inverters and power optimizers remains optimal for up to 15 years. The inverters considered came mainly from the manufacturers Fronius, Sputnik, and SMA and most of the power optimizers examined came from Solaredge.

In some of the world’s most hazardous locations, a resilient and autonomous common denominator is often found – solar energy. From offshore oil rigs to remote mine sites and the frontlines of conflict zones, solar power functions where others fail, and it does so without the need of refuelling or regular maintenance. But what makes solar such a ‘no-brainer’ that even the oil and gas industry must turn to it? And what other hazardous locations can be electrified with solar? Blake Matich reports.