Highlights

The grid-connected solar projects, to be installed at Tata Steel’s operating locations in Jharkhand and Odisha, will be a mix of rooftops, floating, and ground-mounted solar plants. 

Foreign direct investment’s role in bringing in finance, superior technology and other resources is undoubtedly a critical one. The Indian government has tried to create a conducive environment for enabling flow of foreign investments into the solar energy sector in the country, but the norms need to be eased further to really push the industry to its maximum growth potential.

An Indian research group has used three different chemicals instead of commonly used hydrofluoric acid to separate silicon from the cell. The technique is claimed to be able to deliver recycled silicon with a purity of up to 99.9984%.

The new product has a power conversion efficiency of up to 19.3% and a weight of 11.2 kg. The module is produced with glass fiber reinforced plastic, which the manufacturer says reduces light reflection and opens up new assembly options.

The 145 MW Cirata floating PV project achieved financial close in August. The developers claim that the array, which covers 200 hectares of the water’s surface, is an example of transferring new technology that will pave the way for Indonesia’s solar industry and enable the setting of new policies.

The integrated power producer’s revenue from operations increased 18% to INR 9,810 crore from INR 8,290 crore in the same period last fiscal year.

Israel-based Augwind has built its first 250 kW/1 MWh compressed air storage system for the collective community of Yahel, in the southern, desert part of the country. The commercial scale facility will be connected to a PV system and will be used for behind-the-meter services.

Developed by French start-up EODev, the 100 kVa system is equipped with fuel cells manufactured by Toyota. The generator has a power of 110 kVA and its lifetime is guaranteed for 15,000 hours.

The renewable energy developer’s operational capacity increased to 5,410 MW (4,763 MW solar and 647 MW wind) as of September 30, 2021, a 93% growth from 2,800 MW in September last year. Much of this capacity addition during the year was through the acquisition of operational solar assets.

Funding avenues available to solar developers range from green bonds and multilateral development bank loans to infrastructure investment trusts.