Installations

Coal India Ltd arm CIL Navikarniya Urja Ltd has tendered the engineering, procurement, and construction work for 35 MW (AC) of solar plants for captive consumption by Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL). The plants will come up at three locations of ECL in West Bengal. Bidding closes on February 22.

An international research group claims that raw materials and land availability do not present a real barrier for a global energy system with solar at its center. They said that forecasts for PV growth should not have their axis on utility-scale power plants and instead consider vertical PV, agrivoltaics, and floating PV as the source of future big market volumes.

The budget signifies the government’s intent to drive domestic manufacturing of lithium battery cells as it waives customs duty on the import of machinery required for manufacturing these cells. It also continues with nil customs duty on critical inputs for solar manufacturing. The budget also aims to support large-scale battery storage projects through viability gap funding.

The Mumbai-headquartered natural resources company will invest INR 444 crore ($54.23 million) in 691 MW of renewable energy projects to power its aluminum, copper and oil & gas operations across India. It will implement these captive projects through special-purpose vehicles formed with Serentica Renewables.

UK scientists have discovered that second-life batteries could provide a lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than conventional batteries in school buildings equipped with PV in East African schools. They said the cheapest system configuration uses either 7.5 kW or 10 kW of solar with 20 kWh of storage.

Rays Power Infra has signed an agreement with the Rajasthan government to build a 1.8 GW solar park in the state with an estimated investment of INR 9,140 crore.

State-run hydropower producer THDC has formed a 74:26 joint venture with Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp. Ltd to develop 10 GW of renewable energy projects in Rajasthan. The JV partners also plan floating solar and pumped hydro storage projects in the state.

Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) has subscribed to 16% of Adani Enterprises $2.5 billion Further Public Offering. This is IHC’s second investment deal completed with Adani Group after last year’s $2 billion investment in Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, and Adani Enterprises.

The 100 MW co-located, wind-solar hybrid renewable power project in Maharashtra will supply clean power to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in the state.

While the current policy regime supports the adoption of flexible resources like batteries, grid flexibility and resilience require more focus and a range of calibrated efforts, including due acknowledgment as a sector priority and robust planning at the central and state level. The upcoming union budget provides an opportunity for the government to develop flexible and resilient grids.