Utility Scale PV

Modules account for a huge percent of the project’s total cost, and since independent power providers (IPPs) have lower margins in the Indian solar energy sector, even a small increase in module pricing will put them under more strain.

Global bids are invited to develop a cumulative 200 MW of grid-connected solar power projects in Uttar Pradesh Solar Park.

Moreover, two big Russian corporations have unveiled plans to produce hydrogen and Portuguese utility EDP said it wants to set up a a pilot project for a green hydrogen plant in Brazil.

A Dutch research group has shown that south-oriented solar parks offer better environmental conditions for soil and vegetation than east-west oriented facilities. According to their findings, a distance between panel rows of at least 1.5 times panel height is crucial to favor ideal plant growth and soil functioning.

India’s solar capacity growth up to 2030 also means the generation of a significant mass of PV module waste due to early failures or damages during transportation, installation, and operation. The waste generation could be 21 kilotonnes assuming India’s cumulative installed PV capacity grows to 287.4 GW by 2030 from 40 GW in 2020. This doesn’t include end-of-life panel waste as PV systems installed between 2020-30 are assumed to have at least 30 years of lifetime.

Switzerland-based Energy Pier has developed a new concept for hybrid-wind solar projects located along highways. The proposed solution combines a rooftop PV system with small scale wind generators that are installed on both sides of the supporting pillars of the system.

Bidders have until September 29 to lodge their interest to set up the solar-plus-storage system at Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited’ Kutch Lignite Thermal Power Station in the Kutch district of Gujarat.

India will require large swaths of land for the huge expansion of renewable energy capacity over the coming decades. The energy transition requires planning for proper siting of these plants and solutions like agrivoltaics, distributed energy systems, and offshore wind to reduce land-use conflicts.

JinkoSolar modules accounted for 20% (528 MW) of India’s 2,662 MW DC of solar deployment in the April-May-June period of 2021. 

NREL researchers developed a system that uses heated silica particles for thermal energy storage. The baseline technology is designed for a storage capacity of up to 26,000 MWh and is claimed to have a cost of of between $2 and $4 per kWh.