Utility Scale PV

Although the Wiki-Solar website ranking only provides a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside of China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing global solar market landscape. Swinerton was the largest solar EPC contractor outside China in 2019. Of the top 11 companies, three are based in India, three in the United States, another three in Spain and two in the United States.

The developer secured the grid-connected solar capacity in a 700 MW auction by state utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited which had a tariff ceiling of INR2.92/kWh.

Rajendra Khandalkar, group head of supply chain management at infrastructure EPC services company Sterling and Wilson, speaks to pv magazine about learning from the Covid-19 crisis and the importance of smart supplier management to bolster company resilience.

Developers have until November 10 to submit bids for the grid-connected, ground-mounted solar generation capacity. The project will be set up on a build-own-operate basis in Kalahandi district to meet the electricity needs of the town.

Large-scale solar has proven resilient in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the associated economic downturn, with the U.S. marketplace exhibiting an acceleration in deployment, reports Shoals Technologies Group. And while solar’s competitiveness is driving market growth, there remain risks to “going cheap,” according to Shoals Technologies CEO Dean Solon and President Jason Whitaker.

State-owned hydropower producer NHPC has invited domestic bids to set up a 65 MW grid-connect solar plant in district Jalaun. Bidding closes on November 18.

Domestic bids are invited to develop a 100 MW ground-mounted solar project on a turnkey basis anywhere in the state. Land for the project is to be identified and arranged by the bidder. Bidding closes on October 17.

A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (Ieefa) and JMK Research estimates India to have about 11.6 GW of operational wind-solar hybrid capacity by 2023.

The government is trying to harness renewables to increase domestic output but will need a more liberal energy market and to consider the structure of procurement auctions, cloying red tape and the financial travails of state utilities if it is to achieve its goals, says Rakshika Kaul of Amp Energy India.

Belgian researchers are testing agrivoltaic power generation in a pear orchard. The first pilot project features specially designed 185 W solar panels with transparent backsheets, conventional silicon cells, and a 21% efficiency rate.