Gujarat’s 1 GW solar tender shunned by developers
Project developers turned their back on a procurement exercise linked to projects at the Dholera Solar Park, after insisting the challenging terrain meant the electricity price ceiling stipulated by the state would make projects unviable.
12 GW ‘new’ solar with VGF support approved
The president of India has approved the Rs 8580 crore viability gap funding (VGF) support for state-run generators to set up 12 GW of solar projects using domestically-made equipment over the next four years.
Low tariff comes out of Rajasthan 750 MW auction
Record-setting Acme Solar has secured a third of the latest procurement exercise in the state with a lowest bid of Rs2.48/kWh. The tender was oversubscribed by more than 100% as offers came in for 1,620 MW of capacity.
Assam takes a giant leap forward with 70 MW solar park
A state hamstrung by low irradiance, tough terrain and regular flooding is trying to move forward its energy transition. Previously, the largest solar project in Assam had a generation capacity of only 5 MW.
NLC completes 591 MW solar power projects in Tamil Nadu
State-owned NLC India Ltd – formerly the Neyveli Lignite Corporation – has commissioned 150 MW of solar power projects at Ramanathapuram and Virudhanagar Districts of Tamil Nadu, taking its total installed solar power capacity in the state to 591 MW.
SECI goes into overdrive with 6 GW tender plans announced in five days
The organization responsible for coordinating India’s push for 100 GW of new solar capacity by 2022 has had a busy week. But, as last year illustrated, tenders alone are not always a guarantee of new generation assets.
The long read: Case for optimization
While India’s solar potential is unquestionable, progress has been uneasy and race-to-the-bottom pricing has held back the adoption of technologies such as MLPE. However, that is beginning to change, writes Prasidh Kumar, CEO of Soreva Energy, as grid modernization requires proactive monitoring and optimization technologies.
Solar made up 50% of India’s new power capacity in 2018
The level of new solar capacity – 8,263 MW – however, was 15.5% down from the 9,782 MW added in 2017 owing to safeguarding duty and GST taking a toll on large-scale PV. While utility-scale solar declined 23% year-on-year, rooftop PV remained a bright spot, and registered impressive growth of 66%.
Schneider Electric pulls out of utility-scale PV business
The French power electronics specialist is pulling out of the utility-scale segment to strengthen its profile in the residential and C&I space.
A solar decade: From 9 MW to 28 GW
There is widespread doubt about whether India can achieve its 100 GW solar target by 2022 but, having started from a base of only 9 MW of capacity 10 years ago, it would be foolish to write off the prospects of this solar superpower.
