Union budget: Customs duty rise for solar inverters but modules spared
Imported solar inverters and lanterns will get costlier, as the union budget for the next fiscal year has proposed customs duty increases from 5%, for both items, to 20% and 15%, respectively. The budget, which also incentivizes Indian manufacturing of solar project components whilst giving a helping hand to raw materials, makes no mention of solar cells or panels.
Financing large scale renewables in emerging economies
pv magazine has taken part in a webinar examining the thorny issue of financing clean energy generation in developing markets.
Electric vehicle transition presents US$266-billion investment opportunity this decade
A new report by government thinktank NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) identifies financing as one of the hurdles for India’s electric mobility transition. It proposes solutions to lower the cost and increase finance for electric vehicles in the nation.
State power companies invited to develop 5 GW of solar
The PV projects—tendered under the Central Public Sector Undertaking scheme—will be entitled to government support through viability gap funding, with the level of VGF awarded determined by reverse-bidding auctions for the project capacity.
Powering to empower rural India
Smart Power India, a subsidiary of US-based impact investor The Rockefeller Foundation, was established in India in 2015 with the aim of extending power to those without sufficient access to reliable and quality electricity. Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, speaks to pv magazine about their work in India and way forward.
Tata Cleantech secures US$30-million from UK investor CDC
The investment will enable Tata Cleantech to provide loans for green projects, including e-mobility solutions as well as water and energy efficiency.
Eden Renewables India secures US$165 million finance for 450 MW solar project
The project, currently under construction in Rajasthan, was won by the developer in a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auction.
The long read: Smarter robots to step up to service
On Dec. 1, Tel-Aviv based robotic cleaning provider Ecoppia launched an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In doing so, the seven-year-old solar startup raised $83.8 million from public and institutional investors – although heavily slated toward the latter. Jean Scemama, who joined Ecoppia as CEO in April 2020, says the IPO will allow it to double down on R&D efforts and expand into the provision of services.
The market for off-grid solar refrigeration
Standalone solar-powered refrigerators present a $20 billion opportunity in India for vaccine storage, milk chillers, households, micro enterprises, and cold storage for farm produce, according to a new report by Gogla.
World could add up to 194 GW of solar this year
Falling module prices will help PV post another record year after an estimated 132 GW was installed worldwide in 2020, according to an energy transition investment trends report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
