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The Renewable Energy Project Development Office is tendering seven large-scale IPP solar projects. The exercise is part of Round 2 of the Saudi National Renewable program, which is expected to allocate almost 2.2 GW of PV capacity this year.

The irrigation department of the state of Uttarakhand has invited bids for setting up of 40.84 MW solar PV project at Haripura (27.34 MW) and Tumariya (13.50 MW) dams in district Udham Singh Nagar. The projects are to be built under build-own-operate-transfer model. The deadline for bid submission is February 15. Technical bids will be opened on February 18, while the date for opening of financial bids will intimated in due course.

State owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has asked 1,703 farmers from Faridabad, whose applications for new tubewell connections up to 10 BHP are pending, to give their choice for off-grid solar connections from the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency or grid connections from the DISCOMs, reports The Tribune.

The nation saw 1.3 GW of renewable energy secured for business through private PPAs in 2018, almost twice as much as the volume recorded in Australia, but the picture could change next year if China follows through with its renewable portfolio standard commitment.

State-owned NLC India Ltd – formerly the Neyveli Lignite Corporation – has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tamil Nadu to set up a 1 GW solar project in the state.

At the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee meeting, the South Korean government urged China to lift import measures against its polyoxymethylene, optical fiber, polysilicon and grain-oriented electrical steel. China imposed duties on polysilicon from South Korea and the United States in July 2013.

Avaada Power and Adani lead the way with each bidding for half the 1 GW of capacity available, after the state distribution company raised the maximum tariff and extended the bid deadline.

The solar industry seeks tailor-made financing options for end consumers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro SMEs (MSMEs), in addition to supportive and stable government policies to ensure speedier progress.

India Ratings and Research has maintained a stable-to-negative outlook on India’s power sector for FY2019-20 owing to issues such as slower resolution of the stressed [coal based thermal] capacity, domestic coal unavailability, and reluctance of DISCOMs to sign long-term power purchase agreements. The outlook is not sunny for solar either.

Sources have told pv magazine the authorities are ready to restart the nation’s residential rooftop segment and have also agreed upon subsidy payments for other distributed generation and utility-scale projects.