Markets

In the second amendment to the tender, the financial and technical criteria have been further relaxed and the bidding deadline extended from June 7 to June 10.

U.P. Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB), Lucknow, has invited bids for 12-spindle solar charkhas (spinning wheels), with all fittings and equipment. The complete solar kits include single panels with batteries, control units, motors, luminaires and additional 12 V output ports, with minimum eight-hour backup.

The Mumbai-based EPC contractor and module manufacturer expects its international business to account for more than 15% of its overall revenue. The company’s latest installation, in Vietnam, marks the completion of over 600 MW of solar EPC projects, with an additional 100 MW in its international pipeline.

Solar installations fell 49% year-on-year in the first three months of 2019, with rooftop PV additions plunging as installers struggled to secure approval for projects immediately before the general election, according to new statistics from Mercom India Research.

While module makers are attempting to get the best possible scores for their products on third-party tests, third-party testing providers are also offering competing products to rank products. We look at what’s similar and what’s different in the tests.

The Mahindra Group cleantech firm will continue to have majority 51% stake in its subsidiary Marvel Solren, with Mitsui owning the balance. Currently, Marvel operates four distributed solar projects in India with a combined capacity of 16 MW, which the two partners aim to expand to 150 MW by 2023.

Having acted against Turkey, the Trump administration has removed India too from the list of nations exempt from import tariffs on solar cells and modules.

Following Indian utility National Thermal Power Corp.’s proposal for PV projects in International Solar Alliance member countries, the organization has invited bids from companies in such nations with comparable credentials and experience, as long as they own at least 250 MW of solar capacity.

The acquisition would be made through Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL)—a joint venture of three public-sector mining units—which recently visited the Lithium Triangle countries in South America (Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) to explore the possibility of lithium acquisition.

Falling PV panel prices led to notable year-on-year falls in the cost of developing solar plants around the world. India led the way with PV projects costing a weighted average of just $793/kW of capacity installed in 2018. Costs in China dipped to $879/kW last year, while solar projects in US and Australia cost $1,500.