Markets

RK Singh told the upper house of the Indian parliament yesterday the nation had added 780 MW of new generation capacity in the last two years. The share of renewables in India’s power mix is rising too, but not fast enough to ensure electricity supply for all.

The lobby group has written to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to create a fund for providing liquidity to State Discoms and thereby clearing the dues to independent solar power producers.

If China could travel back to the 1960s with its 2016 PV generation capacity it could harvest an additional 14 TWh of solar power, according to a study by academics at universities in Switzerland and the Netherlands. With a mixed record for reducing pollution, the country’s solar fleet output appears to be drastically affected by dimmed solar radiation.

Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) has invited bids to set up an aggregate 25 MW capacity of grid-connected rooftop solar systems at government/semi-government buildings in the state. The systems—in individual capacities of 25 kWp to 500 kWp—are to be installed under RESCO model on gross-metering basis. Bidding closes on August 12.

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has determined that flat steel products coated with aluminium and zinc are being dumped by manufacturers in China at dumping margins of 30-50%, South Korea (20-30%) and Vietnam (10-20%). It has proposed anti-dumping duty based on the same to offset material injury to domestic manufacturers.

Private-sector utility Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited has invited global bids to set up 350 MW of grid-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects. There is also the Greenshoe option to add another 350 MW. The projects—to be developed on build-own-operate basis—can be set up anywhere in India. Bidding closes on August 9.

Bids are invited for supply of 75 Wp solar modules based on crystalline silicon technology. The modules must be made into 9×4 arrays using 36 solar cells each. Bidding will close on August 3.

As the country races to add or upgrade infrastructure for electricity transmission, it needs to take steps to encourage private investments as also lower consumer prices—according to a white paper by Confederation of Indian Industry that includes recommendations on planning, operations and costs for a robust transmission system.

“Lead-acid batteries are comparatively cheaper than other battery types such as Ni-MH and Li-ion. Moreover, these have the highest recyclability percentage of any product, and are therefore likely to find more takers owing to their reduced cost of production,” according to industry participants at the International Lead Conference held in Spain.

With India losing major solar markets to stiffer competition from cheaper products, it’s high time to change the game by playing on quality and innovation—according to Vikram Solar Chief Financial Officer Rajendra Kumar Parakh, who spoke to pv magazine on the challenge of shrinking markets before Indian solar manufacturers.