Markets & Policy

Marking its second infrastructure investment in India, KKR will acquire Mumbai-based Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure’s 169 MWp solar assets in Maharashtra and 148 MWp in Tamil Nadu for a sum of Rs 15.54 billion (approximately US$204 million).

A 1987-batch IAS of Jharkand cadre, Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi will replace Anand Kumar who has been assigned the Ministry of Culture.

The subsidies to renewable energy went from a high of Rs 15,313 crore in FY2017 to Rs 9,930 crore in FY2019. At the same time, government subsidies for oil and gas went up from Rs 40,762 crore in FY2017 to Rs 67,679 crore in FY2019. Unprecedented resource crunch post-Covid-19, however, presents a good opportunity for the government to rein in specific fossil fuel subsidies while creating more fiscal room for promoting renewables and other welfare schemes—according to a new report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Researchers from Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology have assessed the economic advantages of a fully interconnected global network. They found that an international grid could contribute to a global LCOE of €52.50/MWh. The higher complexity of such a system, however, would only be marginally compensated by additional economic benefits.

Up to 150 GW of PV and wind projects could be postponed or canceled throughout the Asia-Pacific region by 2024 if the coronavirus-triggered recession continues beyond the current year, according to new research by Wood Mackenzie.

Given Covid-19 spread, India’s ministry has decided to conduct the third Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and exposition (3rd RE-Invest)—scheduled from October 15 to 17—on a digital platform. The ministry has sought proposals for an interactive IT platform to facilitate the same.

Distributed generation with battery storage can revolutionize solar development in India in the shortest time period with minimal investment.

A blanket extension equivalent to the period of lockdown and additional 30 days for normalisation after the end of the lockdown is allowed for completion of solar projects.

The draft Electricity Bill 2020 moves us with a toolbox of structural reforms, towards not only efficient but also a progressive electricity market.

The Indian government is working on the creation of a Rs 10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion) alternative investment fund to provide payments to PV developers.