Markets & Policy

Falling battery costs and “surging” renewables penetration make energy storage a “compelling flexible resource in many power systems.”

First, the bad news: PV modules will be caught up in the global wave of inflation. After a very brief respite, prices are picking up again for almost all module technologies. But the changes recorded for early October are paltry compared to the price increases still to come, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange. As of the cutoff date for this market survey, some manufacturers had already announced even more significant upward corrections for future deliveries. The price adjustments shown in the October index are thus only a tentative start to rises of no less than 15-20% over the price levels that prevailed just a few weeks ago. However, this will probably be the last price correction we can expect at the manufacturer level until the end of the year.

The International Energy Agency predicts that India will record the world’s fastest growth in energy consumption from buildings through 2040. The energy demand could create a big market for solar installers and equipment providers, particularly in the commercial and industrial sector. While building codes now include provisions for renewable energy integration, effective implementation will be key to ensuring compliance.

Out of this, investments totaling US$ 8.4 trillion would be needed by the power sector alone to significantly scale up generation from renewable energy and associated integration, distribution and transmission infrastructure. Another US$ 1.5 trillion would have to be invested in the industrial sector for setting up green hydrogen production capacity to advance the sector’s decarbonization. Investment needed for the mobility infrastructure would be US$ 198 billion.

The gains from the bundling of cheaper renewable energy with high-cost thermal will be shared between the generator and distribution companies on a 50:50 basis.

The pre-bid conference for the 50 GWh battery storage tender under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme saw the participation of around 20 prospective bidders. The conference was organized by India’s ministry of heavy industries to discuss and address the bidders’ queries.

The two energy majors have come together for the generation and storage of renewable energy or other forms of energy, including gas-based power, primarily to power Indian Oil refineries or other installations.

The Antípodas project was announced by the Chilean government last week. It is aimed at taking advantage of the huge solar potential of the Atacama Desert, which is the world’s region with the highest solar radiation.

Virescent Infrastructure shall use the proceeds primarily to refinance special-purpose vehicle (SPV) level debt and fund future acquisitions. 

The increase in the financial layout will help accommodate more manufacturers under the government’s production-linked incentives scheme to support gigawatt-scale manufacturing of high-efficiency solar modules.