Early coal plant retirement first hurdle in reducing discom debt
The Indian power distribution sector needs bold policy choices such as the closure of old, inefficient coal-based power plants to improve its financial viability. Early retirement of expensive coal power contracts will result in significant savings for the states as they can contract cleaner, cheaper renewable power.
KFW offers Rs 600-crore loan for 125 MW Bengal solar park
The cash injection—for a 15-year term at 0.15% interest—will cover 80% of the overall solar project cost of Rs 750 crore.
BHEL seeks containerized PCUs for 20 MW NTPC solar plant in Gujarat
The scope of work for the successful bidder includes supply, installation, and commissioning of the supplied units at the project site. Bidding closes on August 17.
IoT startup Probus raises seed funding for smart grid platform
The startup—which has developed an Internet of Things (IoT) based service for power grid monitoring and automation—will use the amount to strengthen the software platform and expand the scale to different geographies.
Ayana Renewable acquires 40 MW PV projects from First Solar
This marks the first such acquisition for the Bengaluru-based developer as it looks to acquire high-quality operating renewable assets to ensure a balanced risk portfolio.
Value of PV imports tanked 83% in second quarter
Mercom India Research has said the quarterly value of solar cell and module imports was down 83% in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period of 2019, to sit 54% lower than the value recorded in the January-to-March window.
REIL opens tender for 6500 quantities of 325Wp solar modules
Bids are invited from Indian manufacturers to supply 72-cell, 325Wp polycrystalline solar modules made using domestically manufactured cells. August 20 is the last date to lodge the interest.
Europe will be our next stop – S&W solar interview
Having bagged large orders in the U.S. and Australia, Indian multinational engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services provider Sterling and Wilson Solar is bidding for tenders in regions which have eased up business lines, Europe among them. Kannan Krishnan, S&W’s chief operations officer for solar in India and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation area, speaks to pv magazine about the impact of Covid-19 on the solar EPC business and the company’s expansion plans.
Safeguard duty on solar cell imports extended by a year
The import duty will be levied on Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai solar cells – whether assembled into modules or not – at 14.9% from today and falling to 14.5% in six months’ time. Malaysian products are exempted as their imports have fallen dramatically since the duty was imposed, in July 2018.
PFC to fund IIT- Kanpur R&D in smart grid technology
State-owned Power Finance Corporation will provide Rs 2.38-crore financial assistance to the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur to develop infrastructure for R & D in smart grid technology.
