Markets & Policy

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is funding the research to develop high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, including those with passivated emitter and rear contact structure, and perovskites. 

The renewable energy infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) proposed to be launched by KKR-backed Virescent Infrastructure aims to achieve approximately 1.5 GW of assets in the next three years. Its initial portfolio will comprise nine solar energy projects with an aggregate capacity of about 400 MWp. 

Under a production-linked incentive scheme, the government will reward manufacturers for building vertically integrated PV production lines. The scheme aims to attract 10 GW of production capacity by April 2023.

The Gujarat-based solar developer has signed power supply agreements with nine different industrial customers for PV projects aggregating to 13.15 MW. 

India is set to see the largest increase in energy demand of any country over next 20 years, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report says, highlighting potential for policies and investment to accelerate clean energy transition.

Austrian solar manufacturer Energetica aims to commercialize gapless PV modules by the fourth quarter.

Despite big ambitions and even bigger projects being built across the region, PV manufacturing in the Middle East has never got off the ground. In Saudi Arabia, however, one manufacturer is realizing plans for a gigawatt-scale module factory. Over the next five years, Desert Technologies plans to bring 3 GW of heterojunction production to the Kingdom. pv magazine takes a look at the challenges facing PV manufacturers in Saudi Arabia, and the opportunities the nation may hold.

A new report suggests that the State shut down 3.1 GW of old coal plants and replace the lost generation with renewables. It also advocates switching from expensive power (tariffs > INR 4/kWh) to renewable energy (which now costs INR 3/kWh or less) and halting the construction of new coal plants.

The Indian multinational has acquired a 51% stake in Brazilian company Fasttel Engenharia Ltd that specializes in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of power transmission, substation and distribution services.

The monocrystalline module provider added a new product to its Hi-MO 4 series. The new panel has a power output of 410/420 W and a conversion efficiency between 20.5% and 21.0%. The width of the module is standardized, while three different length options can be chosen to maximize capacity in a rooftop project.