Minister outlines plan to become global renewables leader, at Intersolar Europe
Underlining India’s commitment to becoming the global renewable energy leader, Shri Anand Kumar, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said the country plans 500 GW of capacity by 2030. He also underlined plans to become a solar and storage manufacturing hub; and said the International Solar Alliance needs to widen its membership.
Federal government removes state hurdle for renewable energy projects
The MNRE has removed a layer of bureaucracy by lifting the requirement of proposed projects to be registered with power bodies at sub-national level.
Is national 225GW renewables target achievable?
There was incredulity in some quarters as the federal government raised its renewables ambition another 22%, but the stellar performance of the past four years points to the new target being a realizable one.
Waaree triples solar panel capacity with a new plant in Gujarat
Waaree Energies has set up a 1 GW solar PV panel plant in Vapi, which is in addition to its existing 500 MW plant in Surat, Gujarat. The company intends to further increase capacity to 2 GW. Among other key developments, it has partnered with third-party equipment suppliers to manufacture batteries
Falling battery costs to push solar, wind to 50% electricity generation by 2050, but electricity still failing CO₂ reduction targets – BNEF
Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.
Global PV market to grow by another 621.7 GW by 2022, SolarPower Europe says
Global newly installed capacity for 2018 is forecast to reach 102.6 GW, of which “only” 39 GW are expected to come from China. Fourteen countries are expected to cross the GW threshold this year.
New solar benchmark costs announced for off-grid, rooftop
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced the new benchmark costs for off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and rooftop solar projects for the financial year (FY) 2018-19.
Is SoftBank’s $100 billion investment in Indian solar realistic?
While news of Japan’s SoftBank announcing up to USD 60-100 billion investment in India’s solar PV power generation is creating ripples across the industry circles, industry analysts feel that the committment sounds unrealistic in view of India’s current PV market status and future needs.
India saw more utility-scale PV tenders in Q1 2018 than in entire 2017 – Bridge To India
India saw the issuance of 13 new utility-scale solar PV tenders totaling 11,945 MW in the quarter ending March 31, 2018, which is 68% more than in the entire of 2017. However, tender capacity for rooftop solar PV (greater than 1 MW in size) was down 50%, at 102 MW.
2018 global PV market to see negative growth following China backtrack
Global solar PV demand this year will be less than in 2017, on the back of China’s latest policy decision, says TrendForce. Overall, it sees new installs dropping 40% in China to 31.6 GW. The protectionist measures taken by the U.S. will also be weakened by the resulting falling module prices.
