Delhi

A 50% fall in the price of Lithium-ion battery packs—to $76/KWh from $156/KWh today—will make the capital cost of electric vehicles lower than combustion vehicles. However, to realise the full benefits of EVs, it is important to charge them with clean power and not fossil power.

The Indian capital has so far installed only 146 MW of rooftop solar capacity, against year 2019 target of 606 MW set under the Delhi Solar Policy. The slow growth is primarily due to certain myths among consumers which need to be debunked with better installer-consumer connect—says Delhi Solar Campaigner Sandeep Dahiya who currently leads the 100% UP, SeeNow, Energy & Power Sector reform work in India as a Campaigner at Purpose Climate Lab.

The electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure will come up in South Delhi Municipal Corporation area over a 10-year period, starting with installation in 18 locations within 6 months from the effective date.

Up to 70% of prospective customers have shied away from owning a rooftop solar system due to lack of readily available information on how to assess various solar options, says Saurabh Marda, co-founder and managing director of Freyr Energy – a Hyderabad-based rooftop solar firm that has completed over 1200 installations in just 5 years since inception in 2014.

The ISTS connected projects—to be developed on ‘build-own-operate’ basis—can be set up anywhere in India for round-the-clock power supply to New Delhi Municipal Council and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. December 3 is the last date for bidding.

Range anxiety continues to be an obstacle to electric vehicle take-up but the nation’s willingness to embrace car-sharing and other workarounds offers plenty of promise to the sector, according a World Economic Forum report.

The 5.0 KW fuel cell system—developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in partnership with Thermax Limited and Reliance Industries Limited—achieves greater than 70% efficiency, which otherwise may not be possible with other energy sources.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the institutions was not solar specific but the use of PV modules for shading, especially in agriculture, can reduce water consumption and help halt the expansion of deserts.

The charging stations—located at the resorts of Haryana Tourism Corporation Ltd at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Samalkha (Sonepat)—are equipped with a rooftop solar power plant each to supply green energy for electric vehicle chargers.

Under an MoU signed with Solar Energy Corporation of India, grid-connected rooftop solar systems totaling 3-4 MW capacity will be installed on more than 200 police establishments across the capital.