India

The electronics manufacturer says it will switch focus to solar panels and lithium battery storage as it launches an inverter series for rooftop PV.

A study by Auroville Consulting assesses the techno-commercial impact of generating solar power close to the point of consumption. The study was undertaken on ten feeders of a substation in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu. The results indicated that 100% solar energy penetration, in energy terms, is not only possible but a winning proposition, especially for the distribution companies.

The global newly installed PV capacity for this year would be around 115 GW–5% more than that of 2019 despite the Covid-19 crisis. India will add just 4.9 GW due to strong Covid measures taken.

Manufacturers are invited to supply 100,000 quantities of 4.5W (4-/5-busbar) and 4.60W (5-busbar) cells each. Bidding closes on November 3.

A joint study by Smart Power India, an arm of US-based impact investor Rockefeller Foundation, and government thinktank NITI Aayog, evaluates the status of electricity access in India across different states and benchmarks distribution utilities’ capacity to provide electricity access. It also offers recommendations to help DISCOMs realize their full potential.

Acme Solar ranks eighth with 2.556 GW of cumulative generation capacity to date, and Adani Green Energy (2.421 GW) ninth in the list, which has First Solar and Canadian Solar on top. Azure Power, Tata Power, Greenko Energy and NTPC are the other Indian developers among the top 36.

The Indian solar manufacturer has unveiled the DESERV Galactic Ultra series, which features the world’s first mono-facial modules to cross a peak output of 500 W using G1-sized (158.75mm) cells.

November 10 is the bidding deadline for the supply of 50,000 bifacial cells with a peak power rating of 5W and 100,000 mono PERC cells (50,000 of 7Wp and 10Wp each).

With 380 MW of generation capacity, Gujarat accounted for 43% of new rooftop solar installations during the January-to-September period.

The new billion-dollar investment is aimed at scaling distributed renewable energy across developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.