bp invests in electric mobility startup BluSmart
The venture capital arm of British energy company bp has invested $13 million in BluSmart in a $25 million Series A funding round. The investment will help BluSmart bring its electric vehicles and charging stations to five major cities.
Sterling and Wilson Solar lands its first waste-to-energy project
The Indian multinational solar EPC player has won a project worth INR 1,500 crore for its recently created business segment of waste-to-energy. The project also marks its first order in the European market.
Adani Green to buy Essel’s 40 MW solar assets in Odisha
The operating solar assets benefit from a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at an INR 4.235/kWh tariff. The remaining PPA life is 22 years.
KKR-backed Virescent Infrastructure raises US$62 million
Mumbai-headquartered Virescent Infrastructure, set up by US investor KKR to own and operate renewable energy assets in India, has raised INR 4.6 billion (US$62 million) through its renewable energy-focused infrastructure investment trust (InvIT). Canada’s Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) led the funding.
IIT Bhilai researchers develop large-area perovskite solar cell with copper metal contact
An Indian research group has built a perovskite cell that has a metal contact based on copper, instead of expensive gold. The device showed almost the same efficiency as a cell developed with gold metallization but its stability was much lower. In order to overcome this issue, the scientists suggest using a metal contact made of a thin layer of gold and a thicker, overlying copper layer.
628 MW of open-access solar installed in 1H 2021
India’s open-access solar installations in the first half of 2021 were 1,230% up from 47 MW installed in 1H 2020. Uttar Pradesh led the installations, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
First Solar CEO meets India’s prime minister
The Indian government has created a strong balance between industrial policy as well as trade policy, which provides companies like First Solar an ideal opportunity to establish their manufacturing facilities in India, according to First Solar chief executive officer Mark Widmar.
SJVN to develop 1 GW solar under CPSU Phase II
The State-owned hydropower producer has landed one-fifth of the 5 GW grid-connected solar capacity tendered under the second phase of the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme. It won the project by quoting a viability gap funding (VGF) requirement of INR 44.72 lakh per MW.
Adani and Reliance to set up solar gigafabs under PLI Scheme
Adani and Reliance New Energy, along with Jindal India Solar and Shirdi Sai Electricals, are the top scorers in the shortlist released for the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme for high-efficiency module manufacturing. The list also includes 14 other companies vying for the incentives. The PLI requirement quoted by the shortlisted applicants will decide the beneficiaries.
Premier Energies raises INR 200 crore from GEF Capital
The Indian solar manufacturer currently has 750 MW of cell and module factory in Hyderabad and plans to more than triple this capacity with the addition of 2 GW mono PERC. The capacity augmentation is planned over the next two years with an investment of INR 1,200 crore. The equity capital from GEF will support the expansion.
