India

The 5 GW PV park, planned for the Dholera Special Investment Region of Gujarat, will become the world’s largest project of its kind, when complete. It is expected to attract an investment of US$3.7 billion and generate employment for more than 20,000 people, says Jai Prakash Shivahare, managing director at Dholera Industrial City Development Limited. He takes time out to speak to pv magazine about the mega solar project.

While China continues to top EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), India has slipped from second position to fourth, due to increasing investor concerns about possible solar import tariffs and disputes between developers and distribution companies.

In the past financial year, India missed its rooftop solar PV targets, although it did exceed those for both grid-connected ground-mounted and off-grid systems, reports the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Bridge to India believes the government’s rooftop targets have been set at the wrong level and that around 10 GW will be installed by 2022, rather than 40 GW.

According to a tracking report from five international agencies, the world is lagging behind its sustainable development goals for the period 2015-2030, although significant progress has been made in reducing electrification deficit in the least developed countries, and industrial energy efficiency. Off-grid solar solutions, meanwhile, are emerging as one of the key drivers of rural energy access.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has announced a tender for the development of a 150 MW grid connected floating solar PV power project in Uttar Pradesh.

Chennai has the potential to install 1.38 GW of rooftop solar PV which, if realized, could meet around 10% of the city’s electricity demand, according to a new study by Greenpeace and the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute.

At the World Trade Organization’s Safeguard Committee Meeting, the European Union and Japan found that India’s safeguard measures on imported solar PV cells and modules need further investigation, and must be more conclusive. India replied, saying it has nothing to add.

Sungrow, the world’s second largest inverter supplier, according to GTM research, has announced plans to establish production facilities in India. The Chinese inverter company is aiming to strengthen its global delivery capability by setting up central and string inverter facilities in the state of Karnataka. The fab would be its first outside of China.

Expressions of interest (EoI) for the assets of bankrupt Moser Baer Solar are likely to be invited this week, resolution professional Arvind Garg announced. The company owes over Rs 1,000 crore (around US$149.8 million) to a number of lenders.