Maharashtra

The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) has followed the lead of the authorities in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Maharashtra in setting generic levelised tariffs for PV projects.

Currently, the Mumbai-based solar EPC firm is executing 134.5 MWp project capacity to be commissioned by September 2019. It expects to surpass cumulative installation of 350 MWp by the end of FY 2019-20.

Lead-acid battery manufacturer Exide Industries has entered into 26-30% equity shareholding agreement with Singapore-based Cleantech Solar Energy for three captive solar power plants to be set up for its manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Maharashtra.

The joint venture has started a prototype manufacturing operation in Pune, India, to design, engineer, manufacture and supply Lithium-ion battery packs for 4-wheeler electric vehicles in India.

In response to feedback from the domestic renewable energy sector, the Indian government has revealed plans to launch $5 billion of tenders for new transmission lines, starting in phases from this summer.

Suzlon Energy sold to CLP Wind Farms its majority stakes in SE Solar and Gale Solarfarms for Rs 76.55 crore and Rs 22.54 crore, respectively. It had set up these subsidiaries, in partnership with CLP India, for a 100 MW solar project in Telangana and a 50 MW project in Maharashtra.

To enhance the effectiveness of settlement mechanism, the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) has asked the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to allow aggregation of generation schedule based on independent power producer or quality coordinating agency and considering the same for calculation of deviation. Removal of the rescheduling charges and dual payment mechanism are among other changes sought.

The German giant – which manufactures central inverters near Mumbai – announced plans last week to acquire Kaco and start a new smart infrastructure business from April 1. In light of those moves, pv magazine spoke to IHS Markit’s Cormac Gilligan about the new kid, albeit huge, on the block.

Tariffs retracted distinctly from Rs 2.84 per unit seen in the 700 MW Gujarat solar auction recently, inching closer to the Rs 2.71-2.72 level of Maharashtra’s previous tender.

Change of law decision by state electricity regulator opens the door for compensation, but only for schemes completed before duty was applied and commission ignored pleas to fix the rate of payments.