2020

India hosts numerous 1 GW-plus solar parks, two of which are the largest commissioned in the world. The huge sites have been instrumental in driving economies of scale and continue to attract global capital and some of the most recognized renewables developers.

Scientists from Saudi Arabia have proposed a new PV panel cooling technique which employs an atmospheric water harvester. The device uses waste heat from the PV panel to collect atmospheric water at night and then releases it during the day to cool down the module. The researchers claim the device may also be improved to produce liquid water, which could be used for the cleaning of the modules.

Developers now have one extra month to submit bids for 34 MW (AC) ground based, 32 MW (AC) over-burden dump based and 15 MW (AC) floating solar plants at Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) sites in Telangana state.

The recently concluded 400 MW renewables auction to supply 24-hour electricity saw winning bid of INR2.90/kWh—a new milestone after peak+off-peak tariff of INR4.07 was achieved in January’s 1.2 GW auction demanding assured power supply during peak demand hours.

Industry body FICCI has recommended an extension of the FAME II Scheme by at least one year to 2023 as it feels change in the consumer behavior can impact the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in the short term.

A German-Israeli research group has gathered for three days to discuss which storage technologies may outperform lithium-ion batteries in the future. They concluded that there is no such a thing as a “post Li‐ion” era in sight. They recommended a “side‐by‐side” approach for multiple technologies in different applications, as well as the hybridization of technologies. The group highlighted the strong potential of redox flow storage, which in their view may outperform Li‐ion, although only for stationary applications.

The projects shall be co-funded by India’s Department of Science & Technology and the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency. The aim is to make energy supply cleaner, more efficient and affordable by smartly integrating large amounts of renewable energy in local energy systems. Proposals can be submitted till September 1.

Many factors are important in ballasting flat roof systems, such as wind speed and roof shape. In the past, however, wind force has unfortunately been underestimated, says wind expert Hans Ruscheweyh. pv magazine addressed this topic in a recent webinar with initiative partner Schletter, and drew several interesting points from the discussion.

The developer can opt for solar, wind or an hybrid facility alongside an energy storage system to ensure 24-hour power supply.

The New Delhi headquartered company has its own state-of-the-art, automatic module manufacturing facility with a capacity of 350 MW per annum in Greater Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.