Uma Gupta
India’s largest floating solar power plant to go online by June
The 100 MW facility in the Indian State of Telangana is owned by NTPC. It is being built upon the Sri Ram Sagar Project reservoir that meets the NTPC Ramagundam thermal power station’s water requirements.
Solar manufacturer wants customs duty waiver to domestic sales by SEZ units
Domestic sales by manufacturing units located within special economic zones (SEZs) are treated as exports, attracting customs duty levy. This puts the SEZ manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to those in the domestic tariff area.
Solar modules to face 40% customs duty, and cells 25%, from next year
India’s finance ministry has approved the proposal to levy the duty from April 2022. Customs notification of the move will be issued at a later date.
India, Sweden to fund joint R&D in renewable energy and storage
The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova) have issued a call for joint R&D proposals in renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage. The deadline for the submission of proposals is May 6.
LONGi Solar was India’s biggest module provider in 2020
The Chinese manufacturer shipped over 1,500 MW (DC) of modules last year, accounting for a 15.6% share of the total 9,478 MW module supplies in the nation.
Annual report card for solar in 2020
India added 4.6 GW of solar in the January-December period of the year 2020. Chinese manufacturers maintained the lead in module and inverter shipments. Longi Solar captured the lion’s share of module sales. Sungrow led the inverter supplies for utility-scale installations and Goodwe for rooftops.
Solar arrays on canals
Canal-top solar installations make an attractive proposition for India as these provide renewable electricity for farming activities without consuming the land. Such projects also lead to canal water savings due to reduced evaporation. However, their high cost compared to ground-mount remains a concern.
Indian electric rickshaw market could hit US$1.4 billion by 2025
The electric rickshaw market would grow at 33.3% annually over five years to touch $1,394.2 million by 2025.
Mini-grid company Husk Power doubled revenues in 2020
Bihar-based Husk Power Systems—which operates more than 100 mini-grids in India and Africa—recorded a 90% year-on-year growth in revenues and quadrupled business customers to 5000+. It expects the growth momentum to continue in 2021, with a 125% rise in revenues.
BGR Energy Systems gets Irish ally to produce green hydrogen
Ireland’s Fusion Fuel Green would first set up a demonstrator plant for BGR Energy to generate cost-competitive green hydrogen. The plant would come up in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district in the second half of 2021. It would then co-develop projects with BGR throughout India.
