Uma Gupta
Government to launch Solar Energy Harnessing Centre at IIT Madras
Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan will launch the solar technology centre at IIT Madras on January 25, 2019. The Centre will focus on a wide range of research and development activities such as silicon solar cells that promise high efficiency and are suited for Indian conditions.
Abu Dhabi’s Masdar in race to buy Hero Future stake
Abu Dhabi based Masdar Clean Energy is in talks to acquire a 30-35% stake in Hero Future Energies. With the stake sale, the renewable energy arm of Hero Group expects to raise $300-350 million for its expansion into global markets, according to reports.
Rationalise external commercial borrowing norms, says NSEFI
The National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) has requested the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene and direct the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to rationalise the new external commercial borrowing (ECB) framework, excluding repayment of rupee loans from the negative list.
Lone bid for 10 GW solar tender rejected
Delhi-based solar developer Azure Power had bid for a 2 GW project on a single site, as well as 600 MW of manufacturing capacity. According to reports, the government has rejected the bid, however, stating that the quoted price is unreasonable.
Electric car sales in India declined by 40 per cent in 2018
Electric car sales in India declined by 40 per cent to a mere 1,200 units in the financial year 2018 over the financial year 2017, while electric two-wheeler sales rose 138 per cent to 54,800 units during the same period—according to research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie.
India mulls anti-dumping duty on Malaysian solar glass
The Indian government may impose anti-dumping duty of US$ 114.58 per tonne on tempered solar glass imports from Malaysia in order to provide a level playing field to domestic manufacturers.
Swiss firm Talesun and EnergyX to set up 4 GW solar projects in India
Talesun Solar Switzerland is a subsidiary of Zhongli Talesun Solar, which has module manufacturing capacity of 2.8 GW per annum and over 6 GW solar assets across the globe.
175 GW renewable unlikely if policy remains inconsistent, says CSE
India may not meet its 175 GW of renewables by 2022 target if the sector continues to be plagued by policy inconsistency, DISCOM problems and other issues, say Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysts.
Vikram Solar commissions 20 MW solar projects for WBSEDCL
The plants at Patni and Lalgarh in West Bengal are expected to generate 1.55 million units of electricity per megawatt (MW) annually.
BHEL and Libcoin to build India’s first lithium-ion battery gigafactory
Government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Australian business Libcoin are in talks to form a joint venture to build a 1 GWh production capacity lithium-ion battery plant in India that would eventually be scaled up to 30 GWh.
