India saw the issuance of 13 new utility-scale solar PV tenders totaling 11,945 MW in the quarter ending March 31, 2018, which is 68% more than in the entire of 2017. However, tender capacity for rooftop solar PV (greater than 1 MW in size) was down 50%, at 102 MW.

The first order for installing a 20 MW PV power plant has been placed by Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL), while the other, for a 10 MW PV power plant, has been received from the Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (GSFC). Both of the solar PV power plants will be installed at the Gujarat Solar Park in Charanka, Gujarat.

Continuation of the programme will help India to achieve additional 118 MWp off-grid solar PV capacity by 2020. The total project (including solar street lights, standalone solar PV plants and solar study lamps) will cost Rs 18.95 billion, of which Rs 6.37 billion will be provided as central financial assistance

The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) says the nation will exceed 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity as plans for bidding for 115 GW of renewable power projects to March 2020 were announced. The target for PV parks has been increased from 20 GW to 40 GW with some 41 parks in 21 states – with aggregate capacity of more than 26 GW – already sanctioned.

The EV manufacturer will develop a complete system encompassing electric vehicles (EVs), smart parking, charging infrastructure and software integration platform NEMO for the experimental township of Auroville in Tamil Nadu. Mahindra has also unveiled an energy storage solution for EVs and will help harness renewable power.

Located in Hosapet, Bengaluru, this solar PV power plant will be the largest Enphase microinverter-based solar installation globally. Occupying 72,843 sq.m (18 acres) and powered by 13,235 microinverters, it will provide more than 7500 MWh of clean power annually to businesses in the state of Karnataka through a mix of short- and long-term power purchase agreements

Statkraft and Bharat Light and Power (BLP) have decided to end their partnership for distributed solar PV solutions. As per the agreement, BLP will sell its stake in joint venture Statkraft BLP Solar Solutions (SBSS) to Statkraft.

For off-grid solar PV installations, the high cost of batteries is the biggest bottleneck. However, the cost of storage is expected to drop as technology advances and volumes go up.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance says EVs will make up only 7% of new car sales in nation by 2030, compared to a predicted 44% for European sales, 41% in China, 34% in the US and 17% in Japan