Highlights

Imported solar inverters and lanterns will get costlier, as the union budget for the next fiscal year has proposed customs duty increases from 5%, for both items, to 20% and 15%, respectively. The budget, which also incentivizes Indian manufacturing of solar project components whilst giving a helping hand to raw materials, makes no mention of solar cells or panels.

Global bids are invited to build 275 MW of grid-connected solar capacity in Uttar Pradesh Solar Park. The projects are to be set up on a build-own-operate basis. The tariff ceiling is fixed at INR 3.25/kWh for the 25-year power purchase agreement duration.

The Japanese brand will continue to sell third-party-made modules under its brand in its home market, as it already does overseas, but in-house PV wafer, cell and module production will halt by the end of fiscal year 2022.

pv magazine has taken part in a webinar examining the thorny issue of financing clean energy generation in developing markets.

The solar capacity—comprising two plants of 50 MW each—were completed ahead of schedule despite adverse conditions amidst Covid-19. The plants benefit from 25-year power purchase agreements with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, at INR 3.22/kWh and INR 3.19/kWh, respectively.

A new report by government thinktank NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) identifies financing as one of the hurdles for India’s electric mobility transition. It proposes solutions to lower the cost and increase finance for electric vehicles in the nation.

The PV projects—tendered under the Central Public Sector Undertaking scheme—will be entitled to government support through viability gap funding, with the level of VGF awarded determined by reverse-bidding auctions for the project capacity.

Sector coupling may be somewhat of a buzzword, but it also points to opportunities for PV beyond the power markets, which may quickly reach limitations during peak hours of irradiation. Combined energy, food and clean water production presents one such opportunity, with benefits for developers, utilities and communities.

Smart Power India, a subsidiary of US-based impact investor The Rockefeller Foundation, was established in India in 2015 with the aim of extending power to those without sufficient access to reliable and quality electricity. Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, speaks to pv magazine about their work in India and way forward.

Following NTPC’s 320 MW project, Tata Power has won the order to build 95 MW of ground-mounted solar PV project for Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL). The order value of the project is around INR 460 crore ($63 million).