Highlights

Over 21.6% or 3 GW of solar and wind installations will get delayed due to supply and labour disruptions caused by the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown, according to the analysts which in a January report forecast the country to add over 15 GW of renewable capacity this year.

The clarification came after States reacted wrongly to the power ministry’s recent order providing a moratorium on conventional power payments and started stopping payments or curtailing renewable power.

Interested solar EPC contractors can now submit expressions of interest till April 30 to get empaneled with the state-owned Central Electronics Limited.

Scientists in Germany have developed a “heavy duty” test to provide insight into the long term effects of potential induced degradation in PV modules. The tests go well beyond those established by IEC standards and seek to guide manufacturers and investors on the best choice of materials – encapsulants in particular – when it comes to long term PID resistance.

Yinson will pay Rs 554 million (RM32 million) for the stake, and additional funding of Rs 600 million (RM35 million) to repay certain outstanding liabilities of the Indian independent power producer which has two plants in the massive Bhadla Solar Park.

This article talks about the areas the government needs to address both immediately and in the long run to help the ailing solar industry in the country.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when their ambient temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

Disruptions in the industrial and commercial activities due to Covid-19 lockdown have further dented electricity demand in India which already registered a discernible decline in annual electricity demand. India’s electricity demand in the first 11 months of 2019-20 (April 2019-February 2020) grew by 2.2% (to 1191 billion units) compared with 5.4% annual growth in the same months of previous year.

Prospective bidders for 34 MW solar project in Telangana and 14 MW solar plus storage project in Ladakh have been asked to submit any queries online as pre-bid meetings get cancelled due to Covid-19 lockdown. Further, bidding deadline for Ladakh project has been revised to June 1.

Solar season had already started in the month of March. The demand for solar consumption is the highest during April-June quarter as summer picks up. This is the time when factory runs with full efficiency. India was estimated to install nearly 8 GW of solar panels in 2020, in which 90% consumption happens in utility-scale […]