India added just 853 MW of solar capacity in third quarter
The solar installation in India is making a slower-than-expected recovery as Covid-related disruption continues to hurt construction progress. Safeguard duty extension and module price increase have added to the pain.
India draws new record-low solar tariff of INR 2/kWh
A recent SECI auction secured the lowest bid of INR 2/kWh, 15% lower than the INR 2.36/kWh record-low winning bid by Spanish developer Solarpack in a 2 GW auction previously.
Exide Industries increases stake in lithium battery JV with Leclanché
With an additional investment of INR 33.17 crore, Exide Industries’ shareholding in the joint venture company has increased by 2.28% to 80.15% of the paid-up equity share capital.
India and Israel to work together on perovskite solar cells and lithium sulfur batteries
Low-cost batteries and novel perovskite materials are among the topics selected for joint research and development.
Government planning electric vehicle charging kiosks at 69,000 petrol pumps
An underdeveloped charging ecosystem is one of the many factors restricting the uptake of electric four-wheelers in India. A limited number of products and higher costs than combustion-engine powered vehicles are the other deterrents.
State-owned investors dump coal for solar and wind
Coal project finance in the year 2019 stood at just INR 1100 crore (US$190 million), compared to renewable energy lending aggregating to INR 22,971 crore (US$3220 million).
Even if organic PV is cheap enough, efficiency does matter
A British-German research team claims that organic PV technologies may become mature enough to compete with crystalline silicon and thin-film products not only in BIPV, but also in power generation in the electricity market. In order to get there, however, organic PV products will have to achieve higher efficiencies.
Meghalaya tenders for 20 MW grid-connected solar
Global bids are invited to set up the solar capacity on a build-own-operate basis across two sites, each with around 10 MW. Bidding closes on December 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils 45 MW monocrystalline solar panel plant at PDPU
The solar panel production line at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University’s campus in Gujarat will demonstrate the process of cell-to-panel integration, lamination and EL testing.
Financing distributed solar energy
A new report by Auroville Consulting highlights gaps and challenges existing today in financing rooftop solar based on its evaluation of the international lines of credit’s implementation at the state level (for Tamil Nadu), and the availability and accessibility of the financial support.
