Renewable energy MoU with Saudi Arabia gets cabinet nod
Project development and value chain localization are the focus areas for cooperation between the two countries.
The long read: Shedding some light on Indonesia’s offgrid growth
Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported in 2018 that 2,281 villages across the nation lacked access to electricity. As a vast archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia faces serious challenges when it comes to electrification, as inter-island connection remains prohibitively expensive. Two experts in the field, Ahmad Agus Setiawan and Chayun Budiono, share their knowledge.
Vikram Solar supplies modules for 300 solar pumps across West Bengal and Odisha
The government’s KUSUM scheme helps farmers install standalone solar pumps with a capacity of up to 7.5 hp. There is also support to make grid connected pumps of the same size solar powered. A PV capacity of up to twice the pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme.
UK University to help design EV batteries for Indian climate
The university researchers will provide expertise in the operation and management of lithium-ion batteries, environmental test facilities for battery modules and advanced battery analysis techniques.
Amp Energy installs 8.5 MWp rooftop solar plant for Skoda Auto
Touted to be one of India’s largest rooftop installations, the captive plant uses 25,770 photovoltaic panels covering 63,000 sq.m of available roof space and producing 12.2 million KWh of electricity annually.
Azure Power raises $75 million from Canadian investor CDPQ
The investment raises CDPQ’s equity interest in Azure Power to 49.4% from 41.4%. The proceeds will be used by the developer to fund its current projects.
Fourth Partner Energy secures US$ 50 million loan from Bank of America
The revolving credit facility will help the Hyderabad headquartered distributed solar developer finance new projects as it looks to add about 250 MW of capacity this year.
Central Electronics Limited tenders 44 MW solar capacity in Maharashtra
Developers have until December 30 to bid for the grid-connected plants that shall come up on the land within or around the premises of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited’s substations. The plants are to be developed on turnkey basis.
100% renewables means 95% less water consumption for conventional power generation
According to a new study by Finland’s LUT University, solar PV consumes between 2% and 15% of the water that coal and nuclear power plants use to produce just 1 MWh of output; for wind, this percentage ranges from 0.1% to 14%. Under the researchers’ best policy scenario, water consumption could be reduced by 75.1% by 2030, compared to 2015 levels.
Uttar Pradesh govt aims to support 75 MW farmland solar plants in 2019-20
Under KUSUM scheme, the state government will help farmers in setting up an aggregate 75 MW capacity of grid-connected solar plants—in capacities of up to 2 MW—on their barren or cultivable land.
