Highlights

India possesses almost 11 GW of domestic solar module production capacity and around 3 GW of cell output annually. With a national goal of 100 GW of solar generation capacity by 2022, the creation of a domestic manufacturing base is of critical significance for the country which currently imports almost 85% of the 10 GW of PV equipment it consumes annually.

The prime minister also underlined that global actions to tackle climate change are not enough, and called for mass movement to bring about behavioural change.

The Chinese communications giant and inverter maker has signed an 860 MW contract with solar developer Adani Green Energy to supply its FusionSolar Smart PV Solution 6.0 with SUN2000-185KTL-INH0 inverter.

The state-run power producer has invited solar developers and EPC contractors to enlist for balance-of-system package of its solar project. Applications can be submitted till October 3.

A total of 168 expressions of interest were received by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in the second round of PACEsetter Fund programme. Out of these, projects by the Society for Economic and Social Studies, Customized Energy Solutions India, The Energy & Resources Institute and Raghavendra Suntech Systems were chosen for the award of grants.

India’s transition toward electric vehicles and renewable generation makes a strong case for grid-scale battery storage. And with the government going all out to ensure that demand is met through local manufacturing, ample opportunity is being created for joint ventures – as the country, at present, lacks the requisite experience.

High levels of interest in floating solar installations in the Indian market was demonstrated on the second day of the Renewable Energy India Expo, which concludes today in New Delhi. The pv magazine Future PV Roundtable addressed the theme in a full-house conference session, where many questions were raised about module and array durability and performance, along with monitoring, O&M and safety considerations.

While some of the industry insiders gathered at REI 2019 have made predictable calls to be free of the restrictions imposed by regulators, others maintained policy support is crucial and audience members voiced concern about India’s lack of recycling rules.

Policies, non-government initiatives and market forces have started driving the adoption of more rigorous quality-assurance practices in Indian PV project and module manufacturing this year.

pv magazine’s Quality Roundtable at this year’s Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo in Greater Noida saw industry experts touch upon issues arising out of wrong component selection and handling—including for cables and connectors to module mounting structures. They also shared the best practices to ensure long life of solar system installations.