Highlights

June 3 is the last date to submit bids for installation and commissioning of the NTPC Solapur solar project tendered under the domestic content requirement category. Major items including modules and inverters for the project shall be provided by NTPC to the EPC contractor.

A blanket extension equivalent to the period of lockdown and additional 30 days for normalisation after the end of the lockdown is allowed for completion of solar projects.

Indian scientists have developed a low-cost electrocatalyst based on iron, manganese and N-doped carbon derived from fish gills (Fe/Mn/N-FGC) that increased the performance of a homemade rechargeable zinc-air battery when used as the air cathode. The Fe/Mn/N-FGC cathode based battery achieved open-circuit voltage of 1.41 V and a large power density of 220 mW/cm2 at 260 mA/cm2 current density—compared to commercial platinum/carbon based battery’s 1.40 V and 158 mW/cm2—with almost stable charge-discharge voltage plateaus at high current density. 

The draft Electricity Bill 2020 moves us with a toolbox of structural reforms, towards not only efficient but also a progressive electricity market.

A U.S. research group is now developing new inverters to protect solar installations from cyberattacks. The researchers also aim to create new cybersecurity standards. Professor Alan Mantooth, the group’s research coordinator, said that inverters can be shut down if they are hacked, or contribute to grid instability and result in the overcharging of batteries, while potentially creating problems that we still don’t know how to address.

Bids are invited for supply, installation and commissioning of balance-of-system (BOS) items for NTPC’s 100 MW (AC) grid-connected floating solar plant in Telangana. Bidding closes on April 27.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has extended the bid submission deadline for 34 MW (AC) ground based, 32 MW (AC) over-burden dump based and 15 MW (AC) floating solar plants at Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) sites in Telangana state.

About 10 years ago, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made their entry into the world of PV with a power conversion efficiency of 3.8%. Fast forward to 2020, and PSCs are the talk of the town, with a string of impressive laboratory achievements to their name. Global research efforts have shifted toward PSCs as efficiencies keep on getting thrashed on a regular basis. But is it too soon to say that the technology is ready for commercialization?

The Indian government is working on the creation of a Rs 10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion) alternative investment fund to provide payments to PV developers.

The new guidelines on Covid-19 lockdown permit certain industrial activities, including the construction of renewable energy projects from April 20, 2020, in areas not identified as containment zones of the country. The industry will, however, have to abide by the safety protocols.