Installations

The Gujarat state government has approved a 5 GW solar PV park, to be located in the Dholera Special Investment Region. The development of what will become the world’s largest such project when complete, is seen as “crucial” on the back of Bangladesh’s recent interest to procure 2 GW of solar energy from India.

New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd has issued a rooftop solar installations tender for 15 MW on government buildings, and 20 MW for residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The single project size should be in the range of 1 kW to 500 kW.

Azure Power, one of India’s largest independent solar power producers, has commissioned a 40 MW solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

For two separate projects, Madhya Pradesh state is witnessing delaying and associated losses. In one, ReNew Power has been slapped with $1.68 million fine for delays to a 51 MW PV project, and in another case, BHEL’s proposed 10 MW solar plant obstructed by state government.

Latest Global Solar Demand Monitor from GTM Research forecasts 6% annual increase in PV installation growth although current largest markets will register 7% contraction while geographic diversification poised to grow.

A new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization outlines the benefits of solar powered irrigation systems to both large and small scale farming operations in developing countries. The report also stresses the need for comprehensive management and regulation of such systems, to avoid unsustainable water use.

For 1.2 GW tender, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) had received bids only for 550 MW capacity. KREDL has now retendered the remaining 650 MW grid-connected solar PV project to be installed at Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka.

New quarterly figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) show that investments in solar PV arrays of less than 1 MW hit US$14.3 billion worldwide in Q1 against 10% year-on-year contraction in global renewable investments.

The Indian-headquartered EPC has set a June 2019 deadline for its plans to install 300 MW of new solar PV capacity in Vietnam, a market that is poised to boom over the next few years.

Technology multinational, Apple Inc. has announced that its global operations are now 100% powered by clean energy. Additionally, another nine of Apple’s manufacturing partners have committed to powering their production with 100% clean energy, meaning a total of 23 suppliers have now made this commitment.