Utility Scale PV

Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has allowed Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) to procure 2.7 MW solar power generated by salt pan workers of Self-Employed Women Association (SEWA) during off-season.

The state-owned power generator will follow the bidding route for development of solar projects in African countries that are members of the International Solar Alliance.

Following power company NTPC’s 20 MW tender for Rajasthan and 15 MW procurement for Himachal Pradesh, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited has invited bids to develop 10 MW of floating PV in Hisar. The deadline for bid submission is on March 1.

The facility is expected to have solar generation capacity of 360 MW and wind capacity of 100 MW, said the company in a financial update.

The president of India has sanctioned setting up of 14 MW grid-connected solar PV projects with aggregate battery storage capacity of 42 MWh for Jammu & Kashmir under Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015 . The projects would be set up during 2019-20 and 2020-21, and include 7 MW solar projects with battery storage of 21 MWh each in Leh and Kargil at different locations. These would be implemented in developer mode, at a fixed tariff of Rs 2 per unit, with viability gap funding support.

Tamil Nadu government has unveiled a new solar energy policy 2019 that aims at generating 9 GW for the state by 2022. The policy would be applicable to projects, programmes and installations relating to both solar PV and thermal energy, including utility as well as consumer categories.

Reaffirming Indian government’s commitment to promote renewable energy, Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal laid emphasis on the need for increased use of electric vehicles and new-age energy solutions. He also highlighted that the Indian government would meet its target of universal household electrification by the end of March 2019.

Suzlon has sold its majority stake in subsidiary Prathamesh Solarfarms for Rs 57.09 crore. It had set up the subsidiary, in partnership with Ostro Energy, for a 50 MW solar project at Wanaparthy in Telangana.

India’s Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has tendered 1.5 GW worth of solar cell and module manufacturing capacity linked to ISTS connected solar PV power plants for an aggregate capacity of 3 GW. The plants are to be developed on ‘build own operate’ basis. The maximum tariff payable to the project developers has been fixed at Rs 2.75/kWh for 25 years.

The President of India has sanctioned implementation of viability gap funding for setting up of 1 GW grid-connected solar PV power projects in North Eastern states including Sikkim. The funding has been approved as a subset of the existing scheme for setting up of 5 GW grid connected solar PV power projects with viability gap funding under Batch IV Phase II of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.