Siemens bids to take over fellow inverter maker Kaco
The German powerhouse – which makes central inverters for PV projects in India – wants to complete the acquisition by July. Indian employees will be hoping target company Kaco’s disposal of its central inverter operation last month will avert job losses by removing any potential overlap between the manufacturers.
Cabinet approves FAME II scheme for electric vehicles
The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over a period of three years will be implemented from April 1, 2019. It envisages setting up of about 2700 charging stations across the country so that at least one charging station is available in a grid of 3×3 km2.
“The best is yet to come in off-grid solar” – Greenlight senior VP
India is the world’s largest market for distributed, small-scale household solar, according to a report by off-grid energy’s industry association GOGLA. By the middle of last year, it accounted for 30% of global off-grid solar product sales. Dhaval Radia, senior VP at Greenlight Planet (a solar energy solutions provider to rural consumers) gives pv magazine his insights into the market.
Big dip in import and export of solar modules and cells
A flying start to the year saw huge volumes of solar cells and modules imported to India but the scale and value of such products fell over the remainder of 2018 and export figures mirrored that trend.
SECI tenders 97.5MW rooftop solar projects for government buildings
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids for implementation of 97.5MWp grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems on government buildings in different States/Union Territories of India. The projects, under both CAPEX and RESCO models, will be awarded through international competitive bidding. The deadline for bid submission is March 27.
Schneider Electric pulls out of utility-scale PV business
The French power electronics specialist is pulling out of the utility-scale segment to strengthen its profile in the residential and C&I space.
Anti-dumping duty slapped on Malaysian solar glass
The Indian government has imposed anti-dumping duty of $114.58/metric ton on tempered solar glass imports originating in or exported from Malaysia. The five-year duty will be applied to products from producers except Xinyi Solar Sdn. Bhd.
A solar decade: From 9 MW to 28 GW
There is widespread doubt about whether India can achieve its 100 GW solar target by 2022 but, having started from a base of only 9 MW of capacity 10 years ago, it would be foolish to write off the prospects of this solar superpower.
Waaree Energies eyes 100 MW rooftop solar in 2019-20
The Mumbai-based solar PV panel manufacturer and EPC contractor aims to commission 100 MW rooftop projects in the financial year 2019-20, generating a revenue of Rs 400 crore from this segment alone.
1.2 GW solar auction sees slight rise in tariffs
As against the all-time low of Rs 2.44 per unit recorded in July last year, the latest SECI auction saw the lowest winning tariff of Rs 2.55 per unit offered by ReNew Power. Other winners included Azure Power, Eden Renewable and SoftBank-backed SB Energy.
