56% solar installations in water-scarce areas: Bridge To India
Wasteful use of water for solar panel cleaning is posing these areas to a high level of water risk. To justify its environment-friendly tag, the industry needs to replace manual cleaning with technologies providing water-efficient solutions.
Dispute resolution committee established in response to developer demands
A new three-man panel will adjudicate in disputes between project developers, national solar body SECI and energy giant NTPC. The board has been established by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Government thinktank proposes ban on diesel and petrol driven vehicles
The NITI Aayog has suggested banning sales of non-electric two and three wheelers in 2025 and cars, trucks and buses five years later as well as forcing public fleets and the cars used by ride hailing apps to be electric.
Essel in talks with Adani for solar assets sale
Following UK-based private equity investor Actis dropping the purchase plan, debt-laden Essel Infraprojects is reportedly negotiating the deal with Adani Group for Rs 1,800-2,000 crore.
Uttar Pradesh sets 2% solar RPO target for this year
The state figure is applied on top of a larger, non-solar RPO requirement plus solar and non-solar mandates which were set at a national level by the Ministry of Power last week.
Andhra Pradesh tenders 10 MW solar-wind hybrid project
Developers can establish more generation capacity on the site if possible but must not fall short of 8 MW, according to the tender document. A pre bid meeting is due to be held tomorrow.
Government prepares new payment security mechanism for developers — four months after the last one
Solar Energy Corporation of India was given a Rs 500 crore cash pot to help developers in February, but that clearly wasn’t enough, as a second newly announced scheme underscores just how much financial distress the country’s state power companies are in.
Removal of priority-sector lending cap – solar industry reaction
The power minister’s proposal would be a step in the right direction towards meeting the 40 GW rooftop solar target, as it removes a financing hurdle for small and medium enterprises.
Europe announces plans for battery gigafactories
In news that will add urgency to Indian government efforts to establish a domestic storage industry, funding has apparently been secured for 16 GWh-plus production lines in Sweden and Germany. Is India at risk of being left in the starting blocks?
Bifacial beats Trump’s tariffs
Federal trade authorities in the U.S. have ruled bifacial solar modules will no longer be subject to the Section 201 ruling which applies a 25% tariff to solar panel imports.
