Safeguard duty on solar cell imports extended by a year
The import duty will be levied on Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai solar cells – whether assembled into modules or not – at 14.9% from today and falling to 14.5% in six months’ time. Malaysian products are exempted as their imports have fallen dramatically since the duty was imposed, in July 2018.
Guidelines for using coal-fired power generation to balance intermittent renewables
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has specified how procurement of back-up grid capacity will work for electricity distribution companies. The rules consider energy storage solely as part of the 51% clean energy requirement, and instead contemplate coal – with a variable price tariff element – as necessary for evening out supply.
BHEL seeks string monitoring boxes for 20MW NTPC solar project
An aggregate 104 quantities of 16-string monitoring boxes are required for the 20 MW NTPC solar project at Gandhar in the state of Gujarat. Bidding closes on August 4.
NTPC opens tender to acquire 1 GW of already-built solar projects
PV plants should have a minimum generation capacity of 50 MW (AC) and offer power at a maximum price of Rs5/kWh.
Safeguarding duty extension fails to win over manufacturers
The investigating arm of India’s commerce ministry has proposed continuing to apply the duty levied on solar cell imports from the east at a rate of 14.9% from July 30 and falling to 14.5% six months later.
Legal loophole protecting imported panels from subsequent duties discriminates against Indian products, say manufacturers
Indian solar manufacturers have cried foul over a system which exempts imported panels from yet-to-be-announced tax regimes but offers no such protection to domestic products.
Solar lobby group seeks blanket deadline extension till November 30
The National Solar Energy Federation of India said the project timeline relaxation provided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is insufficient as construction continues to be severely hampered. Labour exodus and procurement delays (due to restrictions on international travel) are among the reasons affecting project progress.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids India wins Rs 120-crore order
The company has bagged an order from state-run Chittaranjan Locomotive Works to supply transformers for goods and passenger locomotive engines.
Italy’s Enel scores its first solar win in India
The renewable energy developer—which owns and operates 172 MW of wind capacity in India—has claimed its first solar tender win in the country with a SECI award for 300 MW power.
India sets new record-low solar tariff of Rs2.36/kWh
The winning bid, for 300 MW of generation capacity by Spanish developer Solarpack in a 2 GW auction is 3.3% lower than the previous record of Rs2.44.
