Asia

West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) has tendered a 5 MW floating solar power plant at Sagardighi thermal power plant in the first phase.

New 116 kW solar off-grid system will power the old Tilonia campus of the Barefoot College – working in various fields, including women empowerment, for the advance of rural communities through solar power.

In an interview with pv magazine, Thinkphi founder Samit Choksi discusses the company’s expansion into sustainable product development and how solar energy is being harvested through it.

U.S.-based Rockefeller Foundation has partnered with cKers Finance, a New-Delhi based finance company, to help develop the decentralized renewable energy (DRE) sector in India. cKers will invest $50 million across DRE and sustainable energy portfolio in the near term.

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) has announced a 500 MW grid-connected solar PV power project to be set up in the state of Gujarat. The project can be extended to 1 GW with an additional 500 MW under the ‘Greenshoe’ option.

ISA is seeking recommendations for their ISA program 5: ‘Scaling Solar E-mobility & Storage.’ The program will be launched on March 11, 2018, during the ISA solar summit.

India is planning to impose a safeguard duty this year to protect its domestic solar manufacturing sector. Many in the industry earnestly believe that if such duties were to be imposed, then a slowing down in market growth would be inevitable. However, the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) believes this will not be the case. Either way, this duty has created unwanted uncertainty in the market.

The United States blocks India’s request for a panel to investigate Indian compliance to solar cells ruling. Thus, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has deferred the establishment of a compliance panel. Moreover, U.S. reserves its right to obtain WTO authorization to take countermeasures against India, but there is desire to find a bilateral resolution.

The PV plant will be the nation’s largest once complete, and will be implemented under the International Finance Corporation’s Scaling Solar program.

As of December 31, 2017, Azure power has 1,580 MW operating & committed capacity, an increase of 48% over December end 2016. Revenue for the third quarter was INR 1,739.9 million ($27.3 million), an increase of 83% over the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was INR 1,226.9 million (US$19.2 million), an increase of approximately 76% over the fiscal third quarter 2017.