India

Hanwha Q CELLS has celebrated the grand opening of what it bills as the “largest” solar panel factory in the western hemisphere, a US$200 million facility in Dalton, Georgia, meant to supply 1.7GW to the US market every year.

While some of the industry insiders at REI 2019 have made predictable calls to scrap restrictions imposed by regulators, others have continued to maintain that policy support is crucial, while audience members voiced concerns about India’s lack of recycling rules.

India’s state utility plotting 5GW solar plant, according to reports

The state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has revealed the results of two major utility-scale auctions held in June that saw six companies win 1.85GW of capacity.

With India’s power minister hinting that a new renewable energy tariff policy could be in the works, the federal agency responsible for solar has started boasting about the volume of clean power it has in the pipeline.

Indian module manufacturers are gearing up for an end-of-year surge in solar project procurement and hoping their investments in incorporating global manufacturing benchmarks will translate into enhanced sales.

Technical consultancy DNV GL has published its Energy Transition Outlook 2019. While the electric vehicle, storage and renewable energy industries are likely to see significant rises in demand, the sobering conclusion is the world will miss carbon reduction targets by a long shot.

The Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) has issued a competitive tender for 113.5MW of small grid-connected solar projects in the desert state.

The National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) is continuing to step up its efforts to ensure the quality of large scale solar projects. The body is now looking for stakeholder input into its new best practice guidelines for PV power plant projects, as a part of its ongoing Quality Taskforce initiative.

The Japanese multinational lender is making its second investment in the Swedish start-up. The funds will help the company ship its first products next year.

Mounting systems specialist STI Norland said it had surpassed 3GW of cumulative installations with 1.2GW of contracted mounting systems orders expected in 2019.

The state plans to achieve half the amount by 2021-22 under its new draft solar policy. The package also suggests establishing a research hub, privately financed solar parks and encouraging commercial self-consumption of clean energy.

Indian energy giant Adani Green Energy Limited has inked a deal to purchase 205MW of contracted and operational solar assets from Essel Group for an enterprise price of INR1,300 crore (US$182 million).

The state-run fossil fuel giant has partnered with an unnamed foreign start-up to produce electric vehicle batteries using raw materials easily available in India.

New analysis predicts more than 150 GW of tracker capacity will be installed in the next five years – around a third of all ground mount projects up to 2024. Rapid growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and the better cost structures possible from combining trackers and bifacial modules are singled out as key trends.