India

Giving a push to solar power energy, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has floated a tender for empanelment of companies to install 30 MW of grid-connected solar rooftop projects in the range of 1 kw to 1,000 kw.

A study has estimated the cost of PV project soiling may increase from €3-5 billion last year to €4-7 billion by 2023 due to more extensive deployment in high insolation and soiling-affected regions, such as China and India. The authors of the paper outlined the potential of soiling mitigation technologies while stressing more R&D is needed to reduce costs and for the adoption of such measures on a larger scale.

French floating solar specialist Ciel & Terre has completed its first FPV plant in India through its local subsidiary.

With land procurement continuing to hold back India’s PV sector, the government is considering up to 55GW of solar and wind projects along the border with Pakistan where there is an abundance of barren lands.

An AFP newswire report this week said Ministry of New & Renewable Energy secretary Anand Kumar had announced plans for 30 GW of generation capacity in the state of Gujarat and 25 GW in Rajasthan, all of it along a 20-25km strip of semi arid land on the border.

Developers have until November 18 to submit bids for projects anywhere in India. The projects are to be set up on a develop, build, demonstrate and transfer basis.

India's largest utility NTPC has tendered for 1GW of grid-connected solar capacity under the Develop Build Demonstrate Transfer (DBDT) programme.

The first solar power plant was commissioned under the state bona fide entrepreneurship programme at Mundkhar village in the district.

India plans to build a string of renewable energy projects along its sun-baked, wind-whipped western border, officials said Monday (Oct 21), as New Delhi continues an ambitious programme to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

Solar photo-voltaic cells that are predominantly domestically manufactured will be the only ones eligible to be used under the mandatory local sourcing category according to a statement from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Thailand hypermarket chain Tesco Lotus has entered into a solar PV power purchase agreement with Singapore-headquartered renewables company Cleantech Solar.

Visitors to this year’s Solar Bangladesh Expo have called for the implementation of quality standards on solar imports – action which the government is currently pursuing – with one industry insider rubbishing Indian-made products.

The latest blow in the political battle between clean energy project developers and an anti-renewables state government has seen the electricity regulator order power distribution companies to honor PPAs signed after a public tender.

Philippines-based AC Energy will work with UPC Solar Asia Pacific – the solar energy unit of Hong Kong-headquartered UPC Renewables – to build more than 1 GW of solar in the coming years, with an initial focus on Asian markets such as India, South Korea and Taiwan.

Automotive Electronics Power Private Ltd. (AEPPL), an India-based lithium-ion battery manufacturing venture between three Japanese companies, aims to produce 30 million cells per year by 2025.