Page 12 - Solar Energy

Sonari airport powered through solar power with commissioning of 2.0 MWp

The entire operations of Tata Steel-owned Sonari Airport here will now be powered through solar energy with the commissioning of a ground-mounted solar power project of 2.0 MWp (Megawatt peak) capacity, a company statement said on Wednesday. The project commissioned on Monday has been commissioned by Tata Power under an agreement with Tata Steel for the installation of a total of 41 MW with a combination of rooftop, floating and ground-mounted solar panels across its locations. Earlier, four rooftop solar projects totalling 7.65 MWp have been commissioned at its Central Warehouse, Cold Rolling Mill, Wire Rod Mill and Hot Strip Mill. A floating solar power project of 10.8 MWp in Tata Steel Jamshedpur Works is also nearing completion.

SJVN Green Energy inks two pacts to supply 1,200 MW solar power to Punjab

State-owned SJVN Ltd on Monday said its arm SJVN Green Energy Ltd (SGEL) has inked two pacts with Punjab State Power Corporation to supply 1,200 MW of solar power from its projects. "SJVN signed two Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for 1,200 MW solar power in the august presence of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann and Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, SJVN at Sangrur, Punjab, today (Monday)," a company statement said. According to the statement SJVN through its wholly-owned subsidiary SGEL has signed two PPAs (power purchase agreements) with Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) for 200 MW Solar Project(s) to be developed anywhere in Punjab and another for 1,000 MW Solar Project(s) to be developed anywhere in the country. "These projects shall be developed within 18 months on Build Own and Operate basis and will involve an investment of around Rs 7,000 crores," it stated. The letter of intent for these 1,200 MW projects was received from PSPCL on July 21, 2023. The projects

NTPC arm 'NTPC REL' gets letter of award for 550 MW solar project

NTPC on Monday said wholly-owned NTPC REL has received a letter of award (LoA) for a 550 megawatt (MW) solar project. The project is to be executed within a period of 18 months and will require a capital investment of Rs 2,800 crore, NTPC said in a statement. "NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) received the Letter of Award for 550 MW Solar Project at a tariff of Rs 2.56/kWh. The power will be utilised under a Government of India's scheme for flexibility in generation and scheduling of thermal power stations through bundling with RE capacity," it added. The statement did not provide further details of the project. With the allotment of this 550 MW capacity, NTPC REL will have to execute more than 2 GW RE capacity to fulfil the capacity won in TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) mode in Q1 2023 alone. As of date, NTPC Group has a 3.3 GW renewable energy (RE) operational capacity.

Solar Energy Corp proposes JV with Reliance to supply green energy

Solar Energy Corp, has offered oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries a 51% stake in a joint venture to supply renewable power to the latter's refineries and other manufacturing plants

Avaada Energy bags renewable energy project from Solar Energy Corp India

Avaada Energy on Monday said it has bagged a 280 megawatt renewable energy project from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). SECI is the nodal agency of the central government for auctioning renewable energy projects. "Avaada Energy has won the 280 MWp project under tariff-based competitive bidding carried out by SECI as a part of SECI's 2 GW ISTS (inter-state transmission system ) connected solar projects (Tranche XI)," the company said in a statement. The bidding allows flexibility to Avaada Energy to set up the solar power project anywhere in India and supply green electricity on long term at a tariff of Rs 2.61/kWh (kilowatt hour). The project will become operational within 18 months from the signing of power purchase agreement (PPA), it said. The company did not disclose any financial details related to the project. As per industry standards, Rs 6-7 crore is required to set up 1 MW of green energy capacity.

Group backed by Vikram Solar to invest $1.5 bn in new US factories

The announcement is the latest by an overseas manufacturer seeking to capitalize on incentives in President Joe Biden's landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

Open access solar capacity addition falls 37% to 518 MW in Jan-Mar: Mercom

Open access solar capacity installations in the country fell by 37 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 518 megawatt (MW) in the January-March period of this year, according to Mercom India. However, on a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, the capacity addition was 68 per cent higher compared to 308 MW open access solar capacity installed in the October-December period of 2022, the research firm said in its latest report. "In Q1 of the calendar year (CY) 2023, India added 518 MW of solar open access, an increase of over 68 per cent compared to 308 MW installed in Q4 2022. Installations were down 37 per cent y-o-y over 825 MW in Q1 2022," the 'Q1 2023 Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report' said. Solar power through open access is an arrangement where a power producer establishes a solar power plant to supply green energy to consumers. As of March 2023, the country's pipeline of open access solar projects stood at 6.4 gigawatt (GW). In Q1 2023, Karnataka remained the leading state

SJVN partners Mahagenco for 5,000 MW green energy projects in Maharashtra

SJVN on Wednesday signed an agreement with Mahagenco to develop renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) in Maharashtra. The MoU was signed by SJVN Director (Personnel) Geeta Kapur and Mahagenco CMD P Anablagan in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis -- Deputy Chief Minister and Power Minister of Maharashtra and State Principal Secretary Energy Abha Shukla, SJVN said in a statement. "Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, SJVN informed that the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) for the development of 5,000 MW Renewable Energy Projects in the state of Maharashtra," the company said. Under the pact, the companies will explore the feasibility of setting up various renewable projects in Maharashtra, including hydro, pumped storage projects, wind, solar, hybrid and green hydrogen projects, the CMD said. SJVN and Mahagenco will jointly participate in tenders floated by ...

Power Minister urges ISA to take up more solar energy projects in Africa

The two sides also took note of the success of Kenya in renewable energy and discussed the idea of holding a conference by ISA in Kenya

Solar energy dominant renewable tech as world moves to net-zero: R K Singh

The technology of solar energy generation is becoming more dominant as the world is moving towards net zero carbon emissions, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh said. "With every progressing year, the solar is becoming the more dominant renewable energy generation technology as the world moves towards net zero," the minister said at the standing committee meeting of the International Solar Alliance. The eighth meeting of the standing committee of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in New Delhi on June 6, 2023 under the chairpersonship of Singh, in his capacity as the power minister of India, the current president of the ISA, said a statement from the new and renewable energy ministry. France as co-president of the ISA assembly was the co-chair of the meeting. Some representatives of member countries joined in person, while others joined the meeting online. The eighth meeting of the ISA standing committee discussed ISA demonstration projects .

Gaurs Group sets up 15 MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh at Rs 80 cr

Realty firm Gaurs Group has set up a 15 MW solar power plant near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh with an investment of Rs 80 crore. The electricity produced by the plant will be integrated into the central grid and utilised for its real estate projects, the company said in a statement. Delhi-NCR-based Gaurs Group has established a 15 MW solar power plant at Mahoba near Gwalior. The project is spread over a 50-acre area. "Built with an investment of Rs 80 crore, the plant will generate 2.25 crore units of electricity annually. The project's capacity can be enhanced as per future requirements," the statement said. The project has been financed through private equity and funding of Rs 55 crore from SBI. Manoj Gaur, Chairman and Managing Director of Gaurs Group, said the company has completed the 15 MW Mahoba solar power project and dedicated it to the nation on World Environment Day. "The minimum useful life of the plant is 26 years. However, it has the potential to operate beyond the ..

Kerala govt launches project to make capital largest solar city in India

A three-day expo was inaugurated by the Kerala government-run ANERT where the public can learn about and buy several solar energy systems

Govt reduces application fee by 80% for solar equipment manufactures

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has taken major reforms in the 'Approved List of Models and Manufactures for Solar Photovoltaic Modules' (ALMM) including a sharp 80 per cent reduction in application fee as well as doubling enlisting validity. The MNRE has come up with a number of reforms in its ALMM mechanism for Solar Photovoltaic Modules, a ministry statement said. The reforms are primarily aimed at reducing the cost to solar PV manufacturers, time between application to enlistment as well as compliance burden and increasing ease of doing business in the whole ALMM process. The major reforms include the reduction in application fee by 80 per cent; a substantial reduction in inspection fee, with a reduction in certain cases being as high as 70 per cent and an exemption from factory inspection in case of enlistment of additional models in ALMM which are similar to those already enlisted by the applicant, but having lower wattage. The reforms also included allowing the ...

Target, policy mismatch: Renewable energy developers set higher hurdles

India's latest tendering target is a case of ambition overtaking the policy environment for doing business

India needs to install 30 GW solar capacity annually to meet target: Mercom

India will require to add 30 gigawatt (GW) of solar energy capacity annually to meet the 280 GW solar capacity installation target by 2030, according to US-based Mercom Capital. Sharing his outlook, Mercom Capital CEO Raj Prabhu said, "The outlook is very positive on the back of various steps taken by the government to help and support the domestic renewable energy sector". The government launched production-linked incentive programmes, renewable manufacturing zones and a few other initiatives to make India Atmanirbhar in this area. However, policy certainty and timely implementation of these programmes are critical for achieving the government's goal of self-reliance in renewable energy, he noted. "We must change our mindset from a 10 GW a year industry to a 30 GW a year solar industry and establish all the necessary infrastructure physical, policy and financial to achieve the 280 GW goal (solar capacity installation) along with the energy transition goals," he said. He further s

Amp Energy to set up 1 GW capacity under PLI scheme for manufacturing

Amp Energy India on Wednesday said it has bagged 1 GW capacity for integrating cell and module manufacturing under the government's performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) is a nodal agency of the central government for auctioning renewable energy projects. In a statement, Amp Energy India said subsidiary company AMPIN Solar One has won 1 GW capacity for integrating cell and module manufacturing under tranche II of PLI scheme for integrating cell and module (CM) manufacturing. "SECI declared the winners who would be eligible to receive a total of Rs 139.4 billion under tranche II of the programme to manufacture 39.6 GW of solar modules. Amp Energy India (AMPIN Solar One) has won 1GW for basket 3 (CM) and would be eligible to receive a maximum incentive of Rs 1.4 billion/Rs 140 crore," it said. "Our foray into manufacturing is a strategic move that will enable us to achieve backward integration and enhance our control over the supp

Tata Power Solar Systems bags 300 MW project worth Rs 1,755 cr from NLC

Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd (TPSSL) has bagged a 300 MW project worth Rs 1,755 crore from state-owned NLC Ltd. The company will also do the operation and maintenance of the project for 3 years after the commercial operation declaration. The 300 MW Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) based project located at Barsingar in Bikaner, Rajasthan, is expected to generate more than 750 million units renewable energy and reduce 6 lakh tonne of CO2 annually, a statement said. The Letter of Award (LoA) for the project was given through competitive bidding. The project will get commissioned within 18 months from the date of receiving of LoA, it said. TPSSL will handle the complete project execution from designing to commissioning and the evacuation system up to delivery point. The company's total order book stands at about Rs 17,000 crore. NLC has been a forerunner amongst public sector enterprises in the energy sector, with large scale lignite production and significant share in thermal and

RIL, 10 other firms bag 39,600 MW solar capacity order under PLI scheme

As many as 11 companies, including Indosol, Reliance and First Solar, have bagged solar photovoltaic manufacturing projects of a total 39,600 MW capacity under the second tranche of the production-linked incentive scheme of the government. The government has allocated a total capacity of 39,600 MW of domestic Solar PV module manufacturing capacity to 11 companies, with a total outlay of Rs 14,007 crore under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules (Tranche-II), a power ministry statement said. The ministry said that manufacturing capacity totalling 7,400 MW is expected to become operational by October 2024, 16,800 MW capacity by April 2025 and the balance 15,400 MW capacity by April 2026. The Tranche-II is expected to bring in an investment of Rs 93,041 crore. It will also generate a total of 1,01,487 jobs with 35,010 getting direct employment and 66,477 being indirectly employed. Speaking on the success of the PLI scheme, Union Minister for Pow

India faces basic contradiction in drafting policies for renewables sector

Frequent changes in rules governing domestic equipment use in projects is slowing capacity addition

India misses RE capacity target due to low solar, wind projects: Par panel

A parliamentary panel has attributed low installation of solar roof-top and wind energy projects as key reasons for the shortfall in achieving India's renewable energy capacity target of 175 GW by 2022. India set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which included 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. However, a renewable energy capacity of 120.90 GW has been installed in the country as of 31st December 2022 which is about 69 per cent of the overall target, the Standing Committee on Energy said in a report. "Keeping in view the fact that renewable energy installed capacity has increased by more than 236 per cent since 2014, this is indeed a commendable achievement. However, it should also be mentioned that whatever shortfall has occurred in achievement of the target that is because of low installation of solar roof-tops and wind energy projects," the committee said. Keeping in vie