Author Archives: Harsh Shukla
About Harsh Shukla
Harsh is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune. More articles from Harsh Shukla.

Researchers Identify the Source of Impurity in Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (Fraunhofer IISB) have claimed that they have identified how impurities are formed in silicon crystals during their manufacturing process ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: Visaka Industries Acquires Patents for Integrated Solar Roof
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: Visaka Industries, an Indian cement roofing sheet manufacturer, announced that it had acquired patent rights ...

Greenko and NTPC Team Up to Develop Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Projects in India
NTPC Limited announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary NTPC Vidhyut Vihar Nigam Limited (NVVN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Greenko Energies Private Limited to explore opportunities to supply round-the-clock ...

Punjab Power Corporation Floats Tender to Install Smart Meters in Ludhiana
The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has issued a tender for installing smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems, and communication infrastructure with a network platform in Ludhiana. Interested ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: Ola Electric’s Co-Founder Invests in EV Company
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: EVage, an Indian mobility tech company, announced that it raised strategic investment through the funding ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: Flipkart Joins Climate Group’s Electric Mobility Initiative EV100
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: The technical commission delegated by the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Energy Resources of Ecuador ...

Ministry of Power Wants Late Payment Surcharge for DISCOMs to be Kept Below 12%
The Ministry of Power (MoP) has suggested that the power generation and transmission companies should reduce the late payment surcharge (LPS) up to 12% annually for distribution companies (DISCOMs). This ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: Amplus First to Trade on Green Term-Ahead Market
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: Amplus Solar said that it became the first solar generator to trade solar electricity on ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: Trina Solar to Expand Capacity, KPI Global Signs PPA
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: Trina Solar announced that it had signed an investment co-operation agreement with the management committee ...

DBS Bank Loans $29 Million to Sembcorp for a 60 MW Floating Solar Project
Singapore-based DBS Bank announced that it had provided a 40 million Singapore Dollar (~$29.29 million) loan to Sembcorp Industries to build one of the world’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (PV) ...

Tender Floated for 50 MW of Solar Projects in Greece
PPC Renewables S.A., a Greece-based renewable energy company, has floated a tender for 50 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. The last date for the submission of bids is September ...

Daily News Wrap-Up: HSBC Launches Green Deposits, Suntech Expands Solar Manufacturing
JinkoSolar announced that it had signed a contract with Shanghai Electric to supply around 1 GW of solar modules for Phase V of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s solar ...

The Daily News Wrap-Up: ION Energy Signs Pact with esVolta, Solar Surges in Europe
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world: The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has declared a stage 3 electrical emergency that triggers ...

Fraunhofer Institute Reports New Record Efficiency of 25.9% for Tandem Solar Cells
Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE announced a new record efficiency of 25.9% for the III-V/Si tandem solar cell grown directly on silicon. The research and development ...

Masdar to Acquire 50% Stake in EDF’s 1.6 GW of Renewable Projects
Masdar (or the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) announced that it has signed an agreement with EDF Renewables North America to acquire a 50% stake in eight renewable energy projects ...

A Cost-Effective Catalyst That Can Split Water to Produce Hydrogen
Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Science (CeNS) claimed that they had created an efficient and cost-effective palladium-based catalyst that can be used for electrochemical splitting of water ...

Researchers Develop a Hybrid Inverter That Integrates Distributed Energy Resources
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) claimed that they had developed a power electronic inverter platform that can easily connect distributed solar panels, electric vehicles (EV), and electric storage ...

Weekly News Wrap-Up: Jinko’s Solar Cell Efficiency at 24.79%, Sungrow Launches New ESS
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements from the around the world week: Jinko Solar announced the launch of its new generation of 610W Tiger Pro High-efficiency monocrystalline transparent ...

BEL Provides Solar-Powered Classrooms to 122 Schools in Karnataka
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) announced that it had provided solar-powered smart class facilities to 122 government high schools at Yadgir, Karnataka, as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) ...

To Push Electric Mobility, India Allows Sale of Electric Vehicles Without Batteries
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MORTH) announced that all the states and union territories (UTs) have now been allowed the registration and sale of electric vehicles (EVs) without ...

South Africa’s Sasol Invites Bids for 20 MW of Solar Projects to Power its Facilities
Sasol, a South Africa-based integrated chemicals and energy company, has issued a request for proposal (RfP) to develop two solar projects of 10 MW at its Secunda and Sasolburg facilities ...

EIB to Provide $12.5 Million to ENGIE to Set Up Off-Grid Solar Systems in Uganda
The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it would provide $12.5 million to solar system installer Fenix International, a subsidiary of ENGIE, to accelerate installations of off-grid solar systems in ...

World Bank Grants $300 Million to Promote Electricity Trade in West Africa
The World Bank announced that it would provide $300 million (~₹22.50 billion) to the International Development Associations (IDA) to accelerate reforms to promote electricity trade in West Africa. The grant ...

ABB to Build a Manufacturing Facility in Italy to Meet Global Demand for EV Chargers
Switzerland-based ABB announced that it had invested $30 million (~₹2.25 billion) to construct its new manufacturing facility in San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy. In its press statement, ABB said that the ...

French Solar Developer Technique Solaire Raises $29 Million to Expand its Portfolio
Technique Solaire, a France-based solar developer, announced that it had raised €25 million (~$29.3 million) from its partners Bpifrance and Crédit Agricole Group. This marks the second round of funding for the company ...