Author Archives: Harsh Shukla
About Harsh Shukla
Harsh Shukla 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.

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 ...

News Wrap-Up: Meyer Burger Buys SolarWorld’s Plant, BP to Build 50 GW of Renewables
Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements from the around the world week: Meyer Burger, a Switzerland-based engineering company, announced that it had secured new locations to set up ...

ReneSola Power Raises $12 Million to Construct 19 MW of Solar Projects in Poland
Solar developer ReneSola Power announced that it had raised €10.64 million (~$12 million) through bridge funding from Eiffel Energy Transition Fund to construct 19 MW of solar projects in Poland. ReneSola ...

State Bank of Pakistan Expands Scope of its Financing Program to Include Renewables
To promote renewables, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has expanded the scope of its renewable energy refinancing program, allowing financing under category III of the program to solar and ...

IFC, EBRD, European Union Finance Armenia’s First Utility-Scale Solar Project
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Union (EU), and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have joined hands to support the development of the first utility-scale solar power project ...

Kerala Seeks Empanelled EPC Contractors to Set Up EV Charging Stations
Kerala State Electricity Boards Limited (KSEB) has invited bids from engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors to install 26 electric vehicles (EV) charging stations at various government-owned locations in the ...

CIM Group Invests $40 Million in Solar Panel Cleaning Robotics Company Ecoppia
Robotic solar cleaning solutions provider Ecoppia announced that it secured a $40 million credit facility from a U.S.-based CIM Group. CIM is a community-focused real estate and infrastructure owner, operator, ...

CleanMax Installs a 15 MW Solar-Wind Hybrid Project for Food Corporation Cargill
Cargill, a U.S.-based global food corporation, announced a joint venture with CleanMax, an Indian rooftop solar developer, to set up wind and solar hybrid power park in Karnataka. According to ...