Author Archives: Rahul Nair
About Rahul Nair
Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.
BIS Registration for Solar Modules Delayed, Developers Worried
A three-month-long delay in procuring registration certificates issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for a new model of solar modules is severely hampering the solar industry. According to ...
Delhi Expands Applicability of Virtual Net Metering for Renewable Consumers
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has amended its regulations on group net metering and virtual net metering for renewable energy. In the amendment, the regulator has modified its guidelines ...
Military Engineer Services Issues Tender for a 1 MW Solar Project at Mathura
The Military Engineer Services (MES) has invited bids for a 1 MW ground-based solar project at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The estimated cost of the project is ₹70 million (~$952,087) ...
PFC Approves Nearly ₹21 Billion for Sterlite’s ISTS Project Connecting West & Northeast
Mumbai-based power transmission company Sterlite Power secured the financial closure for its Vapi II North Lakhimpur Transmission Limited (VNLTL). Sterlite said that the total debt funding of ₹20.7 billion (~$281 ...
Over 60 GW of Green Hydrogen Projects in the Pipeline Globally, Says Report
Fuelled by post-pandemic green stimulus packages, newly proposed green hydrogen projects are on the rise across the world. According to Rystad Energy research, the global pipeline of utility-scale green hydrogen ...
Trump’s Move to Remove Duty Exemption for Bifacial Solar Modules Challenged
The United States President Donald Trump's attempts to revoke the exclusion of imported bifacial solar panels from safeguard duty imposition may have failed. President Trump had earlier asserted to raise ...
MNRE Proposes Framework to Promote Rural Livelihood through Distributed Renewables
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed a policy framework to promote decentralized renewable energy (DRE) systems for livelihood generation in rural India. The decentralized renewable energy ...
Haryana DISCOM’s Move to Procure Open Access Solar Power Lands in Court, Treated as PIL
A petition has been filed to quash the decision taken by the Haryana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC) to procure power from a 50 MW solar project of Amplus Sun Solutions ...
Solar at the Centerstage, India’s Power Demand Outpaces other Regions by 2030: IEA Report
Solar is likely to be the new king in the world's electricity market, and India could be a leading market for utility-scale battery storage, says International Energy Agency's latest World ...
IIT Kanpur Researchers Fabricate Organic PV on Paper Substrates
Two researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur claimed to have fabricated sub-modules from organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells on paper substrates. According to the research team, OPV modules ...
Eden Renewable’s 50 MW Solar Project in Uttar Pradesh Gets Deadline Extension
The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) allowed an extension of the scheduled commissioning date (SCOD) of a 50 MW solar project in Chitrakoot district. The project is being developed ...
Grid Failure Brings Mumbai to a Halt, Power Supply Now Restored in Most Parts
Mumbaikars were in for a rude shock on Monday, October 12, 2020, as the city and its suburbs and a few neighboring districts faced a power cut due to grid ...
Wealthy Households in Jharkhand Receive More Power Subsidy Than Poor Homes: Report
A report by the independent think tank - International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)- claims that Jharkhand's wealthier homes enjoy more than twice the amount of power subsidies than poor ...
Want to Install a Rooftop Solar System on Your Home? Here’s What You Should Know
Solar energy is the most flexible form of renewable energy and has become affordable enough for most households. As solar costs keep dropping, the process of installing solar, what to ...
Gujarat Invites Application for Setting Up Small-Scale Solar Projects
The Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has invited applications for setting up small-scale solar projects ranging between 0.5 MW and 4 MW. The tender is open for individuals, companies, ...
Tunisia Invites Bids for 70 MW of Solar Projects
Tunisia's ministry of energy, mines, and renewable energy has issued its fourth tender to develop 70 MW solar projects in the African nation. The deadline for submitting bids is February ...
Eastern Coalfields to Install 1.4 MW of Rooftop Solar in Jharkhand and West Bengal
The Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) issued a notice inviting tender to set up 1,415 kW of rooftop solar systems at 11 of its premises spread across 26 locations in West ...
Future Solar Bids Will Encourage Use of Advanced Technologies, Says RK Singh
Future bids would encourage solar manufacturing using advanced and latest technology, Minister of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), R.K. Singh, recently said. Singh was addressing the 'India PV Edge 2020', ...
This Startup Aims to Reduce Solar Cell Cost by Replacing Silver with Copper
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced a $3 million funding to Australian startup SunDrive to advance the commercial development of its low cost, a high-efficiency solar manufacturing process in ...
It’s Official: LoUs from State-Run Financiers to Serve as Bank Guarantees for Solar Tenders
The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued amendments to its guidelines for the tariff-based competitive bidding process to procure power from grid-connected solar projects. The amendments address the ...
Kerala to Resume Generation-Based Incentives for Off-Grid Captive Solar Projects
The Kerala State Electricity Regulation Commission has once again issued an order extending the applicability of the Generation-Based Incentive (GBI) program for off-grid captive solar power projects in the state ...
Scientists Use Machine Learning to Schedule Off-Grid Solar Module Cleaning
A group of scientists have developed a new low-cost machine learning technology to run scheduled cleaning of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules installed in remote locations that are off the grid ...
Ministry of Power Signs Pact with Three State-Run Utilities for Augmenting Generation
The Government of India's Ministry of Power (MoP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three state-run major power utilities: SJVN, NTPC, and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) ...
Australia Installed Nearly 12 GW of Rooftop Solar Capacity as of August 2020
Australia installed 107.56 MW of rooftop solar capacity in August 2020, an increase of 67 MW compared to 175 MW installed in the same month last year. In all, Australia ...
SJVN Bags a 100 MW Project in Gujarat’s Raghanesda Solar Park
State-owned SJVN Limited announced that it bagged a 100 MW project at the Raghanesda Solar Park in Gujarat. In July, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) had retendered 100 MW ...
