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.
Solar’s Share in India’s Installed Power Capacity Rises to 11.2%
India’s installed renewable energy (including large hydro projects) capacity stood at 143.9 GW, accounting for a share of 37.4% in the overall power mix at the end of the second ...
Ola Electric Secures $100 Million Debt Financing from Bank of Baroda
Ola Electric Mobility and Bank of Baroda have signed one of the largest long-term debt financing agreements in the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry. The ten-year debt of $100 million ...
Saudi-Based Alfanar Completes Acquisition of Wind Turbine Maker Senvion India
Saudi Arabia-based renewable energy projects developer Alfanar – has acquired 100% stake in wind turbine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Senvion India from Senvion GmbH. The acquisition was made through Global ...
SBI Has Provided ₹319.18 Billion in Renewable Energy Project Finance as of FY 2021
The State Bank of India (SBI), one of India’s largest public sector banks, declared results for the financial year (FY) 2020-2021, which claimed that the bank had approved over ₹319.18 ...
Can Solar Developers Take Advantage of Duty-Free Period Ahead?
Solar developers in India are facing two important dates - the safeguard duty (15%) set to end on July 29, 2021, and the basic customs duty (BCD) of 40% on ...
Smart Grid Cell to be Established in Telangana
The Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has issued a notification for implementing the TSERC (Smart Grid) Regulation, 2021. The regulation would be enforced from the date of its publication ...
Solar Tender Activity Up Year-over-Year in Q2 While Auctions Slowed
According to Mercom India Research, government agencies announced tenders for 8.5 GW of solar projects in the second quarter (Q2) of the calendar year (CY) 2021, a 19% decrease compared to ...
Race Between Declining Costs of Wind, Solar Power, and Falling Market Value
The world is steadily embracing renewable energy, with wind and solar energy making up a large share of power generation. With the supply of these resources increasing, the value of ...
Month in a Minute: Top Headlines from Indian Renewable Sector in June 2021
Here is a recap of some of the most important headlines from June 2021: The Ministry of Power (MoP) has finally issued the rules concerning net metering for rooftop solar ...
Gravity-Based Storage Devised for Residential Rooftop Solar Applications
Two researchers from the School of Engineering and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, and a researcher from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, have designed a residential ...
Rajasthan High Court Cancels Allotment of Public Utility Land to Developer for Solar Park
The Rajasthan High Court has canceled the allotment of public utility land measuring 1,452 bighas (581.56 acres) near Pokhran in Jaisalmer to the Adani Renewable Energy Park Rajasthan (AREPRL). According to Mercom's ...
Sterling and Wilson Solar Records ₹2.9 Billion Loss in FY2021
Shapoorji Pallonji Group Company’s end-to-end solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions provider Sterling and Wilson Solar declared its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2021, reflecting record ...
Poland Awards 2.2 GW of Solar Projects in RES Auction
Poland's Energy Regulatory Office (URE) has allocated 2.5 GW of renewable capacity in the latest round of auctions conducted by Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in May and June this year. Through ...
Government Approves Net Metering for Rooftop Solar Systems Up to 500 kW Capacity
The Ministry of Power (MoP) has finally issued the much-awaited amendment to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) 2020 Rules concerning net metering for rooftop solar installations. The amendment permits net ...
Finance Minister Announces ₹3.03 Trillion for Upgrading DISCOMs
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the ‘Economic Relief from Pandemic’ package and declared several sops for power distribution companies (DISCOMs), including ₹3.03 trillion (~$40.82 billion) outlay for reform-based ...
Validity of FAME-II Program for Electric Vehicles Extended Until March 31, 2024
The government has extended the validity of the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)-II program for all approved electric vehicle (EV) models. The validity ...
DISCOM Ordered to Refund Wheeling Charges for a Waste-to-Energy Project in Delhi
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), in a recent order, has directed the distribution company BSES Rajdhani Power (BRPL) to meet the demand put forward by Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management company ...
Reliance to Foray into Solar, Battery Storage, Green Hydrogen, and Fuel Cell Production
Reliance Industries (RIL) will invest ₹750 billion (~$10 billion) to build an integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) factory, advanced energy storage battery manufacturing unit, green hydrogen, and fuel cell facility in ...
India Becomes New Benchmark for Low-Cost Residential Rooftop Solar: IRENA
The latest report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that the trend of falling cost of solar and wind power continued despite the impact of the pandemic globally ...
Empanelment Tender Issued for 10 MW of Residential Rooftop Solar Projects
The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), has invited an expression of interest for the empanelment of installers to set up grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems totaling 10 MW. The ...
China Photovoltaic Industry Association Urges Members to Refrain from Hoarding
Earlier this month, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) issued a statement directing its members to refrain from unethical business practices such as hoarding raw materials for polysilicon to counter ...
Gujarat Unveils Electric Vehicle Policy with Plans to Add 200,000 EVs by 2025
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the Gujarat Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, 2021. The policy aims to move the state’s transportation sector towards electric mobility to reduce pollution and protect ...
ACME to Develop a 300 MW Solar Project in Partnership with Brookfield Renewable
Independent power producer ACME Solar has announced that it has closed a deal with Brookfield Renewable, a global owner and operator of renewable power assets, to jointly develop a 300 ...
JinkoSolar to Invest ~$48.64 Million to Boost Polysilicon Production Capacity
Solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar Holding has announced that its holding subsidiary, Shangrao JinkoSolar Industry Development, plans to invest RMB315 million (~$48.64 million) in equity in Inner Mongolia Xinte Silicon Materials ...
Fortum to Sell 500 MW of Solar Projects in India to Actis
Fortum has signed an agreement to sell the 250 MW Pavagada II and the 250 MW Rajasthan solar projects in India to Actis, a global infrastructure investment firm. The total ...
