In a telling testimony to the viability of rooftop solar in the residential sector, an apartment complex in Bengaluru has opted for the third phase of its rooftop solar project after the success of its first two phases over the last two years. The Westend Heights Condominium Apartment Owners Welfare Association has now invited bids to install 105 kW of rooftop solar capacity. In the first phase in September 2021, the condominium complex had installed 185.4 kW, followed by 100 kW in the second phase in October 2022.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has issued a tender for selecting solar power developers to set up 2 GW inter-state transmission system ISTS-connected solar projects (Tranche XI) in India. The last date to submit the bid is May 10, 2023. Bids will be opened on May 15. The bidders must submit an amount of ₹1.1 million (~$14,080) per MW of the quoted capacity as an earnest money deposit.

Hartek Solar has won an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract from SJVN Green Energy for a 15 MW floating solar power project at Nangal Pond in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. The scope of work includes the comprehensive operation and maintenance of the project for three years. SJVN Green Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN, issued the EPC tender for the 15 MW floating solar project in August last year.

The European Parliament and the Council have provisionally agreed to raise the European Union’s binding renewable target to a minimum of 42.5% by 2030, up from 32%. It would mean doubling the existing share of renewables in the EU. The European Commission said that negotiators agreed that the EU would aim to reach 45% of renewables by 2030.

Australia has passed the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2023 to encourage its biggest carbon polluters to cut their greenhouse gas emissions or purchase carbon credits. The mechanism places a legal obligation on companies that emit over 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to keep their emissions below a set baseline determined by their historical emissions.

Wind turbine maker Vestas said it will supply wind turbines for two projects with a combined capacity of 1.3 GW to renewable energy developer Casa dos Ventos in Brazil. These projects are located at the Serra do Tigre farm in Rio Grande do Norte and Babilônia Centro in Bahia. Vestas aims to start delivering the Serra do Tigre and Babilônia Centro projects in the third quarter of 2024, with the commissioning scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2025.

Nxtra Data, a subsidiary of telecom company Bharti Airtel, has acquired an additional stake of 5.464% in Avaada MHAmravati, a subsidiary of Avaada Energy, for ₹23.9 million (~$290,663). The stake acquisition will help Nxtra Data procure power generated from Avaada MHAmravati, a special-purpose vehicle that owns and operates renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar, biomass, hydro, and co-generation, for captive use. As per regulatory requirements, Nxtra must own 26% or more of Avaada MHAmravati to be able to procure power for captive use.

Transmission system operator TenneT has awarded a multi-year framework agreement to Petrofac and Hitachi Energy to supply offshore platforms and onshore converter stations for its 2 GW high voltage direct current offshore wind program in the Netherlands and Germany. The program aims to integrate bulk renewables into European power grids. Petrofac and Hitachi will execute all six projects valued at over €2 billion (~$2.2 billion) each, which would be split equally between them.

A recent report by Wood Mackenzie said that Tesla Solar Roof achieved 2% of its weekly rooftop solar systems installation target last year due to increasing competition. After its plans to manufacture 1,000 rooftop solar systems per week in late 2019, the company announced its installation goal of 1,000 systems per week in early 2020. The Wood Mackenzie report found that the company averaged only 21 installations per week in 2022, with the largest quarter for installations being in early 2022, with 32 systems installed per week.

Goa will establish pilot projects for green hydrogen and ammonia generation during the financial year 2023-24, the state’s Chief Minister said while presenting the Budget. The state government will collaborate with top technological institutes like IIT Goa and construct research and development centers focused on green hydrogen and its applications.

Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal, exceeded coal-fired power generation in the sector for the first time in 2022 in the U.S., a recent report by the Energy Information Administration found. Renewable energy production surpassed nuclear energy generation in 2021 and 2022. The electricity sector in the United States generated 4,090 million MWh of power in 2022.