Power Finance Corporation has approved a loan of ₹6.33 billion (~$77 million) to Gensol Engineering for the purchase of 5,000 passenger electric vehicles (EVs) and 1,000 cargo EVs to expand its green mobility footprint. The four-wheeler passenger EVs will be leased to electric ride-hailing platform BluSmart Mobility to expand its fleet of cabs and are expected to help mitigate more than 100,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.

ReNew Energy has raised $400 million through its fully owned subsidiary Diamond II from senior secured green bonds. The green bonds issued by ReNew’s subsidiary attracted significant investor interest from the United States, Europe, and Asia. This marked the first high-yield issuance out of India in over a year. The funds raised from the issuance will be used to refinance existing dollar-denominated debt and finance ReNew’s growth initiatives.

N.P. Ramesh, the COO at Orb Energy, an end-to-end solar solutions provider, spoke to Mercom in an exclusive interview about the costs, savings, and financing required for rooftop solar systems. The upfront investment can more often dissuade potential customers from adopting rooftop solar. However, the hesitation can be overcome with a collateral-free loan with monthly installments lower than the savings on energy bills, Ramesh said.

IndiGrid, which is the first power sector Infrastructure Investment Trust to be listed on the stock exchange in India, has announced that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested ₹11.4 billion (~$138.74 million) in its listed non-convertible debentures (NCD). These NCDs have a total duration of 18 years and were issued at a competitive fixed rate for the long term.

Netherlands-based transmission system operator TenneT has awarded contracts worth around €30 billion (~$33 billion) to four partners to develop and deliver 14 offshore grid connection systems. The systems will link offshore wind farms in the German and Dutch sectors of the North Sea to high-voltage grids on land and are expected to be completed by 2031.

The Ministry of Power has issued a program for pooling tariffs for coal or gas-based thermal power plants whose power purchase agreements have expired in the backdrop of increasing demand for electricity at a time when India is transitioning to non-fossil fuel sources. The program ensures the availability of adequate resources in the grid for peaking, balancing, flexing, and redistributing benefits such as reliability and cost-effectiveness among the beneficiaries.

India’s energy demand is projected to grow rapidly in the next decade as its economy expands and the population rises. The country will need to provide affordable and reliable energy while reducing dependence on fossil fuels and cutting down environmental and health costs. One of the sessions at the event will be ‘India’s Energy Transition – Markets and Opportunities,’ scheduled for April 26, 2023. The panelists will engage in strategic discussions with policymakers, regulators, investors, developers, and stakeholders to help shape the vision and roadmap for India’s renewable energy future.

Electric vehicles have the potential to significantly cut greenhouse emissions and reduce air pollution by replacing traditional fossil fuel-powered internal combustion vehicles. At a session titled ‘Electric Vehicles – The Next Big Source of Renewable Power Demand‘ scheduled for April 27, 2023, panelists will discuss ways to speed up the advancement of electric vehicle infrastructure in the country.