Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam has invited bids for the purchase of power from 600 MW of grid-connected solar power projects (Phase XXI) to be set up at the Gujarat Industries Power Company’s solar park in Khavda, Gujarat, with a greenshoe option of an additional 600 MW. The last date to submit the bids online is August 1, 2023. Bids will be opened on August 4. Bidders are required to submit ₹300,000 (~$3,659) plus GST as a bid processing fee. Bidders must submit ₹400,000 (~$4,879)/MW as an earnest money deposit.

Solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company Svaryu Energy has been awarded an EPC contract by Coal India Navikarniya Urja on behalf of Bharat Coking Coal for a 25 MW grid-connected solar project at Bhojudih Coal Washery in Purulia, West Bengal. The company must also oversee the project’s maintenance and operation for five years. Svaryu Energy quoted ₹1.63 billion (~$19.8 million) to win the auction and was issued the word order on April 7, 2023.

The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued the draft ‘Grid Interactive Solar Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems Under Net/Gross Metering Regulations, 2023,’ under which the net metering upper cap for rooftop solar projects has been reduced from 1 MW to 500 kW, and the gross metering upper cap has been increased from 1 MW to 5 MW. As per Mercom Research, prosumers with a higher contract demand of up to 5 MW have an alternative for moving toward a gross metering mechanism instead of open access.

SJVN Green, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJVN, has invited bids for the balance of system package to set up two grid-connected solar power projects with a total capacity of 360 MW in Gujarat. The successful bidder must also take care of the project’s operation and maintenance for three years. The two projects with 100 MW and 260 MW capacity will be installed in the Kutch district of Gujarat. The last date to submit the bids is August 1, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) traded 272 million units (MU) of renewable energy during June 2023, a 24% decrease from 358 MU traded in May and a 49% year-over-year (YoY) decrease. The total trading volume during the month was 8,946 MU, representing a YoY increase of 8%. IEX achieved 25,125 MU volume across all segments during the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024, growing 8% YoY. The trading price during June dropped by 17% YoY to ₹5.37 (~$0.065)/kWh, while the average market clearing price during Q1 was ₹5.17 (~$0.063)/kWh, a decline of 33% YoY.

There is a significant rise in the adoption of open-access solar projects by commercial and industrial consumers, and this trend is particularly noticeable in Tamil Nadu. The state enjoys a favorable climate and supportive policies for the open-access model to flourish. According to the Q1 2023 Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report, the state had the third-highest cumulative open access solar capacity, with around 806 MW installed as of March 2023, accounting for 10% of the total capacity.

Rajasthan-based smart metering solutions company Genus Power Infrastructures has signed definitive agreements with Gem View Investment, an affiliate of the GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, to set up a platform to undertake Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) concessions with an initial investment of $2 billion. Under the partnership, GIC will hold a 74% stake. Genus will hold a 26% stake and supply smart meters and the required services to build the platform.

Cement Corporation of India has invited bids for installing and commissioning 1 MW of grid-connected solar power projects at its Bokajan factory in Assam. The successful bidder will also have to take care of the project’s operation and maintenance for 25 years. The project will be developed under the renewable energy service company model. The last date to submit the bids is July 20, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

Punjab-based electric-two-wheeler manufacturing startup Vegh has secured $5 million in a strategic pre-series investment round from an undisclosed investor. The proceeds of the funds will be used to support Vegh’s working capital needs, including creating a robust sales and distribution network and expanding its manufacturing capabilities for electric vehicle parts. In the first phase of its expansion strategy, the company aims to penetrate into 12 states, expand the production capacity of its e-scooter series, the Vegh S60, and introduce two highly anticipated high-speed scooter models.

Scientists at the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have achieved a power conversion efficiency of more than 26% for a 4 terminal (4T)-silicon perovskite tandem solar cell. To overcome perovskite stability issues, the IIT research team initially fabricated a transparent perovskite cell to near-infrared and low-frequency light. The work titled Stable and Efficient Large-Area 4T Si/perovskite Tandem Photovoltaics with Sputtered Transparent Contact is published in the journal RRL Solar.

The United Arab Emirates Cabinet has approved the updated UAE National Energy Strategy, which aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030, mitigate the effects of climate change, and achieve climate neutrality. Under the strategy, the UAE aims to achieve savings of up to AED100 billion (~$27.2 billion) by 2030. Additionally, national energy investments are expected to reach between AED150 billion (~$40.8 billion) and AED200 billion (~$54.4 billion) by 2030.