Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

Azure Power Global announced that Harsh Shah would be joining as the Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2022. Shah was previously the Chief Executive Officer of IndiGrid and served as the Chief Financial Officer for Sterlite Power and IndiGrid. The announcement followed the recent resignations of the company’s CEO and COO in April. Ranjit Gupta had resigned as CEO and from the Board of Directors to pursue other opportunities.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), in a recent order, directed the power exchanges to redesign their software to quote a price of up to ₹12 (~$0.15)/kWh in Day-Ahead Market (DAM), including Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM), Real-Time Market (RTM), Intra-day, Day Ahead Contingency, and Term-Ahead, and Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) contracts. The power exchanges are to redesign their software from the date of the order until June 30, 2022. In April, CERC directed the power exchanges to re-design the bidding software for Day-Ahead and Real-Time Market.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to set up rooftop solar panels on the campuses of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and National Security Guard (NSG). The MoU is considered a step toward supplying green power to the country’s security forces and reinforcing the government’s commitment to a sustainable future. The MoU will support MHA in implementing rooftop solar plants under the renewable energy service company (RESCO) model. SECI has estimated the total solar power potential of 71.68 MW on the campuses of CAPFs & NSG.

Toyota Group of Companies consisting of Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts, announced their memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to invest ₹41 billion (~$529.56 million). The investments aim to promote greener technologies that will help lower dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate carbon emissions. This investment will also enable local production facilities to build electric powertrain parts and components, thereby catering to India’s electrified vehicle manufacturing.

OMC Power signed an agreement with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to develop a rural renewable energy ecosystem as a part of a long-term relationship. OMC will be getting economic support to set up renewable energy plants to provide sustainable energy in the villages of Uttar Pradesh. Currently, OMC Power has 280 renewable energy plants across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. OMC Power plans to expand its footprint to 1000 sites to reduce the carbon footprint in rural India drastically.

The AES Corporation, a U.S.-based electricity distribution company, announced it has entered into two renewable energy power purchase agreements with Amazon. AES will deliver renewable energy in the CAISO (California Independent System Operator) market and source it from a combined 450 MW of solar and 225 MW, 4-hour duration battery energy storage from its portfolio of projects. AES has contracted with Fluence to supply energy storage solutions for one of the projects. These projects help Amazon stay on the path to power its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of its original 2030 target – and reach net zero carbon by 2040.