The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has revoked the permission granted to solar developers to warehouse imported solar modules effective from December 17, 2024. CBIC ruled that goods imported for solar power generation will not be allowed to undergo any manufacturing processes or operations in a warehouse. Any value addition, assembly, or process within bonded warehouses under Section 65 of the Customs Act that ultimately produces electricity is now prohibited.

The Indian government has developed a framework for defining green steel to help decarbonize the hard-to-abate steel industry and make it globally competitive. The Taxonomy of Green Steel, unveiled by the Ministry of Steel and touted as a global first, has set the emissions intensity at 2.2 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of finished steel. Only steel conforming to this standard will be given a green rating. The threshold limit for defining the star rating of green steel will be reviewed every three years, and the scope of emissions will include Scope 1, Scope 2, and a limited Scope 3 up to finished steel production.

SJVN has issued two tenders to select channel partners for installing a cumulative 1.46 MW capacity of grid-connected rooftop solar systems on residential buildings under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Arunachal Pradesh. The last date to submit bids is January 7, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day. The bid document costs ₹5,900 (~$69.50). Besides supply, installation, and maintenance of the project for five years, the scope of work for both tenders includes identifying potential beneficiaries under the PM Surya Ghar program and making them aware of the program’s benefits. The channel partners will also act as aggregators of the requests received on the program’s national portal.

Sterlite Power, a Mumbai-based power transmission company, has raised ₹7.25 billion (~$87 million) from GEF Capital Partners and ENAM Holdings for its Global Products and Solutions (GPS) business in a primary fundraising round. This round marks the first significant fundraising for Sterlite’s GPS business since its demerger as an independent entity in October 2024. The company aims to use the funds raised to drive its ongoing capital expenditure, grow production capabilities, and accelerate new product development aligned with its renewable energy integration and decarbonization goals. Additionally, the company aims to expand its GPS business beyond the 70 countries it already serves.

Jaipur-based solar module manufacturer Insolation Energy has been allotted 45 acres of land by the Madhya Pradesh government to establish a solar manufacturing facility. The proposed facility will have 3 GW solar cell manufacturing, 4 GW solar module manufacturing, and 24,000 metric tons aluminum frame manufacturing capacity. This project will be executed by INA’s subsidiary, Insolation Green Energy, in the Power and Renewable Energy Equipment Zone in Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh. The project will be implemented in two phases and require a total investment of ₹18 billion (~$211.98 million). The new manufacturing unit marks INA’s first facility outside Rajasthan and its fourth overall.

Ferroalloy producer Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) has announced a joint venture with JSW Green Energy to source 70 MW of renewable energy for its smelting operations. IMFA has signed a binding term sheet with JSW Green Energy One and JSW Green Energy Seven, investing ₹832.6 million (~$9.8 million) in a wind-solar hybrid project that combines 50 MW solar and 100 MW wind. The company will also sign a power purchase agreement as a captive consumer valid for 25 years.

Diversified business group DCM Shriram will procure 68 MW of renewable energy from JSW Renew Energy Thirty-Two’s (a special-purpose vehicle of JSW Energy) wind-solar hybrid power project in Kota, Rajasthan. The project will supply power to DCM Shriram’s factories in Kota and is expected to be completed by March 2026. Power procured from the hybrid project will replace 40 MW of coal-based thermal power. DCM Shriram will invest ₹600 million (~$7.06 million) in one or more special purpose vehicles of JSW to set up the wind-solar project for a 26% equity stake. DCM is already sourcing up to 43.8 MW of power from ReNew Power’s wind-solar hybrid project.