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

The Board of Directors of NHPC Limited has approved the proposal to initiate the merger of its wholly-owned subsidiary Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Limited. Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Limited will be merged with NHPC Limited under Section 232 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, inaugurated IndianOil’s compact reformer facility and launched a trial-run of Delhi’s hydrogen-mixed compressed natural gas (H-CNG) buses. The trial will include 50 city buses to run on H-CNG. Refueling of H-CNG blends in vehicles can be performed with minimum modifications in the infrastructure that is currently under use for dispensing compressed natural gas.  Indian Oil also launched a research program on H-CNG with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited, a China-based green energy supplier, has started constructing its GCL-Poly Leshan granular silicon project. The project, located in the Wutongqiao District of Sichuan Province in China, utilizes GCL-Poly’s original silane fluidized bed method to mass-produce granular silicon. Granular silicon is used for continuous pulling and feeding of monocrystalline silicon and high-efficiency polysilicon casting.

Eco Wave Power, a Sweden-based wave energy developer, announced its strategic collaboration with Portugal-based electric utility company Painhas for technical support for the project’s licensing. Painhas will take an integral part in the technical support needed for the official licensing procedures for the Eco Wave Power planned 20 MW wave energy project in Portugal, as part of its newly signed concession agreement with the Port Authority of Leixões, APDL.

Schneider Electric Solar has launched new smart edge devices InsightHome and InsightFacility. The new devices connect consumers’ Schneider electric solar and storage systems to the Insight application. Consumers can see their energy production and consumption from mobile or web applications and control their solar and storage systems. InsightHome targets the residential solar and storage market as it supports storage systems of up to 26 kW. Meanwhile, InsightFacility is for large residential and commercial solar and system projects as it supports solar systems of up to 3 MW and storage systems of up to 50 kW.

Mosaic, a U.S.-based financing solution provider for residential solar projects, has launched two new solar loan products – a 20-year loan with an annual percentage rate (APR) of 0.99% and a 25-year loan with APR of 1.99%. The company said that the loan with an APR of 0.99% could reduce the average solar project cost to less than $100 per month. Recently, the company announced the PowerSwitch ZERO loan program, in which the loan is available for homeowners to shift to clean energy with no monthly payments for 12 months.

Borrego Solar said that it would develop eight new solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 55 MW in municipalities across Maine, a northeastern state of the United States. The eight consortium projects come on the heels of the company’s recent contract for four projects dedicated to MaineHealth’s hospital system.

High Speed 1 Limited, owner and operator of the UK’s high-speed railway High Speed 1 (HS1), said the company is on track to become the first railway in the UK to run entirely on renewable energy. The procurement process utilizes solar and wind power, ensuring that the high-speed railway runs on sustainable energy. The company also secured the Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin certificates from its electricity supplier, npower Business Solutions. This will allow the company to report zero carbon emissions for the electricity used to power trains and stations.  It also set an objective to be fully carbon-neutral within a decade.

ARMOR solar power films claimed that it had achieved a 26% efficiency in a low-light environment for the ASCA organic photovoltaic cell. The photovoltaic cell is integrated with the new photoactive material of the latest generation, which is developed by Raynergy Tek. With its low-weight and semi-transparency, the photovoltaic cell offers several opportunities to the internet of things sector.

Here is our previous daily news wrap-up.