The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways will bear 30% of the cost for green shipping initiatives to accelerate the green transition in the Indian shipping sector and bring efficiency via the digitization of port operations. The ministry also announced that four state-owned ports, namely Jawaharlal Nehru Port, VO Chidambaranar Port, Paradip Port, and Deendayal Port, will procure two green tugboats each to expedite the Green Tug Transition Program.

Bengaluru-based energy startup EMO Energy, which builds battery packs for high-power applications, has raised ₹100 million (~$1.2 million) in a seed round led by Transition Venture Capital. The round was co-led by Gruhas. EMO Energy offers battery packs for light electric vehicles. The company said these battery packs are powered by ZEN, a proprietary cell-agnostic tech platform that allows 100% fire safety, 20-minute fast charging, and 120% improvement in battery life.

 Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency has invited bids to install and commission grid-connected solar power systems for 1,000 agricultural pumps under Component C1 of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program. The successful bidder will have to operate and maintain the project for five years from the date of commissioning. The last date to submit the bids is June 15, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

SJVN Green Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJVN, has invited bids to manufacture and supply 140.4 MWp of solar modules for the Pojewal and Rurki Chandpur solar power projects in Nawashahar, Punjab. The modules must be supplied within four months of receiving the work order. The last date to submit the bids is June 13, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation has invited bids from contractors to develop two solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 3.6 MW in the towns of Yediyur and Hiriyur in Karnataka. The company has floated two tenders for a capacity of 1.7 MW and 1.9 MW. The deadline for submitting bids for the Yediyur project is June 2, 2023, and the proposals will be opened on the same day. For the Hiriyur project, the deadline for bid submission is June 5, 2023, and the bids will be opened on the same day.

The Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway has invited bids for the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of 1 MW of rooftop solar systems. The project must be completed within 12 months of the letter of award. The minimum installed capacity of the solar system in any location will be 10 kW. The last date to submit the bids is June 12, 2023.

ITI Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Telecommunications, has floated a tender to supply 553,500 polycrystalline solar cells. The total tender value is ₹36.5 million (~$440,754). The entire quantity must be supplied in three lots against each purchase order. The last date to submit bids is June 7, 2023. Bids will be opened on the next day.

Better forecasting and optimal and buffered project tariffs reduce the risks and make it easy for lenders to finance renewable projects over a longer term, P K Sinha, ED Projects at Power Finance Corporation, said in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2023. He also added that stricter regulations around financing had been one of the driving factors behind the considerable improvement in the otherwise sluggish performance of state distribution companies.

Gradually indigenizing the technology used in solar module manufacturing and creating products that cater specifically to the unique market conditions in India could help India advance towards becoming a manufacturing hub, Shubra Mohanka, Director at Gautam Solar, commented in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Mercom India renewables Summit 2023.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Jodhpur) have proposed employing offshore wind farms as reliable power sources for meeting the cooling requirements of nuclear power plants. The study, conducted at the Madras Atomic Power Station in Chennai, showcases the applicability of this strategy to enhance the seismic resilience of nuclear power plants. The findings of this research have been published in the Nuclear Engineering and Design Journal.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has agreed to extend a loan of $49.5 million to Genus Power Infrastructures for the expansion of electric smart meters implementation across India. DFC is the development finance institution of the United States. Genus has manufacturing plants across Jaipur, Haridwar, and Guwahati, with an installed capacity of over 10 million smart meters.

The current global project pipeline for solar energy is capable of accommodating the deployment needs by 2030 if the utilization rates increase to 85% on average, under the Net Zero Emissions scenario, according to a recent analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In the report, IEA dissected the manufacturing capacities around clean technology with a focus on solar photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, batteries, electrolyzers, and heat pumps.

China’s solar exports surged by 64% to $52 billion in 2022, on the back of low-cost supply and technological expertise, despite global trade tensions, according to a recent analysis published by Wood Mackenzie. The solar exports from China during the year were mainly dominated by modules, with Europe being the country’s top solar module export destination with a 56% share. Solar cell exports grew by over 100%, with Southeast Asia taking a 31% share of the total exports.