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

Grasim Industries Limited, the textile arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has acquired equity shares of ABReL Solar Power Limited. The company received 13,000 equity shares, which equals a 26% stake at ₹10 (~$0.13) for a total of ₹130,000 (~$1,732). ABReL Solar Power is a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Renewables Limited, the 100% subsidiary of Grasim Industries. Grasim acquires the shares at par value. The transaction is at arm’s length.

The Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) announced the launch of trading of ESCerts under the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme – cycle II. The trading on the platform will start on October 26, 2021. ESCerts are the Energy Savings Certificates issued by the Central Government in the Ministry of Power to the Designated Consumer under sub-section (1) of section 14 (A) of Energy Conservation Act, 2001. ESCerts is a tradable certificate for EE mandates under Energy Conservation Act 2001. The validity of ESCerts will be up to the next PAT cycle. ESCerts will be transacted every Tuesday of the Week on the PXIL platform or as decided by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

Indian power utility Tata Power and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in smart grid technology and clean energy solutions. Both the institutions have agreed to work together to identify projects in EV infrastructure, hydrogen technologies, battery energy storage systems, and microgrids that can be transformed from the R&D stage pilot projects and scale. Under this MoU, both the parties also wish to explore the synergies through cooperation with Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC) and IIT Delhi’s Startup infrastructure for incubating and developing startups.

Renewable energy company EDP Renewables, through its subsidiary EDP Renováveis Brasil, has secured a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to sell the clean energy produced by the 209 MW Monte Verde solar power plant in Brazil. EDPR will co-invest 50% alongside EDP Energias do Brasil in the Monte Verde solar project. The project is expected to be operational by 2024. With this new PPA, EDPR continues to increase its technological diversification with 2.7 GW of secured capacity in solar and an overall renewable capacity of 7.4 GW for 2021-25.

Independent solar power producer Azure Power has received the letter of award (LoA) for a 120 MW interstate transmission system (ISTS) wind project with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Azure will supply power for 25 years at a tariff of ₹2.70 (~$0.036)/kWh. The wind project is part of the 1.2 GW ISTS Tranche – XI tender from SECI. The project must be constructed within 18 months from the signing of the power purchase agreement.