Solar open access installations grew by 24% in the second quarter (Q2) of the calendar year 2023 compared to the previous quarter, adding 712 MW of capacity, according to the recently published Q2 2023 Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report. Throughout the quarter, module prices continued to decline, which reduced project costs and enhanced the attractiveness of power purchase agreements, thereby boosting the growth of solar open access capacity.

MSEB Agro Solar Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MSEB Holding Company, has floated five tenders to procure 977.72 MW of solar power under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana in Maharashtra. The tenders have been floated for 158.75 MW in the Kolhapur district, 186.044 MW in the Sangli district, 199.94 MW in the Satara district, 211.06 MW in the Yavatmal district, and 221.93 MW in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District. The last date to submit the bids for all the tenders is October 21, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

THDC India has invited bids for the project management and consultancy services for the development of an 11 MW floating solar power project at the Khurja Super thermal power project site at Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The scope of work includes design review and validation of all the design calculations, documents, and drawings submitted by the contractors and other original equipment manufacturers to ensure specification & statutory requirements. The last date to submit the bids is September 27, 2023. Bids will be opened the next day.

The Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued the draft Intrastate Open Access Regulations 2023, allowing consumers with a contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or higher to avail of green energy open access. The permissible sanctioned load can be through a single connection or via multiple connections aggregating 100 kW or more within the same electricity division of the distribution company. There will be no restriction on the quantity of power supplied to captive consumers availing power through green energy open access.

Ascend Elements, a lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered materials company has raised $542 million in new equity investments. The funding includes $460 million from its Series D investments and an additional $82 million from earlier this year. The Series D round was led by entities such as Decarbonization Partners, Temasek, and the Qatar Investment Authority. Goldman Sachs served as the sole placement agent for the Series D transaction.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar signed an agreement to construct and operate the 1.8 GW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The project will cost up to AED5.51 billion (~$1.5 billion). Masdar was selected from a pool of 23 international bidders for the contract. Masdar’s proposed levelized cost of energy of $1.62/kWh for this phase is the lowest recorded for any of DEWA’s solar Independent Power Producer model projects to date.

Putting the spotlight on the role of fossil fuel subsidies in exacerbating the climate crisis, a damning analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said total fossil fuel subsidies amounted to a whopping $7 trillion in 2022 or 7.1% of global GDP. By country, China contributed the most to total fossil fuel subsidies ($2.2 trillion) in 2022, followed by the United States ($760 billion), Russia ($420 billion), India ($350 billion), and the European Union ($310 billion). The report, IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update, makes a strong case for governments across the world to undertake fossil fuel price reform.