The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company’s (MSEDCL) petition to procure 250 MW/500 MWh battery storage capacity with an additional 500 MW/1,000 MWh greenshoe capacity at a tariff of ₹219,001 (~$2,560)/MW/month for 12 years. The energy procured from these projects will contribute to MSEDCL’s energy storage obligation. MSEDCL has been directed to execute the battery energy storage purchase agreement with the successful bidder within 30 days.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission approved tariffs of ₹3.98 (~$0.046)/kWh and ₹3.99 (~$0.0464)/kWh for SJVN’s 600 MW interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected wind power projects. SJVN had also approached CERC to approve a trading margin of ₹0.07/kWh (~$0.0008). However, the Commission held that the trading margin would be per the power sale agreements.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission approved tariffs of ₹2.52 (~$0.0293)/kWh and ₹2.53 (~$0.0294)/kWh for SJVN’s 1,200 MW ISTS-connected solar projects. SJVN had also requested adopting a trading margin of ₹0.07 (~$0.0008)/kWh. However, the Commission held that the trading margin would be per the power sale agreements between SJVN and the distribution licensees since the complete capacity was not tied up.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) ruled against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution (MSEDCL) for wrongly imposing wheeling charges and losses on solar power generators. MERC directed MSEDCL to refund ₹15.4 million (~$179,285.63) to petitioners TP Solapur Saurya, TP Arya Saurya, and TP Ekadash. The Commission also ordered the reversal of 2.10 million units (MU) of wheeling losses deducted between May 2023 and March 2024.

The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity dismissed a petition filed by the Siddhayu Ayurvedic Research Foundation (SARFPL) seeking to relax the banking regulations under the Distribution Open Access Regulations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It ruled that any relaxation of regulations would go against the legal framework and set an undesirable precedent. SARFPL operates multiple wind farms in Maharashtra with a total capacity of 12.85 MW.

ISTS developers must pay 60% of the land value for municipal corporations and metropolitan area land parcels as compensation for the right-of-way (RoW). The Ministry of Power has issued supplementary guidelines for determining the market rate and RoW compensation for ISTS lines to resolve challenges hindering transmission projects. Recently, Shripad Naik, Minister of State for Power, informed the Rajya Sabha that 14 ISTS projects are facing prolonged RoW issues, primarily because of the demand for higher compensation compared to rates determined by state governments.

NTPC floated a tender for setting up a hydrogen refueling station for the Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, under the engineering, procurement, and construction mode. Bids must be submitted by March 27, 2025. Bids will be opened on March 28. The scope of work entails the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing, and commissioning of a hydrogen fueling station, along with associated civil and architectural works.

Sustainable infrastructure investor Actis acquired a 100% stake in Stride Climate Investments, a solar generation asset portfolio in India, from a Macquarie Asset Management-managed fund. Through this deal, Actis will gain control of Stride’s 371 MW (414 MWp) portfolio of operational solar assets, spanning 21 projects across seven states, with a significant concentration in Gujarat.

T1 Energy, formerly FREYR, finalized its site selection for a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Milam County, Texas, U.S. The company secured a lease and purchase option for 100 acres in the Advanced Manufacturing and Logistix Campus at Sandow Lakes. The new facility, G2 Austin, is expected to have a solar cell manufacturing capacity of 5 GW. The total capital investment in the project is projected to reach up to $850 million.

Solar photovoltaics will no longer qualify under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act (DPA), with President Donald Trump rescinding an order of the previous administration that had designated these technologies as elements of national security. In an executive order published in the Federal Register, Trump canceled his predecessor, Joe Biden’s presidential determination of June 2022, including solar modules and their components from the DPA’s purview.

Western Australia awarded four battery energy storage projects with a total capacity of 654 MW/2,595 MWh under the Capacity Investment Scheme. The projects are scheduled to be operational by October 2027. The projects will exceed the 500 MW/2,000 MWh capacity tendered. This will be enough to meet the peak electricity load for over 600,000 homes in Western Australia for four hours.

South Korea-headquartered green energy and chemical company OCI Holdings announced its plans to expand its U.S. solar value chain by building a solar cell manufacturing plant through its U.S. solar subsidiary, Mission Solar Energy. The company will invest $265 million in the facility and targets commencing commercial production of 1 GW of solar cells in the first half of 2026. It plans to increase the facility’s production capacity to 2 GW in the second half of 2026.