NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) has awarded seven contracts to Kirloskar Solar Technologies to develop 32.29 MW ground-mounted and 14.74 MW rooftop solar projects, with a total contract price of ₹2.08 billion (~$24.62 million). The projects will be set up in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, and Assam. NVVN also contracted Oriana Power to commission 10.61 MW of ground-mounted and 8.65 MW rooftop solar projects valued at ₹835.69 million (~$9.89 million) in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Tata Power Solar, Roofsol Energy, Havells India, Kalpa Power, and Mahindra Solarize were the top rooftop solar installers in India during the first half of the calendar year 2024, according to Mercom’s recently released India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2024. The report provides details on the market share and competitive landscape of leading players in India’s solar supply chain. According to the Q2 2024 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report, India added 1.1 GW of rooftop solar capacity in 1H 2024. The top 5 companies contributed to 46.9% of those installations.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has released a draft notification outlining new regulations for purchasing and selling Carbon Credit Certificates (CCCs). These proposed regulations, titled “Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Purchase and Sale of Carbon Credit Certificates) Regulations, 2024,” aim to establish a framework for trading CCCs on power exchanges accessible to both obligated and non-obligated entities. The draft regulations are expected to play a crucial role in India’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet its climate commitments Stakeholders can provide feedback on the regulations. These regulations will apply to CCCs available for trading on power exchanges, including CCC contracts approved by the CERC that are in line with power market regulations.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has invited bids to manufacture, test, pack, forward, supply, and transport 400 MW of Domestic Content Requirement compliant solar modules to a project site in Ramagiri, Andhra Pradesh. The delivery must start from October 2025. The last day to submit the bids is December 5, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day. The total capacity is divided into four packages of 100 MW each. Bidders can submit for one or the entire capacity.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix will procure power under a captive arrangement from 33 MW renewable energy projects to be set up by CleanMax to power its data centers in India. The captive power projects to be developed in Maharashtra comprise 26.4 MW of solar and 6.6 MW of wind power. After commissioning, the projects will supply renewable energy for Equinix’s International Business Exchange data centers in Mumbai. The two companies have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the projects, which will be operational in phases in 2025. This is Equinix’s first PPA in India.

Gujarat-based Torrent Power’s revenue from operations increased 3% year-over-year to ₹71.76 billion (~$850.1 million) in the second quarter of the financial year 2024-25. The company’s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization for the quarter remained stable at ₹13.32 billion (~$157.79 million). Quarterly Profit After Tax declined by 9% to ₹4.96 billion (~$58.75 million) due to reduced contributions from thermal generation, lower renewable energy contributions, and higher finance and depreciation costs. The company has an aggregate installed generation capacity of 4,580 MW comprising 2,730 MW of gas-based capacity, 1,488 MW of renewable capacity (921 MW wind + 567 MW solar), and 362 MW of coal-based capacity.

U.S.-based solar tracker systems provider FTC Solar posted revenue of $10.14 million in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, exceeding analyst expectations by $240,680. However, it represented a 66.8% year-over-year (YoY) decrease compared to the same quarter in 2023. This decline was primarily due to lower product volumes. The drop in product (solar trackers) revenue YoY in Q3 was primarily due to a decrease of 82% in the amount of MW produced, adversely impacted by customer project delays. This was partially offset by an increase in the average selling price during the quarter, which resulted in better pricing and project mix changes compared to Q3 2023.

U.S.-headquartered Shoals Technologies Group, a manufacturer of electrical balance of systems (EBOS) for solar, energy storage and emobility, reported a 23.9% year-over-year (YoY) dip in revenue to $102.2 million during the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, primarily due to project delays and supply chain issues. Shoals reported a net loss of $300,000, an improvement from the $9.8 million net loss in Q3 2023, while adjusted net income was $13.9 million, down 58.2% YoY. Adjusted EBITDA was $24.5 million, down 48.9% from the previous year, with a margin of 24%, down from 35.8% in Q3 2023. As of September 30, 2024, the company’s backlog and awarded orders totalled $596.6 million, a decrease of 5.8% YoY. About $455.2 million worth of orders is expected to be fulfilled over the next four quarters.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that its 250 MW pumped hydropower storage project in Hatta will begin trial operations in the first quarter of 2025. The AED1.421 billion (~$387 million) project is claimed to be the first project of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region. Construction of the project is now over 94% complete. The project will have a storage capacity of 1,500 MWh. It employs a 72-meter-high main wall and a 37-meter-high side dam. The upper reservoir is now fully filled in preparation for testing. By harnessing the potential energy of water stored at an elevated location, the hydroelectric project converts water flow into kinetic energy as it moves through a 1.2-kilometer subterranean tunnel. This energy then powers turbines to generate electricity, which can be delivered to DEWA’s grid within 90 seconds to satisfy peak demand.

UAE-based renewable energy company Masdar has signed an investment agreement with its partners to develop a 1 GW wind energy project in Kazakhstan’s Jambyl region. The project will include a 600 MWh Battery Energy Storage System. Construction is scheduled to begin by early 2026. The investment agreement was signed between W Solar, Qazaq Green Power—a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna—and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund on the sidelines of the ongoing COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The project, for which the first agreement was signed in January 2023, is expected to power around 300,000 homes and offset about 2 million tons of carbon emissions annually.