Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency has issued an empanelment tender to commission 38 ten metric-ton solar cold storage units. Selected bidders must provide five years of comprehensive maintenance. The number of projects can be increased to 100 units, and the price bid will be valid for one year. The last day to submit the bids is December 20, 2023. Bids will be opened on December 22. Bidders must submit a bid security of ₹2.4 million (~$28,798).

Germany’s auction to install 191 MW of rooftop solar power projects has been oversubscribed by 195%, according to the data released by the federal network agency Bundesnetzagentur. The auction received 184 bids with a volume of 373 MW. A total of 88 bids with a volume of 191 MW were accepted. The bids quoted in the auction ranged from €0.088 (~$0.096)/kWh to €0.0998 (~$0.11)/kWh and were below the ceiling tariff of €0.1125 (~$0.12)/kWh. This is also lower than the highest award price in the previous auction at €0.108 (~$0.13)/kWh.

A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore, Empa Materials Science and Technology, and Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy claimed to have achieved a record efficiency of 29.9% for a semi-transparent perovskite cell. The team paired the perovskite cells with a copper indium gallium diselenide bottom cell, allowing for their wider commercialization. In the past, electrical and optical losses have limited the performance of wide-band-gap perovskite semi-transparent solar cells and reduced their widespread commercial usage.

A team of scientists at the University of Freiburg’s Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive, and Energy-Autonomous Materials Systems and the University of Ulm has developed a monolithically integrated photo battery consisting of an organic polymer-based battery and a multi-junction organic solar cell. The battery presented by the team is the first monolithically integrated photo battery made of organic materials to achieve a discharge potential of 3.6 volts.

Members of the European Parliament have backed the Net-Zero Industry Act, which aims to fortify Europe’s manufacturing capabilities in crucial technologies essential to meet the climate goals. The objective of the legislation is to propel Europe to domestically produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, as outlined in the National Energy and Climate Plans. Simultaneously, the legislation envisions capturing 25% of the global market value for these technologies.

Government-owned power transmission utility Power Grid Corporation of India’s (POWERGRID) committee of directors has accorded investment approval for two transmission projects, amounting to ₹3.67 billion (~$44.05 million). One of the projects is to augment transformation capacity by 1X1500 MVA (3rd), 765/400 KV ICT at Maheshwaram Substation in Telangana. The project will cost ₹1.43 billion (~$17 million). It is scheduled to be commissioned in April 2025. The second project for which investment approval was accorded is the transmission system to evacuate power from renewable energy in Khavda, Gujarat, under Phase IV (7GW)- Part E4.