Power evacuation infrastructure growth in India has lagged behind the pace of power capacity additions due to unique challenges faced by transmission projects, with implementation delays running into several months and even years. Right-of-way issues, landholder opposition, compensation disputes, litigation, and delays in obtaining forest, wildlife, and tree-cutting approvals are among the key challenges delaying the commissioning of transmission projects. Project developers frequently cite transmission infrastructure as a major cause of delays in solar project commissioning. Projects to evacuate renewable energy across India are struggling to keep pace with solar and wind capacity additions, which are rising in recent years.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has allowed rooftop solar vendors under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana from adjacent states to work in Union Territories. Under the program, vendors registered with one distribution company (DISCOM) are allowed to work with other state DISCOMs. The government of India launched the program on February 13, 2024, to install rooftop solar projects in ten million households. The ministry recognized that only a few vendors were available in the UTs to install the rooftop solar projects. Addressing the issue and ensuring that there are enough vendors available in the UT for faster program implementation, the ministry said vendors registered or empaneled with the adjacent states can also undertake the installation of projects in UTs without any additional bank guarantee.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed NHPC to adopt the usage charges of ₹2.45(~$0.029)/kWh under the competitive bidding process to procure 1,000 MW of solar power under the CPSU Phase II (Tranche III) program. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy notified the CPSU Phase II program to set up 12,000 MW grid-connected solar projects with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) at the modified cap on usage charges at ₹3.50-2.80(~$0.04-0.033)/kWh. Coincident with modifying the cap on usage charges, MNRE declared the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) as the implementing agency instead of the Solar Energy Corporation of India. IREDA issued a Request for Selection for setting up 5,000 MW grid-connected solar PV projects under Tranche III in January 2021.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has issued a draft amendment to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) Order to include solar cells in the ALMM framework. The final list is expected to be operational by April 2026. Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions by October 6, 2024. The ALMM framework was first introduced in January 2019, focusing on regulating the quality of solar modules. The ALMM List-I specifies the approved models and manufacturers of solar modules. However, despite initial provisions for a separate list for solar cells (List-II), this list was never issued, largely due to India’s low domestic manufacturing capacity. As the country gears up for a massive expansion in solar cell production, MNRE is now moving forward with plans to introduce List-II.

Tamil Nadu has issued the Pumped Storage Projects (PSP) Policy 2024 to harness the potential of PSPs to optimize renewable energy utilization, promote sustainable energy growth, and attract public and private investments. The policy has set timelines for various stages of execution, with seven years allowed for PSP completion and commissioning. While environmentally friendly, renewable energy sources present challenges due to their intermittent nature. PSPs address this variability by storing excess energy generated during low-demand periods and releasing it when the demand is high. This stabilizes the grid and enhances the overall efficiency of renewable energy use.

Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon Group has secured a 1,166 MW order from NTPC Green Energy to install 370 wind turbine generators of the S144 model, each with a rated capacity of 3.15 MW. These turbines will be deployed across two NTPC Renewable Energy projects and one Indian Oil NTPC Green Energy project in Gujarat. The turbines will feature a hybrid lattice tubular tower design. The electricity generated will power over three million households. This win takes Suzlon’s cumulative order book close to 5 GW as of September 3, 2024.

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam has floated a tender for setting up 500 MW/1000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support. The last date for the submission of bids is September 17, 2024. Bidders must pay ₹22,500 ($268) as the tender document fee and ₹1.5 million (~$17,867) plus 18% GST for the total project capacity they quote. An earnest money deposit of ₹730,000 (~$8,695)/MW per project must be submitted as a bank guarantee. Selected bidders must provide a performance bank guarantee of ₹18,25,000/MW before signing the agreement. Projects chosen will be eligible for Central Financial Assistance through VGF.

Sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer Azure Power Global announced the decision to prepay green bonds of $310 million maturing in December 2024. The bonds are backed by seven utility projects commissioned between 2016 and 2019. The refinancing valued at ~₹24 billion (~$285.86 million) is structured as a term loan underwritten solely by REC Limited. The green bonds of $350 million were issued in 2019 and are listed in Singapore. In March 2024, the company paid $40 million of the green bonds using its surplus cash flows. Between 2016 and 2019, the company set up ten projects across the country.

U.S.-based electric vehicle charging solutions company ChargePoint’s net loss narrowed 45% year-over-year (YoY) to $68.9 million in the second quarter of 2024 from $125.3 million. The company’s revenue fell to $108.5 million, a 28% YoY decline from $150.5 million. The company attributed the decline to lower hardware revenue. Networked charging systems revenue for the second quarter was $64.1 million, down YoY by 44% from $114.6 million. Subscription revenue was $36.2 million, up YoY by 21% from $30 million.