LEAPTING, Vayu Solar, Airtouch Solar, Aegeus Technologies, and Langfang Sol-Bright Photovoltaic Technology were the top five robotic solar module cleaning equipment suppliers to the Indian solar market in the first half (1H) of the calendar year 2024, according to Mercom’s recently released India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2024 report. LEAPTING led the country’s robotic solar module cleaning equipment shipments, accounting for 22.5%. Vayu Solar and Airtouch Solar followed, accounting for 20.8% and 16.6% respectively.

The Punjab State Power Corporation has invited bids to procure 1,000 MW of firm and dispatchable renewable energy on a demand-following basis. The last date for the submission of bids is January 10, 2025. Bids will be opened on January 14. Bidders must submit a processing fee of ₹300,000 (~$3,540) plus 18% GST and earnest money deposit of ₹1.5 million (~$17,699)/MW. The projects, which can be set up anywhere in India, must have a minimum bid capacity of 50 MW and a maximum of 500 MW, with bids required to be submitted in multiples of 10 MW.

Over 9,200 MW of renewable energy capacity comprising solar, wind-solar hybrid, solar with battery energy storage systems, and firm and dispatchable energy across 33 projects is stranded for want of offtakers. In the latest list of unsold power (9,296 MW) released by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), all projects except those by the public sector NTPC Green Energy are of private developers. Besides SECI, other renewable energy implementing agencies (REIAs), such as NTPC, NHPC, and SJVN, also issue power procurement tenders.

Solar energy startup Glow has raised $30 million in funding from Framework and Union Square Ventures to scale its renewable energy operations in India and other global markets. Founded in 2023, the Ethereum-based company focuses on accelerating solar energy adoption and decentralizing the energy grid through innovative blockchain solutions. Glow has established three solar projects in Rajasthan with a total capacity of 21.3 MW. These projects, located at Rays Power Experts’ site near Bikaner, became operational in October and November this year.

TotalEnergies and Aljomaih Energy & Water Company have secured a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company for the 300 MW Rabigh 2 solar project in Saudi Arabia. The project in the Makkah Province is part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program under Round 5, which aims to diversify the nation’s energy mix by achieving a 50% share of renewable and gas-fired power by 2030. The Rabigh 2 project, scheduled for grid connection by 2026, seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on liquid fuels for electricity generation.

An international team led by the University of Surrey with Imperial College London has identified a strategy to improve both the performance and stability of solar cells made from perovskites by mitigating a previously hidden degradation pathway. In a new study published in Energy and Environmental Science, the researchers said they could produce lead-tin perovskite solar cells that reach 23.2% power conversion efficiency – one of the best results achieved with this material.

Italy’s energy management agency, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici, has allocated 1.5 GW of capacity for agrivoltaic (agriPV) projects in the country’s first dedicated auction. The auction saw significant interest, with 540 projects approved from a pool of 643 bids, amounting to over 1.7 GW of capacity submitted. Funded through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which earmarked €1.7 billion (~$1.78 billion) for renewable energy projects, the initiative exceeded its original target of supporting over 1 GW of capacity.