Total corporate funding, including venture capital, public market activity, and debt financing for the solar sector, reached $22.3 billion in the first nine months (9M) of 2024, a 23% decrease from the $28.9 billion raised during the same period in 2023. The number of deals also dropped by 6% year-over-year, with 117 deals in 9M 2024 compared to 124 in the same period in 2023, according to the recently released report 9M and Q3 2024 Solar Funding and M&A Report by Mercom Capital Group. Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, said, “One of the main reasons why the industry is down right now is obviously interest rates and higher costs of capital, which we’ve been mentioning for the past year or so. These factors remain critical. A lot of trade barriers are coming up, and they’re unpredictable. Markets don’t know what policies are coming next. We see this in the U.S., India, and the EU, which is affecting supply chains and prices.”

In the first half (1H) of 2024, India added 3.6 GW of solar open access capacity, a 153% increase from the 1.4 GW installed in 1H 2023, according to Mercom’s Q2 2024 India Solar Open Access Market Report. The capacity added in the first half of this year surpassed the total annual installations of any previous year. India’s cumulative installed solar open access capacity was 16.3 GW as of June 2024. In Q2 2024, about 1.8 GW of solar open access capacity was added in the country, a marginal 2.5% drop quarter-over-quarter and a 152% year-over-year increase. With the suspension of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers order between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, developers imported significant capacities of modules during the period driving project installations in 1H 2024.

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved the tariff for Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL’s) 832 MW power procurement from grid-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects (Phase II). The total capacity includes base and greenshoe capacity. The Commission directed GUVNL to sign power purchase agreements with the successful bidders at tariffs between ₹3.24 and ₹3.30(~$0.038-$0.039)/kWh for base capacity and ₹3.24(~$0.038)/kWh for greenshoe capacity. GUVNL floated a tender on February 14, 2024, to procure power from a 500 MW grid-connected wind-solar hybrid power project (Phase II), with a greenshoe option of up to 500 MW. It received four bids for an aggregate capacity of 520 MW.

The Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) has issued a draft tender to set up projects of 200 MW/1600 MWh standalone battery energy storage (long duration energy storage) systems in Gujarat under tariff-based competitive bidding (Phase-V). Stakeholders have until November 10, 2024, to provide feedback on the draft tender. The BESS will have a 200 MW / 1600 MWh capacity, capable of delivering one full cycle per day, resulting in a daily cumulative capacity of 1600 MWh. The system will be charged by drawing power from the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) and will inject power back into the GETCO network according to dispatch instructions from the State Load Dispatch Centre in coordination with GUVNL.

Gensol Engineering has partnered with Matrix Gas & Renewables for a green steel production facility using 100% green hydrogen and employing direct reduced iron vertical shaft technology to convert iron ore into sponge iron. The project is one of three pilot projects approved by the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The project’s capital expenditure (CAPEX) is estimated at ₹3.21 billion (~$38.18 million), with the Indian government providing 50% CAPEX incentives. This technology, created for Indian-grade ore, would help Matrix achieve its larger objective of setting up green steel factories similar to those for medium to small-scale producers in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and other parts of India.

Integrated mining and resources company Hindustan Zinc will procure 530 MW of round-the-clock power from Serentica Renewable India’s renewable energy projects under a group captive arrangement. Serentica will supply the power for 25 years. The procurement of 530 MW includes two previous power delivery agreements entered into between Hindustan Zinc and Serentica. Hindustan Zinc’s board of directors has approved investing ₹3.27 billion (~$38.96 million) in Serentica and its affiliates for a 26% equity stake. Serentica or its affiliates will create captive power projects in different parts of India based on location suitability and provide renewable power to Hindustan Zinc on a long-term basis. The projects will be commissioned in phases by 2027.

PFC Consulting has invited bids to select a transmission service provider to set up an inter-state transmission system at Ananthapur-II Renewable Energy Zone (Phase I) in Andhra Pradesh to evacuate an additional 4.5 GW of renewable energy. The last day to submit the bids is December 19, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders must furnish a non-refundable fee of ₹500,000 (~$5,947) towards the document’s cost. They must also remit a bid bond of ₹515 million (~$6.12 million). Selected bidders must submit ₹1.29 billion (~$15.34 million) as a contract performance guarantee within ten days from the date of issue of the letter of intent. This project will enable the immediate integration and evacuation of power from approximately 4.5 GW of renewable energy generation projects in the Ananthapur area, with a total identified potential of 20 GW.

NTPC Renewable Energy has invited bids for the land and power evacuation package for a 600 MW interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar project in Dhule, Maharashtra. The last date to submit bids is November 20, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders must submit ₹22,500 (~$267.61) to purchase the bid documents. They must arrange for government/private contiguous land (5 acres/MW) on a freehold/leasehold basis near Dhule PS ISTS substation, Maharashtra. The lease period will be for at least 29 years and 11 months.

JSW Neo Energy, a subsidiary of JSW Energy, has decided to acquire three wind energy projects of Hetero Wind Power with a cumulative capacity of 125 MW for an enterprise value of ₹6.3 billion (~$74.93 million). The company recently executed definitive agreements with the Hetero Group to acquire its three wind power special purpose vehicles – Hetero Wind Power, Hetero Wind Power (Pennar), and Hetero Med Solutions. JSW will acquire 100% shares in Hetero Wind Power (Pennar) and Hetero Med Solutions and 74% shares in Hetero Wind Power, where the captive consumer will continue to hold ~26% shares. These wind projects operate primarily in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and have long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The acquisition is expected to be completed within 90 days. The three target companies’ cumulative revenue from operations in FY 2023-24 was ₹1.44 billion (~$17.12 million).