Suzuki Motor Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state of Gujarat to invest approximately 150 billion yen (~$1.25 billion) for local manufacturing of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and BEV batteries. The MoU is divided into Suzuki Motor Gujarat’s investment of ₹31 billion (~$260.09 million) to increase production capacity for BEV manufacturing and ₹73 billion (~$612.48 million) for the construction of a plant for BEV batteries. It also includes Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India’s ₹450 million (~$3.77 million) investment to construct a vehicle recycling plant.

REC Power Development and Consultancy (RECPDCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC, handed over ‘Gadag Transmission,’ a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to ReNew Transmission Ventures. The SPV was formed to construct a transmission project under ‘Transmission Scheme for Solar Energy Zone in Gadag (2500 MW), Karnataka – Part A’. ReNew Transmission Ventures had won the project in a tariff-based competitive bidding process. The work involves establishing a 400/220 kV, two 500 MVA pooling stations at Gadag, and a 400kVdc transmission line from Gadag PS-Narendra (New) PS.

SunSource Energy, a solar developer, announced the commissioning of the first phase of its 45 MW open-access project in the Shivala Kalan village of Uttar Pradesh. Once fully commissioned, it will be one of the state’s largest open-access solar power projects. The 45 MW project is being built on 164 acres of land and utilizes transmission lines of 40 km to connect to the grid.  The first phase has been built across 64 acres of land and connects to the state grid via a 16 km transmission line.

RECPDCL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India) to help improve the performance of distribution companies. The MoU will enable an evidence-based approach to improve the electricity distribution utility performance by designing innovative policy interventions for pilot and evaluation. The MoU will enable the parties to improve distribution companies’ performance and efficiency, focusing on the four core areas of knowledge sharing, access to high-quality data analysis, policy innovation and evaluation, and training and capacity building.

AB InBev India, a beer and beverage company, announced its brewery in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, shifted to renewable electricity as its partial source of power. With a project capacity of 770 kW, the installation at Aurangabad will generate approximately 3,000 units of electricity per day (annual average per day), contributing 10%-15% of the brewery’s electricity demands.  This is the company’s fifth brewery to make this shift. Last year, Ab InBev’s two plants in Telangana moved to source electricity from renewable sources, following its breweries in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Maxeon Solar Technologies, a solar module manufacturer, announced that it would supply approximately 400 MW of its high efficiency shingled bifacial performance line solar modules to Origis Energy, a solar and storage developer. The modules will be used in Origis’ U.S. utility-scale projects. Module deliveries will commence in June of 2023 and conclude at the end of 2023.