Kerala government’s Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology  has invited bids to develop rooftop solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 100 MW in Thiruvananthapuram. The scope of work includes supplying, installing, and commissioning multiple solar power systems ranging from 1 kW to 500 kW atop public buildings in Thiruvananthapuram under the Solar City Project. Vendors should commission the solar systems within 45 days of receiving the work order. They must also provide five years of comprehensive operation and maintenance services. The last date to submit the bids is March 3, 2023. Bids will be opened the next day.

Solar modules account for nearly 40% of the total project cost. Maintaining their quality and efficiency for the entire lifetime (25-30 years) becomes critical so that the project is economically viable. The manufacturers’ warranty on solar modules becomes crucial for any solar installations as they build confidence among project developers and investors who own the assets for a long time. Mercom’s webinar ‘Solar PV Performance Warranty: Building Market Confidence’ will explore some of these issues on March 1 at 3 PM. You can register for the webinar by clicking here.

U.S.-based energy storage products and services provider Fluence will localize its products in India by the end of 2024. However, the complex process of manufacturing batteries in the country may take longer, the company’s President and CEO, Julian Nebreda, said in an interview with Mercom. Fluence’s SVP & President, APAC, Jan Teichmann, spoke about the company’s partnership with ReNew and its plans for India. Read the full interview.

Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency has invited bids to set up 100 MW of grid-connected solar projects ranging from 250 kW to 5 MW in the state. The last date to submit the bids is March 15, 2023. Bidders must submit an application fee of ₹10,000 (~$120.6) for projects up to 1 MW and ₹100,000 (~$1,206) for projects above 1 MW and up to 5 MW. Bidders must submit ₹100,000 (~$1,206) as an earnest money deposit for solar projects up to 1 MW and ₹200,000 (~$2,441) for solar projects above 1 MW and up to 5 MW.

Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of Adani Group, has been awarded the letter of approval for two wind energy projects to be developed in the Mannar and Ponneryn areas of northern Sri Lanka. The two projects will be developed at a total investment of $442 million. The wind energy project to be developed in Mannar will operate at a capacity of 250 MW, and the other project in Pooneryn will operate at a capacity of 100 MW, according to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) have signed a letter of intent for a long-term collaboration focusing on hydrogen and other clean technologies. The partnership is expected to lead to the development of higher Technology Readiness Level for hydrogen energy clusters that are being set up by DST, and also identify existing technologies and potential interventions from Fraunhofer in green hydrogen. The partnership aims to integrate the interventions with indigenous technologies and deploy or calibrate them for Indian conditions. DST will provide the framework for cooperation in the hydrogen valley cluster projects and support activities, and facilitate resources.

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) plans to finance renewable energy projects in foreign currency for which an office would be established in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city) in Gandhinagar. Addressing a panel discussion on ‘Scaling up Clean Energy Investment in Emerging Economies’ under the aegis of G20 events at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, IREDA Chairman and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said the office in Gandhinagar would be classified as an overseas office. The minister said that the office will help IREDA avoid foreign exchange hedging costs.

France-based fund manager Rgreen Invest and investment advisor Echosys Invest have raised €87.5 million (~$92.2 million) as part of their Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund to finance on and off-grid solar power projects for small and medium-sized commercial and industrial consumers in Africa. The first closing includes commitments from the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, and PROPARCO, a subsidiary of Agence française de développement Group. Private banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas also participated in the funding round. Afrigreen targets raising €100 million (~$105.4 million) from development finance institutions and private investors.

Paschim Gujarat Vij Company has invited bids to develop 921 MW of solar projects to solarize 11 kV feeders of selected 66/11 kV substations under Component C of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program. The successful bidder will also have to take care of the project’s operation and maintenance for 25 years. The last date to submit the bids online is March 17, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day. Bidders will have to submit ₹100,000 (~$1,206)/MW of the quoted capacity as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder must submit ₹500,000 (~$6,029)/MW as a performance bank guarantee within seven days from the date of the issuance of the letter of award.

Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a lithium-air battery design that could power domestic airplanes and long-haul trucks. The research, published in a recent issue of Science, was funded by the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office and the Office of Basic Energy Sciences through the Joint Centre for Energy Storage Research. The main new component in this lithium-air battery is a solid electrolyte instead of the usual liquid variety. Batteries with solid electrolytes are not prone to safety issues associated with the liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion and other battery types, which can overheat and catch fire.

Multinational conglomerate Essar Group has launched the Essar Energy Transition (EET) initiative with an investment of $3.6 billion to develop a range of low-carbon energy transition projects over the next five years in the United Kingdom and India. Under the EET initiative, Essar will take measures to support the UK government’s decarbonization policy by investing $2.4 billion across its sites at Stanlow oil refinery which produces over 16% of the UK’s Road transport fuels annually. Through EET, Essar targets achieving 75% mitigation of carbon emissions in the  Stanlow refinery by 2030.