The top rooftop solar installers in India during the first half (1H) of the calendar year 2023 were Tata Power Solar, Havells India, Enerparc Energy, Amplus Solar, and Hartek Solar, according to Mercom’s recently released India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2023. Enerparc Energy was the newest entry in the top 10. India added 872 MW of rooftop solar capacity, a 3.2% increase compared to 845 MW in 1H 2022, according to the Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report Q2 2023. The top 10 companies in the Market Leaderboard accounted for around 45% of these capacity additions.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has increased the banking charges for green energy open access consumers to 8% of the energy banked from 2%. Following the Electricity Act, 2003 and the Tariff Policy, 2016, the Commission has enacted amendments to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Distribution Open Access) Regulations, 2016. These changes, outlined in the (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2023, address recent sectoral developments, including amendments to the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022. The new regulations stipulate that any unutilized surplus banked energy will be considered lapsed at each banking cycle’s end.

SJVN has recorded a revenue of ₹9.53 billion (~$114.4 million) during the second quarter of the financial year 2023-24, a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 3% from ₹9.21 billion (~$110.6 million). Revenue from the sale of hydropower stood at ₹8.33 billion (~$100 million) compared to ₹8.58 billion (~$103 million) during the corresponding quarter last year. Solar and wind contributed ₹237.5 million (~$2.8 million) towards the revenue during the quarter. The profit for the quarter was ₹4.41 billion (~$52.8 million), a marginal YoY decrease of 2% from ₹4.45 billion (~$53.4 million).

Car maker Hyundai Motors is setting up a new electric vehicle (EV) plant in Ulsan, South Korea, with an investment of KRW2 trillion ($1.53 billion). The construction for the facility will begin in the fourth quarter of 2023, and vehicle production is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with the aim of producing 200,000 EVs annually. As per the company, the Ulsan Plant will become a base of sustainable mobility production and lay the foundation for future growth. This facility, dedicated to EVs, will be the company’s first new plant in Korea in 29 years.

U.S.-based solar tracker systems provider FTC Solar‘s net loss of $16.94 million during the third quarter of the financial year 2023, a YoY improvement of 34% from a loss of $25.64 million. The drop in loss was driven by significantly improved product direct margins and lower warranty, retrofit, and other indirect costs. The company’s revenue for the quarter stood at $30.55 million, a YoY increase of 84.3%. The revenue reflects a 5.6% decrease from the previous quarter due to reduced logistics volumes.

The Ministry of Power has revised the Biomass Co-Firing Policy to benchmark the prices for biomass pellets utilized in co-firing at thermal power plants. The initiative aligns with the broader goal of incorporating cleaner and more eco-friendly energy sources into the country’s power generation landscape. The benchmark prices for non-torrefied biomass pellets in the Northern Region (excluding NCR) have been set at ₹2.27 (~$0.027) per 7,000 kcal. This price excludes GST and transportation costs at the pellet manufacturing plant site. The specified pellets must also maintain a moisture content below 14% and a Gross Calorific Value between 2,800-4,000 kcal/kg.