The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has directed the Public Sector Undertakings to blacklist renewable energy developers that fail to complete the project within the prescribed deadline. The ministry said that the blacklisting could span 3-5 years. The ministry’s communication was directed to Solar Energy Corporation of India, NTPC, and NHPC. These companies are engaged in issuing tenders for private sector companies to develop renewable energy projects.

Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments, a joint venture between the Central and the Rajasthan government, has invited bids to procure 1,540 solar modules with a wattage output of at least 660W made from monocrystalline silicon passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells. The company said that only the solar modules made by Sova Solar, Navitas, Gautam Solar, Goldi Green, Credence, RenewSys, Waaree, and Topsun would be procured under this tender. The last date to submit the bids online is February 21, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

The Ministry of Power has proposed that pumped storage projects be supported through concessional climate finance. Sovereign green bonds issued for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure may be deployed in developing these projects, which utilize renewable energy for charging. The ministry has issued draft guidelines for pumped storage projects in the country. The guidelines seek to utilize the immense potential of pumped storage projects in grid stabilization and in meeting the peak power demand. Stakeholders have 15 days to submit their comments and suggestions.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has adopted a tariff of ₹2.43 (~$0.02)/kWh for O2 Power for 400 MW grid-connected solar power projects at Kalijal and Matuon ki Dhani village in Barmer district and Rawadi Chak village in Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan. NTPC had filed a petition to adopt a tariff discovered through a competitive bidding process for the procurement of power for 400 MW.

Global energy business conglomerate bp and Deep Wind Offshore, an offshore wind project developer, have formed a joint venture to explore projects in South Korea. Under the agreement, bp acquired a 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s early-stage portfolio, which comprises four projects across the Korean peninsula. The projects have a combined generation capacity of up to 6 GW. The wind measurement devices for the projects were installed during 2021-2022, while the permit process is already underway.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading arm of the Toyota Group, inked an agreement with Japan-based renewable energy developer SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, to acquire an 85% stake in the latter. The transaction will help the clean energy businesses of the two companies by accelerating their carbon-neutral initiatives. Under the agreement, both companies would jointly develop renewable energy and electric power supply-demand adjustment, among other measures, to achieve carbon neutrality in their respective operations.