Here is a recap of all the important headlines from India’s solar and other renewables from May 2018 –

Solar and non-solar REC trading witnessed a spike in May 2018 as 914,412 solar RECs were traded. This is 39,294 more RECs than the 875,118 solar RECs traded in April 2018. All solar RECs were traded at a price of ₹1,000 (~$14.943) each.

Module suppliers will not have to pay the ‘provisional’ Safeguard Duty of 70 percent for a period of 200 days. This was prescribed by the office of Directorate General (DG) Safeguards  after the Delhi High Court disposed a petition filed by ACME Solar against the levy of 70 percent ‘provisional’ Safeguard Duty on solar cell imports from China and Malaysia.

According to the latest report released by Mercom India Research – India Solar Market Leaderboard 2017, in the calendar year 2017, the top 10 rooftop solar installers in India accounted for 27 percent of rooftop solar PV installations. Tata Power was the top installer in 2017 followed by CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy. Moreover, the top 10 solar photovoltaic (PV) project developers in the country accounted for over 62 percent of all large-scale project installations (8.6 GW) in the calendar year of 2017.

The Distributed Solar Power Association (DiSPA) has written to the Minister of Power, R. K. Singh, to extend the project completion timelines for rooftop solar projects by six months. These projects were awarded by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

The lack of inter-state transmission system (ISTS) connectivity is hampering the growth of renewables, especially solar in India, Mercom reported. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had tendered 2,000 MW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across the country.

According to the latest report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the domestic solar and wind energy sectors are likely to employ over 300,000 workers by 2022.

Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has proposed a separate tariff for >1 MW open access consumers, as it causes the non-recovery of fixed costs.

The office of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has fixed June 11, 2018, as the date of oral hearing for the ongoing solar glass import case from Malaysia.

In response to the dispute raised by India against the renewable energy policies of eight American states, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has set up a panel to resolve this issue between the two countries.

Indian renewable energy project developer, ReNew Power, has filed draft papers with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to float an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer