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					</table><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gujarat-top-state-solar-open-access" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Favorable geography and climate combined with a proactive government catapulted Gujarat to the top position among states for open access solar in the second quarter of 2023.</a> Consumers, especially those in the C&amp;I segment, are happy with the savings on their power bills, thanks to open access solar. Gujarat has just notified the Renewable Energy Policy 2023 to develop 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. This is expected to enhance further Gujarat’s reputation as one of the leading states for renewable energy generation. Gujarat has also formulated one of the best hybrid energy policies in India.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/powergrid-22-5-billion-bonds-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Government-owned power transmission utility Power Grid Corporation of India has received approval from its Board of Directors to raise unsecured, non-convertible, non-cumulative, redeemable, and taxable bonds for ₹22.5 billion (~$270.3 million) through private placement.</a> The bonds will come with a base issue size of ₹5 billion (~$60 million) and a green shoe option of ₹17.5 billion (~$210.3 million). They are redeemable at par in 10 equal installments, with interest payments yearly. The proceeds will be used to part finance the company’s CAPEX requirements, to provide inter-corporate loans to its wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures, and for general corporate purposes.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/sjvn-to-supply-solar-power-floating-project-in-himachal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has given the green light for a tariff of ₹3.26 (~$0.03)/kWh for a 15 MW grid-connected floating solar project linked to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) interstate transmission system.</a> BBMB and SJVN Green Energy, a subsidiary of SJVN, have inked a power purchase agreement to allocate power to BBMB’s partner states and nominated entities. BBMB had submitted a petition under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003, seeking tariff approval for their floating solar project connected to its ISTS network.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/chennai-metro-3-mw-rooftop-solar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chennai Metro Rail has invited bids to commission 3 MW of rooftop solar projects on elevated structures in parking and open spaces at Chennai Metro’s Phase 1 and its extension stations under the Renewable Energy Service Company model.</a> The project should be completed within 18 months of receiving the work order. Selected bidders must also oversee the projects’ operation and maintenance for 25 years. The project’s estimated cost is ₹200 million (~$2.4 million). The last day to submit bids is November 6, 2023. Bids will be opened the next day.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/raptee-raises-3-million-pre-series-a-round" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raptee, an electric motorcycle startup, secured $3 million in its Pre-Series A funding round led by Bluehill Capital, a deep-tech venture capital firm.</a> Notable industry figures, including Eugene Mayne, Founder and CEO of Tristar Global; Lakshmi Narayanan, Former CEO of Cognizant; Ramesh Kannan, Managing Director at Kaynes Technology; and Chandu Nair, Director at Shankara Building Products, along with other high-net-worth individuals from India and the UAE, also participated in this all-equity funding round. The funds raised will be invested in expanding the company’s manufacturing facility, acquiring machinery and tooling for the upcoming motorcycle launch, and growing the workforce.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solaria-receives-boost-from-eibs-investeu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solaria, a U.S.-headquartered solar equipment manufacturer and installer, has secured €1.7 billion (~$1.8 billion) in financing from the European Investment Bank through the InvestEU program.</a> The financing will support the development of approximately 120 solar photovoltaic power projects, primarily in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, with a combined installed capacity of 5.6 GW. Solaria’s project is underpinned by the InvestEU program, a financial initiative to catalyze additional investments totaling more than €372 billion (~$394.3 billion) from 2021 to 2027.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-develop-cell-with-36-1-efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Research ISE and NOW-Institute AMOLF have developed a multijunction solar cell with an efficiency of 36.1%, beating previous records for silicon-based solar cells.</a> Silicon-based solar cells have long been a mainstay of the renewable energy landscape, but they usually face a fundamental efficiency limit of 29.4%. To surmount this limitation, the researchers turned to the concept of multijunction solar cells. In these cells, multiple layers of light-absorbing materials are stacked on top of each other, allowing each layer to efficiently capture specific segments of the sunlight’s color spectrum.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/blended-finance-indias-transition-clean-energy-ifc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blended finance is set to play a crucial role in bolstering India’s transition to clean energy by its capacity to attract greater private investment into impactful climate initiatives, according to a report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).</a> Blended finance involves the integration of concessional funds from sources like governments or philanthropic organizations with funds from development finance institutions such as the IFC. This strategy has the potential to mobilize private sector investments for projects with substantial development impact.

Daily News Wrap-Up: Favorable Policies Boost Solar Open Access Installations in Gujarat

The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has issued a request for a proposal (RfP) to select contractors for supplying renewable power from group captive open access projects.
The deadline for the submission of bids is extended to February 13, 2020, from the previous date of January 3, 2020. The bid opening date has been scheduled for February 14, 2020.
Interested bidders must pay a sum of ₹20 million (~$280,752) as the earnest money deposit (EMD). The bidder must deposit ₹2 million (~$28,075)/MW in the form of a performance bank guarantee (PBG).
Chennai Metro will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the successful bidder for 25 years. The maximum tariff payable to the project developer has been set at ₹3.50 (~$0.05)/ kWh for the entire period.
The bidder must provide a bid for the selected generation source based on Chennai Metro’s requirement. The generation sources include wind, solar, and wind-solar hybrid.
The requirement from solar projects is 90 million units (MUs)/year, 72 MUs/year from wind, and 90 MUs/year from wind-solar hybrid projects.
CMRL has specified that the bidder will have to into account that the equity contribution of CMRL will be capped at ₹4 million (~$56,150)/MW for the purchase of a 26% equity share in the group captive model. The 26% infusion by CMRL will only be made after the corresponding 74% investment is made by the developer.
The commercial operation date of the power projects has to be within a maximum of six months from the date of signing of PPA. In the case of early commissioning, CMRL will purchase the power generated at 75% of the PPA tariff until the scheduled commercial operation date. Commissioning the project of not on time, will cost the developer 10% of the PBG for a month’s delay. The entire PBG will be encashed if the project is delayed by more than three months and up to four months.
The PPA will be signed within 45 days from the letter of Intent issued.
According to the tender document, the bidder must submit their bid for the entire capacity of the chosen generation source. The successful bidder may even supply the entire amount from more than one location provided they quote a single tariff for the total capacity.
The net worth of the prospective bidder should be at least ₹500 million (~$7,02 million) for the financial year 2018-19. The tender document also states that the bidder should have developed solar or wind power projects of at least 100 MW capacity. The bidder must have successfully operated such projects for at least six months. Further, the bidder must have experience in solar or wind power generation for a minimum period of three years.
The off-taker will need to pay all statutory open access charges and losses on an actual basis over the PPA tariff. According to the CMRL, the bidder needs to declare the annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) for the entire life of the project, which will be allowed to be modified at the time of the signing of the PPA. After this, the CUF for the project will remain unchanged for the entire term of the PPA. The declared annual CUF should not be less than 19% for solar PV projects and 29% for wind projects.
Over the past year, metro corporations in various states have come forward with their plans to reduce their carbon footprint by adopting renewable power to fuel their energy requirements.
For instance, a few weeks ago, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/uperc-noida-metro-install-rooftop-solar-net-metering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom reported</a> that Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://www.uperc.org/Default2.aspx">UPERC</a>) allowed the Noida Metro Rail Corporation Limited (<a href="http://www.nmrcnoida.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NMRC</a>) to install 10 MW of rooftop solar power projects with a net metering facility.
Last year, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (<a href="http://www.delhimetrorail.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DMRC</a>) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-metro-power-waste-to-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said that it has started utilizing power</a> from a 12 MW waste to energy project set up by the East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited in Gazipur, Uttar Pradesh.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17636" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details.png" alt="Work Item Details" width="1207" height="756" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details.png 1207w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-300x188.png 300w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-1024x641.png 1024w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-768x481.png 768w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-650x407.png 650w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-624x391.png 624w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Work-Item-Details-600x376.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1207px) 100vw, 1207px" /></a>
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Image credit: Metro Rail News

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