CERC Rejects Plea to Approve Tariff for 300 MW Wind-Solar Projects

MHI Announces Demand Incentives for Electric Trucks Under PM E-Drive

RECPDCL Signs Agreements for Installing 3.32 Million Smart Meters in Gujarat

Rajasthan Commission Approves Tariffs for 82 MW Solar Projects Under KUSUM

Karnataka Sets Benchmark Tariff of ₹3.07/kWh for MW-Scale Solar Projects

Daily News Wrap-Up: MNRE Clarifies ALMM Norms for Behind-the-Meter Projects

REMCL Floats Tender for 3 MW Solar Project in Noida

JK Tyre to Source 5 MW of Renewable Energy from STTY RE

MNRE Issues Clarifications on ALMM Mandate for Behind-the-Meter Projects

Himachal Electricity Regulator Finalizes Resource Adequacy Framework Regulations

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					</table><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solar-inverter-suppliers-2022-sungrow-sineng-fimer-solis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sungrow, Sineng Electric, FIMER India (ABB), Ginlong (Solis) Technologies, and SOFAR emerged as the leading solar inverter suppliers in India in the calendar year (CY) 2022, according to Mercom’s recently released India Solar Market Leaderboard 2023</a>. The report captured notable shifts in market share rankings, with three new players making it to the top ten list. SOFAR, NingBo Deye Inverter Technology, and Fox ESS were the new entrants in the top ten list.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/fdi-renewable-sector-surges-56-yoy-fy23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Foreign Direct investment (FDI) in India’s renewable energy sector stood at $838 million (~₹69.2 billion) in the fourth quarter of the financial year (FY) 2023, a 102% increase year-over-year compared to $415 million (~₹32.1 billion).</a> The Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently published the data. FDI in India’s renewable energy sector for FY23 stood at $2.5 billion (~₹206.5 billion), a 56% increase YoY compared to $1.6 billion (~₹121 billion). The investment is the highest ever in the Indian renewable sector in a year.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/suzlon-profit-increases-nineteen-fold-fy23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy posted a net profit of ₹3.2 billion (~$38.7 million) during the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY23, an increase of 266% YoY.</a> The company attributed the positive performance to reduced expenses during the period. The company’s net finance cost for Q4 FY23 came up to ₹810 million (~$9.8 million), a decline of 53% YoY. The company’s net revenue for the quarter was ₹16.9 billion (~$204.4 million), a 31% YoY decline.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/delhi-electricity-trading-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has proposed to amend the state’s net metering regulations for renewable energy to provide greater flexibility to prosumers and eligible consumers by enabling peer-to-peer transactions through blockchain or other technologies.</a> The proposed amendments seek to enhance secure and reliable electricity trading while ensuring proper accounting and billing by power distribution companies (DISCOMs).
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/borosil-renewables-q4-profit-higher-solar-glass-sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solar glass manufacturer Borosil Renewables’ profit peaked by 80% YoY to ₹105.01 million (~$1.2 million) for Q4 of FY23, mainly driven by higher solar glass sales and business expansions in India, Europe, and Turkey.</a> The solar glass maker’s Q4 revenue came in at ₹3.09 billion (~$37.3 million), up 82% YoY, primarily on the gains recorded by the company’s overseas subsidiaries. Borosil’s subsidiaries in Europe and Germany recognized a gain on a bargain purchase of ₹541.87 million (~$6.5 million) during the quarter, which is included in the total income for the period.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/global-wind-turbine-setting-new-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global wind turbine order intake during the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 surges by 27% YoY, reaching 23.5 GW, a record high so far, given the increase in wind turbine orders in China, Latin America, and the U.S., according to a recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie.</a> The total value of global wind turbine orders is estimated to have reached $15.2 billion, representing a YoY increase of $3 billion. China achieved a new Q1 record with 15.2 GW of wind turbine order intake. Latin America also experienced record growth during the first quarter, reaching 1.7 GW.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/maharashtra-directs-discom-honor-solar-developers-bcd-gst" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, in a recent order, directed the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company to pay ₹406.44 million (~$4.92 million) to Juniper Green Field toward an increase in the Basic Customs Duty on the import of solar inverters and increased Goods and Services Tax on renewable energy devices.</a> The Commission noted that the carrying cost on the ‘Change in Law’ compensation must be allowed at the interest rate on the working capital loan allowed in the Renewable Energy Tariff Regulations, 2019. It must be calculated on a simple interest basis from the date of incurring such increased expenses until the order date.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/savings-rooftop-solar-can-be-healthy-revenue-stream-for-ci" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As the cost of technology and installations have come down over the years, rooftop solar has undoubtedly emerged as a viable option to cut electricity bills for Commercial and Industrial (C&amp;I) consumers.</a> However, smaller C&amp;I entities must fully understand the extent of savings and the cash outgo toward loan repayment on the installation to make informed decisions. Consumers must assess their capacity requirement based on the operations, then choose developers with experience installing rooftop solar systems.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/inverted-all-perovskite-achieve-24-83-efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An international research team from the University of Tabriz in Iran and Bilkent University in Turkey has developed an inverted all-perovskite bilayer solar cell design with a power conversion efficiency</a> of 24.83% by incorporating innovative materials and optimizing light absorption across a wide spectrum. The researchers focused on developing bilayer heterojunctions with different perovskite materials to enhance light absorption in various spectrum regions.

Daily News Wrap-Up: Top Solar Inverter Suppliers in 2022

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MNRE</a>) has announced the formation of a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cell to process the FDI proposals.
According to the FDI policy, a non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI policy except in those sectors or activities which are prohibited like defense, space, atomic energy.
The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-tweaks-fdi-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revised policy</a> now says that any investment by an entity of a country that shares a land border with India or where the beneficial owner of investment is a citizen of any of those countries will need government approval. Earlier, only Bangladesh and Pakistan were under this category, which has now been expanded to all neighboring countries sharing the border with India. India shares land borders with seven neighboring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. Now, the FDI proposals involving investments from these countries will be processed by the concerned administrative ministry or department.
The cell formed under the MNRE would consist of Amitesh Kumar Sinha, joint secretary (solar), and Ruchin Gupta, MNRE’s Director.
Recently, the <a href="https://commerce.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ministry of Commerce and Industry</a> in April 2020, revised its FDI policy to curb “opportunistic takeovers or acquisitions” of Indian companies amid the ongoing pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
In India, the majority of renewable expansion has been made possible with the help of FDI.
Earlier, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/renewable-industry-attracts-1-27-billion-fdi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that the foreign direct investments in India’s renewable sector stood at $1.27 billion (~₹96.96 billion) for the first nine months of the financial year (FY) 2019-20. The sector received $1.45 billion (~₹110.53 billion) in the entire FY 2018-19. If we look at the past few years, the sector has been witnessing a steady increase in the inflow of FDI. For instance, it increased from $783.57 million (~₹59.89 billion)in 2016-17 to $1.2 billion (~₹92.06 billion) in 2017-18 and then to $1.44 billion (~₹110.53 billion) in 2018-19.

FDI Cell Formed Under MNRE to Process Investment Proposals from Neighboring Countries

The <a href="https://commerce.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ministry of Commerce and Industry</a> has revised its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy intending to curb takeovers or acquisitions of Indian companies during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A Foreign Direct Investment is an investment that allows an entity to have controlling ownership in a business located in another country. The majority of the renewable expansion in the country has been made possible with the help of foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investment in India’s renewable energy sector has been gradually increasing over the past five financial years. The FDI inflow has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-renewable-attracted-fdi-2018-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased significantly</a> since the formation of Invest India, a program formed in 2009 under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 for the promotion of foreign investment in the domestic market. In the non-conventional energy sector, the FDI inflow during FY 2014-15 stood at $615.95 million, which increased to $776.51 million in the next fiscal year. In FY 2016-17, the FDI in the domestic market reached $783.57 million, and it went up to $1.2 billion in FY 2017-18. Further, the inflow increased to $1.44 billion in FY 2018-19.
According to the FDI policy, a non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI policy except in those sectors or activities which are prohibited like defense, space, atomic energy.
The revised policy now says that any investment by an entity of a country that shares a land border with India or where the beneficial owner of investment is a citizen of any of those countries will need government approval. Earlier, only Bangladesh and Pakistan were under this category, which has now been expanded to all neighboring countries sharing the border with India.
India shares land borders with seven neighboring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.
Further, any transfer in the ownership of any such existing or future FDI will also require the government’s approval.
According to reports, other countries like Germany and Australia have also tightened the FDI process amid a rising concern across the globe that Chinese companies are investing in those firms that have been severely hit in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in India has issued a statement pointing out that the revised FDI policy is making it difficult for companies from countries sharing land borders with India, including China, to invest in the country.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, Counselor Ji Rong, said, “Where companies choose to invest and operate depends on the country’s economic fundamentals and business environment. Facing the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, countries should work together to create a favorable investment environment to speed up the resumption of companies’ production and operation. The additional barriers set by the Indian side for investors from specific countries violate the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) principle of non-discrimination and go against the general trend of liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.”
Further, he added, “More importantly, they do not conform to the consensus of G20 leaders and trade ministers to realize a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable, and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open. Companies make choices based on market principles. We hope India would revise relevant discriminatory practices, treat investments from different countries equally, and foster an open, fair, and equitable business environment.”
According to the statement, as of December 2019, China’s cumulative investment in India has exceeded $8 billion (₹608.5 million), far more than the total investments of India’s other border-sharing countries.
“The impact of the policy on Chinese investors is clear. Chinese investment has driven the development of India’s industries, such as mobile phones, household electrical appliances, infrastructure and automobiles, creating a large number of jobs in India, and promoting mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. Chinese enterprises actively made donations to help India fight COVID-19 epidemic,” said Rong.
India is currently under a lockdown, which has affected the economy, bringing many companies to a standstill. There have been supply-chain disruptions, construction issues, among others, for the renewable industry. In its <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-seci-address-indian-solar-industry/">recent webinar</a>, Mercom discussed the impact of Coronavirus on India’s renewable companies in detail.
To curb the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the Indian government has taken several initiatives and measures to boost the economy in these testing times. You can stay up to date with all COVID-19 related updates for the renewable industry <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mercom-coronavirus-live-updates-clean-energy-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

India Tweaks FDI Policy to Curb Opportunistic Acquisition of Firms Amid COVID-19

Minister of Power, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/nsefi-letter-liquidity-fund-discom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">R.K.Singh</a>, has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, apprising him about his correspondence with Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, asking the latter not to scrap or reopen all contracts including those with no evidence of corruption.
On June 26, 2019, the new government of Andhra Pradesh decided to reopen all the PPAs signed by the previous government led by Chandrababu Naidu, alleging corruption.
In his letter to Shah, Singh wrote, “I told him (Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy) about the impact this will have on investment in the country, especially in power and renewable energy sectors as the impression will go to the international community that in our country there is no sanctity of contracts, and nobody will want to invest.”
The situation in <a href="https://mercomindia.com/wind-curtailment-andhra-ppa-revision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andhra Pradesh</a> has become a matter of concern for solar and wind project developers. The issue escalated in the past week with renewable developers approaching the high court for respite. However, the state government has begun curtailing power from wind projects despite the state’s high court imposing a stay on the government’s move to revisit PPA.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/andhra-court-stay-order-solar-wind-tariffs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Recently</a>, the Amaravathi High Court imposed a stay order on the implementation of the state DISCOM’s letter seeking a revision in the power purchase agreement for the solar PV and wind projects. The stay will be in place until August 22, 2019, after which the court will hear the matter.
Singh, in the letter, informed that the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh told him that the previous government had “indulged in corruption in signing PPAs.”
“This has alarmed the sector and investors. If this is not corrected, the foreign direct investment will stop coming, the banks will stop financing, and the growth in the renewable sector will come to a halt,” states the letter.
According to Singh, the renewable energy sector has been attracting a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI).
“The government has set up 80,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, and this is all by the private sector and FDI. The sanctity of the contracts is the key to giving confidence to the investors to invest; without this, the growth in the renewable energy sector will come to a halt,” he added.
Tariffs for power purchase whether thermal or renewable energy is fixed by the regulator which is the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://www.cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CERC</a>) for inter-state supply and State Regulatory Commissions (SRC) for the supply of energy within the state.
Based on Section-62 and 63 of the Electricity Act, the generating and the distribution companies enter into PPAs for the supply of electricity usually for a period of 25 years.
“It is because of this system and the faith that these contracts will be honored that people invest in the power sector. Investments are necessary to make sure that the generation capacity is set up in accordance with our increasing requirements,” states Singh’s letter.
Earlier, Mercom reported on Singh’s previous letter to Reddy, cautioning him to practice restraint when it comes to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/r-k-singh-andhra-pradesh-c-m-solar-wind-ppa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">renegotiations of PPAs</a> for wind and solar energy projects. In his letter, Singh asked the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to act in a manner that is fair, transparent, and according to the law.
Singh had pointed out to Reddy that reopening and canceling of a contract can only be done in cases where corruptions have been proved based on evidence. However, the state appears to have paid little attention to the center’s word of caution.

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