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					</table><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ntpc-green-epc-tender-300-mw-solar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NTPC Green Energy invited bids for the engineering, procurement, and construction package with land development for up to 300 MW of inter-state transmission system-connected solar projects anywhere in India.</a> The scope of work includes the operation and maintenance of complete solar projects, including the switchyard and power evacuation system until the interconnecting grid substation, along with consumables and spare parts for three years from the commissioning date. The contractor must also identify, acquire, and transfer ownership or lease the land in favor of NEEPCO. The last day to submit the bids is November 24, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/punjab-additional-surcharge-open-access-consumers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission set an additional surcharge of ₹1.29 (~$0.015)/kWh for full open access consumers and partial open access consumers beyond their contract demand within the area of supply of the Punjab State Power Corporation.</a> The Commission has also set an additional surcharge of ₹0.92 (~$0.011)/kWh for partial open access consumers to avail power up to their contract demand maintained with the distribution licensee. The additional surcharge will apply to power purchased from April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/tnpl-floats-tender-rooftop-solar-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers invited bids for supplying, installing, testing, and commissioning 1.1 MW rooftop solar power projects at its mills in Kagithapuram, Karur Unit-I, and Mondipatti, Trichy Unit-II.</a> The last date for the submission of bids is October 27, 2023. Bids will be opened on the next day. Bidders must pay a non-refundable bidding fee of ₹2,950 (~$35.4). They must also furnish ₹1 million (~$12,011) as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder must submit a performance bank guarantee amounting to 10% of the contract price within 30 days of signing the contract.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-penalties-flouting-domestic-solar-requirement-norms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reiterated that action will be taken against entities for violating the domestic content requirement provisions prescribing the use of domestically manufactured solar cells and modules, wherever permitted by the World Trade Organization.</a> The actions include filing criminal cases under IPC 420 and related sections, blacklisting developers for ten years, forfeiting bank guarantees, and disciplinary proceedings against the officers of the central public sector undertakings or state governments.
<a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/government-to-to-boost-ev-adoption-r-k-singh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The government is working on another production-linked incentive for batteries to reduce the cost of storage and boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India, Union Minister for Power and New &amp; Renewable Energy R K Singh said.</a> Launching an EV dashboard developed by OMI Foundation, Singh said, “The future is electric. Nobody can stop this. The price of storage will come down, and once that comes down, diesel and petrol SUVs will be history.” The dashboard projects a 45.5% compounded annual growth rate for EVs from 2022 to 2030, with Maharashtra and Delhi taking the lead in charging station deployment.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rooftop-solar-million-equity-investment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hyderabad-based rooftop solar solutions company Freyr Energy secured an equity investment of $7 million, which it said will be used to increase the adoption of solar energy among retail customers in India.</a> The funding round was led by EDFI ElectriFI, a European Union-funded impact investment facility managed by EDFI Management Company, which contributed $3 million to the investment. Several other investors participated in this round, including Schneider Electric Energy Asia Fund, Lotus Capital, Maybright, and VT Capital.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electricity-grids-failing-keep-pace-renewables" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The world must add or replace 80 million kilometers of electricity grids by 2040, which are equal to all grids globally today to meet national climate targets and support energy security, the International Energy Agency said in a report.</a> The Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions report warned that unless policymakers and companies take swift action to improve and expand the world’s electricity grids,  efforts to tackle climate change and reliable supply of electricity could be put at risk.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/nlc-incorporates-subsidiary-renewables-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Government-owned mining and power generating company NLC India incorporated a new wholly-owned subsidiary, NLC India Green Energy, to take care of its renewables business.</a> Currently, projects to the tune of 2 GW of renewable energy are under implementation and will be taken up by NIGEL, including a 600 MW solar power project in Gujarat and an 810 MW solar power project in Rajasthan. The company has been registered in Chennai and will begin its operations soon.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mits-design-harness-40-suns-heat-produce-hydrogen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a conceptual design to produce totally green, carbon-free hydrogen fuel with a train-like system of reactors that is driven solely by solar energy.</a> In a study published in Solar Energy Journal, the engineers said the new system efficiently harnesses the sun’s heat to split water and generate hydrogen. The MIT system would be paired with an existing source of solar heat, such as a concentrated solar plant — a circular array of hundreds of mirrors that collect and reflect sunlight to a central receiving tower.

Daily News Wrap-Up: NTPC Green Energy Floats 300 MW Solar EPC Tender

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					</table>Hyderabad-based rooftop solar solutions company <a href="https://freyrenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freyr Energy</a> has secured an equity investment of $7 million which it said will be used to increase the adoption of solar energy among retail customers in India.
The funding round was led by <a href="https://www.electrifi.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EDFI ElectriFI</a>, a European Union-funded impact investment facility managed by EDFI Management Company, which contributed $3 million to the investment.
Several other investors participated in this round, including Schneider Electric Energy Asia Fund, Lotus Capital, Maybright, and VT Capital.
Back in 2021, Freyr <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/freyr-energy-raises-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an equity investment of ₹180 million (~$2.3 million) from Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia, and Capital 4 Development Partners.
Rodrigo Madrazo, the CEO of EDFI Management Company, said, “The solar market for the retail sector in India is highly fragmented and disorganized. In this context, we do see an opportunity to team-up with Freyr Energy in bringing solar solutions combined with technology and consumer financing to allow retail customers to transition seamlessly to solar power and reduce their electricity bills.”
Abhishek Agarwal, Founder &amp; Managing Partner, said, “India’s retail sector accounts for more than 50% of its total electricity consumption. Rooftop solar makes up less than 2% of this energy mix today. Solar power, which is 60% less expensive than grid power, presents a substantial market opportunity. Freyr Energy is very well positioned to become a market leader and create significant economic and environmental impact.”
In the second quarter of the calendar year 2023, India added 387 MW of rooftop solar capacity, accounting for almost 23% of total solar installations, according to Mercom India’s <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/rooftop-solar-market-report-q2-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Q2 Rooftop Solar Market Report.</a> India’s cumulative rooftop solar capacity reached 9.6 GW at the end of the quarter.

Rooftop Solar Company Freyr Energy Secures $7 Million Equity Investment

Canadian Solar Inc. announced that it has decided to list its business on Chinese Capital Markets. According to its <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-solar-announces-strategic-decision-to-extend-access-to-chinas-capital-markets-301100045.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press statement</a>, the company said it would pursue a listing of its Module and System Solutions (MSS) business either on the Shanghai Stock Exchange&#8217;s Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR market) or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange&#8217;s ChiNext market. Based on the precedents in the China IPO market, the listing process is estimated to take 18-24 months.
Fujikura, a Japan-based electric equipment manufacturing company, <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200727005840/en/Fujikura-Releases-Thin-Dye-Sensitized-Solar-Cell-Module" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that it had broadened its product lineup of Thin Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) module panel. The increase in the module range is likely to lead to easier designing and installation of the panels into IoT (Internet of Things) devices. In line with the increase in IoT device usages and diversification of their sizes, the new product lineup recognizes the growth in customer needs for solar cells of various shapes and sizes.
Schneider Electric Solar has announced the launch of <a href="https://solar.schneider-electric.com/product/insight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Insight</a>, its new energy management platform for residential and commercial users as a solution to the COVID-19 crisis accelerating the needs of digitalization in the renewable energy industry. It is available through their local, cloud, and mobile interfaces. Insight is a part of Schneider Electric&#8217;s residential and commercial solar &amp; storage ecosystem, providing intuitive mobile and web-browser based interfaces for consumers and installers.
<a href="https://freyrenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Freyr Energy</a>, a Hyderabad-based rooftop solar company, has announced the launch of SunPro+ mobile application for an easy transition to solar for homeowners and business developers. The company said that the consumers could use the mobile application to learn about solar, order a system, track the installation process, and monitor system performance independently. The company added that the artificial intelligence-enabled technology in the SunPro+ application would enable the users to get information according to their needs, and the addition of the chat feature will be used to address queries instantly.
Maxeon Solar Technologies, the planned spin-off from SunPower Corp, has <a href="https://www.global.sunpower.com/solar-panel-products/sunpower-performance-solar-panels" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">launched</a> its new line of bifacial SunPower® Performance 5 panels, the fifth-generation performance solar panels designed specifically for large-scale power plant applications. Among the first products to utilize bifacial mono-PERC solar cells made on large format eight-inch G12 wafers, the new Performance 5 panels offer industry-leading efficiency of over 21 percent along with enhanced shade tolerance with power ratings of up to 625 watts.
Click <a href="https://mercomindia.com/weekly-wrap-up-jinko-efficiency-record/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> for the previous week&#8217;s news wrap-up.

Weekly News Wrap-Up: Canadian Solar Soon on Chinese Capital Markets, Freyr Energy Launches App

<a href="https://freyrenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freyr Energy</a>, a Hyderabad-based rooftop solar company, has announced raising ₹270 million (~$3.81 million) through a mix of equity and debt investments.
The company has more than 1,000 installations across 18 States in India and a customer base in the U.S., Nigeria, and Ghana. In the last four years, it has recorded a 16 times growth in revenue and shown profit in the last two years.
Replying to a question on how attractive the domestic solar industry is for these types of funding, Saurabh Marda, the co-founder of Freyr Energy said, &#8220;VC funding is hard to come by for traditional EPC companies. However, if the business model is technology-enabled, unique and scalable, then, attracting funding is relatively easier&#8221;.
“Freyr Energy is committed to leveraging its technology platform to accelerate growth of decentralized solar both in India and major solar markets around the world. The funds raised will be used to continue improving our technology platform, increase strength of our sales and channel partner network and support our marketing activities to fuel future growth,” he added.
The round was led by C4D Partners, a Netherlands-based Impact Investment Fund.
Last year, Freyr Energy had received seed funding from Doen-Participaties, another Netherlands-based investment company working with innovative and sustainable start-ups.
A growing number of innovative start-ups in the sector have lately been securing attractive investments for their projects.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-rooftop-startup-zunroof-raises-16-6-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In June 2018</a>, <a href="http://www.zunroof.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZunRoof</a>, an Indian solar rooftop start-up, raised ₹16.6 million ($0.25 million) in second round of angel funding from I3N (intellecap impact investment network) led by Pradeep Tharakan, senior energy specialist at Asian Development Bank (ADB), Vismay Sharma, managing director at L’Oreal (UK &amp; Ireland), Ajith Pai (Paipal Ventures), Gaurav Gupta (Asia Director, Dalberg Advisors) and a group of IIT Kharagpur alumni based in the U.S.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/interview-oorjan-rooftop-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prior to that</a>, Oorjan, a firm active in the rooftop solar PV segment, raised ₹30,867,600 ($450,000) in seed funding to help expand its presence in the Indian rooftop solar sector.
In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/sensehawk-raises-2-million-in-series-a-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">September 2018</a>, <a href="https://sensehawk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SenseHawk</a>, a cloud-based enterprise platform leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) analytics on data collected from autonomous systems such as drones, has raised $2 million from SAIF Partners and other angel investors in Series A funding.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/global-solar-funding-rises-5-3-billion-first-half-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earlier,</a> Mercom reported that in the first half (1H) of 2018, the total corporate funding, including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing rose to $5.3 billion, compared to the $4.6 billion raised in 1H 2017.

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