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					</table><p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/juniper-sembcorp-o2-win-sjvns-hybrid-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Juniper Green Energy, Datta Power Infra, Green Infra Wind Energy (Sembcorp), Energizent Power (O2 Power), Green Prairie Energy (EverGreen Power), and Avaada Energy</strong></a> were declared winners in SJVN’s auction to develop 1.5 GW Inter-State Transmission system-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects in India. Juniper Green Energy quoted the lowest tariff of ₹3.43 (~$0.0413)/kWh to win 150 MW, while Datta Power Infra won 50 MW by quoting the second lowest tariff of ₹3.47 (~$0.0418)/kWh.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/seci-wind-solar-hybrid-tranche-viii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Solar Energy Corporation of India has invited bids to develop 1,200 MW of interstate transmission system-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects</strong></a> (Tranche VIII) in the country. The projects must be commissioned within 24 months of the power purchase agreement (PPA) signing date. The last day to submit the bids is March 29, 2024. Bids will be opened on April 3.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-market-coupling-shadow-pilot-power-exchanges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has authorized a shadow pilot on power systems and cost optimization through a market coupling of various segments of all three energy exchanges</strong></a> – Indian Energy Exchange, Power Exchange India, and Hindustan Power Exchange. The shadow pilot will include three coupling methods – coupling of the Real-Time Market (RTM) segments across the three power exchanges, coupling of the RTM and Security Constrained Economic Dispatch segments, and coupling of the Day-Ahead Market of the three power exchanges for four months.</p>
<p><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/mnre-issues-clarification-rooftop-solar-subsidy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Residential rooftop solar applications submitted before February 13, 2024, will not be applicable for central financial assistance under the new PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana</strong></a>, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has said. Under the new program announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, a subsidy of ₹30,000 (~$361)/kW will be provided for residential rooftop solar systems up to 2 kW for applications submitted after February 13, 2024.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gridco-invites-bids-land-for-solar-projects-in-odisha/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Grid Corporation of Odisha has invited bids to source land from land owners and aggregators for either lease or sale to project developers for setting up solar power projects</strong></a> in Odisha. The land offered must have a minimum size of 20 acres (calculated at an assumed rate of 4-5 acres/MW) and should be located in close proximity to a specific DISCOM/OPTCL substation. The last date for submission of bids is March 2, 2024. Bids will be opened on the next day.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/pure-ev-raises-funding-to-expand-sales-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Hyderabad-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Pure EV has secured $8 million in the latest round of funding to help the company expand its sales network</strong></a> in India from 140 to 300 dealers in the next six months. The funding was led by Benett Coleman and Company (BCCL), Hindustan Times Media Ventures, Ushodaya Enterprises, existing investors, and high net-worth individuals. Pure EV is in the final stages of concluding Series A1 funding amounting to $25 million.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rajasthan-struggles-open-access-projects-face-setbacks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>In Rajasthan, where the promise of renewable energy seems boundless, hurdles have emerged in the path of progress where a significant capacity of open access solar projects in the pipeline are at a standstill.</strong></a> In the third quarter of 2023, when the open access installations in India surged by 36% quarter-over-quarter to 907 MW, Rajasthan ranked fifth for installations behind Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. The bottlenecks have cast a shadow over the ambitious plans to harness Rajasthan’s vast renewable energy potential.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/submit-green-open-access-compliance-status/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Ministry of Power has instructed state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) to comply with the Electricity</strong></a> (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules and align their states’ Open Access Regulations with the notified rules and all the amendments. SERCs have been directed to submit their compliance status by February 27, 2024.</p>


Daily News Wrap-Up: SJVN’s 1.5 GW Wind-Solar Auction Result


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					</table><p>Hyderabad-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer <a href="https://www.pureev.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pure EV</a> has secured $8 million in the latest round of funding to help the company expand its sales network in India from 140 to 300 dealers in the next six months.</p>
<p>The funding was led by Benett Coleman and Company (<a href="https://bccl.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BCCL</a>), Hindustan Times Media Ventures (<a href="https://www.hmvl.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HMVL</a>), <a href="https://priyafoods.com/pages/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ushodaya Enterprises</a>, existing investors, and high net-worth individuals.</p>
<p>Pure EV is in the final stages of concluding Series A1 funding amounting to $25 million. The company is also undertaking discussions with potential investors from Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore for series A2 funding with a target of $15 million.</p>
<p>The company, which manufactures electric two-wheeler motorcycles and scooters, has sold over 70,000 vehicles through a pan-India network of over 140 outlets. Pure EV exports its products to countries in South Asia and plans to expand to the Middle Eastern and African markets.</p>
<p>“We have been relentlessly working towards our vision of transforming electric mobility and enhancing transportation affordability for the common man. In the last calendar year, we launched new electric motorcycles, India’s first 200+ km range electric scooter, along with integration of AI into our power-train platforms while keeping the price affordable,” said Rohit Vadera, co-founder and CEO of Pure EV.</p>
<p>Last year, India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electric-vehicle-sales-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">registered</a> the highest EV sales, with 1.53 million units sold against the million units that were sold in the previous year. As the vehicles accounted for nearly 6.4% of the overall automobile sales, the EV market consistently surpassed the 100,000 units mark on a monthly basis.</p>
<p>Two-wheelers accounted for nearly 56% or 857,165 of the total EVs that were sold in 2023. The union government recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/fame-ii-budgetary-vehicles-increased-by-million#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of%20Heavy%20Industries,India's%20transition%20to%20clean%20mobility." target="_blank" rel="noopener">revised</a> the budgetary outlay of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid &amp; Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) program, which allocated ₹53 billion ($638 million) for electric two-wheelers.</p>


Pure EV Raises $8 Million Funding to Expand Sales Network in India

<p>Mumbai-based electric vehicle (EV) startup <a href="http://www.earthenergy-ev.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earth Energy EV</a> announced that it received an undisclosed amount of seed funding.</p>
<p>The company plans to use the funds to facilitate the launch of three vehicle models, which it has been working on. The startup added that it has been conducting on-road trials for the last two and a half years.</p>
<p>This latest round of funding was led by LR Joshi, MD of Pranada Biopharma Private Limited, along with three other equity investors. Previously, the company had raised investments from private investors and was also a part of the SmartCity Dubai Accelerator Program in 2018.</p>
<p>Commenting on this latest round of funding, Rushi Shenghani, Founder of Earth Energy EV, said, “It’s remarkable to have the support of our investors as we look to grow the company and disrupt the EV market. The vehicles we are launching in the market are 96% localized and in the true essence marks the ‘Make in India’ initiative put forth by the government. The investment will be used to hire critical talent, strengthen the sales network, and make the vehicles production-ready via enhanced OEM (original equipment manufacturers) relations and strong supply chain.&#8221;</p>
<p>“The vehicles to be launched in the last quarter of this year will be in the high-speed two-wheeler and commercial vehicles category. We will offer lucrative pricing and buying options to the customers for making the transition to EVs easy and comfortable,” he added.</p>
<p>The company was started in 2017 and is currently involved in the development of electric motorcycles, electric scooters, commercial vehicles, and autonomous vehicle drivetrains for global consumers. It operates under the Dubai-based parent company Grushie Energy Private Limited.</p>
<p>Several startups in the EV sector have secured funding in the last year, and this is encouraging for the adoption of EVs in the country. The automotive sector is witnessing a paradigm shift with the introduction of new technologies, and the startups are playing their part in driving this change.</p>
<p>In January this year, Bengaluru-based startup <a href="https://www.numocity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Numocity Technologies</a> <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ev-startup-numocity-raises-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">raised</a> an undisclosed amount of funding from Ideaspring Capital, Rebright Partners, and ABB Technology Ventures (ATV).</p>
<p>The startup is focused on providing end-to-end solutions for the electric mobility infrastructure in the country.</p>
<p>Earlier, <a href="https://pureev.in/epluto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PURE EV</a>, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad-incubated startup, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/iit-hyderabad-electric-vehicle-pure-ev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">raised</a> an undisclosed amount of funding. PURE EV is in the process of launching a high-speed motorcycle with battery swapping in 2020.</p>
<p>Mercom also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/electric-scooter-ather-energy-raises-51-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> previously that <a href="https://www.atherenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ather Energy</a>, India’s intelligent electric scooter manufacturer, had raised $51 million (~₹3.8 billion) in funding led by Flipkart’s co-founder Sachin Bansal’s investment of $32 million (~₹2.4 billion). Ather Energy was one of the earliest startup investments of Sachin Bansal when he invested $0.5 million (~₹37,344) in the firm as an angel investor in 2014.</p>


Mumbai-Based EV Startup Raises Funding to Launch Three New Models This Year

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