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					</table><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/assam-regulator-unveils-and-virtual-net-metering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) has released draft guidelines for implementing group and virtual net metering frameworks for</a> renewable energy systems. These guidelines, set to effect upon issuance, aim to promote the adoption of renewable energy and provide more flexible options for consumers. The Commission has invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders by October 3, 2024. Group net metering allows surplus energy generated from a renewable energy system or battery energy storage system charged through renewable energy to be exported to the grid and adjusted across multiple electricity service connections of the same consumer within the distribution licensee’s area of supply.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/insolation-energy-breaks-module-facility-in-jaipur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insolation Green Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Insolation Energy, has broken ground on its 3 GW solar PV module facility and a 12,000 MTA</a> aluminum frame plant in Sawarda, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The company said it invests ₹4 billion (~$47.6 million) in its third manufacturing facility. The facility will produce 3 GW of n-type and ToPCon solar panels and 12,000 metric tons of aluminum frames annually. The facility will cover 109,000 square meters and is expected to create over 800 jobs, contributing towards the region’s economic growth. The company said the solar panels will adhere to international and Indian standards like IEC, Approved List of Models and Manufacturers, and Bureau of Indian Standards, ensuring high quality and reliability.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/adb-aiib-invest-100-million-in-electric-bus-company-jbm-ecolife" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haryana-based electric bus company JBM Ecolife Mobility has secured $100 million in funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure</a> Investment Bank (AIIB). These funds will be used to supply and operate electric buses under the Gross Cost Contract model in states across India. The company plans to deploy 650 e-buses, starting with Haryana and Odisha. The funding was obtained after thorough Environmental, Social, and Governance audits by approved consultants. JBM has deployed over 1,500 electric buses across ten states and 15+ major airports in India. The company has an order book of 6,500+ electric buses deployed and under execution.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/carborundum-to-source-10-mw-power-from-grian-energys-renewable-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Engineering company Carborundum Universal has invested ₹80 million (~$954,426) for a 4.19% stake in New Delhi-based Grian Energy</a> (GEPL) which is setting up a renewable energy project. The investment will allow Carborundum to access the contracted capacity of around 10 MW in GEPL’s captive power project, for which it has entered into a power purchase agreement. GEPL has proposed developing and operating a captive power project to supply electricity—solar and wind—which will be used to meet Carborundum’s power requirements. The acquisition is expected to be completed by March 2025. The company entered into a share subscription and shareholders’ agreement with GEPL and its parent company Amplus Energy Solutions, to acquire the shares.
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/samvardhana-motherson-acquires-stake-in-israels-ree-automotive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Automotive component manufacturer Samvardhana Motherson International (SAMIL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary MSSL Consolidated</a>, is acquiring up to 3.64 million Class A shares in Israel-based e-mobility company REE Automotive for $4.122 per share, resulting in a total investment of $15 million. The company has announced the purchase of 11% stake on a fully diluted basis and up to 19% on a non-diluted basis in REE Automotive. The transaction is expected to be completed within 30 days. REE Automotive is engaged in designing, developing, and integrating vehicle components into a modular platform for commercial electric vehicles with applications in mid and last mile delivery.

Daily News Wrap-Up: AERC Unveils Net Metering Draft Guidelines

ReneSola Ltd, a solar module manufacturer, has announced that it has signed a $100 million strategic investment agreement with the Zhongnan Industry, a subsidiary of Zhongnan Holding Group. Both of these companies are headquartered in China.
According to the agreement, Zhongnan Industry will invest $100 million to strengthen ReneSola’s solar module manufacturing supply chain.
Speaking to Mercom, the spokesperson of ReneSola said, “This investment will help ReneSola to strengthen the entire supply chain of PV module manufacturing business in China as well as globally.”
Sky Wang, the CEO of ReneSola, commented on the development, saying, “This strategic partnership with Zhongnan Holding Group will add value to our supply chain and enhance our production capacities while allowing us to focus more on the technological advancement in the solutions we provide to our valuable customers.”
Recently, another Chinese company, <a href="https://en.longi-solar.com/home/index/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LONGi Solar</a>, a manufacturer of high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules, announced a framework agreement <a href="https://mercomindia.com/longi-solar-acquire-solar-cell-module-manufacturer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to acquire</a> solar cell and module manufacturer Ningbo Jiangbei Yize New Technology for 1.78 billion yuan (~₹18.11 billion or $252.8 million). The Shanghai Stock Exchange filing stated that LONGi would acquire the Chinese cell and module maker through a 100% acquisition of its equity through cash.
Mercom Capital Group’s recently released  <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/q1-2020-solar-funding-ma-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q1 2020 Solar Funding and M&amp;A Report</a> revealed that the total corporate funding in the solar sector, which includes venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing has plummeted by 31% at $1.9 billion (~₹143.4 billion) in Q1 2020 as compared $2.8 billion (~₹211.35 billion) raised in Q1 of 2019. The total corporate funding stood at $2.7 billion (~₹203.79 billion) in Q4 2019. The report attributed this downturn in funding activity to lower venture capital, and public market financing as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people and industries across the globe.

ReneSola Signs $100 Million Investment Deal to Ramp Up its Solar Module Manufacturing

The Gas Authority of India (<a href="https://gailonline.com/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GAIL</a>) has floated a tender for the installation of rooftop solar projects with a total capacity of 3.2 MW at various locations of GAIL across India on a lump-sum turnkey basis.
The area-wise break up is 36.72 kW in the North East, 47.45 kW in Tamil Nadu, 171.6 kW in Telangana, 130 kW in Uttar Pradesh, 646.42 kW in Gujarat, 1751.65 kW in Madhya Pradesh, 67.6 kW in Rajasthan, 328.7 kW in Andhra Pradesh, and 18.2 kW in Delhi.
Interested bidders will have to pay an amount of ₹2.28 million (~$32,217) as the earnest money deposit (EMD) and the last date for the submission of bids is November 29, 2019. The pre-bid meeting will take place on November 14, 2019.
The purview of the work includes the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of solar rooftop projects at the respective sites. The scope of work also includes the operation and maintenance of the installed solar systems for a period of five years.
The total time period given for the completion of the projects across all sites is six months.
The contract period for the operation and maintenance will be valid for five years from the date of successful commissioning of the project at the respective sites.
As far as the eligibility criteria are concerned, the interested bidders should have successfully completed the design, engineering, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of solar projects of a minimum total capacity of 0.8 MW in a single work order in any government, PSU, private sector companies in the last seven years from the bid due date.
The minimum annual turnover of the bidder should be ₹56 million (~$790,000) in any one of the three preceding financial years and the net worth of the bidder should be positive as per the last audited financial statement.
On the technical side, the PV modules used for the projects must qualify for the latest edition of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) PV module qualification test or equivalent BIS standards. For the PV modules to be used in a highly corrosive atmosphere, they must qualify for IEC 61701 and the total solar PV array capacity should not be less than the allocated capacity and should comprise of solar crystalline modules of minimum 300 Wp and above wattage.
Earlier this year, GAIL had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gail-maintenance-tender-solar-jaisalmer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> an annual domestic bidding contract for the operation and maintenance of a 5 MW solar PV project at Ramgarh, Jaisalmer. The solar project is being developed under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission, batch -II, phase-I, utilizing multi-crystalline solar PV modules.
Last year, GAIL had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gail-commissions-5-76-mw-dcr-category-rooftop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">commissioned</a> a 5.76 MW grid-connected rooftop solar project developed under the domestic content requirement category. The 5.76 MW rooftop solar project is spread over the roofs of warehouses covering a total roof area of 65, 000 square meters.

GAIL Floats Tender for 3.2 MW of Rooftop Solar Projects for its Premises Across India

The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (<a href="http://www.kredlinfo.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KREDL</a>) has floated a tender for solar-powered home and street lighting systems in H.Kodihalli village of Mandya district.
The last date for the submission of bids is October 3, 2019.
The estimated cost of the project is ₹3.5 million (~$49,131) including Goods and Service Tax.
Interested bidders will need to pay a sum of ₹72,000 (~$1,010) as the earnest money deposit (EMD).
The scope of work includes the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of the solar home lighting and street lighting systems along with five years of warranty and maintenance.
The interested bidders must visit and analyze the site conditions before quoting their price. The bidders are also expected to design, manufacture, and supply the materials to match the site condition.
As per the tender, the solar home lighting systems (Model-V) should consist of 40W of solar PV modules; two white LED luminaires of 6W each and one wall-mounted DC fan of 10W, module mounting structure, wires, and cables as specified in the technical specifications.
As far as the solar street lighting system is concerned, the tender states that it should consist of 75W of solar PV modules, with a minimum 12.8V, 30 AH capacity of lithium ferro phosphate battery, 12W white LED luminaire, control electronics, interconnecting wires and cables, and module mounting hardware.
An interested bidder should be either solar PV system integrator or a manufacturer in India of at least one of the major components to be deployed in the solar PV system.
The technical experience specified by KREDL is that the bidder should have executed similar works in the last five years. The bidder should have been involved in the supply, installation and commissioning of solar inverter chargers, solar home lighting systems, solar pump, solar standalone street lighting system and solar power projects with battery and without battery of minimum solar capacity of 10 kW (50% of tender solar panel capacity) either at the state or central government-run organizations.
Also, the bidder should have executed at least one similar work of value not less than ₹1.8 million (~$25,267)
The bidder should also have achieved a minimum annual turnover of ₹3.6 million (~$50,535) in any two financial years in the last five years.
Previously, it was reported that KREDL had invited bids for <a href="https://mercomindia.com/karnataka-tender-solar-lights-anganawadi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solar-powered fans</a> and lights for 900 Anganawadi buildings across the state.
Image credit: Miltondawson [CC BY-SA <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.0</a>]

Tender Issued for Solar Home and Street Lighting Systems in Karnataka’s Mandya District

<a href="https://torrentpower.com/index.php/site/indexs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gujarat-based Torrent Power Limited</a> (TPL) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for the purchase of power from 300 MW of solar power projects in the state. This procurement will help Torrent Power achieve its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
The last date for the submission of the bids is September 4, 2019, with technical and financial bidding scheduled for September 5 and September 12, 2019, respectively.
Interested bidders need to pay an amount of ₹1 million (~$14,466) as the earnest money deposit (EMD).
The cost of the RfS document (non-refundable) is ₹25,000 (~$362) along with 18% GST.
According to Torrent Power, interested bidders should have operational or under execution solar projects of at least 50 MW to participate in this tender.
The tender further states that for the financial year 2018-2019, the net worth of the bidder should not be less than ₹15 million (~$0.22 million). The annual turnover of the bidder for the financial year 2018-19, should not be less than ₹20 million (~$0.29 million).
Regarding the technical parameter for solar PV modules and other components, the company has stated that all the components of the solar PV project should be in accordance with the technical standards set by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) or the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Each solar module and cell used in the solar power project must use a Radio Frequency identification tag with the name of the manufacturer.
Torrent has also specified that all projects should be installed with the necessary equipment to continuously measure solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed, and other weather parameters.
Last week, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-approves-change-law-clause-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom</a> reported that the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) approved Torrent’s proposed deviations to the competitive bidding guidelines for procuring power from grid-connected solar projects.
In February 2019, the company had issued <a href="https://mercomindia.com/torrent-power-issues-rfs-300-mw-solar-gujarat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RfS</a> for the procurement of up to 300 MW of power from grid-connected solar PV power projects in Gujarat which was later updated with GERC approval for deviation in competitive bidding guidelines.

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