Daily News Wrap-Up: NTPC’s 1 GW Wind-Solar Hybrid Auction

Sprng Energy, AMPIN, Juniper, ReNew, Avaada Win NTPC’s 1 GW Hybrid Auction

Biofuels Firm GPS Renewables Raises $50 Million in Debt Financing

Solar Auctions Surge by 229% in Q1 2024, Tender Activity Up 122%

Global Wind Installations Reached 1 TW Milestone in 2023

Funding and M&A Roundup: Nexamp Secures $520 Million

Project Finance Brief: Arevon Secures $352 Million for Posey Solar Project

Indian Oil Issues Empanelment Tender for Solar Power Projects

Southern Railway Seeks Bids for 1.2 MW Rooftop Solar Projects in Chennai

Husk Secures $4 Million from Electrifi to Scale up Mini Grids in Rural India


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/plagued-by-project-delays-plummet-by-44-in-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Solar installations in India dropped 44.1% in the calendar year 2023, with a capacity of 7.5 GW added against 13.4 GW in 2022, according to Mercom India’s Q4 &amp; Annual 2023 India Solar Market Update.</strong></a> Large-scale solar installations saw a year-over-year drop of 50.8%, accounting for 5.8 GW from 11.7 GW in 2022. Large-scale solar installations constituted 77.2% of the total annual capacity additions, while rooftop solar made up the remaining 22.8%.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/brightnight-renew-acme-win-nhpcs-renewables-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>BN Hybrid Power-1 (BrightNight), Hero Solar Energy (Hero Future Energies), Solarcraft Power India 20 (BluPine Energy), Juniper Green Energy, ReNew Solar Power (ReNew), and ACME Cleantech Solutions</strong></a> were declared winners in NHPC’s auction to supply 1.5 GW of firm and dispatchable renewable power (Peak Power Supply) from inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected projects coupled with energy storage systems anywhere in India.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/maharashtra-floats-solar-power-under-kusum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>MSEB Solar Agro Power has floated 14 tenders to procure a cumulative capacity of 3,048 MW solar power under Component C of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan program</strong></a> for feeder-level solarization. The last date for the submission of bids is February 27, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day. The projects will be developed under Phase 2 of the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana program.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gujarat-rules-green-open-access/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Green Energy Open Access) Regulations, 2024,</strong></a> to include rules for banking and other open access charges applicable for green energy open access consumers. The regulations will apply to power generated through the open access model from green energy sources, including the energy from non-fossil fuel-based municipal solid waste-to-energy projects for the use of intra-state transmission and distribution systems.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-lifts-scheduling-restrictions-solar-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has stayed the scheduling restrictions imposed by the Western Regional Load Dispatch Centre on Tata Power Renewable Energy’s and Electro Solaire’s solar power projects</strong></a> over the non-compliance of reactive power support. Last October, the Central Electricity Authority directed 20 renewable energy projects that had received provisional or conditional connectivity approvals to submit compliance reports, specifying the capacity of non-compliance that should be curtailed or suspended until they fully meet the regulatory requirements.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solaredge-ninefold-increase-net-loss-q4-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>SolarEdge, an Israel-based solar inverter manufacturer, recorded a net loss of $162.4 million in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, an 880% year-over-year) drop from the net profit of $20.8 million</strong>,</a> primarily due to the higher interest rates and lower power prices, causing an inventory buildup and slowing down the shipments. The company’s revenues were down by 65% to $316 million in Q4 from $890.7 million during the same quarter last year.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/vena-energy-secures-600-million-loan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Singapore-based renewable energy firm Vena Energy signed a five-year sustainability-linked revolving credit facility worth JP¥87 billion (~$600 million) to accelerate its operations in the Asia-Pacific region.</strong></a> The company has a renewable energy capacity of over 3 GW and over 4 GW of additional capacity under construction or contract. The facility is structured as a sustainability-linked loan with credit margins tied to Vena Energy’s performance on key ESG indicators.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/sunrun-swings-to-q4-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>United States-based residential solar, battery storage, and energy services company Sunrun swung to a loss in the fourth quarter of 2023, hurt by lower sales, higher interest expense, and a non-cash investment charge</strong></a>. The company reported a net loss of $350.1 million in Q4 2023 versus net income of $63 million in Q4 2022. Excluding the $58.6 million non-cash charge related to its investment in Lunar Energy, the Nasdaq-listed company recorded a loss of $291.5 million.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-forecast-to-scale-solar-capacity-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the outlook for 2024 suggests a dynamic and transformative period for the country’s energy landscape, with solar and battery storage taking center stage</strong></a>, complemented by contributions from wind, natural gas, and nuclear sources. Among the anticipated additions, solar power is expected to take the lead, contributing 58% of the new capacity, followed closely by battery storage at 23%. These projections are based on EIA’s latest “Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/carbon-intensity-regulation-imperative-low-carbon-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Emissions from green hydrogen produced from 100% grid power could be as high as 50 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen (kgCO2e/kgH2) – worse than brown hydrogen – if the electrolyzer is connected to a grid powered by fossil fuels.</strong></a> The findings were a part of Wood Mackenzie’s Horizons report. This situation might occur if around 30% of the 565 GW of announced or operational green hydrogen projects are connected to the grid. Currently, the global hydrogen market is dominated by carbon-intensive grey or brown hydrogen, totaling around 90 million tons per annum.</p>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: India’s Solar Capacity Additions Drop by 44% in 2023


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/blupine-loan-120-mw-solar-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Renewable energy company BluPine Energy has announced the financial closure of ₹5.11 billion (~$61.3 million) for its 120 MW solar project in Gujarat.</strong></a> The green loan financing for the project was secured from Standard Chartered. The total investment for the project is valued at ₹6.65 billion (~$79.8 million). Upon completion, the project is expected to generate about 323,000 MWh of solar energy annually, offsetting an estimated 296,000 tons of CO2 and providing power to approximately 270,000 households.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/odisha-generic-tariffs-small-hydro" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission has determined the generic tariff and prices for renewable energy projects, including small hydro, biomass, and non-fossil</strong></a> fuel-based co-generation power projects. The control period of the tariff will span three financial years, starting from the beginning of the financial year (FY) 2023-24 and ending at the conclusion of FY 2025-26 for all renewable power projects. For small hydroelectric projects, the control period extends from the beginning of FY 2023-24 to the end of FY 2027-28.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-based-kpit-unveils-ion-battery-technology/"><strong>Pune-headquartered KPIT Technologies, an autonomous software integration partner for the automotive and mobility sector, has introduced its sodium-ion battery technology</strong></a> with the aim of alleviating lithium dependency in India’s energy storage sector. The technology is anticipated to decrease reliance on imported core battery materials and boasts various applications within the automotive and mobility realms, particularly for electric two and three-wheelers and commercial vehicles.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/exponent-secures-26-4-million-series-b-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery startup Exponent Energy has raised $26.4 million in a series B funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures</a> </strong>and a strategic investment from TDK Ventures, marking their debut investment in India’s EV sector. The company plans to utilize the fresh funding to expand its presence to five new cities by the fiscal year 2024. The startup aims to diversify its electric three-wheeler space offerings and enter the intercity e-bus segment in 2024. By 2025, Exponent envisions deploying 1,000 charging stations and powering 25,000 EVs with their innovative technology. The latest funding brings Exponent’s total capital raised to $44.4 million.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-record-storage-capacity-in-q3-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The U.S. energy storage market installed 7,322 MWh in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, the highest capacity in a quarter to date, according to the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report</strong></a> by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association. The cumulative capacity of energy storage installations in 2023 reached 13,518 MWh, surpassing the total volume in the whole of 2022, which stood at 11,976 MWh. The report suggests that installations in Q3 could have been higher if not for the delay experienced by 80% of the projects that were in the pipeline.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/lcoe-primary-driver-choosing-right-solar-inverter-size/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>As solar power installations continue to grow, it has become crucial to optimally size the solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters to maintain their efficiency and performance</strong></a> to manage power generation in high ambient temperatures. Mercom India hosted a webinar titled “Optimal Sizing of PV Inverters for Robust Performance in High Ambient Temperatures” on December 12, 2023, where industry experts discussed the factors involved in optimally sizing solar PV inverters for diverse locations and temperatures and achieving higher performance.</p>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: BluPine Gets ₹5.11 Billion Loan for 120 MW Solar Project


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					</table><p>The energy storage market in the United States, including grid-scale, residential and community, commercial, and industrial segments, experienced an 80% year-over-year (YoY) growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, adding a total of 5,597 MWh, found the latest report by <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wood Mackenzie</a> and <a href="https://cleanpower.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Clean Power Association</a>.</p>
<p>The report reveals that the grid-scale energy storage segment was pivotal in driving this growth with 5,109 MWh, an impressive 172% quarter-over-quarter expansion.</p>
<p>California emerged as the leader in this sector, contributing 738 MW and accounting for a substantial 49% share of the total installed capacity.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-58932" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023.png" alt="WoodMac Energy Storage Installations Q2 2023" width="100%" height="100%" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023.png 752w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023-300x159.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023-650x344.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023-624x330.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WoodMac-Energy-Storage-Installations-Q2-2023-600x318.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" />While community, commercial, and industrial (CCI) installations reached 107 MWh, surpassing any quarter in 2022, they faced a 53% quarterly decline compared to the substantial <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-grid-scale-energy-drop-by-33-in-q1-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spike</a> in last quarter&#8217;s installations. Nevertheless, the CCI segment continues to grow significantly, with a 25% YoY increase.</p>
<p>In contrast, residential storage experienced its second consecutive quarter of decline, totaling 381.2 MWh, slightly behind last quarter’s figure of 388.2 MWh. California witnessed the most substantial decline, with a 17% decrease quarter-over-quarter and a 37% drop YoY.</p>
<p>John Hensley, Vice President of Research and Analytics at the American Clean Power Association, said, &#8220;The energy storage market is on pace for a record year, as utilities and larger power users increasingly turn to storage to enhance the grid and improve reliability. Despite supply chain challenges and interconnection delays, the market is poised to nearly double annual installations and continue its rapid growth in the coming years.&#8221;</p>
<p>Wood Mackenzie&#8217;s five-year forecast from 2023 to 2027 predicts that the grid-scale segment will remain the primary driver of the market, contributing to 83% of total installations, equivalent to 55 GW.</p>
<p>Several projects that had faced delays in previous quarters due to supply chain issues were successfully realized in the past quarter. However, despite these achievements, the expected pipeline did not materialize fully, resulting in more than 2 GW of projects being pushed back.</p>
<p>According to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. solar industry <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/united-states-adds-5-6-gwdc-solar-capacity-q2-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> 5.6 GWdc of new capacity in Q2 2023, a YoY increase of 20%.</p>
<p>A U.S. Energy Information Administration report <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-battery-utility-scale-storage-capacity-to-gw-by-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggests</a> that power developers and project owners could add utility-scale battery storage capacity of up to 30 GW in the U.S. over the next three years.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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US Grid-Scale Energy Storage Installations Rise 172% in Q2 2023

<p>Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and energy research firm Wood <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/news/feature/the-united-states-surpasses-2-million-solar-installations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mackenzie</a> have pegged the United State’s total solar installations at more than 2 million.</p>
<p>The report added that the electricity produced is enough to light up 12 million homes in the U.S. The report has forecast that the installations would reach the 4 million mark by 2023.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that the 2020s will be the decade that solar becomes the dominant new form of energy generation,&#8221; SEIA CEO Abigail Ross-Hopper said in the statement.</p>
<p>The rise of solar energy in the United States over the last decade is attributable to rapidly falling prices on the technology, state mandates that require utilities to source large amounts of renewable energy, and a federal tax credit worth 30% of the cost of a system. Solar is now a $17 billion industry, SEIA has said.</p>
<p>Despite this growth feat, solar is still a small part of the U.S. energy mix compared with fossil fuels. This year, solar, wind and other renewables excluding hydropower are expected to provide 11% of U.S. electricity generation, compared with 37 % for natural gas and 24% for coal, according to data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).</p>
<p>California accounted for 43% of the second million installations, with Texas, Utah, Florida, Rhode Island, and Maryland  being the other states where solar has grown rapidly over the last three years , SEIA said, while Wood Mackenzie added there would be one solar energy system installed per minute in the United States by 2024.</p>
<p>India was the third largest solar market behind China and the United States with 8.3 GW of solar PV capacity installed in 2018, with Japan and Germany ranked fourth and fifth largest solar markets in the world. The United States was the second largest market with 10.6 GW of solar PV capacity addition in 2018, according to SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-solar-market-2018-behind-china-us/">Mercom</a> had reported.</p>
<p>In total, the top five countries – China, the United States, India, Japan, and Germany – are expected to account for 73 GW of solar PV capacity. Barring a significant policy turnaround in one of these five markets, they could end up in the same order next year.</p>
<p>The United States installed more than double compared <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/solarinstallations-q4-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India’s solar PV capacity addition in Q4 2018</a> and exceeded India’s total capacity addition for the year. However, by the end of the third quarter, India had installed more solar PV than the United States. It was primarily because of the rapid pace of installations recorded in the first quarter of 2018 when India had installed over 3 GW capacity.</p>
<p>According to a report by <a href="https://www.seia.org/us-solar-market-insight" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SEIA</a>, in Q4 2018, the United States installed 4.2 GW of solar PV, which is a 139 percent increase from Q3 2018 and a 4 percent increase from Q4 2017.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/soumik/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Soumik Dutta</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="wp-image-13449 alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Soumikimage-e1556814790294-275x300.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="102" />Soumik is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, Soumik was a correspondent for UNI, New Delhi covering the Northeast region for seven years. He has also worked as an Asia Correspondent for Washington DC-based Hundred Reporters. He has contributed as a freelancer to several national and international digital publications with a focus on data-based investigative stories on environmental corruption, hydro power projects, energy transition and the circular economy. Soumik is an Economics graduate from Scottish Church College, Calcutta University.</p>
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