Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) invited bids for manufacturing, testing, packaging, supply, and transportation of 1,000 MW of domestically manufactured solar modules using indigenous solar cells under the Central Public Sector Undertaking Program II. The last date to submit the bids is August 17, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of ₹270 million (~$3.29 million) for the 500 MW package and ₹540 million (~$6.58 million) for the 1,000 MW package.

SECI invited bids to select an agency to carry out soil investigation at proposed 13 GW renewable energy project sites in Leh, Ladakh. The work should be completed within eight months of signing the contract. The last day to submit the bids is August 7, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders must furnish an earnest money deposit of ₹600,000 (~$7,314). The successful bidder must submit a contract performance security equivalent to 5% of the contract value within 30 days of receiving the notice to proceed.

Central Mine Planning and Design Institute, a subsidiary of Coal India, is inviting bids to install 1.03 MW of solar power projects for Central Coalfields in Jharkhand. The installation includes rooftop systems totaling 890 kW at Amrapali (60 kW), Magadh (50 kW), Piparwar (190 kW), NK Area (310 kW), Giridih (280 kW), and a ground-mounted solar project of 140 kW in Amrapali and Kathara Area. The last day to submit the bids is August 8, 2023. Bids will be opened on the next day.

Saudi Arabia-based energy company ACWA Power signed financing agreements with a consortium of investors to develop Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar projects for a total investment of SAR 8.3 billion (~$2.2 billion). ACWA Power signed power purchase agreements with the Water and Electricity Holding Company in November last year to develop these solar projects with a 2,060 MW capacity, expected to begin commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2025.

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory claimed to achieve 91%-93% of bifaciality on a newly developed bifacial perovskite solar cell. The researchers designed a perovskite bifacial solar cell with a modified thickness and achieved efficiencies under illumination from both sides, which were very close together. They utilized optical and electrical simulations to determine the necessary thickness to be constructed into the cell.

As the price of polysilicon materials dropped by almost 50% during the first half of 2023, solar manufacturers in China have scaled up expansion plans with silicon wafers/rods/slices reaching 442 GW, silicon materials reaching 760,000 tons and solar modules and batteries together approaching 1,100 GW during the period. The total expansion would amount to a total of ¥100 billion (~$13.89 billion), as reported by China’s Solar Photovoltaic Portal – Polaris Solar Photovoltaic Network.