The Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), has issued a notification amending the Energy Conservation Act of 2001 to introduce minimum renewable energy consumption targets for designated consumers until the financial year 2029-2030. This amendment is set to come into force on April 1, 2024. Until then, the earlier renewable purchase obligation (RPO) will remain in force.

AmpIn Energy Transition, an Independent Power Producer in India, has announced a joint venture with Jupiter International to set up a facility to manufacture up to 1.3 GW of solar cells and modules. The facility, which is being established with funds under the government’s Production Linked Incentive program program, is expected to be commissioned in the financial year 2024-25. Under the joint venture’s terms, the modules will be used locally by AmpIn and supplied to third-party developers.

NTPC Renewable Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, has invited bids for implementing land and extra high voltage transmission system package for the development of an Inter-State Transmission System connected solar power projects of up to 1 GW in the Bhuj region of Gujarat. The last date for the submission of bids is November 28, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day. The individual bidders must offer a minimum capacity of 300 MW, and they can increase their bid in increments of 100 MW, up to a maximum of 1GW.

Engineering and consulting firm Gensol Engineering has secured a ₹3.02 billion (~$36.3 million) contract to construct a solar power project from Maharashtra State Power Generation Company. The company will undertake the conceptualization, engineering, provisioning, installation, testing, and commissioning of a 62 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic project. The facility will be in the village of Paras, Taluka Balapur, District Akola, Maharashtra.

Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, is transitioning from a predominantly agricultural economy into a promising industrial hub. The state’s recent industrial initiatives have led to an increase in power demand. According to CEA, the states’ energy demand has increased by 10% year-over-year as of September 2023. The state has been attracting growing interest from solar open access developers and consumers thanks to the state’s robust incentive package.

The European Commission has outlined a six-point action plan to make Europe’s wind energy industry competitive by ensuring more financial support and prioritizing the acceleration of permitting. Acknowledging that the European wind industry has recently faced difficulties with all large wind turbine manufacturers reporting significant operating losses in 2022, the Commission told the European Parliament that Europe was nowhere near the 37 GW per year needed as a cost-effective contribution to achieving the EU 2030 target for renewables.

Germany installed 3.4 GW of solar power capacity in the third quarter of 2023, a 79% year-over-year growth from 1.9 GW. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the installations, however, witnessed a 5.6% drop from 3.6 GW. The data was published in a recent report by the German Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur. The total capacity installed during the first nine months of 2023 stood at 10.1 GW, an 80.36% increase from the 5.6 GW recorded during 9M 2022.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Arizona State University have discovered a method to help reduce the shunting issue mainly found in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. Perovskite silicon tandems are used to absorb high-energy light, with a silicon-made bottom cell specifically for absorbing lower-energy infrared rays, making their application popular in solar energy generation.