Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements of the day from around the world:

The technical commission delegated by the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Energy Resources of Ecuador has authorized five international companies to participate in the public selection process for the 15 MW Colonophus solar project. The list included companies like Canadian Solar Conolophus, GranSolar-Total EREN, Voltalia SA, Woojin Industrial System, and Scatec Solar – Energy Flex. The project will require a total investment of around $45 million, and the concession term of the project is 25 years. The 15 MW project is equipped with 40 MW of energy storage systems. The generated electricity will be supplied to Baltra-Santa Cruz electrical system.

Shell, a global energy company, has granted $1.7 million (~₹126.32 million) to six electricity providers in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Tanzania to support consumers during financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the press release, consumers of SolarNow, Orb Energy, Husk Power Systems, PowerGen, and d.light would be benefited through Shell’s grant. The company stated that the grant would also be utilized for the installation of solar power systems in hospitals and schools.

Flipkart, a Bangalore-based e-commerce company, has joined the Climate Group’s electric mobility initiative EV100 with a commitment to support the broader adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) into its entire fleet across its e-commerce value chain by 2030. The company said that this would be done through placing requirements in service contracts, installing charging infrastructure close to its 1,400 supply chain premises, and incentivizing its delivery executive towards the use of EVs. The e-commerce firm stated that it is also committed to reducing the consumption of single-use plastic packaging in its supply chain.

Hong Kong-based GCL-Poly Energy Holdings informed its shareholders that it is likely to incur a net loss of at least 1.5 billion RMB (~$217 million) in the first half of 2020. This is in contrast with the net loss of 751 million RMB (~$108.65 million) for the same period last year. The company said that the expected rise in the net loss was due to the decline in sales of wafers, impairment on assets, and a decrease in aggregate capacity of the company’s solar power projects due to the disposal of subsidiaries.

Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Outsource City, part of TECOM Group, declared that they had completed the work on two solar photovoltaic carports in partnership with Enova. The company said that both projects would generate 4.25 GW of solar electricity while reducing 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The 1.6 MW of solar carport in Dubai Outsource City is expected to satisfy 98% of the energy requirements of the community. The 1.1 MW of solar carport in Dubai International Academic City is likely to provide solar power to 12 university buildings.

Australia-based Edify Energy and Octopus Investments said that the Darlington Point solar project had completed the generation registration process. The Darlington Point project is located in South-West New South Wales and has a total capacity of 275 MW (AC) and 333 MW (DC). It is currently the largest solar project connected to the National Electricity Market. The company said that the project is expected to enhance the system strength with two synchronous condensers for the power grid in a critical area.

FIMER, a global inverter provider, announced that it had commissioned an 8 MW solar project with a 5 Megavolt Ampere (MVA) central inverter for Andhra Pradesh-based SLP Spilling Mills Private Limited. The project is situated at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. The company said that the 8 MW solar project would be equipped with two units of 5 MVA central inverters.

Here is our previous daily news wrap-up.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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