Daily News Wrap-Up: NTPC Wins SECI’s 70,000 TPA Green Ammonia Auction
Ministry of Power amends BESS VGF program guidelines
August 6, 2025
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NTPC Renewable Energy won Solar Energy Corporation of India’s auction to supply 70,000 tons per annum of green ammonia under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition program (Mode-2A-Tranche-I). NTPC quoted a tariff of ₹51.8 (~$0.591)/kg to win the auction. The green ammonia will be supplied to Krishana Phoschem in Meghnagar, Madhya Pradesh, for ten years. The tender was initially floated in June 2024 and subsequently amended to increase the projects under its scope.
The Ministry of Power issued amendments to the operational guidelines of the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) program for Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, which are supported through the Power System Development Fund. The Ministry issued the operational guidelines for the ₹94 billion (~$1.1 billion) program to provide VGF of up to 40% to develop 4,000 MWh of BESS capacity across the country. One amendment allows BESS projects to be connected to either the intra-state transmission system or the interstate transmission system.
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) issued a draft of the second amendment to “HERC (Rooftop Solar Grid Interactive Systems Based on Net Metering/Gross Metering), Regulations, 2021,” relating to rooftop solar grid-interactive systems, proposing key changes in energy accounting and surplus power compensation. Under the draft amendment, distribution licensees must compensate surplus electricity injected at the end of April for the March settlement period at 75% of the last discovered Solar Energy Corporation of India tariff for solar energy, or at a reference rate determined by the Commission.
NTPC Renewable Energy invited bids for the supply of crystalline bifacial modules for its upcoming solar projects in Lalitpur and Chitrakoot districts of Uttar Pradesh with a total capacity of 1,000 MW. The modules must have a minimum rating of 570 Wp. The project has been split into three main blocks: Lalitpur-1 and Lalitpur-2, each requiring 435 MW DC of modules, and Chitrakoot-1 requiring 580 MW DC. The total module capacity required is 1,450 MW DC, corresponding to a 1,000 MW solar project. Bids must be submitted by August 19, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day. The scope of work entails the manufacturing, supply, packing and forwarding, and transportation of the solar modules to the designated project sites. It also involves the supply of an extra 1% of the total module quantity as spares.
NTPC Green Energy invited bids to deploy a qualified coordinating agency for forecasting, scheduling, and aggregation services at a 296 MW solar power project in Fategarh, Uttar Pradesh. Bids must be submitted by August 7, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day. The scope of work encompasses collecting real-time data on power generation and installing modem-based energy meters. Alternatively, selected bidders must make arrangements for real-time data from the supervisory control and data acquisition systems site, as well as the analysis of all available static and historical data. The scope of work also entails integrating weather data, setting up the forecast model, collecting available data for solar inverters/transformers, and collecting weather data from reputable forecasting agencies.
Multinational engineering and technology company Bosch will procure power from a 12.66 MW group captive solar power project set up by JSW Neo Energy‘s special purpose vehicle JSW Renew C&I One in Maharashtra. The company will invest ₹40.5 million (~$461,236) in one or more tranches to purchase 4,052,160 shares, each with a face value of ₹10 (~$0.11). The company will maintain a 26% equity stake in JSW Renew C&I One. The investment is expected to close by January 31, 2026. Bosch, in its bourse filing, noted that the acquisition is not a related party transaction and that the promoter, promoter group, and affiliated companies have no vested interest in the entity slated for acquisition.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will procure power from Gentari’s 80 MW wind power project in Tamil Nadu. The project is expected to begin operations in mid-2027 and is projected to generate roughly 300,000 MWh of energy annually. AWS, which signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gentari, aims to utilize the project to reach its net-zero carbon emissions goals by 2040. The PPA follows a collaboration agreement signed by the two parties in 2023. As part of the agreement, Amazon announced a strategic fleet management partnership with Gentari to boost zero-tailpipe emission deliveries in India. This partnership was aimed at supporting Amazon’s last-mile electric fleet program locally, providing delivery service partners access to more three-wheeler electric vehicles for Amazon deliveries.
Haryana-based battery manufacturer, Pastiche Energy Solutions, will set up a 1.5 GW lithium iron phosphate BESS manufacturing plant near Chandigarh, Punjab. Pastiche will invest ₹10 million (~$114,588) in the first phase of the project. The facility is expected to be commissioned by the third quarter of 2025. The company plans to expand the project capacity to 5 GW. Pastiche plans to manufacture battery packs for electric vehicles and the BESS segment. It has received orders for ₹250 million (~$2.86 million) to ₹ 300 million (~$3.4 million).
Climate Policy Initiative, a finance and policy advisory group, invited applications for the next round of India Clean Energy Finance from enterprises and projects in distributed renewable energy for its subsequent round of catalytic support to accelerate commercialization and mobilize commercial capital. The program invites applications from enterprises offering rooftop solar solutions, e-mobility/ solar-powered electric vehicle charging, and renewable energy-powered cooling solutions. Applicants can send their submissions by August 18, 2025. The selected applications will be announced on August 28, 2025.
Despite the risks posed by U.S. anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petitions, Indian solar companies are downplaying potential impacts on their exports. Solar cell and module manufacturers exporting to the U.S. dismiss claims that Indian companies are selling below cost or that the government has subsidized them. A few prominent American companies, under the banner of The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, recently filed petitions seeking AD/CVD investigations into solar imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos.