Top Headlines and Data Points from Indian Renewable Energy Sector in September 2017

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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, will provide a $50 million (~₹3.2 billion) loan to ACME Jaipur Solar Power Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACME Solar, to develop a 250 MW solar project in the Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh.

Inox Wind, a wind energy solutions provider, has closed a deal to develop a 100 MW wind power project for Adani Green Energy, part of the Adani Group, in Kutch, Gujarat.

Investors got to participate in the India solar story after the government of India sold a five percent stake in the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), a state-owned public utility and the largest power utility in India, for $1.03 billion.

The total number of non-solar renewable energy certificate (RECs) sold in August 2017 was 2,89,505, a 42 percent decrease from the 4,95,295 of non-solar RECs sold in July 2017.

In a study, the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) found that solar-powered primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Chhattisgarh admitted over 50 percent more patients and conducted almost twice the number of child deliveries in a month compared to power-deficit PHCs that lacked solar systems.

In August, solar auctions fell precipitously in India. Compared to the robust auction activity seen in June, solar auctions by MWs fell by 95% in August with only 76 MW reported.

In the second quarter (Apr-Jun) of 2017, export and import activity totaling $1.24 billion (~₹ 79.9 billion) was registered in the Indian solar sector.

ACME Cleantech Solutions commissioned two solar projects totaling 100 MW in Telangana.

Solar in India accounted for 5.5 billion units of electricity produced in the country during the second quarter (Apr-Jun) of 2017, an 87 percent increase over the second quarter of 2016.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has de-empaneled 26 firms and agencies active in the rooftop solar sector in India.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $1.1 billion in loans to Indonesia for the diversification and strengthen of its energy sector.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) will finance rooftop solar projects in India through a customized program and provide up to $500 million (~₹32 billion) in term loans to developers from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The anti-dumping investigation into solar imports from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia may drag on for a year.

A low tariff of ₹2.65 (~$0.0413)/kWh was quoted in the recently held Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) 500 MW solar auction, with aggressive bidding by Gujarat government agencies.

Enphase Energy, a US-based solar microinverter company, and Waaree Energies, an Indian module manufacturer and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company, formed a partnership to develop AC solar modules for the Indian market.

TATA Power Solar CEO Ashish Khanna told Mercom India that the Indian solar market has huge potential and lately, in the past three years, the country has been utilizing that potential.

Tax confusion, uncertainty about anti-dumping tariffs, and stagnant demand are all affecting India’s solar sector, which had witnessed relatively smooth growth in the last three-to-four years until the hiccup that began late last year.

In Jharkhand, power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a total of 685 MW of solar projects out of 1.1 GW will be signed over the next few days.

The Indian solar market has slowed down a bit in the recent past, but it has huge growth potential according to K. N. Sreevatsa, vice president and head of the power conversion business unit at ABB Limited.

The more than 15 GW of solar capacity installed in India will require quality operation and maintenance (O&M) services, paving way for large global players to enter the market, said Kristan Kirsh, the senior director of marketing communications for NEXTracker.

The imposition of an anti-dumping duty could be detrimental to India’s growing solar sector Manish Narula, senior director of business development (India), for Jinko Solar told Mercom India.

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with solar project developers to develop 1,500 MW of solar in Tamil Nadu.

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