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Daily News Wrap-Up: BJP, Congress Bet Big on Renewables in Election Manifestos

As ISTS Waiver Nears End, Developers Need Extension Amid Lack of Substations


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.gensol.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gensol Engineering</a> and IndiGrid 2 (<a href="https://www.indigrid.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IndiGrid</a>) have won Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s (<a href="https://www.guvnl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GUVNL</a>) auction to set up pilot projects of 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Gujarat under tariff-based global competitive bidding (Phase-II).</p>
<p>Gensol won 70 MW/140 MWh, quoting ₹448,996 (~$5,424)/MW/month, and IndiGrid won the remaining 180 MW/360 MWh, quoting ₹449,996 (~$5,436)/MW/month.</p>
<p>The tariff quoted in the auction was 58.43% lower than the ₹1.08 million (~$13,045)/MW/month <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/jsw-renew-energy-wins-seci-tender-1gwh-bess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quoted</a> by JSW Energy for the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s auction to set up 500 MW/1,000 MWh BESS projects in August 2022.</p>
<p>The other participants who failed to qualify in the financial bid opening are JSW Neo Energy, Hero Solar Energy, NTPC Renewable Energy, ACME Solar Holdings, SJVN Green Energy, and Vent Renewables.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64094" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result.png" alt="GUVNL 500 MWh BESS Auction Result" width="807" height="223" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result.png 807w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result-300x83.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result-768x212.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result-650x180.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result-624x172.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GUVNL-500-MWh-BESS-Auction-Result-600x166.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 807px) 100vw, 807px" /></p>
<p>GUVNL had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/guvnl-500-mwh-battery-energy-storage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floated</a> the tender for projects in November 2023.</p>
<p>The projects must be developed under a build, own, and operate model. GUVNL seeks to utilize energy storage systems on an on-demand basis, suited to the requirements of the state distribution companies during peak and off-peak hours.</p>
<p>The projects must be completed within 18 months from the effective date of the battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA).</p>
<p>The power rating of the project capacity of 500 MWh (250 MW x 2 hours) BESS will be 250 MW, i.e., the maximum value of the active output and input power at the delivery point. The system’s energy rating of 500 MWh will be the dispatchable capacity measured at the metering point.</p>
<p>The BESS will be charged by drawing power from the <a href="https://www.getcogujarat.com/getco_newsite/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation</a> network per the dispatch instructions issued by the state load despatch center. Charging and discharging of the system will be under the scope of GUVNL.</p>
<p>Gensol and IndiGrid will be responsible for the maintenance of the transmission system up to the interconnection point. They must also bear the entire infrastructure construction cost from the project up to the interconnection point. They must guarantee a minimum system availability of 95% annually.</p>
<p>The tender had specified that commercially established and operational technologies must be used in the project to minimize technology risks and comply with the codes and standards specified in the guidelines.</p>
<p>The companies have not specified the BESS technology that they will deploy.</p>
<p>In October last year, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/tender-issued-for-five-bess-projects-in-uttar-pradesh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> bids to set up five standalone BESS of 10 MW/40 MWh each in Uttar Pradesh.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></div>
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Gensol and IndiGrid Win GUVNL’s 500 MWh BESS Auction at Record-Low Tariffs


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					</table><p>Bihar State Power Generation Company (<a href="http://bspgcl.bihar.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BSPGCL</a>) has invited bids to set up a 185 MW grid-connected solar power project with a 254 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Kajra village of the Lakhisarai district in Bihar.</p>
<p>The scope of work includes surveying, design, engineering, procurement, supply, installation, erection, construction, and commissioning of the project on a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis.</p>
<p>The battery energy storage system must be set up to deliver a maximum power of 45.4 MW for 4 hours.</p>
<p>Out of total solar power generation, 80% of power must be directly injected/evacuated to the grid, and 20% of power will be used for the purpose of BESS charging.</p>
<p>The selected contractor will also be responsible for a ten-year operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) commitment.</p>
<p>The last date for the submission of bids is January 4, 2024. Bids will be opened the same day.</p>
<p>Bidders must submit a non-refundable tender fee of ₹29,500 (~$355.3) and an earnest money deposit of ₹182.6 million (~$2.1 million).</p>
<p>The selected bidder is required to submit a performance bank guarantee cum O&amp;M bank guarantee as 10% of the EPC contract price, inclusive of all taxes and GST, for the first year of O&amp;M.</p>
<p>Subsequently, the bidder should submit the O&amp;M Bank Guarantee as 5% of the EPC contract price, inclusive of all taxes and GST, from the start of the second year of O&amp;M, with a validity of nine years within 30 days from the commencement of the second year of the O&amp;M period.</p>
<p>The selected developer must commission the project within 18 months of receiving the letter of award.</p>
<p>BSPGCL retains the sole discretion to engage a project management consultancy (PMC) or third-party inspection agency (TPI) for comprehensive inspections throughout the project&#8217;s lifecycle, covering procurement, fabrication, installation, hook-up, quality, execution, commissioning, and operation and maintenance.</p>
<p>The bidder should have experience designing, supplying, and overseeing the erection or commissioning of solar photo voltaic (SPV) grid-connected power projects. The cumulative capacity of these projects should be 250 MW within the last ten years.</p>
<p>The bidder should meet one of the following criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li>At least one project of 150 MW capacity or higher.</li>
<li>At least two projects, each of 110 MW capacity or higher.</li>
<li>At least three projects, each of 75 MW capacity or higher.</li>
</ul>
<p>Additionally, they must have experience in completing or currently undertaking the design, engineering, procurement, testing, and commissioning of grid-connected BESS projects with individual capacities of 5 MW/MWh or above.</p>
<p>Alternatively, the bidder should own and operate a manufacturing facility for lithium-ion or superior battery technologies with a capacity of 500 MWh or more, operational at the time of bidding.</p>
<p>The reference grid-connected solar power project and BESS may be located at the same or different sites. The reference project&#8217;s minimum capacity must have been in successful operation for at least 12 months before the bid opening date.</p>
<p>The bidder must demonstrate a cumulative turnover of at least ₹13.5 billion (~$162.5 million) over the past three financial years.</p>
<p>The bidder&#8217;s net worth for the last financial year should be positive, determined by the formula: Net Worth = (Equity + Reserves) – (Revaluation reserves + intangible assets + miscellaneous expenses not written off + carried forward losses).</p>
<p>In May last year, BSPGCL <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/consultancy-250-mw-solar-project-battery-storage-bihar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids to select consultants to develop 200 to 250 MW solar projects with battery energy storage systems in Bihar.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-tender-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Solar Tender Tracker</a> to stay on top of the real-time tender activity.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Bihar Invites Bids for 185 MW Solar Project with 254 MWh Battery Storage


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					</table><p>Saudi Arabia’s energy major <a href="https://www.acwapower.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACWA Power</a> said it will invest $2.4 billion to develop wind projects of 1.5 GW capacity in Uzbekistan. The company also signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the government for these projects.</p>
<p>The wind farm will comprise three 500 MW wind power projects owned by three subsidiaries of ACWA Power.</p>
<p>Further, each of these projects will incorporate a 100 MW capacity battery energy storage system.</p>
<p>Located in the Kungrad district, the wind farm is expected to offset 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions per year and will have a minimum environmental impact due to the utilization of the latest mitigation technologies.</p>
<p>This includes bird-detecting technology, which combines cutting-edge innovations in both image sensors and software to prevent bird fatality.</p>
<p>The wind farm is expected to bolster the Uzbekistan government’s long-term strategy to diversify the country’s energy mix. The country has set targets of  8 GW and 12 GW for solar and wind capacity by 2026 and 2030, respectively.</p>
<p>“Uzbekistan is committed to delivering on policy goals to increase the renewable energy share of the country’s energy mix and reduce carbon emissions… the Kungrad project is a milestone both for our wind industry and the new public-private partnership model,” said Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan.</p>
<p>Previously, an agreement signed between ACWA Power, and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investment &amp; Foreign Trade in August 2022 laid the foundation for the power purchase and investment agreements.</p>
<p>In June, a consortium led by ACWA Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/acwa-consortium-to-develop-1-1-gw-onshore-wind-project-in-egypt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an agreement to develop a 1.1 GW onshore wind project in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez Gabal el Zeit area with an estimated investment of $1.5 billion.</p>
<p>Recently, the Saudi energy major <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-wrap-up-ntpc-commissions-230-mw-solar-tamil-nadu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered</a> with nine Chinese entities to finance, invest, and construct the utility provider’s global clean and renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia and the Belt and Road Initiative countries.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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ACWA Power to Invest $2.4 Billion for 1.5 GW Wind Projects in Uzbekistan


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					</table><p>Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (<a href="https://kredl.karnataka.gov.in/english" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KREDL</a>) has issued a request for proposal for the selection of an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing, and commissioning of 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project with 5 MW/16 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Pavagada Ultra Mega Solar Park of Tumakuru district in Karnataka.</p>
<p>The EPC contractor will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) of the plant for ten years.</p>
<p>The last date to submit the bids is September 14, 2022. Bids will be opened the following day.</p>
<p>The overall project cost is estimated to be ₹635.73 million (~$8.01 million).</p>
<p>The scope of work also includes the construction of a 66 kV line terminal bay for KREDL BESS at 220/66 kV sub-station number six of Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation’s Pavagada solar park.</p>
<p>KREDL will allot 43 acres of land, of which 25 would be used to develop the project. Based on the justification by the contractor, additional land might be provided.</p>
<p>The successful bidder must submit a contract performance security of  ₹6.36 million (~$80,050) within 15 days after receiving the letter of award.</p>
<p>To be eligible, bidders must have manufactured or supplied batteries for grid Interactive battery energy storage systems of cumulative installed capacity of 16 MWh or higher. Out of that, at least one grid interactive battery energy storage system should have a 10 MWh capacity or higher. The reference grid interactive battery energy storage system of 10 MWh or higher capacity must have operated for at least 12 months before the techno commercial bid submission date.</p>
<p>Alternatively, they must have a memorandum of understanding with a technical partner who has executed the project mentioned above.</p>
<p>Bidders must have designed, supplied, erected, or supervised erection and commissioned solar PV-based grid-connected power plants of cumulative installed capacity of not less than 10 MW. One project should be a minimum of 5 MW or above at a single location for the public, government, or private client. The reference plants of at least 5 MW, through which bidders are meeting this technical eligibility criterion, must have been in operation for at least 12 months before the date of techno-commercial bid submission.</p>
<p>Bidders should be government-approved super grade licensees and must have executed at least one electrical sub-station of a minimum 66 kV voltage level, consisting of equipment such as 66 kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and a power transformer. The substation must be in operation for at least one year before the date of the techno-commercial bid opening.</p>
<p>The average annual turnover of the bidder should not be less than ₹1.27 billion (~$16.01 million) during any three financial years (FY) out of the preceding five financial years &#8211; from FY 2016-17 until FY 2020-21. The net worth of the bidder as of the last day of the preceding financial year FY 2020-21 should not be less than 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital, subject to a minimum of ₹200 million (~$2.52 million) per annum.</p>
<p>In May this year, the Government of Karnataka <a href="https://mercomindia.com/karnataka-aims-10-gw-renewable-projects-2027/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the new ‘Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy,’ valid for the 2022-2027 period, through which the state aims to develop 10 GW of additional renewable energy projects, with or without energy storage systems.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-tender-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Solar Tender Tracker</a> for timely updates on all solar tenders issued by various agencies in India.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
</div>
<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></div>
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EPC Tender Issued for 5 MW Solar with 16 MWh Battery Energy Storage

<p>The Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria has issued a Request for Qualification (RfQ) for 15 MW ground-mounted solar project with a 5 MW battery energy storage system at the University of Benin (<a href="https://uniben.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNIBEN</a>).</p>
<p>The university, which is in Benin city, is located in Nigeria’s Edo State.</p>
<p>The brief scope of work includes the design, finance, building, operating, and transferring of the solar projects with energy storage system. The projects will be developed on Public-Private- Partnership (PPP) mode.</p>
<p>The objective of the project is to provide reliable and cost-effective electricity to support learning, training, research and development in the university.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-potential-8-to-30-gw-west-africa-report/">Recently</a>, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) assessed the energy statistics across 15 West African countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo and published  its report “<strong><a href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2018/Nov/IRENA_Planning_West_Africa_2018.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Planning and prospects for renewable power: West Africa</a></strong>”. The report projected that solar PV installation in the Regional Economic Community of West African States (<a href="http://www.ecowas.int/">ECOWAS</a>) region ranges from 8 GW to over 20 GW by 2030.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/african-development-bank-solar-loan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Last year in May,</a> the African Development Bank (<a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AfDB</a>) had approved a $1.5-million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to support the Nigerian government’s implementation of Phase 1 of the Jigawa 1 GW Independent Power Producer (IPP) Solar Procurement Program.</p>
<p>Africa has lately become the hotbed of renewable energy investments, leading to a spur in solar installations.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/uk-100m-electricity-access-sub-saharan-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In December 2018,</a> the United Kingdom committed an additional funding of £100 million for the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (<a href="https://repp.energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">REPP</a>) which aims to give a major boost to Sub-Saharan Africa’s small to medium-scale renewable energy sector.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/opic-600-million-crossboundary-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In November 2018,</a> the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (<a href="https://www.opic.gov/">OPIC</a>), a United States Government agency, provided 600 million shillings (~$5.86 million) to CrossBoundary Energy, a Nairobi-based company which funds commercial and industrial solar in East Africa.</p>
<p>In March 2018, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/isa-conference-india-pledges-1-4-billion-solar-projects-developing-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on the news of India pledging $1.4 billion to developing nations and west African countries such at a conference organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA).</p>
<p>Image credit: Edirin247 [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>], from Wikimedia Commons</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/nitin/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nitin Kabeer</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft wp-image-9822" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/nitin-2.png" alt="" width="99" height="105" /><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism &amp; Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/nitin/">More articles from Nitin Kabeer</a></span></span></span></p>
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Nigeria’s University of Benin Issues 15 MW Solar Tender with 5 MW Battery Energy Storage

<p>The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan agreement with the Government of Mongolia under which it will be providing $60.6 million for distributed renewable energy projects in the country.</p>
<p>The loan and grant agreements were signed by Minister of Finance Khurelbaatar Chimed and ADB Country Director for Mongolia Yolanda Fernandez Lommen in Ulaanbaatar. Representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Mongolian Tax Authority witnessed the event.</p>
<p>The loan towards renewable energy is to develop a 41 MW distributed renewable energy system—a first-of-its-kind in Mongolia—using solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy with advanced battery storage technology and energy management systems.</p>
<p>The project will result in the supply of clean and reliable electricity to about 260,000 people in remote and less-developed towns in western Mongolia, who currently rely on high-cost and high-polluting carbon-intensive electricity.</p>
<p>ADB’s funding of $40 million is supplemented by grant co-financing; $14.6 million from the Strategic Climate Fund under the scaling up renewable energy program in low-income countries; and $6 million from the Japan Fund for the joint crediting mechanism. The Government of Mongolia is contributing $5.6 million to the project.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/adb-assistance-bangladesh-off-grid-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In July 2018</a>, <a href="https://adb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ADB</a> announced that it will give $20 million loan to Bangladesh under its Power System Efficiency Improvement Project for the furtherance of off-grid solar solutions in the country. The loan was coupled with $25.44 million in grant financing to encourage off-grid solar photovoltaic (SPV) pumping for agricultural irrigation. The grant included $22.4 million from the Scaling up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Program, which comes under its Strategic Climate Fund, and another $3 million from the Clean Energy Fund for Output-based Aid under the ADB-administered Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.</p>
<p>ADB is also supporting Sri Lanka’s rooftop solar PV sector via a loan of <a href="https://mercomindia.com/sri-lanka-50-million-db-rooftop-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$50 million</a>. The goal of the program was to support the government’s “Battle for Solar Power Programme” to achieve the target of installing solar projects worth 200 MW by 2020 and 1,000 MW by 2025.</p>
<p>In February, ADB provided a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/adb-loan-renewable-asean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$235 million</a> loan to B. Grimm Power Public Company Limited for the expansion of renewable energy projects in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Previously, the bank also administered a $20 million loan provided by the Canadian Climate Fund for the private sector in Asia under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.</p>
<p>Image Credit: ADB</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Saumy Prateek</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Saumy Prateek</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Saumy Prateek</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="79" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" rel="noopener"><strong>Saumy Prateek, </strong> </a>is a senior staff reporter with MercomIndia.com covering business and energy news since 2016. Prior to Mercom, Saumy was a copy editor at Thomson Reuters. Saumy earned his Bachelors Degree in Journalism &amp; Mass Communication from the Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/">More articles from Saumy Prateek.</a></div>
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