• MCGM is seeking bidders to set up a 80 MW floating solar and 20 MW hydropower project on Vaitarna Dam
  • MNRE has announced PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 3rd edition of RE-Invest 2020 on November 26, 2020
  • EESL has started 1st convergence project under MNRE, with 100 MW solar PV capacity to be installed in Goa on government land
  • A Reuters report claims Adani’s 8 GW project award from SECI has no guaranteed offtaker

Hybrid floating & hydro power tender: The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has sought bids for a 100 MW hybrid power plant project comprising 20 MW hydro power and 80 MW floating solar project capacity. It is planned to come up at Hinduhridaysamrat Shivsenapramukh Balasaheb Thackeray Middle Vaitarna Dam. Interested bidders will be expected to design, build and construct the facility within 31 months once awarded, followed by O&M for 25 years. Last date to submit bids is December 10, 2020.

RE-Invest 2020 to be inaugurated on Nov. 26: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the country’s 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Exp dubbed as RE-Invest 2020 on November 26, 2020. The 2-day virtual conference on renewables and future energy choices as well as an exhibition of over 100 manufacturers, developers, investors and innovators engaged in the clean energy sector. There will be 6 focused country sessions, alongside 20 plenary and technical sessions, as well as a special Chief Ministerial plenary session. Previous 2 editions were held in 2015 and 2018.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) head RK Singh, the current share of non-fossil fuel energy in the country’s power generation capacity represents 36% of the total electricity mix with 136 GW. He is confident the share will increase to exceed 220 GW by 2022. Pitching India as a renewable energy investment destination, Singh said efforts to create an enabling ecosystem for domestic manufacturing of solar PV cells and modules with government schemes alone creating assured market of around 40 GW of domestically manufactured PV cells and modules. Recently announced Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for manufacturing solar PV will give further fillip to domestic manufacturing.

EESL to implement solar energy projects in Goa: The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of New and Renewable Energy (DNRE), Goa to carry out feasibility studies and subsequently implement solar energy projects aiming for 100 MW of decentralized ground mounted solar power projects on government lands—read vacant/unused land provided by the Gram Panchayats/electricity board—for agricultural use. Projects with a capacity ranging between 500 kW to 2 MW will be installed near the substation, enabling discoms to supply power during daytime and lower their transmission losses. It will encourage the use of renewable energy sources in the state, especially for agricultural and rural power consumption. This marks the country’s 1st convergence project through which EESL by offering convergent interventions to connect seemingly independent sectors as solar energy, storage and LED lights to enable decarbonization and affordable energy access, stated a Press Information Bureau (PIB) statement.

No guaranteed customer For Adani’s 8 GW project: According to a Reuters report, Adani Group’s 8 GW solar project capacity deal with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has no guaranteed customer (see World’s Largest Solar Award Goes To Adani). It claims that previously unreported details of the agreement between Adani Green and SECI reveal the agency has no legal or financial obligation to support the project if the latter fails to find buyers. “But the lack of such a guarantee could undermine investor and lender confidence, raising financing costs in a market like India where power demand growth has repeatedly fallen short of expectations amid a broader economic slowdown,” reads Reuters report.