India PV News Snippets

Reliance proposes to build Integrated Renewable Energy Power Projects; IRS & MPUVNL sign MoU for solar-electric boats; Airtouch Solar bags another deal with ReNew; MoP's new guidelines for competitively procured solar PV projects; QIA picks up 2.7% stake in AGEL.  

RIL planning integrated RE projects: Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has proposed to its shareholders plans to build Integrated Renewable Energy Power Projects required for grid– scale transmission and distribution, utility, industrial, transport, mobility, commercial, residential and consumptive purpose as well as Distributed RE. These will comprise solar, wind, energy storage and any other form of renewable energy technologies, as suggested by the company in its Integrated Annual Report for 2022-23. According to RIL's previously announced plans, it aims to build 100 GW renewable energy power plant in India's Gujarat, while it digs deeper into renewable energy manufacturing with its Gigafactories (see RIL Enters INR 5.95 Trillion MoU With Gujarat).  

Solar boats certification: An international ship classification society, Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (MPUVNL) for the classification and certification of solar-electric boats, with an aim to promote sustainability. The MoU covers technical review of the specifications, inspection during construction and certification of material, components and equipment. IRS will also provide technical training to MPUVNL staff.  

Airtouch expands ReNew partnership: Israel's Airtouch Solar has secured another deal with India's ReNew to supply its robotic waterless cleaning systems. The deal is for ReNew to deploy the Airtouch AT 4.0 equipment for its solar projects in Rajasthan, worth $2.5 million. Additionally, the Israeli company will provide 25 years of operation and maintenance (O&M) support for its cleaning robots which it estimates will generate another $5.9 million in revenues. Installation work is scheduled to be complete by June 2024. This transaction follows the $7.6 million deal in 2021 between the duo. 

New solar bidding rules: The Ministry of Power (MoP) has issued new guidelines for tariff– based competitive bidding process for the procurement of power from grid– connected solar PV power projects. It aims to promote transparent, fair and standardized procurement framework for such projects, and de-risk the sector, according to the ministry. Some of the rules under the amended guidelines are:  

• the power purchase agreement (PPA) period will generally be for 20 years, and can be fixed for a longer period of 25 years.  
• Power supply should begin within 24 months from the date of PPA execution for under 1 GW projects allotted to the winning bidder. For projects above 1 GW, the commissioning schedule will be 30 months.  
• Delay in commencement of power supply up to 6 months will lead to encashment of Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG), and any period exceeding 6 months will mean contracted capacity to be reduced. Additionally, the generator will be debarred from participating in bids for a certain period of time.  

These rules will be applicable to new grid-connected solar projects, with or without energy storage component, awarded post the publication of these guidelines in the Indian Gazette on July 28, 2023.     

QIA investment for AGEL: Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is reported to have acquired 2.7% stake in Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL). According to local media reports, a promotor entity of the Adani Group, Infinite Trade and Investment sold 2.8% of its equity to a QIA subsidiary INQ Holding for INR 41.42 billion ($500 million), giving the latter a 2.68% stake in AGEL. In 2020, QIA acquired 25.1% stake in Adani Group's Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML).