Tata & IITB-Monash partner for perovskite research; MNRE places ALMM order in abeyance till further orders; INR 750 billion for PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana; NHPC breaks ground on 300 MW solar plant in Rajasthan; DhaSH to expand manufacturing capacity.
Perovskite solar research: Tata Group's Tata Chemicals Limited has partnered with the IITB-Monash Research Academy to conduct research in the perovskite/clean energy domain. Under the agreement, Tata will support next-gen technology research led by the latter in the transformative potential of perovskite materials in the field of clean energy. Tata said perovskite presents a tremendous opportunity to address global and India's energy needs. The academy is a research collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) and Australia's Monash University.
ALMM order now on hold: Just days after announcing the resumption of the requirement of using solar models under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List I from April 1, 2024, India has put the order on hold. In an office memorandum dated February 15, 2024, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said it was holding the previous order in abeyance till further orders. No reasons were given. In the previous order, the government had said it will provide an exemption to projects at an advanced stage of construction that have placed orders before March 31, 2024 (see India Set To Bring Back ALMM Requirement By April 2024).
Rooftop solar scheme: The office of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently confirmed an investment of INR 750 billion ($9 billion) for the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. The scheme is designed to provide up to 300 units of free electricity/month to the beneficiary households. 'Substantive' subsidies will be sent directly to people's bank accounts and 'heavily' concessional bank loans have also been announced. Urban local bodies and panchayats will be incentivized to promote rooftop solar in their regions. A dedicated website has also been set up.
This followed Modi's previous announcement for Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana (PMSY) in January 2024 for 10 million homes in India. Later, the MNRE head RK Singh said this scheme will encourage lower- and lower-middle class households in urban areas to install rooftop solar systems. He added that the central public sector enterprises (PSE) will take and repay the loan and provide free electricity to the house, with surplus sold to local discom (see PMSY To Accelerate India's Rooftop Solar Installations).
300 MW solar plant in Rajasthan: PM Modi virtually laid the foundation stone of a 300 MW solar power plant in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Located at Karnisar-Bhatiyan village in Poogal Tehsil, it is being set up by the state-owned entity NHPC Limited under the government's CPSU Scheme Phase II, Tranche-III. It will require an investment of over INR 17.32 billion ($209 million). The project will be equipped with high efficiency bifacial solar panels manufactured within India. On commissioning, it will feed some 750 million units of green energy via Bikaner-II State Transmission System Substation. Power usage agreement has been signed with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) at a competitive tariff of INR 2.45 ($0.030)/kWh for 25 years. The MNRE has committed a viability gap funding (VGF) of INR 1.35 billion ($16.23 million). NHPC expects to bring the project online by September 2024.
Capacity expansion for DhaSh: Solar PV junction box and connector manufacturer DhaSh PV Technologies Private Limited is expanding its production capacity. The company said it plans to invest INR 3.46 billion ($42 million) to set up an integrated junction box, including DC connections, manufacturing facility. The fab is set to come up in Karnataka. According to its website, the company has an annual installed capacity of 11 GW.