India PV News Snippets

• Premier Energies to add 4 GW solar cell and module manufacturing capacity with INR 2 billion equity investment from GEF Capital
• India's open access solar capacity reached 4.5 GW as of June 2021, with 209 MW added during Q2/2021
• MNRE updates ALMM list to now include 34 companies with the addition of 8 companies
• AGEL subsidiary acquires 40 MW operational solar portfolio from Essel Green in Odisha
• NTPC subsidiary gets INR 5 billion loan from Bank of India to support 670 MW solar capacity in Rajasthan and Gujarat

Premier Energies to expand cell & module capacity: Indian solar module maker Premier Energies has attracted INR 2 billion ($27 million) private equity investment from GEF Capital Partners. It plans to use the equity capital to expand its current production capacity by an additional 2 GW of monocrystalline PERC solar cells and 2 GW of solar modules. Over the next 2 years, it also aims to invest more than INR 12 billion ($162 million). In February 2021, Premier Energies said it plans to expand its 500 MW annual production capacity to 2 GW with the addition of a 1.5 GW fab it is building in Telangana (see Indian Manufacturer Expanding Capacity By 1.5 GW). In July 2021, it commissioned the company's new state-of-the-art fab at E-city Hyderabad with 750 MW solar cell and 750 MW solar modules.

Premier Energies is also one of the bidders for Indian government's Production Linked Incentive Scheme for solar manufacturing under which it plans to build solar cell and module capacity (see IREDA's PLI Scheme Attracts 55 GW In Bids).

209 MW open access in Q2/2021: India installed 209 MW of solar power capacity under open access in Q2/2021, according to Mercom India Research's India Solar Open Access Market Report Q2 2021. This was an increase of 664% over previous year's 27 MW taking cumulative to 4.5 GW as of June 2021. The state of Uttar Pradesh led the installations, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. However, on QoQ basis the Q2/2021 installations declined 50% to 419 MW. There is more than 1.1 GW capacity in the pipeline, as the government encourages green open access under the Draft Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules 2021, notes Mercom. There is an increasing demand from corporates for green energy which is helping the open access market, but analysts believe its growth is hindered by regulatory inconsistency and policy U-turns by the government. Developers demand uniform regulations across states and consistent policies will help the market to grow.

8 new additions to ALMM list: The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) order of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has expanded to a total of 34 companies. The 8 new additions to the List I (only for modules) include Himalayan Solar, Sun N Sand Exim, Insolation Energy, Pennar Industries, Green Brilliance Renewable Energy, Sanelite Solar, Gautam Solar, and Solarium Green Energy.

Adani acquires 40 MW solar project: Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) subsidiary Adani Renewable Energy (MH) Energy limited has completed 100% acquisition of Vento Energy Infra Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle of Essel Green Energy Limited that has an operating portfolio of 40 MW. The Odisha located capacity has a 25-year PPA with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). It takes AGEL's operational portfolio to 5.4 GW and overall portfolio to 19.8 GW.

Green Term Loan for NTPC: A subsidiary of NTPC ltd, NTPC Renewable Energy ltd (REL) has secured its maiden Green Term Loan Agreement worth INR 5 billion ($67.4 million) to invest on 470 MW solar projects in Rajasthan and 200 MW solar facility in Gujarat. The loan has been approved by the Bank of India for 'a very competitive rate' with a tenor of 15 years. The company's renewable energy project portfolio currently stands at 3.45 GW, out of which 820 MW is under construction, and 2.63 GW is waiting to secure PPAs.