Solar technology startup Renkube raises $300,000; India installed 1.9 GW renewable energy open access capacity in FY 2022; Cleantech Solar & Saint-Gobain India partner for solar; MNRE updates ALMM list; Vikram Solar gets SEBI nod for IPO.
Renkube raises $300,000 in seed round: A Karnataka based technology startup offering motion free optical tracking (MFOT) technology, Renkube has raised $300,000 in a seed round from a number of angel investors. Led by IIM Ahmedabad’s startup incubator CIIE.CO, the funding round also had JITO Angel Network and K4 Forum Mumbai Network participating. Halliburton Labs also invested via Renkube’s selection for its clean energy accelerator. Renkube plans to use the proceeds to build industrial scale manufacturing of these solar panels, secure necessary certifications and demonstrate the technology with top industrial customers in India, the US and Australia. If installed at the ‘recommended latitude tilt’, the module with ‘innovative light harvesting glass’ can work across any geography. Renkube proposes this technology as less cumbersome since it would do away with the need to install trackers thereby reducing capital costs by 15%.
As per its website, Renkube says its technology is not a retrofit to the existing solar panels, but it can work with any underlying solar cell technologies like mono, PERC, perovskite and the like.
1.9 GW RE open access capacity for India in FY2022: According to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics, in FY 2022 India installed close to 1.9 GW of new renewable energy open access capacity. Projects comprise solar, wind and wind-solar hybrid facilities. Commercial & industrial (C&I) customers were the key drivers of growth as they see solar as enabling them to reach their decarbonization goals, with falling costs of clean power. Report writers recommend the government to defer the applicability of Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) on open access projects until significant development of domestic manufacturing capabilities take place. Other problems the segment faces is related to the delay in the approval process for group captive projects, unfavorable electricity banking provisions and increased penalties for deviation in power schedule.
18.7 MW solar plant for Saint-Gobain India: Cleantech Solar has secured French glass maker Saint-Gobain India as a partner to commission 18.7 MW solar power system at its solar park in Tamil Nadu. Saint-Gobain will procure power from this project on a captive open access basis for its manufacturing facilities in Sriperumbudur and Perundurai to help meet its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
ALMM list updated: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has updated the ALMM list I on August 18, 2022 taking the total to 66. The revised list is available on the ministry’s website. All government projects in the country need to use models and manufacturers from this list for their projects.
Vikram Solar’s IPO gets clearance: Vikram Solar’s request to launch its initial public offering (IPO) has been cleared by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). According to local media reports, the module maker received the observation letter from SEBI on August 10, 2022. SEBI now wants Vikram Solar to launch its IPO by issuing shares with up to INR 1,500 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 50 lakh equity shares by the selling shareholders. The company had filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in March 2022 to raise funds for 2 GW solar cell and module fab in Tamil Nadu. Its current annual rated production capacity is 2.5 GW and is inclusive of trial production (see Vikram Solar Planning IPO In India).
