The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the body charged with delivering the country’s flagship solar programme, is to be renamed and given a wider remit for developing renewable energy in India.
PV project developer Solar Power Inc (SPI) has raised US$25 million from its latest private placing in a deal that could be worth up to double that amount.
Japanese telecoms provider-turned solar developer Softbank is planning to provide funds and expertise for 'mega' solar PV plants in India and to form a joint venture with Foxconn and Bharti.
India will install 31GW of solar capacity by 2019, which is short of a projected 69GW government target, but the market will still grow at an “impressive pace”, according to the latest forecasts from consultancy firm Bridge to India.
India has officially approved its well-publicised 100GW by 2022 solar capacity target after a meeting of India’s Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
State-owned companies including the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Power Finance Corp (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corp (REC) plan to raise around INR50 billion (US$779 million) through the sale of tax-free bonds for renewable energy projects in India.
Germany-based PV materials manufacturer Heraeus has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Taiwan-based PV materials specialist Giga Solar Materials Corp for allegedly infringing a patent held by Heraeus over front-side metallisation paste materials used for solar cells.