India solar

Longi Solar will set up a 1 GW solar PV manufacturing facility in India’s Andhra Pradesh. It will manufacture 500 MW of cells and 500 MW of modules, a spokesperson tells pv magazine. The facility is expected to be commissioned by Q1 2019 at the latest, and will seek to take advantage of India’s partial exemption from the recent U.S. solar tariffs, imposed by President Trump last week.

BNEF has released its top 10 clean energy predictions for 2018, including at least 107 GW of solar PV installs. China will lead, but Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East will notably up the ante. India will install less RE than in 2017, but will see fossils outpace RE for the last time; and China will see distributed grid connected solar leading the market. Li-ion prices are also declining, while EV sales grow.

SECI has had a busy day, releasing three tenders worth 1.2 GW. Following on from a 275 MW tender this morning, it has now announced a 950 MW tender for grid connected solar PV projects in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, under the National Solar Mission of Phase-II, Batch-IV.

Approximately 4,800 MW of solar capacity has been commissioned in India in the first six months of the year, surpassing last year’s 4,038 MW total, finds new data from Mercom Capital Group. GST uncertainty could slow growth in 2018, however.

Haryana-based solar power developer has received financing in the form of flexible credit, designed to allow ACME Solar to draw on and repay funds over the duration of the loan agreement.

Mercom Capital says the fall in rates is now making projects with lower prices viable, and that demonetization could further bring down rates.

The nation saw substantial debt, public markets and project funding during the final quarter of 2016, including the first Indian solar developer to go public.

IFC is picking up an equity stake in Hero Group’s renewable energy division, which it says will enable it to build 1 GW of solar and wind plants in India.