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Rajasthan

Eccopia Wins First Robotic Solar Panel Cleaning Contract

written by saurabh

With rapidly increasing competition in the Indian solar power market project developers are looking to get the most out of their solar power panels in order to increase revenue and profit. Robotic panel cleaning solutions could be one such method to increase power generation.

Solairedirect India has signed an agreement with Eccopia, a provider of robotic panel cleaning solutions. As per the agreement, Eccopia shall service a 168 MW solar power project being developed by Solairedirect India in the Badhla solar power park in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

The contract is the first for Eccopia which claims that its cleaning solutions shall save more than 1.5 billion liters of water. Located in India’s That desert, Badhla sees frequent sand storms that can cover the solar panels in dust and reduce power generation by up to 40%.

Badhla solar power park will be among the largest solar parks in India. The park is expected to host projects allocated under the state as well as the central policies. Once fully operational the park is expected to house more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity.

“We expect to harness Ecoppia’s revolutionary cleaning system to dramatically raise output and lower costs. This type of technological breakthrough not only benefits our own business interests, but the solar energy sector as a whole,” said Gaurav Sood, Managing Director of Solairedirect India. “We are proud to be one of the world’s first solar energy providers to adopt Ecoppia’s cutting-edge, autonomous robotic panel cleaning paradigm,” he concluded.

“We’re proud to cooperate with forward-thinking companies like ENGIE in what is truly a true revolution in renewable energy,” said Eran Meller, CEO of Ecoppia. “By ensuring cost-effective panel cleanliness on a day-to-day basis, we’ve created a new standard of plant output that is changing the way operators, investors and governments view the benefits of solar power,” he continued.

Eccopia has worked with some of the leading solar power project developers in India, including NTPC, SunEdison and Adani Power.

December 19, 2016 0 comment

Solar Power Tariffs In India Fall To Fresh Low Of US¢5.9/kWh

written by saurabh

Highly competitive bidding has resulted in the revision of feed-in tariff for solar power projects in India.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has allocated 750 MW capacity in the state of Rajasthan at record-low tariff of Rs 4.00/kWh (US¢5.9/kWh). The auction was held under the Viability Gap Funding scheme wherein competitive bidding takes place for the capital cost support instead of tariffs.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had recently changed the tariff structure for projects under the VGF scheme. Earlier, VGF projects had a uniform rate of Rs 4.43/kWh (US¢6.6/kWh). Now, states that have seen bids falling below Rs 4.50/kWh (US¢6.7/kWh) will have uniform VGF tariff of Rs 4.00/kWh (US¢5.9/kWh) while all others shall have tariff of Rs 4.50/kWh (US¢6.7/kWh).

So far, only the state of Rajasthan has seen tariff bids falling to below Rs 4.50/kWh (US¢6.7/kWh). The latest auction was for two phases of the Bhadla solar power park.

The lowest tariff bid in India till date stands at Rs 4.34/kWh (US¢6.4/kWh). The bid was secured by Fortum for a 100 MW solar power project as part of the Bhadla solar power park.

November 28, 2016 0 comment

India Approves 200 MW Solar Power Project On Desert Wasteland

written by saurabh

The Indian government has approved a large solar power park in the western state of Rajasthan in a bid to push public sector companies to invest in renewable energy infrastructure.

According to media reports, the central government gave approval to 200 M W solar power park at Jetsar, Rajasthan. The project shall be set up at land owned by public sector company National Seeds Corporation.

The capacity of the project is expected to be at least 200 MW with a possibility of further expansion. NSC shall provide 400 hectares of un-cultivable land for the project and is expected allocate the project through competitive bidding, probably taking help from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

While details of power sale have not been shared, the project shall be owned by NSC which is expected to meet its renewable purchase obligation from the project and may sell any surplus power to power distribution companies or any other interested buyers.

The Indian government has directed several public sector companies and entities, like Coal India, the Indian Railways, the Indian armed forces, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, NTPC, NHPC, NALCO and several others, to contribute towards the solar power capacity target of 100 GW by March 2022 and also meet its renewable energy procurement targets.

April 28, 2016 0 comment