AI-Integrated Manufacturing Will Boost Quality and Reliability of Solar Products

India’s Renewable Energy Space is Mainstream Now for Lenders

Daily News Wrap-Up: Madhya Pradesh Invites Bids for 100 MW Solar Project

MNRE Revises Enlistment Norms for Wind Turbine Components

MNRE Releases ALMM List-II for Solar Cells with a Capacity of 13 GW

CESC Floats 40 MW/80 MWh Standalone BESS Tender in West Bengal

C&I Sector Finds Energy Storage More Favorable than Energy Banking

NTPC Green Floats O&M Tender for 250 MW Solar Project in Rajasthan

NTPC Green, Opera, Tata Win NHPC’s 500 MWh Standalone BESS Auction

Nextracker Acquires Robotics and AI Technologies to Expand Solar Platform


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					</table><p>With the growing demand for power from data centers in the country, project developers are increasingly recognizing battery energy storage systems (BESS) as a vital component of renewable energy projects in the coming years.</p>
<p>At a discussion on <strong>“How Industries and Commercial (C&amp;I) Units Are Pursuing Green Growth”</strong> held at the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/renewables-summit-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025</a> on July 25, 2025, panelists shared their insights on how AI and data centers will drive demand for renewables.  They also forecast that the demand for renewable energy from the C&amp;I sector will keep increasing.</p>
<p>The panelists were Kartikeya Narain Sharma, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at <a href="https://sunsure-energy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunsure Energy</a>; Vinay Vyas, CEO (EPC Business) at <a href="https://enrichenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enrich Energy</a>; Birendra Pandey, Head at Energy Commercialization at <a href="https://enfinity.global/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enfinity Global India</a>; and Divanshu Gupta, BU Head at <a href="https://hartek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartek Group</a>.</p>
<p>Priya Sanjay, Managing Director, Mercom India, moderated the session.</p>
<p>Vinay Vyas said that 56% of the electricity requirement comes from the C&amp;I segment. The rooftop solar segment accounts for more than 65% of the demand from this segment.</p>
<p>Kartikeya Sharma said that the Ministry of Power had requested states to focus on reducing daytime pricing.  Such a move will encourage more project developers to opt for hybrid power projects.</p>
<p>“As more solar is injected into the grid, the daytime pricing will get dampened, and people will move away from banking. We (the company) have moved entirely to hybrid solutions. Except for states with no wind potential, we are considering wind-solar hybrid projects. Our interstate transmission system (ISTS) projects will also be wind-solar hybrid projects,” he said.</p>
<p><strong>Rising Demand from Data Centers</strong></p>
<p>The panelists said demand from data centers would require substantial amounts of renewable energy, especially in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Telangana.</p>
<p>Birendra Pandey said most data centers funded by international investors are required to reduce their carbon footprint. “Before they plan their infrastructure for data centers, they also plan their renewable energy footprint. This will be one of the biggest drivers of demand for renewable energy from data centers.”</p>
<p>The demand from data centers is expected to surpass that of the steel industry. They will be the country’s largest consumers of electricity.</p>
<p>Sharma said the need for data center localization drove the first wave of data centers in India. The next wave will come from AI and the proliferation of the internet.</p>
<p>He also highlighted the challenge of supplying power to these data centers. “Unlike typical C&amp;I customers with a running load, data centers have a ramping upload. Every three months, they will add 5 MW, which translates to at least 10 MW of renewable energy. When you work with data centers, you need to have a running pipeline of power projects to sell power in the short term while waiting for the data centers to ramp up their power.”</p>
<p>He said policy uncertainty can make it difficult for renewable power project developers to operate pipeline projects to meet the demand from data centers.</p>
<p>Sharma said solar developers are increasingly moving away from plain wind-solar projects. “Given the contracted BESS capacity of 40 GWh, only a few of that capacity has become operational. It&#8217;s only a matter of 18-24 months, when you see 25 GWh of BESS in operation across different modes—states, interstate transmission networks, and behind-the-meter projects.”</p>
<p>Coupled with the states’ need to reduce daytime pricing, Sharma said BESS had found a niche to make BESS commercially viable.</p>
<p>Divanshu Gupta talked about demand from power-intensive industries such as steel and textiles in Punjab. He said these companies were shifting to solar energy and were demanding energy storage too. “Consumers are asking us to build 50 MW projects with a minimum of 5-10 MW of energy storage. Companies don’t want to bank their power with distribution companies (DISCOMs) or an additional 20% course in their nighttime.”</p>
<p>He added that companies in Punjab are also choosing off-site captive power projects.</p>
<p>The panelists focused on the inclusion of more aggregators of containerized battery storage solutions in the market, along with ramping up capacities. This will enable operational efficiency and reduce costs.</p>
<p>Gupta spoke about the growing awareness of renewable energy among C&amp;I consumers. They had realized that behind-the-meter projects are more viable.</p>
<p>“Recently, we commissioned an 8 MW project for Coca-Cola in Jammu and Kashmir, and they were not connected to the grid. To assist our customers, we have added energy storage. The stored energy would meet the power needed for construction and would also provide self-reliance to the consumer after construction,” he added.</p>
<p>Gutpa said even the residential sector had come to understand the futility of relying on banking power and the benefits of storing energy and utilizing it.</p>
<p><strong>Slow Adoption of VVPAs</strong></p>
<p>As a differentiator in the market, Vyas added that his company was providing firm power for particular time slots. Virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA) were also gaining traction.</p>
<p>Pandey said that multiple multinational offtakers have shown interest in VPPAs.</p>
<p>“Earlier, there were companies like Amazon that worked out a strike price for green attributes, and the brown power was sold at the exchange. Now, we see a policy coming in for VPPA. It&#8217;s still new, and the policy must be understood. However, some large VPPA deals have already been concluded, and in the future, multinationals will have greater confidence in Indian power project developers&#8217; ability to consistently deliver VPPAs. This will also mature the power trading market, and developers would show more risk in trading,” he said.</p>
<p>Sharma added that sleeved PPAs, popular in European and U.S. markets, are set to enter the Indian power market. “For on-time delivery of power, we develop short-term power projects before we supply the long-term power projects. In this case, the customer wants to ensure power delivery but is willing to cover the costs until the power comes online.”</p>


Data Centers to Become Largest Consumers of Renewable Energy


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					</table><p>India’s energy landscape is on the verge of a transformative shift, driven by the urgent need to address climate change, ensure energy security, and foster economic growth. The transition to renewable energy, supported by policy initiatives, technological advancements, and international collaboration, is an urgent national imperative.</p>
<p>While the country has made significant progress toward meeting this goal, it still faces challenges arising from policy and regulatory uncertainty, access to low-cost funding, transmission infrastructure constraints, and domestic manufacturing gaps.</p>
<p>These overarching issues relating to the Indian renewables sector were discussed on the first day of the two-day  <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/renewables-summit-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025</a> at the session, <strong>“From Ambition to Action: India’s Clean Energy Roadmap and Strategies for 2030 and Beyond,”</strong>.The panel discussion featured industry experts Sarit Maheshwari, CEO at <a href="https://www.ngel.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NTPC Green Energy</a>, Simarpreet Singh, Executive Director and CEO at <a href="https://hartek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartek Group</a>, and Raj Prabhu, CEO and Co-Founder at <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom Capital Group</a>.</p>
<p>Priya Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom Communications India, who moderated the session, began by noting India’s ambitious target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.</p>
<p>Maheshwari stated that India is firmly on track to achieve the 500 GW target. He acknowledged that the early years of renewable expansion were less complicated but warned that the next phase would be defined by new hurdles, especially transmission delays and integration gaps. While generating assets, such as solar projects, can be developed within 18 to 24 months, transmission infrastructure takes significantly longer to plan, acquire land for, and construct. This disconnect is creating a risk of stranded assets that are ready to generate but unable to dispatch power due to insufficient evacuation capacity.</p>
<p>Maheshwari noted that energy lost due to grid bottlenecks is a direct financial and operational loss to developers. He called for an urgent focus on storage and grid balancing mechanisms. As solar and wind capacity increases, the need for battery and pumped storage systems to ensure a stable, round-the-clock supply is becoming more pressing. He pointed out that storage has been included in recent policy initiatives but suggested that stronger incentives and clearer roadmaps are required to accelerate deployment.</p>
<p>Singh reinforced these observations with practical insights from the field. He described the growing stress in the power systems supply chain, particularly the lack of timely availability of equipment such as transformers, isolators, and control relay panels. While significant attention has been given to the domestic manufacturing of solar modules, other components essential to the transmission and distribution ecosystem have not received adequate policy or investment focus. Singh said that equipment delivery timelines are now one of the top reasons for project delays.</p>
<p>He also highlighted the recurring challenge of land acquisition and right-of-way approvals, which are slowing both solar and transmission project execution. Singh advocated for a plug-and-play model where state or central governments provide ready land parcels and pre-cleared transmission connectivity. This would significantly reduce the development burden on new entrants and improve the speed of project commissioning.</p>
<p>Beyond infrastructure, Singh highlighted a more fundamental challenge facing the sector: the need for execution discipline. While many companies have announced ambitious plans and large order books, few have demonstrated consistent project delivery. According to him, the next five years should focus on execution rather than expansion. He said that the industry must stop celebrating announcements and instead focus on completing quality projects on time. For Singh, sustained sectoral leadership will depend not on capacity targets but on operational reliability and stakeholder accountability.</p>
<p>Prabhu focused on the need for long-term policy visibility. He said that while the 2030 goals are likely to be met, investors and manufacturers need a clear understanding of what comes after. Companies are making capital and hiring decisions today that will affect capacity a decade from now. Without clarity on post-2030 ambitions, there is a risk of underinvestment or misalignment in project planning.</p>
<p>He also addressed the issue of global market exposure. With recent tariff announcements by the U.S. that include India, he warned that export-led strategies are increasingly risky. Both India and the U.S. are now prioritizing domestic manufacturing under “Make in India” and “Made in USA” policies. In such a scenario, manufacturers relying heavily on exports could find themselves squeezed. He recommended focusing on building a strong domestic brand and competitive advantage in quality, rather than betting too heavily on foreign demand.</p>
<p>The discussion also covered the structural limitations of the power procurement process. Maheshwari pointed out that state distribution companies are becoming more cautious in signing long-term power purchase agreements, especially when tariffs are seen as high. This reluctance could become more pronounced if distribution companies begin factoring in the long-term operation and maintenance costs associated with firm renewable energy. He urged intervention to create market confidence and reduce the financial hesitation among state buyers.</p>
<p>The panelists were unanimous about storage becoming  the most critical enabling technology for the coming decade. While hydrogen and offshore wind are being explored in pilot formats, they are still seen as long-term plays with high costs and uncertain scalability. Storage, on the other hand, is commercially viable and essential for grid reliability today.</p>
<p>Maheshwari described how NTPC is investing in battery storage, hydrogen mobility, and carbon capture to future-proof its clean energy portfolio. The company is already running hydrogen-powered buses and is exploring hydrogen-based locomotives.</p>
<p>Singh emphasized that India needs to be ready not just with technology but also with people. He noted that a major constraint in scaling projects is the lack of trained, project-ready engineers and technicians. Despite a large pool of graduates, most require significant retraining to meet real-world project needs.</p>
<p>On manufacturing, Prabhu warned that companies risk becoming complacent. Many may say they are currently sold out for the year, but that should not be seen as a guarantee of long-term success. He called on manufacturers to invest in branding, quality control, and research and development. He said India must avoid repeating the mistakes of the solar module sector, where it waited too long for prices to fall, losing its competitive edge to other countries. According to him, India must lead in technology development, not just adoption.</p>
<p>He also emphasized that India’s financial ecosystem must evolve. Risk-averse lending practices are limiting the growth of newer technologies. Startups in advanced battery storage, hydrogen equipment, or clean mobility components often struggle to access capital, particularly for scaling up manufacturing. Prabhu said that without better financial backing, many Indian innovators will remain stuck at the pilot stage while global peers commercialize at scale.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Maheshwari proposed that India could consider revising its net-zero target from 2070 to 2050, citing recent progress and strong government-industry alignment. He noted that past targets were achieved well ahead of schedule and that with sustained momentum, a more ambitious timeline is feasible. He also pointed out that NTPC is forming joint ventures with several state governments to develop large-scale solar parks and renewable hubs. These initiatives, he said, would help the company comfortably surpass its original 60 GW target.</p>


India Can Realistically Achieve Its Net-Zero Target by 2050


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.jakson-green.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jakson Green</a>, <a href="https://www.tatapowersolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tata Power Solar</a>, <a href="https://hartek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartek Group</a>, <a href="https://www.lntecc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">L&amp;T Construction</a>, and <a href="https://www.sterlingandwilsonre.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy</a> emerged as the top utility-scale solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) service providers in 2024, according to Mercom’s recently released <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-leaderboard-cy-2024-market-shares-profiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Solar Market Leaderboard 2025 Report</a>.</p>
<p>Jakson Green was the leading EPC player with a market share of 20%, followed by Tata Power Solar with 13%. Hartek Group, L&amp;T Construction, and Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy rounded off the top five.</p>
<p>The top five utility-scale solar EPC service providers accounted for 48% of the market share.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-80146 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8.png" alt="" width="768" height="501" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8-300x196.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8-650x424.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8-624x407.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-8-600x391.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></a></p>
<p>Jakson Green’s cumulative large-scale installed solar capacity in EPC mode was 3.6 GW as of December 2024. Its major commissioned installations include Aditya Birla’s 500 MW and Brookfield Renewable’s 394 MW projects.</p>
<p>In May 2024, HSBC India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/jakson-green-sustainability-boost-from-hsbc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extended</a> a sustainable trade facility of ₹600 million (~$7.1 million) to Jakson Green, the renewable energy arm of the Jakson Group, which will bolster the company’s operational needs in the renewable energy sector in India and overseas.</p>
<p>In 2024, Tata Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/seci-commissions-120-mwh-bess-chhattisgarh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commissioned</a> the country’s largest solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) project. The project comprises a 100 MW solar capacity and a 40 MW/120 MWh utility-scale BESS system at Chhattisgarh.</p>
<p>Hartek Group was third and a fresh entry into the top ten list. It bagged an EPC contract to develop a 300 MW ground-mount solar project in Rajasthan, valued at ₹4.7 billion (~$55.3 million) in 2024. The company also won an order for providing EPC services to a 75 MW solar project by SJVN. The project is located in Jamui, Bihar.</p>
<p>L&amp;T Construction was fourth on the list. In June 2024, the company <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/lt-wins-185-mw-solar-project-bess-in-bihar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> an order to build a grid-connected 185 MW solar project with BESS at Kajra in the Lakhisarai district of Bihar.</p>
<p>Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy rounded off the top five. The company received an EPC contract order for a 305 MW solar project in Rajasthan during the year. It also received a balance of systems EPC order for a 500 MW solar project in Gujarat.</p>
<p>India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/q4-2024-india-solar-market-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> 25.2 GW of solar capacity in 2024, a record installation number, surpassing the annual capacity additions of all previous years. This has opened up a massive market for EPC service providers. Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, in its earnings call in January 2025, mentioned that the CAGR for its solar EPC business was about 15%-20%, with the gross margin closer to 10%.</p>
<p>With the government assigning a defined bidding trajectory to renewable energy implementing agencies, tender activity has gained significant momentum. At the same time, the development of intrastate and interstate green energy corridors is helping unlock grid infrastructure and support the integration of additional solar capacity.</p>
<p>As of the end of Q1 2025, India’s pipeline of large-scale solar projects <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-adds-7-gw-solar-capacity-q1-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stood</a> at 180.4 GW, with another 127.8 GW of projects awaiting auction. This growing project pipeline provides long-term visibility and a steady stream of opportunities for solar EPC contractors.</p>
<p>Mercom’s India Solar Market Leaderboard report covers the market landscape across the entire supply chain. For the detailed and comprehensive report, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-leaderboard-cy-2024-market-shares-profiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-share-tracker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Market Share Tracker</a>, offering quarterly data insights on your competitors’ growth rates, is also available.</p>


Jakson, Tata Power, Hartek: Leading Solar EPC Companies in 2024


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					</table><p><a href="https://hartek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartek Group’s</a> commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) rooftop solar business has won a solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract from Kandhari Beverages for an 8 MW rooftop solar installation project in Jammu and Kashmir.</p>
<p>Hartek Group’s EPC services will include designing and procuring solar modules, inverters, and associated equipment, as well as testing and project commissioning.</p>
<p>The company will also provide operations and maintenance services for one year.</p>
<p>The project is expected to produce one million units of renewable energy annually. The rooftop solar is likely to be commissioned during the current quarter.</p>
<p>Hartek said this is the third solar project it secured in the last two years, increasing its cumulative installation capacity to 14 MW.</p>
<p>Simarpreet Singh, Executive Director and CEO, Hartek Group said that the company aims to partner with industries to help meet their sustainability and net zero goals.</p>
<p>Hartek said it has a turnover exceeding ₹1 billion (~$11.56 million). The company offers power systems, solar solutions, power distribution products, solutions for smart cities/grids, and fuel and value-added services.</p>
<p>In February 2024, Hartek <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/hartek-power-secures-solar-project-from-sjvn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> an order from SJVN Green Energy to develop, implement, and maintain a 75 MW grid-connected solar power project and a 132 kV substation in Jamui, Bihar.</p>
<p>Last June, Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/jammu-and-kashmir-invites-rooftop-solar-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids for supplying, installing, and commissioning grid-connected rooftop solar power projects on government buildings in the state.</p>
<p>India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indias-rooftop-solar-capacity-gw-in-9m-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> 1.9 GW of rooftop solar capacity in the first nine months of 2024, exceeding both the annual and 9M additions of all previous years, according to Mercom India’s Q3 2024 India Rooftop Solar Market Report.</p>
<p>In March of 2023, Hartek <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/hartek-epc-contract-sjvns-15-mw-floating-solar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won</a> an EPC contract from SJVN Green Energy for a 15 MW floating solar project at Nangal Pond in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. The scope of work includes the comprehensive operation and maintenance of the project for three years.</p>


Hartek Wins EPC Contract for 8 MW Rooftop Solar Project in J&K


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					</table><p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>Prime Minister Narendra Modi </strong><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1866334" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>declared</strong></a><strong> the village of Modhera in Gujarat as India&#8217;s first 24&#215;7 solar-powered village in a recent event organized.</strong> The Prime Minister pointed out that solar energy would help power all house lights, agricultural needs, and vehicles in the village. The first-of-its-kind project realizes the Prime Minister&#8217;s vision of the solarization of the sun-temple town of Modhera. It involved developing a ground-mounted solar power project and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, all integrated with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Once completed, the project is expected to demonstrate how India&#8217;s renewable energy prowess can empower people at the grassroots level.</p>
<p><strong>Tata Power </strong><a href="https://www.tatapower.com/media/PressReleaseDetails/1978/tata-power-commits-to-expand-its-presence-in-rajasthan-participates-in-invest-rajasthan-2022-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> its plans to develop up to 8 GW of utility-scale projects, 1 GW of rooftop solar, and install 150,000 solar pumps in Rajasthan over the next five years.</strong> The announcement was made at the recent Rajasthan Summit. The company has commissioned 2,066 MW of capacity in Rajasthan to date, and around 2,873 MW of solar projects under construction are expected to be completed in the next 12-24 months. Tata Power plans to have a renewable power portfolio of 10 GW in the state in the next five years. The company plans to install 10,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the state over the next few years.</p>
<p><strong>Hartek Solar, the rooftop solar division of Hartek group, </strong><a href="https://www.hartek.com/press-release/hartek-solar-to-build-2-mw-floating-solar-plant-foundation-stone-laid-by-president-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>bagged</strong></a><strong> an order for a 2 MW floating solar project from Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science &amp; Technology Promotion Society. </strong>The plant will be situated at Sector 39 Water Works, which supplies water to Chandigarh. This project is expected to generate 2.8 million units of electricity annually and save 80,000 tons of CO2.</p>
<p><strong>Goldwind, a Beijing-headquartered wind turbine manufacturer, </strong><a href="https://www.goldwind.com/en/news/focus-article/?id=755472528843109376" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>secured</strong></a><strong> a deal with Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, to supply 111 units of GW155-4.5MW turbines</strong> to the Zarafshan wind farm in the Navoi region in central Uzbekistan. The project delivery is scheduled to be started in the third quarter of 2022 and completed by the end of 2024. Once in operation, it would help power 500,000 Uzbekistan households, displacing 1.1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The project is expected to help Uzbekistan achieve the goal of increasing the proportion of green electricity to 25% by 2030.</p>
<p><strong>Ilmatar Energy, a Finnish independent power producer, </strong><a href="https://ilmatar.fi/en/ilmatar-and-finsilva-to-develop-a-200-mw-wind-farm-in-finland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> that it would develop a 200 MW wind farm in the Vermassalo area of Virrat in Northern Pirkanmaa.</strong> The areas are owned by the Finnish forestry and natural capital company Finsilva. The planning and permitting process for the Vermassalo wind farm will begin toward the end of 2022. The construction work is expected to occur in 2025–2026, and the electricity generation will begin around 2027–2028. The Vermassalo wind power project is in Northern Pirkanmaa, approximately 10 km from central Virrat, west of Vehmasjärvi. The tentative size of the project area owned by Finsilva is roughly 3,200 hectares, allowing 20–25 wind turbines to be placed in the area. The company also recently <a href="https://ilmatar.fi/en/ilmatar-to-build-finlands-largest-renewable-energy-hybrid-park/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> a grant of €19.5 million (~$18.92 million) from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to implement a renewable energy hybrid park. Ilmatar is already in the process of building a large-scale wind farm in Alajärvi. The farm will comprise 36 wind turbines and have a capacity of 216 MW. The new project that was granted aid will add a new industrial-scale solar farm in the immediate vicinity of the wind farm. The solar farm will have a capacity of 150 MW and a 50 MWh battery storage offering flexibility.</p>


Daily News Wrap-Up: Modhera to Become India’s First Solar-Powered Village

<p>Based on project capacity commissioned in 2017, <a href="http://sterlingandwilson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sterling and Wilson</a> has emerged as the leading solar engineering procurement construction (EPC) developer in the country.</p>
<p>The newly released report by Mercom India Research <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-share-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>India Solar Market Leaderboard 2018</em></a> reveals the market leaders that emerged from a record year for the solar industry. The report covers market share and shipment rankings across the Indian solar supply chain in 2017.</p>
<p>Sterling &amp; Wilson accounted for 12 percent market share and was the top EPC firm in India in 2017 and was the also the top EPC provider in India in terms of cumulative installations.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/man.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10431" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/man.png" alt="Sterling and Wilson Emerges as India’s Leading EPC Player in 2017" width="390" height="265" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/man.png 390w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/man-300x204.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px" /></a></p>
<p>Sterling and Wilson was the only EPC which had over 1 GW of commissioned capacity in 2017.</p>
<p>“The EPC market was dominated by large firms which occupied the top ten spots and accounted for 63 percent of market share. But, only one company had over 10 percent of market share,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.</p>
<p>Most large developers have begun executing EPC services in-house on some projects to control costs.</p>
<p>Competition is intense among EPC companies as barriers to entry are low. Cost cutting and poor quality EPC work was exposed when storms affected the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and <a href="https://mercomindia.com/storms-affect-solar-assets-north-indian-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">damaged</a> solar projects.</p>
<p>Margins for EPC providers is razor thin due to aggressive bidding for EPC services by providers. Several small and medium size EPC providers are struggling.</p>
<p>With approximately 20 GW of solar projects tendered since December 2017, the development activity is expected ramp up as these tenders are auctioned. Solar installations in Q1 2018 <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-installations-india-q1-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">totaled</a> 3.3 GW and Mercom India Research has forecasted solar installations in 2018 to come in at approximately in the 8-9 GW.</p>
<p><em>To learn more about the report and get a full list of market leaders, click <strong><a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-share-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></em></p>
<p><em> </em><em>For a complete Market Share Tracker, click <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-india-solar-market-share-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a></em></p>
<p><em>Download Executive Summary </em><strong><em><a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-solar-market-leaderboard-2018-executive-summary-form/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></em></strong></p>
<p>Image credit: Flickr</p>


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