India’s renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) is expected to reach 122 GW by December 2022, against the government’s target of 175 GW – a deficit of 30%. Over the past five years, solar and wind capacity additions have averaged around 9 GW per year, against a corresponding target of 19 GW. Despite a strong policy push, growing demand, and low costs, most states appear reluctant to buy more renewable energy.
Orient Green is one of the largest independent power producers of renewable energy in the country. The company's managing director also explained the business outlook for expanding renewable energy to 1 GW in the next 2-3 years. The government's strong focus on green and renewable energy presents a great opportunity for companies to become major leaders in the field.
The coming year will see a big splash in hybrids, RTC (all-weather) electric projects and hydrogen projects, as well as offshore wind. India's long coastline and highly price-competitive electricity market support expansion logic beyond physical purchases. Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs) are the basis for achieving the 30 GW offshore wind capacity target.
Individual renewable energy targets range from 27% in Ukraine to 52% in Albania. If the target is met, Albania and Montenegro will use renewable energy to cover 50% of its total final energy consumption. For the first time, parties have been given greenhouse gas emission targets. North Macedonia saw the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – 82 percent, while Kosovo* saw the lowest reduction – 16.3 percent.
A researcher in Haryana has revealed a revolutionary manufacturing process for silicon solar cells that has the potential to drastically reduce the price of these cells. Swasti Bhatia, a PhD student at IIT Bombay at the time, demonstrated a silicon solar cell with 12% efficiency, fabricated entirely at below 100C. By using new, non-toxic materials such as TiO2, these low-temperature solar cells replace predominantly high-temperature processes that also use harmful gases such as phosphine.
Rezolv Energy has acquired a 51% stake in two new wind farms in Constanta County, Romania. The Adamclisi and Deleni wind farms are expected to complete financing in 2023. The two wind farms will generate enough clean energy to power more than 332,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 220,000 tons per year. Rezolv was founded in 2020 with €500 million backing from Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure.