Latest news with #MNRE
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Envision Energy to invest ₹500 cr for expansion: Flags cost, grid, supply chain challenges
India's leading wind turbine original equipment manufacturer Envision Energy India with an order book of 10 GW plans to invest ₹500 crore to scale up its manufacturing footprint. The company, which commands a 45 per cent market share in the wind turbine manufacturing segment, plans to set up a second blade plant near Ahmedabad and a gearbox facility in Pune. This brings the Chinese major's total investment in India to ₹1,000 crore since 2016. The company is prepared to scale up production to 5 GW annually, supported by a robust order book said Managing Director R.P.V. Prasad in an interview with The Economic Times. "With an order book exceeding 10 GW–12 GW, it is crucial that we produce and deliver products to our customers at a cost-effective scale," said Prasad. Envision has begun constructing its second blade plant and will expand its Trichy unit to six moulds from the present four. The Pune nacelle and hub facility will scale from 3 GW to 5 GW, and the company will also manufacture gearboxes in India using global expertise. The company plans a phased approach to localisation in response to the ministry of new and renewable energy 's (MNRE) new RLMM norms, which mandate local manufacturing of key wind components. While supporting the move, Prasad said complete localisation without sufficient demand would inflate costs. 'We're paying 1.5x more for blades in India. Investors won't bear that,' he said. Prasad called for a staggered rollout of the new MNRE norms, warning that a rushed transition could crash industry volumes to 1–2 GW. He also pointed to grid unpreparedness and limited domestic component suppliers as major bottlenecks. "The government should introduce a condition that if you're manufacturing in India, at least 20 per cent should be for the domestic market. If you want to export fine, export only 80 per cent —but 20 per cent must be supplied here. If the government imposes that condition, they'll object. Perhaps the issue for them is that their profitability is declining; they're not able to match, and these are the hidden issues, which are not openly discussed," he said. Envision is also preparing to deliver its 5 MW turbine from October 2025 and sees repowering and offshore wind as future opportunities. "While the government is introducing mechanisms like VGF (Viability Gap Funding), it isn't sufficient. Additionally, the lack of infrastructure poses a significant hurdle. For instance, specialized vessels required for installations are not available domestically," Prasad said, adding that if imported from Europe and China, they charge (in dollars) by the hour, making operations prohibitively expensive with India not having the know-how at such high cost. Envision Energy Group alone has over 80 GW of installed wind capacity worldwide — the majority in China, but outside China as well. India is our second-largest contributor in this 80 GW. Last year, globally, it added about 19 GW of capacity across the world, of which about 2 GW was in India last year.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Use of listed solar cell mandatory after one month of publication of ALMM list
To ease out procedures for projects floated by government agencies, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has mandated the use of solar cells named in the Approved List of Models & Manufacturers (ALMM) only after one month of the publication of the list. The ALMM is a mechanism to ensure the reliability of a producer, for protecting consumer interests, while ensuring a larger energy security of the country. The government introduced the ALMM order (List I) in 2019 for solar modules to boost the manufacturing and usage of made-in-India solar panels. It was made mandatory to source PV modules from models and manufacturers included in the ALMM List I. Later with amendments to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), the government included cells to the list as well. The ministry on Monday said that as a part of the amended procedure, the ALMM for solar PV cells will be mandatory only one month after the publication of ALMM list for solar PV cells, which is currently under process. However, the effective date for mandatory use of solar PV cells under ALMM list, for projects commissioned from June 1, 2026, onwards, will remain as notified earlier. Above measure is expected to give ample clarity to bidders in submitting their bids in tenders which are required to have provisions for bidders, to submit their bids, keeping in view the mandate for using both solar modules and cells from ALMM lists. This will expedite solar cell manufacturing and will help it to keep pace with the growing module manufacturing capacity in the country. The ministry noted that the ALMM mechanism has also ensured quick promotion of domestic solar manufacturing industry in the country, which currently stands at 91 GW of solar PV modules and 27 GW of solar PV cells, the MNRE said. This step will boost the domestic solar manufacturing projects in the country while adequately addressing the issues faced by the renewable power developers in complying with the ALMM for solar PV cells.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Use of listed solar cell mandatory after 1 month of publication of ALMM list
To streamline government renewable energy projects, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy will mandate the use of ALMM-listed solar cells one month after list publication. This measure aims to ensure producer reliability, protect consumer interests, and bolster energy security. It will also expedite domestic solar cell manufacturing, aligning it with module production capacity, while addressing developer compliance concerns. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads To ease out procedures for projects floated by government agencies, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has mandated the use of solar cells named in the Approved List of Models & Manufacturers (ALMM) only after one month of the publication of the ALMM is a mechanism to ensure the reliability of a producer, for protecting consumer interests, while ensuring a larger energy security of the country. The government introduced the ALMM order (List I) in 2019 for solar modules to boost the manufacturing and usage of made-in-India solar was made mandatory to source PV modules from models and manufacturers included in the ALMM List with amendments to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), the government included cells to the list as ministry on Monday said that as a part of the amended procedure, the ALMM for solar PV cells will be mandatory only one month after the publication of ALMM list for solar PV cells, which is currently under the effective date for mandatory use of solar PV cells under ALMM list, for projects commissioned from June 1, 2026, onwards, will remain as notified measure is expected to give ample clarity to bidders in submitting their bids in tenders which are required to have provisions for bidders, to submit their bids, keeping in view the mandate for using both solar modules and cells from ALMM will expedite solar cell manufacturing and will help it to keep pace with the growing module manufacturing capacity in the ministry noted that the ALMM mechanism has also ensured quick promotion of domestic solar manufacturing industry in the country, which currently stands at 91 GW of solar PV modules and 27 GW of solar PV cells, the MNRE step will boost the domestic solar manufacturing projects in the country while adequately addressing the issues faced by the renewable power developers in complying with the ALMM for solar PV cells.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Nod for Hydrogen Valley Innovation Cluster project in Kerala
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has given the go-ahead for a Hydrogen Valley Innovation Cluster (HVIC) in Kerala. The Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), which proposed the project, said the HVIC is one of only four projects selected nationally, and the only one led by a State government agency in south India. MNRE has issued the administrative approval and sanction for the project. It has been cleared under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) on the basis of recommendations made by the Expert Panel Committee (EPC) formed by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, the Green Hydrogen Cell (GH2 Cell) of ANERT said. A hydrogen valley is a geographical region where the production of hydrogen, its storage, distribution, and use are integrated through pilot and demonstration projects. The HVIC project is aimed at 'building a local hydrogen ecosystem by connecting supply and demand across sectors like transport, industry, and energy, while also fostering research, innovation, and skills,' the GH2 Cell, ANERT, said. Key features of the HVIC project in Kerala include green hydrogen refuelling stations in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, pilot and demonstration projects in land and water transport and industrial sectors in addition to infrastructure such as electrolyser banks for green hydrogen production, hydrogen compression and storage. Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, Hydrogen Valleys serve as scalable, replicable hubs to accelerate India's clean hydrogen economy, ANERT said. For Kerala's HVIC project estimated to cost ₹133.18 crore, MNRE has approved a Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of ₹53.40 crore under NGHM. It has sanctioned the first tranche of ₹21.36 crore (40%), to be released to the not-for-profit company formed by ANERT for the purpose.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt mandates all rooftop solar inverters under PM scheme to connect to national servers
New Delhi: Rooftop solar inverters installed under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG: MBY) will be required to mandatorily connect to national servers and use machine-to-machine (M2M) SIM-based communication protocol, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has said in a compliance order issued to all stakeholders. The PMSG: MBY scheme targets installation of rooftop solar (RTS) systems in one crore households with a total capacity of 30 gigawatts (GW). The ministry has said integration of such a large number of RTS plants introduces grid stability and cybersecurity challenges , especially due to inverters transmitting data outside India or interacting with third-party servers. 'To ensure secure and reliable data transmission, all inverter communication devices/dongles/data loggers deployed under the scheme shall have Machine-to-Machine (M2M) SIM communication protocol,' MNRE said in the memorandum dated July 21. The ministry added that inverter modules transmitting sensitive data to servers outside India threaten national energy sovereignty and increase the risk of unauthorised control. It further stated that third-party communication could be exploited to manipulate inverter operations, potentially disrupting power generation and grid operations. 'In this regard, multiple rounds of deliberation have been done with major stakeholders to implement a framework to track generation benefits of RTS installations as well as for the centralisation of RTS data on a National Software Platform hosted on servers located in India and managed by MNRE or any other Government Agency,' the ministry said. The MNRE is finalising a vendor-neutral open communication protocol along with security guidelines for data communication to enable real-time monitoring and control of inverters through the National Portal. Integration testing of inverter communication devices will commence from September 1, 2025. 'A separate communication in this regard shall be issued shortly,' the ministry said. Further, all Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) listed for supplying inverters under the scheme 'shall mandatorily connect their inverters directly to National Servers and Software managed by MNRE or any other agency designated by MNRE, with effective from the date to be notified,' it said.
