Latest news with #Mercom
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solar and storage financing is down, but dealmaking is up
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Total corporate funding for solar companies — including venture capital, public market and debt financing — fell 39% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, according to data from Mercom Capital Group. Energy storage companies saw funding drop 41% over the same time period, according to Mercom. Although total funding declined, project acquisitions and merger activity picked up, likely driven by decreased valuations, according to Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom, which collects data on financing deals announced around the globe, excluding data on Chinese companies. Despite an early phase-out of renewable energy tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, having the final details in hand could be enough to prompt more investor activity in the second half of 2025, Prabhu said. Dive Insight: Investors dislike uncertainty, so it should be no surprise that financing for solar and storage companies took a dive in the first half of the year, according to Prabhu. But the consulting firm's data also points to a handful of bright spots. Solar public market financing dropped 73% from $1.7 billion in the first half of 2024 to $467 million in the first half of 2025, according to Mercom. The total value of venture capital and private equity funding also fell about 50% year over year, but the number of individual deals grew from 29 to 32. It's not entirely clear, Prabhu said, what may have prompted investors to pursue more, but smaller, deals in the solar sector. If investors were locking in good deals during the downturn, they weren't alone. Nearly 20 GW of existing solar assets changed hands in the first half of 2025, compared to 18.5 GW over the same time period in 2024. Mergers and solar company acquisitions also rose, led by investment firms and utilities. 'When the market has so much volatility and uncertainty, there are always deals to be made, assets to be picked off,' Prabhu said. 'So if investors see a good deal — an undervalued asset, an undervalued company — because of the uncertainty ... they are going to do those deals and acquire that company.' Storage took an even bigger hit than solar, with venture capital and private equity falling 29% across fewer deals, public market funding down 43%, and just three mergers and company acquisitions, down from 14 in the first half of 2024. However, acquisitions of energy storage projects more than doubled, and venture capitalists are showing an interest in alternative storage technologies like sodium-based batteries, according to Mercom. Investment trends should begin to stabilize and possibly recover toward the end of this year now that Congress has completed the reconciliation process, Prabhu said. While the outcome may not have been favorable for renewable energy companies, knowing what the policy landscape looks like going forward should help investors identify the companies that are best positioned to pivot. And there is some evidence from the quarterly data that the solar sector is already adapting, Prabhu said. Debt financing ticked upward slightly in the second quarter of 2025, suggesting that some of the development plans solar companies put on hold in early 2025 have already begun to move forward. 'The demand is there from data centers and AI ... but the rules of the game itself have changed in the last couple of quarters,' he said. 'The players who understand this early will get ahead and define the next chapter of the U.S. and global solar industry going forward.' Recommended Reading Interior halts offshore wind leasing, claims industry was favored by Biden administration Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Prostarm Info Systems to invest $2.9 mn in 1.2 GWh battery energy storage plant in Haryana by 2026
Prostarm Info Systems , a Mumbai-based power infrastructure developer, is set to establish a 1.2 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing plant in Jhajjar, Haryana , by the end of the financial year 2026. An investment of ₹25 crore ($2.9 milion) is earmarked for the project to cater to commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications, driven by the increasing demand for energy storage solutions in India . The plant will be located at the Reliance Model Economic Township and operate under a nine-year land lease. This development follows a significant increase in India's BESS installations, with over 341 MWh added in 2024, Mercom reports. BESS manufacturing facility The new BESS manufacturing facility will cater to both commercial and industrial, as well as utility-scale applications. The plant is expected to be commissioned by the end of the financial year 2026. The facility entails the setting up of plant and machinery, office infrastructure, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, power capacity upgrades, and anti-static flooring. It also includes warehousing and other essential infrastructure to enable high-end assembly and integration. Prostarm provides services in design, manufacture, assembly, sale, and service of energy storage and power conditioning equipment. It has a product portfolio comprising UPS systems, inverters, lift inverters, solar hybrid inverters, lithium-ion battery packs , servo-controlled voltage stabilisers, and isolation transformers. The company also undertakes engineering, procurement, and construction projects in the rooftop solar space across India. Recently, Prostarm Info Systems won a capacity of 30 MW/120 MWh in Bihar State Power Generation Company 's auction to set up a standalone BESS of a cumulative capacity of 125 MW/500 MWh.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Prostarm Info Systems to invest $2.9 mn in 1.2 GWh battery energy storage plant in Haryana by 2026
Prostarm Info Systems , a Mumbai-based power infrastructure developer, is set to establish a 1.2 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing plant in Jhajjar, Haryana , by the end of the financial year 2026. An investment of ₹25 crore ($2.9 milion) is earmarked for the project to cater to commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications, driven by the increasing demand for energy storage solutions in India. The plant will be located at the Reliance Model Economic Township and operate under a nine-year land lease. This development follows a significant increase in India's BESS installations, with over 341 MWh added in 2024, Mercom reports. BESS manufacturing facility The new BESS manufacturing facility will cater to both commercial and industrial, as well as utility-scale applications. The plant is expected to be commissioned by the end of the financial year 2026. The facility entails the setting up of plant and machinery, office infrastructure, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, power capacity upgrades, and anti-static flooring. It also includes warehousing and other essential infrastructure to enable high-end assembly and integration. Prostarm provides services in design, manufacture, assembly, sale, and service of energy storage and power conditioning equipment. It has a product portfolio comprising UPS systems, inverters, lift inverters, solar hybrid inverters, lithium-ion battery packs , servo-controlled voltage stabilisers, and isolation transformers. The company also undertakes engineering, procurement, and construction projects in the rooftop solar space across India. Recently, Prostarm Info Systems won a capacity of 30 MW/120 MWh in Bihar State Power Generation Company's auction to set up a standalone BESS of a cumulative capacity of 125 MW/500 MWh.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Battery storage addition rises sixfold to 341 MWh in 2024; cumulative capacity reaches 442 MWh: Report
New Delhi: India added 341 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery energy storage capacity in 2024, marking a more than sixfold increase from the 51 MWh added in 2023, according to the 'India's Energy Storage Landscape 2024' report released by Mercom India Research. With this, the country's cumulative installed battery energy storage capacity stood at nearly 442 MWh as of December 2024. The report noted that solar-plus-storage systems accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the cumulative installed battery storage capacity. This was followed by approximately 36 per cent from other renewable energy combinations with round-the-clock capability, and about 4 per cent from standalone battery energy storage systems. The remaining share came from floating solar with storage projects. India has also added 4.7 gigawatts (GW) of pumped storage capacity to date. As of December 2024, Karnataka accounted for 36 per cent of the cumulative installed energy storage capacity, followed by Chhattisgarh with 27 per cent and Gujarat with 17 per cent. 'India's energy storage sector made significant progress in 2024, but it still has a long way to go to catch up with its global peers. The government's mandate to co-locate storage with solar projects is a major catalyst. Requiring a two-hour system covering 10 per cent of installed capacity is a strong, clear directive that has energized the market. It's already translating into market activity, with tenders and auctions gaining traction, along with a growing pipeline of projects. What we're seeing now is the beginning of a market shift with storage becoming central to India's renewable energy strategy,' said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. According to the report, as of December 2024, India had nearly 4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of standalone battery storage, over 2 GW of solar-plus-storage, and more than 16 GW of renewable energy-plus-storage projects in various stages of development. The pipeline for pumped storage exceeded 51 GW, with over 37 GW in the survey and investigation phase and more than 14 GW under active development. Gujarat had the largest pipeline of standalone battery storage capacity under development, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Mercom stated that favourable provisions in the renewable energy policies of these states, along with annual energy storage obligations in place through FY30, were key factors driving demand. In 2024, various government agencies issued energy storage tenders totalling nearly 27 GW and auctioned approximately 17 GW of projects, with or without associated renewable energy capacity. Solar-plus-storage tenders recorded a 118 per cent year-on-year increase during the year.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India adds 1.2 GW rooftop solar capacity in Q1 2025, residential segment accounts for 78%
New Delhi: India added 1.2 GW of rooftop solar capacity in the January-March quarter of 2025, marking a 232 per cent increase over the 366.5 MW installed in the corresponding quarter of 2024, according to Mercom India Research. The installations in Q1 2025 were 6 per cent lower than the 1.3 GW added in Q4 2024. The capacity addition during the quarter was the second-highest ever for rooftop solar installations in the country. According to Mercom, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana contributed to more than 77 per cent of the installations in the quarter. However, the quarter fell short of a new record due to implementation bottlenecks in the programme, high system costs, and a shortage of Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) compliant modules. The residential segment accounted for nearly 78 per cent of rooftop installations in the quarter. The industrial, commercial and government segments accounted for 16 per cent, 6 per cent, and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Installations under the capital expenditure (CAPEX) model comprised over 91 per cent of the additions, while the operational expenditure (OPEX/RESCO) model accounted for 9 per cent. "Momentum in the residential solar segment has slowed due to implementation hurdles in the Surya Ghar program, persistent component shortages, and high system costs. Consumer expectations are not being met, whether it is cost, quality, or installation timelines. Addressing these issues is critical to unlocking the true potential of the residential solar market," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. Among states, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh led in rooftop solar capacity additions, accounting for over 16 per cent, 14 per cent, and 13 per cent, respectively. Tenders for rooftop solar totalling 494.2 MW were issued in Q1 2025, representing a decline of over 53 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 41 per cent year-on-year. Of this, 82 per cent of the tendered capacity was for government buildings, and 39 per cent of it fell under the PM Surya Ghar programme. At the end of Q1 2025, India's cumulative rooftop solar capacity stood at 14.9 GW. The rooftop segment accounted for over 18 per cent of the total solar installations in the quarter. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest compounded quarterly growth rate between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025 at more than 15 per cent, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Kerala at 11 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively. The average cost of rooftop solar systems rose by about 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and nearly 22 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2025. The Mercom report also includes analysis of net metering policies in all states and Union Territories.
