Page 154 - CW E-Magazine (3-12-2024)

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

‘India installs record 16.4-GW of solar capacity

in January-September 2024’

India installed a record 16.4-GW of will not be sufficient to meet 2030
solar capacity in the first nine months goals,” said Mr. Raj Prabhu, CEO of
of 2024, marking a jump of 167% com- Mercom Capital Group.
pared to the same period of 2023, aided
by the commissioning of several previ- As of September 2024, India had
ously delayed projects, according to an 89.1-GW of solar capacity, account-
analysis by Mercom India Research. ing for nearly 20% of the country’s in-
stalled power capacity. In the first nine
About 3.5-GW of solar capacity well as a shortage of modules meeting months of 2024, solar represented 73%
was brought online in the third quarter domestic content requirement (DCR) of new power capacity additions. As of
of 2024, up 78% year-over-year, but standards. September, India also had a large-scale
down 28% quarter-over-quarter, as per solar project pipeline totalling 163-GW
Mercom’s Q3 2024 India Solar Market “India is on track for its best year in and an additional 127.2-GW of projects
Update. Large-scale solar accounted solar, but significant challenges threaten tendered and awaiting auction.
for 2.8-GW of the quarterly additions. to slow progress. Grid connectivity
issues, land availability, and supply In the third quarter, 16.2-GW of ten-
The firm attributed the decline com- constraints are already impacting mo- ders were announced, up by 19% year-
pared to the second quarter to delays mentum. Without urgent improvements over-year and by 52% quarter-over-
in grid connectivity, challenges with in transmission infrastructure and land quarter. Auctioned projects fell 14%
land acquisition, construction disrup- access, solar growth risks falling short and 17% from a quarter and a year ago,
tions caused by monsoon conditions, as of targets; the tender trajectory alone respectively, to 5.8-GW.

New grease pilot plant and incubation centre

inaugurated at ICT

Prof. A. B. Pandit, Vice Chancellor
of the Institute of Chemical Technology
(ICT), Mumbai, recently inaugurated
a state-of-the-art grease pilot plant at
the tribology lab in ICT’s Department
of Oils, Oleochemicals and Surfactants
Technology.

According to ICT, the pilot plant
will seek to advance R&D in tribo
logy, lubrication, and grease techno-
logy. It will serve as a hub for in-depth
studies, sustainable solutions, and (Nurturing Innovations and Catalysing pharmaceuticals, agriculture, etc. “By
the formulation of cutting-edge pro Entrepreneurship) facility at its campus providing tailored mentorship, indus-
ducts to meet the growing industrial by Chancellor, Prof. J. B. Joshi. This trial connections, and assistance in
demands. incubation centre is dedicated to foster- securing grants and investor relations,
ing innovation and supporting startups ICT-NICE is committed to driving
ICT also announced the inaugura- in sectors such as chemical technology, sustainable growth and technological
tion of a newly renovated ICT-NICE polymer technology, food processing, advancement,” ICT informed.

154 Chemical Weekly December 3, 2024

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