Ukraine is still facing dire circumstances, with war continuing to claim lives and Russian invaders occupying large parts of the country. Solar plant owners also face serious challenges, including collateral damage, looting, destruction of communication infrastructure, and payment shortfalls. However, a bold vision for recovery has been set out with a key role for solar, as Ian Skarytovsky reports.

Indian renewable energy developer Serentica Renewables plans to install and commission 1.5 GW of solar and wind capacity in 24 months to serve energy-intensive industries in the Asian nation.

The developer of a planned 1.3 GW renewable energy hub in South Australia has agreed to partner with India-based PV solar cell and module manufacturer Websol Energy to produce up to 1.2 GW of cells and modules to help it to better control the supply chain of critical components.

Reliance Industries says that production will begin at its 10 GW factory for solar cells and modules by 2024. It plans to double the facility’s capacity to 20 GW by 2026 and is aiming for 50 GWh of annual cell-to-pack battery capacity by 2027.

Average polysilicon prices hit CNY 312 (AU$65.8)/kg this week, according to an industry association in China. The nation’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Energy Administration have also asked regional authorities to take action to deal with the price increase.

Ravi Verma, senior executive vice president of Avaada, told pv magazine the group will invest US$5 billion (AU$7.18 billion) in an integrated green hydrogen and ammonia plant with 6 GW of captive renewables capacity. The green ammonia facility will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes per year.

Unprecedented volatility in global commodity markets, disruption to logistics and supply chains, and unrelenting growth has driven up the cost of Li-ion batteries since the middle of 2021. Sam Wilkinson and Oliver Forsyth of IHS Markit expect to see rapid manufacturing expansion that will still struggle to keep up with demand, and ultimately lead to the establishment of a smaller group of battery-makers specialized in supplying stationary energy storage systems.

State-owned NHPC and Bharat Electronics Ltd will leverage their complementary strengths to set up a gigawatt-scale vertically integrated solar manufacturing unit.

Last week, federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen officially put fuel efficiency standards on the national agenda, saying the measure would reduce transport emissions and encourage electric vehicle uptake.

India has surpassed 10 GW of overall renewables capacity installed for offtake through open access.