PV-Tech: India Crosses 10 GW Solar Deployment
India has surpassed the 10 GW solar PV installation milestone, having tripled its capacity in less than three years, according to a late-night tweet on Friday from energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal.
Details on how the landmark was reached have yet to be released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), although local news outlets claim that the crossing was made when India’s largest utility NTPC commissioned another 45 MW of PV at Bhadla Solar Power project, near Jodhpur, in the state of Rajasthan. That project now stands at 160 MW in operation and NTPC has crossed the 500 MW mark with 520 MW solar commissioned.
New York Times: Behind the Quiet State-by-State Fight Over Electric Vehicles
Today, the economic incentives that have helped electric vehicles gain a toehold in America are under attack, state by state. In some states, there is a move to repeal tax credits for battery-powered vehicles or to let them expire. And in at least nine states, including liberal-leaning ones like Illinois and conservative-leaning ones like Indiana, lawmakers have introduced bills that would levy new fees on those who own electric cars.
The state actions could put the business of electric vehicles, already rocky, on even more precarious footing. That is particularly true as gas prices stay low, and as the Trump administration appears set to give the nascent market much less of a hand.
Politico: Europe's Aim Is to Sway, not Provoke, Trump on Climate
European diplomats are carefully crafting a strategy for dealing with Donald Trump on climate change, fearful of provoking a backlash from the mercurial president if they push too hard for U.S. cooperation.
Germany, France, Italy, the European Commission and others see two high-profile gatherings of world leaders -- this summer’s G7 and G20 summits in Italy and Germany -- as the perfect opportunities to push the Trump administration to take a stance on climate, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House on Tuesday as a potential prelude. But they’re still unsure how to approach a president who has questioned the value of U.S. alliances and dismissed climate change as a Chinese hoax.
Bloomberg: To Take on Tesla, Sweden’s NorthVolt Seeks $1 Billion Next Year
NorthVolt AB, the Swedish company founded by a former Tesla Inc. executive, wants to cut the cost of storing power in half with a 4-billion-euro ($4.2 billion) lithium-ion battery factory.
The Stockholm-based company wants to raise 1 billion euros by 2018, when it plans to break ground on a factory during the second half of the year, according to founder Peter Carlsson, who was Tesla’s former head of sourcing and supply chains. NorthVolt will announce a shortlist of possible Swedish manufacturing sites in about a month.
Teslarati: Tesla Refuses to Quit in Texas
Tesla is making a renewed push for its direct-to-consumer sales model in Texas after being rebuffed twice in the past by the local franchise dealer association.
In years past, Tesla doubled the size of its lobbyist team to fight for legislation that would allow the company to operate up to 12 stores within the state. The resulting House bill did not come to a committee vote, and the Senate proposal never received a hearing. The efforts are [largely due to] Texas being a huge market for vehicle sales, only second to California, which leads as the U.S. state with the most sales.