66 vendors deactivated over pending rooftop solar applications

The Centre has deactivated 66 registered vendors under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana for one month for not clearing a large backlog of pending rooftop solar applications. The vendors have 30 days to clear the backlog, Mercom reported.  

The report said that analysis of portal data had found that the vendors had accumulated applications far beyond their demonstrated installation capacity during the April-June 2026 quarter. According to the ministry, such accumulation amounts to artificial hoarding of applications, compromises consumer choice and could delay subsidy disbursement.

Solar-plus-storage can supply Round-the-clock power at Rs 5.15, Beat SECI tariff of Rs 5.26: Study 

Solar energy backed by battery storage can deliver round-the-clock renewable electricity at an estimated Rs 5.15 per kilowatt hour, below the Rs 5.25 tariff discovered in the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s 1,000 megawatt (MW) auction, according to a new study, DTE reported.

The study, by the India Energy and Climate Centre at the University of California, Berkeley, is based on 10 years of hourly weather data across 10 Indian states, the outlet said. The research found that a 3 gigawatt (GW) solar plant paired with 12 (gigawatt-hour) GWh of battery storage could meet the tendered supply profile in Rajasthan.

SECI’s latest tender was designed to mimic the supply profile of conventional firm power. It required developers to maintain higher supply during evening, night and morning hours, and lower supply during solar-rich midday periods.

The study said the SECI tender requires developers to supply at least 90 per cent of contracted capacity during six buyer-selected peak hours, 70 per cent during other non-solar hours and 50 per cent to 60 per cent during solar hours.

Compliance is assessed every 15 minutes, with shortfalls attracting a penalty of 1.5 times the contract tariff. The study found that increasing solar capacity to 3.5 GW while retaining 12 GWh of storage would eliminate penalties across the 10 weather years at an estimated cost of Rs 5.28 per unit.

Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat could meet the annual obligation with 3 GW of solar and 12 GWh of storage, while other states would require about 3.5 GW of solar capacity, it found.

Spain to require data centers to source 80% of electricity from renewables

Spain’s new draft rules would require data centers to certify that at least 80% of their electricity consumption comes from renewable sources, PV Magazine reported. 

According to the proposed rules companies will have to organise additional renewable energy as “contracting existing renewable generation would not be sufficient,” the outlet said adding that each new megawatt of electricity demand associated with a data center would have to be matched by 1 MW of new renewable generation capacity commissioned no more than 18 months before the data center begins operating.

The additional capacity could come from on-site generation or long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Wind capacity additions reach new record for June in China 

In just the first six months of 2026, China added more wind capacity than was added in any full calendar year before 2025, reported CREA. In June alone, 13.6 GW of wind capacity was added, a record high for the month of June. Solar capacity additions remain depressed after 2025’s high baseline, when developers rushed to meet a policy deadline.

In the first six months of 2026, China added 72.1 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity, down 66% from a very high baseline in 2025, as developers rushed to meet a policy deadline to ensure their projects would be covered by the existing price-support framework;  38.6 GW of wind power capacity, down 25% from a similarly high baseline last year. 

The country also added 6 GW of hydro power capacity, up 53% from last year; 3.6 GW of nuclear power capacity, up from 0 GW in the same period last year.