India × Cleantech — July 2021
Originally published on Future Trends.
Welcome to another issue of our new India x Cleantech series! On a monthly basis, we are pulling news from across clean technology sectors in India into a single, concise summary article about the country.
Cleantech Investments
Acme Sells Stake In 250-Megawatt Solar Power Project To Foreign Investors
Acme Cleantech has sold a 49% stake in a 250-megawatt solar power project currently under development in the state of Rajasthan. Denmark’s IFU has acquired 39% on behalf of the Danish SGD Investment Fund while the United Nations’ Sustainable Infrastructure Impact Investments (S3i) has acquired 10% stake in the project.
Scatec Solar Buys 50% Stake In Acme’s 900-megawatt Solar Project
Scatec Solar has agreed to acquire a 50% equity stake in a 900-megawatt solar power project that Acme Cleantech is developing in the state of Rajasthan. The project was awarded to Acme in a 2018 auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Acme had quoted a record-low bid of Rs 2.44 (¢3.29) per kilowatt-hour.
1366 Technologies To Invest $300 Million In Solar Module Production In India
US-based 1366 Technologies is looking to invest $300 million to set up a facility in India for solar wafer and cell production. The company is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and has North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Partners as investors. The company plans to set up the production facility under the Indian government’s production-linked incentive scheme and is looking for Indian companies to partner with.
Renewable Energy & Batteries
Indian Gas Utility Plans To Bid For 400 Megawatts Of Solar Power
GAIL will bid for 400 megawatts of solar power capacity in a tender issued by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The capacity would be spread across three projects planned to be commissioned in the state of Madhya Pradesh. GAIL owns limited renewable energy capacity, mostly in the form of rooftop solar projects and some wind energy projects. The company, however, has been aggressively looking for acquisitions and partnerships.
Tata Group Commissions India’s Largest Solar Carport
Tata Power has announced that it has commissioned a solar-powered carport in Pune, Maharashtra, India. The company claims that the 6.2-megawatt carport is the largest of its kind in the country. The project, commissioned at Tata Motors’ plant, can generate 8.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and offset 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The project is spread across 30,000 square meters and will be used as covered parking for finished cars manufactured by Tata Motors.
Reliance Group Plans $10 Billion Investment in Solar, Storage, & Hydrogen
Mukesh Ambani-led industrial conglomerate Reliance Industries has announced aggressive plans to invest more than Rs 750 billion over next three years to build manufacturing facilities for solar cells, energy storage, electrolyzers and fuel cells. All manufacturing facilities would be based in western state of Gujarat.
GE Bags 148.5-Megawatt Wind Turbine Order
GE Renewable Energy has bagged an order to supply 55 units of its 2.7 MW onshore wind turbine from Continuum Wind Energy. GE would also provide long-term maintenance to the project. Continuum had secured the project through an auction conduction by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The project would be located in Gujarat.
Solex Energy Plans Module Production Expansion
Gujarat-based Solex Energy has placed an order for 1.2 gigawatts of module production equipment. The company plans to complete 600 megawatts of module production line by October this year and add another 600 megawatt subsequently. The company also plans to set up solar cell production capacity in the future.
Indian Railways Issues Tender For 740 Megawatts Of Solar Power
Railway Energy Management Company has floated a 740-megawatt solar power tender inviting bids from developers to set up projects across eight states. The majority of the capacity would be located in Gujarat (317 megawatts) followed by Bihar (109 megawatts), Rajasthan (84 megawatts), and Madhya Pradesh. Developers would be obligated to use only Indian-made solar cells and modules for these projects.
Gujarat Signs Contract For 2.5 Gigawatts Of Solar Power
Power distribution utilities in Gujarat have signed power purchase agreements with nearly 4,000 small-scale solar power projects with a total capacity of 2.5 gigawatts. The projects would be commissioned over the next 18 months. The size of each project will rage between 0.5 and 4 megawatts.
Module Manufacturer Goldi Plans 5-Gigawatt Production Capacity
Indian module manufacturer Goldi Solar has announced plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to 2.5 gigawatts by March 2022. It currently has a production capacity of 500 megawatts. The company eventually plans to have a production capacity of 5 gigawatts.
According to a Tesla Semi customer, the electric truck program is suffering more delays and a price increase that is described as “dramatic.”
Tesla Semi has seen many delays, more than any other vehicle program at Tesla.
It was initially unveiled in 2017, and CEO Elon Musk claimed that it would go into production in 2019.
In late 2022, Tesla held an event where it unveiled the “production version” of the Tesla Semi and delivered the first few units to a “customer-partner”: PepsiCo.
More than 3 years later, the vehicle never went into volume production. Instead, Tesla only ran a very low volume pilot production at a factory in Nevada and only delivered a few dozen trucks to customers as part of test programs.
But Tesla promised that things would finally happen for the Tesla Semi this year.
Tesla has been building a new high-volume production factory specifically for the Tesla Semi program in a new building next to Gigafactory Nevada.
The goal was to start production in 2025, start customer deliveries, and ramp up to 50,000 trucks yearly.
Now, Ryder, a large transportation company and early customer-partner in Tesla’s semi truck program, is talking about further delays. The company also refers to a significant price increase.
California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) awarded Ryder funding for a project to deploy Tesla Semi trucks and Megachargers at two of its facilities in the state.
Ryder had previously asked for extensions amid the delays in the Tesla Semi program.
In a new letter sent to MSRC last week and obtained by Electrek, Ryder asked the agency for another 28-month delay. The letter references delays in “Tesla product design, vehicle production” and it mentions “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics”:
This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.
The logistics company now says it plans to “deploy 18 Tesla Semi vehicles by June 2026.”
The reference to “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics” points to a significant price increase for the Tesla Semi, which further communication with MSRC confirms.
In the agenda of a meeting to discuss the extension and changes to the project yesterday, MSRC confirms that the project went from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks while the project commitment is not changing:
Ryder has indicated that their electric tractor manufacturer partner, Tesla, has experienced continued delays in product design and production. There have also been dramatic changes to the product economics. Ryder requests to reduce the number of vehicles from 42 to 18, stating that this would maintain their $7.5 million private match commitment.
In addition to the electric trucks, the project originally involved installing two integrated power centers and four Tesla Megachargers, split between two locations. Ryder is also looking to now install 3 Megachargers per location for a total of 6 instead of 4.
The project changes also mention that “Ryder states that Tesla now requires 600kW chargers rather than the 750kW units originally engineered.”
Tesla Semi Price
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2023. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
New diesel-powered Class 8 semi trucks in the US today often range between $150,000 and $220,000.
The combination of a reasonable purchase price and low operation costs, thanks to cheaper electric rates than diesel, made the Tesla Semi a potentially revolutionary product to reduce the overall costs of operation in trucking while reducing emissions.
However, Ryder now points to a “dramatic” price increase for the Tesla Semi.
What is the cost of a Tesla Semi electric truck now?
Electrek’s Take
As I have often stated, Tesla Semi is the vehicle program I am most excited about at Tesla right now.
If Tesla can produce class 8 trucks capable of moving cargo of similar weight as diesel trucks over 500 miles on a single charge in high volume at a reasonable price point, they have a revolutionary product on their hands.
But the reasonable price part is now being questioned.
After reading the communications between Ryder and MSRC, while not clear, it looks like the program could be interpreted as MSRC covering the costs of installing the charging stations while Ryder committed $7.5 million to buying the trucks.
The math makes sense for the original funding request since $7.5 million divided by 42 trucks results in around $180,000 per truck — what Tesla first quoted for the 500-mile Tesla Semi truck.
Now, with just 18 trucks, it would point to a price of $415,000 per Tesla Semi truck. It’s possible that some of Ryder’s commitment could also go to an increase in Megacharger prices – either per charger or due to the two additional chargers. MSRC said that they don’t give more money when prices go up after an extension.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 500-mile Tesla Semi ends up costing $350,000 to $400,000.
If that’s the case, Tesla Semi is impressive, but it won’t be the revolutionary product that will change the trucking industry.
It will need to be closer to $250,000-$300,000 to have a significant impact, which is not impossible with higher-volume production but would be difficult.
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