RM April 2022 Issue by Icon Media Group

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Dear Readers! Editor

Ms. Anjali Sub Editor Roopal Chaurasia Shipranshu Pandey

Editorial Advisor

Priyanka Roy Chaudhary

Design & Production Pankaj Rawat Mukesh Kumar Sah

National Business Head-India

Subhash Chandra Email: s.chandra@renewablemirror.com

There has been a visible impact of solar energy in the Indian energy scenario during the last few years. Solar energy based decentralized and distributed applications have benefited millions of people in Indian villages by meeting their cooking, lighting and other energy needs in an environment friendly manner. The social and economic benefits include reduction in drudgery among rural women and girls engaged in the collection of fuel wood from long distances and cooking in smoky kitchens, minimization of the risks of contracting lung and eye ailments, employment generation at village level, and ultimately, the improvement in the standard of living and creation of opportunity for economic activities at village level. Further, solar energy sector in India has emerged as a significant player in the grid connected power generation capacity over the years. It supports the government agenda of sustainable growth, while, emerging as an integral part of the solution to meet the nation’s energy needs and an essential player for energy security. We are going to share some important information and details about the industry in this edition. Hope you all like it. Thank you for your continuous love and support.

Sr. Manager ( Sales )

Ms. Neha Chauhan Email: neha@renewablemirror.com Pradeep Kumar Email: pradeep.k@renewablemirror.com Sunil R Shirsat Email: sunil@renewablemirror.com

Sales & Marketing Hemant Chauhan

Manager-Subscription

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Editor All rights reserved by all events are made to ensure that the information published is correct; Renewable Mirror holds no responsibility any unlikely errors that might occur. Printed, published and owned by Usha, Published from 13/455, Block No. 13, Trilok Puri, Delhi-110091 and printed at, IG Printers Pvt. Ltd., 104-DSIDC, Complex, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi -110020 Editor : Ms. Anjali

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

INTERVIEW

Cover Story

Álvaro Casado Portuondo Managing Director Middle East

Wind Turbines

State Overview

India moves towards offshore wind power

INTERVIEW

PVHardware

50 40

Lisa Zhang MarketiNG Director

Growatt New eNerGy co., ltD.

Maharashtra

Industry Focus: Solar PV Modules India has made significant progress in creating capacity for solar energy

Press Release Solis Inverter

08,10

Tata Power

11,16

Jinko Solar

Industry Feature: Green Hydrogen Green hydrogen would help India make a ‘quantum leap’ by 2047

PFC 14 Goldi Solar

Bounce Infinity

Sunpower Renewables

Andritz 19 Vedanta 19

Ad Index

Event Diary

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

Solis Seminar Episode 41

Poor Connectivity – A Costly Threat to Your Solar PV System Background

Solar PV systems consist of many components, which are connected by cables and bespoke connectors. This is one of the main safety hazards of any solar PV system. In this Solis seminar we'll share how a connectivity failure could create a security problem and how to prevent it.

Press Release

Connection Failure is one of the Main Safety Hazards of three-phase PV system as an example, which uses 100 x 300W modules and a 30kW string inverter; the configuration is as follows a Solar System According to actual O&M data from 746 PV plants, the EU Horizon 2020 "Solar Bankability" project team gave a list of the TOP 20 technical failures in PV plants. "Wrong/Absent Cable Connection" and "Broken/Burnt Connectors", ranked in the top two on the list of failures.

(http://www.solarbankability.org/fileadmin/sites/www/files/ documents/649997_SolarBankability_D3.1_v1.0p_20160727.pdf)

• MPPT1: 20 PCS * 2strings • MPPT2: 20 PCS * 2strings • MPPT3: 20 PCS * 1string The number of DC connection points for a single string is 21 (See Figure 2 below), and there is a total of 105 connection points for 5 PV strings. In addition, there are 24 AC connection points, so overall the system has a total of 129 connection points. The larger the system, the more connection points. Adding MLPE devices to the original system triples the number of connection points. In Figure 3 below, only an optimizer is added, and the connection points of the string are increased by 40.

Problems Caused by Connection Failures

In PV systems, improper wiring or incorrect use of cables will result in poor contact and increase in contact resistance. This affects system performance, increases system costs, can cause additional losses and create hidden system hazards.

How to Connect Correctly In addition, Fraunhofer ISE research also shows that the root cause of PV system failure is mainly concentrated in poor contact caused by installation problems.

Incorrect or Poor Connection Points Connection is the general way to form a complete electrical system. In a PV system, there are many connection points. Taking a 30kW 8

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1. Select correct and high-quality materials, including the selection of DC and AC cables; the selection and configuration of system connectors, circuit breakers, etc. require strict attention in the early design stage. 2. Ensure the installation specification conforms with the relevant electrical standard and use professional wiring tools. You should refer to the installation manual of each product for guidance.

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3. Regularly use a thermal imager to troubleshoot system connection problems, or use the SolisCloud online monitoring platform to perform operation and maintenance inspections to repair faults in a timely manner.

Summary

Connection failure is a very serious safety hazard in PV systems. Issues can cause both damage to the system but also reduce the impact of any energy savings factored in at the feasibility stage. We need to pay attention to installation and construction and later O&M to avoid these problems and improve system safety. Utilizing online monitoring software such as SolisCloud ensures that any faults can be identified and fixed quickly to avoid costly system downtime. RM

India and Australia have signed a statement of intent to collaborate on new renewable energy technology

India and Australia inked a letter of intent for working together towards reducing the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scaling up their deployment to reduce emission globally. The letter of intent (LoI) was signed at the 4th India Australia Energy Dialogue, as per a power ministry statement. According to the statement, the dialogue was co-chaired by Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh and Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor from Australia. This LoI will pave the way for working towards reducing the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scaling up their deployment in order to accelerate global emissions reduction, it stated. The focus of this LoI will be scaling up manufacture and deployment

of ultra low-cost solar and clean hydrogen, it stated. There is an urgent need to focus on advancing technology and clean energy transition. In this context, the agreed forward action plan includes areas like energy efficient technologies; grid management; R&D collaboration on flue gas desulphurisation, biomass or hydrogen co-firing, water cycle optimisation, renewables integration, batteries and electric mobility. RM

The First Green Hydrogen Policy provides benefits to both manufacturers and users

The government on Thursday launched the country’s first green hydrogen policy as part of its energy transition plan. The objective is to reduce fossil fuel usage and increase penetration of green fuels. The policy follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement about a National Hydrogen Mission last Independence Day. The new policy provides several incentives for manufacturers, consumers of green hydrogen and green ammonia. It’s a welcome development for the industry, including big businesses such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Adani Enterprises. Existing renewable energy generation companies such as ACME group and ReNew Power would also be able to utilise their existing green ||www.renewablemirror.com||

energy capacity to manufacture green fuels. RIL recently announced setting up a facility to produce green hydrogen. Adani Enterprises announced a new company--Adani Petrochemicals--to venture into green fuels. The power ministry, which launched the policy, has proposed to set up manufacturing zones for production of green hydrogen and ammonia. It has also said these manufacturers "shall be allowed to set up bunkers near ports for storage of green ammonia for export / use by shipping." Land for storage will be provided by port authorities at applicable charges. RM || April 2022 ||

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

Solis has been working in the field of string inverters for 17 years and is committed to providing customers with the highest quality products and services. As the core component of any solar PV system, the inverter is one of the main contributing factors of system revenue. Focusing on quality and reliability Solis is committed to providing high quality products and solutions for all application scenarios. Quality components directly determine inverter life Reliability and service life of an inverter is closely related to the quality of its components. The use of high quality components directly effects the performance of the inverter. Solis maintains strong relationships with world-renowned component suppliers to ensure the stable supply of high-quality componentry and consistent product reliability. Design and testing are the key to reliability Investment is made in stress testing equipment which simulates extreme temperatures, humidity, wind, sand, rain, and salt spray encountered by an inverter in outdoor environments. Testing in this way ensures the reliability of the inverter can be evaluated and improved for ongoing product optimization. Adaptable to extreme temperatures Variation in temperature will affect the efficient working of an inverter and can be caused by regional differences, day to night, seasonal change, etc. The internal components of the inverter itself will also cause temperature variation which can all effect the long-term safe & efficient operation of the inverter. Solis product design considers the impact of temperature changes and adopts various measures such as single-board

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concentration, coating protection, and internal fan cooling to protect the inverter. Solis design engineers verify the performance of the entire machine through thermal cycling, damp heat, humidity, freezing,powered Thermal Cycling, High temperature & rain tests to identify any defects in the inverter's internal electronic components. Excellent outdoor adaptability Other factors brought about by external field exposure, such as UV, salt spray, humidity, sand and so on can affect inverter efficiency and life. Strong environmental adaptability is crucial to the reliable operation of the inverter. Solis(100-125) K-5G series inverters have IP66 protection and C5 anti-corrosion, and have excellent outdoor adaptability. All Solis new products are powered on and run for more than 180 days in our exclusive test area. The status of the inverter is monitored daily via SolisCloud, to observe the main parameters of its power generation and internal temperature. Comprehensive product quality control R&D – production – testing – sales – service. This is a complete vertically integrated product supply chain; another unique advantage of Solis. Comprehensive product quality control through the flow and exchange of information at each stage, effectively ensures the reliability of the inverter is guaranteed. Solis has a world-class design team and a brand new 40GW capacity manufacturing facility with automated digitalized product lines. It has the capability to test the reliability of all its products in all environmental scenarios. To learn more about Solis' global market-leading PV inverters, visit the website www.solisinverters.com. RM ||www.renewablemirror.com||

TP Renewable Microgrid partners with Usha Silai School to provide clean energy to electric sewing machines

TP Renewable Microgrid (TPRMG), a 100% subsidiary of Tata Power, and Usha Silai School, an initiative of Usha International Ltd. aimed at skilling rural women and empowering them to become entrepreneurs, announce a partnership for a noble cause. Under this partnership, Usha Silai School will provide sewing machines and deliver training through Sarvodaya Ashram, its NGO partner, to women folks of the village. Whereas, TPRMG will provide a clean, affordable and quality power supply to electric sewing machines of Usha Centre through its solar microgrids. The initiative will benefit over 20 Usha Centres across 200 villages in UP & Bihar States. The partnership inauguration event was launched on 31st Mar 22 at Rewana Village in Lakhimpur Kheri District (1st Green Digital Smart Village of UP) in the presence of Shri. Chandra Dev Pandey, Block Development Officer, Mitauli , Shri. Birendra Varma, Gram Pradhan, Rewana ,Shri. Manoj Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, TP Renewable Microgrid, Shri. Alok Shukla, Senior General Manager, Usha International, Smt. Urmila Srivastava, President, Sarvodaya Ashram and the local village community. ||www.renewablemirror.com||

This initiative will also create additional income generation opportunities for the local women using electric sewing machines that can be used for basic stitching as well as creative embroidery. Initially, the pilot shall be launched in one of the villages of Lakhimpur District in UP and Muzaffarpur District of Bihar. Mr. Manoj Gupta , CEO - TP Renewable Microgrid commented on this initiative, "We are extremely proud to partner with Usha. Through our off-grid solutions like solar microgrids, we wish to help rural communities and businesses in India meet their urgent power needs quickly and economically. This initiative will provide a reliable power supply to the electric sewing machines, promote micro-entrepreneurs, and work towards influencing others to adopt renewable energy solutions and contribute to India's rural electrification and transformation". Ms. Mary Rupa Tete, Vice-President and Head of the Usha Silai School commenting on this partnership said, “This is one partnership that is a win-win for all stakeholders involved. It is heartening to see how our Usha Silai initiative is growing in terms of impact on skill building and financial empowerment, as well as organically upping the quality of the skills by introducing the automatic zigzag machines and embroidery machines – also ensuring that we use renewable / clean energy for the same. To see more and more women in remote areas empowered, to claim their rightful place in society by becoming earning members of the family is extremely gratifying as that is the vision this initiative is founded on.” TP Renewable Microgrid (TPRMG) has recently launched the world's most extensive renewable energy programme for rural areas to help villages get a 24*7 power supply and become self-sufficient. It has covered more than 200 villages and plans to cover more than 10,000 villages in 6-7 years. TPRMG has touched over 14,000 households and Shops in UP and Bihar and gears itself up to meet rural India's power needs. It has just embarked on plans to take up similar projects in Odisha. RM || April 2022 ||

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

JinkoSolar is First in the World to Reach Delivery Milestone of 100GW of Total Solar Panels

Press Release

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. ("JinkoSolar" or the "Company") (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, today announced it has delivered 100GW of solar modules globally. JinkoSolar is the first company in history to achieve this milestone. Approximately one out of every ten solar modules installed in the world was produced by JinkoSolar. Despite supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has managed to capture the interest of the world and has become a driver and trendsetter of progress in the solar PV sector. With Cheetah, Swan, Tiger and Tiger Pro series firmly established, the Company has launched the new series of ultra-efficient Tiger Neo modules, the first mass produced module that delivers a maximum power output of up to 620W and an ultra-high conversion efficiency of up to 22.30%. The Tiger Neo series is one of the most efficient solar modules in the market to date. Its higher energy yield performance and real-world reliability is complemented by extremely low degradation and working temperature. It is capable of achieving 3%-5% more energy generation compared to the PERC applied system with the same capacity. Mr. Kangping Chen, CEO of Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. commented, “We are extremely proud to be the first in the world to achieve 100GW in total module shipments. We want to thank all our teams who have made this possible. We are going from strength to strength, and we will continue to lead the development of next-generation mainstream solar technologies.” “Another vehicle currently in scaled production is JinkoSolar’s BIPV modules and systems. Designed as part of the Company’s ongoing mission to aid the global shift towards the cleanest and cheapest solar energy available, JinkoSolar’s BIPV facade and BIPV rooftops will have the functionality of building materials and the generation performance of a high efficient solar panel,” according to Ms. Dany Qian, VP of JinkoSolar. “We are fully committed to making solar energy the most relevant, economical and attainable resource for every building and for everyone.” RM 12

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

PFC inks Agreement to boost Public Health Infrastructure in Leh District

PFC, A Maharatna Company and India's leading NBFC in power sector, has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS), Nubra Sub-Division, Leh to augment healthcare capacity and to deal with the health emergencies. As per the MoA, PFC will provide financial assistance of Rs. 6.93 crore to Rogi Kalyan Samiti, Nubra, which will help in enhancing the health facilities; improving the quality of health services through better human resource systems, and enabling efficient access to medical equipment and diagnostics to Nubra Sub-Division, Leh. The MoA was signed in the presence of Shri R.S. Dhillon, CMD, PFC and Dr. Javed Ahmed, Block Medical Officer (Nubra). Shri Rizwanur Rahman, Executive Director and other Senior Officials of PFC and RKS Nubra, were also present. The project will be highly beneficial for the financially weaker sections of Nubra Sub-Division who through Sub-District Hospital (SDH) will get 5 Ambulances fitted with critical life-support equipment. These ambulances were required for a long time and it would provide assistance to patients on time enabling to better utilize healthcare services at the community level.

Also, there will be high-end medical and diagnostic equipment procurement which includes CT- scan & C-arm machines, Ortho OT table, Digital Orthopantomogram, Automatic Bio-chemistry Analyser, and Automatic Haematology Analyser among others. This Public Health Infrastructure project in Nubra, Leh will not only strengthen the Health Centres /Hospital with essential diagnostic tools/ equipment/ambulances, but also help in fortifying allied civil infrastructure including construction of attendant rooms to facilitate the stay of accompanying attendants of patients, who cannot stay outside in sub-zero temperatures. The major objective of considering this initiative is to enhance the health care facilities for people in far flung areas as rural development is a key initiative for socio-economic development. As India’s leading public sector enterprise and a responsible corporate, PFC is committed to ensure overall development of the society by extending financial support to various sustainable & developmental initiatives in the areas of Health, Education and Skill Development. RM

Green Hydrogen policy to support renewable energy capacity addition 'Green Hydrogen' policy is expected to support the Renewable Energy (RE) capacity addition targets of the country. At present, 'Green Hydrogen' is produced through electrolysis of water using renewable energy. On the other hand, 'Gray Hydrogen' which is the most commonly used is derived from fossil fuels. The 'Green Hydrogen' segment is becoming popular globally but cost of producing this gas remains high. Currently, fertiliser and oil gas sectors use hydrogen, however, 14

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due to flexible uses and low emissions the gas is being touted as the ultimate solution for clean energy needs of long distance transportation and electricity generation. In February, the Centre notified a "Green Hydrogen Policy" in line with its strong policy focus on renewable energy, a path of net zero energy transition by 2070. According to ratings agency ICRA, under the base case scenario of delivered renewable cost of procurement at Rs 3.5 per unit, levellised cost of production for aGreen Hydrogen' is estimated to range between $5.5-6 per kg. RM ||www.renewablemirror.com||

Goldi Solar powers Surat’s First Solar-Powered Textile Market for Avadh Group This rooftop project is said to light the path for other markets in the vicinity

Commenting on the accomplishment, Ishver Dholakiya, Founder & Managing Director, Goldi Solar said, “It feels good to be at the center of change and make a difference. We believe that this project will propel the overall development of solar as a mainstream source of energy in Surat. We are proud to support Avadh Group in their solarization journey, and urge others to adopt solar to make Surat a clean and green city. ”Lavjibhai Dungarbhai Daliya, Director and President, Avadh Group said, “We chose Goldi Solar for their quality products, performance, customer centricity with an ability to partner with their customers. They are also a home-grown brand in the Indian solar space. We hope Avadh has set the precedent for other organizations to shift to solar energy for their power requirements and transition to a carbon-neutral company.” RM

Press Release

Goldi Solar, a global solar panel manufacturer and EPC services provider has solarized Surat’s First Textile Market for Avadh Group. Avadh is a reputed real estate company with ultra-modern residential and commercial projects across the country. The market is located in the heart of Umarwada, Surat district. The project will be completed in three phases, of which the first 100 KW has been commissioned. Goldi Solar’s high-efficiency modules will generate 497,400 KWh power annually and offset 47.1 tons of CO2. Avadh Textile Market is expected to save 37.5 lakhs every year on electricity. After emerging as the leading manufacturing hub of diamond and textile industry, Surat is poised to grow into a solar hub. More than 10,000 textile markets could benefit from going solar.

India’s PV module production capacity could hit 36GW by 2023 The analysts estimated the two-year capacity additions based on the announcements of industry leaders and new entrants exploring the market. The Indian government’s productionlinked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar PV manufacturing is a major catalyst for the whole Indian solar industry, according to JMK Research analysts. “New entrants in solar manufacturing in India are targeting GW-scale installation capacities as well as upstream integration, in line with what the government of India is trying to achieve with its PLI scheme for solar modules,” said JMK Research. India’s solar module production capacity will almost double “In the meantime, the relevant industry stakeholders also to 36GW in two years, from 18GW as of December 2021. Cell need to focus on upskilling the workforce, boosting R&D production capacity will rise to 18GW by the end of 2023 from infrastructure, and most crucially, adopting uniform, long-term just 4GW at present, according to JMK Research analysts. policies for the Indian solar sector.” RM ||www.renewablemirror.com||

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

Tata Power and Rustomjee Group collaborate to set up EV Charging infrastructure across Mumbai Metropolitan Region

• Partnership to support Maharashtra Government's plans to aggressively develop EV charging infrastructure in the state • 28 EZ Charging points to be set up at Rustomjee Groups’ residential and commercial projects

at working towards building a sustainable society for all of us to co-exist in, this collaboration is yet another step in that direction. We are happy to collaborate with Tata Power and work towards co-creating a better future for all of us. This association is a small step towards the larger goal of a Under this collaboration, Tata Power will install dedicated carbon-free tomorrow”. charging infrastructure for residents of Rustomjee in Mumbai Tata Power has been rapidly setting up EV charging MMR. EV owners will have the access to a 24x7 charging infrastructure across the country, helping India adopt facility along with maintenance support. Customers can connect environment-friendly mobility. The company already has a through the Tata Power EZ Charge mobile application for partnership with Apollo Tyres, HPCL, TVS Motors, amã Stays all services including remote vehicle charging monitoring & & Trails and others to set up and enhance the EV charging e-payments. The partnership will enable Rustomjee residents’ infrastructure. The company has deployed over 1300 EV access to a uniform and ubiquitous EV charging experience. charging points across different cities under the EZ Charge This customized EV charging solutions form the infrastructure brand along with a digital platform to facilitate an easy & backbone for a growing EV ecosystem and provide customers smooth customer experience. Tata Power, one of India’s largest electric vehicle charging solutions providers has collaborated with Rustomjee Group, the leading real estate developer, to provide end-to-end EV charging solutions across all its residential and commercial projects in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

access to energy-efficient options with ease. The company through its Tata Power EZ Charge offering has already set up over 100 EV charging points in Mumbai and over 1300 charging points across the country.

The Rustomjee Group has delivered 20 million sq. ft. of space, 280+ buildings and 14,000+ homes. Through all its endeavors and projects, Rustomjee is committed to building a better tomorrow.

It is noteworthy here that road transport is one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. With vehicular emissions being a growing source of pollution in Maharashtra, the Government of Maharashtra recently announced its plans to aggressively develop EV charging infrastructure in the state. Mr. Haroon Siddiqui, Vice-President – Corporate Head, MEP, This partnership will certainly play a major role in fulfilling Rustomjee Group, said, “At Rustomjee, we are always looking the Government's agenda of decarbonizing transportation in the state. RM Talking about the collaboration, Mr.Sandeep Bangia, Head- EV, Tata Power said, "We are happy to partner with Rustomjee Group and feel our collaboration will hasten the transition to EV adoption in Mumbai. It's a step towards decarbonizing the transportation sector and making EVs more mainstream."

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Bounce Infinity starts production of the

highly anticipated E1

• Bounce Infinity fulfils its commitment to scheduled deliveries of the exciting E1 electric scooter • Bounce Infinity E1 is produced at a state-of-the-art facility in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan with an annual capacity of over 200,000 units • Only scooter in India to offer dual charging options – Scooter with Battery-as-a-Service and Scooter with battery and charger

First production E1 from the Bounce Infinity factory

Production line

Bounce Infinity announces the commencement of production of the E1 electric scooter from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. With the roll-out of the E1s from the plant, Bounce Infinity is on track to fulfil its commitment to customer deliveries as announced during the launch event in December 2021 at Bengaluru. Commenting on this landmark occasion, Mr Vivekananda Hallekere, Co-Founder and CEO, Bounce Infinity said, “With the roll-out of the Bounce Infinity E1 from our plant, we are thrilled that the first batch of our electric scooters will soon make its way to eagerly awaiting customers across the country. All of us are excited about the future of mobility in India, and are proud to play a part in it.” The Bhiwadi facility, which is spread across three acres, houses the latest in manufacturing technology and highly proficient assembly systems. A mix of automation and human expertise guarantees precise and highest quality manufacturing. Over 200 people have been trained and deployed at the facility. Bounce Infinity has placed special emphasis on the safety and quality of batteries before they are shipped along with the scooters. Quality gates have been set up at multiple stations in the production line, and extensive end-of-line testing – including a dyno run – ensures the reliability of the end product. With current capacity exceeding 200,000 scooters annually, the plant will serve as the brand's national manufacturing hub, catering to demand from across the country. Later this year, ||www.renewablemirror.com||

Bounce Infinity factory – Bhiwadi, Rajasthan

the company is also planning to put up another unit in South India with an annual capacity exceeding 500,000 scooters. Bounce Infinity E1 is the only scooter in India with dual options in swappable battery – Scooter with Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Scooter with battery and charger. The BaaS option – the first-of-its-kind in the Indian market – pushes down the acquisition costs of the scooter substantially, by as much as 40 per cent as compared to conventional electric scooters. The Bounce Infinity E1 is also offered with the battery, which can be removed from the scooter and charged by customers at their home or office or wherever convenient. With its contemporary and ergonomic design, the E1 is slick, spunky, and smart. The Bounce Infinity E1 comes in five exciting colour options: Sporty Red, Sparkle Black, Pearl White, Desat Silver and Comet Grey. The smart scooter ensures a good balance of performance, efficiency and reliability via its Brushless DC motor. The Bounce Infinity E1 houses smart and practical features like Power Mode, Reverse Mode, Cruise Control and Drag Mode. Its 2 kWh Battery (48V, IP67) is waterproof and super reliable and can power the scooter through virtually all climatic conditions, even during hot summers or wet monsoons. Meanwhile, Bounce Infinity is targeting 10 cities to set up a minimum of 300 Battery Swap Stations per city to provide battery swapping as a practical means of effecting rapid electric mobility adoption in India. RM

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Press Release

Assembly and QC line

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Press Release

Sunpower Renewables’ solar infrastructure solutions support schools and institutions to become energy independent

Press Release

• Partners with Pragya Foundation to set up solar energy generators and storage solutions at government schools in Gurugram • Sets up a solar storage and power plant at the Krishna Ashram animal shelter in Delhi to power medical facilities

Students at the Ghata Gaon Primary School and the Wazirabad Primary School in Gurugram now have a reason to look forward to school even during the coming summer months. Sunpower Renewables, a global leader in energy storage products has partnered with Pragya, a non-governmental development organisation to set up solar infrastructure and provide energy independence to these schools through their all-in-one solar generators providing 24x7 uninterrupted power supply. With no power cuts to worry about, the teachers can focus on teaching and the students on learning even during the hot summers. The Cleo units installed at the schools are portable, plug and play, solar energy generators and storage solutions. These come with an in-built inverter and 400Wh lithium-ion battery to generate and store solar energy and provide clean, silent and fumeless energy to the schools. Each Cleo unit can be charged anywhere and anytime using the connected 24V, 200W solar PV panel and is capable of delivering both AC and DC electricity. Sunil Pillai, Director, Pragya said, “In our effort to contribute to sustainable change, we installed state-of-the-art solar units developed by Sunpower Renewables in two Government schools in Gurugram enabling them to generate independent green energy. By ensuring access to an affordable and reliable energy resource, the initiative benefits 700+ students as it enables them to have a better quality of education that can now include Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based pedagogies; a rare opportunity given the lack of basic facilities in many Government schools. The entire undertaking was made possible by Pragya, a Gurgaon-based global NGO that carries out numerous developmental projects in developing countries, focusing on sustainability by incorporating technology and innovative interventions”. Rahul Kale, Founder and CEO, Sunpower Renewables, said,

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“This initiative to make the schools energy independent using renewable energy will help to secure the future of our children. We have begun with two schools to show the efficiency of solar power and how it can successfully motivate students to attend classes. These two schools will serve as a case study on the effective use of solar systems as against fossil fuels to provide clean and renewable energy while reducing costs.” In another initiative, Sunpower Renewables has also set up a 3.2kwh storage with a 1.5kw solar power plant at the Krishna Ashram animal shelter in Delhi to power their medical facilities. This has made the medical facility and surgery room completely energy independent with fully automated battery backup for day and night use. The seamless uninterrupted power supply for medical equipment, lights, fan, steriliser, and freezer provides up to 6 to 8 hours of battery backup. It also has a built-in UPS as a safeguard against voltage fluctuation with potential to increase size as per load requirement. Nitasha Badhwar, Co-Founder and Head of Strategy, Sunpower Renewables said, “While solar panels are usually associated with homes or commercial buildings, the use of solar power for educational and other institutions is also becoming popular globally. This is helping these institutions to reduce costs, go green and become energy independent. Krishna Ashram has seen a reduction in monthly electricity bills by 15% and in diesel usage by 55%. We are looking forward to these initiatives establishing goodwill in the local communities and demonstrating how renewable energy can offer clean and green energy that is non-polluting.” These initiatives will also support India’s National Solar Mission through providing sustainable solar power that is eco–friendly and cost-effective. RM

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to undertake the hydromechanical & electromechanical works for Upper Trishuli 1 hydro project, Nepal of these equipment. The project will be completed under a time schedule of 60 months from contract effectiveness.

The works will be undertaken by ANDRITZ’s Indian subsidiary with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Mandideep (near Bhopal) and Prithla (near Faridabad). This contract will be the first large sized project for ANDRITZ with complete hydromechanical works along with electro-mechanical scope in Nepal, the first being the supply of complete electro-mechanical works for Nepal’s largest state owned project namely Upper The scope under the hydro-mechanical works includes design, Tamakoshi HEP, which was awarded in 2012. engineering, manufacturing, transportation, installation, The Upper Trishuli-1 project is expected to generate up to testing and commissioning of radial gates, vertical gates, 1,456 GWh of electricity a year and increase the country’s hoists, stoplogs and penstocks. The electro-mechanical works total power generation by 20%. scope consists of basic and detailed design, turbine and By securing this prestigious contract, ANDRITZ continues generator components, complete electrical power systems, to retain its leading position as a preferred water-to-wire balance of plant and automation, installation and commission technology provider in the hydropower market in Nepal. RM

Vedanta to source 580 MW of Renewable Energy for its operations across India Vedanta Limited Board has approved plans for the Group to source 580 MW of Renewable Energy (RE) for its operations across India. Vedanta Limited (“Vedanta” or “the Company” or “Company”) has announced today that it has signed a Power Delivery Agreement (PDA) with special purpose vehicles (SPVs) i.e. affiliates of Sterlite Power Technologies Pvt Ltd (SPTPL) – a company engaged in business to supply hybrid-based power with solar, wind and storage solutions. Aligned with Vedanta’s ESG vision of "Transforming for Good", the move marks the beginning in the series of actions by the company to deliver on its goal of becoming “Net Zero Carbon by 2050 or sooner” and “using 2.5 GW of Round the Clock (RTC) Renewable Energy for its operations by 2030”. Vedanta aims to partially replace existing captive thermal power capacities with Renewable Energy for smelting and associated operations, and meeting power requirements of capacity expansion at Vedanta Aluminium Limited- Jharsuguda, Balco and Hindustan Zinc. The overall arrangement is to procure 580 MW of renewable power where SPTPL and its affiliates are setting up a 1960 MW hybrid-based renewable energy capacity to achieve this generation in a combination of Solar, Wind ||www.renewablemirror.com||

and Storage solutions. Once this power supply comes online, it has the potential to prevent about 2.7 million tons of GHG emissions from entering the atmosphere. In line with prevailing market practices, these projects will be built on Group Captive model and Build Own Operate (BOO) basis. The term of the power delivery agreement will be for a period of 25 years from the Date of Commissioning (DOC) of the project. The SPVs are expected to start delivering the power within 24 months of the PDA signing. This will be helpful in securing continuous supply of power through renewable energy source at lower cost and insulate our business from commodity market volatility. The project will be funded on 70:30 debt to Equity basis; Vedanta Ltd and its subsidiaries will own 26% of equity in the respective SPVs at a total investment of up to Rs 850 crore with an expected IRR of more than 25%. Commenting on the development, Vedanta’s Chief Safety Officer and Group CEO Mr. Sunil Duggal said: “This agreement is an important milestone in our journey towards becoming the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. The project is poised to become one of the largest Renewable Energy hybrid projects in India. It demonstrates the Group’s commitment to become one of the greenest natural resources companies in the world.” RM || April 2022 ||

Press Release

International technology group ANDRITZ received an order from Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd., for the complete hydro-mechanical and electrommechanical works of the Upper Trishuli-1 run-of-the-river hydropower plant (216 MW) located on Trishuli river in the Rasuwa district in Nepal. The project owner is Nepal Water & Energy Development Company Pvt. Ltd., while Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd., Korea is the EPC contractor for this prestigious project.

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India moves towards offshore

wind power

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India's wind energy capacity addition is set to improve by 3-3.5 GW in the current financial year against 1.7 GW in last fiscal due to the viability of bid tariffs & inter-state connectivity key headwinds for developers. MNRE along with the distribution utilities in Gujarat, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu have awarded wind-power capacity of 7.6 GW over the past 15 months & another 10 GW each are proposed to be awarded in FY’19 & FY’20. This is in line with the trajectory of project awards announced by MNRE in Nov’19 to achieve the cumulative wind capacity target of 60 GW by FY 2022. The winning bidders in these auctions face the twin challenges of project viability at the quoted tariffs & securing connectivity & long-term access to inter-state transmission network. While the regulations recently notified by the CERC on connectivity for renewable energy projects are positive for these developers, the adequacy of the existing inter-state transmission Infra. in the states with high wind potential remains a challenge. The connectivity regulations recently notified by the CERC provide clarity on the procedure & timelines for securing connectivity from the central transmission utility & accord priority to projects holding a letter of award under the tariff-based competitive bidding. However, the uncertainty on the availability of adequate evacuation Infra. persists, given that the existing inter-state transmission Infra. in the states with high wind potential may not be sufficient to provide connectivity to the projects bid out so far & proposed bids by the SECI. || April 2022 ||

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Moreover, the augmentation of transmission Infra. would take about 24-36 months, whereas the winning developers must commission the wind power projects within 18 months from the date of award. The significant decline in order volumes during the transition from feed-in tariff regime to competitive bidding regime, coupled with pricing pressures, had an adverse impact on the financial profile of the wind turbine manufacturers. This remains a concern for the wind power IPPs using the services of such players as O&M contractors, given that the weakening of the financial profile would affect their ability to ensure machine availability for the wind farms, ICRA added. Wind Power has witnessed steady growth in the last few years, with the country boasting of the fourth largest installed capacity globally after China, USA & Germany. As of Mar’19, it contributed a staggering 56% to the total renewable energy generated in the country which stood at 32.28 GW. As India plans to reach 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, wind energy will be a major contributor, contributing 60 GW to this expansion plan. Estimates show that India’s wind potential is 302 GW & India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 show a possibility of achieving a high of 410 GW of wind. In 2018-19, India added a record 5.4 GW of wind power capacity, surpassing the target of 4 GW. India’s wind power installations accounted for a 6.6% share of the global market in 2016. Wind power capacity accounted for over 9.1% of total domestic installed capacity. India’s well-developed wind power industry has the capability & experience to help meet the country’s climate & energy security goals. International player such as Vestas, Enercon, Gamesa & GE Wind are operating several projects in the country along with domestic players including Suzlon, Wind World India & Inox Wind.

Government support

This year, India left behind the US to take the second spot on a list of the world’s most attractive renewable energy markets. FDI up to 100% is permitted in the sector & during Apr’16 to Mar’19, the sector received FDI worth USD 2.2 Bn. MNRE wind power programme covers wind resources assessment,

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facilitation of implementation of demonstration & private sector projects through various fiscal & promotional policies. Ministry is specifically supporting the production of equipment to develop the wind energy sector in India. Currently, the annual production capacities of domestic wind turbines stand at 10,000 MW with around 21 wind turbines manufacturers in the country. Wind Resource Assessment (WRA) Programme is an ongoing activity, being coordinated by the NIWE, Chennai in association with State Nodal Agencies. WRA has so far been covered in 29 states & 3 Union Territories involving establishment of about 809 dedicated wind monitoring stations. Out of the total stations established so far, 252 stations have shown potential for commercial wind power installations & 30 stations are presently in operation as on 31 Dec’19. Various preferential & promotional tariff schemes along with interstate transmission charges waivers are being implemented in an association with multiple SERCs to ensure swift distribution of wind energy through electricity grids. MNRE, in association with its Human Resource Development is planning fellowships, grants, stipend & research projects to develop high quality work force for the sector. The Ministry is supporting R&D proposals from R&D institutions, Academic institutions & companies in the thrust areas of small wind energy & hybrid systems through a separate budget head from 2014-15. Currently there are 13 ongoing R&D projects through this programme. After receiving a significant success in setting up wind farms in various windy states of India, the country is all set to explore offshore locations for wind energy through innovative ways. National Offshore Wind Energy Policy will explore possibilities of developing wind farms around India’s coastline. Comprehensive Guidelines for Development of On-shore Wind Power Projects in the country were formulated & issued in 2016. To get best out of both solar & wind energy, the country also aims to achieve 10 GW of electricity through wind-solar hybrid plants by 2022. A package of incentives which includes fiscal concessions such as, concession in custom duty for specific critical components, excise duty exemption, special additional duty exemption, income tax

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exemption for 10 years on profits for power generation, etc. is also being provided for promotion of wind power in the country. Government’s efficient policy ecosystem & participation of private sector will lead India towards sustainable energy security.

want the 60 GW target to be achieved alongside 100 GW solar, it is difficult to envisage a scenario under which 60 GW wind capacity will come online, since the demand is not growing at the same pace.

India likely to meet wind power targets

Achievable target

Although doubts have been raised on adding sufficient wind power capacity, industry insiders are confident India will install 60 GW well before the 2022 deadline. India’s wind power industry says it will install 60 GW of capacity by 2022. Ever since the government announced an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, relying mostly on solar (100 GW) & wind (60 GW) power additions, experts have often expressed misgivings on whether India can achieve its aims. Despite the challenges faced by the wind power sector, the IWTMA has announced that the industry will meet the government’s target ahead of the 2022 deadline. The domestic wind market is on a growth path in the competitive bidding regime & there is an increased demand for clean energy, which has now become a reliable, affordable & mainstream source of energy. Industry has regained momentum & there is a clear business visibility of 10-12 GW even before the start of this financial year with announcement & plan of bids by MNRE. The industry is confident of the government’s continuous support. There are some who are not so sure about the numbers being met. A consultant in the clean energy industry feels that there are no off-takers because the demand is not there. When you

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However, industry veterans say the scenario is not all that bleak & the figure may still be achievable. The installed capacity of wind power in India is 34 GW, & another 26 GW needs to be achieved by 2022. The performance of the wind industry has not been remarkable in recent times, as only 1.77 GW has been installed in FY 2017-18. Accelerated Depreciation (AD), which was the main driver of investment in renewable energy, & most of it in the wind sector, has been brought down to 40% from the earlier 80%. As of now, it’s only the SECI bids where people are coming forward to install, since SECI will procure clearances. For people to bring investment into the sector, I think the finance minister has to restore the incentives, when the target of 175 GW was fixed, 80% AD was in place. If AD is restored, then the private sector will come forward to install windmills. Hence, the restoration of incentives is very important.

Bidding a boon

In financial year 2017-18, the wind industry saw a transition from the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) regime to the competitive bidding regime, & hence, there was a temporary drop in volumes. The FIT regime; long-term contracts & guaranteed pricing tied to

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as a preferred procurement process as done in defense Infra. Several countries have adopted feed-in tariff or closed bidding. But the success rate of reverse bidding has not been seen. The MNRE has asked the IIM Lucknow to study the pros & cons of reverse & closed bidding.

Volume game

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w w w. r e n e w a b l e m i r r o r. c o m

The statement from IWTMA adds that there is a clear visibility of continuous volumes in the coming years, which will signal gradual stabilization of tariff, which will also depend on wind power regimes in different states. We are seeing large scale projects of 200 MW to 300 MW capacity, which brings in advantages of scale at project level, leading to cost optimisation thereby benefitting working capital of companies. Technological innovation is playing a big role as manufacturers are working towards bringing down the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) & increasing PLF. The next-generation turbines from leading manufacturers can deliver around 35-40% PLF in high wind states, which is almost twice the PLF compared to solar. Sector experts say that large projects are likely to bring in advantages of scale at the project level, leading to cost optimization & benefitting the working capital of companies. The advantage of scale in wind projects will eventually come in large volume of capacity addition, beyond 7,500 to 8,000 MW per annum on a year-on-year basis. This volume game is likely to help the entire value chain. Wind projects need to be looked at the levelised cost of energy delivered rather than capital expenditure on equipment. What is required is sustainability of business costs of production that the government offers to cover risks & with a meaningful tariff, which alone will attract investment, encourage investment; was the preferred model in India, but both in equity & debt. that has changed to auctioned bids, which has been driving down Moving towards offshore tariffs. Lower tariffs eat into energy producers’ profit margins. Although India has gone ahead with its plans to install the The industry is now on a growth trajectory with a healthy order first offshore wind park by inviting expressions of interest, pipeline, owing to auctions by SECI of some 6 GW & state level industry experts said installing offshore capacity would not be bids in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat & Maharashtra worth 1.5 GW, Tanti easy. Renewable energy in India is set to get another boost said. With another round of SECI auctions, bids are expected as the country plans to install giant wind turbines in the sea. for 4 GW this month. Volumes are set to grow exponentially In its latest move, the Indian government has fixed ambitious with some 10-12 GW auctions each year from SECI & state bids targets to develop offshore wind energy, which is a first for combined, as well as from projects less than 25 MW based on the country. The government recently announced medium-& a determined tariff. At the current rate, the wind industry is on long-term targets for offshore wind power capacity additions- 5 course to add around 30 GW of new capacity in the next three GW by 2022 & 30 GW by 2030. Apart from boosting India’s years, thereby taking the cumulative total capacity to about 60 ambitions of increasing the portion of renewables in its energy mix, the initiative has also been taken to “give confidence to GW by financial year 2020-21. So far the government has announced bids for 7.5 GW of wind the wind industry. Ministry had recently invited Expressions power & another 10.9 GW is in the pipeline. This gives a clear of Interest (EoI) for the first 1 GW offshore wind project in visibility signal for installation to achieve 60 GW by 2022. India, which it said has evoked a “keen response” from both However, reverse bidding has put pressure on the value chain Indian & global firms. The government had already notified & the viability of projects is under threat. This may seriously its National Offshore Wind Energy Policy in October in 2015 to affect fresh domestic capacity addition. Bankers are reluctant realize the offshore wind power potential in the country. Since to fund on issues of long term sustainability & aggression of then, preliminary studies have been conducted in two regions reverse bidding may disturb product quality. The driving down of off the coasts of Gujarat in the west & Tamil Nadu in the east. tariffs, he believes, will eventually place a serious threat to micro, In Nov’17, Facilitating Offshore Wind in India (FOWIND), an small & medium enterprises & the component-manufacturing industry consortium led by the GWEC, commissioned the country’s sector. The industry strongly recommends use of closed bidding first offshore LiDAR offshore Gujarat to measure the offshore

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wind resource in a chosen area. The FOWIND project also includes the Centre for Study of Science, Technology & Policy (CSTEP), international registration organization DNV GL, the Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL), the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) & the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE). LiDAR, short for light detection & ranging, is an instrument to measure various parameters of wind such as speed, gust, etc. Another LiDAR has been installed by Suzlon Energy Ltd offshore Tamil Nadu.

Bridge, which is ecologically fragile. It is also a prime fishing area. I am not sure if they have exercised precautions when it comes to fishing rights or if the rights of the local communities have been accounted for. A project like this requires big Infra., underwater cabling & transmission Infra.. We don’t know if environment impact assessments have been done.

Success doubtful

The commercial viability of offshore wind energy projects is doubtful, especially with the solar power being cheaper & Feasibility study user-friendly. Offshore wind in our country is really expensive. Earlier, FOWIND released a feasibility study for offshore wind Because solar power has come, offshore won’t be able to complete. farm development in both Gujarat & Tamil Nadu that gave a As a demonstration India should do it, but financially it is not concept design for demonstration projects ranging from 150MW a viable option yet. First of all, we don’t have the technology to 504MW in the most promising wind-abundant area of the & we will have to import it. With solar prices touching INR seas. In addition to this, the reports analyzed 4, 6 & 10MW 2.65 (4 US cents), it is easier to get investors for solar. Chinese turbines, in terms of project cost & energy cost to help identify manufacturers are aiming for cheaper solar panels in the key project risks. According to the government, preliminary market & wind power won’t be able to catch up that easily,” studies have indicated good wind potential for offshore wind he explained. “If solar prices don’t get reduced significantly, power both in southern tip of the Indian peninsula & the west then there is still a chance for offshore wind. The government coast. More surveys to study oceanographic & seabed conditions has announced the targets, but the projects can take place within the identified zones are now in the pipeline. Offshore wind only through private investment, & it will depend entirely on power is being seen as a new element to the already existing solar power cost. Globally, about 17GW offshore wind power basket of renewable energy for the country. But MNRE has acknowledged that the road ahead is challenging. “While this (offshore wind power targets) may look moderate in comparison to India’s onshore wind target of 60 GW & its achievement of 34 GW & solar target of 100 GW by 2022, this would still be challenging considering the difficulties in installing large wind power turbines in open seas,” it said in a media statement. “It may be mentioned that offshore wind turbines are of much larger dimensions & capacities than onshore turbines.”

Mixed reception

Experts working in the renewable energy field have also given mixed views on the announcement of offshore wind energy goals. CEEW, a New Delhi-based think tank, has welcomed the move, but indicated it could be too early to bank upon it. The recently announced offshore wind targets are a signal of the government’s continued commitment to renewable energy. Expanding the sources of clean energy generation will become increasingly important as the share of renewables in the electricity mix increases. However, she added, “The government must have detailed implementation plans backing big announcements. India is yet to commission any offshore wind energy. While interest in the first 1 GW offshore wind project off the coast of Gujarat has been significant, there is yet to be any bid or even pre-bid activity. It might have been more prudent to take lessons from the 1 GW proposed project, & ascertain the feasibility of the prices bid by market players, before making any large announcement. Even if the project seems feasible on paper, the situation might be different on ground. The technology may have potential but I am not sure if the ground situation & technicalities may have been studied properly. For example, the marked area at the southern coast is very close to Adam’s

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have been installed by countries such as the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands & China. Some of these markets have also witnessed fall in offshore wind tariffs. While for India, installing offshore wind project would be a feather in its cap, but it would be challenging to ensure commercial viability of the technology, at least in the near future.

report by the Lok Sabha's 17th Standing Committee on Energy. "Offshore wind is a very expensive technology for India right now, especially when prices have fallen for onshore wind and solar," said Shah of IEEFA. Take the Gujarat project, for instance. Due to the need for very high initial capital investments and the lack of financial Why offshore wind energy is important for India support, the project has not progressed since 2018, as per a India's energy demand is set to grow by 3% per year up to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) report, published in April 2040, and meeting this demand sustainably will require clean 2021. In mid-2019, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy sources of power. (MNRE) applied for a €800 million (Rs 6,700 crore) viability gap On November 1, India announced a new climate pledge of funding--a grant to cover the high investment in infrastructure meeting 50% of its energy requirements with renewable energy projects--to the Ministry of Finance, to support the construction by 2030. Currently, India meets 26.4% (103 GW) of its energy of this project, the report said. requirements from renewable energy sources, such as solar We did not receive a response to an email to the NIWE, the and wind. Though its contribution may be small, offshore wind contracting agency for the offshore project, and to MNRE, asking energy will help achieve this target and yet, its vast potential about the reasons behind the delay in the offshore project, remains untapped, six years since India created a National concerns over its costs, and the status of the viability gap Offshore Wind Energy policy. funding. The story will be updated when we receive a response. Globally, the offshore wind market has grown from 29.2 GW in No tender for an offshore wind project has yet been floated in 2019 to 35.3 GW in 2020, according to the Global Wind Report Tamil Nadu, the GWEC report said. 2021 of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Leading in Tamil Nadu is reportedly in talks with Denmark for India's first total offshore wind installations was the UK (10 GW), followed offshore floating Wind Park in the Gulf of Mannar. The Tamil by China (9.99 GW), Germany (7.7 GW), Netherlands (2.6 GW) Nadu chief minister recently urged the Centre to come out with and Belgium (2.2 GW), as of 2020. Global offshore capacity a viable policy for harnessing offshore wind. would exceed 2,000 GW by 2050, with India accounting for NIWE plans to install five Light Detection and Ranging instruments 140 GW, an earlier report by European Union and Facilitating (LiDARs), a method of remote sensing, that would gather precise Offshore Wind in India project had estimated. data critical to developing offshore wind projects. But none of In India, 36 GW of offshore wind energy potential exists off the the three in Tamil Nadu have yet been installed and one in coast of Gujarat and nearly 35 GW exists off the Tamil Nadu Gujarat was commissioned in 2017, the GWEC report said. coast, according to an assessment by the National Institute of We emailed NIWE asking for an update on offshore wind energy Wind Energy (NIWE), a research and development institute of projects and on LiDARs in Tamil Nadu, but we did not receive the Indian government. a response. This story will be updated when they respond. Installation of onshore wind turbines requires large tracts of open land and, has on occasion, been met with resistance from local communities. Offshore wind energy does not have that constraint. Also, at sea, winds are free from any obstruction [such as construction on land], and thus flow more smoothly, with higher speed, according to this NIWE report. If a power generation project would function for 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, it would be utilised 100% of the time, but as winds are intermittent, a wind power plant cannot be used all the time. With onshore wind, utilisation is at best 35%, but with offshore, it could be upto 50-55%, due to stronger winds at sea, said Kashish Shah, an energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Higher cost, challenges in grid connectivity

Though offshore wind energy could help India produce more clean energy, it is more expensive than onshore wind and solar power. "The exact cost of the offshore turbine and tariff cannot be ascertained at this stage…However, based on the preliminary studies, it is estimated that the per megawatt cost of the offshore wind turbine would be two to three times the cost of onshore wind turbines," according to a March 2021 28

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In addition, distribution companies (DISCOMS) in India are loss-making and unable to build infrastructure to help transition to renewable energy sources, according to this NITI Ayog report. DISCOMS would have to buy expensive power produced by offshore wind plants, after which either the government would cover the cost through subsidies, as the excess cost will most likely not be passed on to the consumer. Or, the companies will have to bear the losses in their own books, said Shah. Subsidies are often not paid to DISCOMS on time, disincentivising buying expensive power, Shah explained. Also, there is no plan for "planning and delivery of offshore wind grid Infrastructure", that would take the power from the offshore plant to where it would be used, according to the GWEC report.

Turbine manufacturing infrastructure, environmental impact

Offshore wind turbines require longer blades and transporting them over long distances is not viable, experts said. Ports in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat would have to be developed such that blades can be manufactured near the closest port from the offshore site, according to the GWEC report. Offshore plants have "significant challenges", including "subsea cabling, turbine foundation, installation of turbines including logistics, grid interconnection and operation, development of transmission infrastructure and coastal security during construction and operation period", noted the National Offshore Wind Energy policy. We asked MNRE for comments on the challenges of offshore wind energy plants and steps ahead to meet India's target, but we did not receive a response. This story will be updated when they respond. In addition, "as with all energy supply options, wind energy can have adverse environmental impacts, including the potential

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to reduce, fragment, or degrade habitat for wildlife, fish, and plants. Furthermore, spinning turbine blades can pose a threat to flying wildlife like birds and bats," according to the US Department of Energy. Though an offshore wind energy plant would be cleaner than a coal-based power plant, it can still have environmental impacts. For instance, the Gulf of Khambhat is one of the important natural systems of Gujarat and is an "ecologically sensitive coastal region", according to this ecological profile by the Gujarat Ecology Commission in 2011. One of the "essential elements" of offshore plants would be an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study of the plant's effect on "aquatic life, fishing etc., studies relating to navigation, undersea mining and related exploration/exploitation activities and other users of the sea", the offshore wind policy says.

The way ahead

Overall, growth of both offshore and onshore wind energy has been slowing down in India. "The impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on India's wind energy market was more severe than anticipated, with only 1.1 GW installed out of the 3.3 GW originally forecasted for 2020," according to a GWEC report published in June 2021. "But the market is set to bounce back. India is expected to install nearly 20.2 GW of wind power capacity between 2021-25." Offshore wind projects are also important for diversification of energy assets so that a region is not entirely reliant on one source of energy, especially as renewable energy is intermittent, said Shah of IEEFA. There are ways of reducing the cost if you start looking at offshore projects not only as a source of power but also as a source of other avenues, said Ajay Devaraj, secretary general of the Indian Wind Power Association, a nonprofit that works to push regulations and policies for developing the sector. For example, around an offshore plant, you could set up a desalination plant, a hydrogen recovery plant or a facility for private companies that have very large servers and require large-scale cooling, and use the electricity produced by the plant, he explained. Further, projects in Tamil Nadu could also export electricity to Sri Lanka, he added. The government expects the cost of offshore projects to fall. "With strong onshore wind turbine manufacturing base in India, the price of the offshore wind turbines and the tariff are expected to be competitive and at par with onshore wind turbine rates, at the time of large commercial scale deployment of offshore wind turbines in the country," the MNRE said in its report published in March 2021. "When we look at [offshore energy] targets, we have to take them with a pinch of salt," said Shah. "What targets do is they provide clarity to the industry and are illustrative of the ambition. What we need to remember is that offshore wind energy may be an expensive proposition now but will be an important resource in the future," he said. RM || April 2022 ||

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State Overview: Maharashtra

(As on 28.02.2022)

INSTALLED CAPACITY (IN MW) OF POWER UTILITIES IN THE STATES/UTS LOCATED IN Western REGION INCLUDING ALLOCATED SHARES IN JOINT & CENTRAL SECTOR UTILITIES

State

Maharashtra

Ownership/ Sector State Private Central Sub-Total

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Modewise Breakup Coal 9540.00 10858.00 4858.18 26254.18

Lignite 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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Thermal Gas 672.00 568.00 2272.73 3512.73

Diesel 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Total 10212.00 11424.00 7130.91 28766.91

Nuclear

Hydro

0.00 0.00 690.00 690.00

2850.84 481.00 0.00 3331.84

RES (MNRE) 388.13 10121.56 123.00 10632.69

Grand Total 13450.97 22026.56 7943.91 43421.44

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The breakout of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) toward the end of 2019 and its culminating transformation into a global pandemic sent shockwaves across the nations. Not only people lost their lives to it, but also numerous industries and governments as a whole succumbed to its impacts. To prevent the spread of the disease, many countries have resorted to observing country-wide lockdowns, damaging the normalcy of their economy. The world economy has

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seen new lows by trillions of dollars during this period, giving rise to times of constant anxiety about the future. The renewable energy sector, which has always been one of the leading areas to promote sustainability in terms of the environment, too is not spared from being affected by the pandemic. An amalgamation of the effects of the pandemic on the global economy and fluctuating oil prices resulting from country-wide lockdowns across the world

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State Overview

further triggered its impact on the renewable energy industry. This work highlights the extensive impacts of COVID-19 on the renewable energy sector of India, a country that has proved itself to be proactive and progressive when it comes to solutions toward sustainable development. It showcases the present impacts of the pandemic on the sector and highlights future projections of the way it may continue to affect this sector as the world continues to struggle with the pandemic. The authors have brought up a set of their opined regulations that the administration and policymakers of the renewable energy sector of India can adopt to avert or reduce the extensivity of the impact of COVID-19 on their sector. The Indian renewable energy sector is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. India is ranked fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fifth in renewable power installed capacity as of 2018. According to 2018 Climate scope report India ranked second among the emerging economies to lead to transition to clean energy. Installed renewable power generation capacity has increased at a fast pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of 17.28 per cent between FY14–19. With the increased support of government and improved economics, the sector has become attractive from investors perspective. As India looks to meet its energy demand on its own, which is expected to reach 15,820 TWh by 2040, renewable energy is set to play an important role. As a part of its Paris Agreement commitments, the Government of India has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. These include 100 GW of solar capacity addition and 60 GW of wind power capacity. Government plans to establish renewable energy

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capacity of 500 GW by 2030. Market Size As of February 2020, the installed renewable energy capacity is 86.75 GW, of which solar and wind comprises 34.40 GW and 37.66 GW respectively. Biomass and small hydro power constitute 9.80 GW and 4.6 GW, respectively. Off-grid renewable power capacity has also increased. As of February 2020, generation capacities for Waste to Energy, Biomass Gasifiers stood at 139.80 MW and 9,806.31 MW, respectively. With a potential capacity of 363 gigawatts (GW) and with policies focused on the renewable energy sector, Northern India is expected to become the hub for renewable energy in India. Investments/ Developments According to data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), FDI inflows in the Indian non-conventional energy sector between April 2000 and December 2019 stood at US$ 9.1 billion. More than US$ 42 billion has been invested in India’s renewable energy sector since 2014. New investments in clean energy in the country reached US$ 11.1 billion in 2018. Road Ahead The Government of India is committed to increased use of clean energy sources and is already undertaking various largescale sustainable power projects and promoting green energy heavily. In addition, renewable energy has the potential to create many employment opportunities at all levels, especially in rural areas. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of 175 GW by 2022 of which ||www.renewablemirror.com||

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about 100 GW is planned for solar, 60 for wind and other for hydro, bio among other. As of June 2018, Government of India is aiming to achieve 225 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, much ahead of its target of 175 GW as per the Paris Agreement. India’s renewable energy sector is expected to attract investments of up to US$ 80 billion in the next four years. About 5,000 Compressed Biogas plants will be set up across India by 2023. It is expected that by the year 2040, around 49 per cent of the total electricity will be generated by the renewable energy, as more efficient batteries will be used to store electricity which will further cut the solar energy cost by 66 per cent as compared to the current cost. Use of renewables in place of coal will save India Rs 54,000 crore (US$ 8.43 billion) annually. The renewable energy will account 55 per cent of the total installed power capacity by 2030. Among all the states in India, Maharashtra has the largest base of consumers of electricity. Many significant growths can be seen in the power sector in the recent years. This development is a result of increase of generation capacity and increase of strength of network infrastructure which is ultimately leading to availability of the power supply in the state. In India, the state of Maharashtra is ranked amongst top 10 with reference to consumption of energy. As per government records , the state had about 18.73 lakh rural households and 0.63 lakh urban households that were yet to be electrified (as per Power for All) by the year 2013 . It is interesting to note that the state’s total installed capacity of 41 GW. Being a power-surplus state, Maharashtra is able to meet its energy requirements with little or no difficulty. But the

state is targeting more renewable energy. As per reports of National Institute of Solar Energy, the state of Maharashtra has the highest potential for small and distributed solar projects of 6.9 GW. For the last five years, RE capacity in Maharashtra has recorded an annual growth rate of above 15% Out of 42329.60 MW of installed capacity, 30.598.43 MW generates from thermal, 690 MW from nuclear plants, 3331.84 MW from hydro plants and 7709.33 MW from RE Sources. Maharashtra forms a major constituent of the western grid of India, which now comes under North, East, West and North Eastern (NEWNE) grid of India. Historically, in the state of Maharashtra, MSEB has provided the electricity since 1960 except in the city of Mumbai. MSEB is a state owned electricity regulation board which operates throughout Maharshtra. In the year 2005, MSEB has been restructured into 4CoS – namely, MSEB Holding Company, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran), Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (Mahapareshan) and Maharashtra State Electricity Generation Company (MAHAGENCO). Among the four CoS, MAHAGENCO has the highest overall generation capacity and the highest thermal installed capacity amongst all the state power generation utilities in India. It makes MAHAGENCO second highest generation company next to NTPC. It is interesting to note that MAHAGENCO is the only State Utility with well balanced generation portfolio .It includes thermal, hydel and gas stations along with solar power plant. Maharashtra installed the first 500 MW plant. MAHAGENCO also operates thermal power plants in the state. There are many state govt owned power generation plants along with privately owned power generation plants that transmit power through Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (MSETC), which looks after transmission of electricity in the state. MAHAGENCO has an installed capacity of 12,237 MW. This comprises Thermal capacity of 8,980 MW and a gas-based generating station at Uran,(a coastal city in Navi Mumbai), having an installed capacity of 672 MW. Likewise, the hydroelectric projects in the State of Maharashtra have capacity of 2,585 MW. MAHAGENCO is simultaneously implementing additional projects of 3,230 MW that are in full swing and 6,090 MW projects which are in advanced stage of planning. MAHAGENCO is working in the area of power generation and is striving for attainment of Green Power for the consumers of Maharashtra. MAHAGENCO is the largest power generation utility in Maharashtra under state govt apart from existing private sectors have also installed their power generating units in Maharashtra like TATA Power, Adani Power and Reliance Infra etc. The Hydro Electric Projects in the State of Maharashtra were designed, erected and commissioned through the Water Resource Dept of GoM. After commissioning, the hydro projects

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Maharashtra

State Overview

were handed over on long term lease to Mahagenco for O&M. Presently there are 25 hydel projects, having capacity of 2580 MW. Mahagenco is aware of next green power scenario of power generation from non-conventional energy resources and have clear vision for Green Power for the consumers of Maharashtra. Accordingly to fulfill RPO of discoms in the state, Mahagenco has commissioned 180MWp Solar Power Projects till date. Story of Renewable Energy in Maharashtra Maharashtra is one of the leading industrialized states in the country with it’s economy growing very fast . This leads to requirement of more energy needs continuous. There has been power demand issues the state has been facing a grim power demand supply scenario. Govt. has increased power generation by addition in thermal capacity in last few years and works in progress to improve capacity of thermal plants. Now the govt has aware about renewable energy (RE) sources, so state govt has been taking various initiatives to increase the power generation through RE. Maharashtra state govt established Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) to undertake development of RE. MEDA did lot of work in the field of RE focusing on rural areas. Currently, total installed Renewable Capacity in the state of Maharashtra is 7709.33 MW. Maharashtra is one of the top states in India in term of the installed renewable electricity capacity. Wind energy dominant in all form of renewable energy in the state followed by bagasse, solar and small hydel. Wind power potential in the country is about 49,130 MW, while in Maharashtra it is 5,439 MW. Sites with Annual Mean Wind Density above 200 W/m2 are considered suitable for wind power projects. 339 such sites have been identified in the country, of which 40 sites are in Maharashtra. Maharashtra is one of the prominent states considering the installation of wind power projects second to Tamil Nadu in India. As on Mar’16, installed capacity of wind energy is 4655.25 MW in the state. As of now there are 50 developers registered with state nodal agency MEDA for development of wind power projects. All the major manufacturers of wind turbines including Suzlon, Vestas, Gamesa, Regen, Leitner Shriram have presence in Maharashtra. According to Maharashtra Renewable Energy Policy 2015, target of 5000 MW wind energy plants installation in state. The actual energy shortage in Maharashtra are 0.3% MW of peak demand, lower than the estimated energy surplus of 3.5% in year 2015-16 according to ministry of power. Though considered to be the electricity scenario is not good in the state and needs further investment to increase power generation. Based on the current status of fossil fuel supply to the power plants, it is difficult to rely on a single source of energy in the years ahead. Renewable energy should be the future of energy sector in Maharashtra and also in the entire country. And therefore Central as well as state govt are providing

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various subsides to encourage generation & use of RE. The collective encouragement to the RE sector can help to resolve electricity supply position in the state of Maharashtra. Among the renewable sources of energy, solar energy has a huge potential for power generation in Maharashtra. There are 250-300 days of clear sun with an available average radiation of 4 to 6 kWh/sq. metre over a day. There is a capacity to generate 1.5 million units/MW/year through solar photovoltaic systems & up to 2.5 MUs/MW/ year through solar thermal systems. MAHAGENCO has commissioned 130 MWp Solar Power Projects till date. MAHAGENCO aspires to increase its solar portfolio from current 130 MWp to 450 MWp by end of the year 2015-16. Currently, installed capacity of solar energy plants in Maharashtra is 378.7 MWp, which is 9.2% of total installed capacity of solar plants in India. As per MNRE the potential of small hydro power in India is 10,071 MW and in Maharashtra potential is 732.63 MW. The installed capacity in Maharashtra by the year 2013-14 is 278.40 MW. Till date all projects are developed by Water Resource Department, GOM through private developers. Target of small hydro plant installation as per Maharashtra Renewable Energy Policy 2015 is 400MW. There is a large potential in the non-conventional energy sources sector, out of which biomass is one of the major sources of energy. Maharashtra is having agricultural/agro-industrial surplus biomass with a potential of about 781 MW distributed through the state. This distributed potential can be harnessed to meet increasing power demand and to improve the techno-economic scenario. The 71% of capacity which was not taken up in the previous tendering exercise has been rolled over into the new one by the state’s electric distribution company. Despite a tepid response to its 1 GW purchase tender, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has floated another tender to commission 1.4 GW through distributed solar. The energy distribution company’s previous tender received bids for only 29% – 287 MW – of the desired capacity, with the highest tariff set at Rs3.15 per unit of power. The outstanding 713 MW has been included in the new 1.4 GW. This year, MSEDCL floated a tender under the Mukhyamantri Saur KrishiVahiniYojana agricultural solar feeder scheme, to procure of 1 GW (AC) of solar from projects in 218 talukas across the state’s 20 districts. The developers were to set up small solar plants with a capacity of 2-10 MW in different areas and with a maximum district capacity of 50 MW. The plants were to be connected to agricultural feeders at 11 kV or 22 kV level, without any expenditure on transmission infrastructure. In MSEDCL’s May tender for 1,020 MW of solar from private producers, JLTM Energy (20 MW) and Mahoba Solar (200 MW) quoted a tariff of Rs2.71. Renew Solar Power (250 MW), Acme Solar Holdings (250 MW), Tata Power Renewable ||www.renewablemirror.com||

KOSHER CLIMA

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Maharashtra

State Overview

Energy (150 MW) and Azure Power India (150 MW) all bid a tariff one paisa higher. For 2017-2018, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has set Rs4.01 as the average power purchase cost per unit. A decade ago, the average unit cost was Rs18.00. MSEDCL supplies electricity to a staggering 2.20 crore consumers across the state. The discom gets power from Mahagenco, Central sector and private projects. According to the company website, MSEDCL has signed 25-year agreements with power producers to make provision for the required amount of power. Under the arrangement, it was due to receive 4,154 MW of electricity in the last financial year; 5,323 MW in this one and 2,885 MW in 2019-2020. At current prices, the contribution of the financial sector to the GSDP of the state increased at a CAGR of 10.51 per cent between 2011-12 and 2016-17. The government has launched Wi-Fi services, which will connect 500 hotspots across Mumbai, under the smart city project. The state has produced 6.55 million bales of cotton in the year 2017-18. In 2017-18(P), the state has also produced 184 MT of raw silk. Maharashtra accounts for approximately 35.1 per cent of the country’s output of automobiles by value.The state has launched Unlimited Maharashtra advertising campaign through newspapers and television channels to attract tourists during summer vacations. A half-hour ferry ride across Mumbai harbor takes visitors to view the superbly carved 1,300 years old cave temple on the little island of Elephanta, a favourite picnic spot. In 2017, the state had 119.2 million domestic tourist arrival and 5.08 million foreign tourist arrival. Key Challenges and Way Forward GST shadow over solar pump scheme, target likely to be missed KUSUM, the scheme for providing solar-run irrigation pumps to farmers, is facing confusion and delay on account of the new goods and services tax (GST) regime. Because of lack of clarity on the GST rate on solar-run systems, coupled with increasing cost, it is feared that farmers will be wary of adopting cleaner irrigation systems. KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan) scheme was announced in the Budget this year . It was found mentioned in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech. He said the scheme would help farmers save fuel and earn money. “We have rolled out the solar farming scheme. Farmers can now earn money from farming and at the same time earn by selling the extra solar power generated at their farms,” he had said. The scheme was announced with an outlay of Rs 1.4 trillion,

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including budgetary support of Rs 480 billion, over 10 years. It provides 60 per cent of the cost of the system as subsidy and the balance as a bank loan. KUSUM entails installing 2.75 million solar pumps (1.75 million standalone and 1 million grid-connected), solar power plants of 10 GW with an intermediate capacity of 0.5-2 MW, and 50,000 grid-connected tube-wells/lift irrigation and drinking water projects in rural areas. While the initial response to the scheme was encouraging, differential GST rates levied by various states have lately led to an escalation in the cost of solar pumps. In a letter to the ministry of new & renewable ministry, Maharashtrabased solar manufacturers said: “In the budget speech this tax was given as concessional tax of 5 per cent ... However, the approach by the GST authority, on the contrary, is totally in the opposite direction.” Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka have issued tenders for solar pumps. Of these, Rajasthan and Maharashtra has levied the GST at 18 per cent, citing it as a service of power supply. The general rate of tax on services is 18 per cent. Karnataka, however, has levied 5 per cent GST. The rate has been levied through several rulings of the Appellate Tribunal of Advance Ruling (AAR) in these states. On the other hand, the industry thinks the supply of goods and services, together under one contract under the GST, is governed either by “composite supply” as defined under Section 2(30) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017 (CGST Act), or “works contract” as defined under Section 2(119) of the CGST Act. The rate of solar projects under the composite scheme is not defined yet. “At 18 per cent GST, along with 5 per cent GST on the solar panel, we are looking at close to 13 per cent cost escalation. Now we also have to pay the safeguard duty, which escalates the cost by 20-25 per cent. The solar product industry is functional at a 10 per cent operating margin and with this cost escalation, it will go in the negative,” said a solar pump supplier in north India. The executive further added that the delay in commissioning and confusion over GST rates would push back the implementation of KUSUM because no manufacturer would bid. To date, close to 10,000 solar-run pumps have been installed in the states mentioned above. More tenders are coming from those and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. A typical 5HP solar pump system supplied in recent tenders costs Rs 350,000450,000. Of this, the farmer pays Rs 80,000-100,000, which is supported by bank loans. In a recent representation to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the industry said: “(The) Central Government’s goal is to increase the use of ||www.renewablemirror.com||

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for sectors such as IT/ITeS, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, textile, automotive & auto components, gems & jewellery and food processing. As of July 2018, the state had 29 operational SEZs, of which the majority share is contributed by IT/ITeS, engineering and electronics segment. The Government of Maharashtra provides single-window clearance to all units to reduce the average time required for establishment of such units and issue various clearances required for setting up of industries at a single point. The Government is focusing on providing IT-related infrastructure, fiscal incentives to IT units and an institutional framework for the IT sector. Textile parks, aimed to provide world-class infrastructural components for the textile sector and enhance productive capacity, are being set up in Maharashtra to maintain its leadership position in textile exports and production. In April 2018, IOCL, BPCL and HPCL and Saudi Aramco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 3 lakh crore (US$ 46.55 billion) to jointly build and develop an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex with the capacity of processing 60 million metric tonnes per annum in Maharashtra. Among the renewable sources of energy, solar energy has a huge potential for power generation in the state of Maharashtra. There are 250-300 sunny days with an available average radiation of 4 to 6 kWh/sq.metre over a day. There is capacity to generate 1.5 million units/MW/year through solar photovoltaic systems & up to 2.5 million units/MW/ year through solar thermal systems. Maharashtra is in its path to boost it’s renewable energy capabilities .Be it in the sphere of wind projects or be it in solar projects, the state government along with national policies are trying to strengthen its capacities. Adopting the host of policies indicated above, the state has charted out a trajectory for itself till 2022. It has already installed RE capacity of 7.4 GW, including 4.66 GW of wind and 1.99 GW of bio-power. MNRE has allocated a target of 22 GW of RE capacities by 2022. However, as per discussion with the State Working Group, Maharashtra will absorb RE capacity as per the RPO target and the remaining will be developed for inter-state sale. RM

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renewable energy devices and reduce reliance on fossil fuel … Based on the aforesaid view, the taxation (including Customs) on such goods has always been kept on the lower side. The industry has come to a halt on account of the disparity in views and accordingly an urgent clarification is required.” Maharashtra is situated in the western region of the country. It is the most industrialised state in India and has maintained its leading position in the industrial sector in the country. The state is a pioneer in small scale industries and boasts of the largest number of special export promotion zones. Maharashtra has a large base of skilled and industrial labour, making it an ideal destination for knowledge based and manufacturing sectors. GSDP of the state grew at a CAGR (in Rs) of around 11.77 per cent from 2011-12 to 2017-18 whereas the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) grew at a CAGR of around 11.75 per cent from 2011-12 to 2017-18. The state’s capital, Mumbai, is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial hub. The city is home to several global banking and financial service firms. Pune, another major city in the state, has emerged as the educational hub. It is the one of the largest producer of sugarcane, pomegranates and cotton in the country. The Government of Maharashtra has several policies in place to set up the right kind of business climate in the state. These policies aim to motivate investors to invest into various sectors in the state, thereby contributing to the overall development of the economy According to the DIPP, cumulative FDI inflows in the state of Maharashtra during April 2000 to June 2018 stood at US$ 118.13 billion. Total exports from the state stood at US$ 69.73 billion during 2017-18. During 2018-19, exports stood at US$ 36.69 billion. Maharashtra is the largest producer of sugarcane and is the most industrialised state in India and has maintained the leading position in the industrial sector in the country. Sugarcane production reached 72.64 million tonnes during 2017-18(P). During 2018-19, cotton production in the state stood at 7.83 million bales. The state is a pioneer in small scale industries and boasts of the largest number of special export promotion zones. The following are some of the major initiatives taken by the government to promote Maharashtra as an investment destination: In April 2018, the Maharashtra State Electricity Company Ltd embarked Rs 130 crore (US$ 20.17 million) project to develop and expand power infrastructure in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivili. As of October 2018, the state had a total installed power generation capacity of 43,254.59 MW. The Government of Maharashtra is promoting the development of several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across Maharashtra

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Álvaro Casado Portuondo Managing Director Middle East

PVHardware

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

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At PVH, the efficiency of a PV solar plant depends not only on the reliability of the tracker, but also on perfect control and monitoring of its production. O ur s mart co nt roller s, developed at our laboratories with our own Deeptrack IIOT technology, allow us to obtain the maximum performance from the photovoltaic plant through the analysis of big data and a precise control and monitoring of the energy production.

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Q. Kindly tell us something about your company? PVH is a tracking system supplier which focuses on providing value to the complete chain of tracking systems. From preliminary engineering and layout of the site all the way to assembly, we have the possibility of doing it in-house. Not only do we have our own manufacturing facilities, but we can also manufacture through third-party vendors. In India, we have our own supply chain network to manufacture the full tracking system locally, plus an installation team to perform the works locally. We have more than 500 workers in India that have been trained to install our tracking system.

Q. What has been PVH’s journey during the COVID period

and after the lockdown? We’ve been able to manage effectively. In terms of supply, we haven't been affected that much. We've got lots of places to manufacture from, and we have lots of tie-ups with steel suppliers. We can control where we manufacture and avoid these issues that happened with a shortage of supply.

Q. What do you think of the Smart Cities Mission's success

till now? The addition shows that we need to go to renewable and energy-efficient cities with solar projects and with the pipeline . Is there any product launch in Smart cities India expo- that we are developing here in India. We need to have these kinds of events to bring people or the masses to understand 2022? We are showcasing the improved design of our flagship that they have the possibility of these large-scale PV projects product, the AxOne Duo. We have changed the Torque tube interacting with their communities. to an octagonal shape. With this change in design, we can . What are the mission and vision for your company, reduce the coil width and virtually be able to manufacture employees, or for your customers? everywhere. Most of the facilities that manufacture angles can Our mission is to try to bring this sustainable energy source manufacture these Torque tubes, increasing the availability to a global scale and to be able to manufacture and keep of manufacturing at the nearest facility to the site. We are this efficient support for all the clients that we have globally reducing the cost of transportation, and we are also reducing that have had this project working for 25 years. the weight of steel in the tracking systems. With the increasing price of steel, we are able to supply more cost-effective . What kind of services does PVH provide to its customers? tracking systems. They’re all satisfied, of course, and we provide all the solutions that are related to tracking systems, from supply to assembling . What’s your experience of this event? What footfall systems, to construction, to engineering of the project. are you getting? We are getting a lot of people interested in tracking systems. . Does PVH participate in CSR (Corporate Social There was a large pipeline in India for fixed structure solutions, Responsibilities) activities also? and it appears that people are becoming more interested in We believe that business is not just about profits but also about tracking systems as the price of PV modules rises and tariffs creating positive change in society and how we experience decrease; clients understand that the more optimized that technology. As a company we believe the cornerstone for our you have your project, the better performance you can get global success is to ensure that we nurture and transform the out of the PV panels. So, in a nutshell, tracking systems will regions we work in through skill development, harnessing increase the performance and return of your project. clean energy and building the country’s green economy.

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Q. What are your plans for the year 2022 and for upcoming

In India, one such endeavor has been training 500 candidates to install our tracking systems. This enables them to gain years? To develop more support that we are developing in India. employment opportunities not just in India but globally. We have the manufacturing supply chain ready; we've got We hope to change more such lives across the country to an installation team ready with more than 500 employees. spread the ripples of change through skilling with the power We are opening our office that will be in Gurgaon with a of the sun. technical and an after-sales team. Every step that we’ll be . How PVH is encouraging women empowerment? doing in India is going to be local, from supply all the way We attempted to promote talent, regardless of gender. We tried to installation. to bring out the value that we have in people regardless. RM

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Solar PV Modules

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

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India has made significant progress in creating capacity for solar energy India is targeting about 450 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 and, of that, a lion’s share – 280 GW (over 60 percent) – would come from solar. For the next 10 years, around 25 GW of solar energy capacity is needed to be installed every year, to ensure the sun continues to shine over the country’s sunrise sector. The target also means India needs to manoeuvre global supply chain issues, irrespective of geopolitical realities and mining concerns, impacting the producers of major minerals required in the solar industry. The Indian solar industry relies heavily on imports of important components such as solar cells, modules and solar inverters. Every year, the industry ends up spending billions on imports. According to the Indian government’s data, in 2019-20, India imported solar wafers, cells, modules and inverters worth $ 2.5 billion. The government has been trying to ramp up domestic manufacturing through various steps including increasing duty on imports. But, at present, India’s domestic manufacturing capacity is not enough to fulfil the demand for the installation of 25 GW solar power capacity every year.

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Currently, India’s annual installed solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing capacity is 3 GW for solar PV cells, 10-15 GW for solar PV modules, 5 GW for solar inverters while we have no manufacturing capacity for “polysilicon/wafer/ingots”, another critical component in case of solar power systems. In 2015, prior to the Paris Agreement, India had announced that it will achieve 175 GW of renewable power by 2022, including 100 GW of solar. It was a huge increase in the target as the earlier solar power target was only 20 GW. At present, India has about 95 GW of installed renewable power and, of that, 40.5 GW comes from solar, which is spread across the country. Solar Energy is an important source of energy. Currently Solar Energy fulfills about 0.5% of earth’s energy needs, however, as per several reports; Solar Energy is on the way to become one of the largest sources of energy. It is expected to supply 16% of energy requirements by 2050. India alone has set up a target of 100 GW solar by 2022. Out of which, 40 GW is to come from rooftop solar. Nonetheless, this journey doesn’t seem easy. There are obstacles at every step.

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Solar PV Modules

Industry Focus

One of the biggest markets for solar energy is the distributed rooftop segment. This is a game-changer segment. Advantages of rooftop solar PV plant are multifold. It aids DISCOMs by reducing the peak demand during daytime and leads to decreased transmission and distribution losses as the power is consumed at the point of generation, it reduces land and interconnection costs, it has minimum government intervention as there is less involvement of government infrastructure, it can also be set up in remote places, and it also produces considerable savings for the consumer over its lifetime because of the increasing costs of grid electricity. All the other energy solutions, wind energy, thermal energy, utility scale solar, nuclear and hydro and many others, require huge setups and investments. Then, these also require deeper and troubling government intervention. Hence, solar rooftop segment presents a huge opportunity for countries like India. Despite the obvious advantages, rooftop Solar has not really taken off. In India, Rooftop solar has maintained a 10-12% share of overall solar capacity. This is much lower than other key markets such as US, Germany, China, Spain and Australia. Please refer figure 1 for a better understanding. Currently, India’s focus is to build more capacity and raise awareness about the technology in the market. At this stage, few topics which require attention are mentioned below. In our country the prime factor for the slowdown of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) sector in last year was the implementation of safeguard duty on imported panels. While imposition of this duty was aimed at incentivizing domestic manufacturing, it led to an increase in tariffs, resulting in the cancellation of many solar auctions and their retendering. This slowdown might be temporary, since long-term trends like falling cost of photovoltaic (PV) modules do remain in

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

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place. The growth in India’s solar capacity has been driven mainly by imported PV modules that enjoy nearly 90% share, as their costs are up to 30% lower. The safeguard duty was pegged by the government at 70% on foreign modules, but was introduced at 25% owing to pressure from energy companies. The industry is facing many other challenges which are creating a hindrance in industry’s growth. Challenges for the PV industry in India Cost and T&D Losses: Solar PV is some years away from true cost competitiveness and from being able to compete on the same scale as other energy generation technologies. Adding to the cost are T&D losses that at approximately 40 percent make generation through solar energy sources highly unfeasible. However, the government is supporting R&D activities by establishing research centers and funding such initiatives. The government has tied up with world-renowned universities to bring down the installation cost of solar power sources and is focusing on upgradation of substations and T&D lines to reduce T&D losses. Regulatory And Policy Aspects: The major concern of any project developer or EPC player is usually from regulatory and policy aspects. For example, net metering policy in India is more than 2 years old now. However, implementation on the ground is still not smooth. At state level, the electricity distribution companies are not willing to sacrifice their premium high tariff paying customers. Such policy level inconsistencies are a big deterrent to the ambitious plans of the govt. to meet their solar targets. Fluctuation in PV material price: There is fluctuation of PV material price in the market. A movement in price of Solar PV modules, which forms a major component of the installation cost, has the major impact. At Insolergy, we have ||www.renewablemirror.com||

seen residential solar market in India responding very fast to such fluctuations. These aspects are likely to impact many solar projects in the country. But we believe that customization and offering value-added services with innovative solutions is the only way to succeed. India’s PV module manufacturing sector needs serious attention:

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India’s manufacturing sector is set to take a giant leap forward, with the govt. announcing a slew of measures to boost domestic manufacturing in recent past. As a result, various CoS are gearing up to expand their production facilities in India. However, Indian manufacturers continue to face a stiff competition with Chinese & other global manufacturers leading them to operate insufficiently. There could be various reasons ranging from the govt.’s existing domestic insufficient content policy to fewer types of subsidies or the interest rates on raw material thus making them to be inadequate in promoting the domestic PV module manufacturing industry. However, the challenges in the current policy regime & steps India might take to better position itself to become a global leader in the PV module manufacturing needs a strong overhaul. Solar power is the strategic need for the country as it can potentially save USD 20 bn in fossil fuel imports annually by 2030 & domestic manufacturing can save USD 42 bn in equipment imports by 2030. “In the absence of manufacturing, India will need to import $42 bn of solar equipment by 2030, corresponding to 100 GW of installed capacity,” warns a report by KPMG, an advisory firm. The report further highlighted that solar manufacturing can also create direct employment for more than 50,000 people in the next five years assuming local manufacturing captures 50% domestic market share & 10% global market share. Inventory Management & Capacity Utilization: Indian module manufacturers are operating at very low capacity utilization; however the capacity is currently sufficient to cater to the demand. The major reason for this is lack of demand for domestic PV modules & unavailability & limited access to raw material. Therefore, to at least keep their plants running, raw materials are stored in the warehouse. Also, the finished modules need to be kept in the warehouse because of intermittent demand in the market. Therefore, higher inventory levels for raw materials & finished modules increase the operating cost & puts upward pressure on manufacturing costs. More long term contracts with manufacturers could assist in this regard, allowing firms to procure raw material just in time to meet demand. Access to working capital is important for Indian CoS to compete against the firms from China/ South East Asia, who offer better terms. Inferior Technology and Quality: The efficiency and quality of solar panels produced by the Indian players is not able to compete with its global counterparts. This is because of the lack of technical expertise and intellectual property with Indian

players. An earlier ban of silicon wafer fabrication, which was removed in 2013, is one of the examples of setback which the Indian panel manufacturers have had to face in the past. This ban has considerably set back the developments in the Indian semi-conductor industry. Another major issue is of dust in our environment. India being a highly populous developing country literally lives in a dust storm. And, as a matter of fact, even a single grain of sand can affect the performance of a solar PV cell/module. These challenges have had an overtly deep impact on the abilities of Indian Solar Panel Manufacturers. Market Scenario of Solar PV and Future of Industry The global Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels Market was valued at $118,704 million in 2016, which is expected to reach $307,204 million by 2023, registering a CAGR of 15.0% from 2017 to 2023. The key components of PV power system are various types of photovoltaic cells (also known as solar cells). These components are interconnected and encapsulated to form a photovoltaic module, the mounting structure of modules which is manufactured for the grid connected and off-grid systems. Moreover, solar energy is renewable and helps countries to meet their policy goals for secure, reliable, and affordable energy and provides electricity access with reduced price volatility and the promotion of social and economic development. Therefore, decrease in price of solar energy has further led to the demand for production of solar power which in turn proves to be a cost-effective solution. The solar photovoltaic (PV) panels market is segmented based on technology, grid-type, end use, and geography. Based on technology, it is classified into thin-film, crystalline, and others (organic and concentrator photovoltaics). Crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) is further segmented into mono and multi crystalline. Based on grid type, it is bifurcated into grid connected and off-grid. Grid connected is further segmented into centralized and decentralized. By end use, it is categorized into residential, commercial, and utility scale. Based on geography, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Recently, India achieved the third rank globally for solar installation capacity. Mercom India, a clean energy research organsation, has reported that the installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity has reached over 28 GW as of December 2018. However, this accounts for only about 5.5 per cent of the total global cumulative installations. India may have emerged as the third largest market for solar, but a comparison at the global front suggests that India has a long way to go in order to become a solar super power. India added 8.3 GW of solar capacity. It has observed a 13 per cent dip from the previous year, when the solar PV installation addition was 9.6 GW. The total installations globally accounted 104 GW for FY 2018, during which China and the US added 44.3 GW and 10.6 GW respectively.

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Solar PV Modules

Industry Focus

Surveys suggest that global PV solar installations will see nearly 18% rise in 2019, finally reaching and may be surpassing 100 GW capacity addition. Although, at the end of 2019, we would still be far from ‘0’ emission future, rising PV installation growth and emergence of new markets within developing countries will get us closer to that goal. China is predicted to lead the installation growth in the present year, but its market share will fall from 55% to 19% by 2023. Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa will scale rapidly and several new markets like Egypt, Span, Argentina, Vietnam will also see boost and may account for nearly 7% of global PV installation growth in 2019. The government has also introduced a number of incentives and specific policies to make solar more attractive to overseas investors, including national and state solar auctions, increased investment in the grid and various favourable tax adjustments. As a result, the country has made global headlines for the record low prices being realised in its latest solar auctions. India revises solar manufacturing tender specs to attract investors More than a year and 10 extensions later, the Union government has revised the tender specifications for the first solar manufacturing-linked power plant project in the country. Hoping to attract more investor interest, the tariff cap has been set at Rs 2.75/unit. Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI) on Tuesday issued a request for a selection (RfS) notice for selecting solar power developers. This will be for setting up 6 GW (per annum) of solar power plants linked to 2 GW of solar manufacturing plant. A bidder can quote any capacity up to 1.5 GW of solar power projects linked to 0.5 GW of solar manufacturing capacity, corresponding to one project. A total of four such projects have been put up for bidding. A company can bid for one or all four. In an interesting amendment introduced in the new RfS, SECI has allowed using imported solar modules at the power plant and not necessarily the ones manufactured at the linked unit set up by the company. Earlier, this was mandatory. “The solar power developers or SPDs would be allowed to set up a solar power plant parallelly with a manufacturing facility, that is, the mandatory requirement of using self-produced modules in the plants under this scheme will not be there. This can be set up either through imported modules or through modules made by the manufacturing unit being set up by the bidder or through any other domestic module,” said the RfS document reviewed by Business Standard. Another addition in the tender is regarding manufacturing,

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wherein the companies can submit a bid for setting up manufacturing units for ingots and wafers as well as solar cells and modules. Ingots and wafers are key components in the making of solar cells. The module is a collection of solar cells and panels are the single power producing unit. The tender, however, has not included the long-awaited demand of the industry to include the existing solar manufacturing units. “As this scheme calls for setting up solar manufacturing plants in India, commissioned manufacturing plants cannot be considered under this RfS. However, expansion of the existing manufacturing facilities can be done anywhere in India,” said the RfS. After several extensions, the Central government, in January, decided to cancel the lone bid that came for setting up solar panel manufacturing along with a solar power plant. The single bid came from Azure Power in tie-up with Waaree Energies. The government re-issued the tender in March and it was also extended again. The latest global tender closes in August 2019. Indian solar cells and modules manufacture 'obsolete', says MNRE At a time when the government of India is trying to decide on whether or not the Indian solar cells and modules manufacturers deserve protection by way of anti-dumping duty, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has said that the cell/module manufacturing capacity in the country is “obsolete”. In a ‘concept note’ for supporting solar manufacture in India, the Ministry speaks of a “direct financial support” of Rs 11,000 crore and a ‘technology upgradation fund’, for solar manufacture. The Ministry notes that the country has installed capacity for producing 3.1 GW of cells and 8.8 GW of modules (cells are used to make modules). However, “even this capacity is not being fully exploited because of obsolete technology,” the concept note says. Only 1.5 GW of cell manufacture and 3 GW of module manufacture are used. It adds that the existing capacity is mainly of the conventional technology of multi-crystalline Al-BSF (Aluminium-Back Surface Field) solar cells, which have efficiency limitations and that very few players have ventured into the superior PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology. PER cells, which have a light reflecting layer on the rear, are more efficient and cost-effective. The Ministry has said it would bring in a ‘Technology Upgradation Fund’, borrowing the concept from a scheme of the same name for textile industry. The TUF could be an interest subvention scheme (as it is for the textile industry) or capital subsidy for technology up gradation projects.

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Solar PV Modules

Industry Focus

Apart from providing financial incentives for solar manufacture, the Ministry also proposes to “revive” the ‘domestic content requirement (DCR)’ scheme, which reserved a slice of the market for locally made cells and modules. The scheme was adjudged violative of global trade rules by the World Trade Organisation. Today, 1,436 MW of solar projects have been commissioned under the DCR and another 1,000 MW are under construction, but there won’t be any more. However, the government proposes to get central government-owned companies to set up 12,000 MW of projects using local-made products. The concept note also speaks of capital subsidies to those who set up solar manufacturing capacities, with subsidies indexed to the levels of value addition. Conversely, they could also set up solar power plants to supply the electricity needed for the manufacture, with facilities to bank the power with the grid for later withdrawal. Manufacture of solar panels (also called modules) start with polysilicon, which is made from silicon. Polysilicon is made into ingots, which are cut into wafers. Cells are made with wafers and a string of cells is a module. Today, only modules and cells are made in India, with imported material. At present, the only incentives available for manufacturing these is the Modified-Special Incentive Package Scheme, which is available to all electronic goods manufacturers and implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, but there have been few takers for the scheme. However, a few companies have expressed desire to set up manufacturing facilities in India—notably, Trina Solar and Longi, both of China. “If these incentives are seriously

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implemented and there is clear market visibility of the next five years, then more manufacturers may decide to establish manufacturing units in India,” says Mercom, a renewable energy consultancy. India needs a solar manufacturing strategy India has made significant progress in creating capacity for solar energy generation in the last few years. The Prime Minister’s emphasis since 2014 has given a new fillip to solar power installation. The unit costs of solar power have fallen, and solar energy has become increasingly competitive with alternative sources of energy. India expanded its solar generation capacity eight times from 2,650 MW on May 26, 2014 to over 20 GW on January 31, 2018, and 28.18 GW on March 31, 2019. The government had an initial target of 20 GW of solar capacity by 2022, which was achieved four years ahead of schedule. In 2015, the target was raised to 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. Relying on imports This rapid progress should have been made earlier, however. India is energy deficient, yet blessed with plenty of sunlight for most of the year. It should have taken a lead in solar panel manufacture to generate solar energy long ago. Despite the new policy focus on solar plant installation, India is still not a solar panel manufacturer. Just as India has had no overall industrial policy since economic reforms began, there is no real plan in place to ensure solar panel manufacture. The share of all manufacturing in GDP was 16% in 1991; it remained the same in 2017. The solar power potential offers a manufacturing opportunity. The government is a near monopsonistic buyer. India is regarded by the global solar

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industry as one of the most promising markets, but low-cost Chinese imports have undercut its ambitions to develop its own solar technology suppliers. Imports, mostly from China, accounted for 90% of 2017 sales, up from 86% in 2014. Substituting for imports requires human capabilities, technological capabilities and capital in the form of finance. On the first two capabilities, the supply chain of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing is as follows: silicon production from silicates (sand); production of solar grade silicon ingots; solar wafer manufacturing; and PV module assembly. The capital expenditure and technical know-how needed for these processes decreases from the first item to the last, i.e. silicon production is more capital-intensive than module assembly. Most Indian companies are engaged in only module assembly or wafer manufacturing and module assembly. No Indian company is involved in silicon production, although a few are making strides towards it. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (2018), India has an annual solar cell manufacturing capacity of about 3 GW while the average annual demand is 20 GW. The shortfall is met by imports of solar panels. So we may not see domestic players, in the short term at least, replacing imported ones. While the safeguard duty now puts locally made panels on par with imported ones in terms of cost, the domestic sector needs to do a lot more to be effective. For instance, it will have to go down the supply chain and make the input components locally instead of importing them and putting the modules together here. Public procurement is the way forward. The government is still free to call out bids for solar power plants with the requirement that these be made fully in India. This will not violate any ||www.renewablemirror.com||

World Trade Organization commitment. However, no bids will be received as manufacturing facilities for these do not exist in the country. But as Ajay Shankar, former Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, argues, if the bids were large enough with supplies spread over years, which gives enough time for a green field investment to be made for manufacturing in India, then bidders will emerge and local manufacturing can begin. Conclusion The large-scale adoption of renewable power, including a serious push for solar, is crucial for India’s clean energy transition goals. Though India has seen rapid growth in the solar industry, the road ahead is full of challenges. Manoj Gupta, who is the vice president of Fortum India, a company involved in renewable energy projects, told MongabayIndia that it is likely that the renewable energy target of 450 GW is achievable but India still has a long way to go. “To get to the stated targets, it needs to install more than 250 GW of renewable energy capacity in 10 years, or 25-35 GW of renewable energy capacity per year. This is more than twice of what India has been achieving in recent times and is by no means going to be easy.” He explained that over the last five years, India has added around 34 GW of solar power installed capacity. “While our domestic manufacturing capacity of 10 GW of modules is sufficient to meet this demand, we imported over 80 percent local demand for modules across 2015-19,” said Gupta while highlighting that the total value of solar cell and module imports during those five years was around $12.4 billion. However, the rapid targeted growth, which India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking about, would require millions of solar modules and every solar module would need a steady supply chain of all materials required for its manufacturing as well as for batteries. Vinay Rustagi, who is the managing director of Bridge to India (BTI), a renewable power consultancy, said that for every megawatt of installed solar power, on average, about 3,000 solar modules are needed. “A few years ago it was about 4,500 solar modules for every MW of solar power but with an increase in the size of modules and improvement in technology and efficiency the required numbers have come down,” Rustagi told Mongabay-India. 1 MW of installed renewable power capacity needs, on average, 3000 solar modules. A 25 GW capacity needs 75 million solar modules — every year. This means that India, which is trying to push its domestic manufacturing, may still end up depending largely on imports of solar modules from other countries. || April 2022 ||

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Solar PV Modules

Industry Focus

India’s solar power sector is heavily reliant on imports In March 2021, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had noted that “India’s solar sector, just like in any other country of the world, is heavily reliant on imports of solar equipment.” “Government have also noted instances of certain countries dumping solar cells and modules to kill the nascent domestic industry, because of which government had to impose safeguard duties. Covid-19 pandemic brought disruptions in international trade including imports of solar modules and solar cells affecting solar capacity additions in the country. Considering India’s huge solar targets and that electricity is a strategic sector of the economy, India needs to develop domestic solar manufacturing capacities and reduce its dependence on imports to avoid disruption in future,” it had said. It had emphasised that the focus on achieving self-reliance has taken India toward the decision of “scaling up domestic manufacturing” which would also enable India to “export solar modules”. “This would also provide other countries an alternative avenue for procuring solar modules,” it had said. The government thus announced a basic custom duty (BCD) of 25 percent on solar cells and 40 percent on solar modules from April 1, 2022. Whether India manufactures those solar modules itself or imports them as a finished product from countries such as China, the supply chains of materials, including many metals, required for building them will be crucial. A May 2021 report “The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions” by the International Energy Agency stressed that clean energy technologies including electric vehicles would require a huge amount of minerals. “The shift to a clean energy system is set to drive a huge increase in the requirements for these minerals,” it said. Depending on the kind of technology used, a solar module typically requires materials such as glass, silicon, copper, silver, aluminium, cadmium, tellurium, indium, gallium and selenium. What worries many countries pursuing renewable energy is that the supply and refining of many crucial minerals required in the solar and overall renewable energy systems are limited to a few countries. For instance, the IEA report highlights, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo account for 70 percent of global production of platinum and cobalt while China accounts for 60 percent of global REE production (rare earth elements). Moreover, China has a strong presence in the processing and refining of many minerals operations required for renewable energy systems. “This creates sources of concern for companies that produce solar panels, wind turbines, electric motors and batteries using

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imported minerals, as their supply chains can quickly be affected by regulatory changes, trade restrictions or political instability in a small number of countries. The Covid-19 pandemic already demonstrated the ripple effects that disruptions in one part of the supply chain can have on the supply of components and the completion of projects,” the IEA report said. India needs a long-term policy to ensure stability for the solar sector For a country like India, which doesn’t produce many of the minerals required for renewable energy systems, it should mean long-term policymaking to ensure that disputes with countries such as China don’t derail its ambitious renewable energy targets. Rishabh Jain, who works with the Centre for Energy Finance (CEF) of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a not-for-profit research organisation, emphasised that “estimating the mineral requirement across the renewable energy manufacturing value chain will help the government in taking a strategic decision on which technology and manufacturing step to support.” “Improvements in the manufacturing process, increase in efficiency and development of new products can significantly reduce the mineral requirement to produce every MW of renewable energy equipment. Recycling should be used as an important tool to recover critical minerals which may be difficult to procure in the international markets,” Jain told Mongabay-India. While on the issues of batteries required for renewable power systems, BTI’s Rustagi said: “India is yet to finalise a clear storage policy with targets. It is difficult to estimate the storage capacity required to support 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Currently, we are not producing batteries or even the minerals required for batteries. We are simply importing the finished products from abroad. The government has recently given a push for manufacturing batteries within India but at the moment we don’t make any.” Also, the mining activities for these metals, across the world, could end up triggering more social and environmental conflicts as many past experiences show that it leads to problems with local communities and severe pollution. In fact, a 2019 report by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the Sydney-based University of Technology, had said that if not managed appropriately, there are significant “environmental and social impacts associated with the mining and processing of metals used for renewable energy and technologies” which include “pollution of water and agricultural soils through the release of wastewater and dust, the risk of tailings dam failures and health impacts from workers and surrounding communities.”

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Lisa Zhang MarketiNG Director

Growatt New eNerGy co., ltD.

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Growatt has built strong and experienced local teams in key solar markets with an extensive service network. To promote the use of clean energy, Growatt is committed to providing comprehensive and professional training in the technologies of solar PV, battery storage, and smart energy management. The company is dedicated to becoming the world's largest supplier of smart energy solutions. ||www.renewablemirror.com||

Q. Which are the specialist segments that Growatt is Q. What will be the industry's outlook for coming years?

successfully focused on? Until now, there are 127 countries around the world proposing Growatt is dedicated to the distributed PV sector, especially the carbon neutral time-point, which means the transformation in residential, C&I and energy storage markets. from traditional energy to new energy is already an inevitable trend. Growatt is involved in the fields of PV, energy storage . What has been Growatt’s journey during the COVID and EV chargers, which are all markets we are very optimistic period and after the lockdown? about. With more and more countries supporting photovoltaic China has been relatively strict in controlling the COVID-19 development and public’s environmental awareness getting epidemic and some cities experienced city closures. The city stronger, photovoltaic becomes a more critical part of new where our factory is located has been operating normally energy. Additionally, the development of energy storage makes and has not had much impact on us. The biggest change the best use of photovoltaic, especially at present the number during the epidemic was that employees could not travel of new energy vehicles is surging. So our EV charger business overseas, but we maintained online communication with our is growing by leaps and bounds, and we believe that in the customers. And we’ve set up extensive and localized service future , the integration of 'PV+Energy Storage+EV charger' network overseas to serve our customers. During the two will be the most promising business section and growth point years of the epidemic, our performance grew by more than of Growatt. 50% in each year.

We have delivered 37GW of products to over 100 countries worldwide and have over 1.2 million online users on our cloud platform. In the residential segment, we rank first globally with a 14.4% share, and we rank second in global hybrid energy storage inverters and fifth in commercial and industrial inverters.

. What are the awards and accomplishments that Growatt has received so far?

Q. What are the new products showcased by Growatt in

recent years? We are optimistic about the future development of the energy storage market and have developed battery ready inverters. Customers can use the battery ready inverter as on-grid inverter when they first install it, and when battery cost decreases, customers can add energy storage to the original system. This year we will also launch products for C&I energy storage to seize the opportunity of the energy storage market explosion. With the increase of module size, we also launched high current inverters to better match the modules.

Q. What customer support and services is Growatt offering? We’ve built an extensive service network of 22 offices worldwide to provide dedicated and localized marketing, warehousing, technical and after-sales support for customers. The technicians at our headquarter will do remote technical training and support regularly for global customers to improve their professional skills and competitiveness. In addition, we help customers to participate in local marketing activities to capture the market share together and achieve a win-win situation. ||www.renewablemirror.com||

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Q. How successful was Growatt as a global player?

With more than 400 professional engineers in the R&D team, Growatt continuously brings product and technology innovations to the market. In 2010, Growatt’s 5kW single-phase inverter got PHONTON A+ certificate and we are also the first inverter company in Asia to get PHOTON certificate. From the market perspective, Growatt is recognized by global customers and honored with Top Brand PV Inverters awards by EUPD Research in 14 countries covering Europe, America, Oceania and Asia. This award is launched by EUPD to do surveys in major PV distributors and installers in various countries worldwide based on some important standards such as outstanding reliability, brand awareness, satisfaction. At last, only one company of each country will be honored, we are pleasure to have the award. RM || April 2022 ||

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Green Hydrogen

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|| April 2022 ||

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Green hydrogen would help India make a ‘quantum leap’ by 2047 Climate change is accelerating and intensifying faster than anticipated, with pollution reaching high levels. The health and well-being of present and future generations, along with their economic development, are at risk. To maintain a cleaner and greener environment, we urgently require appropriate solutions. Hydrogen has shown a ray of hope against climate change as one of the cleanest fuels with zero carbon emissions. It's used in energy applications with the right fuel cells. Due to the availability of cheaper renewable energy, India is in a unique position to produce hydrogen for its own needs and also as a global export hub. India has emerged as a global leader in climate change. As the world’s thirdbiggest emitter, it is now making visible efforts to reduce global warming and remains committed to substantially reducing its carbon footprint in the future. The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) with “Swachh Bharat – Neela Akash” acts as a catalyst in spreading awareness and technological innovations concerning

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pollution prevention and control including climate mitigation, etc. It has also been working for industrial transformation and advanced multistakeholders initiatives to promote sustainability, resilience, and performance into a variety of socioeconomic systems. The announcement of the National Hydrogen Energy Mission in the Union Budget of India 2021-22 is an indication of India's potential in building capacity to become the cheapest hydrogen producer in the world by 2050. The summit is a step forward in the mission and aims to meet climate challenges through a consolidated approach and timely interventions, ahead of the UNFCCC at Glasgow. This will help to find a set of balanced, positive, and beneficial solutions for the future. The Indian Opportunity India is emerging as a front runner in its efforts to reduce global warming as the nation remains committed to substantially reduce its carbon footprint in near future. The National Hydrogen Energy Mission, announced in the Union Budget of India, 2021-22, is

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RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Green Hydrogen

Industry Feature

a giant step towards a greener future that will lay down the roadmap for tapping alternate sources of energy. India is now viewed as a global leader in climate change through its concerted efforts and commitment towards slowing down global warming.

combustion engines, two wheelers, three wheelers, and mini buses that run on hydrogen fuel. Two hydrogen refuelling stations have been established (one each at Indian Oil R&D Centre, Faridabad and National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram).

Hydrogen is one such source of energy that has a much higher energy output per unit mass. Producing hydrogen is an energy intensive process, and there is a need to exploit more and more of non-greenhouse gas producing energy sources like wind and solar power to generate electricity required for the purpose. India has an advantage here due to its geographical location, climate conditions and abundance of renewable sources of energy like solar, wind and hydro making it ideal for becoming the world’s cheapest hub for Hydrogen by 2050.

India plans to manufacture five million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum by 2030, the power ministry said on Thursday, aiming to meet its climate targets and become a production and export hub for the fuel. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, has some of the best environmental credentials among cleaner-burning fuels. The zero-carbon fuel is made using renewable power from wind or solar sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. India will set up separate manufacturing zones, waive interstate power transmission charges for 25 years and provide priority connectivity to electric grids to green hydrogen and ammonia producers in a bid to incentivise production. The five million tonnes production target is half of that of the European Union, which plans to produce 10 million tonnes of hydrogen from renewable energy by 2030. While green hydrogen is not currently made in India on a commercial scale, the country's richest men Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have announced plans to produce it.

MNRE has been supporting a broad based Research Development and Demonstration (R&D) programme on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel. Projects are supported in industrial, academic and research institutions to address challenges in production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources, it’s safe and efficient storage, and its utilization for energy a transport applications through combustion or fuel cells. With respect to transportation, major work has been supported to Banaras Hindu University, IIT Delhi, and Mahindra & Mahindra. This India, with a population more than three times larger than has resulted in development and demonstration of internal the EU, has a much lower per capita energy consumption,

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making it the most environmentally friendly fuel. This ‘green’ approach to producing hydrogen is good for sustainability. But it drives up costs, which could obviously hamper India’s plan to ramp up the production of green hydrogen. Add to that, only a handful of Indian companies manufacture electrolysers, which are used to generate green hydrogen.

The incentives announced the first part of India's national hydrogen policy. The government has not said when the rest will be released. India also plans to provide federal financial support to set up electrolysers, as it wants to make the use of green hydrogen mandatory for refineries and fertiliser plants. Can India make it affordable? Green hydrogen is hydrogen that is produced using renewable energy through electrolysis. This method uses an electrical current to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water. If the electricity needed for electrolysis is generated from renewable sources such as solar or wind, the production of hydrogen in this way emits no greenhouse gasses. Will green hydrogen form the core of India’s clean energy mix? Experts are optimistic about the potential of this ‘fuel of the future’. Like all fuels, hydrogen when burnt produces energy. But the by-product of burning hydrogen is water, ||www.renewablemirror.com||

As one of the cleanest forms of energy in the world, green hydrogen is one of the ultimate solutions to achieve net-zero emissions. The gas is produced with the help of electrolysis through electricity generated from renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. With electrolysis, all you need to produce large amounts of hydrogen is water, a big electrolyser, and electricity. An electric current then splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. This ensures no greenhouse gas emissions as the only by product of this process is oxygen, making it a great replacement for carbon emitting fuels. At present, the country’s entire production of hydrogen comes from fossil fuels. However, by 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green. The US has invested $150 m in hydrogen fuel infrastructure and development every year since 2017. Governmental bodies in Europe and Asia are also investing more than $2 bn annually in hydrogen fuel || April 2022 ||

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but among the fastest rates of energy demand growth in the world. Mayank Bansal, chief commercial officer, the incentives announced by India could help lower cost of hydrogen manufacturing. "Currently, manufacturing green hydrogen is a costly proposition and in cognizance of this, the government has correctly waived off inter-state transmission charges," Bansal said in a statement. India's Power Minister RK Singh said on Wednesday green hydrogen manufacturers would also be allowed to transmit unused electricity to the grid.

Now, according to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the cost of green hydrogen production is $5-$6 per kg. At this rate, it is not easy for industries like steel, fertilizer and long-range shipping to adopt this fuel. For that, we need green hydrogen prices to come down to at least $2 per kg. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani has proposed that India should aim to bring down prices to $1 per kg. But this reduction in prices will not be possible unless we start manufacturing electrolysers on a much larger scale in India. The government could bring a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing electrolysers for producing green hydrogen. On the other hand, it does seem that in certain areas, the Centre is slow to get off the blocks despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterating the ‘green hydrogen’ commitment in his Independence Day speech this year. The central government is yet to come out with a policy, despite having launched the National Hydrogen Mission last year. Setting up more manufacturing facilities, indigenous production of important components such as electrolysers, and production linked incentives such as the schemes being rolled out by the government for various sectors, will be the most important steps that Indian industry and policymakers need to take to help bring down costs per unit of green hydrogen output. The environment friendly gas has recently caught the fancy of some of the largest firms and governments around the world as they try to pivot to a more sustainable source of energy.

RENEWABLE MIR ROR

Industry Feature

production.

Green Hydrogen

In fact, China has committed over US$217 bn of investment in hydrogen-powered transportation until 2023. The Indian government is not far behind. As green power takes precedence in the global scheme of things, the Indian government has already kick-started its green hydrogen journey. On 15 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flagged the launch of a National Hydrogen Mission and announced his decision to transform India into a global hub for green hydrogen production and export. As a result, companies in India have started making the switch. Here are 5 companies that are leading this revolution.

said the company has floated a global tender to procure an electrolyser. He added that the company has finalised 2-3 sites for the unit including one at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. It will take 12-14 months to set up the plant. The plant planned will have a capacity of 10 MW, the largest announced so far in the country. GAIL has already started mixing hydrogen in natural gas in one of the cities, on a pilot basis. The company is testing the mix percentage before it scales it up. The hydrogen that GAIL plans to produce can be sold to fertiliser units which as per government mandate are required to use hydrogen as fuel.

#1 Reliance Industries

#3 NTPC

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the largest private sector oil and gas company in the country, plans to go green. The company recently announced its plans to become a net carbon-zero firm by 2035. It aims to replace transportation fuels with clean electricity and hydrogen. The conglomerate said it will invest ₹750 bn over the next three years in renewable energy. Out of this, it will invest ₹600 bn in a 5,000-acre, green energy integrated complex called Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The complex will include manufacturing units for solar cells and modules, a battery unit for energy storage, a fuel cell-making factory, and an electrolyser plant to produce green hydrogen. The company is also seeking partners to bring new and advanced technology to India. Reliance (RIL) recently partnered with Danish company Stiesdal A/S through its subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL) to develop and manufacture hydrogen electrolysers.

Just like GAIL, NTPC plans to produce green hydrogen on a commercial scale. The company plans to do that from its upcoming 4,750 MW renewable energy park at the Rann of Kutch. The capacity of the plant will be 5 MW (megawatts). Currently, NTPC is running a pilot project in its Vindhyanchal unit, where the cost of hydrogen is estimated to be around US$2.8-3/kg. This is expected to fall going forward through economies of scale. NTPC also plans to set up its first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh. It will ply 5 hydrogen buses, to start with. This will put Leh as the first city in the country to implement a green hydrogen-based mobility project. NTPC has been aggressively pushing for greening its portfolio and the green hydrogen project is another step towards achieving a low carbon footprint.

NTPC has also been promoting the usage of green hydrogenbased solutions in sectors like mobility, energy, chemical, fertiliser, steel etc. The company has recently revised its Through this agreement, RNESL and Stiesdal will combine target of achieving 60 GW renewables capacity by 2032, their strengths and collaborate to further advance the almost doubling the earlier target. technology development of hydrogen electrolysers. Analysts #4 Indian Oil Corp have estimated that RIL will build a 2.5-gigawatt (GW) Another PSU that plans to tap into the green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing unit. The electrolyser gigafactory opportunity is Indian Oil. The nation's largest fossil fuel will manufacture modular electrolysers for the production of retailer recently announced its plans to build a green hydrogen green hydrogen for domestic use as well as for international plant at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh. The unit is sales. While this will be expensive (the cost of green hydrogen likely to have a capacity of around 160,000 barrels per day. is around US$3.6-5.8/kg), the company’s chairman, Mukesh It will wheel the power from its wind power project in Ambani, aims to produce hydrogen at ‘under US$1/kg Rajasthan to its Mathura refinery to produce absolutely within a decade’. green hydrogen through electrolysis. It also plans to come #2 GAIL up with a stand-alone green hydrogen manufacturing unit State-owned GAIL (India) also has ambitious plans with in Kochi that will draw energy from the solar power facility respect to green hydrogen. The PSU plans to build India's of the Kochi International Airport. largest green hydrogen plant as it looks to supplement Kochi is the world’s first fully solar-powered airport with ‎its natural gas business with carbon-free fuel. At a recent a total capacity of 40 MW. The idea is to run hydrogen event, GAIL chairman and managing director, Manoj Jain,

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Green Hydrogen

Industry Feature

buses from Cochin airport to Thiruvananthapuram. Indian Oil has set a target of converting at least 10% of its hydrogen consumption at refineries to green hydrogen soon. As a first step towards this, 10% of the usage in the Mathura refinery will be converted to green sources by 2024.

oil dependency will increase this amount by 2-3 times. To cut down expenses and reduce this dependency, sustainable sources of energy like green hydrogen will become more of a necessity than a choice in the near future. The government's nudge is another area that is creating an opportunity for the sector.

#5 Larsen and Toubro (L&T)

It recently announced a draft policy mandating that green hydrogen account for 10% of the overall hydrogen needs of refiners by 2023-24. For the fertiliser sector, the requirement is around 15%. It also plans to increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.

Engineering major, L&T, also plans to foray into the green hydrogen space. The company has announced that it will set up a green hydrogen plant at its Hazira complex, which is slated to be completed this financial year. It also plans to put up a few more green hydrogen plants in its other manufacturing units. Apart from this, it is currently evaluating the possibility of manufacturing electrolysers. At the latest press conference, L&T’s Director and Senior Executive Vice President (Energy), Subramanian Sarma said that it was very much on the cards and that an announcement could come as soon as this financial year. In its latest annual report, L&T said it aims to be net-zero emissions by 2040. 90% of this would come from switching over to initiatives such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and biodiesel while the other 10% would be offset by creating carbon sinks. The company plans to spend between `10-50 bn on its green initiatives, spread over a number of years. What are the challenges ahead for the adoption of green hydrogen? While policy and power market regulations released by the government are expected to boost green hydrogen development in the country, the truth is that the industry has a number of challenges to overcome. You see, hydrogen research in the country, in general, is underfunded. In the NDA’s 2020-21 budget, only `250 m was allocated to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for hydrogen-related R&D. In comparison, 700 million euros (`61 bn) were offered by the German government to firms working on green hydrogen alone. To add to this, producing green hydrogen is an expensive undertaking with the biggest cost being the electrolyser. The membrane-electrode unit accounts for 60% to 70% of its cost while precious metals account for the rest. Manufacturing at a greater scale could reduce these costs but since demand is limited, production capacities are yet low. Hydrogen is also an expensive fuel to move. The gas needs to be cooled to -252°C before transportation. While it can be stored as ammonia, a more stable form, reconversion is expensive. Should you include green hydrogen stocks in your portfolio? Here are a few reasons why green hydrogen stocks offer a good opportunity to investors. India’s current energy import bill is over $160 bn (`12 tn) a year. The continued coal and

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While the above-mentioned reasons are compelling, one must view green hydrogen stocks with the same amount of caution as one would view other stocks. Sustained research must not be compromised despite the positive odds. Why green hydrogen is the future of energy With green hydrogen, India seems to be putting itself at the forefront of a significant economic paradigm shift for a change. India’s two richest industrialists, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, are investing tens of billions of dollars in green hydrogen. The government has announced a significant incentive programme for the green hydrogen industry to slash the cost of producing green hydrogen by 40-50%. And now, from different parts of the world, comes news of diverse applications of hydrogen to convert the gas from a lot of hot air, of the combustible kind, to boot, into a practical business proposition. In his Independence Day speech, Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi announced that green hydrogen would help India make a ‘quantum leap’ to energy independence by 2047, suggesting a clear intent for growth in the sector. Modi also expressed an intent to make India ‘a global hub for green hydrogen production and export.’ This is in the backdrop of other regulatory and policy changes that prioritise green hydrogen, such as its possible inclusion in the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) commitments faced by industrial users. Although the detail plans for the growth of the green hydrogen industry haven’t been laid out yet, Modi’s announcement signals a strong intent of the government to develop the sector. This will increase investor confidence in green hydrogen. It also reflects the importance that the government seems to assign to energy self-reliance. Implications on sustainability will also depend on how green hydrogen is adopted (or made to be adopted through government incentives/regulations) by industrial actors, and if existing infrastructures are able to utilise green hydrogen as a fuel source. RM ||www.renewablemirror.com||

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EVENT DIARY 24-25 Nov 2022

9-11 May 2022

https://windergy.in/

https://www.oshindia.com/mumbai/

United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi www.worldutilitiescongress.com

Organised by Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) and PDA Trade Fairs Pvt Ltd, the 3-day trade fair and conference will provide a vibrant platform to meet, interact and engage with policymakers, regulatory authorities, international and domestic technology, solutions and service providers from the wind power industry.

South Asia’s largest occupational safety & health event, OSH India Expo brings together internationally renowned exhibitors, consultants, business experts and key government officials on an industry platform. The show facilitates exchanges of global best practices and seeks solutions for challenges in upholding workplace safety and health. The show witness safety professionals from across India.

The increasing demand for energy services is paving the way for a new energy ecosystem. The power and utilities industry, particularly in the MENA region, will witness unprecedented multi-billion dollar investment opportunities over the next decade. In order to remain competitive within the energy landscape, 67% of business leaders believe that efficiency is key. An organizations ability to adopt and adapt towards new technologies is fundamental to its success.

27th – 29th April 2022

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

BOMBAY EXHIBITION CENTRE, GOREGAON(E)

17-18 June 2022

19 – 21 May 2022

10-11 June 2022 Hitex, Hyderabad www.renewx.in

Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai www.oshindia.com

LED Expo is India's only show covering the entire value chain of the LED industry. It has recognised the industry potential and has identified it as a futuristic technology which will take the lighting industry by storm. It has created a platform for its exhibitors and visitors to source and explore the latest in trend products and technologies from around the globe.

Informa Markets in India (formerly UBM India) is India's leading exhibition organizer, dedicated to help specialist markets and customer communities, domestically and around the world to trade, innovate and grow through exhibitions, digital content & services, and conferences & seminars. Every year, we hosts over 25 large scale exhibitions, 40 conferences, along with industry awards and trainings across the country; thereby enabling trade across multiple industry verticals.

28 - 30 Sept 2022

1st-3rd December 2022 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

7th–9th December, 2022 Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Bombay exhibition centre (BEC), Mumbai, India www.led-expo-mumbai.in

India Expo Centre, Greater Noida www.worldutilitiescongress.com

Renewable Energy India Expo celebrated 14 glorious years of Global entrepreneurship and unparalleled industry collaborations during September 2021. Renewable Energy India Expo popularly known as REI offers an all-inclusive platform to domestic and international manufacturers, traders, buyers and professionals from across the renewable energy domain. REI is recognized as Asia’s Leading b2b expo focusing on Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Bio-Energy, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicles and charging infra.

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https://www.ifsec.events/india/

https://www.thesmartere.in/en/intersolar-india

Over 40 years of experience and innovation, IFSEC Global has become the pre-eminent authority on the global security and fire industry. Its relationship and collaboration with leading industry associations, government bodies, research partners, training providers and education specialists allows UBM to create a series of events and an online community that caters for the entire security and fire buying chain.

Intersolar is the world’s leading exhibition & conference series for the solar industry. As part of this event series, Intersolar India in Gujarat is India’s most pioneering exhibition and conference for India’s solar industry. It takes place annually and has a focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production and solar thermal technologies. Since 2019, Intersolar India is held under the umbrella of The smarter E India – India’s innovation hub for the new energy world.

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