The Centre has set a target for achieving 175 GW

Solar Rooftop

THe CenTre HAs seT A TArgeT fOr ACHIevIng 175 gW

New capacity addition in the solar power segment has is 10.19 GW (including utility scale, rooftop and off grid systems) for the period JanuaryOctober 2021. Solar sector’s previous highest capacity addition in a calendar year was 9.6 GW in 2017. “2021 is going to witness the highest ever solar installations in India to date. Projects that got delayed because of the Covid situation are now getting commissioned and the next two quarters are going to witness huge capacity additions,” The current quarter will see a substantial surge in installations, with expected addition of about 3.5 GW of utility scale solar, 1.2 GW of wind capacity and 1 GW of hybrid capacity. JMK Research estimates that about 11 GW of utility scale solar capacity and about 3 GW rooftop are expected to be added in 2021. Wind power segment is likely to add 2.8 GW of new capacity, the highest number in recent years. If the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic does not strike between November and December 2021, then it is likely that the renewable sector will achieve this target, it added. The Centre has set a target for achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022. As of October 31, 2021, India had 103.04 GW of renewable capacity, of which solar accounted for 47.66 GW while wind power contributed 39.99 GW. Biopower and small hydro accounted for 10.58 GW and 4.82 GW respectively. But including the large hydro sector, the total installed capacity in the renewable sector is about 150 GW. Meanwhile, projects worth 63.64 GW capacity are under various stages of implementation and 32.06 GW capacity under various stages of bidding. Therefore, a total of 245.70 GW capacity has either been installed or under various stages of implementation/ bidding, says a government document. Also, letters of award were issued, to establish aggregate capacity of 5,000 MW of solar PV power plants using domestically produced solar PV cells and solar PV modules by IREDA under Tranche-III of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s CPSU Scheme Phase-II. Solar power in Asian nation may be an invasive trade. The entire alternative energy generation capability in Asian nation has reached eight.73 GW with associate addition of one.97 GW within the 1st seven month of this business enterprise FY 2017. Asian nation features a target to put in a hundred GW of solar power capability by 2022. Wider readying alongside technological

P oofto r olar s

development has resulted during a continuous fall in production and development prices of star technology. This is often expected to continue creating solar power a lot of economical. Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes that by as early as 2020 massive electrical phenomenon ground-mounted systems are going to be a lot of economical in Asian nation than plants hopped-up by foreign coal. Of the 8.73 GW of grid-connected put in star capability within the country, upside star is barely around five hundred MW. To accelerate the event of star upside comes that are otherwise slow, solar power Corporation of Asian nation (SECI) has assigned a mega tender of five hundred MW among many star developers early this month. SECI has additionally declared a theme for allocating 1,000 MW of upside star capability on varied government buildings. MNRE is providing grant of 25th for presidency buildings and giving stiff targets to government departments for upside adoption. Such initiatives area unit expected to extend the dimensions, lower the value and create it a lot of viable for personal sector to participate. High tariffs and rising energy costs area unit driving the industrial and Industrial shopper toward alternative energy. Government has declared many incentives to extend the adopt ability and development of upside star comes. Below are units the highest current incentives accessible. Capital Subsidies: Capital grant of half-hour is applicable to residential, institutional and social sector upside alternative energy plants for General class States/UTs and Upto seventieth of the benchmark price for Special class States i.e. North jap States together with geographical region, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Island. Tax Benefits: Direct and taxation advantages like excise, excise duty exemptions and custom duty exceptions are given. Project developers were exempted from taxation on all earnings from a project in its 1st ten years of operation and accelerated depreciation (AD) for solar power producers to assert four-hundredth of the prices within the 1st year itself.

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs): RECs area unit tradable certificates that give associate incentive to those that generate inexperienced power by providing money incentives for each unit of power they generate. The star PV upside is eligible for provision of renewable energy certificate (RECs) as such as beneath Central Electricity regulative Commission. Assured Power contract (PPA): The electricity generated from star PV upside may be entirely fed into the grid at regulated feed-in-tariffs (FiT). State utilities guarantee the acquisition of alternative energy through a PPA that offers a high worth adequate to that of the peaking power on demand for the alternative energy that is secondary power or negative load associated an intermittent energy supply on routine. Net Metering Incentives: The electricity generated might even be used for self-consumption with net metering approach. An internet metering mechanism permits for a two-way flow of electricity whereby the patron is beaked just for the ‘net’ electricity equipped by the DISCOM. Though the on top of mentioned incentives are ready to fuel the expansion, the stiff target of forty GW for grid connected roof-top star comes by 2022 still appearance terribly elusive. The foremost important barrier to the adoption of upside alternative energy in Asian nation is that the high direct prices of installation. Corporation’s debt levels have redoubled considerably over previous few years. Current company debt-equity level is double that in 2007-08. Ex-financial Corporation’s from BSE five hundred index universe according a come on equity of eleven.5% in FY16, down from twenty two.1% in FY08. Beneath such scenario enterprises area unit more and more reluctant to take a position a high quantity direct, particularly for a non-core endeavor. To add this issue, banks area unit reluctant to lend to upside star comes as a result of their area unit high perceived risks and restricted info on the track records of upside star investments. Even once banks lend to upside star comes, the speculative perception has light-emitting diode to high prices of borrowing (up to fourteen.5%) for upside star installations

negatively impacting the IRR of the project. Currently most of the upside capability in Asian nation is predicated on CAPEX model, wherever the user has endowed within the capital. Considering the money challenges, CAPEX model is no longer being most popular. Alternated business model is OPEX model wherever developer builds a solar power system on a customer’s property for no important direct charge. The generation from the solar power system offsets the customer’s electrical utility bill, and also the developer sells the ability generated to the client at a hard and fast rate. In such business model, third party funding to require care of the capital investment becomes essential. Third party investor’s area unit cautious as there's a perceived risk that the technology won’t perform needless to say. Upside alternative energy remains a comparatively new technology in Asian nation and, therefore, there's a perception that it's going to not perform needless to say over its lifespan. There are risks related to client and payment on time. The implementation problems with net-metering with DISCOM are adding to the challenges. Long waiting in installation of internet meter (upto a hundred days), passive opposition from DISCOMs and lack of coaching and method protocols at utilities area unit a number of the implementation challenges that more add up to the difficulty. The victorious implementation of internet metering policy is essential for star roof-top to grow in industrial and industrial section. The grid parity of star upside project in residential is to still take next 4-5 year. Policy interventions by MNRE like providing upside alternative energy the next Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) credit will incentivize the DISCOMs to satisfy a lot of of their RPO demand. This will ease the implementation challenges in internet metering. Industry players additionally recommend involvement of DISCOMs as a celebration to the ability contract between the developer and also the shopper to scale back the patron credit risk. Just in case a shopper defaults on bill payment, DISCOMs could terminate the consumer’s power provide from the grid, thereby making certain the payment for the alternative energy on time. Such steps can scale back the perceived investment risk related to the world, the value of capital and implementation challenges. This may boost the investor’s confidence and more improve the attractiveness of the world. There upon the target of forty GW by 2022 could look nearer. Why will the 2022 target for upper side star appear ambitious? The government has set itself a target of a hundred GW of alternative energy by 2022, of that sixty GW is to return from utilities and forty GW from upper side star installations. Whereas the sixty GW target appears doable, the country is insulating material behind on the target set for upper side star. What is upper side solar? Rooftop star installations — as hostile large-scale alternative energy generation plants — is put in on the roofs of buildings. As such, they fall into 2 brackets: business and residential. This merely must do with whether or not the star panels area unit being put in on high of business buildings or residential complexes. What area unit the benefits? Rooftop star provides corporations and residential areas the choice of another supply of electricity to it provided by the grid. whereas the most good thing about this can be to the atmosphere, since it reduces the dependence on fossil-fuel generated electricity, alternative energy can even augment the grid offer in places wherever it's erratic. Rooftop star conjointly has the good thing about having the ability to produce electricity to those areas that aren't however connected to the grid — remote locations and areas wherever the parcel makes it tough to line up power stations and lay power lines. What is the potential for upper side star in India? The Ministry of recent and Renewable Energy has pegged the market potential for upper side star at 124 GW. However, only 1,247 MW of capability had been put in as of December 31, 2016. That’s a touch over three-d of the target for 2022, and I Chronicles of the potential. Why is it not being adopted widely? One of the main issues with upper side star — and what affects solar power generation normally — is that the variability in offer. Not solely will the potency of the star panels vary on any given day counting on however bright the daylight is, however the star panels conjointly manufacture no electricity throughout the night. Arguably, night is once off-grid locations most want various sources of electricity. The solution to the current is storage. Storage technology for electricity, however, remains underdeveloped and storage solutions area unit dearly-won. So, whereas some corporations are able to afford storage solutions for the solar power they manufacture, most residential customers can realize the value of putting in each upper side star panels and storage facilities preventive. Residential areas conjointly go with the associated problems with use restrictions of the roof — if the roof is getting used for star generation, then it cannot be used for all the world else. Another major reason why upper side star isn't changing into common is that this electricity tariff structure renders it Associate in nursing unviable choice. Many states have adopted a web metering policy that permits disaggregated power producers to sell excess electricity to the grid. However, the supported tariffs charged to residential customers undermine the economic viability of putting in upper side star panels. The potential profit merely doesn't outweigh the prices.

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That said, imports of low cost star panels area unit unendingly putting a downward pressure on costs and then this situation might modification within the future. business applications of upper side star area unit already viable in most states. India are investing with tremendous potential to supply alternative energy. Given the rising energy wants, as a nation accountable towards global climate change considerations, India has set a target to realize a hundred GW power capabilities through grid-connected alternative energy, out of that forty GW is calculable to come back through upper side star installations by 2022. Upper side star offers sure blessings over giant star plants as no land and extra transmission capability is needed. Additionally, it saves transmission and distribution losses, that area unit to the tune of 30%. Much one unit energy generated by upper side star is comparable to 1.4 unit energy generated from giant alternative energy plant considering 30 % of transmission and distribution losses. If the land value and transmission capability expenditure are accounted for, this magnitude relation might more increase. Rooftop star comes in any country usually bear 3 phases. It begins with the proof of thought section that because the name suggests demonstrates the success of utilising such technology. This can be followed by the market transformation section, wherever the main target is on building capability within the market and raising awareness regarding the technology. And eventually, it heads to self-replication, within which enablers area unit reduced to a minimum and therefore the economic process with optimised technologies cause associate increasing variety of installations. India is presently undergoing a market transformation, unleashing all potentialities to harness the ability of alternative energy. With breakthrough interventions from the govt. star rooftops in India still evolve and has witnessed a major transformation to succeed in a section wherever states within the country have initiated variety of steps to market star rooftops, these embody net/gross metering rules, notification of star policy, ease out approval method by introducing on-line method, etc. With decreasing costs of electrical device, the upper side star has become even brighter; it's not solely cheaper than business and industrial power however additionally but residential tariff in many nations of the country. The common size of an upper side system has inflated and therefore the credit for this goes to higher use of upper side house and consumers’ temperament to use power generated from their own buildings instead of shopping for it from elsewhere. Increasing the adoption of quality technology can amplify the scope of rooftops within the country, thereby resulting in forceful reductions in implementation prices. Despite the opportunities, there are a many challenges. as an example, though there are unit web metering pointers in situ however due to lack of expertise and maturity several distribution licensees area unit still functioning on careful approval method for upper side star plants, as well as net-metering asking. Recognizing the challenges being Janus-faced within the upper side sector, the central government has currently ready single window clearance on-line portal with a feature to trace the approval method for various agencies like state nodal agencies, electricity distribution corporations, chief electrical inspector, urban native bodies, etc. For capability building of discoms, state nodal agencies, chief electrical inspectors, lenders, etc. special coaching programmes area unit being organized below technical help programs of three-way and bilateral agencies. On the finance facet, completely different mechanisms area unit being explored as well as the RESCO model, leasing a roof, demand aggregation, credit risk guarantee mechanism, etc. Going forward, strengthening the opportunities and overcoming challenges can bolster capitalist confidence and contour the trail to achieving the 2022 target of forty GW. Close to thirty three years when Asian nation came upon its initial wind energy demonstration project of 1.15 MW in 1986 at Tuticorin, it emerges that a giant supply of fresh energy has not been given the policy focus it deserves. The latest wind energy potential study dispensed by Chennaibased National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) estimates 302 gigawatt (GW) at a hundred metre on top of ground level (AGL). With solely thirty five GW put in to date, the country contains a sizable untapped potential. It’s not simply the low potential exploitation, however additionally its pan-India unfolds that's worrying—almost ninety per cent of this potential is targeted in mere 5 states. Given the high variability of wind energy, this has vital implications on the evacuation infrastructure required and grid integration measures adopted. In 2015, the Ministry of recent and Renewable Energy (MNRE) set a target for sixty GW of wind installations by 2022. Whereas the capability additions in 2016-17 were a large five.4 GW, the pace over-involved significantly in 2017-18, with just one.7 GW of comes commissioned, against a target of four.1 GW. Most of those installations (1.2 GW) came on-line solely when Dec a pair of017. Lately, the industry’s performance has been mixed. Between Gregorian calendar month and Sep 2018, a large five.2 GW of auctions were planned—these enclosed the 3 tranches of auctions LED by the alternative energy Corporation of Asian nation (SECI) Tranche-III of two GW, Tranche-IV of two GW and Tranche-V of 1.2 GW and 1.2 GW of NTPC auctions. However, a number of the auctions were reduced or off on account of issues regarding lack of evacuation capability.

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If the wind energy business is aiming to meet the target of sixty GW by 2022, it should auction twenty GW of capability among subsequent 2 years, considering the 2 to 3 years required to commission wind comes. The business infernal the abrupt introduction of reverse auctions and bidding—moves that it felt weren't totally thought through—in addition to the untimely withdrawal of support mechanisms. In distinction, the MNRE knew as the move a necessary “course correction” to develop a competitive market. However, over the last decade, wind has become the biggest contributor to renewable energy capability additions in Asian nation. It currently accounts for fifty per cent of all renewable energy capability and ten per cent of the overall put in power capability in Asian nation. The sector’s growth has come back on the rear of a favorable policy atmosphere, as well as a bunch of subsidies and incentives. At the top of 2017, Asian nation was within the fourth spot globally for additive put in capacity—behind USA, China and Germany—and fifth for annual capability installations. This growth, however, has been turbulent, with the govt. unpredictably introducing and retreating incentives. Within the past, the govt. has declared incentives that were afterwards reduced and once sweet-faced with a fast call the market, its reintroduced incentives. The latest abrupt modification in policy occurred in 2016 once the govt. introduced competitive auctions to see tariffs and award contracts; the modification stalled the marketplace for around a year because the business was unclear regarding bound provisions and protections within the auction mechanism. However, over the last year, the new regime did lead to a pointy fall in tariffs. Why top side remains the foremost untapped star supply Rooftop star supply doesn’t match the increase in renewable energy in India; whereas industrial and business shoppers account for seventieth of total put in capability residential shoppers stay an enormous untapped potential to present the boost Most developed economies started their star programmes by targeting social unit rooftops; as a result, they currently have a large share of installations within the residential top side section. China and India, on the opposite hand, have used large-scale star installations in a shot to quickly come through scale and at the same time cut down prices. Within the case of India, this specialize in giant utility-scale star appears to possess become associate degree accidental obstruction within the development of the top side section. India, though, will have associate degree bold set up for star top side or SRT, because it is called: a target of forty gigawatts (GW) capability by 2022. But so far, the action has fallen in need of the goal. in line with the Union Ministry of latest and Renewable Energy (MNRE), only 2,158 power unit (MW) of SRT systems had been put in within the country until Dec 2018. Gurugram-based star house Bridge to India reports 3, 400 MW of SRT systems till Gregorian calendar month 2018. The deficit in capability is combined by the very fact that an outsized proportion—70 per cent—of the put in top side systems is for business and industrial (C&I) customers; residential shoppers account for fewer than twenty per cent of the overall put in capability. Of the states with sizable SRT systems—Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, province, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi—the industrial section has the most important share all told except Delhi. Public sector undertakings (PSUs) are the most important top side driver in Delhi. There are unit clear economic concerns behind industrial and business consumers' preference for top side systems: star top side power is cheaper than grid-supplied electricity. These shoppers have the money resources to form the mandatory investments, that area unit sizable, to put in SRT systems. Moreover, they even have access to the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model (in that developers install the system on the consumers' premises and sign a long contract to sell them electricity), beneath that they are doing not ought to build any investments. The dominance of ‘large-scale’ top side installations by business industrial, institutional and government/PSU sections has meant that spotlight to the residential star top side segment has lagged behind. Distributed star top side systems, put in on individual residences, provide several blessings. they assist minimise transmission and distribution losses, because the generated power is consumed regionally. In giant cities, they will act as a back-up, commutation polluting diesel generator sets. star top side may be controlled for demand-side management (for example, time-of-day rating to match social unit demand with star generation). With falling star costs and steady increasing tariffs of distribution corporations (discoms), SRT systems area unit being seen as financially enticing. Achieving important capability addition in top side star would need shut engagement with varied tiny shoppers that could be a difficult task in itself. Cooperative effort would be required for raising shopper awareness concerning the advantages of SRT systems and PV technology and their installation. Processes for approving web metering applications and disbursing subsidies ought to be economical and painless to inspire shoppers to speculate during this new technology.

Loans ought to be created out there, which needs important capability building of retail bank branches. Rather than these abundant required policy initiatives and body interventions, the govt. has mostly relied on subsidies (70 per cent for hill and north-eastern states and thirty per cent for different states) to drive SRT installation. There are a couple of half-hearted efforts to interrupt this mould. One such effort was the star town Programme initiated in 2008 — however it's not been backed by any concrete steps. Similarly, the setting Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 requiring buildings with a region over five,000 square measure to possess a minimum of one per cent of their connected load through SRT, has not had abundant impact thanks to non-existent observation and social control. The total funding demand for putting in forty GW of SRT systems by two022 is calculable to be over Rs 2.8 large integer large integer ($40 billion). A thirty per cent capital grant support from the govt will cowl some of this value. However, most prospective customers either don't have the savings to hide the direct prices, or area unit merely unwilling to speculate, given the comparatively great deal. Also, most customers don't have access to bank finance. In recent years, the govt. has taken steps to boost the provision of loans for SRT comes. The depository financial institution of India has known star top side as a priority sector for disposition. Eight public sector banks have enclosed SRT systems beneath their housing or housing improvement loans. Multilateral banks area unit providing concessional loans against sovereign guarantee to public sector banks to support subsidized disposition to the section. Despite this, collective disposition from them till 2017 for star top side finance was solely to the tune of $1.4 billion, just 3.5 per cent of the overall needed funding. It is clear that SRT systems give multiple benefits—to households, to the grid and even to discoms. Promoting them, therefore, could be a fascinating policy goal. SRT systems offer reduced power bills for households; the gains might increase as tariffs area unit doubtless to stay increasing. They supply environmentally friendly, cheap back-up provider of power (compared to weight unit sets), an enormous advantage, given the persistent provide interruptions in most places. They will lead to lower transmission and distribution D losses and improved grid management, since the generation is the purpose of} the point of consumption. Solar rooftops, however, additionally face many challenges, as indicated within the preceding section: lacklustre growth, very little shopper awareness, lack of innovative government policies or attention, functionary hassles, and restricted support from discoms. Sustained and broad-based efforts area unit needed to market SRTs. The sector has been marked by the introduction of enormous incentives and fast withdrawals that has, alternately, boosted installations and noncontiguous the market. Growth began with the introduction of high feed-in tariffs (FiTs) that ensured semipermanent secure sale of power at engaging tariffs. At a similar time, accelerated depreciation (AD) and generationbased incentives (GBI) were used to attract investors. However these policies were sporadically withdrawn or reduced and, afterwards, reintroduced once installations over-involved. Historically, the expansion in wind energy capability has followed a pattern, with individual states dominating for a number of years before the main focus shifts to a different state. Within the initial section, before 2004-05, province was to blame for a majority of the capability addition—in March 2005, its share of the country’s total wind energy capability was around fifty six per cent. Subsequently, geographical area, Gujarat and Karnataka began creating sizable investments in wind energy. Rajasthan was subsequent state to point out rapid climb starting in 2009-10, followed by state wherever installations accumulated sharply post 2012-2013. Throughout 2014-16, Madhya Pradesh was the clear leader. The wind energy sector in Asian nation stands at crossroads nowadays. Though its tariffs square measure the same as that of star, there square measure questions on their property. Over the long term, its competitive position vis-à-vis star might worsen if prices of star drop quicker and because the best wind sites square measure concerned. Indeed, the country’s plans require a so much smaller capability of wind compared to star. Indian households simply aren’t inquisitive about top side star panels The hot sun over Indian homes isn’t doing a lot of for the country’s renewable energy targets. While industrial and industrial buildings area unit more and more adopting star panels, households account for less than 9/11 of the overall top side star capability, consistent with Bridge to Asian nation, a renewable energy practice firm. Overall, India’s top side star capability rose to concerning three.4 gigawatts (GW) in Sep, at a year-on-year rate of growth of seventy fifth, however most of it came from industrial and industrial buildings. “Growth within the residential market lags thanks to a mixture of reasons: high direct price, lack of funding choices from banks, and most significantly, lack of normal product and client awareness,” Bridge to Asian nation same during a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government aims to extend India’s total grid-connected top side star capability to forty GW by 2022. However at this rate, solely thirty eighth of the targets are going to be achieved, Bridge to Asian nation same. RM

PV Modules

THe OuTlOOk fOr Pv MODules In InDIA

The outlook for PV Modules in India Ratings agency ICRA expects India to add 16.1GW of renewable energy generation capacity in the next fiscal year. The analysts told pv magazine clean energy capacity additions in 2022-23 will be driven by solar, with 12.5GW coming from PV projects. Wind projects are expected to contribute 2.2GW and hybrid plants 1.4GW. ICRA analysts attribute the strong outlook for renewables to a pipeline of more than 55GW of announced projects, close to 40GW of which are solar plants with the balance made up from wind and solar-wind hybrid facilities. The competitive energy price tariffs offered by renewables are another reason for the expected boom in new capacity. The commitment to climate change goals announced by Narendra Modi at the recent COP26 summit has further strengthened the investment prospects for renewables, according to Gurgaonbased ICRA. Prime Minister Modi announced India’s pledge to increase non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500GW by 2030 at the climate change summit in Glasgow. The government also wants to increase renewable energy’s share in the power generation mix to half the total this decade. India’s annual solar installations are set to exceed 10 GW in 2020, following a year marked by political uncertainty, module price increases associated with safeguard duties, and a lower number of awarded tenders. The outlook for battery energy storage installations for solar projects is particularly bleak, however, as such combinations in India can cost three to five times more than standalone renewable projects. India’s total solar energy potential is estimated at around 750 GW. Against a near-term target of 100 GW by 2022, the country had installed a total of 31.69 GW of cumulative grid-connected solar capacity as of Oct. 31, 2019. While annual capacity additions have nearly doubled every year since 2014-15, the 2018-19 periods was an exception, with annual capacity additions plunging to 6.5 GW, versus 9.36 GW in 2017-18. Capacity additions hit 5.5 GW in 2016-17 and 3.02 GW in 2015-16, according to statistics that were recently published by Minister of Power Raj Kumar Singh. “PV installations are estimated to

ules D o m PV

have decreased in 2019 compared to 2018 due to political uncertainties, module price increases associated with safeguard duties, and a fewer number of awarded tenders,” said Dharmendra Kumar, senior analyst for IHS Markit. Issues like delays in payments by distribution companies in some states, delays in the adoption of tariffs by state electricity regulators, and the reopening of contracts by the Andhra Pradesh state government have also hurt investor sentiment. But following a period of turbulence, annual installations are set to pick up significantly in 2020 to march well past the 10 GW mark. Reasons for optimism The safeguard duty for solar cell and module imports, which has already come down to 20%, will further decline to 15% between Jan. 30, 2020, and July 29, 2020. The subsequent decline in module procurement costs will see installations pick up in the Indian market, which has been held back by the high cost of imports. Kumar expects 2020 installations to reach at least 10 GW or even higher for several reasons, including lower module prices. “Firstly, module prices are expected to be below $0.20/W by December 2019, inclusive of safeguard duties for shipment in Q1 and Q2 2020,” Kumar said. “Local suppliers are also offering modules on par with Chinese suppliers in terms of pricing. The expected decrease in module prices will boost installations throughout 2020 as solar becomes more price competitive.” Projects that didn’t come online in 2019 will also completed by the first quarter of 2020, he added. “In addition, 7 GW of projects that were awarded in 2019 will be installed in 2020, along with another 5 GW of tenders that are yet to be awarded,” he said. Module trends PERC monocrystalline modules are becoming popular in the Indian market, which has been dominated by lower-priced multicrystalline PV modules thus far. “As PV module prices continue to be a core consideration for determining project economics for PV developers and EPC contractors, multicrystalline PV modules still retain a significant share of the Indian market because of their lower prices,” Kumar said. “However, although the monocrystalline share is still lower than in other markets, we are witnessing a strong growth of PERC monocrystalline modules in the Indian market, in an alignment with the global demand trend towards higher-efficiency monocrystalline modules.”

IHS Markit expects significant installation growth for bifacial modules from 2020 throughout the world, but India will not be one of the core markets for this technology. However, while bifacial will not be a core part of the market, a recent deal between Indian developer Adani Green Energy and Chinese module manufacturer Longi Solar for the procurement of up to 1.2 GW of Hi MO4 bifacial modules by 2020 signals that India will catch up on this trend over time. PV and storage Energy storage systems for PV projects are still not cost-effective in India, and that’s holding back deployment. “Solar+storage projects are yet to pick up in India because of the relatively high capital cost of stationary energy storage systems and the price sensitivity of customers in India. Customers have been considering more cost-effective solutions such as hybrid combinations of lead-acid and lithium batteries but the prices are still not cost-effective for solar projects in India,” said Kumar. Bloomberg NEF India analyst Atin Jain told pv magazine that renewables with battery storage will cost three to five times more than standalone renewable projects in India in 2020. “Also, smaller storage systems (storage backup for 25% of generation capacity) generally offer better economics than larger ones (storage backup for 100% of generation capacity),” Jain said. Bloomberg NEF expects peak-hour supply bids in Solar Energy Corp. of India’s (SECI) 1.2 GW renewables+storage auction to be at least twice the offered off-peak hour supply rate. “This could test the appetite of SECI and distribution utilities to buy power from these projects,” said Jain. The SECI tender requires storage to back up at least half of the 1.2 GW of capacity offered in the auction. “We are closely monitoring the development of this tender, as this could be the most meaningful advancement of energy storage contracts in the country’s history,” said Jain. “We are still gauging what the interest from developers will be in this. Indian IPPs have zero to limited experience with energy storage projects, and terms of the tender may be seen as too aggressive by some to participate.” Jain believes the SECI renewables+storage tender is a first step towards deploying dispatchable renewables in India. In the future, more renewables+storage tenders will likely be floated, provided the distribution utilities and SECI are comfortable with the tariffs achieved in auctions. Renewable energy (RE) resources have enormous potential and can meet the present world energy demand by using the locally available RE resources. One of the most promising RE technologies is photovoltaic (PV) technology. This paper presents a review of the available literature covering the various types of up and coming PV modules based on generation of solar cell and their applications in terms of electrical as well thermal outputs. The review covers detailed description and thermal model of PV and hybrid photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) systems, using water and air as the working fluid. Numerical model analysis and qualitative evaluation of thermal and electrical output in terms of an overall thermal energy and exergy has been carried out. Based on the thorough review, it is clear that PVT modules are very promising devices and there exists a lot of scope to further improve their performances particularly if integrated to roof top. Appropriate recommendations are made which will aid PVT systems to improve their overall thermal and electrical efficiency and reducing their cost, making them more competitive in the present market. Energy is out and away the biggest trade within the world. It’s value regarding $7 trillion annually; whereas the world’s total value is regarding $55 trillion. Thus, the energy trade is value over 100 percent of the complete world’s economy. For the last a hundred years, this trade has been dominated by fossil fuels. Our electricity comes preponderantly from

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coal and fossil fuel, and our transportation fuel comes from hydrocarbon and diesel – all of them are remnants of fossil deposits. The historically exploited fossil fuels are but quick depleting. This means that over consecutive 50-75 years, an outsized a part of the energy economy is replaced by various fuels. One could visualize the dimensions of the transformation that's coming back – a metamorphosis that's doubtless to have an effect on over 100 percent of the complete international economy. This is often the dimensions of the chance that the choice energy trade guarantees. The choice energy revolution has started and is bit by bit discovering speed. Thus a vast transformation goes to require time to urge completed – many decades at the smallest amount – within the short and medium term, there'll be variety of enticing opportunities for entrepreneurs. What's bothering the domestic solar industry? Late last month, the government had ordered a safeguard duty probe on surging solar cell imports with a view to protect domestic manufacturers. But today, the All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA), the industry body of domestic solar manufacturers, has come out strongly against the imposition of any such blanket import duty, claiming that it will hurt manufacturers operating from SEZs). SEZ units are treated on par with foreign manufacturers and hence any safeguard duty will be detrimental to the domestic solar industry as a whole. Ironically, the probe was ordered after the domestic industry approached the Directorate General of Safeguards last month. A complaint had been filed by the Indian Solar Manufacturer's Association (ISMA) on behalf of five Indian producers-Mundra Solar PV, Indosolar, Jupiter Solar Power, Websol Energy Systems and Helios Photo Voltaicalleging that their market share has remained stagnant despite rapid expansion in demand for solar cells in the country. Under the World Trade Organization framework, a member country can impose a Safeguard Duty for a certain time-frame if the quantity of imports surpasses domestic production thus damaging the domestic industry. Imports of solar cells-primarily from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan-increased from 1,275 mw in 2017-18 to 9,331 mw in the last fiscal. On the other hand, domestic production stood at 246 mw in FY15 and is likely to increase to 1,164 mw in the current financial year. The market share of domestic players has steadily diminished in the same period-from 13% to an estimated 7%. In light of the above, ISMA had asked for safeguard duty on "solar cells whether or not assembled in modules or panels" immediately for four years. AISIA has countered that 60% of the country's currentlyinstalled solar capacity are in SEZs. Furthermore, SEZs account for about 45% of the 8,300 mw of solar module manufacturing facilities. "Hence, the indigenous manufactures situated in SEZ will come under the ambit of any blanket duty that will be imposed on solar cells and modules, which will make them uncompetitive," said Chaudhary. The association further said the specific anti-dumping duty on imports from China, which is flooding the domestic market

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with its cheap solar modules, is making domestic industry unviable. In FY17, estimated demand of solar modules was around 6000 mw, which is expected to go up to 10,000 mw this fiscal. "The purpose of duty should be to protect the domestic industry from dumping. Levying duty on domestic manufacturers can also lead to an increase in the cost of power that will discourage the domestic industry," he added. This, incidentally, is just the sort of protectionism that the US has long been accusing India of. In 2018, Washington complained to the WTO that India's solar program was discriminatory and that US solar exports to India had fallen by 90% since 2018. In 2018, the WTO had found India guilty of violating trade rules by requiring solar power developers to use Indian-made cells and modules. The panel also struck down incentive policies such as subsidies provided for domestic solar companies. But, last month, the US triggered a new round of litigation at the WTO, arguing that India had failed to abide by the above ruling. In a statement published by the WTO yesterday, India has countered it has changed its rules to conform to the ruling and that the US claim for punitive trade sanctions are groundless. The Indian statement added that Washington had skipped legal steps, failed to follow the correct WTO procedure, and omitted to mention any specific level of trade sanctions that it proposed to level on India, leaving India "severely prejudiced". In any case, such allegations do not bode well for the solar power sector. According to Quartz India, against the National Solar Mission's yearly target of 15,000 MW for 2017-2018, India commissioned just over 3,000 MW of solar power as of December 2018. That makes the government's target of 100 gw solar capacity by 2022 a bit of a joke, unless things change significantly on the ground. With strong sunshine beating down on rooftops across most of this tropical country, the future of solar power in India is bright indeed. Solar is booming in India, but the country’s solar panel industry could be facing a dimmer future At the end of this year, India will end its “domestic content requirement” for solar projects that are part of its National Solar Mission, a component of the country’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. A World Trade Organization ruling from last year is to blame. India will continue to expand on solar, but nearly all of those panels might soon be imported from other countries. This is a problem because a key part of India’s enthusiasm for solar was tied to the desire to develop a new high-tech industry. Instead, as India expands its solar capacity, it could end up reliant on China, which exports panels at bargain-basement prices, to meet its energy needs. Both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, championed solar as a way to connect the hundreds of millions of Indians who remain without electricity to the country’s rapidly expanding grid. In 2015, Modi announced his intention to add 100 gigawatts of solar by 2022, a goal that was initially seen as lofty but that has been helped along by plummeting solar prices. India hasn’t hit its annual targets each year, but has expanded solar rapidly enough that the 100 gigawatt goal remains within reach. The country is now pondering a new target of 175 gigawatts. (For reference, a single gigawatt is enough energy to power hundreds of thousands of North American homes — and many more in the developing world.). The Indian government’s embrace of solar has helped the country begin to decrease its reliance on coal. That, in turn, has helped international efforts to confront climate change maintain their momentum — even as the US has abandoned the Paris Agreement. The fact that relatively poor, populous and coal-reliant countries like India and China are increasingly turning to renewables despite the US’s refusal to cooperate are encouraging successes in the face of a major setback. As originally conceived by Singh’s and Modi’s governments, India’s solar effort would involve mandates that a percentage of the solar panels come from manufacturers based in India — these mandates were the “domestic content requirements”

(DCRs) that the WTO found to be overly protectionist. The plan, under the Solar Mission, was that India’s solar industry would grow to meet the demand created by the DCRs, and would eventually be able to make panels that could compete with the cheap and abundant ones manufactured in China, or the technologically advanced ones manufactured in the US. India’s growing solar industry would then create jobs for Indian workers, and a potential export for the country. But in announcing its intention to build a robust solar industry, India became a target for China and the US, the world’s two dominant producers of solar panels who had for years been lobbing complaints back and forth at one another through the WTO, each trying to slap down the other’s policies aimed at protecting their domestic solar manufacturers from international competition. In 2018, the US government, under pressure from its own domestic solar manufacturers and green tech investors, filed a complaint against India’s DCRs with the WTO. In 2018, the WTO ruled against India. At the time, India’s joint secretary of new and renewable energy told the trade publication PV Tech that the ruling would “not affect the future course of action” — India’s ambitious plans for ramping up solar generation would move ahead, with or without the DCRs. But when, in December, the DCRs disappear, the country’s domestic solar manufacturers will have to operate for the first time without government protection assuring a certain amount of demand for Indian-produced panels, and some are worried that this could spell the end of the Indian solar industry. A lot of local companies, local solar panel manufacturers are going to die out. The Indian Renewable Energy Ministry is still weighing other policies that could help protect the domestic solar industry but that would not be struck down by the WTO, but they haven’t yet arrived. These Chinese panels are so cheap that they make solar a more affordable option than coal; Indians accuse China of selling solar panels at artificially low prices — prices that are even lower than the cost of producing the panels — in order to maintain its near monopoly on India’s solar market, a practice called dumping. Ultimately, the end of India’s solar protectionism could prove another small step forward for China as it seeks to become a dominant player in providing solutions to climate change — and claims the profits and influence that come along with that dominance. China’s cornering of the solar market is both good and bad news as countries around the world work to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement. The good news is that China’s solar panels are cheap and abundant, and able to compete with coal in many developing countries. More than any other country, China has been able to turn the fight to avert global catastrophe into an economic opportunity. The bad news: Increasingly, China is enjoying a virtual monopoly on solar in developing countries, with the ability to control the price of panels, the supply of panels, the type of panels manufactured and the rate at which the technologies in those panels improve. India, an enormous market, could become the latest example. India’s PV module manufacturing sector needs serious attention 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

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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. Challenges Affecting Module Manufacturing There are several factors which contribute to the higher cost of Indian modules, including limited or no access to raw materials, lack of economies of scale, & inverted duty structure. According to a research report – ‘State-level Policy Analysis for PV Module Manufacturing in India’- prepared by a Bengaluru based Think Tank, Center for Study of Science, Tech. & Policy, stated, a module manufacturing facility is not very capital intensive; therefore, raising capital cost is not a big challenge to set up such a facility. Govt.s, both at central & state levels, provides incentives to subsidize the capital investment for module manufacturers. However, the research found that these capital subsidies are insufficient to make domestic manufacturing viable, as its impact is outsized by the other factors responsible for high prices. The research outlines three major challenges as under: Raw Material Cost: A sig. share (80-90%) of module manufacturing cost is attributed to raw material alone. Raw material for a module mainly comprises cell, glass, encapsulant, backsheet, interconnect ribbon, sealant, junction box, etc. Among these, cell has the biggest cost share of ~70% whereas the rest have a ~30% share. Also, the falling prices make inventories extremely costly. High Interest Rate: The other challenge for a module manufacturing industry is high interest rate on capital, comprising 12-15% of the total module manufacturing cost. The current interest rates in India are in the range of 12- 15%, which are way higher compared to other countries. This analysis observes that high interest rate on working capital increases manufacturing costs. Access to cheaper working capital loans would help reduce costs. Inventory Management & Capacity Utilization: As mentioned above, 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. Domestic Solar Manufacturing Scenario Manufacture of solar panels start with polysilicon, which is made from silicon. Polysilicon is made into ingots, which are cut into wafers. Cells are made with wafers & a string of cells is a module. Today, only modules & cells are made in India, with imported material. When it comes to figures, currently, almost 90% of panels & modules in Indian projects are imported, mostly from China, Malaysia & Taiwan, as they are sig.ly cheaper than the ones made locally. According to the MNRE, the country has installed capacity for producing 3.1 GW of cells & 8.8 GW of modules (cells are used to make modules). Modules account for nearly 60% of a solar power project’s total cost. India’s solar power generation capacity has already more than tripled in three years to over 20 GW. Of India’s ambitious target of putting in place 175GW of clean energy capacity by 2022, 100GW is to come from solar projects. Local manufacturing capacity is anyway nowhere near enough to meet the target of 100 GW by 2022, which has been set by the central govt.. At present, the only incentives available for manufacturing these is the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme, which is available to all electronic goods manufacturers & implemented by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Tech., but there have been few takers for the scheme. MNRE has eventually understood the hard core fact that the cell/module manufacturing capacity in the country is obsolete. This is why, MNRE plans to revolutionize this sector by introducing slew of measures to support solar manufacturing in India. In Dec, MNRE introduced a concept note’ to build up manufacturing capacity of solar PV modules, cells, wafers/ ingots & polysilicon in India. The Ministry speaks of a direct financial support of Rs 11,000 Cr. & a ‘tech. upgradation fund’, for solar manufacturing. However, concept note highlighted even this capacity is not being fully exploited because of obsolete tech. Only 1.5 GW of cell manufacture & 3 GW of module manufacture are used. Govt. has also come up with one good thing in the recent budget where it proposed that duty on solar tempered glass/ solar tempered anti-reflective coated glass for manufacture of solar cells, panels, modules be reduced from 5 per cent to zero. RM