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India’s bold plans for ramping up star generation would move ahead
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Government of India embrace of star has helped the country begin to decrease its reliance on coal. That, in turn, has helped international efforts to confront temperature change maintain their momentum; while the North American country has abandoned the Paris Agreement. The actual fact that comparatively poor, inhabited & coal-reliant countries like India & China square measure more and more turning to renewables despite the US’s refusal to work square measure encouraging successes within the face of a significant reversal. As originally planned by Singh’s & Modi’s governments, India’s star effort would involve mandates that a share of the star panels come back from makers primarily based in India; these mandates were the “domestic content requirements” (DCRs) that the global organization found to be excessively proponent. The plan, below the star Mission, was that India’s star business would grow to satisfy the demand created by the DCRs, & would eventually be ready to create panels that would contend with a budget one factory-made in China, or the technologically advanced ones factory-made within the North American country. India’s growing star business would then produce jobs for Indian staff, export for the country. however in saying its intention to create a strong star business, India became a target for China & the North American country, the world’s 2 dominant producers of star panels WHO had for years been lobbing complaints back & forth at each other through the global organization, every attempting to slap down the other’s policies geared toward protective their domestic star makers from international competition. In 2019, the North American country govt., stressed from its own domestic star maker’s school investors, filed a grievance against India’s DCRs with the global organization. In 2019, the global organization dominated against India. At the time, India’s joint secretary of latest & RE told the trade publication PV school that the ruling would “not have an effect on the long run course of action”; India’s bold plans for ramping up star generation would move ahead, with or while not the DCRs. But when, in Gregorian calendar month, the DCRs disappear, the country’s domestic star makers can get to operate for the primary time while not govt. protection reassuring a definite quantity of demand for Indianproduced panels, & some square measure troubled that this might spell
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the tip of the Indian star business. a great deal of native CoS, native solar battery makers square measure aiming to die out. MNRE continues to be consideration alternative policies that would facilitate defend the domestic star business however that will not be smitten down by the global organization, however they haven’t nonetheless arrived. These Chinese panels square measure therefore low cost that they create star a cheaper possibility than coal; Indians accuse China of marketing star panels at unnaturally low costs; prices that square measure even less than the price of manufacturing the panels; so as to keep up its close to monopoly on India’s star market, a follow referred to as selling. Ultimately, the tip of India’s star economic policy might prove another little success for China because it seeks to become a dominant player in providing solutions to climate change; & claims the profits & influence that come back in conjunction with that dominance. China’s cornering of the star market is each sensible news as countries round the world work to satisfy their commitments below the Paris Agreement. The nice news is that China’s star panel’s square measure low cost contends with coal in several developing countries. Quite the other country, China has been ready to flip the fight to avert world catastrophe into an economic chance. More and more, China is enjoying a virtual monopoly on star in developing countries, with the power to manage the value of panels, the provision of panels, the kind of panels factory-made at that the technologies in those panels improve. India, a massive market, might become the newest e.g.. How progressive it is going to be for solar in 2019 Indian solar industry witnessed huge capacity additions & expansions globally. Not only China which led the growth in solar with 52 GW, but US, India, Japan & Germany showed incredible growth trajectory. New solar markets like South Korea, Chile & Turkey came forward & became GW markets in 2019. Growing awareness & interest in solar within developing countries as well as dominant countries are est. to show even a better result in 2019. In 2019, China is est. to continue to lead the growth; however, US’s present stance (dubious because of US president Mr. Donald Trump) may reduce America’s growth milestones in the New Year. Developing countries investing (more than developing countries-$131bn in 2018) in RE will surely aid RE (mainly solar) to account for more than 30% of total global energy generation by 2022. Although, coal will still be the primary energy source in 2018, RE continuously growing is a strong sign that illustrates future energy scenario. India has already claimed the mantle of third top solar market by overtaking Japan & the country is poised to overtake solar growth in EU by 2022. To reach that milestone, India is focusing on solar parks (more than 50 solar parks are going to be developed), which will add to Indian solar capacity immensely. Policies & initiatives have made India an attractive business platform for the future (India reached 100th place in the list of Business ready countries). With focus on green energy & solar market, business in solar will increase in the country, leading to solar growth. GoI has also announced plans to beef up solar capacity through introducing 20 GW solar capacity projects. Even the tender process is also planned involving 3-6 GW capacity project introduction in Jan-March. New plans from MNRE to award 77 GW solar contract in the year 2018 a rest to give Indian solar industry an incredible boost. Indian solar industry desperately needs focus on project introduction & reducing the time lag between auctioning & awarding the projects. In such a scenario, GoI focusing on projects will bring positive impact for the industry. Not just utility scale solar development, Indian solar industry is est. to witness improvement in the rooftop solar sector as well. New investment coming in & Govt. seeking to boost residential rooftop solar growth in 2019, will raise awareness in favor of solar. Estimations of anti-dumping duty imposition on imported solar modules (results are due in 2018) will certainly offer domestic manufacturers in India a level playing field & allow India to control its own solar energy future, thus show incredible growth trajectory in 2019. With the US hesitant to go all in solar (due to US president Mr. Donald Trump’s convictions), India can make a decisive move to claim a larger portion of the solar export market in 2019. With anti-dumping duty imposition in effect (hopefully in 2019) & US slowing down, It is truly a great opportunity for India to focus on domestic manufacturing capacity enhancement, which will establish India as a leader in solar export market again (in FY13-14 solar export stood at $282.58 mn & in FY16-17- $69.10 mn).As the data & initiatives point, 2018 is going to be a great year for solar. However, there are still challenges to be tackled to unleash & utilize Indian solar potential. Improving the policy landscape & adding new bits to favour domestic solar capacity enhancement, clearing out confusion regarding DCR projects, clarifying GST, stopping PPA re-negotiation, mandating RPO fulfillment & stabilizing solar
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tariff will surely help India to harvest on the opportunities that 2018 is here with. Global solar growth clearly explains the future of energy. Moreover, it is the right moment for India to make bold decisions to adopt solar, securing the future of the country. Indian solar cells & modules manufacture 'obsolete', says MNRE At a time when the GoI is trying to decide on whether or not the Indian solar cells & modules manufacturers deserve protection by way of anti-dumping duty, the MNRE 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 Cr & a ‘technology upgradation fund’, for solar manufacture. The Ministry notes that the country has installed capacity for producing 3.1 GW of cells & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 upgradation projects. 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 & modules. The scheme was adjudged violative of global trade rules by the World Trade Organization. Today, 1,436 MW of solar projects have been commissioned under the DCR & another 1,000 MW are under construction, but there won’t be any more. However, the govt. proposes to get central govt.-owned CoS 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 & a string of cells is a module. Today, only modules & 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 & implemented by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, but there have been few takers for the scheme. However, a few CoS have expressed desire to set up manufacturing facilities in India—notably, Trina Solar & Longi, both of China. “If these incentives are seriously implemented & there is clear market visibility of the next five years, then more manufacturers may decide to establish manufacturing units in India,” says Mercom, a RE consultancy. India Transforms Market for Rooftop Solar India has a massive need for energy. Its per capita consumption of electricity is less than one third the world average. To meet its target of generating 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, India has installed solar parks on large tracts of unused land across the country. Now, thanks to a new partnership between the World Bank & the State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank, the market for rooftop solar has also begun to take off. Sometimes change comes so quickly it takes time to get to grips with it. One such change is now beginning to take hold in India. Endowed with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, India is making strides towards becoming a global solar superpower. Since 2009, when the country first launched the National Solar Mission, it has installed solar parks on large tracts of unused land across the country. But solar parks need land & land is scarce in a densely-populated country. Rooftops, on the other hand, hold huge potential. Today, thanks to a new partnership between the World Bank & the SBI, India’s largest bank, the market for rooftop solar has also begun to take off. Tapping the rooftop solar market will be essential for India to meet its massive energy needs. The country has a lot of catching up to do - its per capita consumption of electricity is less than one third the world averages. To meet these energy needs, India has set itself the ambitious target of generating 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, forty percent of which is to come from rooftop solar. Getting the Financing Until now, however, it was difficult to breakthrough into the rooftop solar market. Although the business case was strong & the costs of solar panels were falling dramatically, financing was difficult to come by. In solar plants, the largest capital investment goes toward the installation of solar panels & must be made upfront. At today’s prices, this amounts to an investment of about Rs. 5 Cr (approx. $ 760,000) to produce one megawatt of power. But banks had no models for such new forms of lending. And even where financing was available, the costs were just too high. Things have now begun to turn around very quickly. Since Jun’17, when the World Bank announced a $625 mn loan to SBI to provide discounted finance for rooftop solar installations on factories & institutions, market response has been overwhelming. In the past six months alone, SBI has approved 575 MW of rooftop solar installations, giving a huge boost to India’s nascent solar rooftop program.SBI has developed financing models that will provide loans at a very competitive pricing with long tenor. Several capacity building measures & awareness programs are also being undertaken to sensitize operating functionaries. One of SBI’s first borrowers was Amplus Energy Solutions, a private RE developer & an early mover in the field. World Bank-SBI financing has enabled us to borrow at 8.25 percent – down from 12 percent before. This has helped us lower the cost of solar energy we provide our customers. Today, Amplus has around 250 MW of solar plants – either installed or under construction - serving more than 70 customers across 20 states of India. One of Amplus’s first customers was the India Yamaha Motor plant in the Noida industrial belt, across the river from Delhi. The motorcycle
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manufacturer first began installing solar panels on its Noida rooftops in 2016 to comply with the company’s global energy policy. Today, Yamaha’s Noida facility is one of the largest manufacturing plants in India with a ‘captive’ solar rooftop facility of more than 20,000 solar panels which generate 6.3 MW of power. The change is now beginning to catch on. While large multinational CoShave begun to blaze the trail, others are lining up to follow. Until now, it’s been a hard sell, because changing mindsets takes time. But now I think the market is ready to take off. There may be blips in between, but I expect that in 3-5 years’ time the cost of rooftop solar power will fall to Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 per unit. After all, this is the first time in history that every person can generate her own clean renewable electricity – be it the smallest tea shop or the largest factory or institution. With strong sunshine beating down on rooftops across most of this tropical country, the future of solar power in India is bright indeed. Rooftop solar market on fire The country added more rooftop solar power capacity in the last financial year than in the previous four years combined, making it the fastest-growing segment in the country’s clean energy space. During the financial year 2017, some 715 MW of systems were added, up from 227 MW in the previous year, taking the country’s total installed capacity to 1.3 GW (GW, 1 GW = 1,000 MW) according to a report by BNEF. By 2022, the report estimates that the country will have around 9.5 GW of rooftop solar capacity- but that is still substantially short of the Narendra Modi govt.’s target of 40 GW. This has happened largely because rooftop solar power is now cheaper than commercial & industrial power in all major Indian states, according to BNEF. Besides, costs have halved over the last five years. Overall, because of increased competition & low solar panel prices, setting up rooftop systems have become cheaper than the global average by between 39%&50% in India. If a mall is purchasing power from (a) grid at Rs8-9 (per unit), going by (the) rooftop model, the power cost will be half of that. So it is a viable proposition. Govt. incentives & policies to push rooftop solar installations have also contributed to the growth over the last year. For instance, the govt. has held auctions to have CoS set up over 1 GW of rooftop projects in the first nine months of 2017.Meanwhile, the size of installations is getting bigger as well. The average size of a rooftop system has increased from 250 kilowatts (kW) in 2015 to 855 kW in 2018, according to BNEF. This is due to better utilisation of rooftop space & consumers’ willingness to use power generated from their own buildings rather than purchase the power from elsewhere, the report said. Lagging behind So far, only 3% of the govt.’s 40 GW target has been achieved & more than half the market is concentrated in just six states, BNEF pointed out in its report. Among the reasons for this is a lack of clarity on the “net metering” programme, which allows users to sell surplus power generated from their rooftop systems back to the electricity utility. Today, most of the growth in the rooftop segment is driven by commercial & industrial users. The economics work for them even without net metering, given the fall in costs of installation & reduction in energy prices. On the other hand, the residential segment hasn’t taken off. “The high upfront capital expenditure compared to commercial & industrial (C&I) consumers, a lack of financing options & cheaper grid electricity for residential consumers with low consumption currently make rooftop PV (photo voltaic) less attractive for residential consumers than their C&I counterparts,” BNEF said. Net metering is important for residential consumers as their panels create a lot of surplus power during the day when the households themselves draw less power. While net metering is mandatory in many states, it is unregulated in states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu & West Bengal, where they only have legally non-binding guidelines. Though the govt. has come out with net metering policy at lots of states, at the same time, practically, there are challenges in implementing. India’s power distribution CoS, or discoms, aren’t keen on promoting rooftop solar power as that would hurt their finances. Most Indian discoms are owned by the govt. & suffered cumulative losses of $67 bn at the end of financial year 2015, as per BNEF. There are technological challenges, too. Not many discoms have the systems to allow feeding the power grid with electricity generated on rooftops. During the day, there’ll be sudden spikes of generation; in the evenings, there’ll be a reverse flow. So till (power) storage comes in a much larger way, utilities might find it difficult to manage this. Solar Manufacturing Scenario India’s energy imports have risen sharply from USD 43 bn. in 2005-06 to USD 167 bn. in 2013-14. In comparison India’s trade deficit in 2013-14 was USD 139 bn. Solar power is a
strategic need for the country as solar power 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 USD 42 bn. of solar equipment by 2030 corresponding to 100 GW of installed capacity. Solar manufacturing can also create direct employment of more than 50,000 in the next 5 years assuming local manufacturing captures 50% domestic market share & 10% global market share. Another at least 125,000 indirect jobs will be created in the supply chain India may not be able to utilize its large solar energy resources, if imports of solar panels get impacted due to. Major exporters using their production for their domestic use. Sudden jump in prices in the future due to supply shortages. Dispute with major suppliers (as evidenced in case of China’s rare earth supply to Japan or supply of gas by Russia to European nations) Economies of scale results in lower cost & brand building. Skilled manpower gets developed with passage of time. Overall strategy for innovation & exports are developed at an early stage. Appreciation of industry & competitive dynamics. Large domestic market helps in expanding capacity. Capabilities are built to compete effectively in competitive global markets. Strong ancillary industry is created. Clusters for knowledge & infrastructure sharing are developed. Research institutions develop industry linkages & support innovation. Globally, there are examples of countries providing strategic support to solar energy also supporting solar manufacturing. China has developed ‘solar champions’ in a systematic manner through massive subsidies, low interest loans, grants & easy access to land & utilities. Globally, manufacturing bases are being planned as integrated solar industrial clusters with strong Govt. support. India’s Manufacturing Policy recognizes solar manufacturing as an industry with ‘strategic importance’. However, the policy is yet to have the intended effect:.40% of the Indian solar cell manufacturers have shut down with industry utilization at only 21%. The industry has suffered due to sudden & sharp price declines due to global over-supply & lack of a level playing field Indian manufacturing costs are higher due to three major reasons:. Lack of scale -Indian factory sizes are only one-fifth the size of a typical Asian factory. Insufficient govt. support -Other countries have provided massive loans, tax holidays, subsidized utility services, easy access to land & technology support. Underdeveloped supply chain –Indian manufacturers have no access to domestic upstream raw material supplies of polysilicon & wafers The Indian govt. would be a net beneficiary by encouraging solar manufacturing as jobs would be created & taxes will increase. The Potential Impact by 2024 on NPV basis will be:. Potential loss due to higher prices = USD 851mn. Direct taxes on manufacturing: Domestic capacity of about 10GW by 2024 = USD 870mn. Direct taxes on Salaries: Employment generation of about 75,000 by 2024 = USD 90mn. Impact on taxes owing to GDP increase & factoring tax/ GDP ratio = USD 980 mn The Indian govt. would be a net beneficiary by encouraging solar manufacturing as jobs would be created & taxes will increase. Top Ten Solar Panel Brands in India With rising costs of electricity, reduction in prices of Solar PV Panels & lots of govt. policy support, buying a Solar PV system has become very lucrative in many parts of India. The interest in buying Solar PV is increasing; however, there is still some lack of awareness about technology, brands & prices amongst the consumers in the country. Below is the list of top ten solar panel brands available in India. Please note that there are both Indian as well as International brands of Solar Panels available in India. If you are looking for subsidy on your Solar project then you have to go for a brand that is Made in India. Some international brands are selling really high-quality Solar Panels in India, but if you consider some of the top brands in India, then they are quite comparable in quality to the international brands. The list does not include any subjectivity (our personal preferences) but is purely based on data. The data that is from MNRE website which lists the Installed capacity (or in other terms the size of solar panels installed in the country) of various manufacturers. The assumption here is that a brand that has done more work has a better experience & makes better quality panels. Some of our Indian manufacturers also list in top global manufacturers. The list of top global manufacturers is available via Bloomberg. Vikram solar & Waaree that are on top of Indian list will also figure in the top global list (as per Wikipedia data). However, it is only the beginning for Solar PV sector in India & in coming years, we will surely see some more shuffles. RM
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Coo - Solar ModuleS & ProduCtS JAkSon gRouP
Jakson Group offers solar products, namely solar Modules, solar Power Packs (on-Grid/off-Grid/ hybrid systems), structure, and solar inverters supplied through Channel Partners & key Customers. We offer turnkey solutions for solar rooftop Projects/ land based Projects from 50kW to 200+MW capacity. in services, we also have a portfolio of over 700 MW for o&M.
Q. Please tell us about Jakson Group’s footprint in solar industry.
Jakson Group started their solar Journey in 2011-12 with 20 MW IPP Project at BAP Rajasthan, followed by Solar EPC in 2012 & solar manufacturing in 2016. In the last 1 decade, with over 1 GW of EPC Execution, 200 MW of IPP, Reliable Solar Products backed up by O&M capabilities, Jakson Group is among India's top 10 solar companies. Q. What are the products and services you offer for the renewable industry? Is there any plan to launch any new product?
Jakson Group offers solar products, namely Solar Modules, Solar Power Packs (On-Grid/Off-Grid/Hybrid systems), Structure, and Solar Inverters supplied through Channel Partners & Key Customers. We offer turnkey solutions for Solar Rooftop Projects/Land based Projects from 50KW to 200+MW capacity. In services, we also have a portfolio of over 700 MW for O&M. Recently we have launched our New Gen – HELIA series of Solar Modules, which offer best in class efficiency of over 21.5% with the highest rating up to 600 Wp. Our continuous focus is on sustainable & Clean Energy solutions for low Carbon Emissions. We will very shortly introduce The Smart BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) with Lithium Ion Batteries & Smart Controllers. Q. What are the current opportunities and challenges for the Solar PV & inverter manufacturers in Indian market?
India is the third-largest country in solar installation, recently achieved 100 GW milestone on renewable energy generation capacity. With the aim of 450 GW of Renewable by 2030, we believe that there will be huge opportunities and increasing demand for Solar Equipment. Though Module Manufacturing has been ramped up/under expansion by different manufacturers across the country, shortage of Upstream Capacities (Polysilicon-Wafers-Cells) & Inverter Manufacturing continues to have our dependence on Imports. Q. Battery storage has become of much greater interest in recent years? Why is that, what are the benefits of energy storage technology?
Following factors are increasing in demand & potential for storage solutions: - Renewable Power Generation is variable (based on sun/wind) & at most times, either generation would be more than demand (day time) or less than demand (evening hours). Battery Storage Solutions address this variation. - Constant PLF for large thermal power plants helps get the best efficiency from these plants; peak loads are addressed through Battery Storage. - The customer gets power backup in case of Power Failure/Load shedding through storage solutions. - Cost of Lithium Batteries has reduced over past few years & expected to go down further with an increase in demand. This will result in the cost of power from storage near to Grid Power Cost & even lower during peak tariff period. Q. How do you distinguish yourself from others as far as your offered power solutions are concerned?
We offer Renewable Power Solutions for customers as under: Residential Customers – from 2 KW to 20 KW by providing Solar Kits designed as per rating with all protections (Available in ON Grid/Off-Grid/ Hybrid System as per Customer requirements) through a network of Channel Partners. C&I – from 10 KW to MW Capacity with customized Design/site analysis/ Generation Reports with in-house Design Team through Channel Partners as well as directly from Jakson as per Customer Requirements & Preferences. Land Based Projects – From 5 MW to 200 MW capacities with in-house design and execution. Jakson offers a one-stop solution for all its customers. Unique Products & Solutions – Solar Generator (2KW) for remote applications & recently introduced BESS (commencing from 5 KW and can be scaled over a 1000KW & more) which can operate in synchronization with Grid/ Solar/DG/Battery ensuring 24X7 power for our customers. With 75 Years of trust & excellence Jakson Group has created a niche for itself with over 50000 satisfied customers. We stand committed to our Core Purpose & Values. Q. How you provide flexible maintenance services and the price structures for the customers?
We organize knowledge sharing sessions on the Do’s & Don’t for the products & systems supplied by Jakson. For a hassle-free experience, we provide O&M /service support to our customers through our nearest partners/trained teams and by training Customers at the site. We are not just competitive & affordable, but our strength lies in providing seamless operations to our customers. Q. What are some of the leading projects executed by Jakson’s Solar vertical in India?
Over last 1 decade Jakson has executed many special projects, some of them are as under: a. Rooftop solution for 1st solar powered Railway Coaches b. 100 MW of Solar EPC for NLC at Tamil Nadu c. 500 KW at Rashtrapati Bhawan & other Offices of Central Ministry in Delhi d. Projects at Airports/Highways/Refineries/Metro Stations and canals e. Recently we completed our largest International Solar EPC Project -50 MW at Togo (West Africa) Q. What are the future plans of Jakson? What will be the outlook of Indian Renewable industry in coming quarters?
Our Revenue share has been increasing from the Renewable business steadily over the last few years & we plan to invest more in renewable energy & energy storage solutions. We are currently expanding our Solar Module Manufacturing Line (fully Automated process) & Module Mounting Structure Plant in Greater Noida to 600 MW, further to be scaled up to 1GW. We have also set up a manufacturing plant for our Battery Energy Storage systems, have forayed into hybrid energy solutions and set up an R&D center focusing on new energies. We are fully committed to contribute in a big way to India’s mission of Renewable Energy 2030. Q. Are you participating in the Renewable Energy Expo? If yes, what are your expectations from the expo?
Yes, we are very happy to be part of this event, which is being held after 2 years & expect to meet our customers and other industry leaders. Through exhibitions like REI we stand to gain new learnings, especially new technologies & an opportunity to share Jakson Groups expertise and vision. RM
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GrouP direCtor, enerGy Portfolio InfoRmA mARkEtS, IndIA
Q. What are the highlights of REI 2021 when it is back in its’ physical avataar this year ? The most promising highlight of this edition is our “Return to where we belong to” i.e. Physical Version after witnessing the most challenging year humanity has ever faced so far. This has been a phenomenal whirlwind of a year throwing off plans of all stakeholders and causing unimaginable disruption by further weakening the supply chains’ ecosystem. REI 2021 being held on 15 – 17 September at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida is destined to showcase India Inc.’s ambitious vision, relentless persistence, deep urge to contribute to set the economy back on track and a great intent aiming to boost India’s RE portfolio to stratospheric levels in years to come. This is in addition to 125 + exhibitors on the floor, galaxy of highly acclaimed industry stalwarts speakers and VIPs and large gathering of business visitors…this being consistent hallmark of REI over the years anyway ! Q. Which other sectors will get a limelight in this year’s show? For sure Solar and Bio energy will continue to be the show stoppers. However, very soon Electric Vehicle ( EV ) sector will also embark upon its’ presence @ REI besides wind regaining its’ focus. It’d be pleasure to witness a healthy intra-sector competition with each domain trying to grab a share for itself whilst India stands geared up for next leap of 450 GW by the Yr 2030. Q. What precautions have been planned for organising the event amidst Covid-19 scenario? Very pleased to confirm that being an Exhibition and Conferences organizer of global repute, we have already formalized our in-house H&S document called “Informa AllSecure”. This is far more stringent in compliance than the H&S guidelines issued by Federal Govt of India and provides multiple additional rings of safety to all the participants alike. To begin with, REI 2021 will observe QR Code based Contactless Registration, ensuring there are no long serpentine-like queues as in past and no crowding. Besides we have also adopted staggered registrations in order to check visitors density inside each hall strictly in line with Govt guidelines. We are permitting by all means prefabricated booth structures only for raw scheme stalls. Each exhibitor will be provided Disinfectant kit in addition to Thermal scanning, Sanitiser installations at multiple check points, App based food ordering systems, thereby, encouraging digital payments practice, keeping provision of isolation room for those who report unwell at the time of entry etc to name a few. All attendees and Exhibitors are any which way advised to maintain social distancing within the booth & switch to other contactless mode of greetings. Meeting tables to have sneeze guards and Informa COVID Ambassadors will be present on the floor to ensure compliance in totality. Q. What will be your renewable energy industry outlook for the year 2022? My outlook for the Yr 2022 is extremely optimistic as India is fairly galloping towards its’ ambitious goals of 450 GW by 2030. We have recently celebrated our Century of Pride on the achievement of 100 GW of installed Renewable Energy capacity ranking India # 4th largest installed RE capacity worldwide. This is in addition to another 50 GW under implementation and yet another 27 GW under tendering. I take this opportunity to Congratulate people of India on this amazing achievement that once again reposes our faith in Federal policies, its’ larger-than-life vision and above all gaining the feeling of Self-Belief. There’s pent-up demand that’s going to take India’s RE sector forward as there’s 17 times increase in installed Solar capacity in last 7 years even Open Access solar installations stand increased by 56% in Yr 2020 despite challenges. The booster dose of “Self-Reliant Bharat” is destined to give push to indigenous enterprises by working tirelessly on the demand side of the sector. The robust pipeline of tenders is good enough to determine the intentions set forth by the Centre and demonstrates a silver lining at the end of dark COVID 19 - induced tunnel. The Indian electricity sector is on the cusp of a solar-powered revolution. Solar power is set for explosive growth in India, matching coal’s share in the Indian power generation mix within two decades or even sooner. This dramatic turnaround is driven by India’s policy ambitions, notably the ambitious target to reach 450 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, and the extraordinary cost-competitiveness of solar, which’d out-compete existing coal-fired power by 2030 even when paired with battery storage. So is the focus on Off-Shore wind sector and Compressed Bio Gas ( CBG ) that are bound to carve out a newer identity for India’s RE sector in times to come. RM
