EQ Int'l Magazine April 2016 Edition

Volume # 8 | Issue # 4 | April 2016 |

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TRENDS & ANALYSIS

SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net ARPITA GUPTA arpita.gupta@EQmag.net

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CONTEN T

VOLUME 8 Issue # 4

26

PFS Sanctions Rs 1,100-Cr Loans For Power Sector

23 SMA And Tesvolt Collaborate In The BatteryStorage System Sector

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Gamesa Bags 20 MW Solar Power Project In Sri Lanka

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19

CDPQ Establishes Strategic Presence In India

Global Trends In Renewable Energy Investment 2016

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Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit,or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,Non-Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.If you want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

ORIX To Participate In LargeScale Wind Energy Projects With IL & FS In India

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14 By 2020, We Will Take Electicity To Every Home In The CountryShri Piyush Goyal

Godrej Successfully Bagged Order Of 265 kWp Roof Top Power Plants

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36 INTERVIEW

with Alex He, GM Of Global Solutions & Sales at Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

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Delta’s Solar Tracking Solution Contributes To Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project

Sterling And Wilson Commissions 90 MW Solar PV Plant In South Africa

JA Solar Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2015 Results

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Solar Rooftop Policy Coalition Unleashing Private Investment In Rooftop Solar In India

Punjab & Haryana Joins “Uday” Scheme

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ACME Expands Solar Power Projects Portfolio To 1229 MW

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Renewable Energy Investments: Major Milestones Reached, New World Record Set

Shadow Over Sunedison India’s Solar Projects

C ON TE NT

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ounded in March 2008 and successfully listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange GEM ( Stock Code: 300393) in September 2014, Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt Co., Ltd. is a global leading enterprise of solar module backsheets, as well as a national key high-tech enterprise focusing on R&D and manufacturing of advanced photovoltaic materials. Having state-of-theart solar module backsheet technologies and complete solutions of product portfolio, Jolywood provides customers with reliable and diversified product selections. Jolywood products and solutions have been used in total 15GW of solar power plants, served more than twenty countries and regions, and obtained a wide recognition.

Jolywood pays high attention to R&D investment. Supported by a strong R&D team, the company PV Membrane Laboratory has obtained TÜV NORD and CNAS dual certifications. Up till now,

Jolywood has been granted 48 patents, including 14 invention patents and 34 utility model patents. In addition, the Research and Industrialization Technology of Tetra-fluoro Based Solar Module Backsheet awarded “Annual PV Material Innovation Prize” in 2013 Annual National New Energy Innovation Conference, and the 2nd Prize of Jiangsu Provincial Science & Technology Progress.

On the basis of consolidating backsheet business, depending on technology and capital advantage, Jolywood is entering into the field of solar power stations and solar cells through forming three major business segments to actively promote the transformation and upgrading of the company’s strategy, including advanced photovoltaic materials development and manufacturing, financing and operation and maintenance of power plants, and high efficiency N-type bifacial solar cells.

Today, technology is changing our world at an unprecedented strength, and human being’s dreams are becoming realities. Jolywood is upholding the enterprise philosophy of “Differences in Harmony, Future with Sunshine”, down to earth and forge ahead, to make unremitting efforts for the realization enterprise philosophy of “Differences in Harmony, Future with Sunshine”, down to earth and forge ahead, to make unremitting efforts for the realization of clean energy and sustainable development, and to work together to create a bright future for the photovoltaic industry !

Eq News 10-35

SOLAR PROJECTS

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS 42

65 China Sunergy Successfully Connected A PV Project Totaling 14.5Mw To The Grid In Philippines With Granted Fit Of $0.186/KWh

Solar Installations In India To Double In 2016 With More Than 4 Gw, Reports Mercom Capital Group

52 Potential Assessment Approach And Cost Benefit Analysis Of Canal Top And Canal Bank Based Solar Project Compare To Ground Mounted Solar Project

SOLAR INVERTERS 66 Sungrow’s 1500V PV Project Successfully Connected To Grid

INDIA 44

PV MANUFACTURING

Solargise India Announces Launch Of Its Commercial Operations On 23rd March, 2016

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PRODUCTS 72-77

A Novel Glue-Membrane Integrated Backsheet for PV Modules

Jolywood's R & D Center

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iangsu PV Membrane Materials Engineering Research Center, and R&D Center of Jolywood is located in Shajiabang Town, Changshu City, the scenic city of Yangtze River.

The R&D Center covers a construction area of 5000 m2, including a 3500 m2 pilot-run plant and 1500 m2 R&D labs.

There are eleven solar module backsheet labs in R&D Center, including three polymeric material synthesis labs, three routine test labs, lamination lab, coating lab, salt-mist test lab, aging test lab, and safety test lab. The labs are designed and constructed in accordance with ISO / IEC 17025 requirements, and have received the accreditation qualifications from China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) and TÜV.The company has an expert team of Ph.Ds and professors, together with more than 20 R&D staff. The R&D Center has established long-term cooperation with renowned universities and research institutions, such as Solar Energy Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Chenguang Chemical Research Institute, Organic Silicon Key Lab of Ministry of Education (Hangzhou), Nanchang University, and Beijing University of Chemical Technology, etc.

Jolywood has also established close relationship with TÜV Laboratory, UL Laboratory, Daikin Japan, etc. for joint research and industrialization of PV membrane materials.

The Core Technologies

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y applying organic -inorganic nano-hybrid and molecular chain interpenetrating techniques, Jolywood has successfully developed fluoro-carbon coating material FFC ( PTFE modified polymer ) through forming fluorine membrane directly on PTE surface, and realized membrane- adhesive integration.

• The eight-patent protected FFC backsheet is high-temperature and high-humidity resistant, as well as aging and yellowing

resistant.

Realization of innovative microwave curing technique in curing fluorine coating on backsheet by applying PLC flow-tangent coating.

• Owing to dense, uniform and good apparent properties of membrane, both moisture vapor barrier and electrical insulation have been improved. The technique has received four patents.

Roll-to-roll plasma treatment and chemical grafting technique under normal temperature and pressure.

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The adhesive strength between backsheet and EVA, and the interlayer adhesion of backsheet have been improved to enhance solar module stability. The technique has received eight patents.

Innovation of equipment in developing roll-to-roll one step backsheet production line.

• The backsheet production efficiency has been effectively improved, and the manufacturing cost has been decreased.

Excellence of Jolywood FFC backsheet when facing to harsh environment

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olar module backsheets mainly consists of two categories: fluorinecontained and non fluorine-contained.

Fluorine-contaied backsheets include double-side fluorine (e.g. TPT) and single-side fluorine (e.g. TPE), while non fluorine-contained backsheets are

laminated from multilayers of PET by using adhesives. Currently, commercial crystalline silicon solar modules are required a service life of 25 years. As an encapsulation material contacting directly with external environment, backsheet should have excellent long-

term aging ( damp-heat, dry-heat, UV ), electrical insulation, and moisture vapor barrier properties, etc. Jolywood insists on double-side fluorine structured FFC backsheet with innovative formula, outstanding overall properties, and high cost performance.

Jolywood Sets up 2.1 GW N-type Bifacial Solar Cell Plant in Taizhou

On 19th, Feb.,2016, a signing ceremony of Jolywood 2.1GW n-type bifacial solar cell plant was held in Jiangyan, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province. Jolywood signed MOU with Jiangyan county, Taizhou City. The signing event marks the stratergic step of Jolywood’s transfomation in solar cells sector and has built strong foundation for Jolywood’s long term developmentd.

Mr. Lin, Chairman of Jolywood , official leaders from Jiangyan Disctric, Taizhou, delegates from media attended the cememony.Mr Lin thanked the support from local goverment and expressed to establish the plant as soon as possible to upgrade the industry and develope local economy.

5th Jolywood-Daikin International PV Tech Seminar held in Taiwan 10

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Jolywood And Daikin Signed Stratergic Cooperation Agreement

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n 30th, Nov.,2015, Jolywood and Daikin Fluorochemicals (China) singed a Stratergic Cooperation Agreement in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Dr.Tony Zhao, the Chairman Assistant from Jolywood, and Mr. Yushiyuki Hiraga, the Deputy General Manager from Daikin Eluorochemical (China) signed the agreement, and emphasized the two companies will strengthern their strategiccooperation by applying their respective advantages in the field of solar fluorocarbon backsheet.

Jolywood was founded in March, 2008 and is the only public listed company for backsteet design, produce and sales and has been the leading manufacturer of backsheet in the world. There are more than 15 GW solar power plants globally applied with Jolywood

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n 11th, March,2015, the 5th Jolywod-Daikin International PV Tech Seminar was held in Taipei Yuanshan Grand Hotel. The main subjects were future trend of PV modules technology ,market development, encapsulation material supplying & technology, experts from Tier-one PV companies(GCL, Trina, Longi, Jinko,JA, Suntech, Hanwha, CHINT,CSI, Lingyang,Yingli ,Talesun, Risen, Tongwei, NSP, AUO, etc ) shared their views regarding solar materials’technology, quality, supplying ,market development,etc.

The theme of this seminar was

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backsheet. In 2016, Jolywood set up a 2.1GW N type bifacial cells plant in Taizhou,Jiangsu. Jolywood is also into solar power plant in China especially in argricuturesolar combined projects.

Daikin Fluorochemical (China) Ltd.is the world’s foremost manufacturer of fluorochemical products and is a leading expert in that field. Striving to find new possibilities for living and industry by making the most of fluorine characteristics using Daikin’s own exclusively developed technologies. There are a number of early developments of alternative HFC’s, fluoroplastics, and fluoroelastomers widely used in applications ranging from the data and semiconductor industries to household items used in everyday living.

high efficiency solar cells/ modules/ encapsulation materials technology as well as market trend, 9 presentations and one dialogue consisted the one-day event. Mr. Lin, President of Jolywood made a welcoming speech firstly and proposed the whole industry to upgrade the PV industry positively.

Ms. Lim from TrendForce made a presentation of “Taiwan solar market status & oppotunity”and answered questions from other delegates ; Dr. Sun from Jolywood made a speech regarding to “ion implantation N type Biafisial monocells industrilization study”,introdued the technology and application advantage of N type .

Mr Xia shared his theme report of increase module power effiency in aspect of backsheet.

Besides,Dr. Lim from NSP, Dr. Hsu from REC, Dr. Huang from GCL , Daikin represetitive and other experts also made presentations. Through this seminar, delegates have learned the newest update of solar PV technology and market devevopment and exchanged ideas and theories with Taiwanese counterparts.

EQ April 2016 11

Tata Power Solar Enables Rajaram Maize Products To Become A 100% Renewable Energy Company Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar company, has successfully commissioned a 4.8 MW solar power plant for Rajaram Maize Products, a leading player in the starch and glucose manufacturing segment in India.

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he company now meets its entire power requirement through renewable energy, making it one of the few business entities in India to do so.

Spread across 22 acres of land at Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh state, this solar power plant was setup within three months, using Tata Power Solar’s modules. The project will help to reduce approximately 5180 tonnes of carbon dioxide (Co2) emissions per annum through usage of solar energy instead of conventional energy.

- Nitin Gupta,

Managing Director, Rajaram Maize Products

“It is exciting to see manufacturing companies like Rajaram Maize Products move from conventional power to 100% renewable- energy and shows the shifting trend of companies accepting solar as a mainstream source of power.

We are glad to execute this project in a short span of time which reflects our agility and sensitivity towards the client’s requirements. The confidence expressed

by Rajaram Maize in Tata Power Solar’ products, including panels, reflects our commitment towards providing long lasting quality products and services.”

- Ashish Khanna, ED & CEO, Tata Power Solar Rajaram Maize Products has a strong focus on renewable energy and have earlier installed a biomass based cogeneration plant, a solar rooftop installation, windmills and biogas engine at its facility. Total power generated from this 4.8 MW ground-mount solar installation will be used for captive consumption by the Rajaram Maize Products factory.

Tata Power Solar adopted a customized evaluation processes to ensure ‘first-time-right’ quality, enabling strict adherence to the specifications and requirements of the customer. This drastically minimized the need to carry out any rework thus helping in faster delivery of this project and high degree of cost control.

“We have had a long-term vision of offsetting our conventional power source with renewable and solar energy, from a green as well as cost-benefit perspective.

We also wanted to partner with a player who has strong credentials in providing and building a high quality solar plant which delivers consistently over the 25 years life-span. We are pleased to have partnered with Tata Power Solar, whose expertise and professionalism is highly commendable.”

Chhattisgarh is one of the few states which are energy surplus. It is therefore a commendable achievement for organizations like Rajaram Maize Products to choose the green energy route. The state has a strong focus on renewable energy, however a significant portion of this is towards rural electrification.

With over 25 years of experience, Tata Power Solar has commissioned over 194 MW of ground-mount utility scale projects across India.

ACME Expands Solar Power Projects Portfolio To 1229 MW Green energy player ACME recently said it has expanded solar projects portfolio to 1229 mw. “The latest addition in its list of projects is the 75 MW project won at Jharkhand tender,” the company said in a statement.

“The financial bid from ACME for the tariff of Rs 5.73 (25 MW) and Rs 5.48 (50 MW) for 25 years was announced during the final bids opening by Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (JREDA) on 17 March and subsequent issuance of the Letter of Intent,” it said.

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“We thank the Jharkhand Government and JREDA for conducting the tender. We are happy to participate in the growth of the state through use of green energy and help the state bridge its power deficit.”

- Manoj Kumar Upadhyay,

Founder and Chairman, ACME

To take this forward, the company will sign the PPA for developing 75 MW with the Jharkhand Government.

As per the PPA, ACME will develop these projects in Jharkhand locations by December 2017. These projects will be connected to the grid through a 132 KVA line. ACME aims to generate 7500 MW by the year 2019.

Source : BS

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China Sunergy Successfully Connected A PV Project Totaling 14.5Mw To The Grid In Philippines With Granted Fit Of $0.186/KWh

NANJING, China, March 16, 2016 – CSUN-Solar International Limited, a subsidiary of China Sunergy Co.,Ltd (CSUN), specialized in engineering, procurement and construction service and project development today announced that the 14.5MW solar PV power plant, for which CSUN provided a full range of solar energy solutions was successfully connected to the grid in Philippines.

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he PV plant located in the municipality of Hermosa, province of Bataan, Central Luzon region, Philippines, is invested and owned by YH Green Energy Incorporated, a Philippine-based green energy developer.

The power plant was granted 25-year subsidies of 8.69 PHP/kwh (0.186 USD/kwh) by local government.

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“This new project is just the beginning as we focus on improving our competitive position in project development in domestic and overseas markets. We will continue to expand our downstream business and expect to diversify our customer base with our experience and expertise in solar energy sector.”

- Mr. Tingxiu Lu, CEO, China Sunergy

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Gamesa Bags 20 MW Solar Power Project In Sri Lanka

Wind turbine maker Gamesa has bagged a 20 MW solar power project in Sri Lanka, which is expected to commence operations by October.

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amesa has won the solar energy order from LAUGFS Power Ltd in Sri Lanka to provide solar power in Baruthankanda village of Hambantota province in Sri Lanka, the Spain-headquartered company said in a statement. “Under the contract, Gamesa will provide complete turnkey EPC solutions that include engineering and design, supply of Gamesa Electric inverters, erection and commissioning of 20 MW photovoltaic solar plants,” it said.

“We are already a leading wind player in Sri Lanka and this order has further elevated us to a complete renewable energy player in the country. Sri Lanka has a strong focus towards increasing the share of renewable energy.”

- Ramesh Kymal ,

Chairman and Managing Director, at Gamesa India

The plant is scheduled to begin operations by October. “We are glad to be associated with Gamesa. We are confident that the project will be executed in line with the international standards.”

W K H Wegapitiya, Chairman, LAUGFS Power

Rays Power Partners Hilliard Energy For 150 MW Solar Project Rays Power Infra has partnered with Hilliard Energy to jointly develop 150 MW solar power project, entailing an investment of USD 130 million (about Rs 870 crore).

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he company’s subsidiary Shining Sun Power has signed a 150-MW project development term sheet with power producer Hilliard Energy, a company incorporated and registered under the laws of Mauritius. Both partners will jointly develop 150 MW of solar power project with a total investment of USD 130 million,” a statement issued here stated. In the first phase, a 10-MW solar project is expected to be commissioned in April at Kalwakurthy in Telangana and the power generated will be sold to the state’s discoms at a fixed tariff of Rs 6.55 per unit for 25 years.

“We are very excited about this new partnership which merges the fundraising skills of Hilliard Energy with the execution capabilities of our company.

We would like to achieve a target of 150 MW in the next 12 months. This is an exciting opportunity to invest in high-quality solar projects that are fully contracted for the next 25 years. These projects have a good solar resource, making these them extremely reliable for many years to come.

- Brent Hilliard, Director, Hilliard Energy

Source: Moneycontrol

Source: Moneycontrol

Bhageria Industries Wins Bid Of 30 MW From Solar Energy Corporation Of India

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he Bhageria Industries Limited (BIL) has announced that it has been awarded order for 30MW solar power project by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (A Government of India Enterprise). BIL will install 30MW Solar Power Plant at Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra. The Completion of project is expected in first quarter of 2017. BIL will execute complete project on Trunkey projects basis and will also operate and maintain the same plant for 25 years, BIL has more than two decades of experience in manufacturing of dye intermediates and from 2014 the company ventured into Solar Power sector. By March 2016, total installed capacity of BIL will be approximately 3 MW.

April 2016

“In Maharashtra there are lots of possibilities available to develop good solar project. Recently state government is also promoting solar power sector by liberalising its Renewable energy policy. BIL is planning to install more than 50 MW by March 2017 in the state of Maharashtra.”

- Vikas Bhageria, Director, BIL

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Solar Tariffs Hit A New Low In Rajasthan

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Janardan Wind Energy, Suzlon Energy and Maharashtra Seamless on Monday won bids for 10 solar projects with a combined capacity of 100 MW offered by NTPC for setting up plants in Rajasthan.

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hile Janardan Wind Energy bagged two projects of 10 MW each, quoting the lowest tariff of Rs 5.06/kWh in the reverse bidding conducted by NTPC, Suzlon Energy and Maharashtra Seamless won 60 MW and 20 MW respectively offering a marginal higher rate of Rs 5.07/kWh. All these projects were offered under the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category that aims to encourage manufacturing of solar equipment in the country and also mandates the developers to use locally made cells and modules. Industry watchers said under the DCR category, the tariffs quoted for the 100 MW are lowest in the country.

“Small and medium enterprises are yet to benefit from the growth of solar industry, which today majorly depends on imports. Since the government wants to promote Make in India, development of DCR projects can provide the required momentum to local manufacturers of solar cells and modules.”

- Sunil Bansal, General Secretary,

Rajasthan Solar Association

Rajasthan government has selected NTPC for sourcing solar energy to meet its renewable purchase obligations. In January, NTPC had offered 420 MW under the open category where Fortum India quoted the lowest-ever price in the country at Rs 4.34/kWh to win a bid for 70 MW solar project.

In the open category, the bidder is free to procure equipment either domestically or from outside.In December last year, under the DCR category Azure Power won two projects in Andhra Pradesh with a combined capacity of 100 MW offering a tariff of Rs 5.12/kWh, while Adani Group firm Prayatna Developers quoted Rs 5.13/kWh for 50 MW. Source: TOI

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SuryaC n

PUNE MAY 03, 2016

MUMBAI MAY 05, 2016

Conference on Solar Business, Technology, Finance, Policy & Regulation

Conference on Solar With special focus on - Rooftop Solar, Solar Parks, Offgrid Solar, Solar Diesel hybrid & Energy Storage For Sponsorship Opportunity GOURAV GARG gourav.garg@EQmag.net 093033 43777

For Delegate Registration Piyush Mishra piyush.mishra@EQmag.net 0731 4222268

For Speaker Opportunity Prasoon Agrawal prasoon.agrawal@EQmag.net 096440 94933

For More Information Visit15 EQ April 2016

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By 2020, We Will Take Electicity To Every Home In The CountryShri Piyush Goyal

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Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy said that the Government will take electricity to every home in the country by 2020. hile addressing “Light of Asia: The Future of Energy” session at the Raisina Dialogue 2016 here today, Shri Goyal said “ By 2019-20, I am fairly confident, well ahead of target that we will take electricity to every home in this country. And that for us is truly a development goal, that in five years, we want to make sure that everybody gets electricity, not waiting for 2030.” On providing affordable power , Shri Goyal said that Government is committed to provide affordable power to its people because we believe that there is no use of taking power to the people if they cannot afford it.

“UDAY programme is an overarching reform implemented by Government of India which focuses to bring down the inefficiencies and loses in the system, both financial and operational, and reduce the power cost by saving of Rs 1,80,000 crore every year. This will make the ‘Affordability for Power’ a truly successful mission. So far, the results have been quite encouraging.”

- Mr. Piyush Goyal , MNRE MINISTER, INDIA Added

Suzlon Group Plans To Set Up 3000 MW Plant In Telangana The development came during a meeting between Telangana Panchayat Raj and IT Minister K T Rama Rao and Sulzon CMD Tulsi Tanti in Mumbai, a state government release stated here.

Referring to the WTO’s decision on solar energy, Shri Goyal said, “I can very easily create another mechanism and I will not let this deter my mission because my mission comes out of conviction. India will still stand committed to 100 GW of solar power.”

Taking about using coal as base of power in the country, Shri Piyush Goyal reiterated that for India, Coal is our domestic fuel; we want to be self sufficient and energy secure.

“Country’s energy security comes first but at the same time, I am proposing that we have only super critical and ultra super critical clean coal technologies which are efficient in the future”, he added.

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uzlon Group said it is looking to set up 3,000 MW solar, wind and hybrid power generation plant in Telangana with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore.

The development came during a meeting between Telangana Panchayat Raj and IT Minister K T Rama Rao and Sulzon CMD Tulsi Tanti in Mumbai, a state government release stated here.

Rao also met Kotak Group MD Uday Kotak and Mahindra Group CMD Anand Mahindra and sought investments into the state. They responded positively on the requests, the release added.

Source: Moneycontrol

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RattanIndia Solar Wins Solar Project At Rs4.43 Per KWH Solar energy company RattanIndia Solar, part of the RattanIndia Group, on Tuesday said it has won a 50 megawatt (MW) solar project in a reverse e-auction at a tariff of Rs.4.43 per kilo-watt hour (kWh), months after tariffs in the sector fell below Rs.5.

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olar tariffs hit a record-low in November last year with SunEdison Inc.’s bid of Rs.4.63 per kWh in a reverse online auction and have since fallen to Rs.4.34 at a January e-auction conducted by staterun National Thermal Power Ltd (NTPC).

Many have raised questions about the profitability and business viability of projects won at recordlow tariffs, which are a result of aggressive bidding by both domestic and foreign companies. RattanIndia Solar said it won the project in a reverse e-auction conducted by Solar Energy Corporation Ltd (SECI) in Allahabad on Tuesday.

The project will receive a so-called viability gap funding of Rs.75 lakh per MW while the land for the project will be provided by Uttar Pradesh government, the company said in a statement. In January, RattanIndia Solar, through its subsidiary Yarrow Infrastructure Ltd, won a 70 MW

solar project at a tariff of Rs.4.36 per kWh in an NTPC-run reverse e-auction. In a reverse auction, the role of buyer and seller is reversed and a business bid is won by quoting prices downwards.

RattanIndia Group is promoted

by Rajiv Rattan who co-founded Indiabulls Group in 1999, with interests in financial services, real estate, power generation.

In July 2014, the power and infrastructure businesses were split from Indiabulls and rebranded as RattanIndia, with Rattan as chairman. The group has thermal power plants with installed capacity of over 1,620 MW, which will be expanded to 2,700 MW by 2016end.

RattanIndia has solar projects of more than 240 MW across various states. It sells majority of the power produced at its plants to central government entities like NTPC and Source: Livemint SECI.

Indian Aluminium Company To Invest $100 Million In Renewable Energy Another government-owned company in India has announced grand plans to increase investment in the renewable energy sector. ollowing a government push to increase investment in renewable energy and meet renewable energy procurement targets, the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has announced plans to invest Rs 700 crore (over $100 million) towards development and implementation of renewable energy projects this year.

The company already has some renewable energy assets, mostly in the form of wind energy projects, and is now planning to add utility-scale as well as rooftop solar power projects to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity consumption.

NALCO currently has an operational wind energy capacity of 98 MW from wind energy projects in the states of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

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“We are poised to provide clean and green energy at a competitive price and thus firmly moving ahead on our path of becoming the largest solar company of India”, Anjali Rattan Nashier, Chief Executive, RattanIndia Solar

The company is reportedly planning to set up two more large-scale wind energy projects. It also operates 260 kW of rooftop solar power capacity at its corporate office in the state of Odisha. The company, like many other public-sector companies in the country, is looking to develop large-scale solar power projects.

Electricity generated from these projects will be accounted for against the Renewable Purchase Obligation mandated by the government. India aims to have at least 15% of its total electricity consumption coming from renewable energy sources by 2022, including 8% from solar energy only.

The Indian government has directed several public sector companies and entities, like Coal India, the Indian Railways, the Indian armed forces, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, NTPC, NHPC, and several others, to contribute towards the solar power capacity target of 100 GW by March 2022 and also meet its renewable energy procurement targets.

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Banks, NBFCs To Finance 76,000 MW Clean Energy Projects Public as well as private banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have committed for financing renewable energy projects of 76,352 MW capacity with an outlay of Rs 3.82 lakh crore, Parliament was informed.

Piyush Goyal , MNRE Minister INDIA (He said in a written reply to Lok Sabha today)

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“24 Public Sector and 8 Private Sector Banks and 4 Public Sector & 2 Private Sector NBFCs have committed for financing renewable energy projects of 76,352 MW capacity with an outlay of Rs 3,82,255 crore over 5 years through green commitment certificates,”

he minister said these banks and financial institutions have supported projects of 25,318 MW capacity with sanctioned and released amount of Rs 63,473 crore and 26,105 crore respectively, as on December 31, 2015 after giving the commitments. He also said that efforts are also being made to mobilise funds for the renewable energy sector from multilateral and bilateral banks such as The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, National Development Bank and Asia Infrastructure Development Bank and are at various stages of approvals.

ACCORDING TO THE STATEMENT Financial assistance From World Bank

700

Financial assistance From Asian Development Bank

USD

Million

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USD

Million

For solar parks is under consideration

Among public sector banks State Bank of India will be financing the largest capacities of 15,000 MW capacity with an outlay of Rs 75,000 crore followed by IDBI bank (3000 MW). The 24 public sector banks will be financing projects of 31,649 MW with and outlay of Rs 1,58,740 crore.

Besides, these multilateral bodies will also one billion euros and over USD 1 billion for solar rooftops in India.

Public sector NBFCs including IREDA, IIFCL, PFC and REC will finance renewable energy projects of 14,500 MW with an outlay of Rs 72,500 crore. Private sector NBFCs — L&T Infrastructure Finance Company and PTC India Financial Service will finance projects of 12,500 MW with an outlay of Rs 62,500 crore.

Private Banks will finance projects of 17,703 MW with an outlay of Rs 88,515 crore. As on December 31, 2015, private as well public sector banks and NBFCs sanctioned Rs 63,473.23 crore out of which an amount of Rs 26,105.61 crore was disbursed.

In a separate reply, the minister told the House that the interministerial group approved 34,984.09 crore under the National Clean Energy Fund for renewable energy projects so far since the financial year 2011-12. The panel had approved Rs 18,469.47 crore in the current fiscal compared to Rs 12,000.17 crore in previous fiscal.

BHEL Commissions Tiltable Canal Top Solar Plant In Andhra harat Heavy Electricals L i m i t e d ( B H E L) h a s commissioned a seasonwise tiltable canal top solar PV plant at Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first canal top project in Andhra Pradesh and also first such project executed by the company, the state-run power equipment maker said

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in a release. The project is developed by NREDCAP (New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Ltd).

Power generation is about 10 percent more than a fixed Module Mounting Arrangement (MMA), BHEL said. The elevated control room with bottom cable entry prevents ingress of water during floods, it said.

The NCEF is a fund created in 2010-11 using the carbon tax – clean energy cess – for funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technologies of public sector or private sector entities, up to the extent of-

40%

of the total project cost Source: Moneycontrol

The Module Mounting Structure (MMS) is a unique design incorporating additional functionalities like lighting, cable support and fencing into the MMS. Another feature is the movable walkway which facilitates efficient maintenance of the plant by providing easy access, it added.

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Goldman-Backed ReNew Wins 522 MW of Solar Projects In East India ReNew Power Ventures Pvt., the Indian clean-energy company backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, bested the competition at an auction on Thursday that awarded rights to build 1.2 gigawatts of solar projects in the eastern state of Jharkand.

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eNew netted 522 megawatts wor th of of projects, Jhar khand Renewable Energy Development Agency Director D.K. Tewatia said by phone. The state auctioned off projects in a 1-gigawatt block and in a 200-megawatt block, he said, adding that the developers were in charge of arranging land for the projects.

“We aim to issue letters of interest in next 15 days, and in a month of that will sign the power purchase agreements Tariffs ranged from 5.08 rupees ($0.08) to 7.90 rupees per kilowatt hour depending on the size of the projects, all of which have to become operational between May and November 2017.

- D.K. Tewatia , Director, Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency Founded in 2011, ReNew Power has more than 2 gigawatts of cleanenergy assets that have been commissioned or are under construction.

In addition to Goldman Sachs, the company has drawn investments from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Global Environment Fund and the Asian Development Bank.

It operates in eight Indian states. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants installed solar capacity to rise to 100 gigawatts by 2022 from 5.25 gigawatts as of Jan. 31.

According Tewatia from the Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency, other bidders that won rights to develop solar projects include: • • • • •

SunEdison Inc won 150 megawatts Suzlon Energy Ltd won 175 megawatts OPG Power Ventures Plc won 124 megawatts Adani Enterprises Ltd won 50 megawatts Acme Group won 50 megawatts

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INDIA

ORIX To Participate In LargeScale Wind Energy Projects With IL & FS In India ORIX Corporation , a leading integrated financial services group, and IL&FS , an infrastructure development and finance company, recently announced that they will expand the wind energy platform with a total capacity of 1,004 MW in India.

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RIX has been a significant shareholder in IL&FS since 1993 and the partnership is targeted to also achieve a large-scale solar capacity in the coming years. ORIX has invested in 49% of the equity of the Wind Platform of IL&FS aggregating to 1,004 MW, of which 775 MW is operational, and the balance is under construction.

In this project, total 26 wind power plants will be built in seven states where wind conditions are better than other parts of India. The generated power will be mainly sold to state power companies under the feedin tariff scheme as well as to commercial-scale utility customers.ORIX is a major player in the renewable energy business in Japan which, inter-alia, includes solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, power trading and retailing. ORIX is also one of the largest corporates in the Japanese solar power generation market with an 850 MW multi-location portfolio. The ORIX Group is committed to contribute in resolving environmental and energy issues through business operations that meet the needs of customers and society across both developed and developing nations.

India, the world’s third biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in 2015 to source 40% of its electricity from non-fossil fuel-based sources by 2030. In order to uphold this pledge, the country is targeting to generate 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power by 2022.

“The larger vision of the Government to scale up investment in the sector is attracting long term strategic partners like us to invest in India.

We are very pleased that our partnership with IL&FS would diversify our portfolio into a fast growing country like India,

- Mr. Makoto Inoue , President and CEO of ORIX “IL&FS has evolved as one of the larger and more dependable players in the renewable space with more than 1 GW of operating and under commissioning capacity in wind, solar, and waste to energy projects.

With this experience and track record, the financial and strategic partnership of ORIX in this sector will accelerate our initiatives significantly, given our current development pipeline of an additional 1 GW in wind energy assets.”

- Mr. Ravi Parthasarathy , Chairman, IL&FS Going forward, ORIX will continue to actively expand energy-related businesses in Asia, benefiting from its experience and in-depth expertise.

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Ahana Renewables Announces Investment In Solar Power Development Portfolio In India Ahana Renewables, a subsidiary of ATN recently announced that it has purchased the development business of Armstrong Energy Global (“Armstrong”), a developer, builder, and owner of solar farms in India.

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hana has retained the Armstrong management team to oversee the development, construction and operation of solar energy projects in Southern India through a newly-established company, Vibrant Energy Holdings (“Vibrant Energy”), that will be an Ahana subsidiary.

“Ahana Renewables is building upon the foundation of high quality commercial solar projects that it has developed in the US to enter India to expand both our geographic footprint and customer base. By partnering with the Armstrong management team, known for its trailblazing history of early-to-market success in the United Kingdom’s renewables sector, we hope to transport our respective successes in the US and the UK to a successful venture in India.”

- Marvin Tien , Managing Director “Our large development pipeline of solar projects in India and dedicated local team combined with Ahana’s experience and financial resources will enable us to meet our goal of delivering hundreds of megawatts of clean, reliable electricity to customers in a country where supply can still be unreliable. We believe India is today the most exciting country in the world for solar power, and we don’t think we could have found a better partner than Ahana to meet this market opportunity,”

- Dr. Ramnath Nandakumar, Managing Director, Armstrong

Vibrant Energy has an initial pipeline of approximately 50 MW photovoltaic solar facilities ready for construction in the next six to nine months, and is targeting a total of 250-350 MW in solar energy projects in India through 2018.

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INDIA

Customers for the initial projects are private commercial and industrial enterprises and Vibrant Energy will continue to target this customer segment as it builds new solar facilities, currently focused on the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.

The Company expects to fund the acquisition, operating costs and the development and construction of this pipeline with an initial capital investment of approximately $50 million to $100 million, complemented by debt and other funding under discussion with numerous institutions.

This investment marks Ahana’s entry into India’s growing renewable energy market, which seeks to address the high demand for energy created by the country’s fast growing economy and deficits in traditional energy sources.

CDPQ Establishes Strategic Presence In India Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec recently announced the appointment of Anita Marangoly George as Managing Director, South Asia.

Anita Marangoly George

sed in Delhi, Ms. George will head CDPQ India, with the objective of finding the best investment opportunities across all asset classes in South Asian markets. CDPQ has also announced its commitment to invest USD 150 million in renewable energy in India, a first for CDPQ in growth markets.

CDPQ announces the creation of CDPQ India, based in New Delhi. CDPQ, one

of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers with CAD 248 billion in net assets, announced the establishment of its Indian office in New Delhi. CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. In addition to its presence in South Asia through CDPQ India, CDPQ is present in Montréal, Québec city, New York, Washington, Mexico City, Paris, Singapore, Sydney and Beijing.

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“We believe India stands out as an exceptional country to invest in, given the scope and quality of investments opportunities, the potential for strategic partnerships with leading Indian entrepreneurs, and the current government’s intention to pursue essential economic reforms.”

- Michael Sabia , President & Chief Executive Officer of CDPQ

“We believe this is an attractive location for long-term solar investment. In addition to India’s favorable climate conditions and unmet energy needs, solar energy development costs in many regions of India has reached grid parity, providing an opportunity for attractive investment returns without reliance on direct government subsidy. We believe the economic argument in favor of solar will only improve in the future as equipment costs continue to fall. This new partnership will allow us to deliver clean power to the growing commercial sector, strengthening the regional economy, and generating permanent local job opportunities.”

- Jason Tai , Managing Director, Source: Nasdaq

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CDPQ announced the appointment of Ms. Anita Marangoly George as Managing Director, South Asia. Ms. George will play an instrumental role in developing and monitoring CDPQ’s investments in South Asian markets, especially in India. Using her deep knowledge of the region, she will establish and maintain close relationships with key public and private institutions to support CDPQ’s investment teams across all asset classes.

“With Ms. George’s vast experience in the South Asian business environment, CDPQ will be ideally positioned to identify the right partners and the best opportunities.

We are pleased to see Ms. George join our organization and contribute her talent and expertise as a former senior World Bank Group executive to help us implement our investment strategy in India.”

- Rashad Kaldany, Executive Vice-President, Growth Markets, CDPQ

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“I look forward to joining CDPQ India’s office and to contribute to the performance of CDPQ in South Asia, a region that offers attractive investment opportunities in a number of key sectors,” said Ms. George. “I am pleased to combine my knowledge of South Asian markets and my experience in several industries alongside CDPQ’s investment teams to enhance our presence in growth markets.”

Ms. George has a solid track record in managing global investment portfolios in infrastructure, more specifically in the energy, oil and gas, mining, water, transportation and logistics sectors. Before joining CDPQ India, she was Senior Director of the World Bank Group’s Global Practice on Energy and Extractives. Prior to her position at the World Bank, Ms. George was Director of Infrastructure and Natural Resources at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

Before that, she was Head, Siemens Financial Services in India.

Ms. George holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Smith College, in Massachusetts, and a Masters in Economics and a MBA in Finance from Boston University.

She has traveled extensively and spent several years in Washington, DC while covering growth markets globally.

She has in-depth knowledge of private and public development institutions, and extensive experience in many regions of the globe including Europe, South and Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

MS. GEORGE WILL TAKE UP HER NEW POSITION ON APRIL 1, 2016

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lready a significant investor in renewable energy, CDPQ is one of the largest private investors in wind energy in North America, financing over 5,400 MW of wind power through its stake in Invenergy. CDPQ is also a major shareholder of London Array, the largest offshore wind farm in the world, generating 630 MW of wind energy.

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DPQ plans to commit USD 150 million to renewable energy investments in India. Over the next three to four years, CDPQ will use its commitment to target hydro, solar, wind and geothermal power assets, with investments likely to take the form of select partnerships with leading Indian renewable energy companies.

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s. George has been a pioneering supporter of financing renewable energy in growth markets and helped finance the first commercial solar project in India and several first renewable projects in growth markets around the world. She has also worked with the oil and gas industry towards setting a global standard for Zero Routine Gas Flaring by 2030, a World Bank initiative.

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BALANCE OF SYSTEM

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Innovative Klip Lock Solar Mounting Structure Used On Yamuna Sports Complex 400 KW Solar Pv Plant By Jakson To overcome challenge of installing 400 kW Rooftop Solar power plant on metal roofing without piercing it, Jakson Engineers Ld. used innovative Klip Lock mounting system on Yamuna Sports Complex, New Delhi.

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amuna Sports Complex (YSC) has tied up with Jakson Engineers Ltd. (JEL) to install 400 kW solar power plant on its metal roof without piecing it. For this JEL came up with the innovative idea of using Klip Lock Solar mounting system which will serve the purpose of YSC. The plant is commissioned under RESCO model. YSC will only pay for the electricity consumed from the solar plant, rest is taken care of by Jakson which includes capital investment and O&M for 25 years.

Yamuna Sports Complex is a sports complex located in New Delhi, India which is owned by Delhi Development Authority (DDA). It was a venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. YSC buildings posed a challenge of metal roofing which was easily overcome by Jaksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creativity. The plant consist of 1600 modules of 250 Wp capacity which generates approximately 5.84 lakh units per year. Bi-directional meters are installed for sale of power to the grid in case of surplus.

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ROOFTOP OFFGRID

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Godrej Successfully Bagged Order Of 265 kWp Roof Top Power Plants Godrej (Electricals & Electronics business, Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy vertical) is pleased to announce successfully bagging of 265 kWp order of solar roof top plants. These plants are solar grid connected roof top installations with Net Metering (If state policy Permits).

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he plants are located in very important Industrial area in Haryana, North India.

Plants need to be installed in commercial & residential society of Gurgaon.

In a very short span of time, Godrej & Boyce has been able to secure several EPC contracts in the Roof top segment across India with customer delight. There are various rooftop installations running across pan India with customer delight. It will soon emerge as one of the top solar EPC players of India. The environment benefits that will be generated from this solar system are significant. In addition to above, these plants will help in reduction of transmission losses in the system.

Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co Ltd (G&B) is on its way to solarizing India and intent to commission the project with highest quality and safety standards which forms the integral part of our company ethos and working.

Raghavendra Mirji , AVP & Head Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy vertical

Launch Of 2016 World Bank Group/Bloomberg Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report A lively read for companies, investors, governments, and other key players interested in the opportunities and challenges presented by the dynamic off-grid solar market.

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he report tracks the groundbreaking technological advances and innovative business models which have emerged to transform the lives of millions through affordable modern solar energy services. This is the third in a series produced by the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global Program since the young industry’s emergence seven years ago. Written in collaboration with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and in cooperation with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, the report provides a comprehensive view of the state of one of the most impactful sectors in the global economy today.

April 2016

1.2 89 Billion

people without access to the power grid

Million

people in Africa and Asia with improved access to energy by using off-grid solar products

$276 $27 Million Billion

spent annually on lighting and mobilephone charging technologies

invested in the off-grid solar industry in 2015, a 15-fold increase since 2012

$3.1 billion market opportunity for the off-grid solar industry by 2020, reaching 99 million households www.EQMagPro.com

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ENERGY STORAGE

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SMA And Tesvolt Collaborate In The Battery-Storage System Sector SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) collaborates with commercial storage system manufacturer TESVOLT. SMA has now qualified TESVOLT’s lithium storage system for use with the SMA Sunny Island battery inverter.

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he combined system of battery and battery inverter can be used in PV systems and CHP plants as well as in wind power plants and in hydroelectric power plants. It enables companies in the commercial sector to sustainably and cost-effectively reduce their energy costs.

“Qualifying TESVOLT’s lithium storage systems for use with SMA inverters was an important step for us, It offers companies new energy storage options that help them maximize their self-consumption of PV power. The Sunny Island inverter was developed to optimize the performance and efficiency of energy supply systems, and can be used in both off-grid and grid-tied systems.”

-Volker Wachenfeld , Executive Vice President of the Off-Grid and Storage business unit at SM

In addition to being able to be used in almost every type of energy generation system connected to the low-voltage grid, the combination of a lithium battery-storage system and Sunny Island battery inverter also offers unlimited use in off-grid applications.

“Our batterystorage systems, in combination with the Sunny Island, have one of the highest levels of overall system efficiency on the market currently at 79–84%.

This high level of efficiency ensures that businesses are often able to generate their own electricity for less than 14 cents per kWh—with the original costs for the storage system and PV system already factored in.”

-Simon Schandert , Chief Technology Officer (CTO), TESVOLT

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ENERGY STORAGE

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GE To Assess Renewables Integration, Energy Storage In India IL&FS Energy Development Company has selected GE to study the feasibility of integrated wind, solar, and energy storage projects in Ramagiri, Andhra Pradesh and Nana Layja, Gujarat, India.

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he initiative is in line with trade outlines made during the US-India Business Council Summit of 2015 which included plans of investing around $2bn in renewable energy projects in India

“Energy storage technologies are essential to the integration of renewables. They help to address the variability of wind and solar PV generation and make renewable energy more acceptable to the grid. For commercial deployment of these technologies, a robust regulatory framework needs to be in place. The flexibility and cost reductions that energy storage technologies provide to grid infrastructure would allow India to achieve an efficient, low-carbon intensity trajectory. The current challenge, however, is to address the initial high cost through a regulatory framework.”

- Sunil Wadhwa , Managing Director, IL&FS Energy

Last year, IL&FS Energy had entered into a grant agreement with the the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to conduct a techno-economic feasibility study to find out the best possible way of integrating wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) installations with energy storage solutions so as to create dispatchable, utility-scale renewable energy projects.

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Under the study, GE will design a wind, solar and energy storage plant, provide estimates of its capital and operational costs and develop a business plan that would include viability gap funding which is required for project commercialization.

“Energy storage can be particularly helpful for integrating variable renewable generation in India since the technical infrastructure and market mechanisms available at the disposal of many other power grids are not yet available in the country. As the costs start to come down, energy storage will become an integral part of India’s grid. By taking a look at the impact of renewable integration with energy storage systems on India’s power grid, we can provide valuable information to help the country best design its future grid.”

- Sundar Venkataraman , Technical Director. GE Energy Consulting business

GE hopes to complete the project by mid2016.Last month, GE won a contract from Belgian Eco Energy to construct a 100% biomass-fired power plant in Ghent.The plant will be powered by wood chips and agro residues. It can generate about 215MW of clean energy for the industry as well as for nearby households.

Source: Cleantechnology

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BUISNESS FINANCE

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PFC, REC And Invest Up To $40 Bn On Renewable Energy Projects: Shri Goyal Asserting that the country has sufficient funding for renewable energy (RE) projects, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said PFC and REC can invest up to USD 40 billion on such initiatives.

“Today there is more than sufficient funding available for RE projects. In fact, REC and PFC, 2 non banking financial companies under our ministry, have ability to lend up to USD 35-40 billion for RE projects.”

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ower Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) are ‘Navratna’ public sector enterprises under the Power Ministry.

India has set itself an ambitious target of generating 175 gigawatt of power by 2022 from renewable sources that includes 100 Gw from solar, 60 Gw from wind, 10 Gw from biomass and 5 Gw from small hydroelectric project. This will require investment of around USD 150 billion in the next seven years.

Goyal said: “I have a plan to set up 4-5 GW of roof top solar with some government support, particularly for government buildings, government offices, smaller households.” The installed capacity of solar power crossed 5,000 MW in January. The government wants to have 18,000 MW solar power generation by 2017-end. Last month, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor had said,”One lakh MW target is ambitious but it’s achievable. By March end we will be around 6,500 MW and by March 2017 we will have 20,000 MW capacity.” Of the 1,00,000 MW of power that will be generated through solar power, 40,000 MW will come through the grid connected solar rooftop systems.

Source: MoneyControl

PFS Sanctions Rs 1,100-Cr Loans For Power Sector PTC India Financial Services Ltd (PFS) has sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,100 crore to provide financial assistance to the power sector.

cial Finan ia d n I ”PTC r vices Ltd…ns a Se ned loout Rs o i t c n sa ab viding gating aggre rore for pro ce to n c 1,100 cial assista cture u n r t a s in a f /infr the power r in India,” a in secto any said comp lease on re oday.

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“The company continues to expand and reinforce its presence in financing of clean energy projects and other emerging areas of power sector. This shall help in further growth of the company and help consolidate PFS’ position as a leading institution financing renewable energy projects in India.”

- Dr. Ashok Haldia, Managing Director & CEO, PTC India Financial Services Ltd .(PFS)

The company offers an array of financial products to infrastructure companies in the entire energy value chain. It also provides feebased services such as loan syndication and underwriting.The stock of the company was trading at Rs 36.85 on BSE, up 1.80 per cent from its previous close.

Source: PTI

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BUISNESS FINANCE

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Helping Developing Countries Tackle Climate Change: EIB To Partner Green Climate Fund The European Investment Bank has been approved as a new partner institution of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) recently. The Green Climate Fund was set up in 2010 at the United Nations climate talks to help developing countries tackle the challenge of climate change through finance for clean and efficient energy and other mitigation investments, as well as adaptation measures to support countries and people vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

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oday’s approval at the GCF Board meeting in Seoul, South Korea, means the European Investment Bank (EIB) will be able to to access GCF grants, transferring these vital funds to partner countries and clients, developing climate action projects and supporting the move to low carbon and climate resilient economies. The involvement of the EIB will benefit climate action projects by combining the EIB’s own innovative financing with GCF funds, as well as catalysing other private sector and public funds – all of which is key to putting the Paris Agreement into action, to ensure sustainable development and keep the global temperature increase well below 2 degrees C. The European Investment Bank, which is the policy-driven European Union bank, is a pioneer in climate finance and its biggest provider worldwide. In the last 5 years it made around EUR 100 billion available for climate action both in Europe and outside it. The EIB Climate Strategy, launched in September 2015, commits the Bank to a greater focus on the impact of projects as well as more support for adaptation measures in climate vulnerable countries. EIB has also pledged to step up its climate financing in developing countries to 35% by 2020.

“We all know climate finance is the critical issue in fighting climate change and putting the deal agreed in Paris into practice. Today’s accreditation gives us an important tool in mobilising that money in developing countries where the EIB has committed to increase its lending for climate action to 35% by 2020. We look forward to working alongside the Green Climate Fund to raise finance to tackle emissions, support cleaner and more efficient energy and help the most vulnerable nations and communities to adapt to the effects of climate change. As the world leader in climate finance, the EIB has much to offer both in expertise and in innovative approaches to financing climate action.”

-Jonathan Taylor , Vice President , Responsible for Climate Action and Energy Lending, EIB

Increasing climate finance and attracting more investment from the private sector is an essential part of the new international climate agreement reached at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris last December. In April, leaders of the world’s Multilateral Development Banks, including the EIB will gather for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring meeting in Washington DC to assess progress since then and agree further concrete steps to translate the agreement into action on the ground.

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BUISNESS FINANCE

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Shadow Over Sunedison India’s Solar Projects

US-based renewable energy company SunEdison, battling to pare its $11-billion debt, is not finding buyers for its projects in India.A deal to sell its 1,480 megawatt (Mw) Indian portfolio to Macquarie Capital has fallen through.

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his is likely to hit the valuation of the projects, estimated by the market at Rs 7,600 crore.Adani Power and Tata Power were in discussions with SunEdison to buy the projects, sources said. Adani Power did not respond to queries from Business Standard.

The spokesperson of Tata Power stated, “The company does not respond to market speculations. We maintain that we are evaluating various options to create shareholder value.”SunEdison’s portfolio includes 410 MW of operational solar power projects, 80 MW of operational wind projects and 1,000 MW of recently-won solar power projects, including a 500 Mw project in Andhra Pradesh that the company won at a historic low bid of Rs 4.63 per unit.Market sources said some global funds were interested but no one would buy SunEdison’s entire Indian portfolio. Apart from the commissioned projects, those under development are also on the block.

“Global fund agencies are looking at commissioned projects and Indian companies will be interested in projects that are under development. Even the deal with Macquarie Capital is not completely off, it might buy some small assets.”

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perating in India for five years, SunEdison’s projects are in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka Telangana and Jharkhand. The company has committed to developing 15 gigawatt (Gw) of renewable energy in India. An e-mail sent to SunEdison did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.

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unEdison India sold 425 Mw of solar power projects to TerraForm Global for $231 million in December 2015. Business Standard had reported earlier that SunEdison was laying off 5-10 per cent of its workforce in India.The share price of the financial vehicle Yieldco, seen as an instrument to fund SunEdison’s acquisitions, was under pressure because of the company’s rising debt, said an industry expert.

“This is hampering the sale of projects. SunEdison is trying to reduce its debt and at the same time is participating in tenders in India. Cashflow from Yieldco is under a cloud and SunEdison needs to look at project sales. The company had no specific strategy to meet its target of 15 Gw by 2022. I do not Ahmad Chatani know five years down the line how Global CEO & much we are going to do. We don’t President have a forecast for next year. In the SunEdison 11 months since we committed to 15 Gw, we have done close to 2 Gw,”

(In an earlier interview to BS newspaper Mr. Chatani Said)

-Sources said.

Reports Of SunEdison In Debtor-In-Possession Talks, Danger Of Bankruptcy The long slide of SunEdison’s finances may be nearing bankruptcy, with a financial intelligence firm reporting that the company is in debtor-in-possession talks.Despite the cancellation of its controversial acquisition of residential installer Vivint Solar earlier this month, SunEdison does not appear to be out of the woods.

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Source: BS

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inancial intelligence firm Debtwire reported that SunEdison has entered into debtor-inpossession talks with holders of US$725 million in second-lien loans, citing “two sources familiar with the matter”.

Debtwire analysts state that a SunEdison Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is “likely on the horizon”. Although SunEdison has not filed Q4 financial reports, Debtwire estimates that the company had only $56 million in unsecured cash at the end of Q4 2015.The talks allegedly have focused on providing SunEdison with $300 million in capital. The firm also states that the holders of SunEdison’s second-lien loan have hired the firm Akin Gump as legal counsel, and follow in the failure of out-of-court negotiations.

SunEdison held over $11 billion in debt at the end of Q3 2015, and has cited “material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting” for the delays in its Q4 results. The company did not responded to pv magazine requests for confirmation of these talks by press time.

SunEdison stock slid 16% around noon when this news broke on multiple outlets, and is now at only 5% of the value it held last July.

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TRACKING TECHNOLOGY

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Delta’s Solar Tracking Solution Contributes To Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project Delta Group recently announced its participation in SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant with integrated molten salt energy storage.

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key part of the electricity generation operation, Delta’s solar tracking solution offers industry leading performance and pointing accuracy to help synchronize and manage over 10,000 tracking mirrors, called heliostats. The heliostats reflect the sun’s thermal energy to a receiver tower, resulting in the generation of clean renewable electricity. Now operational, the Crescent Dunes facility can produce more than 500 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year to power 75,000 homes during peak demand periods, even after sunset, using only the power of the sun.

“We are pleased to have worked together with SolarReserve on the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, which now generates clean renewable electricity to power 75,000 homes with zero emissions.

The project fulfills Delta’s long-standing mission to provide innovative, clean, and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow. It’s a milestone for Delta in developing total solutions. This successful case uses Delta’s solar tracking automation systems that combine a series of Delta’s advanced technologies.”

- M.S. Huang , President, Delta Products Corporation

Delta’s solar tracking automation systems are developed by its Industrial Automation team, and include programmable logic controllers (PLCs), servo motors, power conversion and networking products, and system management software.

Delta’s DVP-Series PLCs offer high-speed, stable, and highly reliable performance for all kinds of industrial automation machinery. Delta’s control system and AC servo motors provide high-speed and high-precision motion control for a wide range of industrial automation applications.

SolarReserve’s 110 megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project located in Nevada uses 10,347 billboard-sized tracking mirrors called heliostats, each with an on-board Delta solar tracking automation system, to precisely reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a large 100-foot receiver atop a 540-foot tower.

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“Delta’s solar tracking solution offers industry leading performance and pointing accuracy, while using less energy to position the heliostats. Our team worked closely with Delta’s engineering to develop advanced tracking technology that helps boost overall plant performance.”

-Kevin Smith , Chief Executive Officer, SolarReserve

Within the receiver, molten salt flows through piping and absorbs the heat from the concentrated sunlight.

The collected sun’s thermal energy heats the molten salt to over 1,050°F (566°C).

After passing through the receiver, the molten salt flows down the piping inside the tower and into a thermal storage tank, where the energy is reserved as hightemperature molten salt until electricity is needed.

The tank holds enough in storage to dispatch up to ten hours of electricity at nameplate capacity.

When electricity is needed, even when the sun is not shining, the hot molten salt is used to generate highquality superheated steam to drive a standard steam turbine.

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MIDDLE EAST AFRICA

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Sterling And Wilson Commissions 90 MW Solar PV Plant In South Africa Sterling and Wilson, a leading global solar EPC with around 1000 MW of installed solar PV capacity on ground, has commissioned its 90 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant in South Africa. The solar power plant commissioned by S&W has been set up for Solar Capital De Aar (Pty) Ltd close to De Aar in the Northern Cape region of South Africa.

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he project is a part of the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPP). This IPP Procurement Program has been designed so as to contribute towards socio-economic and environmentally sustainable growth, and to start and stimulate the renewable industry in South Africa. The commissioning of the project is also a quintessential symbol of partnership between India & South Africa in Solar Energy Sector, marking the beginning of an association between BRICS countries in upcoming technology.

The solar plant will be operational for 20 years and is expected to generate approximately 183 000 MWh of power during its first year. While installing the solar power plant S&W employed more than 90% un-skilled employees from the local community. The Power generated by the solar photovoltaic plant will be evacuated at 132 kV voltage level. Sterling and Wilson’s scope of work for this project included turnkey EPC and construction of a 132 kV Substation and 15 km Transmission line including refurbishment of last 5 km line. S&W will also be doing Operation & Maintenance of said plant. The company is already doing O&M activities for 500 MW of projects globally of projects ranging from 1 MW-150 MW. The power produced by the solar plant will be purchased by Eskom, the South African National Utility Company.

The plant is engineered to work at a high performance ratio of around-

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“S&W Engineering Pty ltd is BEEE Level 3 Company. We were focused on ensuring that our reputation as a technically competent, quality conscious, and cost effective solar EPC solutions provider is enhanced with each project we deliver. The fact that Sterling and Wilson was selected ahead of well entrenched international solar EPC’s to partner with Solar Capital De Aar 3 (Pty) Ltd in constructing this 90 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant for them is an indicator of our superior engineering and project execution capabilities.

We have delivered Solar Capital De Aar 3 (Pty) Ltd a technologically advanced and optimized solar power plant within the tight timeframe of 10 months.”

- Mr. Bikesh Ogra, President, Sterling and Wilson, Electrical & Solar Business

One of the major challenges that Sterling and Wilson encountered while planning the project was to find a solution to reduce power generation losses while transmitting the power to the substation situated at a distance.

500 MW

Sterling and Wilson has already committed to executing 500 MW of photovoltaic (PV) power plants across different parts of Africa in the coming three years.

It has also set up local offices in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and other parts of the African regions as a testament to its commitment of establishing itself as the numero-uno Solar EPC Company in the African Solar Market.

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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Global Trends In RE Investment 2016 An authoritative and detailed analysis of global investment in renewable energy is published today, revealing record global investment ($285.9bn in 2015, up 5%), record capacity installed (134GW, up from 106GW in 2014) and – perhaps most strikingly – for the relative importance of developing countries.

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eveloping economies invested $156bn in renewables [1] in 2015, up 19% on the previous year, an all-time high and 17 times the figure for 2004. By contrast, investment by developed economies slipped 8% in 2015 to $130bn. This is the first time that the emerging world has out-invested the richer nations.

Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016 is the 10th edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report. Based on data and analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, it is the world’s foremost reference document on renewable energy investment, and for the examination of trends by region, country, sector and investment type.

The 84-page report is full of information on the deals, issues and policy moves that lay behind the rise in world renewable energy investment last year, and highlights all the major features – including a hectic year for wind and solar in China, record-breaking financing of offshore wind globally, and the rollercoaster ride of equity raising by “yieldco” vehicles. Chapter 2 of the report, entitled Renewable energy in perspective, highlights the way investment in green power has jumped far ahead of investment in fossil fuel generation, but also shows that the world is not yet on course to rein in carbon emissions. This year’s focus chapter is on Renewable energy and storage. It discusses the challenge of balancing variable generation sources such as wind and solar, and the potential of storage technologies to address this. The chapter presents eye-catching data on the speed of reduction in lithium-ion battery prices and analysis on the cost and benefit of adding storage to renewable power plants to make them more responsive to the needs of the grid.

Chapter 4 of the report, entitled Investment sources, looks at where the billions of dollars being ploughed into the buildout of renewable technologies are coming from, highlighting innovations in the provision of debt and equity. The Executive Summary and 10 chapters of the Global Trends report draw heavily on Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s statistics on renewable energy investment. These figures are not the same as BNEF’s clean energy investment total published earlier this year, because clean energy includes not only renewables but also energy smart technologies such as smart grid, efficiency, advanced transportation and power storage.Bloomberg New Energy Finance plans to publish its data for clean energy investment in the first quarter of 2016 in early April.

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Global Solar-PV Polysilicon Prices Rise, As China-US Trade Dispute Continues, IHS Says The ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States continues to affect the manufacture of polysilicon used for solar-photovoltaic (PV) modules in both countries, but not equally.

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rush to install projects in China before the deadline for feed in tariff (FIT) levels of those projects on June 30, 2016 is the primary reason polysilicon prices are increasing, according to IHS Inc. , the leading global source of critical information and insight. In fact, before the Chinese New Year in February 2016, polysilicon sold for just $12 per kilogram, on average; however, prices are now expected to rise to $19 per kilogram by April 2016.

“Strong demand for polysilicon prices is triggered by the FIT deadline in China. Buyers cannot wait any longer to buy polysilicon for solar modules, if they want to them produced and installed before the end of June. It is highly unlikely that polysilicon prices will continue increasing in the second half of the year, but a flat pricing outlook is certainly a possibility, if demand remains as high as previously forecast.”

- Karl Melkonyan, Solar Supply-chain analyst, IHS Technology U.S. polysilicon manufacturers have essentially lost access to China, which is the largest photovoltaic (PV) modulemanufacturing base. This situation is causing severe financial distress for many U.S.-based companies, which cannot benefit from the strong polysilicon demand and recent price increase in China. Meanwhile, suppliers in Korea and other Asian countries have greatly benefited from their ability to increase market share in China and other markets. In fact, Korean polysilicon players now account for almost half of all imported polysilicon in China.

“Western manufacturers can no longer sell into China, which is leading to inventory oversupply and even causing some factories to close. Although they are trying to sell polysilicon at bargain prices, there is low demand for purchasing silicon outside of China, because most wafer factories are located in China.”

- Jessica Jin, Solar Supply chain analyst , IHS Technology.

Consolidation continues within the global polysilicon industry according to IHS supply-chain analysts. Some important manufacturers have reduced their business scale and only a few players have announced capacity expansion plans in 2016.

“Polysilicon inventories have reached critical levels, which is placing many U.S.-based polysilicon companies at risk; however, due to increased demand in China, OCI, Hanwha Chemical and other Korean suppliers have been able to reduce their inventory levels significantly,” Jin said.

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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Renewable Energy Investments: Major Milestones Reached, New World Record Set Coal and gas-fired electricity generation last year drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables capacity – one of several important firsts for green energy announced in a UN-backed report.

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lobal Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016, the 10th edition of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) annual publication, launched today by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), says the annual global investment in new renewables capacity, at $266 billion, was more than double the estimated $130 billion invested in coal and gas power stations in 2015.All investments in renewables, including early-stage technology and research and development as well as spending on new capacity, totalled $286 billion in 2015, some 3 per cent higher than the previous record in 2011. Since 2004, the world has invested $2.3 trillion in renewable energy (unadjusted for inflation).

Just as significantly, developing world investments in renewables topped those of developed nations for the first time in 2015.

Helped by further falls in generating costs per megawatt-hour, particularly in solar photovoltaics, renewables excluding large hydro made up 54 per cent of added gigawatt capacity of all technologies last year. It marks the first time new installed renewables have topped the capacity added from all conventional technologies.

The 134 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power added worldwide in 2015 compares to 106GW in 2014 and 87GW in 2013.

Were it not for renewables excluding large hydro, annual global CO2emissions would have been an estimated 1.5 gigatonnes higher in 2015.

“Global investment in renewables capacity hit a new record in 2015, far outpacing that in fossil fuel generating capacity despite falling oil, gas and coal prices.

It has broadened out to a wider and wider array of developing countries, helped by sharply reduced costs and by the benefits of local power production over reliance on imported commodities.”

- Michael Liebreich, Chairman of the Advisory Board, BNEF

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“Renewables are becoming ever more central to our lowcarbon lifestyles, and the record-setting investments in 2015 are further proof of this trend. Importantly, for the first time in 2015, renewables in investments were higher in developing countries than developed. Access to clean, modern energy is of enormous value for all societies, but especially so in regions where reliable energy can offer profound improvements in quality of life, economic development and environmental sustainability. Continued and increased investment in renewables is not only good for people and planet, but will be a key element in achieving international targets on climate change and sustainable development. By adopting the Sustainable Development Goals last year, the world pledged to end poverty, promote sustainable development, and to ensure healthier lives and access to affordable, sustainable, clean energy for all.

Continued and increased investment in renewables will be a significant part of delivering on that promise.”

-Kevin Smith , Chief Executive Officer, SolarReserve As in previous years, the report shows the 2015 renewable energy market was dominated by solar photovoltaics and wind, which together added 118GW in generating capacity, far above the previous record of 94GW set in 2014. Wind added 62GW and photovoltaics 56GW. More modest amounts were provided by biomass and waste-topower, geothermal, solar thermal and small hydro.

In 2015, more attention was drawn to battery storage as an adjunct to solar and wind projects and to small-scale PV systems. Energy storage is of significant importance as it is one way of providing fast-responding balancing to the grid, whether to deal with demand spikes or variable renewable power generation from wind and solar.

Last year, some 250MW of utility-scale electricity storage (excluding pumped hydro and leadacid batteries) was installed worldwide, up from 160MW in 2014.

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VENUE HYATT REGENCY, bhikaji cama place

VENUE HOTEL NOVOTEL, JUHU BEACH

India’s Premiere Renewable Energy Finance & Investment Conference

Rajeev Mahajan Senior President Yes Bank

Sanjeev Gupta MD Nexgen Financial Services

INTERVIEW

Interview with

ALEX HE Q. y MWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of EQ : How man rs have been Solar Inverte d r co in India an u o y y b d lie p sup e? future look lik how does the

ith MW contract w ei signed a 100 w wei ua ua H H , , 15 16 20 20 AH : In ough. In hr kt ea br a is 1. al is 2 which India Waaree, r market. Our go rte ve in l ia nt se up, the sees India an es recast by Mercom Capital Gro info to will be GW. According for India in 2016 d ne an pl ty ci e will double.

PV power capa the market scal d an W G 4 er pid growth. By creased to ov will maintain ra a di In in t ke ar ease from 20 The PV m et yield will incr rg ta er w po V P ing more ad2022, . Huawei will br W G 0 10 to W G d solutions eful products an vanced and us ute to arket to contrib to the Indian m du the PV in stry the prosperity of in India.

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April 2016

Please enlighten our readers on the unique technology aspect of these inverters installed in India and its performance.

AH : High efficiency up to 99%. Multiple MPP trackers realize real time and accurate string detection. The detection accuracy can reach 0.5%, 6 times higher than traditional centralized inverters. Multiple MPP trackers can also effectively reduce the impact and influence caused by shadowing and string mismatch, dramatically improving the yields by at least 2% for ground PV plants, and up to 5% and more for hill and mountain mounted PV plants. Fully closed design ensures high level protection based on our mature and advanced telecom technology. IP65 protection makes our inverter versatile for all the hostile outdoor environment like high temperature, high dampness, high altitude, extreme cold, sandy, salt and mist areas. In addition, we remove quick wear parts like external fans with natural cooling technology and fuses, which enable ZERO touch maintenance and guarantee human and property safety. We use our own chipset Hisilicon and operating system to reduce the weight and heat dispersion. There are no quick wear parts like fuse and external fans, which ensures free maintenance. Furthermore, our inverters are open, supporting inputs of different equipment and parts like trackers and sensors of other industries. Furthermore, we adopt the Power Line Communication (PLC) technology, allowing communication via power cable and removing communications cable. The PLC is cable-free, and the communication bandwidth is much higher than RS485. Additionally, the engineering is accordingly simplified and economic. Our patented anti-PID module can avoid PID effect without PV-tie to ground directly, effectively guaranteeing human safety. Our string inverters are in excellent condition for the 100 MW project with Waaree. The stable and high efficiency running is highly recognized by the Waaree. We expect more customers to choose and enjoy the high performance of our smart PV inverters

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INTERVIEW

Q. General Mangaer Of Global Solutions & Sales at Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

Q.

Please enlighten our readers on the debate of “Central vs. String Inverters Design” Which concept is best suited for India and why.

AH : String is better. The string inverter design is not simply ideal for rooftops but also widely adopted by large-scale PV plants. The string inverter design has been highly recognized by the public. In addition, we have compared the two solutions from different aspects. The string inverter design has better performance in view of safety, yields, system cost, installation, O&M, monitoring, environmental adaptability, and grid connection. It is tested and proved not simply in theory but also in the practical application from customers’ projects. Our string inverters and solution have been widely applied in a single project over 50 MW both in China and overseas markets. India has tropical extreme climate with high temperature and dampness. There is also a long rainy season.

Huawei fully closed design inverter with IP65 protection guarantees the long term operation with safety and reliability. Multiple MPP trackers enable high accuracy detection and improve the yields by over 3%. Our smart PV inverters become the brain of the plant, realizing smart operation and maintenance with digital information and internet technology.

Q.

What are the other products and solutions for Solar PV plant provided by your co and what are its technological features?

AH : Apart from our smart PV controller, we have other products like smart array controller and smart management system. Smart array controller integrates data logger, PLC module, anti-PID module, and communication module. It dramatically simplifies the system and network establishment, reducing the potential fault parts. Smart management system is the core part of our smart PV solution. The O&M efficiency can be increased by over 50% through our smart PV solution. We develop the advanced system for both plant and corporation levels, which can realize mobile and remote operation and maintenance globally.

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Please tell us in detail about your company (Company structure, Sales, Employees, Products & Solutions etc).

AH : Huawei, a leading global information and communication technology solutions provider, is committed to creating maximum value for customers, with products and solutions deployed in over 170 countries, serving more than one third of the world’s population. Combining digital information technology, Internet technology and PV generation technology, Huawei provides innovative FusionSolar Smart PV solution and inverters with a wide application in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, etc. in 2015, Huawei inverter global shipment achieved 10.5 GW. Huawei has 6 R&D centers specifically for Inverter products around the world with 800+ engineers, having received more than 100 patents of which 90% are invention patents. As a company, Huawei holds over 38,000 technology and design patents.

Huawei FusionSolar Smart PV solution is to take the whole PV plant as an entity and make improvement throughout the whole process, from the PV plant construction to maintenance. It can optimize initial investment, reduce maintenance costs, increase power generation and finally increase IRR. By delivering higher efficient power generation, smart operation, reliable safety, it will secure 25 years of constant investment proceeds to our customers.

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INTERVIEW

e hat ar rms W : Q E in te urces ales, O&M o s e r the for s ed ower ts develop et? p n a ec rk of m er asp e Indian ma h t o d th an eam sent in local t vice. e r s a p s d n an rso d ser

pe an ver 20 , products, h the maro e v a wit eh ales AH : W ludes the s r expanded employees inc rthe cal m. which m will be fu th. More lo chnical tea e w a t n o e a d d gr The t sales the sales an gy, service d n a t o to ke nol ff in added 00 sta d tech will be i is of share ave over 57 &D. Also h Huawe uction. We cusing on R ouse d o r 0 fo areh p ith 270 relevant w rs in w a i d e n I cente ve th we ha spare part rve the se and o best India t market.

Q.

Kindly enlighten us on the ongoing R&D within the company and the way forward for its technology, products and services.

What’s your annual R&D budget?

AH : (1) Huawei currently has 170,000 employees, among which 76,000 are engaged in R&D. (2) In 2015, Huawei’s R&D investment is about 50 billion RMB, which accounts for 12.8% of its revenue.

(3) In 2015, the estimated sales revenue is about 390 billion RMB, an increase of 35% from a year earlier.

Huawei invests at least 10% of its revenue in R&D every year to maintain its leading edge in the world in terms of technologies and products. Huawei is also therefore recognized as a leader in technical innovation in the industry. The aim of innovation is to maximize value for customers and provide cutting edge, high quality, and cost-efficient products and solutions to customers.

Q.

Please tell us about the unique technological features of your products which are also distinguishing factors.

AH : Multiple MPP trackers and high accuracy string detection highly improve the yields and reduce the power loss. IP65 protection enables high environment adaptability and application. Open platform design enables cross industry cooperation. Power Line Communication technology allows communication via power cable and removes communication cable. The PLC is cable-free, and the communication bandwidth is much higher than RS485. Additionally, the engineering is accordingly simplified and economic. Anti-PID Module. Huawei antiPID Module for Smart PV Plant is a solution to avoid PID effect without PV-tie to ground directly. Natural Cooling Design. There are no external fans. The thermal conductive coefficient of gum fed inside the enclosure is 30 times higher than air. In addition, integrated Molding Cast Aluminum enclosure avoids contact heat resistance between fins and the radiating substrate, allowing stable radiation performance.

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Q.

What is your Top 5 Advice to a Project Developer in India while choosing your products for its Solar PV Plant?

AH: A). About investment: Apart from initial investment, take more consideration about LCOE. The designed life cycle for PV plants is over 20 years. Lower initial investment with poor quality equipment or simple solution may bring happy beginning but sad ending with big power loss, high O&M cost, and safety issues.

B). About brand choosing: Product quality and good solution are important. A reliable business partner or brand is more important to fulfill the task to carry out the service through the full lifetime up to 25 years for PV plants.

C). About solution: Choose the right products for the right solution. The right technical route can ensure that we march for the right direction and avoid technical change or shift in the middle.

D). About O&M: Do not overlook the daily operation and maintenance cost. It occupies a large part of the running cost in the long run. Find the effective and smart solution or management to improve the O&M efficiency and save the cost.

E). About safety and reliability: Safety is the top priority for plants running. Apart from the daily safety inspection and prevention work, choosing the right equipment and solution to guarantee the safety and reliability is a better way or the shortcut. One accident may turn all into nothing.

Q.

How does Huawei guarantee quality?

AH: Huawei Global Compliance & Testing Center (GCTC) is a comprehensive laboratory that integrates EMC, RF, Telecom, safety and environment reliability tests, and is recognized by international authoritative organizations, including CNAS, ATLA, MET, ITS CETECOM. GCTC offers services of testing, compliance, and design consultations to Huawei products in accordance with the ISO/IEC17025. Huawei GCTC adopts not only traditional testing equipment but takes the lead to use other testing equipment to conduct the combined stress tests of temperature, humidity and corrosive dust, high temperature rain tests, simulated solar radiation tests, and lightening tests.

These tests pose higher requirements on the adaptation of Huawei products.Huawei inverters need to pass the stringent tests of Huawei GCTC. The tests comprise two parts: the short-term and the long-term reliability tests, and each part also contains many tests. The short-term tests include HALT test, high/low temperature tests, rain test, icing test, low pressure test, humid dust test, lightening test, EMC tests (electromagnetic radiation, surge, static, lightening, etc.), and safety regulations test. The long-term tests include temperature cycle test (TC), high temperature operation bias (THOB), lifespan test (LLT), and outfield exposure test (high temperature, humidity and salt). The time of long-term reliability tests all exceeds 1000 hours and some of the tests even last over a year. The reliability tests of Huawei inverters cover many actual scenarios, such as high humidity, rain, salt/ humid dust corrosion, solar radiation, capricious temperatures, lightening strokes, high altitudes, and extreme temperatures (– 60°C, 100°C).

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INTERVIEW

Q.

Have your products won any award recently? Kindly enlighten us in detail about this product.

No. Activity Name 1

Organized By

No. 88 in Interbrand’s Top 100 Best Global Brands

2

2014 Top 100 Global Innovators

3

2014 list of the World’s 100 Most InDemand Employers

4

5

Interbrand

Award Name Best global brands 2015

Q.

What is Huawei’s position in the global market and how strong is Huawei’s R&D?

AH : In 2014, Huawei became one of the Top 10 manufacturers with a global order amount of 5.5 GM and shipment of 4 GW.

Thomson Reuters

2014 Top 100 Global Innovators

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s 2014 list of the World’s 100 Most InDemand Employers

The Most Innovative Companies 2014

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

The Most Innovative Companies 2014

TUV “Quality China”

TUV (laboratory)

Quality China, Star of Rhine, Solar Inverter Award

Annual PRC PV Plant Award

PVP365

PRC PV Plant Intelligent Application Top 5 PRC PV Inverter Enterprise PRC PV Power Plant Business Achievement Award

PRC PV Plant Industry Top 20

PVP365

Top 1 in inverter (in terms of revenue)

Beijixing

Beijixing

Excellent String Inverter Supplier Best PV Plant Solution

9

Top 10 Highlights

SNEC

Top 10 Highlights Terawatt Diamond Award

10

2015 AsiaSolar Innovative Company

AsiaSolar

2015 AsiaSolar Innovative Company

Global New Energy Enterprise

China Energy News, Energy Economics Research Institute

Global New Energy Enterprise Outstanding Contribution Award

Nuremberg, Germany: Inverter Architecture & Design Center

CREC Annual Award

Solarbe

Excellent String Inverter Supplier PV Energy Efficiency Leader

Stockholm, Sweden: Algorithm and Topology Research Center

CQC Top Runner

CQC (third-party authoritative test organization)

2015 China PV Top Runner Excellent Enterprise

2015 PV Industry Awards

OFWEEK magazine

Best Inverter Company Innovative Inverter Company

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In 2015, Huawei achieved a global order amount of 15 GW and a shipment of 10.5 GW (China: 8.5 GW, outside China: 2 GW).

Core inverter components are manufactured and assembled in Huawei South Factory, Songshan Lake, Dongguan. The factory can manufacture up to 80,000 inverters per month.

INVERTER TEAM 1. 800 R&D engineers, 10% of which are non-Chinese employees 2. 100+ inventions and patents 3. Six R&D centers

Silicon Valley, United States: Chip Design Center Shanghai: Development Center Shenzhen: Engineering & Manufacturing Center Beijing and Chengdu: FusionSolar R&D Center

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“UDAY” SCHEME

PUNJAB JOINS “UDAY” SCHEME Would Derive an Overall Net Benefit of Rs.5475 Crore Through “UDAY”

T The Government of India, the State of Punjab and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) which takes care of the power distribution activity of Punjab signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Scheme UDAY – “Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana”, for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOMs.

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he signing ceremony was held in the august presence of the Union Minister of State for Power (IC) Shri Piyush Goyal and Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Punjab will be highly benefitted by the UDAY especially the farmers and the industrialists. He also assured that the Power Ministry is in discussion with the Punjab Government about replacing all old water pumps with the improved, technologically advanced and energy efficient water pumps in the state. While, Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal appreciated the Power Minister for taking India from being power deficit country towards power surplus country and said that UDAY will be tackling total discom debt of Rs.20838 and thus revive the power sector of the state.

Under UDAY, seven states have signed MoU till date. The combined DISCOM debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.6 lakh crore, which is approximately 37% of the total outstanding DISCOM debt of Rs.4.3 lakh crore as on 30th September, 2015.

Today the Government of Punjab has taken a positive step towards supporting its DISCOM by signing the MOU under UDAY and agreeing to take over the debt of the DISCOM gradually.

The Government of Punjab would take over Rs.15628 crore of DISCOM debt,

hile efforts will be made by the State Government and the DISCOM to improve the operational efficiency of the DISCOM, and thereby reduce the cost of supply of power, the Central government would also provide incentives to the DISCOMs and the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power. The Central schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund or such other schemes of MOP and MNRE are already providing funds for improving Power Infrastructure in the State and additional/priority funding would be considered under these schemes, if the State/DISCOMs meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme. The State shall also be supported through additional coal at notified prices and in case of availability through higher capacity utilization, low cost power from NTPC and other CPSUs. Other benefits such as coal swapping, coal rationalization, correction in coal grade slippage, availability of 100% washed coal would help the state to further reduce the cost of Power. The State would gain around Rs.1250 crore. due to these coal reforms.

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being 75% of the total DISCOM debt of Rs.20838 crore outstanding as on 30.09.2015, as envisaged in the scheme.

The scheme also provides for the balance debt of Rs.5210 crore. to be re-priced or issued as State guaranteed DISCOM bonds, at coupon rates around 3% less than the average existing interest rate.

The annual saving in the interest cost to the State would be around Rs.625 crore on account of restructuring of the DISCOM debt.

Besides trying to support the DISCOM financially, the MoU paves way for further improving operational efficiency of the already efficient DISCOM. Through compulsory Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, feeder audit etc. AT&C losses and transmission losses would be brought down, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation. The reduction in AT&C losses and transmission losses to 14% and 2.5% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs.1600 cr. during the period of turnaround.

The above measures would help improve the rating of the DISCOM, which would help them in raising cheaper funds for their future capital investment requirement. This is expected to provide interest cost saving of around Rs.60 crore to the DISCOMs.

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emand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energyefficient LED bulbs, agricultural pumps, fans & air-conditioners and efficient industrial equipment through PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) would help in reducing peak load, flatten load curve and thus help in reducing energy consumption in the State of Punjab. The gain is expected to be around Rs.690 crore. n overall net benefit of approximately Rs.5475 crore would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. during the period of turnaround.

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he ultimate benefit of signing the MOU would go to the people of Punjab. Reduced levels of transmission and AT&C losses would mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to consumers. Further, financially and operationally healthy DISCOM would be in a position to supply more power. Higher demand for power from DISCOM would mean higher PLF of Generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity which would again mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to the consumers.

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“UDAY” SCHEME

HARYANA JOINS “UDAY” SCHEME Would Derive an Overall Net Benefit of Rs. 14160 Crore Through “UDAY”

T

The Government of India, the State of Haryana and the DISCOMs of Haryana (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd.) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Scheme UDAY – “Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana” for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOMs.

he signing ceremony was held in the august presence of the Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal Khattar and the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Shri Piyush Goyal.

Haryana is the 8th State to sign MoU under UDAY. With Haryana coming into the fold, the combined DISCOM debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.94 lac crore, which is approximately 45% of the total outstanding DISCOM debt of Rs.4.3 lac crore as on 30th September, 2015.

The Government of Haryana has taken a major step towards improving the financial health of the DISCOMs by signing the MOU under UDAY and agreeing to take over the debt of the DISCOMs. The Government of Haryana would take over Rs.25950 crore of DISCOM debt, being 75% of the total DISCOM debt of Rs.34600 crore outstanding as on 30.09.2015, as envisaged in the scheme. The scheme also provides for the balance debt of Rs.8650 crore to be re-priced or issued as State guaranteed DISCOM bonds, at coupon rates around 3% less than the average

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existing interest rate. The annual saving in the interest cost to the State would be around Rs.1040 crore on account of restructuring of the DISCOM debt.

UDAY not only focusses on bringing about financial turnaround of the DISCOMs. It also lays stress on improving operational efficiencies of the DISCOMs. In order to bring about a sustainable turnaround of the DISCOMs, the State of Haryana and the DISCOMs will improve operational efficiency through compulsory Feeder and Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of highend consumers, thereby bringing about reduction in transmission losses and AT&C losses, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation. The reduction in AT&C losses and transmission losses to 15% and 2.50% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs.7150 crore during the period of turnaround.

With the financial turnaround through financial and operational efficiencies, the rating of the DISCOMs would improve, which would help them in raising cheaper

he ultimate benefit of signing the MOU would go to the people of Haryana. Higher demand for power from DISCOMs would mean higher PLF of Generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity thereby benefitting consumers. The DISCOMs would also increase power supply in areas with reduced AT&C losses. The scheme would allow speedy availability of power to around 2.85 lakh households in Haryana that are still without electricity. Availability of 24×7 power to hitherto unconnected villages/households etc. would boost the economy, promote industries, thereby improving employment opportunities and see Haryana develop into one of the leading industrialised States in India.

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funds for their future capital investment requirement. This is expected to provide interest cost saving of around Rs.90 crore. to the DISCOMs. While efforts will be made by the State Government and the DISCOMs to improve the operational efficiency of the DISCOMs, and thereby reduce the cost of supply of power, the Central government would also provide incentives to the DISCOMs and the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power. The Central schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund or such other schemes of MOP and MNRE are already providing funds for improving Power Infrastructure in the State and additional/ priority funding would be considered under these schemes, if the State/DISCOMs meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme. The State shall also be supported through additional coal at notified prices and in case of availability through higher capacity utilization, low cost power from NTPC and other CPSUs. Other benefits such as coal swapping, coal rationalization, correction in coal grade slippage, availability of 100% washed coal would help the state to further reduce the cost of Power. The State would gain around Rs.2100 crore due to these coal reforms.

Demand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energy-efficient LED bulbs, agricultural pumps, fans & airconditioners and efficient industrial equipment through PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) would help in reducing peak load, flatten load curve and thus help in reducing energy consumption in the State of Haryana. The gain is expected to be around Rs.1700 crore.

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n overall net benefit of approximately Rs.14160 crore. would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. during the period of turnaround.

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DAY is an effort to make the DISCOMs financially independent and operationally healthy, to be able to supply adequate power at affordable rates, through 100% Village electrification and 24X7 Power For All.

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Research & Analysis

Solar Installations In India To Double In 2016 With More Than 4 Gw, Reports Mercom Capital Group

“The Indian solar sector is finally coming out of hibernation. Solar installations in 2015 increased by 142 percent after three years of remaining flat, and we expect 2016 and 2017 to record strong growth.”

RAJ PRABHU, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, MERCOM CAPITAL GROUP

Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy communications and research firm, recently released its quarterly update on the Indian solar market.

Mercom forecasts more than 4 GW in total solar installations for the 2016 calendar year, nearly 100 percent year-over-year (YoY) growth from the 2015 total of 2,133 MW.

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here is cautious optimism in the solar industry as aggressive bidding remains a major concern throughout the sector, said Prabhu. The latest auctions have hit new lows at Rs.4.34 ($0.064)/kWh, a drop of about six percent in the last three months. Projects with tariffs under Rs.5 (~$0.0735)/kWh, unless built at a cost of Rs.5 crores (~$0.7 million) or below, are considered extremely risky and difficult to finance by lenders and most developers.

But most of these projects are, however, expected to be commissioned in 2017 and developers hope that in the time period between bidding and procurement, module and balance of system (BOS) costs will continue to drop along with interest rates to make these projects feasible.

The recently announced budget did not have much for the solar industry to cheer about. Accelerated depreciation will be reduced from 80 percent to 40 percent beginning in FY 2017. This reduction will mostly affect rooftop solar, some large-scale projects and the wind sector. The Clean Environment Cess [formerly known as the Clean Energy Cess (tax)] has been increased from Rs.200 (~$3)/ ton to Rs.400 (~$6)/ton. This increase will make solar more competitive by increasing the cost of coal. But, increased costs are expected to be eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher electricity bills.

Furthermore, nearly half of this tax in the past has gone to the Ministry of Water Resources for the Ganga rejuvenation project and we cannot assume that the entire amount collected from the new coal tax will go towards renewable energy.

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Research & Analysis

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n January, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the revised tariff policy.

One of the most significant revisions is a Renewable Power Obligation (RPO) which would require that eight percent of electricity consumption be procured from solar energy by March 2022.

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his is an important step towards achieving the 100 GW goal, but the RPO will remain just a number without strict enforcement.The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recently ruled against India’s domestic content policy for solar cells and modules which was originally filed in 2013. In the short term, this will affect manufacturers who are overly dependent on the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) market.

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n the long term, the effect should be minimal as DCR projects are a small part of the projects auctioned; manufacturers now have clarity and can adjust their strategy accordingly in order to compete. The Indian government is expected to appeal the ruling.

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“Restricting the use of cheaper nondomestic components while expecting solar power at the lowest possible price has never made sense,” Mr. PRABHU Added

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INDIA

Solargise India Announces Launch Of Its Commercial Operations On 23rd March, 2016 Solargise India Pvt Ltd, the Bengaluru based solar product manufacturing and project development company, officially launched its commercial operations today in New Delhi. Aligning with the National Solar Mission, Solargise intends to build over 2 GW of solar power plants across the country over the next three to four years.

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upporting the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s “Make in India” mission, Solargise is setting up manufacturing plants for 500 MW of Solar Photovoltaic Cells and 500 MW of third generation Solar Photovoltaic modules with patented technology. The state-of-theart manufacturing plants will be set up in Dabaspet Industrial Area, Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka.

The facility will house climate chamber for module reliability testing and Research & Development centre for energy storage solutions, the first of its kind in India.

Solargise has selected GE as its strategic technology and EPC partner to deliver 2 GW solar power projects in India over the next three to four years, using GE’s

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latest generation 1.5kV Inverters, transformers and SCADA system to technologically futureproof the projects. GE’s innovative 1.5kV inverters will increase the efficiency of the plants and reduce the overall system cost for Solargise.

Solargise India was founded by Mr. Raj Basu in 2015 and the first employee was on board on 10th April 2015.

Since then Solargise has grown to over 30 employees with cumulative solar industry experience of over 100 years. Members of the team has played a key role in delivery of over 1GW of operational solar power plants in the country. Solargise currently has 60 MW of solar power plants under commissioning.

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INDIA Speaking about these significant developments and his “Sand to Power” vision to make renewable energy the alternative base power, Mr. Raj Basu, Executive Chairman of Solargise said-

“Creating the ideal living environment for human beings, free from polluted air, water and food whilst providing energy security for the country as a platform for long term sustainable growth is our basic driving force. At Solargise, we are creating the entire eco-system necessary to make renewable energy the alternative base power which will provide India with such a platform. We are pleased have GE as a reliable technology partner in our journey to make India energy independent.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Stephan Reimelt, President & CEO, GE Power Conversion said,

“GE is pleased to be part of Solargise’s aggressive solar build out in India. As a technology leader, GE is well poised to accelerate the adoption of solar technology in the country. Our range of products and solutions, specifically designed for the solar industry, cover a wide array of utility applications enabling perational efficiency, reliability, grid compliance and stability.”

Commenting on Solargise’s plans and current country’s solar capacity, Shri. Tarun Kapoor said-

“Currently India stands at 8th position in the total installed renewable energy capacity. We still have a target of 100 GW to achieve by 2020. This year will witness a lot of preparation towards achieving this target. This will include encouraging manufacturing of solar products in India, which are competitive in terms of price & quality with the imported products. Solargise is setting standards by being the front runner in manufacturing photovoltaic cells and modules using innovative and cutting edge technology. The technology is developed in Switzerland and competitive in terms of price and superior in terms of quality.”

Shri. Shyam Jaju, National Vice President, BJP added “The government of India appreciates, welcomes and supports the entrapeanurial spirit of Solargise which is setting up manufacturing facility using next generation technology under Make in India campaign”.

“The event was unique by itself with the product launch. Around 5000 MW of tenders will be announced by SECI in the coming months. These tenders will not just be limited to regions with high solar radiation but also to regions with average radiation. Hence policies and schemes will be revised at central and state level. Adapting to products manufactured using latest technology such as Solargise products will make such projects viable with reduction the overall project cost. Solargise products uses patented 3rd generation technology, away from the conventional technology products”.

- Commenting about the event Dr. Ashvini Kumar, MD, SECI Said

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Rooftop Projects

Solar Rooftop Policy Coalition

UNLEASHING PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN ROOFTOP SOLAR IN INDIA

I. Poised for growth : Good progress with Regulation

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he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), state governments and regulators have made good progress with net metering policies and regulations and 25 states now have net metering regulations. Capital subsidies have supported the market but their impact has been reduced because of limitations in the funds available. Accelerated depreciation has also been a driver but has deterred some important capital sources. Net metered rooftop solar is now viable for commercial and industrial consumers in seven states without subsidy, with more reaching tariff parity each year as solar costs decline and tariffs rise.

II. Scope to double growth by 2022

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lobally, rapid growth of rooftop solar has been reliant on government subsidies and subject to boom and bust as subsidies are introduced and withdrawn. We believe India has a unique opportunity to leapfrog to sustained market-led growth in a way which can set an example globally. Our modelling suggests that current measures would lead to installed capacity of 13.5 GW by 2022. However, strong measures to accelerate market-led growth can nearly double progress by 2022, to additional 26 GW without further fiscal incentives1 (see figure I). Our report contains over 50 recommendations that we believe will make this difference.

Unleashing this revolution in distributed solar could also offer significant spill-over benefits through technologies, skills, business models and experience that can accelerate Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress towards providing electricity for all by 2022.

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Measures to accelerate market-led growth can double rooftop solar capacity by 2022 www.EQMagPro.com

Rooftop Projects Figure I: Scenarios for installed capacity of rooftop solar in India to 2022

III. Gross Vs Net Metering

Figure II: Key priorities to maximise private sector growth in rooftop solar

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ne debate that continues to rage is the merits of net metering vs gross metering. We cover this in more detail in chapter 2. We believe that net metering is important to maximising progress towards 40 GW because: i) net metering regulations are in place in most states; ii) net metering strongly supports viability which is important in a sector which is still yet to take off and iii) net metering is easy for consumers to understand. As viability strengthens, adjustments to net metering (eg. a medium term grid services charge) can ensure a fair deal for utilities as well as rooftop owners. Several states are experimenting with gross metering regulations. Provided these regulations also support viability to encourage adoption, these innovations are welcome.

IV. Building sustained growth

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here are seven priorities that need to be addressed to unleash the potential of private investment in rooftop solar. Operationalising net metering (a), will require active support from utilities (b), which are two necessary foundations for the rooftop solar market. Without these foundations, market growth will be severely constrained.

With these foundations in place, the building blocks of investors and consumer confidence (c) and (d) are needed to realise the growth potential. Sustaining rapid growth means anticipating and addressing potential constraints including skills (e), sufficient realisable rooftop space and (f) continued drivers such as mandates (g) to support adoption.

Figure I illustrates these.

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The Necessary Foundations For Market Growth Are a) Operationalising Net Metering – Easy, Quick Connections

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trong progress has been made putting in place net metering regulations. But in practice, these regulations are not yet operational in most places. Timescales for interconnections are uncertain and take many months. Utilities need to invest in systems and trained staff to facilitate new connections.

The three recommendations we think matter most here are: • Regulators should set and monitor target timescales for new connections, and should sanction non-compliance.

• Transparent data is needed on interconnections. Regulators should require utilities to publish data on applications, interconnection times, refusals and transformer loading.

• Regularly update the Forum of Regulators Draft Model Regulation to develop consistency and best practice across states. States should draw on draft model regulations when updating state regulations.

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Rooftop Projects

REGULATORS SHOULD SET TARGET TIMESCALES FOR NEW CONNECTIONS b) A Fair Deal For Utilities

THE BIGGEST DETERRENT TO INVESTORS IS THE PROBLEM OF CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT

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et metering supports viability by maximising the benefits to rooftop owners – and in many cases utilities lose a contribution to their fixed costs.

Therefore, we believe government needs to offer a package to utilities that addresses their medium term concern about losing revenue, offers short term incentives, and sends clear regulatory and political signals. The US has seen regulatory battles between utilities and rooftop solar advocates over the so-called utility death spiral. However, the context in India is fundamentally different, with a growing power market. The financial impact of rooftop solar on utilities is relatively small at low penetrations (and other issues such as under-pricing of power are far more important).

We recommend that Government should put in place a package of incentives for utilities addressing short term and medium term issues: • • • •

Introduce a medium term grid services charge on new net metered rooftop consumers to compensate utilities for grid services.

Adjust RPO rules so generation from rooftop counts as 1.3 times that from ground mounted towards RPO compliance to boost the sector.

Set up fund to support early-adopting utilities to make investments in infrastructure, training and systems for rooftop solar.

Send firm political and regulatory signals to utilities that active support for rooftop solar is mandatory.

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e do not believe that technical challenges with the grid will significantly hinder progress towards the government’s 40 GW target. Rooftop solar will require changes in the design and operation of distribution grids, but proven technologies exist to address these challenges. Most grid experts accept that until rooftop solar exceeds 5% of grid power (after 2022), the grid integration problems will be limited and highly localised. Rooftop solar also offers opportunities through avoiding some infrastructure costs by managing demand as well as through end-ofgrid voltage support.

Government should offer a package of incentives to utilities to secure their active participation in rooftop solar

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s well as ensuring these solid foundations for the rooftop solar market, it is important to urgently address the building blocks for growth:

c) Reducing investor risk and providing a level playing field for all investors:

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he biggest deterrent to investors is the problem of contract enforcement. Government needs to help make third party business models work. Tax incentives need to provide a level playing field for all investors to avoid deterring important sources for investment.

• • •

• •

•

Empower a local level quasi-judicial authority to resolve disputes related to denial of access to roof by the roof owner to the project developer.

Government should undertake or commission consultations on a credit default mechanism to boost investment.

Provide waiver of stamp duty charges for registration of roof lease agreements (as the rooftop value is otherwise nil, this will not result in loss of significant revenues for the exchequer).

Utilities to act as buyer of last resort (at discounted price) in case of disputed private power-purchase agreements.

Devise all rooftop policies including any financial support measures so as to create a level playing field between different classes of investors including consumersowners of rooftop systems.

Phase out accelerated depreciation or make the benefit available to all investors, and generation-based, when the current provision ends in 2017.

d) Consumer awareness, support for system quality:

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igh quality consumer information is important and should be outsourced to neutral, trusted bodies who can help consumers make effective choices about systems and suppliers.

•

State Nodal Agencies should support independent consumer bodies to provide high quality consumer information.

Once the market foundations and building blocks are in place, three pillars can drive sustained growth.

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Rooftop Projects

Figure III: Impact of priorities in additional MW by 2022

e) Skills in industry, regulators and utilities

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chieving 80-100% annual growth will be impossible without major investment in skills. Government will need to support and lead this with the immediate priority being skilled staff for utilities and regulators.

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Urgently roll out skill development in rooftop solar for regulators.

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Work with utilities to identify their urgent skills requirements and ensure supply of skilled staff can meet demand.

f) Maximising suitable rooftop space

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urrently, projects are delayed due to the absence of policies on rooftop solar by urban local bodies, resident welfare associations, industrial area bodies and other local groups. A sustained campaign is needed to put in place ‘deemed permissions’ for rooftop solar. Building regulations should encourage design of buildings to maximise suitable roof space.

•

Amend planning rules to make new buildings more ‘rooftop ready’.

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State Nodal Agencies should work with urban local bodies to put in place ‘deemed permissions’ with local authorities to facilitate rooftop solar approvals

g) Once other measures in place, mandates can support adoption

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andates are a powerful tool to encourage adoption once rooftop solar is economic for consumers but only once the other measures to stimulate the market are in place. Mandates should first be introduced for new buildings and then for retrofitting.

V. Making best use of scarce government resources

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hOne of the most challenging questions to answer in this study was whether government should offer additional incentives2, We have identified measures that we think can double market-led growth. In theory, additional subsidy could further boost the market in the next few years, helping to build the ecosystem and drive faster growth. But our analysis suggests that further subsidies would be poor value for money because much of the subsidy benefit would go to projects that would have happened anyway. Carefully targeted state-level subsidies may still have a stronger case but their value for money should be carefully analysed before going ahead.

•

Marginal benefits of additional subsidy are diminishing, so further direct fiscal subsidy would not be good value for money.

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Introduce mandates requiring rooftop solar for new buildings of all types over 500 square yards across India.

•

Non-subsidy measures offer better value for money and should be the first priority for the funds available to MNRE for rooftop solar (ahead of the 30% subsidy).

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States to adopt retrofit mandates once viability established and ecosystem in place to support additional adoption.

•

If states are considering subsidies, they should assess carefully the value for money and additional capacity that can be expected before going ahead.

Our modelling suggests that addressing these seven priorities for market growth could double adoption of rooftop solar by 2022.

MANDATES CAN ENCOURAGE ADOPTION, BUT ONLY ONCE VIABILITY AND ECO SYSTEM ARE IN PLACE

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Existing resources can be stretched further. In particular, it is important that resources are prioritised for measures that support market-based growth which offer much greater value for money than subsidy. We estimate that the measures recommended in this report would cost less than Rs 1,000 crores.

These costs should be the priority for the Rs 5,000 crores of central funds allocated for rooftop solar over the next five years.

DO NOT PROVIDE FURTHER FISCAL SUBSIDY TO REACH THE 40 GW TARGET

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Rooftop Projects VI. CONCLUSION

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t is absolutely clear that rooftop solar has a bright future in India but there is significant potential to accelerate progress. The recommendations in this report could double progress towards the government’s 2022 target. Our most important recommendations are summarised overleaf.

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THE PRIORITY FOR GOVERNMENT RESOURCES SHOULD BE NON-SUBSIDYMEASURE

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Rooftop Projects

ARTICLE BYThe Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, USAID

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Research & Analysis

Potential Assessment Approach And Cost Benefit Analysis Of Canal Top And Canal Bank Based Solar Project Compare To Ground Mounted Solar Project Presently, the unutilized roofs for roof top plant, barren and low vegetation land for ground mounted systems and Building Integrated Solar PV Plants have been using these unutilized locations for solar plant installation as these require large space for installation of power plant.

Ashish Verma- Senior Consultant Gensol Engineering Private Limited Payal Saxena- Associate Consultant Gensol Engineering Private Limited

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Hence, this is a great opportunity to tap unutilized area of Canal top and Canal bank for power generation through solar PV plant.

here are few other unutilized locations like stretches of Canals, nearby area of Railway lines which can also be used for solar plant installation. From the above locations, canal tops are getting popular as these locations, along with utilization of canal can save the water evaporation during the hot, sunny and windy environmental condition. Following are the benefits by installing canal top solar power plants: • S a v i n g w a t e r f r o m evaporation • Utilization of canal top for installation • Infrastructure development in nearby vicinity of Canal

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Methodology In first step, straight and parallel stretches must be located across the canal for proper installation of PV arrays. There are feet over bridges present in some trenches of canal needs to be detected before location of installation spots.

In second step, in canal top solar power plants, lots more steps to be taken like shadow casting objects like trees, vegetation available in the area, etc present along the stretch needs to be cut. Stone, pebbles, shrubs, needs to be clear for proper construction. Legal permission must to be taken if any reserved forest is present before cutting.

In third step, for construction, ground level of canal side to be checked before foundation casting for module mounting. This is one of the main issue occur in installation time. And mechanical strength of base, soil type should be surveyed.

In fourth step, technology and type of tracker is chosen. This is based on the climatic conditions, solar irradiation and ease of tracker system. The structures should be easy to work with, as they are to be set up over a slope. Mostly fixed tilt type of modules are selected in canal top solar projects. The structure shall specially design as per Indian Standards to withstand under a wind velocity of 60 m/s.

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Research & Analysis

Cost Analysis

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he cost analysis shows that for the same MW of power installation, the installation cost of canal top projects is more than that of ground mounted. The cost breakups are shown below: Based on the straight stretch of canal, upper width of canal, and ground level difference availability over canal are major factor to decide the following attributes• • •

Project Cost including specially DC/AC cable Length Module Mounting structure Type Construction involving columns and rafter throughout canal top which varies with the width of the canal.

FIG 3.1- Project cost with increasing width for same MW project

The canal tops canal with width from 9 m to 30 m is good for the installation. The structure tonnage is directly proportional to upper width of canal and accordingly costing varies.It has been analyzed that the comparative cost of the canal top project with increasing capacity decreases with the increase of canal width.

Graph 3.1 depicts that for same MW, canal project will cost more as compared to ground-mounted project. And with the increasing width the cost of project increases.

Graph 3.2:Ratio of project cost to increasing canal width

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Graph 3.2 depicts that ratio of cost of project with respect of increasing width of canal top reduces.

Hence for larger width, construction cost as compared to be smaller with will be less and more modules can be installed as larger area is available. Hence, there will be more power generation.

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Research & Analysis

Benefits

Disadvantages

The canal tops solar PV projects are initiated with special purpose unlike ground-mounted PV projects.

• Utilization of area for solar power generation • Saving of water from evaporation in hot climate condition • Performance improvement of power generation through solar due to cooling effect below the module.

• Employment opportunity for local.

• Reducing temperature losses and heat losses.

•

Designing Issue: As PV panels have to be aligned in a uniform way, it would get difficult to achieve the same over a canal which would be curvaceous and changes its direction over a length.

•

Structural Steel Cost: As the structures would get base support only from its two ends it needs to be much stronger than in case it would have been installed on land, thus adding more cost.

•

Power Evacuation: Power evacuation of small capacity over a long path would be difficult and costly due to increased cable costs.

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Safety of system: System spread over such a large length cannot be protected by boundary walls or fencing, thus security concerns are very major in such cases.

Scope

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he canal top solar projects have quite wider scope. As far as these aims are concerned i.e. Utilizing canal tops, power generation, the panels are built over the canal is meant to ensure that around million litres of water does not evaporate. This is one of the efficient and cheapest ways of land use for solar installation.

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Solar PV Manufacturing

A Novel Glue-Membrane Integrated Backsheet for PV Modules 1

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BY- WenjinXia ,Yuzheng Zhang ,York Yu , Hong Liu ,WenzhongShen ,Jianwei Lin , 1

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Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt CO.,LTD., P. R. China; Institute of Solar Energy, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, P.R.China.

ABSTRACT

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novel glue-membrane integrated backsheet specific for PV(photovoltaic) modules was designed and fabricated by utilizing flow tangent cast roll-to-roll coating process combined with plasma technique. Briefly, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) was adopted as a substrate. It was surface activated and etched by atmospheric plasma. Then, a special coating formulation containing reactive fluoropolymers was applied to both sides of PET followed by thermal curing, resulting in a glue-membrane integrated coating layer with polyurethane structure. Finally, a monolayer of silane molecules was grafted onto the surface via plasma enhanced deposition to give the surface medium surface energy, rendering excellent long-term adhesion to EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). SEM (scanning electron microscope) images revealed that plasma etching and activation significantly improved compatibility between PET and coating layer, resulting in a tight and strong integration between them.

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t was also confirmed by SEM that the obtained novel backsheet integrated glue layer and membrane layer perfectly. There was no clear boundary between two layers, distinguishing the novel backsheet from conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheets. The unique glue-membrane integrated structure has already been demonstrated by many practical applications under harsh environmental conditions to have great advantages over other backsheets regarding delamination, blister and discoloration. Furthermore, the novel backsheet showed excellent barrier property (WVTR < 0.3 2 o g/m .day), weatherability (85 C*85% RH, 1000h), mechanical property as well as electrical isolation property. Being a promising photovoltaic material, the novel backsheet has already been widely used for PV module encapsulation in China and obtained extensive praise from customers.

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INTRODUCTION

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PV module consists of many different materials ranging from silicon wafer PV cells to packaging materials, such as protective frontsheets, backsheets, sealants, and encapsulants. These account for almost half of the materials cost of thin-film PV modules and are associated with a significant percentage of the failures experienced in the field [1]. To survive in harsh operating environment, PV modules rely on packaging materials to provide requisite durability. Generally, PV modules are mainly embedded in soft EVA sheets and encapsulated either by glass / glass or glass / plastics technology. With increasing demand in quality and quantity the glass / plastics encapsulation laminate structure has been increasingly promoted [2].Replacing glass backsheet with soft cover (polymeric) layers can eliminate glass breakage because of edge pinching and provide a more durable mechanical package. In addition, lighter weight can result in easier installation and lower cost.

For PV modules a total lifetime of at least 25 years is intended. The modules are exposed to various stress (e.g. UV radiation, temperature, atmospheric gases and pollutants, the diurnal and annual thermal cycles), which may decrease module stability and performance. Additional losses in performance may be caused by rain, dust, wind, hail, condensation and evaporation of water and thermal expansion mismatches [3].

Therefore, it is necessary that the backsheets can provide the following key functions: 1) Physical Protection: puncture and abrasion resistance.

2) Moisture Protection: minimize moisture or water vapor ingress.

3) Electrical Insulation: isolate the cells and connections from the environment.

4) Long Term Protection: UV stability and moisture stability over the life of the module, protects the absorber layer.

5) Color: provide the color that helps the modules blend into environment.

6) More Power: can improve efficiency through optimized internal reflection.

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Solar PV Manufacturing

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o fulfill these requirements, multi-layer (layer-by-layer) laminated backsheets are normally used, while fluoropolymers such as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) act as a protection layer against weathering influences, polyester such as PET provides mechanical strength. The most popular backsheet construction is a tri-laminate “sandwich” of polyester film between two layers of Tedlar® film (Dupont). This is commonly referred to as TPT structure. To date, multi-layer laminated backsheets dominate the market because of their excellent strength, weather resistance, UV resistance and moisture barrier properties. However, PV module failures related to multi-layer laminated backsheet are frequently reported.

The failures include adhesion loss

to EVA as well as delamination. In several publications delamination has been described as an important failure mechanism of PV modules [46]. Delamination phenomena of PV modules refer to delamination within the backsheet material and the delamination between EVA and backsheet. Many research works on delamination of PV module focus only on EVA / backsheet interfaces. During applications, adhesive bonds between encapsulants and substrate materials of PV module can be weaken because of the non-sticky property of fluoropolymers (low surface energy), leading to delamination failure and / or moisture ingress. However, delamination within the backsheet material may significantly contribute the initial failure of PV encapsulation.

Delamination within the backsheet is attributed to the bad integration between

layers i.e. substrate and fluoropolymer layer. Due to delamination within the backsheet material potentially water vapor enters the encapsulation at the edge of a PV module, resulting in degradation, oxidation as well as electrochemical corrosionof semiconductor, and ultimately device failure. Therefore, there is still a strong need for PV industry to develop a backsheet with excellent properties. In this work, a novel PV backsheet, which we coined as glue-membrane integrated backsheet was designed and fabricated.

The novel backsheet was extensively characterized and evaluated with many techniques. The test results confirmed that the novel backsheet possessed excellent properties required by PV modules. It is a promising candidate to replace currently used layer-by-layer laminated backsheets for PV module encapsulation.

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF THE GLUE-MEMBRANE INTEGRATED BACKSHEET

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o fabricate a PV backsheet with excellent properties, an intelligent design of backsheet construction is crucial. In our approach, PET was used as a substrate. PET has been extensively used in food packaging industry and it is attractive for PV module packaging applications because of its good mechanical properties and low cost. However, uncoated (unmodified) PET exhibits high water vapor permeability [7].PET is also subject to various types of degradations during applications.

The main degradations that can occur are hydrolyticand thermal oxidation. The degradation of PET will result in poor performances. Therefore, PET cannot be used directly as a PV backsheet material.To coat / modify PET, a coating material

has to be identified. Fluorine containing polymers have been demonstrated many properties that are desirable in coatings, for example, excellent hydrophobicity and oleophobicity (stain resistance), low coefficients of friction, excellent chemical resistance and good weatherability [8-12]. Conventional fluoropolymer coatings, e.g. poly (tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), besides their high costs, are generally difficult to process because they are chemically inert and are not soluble in most of the organic solvents. After long time screening, we identified a reactive fluoropolymer and used it as a main coating component to fabricate the novel glue-membrane integrated PV backsheet. The chemical structure of the reactive fluoropolymer is shown in Fig.1.

Figure 1 : Schematic representation of reactive fluoropolymer 58

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A

s we can see from Fig.1, the reactive fluoropolymer is a triblock copolymer with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) as a main monomer. TFE unit (monomer 1) provides polymer with excellent weather resistance, dirty removability (anti-fouling) as well as barrier property; monomer 2 (unit 2) contains hydroxyl group (-OH), and therefore contributes curability and adhesion of the polymer; monomer 3 (unit 3) bears organic groups (mainly ester groups) and contributes solubility as well as transparency.The reactive fluoropolymer was used as a main gradient and together with other components such as pigments and crosslinking reagent to form a special coating formulation. Followed by thermal curing, the coating formulation was then applied to both sides of PET surface, resulting in well integrated coating layer on both sides of PET. In order to improve adhesion between coating layer and PET substrate, atmospheric plasma was carried out prior to coating. It has been demonstrated that plasma treatment can increase the adhesion in the polymer coating interfaces by increasing one or several of the following phenomena: cleaning by ablation of low molecular weight species, dehydrogenation, chain-scissioning combined with crosslinking, generation or incorporation of radicals and reactive species and structural modifications of the surface topography [13]. The most important feature of the plasma treatment is that the surface properties e.g. chemical composition and topological structure of the materials can be changed simultaneouslywithout altering their intrinsic bulk properties. After plasma treatment, PET surface was etched and activated, resulting in strong bonding between coating layer and substrate. This kind of strong bonding will definitely minimize or even totally eliminate delamination between coating layer and substrate during applications.

As we can see that no glue (adhesive) was used in the fabrication process, which distinguishes this approach from conventional layer-to-layer laminating methods. The coating layer is a gluemembrane integrated system which had the function of glue and membrane at the same time. From polymer chemistry point of view, the coating layer is a kind of polyurethane (PU) because hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) was used as a curing agent.

During thermal curing, the isocyanate groups of DHI reacted with â&#x20AC;&#x201C;OH groups of reactive fluoropolymer to form a polymer network containing the urethane linkage. Generally, PU is a unique material that can offer the elasticity of rubber combined with the toughness and durability of metal. The fluorine containing PU coating will possess excellent barrier property and long term durability required by PV backsheet. Here, we should emphasize that a lot of active groups such as hydroxyl groups, amino groups were be introduced during plasma treatment. These active groups will also participate curing reaction, resulting in covalently chemical bonding between coating layer and substrate i.e. PET. The covalent bonding ensures the tight and dense integration of coating layer and substrate, which will minimize delamination suffering conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheet. It has been widely accepted that a good backsheet must also exhibit excellent adhesion to the encapsulants material, which is typically a formulated EVA film. To achieve that, surface modification of coating layer is essential because fluorine containing polymers normally have low surface energy, rendering them non-stick property.The non-sticky property of fluoropolymers is actually the main reasonwhich induces delamination problem to most conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheets. To overcomethe drawback of fluoropolymer, a monolayer of silane molecules was grafted onto the surface via plasma enhanced deposition to give the surface medium surface energy.

The test results confirmed that the grafted silane molecules increased surface energy to medium level and significantly improved adhesion between backsheet and EVA.

PET a Material extensively used in food packaging industry as a substrate and it is attractive for PV module packaging applications because of its good mechanical properties and low cost.

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Fig. 2 Schematic representations of conventional layer-by-layer backsheet (A) and glue-membrane integrated backsheet (B)

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T he schematic representations of the backsheet and the fabrication process are shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3. As we mentioned above that the color of backsheet is sometimes a concern during practical applications. A right color can not only provide the color that helps the modules blend into environment but also meet the specific aesthetic requirements.

In our approach, it is quite convenient to fabricate backsheets with different colors. What you need to do is to identify the right pigment and blend it with other components during coating formulation.

Right now, white, black and blue are three colors used frequently in our fabrication.

Other colors can easily be customized.

Fig. 3 Schematic process diagram for the fabrication of glue-membrane integrated PV backsheet (FFC-JW30)

PROPERTIES, SURFACE CHARACTERIZATIONS AND PERFORMANCES OF THE NOVEL BACKSHEET Items

Unit

Test Method (standard)

Values

Total thickness of the backsheet

μm

Microscope

300±5%

Coating thickness (Air side)

μm

Microscope

25±3

PET thickness

μm

Microscope

250±5

Coating thickness (EVA side)

μm

Microscope

15±3

Tensile strength (MD)

N / mm2

ASTM D 882-2002

≥120

Tensile strength (TD)

N / mm2

ASTM D 882-2002

≥120

Elongation (MD)

%

ASTM D 882-2002

≥100

Elongation (TD)

%

ASTM D 882-2002

≥90

o

%

ASTM D 1204-2002

≤1.0

Shrinkage150 C×30min (TD)

%

ASTM D 1204-2002

≤0.6

Inter-layer adhesion

Grade

ASTM D 3359-2002

5B

Peeling strength with EVA (Initial)

N / 10 mm

GB / T 2790-1995

≥ 60

Peeling strength with EVA (85°C*85% RH, 1000h)

N / 10 mm

GB / T 2790-1995 IEC61215-2005,10.13

≥ 55

Breakdown voltage

KV / mm

ASTM D 149-1997

≥85

Partial Discharge

VDC

IEC60664-1-2007 IEC61730-2-2004

≥1010

Water Vapor Transmission Rates (WVTR)

g / m2.d

ASTM F 1249-2006

≤ 0.3

Weather resistance (85°C*85% RH, 2000h) Peeling strength with EVA

N / 10 mm

GB / T 13448-2006

No delamination, no blister, no yellowing

Shrinkage 150 C×30min (MD) o

IEC61215-2005,10.13

≥ 45 Radiation exposure(QUVB, 4000h)

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/

GB / T 16422.3-1997

4 grade

For a good PV backsheet, the primary properties of interest were adhesion, especially, adhesion as a function of damp-heat exposure, peel strength and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR).

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Fig. 4 AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) images of backsheet before (a,c) and after (b,d) plasma grafting of silane monolayer.

ADHESION

A

s we can see from Table 1 thatFFC-JW30 showed excellent peel strength with EVA, the initial peel strength was higher than 60 N/10 mm. The peel strength with EVA was only slightly decreased after damp heat exposure test. The exposure test can somehow mimic backsheetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; desired properties in service environmental conditions. Samples were subjected to accelerated weathering in laboratory-controlled exposure chambers (dampo heat, no light, 85 C, 85% RH). Relevant properties were measured as a function of exposure time to evaluate how well these performance parameters could withstand environmental stress. Samples were allowed to dry out for several hours after damp-heat exposure prior to being tested. Test too soon after exposure can result in catastrophic adhesive failure, and therefore, cannot provide a valuable evaluation.

A good backsheet should adhere well to the encapsulant before, during and after damp-heat exposure. In one of our tests, the initial peel strength with EVA is as high as 135 N/cm, and after 2000 h damp-heat exposure, the peel strength was still up to 45 N/cm, and was still up to 31 N/cm after 3000 h. The excellent adhesion with EVA was attributed to plasma surface modification. It has been well known that fluoropolymers have bad adhesion properties because of their low surface energy (non-sticky property). To overcome this shortcoming, surface modification has to be applied. A monolayer of short chain silane was grafted onto the surface by plasma enhanced deposition. The grafted silane monolayer can significantly increase surface energy and topological structure of the backsheet, resulting in excellent adhesion with EVA. Fig.4 clearly shows the topological structure of the backsheet before and after plasma grafting. As we can see that the surface became much rougher after plasma grafting. The rough surface will benefit well contact and compatible between backsheet and EVA, leading to strong adhesion between them.

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T

he inter-layer adhesion of the backsheet was evaluated according to ASTM D33592002. A lattice pattern with eleven cuts in each direction was made in the coating film of the substrate i.e. PET, pressure sensitive tape was applied over the lattice and then peeled off. The adhesion was evaluated by calculating the percentage of detached area at intersections. Grade 5B was achieved, indicating the edges of the cuts were completely smooth and none of coating (the squares of the lattice) wasdetached. The inter-layer adhesion confirmed that the coating layers had extremely strong adhesion to substrate (PET). The strong adhesion was attributed to plasma etching and activation of PET prior to coating. It has been well known that surface etching and activation by plasma pretreatment is an effective way to improve adhesion of the coating to the polymeric substrates [14].Plasma treatment of PET surfaces dramatically increases its wettability, which was confirmed by contact angle measurement.

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T

he plasma treated PET surface showed lower contact angle compared with untreated surface. Ingeneral, the lower the contact angle, thehigher the surface energy. The increase ofenergy and decrease of contact angleusually correlates directly with improvedadhesion since organic contaminants havebeen removed during the plasma treatmentand the free radicals and polar functiongroups are formed on the surface, allowing for abetter interface between the surface and thetypically polar fluid i.e. coating material.Plasma treatment can also increase surface roughness (Fig.5).

Fig. 5 SEM images of PET surface before plasma treatment (a) and after plasma treatment (b: treated 3 s; c:treated 5s; d: treated 10 s)

A

s we can see from Fig.5 that surface roughness increased with the increase of plasma treating time.

Fig. 5 indicates also that relatively short treating time such as 3 to 10 s is enough to significantly increase surface roughness. This is crucial for roll-to-roll fabrication because it can give us the possibility to use high rolling speede.g. from 15 m / min to 30 m / min. The rough surface induced by plasma treatmentwill benefit the diffusion of coating materials into the substrate, leading to better compatibility between them. Importantly, the active functional groups on the rough surface obtained from plasma treatment, such as hydroxyl groups and amino groups will participate crosslinking reaction during thermal curing, resulting in covalently chemical bonding between coating layer and PET substrate. The well integrated interfaces were investigated by SEM image of cross-section of the backsheet (Fig. 6).

13.

Fig. 6 Crosssection SEM image of FFC-JW30 backsheet

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Fig. 7 Cross-section SEM image of conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheet

P

rior to SEM investigation, the sample was fast frozen in liquid nitrogen (-180°C) and then broken in order to keep the original structure of the interface. The cross-section was coated with gold and then the SEM images were recorded immediately. Fig.6 clearly shows three-layer structure of the backsheet. The layer thickness of air side (The side which contacts air), PET substrate and EVA side (The side which contacts EVA) was 29.7µm, 248.8µm and 29.9 µm, respectively. The coating layer thickness agrees quite well with the parameter setting of coating process. As we can see form Fig.6 that the interfaces between three layers is unclear, especially the interface between EVA side and PET almost disappears, indicating well integration between coating layer and the PET substrate. To address the difference between our novel backsheet and the conventional backsheet, we made the same SEM investigation with a conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheet, and the SEM image is shown in Fig.7. Surprisingly, what people usually called a trilaminate sandwich structure was actually constructed by 5 layers, three polymerlayers (membrane layer) and two glue (adhesive) layers. As we can see that the interfaces between two layers are quite clear, indicating bad integration between layers. The clear interfaces are normally the weak points of the backsheet, which will lead to delamination during practical applications.

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MOISTURE BARRIER

I

n PV industry, durability and maintaining performance over the lifetime of the module is crucial and the encapsulant used will influence this key requirement. One major concern for durability is corrosion of metallic components within a module because it can reduce the power output by increasing resistance at the electrical interconnects.

Therefore, the backsheet material must prevent moisture ingress and this is the generally accepted mode of failure for devices that do not pass the IEEE qualification test [15]. High moisture transfer rates would result in more water available for corrosion, leading to hydrolytic degradation of the PV device.

Water permeation through a barrier film involves a multistep process. The water vapor adsorbs at the high concentration side of the barrier surface, dissolves into the bulk, diffuses through the bulk, and desorbs from the low-concentration surface. Obviously, the surface should be water repellent or hydrophobic in order to minimize moisture permeation. Fluorinated polymers can provide a surface with very low surface energy and demonstrate excellent hydrophobicity and oleophobicity [16, 17].

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T he coating formulation applied to PET substrate was a special material containing reactive fluoropolymers (Fig. 1) [18,19]. Fluorine element renders the coating layer hydrophobicity. Surface analysis such as contact angle and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) were carried out to confirm the hydrophobicity and elemental compositions of the coating.

The contact angle of the coated surface was as high as 92 degree, which was approximately 20 degree higher than that of uncoated PET. Uncoated PET normally has very broad WVTR (between 3 to 20 g/m2.day) depending on its quality and grade. For PV application, the typical value is around 4 g/m2.day (in our case). From Table 1 we can clearly see that the WVTR of the backsheet was lower than 0.3 g/m2.day, which is more than 10 times lower compared to uncoated PET.The atomic percentage composition in the surface for substrate (uncoated PET) and backsheet was determined by XPS (Table 2).

Table 2 : Atomic composition in the surface of FFC-JW30 backsheet Samples / Or Measured Position

C

O

N

F

Si

Cl

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

A

83.9±0.4

10.8±0.2

0.9±0.1

2.2±0.2

1.4±0.3

0.8±0.0

B

82.9±0.3

11.1±0.4

0.9±0.0

2.5±0.1

1.7±0.3

0.8±0.0

Coating materials

76.0±0.2

16.2±0.1

---

7.8±0.2

---

---

73.6±0.5

24.7±0.3

---

---

0.5±0.0

---

(before curing) Uncoated PET

A

s we can see from Table 2 that there is a substantial incorporation of fluorine atoms in the backsheet surface, indicating the reactive fluoropolymers were successfully coated on the PET substrate. Nitrogen atoms were also detected in the surface, which was attributed to the crosslinking reagent (hexamethylene diisocyanate, HDI).

A tiny amount of silicon was detected on uncoated PET surface, and it probably came from organic contamination during PET fabrication. However, extensive silicon atomsweredetected from the surface of backsheet, indicating the plasma enhanced grafting of silane monolayer was successful.

X

PS is a surface chemical analysis technique that can be used to determine both thequantitative amount of atoms as well as their in-depth distribution within the outermost ~ 10 nm ofsurfaces [20]. Large amount of fluorine was detected after plasma grafting of silane monolayer, indicating that the thickness of silane monolayer was less than 10 nm. Table 2 also revealed that the atomic composition measured in two different positions (A and B) on the backsheet surface was quite similar, indicating that the coating was very homogeneous.

PCT (PRESSURE COOKER TEST)

W

e are always interested in how well the novel PV backsheet retained its desired properties under PCT, a more severe exposure (high pressure, high temperature and high humidity).

The backsheet was vacuum laminated to EVA and a front glass superstrate to replicate backsheet in module construction (Fig.8).

Fig. 8 Cross-section SEM image of FFCJW30 backsheet

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Table 3 : PCT (121 C*2 atm*100% RH) of backsheets laminated to EVA o

Samples

Manufacturing process

EVA USED FOR TEST EVA from Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello, Inc Peeling strength (N/cm)

EVA from HANWHA QCells Peeling strength (N/cm)

Interfaces

S-1

L-b-L

37.5

31.5

BT

NL

DL

BT

S-2

L-b-L

56.9

34.3

BT

NL

BK

BT

47.3 42.1

---

NL

BK

BT

S-3

L-b-L

47.4

35.7

BT

NL

DL

BT

45.2 39.3

---

NL

DL

BT

S-4

L-b-L

136.1

47.1

BT

NL

BK

BT

50.8 37.8

---

NL

BK

BT

S-5

L-b-L

67.3

38.7

33.2

NL

NL

BK

66.8 40.3

34.9

NL

NL

BK

FFC-JW30

G-M

63.6

46.1

43.4

NL

NL

BK

81.3 56.1

50.2

NL

NL

BK

L-b-L: Layer-by-layer laminated; G-M: Glue-membrane integrated;

I

t is quite interesting to compare FFC-JW30 with S-4 and S-5. Both S-4 and S-5 showed higher peeling strength than FFC-JW30 after 24 h exposure when EVA from Mitsui was used. However, the peeling strength of S-4 was dramatically decreased to 47.1 N/cm from 24 h to 48 h, degrading by 65.4%. Similarly, the peeling strength of S-5 was decreased to 38.7 N/cm, degrading by 42.5%. On the contrary, the peeling strength of FFC-JW30 with EVA was degraded only 27.5% from 24 h to 48 h. The peeling strength of FFCJW30 with EVA was still in a higher level (43.4 N/cm) than that of S-5 even after 60 h exposure. However, S-4 became very brittle after 60 h exposure, and no peeling strength could be measured. The similar results were obtained when EVA from Hanwha was used. The FFC-JW30

A

BT: Brittle; BK: Broken;

48.1 22.8

---

Interfaces NL

DL

BT

NL: No laminating DL: delaminating

showed higher peeling strength than all the reference samples after 24 h, 48 h and 60 h exposure. No lamination was observed after 48 h exposure. The PCT results confirmed that the bonds between backsheet and EVA would generally be weakened because of the water ingress under harsh exposure condition. For a test module, the dominant path of moisture ingress is in from the edges and through the EVA due to the very large WVTR of EVA even at ambient temperature. When a sample module is placed in damp heat, the WVTR through the EVA is about 50 to 100 times higher than at room temperature and water vapor more easily permeates the EVA. Water vapor rapidly diffuse throughout the EVA and reaches its equilibrium value at the glass / EVA interface, as well as the EVA / backsheet interface, as it progresses in from the

edges. It had been showed that for most of the commercially available backsheets, there is at least 30% reduction in the peeling strength after 24 h exposure [21].

For FFC-JW30, the reduction value is approximately 25%, lower than most of the commercially available PV backsheets.

The better performance of FFC-JW30 under exposure condition indicated that it was more difficult to destroy or weaken the bonding between FFC-JW30 and EVA, or there might be a different type of adhesive bonding / reaction such as covalently chemical bonding taking place between FFC-JW30 and EVA. More detailed experiments and investigation are being carried out to understand the mechanism of adhesion between backsheet and EVA. We are also continuing to pursue ways to further improve the properties of the novel backsheet with our collaborators.

CONCLUSION

novel PV backsheet which we coined as glue-membrane integrated backsheet was designed and fabricated by utilizing flow tangent cast roll-to-roll coating process combined with plasma technique. Unlike conventional layer-by-layer lamination process, no glue (adhesive) was used in the fabrication. Alternatively, a special coating formulation containing reactive fluoropolymers was adopted as a coating material. It was applied to PET followed by thermal curing to result in theglue-membrane integrated backsheet. The fluoropolymer contributed all the necessary properties e.g. weatherability, UV resistance,moisture barrier, durability and electricalinsulation required by PV backsheet. The introduction of plasma technique can dramatically improve the surface property of substrate i.e. PET, resulting in better wettability,

compatibility with coating materials and eventually strong adhesion between coating layer and substrate. After coating, a monolayer of silane molecules was grafted onto the surface via plasma enhanced deposition in order to increase the adhesion between backsheet and EVA. The novel backsheet was extensively characterized and tested by different techniques such as SEM, AFM, contact angle measurement, XPS, and compared to other commercially available PV backsheets. PCT experiment showed that the novel backsheet was superior to most of the commercially available PV backsheet regarding adhesion with EVA and delamination. Being a promising photovoltaic material, the novel backsheet has the great potential to replace conventional layer-by-layer laminated backsheets for PV module encapsulation.

Enquiries : Alfred Liu Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt Co.,Ltd. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange GEM listed company (Stock code:SZ300393), Cellphone: +8615050288159 , E-mail: alfred@jolywood.cn , Skype: zhipengnihao QQ:2573974760, Website: http://www.jolywood.cn

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TARGET AUDIENCE

Solar Inverters

Sungrow’s 1500V PV Project Successfully Connected To Grid Sungrow, one of world’s leading PV-inverter manufacturers, announces that one of its1500VPV projects was successfully connected to grid, officially initiating the next phase of the project.

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ith a total of 30MW installed capacity, the project in Xinjiang Province, China, uses mixed systems combining both 1000V and 1500V. In comparison to the 1000V system, the 1500V system is capable of reducing nearly 20% of cable costs, leading to a lower cost of roughly US$ 3 cents per watt. The increase to direct voltage at 1500V helps to improve efficiencies, by allowing more modules to be connected in every string and reducing the amount of cabling.

This in turn leads the system to be improved by more than 1%. With a drive to cut costs in the solar industry, it is important that inverters improve generating efficiency, electricity quality and environmental adaptability and give the opportunity for more intelligent O&M. Many believe that the 1500V PV system will dominate the solar industry in the future.

“The 1000V and 1500V solutions Sungrow provided in this case are designed using simplified systems that are easy to maintain once installed. They are based on Sungrow’s 20year expertise in solar - Professor Cao technology and our Renxian, commitment to providing CEO, the best quality for our SUNGROW customers. With over 35% of our personnel in R&D , we are committed to technical innovation which enables us to grow rapidly.”

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April 2016

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QUARTER RESULTS

JA Solar

JA Solar Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2015 Results JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. , one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, recentlyannounced its unaudited financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights »

» » » » »

»

»

» »

70

Total shipments were 1,366.2 megawatts (“MW”), consisting of 1,297.6 MW of modules and module tolling and 41.2 MW of cells and cell tolling to external customers, and 27.4 MW of modules to the Company’s downstream projects. Increase of external shipments was +40.5% y/y and +18.8% sequentially.

Shipments of modules and module tolling were 1,297.6 MW, increases of +47.5% y/y and +20.8% sequentially Shipments of cells and cell tolling were 41.2 MW, decreases of 43.6% y/y and 22.3% sequentially Net revenue was RMB 4.6 billion ($709.3 million), an increase of +28.5% y/y and +20.3% sequentially Gross margin was 17.1%, an increase of 160 basis points y/y and a decrease of 60 basis points sequentially Operating profit was RMB 260.1 million ($40.2 million), compared to RMB 222.4 million ($34.3 million) in the fourth quarter of 2014, and RMB 299.1 million ($46.2 million) in the third quarter of 2015 Net income was RMB 184.9 million ($28.5 million), compared to RMB 166.1 million ($25.6 million) in the fourth quarter of 2014, and RMB 258.6 million ($39.9 million) in the third quarter of 2015 Earnings per diluted ADS were RMB 3.39 ($0.52), compared to RMB 2.55 ($0.39) in the fourth quarter of 2014, and RMB 4.42($0.68) in the third quarter of 2015 Cash and cash equivalents were RMB 2.9 billion ($445.1 million), an increase of RMB 1.0 billion ($161.2 million) during the quarter Non-GAAP earnings1 per diluted ADS were RMB 3.14 ($0.49), compared to RMB 1.74 ($0.27) in the fourth quarter of 2014, andRMB 4.35 ($0.67) in the third quarter of 2015

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April 2016

Financial Review »

» » » » » » »

»

Shipments grew to approximately 4.0 gigawatts (“GW”), consisting of 3,672.9 MW of modules and module tolling and 265.0 MW of cells and cell tolling to external customers, and 53.5 MW of modules to the Company’s downstream projects. External Shipments represented an increase of 28.8% from 3.1 GW in fiscal year 2014.

Net revenue was RMB 13.5 billion ($2.1 billion), compared to net revenue of RMB 11.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in fiscal year 2014.

Gross margin was 17.0%, compared to 15.6% in fiscal year 2014 Operating profit was RMB 865.0 million ($133.5 million), compared to an operating profit of RMB 662.5 million ($102.3 million) in fiscal year 2014.

Net income was RMB 614.5 million ($94.9 million), compared to RMB 446.7 million ($69.0 million) in fiscal year 2014.

Earnings per diluted ADS was RMB 10.58 ($1.63), compared RMB 6.88 ($1.06) in fiscal year 2014.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the fiscal year were RMB 2.9 billion ($445.1 million), compared with RMB 2.2 billion ($332.7 million) at the end of fiscal year 2014.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company’s ordinary shareholders was RMB 584.1 million ($90.2 million), compared to a non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company’s ordinary shareholders of RMB 349.8 million ($54.0 million) in fiscal year 2014.

Non-GAAP earnings per diluted ADS in fiscal year 2015 was RMB 9.91 ($1.53), compared to a non-GAAP earnings per diluted ADS of RMB 5.45 ($0.84) in fiscal year 2014.

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QUARTER RESULTS

“Our fourth quarter results continued the momentum we built throughout 2015. We exceeded our operating and financial objectives with shipment and revenue growth of 40.5% and 28.5%, respectively. We fulfilled strong demand across Asia, especially in China, but also made meaningful advances in North America. We remain committed to expand our market penetration globally, and have made progress in South, Central, and North America.

Our outlook for 2016 is bright. We expect growth of over 30%, as countries around the world continue to encourage the growth of clean, renewable energy. We are able to capture this market growth due to our industryleading reputation for quality and value. We intend to aggressively protect that reputation through our ongoing investment in research and marketing. ”

- Mr. Baofang Jin, Chairman and CEO of JA Solar

» All shipment and financial figures refer to the quarter ended December 31, 2015, unless otherwise specified. All “year over year” or “y/y” comparisons are against the quarter ended December 31, 2014. All “sequential” comparisons are against the quarter ended September 30, 2015. » Total shipments were 1,366.2 MW, above the high end of the previously announced guidance of 1,100 to 1,200 MW. External shipments of 1,338.8 MW grew 18.8% sequentially and 40.5% year over year. » Net revenue was RMB 4.6 billion ($709.3 million), an increase of 28.5% y/y and 20.3% sequentially. Growth was mainly driven by broad-based strength across the Asia Pacific region, further reinforced by strong demand in the United States. » Gross profit of RMB 784.1 million ($121.0 million) increased 41.6% y/y and 15.7% sequentially. Gross margin was 17.1%, which compares to 15.5% in the year-ago quarter, and 17.7% in the third quarter of 2015. The sequential decrease in gross margin was mainly due to wafer price increase during the quarter.

» Total operating expenses of RMB 523.9 million ($80.9 million) were 11.4% of revenue. This compares to operating expenses of 9.3% of revenue in the yearago quarter, and 9.9% of revenue in the third quarter of 2015. The sequential increase in operating expense was primarily due to provision of receivables and impairment of certain project assets. » Operating profit was RMB 260.1 million ($40.2 million), compared to RMB 222.4 million ($34.3 million) in the year-ago quarter, and RMB 299.1 million ($46.2 million) in the third quarter of 2015. Operating margin was 5.7%, compared with 6.2% in the prior year period and 7.8% in the previous quarter. » Interest expense was RMB 66.0 million ($10.2 million), compared to RMB 61.5 million ($9.5 million) in the year-ago quarter, and RMB 58.2 million ($9.0 million) in the third quarter of 2015. » The change in fair value of warrant derivatives was positive RMB 14.0 million ($2.2 million), compared with positive RMB 48.7 million ($7.5 million) in the year-ago quarter, and positive RMB 4.4 million ($0.7 million) in the third quarter of 2015. The warrants were issued on August 16, 2013 in conjunction with the Company’s $96 million registered direct offering.

Earnings per diluted ADS were RMB 3.39 ($0.52), compared to earnings per diluted ADS of RMB 2.55 ($0.39) in the year-ago quarter, and earnings per diluted ADS of RMB 4.42 ($0.68) in the third quarter of 2015.

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QUARTER RESULTS

Fiscal Year 2015 Results

External shipments breakdown by product (MW)

Fiscal year 2015 shipments were 4.0 GW, including 53 MW of modules to the Company’s downstream projects.

External shipments of 3.9 GW represented an increase of 28.8% from 3.1 GW in fiscal year 2014.

External shipments breakdown by region (percentage)

» Net revenue in fiscal year 2015 was RMB 13.5 billion ($2.1 billion), an increase of 19.7% from RMB 11.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in fiscal year 2014. » Total gross profit in fiscal year 2015 was RMB 2.3 billion ($353.9 million), or 17.0% of net revenue, compared with RMB 1.8 billion ($271.2 million), or 15.6% of net revenue, in fiscal year 2014. » Operating profit in fiscal year 2015 was RMB 865.0 million ($133.5 million), compared with operating profit of RMB 662.5 million ($102.3 million) in fiscal year 2014. In fiscal year 2015, net earnings per diluted ADS was RMB 10.58 ($1.63), compared with net earnings per diluted ADS of RMB 6.88 ($1.06) in fiscal year 2014.

Liquidity

Business Outlook

F

A

s of December 31, 2015, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB 2.9 billion ($445.1 million), and total working capital of RMB 2.8 billion ($439.9 million). Total short-term borrowings were RMB 2.2 billion ($338.8 million).

Total long-term borrowings were RMB 2.7 billion ($416.7 million), of which RMB 238.4 million ($36.8 million) were due in one year.

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or the first quarter of 2016, the Company expects total cell and module shipments to be in the range of 1,000 to 1,100 MW, including approximately 100 MW of module shipments to the Company’s downstream projects. Revenues will not be recognized for the modules shipped to the Company’s downstream projects as required by U.S. GAAP. Full year 2016 shipments are expected to be in the range of 5.2 to 5.5 GW, including 250 to 300 MW of module shipments to the Company’s downstream projects.

Manufacturing Capacity Update

A

s disclosed in previous quarter, JA Solar is increasing its manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for its high quality products. The Company now expects to further expand its manufacturing capacity to 2.0 GW for wafers, 5.5 GW for cells, and 5.5 GW for modules by the end of 2016.

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K Subramanyam Former CEO Tata BP Solar

Rabindra Kumar Satpathy - CEO-Renewable Power Emami Power Ltd

Hitesh Doshi CMD - Waaree Energies Ltd.

Shaji John ChiefSolar Initiatives L&T

Shivanand Nimbargi MD & CEO Green Infra Limited Ravi Khanna - CEO Solar Power Business Aditya Birla Group

EQ International Magazine

Sunil Jain Chief Exe. Off. & Exe. Director Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd.

Editorial Advisory Board

Rajesh Bhat Managing Director juwi India Renewable Energies Pvt Ltd

Gaurav Sood Managing Director Solairedirect Energy India Pvt Ltd Pashupathy Gopalan Managing Director MEMCSunEdison

Himamsu Popuri CEO Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd. Inderpreet Wadhwa CEO Azure Power Gyanesh Chaudhary Managing Director Vikram Solar Private Limited

Arturo Herrero CSO Jinko Solar

Panasonic Photovoltaic Module Achieves World’s Highest Energy Conversion Efficiency*1 Of 23.8%*2 At Research Level Panasonic Corporation recently announced that it has achieved a photovoltaic module conversion efficiency of 23.8% (aperture area*3: 11,562 cm2) at research level, a major increase over the previous world record for crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic modules.

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he FFSH40120ADN diode has the best leakage current performance in its class, leaking far less current than its competitors at temperatures up to 175 degrees Celsius. The key benefits of this 1200V SiC diode include its extremely fast switching and no reverse recovery current, which dramatically reduces switching losses compared to silicon and results in superior energy efficiency. Faster switching also allows manufacturers to reduce the size of their products’ magnetic coils and associated passive components, which improves packaging efficiency, reduces system weight and can reduce bill-of-materials (BOM) costs.

The diode’s ability to switch

HIT is a trademark of the Panasonic Group • According to research by Panasonic as of February 18, 2016, for crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules.

• Result of evaluations at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

• The module area is the aperture area opened by the masks (11,562 cm2).

• SunPower (USA) November, 2015. Judged from the “Solar cell efficiency tables (version 47)” [Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 2016; 24:3-11] • Technology for junction formation required for solar cells that covers the silicon base surface with an amorphous silicon layer. This technology has the key feature of superior passivation to compensate for the many flaws around the silicon base surface area.

• Technology for eliminating the shadow loss on the front side electrode with the electrodes on the back of the solar cell, which allows the more efficient utilization of sunlight. stably over a wide temperature range is another factor contributing to its exceptional perfor-

mance, as is its zero recovery voltage which eliminates voltage overshoots.

The FFSH40120ADN diode also offers considerably greater ruggedness and reliability compared to equivalent silicon-based diodes due to SiC having superior thermal performance to silicon. The breakdown field of SiC is 10x higher than that of silicon and SiC also has 3x greater thermal conductivity.Fairchild will demonstrate the performance of the new 1200V SiC diode in booth #1717 at the upcoming APEC conference, March 20-24 in Long Beach, Calif.

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Jinkosolar Showcases Its First Dual-Glass Module: “Eagle Dual”, At Pv Expo 2016 In Tokyo, Japan JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., a global leader in the solar PV industry, recently announced it has introduced its new dual glass module “Eagle Dual” at PV Expo in Tokyo, Japan. The Eagle Dual is by far the most efficient, durable and only framed dual glass module on the market. It is available in 60-cell and 72-cell, offering average outputs of up to 275watts and 320 watt respectively, with a maximum efficiency of 16.54%; 5 watts higher than leading competitors.

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he Eagle Dual module replaces the standard back sheet with a heat-strengthened glass layer, increasing its resistance to microcracking, thus lowering the risk of the so-called “snail-track” generation. The dual glass design reduces module warping, potential induced degradation (PID), light induced degradation (LID), and corrosion from sand, alkali, acid, and salt mist.

The Eagle Dual is the only dual glass module to pass the PID free test under 65°C/85% RH (relative humidity) for 1000 hours. It has also passed dynamic load test, and the standard 5400Pa and 2400Pa static load test. The new dual glass module provides heavyduty robustness and durability for harsh environments with high temperatures, humidity, strong wind and heavy snow. It can be widely used in universal installations including water floats, desert utilities, residential and commercial applications.

JinkoSolar’s Eagle Dual offers a unique framed design for a dual glass module. With the usual frameless structures, EVA is exposed to damp-heat and UV conditions, which accelerates EVA aging, yellowing and browning, and weld strip oxygenation. EVA also loses adhesion and reacts with water vapor, which leads to corrosion when being exposed to UV and humidity. The Eagle Dual is free of all the above listed risks due to the strengthened framed design.

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“Our primary focus is to develop and offer high quality, high performance products and solutions that are tailored to local demands in Japan. We believe our framed and higher output dual glass module will support our commitment of a 30-year high yield and reliable performance. We at JinkoSolar have a great understanding of the industry needs, and are dedicated to provide our customers with long-term peace-of-mind solutions.”

- Dany Qian, VP of Branding for JinkoSolar

JinkoSolar Japan operates sales offices in Tokyo and Osaka, and has a dedicated technical support center in Tokyo.

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JinkoSolar Showcases A New All-Black Polycrystalline Module at PV Expo, Japan JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. , a global leader in the solar PV industry,recently announced that it has unveiled its Eagle Black module series at PV Expo in Tokyo, Japan. The Eagle Black series consists of all black poly modules, available in 60-cell and 72-cell versions, with maximum outputs of 280watts and 330watts respectively.

The Eagle Black is one of the most powerful and aesthetically pleasing all-black poly modules on the market.

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he improved power delivered by Eagle Black is due to the adoption of a nano-scale etched technology, where the silicon wafer is etched with nano-scale pores. These nano-sized holes and the silicon walls are smaller than the light wavelengths hitting them. This, as a result, minimizes reflectivity and enables an incredibly high light absorption of 99.7%, compared to 95% for conventional modules. The angular dependence of the reflection from black silicon is also much smaller. The wafer has a wider wavelength absorption capability, meaning that the Eagle Black’s performance is increased when the sun hits at an angle during the morning and afternoon hours.

It also outperforms standard cell

panels on cloudy days. The combination of antireflection and better low light performance enables JinkoSolar’s Eagle Black module

to produce more energy throughout the day, and the entirety of its lifetime.

Inclusive of a black back sheet and black-frame, the Eagle Black is uniformly designed with black cells creating a sleek and sophisticated looking module. With performance classes of up to 275 Wp (black sheet), the module combines power with beauty and integrates perfectly on roofs with the most challenging aesthetic requirements. It is the perfect solution for roof-top installations and BAPV (building-applied PV) applications where productivity, design and aesthetics are key.

The company also offers a white back sheet option of maximum output 280watts, ideal for utility installations.

“We are proud to introduce the, highly aesthetic and powerful Eagle Black module. The Eagle Black uses our leading black silicon cell technology, which breaks the record for output of commercialized poly modules. Launching these new products, once again demonstrates our efforts to apply and commercialize our advanced cell technology to high efficiency modules.”

- Dany Qian, VP of Branding for JinkoSolar

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​Rhine Solar Polycrystalline Modules Certified By Tüv Rheinland From 3W – 315W Rhine Solar Polycrystalline Modules receive IEC certification from 3w – 315 W through TÜV Rheinland, and are ready for shipping to all major markets worldwideRhine Solar module brand, has worked with TÜV Rheinland to complete the IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 Certification tests for the latest Polycrystalline Modules manufactured with Komax Technology.

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he Certificates cover up to 315 W, and have began mass production of 100/150/250/300 W for Orders In Hand..” TUV Rheinland Group is the leading International Technical service provider, implementing the toughest independent testing and performance standards on the market today. Rhine Solar received the most rigorous TUV certificate that rates and assesses the Performance, Quality and Safety of Rhine solar modules. Rhine Solar is one of the most automatically advanced Solar PV module manufactur-

ing facility in National Capital Region of Delhi with its Corporate office in New Delhi founded in 2014 by MBAs & IIT( Roorkee Alumini) . Rhine is a part of Group Companies which are successfully doing business for last 40 years into diversified business segments.The state of art manufacturing facility located at distance of 2 kms from Delhi Border in Kundli Industrial Estate is spread over a sprawling 25,000 sq ft area and boasts of an annual production capacity of approximately 40 MW and expandable upto 80MW . The facility is equipped with one of the best Solar Cell Tabber and Stringer from Komax Solar Inc (now Xcell Automation) designed to manufacture high quality Solar Photovoltaic Modules as per the international quality standards. The experienced production team with clean and centrally air conditioned shop enchances the quality of modules.

“ We are very thankful to our customers who believed in Rhine Modules Quality and placed orders . With the completion of IEC ,TUV we are ready to penetrate in Rooftop & Utilities Segment for supply of solar modules .Rhine Production Team with years of experience in production helps in Optimising material combinations to Minimise CTM losses (cell to module losses) ,This way we can offer best quality modules at competitive prices to our long term contract customer .Passing the IEC certification tests with TÜV Rheinland shows that we are Quality Conscious & we are ready for mass production and shipments to all major customers” - Dev Raj, General Manager – Marketing

Now Read on

Tablet & Smartphone

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Fairchild Launches 1200V SiC Diode for High-Speed Solar Inverters and Rugged Industrial Applications Fairchild , a leading global supplier of high-performance semiconductor solutions, released its first 1200V silicon carbide (SiC) diode, the FFSH40120ADN, in its series of upcoming SiC solutions. he 1200V diode’s combination of superior switching performance, higher reliability and low electromagnetic interference (EMI) make it ideal for next-generation solar inverters, industrial motor controls and welders which are all increasingly required to be more energy efficient at higher power densities.

“The combination of market trends and tightening industry standards is driving the need for more energy efficient products and our new 1200V SiC diode is designed specifically to help manufacturers achieve these ever-greater efficiency requirements and with better reliability, ruggedness and cost efficiency. We based this diode on silicon carbide due to the material’s considerable advantages over silicon, and we will add additional SiC-based semiconductors as we build a comprehensive family of SiC solutions.”

- Jin Zhao, Vice President and General Manager of Fairchild’s High Power Industrial division

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he FFSH40120ADN diode has the best leakage current performance in its class, leaking far less current than its competitors at temperatures up to 175 degrees Celsius. The key benefits of this 1200V SiC diode include its extremely fast switching and no reverse recovery current, which dramatically reduces switching losses compared to silicon and results in superior energy efficiency. Faster switching also allows manufacturers to reduce the size of their products’ magnetic coils and associated passive components, which improves packaging efficiency, reduces system weight and can reduce bill-of-materials (BOM) costs.

The diode’s ability to switch stably over a wide temperature range is another factor contributing to its exceptional performance, as is its zero recovery voltage which eliminates voltage overshoots.The FFSH40120ADN diode also offers considerably greater ruggedness and reliability compared to equivalent silicon-based diodes due to SiC having superior thermal performance to silicon. The breakdown field of SiC is 10x higher than that of silicon and SiC also has 3x greater thermal conductivity.Fairchild will demonstrate the performance of the new 1200V SiC diode in booth #1717 at the upcoming APEC conference, March 20-24 in Long Beach, Calif.

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Strong, compact and lightweight for optimised TCO: KACO new energy’s blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT age protection externally.

-The M version is to be recommended when using external string collectors, DC and AC overvoltage protection is available as a convenient plug-and-play solution.

• -The XL version includes string collectors, DC overvoltage protection type 1 + 2 and the operation-ready AC overvoltage protection of the M version.

The compact, wall-mounted 50 kVA device weighs in at just 71 kilograms, is easily transported and comparatively comfortable to hang up and take down. With its 1,100 Volt input voltage on 10 inputs, this blueplanet provides high DC design flexibility, and installation work is minimised. With the XL version, the DC cabling is especially quick thanks to Sunclix plug-in connectors from Phoenix Contact. On the AC side, the connection cross-section has been enlarged to 95 mm² so that common but bigger copper cables can be connected or alternatively, the more cost-effective and lighter weight aluminium sector cables. At any rate, the energy transfer is optimised to give the significant European efficiency level of over 98 % full impact in the grid.

The housing made from durable aluminium, with IP65 protection rating, is ideal for outdoor applications and installations. An ingenious data logger with web server, USB port for updates, as well as a graphics display, facilitates effortless communication.

In combination with the Powador-protect from KACO new energy, which already includes a ripple control receiver connection, complete management of up to 31 inverters is provided. The Powador-protect actuates the internal coupler circuit breakers on the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT, eliminating the costs of external contactors and their operation, or, of sub-distribution units! This simplifies the calculations for PV projects and facilitates integration of the array into feed-in management systems.

Whether for homogeneously designed large building roofs through to solar parks, when it comes to photovoltaics on the commercial and industrial scale, the no-nonsense approach of the blueplanet 50.0 TL 3 INT provides the economic basis for cost-effective operation and reliable maximum yields.

•

More than ever, when constructing new systems it’s all about bringing installation work, stable performance and costs down to a common denominator. With the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT, KACO new energy solves this equation in an elegant fashion: the right device for anyone looking for an inverter with particular strengths in commercial and industrial grade solar power plants.

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he PV sector has essentially almost achieved its aim: Photovoltaics is now virtually” a business like any other”. The flipside of this success is: Photovoltaics is now virtually “a business like any other”. Project rights are now only issued under “best conditions”, construction needs to be completed in record time, all with 100 percent reliability. In response to this, KACO new energy is now offering the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT, an inverter for the real world. Designed for maximum technical and economical efficiency, it can be used to plan and run solar power stations at an optimised total cost of ownership (TCO). All its features translate directly into customer benefits; price-driving special features have been consciously avoided. Three versions provide the perfect fit for any cost strategy in terms of safety and cabling: • -The basic version offers all the essentials when installing string collectors and overvolt-

“I think this product has the potential to be a real game-changer. The ‘decentral design of PV’ with optimum TCO could not be covered with any greater degree of compactness or economy.”

-Ralf Hofmann, Managing Director of KACO new energy

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