EQ Magazine December 2016 Edition

Volume # 8 | Issue # 12 | December 2016 | Rs.5/-

INTE R SO LAR INDI A SP ECIA ISSU L E 20 16

Largest Single Site Worldwide, 1GW Yanchi, Ningxia, China

@ Huawei FusionSolar

Largest Single Site Worldwide, 1GW Yanchi, Ningxia, China

@ Huawei FusionSolar

Cockhill, 20MW, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK

Waaree, 25MW, Gurramkonda, Andhra Pradesh, India

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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ANAND GUPTA

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TRENDS & ANALYSIS

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

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C ONTEN T

VOLUME 8 Issue # 12

09 Wonders of Solar Electric Passenger Planes To Operate Within Next 10 Years: Solar Impulse Founder

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Hindustan Zinc enters solar energy biz, to invest Rs 630 cr

14 Largest ever investment in off-grid solar: Lumos Global raises $90 million

26 MIDDLE EAST DEWA signs Power Purchase Agreement with Masdar for third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

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Kenya, World Bank Consider $150 Million Off-Grid Power Project

New from Heraeus! Andreas Liebheit, President Heraeus Photovoltaics, named Vice Chairman of Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA)

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16 First Solar, Inc. Announces Acceleration of Series 6 Solar Module Production to 2018; Restructures Operations; Updates 2016 Guidance & Provides 2017 Guidance

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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Perovskite solar cells hit new world efficiency record

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FEATURED NEWS Solar Frontier and Delta Electronics announce the installation of CIS solar systems in Thailand

34 World Bank Approves an Additional $22.93 MN Grant to Support Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Program in ndia

Global Business Innovators Launch $1 Billion Investment Fund For Next Generation Energy Technologies

Vikram Solar announces MoU with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan

54 SOLAR PV MANUFACTURING

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Trends/Innovation In Solar Mounting Technology

INTERVIEW

70 QUARTER RESULTS

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Azure Power Announces Results for Second Fiscal Quarter 2017

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RESEARCH & ANALYSIS Mercom Forecasts 76 Gw In Global Solar Installations In 2016, A 48% Yoy Increase Over 2015

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With Manish Chourasia, Managing Director (MD), Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd.

56 INTERVIEW with Andrew Hines, Head Of Business Development south India, Cleanmax Solar

NEWS & ANALYSIS Pg. 08-49 RESEARCH & ANALYSIS IHS Markit: Electric Vehicles Expected to Account for 15 to 35 Percent of Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vehicle Sales in 2040

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS $20 Million Grant to Spur Private Sector Solar Power Investment in Nepal

Jakson Bags Rooftop Solar Power Plant At Rashtrapati Bhawan

PRODUCT Pg. 74-76

If things never change, what would happened to the world?

This is a television of 30 years ago.

R&D, science and technology give life to innovation and evolution. Innovation always brings technological improvements, while evolution is necessary to reach the best results.

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WONDERS OF SOLAR

Swiss Unveil Stratospheric Solar Plane

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he SolarStratos, a sleek, white two-seater aircraft with long wings covered with 22 square metres (237 square feet) of solar panels, is set to become the first manned solar plane to make a stratospheric flight, according to Raphael Domjan, who is behind the project.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that current technology offers us the possibility to achieve above and beyond what fossil fuels offer, he said in a statement, after unveiling the plane at the Payerne airbase in western Switzerland.

Electric and solar vehicles are amongst the major challenges of the 21st century, said the youthful 44-year-old with short, blond hair, adding that the SolarStratos “can fly at an altitude of 25,000 metres (82,000 feet).”

SolarStratos is scheduled to begin test flights next February, while medium altitude flights are planned for next summer, and the first stratospheric flights should take place in 2018, the statement said. To keep down the weight, the plane will not be pressurised, and Domjan will wear a spacesuit, also powered by solar energy, which will also mark a world first, it added. The statement also claimed the craft could “reach space.” “Travelling to the stratosphere will take approximately five hours: 2.5 hours to reach space, 15 minutes of broad daylight and stars, then three hours to return to Earth,” it said.

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December 2016

Just months after two Swiss pilots completed a historic round-the-world trip in a Sun-powered plane, another Swiss adventurer on Wednesday unveiled a solar plane aimed at reaching the stratosphere.

The stratosphere lies above Earth’s lowest atmospheric layer, called the troposphere. At middle latitudes, the stratosphere runs from a lower boundary of about 10,000 metres to an upper boundary of about 50,000 metres. Aeronautics engineers use a rough benchmark called the Karman line, located at about 100,000 metres above sea level, for defining the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space. The announcement came after two of Domjan’s compatriots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, completed the first-ever round-the-globe trip in a solar plane last July, in a bid to showcase the possibilities for the future of renewable energy. Solar Impulse 2 circumnavigated the globe in 17 stages, covering a remarkable 43,000 kilometres (26,700 miles) across four continents, two oceans and three seas, in 23 days of flying without using a drop of fuel.

Domjan meanwhile launched his SolarStratos project in 2014, two years after he became the first person to sail around the world in a fully solar-powered boat. He insisted Wednesday that the new aircraft’s ability to pierce the stratosphere “opens the door to the possibility of electric and solar commercial aviation, close to space.” Until now, reaching the stratosphere has until now required large quantities of energy or helium. But the SolarStratos aircraft, could do so leaving only “the equivalent environmental footprint of an electric car”, Wednesday’s statement said.

The project “opens the door to new scientific knowledge, at an affordable price, exploration and the peaceful use of our stratosphere.”

- Mr. Roland Loos, who heads SolarXplorers, the organisation in charge of developing the project.

Source:rAFP

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WONDERS OF SOLAR

Electric Passenger Planes To Operate Within Next 10 Years: Solar Impulse Founder

The co-founder of a project, which saw a solar-powered aircraft complete the first fuel-free flight around the world, this year expects electric passenger planes to operate in just under 10 years.

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ertrand Piccard, who along with fellow pilot Andre Borschberg founded Solar Impulse, also shrugged off concerns that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of a fossil fuel industry defender as his top environmental official could hamper global clean technology efforts. Since completing their historic fuel-free flight in July, Piccard and Borschberg have been working on projects to show how the technologies used in their plane can be used in other applications.

They were especially interested in how the technology could be used to develop small electric planes with a flying time of about 1.5 hours. The two plan to announce their next project early next year, Borschberg said.

Mr. Bertrand Piccard

“In 9 years and 8 months, you’ll have 50 people travelling short-haul on electric planes,” Piccard, founder and chairman of Solar Impulse told an IATA airlines association briefing in Geneva. Why 9 years and eight months? Because since four months, I’ve been saying it will be ’10 years’.

It will happen, he added. He said that it didn’t matter what people thought about climate change because clean technology was getting cheaper and would help to drive growth. He cited examples of insulation making homes cheaper to live in, of LED lights reducing lighting costs. Five years ago everything that was clean tech was more expensive – that is not the case today.

If the aim is to be profitable and create jobs, then coal is out of business,” Source: reuters

Pilot Andre Borschberg www.EQMagPro.com

EQ

December 2016

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ASIA PACIFIC

$20 Million Grant to Spur Private Sector Solar Power Investment in Nepal Nepal is to receive a $20 million grant to spur private sector investment in utility-scale solar power. The funding should ensure installation of at least 25 megawatts (MW) of solar power by 2018 but, more importantly, will provide a business model that can be replicated and scaled up elsewhere in the energy- strapped South Asian nation.

N “Providing some financial security to the private sector should draw more private investment into this critical sector in Nepal and, in doing so, reduce pressure on government finances. And once the private sector better understands the Nepal solar sector, I would expect them to seek investment opportunities elsewhere in Nepal or indeed the region.”

- Aiming Zhou, Senior Energy Specialist at ADB’s South Asia Regional Department

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December 2016

epal has been suffering chronic power shortages, with peak demand of 1,444 MW far outpacing installed capacity of 885 MW. Only 65% of the country’s households have access to electricity.

Hydropower has, so far, been a mainstay of the country’s clean energy supply but solar power is an ideal complement, particularly during the lowwater season. Until now, however, private sector investment has largely been in micro- and minigrid solar power, with utility-scale plants of 4 MW or more attracting little private sector attention.

Now, companies will be able to bid to develop solar systems through an international competitive bidding process, with power purchase agreements awarded on the basis of the best offtake prices.

The funding under the grant will be payable on the first day of operation of the solar system, up to end June, 2022. Bidding is expected to start in the first quarter of 2017 and last around 6 to 12 months.

The $20 million grant is being financed by the Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Program (SREP) of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It will form part of the $440.50 million South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Power System Expansion Project, which kicked off in January 2015. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.

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ASIA PACIFIC

Solar Frontier and Delta Electronics announce the installation of CIS solar systems in Thailand Solar Frontier K.K., the world’s largest provider of CIS solar energy solutions, and Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL., one of the world’s leading producers of power supplies and electronic components, announced today the completion of four projects totaling 510kWp in size at the Delta Electronics factory site, in the Bangpoo Industrial Estate near Bangkok, Thailand. The projects were constructed by Energy Pro Corporation Ltd., a Thai solar power EPC specialist.

“Delta Electronics is planning to get the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certificate for all our factories in Thailand, and as Solar Frontier’s premium CIS solar panels are able to achieve excellent power output under strong sunlight and even during the rainy season, it makes them a reliable solution all-year round. We have been providing inverters for Solar Frontier in Japan since 2015, and we are confident that the success of the four projects will further develop our business partnership with Solar Frontier in Thailand,” - Mr. Hsieh Shen-yen, President, Delta Electronics (Thailand) PC

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olar Frontier’s CIS thin-film solar panels have been installed on rooftops and carparks of two Delta factories at Delta Electronics.

The construction started in July 2016 and all four installations were completed at the beginning of October 2016. The four projects are expected to provide an annual power generation of approximately 793MWh and all power generation will be for self-consumption

by Delta Electronics.

The transformer-less Delta grid photovoltaic (PV) inverters installed are the PRI M50A and RPI-M20A series of products.

The PV inverters produce one of the highest power efficiencies in the market and the PRI M50A model is also the smallest & lightest 50kW PV inverter in the world. Delta’s stateof-the-art designs have incorporated many innovative features to ensure optimum cost and space savings in addition to ease of installation and internationally certified safety standards. The entire solar power solution is seamlessly linked with Delta’s in-house developed software which allows monitoring and controlling of the power consumption.

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“Thailand aims to increase its installed solar power capacity to 6GW by 2036, and has great potential for solar power. Solar Frontier’s CIS solar panels generate more electricity (kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak) compared to crystalline silicon modules in real-world environments, and the panels’ high shadow tolerance means that they are efficient even during Bangkok’s 6-month rainy season. We believe that the partnership of Solar Frontier’s Japanese technology and Delta Electronics’ expertise can contribute to the spreading of solar power across the country.”

- Mr. Yuichi Kuroda, Executive Officer of Solar Frontier Delta Electronics was recently awarded the Top Corporate Brand in the electronics sector and is often recognized as one of the top companies in Thailand for its socially responsible business practice based on ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors. Solar Frontier will continue to create partnerships around the world providing solar solutions by harnessing the power of the sun to make solar power more accessible and provide a cleaner, more comfortable life for all.

EQ

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Quercus Announces the €150 Million First Close of its New Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds

Quercus Assets Selection, which specialises in renewable infrastructure investments announces that it has reached its first close of €150 million, led by its Co-Founder and CEO, Diego Biasi.

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he three new funds are targeting an annual dividend yield of 6%, distributed semi-annually and an IRR above 11%. Quercus is looking to raise a combined €500 million across the three funds by December 2018, which will place Quercus among the top three renewable energy infrastructure funds in Europe. The funds’ next closing is expected to take place during the first half of 2017.

Quercus launched the three funds early in 2016 as part of a unique project to combine three separate renewable energy funds to provide choice and flexibility.

The funds are a €150 million Italian Wind fund, a €150 million Italian Solar fund and a €200 million European MultiTech fund.

“2016 is proving to be another big year for Quercus.

We will double AUM, as we have annually since inception, despite increasing global market volatility.

We are aiming to be one of the largest European investors in renewable energy within five years, which we will do by collaborating with the top financial and industrial partners across Europe.”

Diego Biasi, Co-Founder and CEO of Quercus “Our goal is to acquire existing facilities that have a minimum of three years’ consolidated activity behind them, ensuring that our plants reach productivity targets.

This aspect, along with defined rates attributed to each facility, translates into returns that match high yield bonds while also benefitting from investment grade assets whose returns are uncorrelated with market volatility.”

Vito Gamberale, Chairman of Quercus Source:businesswire

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Hindustan Zinc enters solar energy biz, to invest Rs 630 cr

Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) recently said it is foraying into solar energy business and will set up 115 MW of solar energy projects with an investment of Rs 630 crore.

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he company led by billionaire Anil Agarwal already produces 474 MW of thermal power and 274 MW of wind energy. “Hindustan Zinc has been working progressively towards setting up 115 MW of solar energy projects with an investment of Rs 630 crore,” HZL CEO Sunil Duggal told PTI. He said that in the first phase, the company will set-up 15 MW solar energy projects which would require an investment of Rs 80 crore and are likely to be commissioned by March 2017. The second phase would be of 100 MW requiring an investment of Rs 550 crore, which is likely to be commissioned by September 2017. The average cost of setting up 1 MW of solar energy plant is about Rs 5.50 crore, Duggal said.

“The energy produced will be utilised for captive use only. Out of 15 MW, 10 MW solar power projects will be installed at Zinc Smelter Debari and remaining 5 MW will be installed at Rajpura Dariba Mine of Hindustan Zinc,” he added. The 5 MW solar power project at Rajpura Dariba Mine would be the first such project in the district of Rajsamand in Rajasthan. The 10 MW project would also be the largest solar energy project in the district of Udaipur, Duggal noted. The company also produces 274 MW of wind power in its green energy farms located in Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Hindustan Zinc has already installed solar roof top projects with a capacity of 100 KW each at head office-Udaipur and Chanderiya Lead Zinc Smelter in January 2016. It is also looking to develop solar energy projects in other parts of Rajasthan.

Source: PTI

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Green bonds can potentially fund renewable energy: Report Said With the government setting an ambitious target of 160 GW of solar and wind capacities by 2022, green bonds can be a potential option to support the funding needs, a recent report said. Green bond is a debt instrument used to raise funds from investors and the proceeds are used only towards financing ‘green projects’.

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ccording to a report released jointly by Assocham and Crisil, to meet the renewable energy target, there is a need to look at innovative channels for financing and banking alone would not be able to support the huge requirements. “Green bonds could be a potential option to support these funding needs.These proceeds could either be used for funding the capital expenditure of green projects such as renewable energy projects or refinancing existing loans of eligible green projects of the issuer,” the report said.

The report also noted that while the green bonds are relatively nascent in the Indian context with only few of the renewable energy independent power producers issuing these bonds, globally first green bond was issued in 2007. “Though the initial issuances remained small, they have gained lot of prominence in the past couple of years due to increasing appetite and commitment of investors in making climateresponsible investments,” it said.

India, with an installed capacity of 306 GW, has the fifth largest power generation portfolio in the world and the current renewable energy contribution to this portfolio stands at 45.6 GW as of September 30, 2016. The country’s total installed wind and solar power capacities stand at 28 GW and 8.5 GW, respectively, as on September 30. “Given that green bonds would facilitate attracting a category of investors which are environment friendly and demand investments in green/sustainable financial instruments, these could be a good option to part fund the huge investment needs of the renewable energy sector,” the report said.

Source: PTI

EQ

December 2016

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Largest ever investment in off-grid solar: Lumos Global raises $90 million Lumos Global, an off-grid solar firm operating in Nigeria, has recently announced $90 million in fundraising, the industry’s largest ever investment. With this record breaking investment, Lumos Global is demonstrating the growing business maturity of off-grid small business and residential solar systems.

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harting a course to transform the sector and millions of lives, Lumos Global will use the capital to grow in Nigeria and satisfy the high demand for its solar systems. It will be rolling out the service to homes, small businesses and community service centres such as hospitals, churches and mosques. Lumos will also seek to expand into other countries, building on its foundation in Nigeria.

Lumos Global’s innovative solar system provides affordable and accessible renewable electricity in communities that have limited or non-existent electricity access. In partnership with MTN, Nigeria’s leading mobile phone operator, Lumos Global allows its customers to pay for the system as they go, obtaining electricity for less than 50 US cents a day, using mobile phone credit.

The recently completed funding round was comprised of a series of commitments, including $50 million of debt funding from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (“OPIC”), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution and a total of $40 million of equity. The equity was raised from a consortium led by Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund (“PRIF”), the African infrastructure investor, and existing investors VLTCM and ICV. This investment enhances Lumos Global’s position as one of the largest and fastest growing off-grid solar firms worldwide, and positions it to transform millions of lives around the globe.

“We are proving on a daily basis that our systems have a unique ability to change lives. This major investment round shows the level of confidence that OPIC and PRIF have in Lumos Global’s ambition and impact. “I believe that private sector-led solutions fuelled by development-oriented funders is critical to achieving one of humanity’s biggest social challenges: providing access to energy to those who do not have it.”

Davidi Vortman, CEO of Lumos Global “In Nigeria, only half the population is connected to the grid, and only 25 percent of the population has access to a regular supply of electricity. OPIC’s commitment and support is helping Lumos Global bring vision, innovation, and sound business sense to address Nigeria’s severe energy shortage.

“Together, OPIC will advance the understanding that business can be a force for good and Lumos Global will provide reliable and affordable electricity solutions to thousands of households with limited or no access to electricity.”

Elizabeth L. Littlefield, OPIC President and CEO

“Lumos Global has established a strong track record in deploying the next generation of smart infrastructure in Africa, which is what PRIF is seeking to finance. We are thrilled with this new partnership and are looking forward to supporting Lumos Global in deploying solar systems across emerging markets in Africa and globally.”

Herc van Wyk, CEO of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers

Punj Lloyd Ltd has informed BSE that Punj Lloyd Infrastructure LTD (PLIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company has executed definitive agreements with India Power Green Utility Private Limited (IPGUPL) to co-develop 30 MW of solar assets in Uttarakhand

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unj Lloyd Ltd has informed BSE that Punj Lloyd Infrastructure Limited (PLIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company has executed definitive agreements with India Power Green Utility Private Limited (IPGUPL) to co-develop 30 MW of solar assets in Uttarakhand, in respect of three Solar Power Projects, each of 10 MW capacity won by PLIL under the tarrif based competitive bidding process in October 2015 to be executed by its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOS) viz. PL Surya Vidyut Limited, PL Sunrays Power Limited, and PL Solar Renewable Limited. As per the transaction, PLIL will

December 2016

divest 49% of its shareholding in its three subsidiaries viz. PL Surya Vidyut Limited, PL Sunrays Power Limited and PL Solar Renewable Limited. The SPVs have signed 25 years power purchase agreements with Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited. The Company shall be responsible for the entire engineering, procurement and commissioning of the above projects.The transaction is expected to be completed once customary closing conditions and approvals are obtained. Greenstone Energy Advisors is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to PLIL for the transaction.

Source:moneycontrol

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

India and U.S. Launch $95 Million Clean Energy Projects

The U.S. recently announced two financial projects worth $95 million in India to bring more energy-efficient appliances torural sector, as part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources.

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he US has committed $70 million in Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in India; and announced to launch a $20 million partnership this week with the philanthropic sector to bring more efficient appliances torural Indian villages. The $75 million OPIC financing is for a utility-scale PV project in Telangana. It is sponsored

by ReNew Power Ventures. This commitment represents the rapid mobilisation of financing under a $250 million facility to support up to 400 MW of new solar power projects in India across multiple states, the White House said. Further the OPIC and Indian “When deployed it is Government will this week formally launch a $20 expected to reduce million distributed solar facility in partnership with energy consumption leading philanthropies, it said. by over 50 per cent Known as US-India Clean Energy Finance for rural households, program (USICEF), it will address a key financing increase revenue for gap in the Indian distributed solar market by funding mini-grid operators early-stage project preparatory work, it said. USICEF by over 300 per is anticipated to unlock up to $400 million in longcent per household, term debt financing from OPIC and private sector and generate rural investors, the White House said. According to the employment for people White House fact sheet, the Rockefeller Foundation’s involved in distribution Smart Power for Rural Development Initiative is also and supply chain announcing a new partnership with the Clean Energy management of the Ministerial’s (CEM) Global Lighting and Energy devices,” it said.

Access Partnership (Global LEAP) to accelerate the deployment and use of energy efficient off-grid devices in rural India. The US Department of State will, subject to Congressional notification, provide funding for Global LEAP to support the development and roll out of a programme to deploy energy- efficient devices such as televisions, fans, and refrigerators at selected Smart Power supported mini-grid sites, the White House said. It will also develop a strategy for a programme-wide scale-up targeted to reduce energy costs for some of the poorest people in India.

Noting that the US President Barack Obama’s leadership has catalyzed a global transition towards a clean energy economy, the White House said from 2010-2015 alone, the US has invested in more than $11 billion in international clean energy finance. At the same time, the US has made research and development a top priority.

Key achievements include establishing Mission Innovation (MI), with the leaders of 19 countries, to accelerate innovation by doubling public investment in clean energy research and development to $30 billion over five years.

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CleanMax Solar commits Rs 1,200 cr for Karnataka

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n an interaction with DH, CleanMax Solar South India Business Development Head Andrew Hines said the company will set up a solar farm with a total capacity of 200 mW. “Besides rooftop solar plant, we are present in supplying power from a solar farm to the grid. With a progressive policy of Karnataka, we are planning a long-term investment of producing 200 mW,” he said.

CleanMax has commissioned 30 mW solar farm in Tumakuru district in March 2016.

“Our second farm is expected to come up in March, and that will be another 50 to 60 mW. Karnataka solar policy provides some sort of incentives for solar plants, set up until March 2018. Under that window we are looking to set up a plant of approximately 200 mW,” he said. Hines said each mega watt will have a capex investment of Rs 6 crore and so the total investment for 200 mW will be Rs 1,200 crore. Besides, 0.5 mW rooftop solar plant at Bengaluru airport, the company also plans to come up another project with Bangalore Metro. “We are India’s largest supplier of solar power under the corporate sector with different models. The first one is we install rooftop solar plant and supply directly to them. The second model is we supply power from a solar farm in a rural area into the grid and then the corporate consumer can avail it,” he said. He said in corporate model, the company offers investment. “Then we own and operate the plant for 20–25 years and sell the solar power to our customers. From our customers’ perspective, it is a zero investment opportunity for them. So all they have to do is get into a contract with us to buy the solar power that will also be at a discount of whatever their power supplier offers,” he said.

“There are two ways that we raise capital - One from within the company itself and the second for a particular project. So, for a specific project we can raise some capital at a project level also,” he said. The Mumbaiheadquartered ClearMax has completed 72 projects across 20 plus industries with presence in Rajastahn, NCR, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

First Solar, Inc. Announces Acceleration of Series 6 Solar Module Production to 2018; Restructures Operations; Updates 2016 Guidance & Provides 2017 Guidance First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced an acceleration of Series 6 production into 2018, with approximately 3 Gigawatts of production expected in 2019. Over the course of 2017 and 2018 the Company’s existing production facilities will be converted to Series 6 production and the current Series 4 product will be phased out. As a result of the change in roadmap the Company will cancel its Series 5 product.

“The acceleration of the Series 6 roadmap is an important development for First Solar. Following the completion of an internal review process to evaluate the best competitive response to address the current challenging market conditions, we have developed plans that will enable us to more quickly begin production of our Series 6 module. Although the decision to accelerate our Series 6 roadmap requires a restructuring of our current operations, we expect the transition to Series 6 will enable us to maximize the intrinsic cost advantage of CdTe thin-film technology versus crystalline silicon. Recent steep module pricing declines require us to evaluate all components of our cost structure and streamline our business model to best position the Company for long-term success.”

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Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar

he Company will reduce its workforce at its manufacturing facilities both domestically and internationally as a result of the transition from Series 4 to Series 6 production. Additional reductions in administrative and other staff are also planned.

Resulting from the transition to Series 6 from Series 4 and other competitive factors, the Company expects to incur restructuring and asset impairment charges of $500 to $700 million, which includes a cash impact of $70 to $100 million. The charges are anticipated primarily in 2016 and are comprised of the following: •

$475 to $585 million, including asset impairments related to Series 4, Series 5 and stored manufacturing equipment, and charges for cancellation of open purchase orders. The cash impact is anticipated to range from $50 to $70 million.

•

Up to $80 million for a noncash impairment of goodwill

•

$10 to $15 million in cash severance charges, expected primarily in 2016

•

$15 to $20 million of other charges, expected primarily in 2017.

•

These pre-tax restructuring and asset impairment charges are expected to have an offsetting tax benefit of $50 to $100 million.

In addition to the restructuring and asset impairment charges, the Company also expects to incur $220 to $250 million of tax expense in 2016 associated with the distribution of between $700 and $750 million of cash to the United States from a foreign subsidiary. This distribution will provide liquidity for the restructuring of U.S. operations and Series 6 investment. The cash tax impact related to this transfer is expected to be between $8 and $10 million.

As a result of the restructuring and other related charges, the Company has updated 2016 GAAP guidance in the table below. 2016 non-GAAP guidance has also been updated to reflect the sale of the entire remaining interest in the Stateline project and excludes the impact of the current or previously announced restructuring actions.

Source:businesswire

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PV MANUFACTURING

Cut-throat Competition on the Polysilicon Market

Johannes Bernreuter, Head of Bernreuter Research and author of the report.

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The polysilicon industry will experience severe cut-throat competition in 2018. According to the Polysilicon Market Outlook 2020, the new report from polysilicon market research firm Bernreuter Research, half a dozen polysilicon manufacturers could be pushed out of business by the end of 2018.

“Slowing demand from the photovoltaic industry on the one hand and increasing production capacities on the other will cause turmoil on the polysilicon market,”

he polysilicon spot price will slump from more than 14 US$/kg currently below 12 $/kg in 2018, forecasts Bernreuter. Already in 2014 and 2015, supply of polysilicon grew more rapidly than demand from the photovoltaic (PV) industry, which consumes approx. 90% of polysilicon produced worldwide. The global output of 313,000 and 363,000 metric tons (MT), respectively, led to swelling inventories, which drove the spot price down to a record low of 12.93 $/kg in January 2016 “Only the massive Chinese PV installation rally in the first half of 2016 saved the polysilicon industry from even more serious oversupply,” says report author Bernreuter.

Chinese producers aiming for semiconductor-grade polysilicon Between 2017 and 2019, however, new capacities of up to 141,000 MT – 70% of them in China – are planned to come on stream while the annual growth rate of new PV installations will sink below 10%. This disparity between supply and demand will result in strong cut-throat competition. “We expect that some projects will be deferred, others will end up as stranded investments, and several existing manufacturers will disappear from the market,” says Bernreuter. Chinese polysilicon producers are not only expanding the capacity for solar-grade polysilicon, but a few are also trying to break the oligopoly that six incumbent manufacturers hold in the production of electronic-grade polysilicon for the semiconductor industry. “It remains to be seen if Chinese producers can meet the high purity requirements for semiconductors,” comments Bernreuter.

Low market share for fluidized bed reactor (FBR) technology Regarding fluidized bed reactor (FBR) technology, the high hopes that were pinned on it for producing low-cost solar-grade polysilicon have not been fulfilled so far. “Obviously, the technical challenges of keeping silicon dust formation low have been underestimated,” says Bernreuter. As a result, the established Siemens process will continue to be the dominant production method. Bernreuter Research predicts that the market share of FBR will fall below 3% in 2016 and remain in the single-digit range over the coming years.

More details on the polysilicon, solar and semiconductor markets are provided in The Polysilicon Market Outlook 2020. The 70-page report contains elaborate scenarios of supply and demand, detailed forecasts of polysilicon prices and manufacturing costs through 2020 as well as the latest development of FBR technology.

Renewsys First New Company To Start PV Cell Production In India RenewSys India Pvt Ltd announces the start of its 100 MW brand-new PV Multi crystalline cell line at its Hyderabad factory.

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he European line has been commissioned with the help of Solsol GmbH, a leading German consultancy. Apart from the few Indian companies that have been making PV cells in India since many years, RenewSys believes that it is the first new company to have installed and commissioned a cell line in India. RenewSys’ decision to invest in cell-making was based on the Indian Government’s policies supporting domestic manufacturing industry. With the confidence that this support will be on-going, RenewSys intends to enhance its cell and module making capacity next year as well.

Plans to increase the EVA/POE and Backsheet capacity are also at an advanced stage.

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RESEARCH

Discoms to see marginal rise in credit metrics in 2017: Fitch

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Indian power distribution firms will require large capex in 2017 which will lead to marginal improvement in their credit metrics, but their ratings may remain stable, says Fitch in its report.

itch expects the rated Indian state utilities to have large capex requirements in 2017. This will lead to only marginal improvement in their credit metrics. However, we expect the ratings to remain stable. The linkages with the sovereign also provide a rating buffer for these entities, Fitch said in its its outlook report on the Indian utilities sector.

According to the report, 2017 is a test year for the success of the reforms package

launched by India to address the persistent financial and operating weakness at stateowned electricity distribution companies (discoms). It said progress under this programme should give some additional breathing space to the discoms, which is important for the overall electricity off-take from generators in India and improvement of plant utilisation levels, which are at historic lows.It further said investment opportunities abound – especially in renewable generation and electricity network assets – but bidding discipline is key. Indian state distribution companies struggling with years of cash losses will have some leeway in 2017, with 16 states and a union territory signed up for voluntary financial and operational restructuring of their distribution utilities, it said.However, Fitch Ratings believes that sustained improvement in distribution companies’ financial profiles will hinge on gradual reduction of network losses.

Generation and transmission utilities will

in turn benefit from timely clearance of dues and higher utilisation rates, it added.

Fitch expects greater private sector participation in grid assets as more projects are tendered although PGCIL will account for more than two-thirds of new capacity investments.Interest and investments in renewable energy will continue, supported by government policy initiatives. However, bidding discipline, especially in solar, remains an issue.

“We expect electricity prices to continue to hover at their low levels in 2017. This will be driven by high generation sent out from power stations, continued grid congestion and poor financial health of the distribution companies limiting off-take,” it said. Fitch expects issuers, including smaller renewable players, to continue to tap offshore markets to diversify their funding sources and take advantage of potentially lower interest rates. This will Source:PTI free up bank facilities as well.

RESEARCH

Solar panels have repaid their energy ‘debt’: Netherlands research study

The climate-friendly electricity generated by solar panels in the past 40 years has all but cancelled out the polluting energy used to produce them, a study said Tuesday. Indeed, by some calculations, the so-called “break-even point” between dirty energy input and clean output may already have arrived, researchers in the Netherlands reported.

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e show strong downward trends of environmental impact of solar panel production, the team wrote in the journal Nature Communications.

The study sought to address concerns that solar technology may be using fossil fuel energy in the panels’ manufacture, and emitting greenhouse gases, faster than it was able to offset.

The authors found that for every doubling in solar capacity installed, energy used to produce solar panels decreased by 12-13 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 17-24 percent, depending on the material used.

Solar panels, which convert sunlight into electricity, are a key player in the fast-growing renewable energy sector, which also includes water- and wind-generated electricity.

Unlike energy from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, the generation of electricity by so-called photovoltaic (PV) panels does not release planetharming carbon dioxide.

Solar panel capacity grew sharply, on average, by 45 percent per year from 1975 to reach 230 billion watts (Gigawatt or GW) in 2015.

In 1975, there were fewer than 10,000 solar panels around the world, compared to about a billion today, study co-author Wilfried Van Sark of Utrecht University in the Netherlands told AFP. By the end of 2016, “we would have some 300 GW installed” - about 1-1.5 percent of global electricity demand.

Falling costs •

Over an average lifespan of 30-odd years, a PV system pays back the energy that was used in producing it “multiple times,” said the study authors.

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Looking at data since 1976, the researchers calculated that on a global scale, solar energy’s “debt was likely already repaid in 2011” for both energy input and greenhouse gases.

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Even on the least optimistic data, break-even point will be reached at the latest next year for net energy, and in 2018 for greenhouse gases, they said.

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The photovoltaic effect, by which certain materials convert the photon particles in sunlight into energy, was first identified by French physicist Edmund Bequerel in 1839.

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The first photovoltaic battery was built in 1954 but was too expensive for widespread use.

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The technology was used in the 1960s to generate power on spacecraft, and only started taking root on Earth in the 1970s.

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From 1975, costs decreased by about 20 percent for every doubling in capacity, the study found.

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In 1976, one would have paid about $80 (75 euros at today’s rates) for one Wattpeak (Wp) unit, compared to about 64-67 US cents today.

Source:AFP

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RESEARCH

IHS Markit: Electric Vehicles Expected to Account for 15 to 35 Percent of World’s Vehicle Sales in 2040; One of Several Converging Factors that Could Bring About Greatest Transformation Since Dawn of Automotive Age

Electric vehicles could make up 15 to 35 percent of total new vehicle sales globally in 2040, according to IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. The findings are part of a new research project, Reinventing the Wheel, that will be conducted over the first half of 2017.

“The key question is whether we are approaching a transformative shift akin to the first decade of the 20th century, when the internal combustion engine, cheap gasoline, bicycle technology and mass production combined to usher in the automotive age. Converging developments along multiple tracks are leading us to focus on this important question.”

- Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit and Chairman of the study who wrote about the beginning of the automotive age in his most recent book, The Quest While electric vehicles constitute a small percentage of the world’s vehicle sales and are just 1 percent of the on-road fleet today, sales in 2016 are up more than 1000 percent since 2010—a trend that IHS Markit expects to continue with the potential to make electric vehicles more than one third of the new vehicle sales in 2040.

“Significant advances in battery technology, financial support from governments, regulations and values of millennials will be key factors leading to increases in electric vehicle adoption.”

- Dr. Daniel Yergin, Study Co-Director and Chief of Research at IHS Markit for crude Oil markets and energy scenarios Electric vehicle share in individual markets will vary based on these factors, IHS Markit says. For instance, in China and Europeregions where policies are favorable to electric vehicles-IHS Markit estimates that electric vehicles could comprise over half of new passenger vehicle sales in 2040.

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The growth of electric vehicles is one of several forces reshaping the future of transportation that are the subject of Reinventing the Wheel, a major new multi-client research initiative combining the industryleading chemical, automotive and energy expertise of IHS Markit.

This initiative will be the subject of a comprehensive new study to be completed in 2017. Other critical factors to be examined by the study include the potential impacts of car sharing, ride hailing and autonomous vehicles on the transportation ecosystem. The study is set to begin December 15 in Detroit.

“How and when this transformation takes shape will have significant impacts on the global economy and raises fundamental questions for the oil and gas, automotive, chemical and the electric power industries, as well as individual consumers.”

- Tiffany Groode, Study co-director and head of IHS Markit automotive scenarios

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energy storage

Huge Boost in Grid-Connected Energy Storage Leads to 4.5 Gigawatt Opportunity for Inverter Suppliers, IHS Markit Says “While prices in the energy storage industry are still relatively attractive for suppliers compared to similar industries, the price premium they hold will likely reduce over the coming years. We forecast that global PCS prices will decrease 13 percent a year on average from Sam Wilkinson, 2016 to 2020.”

Senior Research Manager at IHS Technology

Leading energy storage suppliers IHS Technology tracks more than 30 suppliers with inverter products below 100 kW. Over 25 companies shared half of the energy storage inverter shipments in 2015. Panasonic, Sharp and Omron were in the top five suppliers for 2015. The large-scale energy storage inverter market is more concentrated, with BYD, Parker Hannifin and Woojin accounting for nearly half of the market in 2015.

As the global market for grid-connected energy storage expands, the opportunity for energy storage inverters and power conversion systems (PCS) will grow from 910 MW in 2015 to 4.5 GW in 2020. The new forecasts from the Energy Storage Inverter (PCS) Report 2016 were released today by IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, are part of the group’s Energy Storage Intelligence Service.

Price trends Average PCS prices are forecast to experience significant reductions over the coming years as the market becomes increasingly competitive with new suppliers entering the market, and volumes increasing, the IHS Technology report said. Whilst the cost of energy storage inverters is higher than PV inverters due to the increased functionality, IHS Technology anticipates that as the market grows the size of this premium will rapidly decrease.

“Competition in the large-scale sector has already led to prices being significantly lower, and we forecast the average global price per watt of 1 MW+ inverters will fall below $0.10 in 2020,” Wilkinson said. “However, prices will undoubtedly be below this average on occasions as large-scale tenders attract highly competitive pricing.”

Surge in commercial and industrial systems In the forecast period, commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage installations are forecast to grow faster than those in the residential and utility-side-of-meter segments, growing by an average of over 70 percent per year for the next five years. “As average system sizes grow, larger inverters are predicted to gain share of this segment as well, leading to close to 700 MW of 100–999 kW inverters shipped to C&I installations in 2020,” Wilkinson said.

Residential market trends AC-coupled systems will make up over 60 percent of the market by 2020, the IHS Technology report said. The systems are easier to retrofit to existing PV systems and the increasing importance of aggregated residential systems to create virtual power plants and provide grid services will help drive this trend.

Source:ihsmarkit

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energy storage

Capacity of Lithium Ion Batteries for Plug-In Electric Vehicle Second-Life Stationary Energy Storage is Expected to Grow 10 GWh From 2022 to 2035 A recent report from Navigant Research explores the concept of reusing plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries for stationary energy storage system (ESS) applications, focusing on the key issues, market drivers, and challenges related to reusing second-life PEV batteries.

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i-ion battery packs in EVs have shown less degradation and better performance than expected thanks to robust pack design and careful thermal and charging management. Although the specific power and energy capacity performance parameters for second-life reuse will need to be determined, these batteries will likely have high power and energy capacities, making them well-suited for grid storage applications such as frequency regulation as well as longer duration applications. Click to tweet: According to a recent report from @NavigantRSRCH, capacity of Li-ion batteries for PEV second-life stationary energy storage is expected to grow 10 GWh from 2022 to 2035.

William Tokash, Senior Research Analyst with Navigant Research

“The release of the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF in 2010 ushered in the modern era of mainstream vehicle electrification. PEVs that use traction batteries with Li-ion chemistries are now available globally, and many of these batteries show less degradation and better performance than expected and may have value after their vehicle life is over.”

Phillips 66 Sets World Record in Organic Solar Cell Efficiency Phillips 66 has successfully set a new world record in power conversion efficiency for polymer-based single junction organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The 11.84 percent efficiency was certified by Newport Corporation, a recognized center for independent verification of solar cell results under standard testing conditions.

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he solar cells are based on proprietary state-of-the-art polymers and interfacial layers, which have been developed

by Phillips 66. The advantaged technology can be printed using low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. The organic solar cells do not contain hazardous components, such as lead or cadmium, unlike some other types of thin film technologies.

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The regional distribution of secondlife batteries will be relatively proportional between Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, according to the report. The low cost and heavy weight of these batteries will likely preclude intercontinental shipping, so most batteries employed in stationary ESS reuse applications will be in close vicinity to where they are removed from vehicles.

The report, Alternative Revenue Models for Advanced Batteries, explores the concept of reusing PEV Li-ion batteries for stationary ESS applications. The study examines the issues, including market drivers and challenges, related to second-life batteries and suggests moves for stakeholders to help make the concept become a reality. Global forecasts for the availability and capacity of these batteries, as well as their future price ceilings, are provided.

The report also assesses the residual energy storage asset value and alternative revenue streams associated with the reuse of PEV Li-ion batteries.

An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

“This breakthrough in efficiency brings us closer to the possibility of commercializing this promising form of solar technology,” said Merl Lindstrom, vice president of Technology at Phillips 66.

“Continuing to increase the ability of OPV cells to convert power with high efficiency will one day make this energy source more affordable for the consumer.”

OPV technology enables the development of flexible, lightweight and transparent solar modules that can be manufactured at a low cost.

The Phillips 66 materials provide the potential for cost-effective renewable electricity generation on par with conventional energy technologies.

Source:.phillips66

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research & development

Perovskite solar cells hit new world efficiency record They’re flexible, cheap to produce and simple to make – which is why perovskites are the hottest new material in solar cell design. And now, engineers at Australia’s University of New South Wales in Sydney have smashed the trendy new compound’s world efficiency record.

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peaking at the Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference in Canberra on Friday 2 December, Anita Ho-Baillie, a senior research fellow at the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP), announced that her team at UNSW has achieved the highest efficiency rating with the largest perovskite solar cells to date. The 12.1 per cent efficiency rating was for a 16 cm2 perovskite solar cell, the largest single perovskite photovoltaic cell certified with the highest energy conversion efficiency, and was independently confirmed by the international testing centre Newport Corp, in Bozeman, Montana. The new cell is at least 10 times bigger than the current certified high-efficiency perovskite solar cells on record.

Her team has also achieved an 18 per cent efficiency rating on a 1.2 cm2 single perovskite cell, and an 11.5 per cent for a 16 cm2 four-cell perovskite mini-module, both independently certified by Newport. “This is a very hot area of research, with many teams competing to advance photovoltaic design,” said Ho-Baillie. “Perovskites came out of nowhere in 2009, with an efficiency rating of 3.8 per cent, and have since grown in leaps and bounds. These results place UNSW amongst the best groups in the world producing state-of-the-art high-performance perovskite solar cells. And I think we can get to 24 per cent within a year or so.” Perovskite is a structured compound, where a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material acts as the light-harvesting active layer. They are the fastest-advancing solar technology to date, and are attractive because the compound is cheap to produce and simple to manufacture, and can even be sprayed onto surfaces.

December 2016

“The versatility of solution deposition of perovskite makes it possible to spray-coat, print or paint on solar cells,” said Ho-Baillie. “The diversity of chemical compositions also allows cells be transparent, or made of different colours. Imagine being able to cover every surface of buildings, devices and cars with solar cells.”

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ost of the world’s commercial solar cells are made from a refined, highly purified silicon crystal and, like the most efficient commercial silicon cells (known as PERC cells and invented at UNSW), need to be baked above 800°C in multiple high-temperature steps. Perovskites, on the other hand, are made at low temperatures and 200 times thinner than silicon cells.

But although perovskites hold much promise for cost-effecti`ve solar energy, they are currently prone to fluctuating temperatures and moisture, making them last only a few months without protection.

Along with every other team in the world, Ho-Baillie’s is trying to extend its durability. Thanks to what engineers learned from more than 40 years of work with layered silicon, they’re are confident they can extend this. Nevertheless, there are many existing applications where even disposable low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells could be attractive, such as use in disaster response, device charging and lighting in electricity-poor regions of the world. Perovskite solar cells also have the highest power to weight ratio amongst viable photovoltaic technologies.

“We will capitalise on the advantages of perovskites and continue to tackle issues important for commercialisation, like scaling to larger areas and improving cell durability,” said Martin Green, Director of the ACAP and HoBaillie’s mentor

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The project’s goal is to lift perovskite solar cell efficiency to 26 per cent. The research is part of a collaboration backed by $3.6 million in funding through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) ‘solar excellence’ initiative.

The achievement demonstrated the importance of supporting early stage renewable energy technologies: “In the future, this world-leading R&D could deliver efficiency wins for households and businesses through rooftop solar as well as for big solar projects like those being advanced through ARENA’s investment in large-scale solar.”

- Ivor Frischknecht, ARENA’s CEO

To make a perovskite solar cells, engineers grow crystals into a structure known as ‘perovskite’, named after Lev Perovski, the Russian mineralogist who discovered it. They first dissolve a selection of compounds in a liquid to make the ‘ink’, then deposit this on a specialised glass which can conduct electricity. When the ink dries, it leaves behind a thin film that crystallises on top of the glass when mild heat is applied, resulting in a thin layer of perovskite crystals. The tricky part is growing a thin film of perovskite crystals so the resulting solar cell absorbs a maximum amount of light. Worldwide, engineers are working to create smooth and regular layers of perovskite with large crystal grain sizes in order to increase photovoltaic yields.

Ho-Baillie, who obtained her PhD at UNSW in 2004, is a former chief engineer for Solar Sailor, an Australian company which integrates solar cells into purpose-designed commercial marine ferries which currently ply waterways in Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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MIDDLE EAST AFRICA

DEWA signs Power Purchase Agreement with Masdar for third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Abu Dubai Future Energy Company (Masdar), for the 800MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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he agreement was signed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, and HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, with HE Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar also present.

The signing ceremony was attended by DEWA staff including Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation, Hussain Lootah, Executive Vice President of Transmission Power, Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications and Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, Vice President of Special Projects.

Earlier this year, DEWA announced the Masdar-led consortium as selected bidder for the third phase of the solar park.

The consortium bid the lowest cost of electricity.

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“We are pleased to sign the Power Purchase Agreement with Abu Dubai Future Energy Company to produce 800MW based on the Independent Power Producer model for the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. The agreement with Masdar supports the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and his brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to support the growth of the promising clean energy sector, and our efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched

by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to diversify the energy mix so clean energy will generate 7% of Dubai’s total power output by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050. The directives of His Highness are the roadmap that guides our ambitious initiatives and development projects. The agreement also supports the Dubai Plan 2021 to promote sustainability and happiness in Dubai, and achieve the aspirations of its citizens and residents, and DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility,”

“Masdar is proud to partner with DEWA on this important milestone in the development of the UAE’s solar energy capacity.

This agreement demonstrates the competitiveness of solar as a commerciallyviable clean energy source for electricity generation. It is through ambitious projects of this scale that Masdar is able to drive the clean technology industry forward.”

- HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber

“Today’s signing continues the strong momentum created at the outset of the project thanks to DEWA’s efficient tender process. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a major undertaking which will become an international reference point for the renewable energy industry.

Through the Solar Park, DEWA is making a significant contribution to the UAE’s vision for a green economy. The collaboration between all parties to reach this milestone has been exceptional, and we look forward to bringing Masdar’s expertise and experience from the past 10 years to bear, in order to successfully deliver this project for the UAE.” Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar

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MIDDLE EAST AFRICA

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n November 2015, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. In June 2016, His Highness witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Masdar-led consortium to implement the third phase of the solar park based on the IPP model.

The MoU signing was attended by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, and HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. The 800MW third phase will be operational in 2020 to coincide with the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. DEWA also launched the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world, based on the IPP model, with a planned capacity of 1,000 MW by 2030.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park at Seih Al Dahal in early 2012. The first phase was successfully completed the next year, and is producing 13MW. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park includes a Creativity & Innovation Centre that will be equipped with the latest renewable and clean technologies to sharpen national capabilities, boost the competitiveness of business, develop new renewable energy technologies, support the overall regional advancement of the industry, and raise social awareness about renewable and sustainable energy.

The Research and Development Centre will conduct studies for industrial and social requirements, scientific research, link researchers, academics and developers, and devise strategies for innovative and productive ideas. It has two testing facilities, one for photovoltaic solar testing and the other for concentrated solar power (CSP). The centre is currently testing 30 modules of photovoltaic panels from global specialist manufacturers to check the properties, analyse the results, and use them in research and development. It collaborates with international organisations on soiling and dust mitigation on photovoltaic equipment.

The tests are currently being performed to set a baseline for the development of specifications, tests and standards for photovoltaic equipment.

Kenya, World Bank Consider $150 Million Off-Grid Power Project

Kenya and the World Bank are in talks about financing a $150 million solarand-wind project in the country’s remote, off-grid northeastern region.

“We anticipate firm positions on where this project will be situated,” before inviting international bidders to tender, Ben Chumo, the managing director of electricity distributor Kenya Power Ltd., said in an interview Wednesday in the capital, Nairobi. The government of East Africa’s biggest economy is building more power plants as it targets a tripling of capacity to 6,766 megawatts by 2020, from about 2,327 megawatts. Most of the new capacity will be from renewable sources including geothermal, according to the state-run Energy Regulatory Commission.

Construction of the solar-and-wind project is expected to start by mid-2017, Chumo said.

Electricity consumers in the remote northeastern region are currently served by diesel-fuel generation. Kenya Power, the nation’s sole electricity distributor, plans to add 1.5 million new customers to its 5.4 million client base next year, taking the number of people connected to the national grid to 70 percent, from 62 percent, Chumo said.

Kenyan consumers pay an average of 18.7 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 9 cents in neighboring Tanzania and 3 cents in Ethiopia, African Development Bank data shows. An unreliable and expensive power supply is cited by business as a deterrent to investment in the $63.4 billion economy.

Source:bloomberg

Source:Dewa

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DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

Pune University to give Rs 5 lakh to colleges to adopt solar energy Taking up its mission for green energy a step further, the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) will now incentivise colleges for installing solar panels. To enable this, the university administration recently passed a decision to include solar panel installation in the list of approved expenses under the its Quality Improvement Programme (QIP).

Wasudeo Gade, Vice Chancellor, Pune University

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T “Under the QIP, we give a fund of Rs 5 lakh from the university once in two years to attached colleges for various proposals for their development, that until now included building expenses, buying sports equipment, library, equipments for laboratory and computers. However, from this year, installation of solar panels unit is also eligible for this scheme. Those colleges who wish to install solar panels can send their proposals under QIP for funding.

This decision has been taken to reiterate the university’s commitment towards propagating green energy initiatives and to encourage our affiliated colleges in the same direction,”

ccording to a circular issued in this regard, colleges wishing to avail of this fund will have to send proposals online between December 2 and 31 while hard copies of proposals can be sent till January 5, 2017. “Three types of systems can be installed — grid tied photovoltaic (PV) system, off-grid system and hybrid system. While gridtied PV systems have certain advantages, like it helps save more money with net metering, the utility grid is a virtual battery that allows electricity generated to be consumed in real time. But it needs uninterrupted and reliable grid-supply and such a system is not advisable for colleges that have recurrent power outages. An off-grid system is the obvious solution where grid is not available and it leads to energy self-sufficiency, but they require battery storage and this is an expensive and complicated job. Hybrid systems combine the best of the other two systems and are also less expensive,” said an official.

Source:IE

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Harish Hande seeks decentralisation of solar power production he man who has taken solar lights and other solar light-based appliances to inaccessible areas of the country pushed for decentralising solar power production to prevent transmission and distribution losses. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Emerging Solar PV Technology Applications for Academics’ here on Saturday, Chairman of SELCO-India H. Harish Hande said big solar power plants lead to conflict with land and water and there would be transmission and distribution loss. It’s better to decentralise solar power production and have units at each house/building to meet the power requirement.

Lack of human resource was acting as a bottleneck in scaling up production of solar power, which was presently as low as 5 per cent in the country. He said the curriculum in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) should be remodelled to include people who can manage solar power devices and also those who can bring out innovations. These personnel need financial support of banks to become entrepreneurs, he said. He urged academic institutions to innovate products for those in rural areas, such as a solar-powered floor mill and solar powered X-ray machines, which will bring about big changes.

Problems at the grassroots should be addressed by the universities, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Hande inaugurated the seminar that was jointly organised by the Mangalore University and IIT Bombaybased kWatt Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Chairman of kWatt Technologies Chetan Singh Solanki said the company has been, for the last two years, involved in the Central government programmes to provide solar lamps in one million houses in tribal and educationally backward areas in the country. They have covered 10,900 villages and reached out to nearly one million children, he said.

Source:TH

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DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

Solar-powered charging stations for e-auto rickshaws in Jabalpur The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) has proposed to set up solarpowered charging stations in various localities of the town to charge the batteries of e-auto rickshaws. Currently there is no such facility available in the city to charge the batteries of the e-auto rickshaw and the individual owner charges the batteries from their houses through the power generated from conventional sources of energy like coal.

Over 160 e-auto rickshaws are currently plying within JMC limits.

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he e-auto rickshaws were introduced in Jabalpur on January 30 this year after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan handed over the keys to 70 persons in a function. New and renewable energy department principal secretary Manu Shrivastava told HT that the MP Urja Vikas Nigam and JMC are working on the modalities to have the solar-powered charging stations for e-auto rickshaws in Jabalpur and soon such stations will be set up. He said step to have solar-powered charging stations is being taken to encourage usage of renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy conservation by slowly reducing dependability on the conventional sources of energy. The JMC has proposed to set up solar powered charging stations in various localities, including near the railway station, medical college hospital, Damohnaka Square, Gwarighat, Gohalpur and Gokalpur localities, inter-state bus stand and Deendayal Square.Solarpowered charging stations will provide electricity at cheaper rates than that available from state-run discoms, the municipal officials say.

ReNew Power to help Indian Railways go solar; bags 5 MW project

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enewable energy development company, ReNew Power Ventures, has won bids for 5 MW solar installations across locations panIndia for the Indian Railways. The company will be investing close to Rs 35 crore in these projects which will supply energy to the Indian Railways through long term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 25 years. This is the first set of allocations by Indian Railways to any company under PPA mode. Out of the total 5 MW allocation under various zones, 1 MW has been allocated by North Central Railway division for Allahabad & Kanpur, 1 MW has been allocated by South Western Railway division for Bengaluru & Hubli. Another 1 MW has been allocated by East Coast Railway division for Vishakhapatnam and 2 MW has been allocated by South Eastern Railway division for Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur, Jamshedpur etc. The pan-India installations mentioned above will be carried out to a large extent in the station buildings, railway offices, workshops amongst other building premises. In total, these projects will generate more than 7 million units of power annually and offset over 6000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

The stations will be run by the Jabalpur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL).

“After identifying the spots a proposal has been sent to the MP Urja Vikas Nigam for technical assistance to set up such stations having facilities to charge batteries of 15-20 e-auto rickshaws at the same time,” JCTSL chief executive officer Sachin Vishwakarma told HT Pawan Virha, owner of an e-auto rickshaw said, “It takes eight-nine hours to charge the batteries and the power last for 80 kilometres”. He said, “I charge batteries in the night when all the electricity usage is low in the house and incur additional expenditure of over Rs 700 per month on power bills”. “If we get facility to charge the batteries on cheaper rates, I will definitely opt for it,” he said. Parmanad Kori owner of an e-auto rickshaw said “if the JMC provides the facility to charge batteries on nominal rates, it will be helpful as charging batteries from domestic power is costly affair.”

Source:HT “We are proud to be associated with the Indian Railways, the most extensively used means of transportation in India.

It is a great honour for us to be instrumental in accomplishing their initiative of going solar.”

Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO, ReNew Power “It is indeed a matter of pride for us that after metro rail and airport, we will now be catering to Indian railways under the distributed solar segment.

We hope to be a part of many more such government projects along with several private customers whom we serve across India.”

Prabhat Kumar Mishra, Head-Distributed Solar and Offtake, ReNew Power Source:moneycontrol

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DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

Kargil puts on its solar project to manage its hospital In order to give relief to the patients and staff of Community Health Center Shakar Chiktan from the daily power curtailment, Chief Executive Councillor LAHDC Kargil Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan inaugurated a 10 KV SPV Power Project which will provide 24 hours power supply to the Health center. Khan also inaugurated CHCs heating system in its Labour Room area where heat panel was installed for heating the room. It will also be powered by the SPV Project.

LAHDC, Kargil officials after inaugurating the solar power project at Chiktan

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alking to media, Khan said the Power generated from Solar project will be the only alternate to cover and mitigate the shortage of Electricity during winter. He said one 5-MW SPV Project from the already sanctioned 5 projects will be commissioned next year at Yourbaltak Kargil. He further told that SPV Rooftop projects for Kargil town and many more are expected and the team led by Project Director KREDA Kacho Ahamd Ali Khan is working day and night to make Kargil the first energy sufficient district of J&K and in future Electricity will become the prime industry of Kargil district.

Talking on this occasion Advocate Mohammad Amir thanked Project Director KREDA for installing the project at CHC Chiktan on behalf of the people of Shakar Chiktan and hoped that this will add in the performance of the hospital staff during winters. He also told in days to come the casualty block of the CHC will be heated up by the space heating technology by KREDA which will help in heating the causality during day time.

Rooftop solar plant to make Jaipur metro stations self sufficient Going green in its second year of operations, Jaipur Metro has decided to set up rooftop solar panels at eight elevated stations on its 9.25-km-long corridor between Mansarovar and Chandpole.

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he power generated by 2,500-kwp ‘Rooftop Solar Power Plant’ will be used to meet all the requirements at the stations in day time and would reduce its dependence on nonrenewable sources. This will be the biggest solar plant, which will be installed on any of the government building. “For all Metro operations, approximately 11 lakh units are required . The plant will produce 2.5 lakh units which will meet all the requirement of the stations in day time,” said JMRC director (operations) C S Jeengar.

Earlier, the JMRC has proposed to install 1,000kwp ‘Rooftop Solar Power Plant’. However, proposal was recently forwarded by JMRC to the Centre to install the solar plant of higher capacity. The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited will finalise a firm which will sign a power purchase agreement with JMRC. The appointed firm will install the rooftop solar panels which will maintain it for next 25 years.

“The JMRC has requested the Centre to install 2,500-kwp ‘Rooftop Solar Power Plant’ under its scheme. We have received the approval and work for installation is expected to next year,” said Jeengar. The expenditure cost of the plant will be Rs 16 crore and it will be borne by the appointed firm. The plant will be set up under Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model. As per the model for the rooftop plant, the developer invests, owns and operates the plant while JMRC purchases the electricity generated through a power purchase agreement. “The JMRC will purchase electricity for Rs 5.37 per unit for next 25 years. At present, the electricity consumption of one Metro station is approximately 1,200 units per day. The rooftop solar panels will generate electricity to cater all the requirement during day time.” The Jaipur Metro would be the first department in the state to install rooftop solar panels under Centre government’s ambitious scheme. Central government has set a target for installation of one lakh megawatt (MW) solar power plants by 2022. Out of this, about 40,000 MW has to come from grid connected solar rooftops systems. Centre wants Rajasthan to play an active role in installing solar rooftops systems. Since the announcement of the target in 2014, Rajasthan was among the pioneer states to have released net metering (two-directional energy meter) policy. But the response of discoms and consumers has been Source:ETIE lukewarm due to the high set-up cost.

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CREDA to Install Roof-Top Solar Plants Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency has commenced the process for installing grid connected roof-top solar photo voltaic power plants in several establishments across the State, officials informed

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otably, Chhattisgarh will procure additional power from renewable energy sources to the tune of approximately 700 MW by FY 2018.

With this the average power purchase cost for Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Ltd (CSPDCL) based on the above power availability will increase from 2.58 Rs/kWh in FY 2015-16 to 3.12 Rs/kWh in FY 2018.

The rates have been derived based on cost of power at existing rates and considering no escalation in power purchase cost since it is passing through for the distribution company. Notably, CREDA has invested Rs400 crores during last 11 years in developing infrastructure for solar power generation which had resulted in 40 MW of electricity being generated from non- conventional energy sources. The agency will be installing a total of 10,000 submersible and surface solar photo voltaic (SPV) irrigation pumps in farm lands soon across the State.

The SPV Pumps shall be provided with lightening and over voltage protection. The principal aim in this protection is to reduce the over voltage to a tolerable value before it reaches the PV or other sub-systems components. The source of over voltage can be lightening or any other atmospheric disturbance, officials informed. Notably, the State government has already commenced

preparation for setting up 51,000 solar powered irrigation pumps in a span of twoand-half-years in the State. The government has set the target of setting up 11,000 solar pumps in the current financial year till March 2017 and the rest during the next two years.

Notably, Chhattisgarh Government is also planning to add 2640 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by financial year 2018-19, officials informed.

The State currently has total renewable energy potential of 4,500 MW which includes solar (grid connected and roof top), wind biomass and small hydro. The State has also planned to install solar powered pump sets for agriculture consumers which will benefit 16,000 consumers. It may be recalled that there are significantly more number of villages which are to be electrified in Chhattisgarh using the off-grid (solar) mode than the grid-based (conventional power supply. The State will soon also launch a ‘Solar Community Irrigation Project’ for drawing water extracted using solar pumps for supplying to the agricultural land of farmers across the State.

Thanks To CRPF, This Remote Village Of Latehar, Jharkhand Has Now Got Solar Powered Lights

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Source:topyaps.com

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harkhand’s Latehar district is known to be plagued with frequent Naxal attacks and is one of the most Maoist violence-affected areas in India.There is a constant presence of CRPF jawan’s in this area, who at times even go beyond the call of duty to protect the locals and help them in any way that they can. While we have heard many stories of Naxal encounters in this area, CRPF’s 112 Battalion recently installed the remotest village of Latehar with Solar Powered lights so that the village remains illuminated even at night.Further, they finished the whole project within 8 days of locals demand to DG CRPF, looking at its urgency. The news was also shared

by CRPF’s official twitter handle, where many thanked the team for their hard work and effort.

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Google to Run Exclusively on Renewable Energy by 2017

India’s 87% solar cell imports from China in Apr-Sept: Goyal Shri Piyush Goyal MNRE Minister INDIA

In a bid to reduce its carbon footprint and address climate change, Google announced that it plans to buy enough solar and wind electricity by 2017 to power the entire company with renewable energy.

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oing so would be a significant achievement for a tech company the size of Google, whose massive data centers power much of the Internet. Google claims that it is already the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable power, with commitments reaching 2.6 gigawatts of wind and solar energy.

Those energy sources are “good for the economy, good for business and good for our shareholders,” Google’s senior vice president of technical infrastructure, Joe Kava, told the New York Times, in part because their costs have rapidly decreased in recent years.

Solar energy is 80 percent cheaper now than it was six years ago, Google said. Like other companies that have pledged to use only renewable energy, Google will still consume power from the grid. Since electricity generated from solar and wind flows into the grid, Google simply has to invest in enough turbines and solar panels to cover its total energy consumption to make good on its goal. And as the Times points out, it is nearly impossible to compare how much renewable energy Google will use to other industries, since energy consumption data is hard to come by.

Still, the voracious energy consumption of Google’s data centers makes any attempt to reduce the company’s reliance on fossil fuels noteworthy. It is also increasing the data centers’ efficiency, and now claims that they are 50 percent more efficient than the industry average.

Facebook is also increasing the efficiency of its data centers. The first one it built, in Prineville, Ore., now boasts a power efficiency ratio of 1.07.

That means the cooling equipment, lights, and heaters-anything that’s not a computing deviceconsume just 7 percent of the facility’s total energy Source:pcmag usage.

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ndia imported solar and photovoltaic cells worth about USD 826 million from China in the first six months of the current fiscal, which is over 87 per cent of the country’s total such imports.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3 Indias 87% solar cell imports from China in Apr-Sept: Goyal India imported solar and photovoltaic cells worth about USD 826 million from China in the first six months of the current fiscal, which is over 87 per cent of the country’s total such imports.

Post Your Comments Share Cancel | 1 Comments India imported solar and photovoltaic cells worth about USD 826 million from China in the first six months of the current fiscal, which is over 87 per cent of the country’s total such imports.

India’s total imports of these cells were worth USD 948.88 million, including USD 825.98 million from China, constituting 87.05 per cent, during the April-September period of 2016-17, New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal stated in a written reply to Lok Sabha today. India had imported USD 2,344.56 million worth of cells last fiscal, out of which USD 1,960.26 million was from China constituting 83.61 per cent of the total.

In 2014-15, the proportion of solar and photovoltaic cells imports from China was 73.49 per cent of the total imports at USD 603.34 million. India imported solar cells and photovoltaic cells worth USD 820.95 million in that fiscal. Goyal informed the house that India does not have enough manufacturing capacity currently for cells and modules to cover its full demand.

He further said that the development of solar power in the country is taking place with indigenous as well as imported solar equipment and components. In order to make National Solar Mission (NSM) a success, he said, the government has launched several schemes and is providing benefits to indigenous manufacturers including concessional excise and custom duties. It is also providing capital subsidy for setting up of manufacturing units for solar cells and modules and the entire value chain under Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) programme of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. “The government is supporting domestic solar PV manufacturing by various means and incentives. However, there is no exclusive national policy to develop indigenous solar power manufacturing in the country,” Goyal said.

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New from Heraeus! Andreas Liebheit, President Heraeus Photovoltaics, named Vice Chairman of Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA)

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ffective immediately Heraeus Photovoltaics President Andreas Liebheit, has been nominated Vice Chairman of Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA), one of the worldwide most influential associations of PV related enterprises, scientific institutions and related organizations in Asian countries. “It is my great honor to take the role of Vice Chairman of APVIA, a leading PV industrial organization. I am committed to working with my colleagues to fulfill our mission of promoting the advancement of Asia’s PV industry by enhancing bilateral relationships between governments, industries and enterprises of different countries in Asia”, said Andreas Liebheit.

The nomination follows Andreas Liebheit’s intensive engagement of continuously driving innovation that delivers value for customers across the board. An important milestone of Heraeus worldwide leadership as supplier of metallization paste has been last month launch of the new Heraeus SOL9641A series front-side silver paste, raising the conversion efficiency of solar cells by 0.1% thus helping customers improving performance while addressing costs.

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FEATURED

RAIlWAys targets of using 10% of energy needs from renewable sources The Railways has set a target of utilising at least 10 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources and has accordingly planned to set up separate solar and wind power plants over the next four years. Addressing consultative committee of MPs here, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that Railways being a “significant” consumer of energy, identifying cost-effective options to achieve and realise an energy system with least environmental impacts is “essential”.

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ision 2020 document of the Indian Railways states that the key target is to utilise at least 10 percent of its energy requirement from renewable sources.As a part of this, Indian Railways has planned to set up 1000 MW solar power plant and about 200 MW of wind power plants by 2020 across Zonal Railways & Productions Units,” an official statement said.

The Ministry said its first major feat was achieved in ‘Harnessing Green Energy on Railways’ when a 10.5 MW capacity wind power plant was set up in 2009 by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai- the first green production unit of the Railways.

The next significant step was setting up of 26 MW solar power plant commissioned in 2016 at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in North Western Railway (NWR), it said. As of now, the Railway is already harnessing 50 MW green energy from solar and wind power plants including harnessing solar energy at rooftop of stations and service buildings. This includes 500 KW each on Varanasi, Katra, Jaipur, Kolkata Metro and Secunderabad Railway Stations. Chairing the meeting, Prabhu noted the cost of producing solar energy is gradually becoming less, but there are still issues related to its storage.

“…globally there are efforts going on for developing storage technologies and a breakthrough is likely to be achieved soon. We are also using biodiesel by blending it in a small percentage with the diesel,” Prabhu said.

The Minister informed the Parliamentarian that the other activity the Railways has taken towards use of renewable energy is replacement of conventional light sources with LED light sources which is more energy efficient and more environmental friendly.

He said producing energy through waste and biomass are other options which need to be looked into. The Minister also pointed out that Railways has already done energy audit and working for more energy efficient system. Referring to station redevelopment, Prabhu pointed out that the Ministry has recently signed an MoU with Urban Development Ministry for redeveloping stations along with the smart cities.

He also said that Railways is taking many green initiatives like bio toilets, waste recycling, revival of water bodies and plantation along the tracks and will continue to take such measures. The panel members gave several suggestions for increasing the production of solar and wind energy. In addition, the members also mentioned various pending projects in their respective constituencies and requested for expediting them. They also made request for some new lines, passenger amenities and some new train services pertaining to their respective areas.

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World Bank Approves an Additional $22.93 MN Grant to Support Gridconnected Rooftop Solar Program in India The World Bank Board approved an additional grant of $22.93 million to further enhance the installed capacity of Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (GRPV) Program and strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions for widespread installation of GRPV.

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he additional Global Environment Facility (G E F ) g r a n t w i l l support the overall US$625 million GRPV program approved by the World Bank Board earlier this year, and a total program investment of US$915 million in solar rooftop developments. It will provide incentives to the State Bank of India to lend to riskier categories of GRPV customers such as the nonbanking financial institutions (NBFCs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to finance and install GRPV. It will also strengthen the investment climate for GRPV by building capacity of the main stakeholders involved in the expansion of GRPV. Under the ongoing program, SBI is on-lending funds to solar PV developers and endusers, who wish to invest in mainly commercial and industrial rooftop PV systems.

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Lightsource to invest Rs 6,500 cr in India in 2-3 years

“The Grid-connected Rooftop Solar program is critical to harnessing India’s solar potential.

This additional financing will strengthen the capacity of key institutions and help in bringing international best practices to support the program fulfill its aim of developing at least 400 MW of GRPV across India.”

UK-based Lightsource Renewable Energy will invest Rs 6,500 crore over the next 2-3 years to set up 1000 MW solar energy projects in India.

“The company is looking at developing 1000 MW of solar power projects entailing an investment of Rs 6,500 crore over the next 2-3 years,” Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd Managing Director and Head India Operations Rupesh Agarwal told PTI.

Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India

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espite energy shortages, and the high cost of backup supply, rooftop solar PV systems have not yet become widespread in India. This is primarily due to the lack of adequate financing, unfamiliar technology and low consumer awareness. Until now, those that wanted to install solar rooftop PV systems had to pay the full cost up-front. The total capacity of rooftop solar, therefore, remains low. These solar PV installations will provide clean, renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation. The GEF will address a number of constraints in successful investments in GRPV. This includes commercial, policy and regulatory, technical and financing challenges. The GEF grant includes knowledge support to the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discoms), training for State Nodal Agencies (SNAs), learning and knowledge sharing programs for policy makers and regulators to develop regulatory frameworks, technical training for investment bankers and technical and knowledge capacity building programs for project developers and SMEs, all of which will be guided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy alongside the World Bank.

“The knowledge and advisory support being made available through the GEF grant complements the financial support to the parent program.

The overall Program of rooftop solar financing has just become effective, so we intend that this grant will be utilized quickly, to help build the capacity of utilities to implement solar rooftop projects, ensure smooth implementation of GRPV regulations, and help SMEs and NBFCs to access debt for rooftop projects.”

Simon Stolp,

World Bank’s Lead Energy Specialist

The GEF Program is one of the largest and longest standing trust-funded programs in the World Bank Group. Since 1991, when the World Bank helped to establish the GEF, it has integrated global environmental benefits across the Bank programs through more than 790 investment projects and programs in 120 countries.

Source:worldbank

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ightsource recently won a 50 MW solar project in Maharashtra under the Centre’s ambitious solar programme. This is the maiden solar project secured by the company in India.We are eyeing 1000 MW of solar power projects in the country which is bare minimum in the backdrop of government’s ambitious target of adding one lakh MW by 2022.

We would like to do even more than targeted 1000 MW in coming years depending on the auctions of these projects,” Agarwal said. He added that the company will “only secure projects through competitive bidding in India as it has no plans to procure projects through MoUs or otherwise”.

He also said Lightsource will operate alone in the country and is unlikely to tie with any domestic or other operator for the execution of the projects. Earlier last year, Lightsource had announced tie-up with SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd as its the first partner for foraying into Indian solar energy space. Lightsource Renewable Energy – one of the largest solar PV energy generators globally had recently appointed Agarwal as Managing Director for its India operations. In the last 5 years, Lightsource has deployed over 2 billion pounds to develop and operate 1300 MW of solar PV plants in the United Kingdom.

The company has a number of firsts to its credits such as the Thames Water 6.5MW plant, the world’s first deep water floating solar PV installation or the first large scale solar plant in the island of Ireland, installed in the Belfast International Airport, that saves over 2,345 tonnes of carbon per year.

Source:PTI

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SECI to Launch 1000 MW Rooftop Solar PV Scheme for Government Sector As a step towards fulfilment of the Government of India’s target for installation of 40 GW rooftop solar power plants by the year 2022, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is launching recently a tender of 1000 MW capacity for development of gridconnected rooftop solar capacity for Central Government Ministries/Departments.

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his would be the largest rooftop tender to be launched by SECI, and is expected to give a big boost to the hugely potent rooftop solar power generation segment. The 1000 MW tender, one of the largest globally, is a move to rapidly escalate rooftop solar capacity in the country, and comes in quick succession to SECI’s earlier tender of 500 MW capacity, targeting buildings in the residential/ institutional and social sectors.

SECI is the leading PSU in the rooftop solar segment, and has already commissioned over 54 MW capacity of rooftop solar projects under multiple government schemes. The upcoming 1000 MW tender is especially targeted at utilising the numerous buildings of the Central Government Ministries/ Departments. The highlight of this tender is its innovative ‘Achievement-Linked Incentives scheme’ wherein the incentives in terms of capital subsidy shall be provided on the basis of performance achieved by designated Ministries/departments

against their committed targets in the given timespan. In this scheme the Grid connected rooftop solar systems shall be installed with the financial assistance for MNRE in the form of Incentives. The power generated from the systems shall be used for meeting the captive requirement of the buildings and the surplus power, if any, shall be fed to the grid under the net-metering arrangement of the respective State.Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has allocated 21 Ministries/ Departments to SECI interalia Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs etc. The ministries have shown great enthusiasm and have assured their commitment with submission of “Green Energy Commitment Certificates” to MNRE for implementation of Grid Connected SPV power plants at the roof of their offices/ other buildings etc., as part of their Clean energy initiatives and achieving National target of alleviating Global Warming. Various ministries/department have been sensitized

by MNRE/SECI for implementation of Grid connected rooftop systems.MNRE has also collated the demand of the various

Ministries/departments for implementation of the systems. Based on the indicative list of sites provided by MNRE and various interested Ministries, SECI is carrying out a potential assessment which shall be provided to the solar PV developers (SPD). The SPDs will be selected statewise through national competitive bidding process and provision of one Rate / state shall be kept in the scheme. The 1000MW capacity will be distributed between CAPEX and RESCO modes of implementation in the ratio 30/70.

In this scheme, SECI in consultation with MNRE, is also introducing a Payment Security Mechanism which is apparently a first in the history of the rooftop programme, with the assurance of all rightful payments to the SPDs under RESCO model. SECI has also tied up with Financial institutes (FIs) Banks such as IREDA and SBI for disbursement of loans with Special Discount Packages to be offered by these institutions to the developers.

A toll-free number is being set up to ensure ease of communication of various stakeholders to SECI.

ReNew Power Offers Maiden Green Issue of NCD’s ReNew Power’s First Ever Issue of Green Bonds Worth 500 Crore Funds Utilized Towards Development of Wind Project in MP Rated A+ by CARE Ratings

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eNew Power Ventures Private Limited, India’s leading renewable energy company, today announced public issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD’s) with a face value of Rs. 10,00,000 each aggregating Rs. 500 Crore. This is the first certification of an already issued Project Bond by the

“The renewable energy sector in India is at a very exciting phase at the moment and ReNew is today a market leader in the space. We are poised to grow aggressively and increase assets thereby creating a value driven enterprise which will play a key role in offsetting India’s reliance on fossil fuels and achieving the 175 GW renewable energy generation target.”

Sumant Sinha,

Chairman, ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd. 38

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Climate Bond Initiative (an international, investor focused not-for-profit entity) as Green bonds. The capital raised through the issue was utilized towards development of wind energy project in Dhar and Ujjain districts of Madhya Pradesh. The offer of NCD’s has been rated as A+ by CARE Ratings.

Kotak Mahindra Bank is the Lead Arranger for the NCD issue. The issue was opened for subscription on August 01, 2016 and closed on the same day.

“The renewable energy sector currently faces a lot of challenges related to fundraising and Green Bonds are an innovative way to fund projects. This fund offer presents a great opportunity for investors looking to participate in the India’s renewable energy story.”

Kailash Vaswani,

Deputy CFO, ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd. Source:PTI

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Himachal Pradesh becomes 18th State to join UDAY: an overall net benefit of approximately Rs. 823 crores to accrue to the State An overall net benefit of approximately Rs. 823 crores would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency etc. during the period of turnaround.

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overnment of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Himachal Pradesh and the State DISCOM under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) today, the for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOM. Himachal Pradesh is the 18th State to sign MoU under UDAY. By signing the MOU under UDAY, the Government of Himachal Pradesh would take over Rs.2891 crores of DISCOM debt, being 75% of the total DISCOM debt of Rs.3854 crores outstanding as on 30.09.2015, as envisaged in the scheme. The scheme also provides for the balance debt of Rs.963 crores 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.140 crores on account of restructuring of the DISCOM debt.

UDAY not only focusses on bringing about financial turnaround of the DISCOMs, but also lays stress on improving operational efficiencies of the DISCOMs. In order to bring about a sustainable turnaround of the DISCOM, the State Government and the DISCOM will improve operational efficiency through compulsory Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, thereby bringing about reduction in transmission losses and AT&C losses, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realization.

The reduction in AT&C and transmission losses to 12.75% and 3.50% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs.119 crores during the period of turnaround.

With the financial turnaround through financial and operational efficiencies, the rating of the DISCOM would improve, which would help them in raising cheaper funds for their future capital

December 2016

investment requirement. This is expected to provide interest cost saving of around Rs.6 crores to the DISCOM. Demand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energy-efficient 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. The gain is expected to be around Rs.278 crores.

While 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 DISCOM and the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power.

Central schemes such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Power Sector Development Fund (PSDF) or such other schemes of Ministries of Power and New & Renewable Energy are already providing funds for improving Power Infrastructure in the State and additional/ priority funding would be considered under these schemes, if the State/DISCOM meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme. The ultimate benefit of signing the MOU would go to the people of Himachal Pradesh. Higher demand for power from DISCOM would mean higher Plant Load Factor (PLF) of Generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity thereby benefitting consumers. The DISCOM would also increase power supply in areas with reduced AT&C losses.

Availability of electricity would boost the economy, promote industries, thereby improving employment opportunities and see Himachal Pradesh develop into one of the leading industrialized States in India.

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Govt plans projects to overcome land problems for solar power

“The government has planned to overcome the challenge by launching the schemes like development of solar parks and ultra mega solar power projects, development of solar zones in the country and roof top solar projects,”

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o overcome the scarcity of land for expansion of solar energy in the country, government is planning a number of initiatives like development of solar parks, ultra mega solar power projects and solar zones. Minister for Power, Coal and New and RENEWABLE ENERGY Piyush Goyal said during Question Hour. Goyal said solar parks are common development areas for solar power projects and offer the developers location/land with prior approvals that is well characterised with proper infrastructure and access to amenities and where the risk of the projects can be minimised.

“Under solar zone scheme, a large zone with solar radiation and other requirements is identified for solar projects. The land is to be arranged by the solar project developers. Under roof-top scheme, land is not required and rather projects are established at roof TOPS of the existing buildings,” he said.

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In the First Half of FY 2016-17 Solar Imports Grew by 47 Percent YoY and Exports by 12 Percent

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he first half of financial year (FY) 2016-17, import and export activity worth over $1 billion (Rs.67 billion) was registered in the Indian solar sector, compared to $700 million (Rs.44.5 billion) during the same period in 2015.

During the six-month period, India exported solar modules and cells worth $52 million (Rs.3.5 billion), and imported modules and cells worth $949 million (Rs.63.5 billion). Compared to the same period in 2015, exports have increased by 12 percent and imports have grown by 47 percent.

China continues to be the single largest exporter of solar modules and cells to India accounting for $826 million (Rs.56 billion) of India’s total solar imports with an 87 percent market share. Malaysia is the second largest exporter to India accounting for a $69 million (Rs.4.7 billion) share of India’s overall imports and a market share of 7 percent.

According to developers who spoke to Mercom, unless India scales up its manufacturing capacity, cost of modules are not likely to come down. The United Kingdom was the largest importer of Indian solar modules and cells, accounting for 36 percent of India’s total solar exports. According to Mercom’s Global Solar Forecast November 2016 Report, with budgetary cuts and no policy support, UKsolar market is expected to decline. Italy accounts for 9 percent of exports, followed closely by China at over 8 percent.

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India

Metro to run on solar power by 2017: DMRC chief

HARYANA SIGNS MOU FOR SETTING UP OF 100 MW SOLAR POWER PROJECTS

“In a bid to decrease its carbon footprint and to insulate itself from the electricity hike, which has increased by at least 20 per cent in the last five years, the corporation had planned topurchase power from the alternate sources,” an official said.

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Mr Singh said,

aking a major leap toward green energy initiatives, Delhi Metro trains will be powered by SOLAR ENERGY by mid 2017. Speaking to this newspaper, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief Mangu Singh said that the Delhi Metro has signed an agreement with a SOLAR POWER facility which will be used to operate Delhi Metro trains. Solar energy till now had been used for the ancillary purposes such as lighting of the Metro stations.

“Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has signed a power purchase agreement with a solar facility in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. Under the agreement, DMRC will receive 250 MW from the upcoming 750 MW plant,” he said.

He, however, added that the corporation will use a power back-up for the train operations due to unreliability of solar power. The Delhi Metro has about 7.2 MW of installed solar rooftop capacity at present but for the overall operations 250 MW additional power will be required.

From 2017 onwards, the corporation will start receiving power from the facility.

“Though solar power has its own limitations and cannot be 100 per cent reliable, it can still be used as a primary source for the train operations with an ALTERNATE POWER back-up,” Mr Singh added.

At present, the Delhi Metro has a peak power requirement of 150MW, which is likely to go up to 250MW by the time the third phase of its construction is completed.

Mr Singh further said that to meet the ancillary power requirements such as lighting, solar plants are being installed at Delhi Metro’s Yamuna Bank, Ajaronda, Kalindi Kunj depot and an 880 KW plant at Kalindi Kunj. He said that by 2017, DMRC will start receiving 20 MW and by 2018 31 MW solar power.

The corporation has set a target of 50 MW solar power by installing rooftop solar power plants on its buildings by 2021.

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eading Chinese company Prestige Ocean Holding and Investments Limited on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Haryana Government for the setting up of 100 MW solar power projects in the State with an investment of `500 crore.

Danny Cheng signed the agreement on behalf of Prestige Ocean Holding and Investments Limited. Speaking on this occasion, Danny Cheng said that in the first phase, 100 MW power plant would be set up in the State which would also generate employment opportunities for about 400 to 500 youth.

He said that the work for setting up of project would be completed within 15 months after the allotment of land for the same. In the second phase, the company has a plan to start the manufacturing of solar panel,solar fan and other solar equipments for which there would be a requirement of 1600 acres of land, said Cheng.

Haryana Government had announced its Solar Power Policy-2016 earlier this year. The policy aims at creating conducive atmosphere for the investors to invest in the state in the solar energy sector and envisaged to add 4000 MW of solar power by 2022.

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india

5791.54 MU Electricity Clean energy share generated by Cumulative Solar rises to 7.54% in India’s Installations till September 2016 power generation

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ower generation from renewable energy sources like solar and wind has increased to 7.54 per of the total electricity generated in the country during April-September this fiscal, Parliament was informed.

During the period, out of total power generation of 631.84 billion units (BU), 47.62 BU was generated fromrenewable energy sources, New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. According to the statement, in 201516, total power generation in the country was 1,173.60 BU including 65.78 BU (or 5.60 per cent of total generation) from renewable energy sources. The share of power generation from renewable sources was 5.56 per cent at 61.78 BU in 2014-15. India’s total power generation in that fiscal was 1,110.45 BU.The total installed capacity from various renewable energy sources in the country as on October 31, 2016 is 28,279 MW from wind, 8,728 MW from solar, 4,997 MW from bio-power and 4,323 MW from small hydro power In another reply, the Minister told the House that total wind power generation capacity added in the country during 2015-16 is 3,423 MW and during 201617 (up to October 31, 2016) is 1,502 MW. In a separate reply to the House, the Minister said, “Silicon in any form (Raw poly, ingot or wafer) is not produced in India. All cell makers currently import wafers only.” As per information received from Ministry of Commerce, 7,39,039 kg of undefused silicon wafers and 3,12,616 Kg of others were imported during 2015-16.

The Minister said that for the poly silicon available globally, rates vary from USD 11 per kg to USD 20 per kg. He further said that government provides capital subsidy for setting up of manufacturing units for solar cells and modules and the entire value chain under Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) programme. “Solar Photovoltaic products and their value chain including Polysilicon is an eligible vertical for incentives under M-SIPS. Till date, one project with a proposed investment of Rs 13,985 crore has been received under M-SIPS where Polysilicon has been proposed to be domestically produced,” he added.

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INDIA

A low-carbon future for India’s railways...

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uch has been made of the dawn of the age of electric vehicles, and the role that decarbonising passenger transport will play in meeting climate targets set out by the Paris Agreement. But in countries like India, rail transport still continues to play a central role in moving people and goods.

India has the highest passenger-rail activity in the world, reaching over 1 trillion passenger-kilometres in 2013 – seven times than in 1975. Freight activity has also expanded more than fivefold over the past 40 years. However this rapid growth of rail has also led to a rise in carbon emissions because of the sector’s reliance on diesel. About 10% of all CO2 emissions in India’s transportation sector come from railroads, which accounts for about 13% of all passenger travel and a third of freight transport.

IEA analysis developed in cooperation with the International Union of Railways has shown that rail transportation offers a more sustainable alternative to most other modes of transport both in terms of energy use and carbon emissions, and will continue to do so in the next decades.

Part of this is to the result of rising electrification. The use of coal, which powered locomotives for decades, has fallen dramatically since the late 20th century. In 2013, more than half of the rail sector ran on oil and a third on electricity. The story in India has been similar, with oil powering two thirds of rail activity, and electricity accounting for one third.

Given this promising role for rail in providing lowercarbon intensive transport for passengers and freight, a fifth of all government pledges to the Paris Agreement (known as Nationally Determined Contributions) include measures for carbon reductions in the railway sector.

This is particularly important since a growing share of electricity in the rail sector comes from renewable sources. In 2013, that figure was around 9%.

India plans to increase the share of railways in total land-based transportation from 36% to 45% by 2030. It is also developing a set of dedicated freight corridors across the country. In the first phase, two corridors are being built: Mumbai-Delhi in the west, and Ludhiana-Dankuni in the east.

These freight corridors are expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 450 million tonnes over 30 years. Indian Railways is also installing solar power on its land and on its coaches.

Globally, the rail sector is one of the few that is on track to meet global goals to limit temperatures from rising more than 2 degree Celsius. With strong, achievable targets and performance monitoring, the rail sector can be a model for sustainable transport in a more efficient, lowcarbon future.

PGCIL Seeks US$ 1,000 Million Loan for Green Energy Corridor From ADB

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ower Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has sought a loan assistance of US$ 1,000 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) comprising of Sovereign guaranteed loan of US$ 500 million and NonSovereign loan of US$ 500 million. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

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The Minister further informed that the Loan would be utilized for funding of the following transmission projects including a project under Green Energy Corridor projects in next 3-4 years: (i) HVDC Bipole link between Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu) – North Trichur (Kerala) – Scheme 1: Raigarh-Pugalur 6000 MW HVDC System. (ii) HVDC Bipole link between Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu)

– North Trichur (Kerala)- Scheme 3: Pugalur- Trichur 2000 MW VSC based HVDC System. (iii) Real Time Measurement/ monitoring scheme. (iv) Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) associated with Green Energy Corridor as under: a) Ajmer(New) – Bikaner (New) 765 kV D/c b) Bikaner(New) – Moga (PG) 765 kV D/c c) LILO of one circuit of 400kV BhadlaBikaner (RVPN) line at Bikaner(New) d) Establishment of 2×1500 MVA, 765/400 kV S/s at Bikaner (New)

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INDIA avoid these problems. Huawei string inverter is protected to IP65 and can withstand perennial sun and rain, ensuring 25 years of service life. The natural cooling design without fans and fuses eliminates the possibility of frequent faults.

Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) technology substitutes for RS485 communication cables to reduce cable routing duration and expenses as well as the line loss on signal transmission, and improves data transmission efficiency. The string-level monitoring allows you to rapidly locate the PV modules with low energy yield, which ensures high energy yield and improves the maintenance efficiency. These advantages help solve the problems that trouble PV owners for a long time and are the main reasons why Huawei Smart PV Solution has won customers’ favor.

Huawei and Adani Green Signed a 500 MW Procurement Contract The Adani Group is one of India’s leading companies with revenue of over $10 billion. Founded in 1988, Adani has grown to become a global integrated infrastructure player with businesses in key industry verticals – resources, logistics, energy and agriculture.

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he Group’s integrated model is well adapted to the infrastructure challenges of operating in emerging economies.

In renewable energy sector, Adani has ~800 MW projects in operation. Solar capacity includes a 648 MW solar power project at Ramanathapuram district in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which is the world’s largest single location solar power plant. The company has a pipeline of 1.2GW Solar PV and 300 MW Wind Power Projects and is set to become the largest renewable power generation company in India.

Adani plans to develop 10 GW power plants in the next five years in India,

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paving the way for the JNNSM’s goal of 100 GW renewable energy by 2022.

To achieve this goal, Adani actively searches for strong partners worldwide. As per the latest report from IHS and GTM Research, the shipment of Huawei inverters reached No. 1 in the world in 2015.

Worldwide Huawei Smart PV Solution has been highly praised by customers due to its higher yields, smart O & M, safe & reliable operation. Huawei treats India as a very important market outside China.

Outstanding performance of Huawei, prompted Adani to partner with it for its renewable energy development business. The cooperation between both parties is undoubtedly a strong combination and will assist the boom of renewable energy market in India.

With India’s hot and humid climate, traditional power plants face certain limitations, such as difficulties in installation and maintenance, frequent failures of consumables such as fans and fuses. Huawei Smart PV Solution can perfectly

Mr. Jayant Parimal, CEO of Adani Green Energy, said that Adani is moved by Huawei’s professional belief of treating customers as the center and continuously creating benefits for them.

Adani believes that Huawei FusionSolar Smart PV Solution is a great technological innovation and is perfect fit for Adani’s plants. Adani expects not only continuous and higher energy yield, but also higher efficiency, intelligent O&M, and better economic benefits from this Solution.

This is win-win cooperation between Adani and Huawei in industry leading technology. Huawei actively supports Adani in building industry benchmarks in India.

Meanwhile, the value of Huawei Smart PV Solution is recognized by leading developers in the world once again.

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INDIA

14.30 GW RE Capacity added during last two and half years under Grid Connected Renewable Power

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capacity addition of 14.30 GW of renewable energy has been reported during the last two and half years under Grid Connected Renewable Power, which include 5.8 GW from Solar Power…. 14.30 GW RE Capacity added during last two and half years under Grid Connected Renewable Power A capacity addition of 14.30 GW of renewable energy has been reported during the last two and half years under Grid Connected Renewable Power, which include 5.8 GW from Solar Power, 7.04 GW from Wind Power, 0.53 from Small Hydro Power and 0.93 from Bio­power. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

The Minister further said that NITI Aayog presented the achievement of the various infrastructure Ministries including. Ministry of New & Renewable Energy before the Prime Minister on 22nd August 2016. The progress and overall achievement made under Wind Power, Solar Power, Solar Roof Top, Solar power capacity tendered, state policies etc were satisfactory.

The target set for the various renewable energy sources for the next 3 years are: In order to achieve the targets, various initiatives have been taken by the Government which interalia include:  amendments in the Tariff Policy for strong enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and for providing.  Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO); setting up of exclusive solar parks.  development of power transmission network through Green Energy Corridor project.  identification of large government complexes/ buildings for rooftop projects.  provision of roof top solar and 10 percent renewable energy as mandatory under Mission Statement and Guidelines for development of smart cities. amendments in building bye­laws for mandatory provision of roof top solar for new construction or higher FAR.  infrastructure status for solar projects.  raising tax free solar bonds. making roof top solar a part of housing loan by banks/NHB. incorporating measures in Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) for encouraging distribution companies and making net­metering compulsory  raising funds from bilateral and international donors as also from the Green Climate Fund to achieve the target.  creation of Surya Mitras for installation and maintenance of the Solar Projects.

“In coming years, Ministry is going to focus on : conducive policies for promotion of Grid Interactive Renewable Power so as to reach 175 GW by 2022, Low cost Financing with long tenure for Renewable Energy technologies and Projects, creation of transmission infrastructure for evacuation of Renewable Power, focus on promoting indigenous technologies, technological innovation and research & development in the renewable sector and creation of qualified and skilled man power”, Shri Goyal added.

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USAID Announces $75 Million Loan Guarantee For Off-Grid Solar In India A number of foreign entities, including development banks, have committed financial support to India’s rooftop solar power market.

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n yet another boost for the smallscale solar power market in India, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced financial support in partnership with an Indian bank.

RBL Bank and USAID recently announced a loan guarantee program worth $75 million to support off-grid and rooftop solar power projects in India. The program is also expected to cover energy efficiency projects pursued by small and mediumsized enterprises.

India plans to have an installed rooftop solar power capacity of 40 GW by March 2022.

According to a recent report by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, India would need an investment of $50 billion to achieve this target.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy announced that the government managed to secure funding pledges from various multilateral and national development banks for its ambitious rooftop solar power program. The World Bank has committed $620 million, while the Asian Development Bank and BRICS New Development Bank have pledged to provide $500 million and $250 million, respectively.

The German development bank KfW has provided $100 million, and negotiations for $1.14 billion worth of funding are underway, the ministry reported.

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INDIA

Rs 67.01 Crore Sanctioned under Solar City Programme Rs 67.01 Crore Sanctioned under Solar City Programme. A total amount of Rs. 67.01 crore has been sanctioned for preparation of master plans, solar city cells, promotional activities and installation of renewable energy projects and an amount of Rs. 24.16 crore has been released, so far, under Solar City Programme. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. Shri Goyal further stated that Out of 7 identified solar cities in Maharashtra, an amount of Rs. 7.74 crore has been sanctioned and an amount of Rs. 3.04 crore has been released for 6 solar cities.

The details of sanctioned and release funds for approved solar cities are as follows: State­wise funds sanctioned and released to Solar Cities(Rs. in crore)

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INDIA

Vikram Solar announces MoU with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan

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Vikram Solar, commented, “We are glad to announce this partnership. It is a proud moment for us to collaborate with the esteemed Institute for research and development purpose and in order to address the immediate requirements that the country faces in terms of developing advanced technological solar solutions.”

Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhary MD & CEO, Vikram Solar

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ikram Solar, a globally recognized leading solar energy solutions provider recently announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), an Institute of National Importance listed by the Government of India.

IIEST is recognized as one of the Centres of Excellence in Solar Energy by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India. The announcement was made at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at a Session on Industry-Academia Collaborations with CII. As per the agreement, both the organisations will collaborate for the purpose of research and development for enrichment of knowledge in the area of solar photovoltaic, beneficial to both the academia and industry. The two entities will also collaborate and identif y key R&D areas (knowledge generation, know-how update, technology exploitation, syst em d evelop m ent , novel or new technology resources, applied research etc.) to address the immediate requirements of the country, arrange seminars and training programs on solar photovoltaic with active

participation of faculties and students of IIEST and scientists of VSPL. Reiterating the significance of the partnership, Prof. Ajoy Ray, Director IIEST, commented, “Vikram Solar is among the leading PV companies in India. The company has already carved its positioning around the world and now it’s looking to further expand presence in the subcontinent though innovative products, projects and services. A grounded, well-knit, efficient and progressive Research & Development ecosystem is the building block of every kind of innovation and it also has the power to do away with an avalanche of issues that the country faces today.

This is precisely why we view this partnership as an exceptionally beneficial one. We look forward to more such associations in the near future.”

Talking about the company’s expansion plans, Mr Ivan Saha, President and Chief Technical Officer, Vikram Solar said “We have structured plans to expand our manufacturing capability and emerge as the largest and the most integrated player in the PV industry in India. Vikram Solar aims to reach a manufacturing capacity of 2 GW

by FY 2020.”

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INDIA

OPIC And Renew Power Ventures Sign Commitment For 100 Megawatt Solar Farm In India “In India, outdoor air pollution is an ever growing public health concern. OPIC’s partnership with Renew Power Ventures will have a transformative impact by helping India both reduce its emissions and increase energy capacity in the country through a diversified power generation mix. OPIC is committed to assisting India in its transition to a low carbon economy by investing in clean energy projects.”

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Elizabeth L. Littlefield, President & CEO OPIC

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he Overseas Private Investment C or p orat i on, t he U.S. Government’s development finance institution, signed a commitment with ReNew of approximately $74 million for a 100 MW solar project in the Indian state of Telangana.

Announced during the 22nd session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP22), this project will diversify the country’s power generation mix with a clean source of renewable power and help the country reduce GHG emissions.

The Telangana solar project is the first project approved under the ReNew Master Financing Facility, a $250 million facility between OPIC and ReNew to be used for the development, construction, and operation of solar energy projects awarded under the Government of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Under the ReNew Master Financing

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BHEL commissions captive solar photo voltaic power plant in Trichy

Facility, up to 400 MW of new solar renewable power generation will be constructed in India across multiple projects. ReNew will be utilizing the innovative Master Financing Facility provided by OPIC to streamline the timeline for financing new renewable energy projects.

Generating electricity from renewable energy can reduce a country’s dependence on fossil fuels and offers significant health benefits, in addition to being a sustainable source of energy. As the fourth largest energy consumer in the world, India must overcome a number of challenges to meet its rising energy demand and sustain economic growth. Currently, solar energy accounts for approximately one percent of total energy capacity in India, or 7.5 gigawatts. This project will support the Government of India’s goal to have 170 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2022, of which 100 GW are to be solar.

5 Megawatt Peak (Mega Watt peak) grid interactive captive solar power plant has been commissioned by BHEL, Trichy, on its premises in June, as part of its efforts to promote the use of clean and renewable energy sources and to achieve significant reduction in energy costs. The captive power plant, including photovoltaic modules, power conditioning units, high tension switch gear panels and the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, were manufactured and supplied by BHEL’s Electronics Division, Bengaluru. Utilizing an array of 19,968 photovoltaic modules spread over 25 acres, the solar power plant has already generated over 18 lakh units of electricity since June and is expected to facilitate substantial savings in energy costs over the long term.

Payback period for the investment of about Rs 30 crore including civil works is expected to be just 5 years and 1 month while the operational life of the solar power plant will be a minimum of 25 years. While this is the first megawatt scale solar power plant at BHEL Trichy, it has earlier commissioned two 50 kW and one 20 kW solar power plants on the roof-tops of major office buildings including the Administrative Building. Five 30 kW, one 25 kW and one 5 kW roof-top solar power plants are also in operation in the township schools and BHEL Trichy has also installed a total of 289 solar powered street lights so far in its factory and township premises.

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POLICY & REGULATIONS

Integrated Energy Policy Formulated covering all sources of Energy Including Renewable Energy Sources

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overnment has formulated an Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) document gives a roadmap to develop energy supply options and increased exploitation of renewable energy sources. In addition, for promotion of Renewable Energy, Government has amended the National Tariff Policy for electricity in January 2016. By this amendment several provisions for promotion of renewable energy have been made.

This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Giving details of plan to achieve 100 GW of solar capacity installation by 2022 through installation of projects under various schemes, the Minister said several schemes have been launched by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) which are as follows : (I).

Scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects.

(II). Scheme for Development of Solar PV Power Plants on Canal Banks/ Canal Tops.

(III). Scheme for setting up of 300 MW of Grid connected Solar PV Power Projects by Defence Establishments under Ministry of Defence and Para Military forces with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under Batch-IV of Phase-II/III of National Solar Mission.

(IV). Implementation of scheme for setting up of 1000 MW of Grid- Connected Solar PV Power Projects by CPSUs with VGF under Batch-V of Phase-II of JNNSM. (V). Implementation of Scheme for Setting up of 15000 MW of Grid connected Solar PV Power Projects under Batch II of Phase II of National Solar Mission (by NTPC/NVVN) (VI). Setting up of 2000 MW Grid connected solar power with VGF through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) (VII) . Development of Solar Cities Programme.

(VIII). Scheme for .Development of Solar Zones in the country

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Will surpass $10 bn investment commitment for India: SoftBank “We have already invested USD 2 billion in last few years… we will surpass my commitment of investing USD 10 billion,” “We continue to expand on that,” high-profile businessman, who made headlines earlier this year when he decided to continue as the head of SoftBank instead of handing over the baton .

Mr. Nikesh Arora

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ositive on India’s prospects, Japan’s SoftBank today pledged that it will “surpass” the stated commitment of investing USD 10 billion in the country as it ramps up investments in solar power generation and Internet-led businesses.

Sof tBank Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said at the HT Leadership Summit here. He further said SoftBank is investing in areas like solar power generation and “lots of Internetrelated companies”.

SoftBank in 2014 had announced plans to invest USD 10 billion in India over the next decade. It has invested in online marketplace Snapdeal, Ola Cabs and property site Housing.com and InMobi, an Indian mobile-advertising network.

It also has a joint venture with India’s Bharti Group, Bharti SoftBank, the investments of which include the mobile application Hike Messenger, now a unicorn. In January this year, Son had said 21st century belongs to India and huge opportunities exist in the country, but wanted the government to develop a robust mobile phone infrastructure and resolve slow Internet issues.

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P&R

Paris Agreement formally enters into force The International Energy Agency will soon release World Energy Outlook 2016, which will highlight the various pathways to reach these targets. The report this year looks at individual country pledges and examines how close - or far - nations are from reaching these goals. It outlines a course that would limit the rise in global temperature to below 2°C and, for the first time, it also plots possible pathways for meeting the much more ambitious 1.5°C goal.

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ith the entry into force of the historic Paris Agreement today, the world is finally committing to tackling climate change.

The agreement was ratified last month, less than a year after it was approved by 197 countries under the French Presidency at COP21 last December. The agreement marks an unprecedented milestone in the global effort to combat climate change.

Under the landmark agreement, nations have agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions and focus efforts and investments toward a low-carbon, resilient and sustainable future. The goal is to keep global average temperatures from rising well below 2°C with the aim of working to limit it to 1.5°C. The question now turns to implementing the terms of the agreement, helping nations meet their goals and, more critically, ratchet them further. Next week, the world meets in Marrakesh, Morocco, during COP22 to do just that.

The Paris Agreement will transform the global energy system for decades to come. WEO-2016 will examine how a post-Paris world redefines the idea of energy security, particularly in the power sector, the frontline in the fight against climate change.

“Let’s not underestimate the task ahead,” Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA. “Limiting carbon emissions and changing our energy systems is a monumental challenge.

But the IEA is working with governments around the world to help identify solutions and show how it can be done.”

Mr. Dr Fatih Birol Executive Director

WEO-2016 offers the most comprehensive analysis of what this transformation of the energy sector might look like, thanks to its energy projections to 2040. It reviews the key opportunities and challenges ahead for renewable energy, the central pillar of the low-carbon energy transition, as well as the critical role for energy efficiency.

Jakson Bags Rooftop Solar Power Plant At Rashtrapati Bhawan

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akson has secured a contract of 508 kWp Rooftop Solar PV Plant with net metering to be installed at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. It will design, install, commission and maintain the plant at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The system will also incorporate net metering system for exporting power in case of surplus. The project is expected to be commissioned by this year end. It will generate approximately 7.41 lakh units per year. Jakson Engineers Limited to establish Canal Top Solar Plant of 5.92 MW onJakhlaun Pump Canal Top in District Lalitpur (U.P.) Jakson has bagged Turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Consultancy

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orders to execute a 5.92 MW Solar Power Project at Jaklaun Pump Canal Top in District Lalitpur (U.P.). As part of the project, Jaksonwill supply, install and commission this power plant for Irrigation Department,Uttar Pradesh.In addition to producing electricity it will also reduce evaporation of water from the canal and benefit the end-users like farmers.The power generated will be fed to the Grid.The solar Power plant will be installed on first 7 KM of the canal and the efficiency of the solar power plant will be closely monitored by the experts to assess the real time data. Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi, U.P. is going green with the installation of Solar Power Plant by Jakson Engineers Limited.

Jakson Group that Jakson is among top 2 players in India Solar Rooftop market and has a portfolio of 30 MW Rooftop project.

It is geared to achieve 50 MW by end of the financial year 2016-17.

Mr. Sundeep Gupta VC&MD, JAKSON Group

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rESEARCH & ANALYSIS

MERCOM FORECASTS 76 GW IN GLOBAL SOLAR INSTALLATIONS IN 2016, A 48% YOY INCREASE OVER 2015

Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, forecasts global solar installations to reach 76 GW in 2016. Solar installations to hit 70 GW in 2017.

“Global solar demand will overshoot most forecasts made earlier this year due to an unprecedented level of activity in China. Record installations in China followed by a slowdown resulted in an oversupply situation, which led to a module price crash. Low module prices are helping demand recovery going into 2017.”

- Mr. Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group

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ather than a slowdown as expected earlier, global solar demand outlook has improved for 2017 as steep module price declines have triggered a rebound in China in anticipation of the next round of tariff cuts. In fact, this latest rebound has stabilized module price declines somewhat. Similar demand recovery due to improved project economics is expected in other markets.

After installing 15.1 GW in 2015, China overshot its 2016 installation goal of 18.1 GW in the first half of 2016 alone with approximately 22 GW installed as developers rushed to complete projects before the country’s June 30 tariff deadline. Demand fell after the tariff cuts, which triggered a drop in solar module prices resulting in an oversupply situation.

Spot module prices have fallen approximately 30 percent YTD and about 21 percent since June.

Due to unprecedented installation levels, China’s National Energy Administration is looking at a 27 percent reduction in the country’s solar installation target from 150 GW to 110 GW by 2020.

Mercom’s forecast for the U.S. solar market in 2016 is approximately 13 GW. The forecast is mostly unchanged from our earlier estimates as channel checks have consistently indicated slower than expected activity after the ITC extension was announced in December 2015. A substantial number of large-scale projects have been postponed to 2017 due to the absence of an impending ITC deadline.

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rESEARCH & ANALYSIS ather than a slowdown as expected earlier, global solar demand outlook has improved for 2017 as steep module price declines have triggered a rebound in China in anticipation of the next round of tariff cuts. In fact, this latest rebound has stabilized module price declines somewhat. Similar demand recovery due to improved project economics is expected in other markets.

After installing 15.1 GW in 2015, China overshot its 2016 installation goal of 18.1 GW in the first half of 2016 alone with approximately 22 GW installed as developers rushed to complete projects before the country’s June 30 tariff deadline. Demand fell after the tariff cuts, which triggered a drop in solar module prices resulting in an oversupply situation. Spot module prices have fallen approximately 30 percent YTD and about 21 percent since June. Due to unprecedented installation levels, China’s National Energy Administration is looking at a 27 percent reduction in the country’s solar installation target from 150 GW to 110 GW by 2020. The U.S. market is projected to grow about 78 percent year-over-year in 2016. Utility-scale solar projects continue to drive the U.S. solar market with an estimated pipeline of more than 30 GW. Power purchase agreements (PPAs) are being signed at lower and lower prices and rapid module price declines due to the oversupply situation in China are expected to stimulate activity in the U.S. even more as project IRRs improve. All of this could lead to a strong 2017 for the U.S. The unexpected election of Donald Trump has left the market questioning if it will be impacted by the results. While the U.S. Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature climate change policy, may be the first casualty, the ITC extension will likely remain due to the bipartisan nature of how the extension was passed and the fact that the solar sector employs more than 200,000 citizens.

Japan and India will follow China and the U.S. as the third and fourth largest markets this year. India has a chance to move up to the third spot in 2017 based on its current project pipeline. Japan is expected to install 10.5 GW this year.

The tariff revisions coming up in Japan in April 2017 could be steep. Reverse auctions and regulations are also expected in April 2017 as Japan moves toward auctions in an effort to reduce subsidy bills. India is expected to install about 4 GW this year and double that in 2017. The Indian solar market is largely driven by auctions and has a robust 20 GW pipeline.

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The European market continues to decline with only the U.K., Germany and France expected to install more than 1 GW in 2016. In 2017, France and Germany are the only European markets forecast to install more than a gigawatt.

Australia is expected to install approximately 1 GW in both 2016 and 2017.

Other solar markets to watch include Latin America, an important growth market led by Mexico, Chile and Brazil, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which is also a significant up and coming market especially after the collapse of oil prices. South Africa and Saudi Arabia are forecast to show significant growth.

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FEATURED

GLOBAL BUSINESS INNOVATORS LAUNCH $1 BILLION INVESTMENT FUND FOR NEXT GENERATION ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES Recently, members of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC) have committed to invest more than $1 billion in Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), an investor-led fund that will finance emerging energy breakthroughs to deliver affordable and reliable energy with the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to near-zero.

“It is extremely exciting for us to launch this fund as the next step in the commitment made by the Breakthrough Energy Coalition last year.

I am honored to work along with these investors to build on the powerful foundation of public investment in basic research. Our goal is to build companies that will help deliver the next generation of reliable, affordable, and emissionsfree energy to the world.”

-Bill Gates, BEV Chairman

About Breakthrough Energy Ventures

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he world is demanding more energy and goods than ever before, bringing about new opportunities for economic growth, but also increasing pressure on our climate.

Successfully navigating this dynamic requires a combination of new tools and solutions to help scale the most promising technologies we have recently. Breakthrough Energy Ventures will collaborate with other investors, governments, research institutions and corporate partners, bringing to the table an investor-led fund with internal scientific expertise, a long-term horizon, and a tolerance and understanding of the investment risks required to transform energy markets. The mission, experience and global networks of BEV investors will allow it to attract the best scientists, entrepreneurs, and private sector experts to guide the fund’s trajectory. BEV is not confined to any segment of the investment pipeline—it will build companies, engage in traditional venture investment,

and have the ability to invest for growth as innovations mature.

Today’s announcement continues the commitments made by these investors when the BEC was launched last year alongside Mission Innovation, an international collaboration to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovations through smart government investment. BEV will help build companies based on the promising technologies that come out of these countries’ scaled-up public research pipelines.In addition to the formation of the BEV, the BEC today shared its “Landscape of Innovation,” which illustrates the universe of technologies that public and private investors might support in order to lead us to a world of zero carbon emissions.

The Landscape will serve not only as a tool for the BEV to guide investment focus, but also as a guide for other public and private investors committed to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

The scale of the challenge and the size of the opportunity presented by the global energy market will require investments far beyond the resources of the BEV. It will take the efforts of governments and investors from around the world.

Because of the size of the challenges and opportunities, the launch of the BEV and sharing of the landscape is just the initial step for Breakthrough Energy. In the future it will explore how the coalition can help organize an ecosystem of investment by engaging strategic corporate partners to coordinate expertise and capital to move these technologies forward. Led by our partners at the University of California, we will engage a similar network of international research institutions to develop an investment pipeline of projects as well as identify other investment partnership opportunities.

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FEATURED

BOARD OF DIRECTORS STATEMENTS Perkins Caufield and Byers “BEV is taking the bold step to support companies in a complicated market with tremendous promise for changing the world while being a strong investment. Successful investing in any market requires patience for failure and identifying the best tools for addressing the idiosyncrasies of that market.

The investors leading BEV will back some of the most innovative companies.”

“Too often we let what we think we know limit what is possible. When it comes to energy, people say you cannot make money, meet demand, and also benefit the environment. But we can, and we will. This effort will combine technological innovation and scientific knowledge with the investment expertise needed to transform energy markets.

Together, we’ll remind the world that visionary ideas make wonderful realities.”

Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group “BEV is a fresh, bold initiative to invest in energy breakthroughs.

It is building a global network of the best scientists, innovators, investors, and business leaders.

BEV’s mission is to find, fund, and accelerate the success of technologies and entrepreneurs who will create our zero carbon future.”

Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures “The dearth of venture funding for clean energy technologies threatens to create a valley of death for the industry, with emerging ideas unable to find the necessary capital to reach commercialization. As an investor led effort, Breakthrough Energy Ventures is designed as a source of patient capital to spur innovation to meet the growing demand for low-cost, clean energy solutions.”

John Doerr, Chairman, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers “Energy is one of the critical drivers for economic growth. Several parts of the developing economies still do not have access to affordable and reliable energy. It is an immediate need to find and provide new energy sources that are affordable, clean and reliable for every person on our planet. Breakthrough Energy Ventures will help build the companies that can solve and deploy new energy solutions everywhere.”

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd.

John Arnold, Co-Chair, Laura and John Arnold Foundation “We need to create new companies to push the boundaries of innovation. The businesses that Breakthrough Energy Ventures will fund and grow are going to develop the disruptive technology to help satisfy the world’s energy needs while also limiting the impact on our environment.”

Hasso Plattner, Co-Founder, SAP SE

About The Breakthrough Energy Coalition The Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC) is an influential group of investors and institutions that is committed to investing in technology that can help solve the urgent energy and climate challenges facing the planet. The BEC was launched alongside Mission Innovation, a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovations through smart government spending that increases the rate of innovation in their domestic sectors.

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MOUNTING STRUCTURES

TRENDS/INNOVATION IN SOLAR MOUNTING TECHNOLOGY Solar is an burgeoning industry, where customer is working on the energy economics based on his requirements and driving the sector growth thus creating RE as a “favourable option” for everyone.

With continuous reduction in the solar system prices w.r.t higher grid rates is resulting in increasing global demand for solar solutions and thus leading to its rapid growth. Solar is undeniable the future and a leading source of renewable energy.

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olar panels work best when they receive shade free sunlight for maximum number of hours, mounted at precise tilt angle with face directed towards the south. This is where solar panel mounting structures comes into the picture. These structures help panels to rest comfortably, prevent from being damaged and more importantly position them at precise tilt angle to harness maximum sun’s energy. Mounting structures can be made for rooftops, ground mounting, carports and sun tracker solutions which now have seen a lot of developments in terms of weight, material, adaptability and ease of installation. There have been many technological innovations that have led to reduced cost, faster and better installation, high durability and with enhanced output.

When properly designed and installed, solar power systems are extremely reliable. There are several ways to mount solar panels according to the space availability and to maximize energy production. Here are the latest trends and innovations in solar mounting technologies, that are shaping the solar market:

Material

By Mr. Vinay Goyal, MD, GANGES Internationale

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Solar system is designed to function for 20 to 25 years thus material plays an important role in the over all solution. The strength of the material is defined by the geography and environment of the location being installed. Hence, there is a growing need for highly durable, rustfree, corrosion-resistant materials in the industry. This is leading to the emergence of evolutionary products like rust-resistant steel that have become highly popular in the solar panel market with its competitive pricing and greater durability. There are several types of steel depending on its weight, strength grade and coating which involves different prices.

While selecting the material one should look at the warranty provided by the company for maximum return on investment.

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MOUNTING STRUCTURES

Rooftop Mounting Structures Rooftop solar power generation has been gaining a lot of importance in India primarily to gain independence from the power grid, backed by range of government incentives. Roof top can be flat RCC or sloppy with a roofing system.

Rooftops provide the opportunity to turn unused space into an energy-producing, cost-cutting asset. Earlier considered

expensive due to high investment cost in drilling, pilling, which not only damages the roof instead water seepage also becomes a big problem.

There are now new flat roof mounting systems to drive down the costs of solar PV and to avoid seepage problems. These features integrated with roof protection pads, captured ballast, pre-assembled

bolts, built-in wire management pathways, and other roof integrity and installation enhancement functions that drive down cost and increase durability up to 25 years.

They also consist of design engineering considerations which includes seismic behavior analysis, boundary layer wind tunnel testing, and UL 2703 certification for grounding and bonding.

Fixed ground mounting and sun trackers Accelerating solar tracking development in the rapidly growing market, there are new globally accepted products that work to revolutionize solar tracking with unrivaled flexibility and efficiency, yielding to higher power generation, while offering measurable reductions in the total costs. These new solar trackers systems direct solar panels toward the sun, changing their orientation according to the sun throughout the day to follow the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s path. This maximizes energy capture by 15- 20%. The system is designed with robust mechanical technology with bestof-breed project intelligence technology to deliver superior energy production and long-term ROI for tracker projects anywhere in the world.

Structural integrity is of paramount importance. Just like any other component of a building, solar systems must be structurally sound and secure. Numerous problems can result if systems are of low quality or poorly installed. The solar industry is committed to bring remarkable products and systems to the Indian and global markets to enhance solar development across the world. The entry of innovative technologies and products in the sector is paving the way for a cleaner and greener future.

Car ports Most of the place are restricted to provide required space to install solar panels due to several obstacles or being used for other purposes. Area where cars are parked can well be utilized when such obstacles are seen. The top floor of the car parks are perfectly placed for making the most of the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free energy, with options to optimise the angles of the solar panels on the surface thus delivering dual benefits. GIPL Solar (India) deals in high grade PV mounting structures for commercial and residential premises for rooftop, ground based, single axis tracking and carports.

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INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW HINES EQ : Government of India target of 40GW Rooftop Solar by 2022. Can the industry achieve this target?

AH : This target is very ambitious, but not unachievable. Rooftop solar has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, and that will continue. Achieving 40 GW will require strong policy and regulatory support, including: Enabling financing structures. Accelerated depreciation has been an important driver of rooftop solar in particular, and it’s hard to see India reaching the 40 GW target if AD is removed.

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HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SOUTH INDIA, CLEANMAX SOLAR

Sensible net metering rules. It’s been fantastic to see net metering introduced across the country recently.

However, there are a lot of arbitrary restrictions such as caps on capacity. Telengana recently revised its policy in a way that will directly boost rooftop solar in the state. It would be great to see other states follow suit.

company), Karnataka (2 MWp, automotive manufacturer), Gujarat (2 MWp, automotive manufacturer), and Tamil Nadu (2.6 MWp, automotive components manufacturer), to name a few. However, confidentiality requirements of our corporate clients prevent us from identifying many of these clients by name. l Manipal University (Karnataka) and

Manipal University Jaipur, 900 kWp each. These are the two largest private university solar installations in India. l Bangalore International Airport, 500 kWp, rooftop, including on airside buildings

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EQ : Please present case study of few noteworthy projects executed by your company in the distributed solar space AH: As the oldest and largest rooftop solar developer in India, we have installed the largest onsite/ rooftop solar plants in Maharashtra (3.9 MWp, telecommunications

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EQ : Please describe in detail about your company, its promoters, directors, investors, vision, objectives and its plans in the solar industry AH: CleanMax Solar is India’s largest rooftop solar developer, and has been ranked #1 by a large margin in Bridge to India’s annual survey in the past 2 years, since the survey began.

We focus primarily on the corporate segment, where our market share is around 50% as per our estimates. We started as a rooftop solar developer in 2011, and have recently expanded into open access solar, with Karnataka’s first solar farm. We are also exploring energy storage and select international opportunities, but targeting the same corporate segment

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INTERVIEW

EQ : What are your USP’s and differentiating factors as compared to your competitors?

AH: As the largest rooftop developer, we are differentiated in a number of ways: True pan-India scope. We have around 60 MWp of onsite installations across all major states in India. Corporate customers have facilities nationwide, and they want someone who can service them anyway in India. We have a rooftop plant in the same neighbourhood, and the same segment, of all our target customers. This gives them a lot of comfort that we can deliver and meet their expectations l

l Cost-competitiveness. Our scale on rooftop installations gives us a real cost advantage, particularly on components like string inverters and module mounting structures, of which we are among the largest customers in India

Our people. From engineering to projects to sales, we have a very high standard for people, and in turn they are a big source of competitive advantage. Our customers recognize our professionalism and expertise, and this is a major advantage for us in the market. l

EQ : What are the opportunities in this space and the challenges in upscaling and mainstreaming distributed solar?

AH: Rooftop solar in India is growing at 2-3X, and this growth does not look to be slowing anytime soon. Customers are more informed, and they are ready to make decisions more quickly. Costs are extremely competitive – we can offer large discounts to grid power, from Delhi to Kanyakumari. The market is fragmented and volatile – we have seen our competition shift significantly every 6 months. This makes it hard for customers to figure out who are the serious players.

EQ : Kindly enlighten on “Energy Storage as Game Changer”….

Technology & Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed AH: The cost curve for energy storage

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looks similar to that of solar PV several years ago, and we see a lot of potential.

The utility segment will probably be larger in size, but we see a lot of opportunities in the B2B, onsite segment as well, and this is a strong complement to our solar business. We are looking to begin our first projects in advanced battery technologies, for some of our existing corporate customers. Accelerated depreciation on energy storage systems would be a big boost for the sector, and this is justified given the significant benefits for the grid (peak shaving) and for reducing diesel usage.

EQ : Policies & Regulations: What are the benefits, subsidies given

by SECI, Central, State and Local Government, What are the key policy & regulatory features announced by the government?

AH: Given that grid parity has already been reached, the most important policy supports would be in terms of tax and financing structures. Accelerated depreciation has really helped the rooftop solar industry to grow, and removing it will dampen growth. A high GST rate on solar, and the removal of Section-80IA benefits would have a similar impact. At a state level, there is a lot that state governments, regulators, electrical inspectorates and others can do to make it easier to adopt solar.

For example, in Maharashtra we have seen streamlined CEIG processes for mid-sized rooftop solar installations.

These small initiatives really add up to encourage wider adoption.

EQ : Net Metering vs Gross Metering: Kindly explain what are the various metering techniques, their pros and cons AH: Net metering is a policy which allow export of net solar energy production (generation minus consumption) to the grid. Net metering is a very important enabler of rooftop solar, particularly for commercial and industrial customers and educational institutions, whose power consumption may be very low on non-working days or holidays. Gross metering (also known as a feed-in-tariff) is effectively the sale of onsite solar

EQ : Kindly rank various states in the order of attractiveness of distributed solar market ?

AH : It will be like1)Maharashtra 2)Tamil Nadu 3)Karnataka 4)Rajasthan 5)Gujarat 6)Haryana 7)Telangana EQ : What are the costs of solar energy in various states for different category of consumers such as Commercial, Industrial & Residential?

AH : Large commercial and industrial rooftop solar today is in the range of Rs. 5.5-6.5/kWh as a levelized cost, for a highly bankable offtaker with low credit risk. Costs go up as the system gets smaller, particularly as you go below 100 kWp per roof.

Residential systems are much costlier, and in fact the market is so small that systems are not really standardized and it’s hard to even get a handle on the numbers. Costs should drop and become more consistent as and when the market takes off. power to the grid, in which the entire quantum of solar energy goes to the grid. Gross metering tends to be more important for residences and particularly warehouses, where there is not a lot of power consumption, and where a preferential rate can encourage adoption.

Getting the right tariff is the key here, and Indian states don’t have a great record here.

However, gross metering could really kick-start the residential segment, which is unlikely to grow much in the meantime without such a policy.

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INTERVIEW

EQ : Enlighten our readers on the Off grid solar applications such as solar water pumping, home lighting, rural & agriculture applications, gadgets, mini & micro grids, Solar PV diesel hybrid systems & technologies, markets, Solar power in public sector, defense, off shore areas etc.

AH: Off-grid solar has a lot of potential, but as a developer it’s hard to justify attention there when the on-grid market is exploding, and is much more scalable. I doubt the on-grid developers will really succeed in these applications anytime soon, for this reason. I would love to see some more focused entrants in these areas make their mark in some of these markets, which will require a very different focus.

EQ : Kindly enlighten our readers with the power tariffs in various states for commercial, industrial and residential customers, tariffs for various levels of consumptions, power availability/shortage, the price trends AH: Industrial tariffs typically range from Rs. 6/kwh to Rs. 8/kwh, with Maharashtra (>Rs 9/kwh) as the highest. The only states still below Rs 6/kwh are smaller states with a lot of hydroelectric power. Commercial tariffs are typically around Rs. 1-2/kwh higher than industrial tariffs. Grid tariffs are unpredictable and political in the short term, but surprisingly consistent (56% CAGR) in all major states when taken over a period of 5 or more years.

It’s reasonable to expect this trend to continue over the next 5 years or more.

EQ : Are there any financing benefits like interest or capital subsidies by Government, banks, NBFC’s for financing distributed solar projects?

AH: These benefits exist in theory, but both banks and developers have struggled to use them. This reflects a fundamental challenge of the distributed space: aggregating small projects to a scale at which large-scale financing can be done EQ : Please present some business models, finance models, returns expectations, insurance, lending rates AH: Particularly in the corporate segment where CleanMax focuses, the PPA model is really starting to dominate over the capex model. When they have the choice, very few corporates want to own these assets themselves. When we look at our competitors in the rooftop PPA space, we see a wide range. For larger projects, utility scale developers may be present, but it’s hard for them to divert attention to MW-scale orders when they are simultaneously targeting tenders in the hundreds of MWs. There are a few pure-play players like CleanMax

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Solar, which are more focused, but many are very small. We have seen more of these emerge in the past 1218 months. We have seen one or two competitors pitching solar leases, but have not gotten much traction in the corporate segment. I can credit a lot of CleanMax Solar’s success in this segment to our consistent focus. It’s impossible to do everything well, and we always strive to keep a laser focus on our target corporate customers.

EQ : Foreign Investment: What is the scenario of foreign investors (Debt & Equity in this space)?

AH: While foreign investment has been an important factor in utility scale solar of late, this is less true in the distributed space, where the scale is smaller.

EQ : Kindly present best technology solutions…module, inverters, mounting, BOS…the roadmap etc.

AH: As a long-term investment, investors will be wary of unproven technologies, and the most attractive PV technology improvements are often the incremental ones. We place a lot of importance on components like module mounting structures, where I think quality is often neglected in the cost-competitive Indian market. We are currently looking at microinverters, but the cost needs to be competitive for it to become mainstream.

EQ : Enlighten our readers with Market shares of various players in the value chain such as Developers, EPC, Modules, Inverters, Mounting etc.

AH: Bridge to India is the most reliable source for market share in distributed solar. CleanMax has been #1 in the past 2 years since the survey began, with market share around 25%, and we are the only truly national player.

Amplus Solar has emerged quickly recently, partly by buying out SunEdison’s rooftop assets. The market is very fragmented.

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EQ International Magazine

Editorial Advisory Board

ENERGY STORAGE

Corporate Investments in Energy Storage Reach $660 Million in Q3 2016 According to the latest edition of GTM Research and ESA’s U.S. Energy Storage Monitor, corporate investment in energy storage reached an all-time high in terms of quarterly investments in Q3. Disclosed venture funding and project finance totaled $660 million in the third quarter of the year, bringing the annual total to $812 million.

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he largest announced deal during the quarter was $300 million in project financing from the Electric Gas & Industries Association for Tabuchi Electric. The report notes that Advanced Microgrid Solutions also closed a large project financing deal worth $200 million with Macquarie.

“Financing activities in this most recent quarter are noteworthy not just because of the scale, but also because project financing made up a significant portion of the total. While one quarter alone doesn’t constitute a trend, growth in project financing, especially in the residential segment, is a harbinger for further strengthening of deployment business models.”

- Mr. Ravi Manghani, GTM Research’s director of energy storage

Compared to corporate investment, deployments for the quarter were relatively quiet, however, as no front-of-meter projects above 1 megawatt were brought on-line.

Across all segments, the U.S. saw 16.4 megawatts of energy storage deployed in the third quarter of 2016.

“In 2016 we are seeing a critical trend in energy storage deployment — a wider range of competitive applications is becoming available to storage systems, and as a result demand for longer-duration systems is increasing. Measured in megawatt-hours, the industry is projected to grow by more than 284 percent by the end of the year, reflecting a broader set of applications, an increase in distributed storage systems, and a larger role in grid reliability like the Aliso Canyon procurements.”

- Mr. Matt Roberts, Executive Director of the Energy Storage Association

The behind-the-meter segment, which is made up of residential and commercial deployments, accounted for the majority of the quarter’s storage deployments. The U.S. deployed 14.1 megawatts of behindthe-meter storage in the third quarter of the year, which is essentially flat year-over-year.

Despite the low deployment total for the quarter, GTM Research expects a strong finish for 2016, as several front-of-meter projects are slated to come on-line in December.

According to the report, the U.S. annual energy storage market will grow to 260 megawatts in 2016, up from 226 megawatts in 2015.

Key Findings From The Q4 2016 U.s. Energy Storage Monitor • • • •

Corporate investments in energy storage totaled $660 million in Q3 2016 U.S. deployed 16.4 megawatts of energy storage in Q3 2016 Behind-the-meter deployments accounted for 86 percent of total megawatts deployed in Q3 2016 Lithium-ion batteries dominated the energy storage market for the eighth

• • •

straight quarter, representing 96.2 percent of the market in Q3 2016 Total closed the company’s acquisition of Saft in July 2016 Measured in megawatt-hours, the industry is projected to grow by more than 284 percent by the end of 2016 SCE and SDG&E have contracted 84.5 megawatts of energy storage as part of Aliso Canyon procurement Source:greentechmedia

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SOLAR INVERTERS

DETAILED ANALYSIS AND LEARNING FROM O&M REPORT OF 590 MW PV PLANT IN GOLMUD: IMPORTANCE OF SELECTING PV DEVICES In the recent two years there has been tremendous decrease in prices for solar plant equipments as well as solar power tariff. Solar community is debating on quality and selection of right equipments to work on Levelised cost, instead of only initial CAPEX. During the 25 years of service life of a PV plant, the only way to maximize the PV system benefits is to reduce the Levelised cost of electricity (LCOE).

LCOE =

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sum of costs over lifetime

sum of electrical energy produced over lifetime otal cost of a PV plant in its lifetime = Total initial investment + O&M cost â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Salvage value of the system. Considering that the cost of PV devices occupies a part of the initial investment on a PV plant, the plant will be faulty once a device fault occurs. What is more, if the device vendor goes bankrupt, after-sales O&M for the plant cannot be ensured. This not only increases the O&M cost, but also weakens the overall benefits of the PV plant.

So what are the factors for selecting PV devices? Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. (Huanghe for short) shared the major device faults and O&M experience on the 590 MW PV plant in Golmud for your reference.

Golmud in Qinghai is rich in light resources. It is the area with the best lighting condition in China in addition to Lhasa. Since 2011, Huanghe started to construct a 590 MW PV plant in Golmud. The plant occupies 14.62 km2 and is divided into five stages. The first stage of the PV plant connected to the power grid and started to generate power in 2011. The fifth stage of the PV plant connected to the power grid and started to generate power in June 1, 2016.

As the PV plant is located in the Gobi Desert with harsh environment such as fierce wind and sandstorm, occupies a large area, and has a great deal of equipment, challenges exist in the monitoring, inspection, and troubleshooting of the plant. The high fault ratio, routine inspection, and replacement of devices are the difficulties in O&M.

inverters and string inverters. The practical O&M shows that faults are found on both the AC and DC sides. AC faults occur less frequently and mainly relate to cables, boxtype transformers, civil work, and step-up transformers. They account for 9.82% of total faults. DC faults occur more frequently, are not easily to be found, and mainly relate to PV modules, inverters, and combiner boxes.

They account for 90.18% of total faults.

According to Shi Tianze, General Manager of the Haixi New Energy Yield Dept, Qinghai Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., the 590 MW PV plant in Golmud uses both central

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SOLAR INVERTERS

The Golmud PV plant uses 5756 DC combiner boxes. The fault ratio of DC combiner boxes is about 18%, and the fault ratio caused by fuse blown is around 21%. DC combiner boxes have the following major defects: fuse blown (due to poor fuse quality or extremely small rated current of fuses), abnormal communication

(including the damage of the communications collection module in the combiner box), wiring terminals overheated (caused by loose terminals and high resistance), circuit breaker faults (such as heating and tripping), branch faults (such as grounding faults and overcurrent), and DC arcing.

Inverter Failure Rate in 2015 Type

Product Name

Brand A Brand B Brand C Brand D Brand E Centralized Brand F type Brand G Brand H Brand I Brand J Brand K String Type

Number of Installed Inverters

Number of Faults

Failure Rate (%)

70 58 84 38 118 10 60 58 20 58 128 5372

2 2 10 7 32 3 19 22 10 32 185 9

2.86 3.45 11.90 18.42 27.12 30 31.67 37.93 50 55.17 144.53 0.16%

Shi Tianze said that the Golmud 590 MW PV plant contains 702 central inverters and 5372 string inverters. The comparison analysis shows that the inverter faults locate in fan damage, fuse blown, module overtemperature, and circuit breaker tripping.

Among the central inverters of 11 brands, the highest fault ratio reaches 144.53%, while the lowest is 2.86%. The fault ratio of string inverters, however, is only 0.16%. Judging from the energy yield and availability, which solution is more competitive is obvious. Because there is no DC combiner box in the string inverter solution, each PV string directly connects to the inverter on the DC side. The fuse-free design in addition to short and few DC power cables ensures proactive security protection and suppresses arcing effectively. On the AC side, short-circuit currents are from the power grid and are very high (10–20 kVA).

Once an exception occurs, the circuit breaker in the AC combiner

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box trips immediately to minimize the harm.

Xu Hailiang, vice president of TÜV SÜD Greater China pointed out that TÜV SÜD evaluates the overall quality of PV plant devices based on the device status indicators such as the fault ratio of key devices, fault duration, and availability. TÜV SÜD evaluated the annual failure rate, availability, and array yield of inverters for Golmud 220 MW PV plant before long.

Xu Hailiang Said That, “For fairness and impartiality, we chose

five different PV plants each with several mainstream inverters, and we got the comparison results of the three indicators. The annual failure rates of string inverters are all below 0.4%, and the lowest one is 0.189%. The availability of all the string inverters is above 99.99%.” The data answers why string inverters are widely

used in large-scale ground-mounted PV plants for recent years.

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SOLAR INVERTERS

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&M for the Golmud PV plant of Huanghe showed that the PV modules often experience the faults of loosing, hot spots, glass breakage, and failure of diodes in the connection box. The inspection on PV modules is also a difficult for a large-scale PV plant. In the PV industry, PV modules are usually spot-checked. Assuming that the spot-check ratio is 0.1%, a spot-check costs 40,000 RMB for a 10 MW PV plant.

The low spot-check ratio is not good for evaluating a PV plant in a comprehensive way. Totally eight faulty PV modules are found in PV array 38 in zone 9 at Longyangxia plant. The number of faulty PV modules accounts for 0.17% of the total number of PV modules in the PV array. However, there is a probability of only 2.4% that faulty PV modules in the PV array will be spot-checked according to the spot-check ratio of 0.3% of Huanghe. That is to say, faulty PV modules will not be spotchecked in a probability of 97.6%. The traditional O&M method is not instructive.

In addition, O&M personnel have to take appropriate test tools, remove the PV modules, and check for faults one by one manually. This not only consumes time and labor, but also makes it impossible to locate faults in a short time. The current O&M method usually identifies PV module faults by comparing the output power, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current,

operating voltage, and operating current. The fault identification rate is low and misjudgment is likely to occur. For example, the first stage of 200 MW PV plant in Golmud contains 192 PV arrays, 816,612 PV modules of nine types, 3072 combiner boxes of six types, 384 inverters of nine types, 192 box-type step-up transformers of four types, about 50 thousand DC branches, and up to about 160,000 points for collecting data. So many devices bring challenges to safe production and management.

To solve the pain points exist in the traditional inspection way, Huawei and Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. develop the smart IV curve diagnosis technology through joint innovation. Based on the inverter output IV curve, deploy algorithms on the management system and synchronize data analysis and mode recognition to scan all PV strings of a PV plant precisely in one-click mode and locate the root cause.

The IV curve diagnosis technology helps determine device faults such as hot-spot effect on PV modules, loose connection, faulty PV string, reverse connection of PV strings, incorrect connection of PV strings, disconnection of certain PV strings, faulty combiner boxes, open circuits on combiner box branches, blown of fuses in combiner boxes, and inverter faults accurately and comprehensively in an all-round manner, which reduces the inspection strength greatly.

According to the analysis using Huawei smart IV curve diagnosis technology, the major diodes of 33 PV strings are broken down. Replace the diodes that are broken down and the six PV modules with low efficiency.

From the O&M experience on the 590 MW PV plant in Golmud of Huanghe, we know that we could not focus only on the cost when selecting PV devices, but should consider the LCOE over the 25 years of service life. After a PV plant is constructed and connects to the power grid, O&M becomes the work focus for the PV plant, directly relates to its long-

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term stable running, and is associated with the investment value and final benefits of the PV plant. Therefore, how to optimize the initial system investment and reduce the O&M cost to achieve optimal cost per kilowatt hour and pursue the lowest LCOE over the 25 years of lifetime is ownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; real goal.

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INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH MANISH CHOURASIA MANAGING DIRECTOR (MD), Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd. EQ : What is the likely impact of Demonetization on the Indian solar and renewable energy industry?

MC: In India, solar and other renewable energy projects are highvalue big ticket investments carried out by the organized sector and hence we do not see any major impact. While we anticipate minor delays in land acquisition and project implementation in the short-term, we do believe that demonetization is good in the long run since it will reduce the cost of capital, which is the major cost in renewable energy projects. Also, there might be an indirect effect of channeling money into big solar projects due to the tax benefit of accelerated depreciation offered. This could indeed provide a boost to the sector in the short to medium term.

EQ : How is the road ahead for the global and American renewable industry following the victory of Donald Trump in the US Elections? What impacts might it have in the Indian solar energy market?

MC: President-elect Donald Trump’s comments suggest that he might choose to move away from Obama’s Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement, which has already seen a negative impact on the stock prices of some US solar companies and an uptick in coal stocks. Having said that, Donald Trump was, ahead

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of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, a co-signatory to a letter to Obama which pointed out that clean energy technologies would spur economic growth, create new energy jobs and increase energy security.

In the long run, we expect technological advancements in storage of power, efficiency in power generation etc. to more than compensate for any short term pain and believe that renewable energy could actually become more economical than fossil fuel based power leading to significant disruption in energy markets.

Many US / global renewable energy giants operate in India, as both asset owners and suppliers. Any move on the Government’s part to curb renewable energy projects in the US might impact their Indian operations as well.But we believe that the projects being set up in India are commercially viable on their own, considering a fixed tariff model against the escalating tariffsin fossil fuel based projects.Hence these projects might be able to sustain in the medium to long term, once the equity is in place.

We do not expect any policy changes made by Donald Trump to impact the Indian Government’s stance on renewable energy sector and hence, do not see an immediate regulatory risk posed by the US election result.

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INTERVIEW

EQ : Comment on the ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change?

AH : In terms of scope and impact, the Paris Agreement is probably the most far-reaching international agreement ever. In India, as in the rest of the world, we can expect the commitment to lead to changes in the way we live our lives. India has committed to generate at least 40% of its power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. India plans to install as much as 100 GW of electricity generation capacity through solar energy by 2022, of which 40 GW would be through rooftop systems. In order to achieve these targets, India will have to set its energy policy in tune with these commitments. We believe that the back end projections done to reach this number will now have to be integrated into the new energy policy that NitiAyog is championing for the Indian government. The agreement has definitely enhanced the focus on renewable energy sector and has highlighted the importance of clean energy in ensuring a sustainable future for humanity. There are definitely challenges involved such as availability of low cost finance, health of the key off-taker of power i.e. State Electricity Boards, grid availability etc. We hope these challenges will be eventually overcome and that the Indian renewable energy sector will flourish in the days to come.

EQ : What is the impact of recent decline in solar module prices in the Indian PV market and what is going to be likely trend of solar module pricing and technology?

MC: We have seen solar module prices dropping from levels of around $1.20per Wpin 2012 to around $0.35 per Wpin 2016.

This has been primarily on account of two factors – technological innovation and oversupply. The decline in solar module prices have resulted in much lower project costs, which in turn have resulted in decreasing tariffs and consequently, lower overall blended cost of power. We do not see significant capacity additions happening in the solar module manufacturing business and hence believe that the demand-supply mismatch will reduce going forward. This in turn should decelerate the fall in solar module pricing. However, other innovations like reduction in the cost of energy storage and improvement in efficiency of power production in next 3 to 5 years could lead to a further cost reduction as we have seen over the last 3 decades in the solar sector.

EQ : What is your view on the WTO ruling against the Indian Government’s local content requirement on solar power developers?

MC: The WTO ruling in the US v/s India conflict in February 2016 as well as in September 2016 (rejection of India’s appeal) found that India has violated global trade rules by imposing mandatory local content requirements on solar power developers. We believe that India’s arguments regarding solar cells and modules being indistinguishable from solar power generation and solar cells and modules being characterized as inputs of generation of solar power do have merit. Having said that, India is a strong supporter of the multilateral, rule-based trading system andhence, we believe the Indian Government would look to explore alternative mechanisms by which to promote local development of the solar module manufacturing sector. In the short-term, India could look to incentivize production of solar modules and cells in a manner which is WTO compliant like direct subsidies to domestic manufacturers, tax breaks etc. In the long run, India must deeply engage with international partners and get the best available technology at internationally competitive rates. It will also have to take steps to promote research and development in renewable energy sector.

This will in turn reduce the cost of energy and increaseenergy efficiency.

The government’s recent launch of the ‘International Solar Alliance’ is definitely a positive move in this direction.

The views expressed are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of/are not necessarily endorsed by Tata Capital.

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Quarter result

Azure Power Announces Results for Second Fiscal Quarter 2017 Azure Power Global Limited (NYSE:AZRE), one of the leaders in the Indian solar industry, today announced its consolidated results under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) for the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016.

Second Quarter 2017 Period Ended September 30, 2016 Operating Highlights: • • •

Operating & Committed Megawatts were at 1,021 MW, as of September 30, 2016 an increase of 111% over the same date last year Revenue for the quarter was INR 895 million (US$13 million), an increase of 40% over the same quarter last year Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was INR 561 million (US$8 million), an increase of approximately 44% over the same quarter last year

• Key Operating Metrics Electricity generation increased by 112.8 million kWh during the six months periods ended September 30, 2016 to 275.1 million kWh as compared to the same period in 2015 as a result of the increase in operational capacity during the period.

Total revenue grew to INR 1,916.6 million (US$28.8 million) during the six months ended September 30, 2016 from INR 1,211.1 million in the six months ended September 30, 2015, an increase of 58% over the same period in the previous year. The increase in revenue was driven by the commissioning of new projects.

The project cost per megawatt operating for the six months ended September 30, 2016 decreased by INR 2.9 million (US$0.1 million) to INR 58.1 million (US$0.87 million), as compared to the same period in the previous year. The project cost per megawatt has declined in line with decreasing solar module prices and reduction in balance of plant costs. Project cost per megawatt operating consists of costs incurred for 72

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December 2016

AS OF SEPTEMBER 30,

2015

2016

INR

INR

US$

123,566,324

247,388,527

3,715,658

19,964

43,345

Nominal contracted payments (in thousands) Total estimated energy output (kilowatt hours in millions)

one megawatt of new solar power plant capacity during the reporting period.Operating and committed megawatts increased, as of September 30, 2016, by 536 MW to 1,021 MW as a result of the increase in new projects won since September 30, 2015.

• Nominal Contracted Payments

The Company’s PPAs create long-term recurring customer payments. Nominal contracted payments equal the sum of the estimated payments that the customer is likely to make, subject to discounts or rebates, over the remaining term of the PPAs. When calculating nominal contracted payments, the company includes those PPAs for projects that are operating or committed.

The following table sets forth, with respect to our PPAs, the aggregate nominal contracted payments and total estimated energy output as of the reporting dates. These nominal contracted payments have not been discounted to arrive at the present value.

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Quarter result

Nominal contracted payments increased from September 30, 2015 to September 30, 2016 as a result of entering into additional PPAs. Over time, the Company has seen a trend towards a decline in the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission benchmark tariff for solar power procurement.

For fiscal year 2011, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission benchmark tariff for solar power procurement was INR 17.91 per kilowatt hour. It was reduced to INR 10.39 per kilowatt hour for fiscal year 2013, which was further reduced to INR 7.72 per kilowatt hour for fiscal year 2015 and INR 5.68 per kilowatt hour for fiscal year 2016.

The overall trend of solar power tariffs is that the tariffs are declining in line with the solar module prices.

Company’s PPAs, the aggregate portfolio run-rate and estimated annual energy output as of the reporting dates. The portfolio run-rate has not been discounted to arrive at the present value.

Second Quarter Period ended September 30, 2016 Consolidated Financial Results: •

Operating revenue grew to INR 894.9 million (US$13.4 million) in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 from INR 640.9 million in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2015, an increase of 40% over the same period in the previous year. The increase in revenue was driven by the commissioning of new projects.

•

2015

2016

INR

INR

US$

5,422,172

10,560,382

158,612

Portfolio run-rate

(in thousands)

•

Estimated annual energy output

791

in millions)

P

• Portfolio Run-Rate

Portfolio run-rate equals annualized payments from customers extrapolated based on the operating and committed capacity as of the reporting date.

In estimating the portfolio run-rate, the Company multiplies the PPA contract price per kilowatt hour by the estimated annual energy output for all operating and committed solar projects as of the reporting date.

The estimated annual energy output of the Company’s solar projects is calculated using power generation simulation software and validated by independent engineering firms.

The main assumption used in the calculation is the project location, which enables the software to derive the estimated annual energy output from certain meteorological data, including the temperature, wind speed and solar radiation based on the project location.

The following table sets forth, with respect to the

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General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses during the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 increased by INR 51.2 million (US$0.8 million), or 24.7%, to INR 258.4 million (US$3.9 million) compared to the same period in 2015. This was primarily due to legal expenses incurred on projects and lease rent expense incurred on under-construction projects during the three months ended September 30, 2016.

1,856

(kilowatt hours

ortfolio run-rate increased

by IN R 5,13 8 million (US$77.2 million) to INR 10,560 million (US$159 million) as of September 30, 2016 as compared to September 30, 2015, due to increase in operational and committed capacity during the period.

Cost of Operations

Cost of operations increased to INR 75.4 million (US$1.1 million) in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016, from INR 43.0 million in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2015, an increase of 75% over the same period previous year. The increase was primarily due to increase in plant maintenance cost related to new commissioned projects.

AS OF SEPTEMBER 30

Operating Revenue

•

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expenses during the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 increased by INR 71.3 million (US$1.1 million), or 41%, to INR 246.5 million (US$3.7 million) compared to the same period in period ended September 30, 2015. The principal reason for the increase in depreciation was due to new projects which were capitalized during the period from September 30, 2015 to September 30, 2016.

•

Interest Expense, Net

Net interest expense during the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 increased by INR 64.3 million (US$1.0 million), or 12%, to INR 583.3 million (US$8.7 million) compared to the same period in period ended September 30, 2015. Interest expense increased primarily as a result of borrowings for new solar power projects operating during the three months period ended September 30, 2016.

•

Loss on Foreign Currency Exchange

Foreign exchange loss during the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 decreased by INR 246.4 million or 145% to INR 76.1 million (US$1.1 million) compared to the same period in the prior year.

The closing exchange rate of Indian rupees as of September 30, 2015 depreciated against the U.S. dollar

by INR 1.9 to US$1.00 over the closing exchange rate as of June 30, 2015 while the closing exchange rate of Indian rupees as of September 30, 2016 appreciated against the U.S. dollar by INR 0.9 to US$1.00 over the closing exchange rate as of June 30, 2016,

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Quarter result

•

Income Tax Expense

Income tax benefit increased during the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 by INR 26.9 million to INR 53.8 million (US$0.8 million). The Company’s effective income tax rate for the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016 was 19% as compared to 7% for the same period in 2015. The increase in income tax benefit and the effective tax rate in the six months ended September 30, 2016 was a result of lower taxable profits generated by AZI, which provides certain engineering, procurement and construction services to its Indian subsidiaries, in the current period.

•

Net Loss

Net loss for the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016, was at INR 138.9 million (US$2.1 million), a decrease of INR 308.1 million (US$4.6 million) as compared to the same period in the previous year.

This was primarily due to an increase in operating revenue by 40%.

•

•

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•

During the three months ended September 30, 2016, the Company generated INR 7,104.6 million (US$106.7 million) from financing activities. This cash inflow was primarily due to proceeds of INR 1,666.5 million (US$25.0 million) from issuance of Series I CCPS, new loan proceeds of INR 7,062.2 million (US$106.1 million) in the form of term loans from banks for the Karnataka 3 and Punjab 4 solar power plants. These inflows were offset in part by INR 1,624.1 million (US$24.4 million) in repayment of loans.

•

Liquidity Position

•

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Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA was INR 561 million (US$8 million) for the second quarter period ended September 30, 2016, compared to INR 391 million in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2015. This was primarily due to the increase in revenue during the period.

Cash Flow and Working Capital

The Company raised equity of INR 1,666.5 million (US$ 25.0 million) during the quarter ended

financial results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016, on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 and hold its quarterly conference call to discuss the results and updated outlook at 9:30 a.m. US Eastern Standard Time. Investors may access a live webcast of this conference call by visiting http://investors.azurepower. com/events-and-presentations. An archived webcast will be available through the same link following the call. The conference call can be accessed live by dialling 1-888-317-6003 (in the U.S.) and 1-412-317-6061 (outside the U.S.) and entering the passcode 5573341. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call till December 22, 2016 and can be accessed by dialling 1-877-344-7529 (in the U.S.) and 1-412-317-0088 (outside the U.S.) and entering the replay pass code 10096842.

September 30, 2016 from a preIPO financing round. Subsequent to September 30, 2016, the Company has raised INR 9,081.5 million (US$136.4 million) from its initial public offering and concurrent private placement. The Company has drawn INR4,970 million (US$74.7 million) of project debt during the quarter and has undrawn project debt commitment of INR17,557.1 million (US$263.7 million) as of the end of the quarter. The company has secured financing for all committed and under construction projects of 663MW for the calendar year 2017.

respectively.

Guidance for Fiscal Third Quarter 2017 and for the Fiscal Year 2017 The following statements are based on currentexpectations.

These statements are forwardlooking and actual results may differ materially. As of December 31, 2016, the Company expects 520 MW to be operational and it expects 950 – 1,050 MW operational by December 31, 2017.

The Company expects revenue to be in the range of US$64 – 68 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017 Webcast and Conference Call Information

The Company will report

•

Exchange Rate

This press release contains translations of certain Indian rupee amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, the translation of Indian rupees into U.S. dollars has been made at INR 66.58 to US$1.00, which is the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfer in non-U.S. currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on September 30, 2016. The Company makes no representation that the Indian rupee or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this prospectus could have been converted into U.S. dollars or Indian rupees, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

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ECTIVE F F E R O F ETING K R A M O VIDE

NEXTRACKER™ LAUNCHES THE INDUSTRY’S 1ST SOLAR TRACKER PLUS STORAGE SOLUTION

NEXTracker, a Flex company, announced recently it has launched an innovative solar plus energy-storage solution for U.S. and international markets. NX Fusion Plus integrates the latest, best-in-class solar tracker, battery, inverter, and software to deliver better return on investment to owners of solar power plants. By incorporating battery storage technology into its product, NEXTracker is further increasing the energy output and duration of solar power plants, just as tracking technology did for fixed-tilt solar applications.

“NX Fusion Plus is an incredibly powerful development for the energy industry. Our goal has always been to identify the best technologies for addressing solar generation’s intermittency.

We can now dispatch uninterrupted clean energy in the most effective manner possible for the customer. Our tracker becomes the data acquisition backbone of the plant, offering complete system analytics and monitoring. NX Fusion Plus enables higher return on investment than solar alone because we can now utilize more clipped[1] energy and offset demand charges for end users. This is particularly attractive to customers such as farms in the Central Valley of California. We can also provide stable, reliable power in countries such as India, where power fluctuates.”

- Alex Au, NEXTracker CTO 76

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he NX Fusion Plus enables customers to use more solar energy throughout the day while simultaneously lowering their electricity bills. As the #1 solar tracker supplier worldwide, NEXTracker is able to leverage economies of scale with parent company, Flex.

In order to bring solar + storage into the mainstream, NEXTracker leverages Flex’s secure data platform with NEXTracker’s predictive smart control software, which is already embedded in the tracker’s electronics. Complementing this product portfolio is machine learning capability, acquired through the purchase of BrightBox earlier this year, which optimizes solar power plant performance and reduces operations and maintenance (O&M) costs.

“We are excited about the new opportunities that NX Fusion Plus opens up for our agricultural customers. It’s a perfect match for distributed generation power plants. With large-scale solar + storage and smart software and controls, our customers will have a solution that lowers their energy bill and peak hour demand charges.

We’re anticipating an enhanced ROI from the savings NX Fusion Plus can create through demand management and energy load shifting.”

- Dylan Dupre, CEO of CalCom Solar

Prior to the advent of solar trackers, fixed-tilt systems were the only mounting option for PV and delivered a single output profile. With the maturity of the solar power plants and accompanying technologies – such as NEXTracker’s advanced self-powered tracker– the solar generation curve has broadened, delivering more energy production to owner-operators. With NEXTracker’s solar + storage solution, NX Fusion Plus, the tracker generation curve is now even further broadened, by shifting excess energy from peak periods to later in the day.

“Cost has been a major barrier to battery integration in mainstream solar projects, but now we’re solving this challenge. By combining our world-class component electronics with a cybersecure software platform, Flex and NEXTracker are providing the solution to cost reduction of complex solar plus storage systems, delivering more value to the end-user.”

- Kerry McCraken, Vice President of connected intelligence at Flex

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SMA SOLAR TECHNOLOGY AG RECEIVES ORDER FOR 616 MW INVERTER POWER IN INDIA SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) and Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd, a market leader, owner and operator of clean energy projects in India, have signed contracts for the supply of 616 MW of Sunny Central 1000CP XT inverters from SMA. With the inverters, Greenko will realize PV power plants in the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh within the next year.

“We are proud that Greenko has chosen SMA to help them bring such a huge amount of clean and affordable energy to the people of India. Our highly experienced local sales and service team will support Greenko’s ambitious projects not only with our high-performance, cost-efficient Sunny Central 1000CP XT inverters, but also with the highest level of sales, service and technical support.”

- John Susa, SMA Executive Vice President Sales Asia Pacific.

SMA has especially developed the Sunny Central 1000CP XT inverter for high-growth markets with particularly high price pressure and challenging ambient conditions, such as India.

“With its outdoor rating, OptiCool technology, extensive earthquake and wind speed tests as well as its highest power density in the market, the Sunny Central 1000CP XT inverter clearly focuses on reducing Balance of System (BOS) components, maintenance and logistical costs for any solar power plant project” - Boris Wolff, SMA Executive Vice President business unit Utility.

“Greenko has chosen SMA based on its many years of global experience, its technologically advanced solutions and comprehensive service portfolio. “We are pleased to partner with them on some of our key PV projects in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.”

- S.K Mohiddin , Senior Vice President Contracts and Material Management of Greenko Source:sma

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KACO NEW ENERGY HAS LAUNCHED THREE NEW INVERTER MODELS

T

The German inverter manufacturer, KACO new energy GmbH, has made new three-phase devices available. The blueplanet 8.6 TL3 and 10.0 TL3 are suitable for residential and commercial-scale PV arrays; the blueplanet 20.0 TL3 fits commercial systems as well as large-scale, industrial-sized power plants. All three inverters enter the market with approvals for a large number of countries. he blueplanet 8.6 TL3 fits seamlessly into the range of three-phase blueplanets with a lower output. They are addressed to PV operators in the residential and small commercial sectors.

As with all blueplanets the numeric denomination describes the AC output. Accordingly, the new inverter has a rated output of 8.6 kilowatts which makes it especially suited for the French market: It is tailored to comply with building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) subsidy thresholds, a highly attractive market segment in France.The blueplanet 10.0 TL3 is cut from the same cloth as the blueplanet 8.6 TL3.

The new 10 kVA inverter closes this “small” blueplanet range which now consists of six devices with rated outputs between 5 and 10 kilowatts.

Both new inverters are particularly convincing with their 2 MPP trackers,

DC and AC plug connector technique which facilitates the quickest wiring, in addition to a wide voltage input range spanning 200 V to 800 V. Everything is well protected and sits cozily in a compact IP65 housing.

The blueplanet 20.0 TL3 INT follows the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT: It is a wall-mounted device operating on the threshold between commercial and utility applications that feature a decentralised plant concept. Whereas the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT is targeted at optimum cost-efficiency with its “reduce to the max” concept, the new 20 kVA inverter offers all variables when it comes to getting to grips with smaller, complex systems and difficult design scenarios. The blueplanet 20.0 TL3 INT operates using two separate MPP trackers that can handle both symmetrical and asymmetrical loads.

East/west facing roofs (symmetrical load), factory roofs which are shaded or inconsistently designed and open spaces (asymmetrical load) can thus be dealt with. With sockets for digital inputs and outputs, the blueplanets are proving themselves to be futureproof solutions, capable of responding to all control issues, whether received from the grid operator or in communication with the electrical appliances.

The new inverters already possess certifications for the deployment in various countries. These include, amongst others, Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. A complete overview of all country certificates is available for download at www. kaco-newenergy.com

24M HAS DEVELOPED A BREAKTHROUGH BATTERY TECHNOLOGY

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he world-wide market potential for energy storage is projected to grow to over $100B by 2020. Of this total, advanced electrochemical batteries for the grid will constitute over $30B; adding opportunities in EV will increase the number to well over $40B per year by 2020. However, the energy storage industry today struggles to access the largest growth markets because its cost structure is too high, having been developed for high power applications and not for the longduration “energy” applications that will experience the majority of the growth over the next five to ten years.

24M has developed a breakthrough battery technology that provides lowcost, high energy density, safe and long-life storage for transportation and grid markets. The 24M approach represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in the field in the last 25 years delivering the performance attributes of Li-ion at 40% the cost of conventional Li-ion. With a projected COGS below $100/kWh at the cell lev-

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el coupled to the value of energy storage in key grid, off-grid and mobility markets, 24M will be in a position to command industry-leading profitability. The 24M technology is based on a series of inventions at MIT and 24M in the area of semi-solid electrodes and is incorporated in a novel design that reduces cell cost to under $100/ kWh. The manufacturing platform and cell design eliminates 80-90% of the inactive materials and does away with the entire electrode coating and

drying process found in conventional factories. This radically simpler manufacturing model achieves its cost target at low scale (~120MWh per year) with capital requirements below $20M as opposed to multiple hundreds of millions required in conventional lithium-ion manufacturing.

The technology itself is protected by a growing patent portfolio consisting of 20 issued or allowed patents and an additional 80 applications across 20 patent families filed to date.

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JA SOLAR..............................................................BACK COVER jinchen..................................................................................13 HUAWEI TELECOMMUNICATONS....................Front GATEFOLD LERRI SOLAR...........................................INSIDE Front COVER TBEA..........................................................INSIDE BACk COVER mornsun..............................................................................25 renew x................................................................................61 energy storage india.......................................................65 GROWATT...............................................................................03 SOVA POWER.........................................................................19 FILMCUTTER (JOOLYWOOD....................................................07 world future energy summit ........................................17 EQ SOLAR TV..........................................................................73 SNEC PV.................................................................................37 EQ INTERNATIONAL................................................................33 SURYACON INDIA 2017.........................................................77

PAYMENT

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