EQ Feb 2017 digital by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

Volume # 9 | Issue # 2 | February 2017 |

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/GSL1000/GSL1250

Shenzhen KSTAR New Energy Co., Ltd.

Tel : +91 7838550852 E-mail : indiaofďŹ ce@kstar.com.cn Website: www.kstarpower.com

Stock code

002518

Gsolar power Co.,ltd is commitment to developing and promoting technology of new energy industries, We are mainly developing solar cell testing technology and related testing equipment, such as solar cell tester, solar simulator, EL detector and the complete automatic solar module assembly line.

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Volume # 9 | Issue # 2 | February 2017 |

Rs.5/-

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Volume # 9 | Issue # 2 | February 2017 |

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SNEC POWE PV R EXPO 2017 BOOT H: DATE: E4-630 19 th-21 st April 2017

R.N.I. NO. MPBIL/2013/50966 | DT OF PUBLICATION: FEBRUARY 20 | POSTAL REGD.NO. MP/IDC/1435/2016-2017

Volume # 9 | Issue # 2 | February 2017 |

Rs.5/-

R.N.I. NO. MPBIL/2013/50966 | DT OF PUBLICATION: FEBRUARY 20 | POSTAL REGD.NO. MP/IDC/1435/2016-2017

Volume # 9 | Issue # 2 | February 2017 |

Rs.5/-

SNEC POWE PV R EXPO 2017 BOOT H: DATE: E4-630 19 th-21 st April 2017

SNEC POWER PV EXPO 2017 BOOTH: DATE: E4-630 19 th-21 st April 2017

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TRENDS & ANALYSIS

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C ONTEN T

VOLUME 9 Issue # 2

26 BUDGET TALK India Budget 2017-2018 Whats In It For Renewables ?

ASIA PACIFIC Hero Future Energies plans 100 MW solar power plant in South-East Asia

32 FEATURED India’s solar power capacity crosses 9 GW

42 ENERGY STORAGE Morgan Stanley: Storage in the Utility Sector ‘Will Grow More Than the Market Anticipates’

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable Integration: Need For Curtailment Risk Assessment

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SOLAR PV MANUFACTURING In the race for cost reduction are you thinking about long term performance of your PV projects?

31 NEXTracker Partners with CleanMax Solar to Deliver Solar Power in Tamil Nadu, India

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

With Brijesh Gupta, CEO, Renewable Energy Business, Atha Group

SOLAR TENDER

MOUNTING STRUCTURES Future Innovations in Solar Mounting Technology

On Rewa Solar Project Bidding Outcome

RESULTS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

SOLAR PV MANUFACTURING

BUSINESS & FINANCE

From Kw To Gw: A Roller Coaster Ride

New World Bank Tool Helps Map Solar Potential

With Ravi Khanna, CEO, Solar Power Business, Aditya Birla Group

18 FINANCE RBI faces dilemma on masala bonds over Goldman backed ReNew Power issue

SOLAR FERRY

Aditya Ferry: Vaikom’s New Satyagraha for Clean Energy

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

With Ms. Silvia BlumenscheinSchuetz, Vp Sales & Strategic Coordination, Solar-Logtm

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW With Guy Rong, President, Arctech Solar

SOLAR PV MANUFACTURING JinkoSolar’s Time May Have Come

MIDDLE EAST Saudi Arabia Unleashes Renewable Energy Procurement with Tenders for 300 MW Solar and 400 MW Wind Projects

BUSINESS & FINANCE Saudi Aramco Said to Weigh Up to $5 Billion of Renewable Deals

NEWS & ANALYSIS Pg. 08-37 PRODUCT Pg. 76

PV MANUFACTURING

Tata Power Solar achieves the milestone of shipping 1 GW modules Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar company, has successfully shipped 1 GW solar modules worldwide, a first for any Indian solar manufacturer.

Mr. Ashish Khanna ED & CEO, Tata Power Solar

February 2017

Speaking on this milestone, Ashish Khanna, ED & CEO, Tata Power Solar, said, “Reaching the 1 GW milestone is a testimony to our module’s global competitiveness and superior quality, honed over the last 27 years. The global solar market is witnessing lucrative growth and this milestone is proof that we are a key Indian player in the domestic as well as international market. We have always believed that solar manufacturing is a key driver of jobs in the country, and will continue to build our base in manufacturing and provide the promise of brand Tata.”

aving one of the largest solar manufacturing facilities in India, with modules as well as cell manufacturing capacities, this milestone cements their position as one of India’s leading players in the PV module manufacturing industry. The company has witnessed a steady rise in the number of modules in the past 27 years, with over 60% of their modules shipped over the last five years. A pioneer in the Indian solar manufacturing industry, the company has shipped modules worldwide to over 30 countries including Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Rated ‘Tier I module manufacturer’ by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), Tata Power Solar is known for its quality and reliable solar modules. To ensure that its customers have access to high quality products, the company’s manufacturing facilities follow international standards using automation and best-in-class technology.

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PV MANUFACTURING

GCL-SI to Invest in Vietnam for 600MW Solar Cell Production GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (GCL-SI), one of the world’s largest solar energy companies, recently announced its investment in Vina Cell Technology Co. Ltd.

Mr.Shu Hua president of GCL “The investment not only provides GCL System with cost advantage, but also helps streamline our supply chain by adding cell production into the system. The PERC capacity in particular helps ease current shortage of high-efficiency photovoltaic modules in the Chinese market.”

ietnam-based solar cell manufacturer, in trade for up to 600MW production capacity. This was a remarkable move GCL-SI took to strengthen its competitive edge and to be better poised for wider opportunities in the US and European markets. In the deal, GCL-SI will provide solar cell production equipment, whereas Vina offers plant, supporting facilities along with an experienced management team. According to the terms, of Vina’s annual capacity of 600MW, 330 MW will be dedicated to GCL-SI. This comprises exclusive use of Vina’s PERC (passivated emitter rear cell) facilities, an upgrade technology for standard AL-BSF solar cells. In addition, GCL-SI enjoys privilege over the remaining annual capacity of 270 MW, which will be locked up for GCL-SI with an advanced notice. This is, therefore,

an outsourcing strategy tailor-made to GCL-SI and the company expects substantial supply reinforcement to support its fast expansion in both domestic and international markets. The c ompany ’s leadership team sees this investment as a strategic move to break into the US and European markets. GCL’s Chairman Zhu Gongshan earlier this year indicated similar intention on 2016 Chinese Clean Energy Collaborative Forum, by encouraging Chinese solar energy companies to “team up to march overseas and to gain a more advantaged position in foreign markets”. In fact, this year records a fruitful milestone for GCL System’s global expansion, in which it successfully captured the Australia market with its E-KwBe model and hammered out partnership with Enmax in Thailand.

PV MANUFACTURING

M10 Industries AG’s Kubus passes 72-hour stress test on the first attempt The first two high-performance tabber stringers made by M10 Industries AG, based in Freiburg im Breisgau, have successfully passed Indian module manufacturer Emmvee’s site acceptance test.

hese two tabber stringers will enable the Bangalore based photovoltaic company to increase its annual capacity by 340 megawatts. The Kubus MTS 5000 stringer, winner of the Intersolar Award last year, is the only soldering machine in the world that can deliver uninterrupted production with a flow rate of 5,000 cells an hour.

“Our Kubus stringer can finally show what it is really made of. We achieved the promised 5,000 cells per hour and the system availability during the 72-hour stress test was measured at 98 percent,” emphasizes Gregor Reddemann, CEO of M10 Industries AG. “Similar stringers achieve significantly less with around 85 percent actual production time.” Furthermore, the yield proved to be more than 99.85 percent. This is the number of defective units in relation to the total number of units produced. The measured cell breakage rate was also very low at 0.014 percent. “Emmvee has always been in the fore front in adapting new technology. The acquisition of the Kubus stringer with latest soldering technology will help us to achieve greater heights in solar module production”, explains Manjunatha D. V., Managing Director and Founder of the Emmvee Group. Emmvee can independently continue with their high-volume production line with this cutting-edge, German technology from M10.

Increased capacity in the same amount of space Initially the company had planned to increase their production by moving to a new factory. But then, in 2015, engineering company M10 brought out Kubus, its high-performance tabber stringer.

Mr. Srinath T. Emmvee Group’s Technical Director

Reinhard Willi

“The new Kubus stringer which can solder high volume solar cells in a smaller foot print has helped us to expand our capacity in the existing facility,” says Srinath T., Emmvee Group’s technical director. Emmvee is the first customer in India to use the new Kubus soldering machine. The two tabber stringers were commissioned in October last year. After extensive personnel training for a three-shift operation on both systems, material certification and the production and development of different module and material types, the two stringers finally started production in the middle.

February 2017

Extensive field tests in M10’s own technology and service center

Mr. Gunter Schneidereit

Before making their final decision, Emmvee tested the fast soldering system extensively and with various different materials at SI Module GmbH’s technology and service center on the M10 Solar Campus at company headquarters in Freiburg. Gunter Schneidereit, CEO and Co-Founder of M10 Industries, explains the company philosophy,

“It is very important to us to work with materials that have been tested and that are actually used in practice – that’s how we develop our knowledge.” Reddemann adds, “This enables us to test customer specific production materials in advance, before we take the machine to our customer’s production facility.” This makes sense and saves money, as 90 percent of the highperformance machines will be exported across the world. Emmvee are very satisfied. The chance they took in investing in Kubus tabber stringer has paid off. The products they produce are top quality and their manufacturing costs have significantly reduced. Emmvee is well equipped for the future.

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PV MANUFACTURING

Waaree has been assigned SP 1 A grading by ICRA India’s number one premium solar manufacturer and solutions provider, Waaree Energies Limited, has received the highest grading SP 1A for solar projects.

“We consider this as the timely revalidation of the tireless work we at Waaree have been doing for more than a decade in and for the solar industry. While we consider the success of our clients and partners as reward enough, these recognitions go a long way in keeping our morale high and motivate us to continue our quest for excellence. ”

- Mr. Hitesh Doshi, Chairman and MD. Waaree energies

his formally recognizes and affirms the highest performance capability and highest financial strength of Waaree Energies to undertake solar projects. The grading agency specifically notes the strong track record of project execution as well as the strong parentage and management within Waaree group. Being assigned the highest possible grading for solar projects by a reputed rating agency reaffirms the credentials and the market standing of Waaree. The grading provides a tool for comparison of channel partners on a rational, scientific framework and a commonly applicable scale. As envisaged by MNRE, the grading also enables the channel partners to showcase their capability in executing projects to various other stakeholders like lenders, customer, suppliers and community groups. Waaree has been recently awarded the coveted Tier 1 status, taking its rightful place among the international leaders in manufacturing of bankable solar modules. On the domestic front, Waaree has been awarded by the Central Board of Irrigation & Power, Government of India (CBIP) as the “Best Solar PV Module Manufacturer & Solar Power Developer”.

Tata Power arm WREPL raises Rs 1,200 Cr through debentures Tata Power said its arm Welspun Renewables Energy has raised Rs 1,200 crore through issuance of nonconvertible debentures on private placement basis.

elspun Renewables Energy Private Ltd (WREPL) has successfully issued and allotted “non-convertible debentures of face value of Rs 10 lakh each, aggregating to Rs 1,200 crore on a private placement basis”, Tata Power said in a BSE filing. ccording to statement, the NCDs have been rated AA(SO) by CARE Ltd. They will carry a coupon of 8 per cent per annum payable annually. The proceeds from the NCDs will be primarily used to prepay existing higher cost debt in WREPL and its subsidiaries, it stated. WREPL is a wholly-owned step down subsidiary of Tata Power which has been recently acquired, the filing said. Source:PTI

PV MANUFACTURING

Polysilicon Imports Foreshadow Chinese PV Rally Sharply increasing polysilicon imports into China foreshadow a new installation rally in the world’s largest photovoltaics (PV) market

he upper part of the PV value chain obviously anticipates an installation rush that could be even stronger than what we saw in China in the first half of 2016,” says Johannes Bernreuter, head of the polysilicon market research firm Bernreuter Research and author of the Polysilicon Market Outlook 2020. According to the Chinese customs statistics, polysilicon imports reached a new monthly record high of 14,449 metric tons (MT) in December 2016.

Rapid increase of polysilicon imports between October and November The current trend resembles the development one year ago. Polysilicon imports into China jumped from a low of 7,504 MT in October 2015 to 10,028 MT in November 2015 – an increase of 33.6% – and further rose to a peak of 13,866 MT in March 2016. The surge between October and November 2016 was even stronger: Polysilicon imports skyrocketed by 56.5% from 8,680 MT to 13,584 MT. Part of this rapid increase can be explained as a reaction to the low domestic production volumes in September and October 2016, when many Chinese manufacturers shut down their polysilicon plants for maintenance in view of the collapsed spot price. However, domestic production quickly recovered from 12,600 MT in October to a new high of 18,000 MT in December. Moreover, the international spot price average has steadily been rising from its historic low of 12.65 US$/kg in early October to more than 16 US$/kg now. “These data signal a strong polysilicon demand,” says Bernreuter. 14

February 2017

High import volumes from South Korea prompt Chinese investigation The main profiteers of the high import volumes are the three South Korean manufacturers OCI, Hankook Silicon and Hanwha Chemical. Within four years, the Korean share in total polysilicon imports into China has more than doubled from 24% in 2012 to 50% in 2016. “OCI and Hankook have benefitted from low import duties of 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively, while US manufacturers have effectively been shut out from the Chinese market by prohibitive duty rates of 53.6% to 57%,” explains Bernreuter. However, the high Korean import volumes have prompted resistance from Chinese manufacturers. They accuse the Korean importers of a dumping margin of almost 34% and have applied for a mid-term review of the duty rates at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. On November 22, 2016, the ministry announced that it had started the review. “Chinese producers are now fueling speculation on higher duty rates for Korean imports in order to drive up the spot price,” says Bernreuter. He expects that the international spot price will climb towards 17 US$/kg in the first half of 2017 before it drops again.

Detailed analysis of the impact on the polysilicon market In-depth analysis of the impact of duties on the polysilicon market is 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.

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PV MANUFACTURING

Hon’ble Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises inaugurates BHEL’s upgraded, state of the art Solar PV Manufacturing Lines at its Bengaluru based manufacturing plants

BHEL’s state-of-thear t 200 MW Solar Photovoltaic Module Manufacturing Line and upgraded 105 MW Solar Photovoltaic Cell Manufacturing Line were inaugurated by Hon’ble Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises,

Sh. Anant Gee

Sh. Atul Sobti

CMD. BHEL

The company’s manufacturing plants in Bengaluru.Directors on the Board of BHEL and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. With the commencement of commercial operation of these lines, the annual manufacturing capacity of BHEL has been enhanced to 105 MW of Solar Cells and 226 MW of Solar Modules.

Meyer Burger receives order for DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting technology for about CHF 8 million from existing European customer

n existing PV customer located in Europe has awarded Meyer Burger a contract for about CHF 8 million for the delivery and installation of the newest generation DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting saws. Delivery and commissioning of the equipment is scheduled to start as of the second quarter of 2017. Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) recently announced that it has concluded an important contract for its industry leading DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting platform. The existing European

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customer selected Meyer Burger’s newest generation diamond wire cutting technology in order to increase its production volume of high quality solar wafers at sustainably reduced manufacturing costs. The contract volume is about CHF 8 million and includes the delivery, installation and commissioning as well as service support and on-site training for the DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting platform. Delivery of the equipment is expected to start as of the second quarter 2017.

February 2017

PV MANUFACTURING

Amtech Announces Large Orders for High Throughput PECVD Systems and Bi-facial N-type Technology

Perovskite thin film tandem solar cell patent granted by the US Patent Office to Solar-Tectic LLC

Amtech Systems, Inc., a global supplier of production equipment and related supplies for the solar, semiconductor, and LED markets,

ecently announced fiscal year 2017 year-todate order bookings through January 20, 2017 are approximately $84 million. This includes solar orders of $60 million. The solar bookings include major wins for the Company’s high productivity PECVD platform with top tier customers in China, Malaysia, and Taiwan and an n-type bi-facial turnkey order from a new customer in China. The majority of the orders are expected to ship within the next six to nine months. Our newly introduced PECVD platform is recognized as a compelling solution to increase the efficiency in solar cell manufacturing while lowering the cost of ownership. The continuing development of our advanced n-type technology led to this turnkey order from a customer who will use the technology for Bi-Facial glass-glass module design in the first of a multi-phase 1GW cell and module expansion. We believe that Amtech has the right mix of n-type and PERC cell technologies for this expanding global solar market where success is driven by the best next-gen technology solutions. Recently, we have experienced increased customer interest in our n-type technology. As the solar market looks to the future, we believe n-type cell technology has the best roadmap to higher efficiency.”

“These competitive wins are a direct result of our ongoing investment program and a clear testament to the Company’s ability to meet the market’s expectations as they selectively invest in next-generation technology solutions.

Mr. Fokko Pentinga CEO and President of Amtech

Amtech Systems, Inc., a global supplier of production equipment and related supplies for the solar, semiconductor, and LED markets,

olar-Tectic LLC (“ST”) announced that a patent application for a germanium perovskite thin film tandem solar cell has been allowed by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Recently perovskite materials have gained much attention as a solution to the longstanding problem of solar cell efficiency, and while there have been reports of perovskite/germanium tandem solar cells, remarkably there have been none on perovskite/crystalline germanium thin-film tandem solar cells. Crystalline thin-film germanium promises to be more efficient and less expensive than silicon and germanium wafer technology due to low temperature processing and less material use. An example of the perovskite layer is CsGeI3. Importantly, the entire process is nontoxic since germanium is non-toxic and tin (Sn) is used to deposit the crystalline germanium thin-film material for the bottom layer in the tandem configuration; there is no toxic lead (Pb). The technology is the very first of its kind and in addition to the US is also eligible for world-wide protection. Source:prnewswire

February 2017

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Panasonic celebrates 20 years manufacturing PV module HIT Panasonic have announced it will count 20 years of manufacturing the high efficiency original photovoltaic module HIT® this year. Since debuting their patented, high-efficiency photovoltaic module in 1997, Panasonic have produced over 18 million modules of HIT®, providing clean, affordable energy to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

he landmark achievement cements Panasonic’s unique heterojunction technology as one of the cornerstones of high efficiency innovation in the global solar market. The company’s pioneering heterojunction solar cells use a combination of monocrystalline and amorphous solar technologies to delivering greater solar energy, combined with unmatched product reliability and outstanding manufacturing quality.

“Panasonic is very proud to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of producing Photovoltaic Module HIT®”, stated Kazuhiro Yoshida, Director of Panasonic Solar Systems Business Unit. “When we began manufacturing this patented technology our vision was to create a better world and help accelerate the world’s much-needed adoption of clean energy. We now feel more and more responsible for this original vision even after 20 years and will do our best possible efforts to go beyond the technological boundaries of photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency.”

cross twenty years of production, HIT® has broken various solar efficiency world records. In 2014, Panasonic’s original heterojunction cell became the first crystalline based solar cell to break the 25% efficiency barrier for practical sized cells, paving the way for greater levels of solar energy generation. The most recent record breaking was the achievement of 23.8% module efficiency in R&D last March, which was the world’s highest module conversion efficiency at the time of announcement. HIT® has also empowered Panasonic to explore numerous initiatives aimed at advancing the application and generation of solar power including solar cars, cargo

vessels, and mobile lights for the developing world. This technology is practically in place at Panasonic’s Sustainable Smart Town (SST) in Fujisawa, Japan, housing approx. 10,000 residents. The newly developed carbon-neutral town is located around 40 miles southbound of Tokyo. Yokohama will be soon the second sustainable smart town and the construction is underway. Panasonic’s current HIT® module portfolio encompasses one of the most comprehensive solar panel solutions for homeowners in the world, featuring various panel sizes geared to provide homeowners with greater choice and flexibility to extract the maximum amount of power from their roofs. Source:Panasonic

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Climate Change

Bad and good news : While India ranks ninth in most polluted nations, it’s second in its use of renewable energy According to a graph provided by the World Health Organisation, Mumbai and Delhi, between the period of 2010 and 2015 had over 100 PM 2.5. Both cities owe their high levels of pollution to burning of garbage, over-population and vehicles. In 2012, Delhi had the maximum number of cars in the country at 7.35 million, followed by Bangalore (4.1 million), Chennai (3.7 million), Hyderabad (3.3 million) and Pune (2.2 million). Mumbai was sixth with a little over 2 million cars, but recorded the highest car density with 430 cars per kilometre of road.

hile Saudi Arabia tops the list with an air pollution level of 108 PM 2.5 (a measure of fine particulate matter that it too small to be seen, but can result in hazy conditions), India falls ninth on the list at 62 PM 2.5, just after Nepal. The safe limit of PM 2.5 is 60. Delhi was recorded as the most polluted city between 2011 and 2015, and is most likely to retain that spot in 2016 primarily because of the thick blanket of smog that covered the city a day after Diwali last year. At the time, the level of PM2.5 pollutants, which are the most harmful because they can reach deep into the lungs and breach the blood-brain barrier, have reached at least 999 in parts of the city this week, more than 16 times the safe limit. As per the latest urban air quality database, 98 per cent of cities in low- and middle income countries with more than 1,00,000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines. However, in high-income countries, that percentage decreases to 56 per cent. In the past two years,

The database now covering 3,000 cities in 103 countries – has nearly doubled, with more cities measuring air pollution levels and recognising the associated health impacts, says the WHO report. The interesting bit is that while India stands ninth in the world’s most polluted nations, it is second only after China, to provide contributions to renewable energy. According to a report in Business Insider, the ranking here is in “tonnes of oil equivalent” or TOE — meaning renewable energy sources generated (and presumably replaced) the energy created by burning that many metric tonnes of oil in a year. The increased use of indigenous renewable resources is expected to reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels. India has an estimated renewable energy potential of about 900 GW from commercially exploitable sources viz. wind – 102 giga watts (GW) (at 80-metre mast height); small hydro 20 GW; bioenergy – 25 GW; and 750 GW solar power, assuming 3 per cent wasteland, says a report by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Source:dnaindia

“Air pollution is a major cause of disease and death. It is good news that more cities are stepping up to monitor air quality, so when they take actions to improve it they have a benchmark,” says Dr. Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant-Director General, Family, Women and Children’s Health. “When dirty air blankets our cities the most vulnerable urban populations—the youngest, oldest and poorest are the most impacted.”

February 2017

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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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BUSINESS & FINANCE

RBI faces dilemma on masala bonds over Goldman backed ReNew Power issue Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is forcing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make a choice. The central bank will have to decide whether to let the masala bond market die slowly or gain new life in a different form than was

envisaged when it allowed Indian companies to raise debt in rupees overseas.

enew Power Ventures Private Ltd, majority owned by Goldman, sold $475 million of five-year bonds at 6% using a structure that sidesteps RBI rules restricting the sale of high-yielding offshore debt, Bloomberg’s Lianting Tu and Anurag Joshi reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the offering. The practice isn’t new: Indian companies can’t sell offshore bonds that pay a high coupon, so they use a special purpose vehicle. In Renew’s case, this is an entity called Neerg Energy Ltd.

India’s central bank long ago cottoned on to this “solution” and responded by curbing the ability of companies abroad to lend to local ones. No problem: Instead of lending directly, Neerg Energy will use the money to buy rupeedenominated offshore securities, also known as Masala bonds, issued by units of ReNew.

This loophole had supposedly been closed. In 2014, Greenko Group Plc, a renewable energy company, used a similar structure to skirt the external commercial borrowing limits, with an offshore subsidiary buying rupee bonds issued onshore. That meant dollar creditors indirectly owned the rupee debt without incurring currency risk. The central bank subsequently banned the method. Goldman’s variation on the theme is that, instead of indirect ownership, the Masala bonds will be held as collateral to support the debt sold by Neerg, which is independent rather than a subsidiary of Renew. If the RBI turns a blind eye to the latest manoeuvre, investors can expect a flood of such issues. That would be welcome news for the Masala bond market, which has failed to take off since India allowed companies to sell offshore rupee debt in September. A long list of high-yield companies will be keeping their fingers crossed. A spike in masala issuance would spur a deeper market, widening funding channels for business and potentially lowering borrowing costs—even though these bonds, as collateral, won’t be traded. It’s now up to the central bank. It can continue the game of cat-and-mouse, or accept the adjustment that bankers have made to its idea. Masala spices come in many forms: The bond variety clearly needs a little more kick. Source:Bloomberg

February 2017

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

ADB Climate Operations Reach a Record $3.7 Billion in 2016 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $3.7 billion in climate finance investments in 2016, according to recently released figures marking a 42% boost from the $2.6 billion reached in 2015.

“ADB is responding to the Paris Agreement by boosting its support to climate action in developing member countries in line with their Nationally Determined Contributions and the Sustainable Development Goals,” said ADB President Takehiko Nakao. “ADB remains committed to scaling up its climate financing to $6 billion by 2020, of which $4 billion will target mitigation and $2 billion adaptation.” It is expected that ADB’s spending on climate change will increase to around 30% of its overall financing by 2020. stimates show that in 2016, climate finance from ADB’s internal sources reached a record $2.65 billion for climate mitigation and $1.08 billion for climate adaptation. In addition to its own financing, ADB mobilized $701 million from external sources, with $595 million invested in mitigation and $106 million in adaptation. Including financing form external sources, ADB delivered over $4.4 billion in climate finance in 2016. Among the adaptation projects backed by ADB is a $500 million loan to the Bihar New Ganga Bridge Project in India, which will construct a new road bridge across the Ganges River and an integrated road network in the state of Bihar. A bank-tobank bridge design was recommended over the alternative of building two smaller bridges and a connecting expressway, which was deemed to be more vulnerable to flooding. $200 million of the project cost is considered as addressing climate adaptation. Among the mitigation projects, a $47 million loan to the Distributed Commercial Solar Power Project in Thailand will help deploy a total of 100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic systems on commercial and industrial infrastructure at no up-front cost to the host companies. ADB will continue to work with public and private sector partners to mobilize additional financing for climate projects.

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In December 2016, the Green Climate Fund announced its support to ADB’s proposed Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Investment Program. This includes a $12 million grant to help the Cook Islands install energy storage systems and support private sector investment in renewable energy, as well as a $5 million grant to assist seven Pacific island countries to transition to renewable energy sources. In response to climate action commitments made under the COP 21 Paris agreement by its developing member countries (DMCs), ADB is developing a Climate Change Strategic Framework. The strategic framework will spell out ADB’s future direction regarding climate change from 2017 to 2030, and will feed into ADB’s new corporate strategy toward 2030, which is currently under development. It will also outline how ADB will deliver on its $6 billion goal by 2020 and the anticipated growth in DMC demand for ADB support for climate action to 2030. 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 is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region.

February 2017

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Saudi Aramco Said to Weigh Up to $5 Billion of Renewable Deals The kingdom also plans to develop a renewable energy research and manufacturing industry as part of an economic transformation plan announced Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April. Saudi Aramco, HSBC, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan declined to comment. The kingdom intends to become a global “powerhouse” of renewable energy including solar, wind and nuclear power, the country’s Energy Minister and chairman of Aramco, Khalid Al-Falih, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. By 2030 the kingdom wants to produce 30 percent of its power from renewable energy sources.

Khalid Al-Falih

Country’s Energy Minister and chairman of Aramco

audi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is considering as much as $5 billion of investments in renewable energy firms as part of plans to diversify from crude production, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse Group AG have been invited to pitch for a role helping Aramco identify potential acquisition targets and advising on deals, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The energy company is seeking to bring foreign expertise in renewable energy into the kingdom, the people said, adding that first investments under the plan could occur this year. Saudi Arabia is planning to produce 10 gigawatts of power from renewable energy sources including solar, wind and nuclear by 2023 and transform Aramco into a diversified energy company.

Energy Program Mr. Mohammed bin Salman

Deputy Crown Prince

February 2017

OPEC’s biggest crude producer is embarking on a domestic renewable-energy program costing $30 billion to $50 billion. The country’s only solar plant in operation, aside from a limited pilot project, is a 10-megawatt facility on top of a parking lot at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters. The national utility, Saudi Electricity Co., is seeking bids for two solar plants to generate a combined 100 megawatts. Saudi Arabia previously had longer-term targets for renewable power when crude prices were about double current levels. Its earlier solar program forecast more than $100 billion of investment in projects to produce 41 gigawatts of power by 2040. The government delayed the deadline for meeting that capacity goal by nearly a decade in January 2015, saying it needed more time to assess the relevant Source:BQ technologies.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Arctech Solar’s cumulative installed capacity has reached 10GW 2016 Sales Performance Led India and China Market

he cumulative installed capacity ofArctech Solar Holding Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Arctech Solar”) has reached 10GW globally. Meanwhile, ArctechSolar’s sales performance in some country markets is also eye-catching in 2016, with 800 MW and more than 2GW’s shipment in India and China markets respectively, Arctechsolar has been playing a leading role in the above two major PV markets. The accomplishment of this milestone not only relies on ArctechSolar’s focus and accumulated experience in the field of mounting structure for many years, but also benefits from its world leading technology of redundancy tracking system.

“Arctech Solar is a professional company dedicated to PV tracking and racking systems for quite a long time.In the past 8 years, we continually concentrate our time and effortson how to help our customers establish better photovoltaic plants all over the world and to be more successful. I believe every great industrial enterprisehas to experience a process of accumulating steadily and wait for a moment to shine. To our delight,this moment came at the very beginning of 2017. By means of the gradually optimized global supply chain and service system, 9GW peak production capacity and unique technology of redundancy tracking system, we have successfully helped our customers establish almost 600 photovoltaic plants in 10 countries over the past 8 years, and our cumulative installed capacity has reached 10GW. We were not only cheered up by these numbers, but also felt the weight of trust and corresponding responsibilities for our clients worldwide. These numbers are only a temporarymilestone, butto create more value for customersis our long-term pursuedtheme and commitment.” - Mr.Guy Rong , President (international business) Arctech Solar

Arctech Solar is launching the Arctracker PROwhich uses the redundancy technology in global markets, and will localize the design and details according to regional markets’ specific requirements. There is no doubt that Arctech Solar will receive much attention and expectation from the public in 2017.

Volume

# 9 | Issu e#2

| February

Now Read on Tablet & Smartphone 2017 |

Rs.5/-

S POWNEC P ER V 2017EXPO BOO DAT TH: E4E: 19 th 63 0 Apr il 20 -21 st 17

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

ReNew Power secures US$ 390 Million debt funding from Asian Development Bank ReNew Power Ventures Private Limited, India’s leading renewable energy development company recently announced that it has securedlong-term debt financing of US$ 390 Million from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

his is the first transaction to include in its financing plans funding from ADB as well as Leading Asia’s Private Sector Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). LEAP is a funding arrangement provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is administered by ADB. The proceeds from this ADB investment will be utilized by the company to develop and expand capacities in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Commenting on the transaction,Michael Barrow, Director General, Private Sector Operations Department, Asian Development Bank said, “We strongly believe in ReNew Power’s potential and execution capabilities. The company has shown tremendous growth over the last few years and we are pleased to provide further boost to help ReNew Power bridge the gap between India’s current and growing energy needs and thus, making significant progress in lowering the country’s carbon footprint. ” Amongst its recent wins, ReNew Power is the first Company in India to cross 1GW of commissioned wind energy capacity. ReNew also emerged as the largest winner in the auctions conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), winning almost 10 percent of the total capacity of 500 MW rooftop projects. The company has won the mandate to install 5 MW of renewable energy capacity pan–India for the Indian Railways as well.

February 2017

“As India’s leading renewable IPP, we are committed to playing a leadership role in the country’s march to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The additional debt financing from Asian Development Bank will continue to help us retain our competitive advantage and also fast track the execution of our existing projects as well as add new growth capacities.”

Kailash Vaswani, Deputy CFO, ReNew Power said, “Through this transaction, we have further broad based our sources of debt financing. The funds raised from a marquee lender such as Asian Development Bank will allow us to build on our leadership position in the renewable energy space in India.”

Mr. Sumant Sinha Chairman &CEO Renew Power

Mr. Kailash Vaswani Deputy CFO Renew Power

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Cheaper renewables to halt coal and oil demand growth from 2020 -research The falling cost of electric vehicle and solar technology will halt demand growth for oil and coal from 2020, according to research published

osing a threat to fossil fuel companies unprepared for the transition. The Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and independent think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative analysed cost forecasts for electric vehicle (EV) and solar photovol“C o a l m a nd c dem a nd c o u taic (PV) technology, governld ou said. B ld be fl at f peak in 2020 ment policies and the impact rom 20 y con t and fa r as 20 ll oil dem on road transport and power and to t, the Intern to 2030 then to half of 20 p 12 a f e al t a t o con io markets, which account for half tinue g k any time s nal Energy l steadily t levels by 20 o 50. Oil o r A o 2050,” o g n w e of global fossil fuel consumption. .L as ncy ing d p eer E x xonM into the 204 t week BP sa said this we Thursday’s eobil ha rep or t ek it d id that 0s, cit A 10 percent loss of market o in s said of gl ob that it g increased it expects g es not expec al share caused the collapse of the l ob a l t pl astic analys energy need sees fossil fuels m s consump oil demand s by 2 0 is but, U.S. coal mining industry and Europe’s tion as E 4 0. ee t suffic five biggest utilities lost more than 100 billion ient pr x xon previo “Oil ma jors ing almost 8 , while U.S. al re ad usly in obabil 0 p erc e it y to a y dicate euros ($108 billion) in value from 2008-2013 d, they do scenario nt r apid d ( l o w- c a o no t a because they were unprepared for renewable s rbon ) tr ansit sign energy growth, it added. The report said that ion, electric vehicles could make up a third of the world’s road transport market by 2035 and that solar PV could supply 23 percent of global power generation by 2040, entirely phasing out coal and leaving natural gas with only a 1 percent market share.

MISPLAC

ED CONF

Growth in the number of electric vehicles could lead to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil demand being displaced by 2025, the report estimates. That would be similar to the volume of oversupply that led to the 2014/15 collapse in oil prices. By 2040, 16 million bpd could be displaced, rising to 25 million bpd by 2050, it said. The International Energy Agency has said that 2 million bpd of oil could be displaced by electric vehicles by 2040. Bloomberg New Energy Finance has forecast that such displacement could occur as early as 2028. Several studies have warned investors that measures to curb carbon emissions growth will hit earnings at coal, oil and gas companies as the world shifts to cleaner energy. Low oil prices over the past couple of years have also forced companies to reduce spending and shelve deals on oil and gas fields. Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday announced $4.7 billion in asset sales, including a large chunk of its North Sea portfolio, and Exxon posted its lowest quarterly profit since 1999 as it wrote down the book value of part of its North American gas and crude reserves ($1 = 0.9284 euros) (EditSource:Reuters ing by David Goodman)

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IDENCE ?

“There appears to be a desire to justify business-as-usual at some companies, which does not constitute sound risk management. Fossil fuels may lose 10 percent of market share to PV and EVs within a single decade. This may not sound much but it can be the beginning of the end once demand starts to decline,” Carbon Tracker said in a statement.

February 2017

INDIA

Mytrah Energy signs pacts for 2000-MW renewable projects in Andhra Pradesh

National Review Meeting of RE Sector with the State Governments held

Mytrah Energy , it has signed pacts for 2,000 MW of renewable power projects worth Rs 13,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh. The MoUs were inked in the presence Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the Partnership Summit held in Visakhapatnam, the company said in a release. The MoUs are for 1,000 MW of wind power and 1,000 MW of solar power projects.

Mr. N Chandra babu Naidu

Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu

hese projects will involve a total investment of Rs 13,000 crore and will create employment for 4,000 skilled and unskilled workers. These projects will be spread across eight districts of Andhra Pradesh, of which five districts will be evaluated for wind power opportunities for the very first time. Mytrah is planning to implement and execute the projects within three years from the date of getting all statutory clearances from the state government. Upon commissioning of all the assigned projects, Mytrah will become the state’s largest renewable power IPP (independent power producer), it said. Andhra Pradesh government has targeted to add 18,000 MW capacity renewable power projects by 2021-22, which is 10 per cent of the national Source:PTI target, it added.

February 2017

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) organized a two days National Review Meeting with the State Government officials of Renewable Energy sector from 23rd to 24th January 2017

obile App for Solar Rooftop Systems “ARUN- Atal Rooftop Solar User Navigator and Information Guide on Rooftop Systems was also launched on the occasion. Speaking at the concluding session of review meeting here today, Shri Rajeev Kapoor Secretary, MNRE emphasized on the need to comply with Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) and facilitate the renewable energy installations through conducive policies and timely payments for RE power purchased. He also urged upon the States to see the RE power in the backdrop of India’s commitment of raising 40% of electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel by 2030 under INDC. It was observed that in general the compliance of RPOs needs to be ensured. The Secretary urged upon the States to formulate and modify their policies and prepare a conducive policy regime for RE. Shri Rajeev Kapoor gave away awards in Off-grid Solar PV Programme in 12 categories namely Solar Lantern, Solar Home Lighting Systems, Solar Power Packs, Solar Street Light, Solar Power Plant, Solar Pumps (Irrigation), Solar Mini/Micro Grid, Solar Pumps (Drinking), Bank Scheme Solar Home Systems, Bank Scheme – Solar Pumps, Cold Storage and R.O. Systems. Secretary, MNRE also presented the Annual Day Awards of Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS) to various State Nodal Agencies for best performance in different sectors of renewable energy during 2015-16. Presentations were made by the senior officers of the Ministry on each Programme and the State-wise issues were flagged. State Power / Energy Secretaries in charge of Renewable Energy, Heads of State Nodal Agencies and other concerned senior officials of States attended the Review Meeting. Senior officers of MNRE, CERC, NTPC, IREDA, SECI, NISE, NIWE, NIBE, etc. also participated in the meeting.

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INDIA

Major Ports to Go Green, to Save Rs. 75 Crore Annually The Ministry of Shipping, as a part of its ‘Green Port Initiative’ has been emphasizing on use of renewable sources of energy to power Major Ports across the nation. The Ministry aims to set up 91.50 MW of solar energy capacity at the twelve Major Ports and 45 MW of wind energy capacity by the two Major Ports of Kandla and V. O. Chidambaranar.

ajor Ports have started the process of setting-up renewable energy projects by investing Rs.704.52 crores (Solar– Rs. 412.02 Cr and Wind–Rs. 292.50 Cr) in these projects. When completed, these renewable energy projects will help in the reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 136,500 MT annually. These projects will also help to reduce cost of power purchased by utilization of renewable energy for power generation, resulting in estimated saving of Rs 75 crores annually, when fully commissioned. The wind energy projects will be executed by two Major Ports

namely Kandla Port and V.O. Chidambaranar Port. The total capacity of the wind energy projects is 45 MW out of which 6 MW has already been commissioned by Kandla Port. A total of 15.20 MW of solar projects has also been commissioned with Visakhapatnam Port leading the way with 9 MW, while the other ports in which solar projects have been commissioned are Kolkata Port (0.06 MW), New Mangalore Port (4.35 MW), V.O. Chidambaranar Port(0.5 MW), Mumbai Port (0.125 MW), Chennai Port(0.1 MW), Mormugao(0.24 MW) & JNPT(0.82 MW).

The remaining solar power projects will be commissioned phase wise and is expected to be completed by 2018. It may be recalled that a MoU was signed between Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Solar Energy Corporation of India on the 15th of October, 2015 for the development of solar power projects at Major Ports. This is a new initiative by Major Ports which has been taken in line with the ‘Green Port Initiative’ policy of the Government of India.

Powerlooms to get subsidy for shift to solar mode

overnment has approved a new scheme to provide financial assistance in the form of capital subsidy to small powerloom units for installation of solar photovoltaic (SPV) plants. The scheme aims to alleviate the problem of power cuts faced by the decentralised powerloom units in the country.

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“The funds requirement for the three years (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-2020) would be Rs 19.95 crore covering 480 powerloom units,” Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The subsidy is expected to make power cost economical for the looms and make the units self-sufficient on the power front while the government can supply grid power to other industries.

February 2017

Budget TALK

India Budget 2017-2018

Whats in it for RENEWABLES ? 1. It is proposed to feed about 7,000 railway stations with solar power in the medium term. A beginning has already been made in 300 stations. Works will be taken up for 2,000 railway stations as part of 1000 MW solar mission. 2. In solar energy, Government now propose to take up the second phase of Solar Park development for additional 20,000 MW capacity. 3. Solar tempered glass for use in the manufacture of solar cells/ panels/modules , Basic Customs Duty reduced to NIL from current rates of 5% 4. Parts/raw materials for use in the manufacture of solar tempered glass for use in solar photovoltaic cells/modules, solar power generating equipment or systems, flat plate solar collector, solar photovoltaic module and panel for water pumping and other applications, subject to actual user condition, CVD reduced to 6% from current rates of 12.5% 5. All items of machinery required for fuel cell based power generating systems to be set up in the country or for demonstration purposes, subject to certain specified conditions , BCD Reduced to 5% from 10%/7.5% and CVD Reduced to 6% from 12.5%

28Â

February 2017

6. All items of machinery required for balance of systems operating on biogas/ bio-methane/ by-product hydrogen, subject to certain specified conditions , BCD Reduced to 5% from 10%/7.5% and CVD Reduced to 6% from 12.5% 7. Ministry of New & Renewable Energy will get budget allocation of Rs.5473 Crores in FY 2017-18, up from Rs.5036 Crores in FY 2016-17 8. Pilot plants for environment friendly disposal of solid waste and conversion of biodegradable waste to energy are being set up at New Delhi and Jaipur railway stations. Five more such solid waste management plants are now being taken up.

9. Resin and catalyst for use in the manufacture of cast components for Wind Operated Energy Generators [WOEG], subject to actual user condition , BCD reduced to 5% from 7.5%, CVD reduced to NIL from 12.5%, SAD reduced to NIL from 4% 10. India is on its way to achiev 100% village electrification by 1st May 2018. An increased allocation of ` 4,814 crores has been proposed under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana in 2017-18.

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Budget TALK

The Union Budget of 2017-2018 – Mr. Sinha, ReNew Power The Union Budget of 2017-2018 is extremely balanced containing a lot of positives. While strong on reforms, fiscal numbers and macroeconomic parameters, the Budget has aimed looking to boost the rural and agriculture sectors.

Mr. Sumant Sinha Chairman and CEO ReNew Power

he tone of the recently announced Budget remains largely neutral in terms of maintaining a sustainable fiscal consolidation roadmap. The fiscal deficit of 3.2 percent is in-line with expectations which will be looked at as a positive by the bond and debt markets. The reduction of corporate tax rate for companies below 500 million rupee turnover will encourage higher compliance at the lower level of the corporate pyramid where percentage of tax leakages is usually much higher. Also, the abolishment of the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) is is a great move as it will clearly speed up the process which will have a positive effect on the intent of Foreign Investors to invest in our country. Last but not least, the decision to bring Affordable Housing under Infrastructure will

undoubtedly provide a timely boost to the sector along with its allied sectors like steel and cement. On the renewable energy front no mention of GBI for the wind sector has been a disappointment. However, roll out of the second phase of solar development of another 20,000 MW will go a long way in cementing India’s position in the global solar industry. With the Railways also going the solar route, it signifies a significant change towards the use of green and clean energy for one of the largest modes of transport in the country. The increase of 35 percent of expenditure allocation to rural electrification schemes shows extremely progressive thinking when keeping the long term target of meeting 100 percent electrification by 2018 in mind. All in all, it is a Budget that should revive demand, lead to greater industrial activity and thereby increase overall demand for energy as well.

2017-18 Budget a Disappointment for the Indian Renewable Energy Sector Overall, India’s 2017-18 budget is a disappointment for renewable energy sector. There were no major subsidies or incentives announced. There had been hope that reduction in accelerated depreciation and the expiration of 80-IA tax benefits (the two important incentives for the sector) would be reversed, but that did not happen.

hile the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been coming out with new subsidies to spur rooftop installations, the budget basically thwarts the momentum in rooftop by reducing accelerated depreciation and tax benefits. The budget did confirm a solar park installation target increase from 20 GW to 40 GW which is needed as rooftop installations are not expected to reach the 40 GW target.

Key highlights : 1. The budget proposes a second phase of solar park development for an additional 20 GW which would bring the installation target for solar parks to 40 GW. 2. Accelerated depreciation will be limited to 40 percent from April 1, 2017, down from the current 80 percent. 3. The 10-year income tax holiday under section 80-IA was not reinstated and will end on March 31, 2017. 4. Budgetary allocation for MNRE

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8. 9.

has been increased by 9 percent to Rs.54.73 billion (~$809.93 million). Close to 7,000 railway stations across the country are expected to be powered by solar energy in the next five years and 2,000 railway stations will join a 1,000 MW solar mission. To develop India into a global hub ecosystem for electronics manufacturing, a provision of Rs.7.45 billion (~$109.86 million) in 2017-18 in incentive programs like Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme and Electronic Development Fund (EDF) has been provided. Solar manufacturing will fall under this program and will hopefully benefit. Income tax for Micro Small and Medium Enterprise companies with annual revenues of up to Rs.500 million (~$7.37 million) has been reduced to 25 percent which is expected to benefit smaller renewable companies. The 5 percent basic customs duty (BCD) on solar tempered glass has been removed. The countervailing duty (CVD) on parts/raw materials used in the manufacturing of solar tempered

10.

11.

12.

13.

glass for use in PV cells/modules, solar power generating equipment/ systems, flat plate solar collector, solar photovoltaic module and panel for water pumping and other applications, has been reduced to 6 percent from 12.5 percent. The BCD for Resin and catalyst for use in the manufacture of cast components for Wind Operated Energy Generators (WOEG), has been reduced to 5 percent from earlier 7.5 percent. The BCD for all items of machinery required for balance of systems operating on biogas/bio-methane/ by-product hydrogen, has been reduced to 5 percent. Budgetary allocation of Rs.106.35 billion (~$1.57 billion) has been made for Integrated Power Development program, for strengthening urban electricity supply and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna, a village electrification program, from the earlier Rs.78.7 billion (~$1.16 billion). The railway stations of Delhi and Jaipur will have Solid Waste Management Projects on their premises.

February 2017

Budget TALK

Post Budget Reaction Views

his budget is expected to lead an inclusive growth with a clear focus to lift the rural economy and create the right infrastructure. With a special mention about the drive towards 100% electrification, the renewable industry was hopeful that there would be an announcement to support the achievement of the Government’s RE target 175 GW, and long-term policy framework to achieve our INDCs and commitment made at COP-21 to reduce carbon emission to 30-35% by 2030. On manufacturing front, It is indeed encouraging that India is now ranked sixth globally. The budget promises a very robust forex reserve, with resilient domestic market, further capitalisation of PSU banks, and launch of trade infrastructure for export scheme (TIES), can truly position the ‘Make in India’ apart from establishing the country as a global hub for engineering goods.

- Mr. Tulsi Tanti

CMD, Suzlon Group

he budget does focus on a few areas for the solar sector and demonstrates the Government’s commitment to being a frontrunner in renewables. The proposed solarization of railway stations is a positive step and will boost the demand for infrastructure going green. The announcement of 20 GW for the second phase of solar mission and focus on pushing for the solar projects is very heartening. However, we need more clarity in the coming days on its roll out. We also anticipate some indirect impact for solar with the Government’s ambition of 100% electrification of villages, and we hope this to have a solar component. A set timeline for rolling out GST is a welcome move, however requires further clarity on its implementation and how much it will impact the solar sector.

-Mr. Ashish Khanna

ED &CEO, Tata Power Solar

February 2017

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Budget TALK

ongratulate honourable Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley for such a proficient budget which is completely aligned with the government’s vision. The key highlights of the 2017 budget is poverty alleviation, rural development, infrastructure spending, healthcare for the poor and women’s right. Reduction of Corporate Tax rate for MSME to 25% from 30%, is a good news for enterprises with turnover less than INR 50 Crores. Specifically in renewables, the announcement of additional 20000 MW solar capacity as part phase 2 needs some clarity. If this target has been set for 2017-18 then it’s a big positive for the sector. Looking forward to a productive year.

- Mr. Rahul Munjal Chairman & Managing Director, Hero Future Energies

udget 2017 brings good tidings from the government of India. Firstly, the solarization of 7000 railway stations, is a welcome initiation, which is a huge opportunity in itself. In addition, I see huge potential in solarizing unmanned railway crossings. Secondly, continuation with the 5% withholding tax on ECB, is likely to boost raising offshore bonds. The huge boost to infra sector with total allocation of INR 396000 crores is likely to boost economy, jobs, consumption including energy. Hope 2017 will leave behind the initial impacts of demonetization and the economy will be on a positive growth trajectory.

India Budget 20172018 : Whats in it for Renewables?

We consider it as a good budget at macro level. However, we need to examine the same more in detail. We feel that budget is taking direction towards reforms.

or solar sector, it’s really a boon with the announcement of 20,000MW Solar in the second phase and abolishing FIPB which will help attracting FDI. Further Government has committed to achieve 100% electrification of all villages by May 2018 which will further boost the power demand in the country and digitalization of the villages. Capital and development expenditure pegged at 1.31 lacs crore for railways in 2017-18 which will include feeding solar power to 7000 railway station in the medium term. Overall a very good budget for the solar industry.

- Mr. Sunil Jain

CEO & ED, Hero Future Energies

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- Mr. Harish Kapoor

Group President Corporate Affairs

February 2017

Distributed Solar

$10.5 Million More for d.light Brings Its Total Off-Grid Solar Funding to Over $40 Million in Four Months d.light’s work to empower lives through clean, safe and affordable off-grid solar solutions has garnered another $10.5 million in funding. Coming off recent $22.5 million Series D and $7.5 million debt funding rounds, the new investment will help expand its operations and bring clean off-grid power to low-income families in Africa and Asia, using Pay-as-you-Go (PayGo) financing solutions.

he company raised $5 million in equity from new investor Norfund, as well as $5.5 million in grant funding from Beyond the Grid and Shell Foundation.

“Norfund invests in profitable and sustainable enterprises that contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation. Access to energy is a key input for development, and we believe energy mix for the foreseeable future also will include off grid solutions, in particular for rural households and businesses. As the leading provider of off-grid solutions in emerging markets, d.light is a good addition to our energy portfolio, mostly consisting of utility scale projects connected to the grid,” said Mark Davis, Head of Clean Energy investments of Norfund. “In countries where energy access is low for the vast majority, solar has the ability to impact people living there in a multitude of ways. We are proud to support d.light’s work to bring solar-powered solutions to rural households in these countries.”

The $5 million equity investment in d.light is done by the coinvestment vehicle, KLP Norfund Investments. KLP is Norway’s largest pension fund manager and participates with funding in this vehicle. d.light is the leading provider of off-grid solar solutions and has commanding market share in emerging markets, with a focus on Africa and Asia. The company has impacted over 65 million people through its sales of more than 15 million solar light and power products in 62 countries. d.light continues to sell hundreds of thousands of units per month, while maintaining excellent quality at scale. Since 2007, d.light has focused on raising the 2.3 billion people around the world without reliable access to electricity up the energy access ladder by giving them access to high-quality off-grid solar solutions. d.light is on track to empower 100 million lives by 2020 and is actively seeking partners to help the company achieve this goal.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of the investors in this latest funding round, which will help us empower more people in these regions,” said Ned Tozun, d.light CEO. “The demand for off-grid solar is taking off, and we’re now well prepared to meet the needs of customers who need our products the most.” “We’re thankful to our investors for this support, which helps d.light accelerate development and distribution of our increasingly popular solar home systems and portable solar products,” said Kamal Lath, CFO of d.light. “By enabling us to build on our product offerings, this funding helps us empower people to improve their quality of life.” Source:prnewswire

Kurlon Enterprise Ltd. and Enerparc Energy Pvt. Ltd.announce Commissioning of Three Captive Solar Power Projects

urlon Enterprise Limited, a home comfort products manufacturer, one of the super brands in India and a leading player in the mattress segment has announced commissioning of roof mounted solar power systems at their3 plants located in Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka. The cumulative solar power capacity of all the 3 sites put together is 550kWp. These sites are located in the areas of Peenya and Dabaspeth. The Solar PV system was designed and constructed simultaneously in record time of 90 Days by leading Global solar turnkey EPC contractor Enerparc Energy Private Limited.These roof top plants of 550kWpare in addition to Kurlon’s existing 400KWp ground mounted solar plant in Gwalior, which was also executed by Enerparc Energy few month back. The Gwalior plant was 1st step by Kurlon Enterprise towards sustainable environment and commissioning of 3 more solar PV plants at Bangalore showcases long term commitment of our company 32

February 2017

towards conserving natural resources and promoting green energy for a better environment, said Mr. T Sudhakar Pai, the CEO of Kurlon Enterprise.Cumulatively 3 plants would generate close to 864 MWh of energy per annum, saving close to700 MT of CO2 emissions. The installed solar PV plant has string inverters with web monitoring system. All these installed plants also have provision of net metering so that the excess power generated especially on weekends can be exported back to the grid thus giving Kurlon further benefit in addition to savings in energy tariffs. The captive consumption market for solar has tremendous potential for growth in the current scenario as it offers less dependency on the grid along with high benefits in terms of energy savings, mentions Mr. Amit Barve, Vice President – Business Development & Marketing forEnerparc Energy Private Limited.

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SOLAR TRACKERS

NEXTracker Partners with CleanMax Solar to Deliver Solar Power in Tamil Nadu, India NEXTracker™, a Flex company, announced recently it has partnered with CleanMax Solar, India’s largest solar developer for corporate consumers, to supply 30 MW of its advanced NX Horizon single-axis trackers to a project in Tamil Nadu. The grid-connected project will deliver energy to a major IT consumer in Chennai, under a long-term contract with CleanMax Solar. Set up under the Group Captive Scheme, 100% of the electricity generated will be consumed in Tamil Nadu. The system is expected to be operational by the end of Q1 2017.

“We are proud to be partnering with India’s leader in the corporate solar market, CleanMax Solar. In the five years since its inception, CleanMax Solar has assembled an impressive portfolio of global industrial corporations to which it is providing clean energy generation. Our advanced solar tracker technology and experience in the India market will complement CleanMax Solar’s efforts to accelerate India’s private sector adoption of renewable power generation.” - Dan Shugar, NEXTracker CEO

“We are pleased to be working with NEXTracker on this project. The Company has a strong global track record of executing projects with superior design engineering and exceptional customer service,” stated CleanMax Solar Managing Director, Kuldeep Jain. “As the leading provider of solar power to corporates in India, we are always looking for the best technology to increase the output from our solar plants, and NEXTracker’s technology complements this approach perfectly.”

raditionally a non-tracker market, India’s solar tracker market is expected to grow exponentially by 2021, amounting to 31% of ground mount projects, up from 7% in 2016.[1] Many developers, such as CleanMax Solar, are expressing interest in solar tracking systems for private PPAs. NEXTracker recently supplied India’s largest solar tracker project to date – the 105 MW Adani Power Plant in Punjab. NEXTracker’s proven high quality design, coupled with local deployment, installation and commissioning support are ideal for large-scale solar in India. The company’s trackers feature fewer foundations and assembly points, helping to mitigate geotechnical risk and accelerate project construction schedules. With close to 6 GW of tracker systems delivered worldwide, NEXTracker’s PV system technology and experience in the market, paired with CleanMax Solar’s tremendous success as developer, will help accelerate solar deployment in India – and around the world. Watch this video to learn more.

Scorpius Trackers Wins 4.4 MW Order at WFES Abu Dhabi

corpius Trackers launches its globally patented tracker technology at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. A 4.4 MW order was finalised during the show for delivery in 2107-18. This is a start of plans at Scorpius to scale up from 250 MW completed by March 17 to more than 1,000 MW by March 2018. Scorpius Trackers commissions a tracker plant at the National Institute of Solar Energy (formerly Solar Energy Centre) at Gurgaon. This plant uses 327w Sun Power high efficiency modules.

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February 2017

FEATURED NEWS

Solar parks with capacity of 7500 Megawatt to come up in Ladakh The Jammu and Kashmir government has signed an MoU with the Centre for the development of two mega solar parks in the rocky mountainous region of Ladakh with a total capacity of 7500 MW.

Piyush Goyal dismisses doubts on Chinese solar equipment quality “We are looking at ensuring that power cost remains affordable in India and within that, as long as quality is maintained in a globally integrated world, we dont see where the equipment comes from,” Goyal told reporters when asked about large solar cells orders going to China.The Minister, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 7th India-Japan Energy . “At the same time, we are looking at encouraging Indian manufacturers to expand their scale of operations and bring in the best of technologies.” Asked about the shorter life cycle or durability of Chinese equipment, the Minister replied, “I think the (mobile) phones you are using, may also have been made in China…just bashing a country is not good approach of a good policy maker.” Elaborating further he said, “It is the private sector which is buying equipment largerly…private sector knows best and can bring efficiency and best of technologies to play. Private sector, which has bought this equipment, has ensured its life cycle and quality.”

- Mr. Piyush Goyal, Power and Coal Minister

inister for Science & Technology, Sajjad Gani Lone today said the government has proposed development of one each Mega Solar Park in the districts of Leh and Kargil. “The State Government has signed MoU with the Government of India for the development of two Mega Solar Parks of 5000 MW capacity in Leh district and 2500 MW capacity in Kargil district.” Lone informed the House in reply to a Question by Congress Legislative Party Leader Nawang Rigzin Jora. However, he said the work on these projects has not been started as yet in view of non-availability of land and lack of proper infrastructure in Ladakh for transmission of power generated Source:PTI from the proposed parks.

February 2017

ismissing doubts on quality of Chinese solar equipment, Power Minister Piyush Goyal Monday said that India is looking at affordable power and not at the country of its origin, especially when it is imported by private players who ensure quality beforehand. 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 has set an ambitious target of adding 100 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022. Earlier, Goyal presided over a bilateral meeting with the Japanese delegation led by Economy, Trade and Industry Minister of Japan, Hiroshige Seko. Speaking on the scope of IndiaJapan cooperation, Goyal said that the forum is a platform to engage with the island nation for mutual benefit in energy sector by working towards bringing Japanese expertise in cutting edge engineering and technology to India.This would help India in enhancing Grid stability, bringing Electric Mobility at affordable prices to the country etc., which the government is vigorously pursuing, he added. The Minister also informed that during the bilateral meet with his Japanese counterpart, it was put across that India’s power demand is going to expand four-fold in the next 15 years. Goyal also said that India and Japan should cooperate on long-term contracts for LNG with a defined cost of energy which would provide a stabilising factor for the Renewable Energy thrust that India is currently putting. Source:PTI

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ENERGY STORAGE

AES and Mitsubishi Corporation to Deliver India’s First Grid-Scale Energy Storage Array to Tata Power DDL AES India, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) and Mitsubishi Corporation, today announced a joint partnership agreement to deliver India’s first grid-scale energy storage array to the electric grid operated by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL).

ES and Mitsubishi Corporation will develop and own the 10 megawatt (MW) Advancion energy storage array, which will demonstrate peak load management, increase system flexibility and support high levels of reliability for more than 7 million customers in the region. This is the first grid-scale project in India, and part of a larger global trend to solve critical infrastructure challenges using battery-based energy storage.

“By choosing energy storage over other alternatives, Tata Power-DDL is taking smart steps to modernize their power system, improve grid efficiency and provide better integration of distributed and renewable resources. Their pioneering work will pave the way for the rapid deployment of energy storage throughout the country.” - Mr. Manish Kumar, MD of AES Energy Storage

“For a rooftop solar program to be successful, it is important for the distribution network to integrate it with energy storage solutions to take care of power generation spikes and fluctuations, system stability, reactive power compensation and grid emergencies. Tata Power-DDL has implemented many smart grid technologies and is privileged to implement India’s first utility-scale 10 MW storage solution with AES and Mitsubishi Corporation. This will prove to be an important learning for developing integrated rooftop solar and storage solutions for India,” - Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power-DDL India plans to install 160,000 MW of solar and wind generation over the next five years and energy storage will play a critical role in ensuring its integration into the grid.

“Rapidly growing generation capacity will need large scale deployment of energy storage for transmission decongestion, protecting processing plants from grid frequency and voltage drop triggered outages. We expect electricity regulators in India will understand and appreciate the value of ancillary services these storage systems bring into the system operation.” - Mr.Rajendra Shrivastav, President of AES India With this 10 MW Advancion array, Tata Power-DDL will benefit from the platform’s fourth-generation design and AES’ experience gained from more than 3.5 million megawatt-hours of delivered service across the global fleet of deployments. 38

February 2017

The Advancion energy storage array will be constructed in Rohini, Delhi at a site operated by Tata Power-DDL. The array will provide peak load management, grid stability, and renewable integration services in the region when operational by the end of 2017. Advancion is the world’s most proven energy storage platform, with 166 MW in operation and 270 MW in construction or late stage development across seven countries, four continents, and eight different power markets. AES and Mitsubishi Corporation continue to work closely together to accelerate the adoption of energy storage. Additionally, AES and Mitsubishi Corporation signed an Alliance agreement in February 2016, combining the capabilities of both companies to ensure Advancion is available for sale to customers in markets across Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. “Together with AES, Mitsubishi Corporation aims to tackle power system infrastructure problems around the world by leveraging both our global network and AES’ advanced technology.” - Tsunehiro Makabe, GM of Environmental Energy Business Dept. at Mitsubishi Corporation “Working with Mitsubishi Corporation to deliver this important project for India’s power system further strengthens our alliance relationship and helps Tata Power-DDL move the Delhi region towards a clean, unbreakable power grid.” - Manish Kumar, Managing Director of AES Energy Storage Source:businesswire

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ENERGY STORAGE

Samsung SDI Presents an Innovative Next Generation Battery With Fast Charging Capability and High Energy Density That Enables Electric Vehicles (EV) to Drive 600km Marking its 4th consecutive year, Samsung SDI (President and CEO: Namseong Cho) (KRX:006400) participated at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2017 held on the 9th of January, 2017 in COBO Center, Detroit, MI.

amsung SDI introduced in its customer exhibition a “highenergy density battery cell of the next generation for a driving range of up to 600km that can fast charge EVs in 20 minutes” as well as an “integrated battery module” concept with a 10% decrease in component units and weight compared to the currently produced models. These innovations are expected to forge the leading position of Samsung SDI in the era of electro mobility. The development of the fast charging technology is making a rapid advancement thanks to its technological know-how in materials and processes that vastly decreased the resistance inside a battery cell. With a 20min charge, you can have a driving range of up to 500km which is 80% of the capacity. This means that only 20min in the highway rest area will be enough for a battery to be charged, eliminating the range anxiety of EV drivers. The mass production of this product is slated for 2021. In addition, Samsung SDI exhibited a brand-new concept, “integrated battery module” catching the

eye of its visitors. A conventional EV battery module which consists of 12 cells has a capacity of 2~3kWh. By contrast, an “integrated battery module” has more than 24 cells with a higher capacity of 6~8kWh, which makes it an adequate module in the full-fledged highcapacity EV era. The integrated battery module is not only larger in size but shows a higher safety level because the advanced electro-mechanical design has been applied. This concept is expected to be a boon in the electro mobility, as it will be lighter with fewer components. We are increasingly witnessing a change in many automakers’ sourcing strategy from battery cells to modules in the EV sector; thus, Samsung SDI is expecting a rising customers’ demand in the integrated battery modules. An official from Samsung SDI said, “The high-energy density battery cell with the fast charging capability and the integrated battery module are the innovative technologies with full potentials that can transform the market. Expectations are high that we will be able to accelerate the vehicle electrification utilizing these technologies with improved driving range, manufacturing efficiency and user convenience.” Samsung SDI also showcased a full line up of 12V, 48V Low Voltage Systems (LVS) that goes in line with the current trend of higher fuel efficiency. In response to ever tougher CO2 emissions regulations, these products are grabbing the attention of automakers because of their outstanding fuel saving performance of up to 20% compared to conventional internal combustion engines. The “21700” cylindrical battery cell model with the improved energy density, power and performance was also exhibited by Samsung SDI. This is the technology which is attracting more focus as U.S. automobile startups are adopting this technology in their EVs. Samsung SDI initiated the construction of an automotive battery factory located in Hungary in August of last year, forming a triangular global operation: Korea, China and Europe. Based on this localization strategy, the plan is to actively respond to the diverse requirements of global automakers by supplying the cutting-edge automotive batteries and LVS solutions in the proximity.

“By providing the industry-leading technologies and products that meet the demand of our customers and market, we will contribute to a rapid market adoption of EVs in North America and worldwide.” - Sehwoong Jeong, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Automotive Battery & ESS Business of Samsung SDI, Source:businesswire

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February 2017

BUSINESS & FINANCE

New W rld Bank Tool Helps Map Solar Potential The World Bank, in partnership with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched the Global Solar Atlas, a free, web-based tool to help investors and policymakers identify potential sites for solar power generation virtually anywhere in the world, at the click of a button.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

“This new tool will assist governments and investors to obtain an initial indication of solar resource potential before carrying out their own more detailed analysis,” said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in the Government of India. “I am grateful to the World Bank for providing this tool, and have no doubt it will be accessed regularly by many users.”

he tool displays annual average solar power potential, and has the capacity to zoom into areas in great detail (with a spatial resolution of 1 km, or 0.6 of a mile). The tool also provides access to high resolution global and regional maps and geographic information system (GIS) data, enabling users to print poster maps and utilize the data in other applications. This will help governments save millions of dollars on their own research and provide investors and solar developers with an easily accessible and uniform platform to compare resource potential between sites in one region or across multiple countries. The Atlas was unveiled at an ISA event at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. It serves as an example of the World Bank’s commitment to ISA and to scaling up renewable energy in client countries.

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The data can also be accessed through the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Global Atlas for Renewable Energy. This will allow users to overlay additional data such as transmission lines and protected areas to identify possible zones or sites for solar development. The Global Solar Atlas was funded by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, and was commissioned in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to ensure relevance to both public and private sector stakeholders. It was developed by Solargis, a leading commercial provider of solar resource data.

“The World Bank is seeing a surge of interest from our clients in solar power as a result of the dramatic cost decreases over the past few years. We hope that the Global Solar Atlas will help inform the crucial planning and investment decisions that will need to be taken over the next decade to shift to more sustainable forms of energy,” said Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director and Head of the World Bank’s Energy & Extractives Global Practice.

The underlying solar resource database is based on up to 22 years of satellite data, and has been validated using high quality ground-based measurement data where this exists. While the data powering the Global Solar Atlas is the most recent and most accurate currently available, it is not fully validated in many developing countries due to the lack of groundbased measurement data from high precision solar radiation sensors. To reduce the risks associated with higher margins of uncertainty, the World Bank, with funding from ESMAP, intends to install solar measurement stations in at least 20 developing countries over the next four years. All data will be made publicly available, and is currently being published via the Energydata.info platform. Source:worldbank

February 2017

MOUNTING STRUCTURES

Future Innovations in Solar Mounting Technology While the energy prices in India are climbing, supply, although growing, but is not keeping pace with the demand. 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.

AUTHOR

- Mr. Vinay Goyal, CEO Ganges Internationale

February 2017

ontinuous reduction in the solar system prices with respect to 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. Solar 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.

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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 Solar system is designed to function for 20 to 25 years thus material plays an important role in the overall 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, rust-free, 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.

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, builtin 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 behaviour analysis, boundary layer wind tunnel testing, and UL 2703 certification for grounding and bonding.

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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 best-of-breed project intelligence technology to deliver superior energy production and long-term ROI for tracker projects anywhere in the world.

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 carparks is perfectly placed for making the most of the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free energy, with options to optimize the angles of the solar panels on the surface thus delivering dual benefits. 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.

February 2017

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ENERGY STORAGE

Morgan Stanley:

Storage in the Utility Sector ‘Will Grow More Than the Market Anticipates’ Wall Street analysts are once again cautioning the market not to underestimate distributed energy technologies. Over the years, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Morgan Stanley have all warned investors about the disruptive potential of wind, solar, batteries & electric vehicles on energy markets.

his week, Morgan Stanley says the growth of battery storage is “underappreciated” by many in the electricity business. According to a new report from the firm, the U.S. addressable market for energy storage totals $30 billion without significant regulatory change. If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clears the way for storage deployments in deregulated markets, though, the storage market could become 70 percent larger. That’s bad news for companies with lots of natural-gas generation in markets favorable to storage, but good news for Tesla and LG Chem, which the analysts predict will control the industry. Equity analyst Stephen Byrd and his co-authors calculate the actual annual demand for storage will rise from less than $300 million currently to $2 billion to $4 billion by 2020. For comparison, GTM Research pegs the U.S. storage market at $408 million for 2016, growing to $2.1 billion in 2020. That puts the Wall Street titan on roughly the same page as the clean energy research specialists when it comes to the growth of energy storage. That’s worth taking a moment to absorb. One of the key obstacles storage vendors have encountered is a lack of access to capital for investment and project financing. Most banks have been leery of putting their balance sheet behind newly developed chemistries from companies that have only existed for a decade or less. With firms like Morgan Stanley offering stock assessments based on an expanded market for energy storage, new sources of capital could soon be opening up for battery makers. The question, then, is which ones. The authors think the market “will be dominated by two suppliers, Tesla and LG Chem,” due to their prominent roles currently and their immense production capacity coming on-line in the next few years. The base case has Tesla reaching 30 percent U.S. market share, and the bullish case puts it at 50 percent. This framing ignores a bustling menagerie of battery companies all jostling to break out, however. Tesla certainly has a lead on U.S. manufacturing with its Gigafactory, but it seems premature to crown it the king just yet. To take one example, utilities need to see how Tesla’s Powerpack batteries hold up to real-world cycling in the field. If issues arise with the initial round of utility-scale battery deployments after a few years, it could hamper the company’s market dominance.

February 2017

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There are also more competitors with massive production facilities. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, only recently entered the U.S. market, but has invested 1 billion euros in scaling its battery factories. Like Tesla, Mercedes-Benz aims to ride the coming wave of electricvehicle sales to scale its stationary storage business. There are also other established Asian mega-producers like LG Chem. BYD, Toshiba, NEC and Samsung SDI all rank highly in global storage deployments. It’s true that LG Chem has a production base in Michigan to supply American electric-car makers, and the political winds are blowing in the direction of “Made in the USA.” But those competitors enjoy similarly large factory facilities and global distribution networks, and should not be discounted. Readers of the report could walk away with the impression that lithium-ion is the only game in town. Flow batteries haven’t posted the kind of run time that lithium-ion batteries have, and big capital wants to see more operating data before opening the checkbook. Proponents of this technology, though, think it is ready to carve out significant market share from lithium-ion for longer-duration applications. Lithium-ion accounted for 96.2 percent of the U.S. market in Q3 2016, so alternative chemistries are unlikely to play a dominant role in the market by 2020. But they could develop into a more substantial role in the years beyond.

“We expect the state to increase its current storage procurement targets, reducing the need for conventional gas generation. As a result, we are taking a more conservative view on CPN’s California fleet.”

The authors observe that utilities will drive most of the storage sales: “There are numerous customer benefits that a utility can factor into its decision to invest in storage, and this ‘scope of benefits’ is, we think, much broader than the scope of any other business model.”

The upshot: The authors reduced their price target for Calpine from $18 to $13. This doesn’t mean it’s time to run out and buy any battery company stock you can get your hands on. But the analysis does indicate that advanced batteries are starting to shift investor calculations on the future profitability of certain fossil-fuel generators.

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Utilities are in a position to pay for multiple uses of batteries for the grid — to integrate intermittent renewables, to defer transmission upgrades, etc. — that improve the economics compared to what a merchant developer can monetize. The use applications of utility storage are becoming clear in California, thanks to a state mandate of 1.3 gigawatts of storage by 2020. The Morgan Stanley analysts address the impacts of the storage surge in their evaluation of Calpine, which owns a fleet of natural-gas plants in California.

February 2017

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia Unleashes Renewable Energy Procurement with Tenders for 300 MW Solar and 400 MW Wind Projects On February 20, 2017, Saudi Arabia released requests for qualification (RFQ) for a 300 MW solar photovoltaic and a 400 MW wind project on an IPP basis. Applicants are invited to provide their credentials by March 20, 2017. The request for proposals (RFP) was announced to be released on April 17, 2017, with bids due on July 20, 2017. Financial close is expected by end of November, and the plants are supposed to be operational in 2019.

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February 2017

he start of the tender process had been widely expected after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih made remarks to that effect at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi last month. The tender is in line with Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda launched in April, 2016 (see our earlier article for details on the program) and the corresponding mid-term policy paper “National Transformation Program” (NTP) released in May, which specified a so-called National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). After years of anticipation and several failed attempts, the tender now clearly marks the beginning of a sustainable large-scale procurement program for renewable energy in the Kingdom. The key enabler for the program has been the consolidation of all relevant entities under the central command of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources (MEIM), headed by Khalid Al-

Falih, the former CEO and now chairman of Saudi Aramco. The ministry has now set up a new entity called Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO), which will be responsible for all renewable energy procurement and which directly reports to a committee under the minister. REPDO and the steering committee is manned by individuals from previously existing entities involved in the power and renewable energy sector, namely King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE), the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA), Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). The offtaker of electricity will be a separate limited liability company whose liabilities will be guaranteed by SEC. K.A.CARE, the entity that was previously in charge of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy program, has now been tasked with the narrower mandate of monitoring the NREP.

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MIDDLE EAST

he wind project (Midyan) will be located in the wind-rich far northwest of the country, while the solar project (Sakaka) will be located on the border of the An Nafud desert in the north of the Kingdom. The two projects are tendered independently and will be located on predeveloped lands for which REPDO has procured land leases and grid connections. The current first round of projects with 700 MW will be followed by two more rounds of 1,020 MW and 1,730 MW, respectively, to complete the targeted procurement of 3.45 GW of renewable energy by 2020. The later rounds are also expected to include additional technologies, likely concentrated solar power (CSP) and waste-to-energy. Per the Saudi Vision 2030, this will be followed by further procurement to reach 9.5 GW by 2023. While Al-Falih was widely quoted in January with an estimated cost of the overall program of USD 30–50 billion, Apricum believes that this was most likely due to a mixup of U.S. dollars and Saudi riyals, with the actual cost of the program expected to be closer to a much more moderate SAR 30–50 billion or USD 8–13 billion.

It is currently unclear what the new tender means for the completion of a previous 100 MW solar tender issued by SEC in June 2016, with bids due by the end of February. Apricum expects further clarity around this issue in the coming weeks. In line with the goals set by the NTP, the plants will be competitively tendered on an IPP basis, with 100% ownership lying with the IPP and an offtake agreement for 25 years. This is a departure from the previously established SEC standard, by which SEC would retain a significant ownership stake in IPP projects.

the other hand, leading to a highly competitive and transparent process with broad regional and international participation. REPDO is accordingly asking for stringent qualification credentials. Applicants can be a single bidder or a consortium, which must provide a strong track record of developing and operating both IPP projects in general and PV or wind projects specifically. As a result, the eligible set of bidders will most likely be limited to the largest developers and IPPs from Saudi Arabia and the region, together with select large European and Asian utilities and IPPs. To an extent, international players with a limited footprint in the Kingdom may want to forge partnerships with local conglomerates. The structure of the tender is set up such that Saudi Arabia can expect similarly attractive tariffs for delivered renewable energy as in recent landmark tenders in Dubai (DEWA) and Abu Dhabi (ADWEA). Apricum expects the wind tender to be of special significance, as the potential for wind in the region has been widely underestimated so far. With the rich wind resource in the country’s northwest, Apricum expects an extremely attractive tariff not only for the solar, but also for the wind part of the tender. A key consideration in the tender will be the local content, by which the Saudi government wants to incentivize the creation of a local industry and jobs around renewable energy. While the RFQ makes no specific prescriptions, Apricum expects that the RFP will

specify minimum localization targets and potentially a bonus scheme for the procurement of local products and services. The criteria are likely to become increasingly stringent with the second and third round. This means that both international suppliers of components as well as local manufacturers should start investigating the potential for effective localization of value creation. To conclude, the release of the tender demonstrates a strong seriousness on the part of the Saudi government to implement the highlevel targets for renewable energy released almost a year ago, and to proceed with a high degree of professionalism. The smooth rollout of the process is an auspicious sign for the potential of the Saudi renewable energy market, which will gratify many players who had to invest a considerable amount of patience in the market in past years. Apricum has been active in Saudi Arabia for more than eight years and is ready to support both local and international clients in their quest to seize the opportunities arising from the emerging Saudi renewable energy market. For local players seeking to enter the renewable energy industry, Apricum provides strategy consulting services and supports its clients in the search for experienced international partners. For international players, Apricum provides go-to-market support. In relation to the tender at hand, Apricum offers financial advisory and bid management services, enabling its clients to submit the most competitive bid possible.

It is evident that REPDO intends to broadly follow the performance standards set by SEC IPP tenders in Saudi Arabia on one hand, and more recent precedents for solar energy procurement in the UAE on

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February 2017

INTERViEW

INTERVIEW WITH Mr.GUY RONG

rEQ: What is the impo of ity bil via y, ilit sib fea tance, in various using Solar Trackers ia? Ind of states adiation g PPA prices, high irr pin op Dr : GR the perers ck s solar tra and utility scale make for a soIRR r he hig t to ge fect and only choice can rat solar plant gene ion lar plant in India. The ing us en wh ld yie % more achieveup to 15%-25 ions is tracker in most reg ax gle sin tal on a horiz , AP a, tak rna l Nadu, Ka of India, suchas: Tami Inrth No in en Ev a. rashtr Telangana, and Maha by 15-20% more energy t ge ll sti n ca u yo , dia th wi er ck tra gle axis using a horizontal sin . As a result, more les du mo lar so tilted lar developers so top and more er tend to use solar track . gy olo techn

EQ: Explain briefly about your company, vision & mission etcâ&#x20AC;Ś GR: Arctech Solar is now ranked No. 1 in terms of solar structure supplied in China and India with a vision to be a leading solution provider and manufacturer of solar racking and tracking systems in the world. Since 2009, the year Arctech installed its first high precision dual axis tracker, we have always tried to adapt our products and technology to market demands and as a result our accumulated installation is 10GW up until this January. In 2016, 3 GWs of trackers and structures were shipped worldwide including 500 MWp of solar trackers and 400 MWp fixed structure to India. With a 3GW tracker and 6 GW fixed structure annual production capacity, Arctech is well equipped to be an active player in the world solar market.

EQ: What makes Arctech Solar different from other competitors?

PRESIDENT ARCTECH SOLAR

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February 2017

GR: Firstly, Arctechsolar is not always trying to sell trackers or racking system to our customers. We are the solar structure solution provider. We always listen to the customers, try to understand the real needs, and then provide financially viable and technically workable solar mounting solutions to the customers including trackers and racking systems. Secondly, we will sit with our customer together and discuss how to adapt our products to the local applications. For example, since it becoming more and more difficult for investors to find flat land for

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INTERViEW

PV projects, we launched a smaller tracker which can be much more flexible for land requirement.. We also have an integration solution with inverter and solar module to help our customers minimize costand simplify the design. Thirdly, we provide highly reliable products backed by a dedicated R&D team with more than 40 talented engineers.Our Redundancy Solar Tracker Technology, also called “Arctracker PRO”, has set a new level of reliability for solar trackers. Finally, Arctech Solar is committed to only providing the highest quality solutions in any market that we enter. Arctech Solar is probably the only company which has very strong R&D capabilities and a huge vertical integrated production capacity as well. It allows us to control quality from design phase and throughout every step of production. On the other hand, our customers can also experience the high quality of our services from site surveying, plant layout, financial analysis, tracker performance monitoring, local warehousing for spare parts, technical support, and on site instruction.

EQ: What is the kind of tracker technology you supply for the solar market? GR: The horizontal single axis tracker with redundant backup system and linked rows is the main tracker technology we are promoting in Indian market, and it is also the most cost effective and durable solution we have developed. Our R&D team is working on more solutions to help our clients reduce cost and increase energy yield.

EQ: What’s your future plan of tracker Technology? GR: We believe technological integration, reliability, and flexibility are the main research directions for us. We will soon release our new integrated product design in the middle of 2017.

EQ: What are your plans for India and your view on the opportunities and challenges? GR: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shows huge determination to go solar, by setting an ambitious target of 100GW solar power by 2022. This target makes India a booming market, and there is no doubt India will becomea top 3 solar market in the world in 2017. We see great potential in the Indian solar market, at least in next 5 year. For Arctech Solar, we take India market as one of the two home markets besides China. In India, we want to be viewed as an Indian company, which means localization of more and more aspects of our business and long term commitments accordingly. In addition to business, we also want to develop our CSR and grow the company together with the society. While opportunities can be obvious seen, challenges are also there. Due to the tight schedule, lots of projects are executed in an extremely short period, which cannot be seen anywhere else. Planning and coordination becomes the key to successfully commission the project. Everyone is under huge pressure and has to deliver according to the timeline. MMS supplier is actually facing more pressure than the others because MMS design is normally finalized in the last but MMS products has to be the first one to reach the site. We try very hard to satisfy our customers’ demand through leveraging our huge production capacity and our advanced inventory control system. The good thing is we have never let our customers down so far.

EQ: Mention the technical specifications of the trackers you offer. GR: We normally use heavy-duty slew gears in our trackers which can drives up to 1000 pcs of 72-cells solar modules. In the meanwhile, our unique redundancy design makes “never stop tracking system” from a concept to a real product. The backup system can automatically be activated whenever the primary system stops. Therefore, there is nopower generation loss.

EQ: How much extra land, time required, investment required, O&M costs for projects with trackers

EQ: What’s your plan in 2017? GR: Every year is a big milestone for Arctech Solar international business. 2017 will not be an exception. We will see lots of commissioned projects equipped with Arctech trackers and fixed structures. We will see more value-added services and more geographical coverage of Arctech business worldwide. And the most important thing is that Arctech Solar India will expand in every aspect such as office size, number of local employees, business volume, customers, and etc. And we will see that our Indian team is going abroad and support our global projects.

GR: It takes around 5 acres per MWp to apply single axis tracker; Installation time will be quite similar as fixed structure with skilled labor at site, there are almost no extra O&M cost for tracker project.

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February 2017

PV Manufacturing

S JinkoSolar’s Time May Have Come

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016? Solar stocks have bottomed. Demand for modules is higher than expected.  Solar has become the cheapest source of energy in some parts of the world.  

February 2017

ince the beginning of last year, Chinese stocks have reached a low and are now on an upward trend. Solar stocks seem to have bottomed in a similar manner. At the same time, according to the Lazard Report, solar has become the most economical source of energy in some parts of the world.Still in the same period, SolarCity has been acquired by Tesla, Trina Solar has revealed plans for going private, and JinkoSolar has spun off part of its business. There is a chance the smart money saw an opportunity too good to miss, despite the recent financial troubles of peers like SunEdison. JinkoSolar merits the attention of investors who are looking for value and growth at a low price. Looking baack to 2016, the fear of a slump in global demand for modules is probably exaggerated, particularly in the case of JinkoSolar. In addition,JinkoSolar is currently the best choice among global module producers because of its cost leadership and relatively solid financial, even after the spin-off.

Demand Side

ately, there have been some concerns about the future of the solar industry in the U.S. under the incoming president. Also, a new glut in China caused by lower installation targets was feared to lead to tumbling module prices worldwide. On the other hand, if one listens to the last conference call of JinkoSolar, one may think these fears are not entirely justified: the average selling price (APS) for Jinko has fallen by around 20%. However, it has stabilized since then, leaving Jinko with acceptable margins. Overall, demand in China seems to have contracted less than expected after in November the National Energy Administration had cut its target from 150 GW of installations to just 110 GW by 2020, together with announcing lower feed-in tariffs (FITs). It turns out that this number is a minimum target, and with additional programs, such as the Front Runner Program, and the Power Alleviation Program, will create further demand. In addition, for the municipalities of a handful megacities including Beijing, as well as for the region of Tibet, less stringent limits apply. Keep in mind that in these areas have in total over 100 million people. There is also new demand from players in the emerging markets where solar parks have become the most economical source of energy without incentives. JinkoSolar’s sales results reflect this: from Q2 to Q3 sales to emerging markets were still small with respect to China and North America, but they have grown by almost four times in the same period. And there is more to come: the Saudi government just announced a plan to extend its investment in solar by 10GW (about a quarter of all solar panels installed in the US).

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PV Manufacturing

One can expect good news from Europe as well: more module producers are leaving the Minimum Import Price (MIP) agreement creating fair competition, while at the same time the calls for scraping the agreement all together are becoming louder. This leaves us only with the U.S. market being an uncertainty, but perhaps in the long run Chinese solar firms are in a winning position either way: if the new Administration cuts funding and embarks on a protectionist trade policy, it will probably hurt the US producers more than the Asian ones because it will become more difficult for them to reach scale and compete outside the United States.

Why JinkoSolar?

n the supply side, it is more difficult to have aclear picture of the future. The past is littered with numerous players being pushed out of business, and it seems that in the short run a lot more small firms will encounter difficulties. This, however, should play out in favor for the big ones. From a different perspective, there is a substantial risk that supply will increase more than demand in the years to come, leading to a market with minimum margins and cutthroat competition. This brings us to the conclusion that long-term investors should prefer toptier companies with solid balance sheets, with the lowest production costs in the industry, and with large market shares. The top three companies in these terms are Trina Solar, Yingli Green Energyand JinkoSolar. With Trina Solar going private, and Yingli having been unprofitable over the last years, JinkoSolar seems the way to go for a more cautious investor.

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Financials after Spin-off

ne of the most recent developments at JinkoSolar is the spin-off of the power generation business in Q3 in change for $250m in cash and a 1,252 reduction in debt. The management has provided some preliminary numbers during the last conference call, but it remains to be seen how the spin-off will exactly impact the balance sheet in the upcoming annual report. Using these preliminary numbers and rough estimates based on past reports, it is expected that the spin-off will generate some pleasant side effects, such as an increase in revenues because the module business keeps selling to the spin-off.

February 2017

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ASIA PACIFIC

Rahul Munjal, Founder And Managing Director Of Hero Future Energies

Hero Future Energies plans 100 MW solar power plant in South-East Asia The Munjal-family promoted Hero Future Energies Pvt. Ltd is planning to put up one large grid connected solar plant of up to 100 megawatts capacity in Southeast Asia, apart from expanding in Africa and India, its Founder and Managing Director Rahul Munjal said in an interview

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February 2017

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ASIA PACIFIC

acking Munjal’s ambitious plan is around $125 million cash that International Finance Corp. (IFC), together with IFC Global Infrastructure Fund—a private equity fund managed by IFC Asset Management Co.— have invested. By the end of January, the money will come into Hero Future Energies, and will provide the much- needed ammunition to Rahul Munjal, 40, who is the elder son of Hero MotoCorp Ltd founder late Raman Munjal, to be the first among thirdgeneration Munjal family members to make his mark in the business landscape. “The idea is to grow. Between me, Abhimanyu, Ujjwal and Akshay (family members), we are all in the prime of our careers. And by the end of the next decade, everybody will be in their 40s or 50s, and this is the time. So, everybody has been told that expand your wings as much as you can…create good solid value for the group,” Rahul said in an interview. In 2013, Munjal’s younger brother Abhimanyu founded the Hero Group’s financial services business Hero FinCorp Ltd. Akshay, Rahul’s cousin and son of Suman Kant Munjal, managing director of Rockman Industries Ltd, runs BML University in Dharuhera, Rajasthan. Akshay’s brother Ujjwal has founded Hero Electronix, which has made rapid strides in design and development of chips. He also assists his father at Rockman. Akshay and Ujjwal have a younger brother, Vidur, who has finished his studies and now works for KPMG in India. The current chairman of Hero MotoCorp, Pawan Munjal has two daughters and a son. While his son, Anuvrata, is studying abroad, Vasudha, the elder daughter, runs a chocolate boutique under the brand Chokola. The younger one, Supriya, has her own clothing line. Sunil Munjal, the youngest son of Brijmohan Lall Munjal and joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp, has a daughter and she assists Sunil who has exited Hero Group.

“The idea is that the group has been reliant on a large company for a long time and, going forward, that should not be the case. There should be several large companies in different industries. We don’t need to have all our eggs in one basket. Vision is growth, expansion… have different risk profiles for the group. That is the whole point,” Rahul said. At Hero Future Energies, he said, the company is funded till 1400 MW and it also has a separate pipeline of 1200 MW. Between now and September 2018, the firm plans to spend the money raised from IFC. “So, for the next 16 to 18 months, we are completely funded. We will have 1400 MW by then, and on the other hand, we’ll have very healthy cash flow in this company itself, which should be able to give us 400500 MW a year,” Munjal said. Hero Future Energies has so far been funded by the promoter family of the automobiles-to-financial services Hero Group itself. Munjal stated that his family has invested around Rs 700 crore in the venture thus far. India plans to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 as part of its climate commitments, wherein it has promised to achieve 40% of its electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030. This includes 60 GW from wind power, 100 GW from solar power, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydro projects. “In India, there are not too many sectors which are booming. Fortunately, renewable is one of them where you see lots of growth. If you see the kind of growth solar has had, it is 100% YoY (year on year), so which of the industry is growing at 100%? If it is so, then it is about how good you and your team is? Are you able to keep up with the industry? Are you growing as much as an average player is growing in the industry? There are these three questions that we ask,” said Munjal, who has built a second office in New Delhi and is already scouting for another office space. Source:livemint

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February 2017

INTERViEW

Global Experiences & Learning Curve in PV Monitoring Business EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

MS. SILVIA BLUMENSCHEIN-SCHUETZ, VP Sales & Strategic Coordination, Solar-LogTM

February 2017

EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion, plans, revenues, shipments etc. Silvia: Since August 2015, Solar-Log™ is a subsidiary of BKW AG (Bern, Switzerland) – a global company for energy and infrastructure with over 5,000 employees. We produce the data loggers in our German Headquarters and meanwhile monitor approx 12 GWp of PV power worldwide with more than 259.000 loggers. One of our targets is, of course, to increase our global market share. Solar-Log™ data loggers are installed in more than 100 countries. We have distribution channels in 40+ countries. Our data loggers are compatible with 100 inverter brands relating to 1.700 inverter models as well as lot more component manufacturers like meters, storage systems, heating elements, heat pumps. Presently our major focus is on fast developing PV markets like India, China, USA and some European countries like Turkey. We also achieved very good results with approaching the large European markets with existing PV plants, e. g. Germany and Italy.

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EQ: Can you please illustrate how Solar-Log™ monitoring & PV asset management software will help O & M companies and PV Asset owners, management companies etc.? Silvia: The new Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ emphasizes the continued forward-thinking development of our online portal solution. It is a combination of robust, proven technology and cutting-edge innovation. The SolarLog™ WEB Enerest™ provides installers and service providers a tool for centralized control. This allows them to offer plant owners optimal plant monitoring and concise presentation options. The M, L and XL editions make it possible to find the perfect fit for the needs of the plant owner and to offer the most optimal service with flexible features and levels. The system provides banks and investors reliable protection and professional monitoring for PV investments.Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ features reliable reporting functions and concise presentation options that can be accessed online. To prevent any data losses, plant yields, error messages and configuration data are saved on SDS servers. This new software platform is a further development of our existing software platforms. The present qualified portal, Solar-Log™ WEB Commercial Edition, will be integrated and implemented. Start of Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ will be as of April 2017.

Benefits of Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ Professional Maintenance The “Full-Service” maintenance concept offers plant operators an ideal plant maintenance. Reliable Protection Reliable monitoring and protection for PV investments Efficient Monitoring The weather and reference data comparison module facilitates the detection of deviations from the potential power output of the plant and its current production. Fast service restoration You can review the status of all monitored plants at a glance. It is also possible to detect, analyze and remedy errors quickly with the diagnostic tools. Simple documenting options With the Timeline Module, events such as inverter replacements and

configuration modifications can be documented. Detailed reports Keep plant operators informed on a regular basis with the easy-to-read reports. These reports only need to be configured once and then they will be automatically generated and sent out in the defined period. Concise Presentation Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ L & XL, can access plant data and offers various options in connection with the SolarLog™ APP, Solar-Log™ Dashboard, Solar-Log™ Insight and Solarfox® to present the data. Protection Against Data Loss That means plant yields, error messages and configuration data are stored, secured and backed up on our server.

EQ: Why is PV plant monitoring so important in fast developing markets like India? Silvia: Solar Energy is an important source of energy all over the world and especially in developing countries like India. Therefore, it is very important that PV plants are working smoothly. Only with a professional PV monitoring system, errors and malfunctions at PV plants are immediately detected and can be resolved quickly. This helps to minimise yield losses. For example, failure of one or several inverters, cable damage, faulty installation and/or wiring, dirt and grime on the modules all cause yield losses and need to be corrected as soon as possible. Furthermore, expert monitoring is to be understood as the basis for precise optimised consumption of self-produced energy, i.e. true energy management.

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Today, monitoring and performance analysis of solar plants has become extremely critical due to the increasing cost of operation and maintenance as well as reduced yield due to performance degradation during the lifecycle of the plant equipment. This means that the use of a monitoring system becomes essential to ensure high performance, low downtime and fault detection of a PV plant. This is especially valid for the very dynamic Indian market, where often quality is compromised by very tight time constraints. We have also seen this at the high times of the European market a couple of years earlier. In short: A professional monitoring system protects your PV investment!

February 2017

INTERViEW

EQ: How Solar-Log™ monitoring is helpful for installers, portal operators, service providers & plant operators? Silvia: Advantages and benefits for installers, portal operators and service providers:

Advantages and benefits for plant operators Unmatched security for banks Banks and investors require guarantees on their PV investments. Solar-Log™ monitoring helps to ensure a solid rate of return from the PV plant. Higher efficiency Error messages are immediately transmitted online or to mobile devices to guarantee yield certainty. Effective and quick monitoring The device can be intuitively and conveniently operated via the colour TFT-Touch-Display directly from the device or remotely via the web browser. No PC expertise required No software needs to be installed to connect the Solar-Log™ to the network. Flawless and precise monitoring at an attractive price

Easily become more efficient No PC or Internet expertise is required to take advantage of the quick and simple installation with Easy Installation. The LCD displays show the operating status An LCD-Status-Display is included with all devices and provides comprehensive information on the installation and operating status.

As the market leader, we produce larger quantities at the highest qualities and guarantee the best value for money. Optimize consumption of self-produced power Optimized control and consumption of self-produced power with Solar-Log™. This optimization helps to make rising electricity prices less frightening.

Greatly reduce the installation time and effort required for network set-up For wireless communication, all Solar-Log™ models are available with optional GPRS. Compatible with all major inverters on the market The single monitoring system for all inverters allows plant operators to select the best inverter for their needs. All information at a glance Centrally monitor all PV plants from a single platform with the Solar-Log™ WEB Software. Save a considerable amount of time and money Centrally monitor all PV plants from a single platform with the Solar-Log™ WEB Software.

February 2017

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INTERViEW

EQ: How many data loggers have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/ expectation in 2016-17 Silvia: We distributed 1600 data loggers to India until today. And we do, of course, expect more to come. This year, we have the target to distribute 2000 data loggers. That would increase our market share in PV monitoring in India significantly. Our Indian team is working hard to achieve this.

EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Solar-Log™ data logger in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback Silvia: Presently, we have a lot of customers all over in India including leading EPCs, installers, developers, O & M and inverter manufacturers. The feedback from our customers is very encouraging and motivating. They are satisfied with the SolarLog™ device and its features. And this is what we want to achieve: customer satisfaction. Recently we have also published detailed interviews with renowned companies. Our data logger is meanwhile known for giving comprehensive, extensive and detailed PV plant feedback – however – qualified and reliable as well as competent. To cut a long story short: Solar-Log™ is meanwhile familiar with its status of being the communication channel for both – good and bad news.

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EQ: Apart from data loggers & monitoring systems, what else Solar-Log™ is offering for the Indian market? Silvia: Solar-Log™ sensors & accessories: Sensor Basic & Sensor Box Professional which delivers the irradiance values as well as the module temperature.

Sensor Box Professional plus with optional accessories like wind sensor & ambient temperature sensor.

Sensor Box Professional Plus also has the option to connect an ambient temperature sensor and window sensor in addition to inbuilt irradiation & module temperature sensor.

Feed-In Management Solutions: “X% Regulation”: the function “X% fixed regulation” with the calculation of self-consumption offers an innovative solution to minimize losses that results from the fixed regulation. Zero Export limitation: Solar-Log™ ensures that no amount of power will feed-in into the grid. eControl Box (PV Hybrid System): This product (eControl-Box) is used for PV Hybrid Plants where it manages in-parallel operations of a photovoltaic system and a diesel generator. This box can also be used in a situation where it is not allowed to feed any power back to the grid as the protection system.

February 2017

PV Manufacturing

From KW to GW:

A ROLLER COASTER RIDE To take our manufacturing excellence to the next level we have completely automated our manufacturing facility in January. We aim to achieve 1 GW manufacturing capacity by 2018.

E Subrata Mukherjee, Managing Director, Sova Solar Ltd

stablished in 2008, Kolkata-based Sova Solar Ltd. is one of the key players in the field of renewable energy. The company has gained expertise in manufacturing and marketing cost effective, high quality solar photovoltaic modules for grid connected and off-grid power plants, solar water pumps, solar street lights etc. Continuing its effort on innovating advanced solutions, Sova Solar has introduced silicon crystalline based products using high quality raw materials. Talking on the company’s product offering, Subrata Mukherjee, Managing Director, Sova Solar Ltd said, “Our products range is from 3 Wp to 325 Wp solar panels. Our photovoltaic modules are produced with the efficiency of up to 17.0 per cent with positive tolerance up to 4.9 Wp in compliance with international standard.” The panels are constructed with Anti Reflective Coating (ARC) toughened low iron, textured high light transmission glass on the front and a three layer fluropolymer tedlar back sheet to protect the panel from moisture and long term weathering. Our modules are PID Free and FSI tested. The panels are finished with an silver anodised aluminium frame with mounting holes pre-drilled and a junction box with cables. Our products are unique in incorporating Si-Cys cells. This format provides flexibility in the design of panels with the possibility of different sizes and electrical characteristics. Our panels offer a number of benefits over competing types of panels. Our modules generates more power than other in low light, cell design provides better output by rendering resistance power less.

Achieving manufacturing prowess

ova Solar is operating out of its manufacturing facility at Durgapur, West Bengal. Powered with highly equipped machineries of German technology, the firm has excelled in production of crystalline solar photovoltaic module from its facility at Export Promotion Industrial Park, Banskopa started 2009-10. Technological support from Spire Corporation, Bedford, USA and Team Technik, Germany gave the much-desired boost to the company. Today Sova Solar has the installed capacity of production of PV modules is 200 MW per year. Our infrastructure 500 MW is ready and our vission to reach 1GW by 2018-19.

February 2017

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PV Manufacturing

“To take our manufacturing excellence to the next level we have completely automated our manufacturing facility in January. This will help us to provide world-class PV modules within a reduced timeline and higher, efficiency, Mukherjee adds. Further, commenting on the company’s expansion plans, he said, We aim to achieve 1 GW manufacturing capacity by 2018.” The company has also announced new international EPC venture in collaboration with Japanese and Taiwanese partners.

Leading with innovation • High Reliability tests to ensure modules to withstand high temperature, humidity, pressure, wind loads. • Stringent EL-Tests pre-lamination and post lamination to ensure micro cracks free modules manufactured in facility. • Stringent HoT Spot tests to ensure modules are free from hot-spots. • Mechanical load Test to ensure modules exceedingly perform higher than 5,400 Po. • Stringent UV exposure tests to ensure high module performance and lowest UV degradation after test compared to peers. • Maintain the lowest Linear Degradation Chart by superior Technology compared to Peers also providing positive tolerance to every module enabling higher kwp/Kwh faster. • Stringent reliable test ensures that only the best is offered to our client.

Clientele Today Sova Solar is an approved vendor of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and is regularly working with government companies and organisations like Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Directorate General of Supplies & Disposals (DGS&D), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), and Bharat Electrics Ltd. Governmental customers we are regular supplier numerous large commercial EPC players accross all segments like DCR, MII, open.

Beyond Indian skies

ssociated with the “Center of Excellence for Green Energy and Sensor Systems (CEGESS) Dept. of Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, Sova Solar has been pioneering in the field of solar PV technology. In association with AW Solution GmbH and Professor Markus Amendt of Berlin University Sova Solar Limited has been one of the few companies of India to set its foot at European Soil. The company has announced a commercial tie-up with Rogrees-Boeki, Japan to facilitate.

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“Today, apart from creating waves in the Indian solar market, Sova’s are being modules used in large number of projects in Germany and Japan,” informed Mukherjee.

February 2017

ENERGY STORAGE

INTERVIEW WITH Mr.RAVI KHANNA CEO, Solar Power Business ADITYA BIRLA GROUP

d EQ: What is Expecte ote om pr to nt me rn from Gove EES in India? s being expenRK: Storage solution incentivise or to sive there is a need lution based so e rag sto subsidize the e Th gap in tariff renewable systems. d system and se ba between storage m needs grid connected syste governto be bridged by the tives. en inc gh ment throu

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February 2017

EQ: What is the Need & Importance of Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Technologies in India and specifically in reference to Renewable Power Generation RK: India is rapidly moving towards a energy mix where Renewable Energy capacity will be significant and has to be harnessed productively. Even at current level of Solar and Wind capacity we are seeing challenges of load planning and grid uptime already gaining visibility. Renewable energy is infirm in nature and hence poses challenges in load planning. Thermal Power plants, especially coal based, have to work at a minimum threshold PLF. For instance, solar energy is available during the day time and peaks around 1230-1300 hours. The load need not be maximum at this time, which means either the renewable or the thermal power plant has to back down. By virtue of must-run status of renewable plants, the burden of backing down falls on thermal power plants which cannot be stopped and started within short span. Indian base load plant architecture

also has not planned for smaller capacity Gas based or small Hydro plants to be integrated with the variable generation cycles of RE. We will have to start planning the integration of the huge capacity which will come up by the year 2022. It will be prudent to understand how Germany and now the state of California are planning the mix and encouraging Solar and Wind to become main constituents of the power mix. In view of this it is prudent toplan for storage solutions when supply is in excess of demand and is delivered when the situation reverses.

EQ: What kind of ecosystem is needed to promote manufacturing of EES in India. RK: As far as the storage technology is concerned, it is quite R&D and capital intensive. Even Tesla does not have the cell technology. A good starting point could be the import of cells through a tieup and develop the packaging technology and tailoring the batteries for various applications. Government shall incentivise the entrepreneurs and waive off import duties till such time the industry is able to compete on even keel.

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ENERGY STORAGE

EQ: What are the various applications, advantages, disadvantages of ESS RK: The applications range from mobile phone, laptop, renewables to electric vehicles. Similarly, the advantages are dependent on the area of application. Two areas which are of particular interest to environment are electric car and distributed generation. Electric car saves the country from the load of huge import bills on oil and simultaneously it reduces pollution load on cities. The only disadvantage is the cost of solution which is continuously decreasing and economics of scale is likely to accelerate it further.

EQ: Kindly comment of Energy Storage as a game changer, its technology, cost trends…etc… RK: New solar and battery systems now have the intelligence to manage voltage in a cheaper and more systemic way through their “smart” inverters. These new technologies may will lead innovation to integrate new renewable and reliable energy sources into the mainframe. Energy storage systems definitely have the potential to radically change the way people use energy. It can make the dependence of energy users on large grids from nil to minimal. People will have their own generating station which will take care of their stationary as well as mobile needs of energy. In the extreme case, electric cars will be mobile generating stations which take

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care of the mobility during day time and at night they meet the requirement of domestic electric supply. Technology is continuously improving and as far as cost is concerned, in last 5 years it has dropped at the rate of 18% y-o-y for Lithium Ion batteries. Depending upon the chemistry, at present the Li-ion battery costs 300-500 USD/ kWh. It is likely to drop to 100 USD/ kWh in next 3-5 years which will lead to greater adoption.

EQ: What are the various technologies & types of Energy Storage Systems RK: There are several competing technologies but primarily there are 3 types which are most common commercially, namely, Lead-Acid/ Advanced Lead acid battery, LithiumIon battery and Flow Battery. In terms of energy density Lithium-ion batteries have an edge and ideally suited for both mobile and stationary applications. Flow batteries are bulkier but suitable for large scale stationary and bulk storage systems. Lead-acid batteries are most mature and have low upfront capital cost.

EQ: What is the cost and technology roadmap for ESS in short term, medium term & long term AC: Presently, the battery alone costs about 300-500 USD/kWh. One has to add another 250-300 USD/kWh for the storage system which includes, PCU, thermal management system, container, cables, switchgear, etc. The guidance is that cell costs will fall to 100 USD/kWh in next 3-5 years.

EQ: Kindly share any noteworthy EES project, case study etc... AC: There are several projects in the diesel abatement space. There is one project in MP for large scale storage based on flow batteries. However, the data are not in public domain.

EQ: Cost of Solar + EES in next 3 years will hit grid parity in next 3 years ... Do you agree RK: To say that solar and EES will achieve grid parity without mentioning the country and cost of grid power is making a broad and sweeping statement. In selected geographies and specific applications it will start competing quite favourably.

February 2017

PV Manufacturing

In the race for cost reduction are you thinking about long term performance of your PV projects?

- Rahul Khatri, Technical Manager, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, South Asia

Source solar panels with the right bill of materials to help ensure solar PV systems produce power reliably for their expected lifetime

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February 2017

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PV Manufacturing

ndia set a record in 2016 in solar capacity addition as well as release of new tenders and the market is set to ramp up solar installations in 2017 with tariffs expected to fall even further. While projects are being won at record breaking tariffs, there is an increasing uncertainty in the industry, especially from lending community, on the ability of these projects to generate expected power over 25 years of lifetime of a solar PV system. The extremely low tariffs are based many a times on impractical and lower than prevailing market prices of the modules. With additional factors, such as high cost of financing and insurance, there is a constant push on module manufacturers to reduce module prices. Module suppliers seeking short term gains and to manage cash flows agree on unrealistically low prices, but in the process quality is compromised by use of inferior and unproven materials, which increases failure risks. This is impacting risk perception of solar projects in India which is not helping in reducing lending rates and due to the same reason, foreign insurers are either reluctant to extend their services to India or charge hefty premiums. The cost down approach for generating solar power is driven by lower product quality instead of focusing on better quality product and management of risks during operation. As a wise buyer, one needs to be aware of the materials used in solar modules, the required properties, field experience, and then ensure use of right materials.

Prevailing risk mitigation tools are not effective

esides insurance, the tools currently used to manage risks associated with PV modules are based primarily on three aspects - tier rating of module manufacturers, IEC certifications, and warranties which are not very effective in mitigating risks. Tier ratings change every six months, are mostly based on manufacturing capacities and financial health of the company, but hardly reflect quality of the product being supplied. IEC certification / extended IEC testing to evaluate field performance of modules have not been proven effective enough. Warranties associated with PV modules are good to have but O&M companies who have dealt with warranty claims, know how unpleasant an experience it can be to enforce warranties. Moreover, settling a claim takes at least few months which is a lost time and loss of power generation and impacts revenue for investors risking business for module manufacturers. Considering these business threatening situations, robust quality standards are critical for a product which needs to operate for 25 years in challenging weather and environmental conditions.

Specification of ‘Bill of Materials’ – key to effectively manage performance risks

entral and state governments, driving majority of the projects, need to make quality a key selection criterion for solar panels to restrict use of low quality modules by strengthening technical requirements which are limited to IEC certification right now. Private developers and lenders, who are financing solar projects, are at maximum risk and therefore need to go a few steps further and incorporate detailed specifications in their module selection criteria. PV mature regions such as China, US, and Europe have experienced failures due to material degradation and focused on specification of ‘Bill of Materials’ to enhance and control quality of panels. Though two modules may look exactly same and have same nameplate rating, but their field performance will depend entirely on materials used inside them.

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February 2017

PV Manufacturing ‘Bill of Materials’ – what should be specified?

ront glass and backsheet are the outermost layers of a PV module and provide first line of defense to solar cells from environmental stresses. Both materials provide electrical insulation and are the two most important components for long term performance and safety of the modules. Front glass is also responsible for mechanical strength and structural rigidity of the module. One of the key issues detected in front glass is its breakage which results in module not generating power. Dynamic wind loads and hot spots (resulting in high thermal stresses) are common causes of glass breakage in the field. Typically, toughened / tempered glass, known for its superior strength, is used in PV modules. Besides toughness, glass thickness is also an important parameter and

determines its capability to withstand wind loads in the field. Larger the area of the module, higher will be the wind force and thicker should be the glass. Use of 4 mm thick glass for 72-cell modules, and 3.2 mm thick for 60-cell module is recommended. Backsheet of a crystalline silicon PV module typically has a three-layer structure. The outer layer, which is directly exposed to environment, needs to withstand harsh stresses to protect the cells and materials inside. Inner layer should enable excellent adhesion with EVA encapsulant and protect the core or middle layer. The core layer is responsible for mechanical and electrical insulation properties of the backsheet. Thickness of backsheet is critical for electrical insulation and sand abrasion (particularly in desert areas). DuPont in its global

field studies has found visual defects in backsheets (9% of 1.5 million inspected modules demonstrated visual issues in the backsheet). Typical issues include outer layer yellowing and cracking, inner layer yellowing and cracking, outer layer melting due to hot spots, faster abrasion of outer layer, etc.– these can either result in power loss or safety risks or both. It is critical to specify material type and thickness for each layer to prevent degradation and premature failure.It is highly recommended to use PVF film based backsheet as only PVF backsheets have more than 30 years of proven field experience in different climates. Most other backsheets have less than 8 years of field experience with multiple cases of field failures (refer figure 1).

Figure 1: Backsheet Field Failures

VA encapsulant is responsible for laminating cells between glass and backsheet. Browning of the front EVA placed above cells results in reduction of its light transparency and reduces power generated by the cell (due to less sunlight reaching it), and delamination from glass/cell/backsheet are commonly observed field issues. Quality of EVA adhesion, after lamination process, is determined by the gel content of the laminated EVA; therefore, gel content should be specified for modules. EVA browning, which happens due to prolonged UV exposure, can be prevented by using UV resistant EVA containing UV additives Module edges are a potential area of moisture ingress and require to be sealed with a material which not only has excellent sealing properties but also demonstrates good resistance to harsh climatic conditions. Silicone sealant is a preferred choice due to its proven long term experience for this purpose. Double sided tape, which has been found to be used mainly to save some costs, is not at all recommended.

February 2017

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PV Manufacturing

Solar cells are the most important and active component in the module and are quite prone to develop serious issues in the field such as cracks and hot spots. Micro-cracks and cracks can occur due to multiple reasons and at multiple stages from module production to installation. In fact, most of the cracks in cells are developed during installation and

maintenance phase (due to improper handling), and therefore any power loss is not covered under warranty claim. While precautions can be taken at every stage to minimize occurrence of these cracks, it’s extremely difficult to control them – especially when the cell thickness is constantly being reduced. Silicon wafer is a brittle material and the probability

of development of micro-cracks increases with reduction in thickness. Developers should define and specify cell thickness for better control on micro-crack development particularly during stages of installation & maintenance that are under their scope along with specification of 100% EL inspection to eliminate cracks from manufacturing.

Table 1 summarizes key field issues associated with each material in a PV module and what developers should specify to mitigate risks of their occurrence in projects

CONCLUSION

everse bidding needs to embrace a robust quality control system to prevent use of low quality modules that can hamper long-term sustainability of India’s solar mission. Lack of strong technical specifications in tenders is allowing wide variations in PV modules in terms of design, construction, and the ‘bill of materials’, critical for long term performance. Government bodies need to upgrade technical requirement for modules in tenders and incorporate standards and specifications for materials and manufacturing process. Investors including lenders and developers should be aware of the right materials and manufacturing practices and ensure their use for module selection.

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February 2017

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH Mr.BRIJESH GUPTA CEO, Renewable Energy Business ATHA GROUP

EQ: What are your plans for the foray in ctor in ne Re wable Energy Se s? trie un co er oth India and 1 GW of ion vis a s ha BG: Our group e in urc so ble capacity from Renewa solar, PV on is us foc nt India. Our curre busip fto roo in and we are expanding foare We . As PP rty pa ness and third nic rga ino d an ic cused both on organ get for acquigrowth. The group tar and the sition is around 500 MW rsupu ly ive ss gre team is ag n ing various acquisitio . ies nit rtu po op

EQ: Whats your view on the Government of India target of 100GW Solar and 75GW Wind Power by 2022. Can we achieve that and what would be the challenges? BG: The targets are achievable. Major hindrance has been land, which the solar parks concept is trying to address. State level solar pipeline has to increase to achieve the targets. Hybrid concept of windsolar and solar-hydro would have to be promoted.

EQ: India has 750 GW of Solar Potential….By when should we able to achieve that? BG: That could be a very ambitious target. Energy storage has to be economical to achieve even 20% of the above potential.

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

February 2017

Cost Trends, Incentives and Government Support needed. BG: As renewable energy is now available in abundance, energy storage will be the next big thing to flatten the generation curve and also make available during non-generating periods. These days the evolution cycles have shortened and one could see efficient storage technologies in next 3 to 5 years. Initially government will have to support by way of VGF based tariffs.

EQ: What pipeline of projects do you currently own, kindly specify the size of the project, its location, tariff, scheme, timeline of completion, its viability. BG: The group currently has 65 MW solar plants and 15 MW of wind power operational. Three plants, one each in Maharashtra (50 MW), Karnataka (20 MW) and MP (10 MW) are under construction.

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INTERVIEW

EQ: Technology as a Game Changer in Solar PV Modules with emergence of 1500V, BiFacial Cells, PERC/PERT, 5-6 BusBars, Glass to Glass etc….Please comment on the technology roadmap, its cost trends, adaptability, your preference. BG: Considering the price discovery in recent bidding and impact on future bids, disruptive technology will play a major role. Cost drivers will now be efficiency in design, such as 5 Bus Bar and 340 / 350 wp cells, lower weight of MMS, higher DC loadings with 1500 V system. Glass to glass modules will find its place so that land can be utilized for farming.

EQ: As a Developer do you have plans for backward integration with manufacturing of Modules/ Cells/Wafers etc….Currently would you buy from Indian or Asian or other manufacturer? BG: We have plans to go for our own EPC. Module procurement is based on economics and dynamic in nature. Life cycle costing will play an important role.

EQ: Inverter Technology : Please comment of Central vs String, Container vs Civil Structure for Inverter, System Design and Architecture BG: String inverters, though expensive are better over central inverters, in terms of overall saving of space, lower cost of cables, and avoidance of AMC or extended warranty. It eliminates large inverter rooms, reducing shadow resulting in better land utilizations. The monitoring is also better. Having said that, use of string inverters instead of central inverters for big power plants is driven more by cost economics. With outdoor inverters having larger capacity the larger PV plants preference will rest with central inverters.

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EQ: Mounting &Tracking : What kind of mounting would you adapt….fixed or tilt of seasonal tilt etc….In Tracking…what are your view on the technology available , its cost-benefit analysis, O&M BG: By vir tue of having moving machinery and requiring a less-dense configuration than ﬁxed-tilt systems, trackers virtually always come at an added cost relative to fixed systems. In order for a tracker to make economic sense, the increased energy harvest must exceed the added cost of installing and maintaining trackers over the lifetime of the system. An additional factor to be considered in the decision to use trackers or fixed systems is land use; tracking systems tend to use additional land because they must be spaced out in order to avoid shading one another as they track the sun. This means that panels must be spaced farther apart, thus increasing land use and land costs for the developer. The other problem about trackers is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost, which tends to be higher for this category of systems relative to ﬁxed-tilt systems. Given the system’s expected operating life of at least twenty years, O&M costs can add up to a meaningful share of total system costs.

EQ: Challenges: Comment on Various challenges such as Aggressive bidding, Land , Finance, Grid Connection, PPA, Forex Fluctuation, Pricing & Tech Trends, Payments risks

EQ: Financing: Enlighten our readers with the Financial Engineering needed in an aggressive price bid scenario…Source & Cost of Debt,Debt Equity Ration, Project & Equity IRR, Interest Rates & their trends. BG: Finance is the key and with cost bottoming out, this becomes a differentiator. Combination of bonds, debt, roll over will be required to achieve lower financing cost. Solar industry will now see dominance from finance professionals to make bids economical. EQ: Modern sources of finance such as Green / Climate Bonds, International Finance, Yieldcos, etc….Please enlighten with the latest and future financing trends& their trends. BG: Various mix of bonds, suppliers credit and InviTS (Infrastructure mutual funds) will be explored by developers. Refinancing will be another tool to extend the tenure of debt. EQ: Please enlighten on the Government policies and regulations such as the CERC Benchmark costs, Open Access, Wheeling, Banking, InterState&IntraState Transmission, RPO & its enforcement. BG: The government should push for RPO and get the REC market functional again.

BG: The two biggest challenges are land and payment risk. Dual use of land could be one way to engage the son of the soil. Solar parks will mitigate the land risk. Investments in smart grids, and not only smart metering will be needed. There is a need to create a single window clearance for various permissions to have accelerated investments.

February 2017

SOLAR TENDER

On Rewa Solar Project Bidding Outcome

“The tariff has come down due to lower capital expenditure and cheaper credit. The per MW capital expenditure cost has come down to Rs 4 crore from earlier range of Rs 5-6 crore. Similarly, the interest rates have also slipped to 8.5 per cent from earlier 10-12 per cent,” a senior official said.

ower capital expenditure and cheaper credit pulled down solar tariff to a new low of Rs 2.97 per unit in an auction conducted for 750 MW capacity in Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh. “India marches on towards realising the clean energy vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. First year solar tariff bids at record low of Rs 2.97/ unit,” Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted after the auction. The auction was conducted by a joint venture of Madhya Pradesh government and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Mr. Piyush Goyal Hon’ble Minister of New & Renewable Energy

“The first year tariff quoted by the companies are — for Unit 1 – Rs 2.979 by Mahindra, for Unit 2 – Rs 2.970 by Acme and for Unit 3 – Rs 2.974 by Solenberg,” the official added. While Mahindra and Acme are Indian firms, Solenberg is a Brazilian company which participated in the auction for these solar capacities totalling 750 MW. “There would be 5 paise escalation for 15 years and 33 paise to be added for the levelised tariff,” the official added. Last year in January, solar power tariff had dropped to a new low, with Finland-based energy firm Fortum Finnsurya Energy quoting Rs 4.34 a unit to bag the mandate to set up a 70-MW solar plant under NTPC’s Bhadla Solar Park tender. In November 2015, the tariff had touched Rs 4.63 per unit following aggressive bidding by US-based SunEdison, the world’s biggest developer of renewable energy power plants.

Mr. Ashwini Kumar,

Mr. Manoj Upadhyay Founder & Chairman, ACME Group

n the occasion of winning 250 MW capacity in RUMS tender at REWA, Madhya Pradesh, we would like to thank Government of India along with their entities and MNRE for creating an enabling atmosphere and positive environment for Solar Power Developers to be able to create values to all the stakeholders. Our special thanks to Government of Madhya Pradesh along with their entities, MPUVNL (Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited) and IFC (International Finance Corporation)for designing a wonderful RfS after taking along all the views and concerns of the industry. We would also thank RUMS for their facilities promised which is one of its kind and at very competitive rates.

February 2017

MD SECI

any many Congratulations to all the stakeholders for this trend setting discovery of solar tariff. First, the team led by Shri Manu Srivastava having conviction of going without VGF. Then, you have IFC team for structuring of the bid and including many provisions which so far have not been there in PPAs. The State Government deserves the best credit for accepting structuring of bid and being very bold in this initiative. Of course, the developers who participated and stretched the imagination of solar tariffs to this level. I am sure enough appetite is there in the industry to hang around this level. That’s the beauty of bidding process. A new dawn in the solar sector.

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SOLAR TENDER

Mr. Manu Shrivastav (IAS) – Secretary GoMP & MD-MPUVNL

hanks. We are a small organisation. RUMS was created only in 2015. SECI and MP Urja Vikas Nigam created it as a 50:50 JV. We have been helped in each step by MNRE, MoP, GoMP MPPMCL, Powergrid, MP Transco, IFC, World Bank. Delhi Metro trusted us, even though we had no VGF support. It is the 1st project with inter-state Open Access customer with a unique scheduling arrangement. We have an energy contract rather than pro rata power contracts prevalent in the sector including thermal. It has been a great relief, since our first target was to reach Rs 4.43, as we had to compete without any VGF or CFA. The auction has been on since 10am on Feb 10th . For Rewa Project, Bhanu spent sleepless mornings, starting 3am! Very often, I would edit some document and send to him by 1am and he would start working at 3am. And this continued for months. Bhanu & his team kept focus all along and that’s how we have this success today. 3 cheers!

Mr.Vinay Goyal,

MD -Ganges Interntionale

ndia is making its mark globally with big projects like in 648 MW Kamuthi project in Tamil Nadu and now 750 MW Rewa solar park in Madhya Pradesh. India now claims 3rd spot w.r.t utility scale solar just behind China and US. With globally decreasing prices, 750 MW Rewa project will continue to drive tariff much below than to be expected. It is possible that the per unit cost will go below the lowest ever of Rs 4.3/KWh. We feel that price may touch around Rs 3.2 to Rs3.4/KWh which will the lowest ever recorded in India. These are great moments for the solar Industry to have plants of such magnitude scale which keep’s country’s ambitious of reaching 100GW target by 2022 and of becoming leading green energy producers globally.

Mr. Sanjeev Gupta MD- Nexgen Financial Solutions

he REWA’s 750 MW Solar Tender bids have surprised many & shocked almost all of us. The five (5) most important aspects as per NEXGEN which have created the resultant surprise in the lowering solar tariff are: 1. Cost of Fund : The funding cost remains a critical component of any solar project financing. International funds (including Alternate Funds & Long Term Insurance, Pension & related Funds) have invariably been overtly attracted to the Indian solar landscape with return period of around 25 years & so. 2. Declining Solar Panel Pricing : REWA’s 750 MW Solar Tender bids allows 18 months commissioning period. This catalyzes an apt opportunity for any investor to take a view on the aggressively declining solar panel prices. With US market closing for Chinese manufacturers; the advantage could shift to country like India where the panel price & lower projected tariff continue to further decline. Further other critical aspects triggering increasing competitive tariff remains : 3. Lowered Risk due to addressal of Land Acquisition & Power Evacuation issues. 4. Single location large project aggregating to 750 MW is a very big “attraction” for large international institutional investors looking for long term high quality returns. Coupled with the above factors, lowering tariffs are natural.

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Mr. Pashupathy Gopalan

President, Asia Pacific & Sub-Saharan Africa

ongratulations to Manoj, Ranjeet / Murali, and Basant/ Parag. Friends, let’s not doubt the rationale and instead appreciate the winners. All the winners are very capable and sensible companies.Proud of India and the Solar industry in India. Solar will be the cheapest source of power and India will build min 0.5 TW by 2030. This is the destiny.

February 2017

SOLAR TENDER

Mr.Pranav Mehta

Mr. Bhanu Mehrotra IFC (Team Leader for REWA Project)

Chairman NSEFI

SEFI congratulates Mr. Manu Shrivastava and his team for very ably and efficiently planning and conducting this Globally and nationally important Bid… which everybody was looking forward to as a trend setter…. We should extend all the possible help to the winners to commission these plants in due timelines and demonstrate to the World that India Can and shall do it… Congratulations to all winners from the National Solar Energy Federation of India(NSEFI), New Delhi. Our motto is “Making Solar Energy Affordable for All”. Further, we are proud of our Patron Member Acme Group winning this tough competition Bid…

February 2017

he person leading the structuring of this transaction for the last 1.5 years under the leadership of Mr Manu Srivastava, I feel a great sense of fulfilment on the outcome, the potential of REWA to strengthen the contracting in the sect or. At the same time looking forward to implementation with equal vigour by the winning bidders. Congrats to Acme, Ostro and Mahindra! Bhanu Mehrotra Many thanks and I am truly humbled by Manu Sir’s strong appreciation and recognition of the IFC team’s efforts. We will continue to make all our efforts to make our contributions to renewable energy in India. With the outstanding championing of this cause by dynamic senior officers of government of India and of states like MP and the enthusiasm in the industry …this is the moment of opportunity – BUT IMPLEMENTATION has to be ensured at all costs! Thanks all.

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SOLAR FERRY

Aditya Ferry: Vaikom’s New Satyagraha for Clean Energy Vaikom, the land of Satyagraha is situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in Kerala created history again on 12th January 2017. The first solar-powered ferry in India named as Aditya started service between Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu, connecting Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. This Solar powered boat was built with the financial aid in the form of subsidy from the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy by the Kerala State Water Transport Department. The solar powered boat can perform journey for 5-6 hours on normal sunny days and the project is really a boon for the state like Kerala which uses the water transport effectively throughout the state.

Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal & CM Pinarayi Vijayan at the helm of ‘Aditya’ at Vaikomn . The Boat will ply between Vaikon & Thavanakkadavu.

February 2017

uring early 20th Century (between 1925 – 1930), Vaikom was in limelight for being the venue of Satyagraha aimed at securing free movement for all sections of the society through the public roads leading to Vaikom Temple. It was a great social revolution in Kerala History. The Vaikom boat jetty, which was used by the father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi to reach Vaikom for the Satyagraha on 9th March 1925, recently witnessed the inauguration of India’s first solar powered ferry by Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and Shri. Piyush Goyal, MoS (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy. The successful launching of pollution free solar powered ferry is a land mark occasion in India’s journey towards the use of solar energy. It also showcases our efforts to create a better planet by relaying on clean energy.

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SOLAR FERRY

ditya is also the largest solar-powered boat in India with 75 seats capacity. This vessel was designed by Kerala based engineer Sandith Thandasherry, who is also the Managing Director of a private firm involved in solar energy field. The core technology and expertise for design and development of the boat was provided by a French firm. The ferry was built at Thavanakkadavu unit of Navgathi Marine Design and Constructions, based in Kochi, India.

The Ferry is 20 Meter long and 3.7 Meter height with a 7 Meter beam. Another significant feature is that the ferry is manufactured out of fiber glass instead of wood or steal. 78 Solar panels are fixed on the roof of the boat and it produces solar power and the electricity produced from the solar panel connected with two electric motors of 20kW, one in each hull. The boat have also fixed with 700 kg of lithium-ion batteries in the two hulls which can store a total capacity of 50 kWh. The design of the hull shaped in such a way which keeps the boat reach speeds up to 7.5 knots/hr. This was verified by the Technical committee of Govt. of India, Register of Shipping surveyor and Kerala Port surveyor. The normal operating speed is 5.5 knots (10 km/h) to cover a 15 minutes travel time between Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu, a distance of 2.5 km on water. For achieving this speed, about 16 kW power is needed.

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nother major feature is that it cruises with minimal vibration compared to normal diesel ferries. It works out to be a cheaper option too. The ferry also maintains safety standards as per the norms stipulated by the Department of Shipping, Govt. of India and is very safe for operating anywhere in Kerala. This assumes significance as the state is moving to more water oriented transport system. Compared to a conventional boat powered by diesel with same functional features and safety standards which costs Rs. 1.58 crore, the solar ferry costs Rs. 2.53 crore. An ordinary boat, made of steel and with a carrying capacity of 75 passengers, may cost around Rs.1.9 crore. An efficient conventional boat consumes 120 litres oil per day (12 litres per hour), or 3,500 litres per month and 42,000 litres per year of diesel. This amounts to Rs. 26.55 Lakhs for diesel (@ Rs. 63.32/litre) and total operating costs including lube oil and other maintenance costs amounts to Rs. 30.37 Lakhs per year. While the operating cost of solar ferry is 40 units of electricity or Rs. 422.13 per day which amounts to 12,596 per month and 1.5 Lakhs per year. Solar powered ferries make no noise or cause any pollution, unlike the diesel powered ones. Conventional ferries releases huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere which has always posed a threat to ecosystem. Also the oil spill is harmful to aquatic ecosystem and to the water body. But solar ferry boats neither create pollution in atmosphere nor aquatic environment. Inland water transportation is considered as the most efficient, economic and environment friendly means of transportation in Kerala. Inland water navigation system is the integral part of transportation in Kerala and is the cheapest means of transports. 41 out of 44 rivers in Kerala, several back waters, canals and lakes offer a good network of waterways within the state for traveling and transporting of goods. The backwaters of Kerala such as Ashtamudy and Vembanadu Lake provide a good means of inland navigation for journey and tourism sector. The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister, Sri. Narendra Modi is very supportive of this green project. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has also agreed to sponsor the project considering the importance of the Green energy project which is a first of its kind in India. The benefit of sponsorship would mean that Kerala State Water Transport Department would get the boat almost free of cost from Govt. of India. At present Kerala State Water Transport Department has 49 boats which are made up of wood and steel. To reduce the operational cost of this wooden boat, department is recently exploring the possibility of manufacturing it out of steel and at a later stage by fiber glass. After the introduction of the first solar power boat, Kerala State Water Transport Department is in line of paradigm shift to deploy many more solar boats to meet the transport requirements of the state .

February 2017

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Authors

Gurpreet Chugh Consulting Director Energy at ICF

Ashish Singla Senior Consulting Power and Fuel at ICF

The proportion of Renewable capacity in the generation portfolio continues to expand as India adds RE capacity to meet its 2022 commitment (of 175 GW). As seen in case of Tamil Nadu, rapid expansion of wind capacity led to significant curtailments. With rapid expansion of RE capacity this situation may get worse and spread to other states as well unless steps are taken to control the same. The stakeholders (planners, developers and lenders) thus need to understand a few key aspects: Is the system ready to absorb all of RE generation (as must run)? What levels of curtailments may be expected if adequate steps are not taken in time? Which states are more vulnerable to curtailment of renewables? Which indicators can developers look at to assess curtailment risk? In this whitepaper the ICF team (Ashish Singla and Gurpreet Chugh) provide an overview of curtailment risk in Indian power sector and how best can those risks be forecasted using load flow models. 74Â

February 2017

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RENEWABLE ENERGY enewable Energy deployment has witnessed an explosive growth globally including in India during the last few years. This growth is particularly outstanding because it has been achieved despite the falling global fuel prices (Coal, Gas and Oil) that offered a stiff competition to renewable energy which has generally been expensive compared to conventional energy. The recent ratification of the Paris Accord by India further highlights the country’s resolve towards renewables deployment in a time bound manner. Driven by the National Solar Mission ~ 9 GW of solar power generation capacity has been connected to the grid. At the same time, wind power capacity in the country

nearly doubled to reach 28.3 GW. This large infusion of intermittent renewable generation has brought forth some challenges in managing the grid and integrating the intermittent power with it. Whilst system operators are developing mechanisms to tackle this issue, curtailment of renewable power may continue (as an unavoidable option to manage the grid) until technological solutions are devised and best integration practices are brought into practice. Wind and solar curtailments in some states in recent past has led to increased uncertainty and risk among investors and lenders. This paper analyses the issue of curtailment and how to assess this risk.

RE Curtailment :

“When the dispatch order from the transmission system operator to the RE plant is to reduce or stop generation, even though the RE resource is available”

Types Of Curtailment In India, Re Curtailment Could Be Caused By One Of The Following Two Factors: 1.Technical curtailments:- When a transmission system is incapable of accommodating the full dispatch of RE facilities due to technical transmission issues (involuntary curtailment). Many a times grid availability becomes a constraint in the dispatch of RE power. Some of the key technical reasons leading to curtailment can be: l l l l l

Transmission unavailability System operating requirements leading to requirement of back down Congestion management processes Power plant performance constraints Load amount and profile

2. Economic curtailments:Curtailments may also be driven by economic incentives or disincentives such as availability of cheaper power from other sources. Utilities sometimes may not be keen to buy RE power due to high tariffs of RE. Such curtailments are termed as economic or voluntary curtailments. So far, none of the utilities has reported economic curtailment. However, it is difficult for generators to clearly distinguish between technical and economic curtailment. The impact on the generator however remains the same whether the curtailment is due to economic or technical reasons.

Why is it important to conduct detailed RE curtailment risk profiling of states?

ntil now, share of RE generation as percentage of load has been low in most of the states. By FY22, RE capacity in India is targeting to reach 175 GW (with a yoy increase of 26%). By FY22 it is expected that (Green bar graph in the figure below),

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RE generation would be more than 25% of load during peak RE seasons in all the states. In FY14 only one state (Tamil Nadu) and FY16 only two states (Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan) had similar ratios. As the ratio of RE generation to load increases, the

risk of curtailment also increases substantially. Therefore assessing risk profile of the state along with detailed load flow analysis to quantify level of curtailments for an RE plant can help states prepare better to deal with such a situation.

February 2017

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Risk Profile of states: Institutional and network assessment

nstitutional assessment: Different states have different risk profiles when it comes to RE curtailment.Some states like Gujarat have a defined step-by-step process of managing variability of RE sources, while others have not formally adopted any such process. Apart from this, states have different load and generation profile/mix. States with larger share of storage based hydro and lower share of RE (as percentage of total demand) have lower risk of curtailment. The graph below provides a summary of risk of RE curtailments in some key states:

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February 2017

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Gujarat: A low risk state

ujarat is one of the states which has been able to integrate wind and solar effectively. Although state has 36% of RE capacity (nameplate) as percentage of peak demand, no curtailments have been observed in the state. State of Gujarat has been effective in putting regulatory, infrastructural, operational and institutional enablers in place to integrate RE capacity.

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February 2017

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Network assessment:

It is equally important to conduct detailed load flow analysis of the state network to assess RE curtailment risk. Positive Sequence Load Flow models are used to assess transmission flows in the system for both normal (N-0) and selected (N-1) contingency conditions when possibility of RE curtailment is the highest (like when ratio of RE generation to load is highest, or during periods of high RE generation). The model can quantitatively assess amount of RE curtailments that can happen with changing load and generation pattern. Figure below shows schematic of changing power flow with installation of a wind plant (as an illustration case for Rajasthan, 2016). Line loading and voltage violation information can be used to assess possible level of curtailments.

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February 2017

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RENEWABLE ENERGY How to assess curtailment risk: ICF methodology and requirement for Loadflow analysis While assessing network curtailment risk, ICF recommends a two-pronged approach; site specific analysis and state wide load flow analysis:

ite analysis is required to address power evacuation capability of sub-station at which developer plans to connect its RE plant. The analysis is required to assess how much capacity can be further connected (at current structure configuration) at sub-station. The analysis to include (i) number of transformers, their average loading and voltage levels, (ii) Proposed expansion (if any), (iii) Bay Space availability (Number of connecting lines and total capacity of bay), (iv) Connected generation capacity and generation capacity expected to get connected in future, (v) Transmission line connecting in/out of sub-station (including their Capacity, line loading and future expansion or upgrade plan and connecting sub-station on the other side), (vi) Availability of stand-by transformers, and (vii) Overview of how transmission contingency has been handled in the past, and availability of extra circuit or route to evacuate power

tate analysis is required to provide broad overview of state’s ability to absorb RE generation. This requires analysis of (i) State’s load profile and RE generation profile, (ii) State’s generation mix, (iii) Technical minimum of power plants dispatching in the state, (iv) Share of flexible generation like gas, and storage hydro in the overall generation mix, (v) Regulatory, Operational, Infrastructural, and Institutional enablers in state, (vi) State’s behavior in sale/purchase of power during excess/deficit at exchange, in bilateral market and in UI, and (vii) Detailed load flow analysis of state.

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February 2017

NEW INVERTER MAXIMIZES ENERGY HARVEST FROM THE PV POWER GENERATION Around the world there is an increasingly demand towards maximized value of residential PV system and smaller-scale industrial and commercial PV system. With the new intelligent technology, Growatt has launched new generation threephase solar Inverter Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S for this demand. Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S series inverters are designed for Max. efficiency98.4%,MPPT efficiency 99.5%, wide DC voltage range 160-1000VDC, which maximizes the comprehensive efficiency of inverters and allows the electricity to generate longer.

80Â

n addition, the new series inverter employs IP65 ingress protection, nature cooling, fanless design, maintenance-free and lower noise, very well adapted to extreme environments. It integrates a large heat sink and patented potting inductor to ensure performance safe and reliable, as well as stable in the long run. Simple, lightweight, beautiful design and maintenance-free provides a pleasant user experience. To reduce cost and save time for installers and distributors, Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S provides greater availability, a longer service life, maintenance-free and high efficiency in PV power plants. Max. DC/AC ratio up to1.2,1.1 overload enables the system more flexible, and maximizes the energy harvest from the PV power generation. Furthermore, Growatt 8K-11KTL3S is compatible with Growatt monitoring devices and cloud platform, and integrates on-line smart service system, so service engineer almost can handle 60%+ problems by remote configuration and FW update without on-site service. To ensure the top quality of Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S, Growatt R&D engineers complete a series reliability test at design stage and mass production. No matter outdoor exposure at salty condition of beach area, thermal shock, or drop test during transportation, Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S still has a good performance.

February 2017

Before Growatt launches new generation threephase solar Inverter Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S, Growatt 4-40KW three-phase string inverters have been shipped to more than 100 countries, and over 50,000 sets are already used for residential and smaller-scale industrial & commercial PV projects. In fact, Growatt has more than 5 years experience in first batch three-phase inverter offerings overseas since 2011 and over 4 years superior performance experience in Foxconn 20MW PV system since 2012. Therefore, clients will get a great benefit from the new generation Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S. Growatt was founded in May,2010 with the registered capital 100 million USD. It is a professional solution provider and state-level enterprise for solar inverters, energy storage system and Mehome intelligent energy management systems. Growattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solar inverters has exported to more than 100 countries in Europe, North America ,Australia, Asia, Africa and Latin America, and get much appreciation from global clients. Growatt is the leading Chinese inverter manufacturer, and fights for the largest user-oriented intelligent energy solution provider.

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