EQ Magazine Feb 2018 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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February 2018

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

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C ONTEN T

VOLUME 10 Issue # 2

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES Tata Power makes Mumbai Electric Vehicle Ready; sets up strategic additional

46 ENERGY STORAGE Siemens Financial Services and Fluence announce comprehensive financing program for energy....

08 ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

India to achieve universal electrification under Saubhagya scheme in 2018

The data and information presented in this magazine is provided for informational purpose only.neither EQ INTERNATINAL ,Its affiliates,Information providers nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based up on or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this magazine should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sale any securities. The facts and opinions stated in this magazine do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit, or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,Non-Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.If you want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

February 2018

BUSINESS & FINANCE

ReNew Power raises Rs 2,235 cr from NCD

BUSINESS & FINANCE

CDC launches Ayana Renewable Power, appts PJ Nayak as Chairman

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, Nordic Development Fund, Global Environment Facility and Calvert Impact Capital partner in US $55-million investment into Off-Grid Energy Access Fund

INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Rajeshwara Bhat

PV MANUFACTURING

ACWA Power and Huawei launch programme to enhance efficiency of solar plants

INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Soumyen Mukherjee

INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Jason Chow

16 42

PV MANUFACTURING

First Onsite EL Testing in India @ Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd.

PV MANUFACTURING

Canadian Solar, Photowatt And Ecm Greentech Plan To Form A Jv Company In Low-Carbon...

INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Gaurav Mathur

INDIA

Average spot power price drops 15% in Dec to Rs 3/unit

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POLICY & REGULATION

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February 2018

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

GAIL commissions India’s second largest rooftop solar plant in UP India plans to have 40 GW of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) by 2022. This is part of its target of having 175 GW of non-hydro renewables capacity by that time.

tate-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd said it has commissioned the country’s second largest rooftop solar power plant. The firm has installed a 5.76 MWp (Mega Watt peak) solar plant at its petrochemical complex at Pata in Uttar Pradesh,

The plant over the roofs of warehouses covers a total area of 65,000 square meters. “With an expected PLF of around 15 per cent annually, over 79 lakh KWh (or units) of electricity is targeted to be generated for captive use of India’s largest gas-based petrochemcials plant,” it said. Tata Power Solar had in December 2015 commissioned a 12 MW solar rooftop project in Amritsar, which produces more than 150 lakh units of power annually and offset over 19,000 tonne of carbon emissions every year. India plans to have 40 GW of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) by 2022. This is part of its target of having 175 GW of non-hydro renewables capacity by 2022- made up of 60 GW onshore wind, 60 GW utility-scale solar, 10 GW bio-energy, 5 GW small hydro and 40 GW rooftop solar.

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IT CURRENTLY HAS 60 GW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY.

GAIL Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi said the com-

pany as a marketer of benign natural gas is thrilled to integrate captive solar PV towards achieving lower carbon footprint at its installations. Captive solar power initiative of GAIL will reduce carbon emissions by 6,300 tonnes per annum and help India achieve climate goals, the statement said. “GAIL’s solar rooftop project is also a step under ‘Make in India’ with Indian vendors entrusted for manufacture, supply and execution.” Source: PTI

February 2018

ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

India to achieve universal electrification under Saubhagya scheme in 2018

The government has planned installation of more and more pre-paid meters

Seventy years after independence, India is racing to connect thousands of villages with electricity as it looks to accelerate growth whose dividend are distributed to all.

he new year will see the government accelerate efforts to achieve the mammoth task of reaching power to more than a quarter of a billion people who lack access to electricity. Year 2017 was an important year, when government unveiled Rs 16,320 crore Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) in September to provide electricity connection to around 4 crore families in rural and urban areas by March 2019. However, the Power Ministry’s internal target to achieve universal electrification under the Saubhagya scheme is December, 2018. Providing a connection would not help the poor people particularly in rural in view of their lower paying capacity and irregular incomes. In order to boost electricity consumption particularly in rural areas under the Saubhagya scheme, the government has planned installation of more and more pre-paid meters.

Power Minister R K Singh on several occasions talked about the installation of pre-paid as well as smart metres in the coming days for online generation, service and payment of electricity bills without human interface. The objective of Saubhagya scheme is to provide last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all households in rural and urban areas. Under the scheme free of cost electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households with at least one deprivation on the basis of SECC (Socio Economic Caste Economic) data in rural areas and economically poor households in urban areas would be given. The others families would be charged a sum of Rs 500 per household in ten equal instalments with the bill. Besides that families located in remote and inaccessible areas would be provided with Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) based standalone systems with LED lights, fan, power plug etc. The beneficiaries will be identified on the basis of socio economic conditions using SECC 2011 data. The effective implementation of UDAY scheme meant for revival of debt-laden discoms, would also make difference in 2018.

February 2018

“The distribution sector is set to attract the most attention, from household electrification to franchisee bids. We will see a new set of players entering. Unbundling of wires and supply can spur innovation in business models,” Kameswara Rao Partner-energy & utilities PricewaterhouseCoopers said. He said, “There’s a huge expectation that the government and utilities run a proper pipeline of bids. In its absence new capital and local supply chain can dry up.” He is of the view that utilities facing the impact of competition and loss of commercial load are likely to get their act together by investing in technology and younger workforce. The Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for financial and operational turnaround of discoms was launched in November, 2015. The scheme aims to provide permanent solution to legacy of debts of approximately Rs 4.3 lakh crore and address potential future losses. The scheme also envisages reform measures in all sectors generation, transmission, distribution, coal, and energy efficiency. The scheme availability period expired on March 31, 2017. Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu signed MoUs with the Government of India under UDAY Scheme on November 20, 2017. With this, 27 states and four UTs have joined UDAY till date. Under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) projects worth Rs 42,565 crore have been sanctioned in 32 States/ UTs. As on November 30, 2017, electrification in 1,24,219 villages and intensive electrification in 4,68,827 villages has been completed. Free electricity connections to 277.20 lakh BPL (below poverty line) households have been released. As many as 18,452 census villages in the country out of total inhabited villages of 5,97,644 as per census 2011 were reported un-electrified by the states on April 1, 2015. As on November 30, 2017, electrification in 15,183 villages has been completed and 1,052 villages have been reported un-inhabited. The remaining 2,217 villages are expected to be electrified by May 1, 2018. These 2,217 villages are located in Arunachal Pradesh (1,069), Assam (214), Bihar (111), Chhattisgarh (176), Jammu & Kashmir (99), Jharkhand (176), Karnataka (8), Madhya Pradesh (34), Manipur (54), Meghalaya 50), Mizoram (11), Odisha (182) and Uttarakhand (33). Simillary, IPDS (integrated power development scheme) aims to provide quality and reliable 24×7 power supply in the urban area. So far, projects worth Rs 26,910 crore covering 3,616 towns have been sanctioned. State utilities have awarded the works worth Rs 23,448 crore. The IT and technical intervention envisaged in IPDS scheme will not only ensure 24×7 power supply in urban area but will also help in improvement in billing and collection efficiency which will ultimately result in reduction in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C or distribution) losses. Besides, the power ministry is about to bring hydro power policy which provides for incentives to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore for this segment. Source: PTI

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February 2018

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

30 NDMC schools to have rooftop solar facility Azure Roof Power to Electrify Government Buildings of Udaipur Smart City AZRE) one of India’s leading independent solar power producers has won the mandate to install first ever 2 MW rooftop solar project for Udaipur Smart City Limited (USCL).

zure Roof Power will design, supply, install, commission and operate the grid connected rooftop solar PV project for 25 years at various Government buildings in Udaipur. The project is estimated to save 25% of USCL’s existing electricity cost. Azure Roof Power offers superior rooftop solar power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and institutional customers in cities across India to lower their energy bill and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. With over 150 MWs of high quality, operating and committed solar assets across 20 states, Azure Roof Power has one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country. Azure Roof Power has a well-diversified customer base with majority portfolio contracted with Government of India backed entities. Azure Roof Power customers include large commercial real estate companies, a leading global chain of premium hotels, distribution companies in smart cities, warehouses, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian Railways, a Delhi water utility company and various Government of India Ministries.

Speaking on the occasion, Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said “Rooftop solar forms an essential part of the smart cities development and serves as remedies to the growing infrastructural problems of India to build a smarter and more sustainable future. Azure Roof Power helps lower the energy costs of our customers and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. In addition, Azure Roof Power provides roof owners with an assured stream of cash flows through lease rentals or revenue share. In 2013, we built the first MW scale rooftop project in Gandhinagar under the smart city initiative and recently we have worked on several smart city projects in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack owing to our extensive experience in providing superior solar power operations.”

February 2018

In a bid to promote use of renewable energy, 30 municipal schools in north Delhi have been identified for installation of solar panels on rooftops,

tanding committee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) approved the proposal, as part of which “30 per cent subsidy for the scheme would be provided by the Union government”.

“Solar panels will be installed at rooftop of municipal buildings under the NDMC as part of its renewable energy initiative. The generated power will be used promptly for internal consumption. “The scheme would begin with 30 identified buildings of municipal primary schools,” the NDMC said in a statement. The panel also approved different proposals related to the Swachh Bharat Mission.

“Different types of vehicles, equipment and machines to the tune of Rs 100 crore would be procured under the Urban Development Fund for the purpose of the Swachh Bharat Mission,” it said. Besides, 22 mobile community toilet vans would be procured at an estimated cost of Rs 14 lakh, the statement said. “20,000 twin-bins of plastic of with frame and necessary tilting and locking arrangement will be made available in phases,” the NDMC said.

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ROOFTOP & OFFGRID

BRPL’s solar rooftop consumer programme launched Aiming to promote clean energy, a major discom here launched the “country’s first” solar rooftop consumer aggregation programme for residential buildings, which seeks to provide installations at a single point for an entire apartment complex. The ‘Solar City Initiative – Solarise Dwarka’ was unveiled by Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain.

aking its commitment to promote renewables to the next level, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – PACE-D and Indo-German Collaboration (GIZ) launched the ambitious initiative, the BSES said in a statement.

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“This path breaking ‘utility anchored rooftop program’ aims to maximise the utilisation of solar rooftop potential in south and west Delhi.

“Unlike conventional methods, under this programme, rooftop solar installations will be provided at a single point for the entire apartment complex. In the first phase (Solarise Dwarka), around 150 societies will be targeted in Dwarka. Looking at the response, the program will be expanded to other residential segments across BSES,” it said.

Listing the benefits for consumers, the discom said a 1 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system is expected to generate 4-5 kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity per day, which corresponds to an average monthly saving of about Rs 750 for a period of 25 years for single-point delivery consumers. “Moreover, to set up the solar plant, a 30 per cent capital subsidy is provided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy along with a Rs 2 per unit generation-based incentive allotted to a limited number of early projects by the Delhi government,” Besides helping the BRPL in meeting its renewable purchase obligation (RPO), the pioneering initiative will help the discom minimise overloading issues in congested areas during the peak summer months. “It will also help us in achieving capex deferment for line replacement and unplanned grid upgradation intermittently,”

February 2018

INDIA

Clean energy crosses 62 GW mark; solar over 16W, wind 32.7GW The countrys renewable energy capacity stood at 62.05 GW by November 2017, which includes 32.75 GW of wind energy and 16.61GW of solar power, Parliament was informed Recently.

“A total of 62.05 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed as on November 30, 2017 which includes 32.75 GW from wind, 16.61 GW from solar, 8.29 GW from bio-power and 4.40 GW from small hydro power (up to 25 MW),” Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

he minister informed the House that the power generated from these sources is fed into the grid and then utilised by distribution companies to provide the same to consumers. The government has fixed a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from Bio-power and 5 GW from Small Hydro power. In a separate reply to the House, Singh said that tidal energy cannot be presently harnessed on commercial basis due to high capital cost ranging from Rs 30 crore to 60 crore per MW. Solar, wind and thermal power cost around Rs 6 crore per MW for creating new capacities as per industry information Singh told the House that there is an estimated potential of about 8000 MW of tidal energy with 7000 MW in the Gulf of Kambhat, 1200 MW in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, and about 100 MW in the Gangetic delta in Sunderbans in West Bengal. The minister also told the House that the peak power supply deficit in April-November this fiscal was 2 per cent in the country as 160.75 billion units (BU) was supplied against the

peak demand of 164.06 BU. Similarly, he informed the house that energy deficit was recorded at 0.7 per cent in April-November this fiscal as 809.49 BU was supplied against the demand of 815.34 BU.According to the load generation balancing report of the Central Electricity Authority for 2017-18, India would become power surplus nation. It had said, “All India power supply position indicates that the country is likely to have a peak surplus of 6.8 per cent and energy surplus of 8.8 per cent.”

International Multilateral Financial Institutions providing Technical and Financial assistance for Solar Power Projects in the Country: Shri R.K. Singh

inister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh, in a written reply to a question on support to solar power projects in the country, in Lok Sabha informed that the Government has various solar power programmes which are being implemented through assistance of World Bank, International Finance Corporation and other multilateral financial institutions. Further, the Minister stated that a concessional loan of USD 620 Million has been provided by the World Bank to the State Bank of India and of USD 500 million by the Asian Development to the Punjab National Bank for financing of grid connected rooftop solar projects in Industrial and Commercial sectors.

February 2018

The Minister stated that the World Bank is providing assistance of USD 100 Million for development of internal infrastructure of solar parks a programme being implemented by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) under the aegis of this Ministry. (IREDA) under the aegis of this Ministry. Also, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed an agreement with the State government of Madhya Pradesh to help them in setting up of various solar PV power projects, Shri Singh added.

Technical Assistance is also available for promotion of rooftop systems under World Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID and GIZ assistance. The assistance under such schemes are available to all States/UTs depending on requirement and demand. The solar and wind power projects are very competitive as compared to conventional power projects. The lowest tariffs in solar and wind discontinued recently have come down to Rs. 2.44/kWh and Rs. 2.43/kWh respectively, Shri Singh informed. Source: PIB

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INDIA As compared to solar power, thermal power is sold at Rs 5 per unit, “Currently, the generation of solar power is very minimum compared to traditional energy. This year, the government is planning to boost solar power generation,” the official added.

Mahavitaran to purchase 1000 MW solar power in 2018 In a move to boost solar energy production in Maharashtra, Mahavitaran, the power transmission company of the state government, is planning to purchase 1000 MW solar power this year. Bids to purchase 1000 MW solar power have been invited at Rs 3 per unit, an Energy department official told PTI over weekend.

t present, such agriculture pump sets having 5500 MW capacity have been set up. This year, the government is planning to set up floating solar panels on water reservoirs to produce solar energy, the official said, adding that the floating solar panel on

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Ujni dam in Solapur district will be the first such solar power generation scheme in the state. He said global tenders for the project would be invited soon. Water conservation department has set the target of 1000 MW solar energy from the Ujni dam.

States of Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are ahead of Maharashtra in generation of solar power, the official added. At present, the solar power generation in Maharashtra is only 1,000 MW out of which 300 MW is produced by MahaGenco (Maharashtra State Electricity Board Co Limited). Under the Chief Minister’s Solar Agri Feeder programme, solar power pumps with the capacity of 7000 MW will be set up for the agriculture purpose.

February 2018

INDIA

63 solar micro grids of 1899 kWp aggregated capacity reported to be installed in the country: Shri R.K. Singh

inister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh, in a written reply to a question on steps taken by Government to explore the solar micro grid model in the country, in Lok Sabha informed that under the Solar Off-grid and Decentralized Applications Programme, so far 63 solar micro grids of 1899 kWp aggregated capacity have been reported to be installed in the country with financial support from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

MNRE has provided financial support up to 30% of the cost of micro/mini-grids systems for installation in the rural areas of the country. The design capacity of micro grid depends upon the requirement to be catered. Shri R.K. Singh Source: PIB

February 2018

Average spot power price drops 15% in Dec to Rs 3/unit Average spot power price dropped to Rs 3 per unit in December, which is about 15 per cent lower than Rs 3.55 per unit in the preceding month on Indian Energy Exchange (IEX).

“The average Market Clearing Price (MCP) discovered in Day-Ahead Market at IEX for December was at Rs 3 per unit, about 15 per cent lower than the price in November’17 which was Rs 3.55 per unit and 29 per cent above Rs 2.32 per unit same month last year,” the exchange said in a statement said.

otal of 3,108 MU (million units) was cleared, which is about 12 per cent lower than the 3,524 MU traded in November and was almost equivalent to 3,095 MU traded in December 2016. On a daily average basis about 100 MU were traded. Average daily sell and buy bids were 209 MU and 123 MU, respectively. The total sell bids during the month were 6,475 MU and the total buy bids were 3,826 MU. The IEX said that with persistent efforts from the government to improve the coal supply situation, the availability of coal at generators’ end was better and thus the spot power prices reduced in comparison to the previous month. Moreover, due to the seasonal variation and drop in temperature across northern states, power demand remained subdued in December, The ‘one nation, one

price’ was realised for 30 days in the month of December. On daily average basis, 841 participants traded in the day-ahead power market in December. It said that a total of 8,41,052 ESCerts (energy saving certificates) were traded in December with maximum price at Rs 1,000 per ESCert and minimum price at Rs 350. The market saw trade of 66,569 ESCerts in November. The Renewable Energy Certificate (RECs) Market, which trades on last Wednesday of every month, saw the highest ever trade of 32.39 lakh non-solar RECs traded at the floor price in the trading session held on 27 December, 2017 registering increase of 71 per cent over November, when 18.89 lakh non- solar RECs were traded. The Term-Ahead Market (TAM) traded 78 MU in December, mainly in the Intra-day and day-ahead contingency market segments. The TAM traded 317 MU in November 2017 and 68 MU in December 2016.

Source: PTI

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Trade Wars

India rejects U.S. solar claim at WTO, explores new defence India hit back at Washington’s latest legal assault on its solar power policies at the World Trade Organization, rejecting a U.S. legal claim and exploring possible new protection of India’s own solar industry.

he United States triggered a new round of litigation at the WTO, arguing that India had failed to abide by a ruling that it had illegally discriminated against foreign suppliers of solar cells and modules. In a statement published by the WTO on Monday, India said it had changed its rules to conform with the ruling and that a U.S. claim for punitive trade sanctions was groundless. “India underscores that the United States’ request is not a valid request,” the Indian statement said. It said Washington had skipped legal steps, failed to follow the correct WTO procedure, and omitted to mention any specific level of trade sanctions that it proposed to level on India, leaving India “severely prejudiced”. India would be vindicated if the proper process was followed, it said. “In view of the above, India strongly objects to the U.S. request of 19 December 2017,” it said. Renewable energy has become an area of severe trade friction as major economies compete to dominate a sector that is expected to thrive as reliance on coal and oil dwindles. India unveiled its national solar programme in 2011, seeking to ease chronic energy shortages in Asia’s third-largest economy without creating pollution.

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United States complained to the WTO in 2013, saying U.S. solar exports to India had fallen by 90 percent. The WTO judges agreed that India had broken the trade rules by requiring solar power developers to use Indian-made cells and modules. In a separate move that could protect its solar industry from global competitors, not only U.S. rivals, India told the WTO last week that it was considering the case for imposing temporary emergency tariffs on solar cells, modules and panels, after a petition from the domestic industry. Safeguard tariffs are permitted by the WTO if there is evidence of serious harm, or threat of serious harm, to a country’s production from a sudden, unforeseen surge in imports. India said the market share of imports had increased from 86 percent in 2014-15 to 90 percent in 2017-18, with growing losses for Indian producers and a fourfold rise in inventory levels. That amounted to prima facie evidence of serious injury to Indian firms, India said in the WTO filing.

February 2018

PV MANUFACTURING

CANADIAN SOLAR, PHOTOWATT AND ECM GREENTECH PLAN TO FORM A JV COMPANY IN LOW-CARBON PRODUCTION OF SILICON INGOTS AND WAFERS Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, announced it plans to partner with Photowatt, a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles and ECM Greentech, a group that is in the forefront of silicon crystallization equipment and process in France.

he three companies intend to set up a joint venture (“JV”) specialized in low-carbon production of advanced technology silicon ingots and wafers in France. EDF Energies Nouvelles through its subsidiary Photowatt, Canadian Solar and ECM Greentech would own 60%, 30% and 10% of the equity in the JV respectively. The JV partners are pioneers in high performance of casting mono technology, which gives the JV the potential to deliver the mono-crystalline silicon solar performance at the multicrystalline cost. Meanwhile, the technology developed by the JV partners would contribute to one of the lowest carbon footprints in manufacturing solar products. France is a leader in low-carbon ingot and wafer production.

“This cooperation is a win-win for each party involved. The French government’s ongoing annual solar energy program of 2,500 MWp tendering, together with EDF Group’s target of building 30 GWp of solar projects in France between 2020 and 2035 will create great opportunities for solar energy market there. We are happy to participate in the leading development of this next generation of low carbon solar energy production. Canadian Solar has over 16 years of manufacturing experience in the solar industry and has deployed over 25 GWs of solar modules around the world. This new carbon technology, coupled with high efficiency will speed up the energy generation grid parity,” commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. The establishment of the JV is being reviewed and subject to the clearance by the relevant competition authorities.

China National Building Materials Acquires a Minority Interest in SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES

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China National Building Materials, Beijing (CNBM), has informed SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG that it has acquired a minority interest of around 1.5 million shares (around 16.8%) of the current 8.9 million issued shares from external shareholders. It is reported that the corresponding legally binding purchase agreements have been signed. A transfer of ownership of the shares to CNBM (closing) is to take place in the near future, once certain conditions precedent have been fulfilled. For example, the acquisition of the shares remains to be approved by Chinese government agencies and the relevant competition authorities. It is expected that the approvals will be granted over the coming months.

February 2018

Rourkela Steel Plant sets up 1 MW solar unit

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of SAIL Ltd, has set up 1 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation unit inside the plant premises at a cost of Rs. 6.68 crore.

ystem, which is in the final stage of commissioning, is expected to generate minimum 1.479 million units of solar energy per annum, RSP said in a statement. It is also installing other facilities for production of green energy. Two 5 KW rooftop solar PV power generation systems have already been installed and seven more such systems are in the pipeline. RSP is also in the process of setting up a 15 MW hydro power project on the downstream of Mandira Dam in collaboration with GEDCOL.

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INDIA

Cabinet apprised of the MoU between India and Italy on cooperation in the field of renewable energy The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on India-Italy Cooperation in Renewable Energy between India and Italy.

he MoU was signed on 30th October, 2017 at New Delhi. The MoU was signed by Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of the Republic of India and H.E. Mr. Lorenzo ANGELONI, Italian Ambassador to India.

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India and Italy aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit equality and reciprocity. The MoU envisages establishing

a Joint Working Committee to review, monitor and discuss matters relation to areas of cooperation. It aims for exchange of expertise and networking of information and helps in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

February 2018

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featured

Adani Group among top 15 global Shell ventures back solar utility solar power developers into * Shell agrees to acquire stake in Silicon Ranch Corporation Adani Group has been named in the top 15 global utility solar power developers that includes likes of First Solar, Total, SunEdison and Engie.

dani, ranked 12th, is the only Indian company on the list put out by Greentech Media, a Wood Mackenzie business. “We have only included companies that are active in developing projects in more than one country,” it said in a report. “There are a number of developers active in single markets (predominantly China, India and the US) that have developed more capacity than some of the companies covered in this report.” Top of the list is First Solar with an operational capacity of 4,619 MW and in-development capacity of 4,802 MW. Adani has 788 MW of operational capacity and another 1,270 MW under development.

“Adani is moving into the Australia solar market with the development of the 140 MW Whyalla and 170 MW Rugby Run plants,” GTM Research said. It “could potentially look to acquisitions to grow outside of India the company had been rumoured to be interested in the acquisition of Equis Energy,” the report said. Adani Renewables is targeting 10 GW of installed renewable power by 2022. The company currently has 12 MW of operational wind assets, as well as 788 MW of solar PV. “The top 15 companies have an additional 33.5 GW of announced projects in the pipeline,” it said. First Solar, Canadian Solar and Total have the largest project pipelines. SunEdison has the fifth-largest portfolio, though the company is in the process of divesting much of its portfolio to other developers after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2016. The report said the top 15 developers are globally diversified and 13 companies are active in developing projects in at least three regions around the world.

“Most of the largest developers are actively looking to develop projects outside of the well-established markets such as Europe and Japan that have provided much of the early growth in their portfolios. Very large-scale projects are now more achievable in emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East and Latin America,” it said. Also, several companies are moving toward a “build, sell and operate” model rather than keeping projects on their own books. “This points toward an increasingly active secondary market for large-scale solar PV (photovoltaic) assets and an easy entry to the solar market for companies with money to spend,” the report said. Each of the top 15 global developers is actively articipating in tenders for large-scale capacity around the world. Source: PTI

February 2018

* Investment to reach up to $217 mln, could expand * Deal follows string of deals beyond oil and gas Royal Dutch Shell agreed on Monday to acquire a stake in a U.S. solar company, 12 years after exiting the sector, in the latest in a series of deals to grow beyond its core oil and gas business.

he Anglo-Dutch company also gave the green light for its first major new project in the North Sea in six years, signalling a cautious return to spending following three years of belt tightening in the face of lower oil prices. Shell agreed to buy a 43.86 percent stake in Silicon Ranch Corporation from funds linked to Partners Group for up to $217 million. It follows on the heels of British rival BP, which last month also re-entered the solar sector with the $200 million investment in Lightsource. Nashville, Tennessee-based Silicon Ranch develops, owns and operates solar plants across the United States with a capacity of 880 megawatts. Shell also has an option to increase its ownership after 2021.

“With this entry into the fast-growing solar sector, Shell is able to leverage its expertise as one of the top three wholesale power sellers in the U.S., while expanding its global New Energies footprint,” Marc van Gerven, Shell vice president of solar, said in a statement. In November, Shell doubled its planned investment in its new energies division, which focuses on renewables and low carbon technologies, to $1 billion-$2 billion until 2020. The investment in renewables far exceeds those of other major oil companies but still represents a fraction of Shell’s overall capital expenditure of around $25 billion. Oil companies have come under growing pressure from investors to adapt to the transition to lower carbon energy as governments seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century. Last month, Shell agreed to buy British household energy and broadband provider First Utility, targeting a market for its gas supplies which it expects will play a growing role in the transition to low carbon energy sources. Shell first entered the solar sector when it acquired Siemens Solar in 2002, only to sell the entire business six years later. It still retains a tiny stake in Showa Shell’s solar business after selling most of the business in 2016. Source: Reuters

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JSW Energy incorporates JSW Solar for clean energy biz Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Energy said it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary JSW Solar Ltd to pursue business opportunities in renewable energy and related segments.

“The company has, on January 1, 2018, incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary JSW Solar Ltd to, inter alia, pursue business opportunities in the renewable energy space, energy storage systems, micro grids, etc,” JSW Energy said in BSE filing.

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ompanys board in August last year had approved the proposal of entering into electric vehicles, energy storage systems and associated business, directly or through one or more subsidiaries. The company had said that the expected capex to be incurred on these businesses over the next three years would be in the range of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 crore. The company has also inked a pact with the Government of Gujarat to set up facility to manufacture electric car and storage battery.

February 2018

solar PROJECT

EMMVEE Commissions 40MW Solar PV project in Karnataka.

TPREL commissions 50 MW DCR solar plant in Karnataka

mmvee Photovoltaic Power Private Limited, India’s top solar PV modules manufacturer commissions 40 MW solar power plants in Karnataka.

Renewable energy company Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd(TPREL), announced the commissioning of its 50 MW DCR solar plant at Pavagada Solar Park in the state.

he three solar projects are spread across 206 acres area of land (Bagepalli, Kunigal & Bidar), the 40MW plant has 132,000 polycrystalline modules and will have a power generation capacity of 72million U/a. Emmvee has managed its position in the industry by delivering seamless services and equipment product in the field of solar industry manufacturing unit. These modules are created to perfection with our state-of-the-art machinery and the raw materials used are of the best quality.

Speaking on the occasion D.V.Manjunatha, Founder and Managing Director, Emmvee Group said, “It gives us immense satisfaction and pride in commissioning 40MW solar projects in Karnataka which adds to our milestone and also drive towards clean energy. With the current solar revolution happening across the country, we wish to complete many more projects in future”.

February 2018

he project was won by the company on April 4, 2016 under the National Solar Mission Phase-II Batch-II Tranche-I State Specific Bundling Scheme, the company said in a release.

With this development, TPREL’s total installed operating capacity now stands at 1664 MW, it said.

The 50 MW solar plants have been built over 253 acres, TPREL said, adding, the sale of power from solar plant has been tied up under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with NTPCBSE 0.22 % Ltd. at a tariff of Rs 4.84/ unit.

“the commissioning of the 50 MW solar plant in Karnataka fortifies our position of being the largest renewable energy company in the country, with a strong presence in solar power generation.” TPREL CEO Rahul Shah said, “… we continue to seek potential areas across India and in select International markets through organic and inorganic opportunities,” he said. TPREL recently commissioned 25 MW solar plant in Charanka, Gujarat Solar Park, Gujarat; 30 MW solar plant in Palaswade in Maharashtra and 100 MW Solar plant at Pavagada Solar park in Karnataka. Tata Power’s vision is to have 35-40 per cent of the company’s total generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2025, the company said. Tata Power’s renewable energy capacity this year crossed 2000 MW and green generation portfolio crossed the 3000 MW mark, it added.

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solar PROJECT

Arctech Solar’s First Middle East Project At the very beginning of the 2018, Arctech Solar’s client formally began the construction work for its 10MW solar power plant in Khafji, Saudi Arabia. This is a new market breakthrough for Arctech Solar’s trackers after its successful entry into African market last October.

he 10MW Khafji project is expected to be commissioned by the end of March 2018. Once completed, this project can not only produce enough electricity to households, but also power seawater desalting plant nearby with clean, renewable solar power. Given that the project was located in a sandy area, Arctech Solar supplied its redundancy design to this project. With its reliability of redundancy design and excellent tracking performance, Arctracker Pro was the first tracker product in China that obtained the UL2703 & UL3703 certificates by UL last year and has been widely recognized and accepted by customers. Arctech Solar brought its new product SkySmart, the world’s first tracker designed for bifacial modules, attended the 2018 WFES held in Abu Dhabi on 15th-18th January.

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“We are delighted to make an effort to the development of Saudi Arabia’s seawater desalination,” This project in Saudi Arabia lays the groundwork for us to enter the Middle East market. We look forward to playing a positive role in ‘Saudi Vison 2030’ and continuing our involvement in the Middle East area.” commented by Mr. Guy Rong, president of Arctech Solar’s international business.

February 2018

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Orb Energy raises Rs 95 Cr from FMO, OPIC & others Orb Energy is looking to use the capital to grow its in-house finance facility of rooftop solar panels for Indian SMEs and to further expand its Kenya operations.

olar energy systems maker Orb Energy has raised over Rs 95 crore ($15 million) in a part-equity and part-debt round from the Dutch development bank FMO, selfsustaining US government agency Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), African finance institution Pamiga and Germany’s development finance institution DEG. With this, the total capital raised by the company stands at $26 million. With over $10 million of this round raised as long-term debt from OPIC, Orb is looking to use the capital to grow its in-house finance facility of rooftop solar panels for Indian SMEs and to further expand its Kenya operations. Orb’s in-house platform provides finance to SMEs looking to reduce electricity costs through ownership of a rooftop solar system. To make the adoption of solar panels easier, Orb offers finance packages without collateral. Based out of Bengaluru, Orb provides solar energy systems such as solar panels and water heaters, and has sold over 150,000 systems in India since inception in 2006. A vertically integrated company, Orb manufactures its own solar photovoltaic panels and solar water heating systems through two manufacturing plants in southern India and has a cumulative installation of over 30 MW of rooftop solar systems over the past decade. In India, rooftop solar systems offer industrial customers a 3-4 year payback without any subsidy – an unheard of return on investment on an unsubsidized solar power system. But many cash-constrained SMEs in India cannot afford the up-front costs of solar without credit. Orb is looking to cement its position in this market as a leading credit facility provider, a move that it expects will drive strong commercial sales growth.

“We will generate revenues of over Rs 100 crore in FY18 and are projecting a 40-50% increase in topline growth over the next three years. For FY19, we are targeting revenues of Rs 150-160 crore,” Damian Miller, CEO of Orb Energy, told ET. With a production capacity of 2-3 MW per month currently, Miller is targetting to increase production to reach the full capacity of 60 MW over the next year. “Orb has demonstrated through its unique inhouse finance facility and vertically integrated approach, that profitable growth is possible in this fast-moving, highly competitive segment of India’s solar market,” said Jurgen Rigterink, CEO of FMO. With this capital infusion, Orb is aiming for profitability in the rooftop solar sector in India within the next couple of years. The company will also use a small part of the capital raised to expand its residential and commercial solar business in Kenya, where it has sold over 10,000 systems since 2014.

February 2018

ReNew Power raises Rs 2,235 cr from NCD ReNew Power has raised Rs 2,235 crore through a non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue which will be utilised for repaying its existing loans and business expansion.

he issue had two parts with the first, a credit enhanced NCD worth Rs 760 crore and the second, a multi-issuer cross-collateralised rupee bond involving multiple power distribution companies valued at Rs 1,475 crore, the company said in a statement . Debt worth Rs 1,475 crore involves multiple power distribution companies from Andhra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, and is spread across eight special purpose vehicles and 12 projects totaling 234 mw of installed capacity (174 mw of wind and 60 mw of solar).

“We continue to broad-base our sources of debt and this NCD issue has saved interest cost between 1.5 and 2 per cent. This is expected to help freeing up existing bank limits and allowing us to contribute to working towards renewable energy targets set by states and the Centre,” companys deputy CFO Kailash Vaswani said. He further said the proceeds from the bond issue will be used for the prepayment of existing term loans which he did not quantify.

The second issue of Rs 760 crore, has a tenor of 17 years.

India Infrastructure Finance Company and the Indian Renewable Energy evelopment Agency have together extended a partial credit guarantee. ReNew Power has a host of international investors, including Goldman Sachs and Global Environment Fund from the US, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Asian Development Bank and JERA from Asia and till date, it has raised a total equity of USD 900 million. L&T Financial Services acted as the underwriter for the multi-issuer crosscollateralised rupee bond.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

CDC launches Ayana Renewable Power, appts PJ Nayak as Chairman The UKs development finance institution CDC said it has formed a new company Ayana Renewable Power that will focus on operations in India and neighbouring South Asian countries.

irm has also appointed PJ Nayak as the chairman and Shivanand Nimbargi as managing director and CEO of Ayana Renewable Power, a new independent solar and wind generation, the company said in a statement issued here.

ith more than 25 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector Nayak was the former chairman and CEO of Axis Bank, and has served as the chairman of Union Bank of Colombo, country head at Morgan Stanley India and senior adviser at TPG Capital. Prior to this he was a senior official in the Indian Administrative Services, and served as joint secretary for the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

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“Ayana will develop hundreds of MWs of generational capacity targeting underserved Indian states and neighbouring countries in South Asia including Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Ayana is 100 per cent funded by CDC, and will be run by an independent board and management team,”

Ayanas strategic vision is to create significant renewable power generating capacity across South Asia, compl ementing it with a development agenda which reaches out to communities near locations where such capacity has been created,” PJ Nayak as the chairman Ayana Renewable Power said. Nimbargi, who has an experience of over 20 years in the power sector, has served as the managing director and CEO of Green Infra from 2011 to 2016. While at Green Infra, he built a new management team and more than doubled the companys

operational capacity from 150 MW to 700 MW. He previously held a variety of senior roles at Alstom India where he was employed for 15 years. He was most recently the managing director of L&T Metro Rail Source: PTI (Hyderabad).

February 2018

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Global green bond issuance hit record $155.5 billion in 2017 -data Global green bond issuance hit a record $155.5 billion in 2017, surpassing previous estimates, and could reach $250 bln-$300 bln this year, research from the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) shows.

ssuance last year was 78 percent higher than 2016’s $87.2 billion and well above the CBI’s estimate in December of $130 billion. The United States, China and France accounted for 56 percent of total issuance in 2017, according to the CBI, a London-based non-profit organisation which certifies the green credentials of bonds. Fannie Mae was the largest overall issuer in the United States, with $24.9 billion from its green Mortgage Backed Securities programme. Green bonds are a growing category of fixed-income securities, which raise capital for projects with environmental benefits. There were 10 new entrants to the market last year: Argentina, Chile, Fiji, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. Although green bonds make up a small fraction of the overall bond market, they are attracting more attention because meeting emissions-cut targets will require trillions of dollars of capital from public and private sectors. Last year, several climate leaders called for a ten-fold increase in green bond investment from 2016 levels and set a target for 2020 of $1 trillion.

There are now three vital years to reach the milestone of a trillion dollars in green finance by end 2020. The final results for 2017 provide some foundation, but must be doubled and doubled again by the end of the decade,” CBI’s Chief Executive Sean Kidney said in a statement.

Husk Power raises $20 mn for its mini-grid business Husk Power Systems said that it has raised USD 20 million (over Rs 127 crore) to scale its renewable mini-grid business both in Asia and Africa. The USD 20 million equity investment has been made by “Shell Technology Ventures LLC, Swedish development finance institution Swedfund International and ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, ENGIE group’s impact investment fund”, the company said in a statement.

usk Power designs, builds, owns and operates one of the world’s lowest-cost hybrid power plants and distribution network in India and Tanzania, the statement said. It provides power to rural communities and businesses, entirely from renewable energy sources. Husk Power co-founder and CEO Manoj Sinha said: “Together with our strategic partners, we are now confident of achieving our vision of becoming the world’s largest rural utility company providing 24/7, 100 percent renewable and affordable power to drive inclusive and sustainable development in growth markets.” Source: PTI

“The spotlight is now firmly on financial system actors, banks, insurers, corporates and institutional investors to achieve this vital 2020 climate investment target,” he said. The most common use of proceeds from green bonds last year was on renewable energy but investment in low-carbon buildings and energy efficiency rose in 2017, the CBI said. “With a multitude of rail and urban metro deals, allocations to low-carbon transport almost doubled in volume. The trend to finance an increasingly diverse range of projects continues,” it said.

Source: in.reuters

February 2018

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

AISIA opposes safeguard duty on import of Solar panels, cells NEW DELHI: Strongly opposing the proposed blanket safeguard duty on imProposed levy will be counterproductive for port of solar panels and cells, AISIA (All India Solar Industries Association) solar has saidindustry that the levy will badly impact solar manufacturers operating out differential duty on speofCall the for Special Economicanti-dumping Zones (SEZ) across the country. cific countries like China

The SEZ units are treated on par with foreign manufacturers and any hence any Safeguard duty will be detrimental to the Indian solar industry as a whole, said Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhary, general secretary of All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA).

ISIA, however, made a strong case for specific anti-dumping duty on imports from China which is flooding the Indian market with its cheap solar modules making domestic industry unviable. If we take the case of Solar Modules and Cells, India has 3.1 GW of installed capacity of Solar cells out of which 2 GW, more than 60% is situated in SEZs. It should be noted that out of 8.3 GW of Solar Module Manufacturing facilities of 3.8 GW are situated in SEZs. Hence, the indigenous manufactures situated in SEZ will come under the ambit any blanket duty that will be imposed on solar cells and modules which will make them uncompetitive,” In 2016-17, the estimated demand of solar modules was around 6 GW whereas the demand is expected to go up to 10 GW in 2017-18.Under the WTO framework a member country can impose a Safeguard Duty if the increased quantity of imports may be either an absolute increase or an increase relative to domestic production which is causing serious injury or a threat of serious injury to the Domestic industry. ‘Serious injury’ is defined as a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry.

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In determining whether serious injury is present, investigating authorities must evaluate all relevant factors having a bearing on the condition of the industry, include the absolute and relative rate and amount of increase in imports, the market share taken by the increased imports, as well as changes in level of sales, production, productivity, capacity, utilization, profit and losses, and employment of the domestic industry, Mr. Chaudhary said. India created Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in 2005 with single window clearance and tax holidays to facilitate manufacturing in India. Under the custom laws, SEZ units are considered to be outside Indian customs territories. Thus, goods manufactured in SEZ, if sold in India, are treated deemed exports with no customs duty applicable. Indigenous manufacturers located in SEZ will caught on the wrong foot in case a Safeguard Duty is imposed on all imported solar modules and cells.

The purpose of imposing Safeguard Duty should be to protect the domestic industry from goods which are being dumped at below market prices, but in case domestic manufacturers situated on SEZs the levy yields counterproductive results. This could also lead to increase in cost power that will discourage the domestic industry, Mr. Chaudhary pointed out. The imposition of differential Anti-dumping duty – higher on solar modules and lower on solar cells – for imports from China PR, Taiwan and Malaysia will encourage growth of domestic manufacturing. This will help both solar cell and module manufacturers to compete in the local market and encourage the Make in India mission, Protective measures such as Safeguard Duties, ADD and Basic Custom Duty (BCD) are meant to help the domestic industry but they can cripple SEZ units and goes against the theme and spirit of Make in India Policy. At a time when GDP growth is declining in a constant manner, manufacturing industry has a huge role to play in India’s growth story, we need to revaluate the duty structures to facilitate the survival and growth of domestic industry, Mr. Chaudhary added.

February 2018

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Soumyen Mukherjee EQ: In one of your last interview you told EQ that 2017 would be the most important year for Solar Industry. How the year went for you and Sova Solar?

in different ways and forms. It has submitted its EOI for 500 Mw of its own and for the rest 500Mw it would form Joint Venture with some reputed developers of India.

SM: The overall performance of Sova Solar has increased in 2017 in comparison to the last 6 /7 years, but the expectation from the industry in 2017 was more than it has actually performed . Due to several international and domestic issues the major projects in India got disturbed and as a result the target could not be attended properly.

EQ: Anti Dumping Duty and Safeguard Duty are two very hot topic now a days for the Indian industry. What is your opinion about the impact of these duties?

EQ: Recently SECI has issued an EOI for 20GW. What is your opinion about it ? How Sova Solar will participate in the said EOI? SM: Let me start the reply in a different way. India has signed GATT agreement way back in 1992, which had opened the door of Indian market to outside world. That has adversely affected our present Government’s movement to popularise the DCR Solar Projects in India. Ministry had tried to find out an alternative way to safeguard the domestic Industry and to form a niche market, as a whole. Not only that the concept of MAKE IN INDIA has also to be protected. This Expression Of Interest (EOI)is the very initial step towards that. We highly appreciate the initiative taken by our Minister-In-Charge, Shri R.K Singh. Being a retired bureaucrat has taken a very well thought step to form a market for the domestic manufacturers. Sova Solar Ltd., is a gladly participating in this EOI

February 2018

SM: You have asked a very contradictory question, though it is a very burning one. However, I must express my view transparently, as I fancy. If you see the Indian industry with a macro perspective, then you would see both the Indian Cell and Module manufacturers are working very hard and despite having various internal hardship and external threats they are making their rooms well. They actually need the support from the market. Once the demand and supply would match the India manufacturers would lead the world economy without any hesitation. So we need the demand from the market only. No other protection is required. If we take the reference of the recent list published by MNRE, we can find a good gap between Cell Manufacturing Capacity and Module Manufacturing capacity in India. Firstly a symmetricity needs to established between these two manufacturers’ cpacity and secondly it should be ensured that their production will be consumed fully by the Indian developers. If our Ministry can shape it properly then no antidumping duty and safeguard duty would be required .

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INTERVIEW INTERViEW

President Sova Solar Ltd

EQ: How cost effective is your module in the market? What kind of support would feel will make Indian product more cost competitive?

tied with IIT Kharagpur. The team lead by Professor Jatin Roy are continuously monitoring our production process and advices us how to maintain our product quality.

SM: We are very very competitive in the market, both for domestic and export. We are supplying modules to various domestic and international EPC solution providers on regular basis. The main game of the industry is controlled by the wafer manufacturer and too some extent the foreign cell supplires. They controls the cost of the ultimate products. The conversion cost of Sova Solar is very cost competitive . The production incentive , as I fancy, is the most fruitful means to make the Indian Modules most competitive. If you take a price data base from the market you may definitely find there is a gap of UD$ 0.02 to US$ 0.03 per watt peak and the gap is 7% to 10% maximum. If we , the Indian Module manufacturers, would get production incentive, mind it not subsidy, to that extent our modules will be much more cost competitive.

EQ: How would you opine the impact of GST on the India business ?

EQ: What is the highest capacity of Modules you are currently producing in your state of the art? What is the target in regard to technological development this year?

SM: Before replying to your it is to be made clear that Sova Solar supplies only those modules which are produced at their own facility. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use any other means yet. However, We are currently producing 335 Wp Poly Crystalline Module in 72 Cells matrix and our target is to attain the limit of 345 Wp by the end of this year. We have already introduced PV MODULE with PERC Cell . Our target is to reach 360Wp in that segment. Regarding technological development we may be aware that we are

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SM: The move to start a new regime is always very appreciable. Imposition of GST is expected to be a good move for our country. The nation was running by a parallel economy which didn't contribute directly to the growth of the country. With the compulsory imposition of GST it is expected that parallel economy will come under the same umbrella of the country. The Solar industry may face some initial hindrances, like other industry, but in long run it will definitely enjoy the benefits of GST. With the help of instilling more liquid funds into the economy the purchasing capacity of mass will be increased. GST will not be an additional cost to registered retailers therefore there will be no hidden taxes and the cost of doing business will be lower. Once this flow will become smooth, like other industry Solar Industry will also enjoy the benefits. In the GST system, when all the taxes are integrated, it would make possible the taxation burden to be split equitably between manufacturing and services. GST will be levied only at the final destination of consumption based on VAT principle and not at various points (from manufacturing to retail outlets). This will help in removing economic distortions and bring about development of a common national market, which ultimately help the total economy and Solar Industry is not out of the economy. Moreover, GST will also help to build a transparent and corruption free tax administration.

February 2018

31Â

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Rajeshwara Bhat EQ: Proposed Indian Safeguard Duty on Module/Cells Importâ&#x20AC;ŚWhat are your views on this RB: The proposed Indian Safeguard Duty on Modules/ Cells will adversely affect the industry considering the fact that our manufacturing capacity both in terms of modules & cells are not on par with the target envisaged by our Honorable Prime Minister under National Solar Mission. The modalities of imposing such safeguard duties has sent investors on cautious mode where in the projects which have already been bid or PPA signed will go in hibernation mode if the proposed safe guard duties are applicable for such projects also. Due to the ambiguity & in absence of clear guidelines, most of the bids are seeing poor response or in some cases, established players have gone on defensive mode by not being active which will in long run affect the Solar Industry in India. Due to lower cell manufacturing capacity in comparison to Module assembly in India, most of such module plants will also be severely affected by imposition of such duties. It is highly desirable to strengthen Indian manufacturing capability which will have long term benefits but the measures undertaken should be well thought out that will address concerns of all stake holders in the domain.

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing in India, Whats your plan to Capture this opportunity. RB: We have been working constantly to enhance our in house expertise and looking for strategic tie ups that would enable us to capture good business in India

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February 2018

EQ: What is your suggestion regarding Safeguard duty to Government / Foreign Module Makers / Indian Manufacturers / Developers / Policy Makers / Regulators etc.. RB: Safeguard duty should be a well thought out subject holders duly considering the bare facts instead of mere assumptions. Government should engage with all the stakeholders and come out with deliberations designed to address the concerns of the Solar industry as a whole. Government should also work on initiatives that would strengthen our manufacturing capabilities in line with demand & target set out under National Solar Mission. Foreign Module makers should start exploring opportunities to establish their manufacturing capabilities locally in India and work closely with the authorities to address concerns expressed by local industry. Indian manufacturers should look at enhancing their capabilities to indigenously source their raw materials and work out plans on back ward integration that will suffice their manufacturing capabilities. Developers should petition strongly with the authorities so as to minimize the impact on the growth trajectory of the industry. Policy Makers & regulators have a crucial role of connecting all the missing dots in the Solar Industry and ensure level playing that would encourage investments and brings in most competitive tariff.

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INTERVIEW INTERViEW

Managing Director

Juwi India Renewable Energies Pvt Ltd

EQ: USA President Trump Decision on 30% Duty on all Imported Cells and Modules…What is the impact on Indian / Chinese Manufacturers and the global solar market RB: Global Solar market will greatly be affected due to USA President Trump decision on 30% Duty on all Imported Cells & Modules. The investments in the solar domain may take a regressive step and the targets anticipated may fall back initially. In general, Solar Industry has been subjected to various policy paradigm across globe in the past which has seen a pass through over a period of time. Chinese manufacturers may in long run look at plans to locally produce & cater to such market situations considering the regulations prevailing in the market. Indian Manufactures may not have to worry much in terms of US market but would cheer a bit anticipating similar impositions in India.

EQ: Problem of the wrong classification of Solar Modules by customs officials, what has been your experience and remedy measures taken RB: Classification of Solar Modules by custom officials has further delayed many projects where in no concrete solution seems to have been offered though intermittent measures are in place. There should be a clarity in terms of statutory obligations or duty structure being considered in the projects that would not only protect Solar Investments but also ensure profitability of the solar plants.

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EQ: There have been some challenges faced by SECI regarding PSA’s…Kindly tell us what has been happening and how has it affected your projects and what measures have you taken to deal with this. RB: We have not faced any such situations in our projects. Developers should work closely with the authorities to remove the road block by duly complying to conditions.

EQ: PPA Re-Negotiation, Cancellation etc…by some state governments, please enlighten as to what has been happening and what measures have your company taken RB: We are presently focused on EPC services & have not see any such situations in our business. PPA Re-negotiation & cancellations are worst allayed fears of any investor and should never be encouraged at any levels which would otherwise send negative sentiments across the Solar industry.

EQ: What according to you is the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market. RB: Indian Solar Market in its present form has ample opportunities across various segments but wheeling through some of the toughest times which will eventually settle down. This would give rise to certain uprising events and even some of the downturns which will lead to consolidation of players at various echelons. Indian Solar Market will see a greater boom in years to come which will through its innovations and technology adaptations will be the largest power producer shortly.

February 2018

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

EQ: Module Prices Going up, and reports of some module companies who have renegotiated the prices…kindly enlighten what really is happening and what measures have you been taking. RB: We have been hearing such news and internally, we are continuously working to strengthen and leverage our position as a global player which will create long term partnerships in the market to avoid such contractual deviations.

EQ: Impact of GST on Solar ? RB: GST regime has added to the cost of the project as compared to relaxed taxing regime that was previously experienced by the industry. Solar industry has eventually seem to be settling down and would see more consolidation in this year.

EQ: Expectations from Indian Government Budget 2018-19 ? RB: The speculation in terms of customs duty, safe guard duty, anti-dumping duty and all other ambiguities may be rested to peace by bringing in more clarity in terms of guidelines thereby creating a level playing among different players in the market.

EQ: BIS Certification…What is your view in terms of enough lab infra, need of BIS, Process, applicability and recent news that customs officials not allowing import of solar products without BIS Certification. RB: BIS Certification was envisaged to ensure common bench marking for the industry and it has gone in to glitches at various levels owing to infrastructural draw backs which should be duly addressed such that the project schedules are not affected.

February 2018

EQ: Aggressive Bidding despite of many challenges enlisted above, what is your view/opinion RB: We are keenly following the biddings in India and even across the globe along with recent developments in the sector and have been treading a cautious but inclusive approach though innovation and professional measures.

EQ: Impact of Proposed Indian safeguard duty and Trump's decision on Manufacturers in Indian SEZ RB: Indian Safeguard Duty talks about including manufacturers in Indian SEZ under the ambit of safeguard duty which has not gone well with the Indian manufacturers as majority of the capacity has been located in SEZ areas. SEZ units are treated on a par with foreign manufacturers, and hence, any safeguard duty would be detrimental to the Indian solar industry as a whole.

EQ: Can India Achieve its target of 80GW of Utility scale solar and 20GW of rooftop solar by 2022 ? What is the opportunity, challenges, roadblocks and required ecosystem to achieve the target. RB: Target set in do not seem to be unachievable provided policy makers come out clear on the allayed fears, ambiguities on duty structure, taxes, regulations and others which has been creeping in negative tone. Solar Industry in ’s form will be able to sustain the shocks not for long and needs an immediate over haul on regulation that would reset the growth trajectory thereby yielding huge investments, jobs, revenues and above all a green sustainable energy for the generations ahead.

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February 2018

35Â

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Jason Chow EQ: 12. Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission JC: LONGi Solar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of LONGi Group. LONGi Group (SH601012) is committed to the mono-crystalline solar field and has become the world’s largest supplier of mono silicon wafers, with a total asset of over $2.7 billion (2016). LONGi Solar is a world leading manufacturer of high-efficiency mono-crystalline cells and modules. Armed and powered by advanced technology and long standing experience of LONGi Group in the field of monocrystalline silicon, LONGI Solar has shipped over 1GW products in 2015 and is estimated to double the revenue by the end of 2016. The company has its headquarters in and branches in Japan, Europe, North America, India and Malaysia. With strong focus on R&D, production and sales & marketing of mono- crystalline silicon products, LONGi Solar is committed to providing the best LCOE solutions as well as promoting the worldwide adoption of monocrystalline technology.

February 2018

Mr. Baoshen Zhong, the Chairman of Longi Group, graduated from Lanzhou University with a BS in Physics. He is an expert in magnetic materials and member of the Standing Committee of Fushun Municipal Political Consultative Conference. Zhong won the award of Outstanding Private Entrepreneur of Fushun City in 2002 and 2004. He was voted as the Annual Model Worker of Fushun City for three consecutive years from 1997 to 1999 and the Star Manager of Fushun City in 2001. Moreover, he also won “May 1st Labor Medal ” and “Outstanding Socialist Builder” of Liaoning Province in 2002. During that period, he held several social positions, including vice chairman of the Washing Process Division of China Heavy Machinery Industry Association (CHMIA) and vice chairman of the First Session of Shaanxi Solar Energy Photovoltaic Industry Alliance. From 2006 to June, 2014, Mr Baoshen Zhong was a director of LONGI Silicon Materials Corp. Since June, 2014, he has been the chairman of the Board of LONGI Silicon Materials Corp. He has rich experience in management and used to be the director of a company specializing in magnetoelectric materials, instrument, investment, PV, semi-conductor and CNC equipment.

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INTERVIEW INTERViEW

Marketing Manager APAC, LONGi Solar

Mr Wenxue Li, the President of LONGi Solar,

graduated from Lanzhou University in 1990, majoring in physics of metals, and later received an MBA from Xidian University in 2002. Li is now chief executive of LERRI Solar. From 1990 to October, 2010, he successively held the positions of vice-general manager, general manager, chairman of the Board and secretary of the Party committee of Shaanxi Jinshan Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. For thirteen consecutive years, the company remained among the top 100 manufacturers of electronic components in China and was rated by Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government as a “quality and performanceguaranteed” enterprise. In 2010, Mr Wenxue Li joined LONGI Silicon Materials (Ningxia), where he successively held the positions of executive deputy general manager and vice president of the operation center. Since February, 2015, he has been the president of LERRI Solar, making great contributions in upgrading corporate management, improving production efficiency and stimulating staff’s initiative. Li has won the title of “Model Worker of Xianyang City” and was elected a representative of the Third People & Congress of Xixia District, Yinchuan.

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Mr Hong Chen, the Vice President of LONGi Solar,

born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, graduated from Lanzhou University, majoring in physics. Chen has long been engaged in semi-conductor and solar PV sectors. He used to be an engineer, technical director and production director of the production base of LONGI Silicon Materials Corp. He now holds the position of vice-general manager of LERRI Solar. Currently, Chen is mainly responsible for technical research & development, quality control, global customer services, planning & anagement, production management of relevant production bases, and so on. He has accumulated extensive experience in aspects like PV research & development and project management.

Vision: To provide customers with excess value

products and services, To provide employees a platform with the most growing value,To create the best investment value for the shareholders. Mission: To become a leader in mono-crystalline products, To contribute more efficiently to the global photovoltaic power plant. To become a loyal partner of the photovoltaic industry. To create greater value for customer & investment. To promote the development of photovoltaic industry, To build a greener earth for the offspring.

February 2018

EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc… JC: LONGi Solar is committed to R&D of the new technology to reduce the production cost of wafers, cells and modules. Bifacial PERC is the latest technology of LONGi Solar. Bifacial PERC modules enable bifacial application by printing an Al finger grid instead of the full-area Al layer on the rear side. The process can be simply applied and significantly increase energy yield without additional cost. It has the remarkable advantages of high efficiency, high reliability and high energy yield. The bifacialty of HiMO2 modules on mass production line can achieve more than 75%, which is expected to be over 80% in the near future.

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, Whats your plan to Capture this opportunity. JC: Chinese PV manufacturers dominate the world solar market. Nevertheless, Chinese manufacturers face various challenges from the foreign government, the US and European anti-dumping policies, and now comes the Indian anti- dumping policy. India is the next booming market for solar. Chinese PV manufacturers, including LONGi, are keen to capture this precious opportunity to enter the Indian market, and also contribute to the new energy sector of India. Despite of the proposed antidumping policy in India, LONGi has already made a progress in developing the India market, i.e., launch of branch office and cell and module plants in India. Furthermore, LONGi has been making massive marketing effort in India’s solar market in order to showcase the advantages of mono-crystalline modules.

opportunity for LONGi to promote its mono bifacial PERC modules. The biggest challenge would be the uncertainty of the market due to the GST tariff proposed to Chinese manufacturers.

EQ: Impact of GST on Solar?

JC: So far, GST has already seriously influenced India’s solar market. We will see what can happen in the near future of 2018.

EQ: How much modules have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2018-2019 JC: In 2017, LONGi shipped 91 WM of mono modules to India. LONGi’s sales target for Indian Market in 2018 is approximately 1.5GW

EQ: What are your plans for India, your view on the GOI target of 100GW Solar Power by 2022 JC: LONGi targets the India as a major market. Thus, LONGi is building cell and module factories with annual production volume of 1GW each. As mentioned above, the sales target of LONGi for the Indian market in 2018 is 1.5GW.

EQ: What are your plans for manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and chal -lenges in manufacturing in India JC: The cell and module plants in India are still under construction and are expected to be available by late 2018 or early 2019. So far, with the help of local authorities in India, everything goes well.

EQ: How much is your R&D budget as % of your sales / profits

EQ: What according to you is the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market.

JC: According to LONGi 2016 Annual Report as of 11 March 2017, Research and Development investment is accounted for 5% of revenue of LONGi.

JC: India plans to install 100GW of solar energy by 2022 in accordance with the JNNSM. Therefore, the efficiency of solar modules is vital to the increase of power generation. Therefore, this would be a great

EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future

February 2018

JC: India, America, Japan, Australia, and, of course, China.

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February 2018

39Â

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with

Gaurav Mathur EQ: Proposed Safeguard Duty on Module/ Cells Import…What are your views on this GM: The country is targeting 100-gw (gigawatt) solar capacity by 2022 against the current installed capacity of 15 gw and has planned to auction 20 gw capacities by March, and 30 gw each in next two fiscals. We feel the GoI would take appropriate decision to protect the domestic industry as well make sure to fulfill the policy targets.

EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc… GM: While the solar module comprises the most costly component of a total solar system, technological advancements have contributed a significant drop in prices with further declines anticipated in the coming years. From 2015 to 2016, the price of solar panels dropped nearly 40 percent on average, according to recent research from International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics. Despite these price improvements, the panels still constitute roughly 45 percent of the total cost of a PV system. However, experts expect this to fall to 29 percent by 2027. The reasoning behind these estimates stem from the introduction of innovative new technology, processes and solutions that boost efficiency, increase power output and improve performance gains. Combined, these factors are contributed to help lower the overall prices of solar PV systems. Half-cut solar cells, PERC cells are part of a revolutionary new breed of PV echnologies working in concert bringing down the module price tag.

February 2018

Price road map: It is very hard to comment on the price road map as it is strongly depends on raw material cost, driven by public policy support in the form of feed-in- tariffs, investment tax credits and renewable energy portfolio standards. As solar system prices have dropped rapidly in recent years, governments in many countries have scaled back these subsidies. The price point is always uncertain. Technology Road map: Several years of dramatic cost reductions of crystallinesilicon (x-Si) solar technologies and consolidation efforts throughout the industry, the next wave of solar deployment will utilize innovations focusing on higher-efficiency cells and modules. The performance improvements will continue to drive down the cost of solar modules, but perhaps more importantly, these improved cell architectures will introduce greater opportunity for differentiation in the marketplace. Trina Solar will greatly benefit from their research and development efforts by offering more diverse products that are able to better meet the wide range of customer requirements – especially for distributed generation applications. While our technology differentiation will drive higher margins throughout the industry, some of our technologies are better suited for large-scale success due to the ssociated costs, technical value, and commercial readiness.

EQ: World Market Scenerio including China and its impact on pricing and availability of modules in 2018-2019. Expected Pricing & GM: we have wait and see the implications and price trend.

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INTERVIEW INTERViEW

Director Sales Trina Solar

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, Whats your plan to Capture this opportunity

EQ: What according to you is the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market.

GM: Thanks to Trina’s in-house R&D team. Trina has right product offerings for India and for 6 years, Trina become most trusted and preferred brand, we have local establishment with localized service support. Our focus is to improve on customer oriented services.

GM: India blessed with a strong policy frame work and be going strong day by day…however the project execution timelines are going beyond the deadline which is challenge for the suppliers to support the developers.

EQ: Problem of the wrong classification of Solar Modules by customsofficials, what has been your experience and remedy measures taken

EQ: Impact of GST on Solar?

GM: What ever may be decision, industry needs a quick conclusion on this as there was momentary pause in the imports.

EQ: Module Prices Going up, and reports of some module companies who have re-negotiated the prices…kindly enlighten what really is happening and what measures have you been taking. GM: the solar module supplier suffered due to the abnormal dynamics in the key raw material cost and delays in the project execution. The suppliers are in the process of mitigating the issues for better support the buyer. This optimization process has to happen with all stakeholders of the industry.

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GM: There is a definitely an impact and cost of the modules/components have increased, However, we take this as a positive step as it will help all foreign companies in ease of doing business as same tax structure for entire India.

EQ: Aggressive Bidding despite of many challenges enlisted above, what is your view/opinion GM: All developers are experienced and based on some data they forecast bidding price. Sometimes the markets dynamics does not support them like recently we have seen the increase in raw material prices.

EQ: How much modules have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2018-2019 GM: Trina solar has supplied more than 3.2GW as on date to India. We are watching the market this year for the trade remedial measure before we make our plan.

February 2018

INTERViEW INTERVIEW

EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the perfor mance of your modules in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback,. GM: Our 3.2 GW installations were scatter in every nook and corner of India… Trina solar modules works well for the local weather condition in India, we have repeated orders from our clients, and this indicates the happiness of our clients. Not only from the developers, have the lending institutes in India also preferred to fund most bankable product like Trina

EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission GM: Trina Solar was founded in 1997 by Gao Jifan. As a solar pioneer, Trina Solar helped change this solar industry, rapidly growing from one of the first PV enterprises in China to become a world leader in solar technology and manufacture. As the world leading provider of smart solar solutions, Trina Solar delivers PV products, applications and services to promote global sustainable development. Through constant innovation, we continue to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy. Our mission is to boost global renewable energy development around the world for the benefit of all of humanity. Through 2016, Trina Solar has delivered more than 30 GW of solar modules worldwide, accounting for more than 10 percent of global market share. This makes us the largest solar module supplier in the world and earned us the 19th spot on the “2016 Global Top 500 New Energy Enterprises.” In addition, our downstream business includes solar PV project development, financing, design, construction, operations & amp; management and one-stop system integration solutions for customers. At the end of 2016, these solar projects connected approximately 1.5 GW to the global power grid. Currently, Trina Solar is pioneering development in Smart PV Energy and Energy Internet Solutions.

EQ: What are your plans for India, your view on the GOI target of 100GW Solar Power by 2022 GM: India is one of our major market of interest and we are happy to be part of, to support 100GW solar target by GoI

EQ: Solar Trade Wars : What are the benefits to Indian manufacturers /foreign manufacturers GM: India’s solar PV target is so big that every manufacturer can have their piece of cake…the size depends on the vario us factors like the capacity, product fitness and the support

February 2018

EQ: How much is your R&D budget as % of your sales / profits GM: We are spending a lot of money in R&D and ours is the only State Key lab in China which is accredited by Science and Technology department of China. We have experienced person and right kind of product to cater the global solar market. Our lab is the first lab to get the CTDP certification from UL and TUV

EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future GM: As a global player, we do not have any restric-tions or reservation on any market. As on date our global installations are more than 35GW.

EQ: Technology road map in terms of 1500V Double Glass, BiFacial Cells, PERC/PERT Technologies, upcoming game changes technologies GM: Again thanks to our R&D team, they are always ready with new products that can serve to the industry with long run we are ready with 1500V, PERC technology, Bifacial, Dual glass and smart modules for various segments of the market

EQ: Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, perform -ance report of your modules GM: Trina solar product comes with industry standard 10 years product warranty and 25 years performance warranty backed by optional 3rd party insurance

EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc… GM: We predominantly sell poly silicon modules in 60 cell and 72 cell configuration. Our Tallmax series one of the most preferred model India. Our 1500V (Tallmax), cut cell /half cell (Split max), bifacial (Duom ax twin) modules are present offerings for India. Our USP is the performance of the product and localized sales, service support

EQ: As a manufacturer, kindly share your plans to foray as developer or equity inve -stor in solar pv power projects. GM: At the moment we are a pure supplier for solar PV panels…

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February 2018

43Â

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Tata Power makes Mumbai Electric Vehicle Ready; sets up strategic additional

EV Charging stations Sets Up Strategic Ev Charging Stations In Retail Malls At Palladium And Phoenix Marketcity Ev Charging Stations Coming Up At Bkc & Borivali

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February 2018

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Commenting on the same, Mr. Anil Sardana, CEO & MD, Tata Power, said, “We are proud

and happy to present Mumbai with additional electric vehicle charging stations that cover the expanse of the city. We are also happy that one of these EV charging stations is India’s first Electrical Vehicle Charging station at popular retail mall. With these installations, Tata Power continues to pursue sustainable practices by using technology thereby providing customers access to energy-efficient options with ease. As the nation moves towards clean and affordable power for all, it is our endeavor to provide customers with the best solutions for a greener tomorrow”.

ata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, has been pioneer in technology adoption and innovation while also setting industry benchmarks in operational & sustainability aspects. Building on its momentum of having installed Mumbai’s first Electric Vehicle charging station in Vikhroli. The Company has been covering strategically located areas where EV users wish to have outlets .The company has now set up additional electric vehicle charging stations at strategic locations thereby making Mumbai truly ready to usher in the Electric Vehicle wave. The latest Electric Vehicle charging stations by Tata Power have been set up at Palladium Mall Lower Parel, and Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla; and two more coming up at BKC and western express highway at Borivali.

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With the Government of India encouraging shift to electric vehicles by 2030, Tata Power’s aim is to build a seamless network of electric charging stations to make it easier for people to adopt EVs and be future ready. The setting up of smart charging infrastructure at parking area of Malls would enable users to make best use of their time while their car charges. As India gears up for revolution in mobility ,Tata Power is all set to offer customers e-charging with convenience. The newly installed chargers at Palladium and Phoenix Marketcity will enable electric car users to charge their cars (Battery Electric Vehicles such as the Mahindra e2o, Nissan Leaf, etc) at any time safely and conveniently. The chargers can also monitor the car

battery charging status and units consumed while charging a car. The Company plans to set up charging stations at various locations in Mumbai and is in discussions with various stakeholders to this end.

February 2018

testing

FIRST ONSITE EL

Testing Of PV Modules In India by Mahindra Susten Satish Pandey, Rajesh, Jamuvan, Gaurav & Shyam Kumar Mahindra Susten

he increasing demand for solar electrical energy has multiplied the need for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. As the major component of the PV array, the demand for solar cells has also increased. This demand has translated into an increased production of solar cells in recent years. Depending on the materials used in manufacturing, solar cells can be divided into two major types. They are (i) monocrystalline and (ii) multi-crystalline silicon. Due to low manufacturing and processing cost of the multi-crystalline silicon, this material is generally more preferred in the production of the solar wafer or PV module. The current global market share shows the most used technology is silicon based solar panel with approximately an 85% of the total market. Due to this fact, the interest in understanding the degradation process of Si-based PV modules has grown among PV owners, since the degradation of output power affects the long-term profitability of the PV system. Many different failures can occur in PV modules during operation. Among the different possible failures, micro-cracks are able to cause a significant decrease in output power. Cell cracking is an important issue in the photovoltaic manufacturing supply chain that directly affects output power and long term reliability of PV Modules. Cell cracks can be introduced during wafering, cell/module manufacturing, and transport & installation stages. The modules which are defected during wafering or cell/module manufacturing can be identified by Electroluminescence (EL) test at manufacturing plant but the modules which are defected during transport and installation stage needs to be tested and identified at site location to avoid the power loss and long term reliability of the PV Plant. To identify this defect, in India Mahindra Susten has owned the first onsite battery accumulated Electroluminescence Test facility with installed and uninstalled both modules.

EL Testing on installed module

Electroluminescence Test set up:

lectroluminescence (EL) is an optical phenomenon which has been used for a long time in lightening applications and recently integrated as an investigation procedure for photovoltaic devices. It consists of applying a direct current to the module and measuring the Photoemission by means of an infrared-sensitive camera trolley. This power supply is accumulated with battery and it is mounted in a movable trolley, so we can perform the testing of the modules onsite without any external power source. The integrated synchronization module allows the control of the EL camera as well as the communication with the measurement software. The user-system interaction is assured by the Mobile software. The Onsite EL testing of PV module can be performed before installation of modules on structure and after module installation. Fig-1 & Fig-2 are showing the EL testing of PV modules.

Operating voltage and current:

he purpose of applying an electric voltage during the electroluminescence imaging is to counter the depletion zone electric field and hence allow the charge carriers to diffuse into the junction and recombine. Due to the internal resistance of the power supply, higher voltages are needed to achieve sufficient recombination rates and good quality results. The weak recombination is unable to provide sufficient luminescence and reveal all module details. Optimal results are achieved with a voltage ≈30% higher than Voc of the module. Furthermore, very high currents tend to accelerate the module heating and thus to distort the measured luminescence, so the applied current should be lower than Short Circuit Current of the Module.

Application stages 1. Pre installation, 2. Post installation

Advantages of EL Test: Following are the advantages of the onsite EL testing• We can identify defects in modules which cannot be seen by bare eyes such as micro cracks, finger defect, dark cell, soldering defect, PID defect etc. • Improves quality and reliability of the PV Plant by quality check. • Flexible system can be usedfor EL testing of PV Module at Pre installation & Post installation • By comparing the EL image of Module at manufacturing plant and site we can check the Quality of transportation and handling of modules during the installation

Conclusion

EL Testing on Un-installed module

February 2018

Electroluminescence testing is a novel technique to detect the different defect in Polycrystalline Modules. In India Mahindra Susten has the first onsite Electroluminescence battery accumulated test setup for testing of the PV modules which leads to better quality and improved performance of the PV plants.

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MEA The wholly owned operations & maintenance contractor of ACWA Power said, “Technology in the renewable energy industry is rapidly evolving not only on how electricity is generated but also in how plants are operated. This pilot programme is an important step in our continuous pursuit of delivering power reliably and at the lowest possible cost, a mission that necessitates the implementation of the latest solutions. The pilot programme is the first step in rolling out this technology in current and future sites as we strive to digitize our operations.” Julio Torre Gutierrez, President & CEO of NOMAC,

For the solar industry to continue to reduce cost and compete with fossil fuel alternatives, adopting the cuttingedgetechnologies to improve performance and operating efficiency is vital. We are confident that the FusionSolar Smart PV Management System will significantly contribute to this mission. What’s more, we’re looking forward to team up with ACWA to build more innovative PV plants in MENA and all over the world.” Mr. Yin Feijun, GM of FusionSolar Smart PV Global Sales, Huawei

ACWA Power and Huawei launch programme to enhance efficiency of solar plants FusionSolar Smart PV Management System leverages state of the arttechnology and digitalized intelligence to improve PV plant efficiency

CWA Power, the developer of a rapidly growing portfolio of solar power plants spanning Morocco to Vietnam announced at the World Future Energy Summit at Abu Dhabi, the roll out of a centralized control and monitoring pilot project that will implement Huawei’s Fusion Solar solution for enhanced plant management, monitoring and control. FusionSolar, is a Centralized Control and Monitoring system that helps PV power plants run more effectively through better technology. The system improves communications capabilities to enable a solar power network, remote control, and automatic troubleshooting at a solar power plant. Fusion SolarSmart PV Management System aims to increase availability, reduce cost of O&M (operations and maintenance) and reduce the power loss of whole PV plant. The system allows solar plant operators to control and monitor performance without being on site, especially the senior experts can manage several PV plants at the same time. This greatly lowers the labor and cost requirements for O&M.

Julio Torre Gutierrez, President & CEO of NOMAC, the wholly owned operations & maintenance contractor of ACWA Power said, “Technology in the renewable energy industry is rapidly evolving not only on how electricity is generated but also in how plants are operated. This pilot programme is an important step in our continuous pursuit of delivering power reliably and at the lowest possible cost, a mission that necessitates the implementation of the latest solutions. The pilot programme is the first step in rolling out this technology in current and future sites as we strive to digitize our operations.”

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February 2018

African development

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK,

Nordic Development Fund, Global Environment Facility and Calvert Impact Capital partner in US $55-million investment into Off-Grid Energy Access Fund the African Development Bank’s Board approved a US $30-million investment in the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (“FEI OGEF”). This follows the approval of additional investments of US $10 million from Calvert Impact Capital (CIC), US $8.5 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and €6 million from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). In addition, the NDF will provide a €0.5-million grant for technical assistance to support deal structuring and capacity development.

February 2018

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African development

Over 600 million people are estimated to lack access to modern energy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

EI OGEF is a US $100-million blended finance debt fund designed to provide loans in local and hard currencies to off-grid energy companies with the dual objectives of scaling up access to clean electricity for off-grid households and crowding in local financial institutions as co-lenders. The Fund directly supports the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa and is part of its “High 5” priority to light up and power the continent, with an aspirational target of connecting 75 million households through off-grid energy access solutions by 2025. Through the use of clean energy instead of fossil fuels to power communities, the Fund is expected to result in the reduction of up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.

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FEI OGEF is the first Bank instrument that enables debt financing, including in local currency, to offgrid energy access companies who need growth capital to expand their operations across Africa. The strong collaboration of the Bank, SEFA and NDF in preparing and creating this fund, and the co-investment by the GEF and CIC, demonstrate the power of partnerships for clean energy access in Africa,” said Astrid Manroth, Director, Transformative Energy Partnerships at the African Development Bank. The combination of these four first investments brings this innovative fund closer to its first close target to be achieved in the first quarter of 2018 and provides a strong signal to the community of interested investors. In particular, the approvals will provide comfort for dedicated private-sector investors to join FEI OGEF. The Fund is a first mover matching local currency debt instruments with recent innovations in off-grid energy business models to scale up energy access for underserved and rural households. It provides a blended capital structure whereby investments in equity provides comfort and risk cushioning to attract early participation and additional investment by development finance institutions and other commercial investors. During a recent visit to the Bank headquarters in Abidjan, NDF’s Managing Director Pasi Hellman said, “This initiative highlights the close and constructive working relationship between NDF and the AfDB. We have been in lock step throughout the preparation and development cycle of the Fund. Now we have a fully packaged investment vehicle to bring to market scaling up proven clean off-grid energy solutions to the energy access challenge on the continent.” The Fund will be managed by Lion’s

Head Global Partners operating out of offices in Nairobi, Lagos and London, with an initial focus on East Africa as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, and looking to build a strong pipeline of transactions throughout the region. The pioneering Fund will unlock and catalyse financial sector and local currency participation in this growing green finance opportunity.

The GEF is pleased to be a partner in this innovative blended finance facility which is part of GEF’s strategic priority to “crowd-in” private sector investment to help countries meet their environmental and sustainability goals,” said Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programs at the Global Environment Facility.

OGEF squarely fits within our investment mandate of leveraging public capital at scale to create systemic change in sectors and geographies that have been overlooked by mainstream capital markets. We are excited to work with the AfDB and the other investors to scale this facility and increase access to clean electricity for off-grid households in Africa,” said Jenn Pryce, President and CEO of Calvert Impact Capital. The Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) is the Bank’s flagship initiative for providing long-term finance to small-scale renewable energy access projects, of which FEI OGEF is one of the financing windows. FEI has been developed with grant support from the Bank-hosted Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

February 2018

Energy storage

Siemens Financial Services and Fluence announce comprehensive financing program for energy storage customers worldwide Diverse suite of financial solutions provide necessary capital to expand growing energy storage sector Granting customers access to a combination of proven, bankable energy storage solutions with tailored financing Leasing and project finance options for qualified projects using Fluence’s industryleading trio of energy storage platforms

iemens Financial Services (SFS) and Fluence, a Siemens and AES company, announce a comprehensive financing program to support customers in their investments in energy storage solutions. The new financing program will offer customers leasing and project finance options for qualified projects using Fluence’s industry-leading trio of energy storage platforms. Fluence’s combination of unmatched energy storage experience, proven technical solutions, and the availability of tailored financial solutions will further drive down the total system costs of energy storage and accelerate the growth of this dynamic segment of the power market, estimated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) to be a $100 billion market opportunity by 2030.

“SFS stands ready to provide significant capital to address the needs of the growing energy storage market through our program with Fluence,” Roland Chalons-Browne, CEO, Siemens Financial Services commented. “Providing customers access to market-leading energy storage technology and the capital needed to realize energy storage projects – regardless of size or region – is unique and will help the market grow exponentially.”

February 2018

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Energy storage “With this SFS financing program, we can offer our customers a wide array of capital solutions ranging from smallticket leases to large-scale project financing and everything in between,” commented Stephen Coughlin, CEO of Fluence. “Financing is often viewed as an obstacle; however by working with SFS, we are simplifying energy storage capital investments for many of our customers, allowing them to move their storage projects forward.” “C&I customers typically have smaller-scale projects and are looking for cash-neutral financing options, in which case equipment leasing or performance contracting solutions might work best,” commented Jan Teichmann, vice president of global markets for Fluence. “For utilities and grid operators, their larger, more complex energy storage projects call for project finance in the form of a debt or an equity investment. Working with SFS, we can offer the full spectrum of capital solutions to meet needs as diverse as our customers.”

tarting operations this month, Fluence was created to deliver customized energy storage technology solutions and services required by customers and financial institutions. Fluence combines the most comprehensive set of industrial-scale energy storage offerings in the world with the track record, ascale, global reach and backing of two large, established powersector companies. With nearly 500 MW of energy storage projects deployed or contracted in 15 countries, Fluence has nearly twice the track record of any other company. The financial services arm of engineering giant Siemens, SFS offers suitable financing instruments across the capital spectrum, ranging from leasing and performance contracting to largescale project finance and corporate finance, in addition to financial structuring and advisory support. With a global footprint, SFS is adept at leveraging its expertise across a variety of markets to serve its customers with tailored solutions. The financing program with Fluence is unique in that it allows support to a wide array of clients around the world – from commercial & industrial (C&I) energy users to utilities and grid operators – with customized financial solutions to help address their specific project challenges.

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SFS HAS GAINED IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE SERVING THE GROWING ENERGY STORAGE MARKET IN SEVERAL REGIONS SUCH AS: United States: Through a project finance solution, SFS provided a portion of the senior debt financing for a term loan to support the construction of AES’s 100 megawatt (MW)/400MWh battery system in Southern California, which is tied to a new, 1,284 MW combined-cycle natural gas generator. The system will replace 1960’s-era power plants in Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach, and Redondo Beach. Germany: SFS established a program to provide packaged managed service solutions for municipalities eligible to participate in Germany’s Frequence reserve control market. The program includes projects in the range of five to eight MW peak power that use Siemens’ SIESTORAGE systems. United Kingdom: SFS in the United Kingdom recently announced an outcome-based finance model for purchases of Fluence’s Siestorage energy storage systems, which are available to users with on-site electricity demand profiles anywhere between 1MW and 100MW. Siemens Corporation Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-

efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of systems for power generation and transmission as well as medical diagnosis. With approximately 372,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $92.0 billion in fiscal 2017. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $23.3 billion, including $5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Fluence, a Siemens and AES company, is a global energy storage technology solutions and services company that combines the agility of a technology company with the expertise, vision, and financial backing of two industry powerhouses. Established in 2018, as the successor to industry pioneers AES Energy Storage and Siemens energy storage, Fluence’s goal is to create a more sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world. The company offers proven energy storage technology solutions designed to address the diverse needs and challenges of customers in a rapidly transforming energy landscape, providing design, delivery and integration in over 160 countries.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION

Forecasting,Scheduling And Deviation Settlement For

SOLAR AND WIND Generation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Regulations, 2017

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hese Regulations Are Intended To Facilitate Grid Integration Of Wind And Solar Energy Generated In Tamil Nadu While Maintaining Grid Stability And Security As Envisaged Under The State Grid Code And The Act, Through Forecasting, Scheduling And A Mechanism For The Settlement Of Deviations By Such Generators. In order to maintain system security, stability and reliability, the SLDCshall take into consideration the forecasts of Wind and Solar generation for Week-Ahead, Day-Ahead and intra-Day operations and scheduling, and longer term forecasts for its planning. The SLDC shall make use of the flexibility provided by conventionalGenerating Units and the capacity of inter-Grid tie-lines to accommodate Wind and Solar energy generation to the largest extent possible subject to Grid security. These Regulations shall apply to all Wind and Solar Energy Generators (excluding Rooftop PV Solar power projects) in Tamil Nadu connected to the Intra-State Transmission System or Distribution System, including those connected through Pooling Sub-Stations, and using the power generated for self-consumption or sale within or outside the State: The Commission shall review these Regulations after two years, or earlier if it considers necessary.

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POLICY & REGULATION TECHNICAL ARRANGEMENTS: FORECASTING AND SCHEDULING CODE

This Forecasting and Scheduling Code specifies the methodology for Day-Ahead scheduling of Wind and Solar Energy Generators connected to the intra-State Transmission Network (Transmission and Distribution system), its revisions on a one and a half hourly basis, and the treatment of their deviations from such Schedules. The Wind and Solar Energy Generators at each Pooling SubStation shall appoint a QCA: Provided that an individual Generator not connected to a Pooling Sub-Station may opt to be its own or appoint a separate entity as its QCA.

The QCA shall be treated as a State Entity. 5.4.Every QCA shall be registered with the SLDC in accordance with the Detailed Procedure prescribed in pursuance of Regulation

Notwithstanding the appointment of a QCA, the onus of complying with the relevant provisions of these Regulations shall remain that of the concerned Generators, and the commercial and other arrangements between them and their QCA shall be governed by their inter-se agreements or terms of engagement.

The QCA shall be appointed by the Generators for the purposes specified in these Regulations, including but not limited to the following:

Meter reading and data collection and its communication, and co-ordination with the Distribution Licensees, the SLDC and otheragencies;

De-pooling of amounts payable on behalf of the constituent Generator of the Pooling Sub-Station from the State Deviation Pool account and settling them with each Generator;

Settlement of the Deviation Charges specified in these Regulations with the SLDC on behalf of the Generators.

The QCA shall be the single point of contact between the SLDC and its Generators for the purposes of these Regulations.

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The QCA shall furnish the technical specifications of the Generators whom it represents to the SLDC in the prescribed format, at the time of its registration or within such period thereafter as may be stipulated by the SLDC in its Detailed Procedure, and when there is a change in hese specifications.

The QCA shall provide real-time data relating to the power system output and parameters and weather-related data, as may be required, real-time to the SLDC.

Meters shall be installed for energy accounting in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Regulations governing metering, along with telemetry /communication and Data Acquisition Systems for the transfer of information to the SLDC by the QCA.

The QCA shall furnish to the SLDC the aggregated forecasts relating to its Wind and Solar Energy Generators connected to the intra-State Transmission network, with details of their Availability.

The SLDC shall also undertake forecasting of the Wind and Solar energy generation expected to be injected into the intra-State Transmission network at each location, by engaging forecasting agencies if required, so as to enable it to better plan for the balancing resources required for secure Grid operation.

The QCA shall aggregate the Schedules of all Generators connected to a Pooling Sub-Station and communicate them to the SLDC. 5.14.No Wind or Solar energy generation shall be considered for despatch by the SLDC if it is not scheduled by the QCA on behalf of the Generators in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. The QCA may adopt the forecast of the SLDC for preparing its chedule or provide SLDC with a Schedule based on its own forecast, which shall be the reference Schedule for the purposes of deviation determination and settlement: Provided that, if the QCA

opts to adopt the forecast of the SLDC, the consequences of any error in such forecast which results in deviations from scheduling shall be borne by the concerned Generators through their QCA.

The SLDC shall recover such charges as may be approved by the Commission for providing its forecasting services to the QCA and the amount so recovered shall be treated as ‘other income’ in the Aggregate Revenue Requirement of the SLDC for the determination of its Fees and Charges.

The QCA shall provide to the SLDC a Day-Ahead and a WeekAhead Schedule for each Pooling Sub-Station or each stand-alone Generating Station, as the case may be, to enable it to assess the Availability of energy and the margin available in the State Grid.

The Day-Ahead Schedule shall comprise the Wind or Solar energy generation to be scheduled in each 15-minute time block starting from 00:00 hours of the following day, and for all 96 time blocks of that day; and the Week-Ahead Schedule shall contain the same information for the next seven days. a) The QCA may revise the Schedule of Generators connected to the Intra-State Transmission Network (excluding collective transactions) by giving advance notice to the SLDC.

Such revisions shall be effective from the 4th time block following the time block in which notice was given.

There may be one revision for each time slot of one and half hours starting from 00.00 hours of a particular day, subject to a maximum of 16 revisions during the day.

Wind energy generators shall provide time block wise banked energy withdrawal schedule and allocations to captive users on weekly basis. The schedule for the first week at the start of the billing cycle shall be provided seven days before the commencement of the billing cycle.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION

The plan for data telemetry, ormats of forecast submission and other modalities and requirements shall be stipulated in the Detailed Procedure to be submitted by the SLDC within two months, which the Commission shall endeavour to approve within a month thereafter.

The Detailed Procedure shall address the following aspects

The procedure and requirements, including the payment of fees and penalties, for the registration and de-registration of QCAs by the SLDC. The information and data, and the formats, required by the SLDC from the QCAs and to be provided by the SLDC to them. The mode and protocol of communication for exchange of information and data between the QCAs and the SLDC. The guidelines for energy and deviation accounting of Wind and Solar energy transactions under the State energy accounting framework, with illustrative examples, in accordance with the principles specified in these Regulations. The mechanism for monitoring compliance of the Forecasting and Scheduling Code by the QCAs. The default conditions in the State Pool Settlement by QCAs and their treatment.

The commercial impact of devi tions from Schedules based on the forecasts shall be borne by the Generators through their QCAs.

Treatment to the Gaming

(a) Any intentional mis-declaration of Available Capacity to the SLDC for its own undue commercial gain or that of a Generator shall be considered as gaming and shall constitute a breach of these Regulations. (b) Upon identification of gaming by SLDC, the QCA shall be liable to pay a penalty of three times the eviation Charges that would have been applicable had the Available Capacity been correctly declared. (c) The amount of penalty shall be payable by the QCA to the State Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) Pool, through the SLDC. (d) The SLDC may, after giving due notice and as stipulated in the Detailed Procedure, cancel the registration of the QCA upon repeated events of misdeclaration. Principles of appointment of QCA

The Generators at a Pooling Sub-Station may appoint one amongst themselves or any other entity as a QCA.

The QCA shall be appointed with the approval of at least 51% of the Generators at a Pooling Sub-Station, in terms of their combined installed capacity. Provided that QCA may undertake forecasting and scheduling at feeder level;

The Generators shall satisfy themselves that the QCA is technically and financially competent to undertake on their behalf the functions and discharge the obligations specified in these Regulations.

The terms of engagement of the QCA shall include provisions on the following aspects: The respective roles and responsibilities of the QCA and Generators; The metering, billing and energy accounting arrangements; The modalities for recovery of Deviation Charges from the Generators and their settlement, including the principles for de-pooling; The payment security mechanism and related provisions; The events of default and their mitigation.

a) b) c)

d) e)

COMMERCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

Deviation Settlement for IntraState Transactions

The sale of power within Tamil Nadu by Solar and Wind Energy Generators connected to the Intra-State Transmission Network shall be settled by the Procurers on the basis of their actual generation, whereas the Deviation Settlement shall be undertaken as specified in these Regulations. A Generator who deviates from its given Schedule shall be liable to pay a Deviation Charge under the provisions of these Regulations.

In respect of sale or self-consumption of power within Tamil Nadu, if the actual injected generation of a stand-alone Generator or the aggregate of such generation at a Pooling Sub-Station, as the case may be, differs from the scheduled generation, the Deviation Charge for the excess or shortfall shall be payable by the QCA to the State Deviation Pool Account, through the SLDC, as specified in Table 1 below: S.No.

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Absolute Error in %age terms in 15-minute time block

Deviation Charge payable to State DSM Pool

< = 10%

None

>10% but <=20%

At Rs. 0.50 per unit

>20% but <=30%

At Rs. 0.50 per unit for the shortfall or excess beyond 10% and upto 20% + Rs. 1.00 per unit for the balance energy beyond 20% and upto 30%

>30%

At Rs. 0.50 per unit for the shortfall or excess beyond 10% and upto 20% + Rs. 1.00 per unit for the shortfall or excess beyond 20% and up to 30% + Rs. 1.50 per unit for the balance energy beyond 30%

February 2018

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POLICY & REGULATION IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

The SLDC and the QCA shall maintain records and accounts of the time block-wise Schedules, the actual generation injected and the deviations, for the Pooling Sub-Station and the individual Generators separately.

The QCA shall undertake de-pooling of the energy deviations and the Deviation Charges against each Generator at the Pooling Sub-Station as specified in Regulation 16.

The QCA shall undertake the settlement of the Deviation harges with the SLDC on behalf of the concerned Generators.

Deviation Settlement for Inter-State Transactions

The sale or self-consumption of power outside Tamil Nadu by Solar and Wind Energy Generators connected to the Intra-State Transmission system or Distribution system shall be settled by the Procurers on the basis of their scheduled generation.

Metering

Every Pooling Station shall have a Special Energy Meter (SEM) capable of recording the energy in time blocks as specified in the CEA Regulations governing metering.

The QCA shall furnish weekly meter readings to the SLDC by 00.00 hours on the Thursday of the previous week, in addition to the data provided to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Centre, for the purpose of energy accounting under these Regulations.

Energy Accounting

The energy accounting shall be undertaken on the basis of the data recorded by the SEM referred to in Regulation

Communication between QCA and SLDC

The Detailed Procedure prescribed by the SLDC shall set out the protocol for communication and exchange of information between the QCA and the SLDC, including but not limited to the following aspects:

Communication of the Day-Ahead, Week-Ahead Schedule and intra- Day schedule and any revisions to the SLDC.

Communication of the real-time generation at the Pooling SubStation or by the stand-alone Generator

Inter-State transactions at a Pooling Sub-Station shall be permitted only if the concerned Generator is connected through a separate feeder.

The Generator shall submit, through the QCA, a separate Schedule for its energy generation, in accordance with these Regulations, to the SLDC and the concerned Regional Load Despatch Centre (RLDC).

Communication of Grid constraints and curtailments by the SLDC to the QCA.

The SLDC shall equip itself with the necessary Information Technology (IT)-enabled communication platform and software for communication between it and the QCA.

The SLDC shall prepare the deviation settlement account for such Generator on the basis of measurement of the deviation in the energy injected and its impact at the State periphery. Excess injection over the schedule shall not be accounted for.

The QCA shall provide the IT-enabled communication software log-in details to enable the SLDC to access live data of all Schedules and deviations and facilitate the timely billing and payment of Deviation Charges.

The IT-enabled communication platform and software should enable the SLDC and QCA to exchange information, including but not limited to the following:

i. Generator outages and their reasons;

ii. Deviation Charges payable by the QCA;

iii. Site characteristics and details of the Wind Turbines, Solar

Inverters, etc.;

iv. Schedules and generation handled by the QCA.

Deviation Accounting

The methodology for deviation settlement for the State shall be as follows:

The Deviation Charges payable or receivable for the State as a whole at the State periphery shall first be computed by the SLDC.

The Generator shall pay the Deviation Charges applicable within Tamil Nadu in case of deviations in the State DSM Pool, the consequences of such deviation at the Inter-State level being governed by the CERC Regulations governing the Deviation Settlement Mechanism and related matters. The Deviation Charges for under-injection by Generators connected to the Intra-State Transmission Network and selling or consuming power outside Tamil Nadu shall be as specified in the Annexure to these Regulations, the accounting for which shall be done by the SLDC.

Deviation Settlement for Inter- and Intra-State Transactions: other provisions

Deviations in respect of Inter-State and IntraState transactions shall be accounted for separately at each Pooling Sub-Station.

The SLDC shall provide separate energy and Deviation Accounts for Inter-State and IntraState transactions to the QCA, ho shall settle the Deviation Charges with the concerned Generators.

The SLDC shall compute the impact of the deviation of the Solar and Wind Energy Generation and its contribution to the Deviation Charge at the State periphery.

The SLDC shall compute the Absolute Error, i.e. the difference between the scheduled and the actual energy injected, in respect of each Pooling Sub-Station and each Generator feeding energy directly to another Sub-Station, and shall accordingly determine the amounts payable on account of the Deviation Charge in accordance with Regulations 7 and 8.

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February 2018

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POLICY & REGULATION

Any shortfall in the aggregate amount of Deviation Charge payable by Solar and Wind Energy Generators at the State periphery and the amount receivable from them by the State Deviation Pool Account shall be accounted for separately.

Intimation of Curtailment

Settlement of Deviation Charges

The SLDC shall compute the deviations from the Schedule, determine the Deviation Charges payable and bill the QCA accordingly.

Payment Mechanism for Deviation Settlement

The QCA shall pay the amount of Deviation Charges to the SLDC, and collect it from the concerned Generators in proportion to their actual generation: Provided that the onus of ensuring the payment of the Deviation Charges to the SLDC by the QCA shall remain that of the concerned Generators.

The Deviation Charges shall be paid within ten days from the issue of the accounts and billing by the SLDC, failing which a late payment surcharge amounting to 1.25% per month shall be levied for the period of delay. De-Pooling of Deviation Charges The QCA shall depool the energy deviations and the Deviation Charges against each Generator in proportion to its actual generation or in proportion to Available Capacity, as may be mutually agreed between QCA and the Generators.

Any curtailment imposed on the energy injection for reliable and secure Grid operation in emergent situations shall be communicated by the SLDC to the QCA through an IT-enabled communication, and no Deviation Charges shall be payable for any consequent deviations if the SLDC fails to do so. In case of any curtailment planned and communicated by the SLDC due to line maintenance or other reasons in certain time blocks of a day, the QCA shall be responsible for curtailing the generation at site and amending the Schedule accordingly, failing which the SLDC shall revise the Schedule as required.

Energy Accounting

All accounts relating to deviations shall be prepared by the QCA on a weekly basis based on inputs from the SLDC, and be accessible to the SLDC through an IT-enabled system and software.

The SLDC shall furnish the processed data on a weekly basis by Thursday mid-night for the seven-day period ending on the previous Sunday mid-night to the concerned QCA in the prescribed format, for the preparation of weekly Energy Accounts of energy from the Pooling Sub-Station or the stand-alone Generator, as the case may be.

Any discrepancy communicated by the QCA within 15 days shall be corrected forthwith by the SLDC after verification.

MISCELLANEOUS POWER TO AMEND The Commission may, at any time, vary, alter, modify or amend any provisions of these Regulations. 18 Power to remove difficulties If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of these Regulations, the Commission may, by general or specific order, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty. POWER TO RELAX The Commission may by general or special order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, and after giving an opportunity of hearing to the parties likely to be affected by grant of relaxation, may relax any of the provisions of these Regulations on its own motion or on an application made before it by an interested person.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

After Telecom And IT Sector Revolution, Next Revolution Will Be Of Clean Energy: Sumant Sinha, Wind energy has seen a fall in prices due to technology evolution”, At the Young Entrepreneurship Summit and Awards 2018, organized by ICFAI and BW Businessworld, there was a session on ‘Clean Energy is ready to power the Future’, where the speaker was Sumant Sinha, Founder Chairman & CEO, ReNew Power.

enewable energy has been around for the last 25 years. It started off originally with the concept of wind energy and slowly after that it migrated to solar. But now solar and wind have become cost-effective and have become competitive with the conventional thermal. When wind and solar started off, government mandates and government subsidies were fuelling it. Renewables started off with this whole imperative of climate change. It started off in the mid 90’s, when people started realizing they can generate power through wind turbines. Wind turbines have become bigger in size over the years, almost triple the size. Wind turbines, when you stand below, when you hear them moving, you will realize that it’s a big entity and this is what has enabled the cost to come down. Wind energy has seen a fall in prices due to technology evolution”, said Sinha.

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inha also added, “Solar story is more remarkable. In the beginning, solar applications were on satellites and the cost of that solar generation was expensive. The cost of solar has also come down greatly in the last 7-8 years. This evolution is going to continue happening as we are just half-way through. Wind and solar are going to become cheaper in the future”. “Wind and solar are now cheaper than thermal. That is why we are in the beginning of the third energy transition. Renewables will start replacing the existing legacy systems we have, whether its coal or oil. Over the next 5-6 years, all new capacity addition will be renewables. The first obstacle which will arise is that renewable energy is not a stable source of power. Sun shines only in the daytime, and wind also blows in different patterns. Hence, renewable energy is not on demand energy for some services. There was a general thought that you could have 8-10% of renewable energy in the grid. But European countries have shown that the capacity of renewable energy can be in much larger quantities in the system. You can have a much higher penetration of renewables in the grid than thought before”, said Sinha. Sinha also went on to add, “Batteries are now becoming cheaper and you can store large amount of energies in batteries. We are going to see a similar reduction of cost in battery storage. And that will be a boon as you can now store renewable energy in batteries. In the next few years, renewables and storage will be cheaper than coal or gas based power. We feel comfortable

and confident that this sector will grow dramatically. And the kind of revolutions in the telecom sector and IT sector, a similar revolution will happen in the clean energy sector”. “The average Indian consumes 1/3rd the power than what the global consumer consumes. The power consumption of the average Indian is set to go up, it will probably double. If we have to double our total installed capacity from 330 to 660, a lot of it will come from renewable energy sources. We have to add 10 times the capacity we have. By 2030, we will get to 40% of our total energy capacity from renewable energy sources. Our commitment to the Paris agreements will boost the scope of renewables”, said Sinha. Sumant Sinha also added, “If you look at the sector itself, there are very small size companies. We have the largest capacity in this space but it is a very fragmented sector. The sector is going to undergo consolidation and massive growth. We are reading a lot about electric vehicles, and there is a strong attempt to make all cars electric vehicles post-2030. It is really an exciting sector to look at when we go forward. More and more people will start installing solar on their rooftops, and that will make grid management tougher and will test the ability of policymakers and distributors. There is a tremendous amount of research being done on how to bring the cost of solar and wind lower. The funny thing is that even though India’s reforms started in 1990, the power sector seems to have had a go-bye, and there are a lot of reforms which are needed in this power sector”, concluded Sinha

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION

GOA STATE

SOLAR POLICY - 2017 Solar energy is the most secure of all energy sources. It is abundantly available. It can be easily converted into electrical energy. Production of electrical power and its easy availability at regulated rates is an established benchmark of development. No major economic activity can be sustained without adequate and reliable sources of power. The challenges of Climate Change and Global Warming resulting from burning of fossil fuels are continuously threatening the world community. Solar Power generation offer an environmentally safe and sustainable alternative.

February 2018

oa is richly endowed with moderate climate and bright sunshine for almost 8-9 months in a year for generating solar power. The State of Goa entirely depends on thermal energy generated in other States. Goa being eco-sensitive, no Thermal Energy generation is possible in the State. Hence in order to attain self-reliance in Power generation and to promote clean source of Power, Solar Policy is being adopted. This would result in reduction of carbon emissions. The challenge before the State Government is not only to meet the ever growing demand for power but also to progressively increase the share of Renewable Sources in the energy - mix so as to achieve overall energy security and also to meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO)as per the target fixed by appropriate authorities from time to time. It can be done by promoting the systematic tapping of the solar energy potential to the maximum. Technological improvements have now made generation of solar energy economically viable and would lead to reduction of expenditure of the State in purchase of Conventional Power from the Grid. An appropriate policy framework is therefore essential to promote the SolarEnergy generation initiatives. Therefore, the State Government is pleased to introduce the “Goa State Solar Policy -2017”,

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POLICY & REGULATION

CATEGORY FOR GENERATING SOLAR POWER I : PROSUMER “Prosumer” is a Consumer having an already connected load with the Goa Electricity Department (GED)and is also a Producer of Solar Power. Prosumer is categorised into two types namely Small and Large.

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY: Several provisions under the Electricity Act, 2003 mandates the Electricity Regulatory Commissions and the Government’s to take the necessary steps for promotion of renewable energy. The Section 108 and Section 109 of the Electricity act 2003 mandates the Government to give directions to the State Commission in the matter of policy involving public interest. Accordingly, the state Government in exercise of its powers has formulated this Policy.

OPERATIVE PERIOD: This policy shall come into effect from the date of notification in the official gazette in the state of Goa and shall remain in operation up to 7 (seven) years. However, this is subject to modifications as may be made by Government of Goa from time to time, without jeoparding the already signed Agreement or MOU. Even though, the policy will be in operation for 7 years, all Agreements and PPAs signed under this policy shall be valid for the period of Agreement / PPA.

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a) Small Prosumer is a person already having an LT connection i.e. connected load upto 00kW with GED. It will include Residential, Commercial, Institutional or Industrial consumers. They are allowed to go for Gross metering upto 100kW or the connected load, whichever is lower. The feed in tariff will be as per the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) approved solar tariff rates for that year. The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based within the samepremises. The area/

boundary of the premises will be as existing on date of Notification of this policy. However, the Small Prosumer is also allowed to opt for Net metering, if he chooses so. b) Large Prosumer is a person having an HT connection i.e. connected load above 100 kW with GED. It will include Residential, Commercial, Institutional or Industrial consumers. All large prosumer shall be allowed to go for Net metering only. The feed in tariff will be as per JERC approved solar tariff rates for that year for the surplus energy exported as per the net metering mechanism of JERC. The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based within the same premises. The area/ boundary of the premises will be as existing on date of Notification of this policy.

II : PROSUMER The Producer is an entity intending to set up a Solar Power plant with a capacity of more than 100kW exclusively for sale of power to the Distribution Licensee under gross metering as per the tariff discovered by Reverse Bidding.The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based. Producers are allowed to participate in reverse bidding for four sizes of installation i.e. i) 100kW to 1MW, ii) 1MW to 5MW, iii) 5MW to 10MW and iv) 10MW & above. The producer will be selected through Reverse Bidding on the basis of the maximum discount offered on the levillised tariff fixed by the JERC for the solar power plant for that year. At the above discovered price of Solar tariff for that slab/size, the GED will enter into a Power Purchase Agree ment

(PPA) with all intending producers subject to availability of infrastructure for evacuation of power.a) Small Prosumer is a person already having an LT connection i.e. connected load upto 00kW with GED. It will include Residential, Commercial, Institutional or Industrial consumers. They are allowed to go for Gross metering upto 100kW or the connected load, whichever is lower. The feed in tariff will be as per the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) approved solar tariff rates for that year. The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based within the samepremises. The area/ boundary of the premises will be as existing on date of Notification of this policy. However, the Small Prosumer is also allowed to opt for Net metering, if he chooses so.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION NORMS / CONDITIONS APPLICABLE FOR REVERSE BIDDING In order to keep away speculative bidding and to ensure participation of only serious power producers, following conditions for bidding shall apply:i. Price : Price for supply of solar power shall be as per the discount offered on the levellised tariff rate as declared by JERC and duly notified as on the last date of responding to the Expression of Interest (EOI)/bidding. ii. Eligibility: Besides other General Condition of EOI/bidding, only those who have firm proof of land in their ownership or NOC/confirmation from the owner of the land regarding his intention to lease out the land to the bidder (in case of bidder being successful in the bid) for a period equal to or more of the period of PPA shall be considered. iii. The term for starting of supply from completion of bidding process & execution PPA shall be as mentioned at point no.12 of this policy. iv. The solar capacity to be approved for each year for all the slabs as mentioned above at para 5.2 shall be separately notified by the Government at the time of bidding. However, an information on future requirement for 5 yrs will be indicated. The lowest bidder in each slab shall have the right to go for PPA for the whole capacity allocated to that slab. In case he desires to restrict to only his quoted capacity in the bid, then other bidders in that slab will be given the option to match the L1 rate.Incase they agree for the same, then PPA at L1 rate upto allocated capacity of that slab will be entered with them. In case there are more bidders than the allocated capacity in that slab, then priority will be given in terms of next lowest bidder and so on i.e. from L1 to L2 to L3 and so on till the whole capacity in the slab is exhausted. In case even after signing of PPA with all bidders in that slab, the capacity is still left, then only non-bidders will be given the option to enter into PPA at L1 rate at the discretion of the Government. v. Permissible delays and Penalty thereof:a) Any delay though condoned, shall not increase the period of PPA. Thus while delay could be permitted to the extent permissible on payment of penalty, the total time frame of PPA shall remain unaltered. b) Maximum delay permissible to start the supply shall be 12 months. However, the State Government at its discretion may permit further delay of upto 12 months on payment of twice the penalty levied for the 1stdelay permitted, prorata to the delay time on day basis. Provided that inspite of delays of first 12 months as permitted and subsequent discretionary delay, if permitted by Government of Goa, do not result in supply, then the PPA stands null & void and all Bank Guarantees shall be encashed. c) The supplier shall give notice of his intention of supply three months prior to date as scheduled in PPA. Failure to give this notice will automatically be considered as delay until the notice is received for 90 days for intention to begin supply. Delay accordingly will be calculated in days and penalty will be imposed as per rules.

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d) For supply to be considered as valid supply, atleast 50% of power as per PPA should be made available. Failure will be treated as breach of contract & one month supply value equivalent BG will be encashed or penalty imposed. However the supply will be paid at the contract rate. e) Upto 10% lower supply quantum will not attract penalty. Anything above 10% & upto 50% will be levied penalty at 5% of value of supply that is missing above the 10% threshold.. f) For delay upto 12 months, the bidders shall pay penalty equal to 5% of value of energy committed for every day of delay. For delay upto next 12 months (if approved by Government), the penalty will be at twice the rate as already mentioned at point (b) above. g) The bidder will have to provide 6 BGs each equivalent to 30 days supply for the capacity of the plant size he has quoted based on his own expectation of generation. The bidder shall clearly mention the size of the plant he plans to install and the minimum average units per KW per month that he commits to be generated from the same. This will be the basis for calculation of his value of BGs and penalties, if any, in case of default. h) PPA shall not take into consideration the rainy season wherein supply as available will be considered for payment and above clauses a) to g) shall not be applicable. The start of rainy season shall be date of onset of monsoon as declared by Meteorology or the day in June when seasons rains cross 15cms whichever is early & will last for purpose of this PPA for 75 days from that date. i) The BG submitted shall be valid for atleast 02 years. Out of six BG two BG (of one month each) shall be kept valid throughout the period of PPA, failing which equivalent amount of billing will be frozen. The B/L BG shall be returned after 6 month of successful operation (6 month of Non default operation after commissioning) or validity of BG whichever is later and the operator is required to extend the BG till such condition is achieved in case the same happens after 02 years. j) Both the penalties i.e. for delay in supply or for short supply, shall be levied simultaneously if there is a default on both the accounts. However, in case one month BG is encashed in any month because of short supply, then no other penalty in that month shall be imposed to save the bidder from double whammy.

Solar Power Plants under Renewable Energy Certifi cate (REC) Mechanism The State Government shall promote the development of solar power plants under the Renewable Energy Cerificate mechanism specified by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Under the REC mechanism the producer will set up the solar plant and sell the power to GED at averge ower purchase cost. The solar power generator will be ermitted to ell the REC as per the market mechanism. The State shall not laim any benefit for REC.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Third Party Sell Solar Power

SUBSIDY/INCENTIVES:

The State shall promote development of solar power plant sale of electricity to third party other than GED. The producers who are intending to set up the solar power plant within the State and sell the solar power so generated to the third party beside GED would have their own private power purchase agreement with any third private party. The producer will have to pay the wheeling charges as per JERC rates. However, the State Government/GED reserve the right to procure 10 percent of the power so generated at the agreed price between solar producer and third party buyer or at JERC tariff for that year or the reserve bidding price identified for that plant size, whichever is lower.

a) The Subsidy received from the Government of India will be credited to the prosumer/developer as per the guidelines of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Roof top Solar Power Generation through RESCO Under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model instead of prosumers the RESCO will invest on behalf of one or more roof top owner in the housing colony, towns, etc., on their roof tops and will sell the power so generated to GED. The owners of the rooftops will have their own agreement with the RESCO. The GED will enter into the power purchase agreement with the RESCO for 25 years for the purchase of power at JERC approved solar tariff rates in that year.

LAND Producer should identify suitable Rooftop or Private land for atleast 25 years for their projects within the state of Goa. a) To generate solar power, conversion of land is not needed. However for Rooftop solar units same has to be fitted on legally approved structures only. b) 2% of the total area can be used for construction, operation and Office set up subject to a maximum of 200 Sq. mtrs./per MW. c) No Town & Country Planning (T&CP) permission will be required for setting up of solar farm including construction for operational space as mentioned at (b) above. d) For the rooftop installation of 100kW and above, the building structure needs stability certificate from PWD/Chartered Engineers. Apart from structural stability certification, nothing else is required. e) No Gram Panchayat/Urban Local body/T&CP Department Construction licence/NOC/Completion certificate will be required. f) For Communidade land, the lease rent agreed to between the solar power producer and the Communidade will have to be approved by General Body of the Communidade and the State Government. g) Separate Policy will be formulated for the allotment of Government land or buildings. However, for its own use this policy shall be applicable.

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b) For Small Prosumers i.e. for solar plants of upto 100kW size, the State Government shall grant 50 % of the Capital Cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE whichever is lower, as interest free loan, which will be recovered in instalments after six months onwards, from the time power flows into grid. The recovery will be made from the payment to be made to the generator for every kWh supplied to the grid. The recovery will be at Rs. 4 per kWh or JERC feed in tariff rate whichever is less. c) The State Government shall provide a subsidy of 30% of capital cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE, whichever is lower, for plants of size upto 100kW for the standalone systems including the cost of battery (Off-grid Systems) which will be released by way of Rupee 1 for every unit of power generated and will be paid once in six months. A sealed tested Energy meter form GED is required to be installed at the generation side to measure the solar power generation. No payment shall be made to such producer under Net/Gross metering to avoid possibility of Double benefit. d) For Small Generators, the meters will be rented out on payment of monthly fees. In case of Large Generators,the certified/approved meters shall be procured at their cost.

GRID CONNECTIVITY, SAFETY AND BILLING CYCLE The cumulative solar capacity allowed at a particular Distribution Transformer (DT) shall not exceed the 30% of the peak capacity of the DT. GED will undertake power cable connectivity and charge it to the installer with due installation charges. The Billing cycle for large prosumers will be monthly and the settlement period will be six months basis. However for the educational institutions, it will be annual from April onwards. The billing cycle for small prosumers and for producers shall be on monthly basis and their settlement will be within next 30 days. For all the grid connected and battery backup stand-alone installations, all the instrumentation, operating unit specifications and safety norms will as per the guidelines of JERC and MNRE but State specific. These will be specified, reinforced and checked periodically by GED.

ADMINISTRATIVE MODALITIES Every Prosumer and Producer in the state will have to enter in PPA with the GED for the period of 25 years and the tariff will remain fixed for the period and required to submit account of the power generated annually before year end. The disputes related to the power sale to GED will have to be settled through the empowered committee constituted by the State as notified. The Prosumer shall have the right to terminate the PPA at any time by serving a written notice of 90 days in advance to the GED. nodal agency which will serve as single window dealing with projects.

February 2018

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POLICY & REGULATION

Minutes of the Conference of Power and MNRE Minister’s of States/UTs held on 7th Dec. 2017 in New Delhi Secretary (Power) welcoming the delegates expressed regret for the cancellation of Power Ministers Conference scheduled for 9th – 10th November, 2017 at Rajgir due to unavoidable circumstances

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Secretary (Power) stated the issue to be deliberated in the conference include:

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Electrification of the remaining 2170 villages by March 2018 including difficult villages requiring additional efforts by the States. Achieving financial and operational turn-around of DISCOMs under UDAY. Achieving universal household electrification under SAUBHAGYA. Undertaking reforms such as introduction of prepaid meters/ smart meters, separation of carriage and content, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) Secretary(Power) stated that the actual delivery point was the DISCOMs. He hoped that fruitful deliberations would be held with the DISCOMs and Power Ministers of the States which would result in generation of innovative ideas and solutions to tackle the challenges faced by the power sector. Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh, (hereinafter referred as MoS(IC) while welcoming the delegates to the conference stated that power was the basic requirement for the development of the country. Power sector needed to grow at a higher rate than GDP growth rate of the country. By December 2018, with electrification of every households in the country, 40 million new electricity consumers were expected to be added. The average per capita electricity consumption of about 1100 units in the country was anticipated to at least double within five years. Hon’ble MoS (IC) further informed that by 2030 we have targeted for 30% E-Mobility. With Electric Vehicles the dependency on petroleum prod-

February 2018

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ucts would be reduced which in turn would reduce its import. Renewable energy with better storage technologies would edge out electricity produced by the fossil fuels. We have to focus on strengthening our distribution system, transmission and sub-transmission system to meet our future requirements. With the aim of providing 24X7 power supply to all at affordable price, huge investment to the tune of Rs. 85,000 crores was being made under various schemes by the Central Government to upgrade/ augment the distribution system and sub-transmission system. The basic problem in the sector which needed to be urgently addressed is to reduce the gap between the energy supplied and energy billed. We need to strengthen the system to reduce transmission and distribution losses. With the goal of 24X7 power supply, the quantum of electricity consumption is likely to increase and so the loss of electricity. The transmission and distribution losses had to be plugged. The remedies available with DISCOMs to overcome this problem were:

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Doing away with the human interface totally in metering, billing and collection. Create systems for payment for electricity bills through electronic mode. 100% metering of the energy supplied (prepaid metering for small consumers) and Smart Metering for large consumers to enable remote monitoring and auditing of the consumers Adoption of Franchise models Setting up of special police station to control electricity theft and setting up of special courts for speedy redressal of theft cases. The target under UDAY scheme was to reduce the AT&C losses to 15%. He added that Government proposes to amend the Tariff Policy to provide that from January, 2019 losses beyond 15% may not be compensated by increase in tariff. Hon’ble MoS (IC) informed that Government of India is committed to achieving the target of 175 GW installed capacity for Renewable generation by 2022. And by 2030 - 40 % of the country’s generation would be from renewable sources. This huge generation would require balancing requirement which could be made available from hydro power and Government is already working on improving the Hydro Policy. Hon’ble MoS (IC) stated that for making MAKE IN INDIA campaign a success, tariff of electricity (basic input for the industry) should be affordable. For this we need to restrict the cross-subsidy upto 20% as provided in the Tariff policy. Subsidy for electricity may also be necessary for the lower strata of the population but it has to be managed through DBT ( Direct Benefit Transfer ) as done in case of cooking gas (LPG).

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POLICY & REGULATION

DDUGJY, IPDS AND SAUBHAGYA

on’ble MoS (IC), reviewing the progress, pointed out that 42565 crores was sanctioned for DDUGJY in the year 2015 and still only Rs 5128 crores has been released from the fund and there were many projects which were yet to be bid out. The progress made is slow. While for states like J&K (where climate conditions are harsh) and Chhattishgarh(Naxalite areas) slow progress could be understood but for others it was not acceptable and the States needed to gear up.

Hon’ble MoS (IC) stated that Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“SAUBHAGYA” a new scheme launched by the Prime Minister is to ensure electrification of all households in the country in rural as well as urban area. Poor households would be provided electricity connections free of cost. Other households would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs.500 only which shall be recovered by the DISCOMs in ten (10) instalments along with electricity bills. So with implementation of DDUGJY, IPDS and SAUBHAGYA there would be no unelectrified household in the country. The work of rural electrification and electricity to each household has to be completed by December 2018 barring few States where it would be completed by February or March 2019. Every State needed to do micro analysis of the present progress and take necessary steps to achieve the targets. Joint secretary (Distribution), MoP stated that under the SAUBHAGYA scheme the States need not wait for eparation of DPR. They can straightaway start implementing the scheme by increasing the scope of already awarded projects. Based on the average rate of Rs 500 per household for providing electricity access, advance money can be requisitioned by the State for implementation of the scheme and DPR could be submitted subsequently. Bihar has already developed the mobile app for the same. Survey works in Bihar state had been undertaken by them. In UP it had been assigned to RECPDCL and five states ( MP, Odisha, Chhattishgarh, Assam and Jharkhand ) are getting it done through Department of Post. Hon’ble MoS (IC) recommended wide publicity for SAUBHAGYA scheme through camps, hoardings,

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social media, formal launch in the State by Chief Ministers, followed by launch in each district and local level. Nodal Officer to whom people can approach for getting electricityconnections needed to be publicised along with telephone numbers so that people could approach them in case of any difficulty. Joint Secretary (Distribution), MoP stated that the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP), which had been subsumed in IPDS, was not yet closed and about 8% to 10% of the money under the scheme was yet to be released. He requested the States for closure of the projects under RAPDRP. Arunachal Pradesh stated that the progress reflected for their State regarding the DDUGJY was not reflecting the actual progress made by them and the same needed to be corrected. It was clarified that States have to begin using ID and Password of the SAUBHAGYA Portal where they can directly update the progress. Bihar stated that there was delay in award of contracts due to delay in finalisation of technical standards for few items which was finalized only in July 2017. However they would complete their target by December 2018. Chhattishgarh stated that tendering had been completed and they would complete the works by December 2018 except for about 160 villages which were in Naxal affected areas where the works would be completed by February 2019. Chhattishgarh suggested reduction of GST for electrical items from 18% to 12%. Goa stated that they have opened tenders for balance 4 nos. of projects. Hon’ble MoS(IC) pointed out that in many of the past meetings there was no participation from Goa and requested them to participate. Goa informed that there was shortage of officers in Goa to which Hon’ble MoS(IC) assured that they would soon send a panel of officers to Goa from which they could choose. Haryana stated that they were the first State to opt for smart meters. EESL was in the process of buying one million smart meters. UP stated that they were procuring 40 lakh prepaid meters and 1 lakh smart meters and with such aggregation the cost was liely to come down considerably. Himachal Pradesh stated that they had already completed 100% electrification. There were five strengthening schemes which were under evaluation and the delay was due to litigation.

&K informed that under DDUGJY 11 projects were being imple ented by PGCIL, 6 projects were sub- judice, one project was being done departmentally and in 4 nos. projects, the response was very poor. Hon’ble MoS(IC) suggested that the State Government should make suitable submission before the Hon’ble Court seeking expeditious decision on pending court cases.

harkhand stated that all projects had been awarded and would be completed by June 2018.

eghalaya stated that the delay in award of projects was due to prolonged monsoon and some disputes in areas bordering Assam.

izoram stated that DDUGJY works would be completed by April 2018 and IPDS works by December 2018 except for IPDS works in Aizawl.

ajasthan raised the issue of technical standards for Distribution Transformers. Principal Secretary(Energy) Rajasthan stated that BEE star rating requirements ( which requires regular certification) were not in sync with the BIS technical standard. Hon’ble MoS(IC) assured to look into the matter.

ther States also presented their status of various projects under DDUGJY and IPDS. Hon’ble MoS(IC) stated that main purpose of the review of the schemes state-wise with their Power Ministers was to bring to their notice the status of the schemes as on date, the areas that needed to be focussed so that necessary steps could be taken well in time to achieve the committed targets.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION

UDAY

oint Secretary (Distribution), MoP making the presentation stated that 27 states and 04 UTs have signed MoU under the UDAY scheme. Analysis of the figures of Profit, ACS-ARR gap, AT&C losses and Energy billed for the FY 16 to FY 18 shows that UDAY had a clear impact towards increase in energy consumption, improvement in operational efficiency and decline in overall losses.

on’ble MoS(IC) going through the billing efficiency state wise stressed upon the need to go for prepaid and smart metering and removal of human interface by using technology to improve the billing efficiency as well as to bring down the AT&C losses within 15%.

24X7 SUPPLY street light dues. Uttar Pradesh stated that in two districts Faizabad and Lucknow, all Government Departments have been directed to install prepaid meters. After deliberations on the outstanding dues of Government Departments it was decided that Central Government would issue a directive to clear the outstanding electricity dues of Government Departments for the current year and minimum 25% dues of previous years by March 2018.

oint Secretary (Distribution), MoP stated that the challenge in the UDAY scheme was that there was data discrepancy between provisional data and finally audited data. In case of some States, the gains made were mainly financial gains (due to decline in interest payouts). Otherwise, the operational Efficiency leaves much to be desired. Therefore, this was the area where substantial amount of improvement needed to be achieved. The other challenge was the DISCOMs dues from Government departments which was about Rs 31,465 crores as per latest figures available. As per the provision of UDAY scheme, dues should have been cleared by States by October 2016.

oint Secretary (Distribution), MoP informed that average power procurement cost of the UDAY participating states in the FY 2017 was Rs. 4.22 per unit. Further analysis shows that some States have even lower procurement cost but their establishment cost was higher. The average establishment cost of UDAY participating states was Rs 0.67 per unit ( 13% of ARR) but for many States, it was higher than the average - upto Rs.1.73 per unit. This brings opportunity of potential savings of about Rs. 10,000 Cr, if the establishment costs were reduced to the extent of average of UDAY States. H.P raised the issue of higher establishment cost due to hilly terrain and scattered population. Some of the States were of the view that norms for establishment cost for providing electricity per 1000 consumers needs to be worked. After deliberation Hon’ble MoS(IC) directed Central Electricity Authority to work out the norms for establishment cost and submit the details within a week.

ihar stated that in their State the outstanding dues were of Urban Department for which reconciliation meetings are going on. Chhattishgarh stated that dues were mainly of Panchayats and the money was adjusted in their grants. Punjab stated that they have levied 2% municipal tax and the Money received was being used towards adjusting

February 2018

unjab stated that they had reduced their power procurement cost by 10 paisa. They were power Surplus, so were liable to pay Rs 345 crores as fixed cost to NTPC even without scheduling a single Unit of power. Hon’ble MoS(IC) suggested Punjab to write to MoP separately so that the matter could be looked into.

oint Secretary (Distribution), MoP stated that the 24X7 SUPPLY FOR ALL aimed to provide reliable and quality 24x7 power to domestic, industrial and commercial consumers by March 2019, and for irrigation pump for 8 to 10 hours a day and access to all unconnected households in five years. The PFA Action Plan includes effective implementation of various schemes under Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Discom health, Renewable Energy, Energy efficiency and capacity building.

on’ble MoS(IC) stated that vision was to provide 24X7 power for all by March 2019. This is a basic service obligation for the DISCOMs. After March 2019, if there was any load shedding without any reason, there will be penalties except in case of technical faults or Acts of God.

hhattishgarh raised the issue of difficulty in procuring forest clearance for Transmission lines and suggested treating Transmission lines as linear projects as was done in case of road projects.

n universalisation of metering, Karnataka stated that maximum cost involved was for software development, storage and communication for which EESL needed to do something. EESL stated that apart from meter procurement they were also involved in development of entire ecosystem for prepaid and smart metering

amil Nadu stated that they had undertaken a pilot project wherein smart metering was being done for consumers consuming more than 500 units in a month.

ecretary(Power), MoP stated that for smart metering, area with high population density should be chosen and the entire ecosystem needed to be developed as it would be cost effective.

oint Secretary (Distribution), MoP stated as a part of promotion for digital payments Govt. of India had set a target for 2500 crores digital transaction for the FY 2017-18 which includes 101 crore digital transaction for power sector. States needed to incentivize digital payments by giving cash back/discount, waiver of convenience fee/ MDR charges etc. and promoting digital payments through Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), Bharat QR Code / BHIM app, printing of Bharat QR Code on electricity bills etc.

on’ble MoS(IC) stated that for the success of MAKE IN INDIA initiative of the Government, cross subsidy had to be capped at 20% of the average cost of supply by the States. States had also to ensure that all subsidy payment were made through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

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POLICY & REGULATION

STRENGTHENING OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEM FOR 24X7 POWER

o meet 24x7 power for all in the country, consistent expansion in the Transmission Network and augmentation of transformation capacity are essential. The aggregate inter-regional transmission capacity by the end of 12thPlan is 75,050 MW and the expected aggregate interregional power transfer capacity by 2021–22 will be 1,18,050 MW. As on Sep’2017, about 3,80,402 ckm of transmission lines (220 kV & above) and 7,82,830 MVA of Transformation capacity (220 kV & above) exist for transmission of power in the country. A brief presentation was made by the JS (Trans) on ‘Strengthening of Transmission System for 24x7 Power: Right of Way (RoW)’. She stated hat one of the major issues during construction of transmission lines is acquisition of the RoW. Many projects get delayed because of the developers’ inability to acquire land and get timely clearances from all stakeholders. To resolve the compensation issues and to bring uniform methodology for calculation of compensation charges, the Ministry of Power on 15th Oct. 2015 issued the Guidelines for payment of compensation towards ‘damages’ in regard to RoW for Transmission lines. It was informed that these Guidelines have been adopted by 10 States. She also informed that Ministry, further, constituted a Committee to suggest a methodology for payment of compensation relating to RoW in the Urban Areas. The Committee has prepared a Report which has been circulated to the States for their comments and additional input. However, not many States have responded. Secretary (Power) urged the States to send their comments on the Report so that the same may be adopted which would help to reduce the delay in construction of lines. He further requested the States especially Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal to extend necessary assistance including Police protection so that the pending important lines can be completed.

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REFORMS

presentation was made by Chief ngineer(RR), MoP on issues like Cross subsidy charges, Time of the day Tariff , Separation of carriage and content and issues in notification of RPO trajectory till 2022 etc. MOS(IC) noted that if tariff is too high, consumers will opt for open access or captive generation. He further expressed that from March, 2019 onwards it may be ensured that the tariff should be within ± 20% of cost of supply. The recommendation of the Committee report on Tariff simplification and Tariff rationalization was also shared with the States. The States were requested to review the existing tariff categories and bring it down to five primary categories with recommended sub-categories as suggested. On separation of carriage and content, as proposed by Electricity

Amendment Bill 2014, the concern expressed by various States had been addressed. The time frame for implementation, was kept as one year as per the bill, which has now been left open to the States. Further adequate checks and balances to safeguard consumer interests shall be provided in the detailed transfer scheme to be prepared by the State Governments. States were requested to suggest a time frame within which the separation of carriage and content can be implemented after the amendment of Electricity Act is notified. Hon’ble Minister expressed that retail consumers should have the choice to choose their power supplier. With separation of carriage and content, service efficiency of the supplier shall improve, it may also result in disappearance of theft of electricity.

RENEWABLE PURCHASE OBLIGATION (RPO): - ISSUES RPO Trajectory has been notified by MOP applicable till 2018-19. There are certain issues which needs to be deliberated before finalization of RPO Trajectory till 2022 like RPO on “energy or capacity” terms, uniform or state specific RPO, flexibility in meeting RPO targets between Solar and Non-Solar RPO, Hydro as RE source etc. States shared their views of the above issues. • KERALA has a view that if uniform RPO is notified for all the States then it will have many issues like RE Potential in the State, Land availability, Inter State Transmission Capacity etc. and suggested that these should be State specific RPO. • UP expressed that RPO should be source neutral and interchangeability to be provided. • NHPC suggested that large Hydro ( >25 MW) should be considered as Renewable Energy. • ODISHA had a view that present mechanism of RPO in MU terms is better that RPO in MW terms. • Captive Plants : RPO should also be applicable on captive plants also. • Waste heat recovery boiler. Some study may be done if some portion of co-generation exist from other sources also. • RAJASTHAN : There is already excess capacity of generation in

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the country. To minimise further additional capacity, we may have all Hydro Projects as RE source, Distributed Generation and cogeneration may also be considered to qualify as RPO Solar power is coming in a big way and may replace thermal, then RPO may not berequired.

Hon’ble MOS(IC) expressed that RPO commitment is coming because of country’s commitment. Country has made capacity commitment in NDC targets. He further suggested that MW term is basic and compliance is easy. Hon’ble MOS(IC) noted that Legal framework mandated monitoring of RPO obligation by Regulators, but the same was not being done. RE potential is different in different States. The rates achieved will be different for different States depending on the Solar or Wind intensity. Act says that RPO should be in terms of energy. Secy, MNRE suggested that MOP trajectory to be followed, may have to be reworked if we are moving towards MW from MU. Addl Secy, MNRE uggested that RPO should remain in terms of Energy. Solar/non-solar can be combined. RPO in MW terms will not serve the purpose. Addl Secy. MNRE further suggested that SERC may adopt uniform RPO all across country even for private DISCOMs.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC)

presentation was made by DG BEE : Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC) prescribe minimum energy efficiency standards for commercial buildings. These standards were applicable to large commercial buildings (connected load of 100 kW/contract demand of 120 kVA and above). ECBC 2017 was launched by Hon’ble Minister in June, 2017 As of now, 11 States had issued notification and 4 had included the same in their building bye laws. 10 States were in advanced stages of issuing notification and rest of the States had to issue the notification within a reasonable time. Hon’ble Minister advised that all big building should be energy efficient and states should adopt ECBC 2017 and also incorporate the same in the relevant bye-laws.

Demand Side Management

G, BEE stated that in agriculture sector, Energy could be conserved by installation of energy efficient star labelled pumps. Few states had mandated that all new onnections will mandatorily have star labelled pumps. Hon’ble Minister advised that all States may consider mandating that all new pumps should be energy efficient/star labelled.

Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)

erform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme was launched under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency. 478 designated consumers from 8 sectors were given targets to reduce their SEC in the cycle of three ears under PAT Cycle-I (2012-2015). DG, BEE stated that most of the designated consumers had done exceedingly well and saving had been converted into Energy aving Certificates (ESCerts). Trading had started. Designated Consumers who had not chieved targets were non compliant and had to purchase certificates. These Designated Consumers should purchase certificates by 31st December, 2017. Out of 110 non compliant Designated Consumers, 70 Designated Consumers were yet to purchase ESCerts for compliance and out of which 32 were thermal power plants. If they do not purchase ESCerts by 31st December, 2017, they would be liable for penalty. Secretary (P) requested Secretaries of all the States to advise GENCO’s to purchase certificates wherever required. NTPC requested to permit trading of certificates within same group of companies. Secretary (P) advised that the purpose of the scheme was to make all units efficient.

February 2018

E- Mobility Presentation was made by Shri Saurabh Kumar, MD, EESL.

ndia had set a target of 30% of total vehicles shall be e-vehicles by 2030. MD(EESL) informed that we had regulatory gap regarding setting up of charging stations as sale of electricity requires distribution licence. Hon’ble Minster informed that regulatory gap would be plugged soon. EESL had estimated that Central Govt. had 5 lakh vehicles which can generate demand of 3-4 GWh batteries. This would attract battery manufacturers to set up manufacturing plants in India. EESL had aggregated demand for 10000 EVs with a range of 130 km per charge. EESL would lease vehicles to Govt at Rs 40,000 pm along with driver or Government Organizations can opt for outright purchase at Rs 11.8 lacs per vehicle which was lowest in the world. AC and DC Charging station were being setup in Delhi. EESL has received request from Andhra Pradesh for EVs and were in discussions with Maharashtra. Cost to operate EVs was Rs 1.25/ km at electricity tariff of Rs 8 per kWh. Two models had been selected in the EESL tender for EVs and both were of Indian manufacturers Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary, MNRE highlighted the major achievements in RE sector, such as: i) installation of RE capacity of 62 GW as on Nov, 2017 (32.7 GW from wind power, 16.6 GW from solar power, 8.2 GW from Bio-power & 4.3 GW from small Hydro Power) against the target of 175 GW RE to be achieved by 2022; ii) commendable achievements in aggregate in offgrid/ decentralised renewable energy; iii) record lowest tariff discovered in solar & wind power through reverse auction. Additional Secretary, MNRE made a brief presentation on the “Mission 175 GW RE by 2022 & Solar Sector” where the comprehensive action plan to achieve RE targets and physical progress of solar sector made so far was presented. This was followed with the brief Presentation on issues/ points related to Wind Energy & Small Hydro Power Sector by Joint Secretary (BPY), MNRE. Thereafter, Scientist F (DKK), MNRE made a brief Presentation on issues/points related to Bio Energy Sector.

Hon’ble MoS(IC) in his address emphasized on the need for fulfillment of commitment made by the country to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Hon'ble Minister directed that major issues in RE(Renewable Energy) sector such as poor compliance of RPO by States/UTs, delay in signing of PPAs, delay in procurement of land for RE projects need to be resolved. After detailed discussions with States/UTs, Hon’ble Minister requested the following:-

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States/UTs to ensure 100% RPO compliance in order to achieve 175 GW RE target on time • Align RPO trajectory as per notification of Ministry of Power RE procurement trajectory at the State/UT level • Scheduling of bids at regular interval of time to ensure signing of all PPAs. In this connection, States/UTs may indicate their willingness to allow central agencies like SECI/NTPC to bid on their behalf. If States/UTs bid on their own, they should follow the schedule of bidding laid out nationally. • Simplification of solar rooftop installation procedure • States/UTs should honour the PPAs, faster signing of PPAs where bids have been closed. Tariffs are bound to be different from one bid to another depending upon region, so the sanctity of PPAs/ bids should be maintained. The following issues/points regarding renewable energy sector emerged during the session: Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) States/UTs gave views and suggestions as regard setting RPO targets in terms of installed capacity, merging of Solar & Non Solar RPOs, etc. For the issue of setting RPO argets in term of installed capacity, Hon’ble Minister directed that this issue needs a detailed examination, till then, the present system of RPO targets in energy terms may continue. However, the States/UTs may convert the RPO in energy terms into capacity required depending upon the CUF of the individual RE sources for planning purpose.

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POLICY & REGULATION Solar Energy • • • • • • • • • •

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State/UT Governments may procure RE power from other states with high RE resource as Inter State Transmission system charges have bee waived off till 2019 & which is proposed to be extended up to 2022. State/UT Governments to submit proposals for new solar parks of additional capacity of 20 GW. State/UT Governments need to expedite the progress of sanctioned solar parks in their respective States including commitment to buy at least 20% power, timely completion of transmission & other infrastructure, etc. Land for solar park may be secured on lease/rental basis in case of diculty arising in acquiring the land in the States/UTs. Due to non-availability of land in few States/UTs, smaller capacity solar parks may be taken up. Ministry is finalizing a new scheme for solar rooftop and KUSUM program. State/UT DISCOMs may rent rooftops for solar power plant, aggregate its generation and feed it to the grid. Solar power plants needs to come up at all metro/railway stations. Procedure for establishing Solar Rooftop plant needs to be streamlined by the State/UT Governments. The states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana & Gujarat have already implemented one of the components of KUSUM program. The implementation model may be obtained from these states & the same may be circulated to other states for adoption. Possibility of establishing floating solar power plants at Dams/Reservoirs or ash ponds/coal mines may be explored by the State/UT Governments. Necessary regulations for Forecasting & Scheduling of solar/wind power may be taken up by State/UT Governments.

wind Energy • • • • • •

Non windy states may aggregate their demand for wind power and convey it to Ministry at the earliest. Windy states may prepare for bids as per bidding guidelines to be issued soon by the Ministry. Non-signing of PPAs by the State DISCOMs aects the confidence of investors in the wind energy sector. Timely payment to developers by the DISCOMs must be ensured. States/UTs are advised to follow feed in tari route for wind power projects having capacity less than 25 MW. Small Hydro Power, Bio Energy & other Sectors • Slow progress in Small Hydro Power & Bio energysector is a major concern. • Despite High capital cost, Small Hydro Power & Bio energy plants need to be taken up as a source of firm RE power for grid balancing. • Levy of various charges i.e. LADA, allotment/premium fees, demand of free electricity from State/UT Governments for SHP projects may be stopped. • PPAs are not being signed by the State DISCOMs for Biomass power plants. • Single window clearance system may be introduced by State/UT Governments for speedy approval/clearances for SHP & Biomass projects. • Incentive to DISCOMs for achievement above RPO

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targets is being proposed by the Ministry.

• State/UT Governments to identify at least one city for making it 100% RE city.

Suggestions/Responses from State/UT Governments The suggestions/responses from various State/UT Governments are as follows: ODISHA: Captive thermal power Plants should come under the ambit of RPO mechanism. Telangana: State government has carried out district wise bidding for small solar power plants. KARNATAKA: Captive RE Plants may be made eligible under RPO mechanism. Land for smaller solar plants near substations acquired on lease/rental basis from farmers. Biomass Power Plants must be given must run status. Tariff for biomass power plants may be determined through bidding route. States with high RE installed capacity are being penalised under Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) for frequency deviation KERALA: Use of plastic floaters for floating solar plants has led to decrease in capital cost of floating solar plants. UTTAR PRADESH: New solar policy has been approved by the state government. MAHARASHTRA: Model bidding guidelines for other RE sources may be prepared by Ministry as done for solar/wind power. CHHATTISGARH: Proposal for additional requirement of standalone solar pumps for LWE districts to be submitted to Ministry. RAJASTHAN: Possibility of merging of Solar & Non Solar RPOs or flexibility between Solar & Non Solar RPOs may be explored by MNRE/Ministry of Power. GUJARAT: Ceiling on solar pumps capacity under MNRE scheme was requested to be removed/ raised from current level of 5 HP. For grid-connected pumps, feeder wise solarisation was suggested. Thereafter the floor was thrown open to States for their comments. Hon’ble Minister from Karnataka raised the issue of coal shortage for thermal power generation. Against FSA, coal is supplied at 85% and under MOU at 25% level only. Hon’ble Union Minister informed that current coal scarcity is recognised. This is being monitored everyday and Minister is also getting updates every day. Position is improving now and commercial mining is likely to solve the problem in long term. Karnataka requested extension of time for implementation of new environmental norms. Hon’ble Union Minister assured that issue would be taken up with MoEF&CC. Hon’ble Minister from Karnataka stated that transmission charges by PGCIL to Karnataka has increased from 31 paise to 71 paise and are expected to reach – 94 paise next year while other states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu are paying much less. Hon’ble Union Minister informed that a committee has been formed to look into the issue.

February 2018

POLICY & REGULATION ROLL OF STATE NODAL AGENCY GEDA a) Announcement of Scheme: The Nodal Agency shall bring out a comprehensive scheme to implement the targets of Renewable Energy (RE). The scheme should elaborate the appropriate process for invitation of bids/ applications, incentives and central financial assistance, if any, targets, implementation mechanisms etc. b) Allotment of the Solar Power Capacities : The Nodal Agency shall, from time to time, undertake the process for allotment of solar power capacities to the project developers. The Nodal Agency in consultation with the related stakeholders shall announce the process for allotment of solar power capacities. c) Facilitation in Development of Solar Power Plant : The Nodal Agency shall, facilitate the project developers in Setting up of solar projects including sanctions/clearances from number of Government agencies/departments. The State Government will provide requisite clearances through a “Single Window Clearance Mechanism”. It will be operated through GEDA. d) Identification of Government Land and Facilitation of its allotment for Solar Power Plant Development : The Nodal Agency shall identify government land and shall coordinate with the Government departments, prepare transparent procedure, take necessary approvals and clearances for the allotment of Government Land to the project developers for the development of power plant subject to policy formulated by Government as per 9(g).

Runaway 53GW Solar Boom in China Pushed Global Clean Energy Investment Ahead in 2017 World clean energy investment totalled $333.5 billion last year, up 3% from 2016 and the second highest annual figure ever, taking cumulative investment since 2010 to $2.5 trillion.

An extraordinary boom in photovoltaic installations made 2017 a record year for China’s investment in clean energy. This over-shadowed changes elsewhere, including jumps in investment in Australia and Mexico, and declines in Japan, the U.K. and Germany. Annual figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), based on its world-leading database of projects and deals, show that global investment in renewable energy and energy-smart technologies reached $333.5 billion last year, up 3% from a revised $324.6 billion in 2016, and only 7% short of the record figure of $360.3 billion, reached in 2015.

e) Support in availing the Subsidy : The Nodal Agency shall facilitate the prosumer/producer to avail the subsidy, if any, available from Central and/or State Government. f) Capacity Building & Awareness : The Nodal Agency shall organize Capacity Building & Training Sessions for participation by the segment stakeholders. The Nodal Agency shall also take necessary steps in creating awareness among the citizens of the State. g) Coordination with MNRE for Technical Specification : The State shall follow the technical specifications and standards as specified by the MNRE, from time to time. The Nodal Agency shall provide its inputs to the MNRE for specifying new standards or amending existing technical specifications for different component of solar plant photovoltaic.

February 2018

Jon Moore, chief executive of BNEF, commented: “The 2017 total is all the more remarkable when you consider that capital costs for the leading technology – solar – continue to fall sharply. Typical utility-scale PV systems were about 25% cheaper per megawatt last year than they were two years earlier.”

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research & analysis Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for BNEF,

said: “China installed about 20GW more solar capacity in 2017 than we forecast. This happened for two main reasons: first, despite a growing subsidy burden and worsening power curtailment, China’s regulators, under pressure from the industry, were slow to curb build of utility-scale projects outside allocated government quotas. Developers of these projects are assuming they will be allocated subsidy in future years.

"Second, the cost of solar continues to fall in China, and more projects are being deployed on rooftops, in industrial parks or at other distributed locales. These systems are not limited by the government quota. Large energy consumers in China are now installing solar panels to meet their own demand, with a minimal premium subsidy"

Investment by country Overall, Chinese investment in all the clean energy technologies was $132.6 billion, up 24% setting a new record. The next biggest investing country was the U.S., at $56.9 billion, up 1% on 2016 despite the less friendly tone towards renewables adopted by the Trump administration. Large wind and solar project financings pushed Australia up 150% to a record $9 billion, and Mexico up 516% to $6.2 billion. On the downside, Japan saw investment decline by 16% in 2017, to $23.4 billion, while Germany slipped 26% to $14.6 billion and the U.K. 56% to $10.3 billion in the face of changes in policy support. Europe as a whole invested $57.4 billion, down 26% year-on-year. Below are the 2017 totals for other countries and regions investing $1 billion-plus in clean energy:

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India $11 billion, down 20% compared to 2016 • Brazil $6.2 billion, up 10% • France $5 billion, up 15% • Sweden $4 billion, up 109% • Netherlands $3.5 billion, up 30% • Canada $3.3 billion, up 45% • South Korea $2.9 billion, up 14% • Egypt $2.6 billion, up 495% • Italy $2.5 billion, up 15% • Turkey $2.3 billion, down 8% • United Arab Emirates $2.2 billion, up 23-fold • Norway $2 billion, down 12% • Argentina $1.8 billion, up 777% • Switzerland $1.7 billion, down 10% • Chile $1.5 billion, up 55% • Austria $1.2 billion, up 4% • Spain $1.1 billion, up 36% • Taiwan $1 billion, down 6% • Indonesia $1 billion, up 71%

February 2018

research & analysis Investment by category

Investment by sector

olar led the way, as mentioned above, attracting $160.8 billion – equivalent to 48% of the global total for all of clean energy investment. The two biggest solar projects of all to get the go-ahead last year were both in the United Arab Emirates: the 1.2GW Marubeni JinkoSolar and Adwea Sweihan plant, at $899 million, and the 800MW Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum III installation, at an estimated $968 million. Wind was the second-biggest sector for investment in 2017, at $107.2 billion. This was down 12% on 2016 levels, but there were record-breaking projects financed both onshore and offshore. Onshore, American Electric Power said it would back the 2GW Oklahoma Wind Catcher project in the U.S., at $2.9 billion excluding transmission. Offshore, Ørsted said it had reached ‘final investment decision’ on the 1.4GW Hornsea 2 project in the U.K. North Sea, at an estimated $4.8 billion. There were also 13 Chinese offshore wind projects financed last year, with total capacity of 3.7GW, and estimated investment of $10.8 billion. The third-biggest sector was energy-smart technologies, where asset finance of smart meters and battery storage, and equity-raising by specialist companies in smart grid, efficiency, storage and electric vehicles, reached $48.8 billion in 2017, up 7% on the previous year and the highest ever. The remaining sectors lagged far behind, with biomass and wasteto-energy down 36% at $4.7 billion, biofuels down 3% at $2 billion, small hydro 14% lower at $3.4 billion, lowcarbon services 4% down at $4.8 billion, geothermal down 34% at $1.6 billion, and marine energy down 14% at just $156 million. The clean energy investment total excludes hydro-electric projects of more than 50MW. However, for comparison, final investment decisions in large hydro are likely to have been worth $40-50 billion in 2017. BNEF’s preliminary estimates are that a record 160GW of clean energy generating capacity (excluding large hydro) were commissioned in 2017, with solar providing 98GW of that, wind 56GW, biomass and waste-toenergy 3GW, small hydro 2.7GW, geothermal 700MW and marine less than 10MW.

February 2018

Acquisition spending

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Note: Clean energy covers renewable energy excluding large hydro, plus energy smart technologies such as efficiency, demad response, storage and electric vehicles. BNEF’s annual figures for past years, revised in this round, are $61.7 billion in 2004, $88 billion in 2005, $129.8 billion in 2006, $182.2 billion in 2007, $205.2 billion in 2008, $206.8 billion in 2009, $276.1 billion in 2010, $324 billion in 2011, $290.7 billion in 2012, $268.6 billion in 2013, $321.3 billion in 2014, $360.3 billion in 2015, $324.6 billion in 2016 and $333.5 billion in 2017. The 2016 figures reflect a significant revision, due to the arrival of new data on Chinese solar and wind and on global corporate R&D.

Abraham Louw, analyst, clean energy economics at BNEF, said: “It is notable that acquisition activity in clean energy has been in excess of $100 billion in each of the last three years. The fact that generating assets, in particular, are in growing demand from buyers is a sign of a maturing sector.”

reaking the investment total down by type of deal, the dominant category – as always – was asset finance of utility-scale renewable energy projects of more than 1MW. This was $216.1 billion in 2017, up fractionally on the previous year. Small-scale projects of less than 1MW (effectively small solar systems) attracted $49.4 billion, up 15% – thanks in large part to the installation rush in China. Equity-raising by specialist clean energy companies on public markets totaled $8.7 billion in 2017, down 26%. The biggest transactions in this category were a $978 million convertible issue by electric car maker Tesla, and a $545 million placement by Guodian Nanjing Automation, a Chinese technology supplier to generating and transmission plants. Venture capital and private equity investment in clean energy came to $4.1 billion in 2017, down 38% on the previous year and the lowest figure since 2005. The biggest deals were a $400 million Series A round for Microvast Power System, a Chinese maker of electric vehicle technology, and a $155 million expansion capital round for Greenko Energy Holdings, an Indian wind project developer. Asset finance of energy-smart technologies was $21.6 billion, up 36% thanks to increased installation of smart meters and lithium-ion batteries for energy storage. Corporate research and development into clean energy rose 11% to $22.1 billion, and government R&D was almost level at $14.5 billion.

he above figures all concern new investment coming into the clean energy sector. BNEF also measures money changing hands, as organizations purchase and sell clean energy projects and companies, and refinance existing project debt. This acquisition activity totaled $127.9 billion in 2017, up 4% on the previous year and the highest ever. Acquisitions and refinancing of renewable energy projects rose 14% to a record $87.2 billion, while corporate M&A involving specialist clean energy companies fell 51% to $17.5 billion. Public market investor exits came to $7.4 billion, down 8%, and private equity buy-outs reached an all-time high of $15.8 billion, up sixfold on the previous year. The largest acquisition transaction of the year was the purchase of a 51% stake in U.S. ‘yieldco’ TerraForm Power by Brookfield Asset Management for $4.7 billion.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

India Ratings: Renewable Power Contract Renegotiations Continue to Affect Investor Sentiment The renegotiation of tariffs under renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) by quoting high tariffs is not an apparent option available with state discoms, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).

Reportedly, state utilities have evinced interest in revisiting signed PPAs to capitalise on falling solar and wind tariffs. This has affected investor sentiments towards the fledgling renewable sector. Moreover, erratic counterparty behaviour has continued to reduce project cash in some states. Ind-Ra considers PPA renegotiation or cancellation an event risk and a deviation from the normal course of business. Therefore, current ratings of entities do not factor in this risk.

lthough solar cost per unit is higher than the average revenue requirement, wind cost procurement per unit is lower than the average revenue requirement, leading to an overall cash accumulation for discoms across the five sample states, except Telangana. With solar power tariffs rapidly declining and power procurement quantity from the solar space increasing in the next two years, the impact of earlier high solar tariffs on the financials of discoms could be completely eliminated. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has instructed state discoms to abide by signed PPAs and not to create uncertainty. Some recent judgements of courts and regulatory commissions have tried to clear uncertainty over projects. However, disruptions through renegotiations in future cannot be completely ruled out. Based on the contractual obligation and the firm nature of PPAs, many projects are keen to access the capital market independent of sponsors. Any signs of renegotiation or cancellation of PPAs would have an overriding impact on the fledgling infrastructure bond market. The states see renegotiation as insurance against the rising cost of power procurement. Unlike road projects where debt and equity holders are covered through termination clauses, renewable project PPAs lack termination clauses and re-engagement of power sale is also not easy, thereby placing the loan recovery at risk for lenders. The upshot of state utilities’ actions is a perfect recipe to turn performing assets into non-performing. Given that the debt service reserve is sufficient to meet not more than one quarter of debt service obligations in many cases, in the absence of working capital, the asset, would slip into the default category in less than six months, if payments are stopped by the utility.

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India has a commissioned solar capacity of about 14GW and a commissioned wind capacity of about 30GW. Installed wind and solar capacity could entail a payout of about INR300 billion across several states, considering 80% of the power is bought by state utilities at INR5/kWh at a plant load factor of 20%. Ther efore, the cash flow impact across states utilities may be immaterial for individual states. Although there is no anecdotal evidence of cancellation of PPAs, there have been instances of lower-than-contracted payments or grid curtailments. There is no direct evidence of PPA cancellation due to higher tariffs, except in Uttar Pradesh. Be that as it may, the central government’s efforts to maintain investor sentiment and direct state governments on the importance of renewable energy help mitigate the risk arising from negative sentiment. However, additional clarity will attract investments in the sector. State utilities’ aim to reduce the cost of power may be laudable. However, the achievement of the aim in a disorderly and rushed manner and in contravention of the signed agreements is not the right way. If one or two states undertake such actions, many others will be increasingly eager to follow suit, thereby leading to non-achievement of the central government’s target of 175GW by 2022.

February 2018

RENEWABLE ENERGY Renewable Power Contract Renegotiation Disruption Lingers in Investor Minds Power Contract Renegotiation – Event Risk: The renegotiation of renew able pow er purchase agreement (PPA) tariffs by quoting high tariffs is not an apparent option available with state discoms, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Reportedly, state utilities’ keen interest in revisiting signed PPAs to capitalise on falling solar and wind tariffs is understandable, given their weak finances. Even with the current capacity of 60GW, the renewable sector is still in the ramp-up tage on account of limited operational history, technical robustness of modules and potential technological redundancies, especially in the solar sector.

Although there is no anecdotal evidence of cancellation of renew able PPAs in contravention to possible exit clauses available in PPAs, there have been instances of low er-than-contracted payments or grid curtailments. There is no direct evidence of PPA cancellation due to higher tariffs, except in Uttar Pradesh. Be that as it may, the central government’s efforts to maintain investor sentiment and direct state governments on the importance of renew able energy help mitigate the risk arising f rom negative sentiment. How ever, additional clarity will attract investments in the sector. Ind-Ra generally will consider PPA renegotiation or cancellation an event risk and a deviation from the normal course of business. Therefore, its current ratings on these projects do not factor in this risk.

Although solar cost per unit is higher than the average revenue requirement, wind cost procurement per unit is lower than the average revenue requirement, leading to an overall cash accumulation for discoms across the five sample states, except Telangana. These states, except Rajasthan, would

February 2018

Insignificant Impact on Discoms ’ Bottom Line : India has a commissioned solar capacity of about 14GW and a wind capacity of about 30GW. Installed wind and solar capacity could entail a payout of about INR300 billion across several states, considering 80% of the power is bought by state utilities at INR5/kWh at a plant load factor of 20%. Therefore, the cash flow impact across states utilities may be immaterial for individual states. Anecdotal experience show s high power cost as the sole reason for the proposed renegotiation/ cancellation of PPAs. Solar power tariffs plunged to INR2.44/kWh in May 2017 from INR5.10/kWh in June 2015. Similarly, reverse action in wind power led to a decline in tariff to INR2.43/kWh from the existing feed in tarif fs of above INR4.00/kWh.

save about INR9.73 billion. Rajasthan makes profit per unit on solar. With solar power tariffs rapidly declining and power procurement quantity from the solar space increasing in the next two years, the impact of earlier high solar tariffs on the financials of discoms could be completely eliminated.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY Right Concoction to Move Performing to NonPerforming Assets

tate utilities have the right intention to reduce the cost of power. Meanwhile, as a proportion of the overall energy cost, discomsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; renewable energy bill still remains negligible. In the medium term, if the proposed renegotiation/cancellation of PPAs practice turns effective and discoms renege on contractual clauses, banks could face a battery of distressed assets. Given debt service reserve is sufficient to meet one quarter of debt service obligations in many cases, in the absence of working capital, the asset, would slip into the default category in less than six months, if payments are stopped by utility. In the event of a renewable energy project contract getting terminated, the possibility of the recovery of debt is low because of a no termination payment clause. In addition, re-engagement for power sale is not easy owing to cost-tariff dynamics. On the other hand, expected loss in road projects for a lender is relatively low because the termination payments

Should the states emulate grid curtailment compensation in upcoming PPAs and formalise a methodology for existing PPAs, it could reduce the financial issues of renewable energy generators.

Limited Leeway to Absorb Operational Issues

olar project with a project cost of INR1,050 million (143MW capacity), 75% of which is debt-funded, could withstand a tariff fall of about 16% from the original INR5.5/kWh and could possibly meet debt service obligations. In addition, the project could make a single-digit equity return over the tenor of the PPA. However, the tariff would be still significantly higher than the recently discovered tariffs of INR2.44/kWh and could, thus, leave limited leeway to absorb any shocks in the operational performance and receivable days.

Federal Intermediation May be Required in Medium Term

iven the importance of renewable energy in the long term and the global commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, potential investments in renewable energy cannot be underestimated. Any minor change in the policy or renege on contractual obligations would lead to serious repercussions for foreign investments in the sector. One way of aggregating renewable energy could be by way of a unified agency, such as Solar Energy Corporation of India, aggregating the procurement and allocation of renewable energy to various states, ensuring renewable purchase obligation compliances and coordinating on their payments. Such an initiative could help in the growth of investments in the sector, gradually decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels. The initiative requires policy measures at various levels.

Equity and Debt Investments Likely to be at Risk

istorically, counterparty risks have weakened the credit profiles of renewable energy projects despite the fact such projects have a relatively comfortable operational and technology profiles. This is because of uncertain and irregular payment profiles of counterparties. Thus, several projects of both thermal and renewable projects were impaired. The renegotiation risk, if becomes rampant across states, any amount of additional cash buffers or tighter debt structure cannot address it. The renegotiation of PPAs is understandable, provided the utilities commence it prior to the investments made by equity holders and lenders. However, when projects are operating in full swing, the renegotiation could derail a projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debt serviceability. Often, during the rating exercise, some developers have quoted grid curtailments in certain quarters as the reason behind lower plant load factor. Grid curtailments in certain states are attributed to high cost per kWh. Such a curtailment risk has been recently addressed through the introduction of a compensation clause in the PPA of Solar Energy Corporation of India.

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Renewable-to-Thermal Contagion

PA renegotiation is not restricted to renewable energy and has gradually made its way to the thermal sector. The recent instance of the termination notice invocation by an Uttar Pradesh state utility highlights the high procurement cost relative to the average power procurement cost of the state as the reason for the utility exiting from the PPA. State utilities have increasingly started providing high-cost power source as the reason for the cancellation or renegotiation of PPAs, notwithstanding the source of generation. With the advent of renewable energy, there is a possibility of a fall in tariff not envisaged originally. Capital cost of new thermal projects will always increase. On the other hand, capital cost of renewable energy will decline. Moreover, cost of power generated by thermal projects is subject to coal price variations. Meanwhile, solar and wind power plants do not have any fuel cost. Utilities can explore signing PPAs with shorter terms or specific exit clauses to avoid getting stuck with high-cost PPAs. However, such a move could increase tariffs discovered in bids. "Thus, a sophisticated power buying mechanism is needed to compare various power buying options based on tenor, price and source."

February 2018

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RENEWABLE ENERGY Some Key Judgements; Ministry in Favour of Honouring Contracts

hile disclaiming that Ind-Ra is not opining on the judgments of courts or appellate authorities, it is a fact that in April 2017, the Supreme Court of India impressed on the importance of adherence to a PPA while ruling on the compensatory tariff claims of thermal plants, including Coastal Gujarat Power Limited and Adani Power Limited. The judgment clarifies that a rise in price/cost (analogous to high cost of power under PPA compared with other sources of power) cannot be the sole reason for the termination, unless such a price rise causes a serious hindrance in contract performance. In response to a petition relating to a dispute between the parties involving the termination of PPAs owing to a high average power purchase cost of NTPC, NHPC Limited (‘IND AAA’/Stable) and THDC India Limited ('IND AA+'/Stable), the Ministry of Power stated that the procurer (Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd) had a right to allocated capacity at all times, and accordingly, the obligation to pay the fixed charges for the power allocated continues, even in case of non-scheduling of power. The ministry added that investments made by central public sector units were to be serviced and accordingly central public sector units would be prejudiced if any procurer decided to unilaterally terminate the agreement in the middle. In the case of Junagadh Power Projects Limited versus Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited, the appellate

tribunal ordered the state commission of Gujarat to reopen the PPA to avert the closure of the facility and to incentivise the renewable energy. Even in this order, the state commission was required to balance the interests of the consumer and the generator. This case is different because the plants were faced with challenges due to a significant hike in biomass fuel price. Under the current circumstances, PPA renegotiation is initiated after the project was accepted and the PPA was signed between the parties. Such measure impairs the sentiments of investors and lenders. In its PPA with the developer, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL) has mentioned that if MPPMCL refuses to buy power and the tariff realised from third-party sale is lower than the PPA tariff, MPPMCL is liable to bridge the shortfall. Similarly, the new solar PPA notified by the central government provides compensation, including full debt payment and 150% of adjusted equity, for grid curtailments and termination. On one hand, some discoms and the central government are tightening PPA terms to improve project bankability levels. On the other hand, unilateral actions of state utilities jeopardise the outlook for the sector. Legal notices and lawsuits from either party elongate the pains of the projects and affect the financial profile of the fledgling renewable energy sector. In March 2017, an Andhra Pradesh discom requested the state regulatory commission to not adopt

arnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) had reduced the period of the control period to 31 August 2017 from the originally scheduled 9 October 2018, while revising the tariff downwards to INR3.74/ kWh against the earlier set INR4.50/kWh. This is a deviation from KERC’s earlier order, leading to uncertainty over projects. The tariff determined in the order shall also be applicable to projects that have entered into PPAs with state discoms prior to the order date that are not approved by the commission, if it opts. The instructions from the state energy department in Karnataka to override KERC’s order and exercise Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, in line with the Ministry of New

February 2018

the tariffs of 41 completed power projects (totalling over 800MW). In some cases, the developers were paid PPA tariffs for over five months. The abrupt move to halt the payments stressed the liquidity profile of a project and has possibly wiped out its debt service reserve. Plants that commissioned operations after the AP discom request in March 2017 continue to supply power without payments. Given the wind season concluded recently, continued payment delays could eventually result in debt servicing delays. Any renegotiation of tariffs against the original one could have affected investments of about INR50 billion in Andhra Pradesh. In its order on 13 December 2017, the state regulatory commission consented to the PPAs of the 41 completed power projects and averted several assets from falling into the non-performing asset category. On the other hand, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has instructed state discoms to abide by signed PPAs and not to create uncertainty. Ind-Ra views the instruction as a landmark, as it provides more clarity on the central government’s commitment to renewable energy investments. If required, state governments may issue directions to state electricity regulatory commissions, as per Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Ind-Ra believes the instruction is in line with the statements made by the central government on the Tata Power Delhi Distribution case, reassuring that PPAs are sacrosanct documents.

and Renewable Energy’s instruction to state discoms to abide by signed PPAs and not to create uncertainty, could provide respite to wind developers in the state. In the recent judgement of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam versus Solar Semiconductor Power Company (India) Private Limited, the Supreme Court of India agreed to the redetermination of the tariff due to delays in the project commissioning. In addition, the apex court ruled that the extension of the control period was outside the purview of the regulatory commission; however, an ephemeral solution until a permanent resolution was achieved and a specific timeline to complete the process could have reduced the financial pains of the developer.

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PR DUCTS REFU Launched New 100Kw String Inverter At WFES In Abu Dhabi As a prelude to an exciting 2018, REFU launched its entirely new 100kW string inverter at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi (January 15th-19th) You will find REFU as part of the German Pavilion, booth number 7134.

he new REFUsol 100K is the logical continuation of the proven REFUsol 8-23K and REFUsol 40/46 K string inverter ranges. It can be connected to any grid voltage between 380 and 480 VAC offering maximum power between 83 and 100 kVA. The device underlines REFU remaining true to its global approach offering maximum compatibility, flexible installation and easy serviceability. The REFUsol 100K can be mounted in a vertical or horizontal position as required by the site conditions. It is available in two variants – with either fused direct string connections for distributed designs, or for a centralized designs with a single DC input. The REFUsol 100K inverter is commissioned easily via app (available for iOS and Android) which connects seamlessly with Bluetooth® to the inverter. The integrated, fail-safe Ethernet daisy chain (alternatively RS485) allows cost efficient high-speed monitoring without special accessories. Each inverter is individually connected to REFUlog for professional monitoring, configuration and remote firmware updates.

“The new 100kW inverter continues our rich tradition of technology leadership and innovation. It underlines our aspiration to develop the right solutions for our customer’s demands combining maximum performance, simplicity and flexibility.” states Ralf Betkerowitz, CEO of REFU Elektronik GmbH. Zouhair Kefi, Senior Vice President Segment Solar, Energy and Hybrid at REFU, adds: “We are excited to launch the next generation of our string inverter range, and this is not yet the end. We might have been too early for the solar market when launching the industry’s first 1,500 V as early as 2011, but we build on this knowledge and experiences for our new REFUsol 125kW/1,500V inverter that will round off our portfolio by the end of the year.” Source: news-prettl

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February 2018

PR DUCTS Secure a Faster ROI with GoodWe & Second Generation of MT Series Leading solar inverter manufacturer GoodWe has received large orders for its second generation of MT Series string inverters from Indian top solar developers and EPCs with a total capacity of 45MW. Half of them are on the way. Apart from offering a more competitive price, the new MT series inverters are able to provide a continuous maximum AC output power overload of 15% thanks to its boost function, which offers customers a faster return on investment.

he new MT Series features a more compact design with less than 20% volume and lighter weight compared to other conventional models, which greatly simplifies installation and commissioning, saving time and costs. It also supports 95mm2 aluminum cables instead of 75mm2 opper cables, which saves investment for AC cables. With capacities of 50 kW and 60 kW, the new transformerless, three-phase GoodWe MT series grid-tied inverters are equipped with four MPP Trackers ensuring that the outputs of connected modules are able to generate the highest yields even in different PV installation conditions, 5% output up compared with the string inverters with one MPP tracker on the market. Moreover, the start-up voltage is 200V, much lower than 600V of other products, which makes our inverter start up earlier to generate more power with longer working time. Even on the rainy days, the inverter can still work normally because of the low start voltage.

February 2018

“We are pleased to launch our new generation of MT Series inverters which can be successfully deployed on large scale commercial rooftops and ground-mounted solar PV systems,” said Huang Min, CEO of GoodWe. “The compact design of MT Series can help further reduce installation costs while its power boost function provides higher yield and a faster ROI.”

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February 2018

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Sineng Electric Launches New Central Distributed Inverter for Bifacial Solar Modules BEIJING — Leading global solar inverter manufacturer Sineng Electric made headway with the launch of a new central distributed inverter for bifacial solar modules recently in Beijing. The new product drew wide attention from industry watchers, customers and media organizations.

ifacial Solar modules not only collect sunlight on the side facing the light source, but they also collect light on the back side that is reflected from the surface beneath the solar panel and from the environment. Bifacial modules can generate an additional yield between 10 to 30 percent, compared with monofacial modules. However, due to the increased current of each string and seriously string mismatch, bifacial modules do not always perform perfectly due to the limited of traditional inverters when light conditions are optimal. In a move that not only resolves these issues but also facilitates technological progress across the sector, Sineng Electric has created and released a new central distributed inverter compatible with bifacial solar modules.

“Bifacial modules will become a leading force in the industry due to significant improvement in energy yields and reduction in cost. The inverter is the first of its kind, a combination of the extensive expertise we gained as the result of the acquisition of a global top 500 firm, our rich experience in the operation of inverters, and our dedicated efforts in research and development. The solution is compatible with leading P-type PREC and N-type bifacial modules available in the market,” said Sineng Electric General Manager of Products, Wang Yuelin, at the forum.

ith the higher yields and lower system costs, Sineng Electric’s central distributed inverter system (with multi MPPT inputs) has been widely applied in various scenarios. The new central distributed inverter comes equipped with the MPPT combination box designed specially for bifacial modules, capable of supporting an increase in the maximum operating current up to 12.5A and a current gain of over 30 percent on the back side of the panel. The string-level MPPT technology solves issues related to string mismatch caused by an uneven exposure to light on the back side, despite the complex conditions of the surface beneath the solar panel. The power-capacity ratio on the DC side supports extensive and flexible configurations and adapts to the change in capacity (0.9 – 1.3) on the DC side, which is caused by the difference in current gain on the back side. The unit is capable of operating at full capacity at 55

degrees C and addresses the issues related to the high current gain on the back side. In addition, the ability to handle long periods of 1.1X and short periods of 1.2X overload capability evenly matches the overload capabilities of the AC-side transformer and boost circuit. The power supply for the tracking bracket integrated with the delivery system delivers a cost-effective combination of a tracking bracket and bifacial solar modules. With years of experience in innovation and development, Sineng Electric has been named one of the top three inverter manufacturers in China. The company has also achieved several key technological breakthroughs in the inverter field and built its leading position in terms of research and development, thanks to the development platform and technologies it gained as the result of the acquisition of a global top 500 firm. Looking forward, Sineng Electric plans to continue increasing its investments in research and development, improving its technologies and driving solar to grid parity. Source:Sineng

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February 2018

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Huawei Showcased Cutting-edge FusionSolar Smart PV Solutions for MENA at WFES The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) took place in Abu Dhabi on January 15, 2018. The four-day event attracted more than 630 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors from 175 countries and regions. It has become the largest and most influential gathering on renewable energy in Middle East and Africa (MENA), bringing exports, project developers, distributors, investors and policy makers from across the globe to come together and discover new solutions to the world’s growing energy challenges. Julio Torre Gutierrez, President & CEO of NOMAC, the wholly owned operations & maintenance contractor of ACWA Power said, “Technology in the renewable energy industry is rapidly evolving not only on how electricity is generated but also on how plants are operated. This pilot programme is an important step in our continuous pursuit of delivering power reliably and at the lowest possible cost, a mission that necessitates the implementation of the latest solutions. The pilot programme is the first step in rolling out this technology in current and future sites as we strive to digitize our operations.”

M T

eanwhile, Huawei signed a franchise contract with Abunayyan Trading, a well-known trading company, to expend its presence in Saudi Arabia. Abunayyan Trading is one of the most trusted names in the power and water business, providing integrated solutions for customers in Saudi Arabia and Middle East. Eanwhile, Huawei signed a franchise contract with Abunayyan Trading, a well-known trading company, to expend its presence in Saudi Arabia. Abunayyan Trading is one of the most trusted names in the power and water business, providing integrated solutions for customers in Saudi Arabia and Middle East. his year will witness the rapid growth in MENA’s PV market capacity. The region is one of the most attractive marketplaces in renewable energy industry, especially the PV industry. With a major breakthrough in key accounts of 16 MENA countries, Huawei achieved a shipment of more than 300 MW in 2017. Going forward, it will further expand investment and business to help develop the region’s new energy market, especially in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa.

In the meantime, Huawei also signed certification supplier contracts with Knights Energy of Jordan, ECOsys and Phoenix of Lebanon, 1 TEC Investment of South Africa, Enersyscom of Egypt. Huawei teamed up with these partners and fully expanded its business in the MENA solar markets. On the third day, the Middle East Solar Industry Association awarded Huawei the Best Technology on Display at WFES 2018 for its superior product quality and user experience, at the industry’s premier awards ceremony — Middle East Solar Awards. Source:Huawei

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February 2018

PR DUCTS Sungrow Launches 3.125MW 1500Vdc Turnkey Station at WFES 2018 ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, launched the SG3125HV, the company’s latest 3.125MW 1500Vdc turnkey station, along with its string inverter series, at the World Future Energy Summit, the most visited event for renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from January 15-18.

T “Known for its rich solar resources, the Middle East and North Africa area has seen growing demands for solar power in recent years. We are delighted to develop products that are in accordance with this trend, and also, we are determined to set up a complete and localized sales and service network to better benefit our customers,” said

Professor Renxian Cao, President of Sungrow.

he SG3125HV containerized solution integrates PV inverter power conversion together with block monitoring, an auxiliary power supply, and Night Static Var Generator (SVG) functionality in a standard 10-foot container, meaning significant savings in initial investment and future operating costs. Thanks to the 3-level topology and smart cooling design, it reaches a peak efficiency of 99% and can work without derating at 50; in the MENA region, having sustained power yield for PV plants in the scorching heat is essential for good project economics. Developed for large-scale utility plants, the product also features a high DC/AC ratio of 1.5 and flexible 6.25MW or 12.5MW block design. Also on show are the SG125HV, the world’s most powerful 1500Vdc string inverter rated at 125kW, and SG36KTL-M, a first choice string inverter for rooftop projects. Source: SUNGROW Power Supply Co., Ltd

February 2018

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