EQ Magazine Feb 2020 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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CONT EN T

VOLUME 12 Issue #02

Disclaimer,Limitations of Liability While every efforts has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of EQ international and all our authors research articles with the greatest of care and attention ,we make no warranty concerning its content,and the magazine is provided on an>> as is <<basis.EQ international contains advertising and third –party contents.EQ International is not liable for any third- party content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents

india India plans $35 billion power reforms to revive ailing utilities

21 technology LONGi sets another new world record for module efficiency

44 policy & regulations Power generation to be termed manufacturing, pay 15 per cent corp tax

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,NonCommercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

electric vehicle Amazon India to include 10K EVs in delivery fleet by 2025

FEBRUARY 2020

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india

business & finance

Union Power Minister releases State Energy Efficiency Index 2019

featured

Telecom gear maker ITI to invest Rs 150cr to boost solar panel capacity

featured

LONGi module capacity exceeds 20GW leading the photovoltaic industry into a new era of large-scale production

PM’s green energy push to help India meet 450 GW target by 2030

interview

Mr. Raman Nanda

68 opinion SUSTAINABLE DEBT SEES RECORD ISSUANCE AT $465BN IN 2019, UP 78% FROM 2018

research & analysis Energy transition: Renewables in India’s electric future

opinion

Renewable energy: Curtailment is a bane that must be done away with

EQ NEWS Pg. 08-50 INTERVIEW Pg. 40-42 technology Artificial Intelligence: Disrupting the Energy Sector for the Better

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FEBRUARY- 2020

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FEBRUARY 2020

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INDIA

RUMSL & PGCIL sign PMC for solar parks Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd (RUMSL) signed a project management contract (PMC) in Bhopal

he agreement was signed by Rajeev Ranjan Meena, chief executive officer, RUMSL & managing director MPUVN and T.C. Sharma, executive director PGCIL. RUMSL is a JV company of MP urja vikas nigam and solar energy corporation India. RUMSL has successfully executed 250 MW and 750 MW solar project in district Mandsaur and Rewa respectively.

Principal secretary of new and renewable energy department, Manu Srivastava, said that signing of the PMC agreement for 1500 MW upcoming solar parks in Agar, Shajapur and Neemuch is an essential step towards fulfilling Chief Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission to make Madhya Pradesh a leader amongst the RE rich state in nation and to conserve environment.

In the programme minister for new and renewable energy department Harsh Yadav was also present. He congratulated the officers of RUMSL for achieving this milestone and showed confidence that RUMSL will create history in the Agar Shajapur Neemuch project as well. RUMSL has been authorised by ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) to develop 550 MW Agar Solar Park, 500 MW Neemuch Solar Park, and 450 MW Shajapur Solar Park. RUMSL will develop internal evacuation infrastructure for the solar parks for power evacuation. PGCIL, Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest transmission utility, will provide their PMC support to RUMSL for the successful execution of the solar parks.

World Bank is providing a loan of US$100 million through IREDA for financing infrastructure of Solar Parks in India. The first solar parks in the country to be supported under the World Bank Funding Scheme have been 750 MW Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Park and 250 MW Mandsaur Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh.

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INDIA

Rly land to be given for 500MW solar power plants to meet its traction needs: Rly Board chairman The railways will offer its vacant land to install 500-megawatt solar power plants to meet its energy needs, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said

This is in addition to the railways’ aim of installing 500-MW solar power plants and about 200-MW wind plants by 2021-22 across its zones and production units (PUs). The 500-MW solar power plants will be installed atop roofs of railway buildings through the PPP (publicprivate partnership) mode with 25-year agreements and used to meet the non-traction loads at railway stations. ‘As a pilot project for the land-based power plants, a three-megawatt plant has already been installed at MCF, Raebareli, while in Bhilai, a 50-MW plant on a 300-acre vacant railway land has been awarded by the Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL) and it is under progress with targeted commissioning by March 2021. ‘These plants will reduce carbon emissions and carbon footprints. Sixteen stations have been declared ‘Green’ railway stations across IR, which are meeting their energy needs completely either through solar or by wind,’ Yadav said.

e also said work was underway for about 111-MW solar plants and tenders for 93-MW solar plants were recently floated by REMCL. Tenders for 45-MW rooftop solar capacity have also been floated by REMCL and is due for opening on January 27, 2020. The balance 154 MW is under different stages of planning, Yadav said. In addition to the land-based solar projects, IR has also taken up two pilot projects for feeding solar power directly to 25 KV AC traction system — the Diwana Solar Plant Project through REMCL, targeted for completion by March 2020, and the Bina Solar Project through BHEL, targeted for completion by February 2020. Tenders for two hybrid plants (solar + wind) of 140 MW (35 MW solar + 105 MW wind) and 109 MW (27 MW solar + 82 MW wind) capacity have also been floated by REMCL, Yadav said. Of the 200-MW target of the railways, a 103.4-MW wind plant has already been installed. A wind Plant of 21 MW (for non-traction) capacity in Tamil Nadu, one of 26 MW (for traction) capacity in Rajasthan and another of 6 MW (for non-traction) and 50.4 MW (for traction) capacity in Maharashtra have been installed. Further, tenders for 187-MW capacity have been floated by REMCL as part of hybrid renewable energy plants. Source: PTI

FEBRUARY 2020

India plans $35 billion power reforms to revive ailing utilities India is planning another wave of reforms aimed at turning around its struggling power retailers. The initiative is still under consideration, a power ministry spokeswoman, declining to provide details. The reforms could cost as much as 2.5 trillion rupees ($35 billion) over five years, according to people with knowledge of the issue.

he measures would focus on infrastructure and technology upgrades of the ailing utilities to make them more efficient and reduce financial losses, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The efforts could include central government grants of as much as 1 trillion rupees to states that meet targets set by New Delhi, they said. The plan could include the installation of about 250 million prepaid smart meters, which are expected to boost revenue collection. Other measures include systems to better monitor and control networks — known as supervisory control and data acquisition systems — separating grids for farmers and residential users, and replacing overhead cables with special insulated wires to prevent theft. Electricity distributors are the weakest link in the country’s power supply chain, losing almost one-fifth of their revenue because of technical and commercial reasons, including loss of power supplies through theft and poor transmission infrastructure or inefficient billing and collection. Reviving these utilities is key to ensuring reliable power supplies and improving the financial health of generators. The investment in smart meters is expected to become part of the operating expenses of the retailers and will be funded using the efficiency gains they derive from the upgrade, according to the people. The power ministry is working with distribution companies on models for other initiatives, the officials said, with any payments from the federal government linked to meeting targets. The new measures would follow an unsuccessful plan unveiled in 2015 to make retailers profitable by March 2019. That effort included reducing revenue lost from theft and poor billing to an average of 15%. While such losses did decline, they were still at about 18% at the end of the year to March 2019, the power ministry said in a report in October. Combined net income losses at distributors that signed up for the reform plan in the same year widened to about 280.4 billion rupees, an 85% year-on-year increase, according to the report. Source: Bloomberg

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INDIA

PGCIL inks MoU with Rewa Ultra Mega Solar for transmission system The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMSL). The MoU has been inked for providing project management consultancy services (PMC) for a transmission system to evacuate power from 1,500 MW of solar projects in Madhya Pradesh.

he solar parks are located in Neemuch, Shajapur and Agar districts, and the total estimated project cost is Rs 556 million (around USD 7.8 million). The consultancy cost is approximately Rs 444.8 million (around USD 6.3 million). The company will issue a tender for request for selection of bidders (RfS) for its solar projects soon. The agreement for providing project management consultancy services is for internal evacuation power structure. RUMSL has procured more than 80 percent of the land, measuring 2,653 ha.

The Agar and Shajapur solar parks will connect to the state transmission unit (STU) while Neemuch solar park will be connected to central transmission utility (CTU) with power supply to Madhya Pradesh and the Indian Railways outside the state. RUMSL has obtained Stage-I connectivity for Neemuch Solar Park. Source : projectstoday

INDIA

Proposed carbon tax waiver on coal may pose risks to India’s renewables growth: Fitch Fitch Solutions said that the centre’s proposed carbon tax waiver on coal may pose substantial downside risks to India’s renewable sector growth. In a bid to alleviate significant debt levels in the power industry, India has proposed to waive carbon taxes on coal (Rs 400 rupees/tonne), it said. This comes at a time where aggressive bidding and rapid fall in tariff prices in country’s renewable power auctions have squeezed profit margins for project developers and threatened the economic feasibility of the project pipeline in the renewables sector. The proposed carbon tax waiver on coal will “weigh on renewables growth,” Fitch Solutions said, adding that the carbon tax waiver was likely to make coal-fired power cheaper, increasing the use of coal.

t expects coal to continue dominating India’s power sector, making up a share of slightly under 70 per cent of the total power generation mix by 2029, with non-hydro renewables at 15.6 per cent. “We stress that the continued push for lower tariffs in the tender process have already resulted in the undersubscription and cancellation of a few auctions across FY’18 and FY’19,” it said.

Most notably, Tamil Nadu, one of India’s largest renewable energy states, has decided to cease wind and solar auctions for the time being due to undersubscription in the previous two. Coal-powered projects had faced some headwinds in recent years, noted by multiple project cancellations and stiff competition from non-hydro renewable sources, as the cost of renewables in India has fallen below that of coal and gas. Source: PTI

India extends $75 mn line of credit for solar parks in Cuba “Exim Bank has entered into an agreement dated July 16, 2019 with Banco Exterior De Cuba, for making available to the latter, Government of India supported Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 75 million for the purpose of financing installation of 75 MW Photovoltaic Solar Parks in the Republic of Cuba,” it said.

ndia has extended a line of credit of USD 75 million (over Rs 500 crore) to Cuba for financing solar parks. An agreement signed between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Banco Exterior De Cuba in July last year came into effect from December 12, the RBI said in a statement. Banco Exterior De Cuba is a nominated agency of the Government of Cuba.

“Exim Bank has entered into an agreement dated July 16, 2019 with Banco Exterior De Cuba, for making available to the latter, Government of India supported Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 75 million for the purpose of financing installation of 75 MW Photovoltaic Solar Parks in the Republic of Cuba,” it said.

FEBRUARY 2020

Under the LoC, The terminal utilisation period is 60 months after the scheduled completion date of the project.As per the agreement, financing of export of eligible goods and services from India would be allowed subject to their being eligible for export under the Foreign Trade Policy. Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under the agreement, goods, works and services of the value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price can be supplied by the seller from India, and the remaining 25 per cent of goods and services may be procured by the seller from outside India, the statement added. Source: PTI

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India needs $2.64 tn investment to meet SDGs by 2030: Report India needs a whopping USD 2.64 trillion investment to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), offering the private sector an investment opportunity of over USD 1.12 trillion by 2030, according to a report. According to the Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map, the total investment that the country needs to make by 2030 is a whopping USD 2,633.9 billion. Of the total, USD 1,558.8 billion is for clean energy, USD 505.5 billion for transport infrastructure, USD 377.4 billion for digit access; and USD 192.2 billion for clean water and sanitation.

f the total USD 2.64 trillion of investment needed, the potential investment opportunity for the private sector is a whopping USD 1.12 trillion with USD 701.5 billion going into clean energy, USD 226.5 billion for digital access, USD 176.9 billion in transport infrastructure, and USD 19.2 billion for clean water and sanitation, said the report.

For the emerging markets as a whole, the opportunity for the private sector is around USD 10 trillion, said the report adding that “India represents USD 1.124 trillion of SDG opportunity, or more than 10 per cent of the USD 9.668 trillion opportunity for private sector investors across all emerging markets to help achieve the UN goals.” At USD 701.5 billion, the greatest private sector opportunity in the country is investment in achieving and maintaining universal access to electricity, which is the seventh SDG. The study identified opportunities for the private sector to contribute to three infrastructure-focused goals between now and 2030 – SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy, and SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure. Seven per cent of the country’s population still do not have access to electricity. The opportunity in the water and sanitation is USD 19.2 billion as 24 per cent of the people still do not have access to clean water and sanitation and closing this gap by 2030 will require investment of close to USD 20 billion, said the report. The SDG 9 calls for improvement in industry, innovation and infrastructure by 2030 wherein private sector can chip into transport and digital areas which requires an investment of around USD 226.5 billion. Of the total, transport infrastructure alone will need USD 176.9 billion of investment. The present digital access is only 45 per cent.

Opportunity 2030 provides an important map of the SDG opportunities for private sector investors looking to invest with impact and improve the lives of millions of Indians over the next decade, Bharat Padmanabhan of StanChart said. The Opportunity 2030 study spans 15 of the world’s fastestgrowing economies and estimates the potential private-sector investment opportunity to contribute to three of the most investment-ready SDGs (6,7 and 9). Source : economictimes

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FEBRUARY- 2020

INDIA

Union Power Minister releases State Energy Efficiency Index 2019

Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New & Renewable Energy and Honourable Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship released the ‘State Energy Efficiency Index 2019’, which tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives in 36 states and union territories based on 97 significant indicators. The index was released on the occasion of RPM ( Review, Planning and Monitoring) meeting, which is being held on 09-10 Jan 2020 at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi.

he index is developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). It will help states contribute towards national goals on energy security and climate action byhelping drive EE policies and program implementation at the state and local level, tracking progress in managing the states’ and India’s energy footprint and institutionalising the data capture and monitoring of EE activities by states.

The first such Index, the “State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index 2018”, was launched on August 1, 2018. Taking forward the State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index 2018, the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 incorporates qualitative, quantitative and outcome-based indicators to assess energy efficiency initiatives, programs and outcomes in five distinct sectors – buildings, industry, municipalities, transport, agriculture, and DISCOMs. New indicators for this year include adoption of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017, energy efficiency in MSME clusters, etc. The required data was collected from the concerned state departments such as DISCOMs, Urban Development departments and other departments with the help of State Designated Agencies (SDAs). This year, a total of 36 states and union territories have been assessed based on their efforts and achievements in policy and regulation, financing mechanisms, institutional capacity, adoption of energy efficiency measures and energy savings achieved. For rational comparison, States/UTs are grouped into four groups based on aggregated Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) required to meet the state’s actual energy demand (electricity, coal, oil, gas, etc.) across sectors. TPES grouping shall help states compare performance and share best practices within their peer group. Under four categories based on TPES, Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashta, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Chandigarh have been evaluated as progressive states/UTs in the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019.

FEBRUARY 2020

Key Takeaways for States State EE Index 2019 shows that majority of the initiatives taken by states are related to Policies and Regulations. Most of the first-generation energy efficiency policies prepared by BEE under programmes on Standards & Labelling (S&L), ECBC, Perform Achieve & Trade (PAT), etc. are understood by states and as the next steps they should focus on ensuring greater compliance to achieve savings. Based on the analysis of responses submitted by states this year, a three-point agenda is suggested for consideration by state agencies: Proactive role by states in policy formulation and implementation to shift the focus from “policies in place” to “policies successfully implemented”. Strengthening the mechanism for data capture, management and public availability of data: For this year’s Index, SDAs proactively contacted various state departments to gather data. However, SDAs should further enhance their engagement with state departments and private sector to enable a robust mechanism for Energy Data Management System. Enhancing the credibility of EE schemes: Ensuring the integrity of programs that have direct or indirect linkages with common consumers is significant to energy efficiency market transformation.States must demonstrate an approach which includes enforcement and compliance checks as well as independent monitoring and verification of savings, which is integral to all EE policies andprograms. Source: pib.gov.in

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Indian Railways to source about 1000 MW Solar Power by 2021-22; Nandyal – Yerraguntla section in Guntakal Division has been declared as the first solar section in South Central Railway All 08 stations in the section provided with solar panels at one stretch; capable of meeting all the power needs of these railway stations. Indian Railways has planned to source about 1000 Mega Watt (MW) Solar Power and about 200 MW of wind power progressively by 2021-22 across Zonal Railways & Production Units. Of this, 500 Mega Watt (MW) solar plants are to be installed on the roof top of Railway buildings which will be used to meet nontraction loads at Railway Stations, etc. About 500 MW land based solar plants will be used to meet both traction & non-traction requirements.

outh Central Railway is one of the zones actively implementing several measures aimed at energy conservation by harnessing renewable energy. One of the significant actions taken in this direction has been the installation of solar panels at stations, service buildings, LC gates etc across the zone. Taking this step to the next level, for the first time all the stations in a particular section of the South Central Railway have been provided with solar panels at one stretch to tap the natural energy. This will not only help in meeting power needs of all the stations in the section but also save expenditure for the Railways. The Nandyal – Yerraguntla section in Guntakal Division has been declared as the first solar section in South Central Railway. Nandyal – Yerraguntla section is a new railway line laid by Railways and opened for passenger traffic in the year 2016 to bring the hinterland areas into rail map by providing rail connectivity. All the 08 stations in the section – Madduru, Banaganapalle, Koilakuntla, Sanjamala, Nossam, S.Uppalapadu, Jammalamadugu and Proddutur – have been provided with solar panels capable of meeting all the power needs at these railway stations.

In order to make use of solar power, 37 kWp off Grid Roof Top Solar plants along with 250/125 Wp solar panels have been installed in each station. In addition, Inverters and 12V 150 AH Battery banks are also installed at all these stations. The total connected load on solar plants is on an average 30 kWp. In total, 152 solar panels have been installed at these stations. With an average exposure of 8 sunny hours per day, 148 KWh energy units can be generated throughout the year resulting in energy generation of 54,020 units. Anticipated savings in terms of revenue is around Rs 5 lakh per annum. Significantly, it also helps in reducing carbon footprint to the tune of 49 metric tonnes per annum thus contributing towards greener environs.16 stations have already been declared Green Railway stations across Indian Railways, which are meeting energy needs completely either through solar or wind power. These stations are Roha, Pen, Apta in Central Railway, Niamatpur halt, Kanhaipur halt, Teka Bigha halt, Mai halt, Garsanda halt, Niyazipur halt, Dhamaraghat in East Central Railway, Shri Mata Vaisno Devi, Shimla in Northern Railway, Unhel, Khanderi, Bajud, Ambli Road, Sadanapura & Sachin in Western Railway – are 100% Green Powered stations.

Source: pib.gov.in

India’s 2019 electricity demand rise Bhanu Pratap Yadav, Joint Secy (MNRE), assumes additional charge smallest in six of IREDA CMD years: Government Bhanu Pratap Yadav, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has assumed additional charge of CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) on 6th data January 2020.

India’s annual electricity demand in 2019 grew at its slowest pace in six years with December marking a fifth straight month of decline, government data showed.

ower demand rose 1.1 per cent in 2019, the smallest rise since 2013, data compiled by the Central Electricity Authority showed. December demand for electricity fell to 100.81 billion units from 101.28 billion a year earlier, representing a fifth consecutive month of decline.

adav is an IA&AS Officer from 1992 batch. He is presently working as Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. He has done his B. Tech & M. Tech from IIT, Delhi and Executive MBA from ISB, Hyderabad. Source: millenniumpost.in

Source: reuters

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FEBRUARY- 2020

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Adani, Azure top bidders for manufacturing-linked solar tender

Adani Green Energy and Azure Power have emerged as successful bidders in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s first manufacturing-linked solar tender, a top government official said Adani has bid for 1.5 GW solar cell manufacturing capacity and 6 GW generation capacity, MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar said on the sidelines of India Energy ForumRenewable Energy Summit here.

He also said that Azure Power bid for 500 MW solar cell manufacturing capacity and 2 GW generation capacity. With the green shoe option, the capacity for Adani would increase to 2 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity and 8 GW generation capacity, Kumar said. For Azure, with green shoe option, it will be 1,000 solar cell manufacturing and 4 GW generation capacity, he added. “The bids have been finalised and only paperwork remains,” he said adding that the tariff has been fixed at Rs 2.92.

After successful auction, an investment of around Rs 6,000 crore is expected for setting up 1 GW of solar manufacturing facilities, which would generate permanent direct employment of up to 10,000 people, a source said. At present, India imports 95 per cent of its solar module requirement from China, leading to a forex outflow of around USD 10 billion per year. Source: PTI

PFC raises $750 mn through overseas bonds The final order book amounted to more than $2.2 billion, attracting active and wider participation from investors across US, European and Asian markets, with around 42 per cent participation from the US market.

tate-run Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) on January 17 said it has raised $750 million through issuance of overseas bonds to fund business expansion plans. “PFC, the leading NBFC in power sector, successfully carried out the issuance of 10.25 year $750 million bonds on January 15 2020 under Reg S & 144 A route. The bonds have a fixed coupon of 3.95 per cent p.a. and a yield of 4.066 per cent. With this offering, PFC becomes the first Indian public sector company to issue senior unsecured $bonds with a tenure of more than 10 years,” it said.

This, it said, is also PFC’s third international bond issuance in FY 2019-20 as well as PFC’s largest single tranche bond. The final order book amounted to more than $2.2 billion, attracting active and wider participation from investors across US, European and Asian markets, with around 42 per cent participation from the US market. The proceeds from bonds will be utilised in accordance with the external commercial borrowing regulations of the Reserve Bank of India including for on lending to power sector utilities, PFC said. With this issue, under the PFC borrowing programme of $equivalent 12 billion for FY19-20, the total foreign currency raising stands at around $3 billion, while the domestic raising is at around $equivalent 7 billion.

FEBRUARY 2020

PFC Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Sharma said, “PFC’s bond offer saw a strong demand in the international market and the global investors have chosen to contribute to the development of Indian power sector. The deal concluded at very attractive terms, which shows the high confidence of investors in PFC’s business as well as its credit profile and the growth story of Indian Power sector.” PFC, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power, is a leading Non-Banking Financial Corporation in the country.

Source: PTI

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Banks seeing credit demand from solar, oil & gas and road: SBI Chairman

Banks are seeing demand from credit project pipeline from three sectors – oil and gas, solar and road but there is no large ticket demand for credit of the kind that was seen last year, State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar has said.

The banking sector is going to see good recoveries from nonperforming assets in the third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal, helped by resolution of some large stressed accounts, he said, adding the time taken for resolution of bad loans is also likely to reduce going ahead with stronger resolution mechanism. “These two quarters (Q3 and Q4) will be very good quarters. The recoveries will be at peak because large assets would have been resolved by March or latest by June,” Kumar said at a credit conclave organised by Edelweiss. He said the waiting period for resolution of stressed assets, which used to be 5 years plus, has come down, and will reduce further. Referring to credit growth, he said SBI’s year-to-date credit growth was negative for the first six months of the current fiscal but improved between October to December. “Our year-on-year credit growth has come down to 5 per cent for domestic market and for international market, it has slowed to 7 per cent,” he said.

ccording to Kumar, credit growth is going to be muted for some time and the sector may not witness the double-digit growth which it has seen in the past. “If you are thinking that things will be back to what they were earlier, that I don’t think is going to (happen) ,” he said. In the fortnight ended December 20, 2019, banks credit and deposits grew 7.10 per cent and 10.09 per cent to Rs 99.47 lakh crore and Rs 130.08 lakh crore, according to the latest Reserve Bank data. He said banks have become more cautious while lending. “There is not going to be any dilution in scrutiny or monitoring by banks,” Kumar said adding there will be no dearth of funding to deserving borrowers. According to Kumar, bond market can become liquid only when there are enough number of buyers. Commenting on the National Statistical Office (NSO) GDP forecast, he said the numbers are lower than expectations.

According to NSO data released, India’s GDP growth is seen dipping to an 11-year low of 5 per cent in the current fiscal, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and construction sectors. He said the US-Iran situation can put upward pressure on commodity prices and can impact the country’s current account deficit (CAD) and forex rates. The CAD in the first half the this fiscal narrowed to 1.5 per cent of GDP from 2.6 per cent in the same period of 2018-19, on the back of a reduction in the trade deficit, which shrank to USD 84.3 billion from USD 95.8 billion last year. Kumar, however, said the overall financial position of the government has been good. “The government has not budged on its fiscal deficit targets, though there is a demand for it. We feel in the current circumstances, the government should not care as much about the fiscal deficit but again, that is a very debatable point and there are different points of view,” he added. Source: PTI

Fitch assigns ReNew Power’s proposed US dollar senior secured notes ‘BB-‘ rating Fitch Ratings said it has assigned clean energy firm ReNew Power’s proposed US dollar senior secured notes a rating of ‘BB-‘ with a stable outlook. According to Fitch Ratings, ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time. However, business or financial flexibility exists that supports the servicing of financial commitments, as per Fitch Ratings. “Fitch Ratings has assigned a rating of ‘BB-‘ to ReNew Power Private Limited’s (ReNew, BB-/Stable) proposed US dollar senior secured notes,” the rating agency said in a statement.

he proposed notes will be senior secured obligations of the issuer and will have direct security of a 250 mw wind-power operating project (SECI-II) directly held by ReNew Power Pvt Ltd – the holding company – along with a pledge over certain equity shares and preference shares aof ReNew Power Services Pvt Ltd, the statement said. ReNew Power Services Pvt Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary that holds the assets acquired by ReNew in its acquisition of Ostro Energy in April 2018, it added. The proposed US dollar notes also include a USD 20 million interest service reserve account. ReNew is a renewable independent power producer, with around 5.4 GW of operational capacity of wind (60 per cent) and solar (40 per cent) power projects and a project pipeline of around 2.6 GW. Source: PTI

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FEBRUARY- 2020

BUSINESS & FINANCE

IFC to make debt investment in Mahindra Renewables International Finance Corporation plans to make a debt investment of $36 million (about Rs 260 crore) in Mahindra Renewables Pvt. Ltd to help the company develop a solar power project.

FC may also separately help the wholly owned unit of Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd mobilise a syndicated loan of $93 million, the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm said in a disclosure. Mahindra Renewables is developing a 250-megawatt solar project in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district. The estimated project cost is around $171 million, IFC said. The financial institution said the debt investment will result in a positive impact on the climate through the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions and increasing clean energy production in the country, which is also a stated policy objective of the Narendra Modi-led central government. IFC will provide the loan with a long-term maturity of up to 20 years. The debt will be provided with a fixed interest rate to protect against volatility from fluctuations. “IFC’s participation will facilitate the involvement of other lenders to finance the project, especially in a market context where local lenders are facing sectoral headwinds,” it said in its disclosure.

Mahindra Susten – a portfolio company of Mahindra Partners, the private equity division of the Mahindra Group – provides services within the renewable energy segment such as site surveys and feasibility reports to unit maintenance. The company also provides advisory services pertaining to aspects such as financing, financial benefits, and regulatory approvals.

In June last year, Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. Ltd said it would acquire a 49% stake in Marvel Solren Pvt. Ltd, a Mahindra Susten unit. The Mahindra Group arm continues to hold the remaining 51% in Marvel.

IFC’s India bets The Washington-headquartered IFC, which actively invests in India through both equity and debt instruments, has conducted several deals in the country of late. In July last year, it took part in business-to-business marketplace Bizongo’s Series C funding round, which saw the startup valued at nearly $100 million. In the same month, the firm said it would provide $150 million (around Rs 1,028 crore) in the form of a five-year senior loan to private sector lender RBL Bank. In May, it anchored a $222 million debt funding round in Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd. In April, IFC said it planned to provide $125 million to L&T Finance Ltd to help the non-bank lender expand its farm equipment financing portfolio.

Source: vccircle

Brookfield Renewable offers to buy TerraForm, valuing it at $4 billion Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP_u.TO) said it would acquire the remaining 38% stake in TerraForm Power Inc (TERP.O) it does not already own, in a deal that values the electricity utility at $3.93 billion, as it looks to boost its power portfolio.

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rookfield Renewable said the all-stock offer represents an exchange ratio of 0.36 BRP units for each TerraForm class A share, valuing TerraForm at $17.31 per share, an 11% premium to the stock’s last close. TerraForm said it has formed a special committee of non-executive, independent directors to review the unsolicited proposal it received.

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“There can be no assurance that a definitive proposal relating to the proposed transaction will be made, that any such proposal will be recommended or accepted by the committee,” TerraForm said in a separate statement. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive for Brookfield Renewable unitholders, and further expand the company’s portfolio in North America and Western Europe, said Brookfield Renewable. The company, which is the renewables arm of Canada’s private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management, has $50 billion in total power assets. (This story corrects headline to say “valuing it at” $4 billion, not “for”.) Source: reuters

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

IREDA May Raise 5 Billion INR via Govt Serviced Bond” Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd is likely to raise 5 bln rupees through government-serviced bonds, a source told Cogencis The proceeds of the issue will be used for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan–the subsidised solar water pump scheme–announced in the Budget. “The bidding for the issue may be in the last week of January or the first week of February,” the source said.

ccording to the project proposal by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the company plans to raise around 240 bln rupees over a period of nine years to fund the scheme, which will be over and above the budgetary support of 100 bln rupees over a period of five years. The company’s planned issue will be for 10 years or 15 years, depending on which is “more suitable for the company”, the source said.

So far in the current financial year, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Air India Assets Holdings Ltd have raised 19.63 bln rupees, and 70 bln rupees, respectively, through government-serviced bonds. In September, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency had raised 10 bln rupees through bonds maturing in 10 years at 8.00%. The issue was fully subscribed. Separately, the company may raise funds this financial year to meet their own requirements, the source said.

Source : cogencis

ReNew Power raises $450 million through dollar bonds Firm plans to use the funds to refinance the existing borrowings. Attractive yields and liquidity have driven investor interest in Indian companies.

Sustainable energy firm ReNew Power Pvt. Ltd has raised $450 million through a dollar bond issuance, said D. Muthukumaran, the company’s chief financial officer. “The firm’s order book of 3x for such a long tenor paper and high participation from investors across the US and Europe are very encouraging and reflective of the company’s prospects and its healthy leverage levels,” he said. The bonds, according to a person directly aware of the matter, were priced at a coupon rate of 5.875% and will be issued in two tranches with an average maturity of five-and-a-half years. “However, most funds will be raised through bonds that have seven years to maturity,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

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n 12 January, rating agency Fitch Ratings had rated the US dollar senior secured notes to be issued by the firm at BB-/Stable. ReNew plans to use the proceeds from the dollar notes to refinance existing borrowings, including trade credit facilities of the holding company. Part of the proceeds of nearly $65 million will also be used to meet future capital expenditure requirements. “The funds are being borrowed mainly to refinance debt maturing in the coming year. This will help the company extend its loan tenure by seven years. On the whole, this will be a debt-neutral transaction as the firm’s overall leverage will not increase,” said the person mentioned above. The firm’s leverage ratio, or its net adjusted debt-to-operating Ebitda (earnings before interest depreciation and amortization) ratio, stood at over 5.5 times on a sustained

basis, according to Fitch. The firm, with about 5.4 gigawatt (GW) of operational capacity of wind (60%) and solar (40%) power projects, and a project pipeline of 2.6GW, is one of the leading independent renewable power producers in the country.

Investors are increasingly funding clean energy-backed bonds in line with their environmental, social and governance mandates, said Kailash Vaswani, president, corporate finance, ReNew Power. Attractive yields and liquidity have also driven investor interest in Indian companies, which raised more than $20 billion of debt through offshore bonds in 2019, the highest both in value and volume terms in the last six years. In 2019, 47 Indian companies raised $21.32 billion through offshore bonds, compared to a muted 2018, which witnessed only 12 companies tapping the offshore debt markets to raise $5.2 billion, according to data from financial markets tracker Refinitiv. In January, several Indian firms tapped the dollar bond market to raise funds. This includes Future Retail Ltd, which raised $500 million via dollar-denominated bonds, which witnessed almost six times demand of the issue size, Mint reported on 14 January. Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) raised $1 billion by issuing 10-year bonds and gold loan financier Manappuram Finance Ltd raised $300 million through three-year dollar bonds. Source : livemint

FEBRUARY- 2020

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Siemens inks pact to acquire 99% equity in C&S Electric for Rs 2,100 crore Siemens will acquire about 99 per cent of the equity share capital of C&S Electric for around Rs 2,100 crore (nearly EUR 267 million). Closing of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, the statement added.

iemens on January 24 said it has inked an agreement to acquire 99 per cent equity in New Delhi-based C&S Electric for around Rs 2,100 crore. “In a step to meet the increasing demand for electrification across industry, infrastructure and buildings in India, Siemens Ltd signed an agreement to acquire New Delhibased C&S Electric Ltd,” according to a statement by Siemens.

In the future, Siemens envisions this partnership to pave the way for the establishment of a design and manufacturing hub in India, supporting the export of electrification solutions to fast-developing markets around the world, it added. The scope of the acquisition comprises the Indian operations of C&S Electric’s low-voltage switchgear components and panels, low- and mediumvoltage power busbars as well as protection and metering devices businesses. The company’s other businesses, such as medium-voltage switchgear and package sub-station, lighting, diesel generating sets, EPC (engineering, procurement and construction), and the Etacom busbars business will be retained by the owners. C&S Electric has over 50 years of experience in India and will continue to operate under its own brand name. The combination of the portfolios of the two companies will enhance Siemens’ position in the business, enabling it to better serve customers requiring electrification in areas including construction, industry, data centres, smart campuses and other city infrastructure.

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Cedrik Neike, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure, said in the statement, “Joining forces with C&S Electric allows us to bring a more comprehensive portfolio that addresses the needs of an important market…This latest investment demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our offering in high growth markets in Asia.”

Sunil Mathur, managing director and chief executive officer, Siemens Ltd, said in the statement, “The addition of C&S Electric’s products, sales network, manufacturing units and a highly competent employee base will complement and strengthen range of Siemens’ offering. This will bolster our portfolio not only in India but also for export.”

R N Khanna, founder and chairman of C&S Electric, said in the statement, “Having been a leading participant in the Indian switchgear market since 1966, we are now delighted to be part of the Siemens family, an organisation that has pioneered and developed the switchgear market in India and globally for many decades.” C&S Electric has more than 5,000 employees across three main manufacturing locations — Haridwar, Noida and Guwahati — including a research and development centre in India.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Telecom gear maker ITI to invest Rs 150cr to boost solar panel capacity

Given the kind of demand we are witnessing in the solar space, especially in the rooftop segment, from corporates and commercial establisments as well as the state governments, we want to be ready to tap that opportunity, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director R M Agarwal told PTI.

ublic sector electronics and telecom gear maker ITI Limited plans around Rs 150 crore investment to scale up its solar panel manufacturing capacity to 90 MW in the next fiscal, a top company official said. The company, which plans to raise Rs 1,600 crore through a followon public offer (FPO), has a solar panel capacity of 18 MW currently.

He said the company will be investing Rs 150 crore for scaling up the capacity, which it hopes to get from the budget allocated to the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.

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The company is expecting at least Rs 500 crore from the government in the next fiscal for meeting its various capital expenditure (capex) requirements. The company has a solar panel manufacturing facility at Naini in Uttar Pradesh. When asked if the company would utilise the funds raised through the FPO for the capacity enhancement in case the funds from the government do not come, he said, “The FPO proceeds will have to be used towards partial repayment of loans, funding our working capital requirements and general purpose. For our capex, we will have to wait for the ministry to release the funds.” Agarwal further said the company is banking on capacities tendered by discoms in various states to supply its panels as well as to set up rooftop projects on turnkey basis, along with the expected projects under the national solar mission. The company has executed various turnkey orders for Bharatnet, telecom towers, and Uttar Pradesh police headquarters. ITI has also deployed 15 MW solar power project for the Solar Energy Corporation of India. According to industry estimates, as of September 2019, cumulative installed solar capacity in India stood at 33.8 GW, of which rooftop solar installations crossed 4 GW. Apart from solar panels, the company is also focusing on manufacturing of LED-based products like LED solar lantern and LED street lights for rural use and LED tube lights and decorative indoor lights for grid connected applications. Source : PTI

FEBRUARY- 2020

technology

TERI develops blockchain-enabled prototype to help you sell solar power — by your phone

Imagine selling electricity generated from your rooftop solar power plant to your neighbour from your smartphone, that too at a rate more than what you are currently compensated for. Not only this, you also have the option to sell it back to your power distribution company. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has recently developed a platform to facilitate such peer-to-peer transactions of solar energy among consumers in the same neighbourhood.

he platform has been developed as a prototype for enabling a peer-to-peer transactional control in which electricity consumers such as residential premises, malls, schools, or even small and medium enterprises can trade local power generation from rooftop solar plants among themselves. The prototype is empowered by blockchain technology that ensures security, transparency and efficiency in the transactions that will take place among consumers. TERI has developed this prototype in partnership with Sofocle Technologies Limited, a blockchain and IoT start-up in Noida. The objective of this prototype is to demonstrate the concept of energy trading among rooftop solar plant owners so as to facilitate the development of local electricity markets. This in turn will promote the adoption of rooftop solar PV systems, particularly in the residential consumer segment, as it will incentivise consumers by providing additional incentives of trading among themselves, in addition to selling to the distribution utility. India aims to install 40,000 MW of electricity capacity from rooftop based solar plants by 2022. The growth among residential consumers has been slow in comparison to the commercial and industrial segments.

The successful deployment of this prototype would help in scaling up the adoption of rooftop solar in the domestic consumer category according to Alekhya Datta, Fellow & Area Convenor, TERI, who conceptualised and led the development of this prototype after TERI’s pitch for the same won accolades at the Global Blockchain Congress at Kolkata in December 2018.

FEBRUARY 2020

In this prototype, electricity subscribers can securely sign in to their accounts and set bids and quote their own price for locally generated energy. A separate portal for distribution utilities is also available for user and meter identity management. The platform also generates reports displaying total settlements, total units produced and consumed via tokens. “Subscribers to such local energy markets-based services can trade clean solar energy in the form of energy tokens, just like cryptocurrency,” according to Sweta Malik and Nilesh Hadiya, who are part of the TERI team that worked on the prototype development. The use of blockchain technology will ensure security, privacy, and trust among individuals. Amidst research recognition and public attention at the global innovation stage, blockchain has created a buzz around the world. India too has embraced this technology for different uses, including power. For eg.- the state electricity regulator of Uttar Pradesh has notified the provision of peerto-peer energy trading with blockchain applications vide its 2019 regulations. The prototype developed by TERI will showcase the potential of local energy trading to various state regulators and hence influence policy discussions. The prototype is now planned to be scaled up to a field pilot with possible implementation on actual network of a distribution utility or in an institutional campus using smart meters. The real-time demand and excess electricity generation available from rooftop installed solar plants will be monitored and prospective buyers and sellers will have their bids cleared through a market-based process. This would result in a comprehensive mechanism that will try to provide the true value of solar power and foster community trading, thus leading to scaled up adoption of rooftop solar power. Source: teriin.org

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technology

LONGi sets another new world record for module efficiency

LONGi, the world’s leading solar manufacturer announced that it had achieved a new world record of 22.38% conversion efficiency for its monocrystalline module. The record was verified by the global independent certification agency TÜV Rheinland.

LONGi has continuously pushed the modules efficiency limits of our high performance monocrystalline products to further improve the price-performance ratio. This breakthrough once again confirms the development headroom of monocrystalline module technology. With continuous R&D investments in technologies and processes, new innovations can be rapidly applied to large-scale production, thus promoting the energy transformation led by solar energy. Lv Jun, Vice President, LONGi Solar commented.

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ONGi has always focused on the improvement of cell and module conversion efficiencies. In the past few years, LONGi’s mono-crystalline cell and module products have broken conversion efficiency world records many times As a global leading solar technology company, LONGi has the confidence and commitment to lead the global energy transformation with technological innovation. The large-scale production of high efficiency module validates LONGi relentless focus on technology.

FEBRUARY- 2020

technology

Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant: Intelligent for Three Years, Still Going Strong Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant: Intelligent for Three Years, Still Going Strong. Three years ago, the Huaneng Company and Huawei jointly digitalized the Dongfang Power Plant. As the first PV project to bedigitalized, it is worth looking back to see how the new technology has bolstered performance.

20% Higher Energy Yield

In 2019, on-grid energy increased to approximately 20.56 million kWh, with utilization hours reaching 1594.07, and PR at 85.3%, an industry-leading figure. The Dongfang Power Plant of Huaneng Hainan Power Inc. was recognizedas a 5A-level PV plant for two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018, according to national evaluations and key statistical indicators. The plant’s average annual PR exceeded 84.43%, andthe failure rate wasclose to zero over the courseof three years. In addition, the annual energy yield exceeded the planned value by approximately 20%. 2019 witnessed key breakthroughs. The annual solar irradiance of Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant ranges from 502 x 104 kJ/m2 to 586 x 104 kJ/m2, but it still managed to generate 20.56 million kWh of power in a single year, with 1594 utilization hours,a record performance. Seven Technologies behind the SoaringEnergy Yield. So why does the energy yield of Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant keep climbing? The answer lies with seven key technologies.

2. Wide Operating Voltage Range to Extend the Power Generation Time. As the PV string MPPT features a wide operating voltage range, this in turn enables a longer operating time for the solar inverters, extending the power generation time, and further improving the overall efficiency of the power plant. Huawei smart string inverters use a bipolar topology, which enables the output voltage of each PV module to pass through the DC voltage boost circuit. When DC input voltage is low, the voltage can be boosted to meet the requirements of the bus capacitor. Therefore, the MPPT operating voltage can range from 200 V to 1000 V. By contrast, the central inverter uses a unipolar topology, and the MPPT operating voltage only ranges from 520 V to 1000 V. Therefore, Huawei smart string inverters can work for a longer period of time and generate more power.

1. Multiple MPPTs to Ensure a High Energy Yield PV module mismatch is usually caused by PV module attenuation, direction, and shading in the morning and at sunset. In Hainan, PV modules may be mismatched due to the shading caused by cloud and bird droppings, and the water stains on PV modules following heavy rain. All of these contribute to undermining energy yield considerably. To tackle the problem, the project utilizesHuawei smart string inverters. This solution involves connecting two strings to a single MPPT circuit, and configuring each megawatt with 80 MPPTs. When compared with the central inverter, Huawei’s technology minimizes PV string mismatch, dramaticallyimproving system efficiency. 22

FEBRUARY 2020

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technology 3. No Fuse + No Vulnerable Component = O&M Free Simplicity is an important principle inthe smart PV design. Simple networking designprovides forfewer fault points and lower fault probability throughoutthe system. Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant has been running for three and a half years, and has maintained a failure rate of close to zero even in heated, high-temperature environments, characterized by high salt mist as well. The availability of Huawei string inverters has been verified to be 99.996%, according to onsite tests conducted by TÜV. Prior to their launch, Huawei solar inverters were reportedly required to pass more than 1400 tests conducted by the Global Compliance and Testing Center (GCTC) to account for scenarios ranging from salt mist andcorrosive wet dirt, to lightning strikesand high altitude environments, withtemperatures from –60°C to +100°C, ensuring their stable operation across a diverse range ofunfavorable environments. The simple design ensures that the PV plant remainsreliable over the long-term.

4.Anti-PID Technologies Prevent Losses and Ensure Safety. Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant islocated only 220m from the coast. Therefore, the PV modules have continually operated in high-temperature and high-humidity environment, in whichpotential induced degradation (PID) is more frequent. To resolve this challenge, anti-PID modules are placed in communications boxes. They automatically adjust the output voltage based on the solar inverter voltage, and inject voltage between the phase wire and the ground cable from the AC virtual neutral point to balance the voltage between PV– and the ground,thereby preventing PID from effecting them. More importantly, Huawei’s latest PID suppression technology utilizes proprietary technology to build a virtual neutral point through solar inverter circuits. Compared with traditional solutions that use resistors or inductors to build the neutral point, Huawei’s PID suppression technology represents a major upgrade, reducing compensation loss and making the compensation process safer. The result is an increased energy yield by more than 2%, and the support for a larger array of more than 5 MW.

5. Reduced Costs via the Replacement of RS485 and Optical Fibers With PLC and Wireless 4G. For communication transfer, Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant uses PLC in place of RS485, reducing the investment required for communications cable deployment and construction. In addition, the wireless 4G private network has replaced optical fibers. By applying this technology, deployment and commissioning can be completed within two weeks, without the need to dig trenches or bury optical cables. A single PV plant can cover a maximum of 10 km2 on the ground, enabling fast deployment and mobile O&M. Though the power plant is located in a remote area with a weak public network signal, the signal for the wireless private network is robust, ensuringreliable onsite communications. O&M personnel are able to use wireless terminals to make video calls with the central control room.

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6. Discrete Rate Analysis for Pinpointing Faults Discrete rate analysis serves asa powerful tool for improving O&M efficiency. In this project, discrete rate analysis is used to accurately detect faulty PV strings, facilitating onsite inspection by O&M personnel. With the analysis, personnel are able torepair low-efficiency PV strings in a timely manner, ensuring that each PV string in the power plant remains free of defects for an extended period of time. Thusfar, projects that have adopted this technology have exceeded 20 GW. The application of discrete rate in resolving onsite faults has helped ensure the stable operation of the PV plant.

7. Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis for Determining Causes for Faults by Remote Control Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis has proved to beextremely effective when implemented at the Huaneng Dongfang Power Plant. The scanning for PV string faults of a 12.9 MW PV plant with 1920 PV strings, can be completed within 4 minutes, such as hot spots, cracks, and diode shortcircuits, enabling precise onsite troubleshooting. The detection can be performed online, and a detection report is automatically generated when faults are detected. The O&M that once required months to complete, can now be fulfilled within mere minutes.

In 2019, Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis was upgraded to version 3.0, and all PV strings for a 100 MW PV plant can now be detected within 15 minutes. In addition, AI and machine learning technologies were integrated to incorporatethe experience of Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis and optimize the fault models. Up tillnow, Huawei’s Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis has been applied to more than 5 GW installations, and garnered recognition for its performance. Huawei is also the only TÜV-certified vendor to providediagnosis accuracy with a high degree of precision. After the conclusion of the project, Huaneng has continuedworkingwith Huawei onsmart PV projects, with a total scale in excess of 1 GW, and having deployed more than 80% of the projects in the FusionSolar Management System. On August 8, 2019, Huaneng Group and Huawei signed a strategic cooperationagreement, for the establishmentof a long-term partnership to promote the further integration of AI technologies in PV plants, and facilitate further technological progress for benchmark PV plant construction in the grid parity era.

FEBRUARY- 2020

international

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power plans $10 bln of investments in 2020- CEO Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power is planning to invest about $10 billion in 2020 as it eyes new projects in some 10 countries, the company’s chief executive said

The company, which builds power and desalinated water plants and has 50% of its portfolio in Saudi Arabia, plans to expand into new markets, Paddy Padmanthan told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy event in Abu Dhabi. ACWA Power has assets in 12 countries and has bid for renewable energy projects in five new countries – Ethiopia, Tunisia, Cambodia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. “We have won two renewable energy projects (in Ethiopia) this year which together will produce 300 mega watts, they will run in parallel and be worth about $500 million of investments,” he said. “A few days ago we signed a contract worth $300 million dollars to produce 200 mega watts in Azerbaijan. We are looking at another east European country, we might have something there in the course of a month to six weeks,” he added. admanthan said ACWA was also developing several new renewable energy projects in Indonesia, which he expects to be worth around $500 million, and aimed to expand its portfolio to Jordan and Morocco, as well as boost its operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), holds a 25% stake in ACWA and is planning to increase that to 40%.

Source: reuters

Sri Lanka may dump competitive bidding for renewable plants Sri Lanka may dump competitive bidding for renewable plants Sri Lanka’s Power Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has asked for fixed prices to be set for renewable energy abandoning the current system of competitive bidding, his ministry said in a statement.

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ower State Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had claimed that various prices charged for minihydro, wind and solar power is causing losses to state-run Ceylon Electricity Board. Currently, the CEB is operating on a competitive bidding system, forcing private firm to compete against each other which is aimed at getting the lowest price. Competitive bidding was also advocated by engineers at the CEB, who pointed out that prices were fixed on a cost-plus models were higher than the rest of the world and there is no incentive to cut costs and be efficient. When competitive bidding was brought in for renewable energy, there were attempts to stop opening the tender documents, which showed that it was possible to build plants at lower costs, giving less profits.

FEBRUARY 2020

Profits at different locations may also be vary depending on the availability of wind, water and the height of the water, incentivizing private developers to find the best locations with the highest plant factor. Minister Amaraweera said the CEB had to pay 6.5 billion rupees for emergency power in 2019 and renewable plants should be expedited. Emergency power however is required due to the cancellation of a coal plant and delays in a 300Mega Watt diesel plant. (Colombo/Jan08/2020) Source : economynext

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international

UAE to double renewable energy portfolio in next 10 years – ADNOC The United Arab Emirates grew its renewable energy portfolio by more than 400% in the last 10 years, and is on track to double that again in the coming decade, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. chief executive Sultan al-Jaber said

We (ADNOC) will increase our carbon capture utilization and storage program by 500% … to capture the same amount of C02 as 5 million acres of forest, Jaber also told a sustainable energy event in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi.

DNOC will reduce greenhouse gas intensity by an additional 25%. In order to do this, ADNOC said in a statement it would expand the capacity of its Al Reyadah carbon capture, utilization and storage facility, aiming to reach 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2030. ADNOC will also limit fresh water consumption to below 0.5% of total water use. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, visiting Abu Dhabi for the sustainability event, called for more investments in clean energy in his country and said its new capital, currently under construction, would adopt a environmentally friendly and low carbon lifestyle.

“Climate change and environmental challenges will define this century,” he told the conference. Indonesia signed 11 business deals with the United Arab Emirates worth a combined 314.9 trillion rupiah ($23 billion) covering investment in energy and other sectors, Widodo said via his Twitter account. ADNOC signed agreements with Indonesia’s Pertamina and Chandra Asri in the petrochemical and gas sectors Source: reuters

Vietnam to lower tariffs for solar power It wants a fixed rate of 7.09 cents per kWh, down from the 9.35 cents offered to projects completed before June 30 last year, it said in a recent proposal to the government.

he new tariff will apply to projects that were begun before November 23 last year and start commercial operations between July 2019 and the end of this year. To be effective for 20 years, it has not accounted for value-added tax and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Seven projects with a total capacity of 320 MW are so far eligible for the 7.09 cents rate, the ministry said. But the rate will not be applicable in the central Ninh Thuan Province, a key location for solar power development, since another plan has already been rolled out for projects with a capacity of under 2,000 MW that begin commercial operations before January 1, 2021. The earlier feed-in tariff of 9.35 cents will continue to apply. Investors have claimed that reducing the feed-in tariff could demotivate investment in new plants.

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Ninety one solar farms with a total capacity of 4,550 MW have begun operations, according to national utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Most of them were built before June 30 to enjoy the price incentive, but the resultant surge in output overloaded the national grid, requiring an upgrade in the transmission infrastructure. The licensed capacity has reached 25,000 MW, far exceeding the government’s initial target to of 4,000 MW by 2025. Source: e.vnexpress.net

FEBRUARY- 2020

international

Sadiq Khan-backed renewable energy company London Power launches

A new renewable energy company set up by the Mayor of London officially launched, claiming it could save London households up to £300 a year. ondon Power will officially begin switching customers over to its energy this week. The renewable energy provider is a joint venture between the the Mayor’s office and Octopus Energy. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan pledged to set up an affordable energy company for Londoners in his manifesto and first announced the joint venture in September last year. Around 1,000 people have already pre-registered for accounts and Khan himself will have his energy switched over today. The service is only available in London.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan pledged to set up an affordable energy company for Londoners in his manifesto and first announced the joint venture in September last year. Around 1,000 people have already pre-registered for accounts and Khan himself will have his energy switched over today. The service is only available in London. “London Power is a different kind of energy company,” Khan said in a statement. “For the first time we have a fair, affordable, green energy company specially designed for Londoners.”

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All power will be generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or surf. Any profits made by the company will be invested into community projects tackling fuel poverty, climate change, and working towards the goal of making London a zero-carbon city. As well as boasting strong environmental credentials, City Hall claims switching to London Power could save the average household £300 a year in bills.

Octopus Energy has been at the forefront of affordable, fairly priced green energy since our inception four years ago, Stuart Jackson, the co-founder and finance head of Octopus Energy, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier to launch London Power in partnership with the Mayor, to offer Londoners a good deal on planet-friendly power and to reinvest City Hall’s profits into community projects aimed at creating a more carbon neutral city.” London Energy is one of a number of local energy providers that have been set up across the UK in recent years, with most set up to tackle fuel poverty. Similar initiatives exist in Nottingham, Derby, and Liverpool. Source: in.finance.yahoo

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international

Masdar and State Electricity Company Plan to Build the Biggest Solar-Powered Power Plant in South East Asia New renewable energy company based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Masdar, will cooperate with PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali Investasi (PJBI), the grandson of business of PT PLN, to build the floating Solar-Powered Power Plant in the Cirata Reservoir, West Java, which claimed to be the biggest in South East Asia.

he investment cooperation agreement was signed by the CEO of Masdar, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, the Lead Director of PT PLN, Zulkifli Zaini, and the Lead Director of PJBI, Gunawan Yudi Harianto in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (12/1/2020). The signing was witnessed by the Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia, the Minister of State-Owned Business Entity, Erick Tohir, the Vice Minister of StateOwned Business Entity, Budi G. Sadikin, the Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto, and the other related officials.

The investor of the power plant is Masdar and it is already executed. It is the biggest new renewable energy company by the gulf region. The Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board said that the government will speed up the investment licensing, especially those related to the development of the new renewable energy, said the Sectoral Promotion Director of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Imam Soejoedi in a written statement in Jakarta.

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The investment is currently about IDR 1.8 trillion, and breaks the record of the biggest solar-powered power plant in the ASEAN region, after the solarpowered power plant in the Philippines, Cadiz Solar Power Plant, which is about 132.5 MW. The Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia said that the important reason behind the investment licensing acceleration is because the portion of new renewable energy from the national power plant is still very few. It is about ten percent of the total of the mix energy. Meanwhile, for 2025, the government of Indonesia has the target of the new renewable energy portion in the mix energy to reach at least 23 percent. Additionally, the solar-powered power plant portion from the existing national electricity new capacity is now only as big as 5 MW. About 16 cooperation agreements have been signed between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, which consist of five cooperation agreements between both governments, and the other 11 are between the business entity owners in both countries. Including the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the consortium PT PJBI (PT PJBI and Masdar), and PT PLN in the “Floating Solar PV PP 145 MWAC” in the Cirata Cistern, West Java, which has the value of USD 129 million.(*) Source: timesmalaysia

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international

Jolywood Supply N type solar panel to the biggest bifacial Solar plant in Middle East Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt Co. Ltd. (SZ: 300393) (Jolywood), a global leading supplier of solar back sheet and N-type bifacial solar cells, has been named the exclusive bifacial module supplier for the world’s largest single-unit N-type solar power station in Oman, Middle East.

olywood has delivered 105MWac of solar power to the Marubeni Corporation’s latest power station using its revolutionary N-type high efficiency bifacial solar cells and modules from June 2019. The power station, will be connected to the grid in the end of January 2020, is Oman’s first photovoltaic project and supersedes the world’s former largest N-type bifacial solar power station at China’s National Power and Flood Control Base with a supply of 100MWdc of power.

We are honored our groundbreaking N-type bifacial solar modules will be used for this world-leading project,” said Mr. JianWei Lin, Chairman of Jolywood Group. “This is the result of a decade of pioneering spirit in the green energy industry, as well as our relentless dedication to R&D and innovation to give the world high quality, high efficiency, and low LCOE N-type technology.” With an innovative structure and high production quality, Jolywood’s bifacial components offer superior energy efficiency, higher power generation and enhanced durability and reliability – all of which are uniquely suited for a solar power station in the energyrich, but highly unpredictable, climates of the Middle East. Due to its unique geography and extreme weather, the average operating temperature of solar components in the Middle East typically ranges between 50 degrees Celsius and 70 degrees Celsius – more than double the usual test standards of 25 degrees.

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Through a low-temperature coefficient, Jolywood’s bifacial components generate less heat and can withstand the fluctuating temperatures of the desert. Jolywood’s bifacial components also have higher anti-LeTID performance to minimize the amount of photothermic decay, a common issue faced by solar suppliers in locations with high operating temperatures. In addition, Jolywood’s bifacial components offer superior performance and more excellent energy absorption through high-efficiency rear-surface passivation. With over 80% efficiency, Jolywood’s elements have enhanced energy conversion and can fully leverage Oman’s energy-rich environment. Simultaneously, the components are designed to withstand frequent dust storms in the area. The symmetrical structure, stability and flexibility of the design reduce the risk of cracks and damage, and bifacial technology has a larger surface area for a broader range of applications. The improved weak illumination response also allows for better power generation under low light conditions. The project comes off the back of the successful grid connection of the Zonnepark Rilland in the Netherlands – Europe’s biggest N-bifacial solar power plant – where Jolywood supplied over 11.75MW of solar power.

Looking forward, Jolywood will continue its ambition to bring renewable energy to the world as part of China’s Belt and Road initiative and is expected to hold over 55% market share on N-type solar cells by 2027. said Mr. Alfred Liu, Oversea head of Jolywood. Source: Jolywood (Taizhou) Solar Technology Co. Ltd.

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Total, Marubeni to Invest in 800-Megawatt Qatar Solar Plant The companies will contribute funds and technological expertise for a combined 40% stake in the 800-megawatt Al-Kharsaah solar project, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said at a signing ceremony in Doha. A joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Electricity & Water Co. will hold the remaining 60%. Like many of its oil-rich neighbors, Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is pushing into solar power and other forms of renewables for its local energy needs. Al-Kharsaah will be able to supply about a 10th of Qatar’s power when it starts supplying at full capacity in the first quarter of 2022, Al-Kaabi said.

Marubeni will invest about $95 million in the plant, for 20.4% of the total project, while Total will contribute about $91 million, for a 19.6% share, Al-Kaabi and Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said at a news conference. Siraj Energy, the Qatari joint venture, will own the rest.

State-run Qatar Petroleum, where Al-Kaabi is also the chief, wants to build four new gas liquefaction plants, known as trains, and is negotiating a possible partnership with energy majors. Qatar will decide this year whether it wants international partners to help expand the North Field, its part of the world’s largest gas deposit, Al-Kaabi said last month in Kuwait. The agreement with Marubeni and Total “has absolutely nothing to do with the North Field bidding process,” he said. Source : bloombergquint

QATAR SIGNS $470 MILLION SOLAR DEAL The Al-Kharsaah plant, near the capital, is a 10-square-kilometre (4-sq-mile) joint venture with French and Japanese partners due for completion in 2022 ahead of the football World Cup.

Eight times the solar power pledged in the World Cup bid will be produced, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told a media briefing in Doha. Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, vowed at the United Nations last year that the tournament would be carbon neutral, but gave little detail on how this would be achieved. “Production capacity will be around 800 megawatts and 10 percent of peak demand,” said Kaabi following a signing ceremony between Qatari state firms, France’s Total and Japan’s Marubeni.

Eight-hundred megawatts will be the largest (solar power plant) built by Total, said the French energy giant’s chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne. y contrast, Abu Dhabi’s Sweihan plant, one of the world’s largest solar projects, produces 1,177 megawatts. The capital cost of the venture is 1.7 billion riyals ($470 million), Kaabi said, with state firms taking a 60-percent stake and foreign investors 40 percent. Marubeni will take 51 percent of the minority holding, while Total will have 49 percent.

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“It’s a pilot project, you have to assess how successful it is,” added Kaabi. Gulf states, heavily depend on oil and gas, have invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects, mainly in solar and nuclear. But critics say many such projects are slow to get off the drawing board. The United Arab Emirates said last week its first nuclear power plant would start operating within months after repeated delays to meet safety and regulatory conditions. The UAE will have the first operational nuclear reactor in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the projects have yet to materialize. Critics say the addiction to oil is hard to kick, particularly when supplies remain abundant and the high costs of investment in infrastructure needed to switch to renewables. Source : philippinesnews

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international

Australia May Add Record Amount of Renewable Power in 2020 Australia is set to add a record amount of renewable power in 2020, driven by growing corporate demand for clean electricity and to fill generation gaps created by the retirement of aging coal-fired plants.

ew markets are expected to unlock growth as pilot hydrogen projects start and oil, gas and mining projects invest in off-grid renewables generation, according to Rystad Energy. The positive outlook would be a rebound for Australia’s clean energy developers after a sharp drop in investment in 2019.

The industry has already met the government’s 2020 target for renewable generation and there is no new target to replace it. Meanwhile, the profitability of projects located a long way from major demand centers has been hit by marginal loss factors — the amount of power lost along transmission lines.

“We expect the industry to bounce back in the second half of 2020,” Rystad said in a media release, citing projects with corporate power purchase agreements and the winners of government auction schemes that are scheduled to start construction this year. Nearly 2 gigawatts of large-scale solar projects and 1.6 gigawatts of wind power are due to complete commissioning in the year ahead, up nearly 40% on 2019 levels. Wind and solar developers are also lining up to replace the Liddell coal plant in New South Wales, which is due to close by April 2023. Still, developers may face headwinds over the longer term.

“While the outlook for the commissioning of new projects still looks solid in 2020, there is a risk that activity tails off in the years ahead as the impact of falling investment starts to feed through,” said BloombergNEF analyst Leonard Quong. Source : bloombergquint

JICA investment in LEAP Fund to provide project finance for solar power plant in Vietnam

On January 22, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $37.8 million loan agreement with TTC Energy Development Investment Joint Stock Company (TTC Energy) to provide the first project finance for solar power project in Vietnam.

7.6 million of which will be provided in the form of a concessional non-parallel loan to be drawn from the JICA-supported Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) to improve the bankability and financial viability of the project and allow other lenders to provide long tenor, U.S. dollar denominated financing. The project will develop and operate the 50 MW solar power plant and its associated facilities in Tay Ninh Province, Southern Vietnam, contribute to meet the growing power demand in the Southern Vietnam as well as diversify energy sources.

Sponsors of the project are Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited (GED) in Thailand and Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC) in Vietnam. JGC Vietnam, wholly owned entity by JGC Group, is the EPC Contractor. The project is in line with “Initiative on Overseas loan and Investment for ASEAN” announced during ASEAN Summit in November 4th 2019 to support quality infrastructure and green investment.

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The LEAP Fund is a part of the follow-up measures for the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure,” which was announced by the Japanese government Nov. 21, 2015. Targeting high quality private infrastructure projects in the Asia-Oceania region, the fund provides assistance for such projects organized under various arrangements, such as public-private partnerships. In March 2016, JICA approved a $1.5 billion investment in private sector investment financing for the LEAP Fund. Since the fund’s launch, financial assistance totaling $500 million has been approved for a wide range of projects, such as health assurance initiatives in India and Indonesia and renewable energy projects in Mongolia among others. Thus far, LEAP has provided financing for 15 projects, and the ADB, on its own account and together with co-financers, has mobilized $5.6 billion. The LEAP Fund provides support for a wide range of sustainable infrastructure projects undertaken by the private sector in ADB member countries of the Asia-Pacific region, and is directed at projects in fields such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and provision of medical services at reasonable prices.

Source : jica.go.jp

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ADB Loan to Unlock Long-Term Financing for Solar Power in VietNam The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $37.8 million loan deal with TTC Energy Development Investment Joint Stock Company (TTC Energy) to provide long-term financing to develop and operate a 50-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant in Tay Ninh Province in Viet Nam.

DB’s assistance for the Gulf Solar Power Project was provided through an innovative project finance structure, which ensured the bankability of the project. It will help catalyze commercial financing for one of the first large-scale solar power project finance transactions in the country. The loan is composed of an $11.3 million A loan and a B loan of up to $18.9 million. An additional $7.6 million loan was provided by the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund, which is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The loan marks the first transaction under the fund’s Non-Parallel program and improves the bankability and financial viability of the project to allow other lenders to provide long tenor, US dollar-denominated financing. The B loan will be funded by Bangkok Bank PCL, Siam Commercial Bank PCL, and Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL.

ADB is excited about this transaction because the project will have a significant impact on the sustainability and security of Viet Nam’s energy sector for years to come,” said the Director of Infrastructure Finance Division of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Mr. Jackie B. Surtani. “Apart from providing much-needed financing to develop solar power in Viet Nam, the project will also help reduce perceived risks in the country’s renewable energy sector.

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We believe the project’s fundamentals were improved significantly as a result of its competitive financing structure and longer tenor led by ADB, and we are confident that the project will be developed successfully according to plan,” said Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited (GED) Executive Director Ms. Yupapin Wangviwat. The Government of Viet Nam plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, solar, wind, and biomass, as a percentage of total installed capacity to 21% by 2030 to meet rapidly growing energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25% by 2030. The project will develop and operate the 50 MW solar power plant and its associated facilities in Tay Ninh Province, which is about 50 kilometers northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The solar power plant will directly serve the electricity demand of residents and businesses of Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas. It will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 29,760 tons by 2020. TTC Energy, established in 2017, is 90% owned by GED. GED is a leading private power generation company and has the largest portfolio of gas-fired power projects in Thailand. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region. Source : adb.org

FEBRUARY- 2020

international

BlackRock, partners eye initial $500 million for climate fund A BlackRock-backed group aims to raise an initial $500 million for a private equity fund that will invest in climate change-linked infrastructure upgrades in emerging markets. The group will provide the first $100 million of funding for the Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), which was set up in 2018 along with France, Germany and the Hewlett and Grantham charitable foundations, it said in a statement

he funding will go towards a first-loss tranche that will absorb any initial losses, a safety net for other institutional investors that BlackRock expects to help it raise at least another $400 million. The CFP fund will be invested in renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage solutions and ultra-low and electric transport. At least a quarter of the investments would be made in Africa, with the rest in selected countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America, BlackRock said. The venture is part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the way BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is responding to the issue of climate change, as part of a broader commitment to environmental, social and governance-related investing. Climate has also been at the forefront of this year’s annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at which news of the planned initial fund-raising was announced. Finding novel ways to encourage accelerated investments has been a theme at Davos, and a separate $500 million United Nationsbacked initiative also announced a plan to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, ‘SDG500’.

The money raised will target businesses in the agriculture, finance, energy, education and healthcare sectors across many of the regions worst-hit by climate change. As with the CFP fund, the coalition of private and public sector organisations will also provide a first-loss layer for those investing in the project, which will provide exposure to six funds managed by asset manager Bamboo Partners. In a recent annual letter to the thousands of companies in which BlackRock holds stakes, Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said the need to act on climate was “particularly urgent” given many cities were not built to withstand “the new climate reality”. France and Germany will both invest $30 million of the initial funding, while the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust have pledged $10 million and $7.5 million, respectively. The CFP members have pledged to help raise the additional seed capital for the fund. BlackRock will also provide an as yet undetermined amount. Source : reuters

Trump’s Titanic Gift to China’s Solar Makers The White House put an easily exploited loophole in its tariffs, and the effort to undo it has been held up in court.

or most of the past year, there’s been a big hole in President Trump’s China tariffs—one in the shape of a solar panel. Companies that build America’s major solar farms spent 2018 and early 2019 begging the administration to exempt jumbo versions of two-sided “bifacial” panels used to create vast, utility-scale solar farms. Relatively few bifacials are made domestically. For some reason, when the administration finally agreed to issue an exemption, it was much broader than the industry had suggested. So broad, in fact, that it reshaped the market and left Chinese panel makers as dominant as ever.

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BOTTOM LINE – In an effort to appease hurting developers of solar power plants, the Trump administration has also let China’s panel makers easily avoid its punishing tariffs. Since June, all bifacial panels have been tariff-free, and Chinese panel makers are turning the once-niche design into a cornerstone of their U.S.-aimed product lines. A trade court has temporarily blocked the White House’s efforts to kill the exemption. Trump is expected to decide as soon as next month, as part of a scheduled review, whether to make the otherwise-harsh solar tariffs even harsher. Trade adviser Peter Navarro has said “the loophole for bifacial solar panels China is currently exploiting needs to be slammed shut.” The White House declined to comment. Source : bloomberg

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U.A.E.’s Al Nowais Plans $500 Million Renewable Energy Fund United Arab Emirates businessman Hussain Al Nowais is planning a $500 million fund to spur renewable energy investments across the Middle East and Africa.

lean power is growing increasingly attractive for Middle Eastern oil producers as falling costs for solar and wind plants allow those states to free valuable crude and natural gas for export. Other countries in the region or in Africa that are poor in fuels burned for electricity are looking to renewable energy to cut hefty import bills and bring power to areas that are not already supplied.

Al Nowais is raising the fund “given the need for expansion and given the need for additional capital” for renewable energy projects, he said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Al Nowais said he is in talks with “several institutional and local investors” about contributing to the fund.

AMEA Power, a developer of solar and wind plants of which Al Nowais is chairman, will raise about $300 million in an initial funding round within the next three months, he said. The fund will likely increase to $500 million in a second round, Al Nowais said. AMEA Power’s biggest market is Egypt. in December, it signed agreements to supply a combined 700 megawatts of power at one solar and one wind power plant there. The company will target opportunities in countries like Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia as well as in southern and Central Asia, he said. Source : bloombergquint

Portugal’s Galp bets big on solar power with ACS deal

Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) will buy solar power projects from Spain’s ACS (ACS.MC), envisaging total spending of 2.2 billion euros in the next four years and making Galp the leading solar power producer in Iberia. Galp said in a statement, it would pay ACS 450 million euros when the deal for a total of 2.9 gigawatts of capacity, most of it yet to be built, is closed, and assume 430 million euros worth of project finance debt.

Source : reuters

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FEBRUARY- 2020

international

China to allocate $217 mln to new solar power projects in 2020

China will allocate 1.5 billion yuan ($217.27 million) to new solar power projects in 2020, its energy administration said in a statement f the funds, 500 million yuan will be given to distributed power projects for residential users, and the remaining 1 billion yuan will be split between large-scaled solar stations and distributed power projects for industrial and commercial users.

China has planned to scale back its total renewable power subsidy to 5.67 billion yuan in 2020 from 8.1 billion yuan last year, as Beijing believes clean energy sources are capable of competing subsidy-free with coal-fired power.

Source : reuters

SAEV to invest $500m in renewables and energy efficiency technologies to diversify its energy mix Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), the corporate venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, is planning to set up a $500m fund to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.

Bhavana Sri Pullagura, Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The already successful start-ups and the appetite for investments are prompting SAEV to invest more funds into start-ups that seek to reshape the energy industry in the Kingdom. The investments in low-carbon technologies and clean energy start-ups will help SAEV gain access to areas that could become industry-changing technologies in time. SAEV is now keen on investing in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, and has turned its focus towards Asian markets. The office in Beijing will help execute its investment strategy.

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“In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 target to generate 9.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030, SAEV is planning its investments to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. SAEV has already invested in various start-ups, ranging from prototypes to early stage, in order to gain access to cutting-edge technologies such as super long duration grid storage, kerfless wafers technology, Membrane Aerated Biofilm Rector (MABR) technology, end-to-end digital twin of electric grid, ground-breaking advanced manufacturing technology and catalyst-free scrubber technology.”

Source : Global

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LONGi module capacity exceeds 20GW leading the photovoltaic industry into a new era of large-scale production LONGi’s 10GW mono-crystalline module production facility in Chuzhou is now running at full capacity, with its Phase II 5GW reaching construction close. The additional capacity increased total global module production capacity of LONGi to an estimated 21GW, exceeding its previously announced “Threeyear Capacity Plan” (2019-2020).

Zhong Baoshen, Chairman of LONGi, said: “We are very optimistic about the rapid development of photovoltaic in the context of the global energy transition. The further build-up of LONGi’s global capacity of monocrystalline modules will gradually increase LONGi’s ability to realize demand for high-efficiency products from global customers.

ONGi launched the new generation Hi-MO 4 module based on the new M6 (166mm) silicon wafer in 2019 and has continued to optimize it. Currently, the power of Hi-MO 4 is up to 450W in volume production with conversion efficiency of 20.7%. Further optimization has reduced the module size and weight, enabling easier installations on rooftops. Bifacial technology and high yield can reduce BOS cost and lower LCOE, making it the best choice for large photovoltaic power plants. Global potential order has surpassed 10GW, with over 1.5GW delivered. Customer feedback has been positive and exceeded expectations.

“The market response to LONGi’s Hi-MO 4 module has exceeded expectations. We are optimistic that 166mm wafers will become the mainstream of the photovoltaic industry’s next-generation and we will optimize the capacity of modules based on the 166mm standard. In 2020, LONGi’s modules with 166mm wafers will exceed 20GW, accounting for 80% of planned capacity. We will guarantee the global supply of high-power modules, helping the industry enter the era of large-scale mass production of 450W high-power modules.” Zhong Baoshen said.

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“LONGi modules will meet more than 15% of newly installed photovoltaic installations worldwide. Our expansion strategy is not to compete for market dominance, but to promote the transformation of the global energy sector by improving the market supply capabilities of leading products, and to accelerate the path to 100% renewable energy globally” added Mr. Zhong. By 2020, global photovoltaic newly installed capacity is expected to increase to 150GW, reaching a growth rate of more than 20%. The current market demand for highpower modules exceeds supply. Following on the heels of LONGi’s switch to modules based on the 166mm standard, other mainstream photovoltaic module companies have also launched their 166mm cells and modules. Industry analysis forecasts that by the end of June 2020, the global production capacity of modules based on 166mm cells will exceed 30GW, and by year-end 2020, this may reach 60~70GW. Under the backdrop of rapid industrialization and strong market response, the photovoltaic industry has officially entered the “166 era”.

FEBRUARY- 2020

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SoftBank denies exiting renewable energy JV with Bharti Enterprises, Foxconn Following the Indian Prime Minister’s 100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022, the venture will invest in and develop renewable energy plants across India, SoftBank had said. SoftBank, which had announced forming a joint venture (JV) for renewable energy with Airtel’s parent Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan-based iPhone manufacturer Foxconn in 2015 — SBG Cleantech, has said it has no plans to exit the tie-up. SB Energy Global — the renewable energy arm of SoftBank — claimed the company explores ways to raise external capital from time to time. “As part of business strategy, we review all options to raise external capital, including strategic investments, from time to time. There is absolutely no plan to exit from the business,” Raman Nanda, CEO, SB Energy Global told Financial Express Online in a statement.

anda’s confirmation came following a report by ET claiming that SoftBank is considering selling a majority stake in SBG Cleantech. “SBG Cleantech will be a harbinger of solar and wind energy. Following the Indian Prime Minister’s 100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022, the venture will invest in and develop renewable energy plants across India,” SoftBank said during the launch of the JV. SBG had won a 350-megawatt solar power project in Andhra Pradesh under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission at a 25-year tariff of Rs 4.63 kWh, it had said in a statement, as a step towards realising its $20 billion commitment to promoting clean and safe energy in India.

SoftBank had since then further expanded into renewables space. SB Energy had last year in October announced acquiring a portfolio of five US solar power plants with a combined capacity of over 1.7 GW. It has around 7.2 GW of solar and wind projects under long-term contract in the United States and India, and more than 1.5 GW in operation. Also, last month Gujarat government had said SB Energy will invest $4 billion in its renewables energy sector. In October 2018, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son had announced offering free electricity to all member countries of International Solar Alliance including India post expiry of its contract to supply power to such countries after 25 years.

India is targeting 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 from the currently installed 83 GW while “31 GW and 35 GW capacity is underbidding. So this becomes around 140-145 GW. In hydro, we have installed capacity of around 45 GW and under installation capacity is about 13 GW, which makes it (hydro) around 60 GW,” Power minister RK Singh had said in November last year as reported by PTI. “So we will cross 200 GW capacity of renewable energy by 2022,” the minister added. Source: financialexpress

Temasek, EQT set up $500m renewable energy JV Singapore investment company Temasek, along with Swedish major EQT, has set up a platform called O2 Power to develop and acquire renewable energy assets in areas like solar and wind energy. The two investment firms have committed $500 million in equity for the venture, which is targeting 4 gigawatts of installed capacity in the coming years.

he Gurgaon-based company will look at both greenfield project development and acquisitions, as it will also be able to leverage the equity commitment to raise debt. Temasek has a portfolio of $11 billion in India across both public and private companies. For EQT, this will be the first investment in the country. O2 is being headed by Parag Sharma, former chief operating officer at ReNew Power, another platform play in the renewables space that was founded by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha’s son Sumant Sinha and was backed by Goldman Sachs. Other members of the top management are also from ReNew, which has built a capacity of 4.3 gigawatts since it was founded in 2011.

India presents significant investment opportunities, being the second-largest renewable energy market in the world, and EQT is delighted about teaming up with Temasek and O2 Power. CEO Parag Sharma and his management team have a successful track record and EQT looks forward to work together in creating a future-proofed renewable energy platform, said Fabian Grone, Partner at EQT Partners, in a statement. Source : PTI

FEBRUARY 2020

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PXIL unveils new trading platform, compatible for real time market, cross-boarder trading Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) unveiled a technology-based trading platform, PRATYAY, which is compatible to handle real-time power market (RTM) and cross-border electricity trading.

The PRATYAY is capable of handing RTM and crossborder. We are waiting for the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to release the guidelines or standard procedures for RTM and cross border trading, PXIL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prabhajit Kumar Sarkar said on the sideline of a presser here.

“The RTM is expected to begin from April. But for making cross-border power trading a reality, India has to align its procedures or regulations with other countries. Initially India is expected to start cross-border trading with Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan,” Sarkar said.

he RTM will allow consumers including discoms or captive users, to buy power at exchanges just one hour before delivery. At present, consumers can buy power one day prior in Day Ahead Market (DAM) at power exchanges where trading is done for two hours daily from 10 am to 12 noon.The power regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) has already approved the regulation for RTM. But the exchanges had to develop software programme to do that. Besides standard procedures or guidelines for the RTM is awaited from the CEA. Sarkar said that besides getting ready for RTM and crossborder trading, the PRATYAY will help us improve market share in DAM, term ahead market and certificate sales (green certificates and Energy Saving Certificates). The tech-enabled platform aims to ease participation and provide customer delight for trading on the exchange. The new service provides a single platform for all segments and offers hassle-free migration from thick client-based solution to a complete web-based solution with many other benefits. The PXIL is promoted by NSE (National Stock Exchange of India Ltd) & NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange). Source : PTI

Adani Group aims to become world’s largest solar power player by 2025: Gautam Adani Billionaire Gautam Adani said his group is aiming to become the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the biggest renewable energy firm by 2030. In a Linkedin post, the Adani Group chairman said the age of renewable energy has dawned upon the world faster than most could have anticipated. “Our vision is to become the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the largest renewable power company by 2030,” he wrote. In 2019, the Adani Group was ranked as the sixth largest solar player globally and as a part of this journey, “we are well within reach to be India’s largest renewable energy company by 2020 and one of the top three global solar energy companies by 2021.” “Our existing portfolio of renewable power generating assets stands today at over 2.5 GW. This is expected to more than double by 2020, with the implementation of 2.9 GW under construction capacity and further record three-fold growth touching 18 GW by 2025. To make this happen we have committed to investing over 70 per cent of our budgeted capex of the energy vertical into clean energy and energy-efficient systems,” he said.

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Source : PTI

FEBRUARY- 2020

featured

ENGIE AND EDELWEISS SIGN A PARTNERSHIP FOR SOLAR ENERGY IN INDIA In line with both ENGIE’s and EIYP’s strategies, ENGIE has agreed to sell (once the transaction has closed in accordance with its terms) a 74% stake in 12 solar assets aggregating 813 MWp of operating capacity collectively to EIYP and Sekura Energy Limited, a portfolio company of EIYP.

he completion of this transaction, subject to the usual conditions associated with this type of operation, is expected to occur during the first half of 2020 and will allow ENGIE to reduce its net debt by more than EUR 400 million. In India, as in many other countries, ENGIE uses all its engineering capabilities to design,finance and build renewable energy production capacity. Once this capacity is built, ENGIE partially disposes of its interest and retains the operation and maintenance of the asset. The value created by this Develop Build Share Operate (DBSO) strategy increases significantly the impact of solar and wind development potential in many countries. This transaction marks the beginning of an ambitious strategic partnership between ENGIE and EIYP, aiming to expand a growing solar platform. ENGIE will maintain its leading industrial role by remaining in charge of the development, construction and operation of present and future solar plants.

FEBRUARY 2020

Paulo Almirante, ENGIE Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer commented: “We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership with EIYP. This transaction allows us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic model in renewables, and to free up capital to keep up investing in the very dynamic Indian solar market.”

Subahoo Chordia, Head of EIYP said “We are excited about this strategic partnership, which brings the complementary capabilities of the fund and ENGIE together while sharing similar high governance standards and values. EIYP will benefit from access to a strong future pipeline of quality solar assets to be developed and constructed by ENGIE under the terms of the agreement. This will also grow EIYP’s Sekura Energy platform and make us a large investor in Indian energy space.” ENGIE has been present and active in India for over 40 years and employs around 1,000 people in clean power generation (centralized and decentralized), engineering, and energy services. The Group’s renewable capacity in the country exceeds 1.5 GW following the commissioning of two wind projects in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and solar projects in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

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featured

PM’s green energy push to help India meet 450 GW target by 2030 The prime minister highlighted that Renewable Purchase Obligation should be enforced in letter and spirit. MNRE may come out with a policy to mandate rooftop solar for all buildings above a specific size. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a timeline for the resolution of all issues concerning the renewable energy sector to strengthen the country’s efforts to meet the target of 450 GW by 2030. The PM has asked the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to explore the possibility of an rdinance to ensure timely payments by discoms and recovery of dues for the generating companies, sources told CNBCTV18.

n a meeting held in December, Prime Minister also highlighted that Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) should be enforced in letter and spirit and should be considered as a parameter for financial devolution for the states. It has also asked for a mandatory letter of credit for renewable energy procurement and any overdue from discoms should be deducted from Finance Commission funds due to states. At the end of November 2019, Rs 5,939 crore of an overdue amount is pending from the discoms to the renewable energy generating companies. To make the renewable energy sector financially viable, MNRE has been asked to work out details for separation of the credit limit for renewables from conventional power for financing. Issues of tariff cap and reverse bidding in the sector have also been identified for some change to make the sector attractive considering the targets are high.

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The PM has also suggested increasing the period for declaration of non-performing asset (NPA) from 90 days to 180 days for the renewable energy projects which are commissioned and have power purchase agreements (PPAs). The ministry will also engage with the states to ease the number of days required for land-use change and land ceiling clearances to be approved within 45 days. MNRE may also come out with a policy to mandate rooftop solar for all buildings above a specific size, bring in the new business model for solar rooftop, wind, and hybrid models, rent-a-roof scheme and solarisation of all government buildings by 2022, and the introduction of solar in cricket stadiums.

Building 10,000 MW of solar cell and 30,000 MW of solar module manufacturing capacity by 2021, Ultra Mega Renewable Park of 40,000 MW capacity by 2024 are some key targets set by the prime minister. India has an installed capacity of 86,000 MW and has renewable energy installed capacity target of 175 MW by 2022, 225 GW by 2024 and 450 GW by 2030. Source : cnbctv18

FEBRUARY- 2020

featured interview

RAMAN NANDA

CEO, SB ENERGY GLOBAL

SB Energy on track to achieve solar energy target in India 40Â

FEBRUARY 2020

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featured interview

The real target for companies with long-term vision to be a global leader would be to build 100 GW. Within the next 10 years, we will see 100 GW companies in renewables or even in just solar. We are prepared to be one of them. India maybe contribute to half of that capacity, said Nanda in the interview with ET. SoftBank’s arm SB Energy Global will meet the target of setting up 20 GW of capacity in the next five years in India despite challenges, Raman Nanda, CEO, SB Energy Global, told Rachita Prasad. The next target would be to become a global 100 gigawatt-company. Edited Excerpts: EQ: SoftBank committed to invest $20 billion to set up 20 gigawatts in India. How has the journey been so far. Is that target achievable given the challenges?

EQ: Are you looking at divesting a part of your majority stake in SB Energy? Or is there a possibility of inducting another investor?

RN: In 2015 Masayoshi Son, along with Sunil Mittal, made a commitment that we would do 20 GW. Today, we are a little over 5.5 GW. We have built a strong team. We won and executed large-scale solar projects which helped us create a robust playbook for building a big solar plant — right from the auction stage to the commercial operations. We entered the industry when building scale was possible. We have done construction on time and met budgets. Our investors are satisfied with our financial results. This is a young industry that’s changing fast. Before we entered India, solar tariff was over Rs 6; we won our first auction at Rs 4.60, and now it’s a little more than half of it. With such rapid change, such hungry demand for land, there’s a lot of challenges for an industry that moves that fast. With our great team and the resilient playbook, we are on track to execute 20 GW in the next five years.

RN: There are no plans to divest. We have got results; we have a playbook and we are still bullish on solar. We are looking at other countries where we can do big-scale solar projects. We have just entered the US. We couldn’t be in a stronger place, so there are no plans of divestment. We don’t plan to get another investor. We have taken years to create the dynamics between our investors and the platform; it’s a special dynamic; why change it.

EQ: What’s the way ahead and next target for SB Energy? RN: The real target for companies with long-term vision to be a global leader would be to build 100 GW. Within the next 10 years, we will see 100 GW companies in renewables or even in just solar. We are prepared to be one of them. India maybe contribute to half of that capacity.

EQ: Solar power tariff has fallen and many renewable power generators are facing delay in payments from discoms. What is the motivation for somebody trying to expand in the renewable space? RN: Our contracts are 100% with the central government, or central government entities. We have not faced much payment delay problems. We walk in with open eyes. There is still a lot of pressure on bidding. We have a clear set of rules on equity return, operating income. We don’t bid where it doesn’t make sense.

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EQ: Any plans for fundraising? RN: We are fully funded.

EQ: There are concerns that a lot of SoftBank’s recent investments have played out as expected and they would have an impact on investment strategy of SB Energy. Are you cautious? RN: We have a strong platform and understand the business. We have a plan to achieve our goal and that’s what drives our goals. The results have been what we had hoped for. We continue with our plan.

EQ: Are you looking at expanding the wind energy portfolio? RN: We are doing a large-scale solarwind hybrid project. We are putting our foot into wind as well.

EQ: Are you looking at acquisition opportunities in renewables? RN: We are open to the idea but it comes down to the rules we have set for ourselves. The price has to be right.

EQ: What is your assessment of government policy on renewable? RN: The government is doing the right thing. We only would want that that more of the solar parks should come because they have succeeded in setting up scale.

FEBRUARY- 2020

policy & regulation

RECs to get expired soon get extension, to remain valid till March 2020 Recently the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission published an order, extending the expiry date of the RECs which were due to expire between November 2019 & March 2020. The commission had earlier via an order data 30.04.2019 following a petition no. 4/SM/2019 extended the validity of RECs getting expired in 1st April 2019 & 31st October 2019 up to 31st December 2019.

urrently, according to the inventory, there are 9,154 RECs (4,960 Solar and 4,554 Non-Solar) issued prior to 01.04.2017, which expired in the month of November 2019. Further, 2,16,849 RECs which were issued prior to 01.04.2017, are due to expire within the next four months. This includes 29,808 Solar RECs and 1,87,041 Non Solar RECs. The Commission is of the opinion that there is a need to extend the validity of these RECs. Hence, the Commission has decided to extend the validity of RECs which have expired as on 30th November 2019 up to 31st March 2020. In addition, the validity of RECs which are likely to expire between 1st December 2019 and 31st March 2020 is also extended up to 31st March 2020. According to the description, the RECs which have expired/are due to expire between 1st November 2019 and 31st March 2020 will remain valid up to 31st March 2020.

The announcement sure has brought some good news for the renewable energy generators at the very start of the new year. This advancement is also like to bring changes in the price discovery of future REC trade sessions since the non-solar vintage prices reached the forbearance price of INR 3,000/- in the December trade session. Source: reconnectenergy

UPERC asks DISCOM to deposit funds in RPO Regulatory Fund over non-compliance Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) recently published an order asking UPPCL to deposit INR 737.11 crore by creating an RPO Regulatory Fund. UPPCL apparently has a backlog in their Renewable Purchase Obligation for FY 2010-11 to 2014-15 and FY 2015-16 to FY 2018-19. UPPCL has suggested meeting this backlog existing till 2018-19 to be met in the coming years.

urrently, the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) backlog up to 2018-19 for solar is 3721 MUs and Non-solar is 7189 MUs. UPPCL has entered into a PPA and the discom expects to meet these backlogs by end of FY 2021-22 for solar and mid of FY 2021-22 for Non-solar. The pending 1319 MUs of Hydro Purchase Obligation along with the Solar RPO will be met by the Non-solar purchases as allowed in the UPERC regulations.

Further, UPPCL requested to extend the timeline to fulfil their non-compliance by stating the RE capacity in the pipeline since 2017 and will be commissioned till 2022.

As per UPERCs Promotion of Green Energy through Renewable Purchase Obligation, regulations 2010, it is suggested that a regulatory fund be created in case of the obligated entity is unable to fulfil its RPO mandate. In such a scenario, the obligated entity will deposit the equivalent amount in the fund which will then be counted against its solar/non-solar obligation. Hence, UPERC has suggested that an RPO Regulatory Fund be created and the necessary amount at a corresponding rate of Re 1.00/- per unit be deposited by UPPCL in it. The total amount of INR 737.11 crores is to be submitted in four instalments starting Dec. 19, Jan.20, Feb.20 and Mar.20 respectively. Uttar Pradesh also announced its Deviation Settlement Mechanism regulations for wind and solar in 2018 and Open access regulations in December 2019. Uttar Pradesh has a 3185 MW of RE installed capacity as of January 2020 as per MNRE. Source: reconnectenergy

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policy & regulation

Government of India proposes ADITYA – A Discom reform Initiative as UDAY prepares to retire In a decent development, the Government of India proposes a grant of INR 1.1 Lakh Crore for state discoms under a new scheme – Atal Distribution System Improvement Yojana (ADITYA). The scheme is supposed to be announced in the upcoming budget. The initiative is an advancement as UJJWAL Yojana is about to get expired in March 2020.

he government wishes for the state distribution companies under the scheme to follow the mandate and these discoms with high losses to either privatise operations or appoint distribution franchisees and invest in infrastructure upgradation. Overall, the Government expects to spend about INR 3 lakh crore of investments in the distribution sector under the ADITYA scheme.

The scheme as per reports is divided into three parts: The first part proposes infrastructure upgradation including implementation of smart metering worth INR 2,30,000 crore, of which 15% is supposed to be supported by the central government and 10% by the state. The Centre’ share of funding is likely to be approximate of Rs 25,000 crore.

The second part would suggest inefficient discoms to undergo institutional reforms to be able to take advantage of investment support. The scheme envisages lowering aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of discoms to 12% and eliminating gaps between their costs and revenue. According to the UDAY portal as of January 2020, the average commercial losses of discoms are at 21.35% and the revenue gap at 0.38 paise per unit of power. The discoms will have a choice to choose to either operate under a publicprivate-partnership model or supply power through multiple franchisees in all circles of operation within nine months of joining the scheme. The Discoms’ dues to all the power producers are estimated at INR 82,000 crore being the major factor behind the stressed-out power sector. Finally, the third part of the scheme is talked to focus on the development of human resource and future technologies at central government support of about Rs 1,500 crore. Source: reconnectenergy

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FEBRUARY- 2020

policy & regulations

Power generation to be termed manufacturing, pay 15 per cent corp tax As part of efforts to incentivise the power sector and make its operations viable, the government is looking to extend the benefit of lower corporate tax to electricity generating units by qualifying their activity as manufacturing.

nder the amended Finance Act 2019, concessional tax rate of 15 per cent is applicable on a domestic company set up and registered on or after October 1, 2019 and which starts manufacturing on or before March 31, 2023. But this provision has been restricted in application to a company engaged in manufacturing or production and leaves out power generation. This may change now with electricity generation qualifying as manufacture. The changes may form part of the budget proposals, to be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, according to a source privy to the development.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Numerous court orders have made it clear that electric energy has all the trappings of an article or goods. The process of its generation is also akin to manufacture or production of an article. Thus, the broad understanding is that new power projects should also get the same treatment as other manufacturing units,â&#x20AC;? said a government source.

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Industry chambers have also pushed for the changes that, they feel, would be a big incentive for the corporate sector to invest in greenfield power projects. Absence of demand and poor financial ability of state-run power distribution companies have created distress-like situation in the sector with several units coming under stress. With the incentive, available to the sector by way of tax holiday, also getting over and the government not inclined to return to the earlier system of tax holidays, relief by way of lower corporate tax could help companies looking at making fresh investments. To provide clarity and certainty, the government might amend provisions of section 115BAB of the Finance Act 2019 to provide that companies engaged in generation of electricity should also be entitled to the benefits provided, sources said. Alternatively, a clarification may be issued to provide that manufacture or production of an article or thing will also include power generation. A lower 15 per cent duty would be big relief to promoters of power projects as they are liable to pay 25 per cent corporate tax now. Companies, like Adani, Tata, Vedanta and JSW Energy, are all looking to expand their power sector footprint, but are awaiting the right climate to commit fresh investments. Tax relief, apart from assurance of fuel, is expected to give a push to fresh investments.

Source : IANS

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electric vehicle & ess

Chemi Tech Group Successfully Commissions 10 DC Public Stations for Tata Auto Components Chemi Tech Group, through its subsidiary Snel Charge India, has successfully commissioned 10 DC Public charging Stations for Tata Auto Components (TACO). The chargers are located in cities of Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

sers will be able to charge their cars using this network through Fortum’s Charge and Drive app and all these chargers are located in the dealerships of a premium automotive company. Snel Charge is also providing turn-key solutions to various other automotive OEMs and private companies in the Electric Vehicle segment. It is providing TACO DC Fast chargers on EMI too. Snel Charge plans to commission around 1000 Electric Vehicle Chargers in the financial year 2020-21 and already has MoUs with many leading automotive players in this segment. It is also empanelled in NTPC for Charging Infrastructure and has commissioned 6 charging stations for another PSU in Delhi-Chandigarh Highway

India’s Electric Car Ambitions Could Stumble on Lack of Lithium Home to some of the most polluted cities on the planet, the South Asian nation is pivoting toward new-energy vehicles to clean up its toxic air. But with meager resources of lithium, the mineral essential to make batteries for electric vehicles, it is having to scour for resources overseas.

Import Reliance

India’s EV production will rely on imports from China of lithium chemicals used to make cathodes and battery cells, according to Jasmeet Singh Kalsi, director at Manikaran Power Ltd., which is exploring setting up India’s first lithium refinery. “China has a thriving lithium chemical, battery cathode, battery cell and EV supply chain. India has none.”

rime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration unveiled a slew of measures in 2019 to promote the clean-energy vehicles, including a $1.4 billion plan to make India a manufacturing hub for EVs and cutting taxes to spur purchases. While electric cars in India remain a small segment, with an estimated 3,000 sold in 2018 compared with the 3.4 million fossil fuel-powered cars in the same year, the nation is forecast become the fourth-largest market for EVs by 2040, when the segment will comprise nearly a third of all vehicles sales, according to BloombergNEF.

Several plans are under way to build lithium-ion battery factories in India. Meanwhile, China — the largest electric vehicle market in the world — is dominant in the battery supply chain. Around threequarters of battery cell manufacturing capacity is in China, and Chinese companies have unparalleled control of required domestic and foreign battery raw materials and processing facilities, according to BNEF. “Indian companies have been involved in trying to prospect for stakes in overseas resources, and possibly on-shoring more raw materials production capacity in India,” said Sophie Lu, head of metals and mining for BloombergNEF. “But there are very little synergies right now because further up the value chain, battery components manufacturing capacity does not seem to be planned extensively for India.” A joint venture called Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. has been formed between three state-run companies — National Aluminium Co., Hindustan Copper Ltd. and Mineral Exploration Corp. — to acquire lithium and cobalt mines overseas. Amara Raja Batteries Ltd., the country’s second-biggest traditional battery maker by value, will build a lithium-ion assembly plant, while Suzuki Motor Corp. along with Toshiba Corp. and Denso Corp. is setting up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant. Manikaran signed an agreement with Australia’s Neometals in June to jointly fund the evaluation of developing a lithium refinery in India with a capacity of 10,000 tons to 15,000 tons of the finished product. That capacity falls short of India’s projected requirement of 200,000 tons of lithium hydroxide by 2030, Kalsi said. Electric vehicles are “slowly going to take off, not with the speed the government perceives it to be, but going ahead the market is going to get pretty huge,” he said. Source : bloombergquint

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FEBRUARY- 2020

electric vehicle & ess

In Phase-II to Fame India Scheme 2636 EV Charging Stations sanctioned To give a further push to clean mobility in Road Transport Sector, the Department of Heavy Industries has sanctioned 2636 charging stations in 62 cities across 24 States/UTs under FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) scheme phase II.

s many as 317 EV charging stations have been allotted in Maharashtra, 266 in Andhra Pradesh, 256 in Tamil Nadu, 228 in Gujarat, 205 in Rajasthan, 207 in Uttar Pradesh, 172 in Karnataka, 159 in Madhya Pradesh, 141 in West Bengal, 138 in Telangana, 131 in Kerala, 72 in Delhi, 70 in Chandigarh, 50 in Haryana, 40 in Meghalaya, 37 in Bihar, 29 in Sikkim, 25 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Chhattisgarh, 20 in Assam, 18 in Odisha and 10 each in Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Himachal Pradesh. The sanction letters to the selected entities will be issued in phases after ensuring the availability of land for charging stations, signing of necessary agreements/MoU with concerned partner organizations like city municipal corporation, Discoms and oil companies. Subsequently, each selected public entities are required to initiate the procurement process in a time bound manner for deployment of sanctioned charging stations.

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Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar said that in future at least one charging station will be available in most of the selected cities in a grid of 4 Km X 4 km. He said it will boost the confidence of users of Electric Vehicles and also encourage the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to launch the new electric vehicle models due to the lack of charging infrastructure. Department of Heavy Industry had invited the Expression of Interest (EoI) from million-plus cities, smart cities, State/UT capitals and cities from special category states for submission of proposal for availing incentives under FAME India Scheme Phase II for deployment of EV charging infrastructure within Cities. About 106 proposals from Public/Private Entities for the deployment of about 7000 EV charging stations were received. After evaluation of these proposals as per EoI, on the advice of Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee (PISC) the Government sanctioned 2636 charging stations to 62 cities submitted by 19 public entities for 24 states. Out of these 2636 charging stations, 1633 Charging Stations will be Fast Charging Stations and 1003 will be slow charging stations. With this, about 14000 Charging Stations will be installed across the selected cities.

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electric vehicle & ess

India needs 50 GWh of battery storage within 2.5 yrs for planned EV transition: NITI Aayog official India will need 50 gigawatt hour (GWh) of battery storage capacity over the next two-and-a-half years to support the projected growth in renewable energy and meet the national electric mobility target, a senior NITI Aayog official said.

If India moves on the projected path of adoption of electric vehicles and the battery storage, adoption of the renewable sources of energy, the requirement for the next 2.5 years should be 50 GWh of the battery storage (sic), Aayog’s Principal Consultant for mobility Anil Srivastava said speaking at India Energy ForumRenewable Energy Summit here. Speaking on Lithium-ion (Li) batteries, he said that every 10 GWh of Li-ion cell manufacturing requires $1-billion capex. “We have proposed to the government that each kilowatt hour of the manufacturing of the Li-ion cell should be given a direct fiscal incentive… It should be a production-linked direct fiscal incentive” he added.

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Srivastava also said that EVs are 10 times cheaper than internal combustion engines and it is only a matter of tipping point for their adoption. “By 2030, 95 per cent of miles travelled by passengers would be through transport as a service in developed countries,” he added.

However, current EV batteries have certain issues. EV batteries are not compatible for tropical climate, according to Sajid Mubashir, scientist, Department of Science and Technology, who was also speaking at the same event. “Climate is a huge challenge for EV transition, bringing vehicles from mediterranian climate to tropical climate. They work best under 35 degree Celsius, after which there is a risk of explosion. We should set the target of making batteries which can work at 50 degree Celsius,” Mubashir said.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

FEBRUARY- 2020

electric vehicle & ess

Amazon India to include 10K EVs in delivery fleet by 2025 E-commerce major Amazon India said its fleet of delivery vehicles in the country will include 10,000 EVs by 2025. Amazon’s rival, Flipkart had in June last year said it aims to replace 40 per cent of its delivery vans with electric vehicles (EVs) by March this year. The Walmart-owned company has deployed EVs in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Amazon, in a statement, said it piloted electric vehicles in several cities across India in 2019 and is now expanding this initiative across the country. It added that learnings from the pilot have helped the company create scalable and long-term EV variants to build this large fleet. The announcement comes days after the American e-tail giant had announced investment of USD 1 billion for digitising small and medium businesses, and creation of one million jobs by 2025. “The fleet of 10,000 EVs – including threewheeler and four-wheeler vehicles – has been designed and manufactured by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India,” Amazon noted in its statement.

n 2020, these vehicles will operate in over 20 cities of India – Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur and Coimbatore, among others. These EVs are in addition to the global commitment of one lakh EVs in the delivery fleet by 2030 announced in the Climate Pledge signed by Amazon. As part of the pledge, Amazon had announced its plans to introduce 10,000 of EVs into its delivery fleet globally in 2022 and one lakh vehicles by 2030 – saving four million metric tonnes of carbon per year by 2030. Amazon India said it has been working with several Indian OEMs to build a fleet of vehicles that ensure sustainable and safe deliveries of customer orders. The government’s focus to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, and steps towards setting up of charging infrastructure with the FAME 2 policy has helped the company accelerate and chart its vision for EVs in India, it added.

FEBRUARY 2020

At Amazon India, we are committed to building a supply chain that will minimise the environmental impact of our operations, Amazon Vice President, Customer Fulfillment – APAC and Emerging Markets Akhil Saxena said. He added that the company will continue to invest in electrification of its delivery fleet, thereby reducing its dependence on non-renewable resources.In September last year, Amazon India had announced its plan to eliminate single-use plastic in its packaging from its fulfilment centres by June 2020. Source : PTI

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Solar Inverters

Select the correct inverter, Select the stable income With the increasing maturity of solar power products, technologies and the rising cost of electricity, more and more people turn their eyes to solar power and and become interested in it, thus house roofs, industrial and commercial roofs become good places for solar power installing.

or users, a good solar power plant can not only save energy or protect the environment, but also bring 25 years of economic benefits. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worthy noting that solar inverter is the heart of the system, so if you select a correct inverter for your solar plant, its means you select the stable income. Hence, please make sure the inverter brand is right before making decision. The reputation of the solar inverter brand, which is a good indicator of reliability, is the first thing that most people check. It is important to note that some brands such as Sofarsolar is better at string inverters and hybrid inverters such as AC coupled energy inverters and HYD storage inverters used typically in roof-top plants and storage systems. SOFARSOLAR (est 2012) is one of the subsidiaries of SOFAR Group in China and specializes in R&D, production, sales and service of grid-tied inverters ranging from 1kW to 7.5kW (residential), 10kW to 120kW (commercial) and Hybrid inverters ranging from 3kW to 20kW. SOFARSOLAR is currently known to be one of the top 5 string inverter companies found throughout China. After breaking ground and gaining the reputation of being reliable, efficient, and professional, it has now become one of the famous companies in power storage inverters. Further, the brand you choose should have solar inverters suitable to the capacity of your solar plant. This is especially an important consideration for smaller residential solar projects.

For example, if you want to install a small system in your roof, SOFAR G3 may be better for you selecting. Its range is from 1kW to 3.3kW, which is specially designed for single phase systems. These inverters make PV systems in private households especially powerful. The most outstanding characteristic is its weight, which is only 5.3kg. So it can be easily and quickly installed. G3 inverters support 40% overload on DC side. And the efficiency is up to 97.7%. It can meet any challenge found on roofs, ensure maximum solar yields and reduce electricity costs. G3 inverters all support zero exporting function integrated. Its WiFi and GPRS dongles support six months data storage. SOFAR G3 inverters attracted the attention of large numbers of customers were they are showed in the exhibition. So your project capacity be decisive in selecting the correct solar inverter. Zhong QiZheng, vice president of Sofarsolar noted that service support available for the solar inverter is also important. As we know, Product quality and product service is inseparable. Prompt service is once of the most important things to consider before selecting your solar inverter.

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Given that most inverter manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do not allow you tinker with their products on site and a certified technician is required, it is important that your manufacturer has a good service network in your local area. In order to improve level and timely response to customers, Sofarsolar has built a long term relationship with its distributer in more than 60 countries, such as Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Vietnam, Korea, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Netherland, France, China etc. It is also important to understand if any distributor is maintaining repairs for your solar inverter in a nearby location. This ensures minimum downtime in case of any failures. Sofarsolar has built a strong competitiveness in product and service areas, which helps Sofarsolar becoming a well-known inverter brand in the PV market. Now, if you want to select the correct inverter, if you want to have the stable income,Sofarsolar inverter may be best choice for you.

FEBRUARY- 2020

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energy storage

The transition from Lead Acid battery to Lithium Ion battery: Why is the shift necessary? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Part 1 The gross development of any country is directly measured by its per capita energy consumption. Now with almost each nation trying to fall under the gamut of developing and further developed nation, the energy demand of the world is poised to increase. Estimates from the major research organization suggest that the world energy demand shall increase by more than 100% in the next 15~20 years. This means that the energy generation need to be ramped up in a similar fashion. However with the world focussing on renewables as a potential generation source and with the every altering energy requirements, both generation and consumption patterns around the world are changing at an imprecise rate.This directly means that the local and/or federal grid(s) may not always be able to accommodate such changes and the utilities need to source/dump additional energy to bridgethe generation and demand gap. Additionally with various government(s) around the world focussing on secure and reliable supply of electricity 24x7x365, the stage is set for energy storage (batteries to be more appropriate).

: Growing energy requirement of the world (Source: International Energy Agency) A battery in the simple terms could be defined as a device which stores and delivers electrical energy when required. It basically comprises a positive and a negative electrode separated by an electrolyte (a liquid/semi-solid medium).The electrodes are usually two dissimilar metal (or metal polymer) where chemical reaction takes place when the battery is in use. During discharging, the electrode with the high electron affinity will release electron (which is known as anode) and the electrode with the low electron affinity will gain electron (which is known as cathode). This electron would travel through the load and thus allowing the battery to supply energy.

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FEBRUARY 2020

Since the discovery and initial development of battery in the 18th century, various chemicals have been utilized to create batteries, which indirectlyled to various compositions. Out of all thosevariants, use of lead acid and lithium ion battery have been prominent. While lead acid have been dominant, the energy storage market is now observing a significant shift to lithium ion battery. For a novice, it is hence necessary to understand the basics of both the battery technology and their implied advantages. Further it is also necessary to have a complete understanding about the indicators which led such shift.

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energy storage Invented in early 1859 and put to commercial use in the early 19th century, Lead acid battery utilizes lead as a basematerial with the anode and cathode made up of lead & lead oxide respectively andmixture of sulphuric acid& water as an electrolyte.The battery utilizes chemical reaction between electrolyte and the cathode & anode to generate electricity. The amount of charge stored in/delivered by the battery depends on the concentration of the electrolyte and the area of the plate. While this was the basic chemistry, there were lot of variantsof lead acid battery as mentioned below: Flooded battery: These are the traditional batteries which allowed the end user to access each and every battery cell. Such access allowed the end users to refill distilled water if the battery dried out.These batteries were used mostly in automobiles (due to its ability to provide surge currents) and for emergency power backups. Sealed battery: The sealed battery is similar to flooded battery with only difference that the entire battery is sealed and the user does not have access to battery. This battery was popular amongst engine starting and limited deep cycle applications (i.e. applications requiring enhanced use of battery thus discharging at a deeper level). Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM): In this type, the separator in the lead acid battery was replaced by a glass fibre mat. This mat while allowed for electrical inter-connection also enabled the battery to easily transport gases during overcharging, instead of losing it to atmosphere.

Typical working of a battery (Source: Google)

Gel type battery: Here, the liquid electrolyte was completely replaced by a semi solid gel type electrolyte. This allowed the battery to be applicable in extreme conditions as the gel had lower freezing and higher boiling point. The gel type battery however were not capable of providing surge currents and were used most commonly in energy storage applications like off-grid systems. Valve Regulated Lead Acid battery (VRLA): Any of the above mentioned battery when they utilized valve for letting the excess gas out during charging were known as VRLA batteries.VRLA were utilized in power applications like off grid supplies, portable electrical devicesandapplications that require affordable large-scale power storage (like in conventional and nuclear submarines). While the applications of the lead acid battery were ubiquitous, the ever increasing need of energy in the late 19th century required the amount of storage to increase exponentially. The batteries while cheap had various shortfalls which led the world to explore alternative technologies: Heavy in weight: Probably one of the first limitations of the lead acid battery is its weight, which could be directly related to its specific energy density (refer to Figure 2). The lower specific energy density directly means that the battery would require more material if it needs to deliver same amount of energy. Inefficient charging/ discharging: Charging/ Discharging a lead acid battery needs more amount of energy and this is simply because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charging/ discharging efficiency is only around 85%. The (commercially used) newer battery technologies have charging efficiencies around 95%. Longer charging time: Another issue with charging a lead acid battery is its charging time. Typically charging a lead acid battery may follow a 20-80 rule, meaning charging the last 20% of the battery capacity may take 80% of the time. Limited life time: Cycle life or more commonly the life of the Lead acid battery technology is relatively shorter. A typical battery discharged to 50% of its capacity (from fully charged state) lasts for around 400 cycles. However, if these batteries were not fully charged (a case as mentioned above) and the cycle life reduces to below 350. Further increasing the DOD of lead acid battery would lower its life exponentially. This means that the applications like off â&#x20AC;&#x201C; grid, UPS may need a battery replacement between every 2/3 years, thus increasing the OPEX of the project. Limited communication capability: Applications like off-grid, grid energy storage and power plant storage in addition to deep discharging would also need the battery to communicate its typical characteristics like individual cell voltage, temperature, current, etc. during charging and/or discharging. The lead acid battery is not capable of providing such communication firstly and any efforts to develop the same would overshoot the cost of such instrument over the cost of the battery.

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Typical limitations of lead acid battery Toxic in nature: Lead is highly toxic metal and once the battery becomes inoperative, it is necessary to ensure its proper collection and eco-friendly recycling. If disposed without suitable measures, both lead and acid could produce a range of adverse health effects affecting the entire ecosystem around such disposal area.

While this article dealt with Lead acid batteries, its types, applications and their advantages, the next article would focus on lithium ion battery explaining its variants & advantages over lead acid battery which has enabled a steep shift towards the technology. Further it would also give readers an overview of the market scenario for lithium ion battery and its applicability in Indian scenario. Keep looking at this space for our next article. EQ

FEBRUARY- 2020

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research & analysis

Solar Installations to Grow by Additional 142 GW in 2020 – Seven Times the World’s Total Solar Installations a Decade Ago

FEBRUARY 2020

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LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global solar installations will continue double-digit growth rates into the new decade, according to the new 2020 Global Photovoltaic (PV) Demand Forecast by IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. New annual installations in 2020 will reach 142 gigawatts (GW), a 14 % rise over the previous year. The expected 142 gigawatts are seven times that of the entire capacity that had been installed by the start of the prior decade (20 GW in 2010). The growth has been substantial in terms of geographic reach as well. There were 7 countries with more than 1 GW of installed capacity in 2010, most of them confined to Europe. IHS Markit expects more than 43 countries to meet that threshold by the end of 2020.

Another year of double-digit global demand growth in 2020 is proof of the continued and exponential growth of solar PV installations in the last decade, said Edurne Zoco, director, Clean Technology & Renewables, IHS Markit. “If the 2010s were the decade of technology innovation, steep cost reductions, large subsidies and dominance by a few markets then 2020 marks the decade of emerging unsubsidized solar, diversification and expansion of solar installation demand across the globe, new corporate entry players and increasing competitiveness versus conventional energy sources.”

arge markets such as China will continue to have an outsized share of new installations into the foreseeable future. However, the overreliance on China for global solar installation growth will continue to decrease in coming years as more capacity is added elsewhere. Installations outside of China, the world’s leading market, grew by as much as 53% in 2019 and are expected to continue growing by double digits in 2020. Overall, the top 10 solar markets are expected to see their collective share of the market fall to 73 %, down from 94% in 2010.

China will remain in the preeminent position as the overall leader in solar installations. But this decade will see new markets emerging in South East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, said Zoco “Still, the major markets will continue to be critical for the development of the solar industry, especially as test beds of technological innovation, policy development and new business models.”

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Regional highlights from the IHS Markit 2020 Global Photovoltaic Demand Forecast:

China – Solar demand in 2020 will be lower than historic installation peaks of 50 GW in 2017. Demand in China is in a transitional phase as the market moves towards solar being unsubsidized and competing with other forms of generation and there is some lingering uncertainty while awaiting the release of the new 14th Five-Year Plan to be announced next year. United States – Installations are expected to grow 20% in 2020, consolidating the United States’ position as the world’s second largest market. California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and New York will be key drivers of U.S. demand growth over the next five years. Europe – After nearly doubling installations in 2019, Europe is expected yet to continue growing inn 2020, adding more than 24 GW—a 5% increase over 2019. Spain, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy and Ukraine will be leading sources of demand, accounting for 63% of total EU installations in the coming year. India – Following a flat year in 2019, due to policy uncertainties and the impact of import duties on solar cells and modules, installations are expected to grow again and surpass 14 GW in 2020. Lower module prices and a large pipeline of projects are expected to spur the return to growth.

FEBRUARY- 2020

business & Finance

SUSTAINABLE DEBT SEES RECORD ISSUANCE AT $465BN IN 2019, UP 78% FROM 2018

London and New York, January 8, 2020 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A new record was set in 2019 for the volume of sustainable debt issued globally in any one year, with the total hitting $465 billion globally, up a remarkable 78% from $261.4 billion in 2018. Last year also saw all-time, cumulative issuance of sustainable debt smash through the $1 trillion barrier, and reach $1.17 trillion by December 31, based on the latest figures of the comprehensive sustainable debt universe captured by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). 54Â

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Jonas Rooze, lead sustainability analyst at BNEF, commented: “Our data show sustainable finance continuing to power ahead on a global basis. The steep increase is fueled by end-investors’ concerns about the threat of climate change, and the desire of many big company, bank and government leaders to be seen as behaving responsibly.”

ustainable debt covers a variety of instruments, from the well-established area of green bonds to the fast-emerging category of sustainability-linked loans. Green bonds, constituting more than half of the entire sustainable debt market in 2019, saw $271 billion issued – up from $182 billion in 2018. Green bonds are securities with proceeds used entirely for environmentally friendly projects, like renewable generation or marine habitat conservation. BNEF also saw an almost-threefold increase in the volume of sustainability bonds issued last year, to a record $46 billion. “This is the biggest jump for sustainability bonds ever, showing interest from borrowers and investors in securities that combine support for both social and environmental activities,” said Mallory Rutigliano, green and sustainable finance analyst at BNEF. Some of the most spectacular growth of all is being seen in sustainability-linked loans, now the second most popular thematic debt type. This category, consisting of loans linked to the borrower’s performance on defined environmental, social or governance (ESG) criteria, enjoyed a 168% jump in volumes to $122 billion in 2019.

We have observed substantial growth in loan volumes, but also innovative financing mechanisms. To take one example, we’ve seen a loan for a renewable energy project, with the amount of interest charged linked to the gender equality performance of the company owning it. Sustainability-linked loans allow for new flexibility in how the proceeds of the loans are used and this has whetted the appetites of a wide variety of borrowers, said Rutigliano.

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A new sustainability-linked bond category was introduced in the last half of 2019. Enel, the Italian utility company, issued the four inaugural bonds in this category in September and October. The coupons on these securities are tied to Enel’s renewable energy generation goals. “This is another example of the creativity that has been a hallmark of the sustainability-themed debt market during its relatively short existence”, commented Rooze. Innovation of this kind is not unusual in Europe, which has pioneered the field, and still makes up 53% of the global market for all sustainable debt. In 2019, the EMEA region issued $262 billion worth, with AMER and APAC vying for second place with $95 billion and $80 billion, respectively. For yet another year, the mortgage financing organization Fannie Mae was the number one issuer of global sustainable debt, securitizing mortgages to the tune of $22.8 billion. Following this is the energy provider Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which issued a sustainabilitylinked loan for $10 billion (its first ever themed instrument of any kind) in December. The governments of the Netherlands and of France were notable sovereign issuers in 2019, together issuing $13.3 billion. BNEF will publish an in-depth review of the sustainable finance market in its semi-annual Sustainable Finance Market Outlook, due out later this month. BNEF subscribers can access sustainable finance research here (web | terminal). The BloombergNEF sustainable debt universe consists of green bonds, green loans, social bonds, and sustainability bonds that follow the use-of-proceeds requirements set by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Loan Market Association (LMA), as well as all sustainability-linked bonds and loans that follow the guidelines set by the LMA. BloombergNEF also breaks out a subset of this universe into core “principles-aligned” green bonds and loans that follow all ICMA and LMA recommendations, such as specific reporting or project selection criteria. Source: Bloomberg

FEBRUARY- 2020

Policy & regulations

Year End Review 2019 – Ministry of Power

Electrification of Approximately 2.6 Crores Households Achieved 3,71,985 Kms of LT Lines and 1,77,676 Kms of HT Lines (11 KV and 33 KV) Erected Guidelines Issued to all States/UTs to Convert Existing Meters into Smart Ones. more than 9 Lakh Smart Meters Installed. Availability of reliable and affordable energy is key for development of any country. Several steps have been taken to reform and strengthen the power sector as a whole including power generation, transmission & distribution. The details of year-long achievements for Ministry of Power are as below : Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA): Launched in Sept., 2017 with the objective to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households in rural and urban areas by 31st March, 2019

Rural Electricity Infrastructure (Including additional infrastructure created for household electrification under DDUGJY & Saubhagya) 1475 nos. new sub-stations commissioned 1658 nos. sub-stations augmented 4,92,181nos. distribution transformers installed 3,71,985Kms of LT lines and 1,77,676Kms of HT lines (11 KV and 33 KV) erected

Scheme Outlay: Rs. 16320 Crore including GOI Grant of Rs. 12320 Crore

1,00,318 Kms feeder separation completed

GOI Grant released : Rs. 5720 Crore

Consumers : 1.27 Crore Nos.

As on 31st March, 2019, all States reported electrification of all willing households under ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har GharYojana’ (Saubhagya), except few households in LWE affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

DistributionTransformers : 1,73,559Nos.

Electricity connections to 262.84 Lakh households have been released from 11.10.2017 to 31.03.2019. Subsequently, seven States reported 19.09 Lakh un-electrified households which were un-willing earlier but are now willing to get electricity connection. These households are being electrified by the concerned States and as on 20.12.2019, electricity connections to 7.42 Lakh Households have been released. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana (DDUGJY): 100% villages across the country stands electrified as on 28thApril, 2018. Total Scheme Outlay is Rs.75893 Crore (DDUGJY: Rs. 43033 crore and RE Component: Rs.32860 Crore) Projects with total cost of Rs. 43486 crore have been sanctioned in 32 States/UTs. Besides above, additional amount of Rs.14270 crore has been sanctioned for creation of additional infrastructure to support 100% household electrification. GoI Grant released (Including RE Component) Since 2014-15 – Rs.45174 Crore During 2019-20 (Up to 24.12.19) – Rs.3857 Crore

Metering.

Feeders : 11,425 Nos. Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS): Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) was launched in the year 2014 with an Outlay of Rs. 32,612 crore for improving and augmenting the distribution and sub-transmission systems in Urban areas with a view to improve reliability. Under the scheme, till today, system strengthening of subtransmission and distribution network has been in 371 circles. 560 additional urban Towns have been IT-enabled, and about 30,000 kms of HT/LT lines have been installed across 546 circles in the country. 820 new substations have been constructed, while more than 50,000 Distribution transformers have been installed. For better work flow management in the Utilities, IPDS has also funded Enterprise resource planning (ERP) across several Utilities, out of which implementation has been completed in 6 Utilities. Under the older projects subsumed under IPDS, till now, 1287 towns have been IT enabled, and SCADA systems have been completed in 57 towns. System strengthening works have been completed in 1195 towns. Significant progress has been made under the scheme in the current financial year with the physical progress of IPDS reaching almost 80% in the system strenghening works. The details of the works accomplished under IPDS in new projects in the current financial year are as follows:

Achievements as on 30.11.2019.

FEBRUARY 2020

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Policy & regulations Works Accomplished under IPDS in Current Financial Year

Smart Metering: In the current financial year, Ministry of Power has issued guidelines to all States to convert all existing consumer meters into Smart meters in prepaid mode. Operation of Smart meters in prepaid mode would allow consumers to pay as per their own financial convenience and electricity consumption requirements. EESL, a JV between CPSUs in the power sector, has been providing Smart metering services to various Utilities as per MOUs entered into with them. EESL has also established innovative financing arrangements for the Smart metering projects that would enable them to provide smart metering services to the DISCOMs without requiring any outright CAPEX funding from the States/Utilities. The recoveries against the funding towards smart metering installations would be taken as a monthly annuity from the Utilities over a period of seven to eight years.

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Apart from installations in NDMC for about 50,000 consumers, EESL has also started installation of Smart meters in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. Out of these States, the maximum installation is in the State of Uttar Pradesh, where more than 7.78 Lakh smart meters have already been deployed across 11 cities. More than 9 lakh smart meters have been installed in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, NDMC-Delhi and Andhra Pradesh as detailed below:

FEBRUARY- 2020

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Policy & regulations Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY):

Hydro

Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), a scheme for financial and operation turn around of Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) was launched by the Government for State owned Distribution Utilities on 20-11-2015 at a time when the outstanding debts and losses of the Distribution utilities had increased to levels that were adversely affecting the viability of the Power and Banking Sectors. The purpose of UDAY was to usher reforms across the Power and coal Sectors through competitive and cooperative federalism to pave the way for 24X7 affordable and reliable Power for all.

16% higher generation (120.7 BU) in 2019-20 (April ~ Nov.) from generation (103.9 BU) in 2018-19 (April ~ Nov.)

UDAY incorporated a slew of measures, including financial re-engineering measures, as well as operational improvement measures. Exemptions were given to the States to borrow outside the FRBM limits in order to enable them to take over 75% of the outstanding debts of DISCOMs, as existing on 30th November 2015. The scheme had two outcome parameters: (i) AT&C loss reduction to 15%; and (ii) ACSARR gap reduction to zero by March 2019. Due to the large scale of problems/ challenges in some States, as well as late joining, some States were given extension to complete the turn around process by one or two years

Revival of Teesta-VI (500 MW) project in Sikkim, which was stalled since December 2012 through NHPC’s take over of the project through NCLT bidding.

UDAY scheme is now in final stages, with majority of states having completed 3 years at the end of FY19. The performance from FY16 to FY18 (based on the data submitted by states on the UDAY portal) shows a consistent improvement in AT&C losses, and reduction in annual losses by almost 50% of pre-UDAY times. Significant improvements have been observed in terms of reduction in AT&C loss from 20.7% in FY16 to 18.2% in FY19. The lines losses have come down to below the levels of 20%, due to an increase in billing and collection of revenues, reduction in theft, and reduction in technical losses. States like Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur have increased the billing efficiency by ~ 8-10%. In many states, like Assam, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, collection efficiency has improved by more than 5%. Similarly, the gap between ACS and ARR has reduced from 59 paise per unit in FY16 to 27 paise per unit in FY19 due to cost side optimization measures including control in power purchase costs, and reduction in interest costs, and discipline in revision of tariff filings in most of the states. Half yearly trends of performance of UDAY States in FY20 indicate that the AT&C losses are lesser than those in the same period by 62 basis points, though there is a marginal deterioration in the revenue gaps. Variation in pattern of electricity consumption due to extent of heat and rainfall accounts for these variations. The Government of India is formulating additional reform frameworks to buttress the efforts under UDAY to achieve a complete financial and operational turn around of State owned Utilities.

FEBRUARY 2020

Mangdechhu hydropower project (720 MW) in Bhutan commissioned in August 2019 and inaugurated by Prime Minister on 17.08.2019 CCEA approval of Rs. 1600 crore in July 2019 for pre-investment activities of NHPC’s Dibang Multipurpose (2880 MW) project in Arunachal Pradesh, the largest hydropower project to be initiated in the country. Revival of Subansiri Lower (2000 MW) project in Arunachal Pradesh, the largest under construction hydropower project, which was stalled since December 2011 due to local unrest and NGT case, has been re-started after NGT case was dismissed on 31.07.2019 and local issues were resolved

On the advice of the Central Govt., the state governments of hydro-rich states of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have provided relaxations to reduce tariff of hydropower projects: Jammu & Kashmir has deferred free power, exempted water cess for 10 years and have given exemptions from local taxes to Kiru and Kwar Projects. Himachal Pradesh has also deferred free power, agreed for 50% reimbursement of State GST and for booking 1.5% LADF to any head other than project cost, BOOT/ BOOM for 70 years etc, with an objective to bring down hydro tariff below Rs. 4.5 per unit. On these lines, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh signed agreements with 3 CPSUs viz. NTPC, NHPC and SJVN for setting up 10 hydropower projects of 2917 MW on Chenab river entailing an investment of about Rs. 28,000 crore. Guidelines being prepared for operationalising the following measures to promote hydropower sector approved by the Union Cabinet on 07.03.2019 : Declaring Large Hydropower Projects (>25 MW) as Renewable Energy Hydropower Purchase Obligation(HPO) Tariff rationalisation measures Budgetary support for flood moderation component & Budgetary support for enabling infrastructure like bridges, roads etc. The saleability issues facing hydropower would be addressed through HPO, tariff rationalisation measures and budgetary support for flood moderation and enabling infrastructure like roads, bridges etc. Large Hydropower projects (>25 MW) would also become eligible for green funding after being categorised as renewable energy source. One Nation-One Grid-One Frequency: Expansion of ISTS transmission lines (220 kV and above) by 14,546 km. Transformation capacity addition of ISTS network by 74,910 MVA. Inter-Regional Transfer capacity of addition of 5,700 MW. MoP has approved implementation of ISTS transmission projects worth about Rs. 15,186 Cr under RTM/TBCB mode. Setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC): Eight REMCs have been commissioned in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre and Western Regional Load Centre during 2019. These REMCs would help in Grid integration of Renewable Energy by taking care of intermittency of RE generation and, facilitating real time forecasting, scheduling and real time tracking of Renewable Energy Generation. Restoration work during Odisha cyclone: Provided support by way of manpower, material and other support to the tune of Rs.11.48 crore for early restoration of transmission lines/ power system in the state of Odisha, which was badly affected by the cyclone ‘Fani’

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Policy & regulations

Important works done in Jammu & Kashmir: 220 kV Transmission Line/ System from Srinagar to Leh, via Drass and Kargil was commissioned in February, 2019, but due to collapse of a few towers during the avalanche was not fully functional. This was restored and made fully operational. Restoration of Kishenpur-New Wanpoh Transmission lines in J&K, affected by the recent snow storm in Kashmir, was completed under adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain. MoU signed and Work commenced in two CSR Projects in J&K at an estimated cost of Rs.5.78 crore. Improvement/ upgradation of inner link road at Wagoora. Upgradation of 10 Army Goodwill Schools in J&K. Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Khalsti-Leh transmission system: On 3rd February,2019, Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of lndia dedicated the 220kV Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Khalsti-Leh transmission system aimed at powering Kargil and Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir thereby, connecting these regions of lndia to the National Grid. MAHARATNA Status: Power Grid Corporation of lndia Limited (POWERGRID) has been conferred with the coveted Maharatna Status by the Government of India on 23.10.201 9. Power Rail Koyla Availability through Supply Harmony (PRAKASH) Portal: PRAKASH portal was launched on 03.10.2019. Benefits of Portal to the Stake-holders: On a single platform, the following information will be available: Coal company: Stocks and the coal requirement at power stations Indian Railways: Actual coal available at siding. Power stations can plan future schedule by knowing rakes in pipe line and expected time of receipt MoP/ MoC/Ministry of Railways/CEA/POSOCO can review the overall availability of thermal power in different regions and coal available for the same Information available on portal: Summary Dashboard: Summary of Generation, Coal receipt for power plants, Dispatch by Coal Company and Rake placement by Railways for month and financial year. Geo Status: Summary of power plant and siding details on Map of India. Reports: Following report will be available Daily Power Plant Status: Report gives Station data related to power generation, coal receipt, consumption and stock. Plant Exception Report: Report gives Station list having given stock on particular date. Periodic Power Plant Status: Report gives station data related to power generation, coal receipt, consumption and stock for selected period. Coal materialization based on dispatch by Coal Company is available. Coal Dispatch Report: Report gives subsidiary wise coal dispatch for particular period. It also gives source wise details of dispatch. Dispatch trend is also visible.

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Transport Sector: “Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles – Guidelines and Standards” were issued on 14.12.2018 which were subsequently revised on 01.10.2019. Public Charging Stations Installed by NTPC/EESL till December 2019: NTPC : 57 EESL : 65 Energy Efficiency in Industry Sector: After the completion of PAT 2 Cycle involving 621 designated consumers from 11 Sectors, BEE has undertaken monitoring and verification process. It is estimated that these 621 large consumers would achieve energy saving target of 9.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually which is equivalent to reduction of 35 million tonnes CO2 emissions for the country. National conclave on Enhancing Energy Efficiency in MSME’s held on 23-24th September,2019. Two new numbers of Energy Management Centres established in 2019. Energy Conservation Guidelines for MSME sector was published. Appliances Sector: After the completion of PAT 2 Cycle involving 621 designated consumers from 11 Sectors, BEE has undertaken monitoring and verification process. It is estimated that these 621 large consumers would achieve energy saving target of 9.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually which is equivalent to reduction of 35 million tonnes CO2 emissions for the country. National conclave on Enhancing Energy Efficiency in MSME’s held on 23-24th September,2019. Two new numbers of Energy Management Centres established in 2019. Energy Conservation Guidelines for MSME sector was published. Building Sector: ECBC has been notified by 15 States /UT till November, 2019. ECO-NIWAS Samhita (Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings) has been launched in December, 2018 and Star labelling of Homes was launched in February, 2019. Star-rating of commercial building is developed for office, BPO, shopping mall and hospitals.33 nos. of commercial buildings were awarded BEE star rating in 2019. An International Building Energy Conference – ANGAN (Augmenting Nature by Green Affordable New-habitat) with support from GIZ under IGEN (Indo-German Energy Program) organized on 9-11, September, 2019. “ECO-NIWAS” Portal (www.econiwas.com) for promoting energy efficiency in residential building sector launched to benefit construction of energy efficient homes.

FEBRUARY- 2020

Policy & regulations National Energy Conservation Awards and Painting Competition: Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been organizing school, state and national level painting competitions across the country every year. During 2019, over 84 lakhs students participated in these competitions and awards are to be given to the winners during the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day i.e. 14th December,2019. On this occasion 33 industrial units from various sectors were given awards for their excellent performance in energy efficiency. Altogether 355 units and establishments across the country participated in this year’s National Awards Programme and a total electrical saving of 10566 Million units and thermal Savings of about 2.40 milliontoe has been reported. This has resulted in CO2 emission reduction of 10.5 million tonnes. North Eastern states: Over 1 crore LED bulbs, 93,900 LED tube lights and 3.65 lakh energy efficient fans distributed under UJALA scheme. Over 1 lakh LED street lights installed under SLNP. Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA): Over 36.10 crore LED bulbs, 71.61 lakh LED tube lights and 23.10 lakh energy efficient fans distributed across the country. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 9,590 MW, estimated GHG emission reduction of 38 million t CO2 per year and estimated cost saving of INR 18,935 crore per year in electricity bills of consumers. Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP): Over 1 crore energy efficient LED streetlights have been installedacross the country. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 6.9 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 1,152 MW, estimated GHG emission reduction of 4.76 million t CO2per year and estimated annual cost saving of INR 2,686 crore in electricity bills of Municipalities. National E-Mobility Programme: Procurement process of 10,000 e-cars concluded. The price discovered for e-cars is 25 % less than similar cars in market. Till date,1510 e-cars deployed/under deployment for Government offices and 470 Captive Chargers (300 AC & 170 DC) commissioned in these offices. Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure: EESL is also installing Public Charging Stations to promote Electric vehicles. Till date, 65 nos. of Public Charging Stations (PCS) have been commissioned in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area. MoUs signed with multiple stakeholders across the country. Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP): Building energy efficiency project has been completed in 10,310 buildings including Railway stations and Airports. Agricultural Demand Side Management (AgDSM): Over73,600 energy efficient pumps have been installed in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Decentralized solar power plants: Decentralized solar power plant of60 MW cumulative capacity commissioned in the state of Maharashtra. Atal JyotiYojana (AJAY) and Solar Study Lamp scheme: Over 1.48 lakh Solar LED Street Lights commissioned in rural areas under AJAY and over 59.18 lakh Solar Study Lamps distributed to school going students under Solar Study Lamp scheme.

Ensuring Sustainability of Power Sector- Addressing issue of Payment delays by Discoms: The Central Government has taken a major step to address the problem of mounting outstanding dues towards Generating Companies by the Distribution Companies by issuing an Order on 28th June, 2019 regarding Opening and maintaining of adequate Letter of Credit (LC) as Payment Security Mechanism under Power Purchase Agreements by Distribution Licensees. This mechanism has been made effective w.e.f 1st August, 2019. Under this mechanism the Power will be scheduled for dispatch only after Letter of Credit (LC) for the desired quantum of power with respect to the generating stations has been opened. It shall be ensured by the concerned Load Despatch Centre that such entity, during the period of non-scheduling of power on account of Non opening of LC or advance payment, has no access to procure power from the Power Exchange(s) and they shall not be granted Short Term Open Access (STOA). The measure is expected to improve payments to the power generators and improve sustainability in the Power Sector. Measures towards reduction of cost of power to the consumer: In order to reduce the cost of power procured by the Distribution Licensees, a new system has been put in place where for Inter State Generating Stations (ISGS), the merit order dispatch at national level shall be followed. Hence the cheapest generation will be available at the maximum level. This is a step where for ISGS, the State level merit order has been shifted to National level merit order. This mechanism has resulted in savings of approximately Rs 3 Crores every day and has a potential of saving Rs 1200 Crores in a year towards power procurement cost of Distribution licensees. An Order was issued by Ministry of Power on 15.11.2019 on “Reduction in cost of power due to pre-payment in entire value chain of power sector”. Electricity Regulatory Commissions are requested to take necessary actions in reduction of cost due to pre payment as in such cases the working capital requirements get reduced. This initiative reduces the cost of power to the consumer. Promotion of Renewable Energy: In Order to promote the capacity addition of Solar and Wind Power Projects, the waiver available for use of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS transmission charges and losses) has been extended for use of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) for transmission of electricity by Solar or Wind power projects commissioned till December 2022. The waiver shall be applicable for the twenty five years from the commissioning of such projects. Clarification on Orders related to Renewable Purchase Obligation for Captive Power Plants (CPP) has been issued on 1st February 2019. Allowing use of linkage coal for short term power procurement and power exchanges: For the first time, linkage coal was allowed to Power Plants for selling power in the Day Ahead Market (DAM) through power exchanges or in short term through a transparent bidding process through Discovery of Efficient Energy Price (DEEP) portal. A methodology in this regard was issued by Ministry of Power on 2nd December 2019. Till now the Coal Linkage was granted to power generating stations only for selling power through long term and medium term power purchase agreements. This move shall de-stress the Power Generating Stations which have not secured long term or medium term power purchase agreements. Source: PIB

FEBRUARY 2020

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research & analysis

Energy transition: Renewables in India’s electric future India today is witnessing an energy trajectory that straddles multiple imperatives: Sustainability, energy access for 1.35 billion people and energy self-sufficiency while establishing and sustaining viable economic growth. In response, the economy has embraced renewable energy at a scale and pace unprecedented in its history. Led by solar energy, the country has already reached the halfway mark of its 175-gigawatt (GW) installed renewable capacity goal.

sustainable energy future also entails a switch to electricity, the cleanest fuel at point of use. While renewables excel in generating clean electricity for consumer use (e.g. household electricity), economy-wide electrification, i.e. the decarbonisation of industry at large, poses another challenge. Therefore, while electrification and renewables are the twin imperatives of a sustainable energy future, the question is whether they can deliver the certainty that India’s socioeconomic growth needs. When the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, power generation can come to a halt. This intermittency allows for coal to have a sustained role as a baseload source of power. While the government aims to achieve as much as 350 GW to 500 GW [1] of renewable energy by 2030, coal will remain the major fuel source for electricity generation in India. The diminishing role of coal, achieved by exploiting the commercial attractiveness of solar energy is being witnessed nationally.

According to a research report released in November 2019 by KPMG in India, renewables intermittency — the primary hindrance of renewables — is being globally addressed through a variety of technologies and business models. A combination of conventional generators, balancing through the power markets and battery storage have begun to prove their merit. In the last year alone, Germany, Portugal, and Denmark were powered by a significant volume of renewables [2] — almost 100 per cent for some time periods. A 100 per cent renewable energy scenario is possible for India as well, according to a special issue on storage published for the 11th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES 2017) in Düsseldorf, Germany. “The demand for storage technologies in energy transition pathways towards 100 per cent renewable energy for India,” [3]. Using an hourly resolved simulation model, the report’s author posits that 100 per cent renewable energy penetration is possible in India, subject to low-cost support of batteries. Furthermore, KPMG in India, in a modelling exercise conducted for states leading in renewable generation, also confirmed that renewable energy penetration of 30 per cent to 40 per cent, in energy terms, is eminently possible by 2025. Synchronously operated, India’s electricity grid enables the resilience and flexibility that renewable energy will need. Moreover, making renewable penetration mainstream will also necessitate storage requirements (battery, pumped hydro, other alternative forms). The prices of battery storage, a vital lever in the energy transition are anticipated to decline. This builds a strong case to promote battery storage through a policy push. Along with exploring the potential of indigenous battery research and manufacturing, pumped hydro also presents an attractive avenue for future-ready energy systems.

Source: KPMG

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FEBRUARY- 2020

distributed solar

Growth of Renewable Solar Rooftop Energy in India At a time when the world is facing global warming and the burden on natural resources is increasing. Now, World is now switching towards cleaner form of energies. Renewable solar roof top is one of them. Most developed economies of the world have started their solar Programmes by targeting household rooftops. Solar power has reached grid parity and is the cheapest source of distributed power across the world. The centre has been upward revising renewable targets every few years. Major research agencies have also deeply underestimated the renewable capacity addition over the last 10 years. India has still not realized its potential for renewable energy addition fully. India has almost reached 10% installed capacity with renewable in November 2019.

olar as a technology is ideally adapted to the distributed concept. Many countries have used large-scale solar installations in an effort to quickly achieve scale and simultaneously push down costs. In India, this focus on large utility-scale solar seems to have become an unintended obstruction in the development of the rooftop segment. There are different stakeholders in the solar sector such as Consumers, system integrators, suppliers and financing institutions. Government has taken many steps to popularize the solar roof top installation in commercial as well as in domestic households. Some policies and changes, like the recent

FEBRUARY 2020

notification on making the AC capacity of a solar power plant as the primary capacity metric is helping to boost the industry. The renewable voice is growing louder among all stakeholders. DISCOMS have become the additional advantage of using their distribution transformer capacities more efficiently by enabling small scale distributed power producers. DISCOMS have become an active player in helping to deploy distributed solar. India has one of the highest power transmission and distribution loss metrics in the world. Distributed generation solves this issue with the common point of generation and consumption.

Today, India also needs to move from a power producer to a raw material producer. The manufacturing capacity of all solar system components has not grown and India is a laggard in this matter. Though many improvements have been done over the last 2-3 years. Many state governments have also taken a short sighted view and are facing a ‘buyer’s remorse’ in a falling capex market.

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distributed solar Now, unsubsidized solar has reached grid parity or dare and have become a no brainer for industries to adopt as a long term low risk investment with a cushion against rising electricity costs. Capital subsidies are no longer needed in the industry and the subsidies, if any, should be higher in the value chain like manufacturing. But there are many challenges which are still there in the market and need to be solved. Uneven and constantly changing state policies have created confusion in a market which is already technologically unclear in a consumers mind leading to a rampant decision paralysis. System integrators have to bear the brunt of this since their sales lead cycled and business development costs skyrocket. A single centrally controlled policy needs to be implemented. Insufficient land or roof area is another issue which every consumer faces. Improvement in the plant efficiencies over the last 10 years have been significant in ensuring that the kWh generated per square feet keep improving. Solar power plants installation companies have come a long way today with 400 Wp becoming the new normal now. This is direct 4x jump on the land use efficiency in 10 years. With commercially viable bi-facial technologies around the corner, this number will jump to 500 Wp within 12-18 months. A higher Wp per Square foot has an added advantage of reduced Balance of System costs, which will push the industry and will help to grow the market in different sectors.

Many measure which still needs to be taken to support the renewable solar rooftop plants in India. Emerging technologies like storage have to be adopted early in India and manufacturing for the same has to be started early. The next revolution in renewable will be in the storage segment and by 2022 storage is slated to be the enabler for the next 100 GW of renewable in India. Distributed generation and storage will change the way people depend on the grid for their everyday power needs. Energy independence will become a new norm. It is the result that even common people are also acknowledging rooftop solar power energies. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young and energetic population will adapt to and digest this new technology in no time. Recent studies by international research agencies have declared India to be the cheapest solar market of the world. The transition from a cool to prudent technology has been great till now. It is the time to make this from prudent to dependable over the next 5 years. So that country will fully dependent upon the renewable solar energy and lead towards a better future.

AUTHOR

Mr. Puneet Goyal www.EQMagPro.com

Co-Founder, SunAlpha Energy Pvt. Ltd. is a solar company providing turnkey EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) services along with CMC (Comprehensive Maintenance Contract) services to Industrial, Commercial & Residential consumers across India and aboard, based out of Jaipur.

FEBRUARY- 2020

63Â

research & analysis

Research shows India will need 125,000 km2 land to achieve its

Renewable targets According to The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) research the land required ranges from approximately 55,000 to 125,000 km2, or areas roughly the size of Himachal Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, respectively. This much land is likely to impact 6700–11,900 km2 of forest land and 24,100–55,700 km2 of agricultural land. These losses could cause environmental and social conflicts, jeopardize financial investment, and in turn slow the expansion of renewable energy in the country. TNC analyses also show that to achieve India’s goals, wastelands present a better solution which is more than 10 times what is needed.

FEBRUARY 2020

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Research & analysis

A new research article, “Renewable Energy and Land Use in India: A Vision to Facilitate Sustainable Development”, published in the scientific journal, Sustainability, shows that total land footprint needed to meet India’s renewable energy targets is large, ranging from approximately 55,000 to 125,000 km2, or areas roughly the size of Himachal Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, respectively.

f renewable energy development proceeds with the singular aim of maximizing resource potential, approximately 6700–11,900 km2 of forest land and 24,100–55,700 km2 of agricultural land could be impacted at various scales. These losses could cause environmental and social conflicts, jeopardize financial investment, and in turn slow the expansion of renewable energy in the country. The Nature Conservancy analyses also show that there is ample opportunity (more than 10 times what is needed) to achieve India’s solar and wind goals on converted lands, which are likely to have lower biodiversity or agricultural values. 27% India’s 329 million hectares are classified as wasteland, that is enough for renewable goals deployment.

The research demonstrates that it is possible for India to meet the lofty renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022 by placing renewable energy infrastructure on already degraded lands that have lower potential conflict. This is a significant opportunity as our country scales up renewable energy production and may lead to faster renewable energy project implementation, lower project costs, and increased energy access. India has made the ambitious commitment to increase renewable energy production to 175 GW by 2022. Recently, at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pledge to increase India’s renewable energy target to 450 GW to reduce India’s dependency on fossil fuel for energy and to combat climate change.

To achieve this target, one of the biggest obstacles is acquiring land for establishing infrastructure for renewable energy. Since proliferation of rooftop solar has been slow in India and solar development to date largely consists of ground-mounted solar, the aim of this study was to quantify the potential impacts to existing agricultural and natural lands from renewable energy development. The study also assessed if the 2022 goals can be met if the renewable energy development was constrained to lands already converted or degraded by human activities. This is the first study to have examined the potential impacts to existing agricultural and natural lands from renewable energy development if it is sited without the consideration of existing land use. The research, conducted by The Nature Conservancy and the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), demonstrates that there is an opportunity to minimize this hurdle. Developing energy projects on lands already degraded by human activities rather than placing new infrastructure within natural habitats or areas of high agricultural production would reduce the cumulative impacts on land and minimize land use conflicts. The good news is that India’s already degraded lands have the potential to generate more than 10 times our 2022 renewable energy target. Targeting renewable energy to already degraded areas with lower potential conflicts will not only help India achieve clean energy targets, but also maintain food security and protect biodiversity. Focusing development in this manner has the potential to reduce land conflicts, facilitating project timelines and reducing project cost as a result of reduced related risk. Proactively developing India’s future renewable energy projects on these lower-impact lands is a win-win for development and conservation. Source: edelman

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FEBRUARY- 2020

technology

Artificial Intelligence: Disrupting the Energy Sector for the Better Today’s supercomputing semiconductor chips can execute thousands of calculations at once. And they do it at speeds of billions of times per second. This means energy, engineering, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications and transportation are all benefitting in some form from AI. In 2017, the global AI market was worth $126 billion. But by 2024, the AI market could hit more than $3 trillion. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.1%! And the kind of investment I’m constantly on the lookout for. AI’s ability to use machine learning is nothing short of electronic magic. This technology has the ability to analyze new and old data, make predictions, and exercise control over plant operations. But AI can go even further. It can make decisions regarding overall plant operations.

AI Use in Power Plants

Where does all the data that AI uses come from? In a word, sensors. The electronic sensor market has seen plenty of technological advances. This has resulted in many more sensors in use today in every manufacturing and service industry. The sensor market is forecast to grow to $241 billion by 2022. That’s a CAGR of 11.3%. Sensors have given AI a whole new world of data from sources that didn’t exist a decade ago.

FEBRUARY 2020

This can be seen in the power generation market. A typical 1 gigawatt (GW) fossil fuel power plant generates about 10,000 data streams. Compare that with a wind farm of similar size. It produces about 51,000 data streams. But solar takes the data stream cake. A 1 GW solar farm generates 439,000 unique data streams. As you can see, solar and wind farms generate huge amounts of data. And AI is using that data to reduce one of the biggest costs a power plant has: maintenance and operations labor costs. AI can detect anomalies and issues that humans would miss. So, for example, if one of five solar farms is operating 5% below nominal performance, AI can detect this through data analysis.

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technology

AI can also create algorithms via machine learning that spot inconsistencies in performance. It can predict – with great accuracy – when individual panels or inverters are going to fail. Maintenance personnel can then easily swap out the affected device. But maintaining generation resources isn’t the only thing AI is good at. AI also helps to balance generation resources and loads in real time. Remember, solar and wind are intermittent power sources. The power they produce is directly related to the amount of sunshine and wind speed present on any given day. This presents problems for grid managers. They need to adjust other sources to make up the difference. But AI looks at the time of day, region of operation, season of the year and weather. It uses that information to predict when more power will be needed and for how long.

AI Advancements in Renewable Energy One of the great benefits of technology is that it’s constantly in a state of advancement. That means solar and wind are going to see plenty of AI advancements. These include: Robots: These will be flying and crawling all over solar and wind installations. Remote inspection by robots will be commonplace in just a few years.

Planning: AI will accelerate due diligence for human planners. This will reduce the thousands of hours spent on projects. Supply chain optimization: Automated assembly and delivery will create new efficiencies in the renewable supply chain. I’m excited about AI and renewables coming together. There are several companies trying to make AI easier to use for the energy sector. Unfortunately, they aren’t public… yet. Two of them have plans to IPO in 2020. I’ll keep you posted. Source: investmentu

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FEBRUARY- 2020

opinion

Renewable energy: Curtailment is a bane that must be done away with ‘Curtailment’ of power generated by wind and solar projects is a persistent problem for renewable energy (RE) developers in India despite a ‘must-run’ assurance in regulation. ‘Curtailment’ refers to an action under which off-take (flow) of the generated power is restricted or denied, resulting in the decrease of a plant’s output. ‘Must-run’ means that utilities, state load dispatch centres (SLDCs) and distribution companies (discoms) have to prioritise the evacuation of the generated power from renewable energy.

FEBRUARY 2020

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opinion

ata showing curtailment is not available in the public domain due to a lack of transparency on the part of SLDCs and discoms. Industry observers estimated curtailment at 1-5 per cent for solar power. But developers claim it to be much worse. For instance, data shared by National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) for Wardha Solar’s Nalwar Project in Karnataka for June 2019 points to an average curtailment of nine hours daily. Evidence from other projects, such as three solar projects in Tamil Nadu — Phoebus, Aadhavan and Adityashakti — owned and operated by the Greenko Group for 2017, shows curtailment to be up to 100 per cent on several days during the peak summer months of June and July. This leads to substantial losses as developers do not fully account for them, while bidding for projects. In the absence of a restitution mechanism for such losses, the viability of projects becomes challenging, especially as RE companies operate with thin margins and small capital.

Violation of ‘must-run’ RE status The Indian Electricity Grid Code 2010 asks SLDCs to prioritise scheduling of renewable power over other generators / sources to incentivise green energy projects, unless there are technical constraints (eg, congestion or unavailability). SLDCs were allowed to back down / cut down RE power only after exhausting all options, including running thermal power plants at a technical minimum plant load factor of 55 per cent, and it should be done equitably. Inadequate grid availability has been a concern in RE-rich states. In Tamil Nadu, which houses India’s largest wind capacity of 9.2 gigawatt, wind power generation increases significantly during the monsoon when demand for power dips. The intra-state grid is unable to accommodate the excess generation due to low demand and can’t transmit it out due to limited inter-connections with the national grid, leading to heavy curtailment. Curtailment for wind power plants averaged around 30-35 per cent of generation in peak season during 2012-15; it averages at 20-25 per cent currently, said an official requesting anonymity of Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association, which operates several wind farms in the state. Even for a conservative figure of 15 per cent, the back down translates to an annual loss of 2,000 to 2,500 Million Units (MUs). Aggregate wind generation data for Tamil Nadu for the peak wind generation period of April-September shows a continuous decline in capacity utilisation factor (CUF) over the past four years. This implies that while installed generation capacity has increased, actual generation has decreased — pointing to generation curtailment. SLDCs often do this in the garb of grid security, pushed by commercial interests of discoms. There is a reluctance to back down thermal plants to accommodate RE generation due to the two-part tariff mechanism, under which thermal plants have to be paid fixed charges on the basis of availability despite no scheduling. RE power is also asked to back down in favour of cheaper sources, such as power exchanges.

Rampant ‘illegal’ curtailment Quantifying reasons for curtailment has been difficult due to the inadequacy of data and lack of transparency. However, there is some evidence emerging of ‘illegal’ curtailment put forth by RE industry associations:

Curtailment despite grid availability Violating the ‘must-run’ status of RE plants, SLDCs have been curtailing RE generation despite adequate grid availability. NSEFI in a letter sent to the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation on June 17, 2019, presented information on curtailment from solar plants operated by Wardha Solar, Parampujya Solar Energy and Adani Green Energy that showed grid availability to be adequate during most curtailment instances.

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Higher curtailment of older ‘expensive’ projects Developers allege that while curtailment is rampant and affects all projects, older wind and solar projects with higher tariffs are curtailed more than the new ones supplying power at lower tariffs. As evidence, NSEFI provided curtailment data from March to August 2017 for five projects in Tamil Nadu, including three supplying power at Rs 7.01 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and two at Rs 5.10 per unit. While curtailment from cheaper projects remained near zero, the other three faced curtailment of over 50 per cent on a number of days.

Curtailment due to PPA dispute The RE sector in Andhra Pradesh has been in flux since the state government announced its decision to renegotiate ‘expensive’ wind and solar power purchase agreements (PPA). Following this, the SLDC has been indiscriminately curtailing power generation.

“Solar power projects in Andhra Pradesh are suffering unprecedented, continuous curtailment to the order of 60-70 per cent since July 2019, as backing down instructions are being issued by Andhra Pradesh SLDC,” NSEFI wrote to the Union Ministry of Power in October 2019, requesting its immediate intervention. This continued despite intervention from the high court at Amaravati, which in an April 2019 order asked the SLDC and APTRANSCO — the state’s main power generator — to stop curtailment from solar and wind energy projects.

Threating RE future RE curtailment is persistent and efforts to reduce it seem to slow. The government has focussed on several measures to increase grid flexibility to prepare for increased RE penetration, such as increasing flexibility of coal-based power plants, enlarging geographic and electrical balancing areas, expanding transmission in strategic locations, and installing grid-scale storage systems. The government also planned to update grid management techniques, with the introduction of forecasting and scheduling mechanisms and deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) across states. Attention has also been given to developing real-time market (RTM) for electricity to improve grid reliability and optimise operations, particularly as the share of variable RE in the generation mix increases. Ancillary services have already been introduced and are planned to be scaled up. Implementation of such technical and policy measures, however, remain mostly at a draft / discussion stage, especially at the state level. Meanwhile, there has been limited acknowledgement from central and state governments about the commercial motives behind curtailment. Developers have increasingly voiced their concerns through associations and approached regulators and courts, which has yielded some results. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, for the first time, pulled up the SLDC for curtailment in an April 2019 order issued in response to a 2017 petition of the NSEFI. The SLDC was asked to submit a quarterly report of curtailed RE generation with clearly documented reasons for each back down order, and told that “any whimsical backing down instruction would attract penal action under Section 142 of the Electricity Act, 2003 on concerned officials.”

Source: downtoearth.org.in

FEBRUARY- 2020

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