EQ Jan 2021 - 12th Anniversary Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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JANUARY- 2021

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CONT EN T

VOLUME 13 Issue #01

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

india India plans entry into post-2030 green hydrogen market

renewable Energy Why investing in nature is key to climate mitigation

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.

featured

Solis Makes A Point, With 1 GW Milestone In India

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business & Finance

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India’s energy growth story will be driven by renewable energy: Amitabh Kant

Jinchen , Waaree signed 3GW high-efficiency PV module line

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international Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy tap hydrogen boom in wind alliance

electric vehicle Apple to invest $3.6 billion in Kia to make EVs

technology interview

Mr. Parag Sharma

JA Solar Bifacial Double-glass Modules Increases Energy Yield by 23% in Comparison Test Conducted by TÜV Rheinland

interview

Mr. Brijesh Prajapati

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Mr. Ravi Khanna

interview

Mr. Santosh Khatelsal

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interview

Mr. Anup Isaac

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EQ Int’l Magazine is India’s Premium and Oldest Solar & Renewable Energy Magazine Since 2009 having a print run of 20,000 Copies/Monthly, Readership of 80,000. EQ’s Digital presence is unparalleled with its Magazine viewed by over 100,000+ professionals in Digital Format every month (On Browser, Tablet, SmartPhone, etc...). Its unrivaled daily e-Newsletter and most visited website <www.EQMagPro.com> has lakhs of viewers and visitors daily. We provide various Medium and Tools to get the Highest Possible Visibility which we call the 365 Days, 24*7 Visibility Solution through the 360 Degree Approach. Print, Digital, Website, e-Newsletters, Conferences, Events & Video Content.

JANUARY- 2021

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Floating solar project at Omkareshwar to begin power generation by 2022-23 The world’s largest floating 600 MW solar energy project to be constructed at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada river in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh will begin power generation by year 2022-23. The estimated investment in this project stands at Rs 3,000 crore, said an official release quoting the state’s new and renewable energy minister Hardeep Singh Dang

The International Finance Corporation, World Bank and Power Grid have granted in-principle consent for providing aid for the said project development. The primary feasibility study of the project has been completed in collaboration with the World Bank. The project is likely to begin power generation by year 2022-23, the minister said. Dang said that the work of transmission line route survey will begin from the project area to Khandwa sub-station by power grid this month. Tender for the study of environmental and social impact of the project area is also being issued. Power Management Company has agreed to purchase 400 MW power from the project, he said. The project will have floating solar panels of 600 MW power generation capacity in the backwaters of Omkareshwar dam. It is estimated that in 2 years, the project will start providing cheap and good quality power. Electricity will be produced in about 2000-hectare water area by installing solar panels in the dam. Solar panels will float on the surface of the water in the reservoir, the release said. When the water level of the dam is low, it will automatically adjust upwards and downwards. Strong waves and floods will have no effect on them. The sun’s rays will continue to produce electricity, it added.

Switch to S lar Energy Award in 2020

PV Module Tech India 2020 Awards

INAH-2500

PV Module Tech 2020

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enPossibilities and JA Solar enters into strategic relationship with signing of distributorship agreement for selling high-performance PV modules in India Founded in 2005, JA Solar is a vertically integrated manufacturer of ingots, wafers, cells and modules, it is one of the leading global companies in the PV industry.

ith an objective of deeper market penetration and larger market share in Indian solar industry, JA Solar recognizes that it needs to strengthen its reach to local installers, which could be best achieved by having strategic collaboration with ambitious and professional distributor partners. JA Solar is pleased to announce its strategic collaboration with enPossibilities Private Limited, one of the leading distributors of solar products in India. The two companies have entered into an agreement earlier this month, which will enable enPossibilities to keep inventory of and distribute JA Solar modules across India. This partnership bridges the gap between best quality solar modules to installers across India. enPossibilities will be able to supply high-performanceJA Solar modules to its customers in India. The product training to enPossibilities team was held on November 19th, 2020 in Bengaluru, marked the start of the collaboration between the Indian wholesaler and the global manufacturer. During the event, enPossibilities team members got in-depth product details, technical training directly from JA Solar experts. enPossibilities’s first consignment of JA Solar modules shall be reaching India for distribution mid of December 2020.

JA Solar modules advantages at a glance: World-leading player in solar cells technology and solar modules technology. The most advanced PV cells and modules production line. Strict module BOM selection, higher reliability.

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High conversion efficiency The PV modules use the high efficiency Ptype mono PERC cells, and the mass production efficiency PERC cell reaches ~23%. The PV modules can integrate the half-cell technology, MBB cell technology, bifacial technology, etc. High yield performance. Outstanding performance under low-irradiance conditions and high temperature conditions. High reliability Lower power degradation (LID) and excellent Anti-PID performance. Lower LCOE

We evaluated best global suppliers of high-performance solar modules, and have decided to go ahead with JA Solar because of the unanimous positive feedback that we received from industry leaders on JA Solar products’ performance. JA Solar modules also complement well with our existing product range. The combo deal with string inverters and JA Solar modules shall add significant value to our offerings. Our customers will have easier access to high efficiency products and can expect exceptionally good yield from their project, which shall result in maximum return on investments for them. Manish Asija, Director of enPossibilities Private Limited , said.

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india

India plans entry into post2030 green hydrogen market The report from the independent research organisation estimates that by 2030 the costs of hydrogen from renewables in India will fall by more than 50% and will start to compete with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. Moreover, with this cost reduction and with the imperative to decarbonise the economy, hydrogen demand in India could increase by at least five-fold by 2050, with about 80% of it ‘green’, according to the report.

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ydrogen demand currently is around 6Mt per annum for ammonia and methanol for industry sectors such as fertilisers and refineries. By 2050 this could increase to around 28Mt, primarily with the growing demand from industry but also with expansion into the transport and power sectors. The report states that several leaders are emerging in the hydrogen sector, including Japan, the European Union and China. But a window of opportunity still remains for India to capture large parts of this market, using the advantage of a large domestic market, competitiveness of green hydrogen and low-cost labour. With industry the major user, this is obviously the first sector in which hydrogen will become cost competitive with fossil fuels in India. However by 2040, hydrogen could become cost-effective for providing long duration storage in a high variable renewable electricity system. Prior to this date the need will be minimal as the wind and solar generation is unlikely to reach sufficient penetration. In the transport sector, battery electric vehicles, with improvements in battery technologies, are likely to dominate the smaller, shorter range passenger vehicles. The role of hydrogen is set to be limited to long distance and heavy duty applications, with its growing cost competitiveness during the 2030s.

Accelerating hydrogen in India The report says that a step-change in government policy and business actions is required to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen technologies in India. This includes greater cross-sector coordination within the government and a shift from early-stage R&D programmes towards later-stage commercialisation support. The country also should be proactive in manufacturing electrolysers to produce green hydrogen. The government should set targets for electrolyser deployment by 2030 and facilitate companies to establish electrolyser manufacturing facilities in India. To ensure that low carbon hydrogen is favoured over high emission alternatives, an emissions penalty could be introduced at some stage, either in the form of more stringent regulations or a carbon tax. Green product standards also should be introduced. “The falling cost of hydrogen will drive its uptake, with initial scale-up being driven by collaborations between progressive public and private players,” says Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of TERI. “India has an opportunity to grow an economically competitive low carbon hydrogen sector that can spur job growth reduce energy imports, whilst drastically reducing emissions.” The report estimates that with the scale up of domestic green hydrogen use, annual energy imports could be reduced by around 120Mtoe – around 20% of today’s final consumption – with cost savings of Rs.50,000 Cr ($20 billion).

JANUARY- 2021

india

Tata Power bags LoA for solar project from KSEBL

Tata Power said that the energy will be supplied to Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEBL) under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date. The firm won this capacity in a bid announced by KSEBL in September 2020. The project, worth approximately Rs 488 crore, is to be commissioned within 18 months from the date of execution of the PPA.

he plant is expected to generate about 274 million units (MUs) of energy per year and will annually offset approximately 274 million Kg of CO2. With this, Tata Power Co.’s renewable capacity will increase to 4,032 mega-watt (MW), out of which 2,667 MW is operational and 1,365 MW is under implementation including 110 MW won under this LoA. The announcement was made during market hours. Shares of Tata Power fell 0.36% to Rs 82.15. Tata Power is one of India’s largest integrated power company and together with its subsidiaries & jointly controlled entities, it has an installed/ managed capacity of 12,772 MW. On a consolidated basis, the power utility’s net profit rose 5.7% to Rs 370.93 crore on 8% increase in net sales to Rs 8,289.81 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Hybrid renewable tariffs likely to continue at premium, says Ind-Ra

The upcoming wind-solar hybrid auctions will spark cautious optimism among independent power producers, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued tariff-based competitive bidding guidelines for power procurement from grid-connected solar-wind hybrid projects during October 2020.

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he move is aimed at promoting large grid-connected wind-solar hybrid systems for optimal and efficient utilisation of transmission infrastructure and land, and thus reduce the variability in renewable power generation and achieve better grid stability. However, said Ind-Ra, technical complexities related to grid integration and inclusion of floor capacity proportion of wind projects (at least 33 per cent of the total contracted capacity) in hybrid mix could weigh on project economics and tariff assumptions. This is despite the competitive bidding guidelines addressing many of the issues hampering the growth of hybrid projects in the past, it added. On the contrary, standalone renewable auctions (especially solar) are likely to garner higher interest on account of developing comfort around photovoltaic technology, improving in panel efficiency, lower volatility in generation, increasing economies of scale and decreasing operating costs.

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Ind-Ra said there are a limited number of independent power producers with equal capabilities to execute both solar and wind projects on this scale, which reduces competition. If located in the most resource-rich areas, hybrid projects at the tariffs discovered so far are likely to provide better returns than standalone solar and wind, making a good case for investments in them compared to commoditised standalone solar and wind projects. Round-the-clock renewable power will be vital if the country has to increase its dependence on renewables and meet the ambitious target of achieving 450GW of renewable energy by 2030. Hybrid power, whether a combination of just renewables or an optimal combination of renewables backed by conventional power, is surely a step in the right direction, said Ind-Ra. While the initial response to hybrid power auctions had been muted, Ind-Ra expects the interest to pick-up as more developers become comfortable with both solar and wind.

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India’s energy growth story will be driven by renewable energy: Amitabh Kant Emphasising on zero carbon emissions to get rid of pollution in cities, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Ayog, said India’s energy growth story will be driven by renewable energy in the coming future.

After the industry and residential sector, the transportation sector is the third-largest energy consumer. In India, 17% of which is largely dominated by oil fuels. India’s energy growth story will be driven by renewable energy in the coming future. With the focus on the Paris Pact in getting rid of air pollution in our cities, it is inevitable that we shift to zero carbon emissions, mobility powered by renewable sources of energy, said Kant during the virtual launch of the Tata Motors and Pune-based Repos Energy Startup Summit 2021. Kant said the combination of solar and zero-emission mobility will greatly reduce the well-to-wheel emissions of transportation and help reap maximum benefits of zero-emission mobility.

Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry Of Petroleum & Natural Gas, said the energy needs of our country are ever-growing. “There is an energy transition taking place from coal to oil or gas and then the second part is moving from all types of fossil fuels towards renewable energy. In order to make this happen, we have to look at what can be produced within India. So we have to look at sources like biofuel in a very big way,” Kapoor said.

Founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, said, “This is time for innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to come up with indigenous ways of doing things so that there are more and more solutions to existing problems for not just our country but the entire world.

NHPC signs Definitive Agreement for implementation of Approved Resolution Plan for takeover of 120 MW Rangit-IV HE Project of JPCL in Sikkim NHPC Limited, India’s premier hydropower company and a PSU under Ministry of Power, has signed Definitive Agreement on 13th January 2021 for implementation of the Approved Resolution Plan for takeover of 120 MW Rangit-IV HE Project of Jalpower Corporation Limited (JPCL) in Sikkim.

he agreement was signed between NHPC, Resolution Professional and Secured Financial Creditors (PFC and PNB) in presence of Shri Y.K. Chaubey, Director(Tech) NHPC, Shri R.P. Goyal, Director (Finance) NHPC and senior officers from NHPC and PFC. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Hyderabad bench approved NHPC’s Resolution Plan for taking over Jalpower Corporation Limited (JPCL) as going concern vide its order dated 24.12.2020. NHPC had submitted its Resolution Plan and was declared the successful resolution applicant by Committee of Creditors (CoC) on 24.01. 2020.

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CoC approved Resolution Plan was filed by Resolution Professional with Hon’ble NCLT Hyderabad Bench on 28.01.2020. The total cost of the project is estimated as Rs.943.20 Crore. Jalpower Corporation Limited is the second company after LancoTeesta Hydro Power Ltd (LTHPL) to be acquired through NCLT process by NHPC.

JANUARY- 2021

india

Rajasthan ready to lead India’s renewable energy march to 450 GW: Rajasthan Minister of Energy

At a webinar organized to discuss opportunities in Rajasthan’s renewable energy sector, Rajasthan’s Minister for Energy, Shri B. D Kalla said that the state is looking to lead the charge as India steps forward to achieve its ambitious target of installing 450 GW of renewable energy. The minister was speaking at a webinar organized by ReNew foundation, the philanthropic arm of ReNew Power on the future of Rajasthan’s renewable energy sector. The webinar was titled Rajasthan – Driving the next phase of growth in India’s renewable energy sector.

he webinarwas the first in a series of state focused discussionsbeing organized by ReNew Foundation and featured, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, ShriBabul Supriyo who delivered the keynote address, Shri BD Kalla, Rajasthan’s Energy minister along with Mr. Vishal Mehta, MD &Partner – Boston Consulting Group, India, Mr. M.M Ranwa, CEO Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited and Mr. Sanjay Varghese, President and Head of Solar Business at ReNew Power.

The guests at the webinar were welcomed by Mr. Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director – ReNew Power who stressed on center state cooperation and its importance to India’s ambition of achieving 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity. In his keynote address, Shri Babul Supriyo, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest& Climate Change praised the initiatives taken by the states and said that, “The honourablePrime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji has been a champion of renewable energy sector and his initiatives such as ISA and One Sun One World One Grid have made the world sit up and take note of our ambition.”

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In his address, the Rajasthan’s Minister of Energy, Shri B D Kalla said that, “The Rajasthan government under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot is committed to taking the state to the top of renewable energy pecking order in the country.” The minister also said that, “The state is planning to develop all 33 district headquarters and some select other cities as “Green Energy Cities, and has set a target of 30,000 MW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2024-25.” Further in his address, the minister spoke of how Rajasthan is looking to promote manufacturing in the state by offering land allotment at 50% concessional rate, exemption of electricity duty for 10 years, complete exemption of stamp duty, and categorization of manufacturing equipment as a thrust sector, ensuring easy availability of credit, besides single window clearance to all entities.”

Ms Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Chair ReNew Foundation delivered the vote of thanks to both the honourable ministers and other esteemed panellists and said that, “ReNew and all the stakeholders involved with the sector are looking forward to leaders at the central as well as state levelcoming together to make an impact for the future generation.” She highlighted the philanthropic work carried out by ReNew Foundationin the state and ReNew’s ambition to contribute to an all-round development of communities and environment. The webinar concluded with a panel discussion between Mr. Vishal Mehta, Mr. MMRanwa and Mr. Sanjay Varghese who spoke about various opportunities and challenges for the sector in Rajasthan . While Mr. Mehta said that the state should plan now for models that could emerge in post ISTS regime and mitigate risks, while Mr. Ranwa shared that they would soon be writing to the Ministry of Power to seek clarity on this important issue.

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India only major country set to achieve targets of Paris Agreement: PM Modi India is the only major country which is moving in the right direction to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while adding that India is leading the world in environmental protection through international solar alliance. PM Modi attended the centenary celebrations of Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, via video conferencing.

Our country is spreading the message emanating from Visva-Bharati to the whole world. India today is leading the world in environmental protection through international solar alliance. India is the only country today which is on the right path to achieve the Paris Accord’s environmental goals, said PM Modi during his address. “Visva-Bharati’s hundredyear journey is very special. Visva-Bharati is a true embodiment of Gurudev’s contemplation, vision and hard work for Maa Bharti. This is an adorable place for India, which gives continuous energy to the country to embody the dream that Gurudev had dreamed,” he added.

he Prime Minister further stated, when we talk of freedom struggle, the idea of 19-20 century comes directly to our mind. “But it is also a fact that the foundation of these movements was laid long ago. India’s independence movement got energy from many movements that had been going on since centuries,” he added. “The Bhakti movement strengthened the spiritual and cultural unity of India. In the Bhakti era, every region of India, every area, east-westnorth-south, our saints in every direction, mahants, the Acharyas tried to keep the nation’s consciousness awake,” said PM Modi. Bhakti movement was the door which filled struggling India with collective consciousness and confidence for centuries, the Prime Minister stated. “This topic of devotion cannot proceed until we speak about Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is discussed.

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The great saint, because of whom India got Swami Vivekananda,” said PM Modi. “He began to see divinity in every person while expanding the scope of devotion. He also gave expression to Karma, stressing the creation of individual and institution,” he added. Along with the period of hundreds of years of Bhakti movement, Karma movement also took place in the country, the PM said. “The people of India were fighting slavery and imperialism. Be it Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, RLakshmibai, Rani Chennamma of Kittur, Lord Birsa Munda’s armed struggle. The karma-rigorous cultivation of tenacity and sacrifice of ordinary citizens against injustice and exploitation was at its peak. This became a major inspiration of our freedom struggle in future,” he added. “The need of the hour was to create an ideological movement to win the war of independence on the establishment of knowledge

and at the same time prepare a new generation for the creation of a bright future India. And many prestigious educational institutions and universities played a big role in it,” the Prime Minister said. These educational institutions gave new energy, gave new direction, gave new height to the ideological movement going on for India’s independence, the Prime Minister said. “We united with the Bhakti movement, The Gyan movement gave intellectual strength and Karma movement gave us the courage and courage to fight for our right,” he added. Founded by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva-Bharati is also the oldest Central University in the country. In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament. The University followed the pedagogy devised by Gurudev Tagore, though gradually it evolved in the format in which modern Universities developed elsewhere. The Prime Minister is the Chancellor of the University, a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) release stated.

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Power demand touches all-time high of 185.82 GW, says Secretary S N Sahai

All-India power demand morning touched a record high of 185.82 gigawatts (GW), said Power Secretary S N Sahai. “Power demand continues to surge. Yet another record – all India demand : 185.82 GW ie 185, 822 MW. It has crossed previous all India demand of 182.89 GW i.e. 182, 888 MW on 30th December, 2020”, Sahai said in a tweet.

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On December 30, 2020, all-India power demand had touched 182.89 GW. According to data from the power ministry, the peak power demand met (the highest supply in a day) during January last year stood at 170.97 GW. The rising power demand shows perk up in economic activities leading to higher commercial and industrial demand which was affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25, 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19. Peak power demand met recorded negative growth from April to August last year, due to the pandemic. Power demand started declining from April as economic activities were disrupted in the country due to COVID-19. The pandemic had affected power demand for five months in a row from April to August 2020. The power demand recovered from September 2020 onwards. Peak power demand met grew at 1.7 per cent in September, 3.4 per cent in October, 3.5 per cent in November and 7.3 per cent in December

JANUARY- 2021

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renewable energy

Solar power now cheapest way to add electricity in many markets – and getting cheaper The cost of solar power has dropped 90% over the last two decades, and will likely fall another 15% to 25% in the decade to come, says Wood Mackenzie. By 2030, solar will become the cheapest source of new power in every US state, plus Canada, China, and 14 other nations.

ood Mackenzie’s latest report Total eclipse: How falling costs will secure solar’s dominance in power calls the solar power industry “highly investible” due to its growing ability to meet both economic and policy goals.

Wood Mackenzie research director Ravi Manghani said: “As the world strives to recover from the economic slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and simultaneously meet the climate and environmental goals of the Paris Agreement, solar is uniquely placed to advance efforts towards a low-carbon, sustainable future.” Solar is already the cheapest form of new electricity generation in 16 US states, plus Spain, Italy and India. Even with the Covid-19 pandemic raging, global installations exceeded 115 gigawatts (GW) in 2020, compared to 1.5 GW in 2006. While the growth of solar to this scale was driven partially by government subsidies and environmental goals, solar generation is now attractive based on price alone. “Solar is becoming so competitive that not only is it a means of decarbonisation for corporate buyers, but also a way to lower the cost of energy for their businesses,” Manghani added.

In the next decade, Wood Mackenzie expects more cost reduction to be driven by growth and development in several technologies: Bifacial panels. New solar cell technology allows both sides of a panel to generate power – as much as 15% more. Larger solar modules. This allows more of each panel’s surface area to generate power, leading to big gains in output. Trackers. More solar installations include motorised systems that track the sun’s movement and change the alignment of the panels to increase energy capture.

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Wood Mackenzie stresses that its outlook only factored in technological improvements that are already well into the commercial development pipeline. The projections do not assume any breakthroughs in next-generation solar technology or other innovations, which could provide further upside to the outlook. Operating costs are expected to drop as well over the next decade. Technologies that are already widely in use by the wind power industry, such as using drones and thermal imaging for inspections, will make operations more efficient, as will developing technologies such as artificial intelligence. The sector is not without risk for some players, Wood Mackenzie cautions. Solar investors could pay a price for the technology’s success. As costs drop and installed solar capacity increases, wholesale prices may decline as well, reducing profitability. Still, falling prices should allow solar to displace coal and other more expensive technologies and increase its markets share. Previously, the pace of solar penetrating the market was constrained by the level of subsidies available, other forms of public policy support or corporate buyers looking to decarbonize their businesses. Now, with solar becoming the lowest cost source of new power generation supplies and more competitive than other technologies, the limiting factors will be investor willingness to take on market price risk, electric transmission capacity, and the development of battery technologies. Battery storage is becoming a larger part of the solar development equation because solar only generates power when the sun shines. Peak-price hours for electricity still coincide with solar generation hours in most markets. But both developers and utilities are preparing for potential changes in demand by including storage in their plans. Manghani said: “Once a niche technology in the off-grid space, solar is now one of the cheapest, most efficient and easily deployable means of generating electricity.”

JANUARY- 2021

renewable energy

Why investing in nature is key to climate mitigation A new consultation paper from McKinsey and the World Economic Forum explores the role that natural climate solutions can play in helping to address climate change and the destruction of nature. As the world looks beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, a consensus is emerging: certain measures to curb the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions will be central to global economic recovery. Awareness is also growing around the urgent need to slow the destruction of the natural world, and it is becoming clear that the two environmental crises—a changing climate and nature loss—are inextricably linked and compounding.

atural climate solutions (NCS)—conservation, restoration, and land-management actions that increase carbon storage and avoid greenhouse-gas emissions—offer a way to address both crises and to increase resilience as the climate changes. In fact, as argued in a new paper produced by McKinsey in partnership with the World Economic Forum, there is no clear path to deliver climate mitigation without investing in nature. Climate action requires both the reduction of emissions and the removal of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. NCS can help with both, starting today. Private-sector commitment to climate action is gaining momentum, with companies increasingly adopting strategies aimed at reaching net-zero emissions and some pledging to invest in nature through the purchase of NCS-generated carbon credits (or “offsets”) as part of the effort. Based on current net-zero commitments from more than 700 of the world’s largest companies, there have already been commitments of carbon credits of around 0.2 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 by 2030. Some companies are even beginning to make commitments beyond carbon to biodiversity and water, which will be a growing trend over the next decade. As a core component of corporate climate mitigation, NCS are thus becoming mainstream, if not yet commonplace.

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While undersized overall, NCS now account for around 40 percent of retired carbon credits in voluntary carbon markets, up from only 5 percent in 2010. Leaders are also beginning to invest directly in nature through protecting and restoring large expanses of land and ocean. The prize is large. Science tells us that if we are to establish an emissions pathway that limits warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, then we would need to reduce emissions by 50 percent, or 23 GtCO2, by 2030 from 2019 levels. Our analysis (see sidebar for methodology) suggests that NCS projects could yield nearly a third of that target, or close to 7 GtCO2 per year by the end of this decade—mainly from avoided deforestation and peatland impact, reforestation, and soil sequestration in agriculture. It also shows that NCS, and in particular forestry projects, are largely a low-cost measure. In addition, there are substantial co-benefits of NCS, both from promoting environmental benefits such as biodiversity and water quality, and from fostering capital flows to forest-rich countries in the Global South in support of sustainable development. With close to 7 GtCO2 in annual potential by 2030, assuming an illustrative price per ton of $201 would suggest potential capital flows greater than $100 billion to countries in the Global South that have high concentrations of NCS potential.

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renewable energy Yet the ambition to undertake NCS at global and meaningful scale is bedevilled by a number of difficulties, both real and perceived. These difficulties include the lack of consensus on how to treat NCS in corporate claims on climate action, combined with low public confidence in the effectiveness of past NCS schemes in contributing to real emissions reduction. There is a widespread suspicion that companies may be tempted to use NCS offsetting as an excuse to avoid fully addressing their own carbon footprint, despite clear guidance that direct emissions avoidance and reduction by corporations must be the priority. Other inhibitors to investment include the absence of an agreed-upon method to measure and recognize co-benefits of NCS for biodiversity, soil and water quality, and community livelihoods—for example, in resource-rich forest countries; undeveloped market infrastructure; and pervasive uncertainty about future supply and demand. There are challenges to ensuring that NCS projects produce carbon reductions that are genuinely additional (that is, reductions that would not have happened otherwise) and permanent. In the past, this overall lack of confidence has manifested itself in low price levels and oversupply of carbon credits in general, and of forestry credits in particular. Building on other recent work aimed at developing the voluntary carbon market, in particular that of the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), the paper proposes six steps to address these deficiencies: Define net-zero and corporate claims: Agreement is needed on NCS standards and certification under one commonly accepted international-standards body. This would provide a more solid foundation for companies to make and validate claims concerning targets for carbon reduction and compensation, and to show precisely how they intend to attain net-zero emissions. Highlight good practice for supply: To address public concerns about the validity of NCS in achieving real and permanent carbon reductions, practitioners need to publicize recent progress in establishing good practices— for example, more rigorous measurement and verification methods and advances in sustainable land-use policies.

Send a demand signal: Carbon emitters should agree to prioritize high-quality NCS credits with large co-benefits: this would send a powerful demand signal to build confidence and solidify pricing across carbon markets, and it would encourage policy makers and credit originators to increase the project pipeline. Improve market architecture: Standards, infrastructure, and financing need to be developed to support the growth of NCS producing tradable credits, as set out in the recent TSVCM report. Necessary steps include the creation of carbon reference contracts that allow prices to reflect co-benefits of NCS, a radical improvement in the availability of quality market data, and the development of centralized carbon exchanges. Create regulatory clarity: Policy makers must focus on turning national and corporate carbon-reduction targets into actionable plans, underpinned by binding regulation. Clarity is also needed around how NCS projects can be accounted for within national carbon-reduction goals, how to integrate voluntary and compliance carbon markets, and how to organize the international transfer of carbon credits. Build trust: There is a need for greater collaboration among stakeholders in order to address the perceived credibility issues of NCS. A coalition of high-level champions can help amplify the call for high-quality, high-ambition NCS. For the private sector, NCS offers vast opportunities, and momentum behind realizing them is growing. For example, Amazon is spending $10 million to restore 1.6 million hectares of forest in the United States; Nestlé is investing in ending deforestation and in forest restoration in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; and Shell is planting five million trees in the Netherlands, among other climate commitments. Walmart has pledged to be net zero in operations by 2040 and to manage or restore 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of ocean. Within their net-zero commitments, companies such as Unilever and PepsiCo have committed specifically to NCS, recognizing the importance of engaging across the value chain with farmers and growers, who are critical to protecting and restoring landscapes and forests. Another area of opportunity lies in enabling technologies that help unlock NCS potential: for example, hardware that physically enables NCS, such as enhanced tree-planting technologies, or software that can improve the effectiveness and monitoring of NCS. What is beyond doubt is that NCS is a key component both of the effort to reduce and sequester carbon emissions, and of the necessary campaign to combat nature loss. International focus on these twin crises is growing, and governments and companies are making bolder commitments. It is time to scale up NCS within a market framework and turn these commitments into action.

Apollo SPAC Agrees to Take Solar Lender Sunlight Public Sunlight Financial LLC, which provides loans to homeowners for rooftop solar panels, has agreed to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company backed by Apollo Global Management Inc. The deal with blank-check company Spartan Acquisition Corp. II gives Sunlight an implied equity value of about $1.3 billion, according to a statement. As part of the deal, investors including venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, Coatue and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock agreed to invest $250 million through a private stock purchase at $10 per share.

hares of Spartan surged 35% to $15.89 at 9:53 a.m. in New York. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The move comes amid a wave of clean-tech SPAC deals as companies seek to raise capital quickly and investors hunt for businesses poised to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s plan to drastically cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Several deals have involved electric-car or battery companies. Proterra Inc., which makes electric buses and batteries, announced this month it would go public through a blank-check company. The clean-tech SPAC boom isn’t confined to electric vehicles and batteries. Geoffrey Strong, Spartan’s chief executive officer and a senior partner at Apollo, said many SPACs are interested in the broader clean-tech space, including renewables. Sunlight, which has operations in New York and Charlotte, is one of the largest U.S. residential-solar finance companies. It also provides loans for roofs, windows and other home-improvement projects. The company, which works with more than 800 solar and building contractors, has originated more than $3.5 billion in loans.

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They’re homeowners so they want to own what’s bolted to the roof, Sunlight CEO Matt Potere said in an interview. Solar lending has fueled a surge in installations in recent months. Lenders and investors made at least $6.7 billion available for solar loan underwriters to originate new deals last year through November, according to BloombergNEF. Another Apollo SPAC, Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp., merged last year with Fisker Inc. The transaction announced in July valued the electric-vehicle maker at $2.9 billion. Fisker had a market capitalization of $4.1 billion EQ

JANUARY- 2021

renewable energy

More and more oil and gas companies are turning to renewable energy technology A new study released by DNV GL reveals that the oil and gas industry plans to boost investment in the energy systems of the future this year as companies seek long-term transformation.

record two-thirds of senior oil and gas professionals say their organization is actively adapting to a less carbonintensive energy mix in 2021, up from just 44% in 2018. Some 57% plan to increase investments in renewable energies, compared to 44% last year, about half expect to increase investment in green or carbon-free gas. Only a fifth (21%) say they will increase investment in oil projects in 2021, as the industry increasingly accepts the idea that global oil demand has peaked or will do so in the short to medium term. . The forecast for increased investment in natural gas remains stable at 37%. The majority of seasoned oil and gas professionals expect these investment changes to lead to a broader overhaul of the industry. Eight in ten (78%) believe there will be increased consolidation in the coming year, up from 64% a year ago. Strategic reorientation may also involve sales of assets and businesses, with 63% expecting more splits, divestitures and spin-offs, up from 46% last year. The transformational investments come despite a collapse in confidence in the growth of the industry following the Covid-19 pandemic and the oil and gas market crash that followed. Only 39% of oil and gas professionals are confident about the industry’s growth in 2021, up from 66% last year.

Turmoil and Transformation, DNV GL’s outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2021, suggests that priorities are shifting as investors reassess the risks of financing oil and gas projects, and governments and industry invest billion in green recovery strategies after the Covid-19 pandemic. The research is based on a survey of over 1,000 senior oil and gas professionals and in-depth interviews with industry executives.

JANUARY- 2021

Net zero climate policies began to proliferate in 2020, from Europe to China, and have been put on the table in the United States. Long-term net zero policies have the potential to lead to a profound decarbonization of the global energy system, and they are already changing the direction of the oil and gas industry, said Remi Eriksen, Group Chairman and CEO of DNV GL . The oil and gas industry is going through its third major recession in 12 years, but the outlook for 2021 is influenced by the possibility that this recession will be different from those of the past. Perhaps the most important difference for the industry for 2021 is the shift of capital away from fossil fuels. “Financial markets – through the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic – have seen what peak oil demand could look like and are increasingly taking into account the shift in societal sentiment towards a carbon-free future. Decarbonization has moved from something on the horizon to an immediate priority, and there are signs that our sector could invest to transform rather than to emerge from the current crisis, ”said Eriksen. Cutting costs will remain a universal priority (96%) for 2021, but the industry is already thin. 63% of them say their organization will still make acceptable profits if the price of oil averages between $ 40 and $ 50 per barrel in 2021. However, there are signs that traditional methods of cutting costs are reaching their limits .

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renewable energy

EY announces ambition to be carbon negative Global accounting and consultancy firm EY has announced a plan to become “carbon negative” this year by setting up targets to reduce its absolute emissions and removing and offsetting more carbon than it emits.

n a statement, the company said it has set seven components of its plan to not only become carbon negative but to reduce total emissions by 40 per cent which is in line with the science-based target of achieving net zero by 2025. The new strategy of the company to become carbon negative by 2021 includes reducing travel emissions by 35 per cent, reducing overall electricity usage, procuring 100 per cent renewable energy for company’s needs and structuring electricity supply contracts, through virtual power purchase agreements (PPAs). It added that it will also be using naturebased solutions and carbon reduction technologies to offset carbon.

Enel Green Power once again breaks its own record for renewable capacity built in a single year Enel Green Power (EGP)[1] has set a new record in 2020 by building 3,106 MW of new renewable capacity all over the world, 77 MW more (+2.5%) compared to the renewable capacity built in 2019. The new renewable capacity built by EGP in 2020 includes around 46 facilities, mainly wind (2,284 MW) and solar (803 MW). Furthermore, EGP refurbished and repowered about 1.2 GW of plants in operation (250 MW wind, 847 MW hydro and 73 MW geothermal) over the course of the year. Once again, Enel Green Power has successfully surpassed its own record, despite the challenging environment considering the COVID-19 pandemic, which is without question one of the greatest challenges of our time. We achieved this by putting at the core of our activities the safety of all our colleagues, as well as that of communities and people who are an essential part of our value chain, said Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power. “This milestone consolidates our position as the ‘Super Major’ in the renewable sector, operating the world’s largest private renewable generation fleet. In the near future, we will not only continue pursuing this path, but we will also accelerate our sustainable growth, in line with the Enel Group’s 2030 Vision, which envisages a total renewable capacity target of around 145 GW.”

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In terms of geographies, the new capacity is distributed as follows: 1. 508 MW in Europe, mainly in Spain; 2. 879 MW in Latin America, mainly in Brazil; 3. 1,386 MW in North America, mainly in the United States; 4. 333 MW in Africa, Asia and Oceania. With these 3,106 MW built in 2020, EGP now manages around 49 GW of total renewable capacity, confirming it as the renewable ‘Super Major’, the largest private renewable player at global level. Once fully up and running, this new capacity is set to generate around 11.3 TWh per year, while avoiding the annual emission of 6.86 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. This milestone contributes to the Enel Group’s goal to limit its direct greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions to 148 gCO2eq/ kWh in 2023, putting the Group well on track to achieve its 2030 science-based decarbonization target of 80% direct GHG emission reduction versus 2017, in line with the 1.5°C pathway. EGP managed to beat this record in a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the construction process of this new renewable capacity, the Group has always made the protection of the health of its workers, employees and the community where it operates the main priority. This milestone confirms Enel’s commitment to continue increasing its renewable capacity, with a global geographic footprint, as also highlighted in its 2030 Vision, which foresees a total renewable capacity of around 145 GW by 2030. The growth of EGP’s renewable capacity is in line with the Enel Group’s goal to fully decarbonize its generation mix by 2050.

JANUARY- 2021

energy storage

The Miraculous Material Transforming Energy Storage A material discovered less than two decades ago could become the key to safer, faster-charging and lighter batteries that power electronic devices, electric vehicles, and stationary energy storage. Since the ‘supermaterial’ graphene was first isolated in 2004 by researchers at The University of Manchester in the UK, a growing number of graphene-making start-ups have been developing battery technologies which, the companies say, will usher in a future of fast-charging devices and electric vehicles (EVs), with higher energy capacity and without risks of overheating.

raphene is only a single atom thick. It’s a superconductor of electricity and heat, and very light. It’s more than 100 times stronger than steel, but also 6 times lighter. Graphene slows the heating process in lithium batteries and allows up to five times faster charging speeds. Because it has low resistivity, graphene conducts heat evenly across the battery to help it cool, says one of the start-ups working with graphene, Real Graphene. Graphene is not yet used in EVs or stationary storage systems, but developers of the material and technologies with it say that this supermaterial, because of its mechanical properties, holds the promise of more powerful, safer, and faster-charging batteries. Graphene has the potential to be used not only in consumer electronics, but also in EVs and storage of solar and wind power, researchers at The University of Manchester say. Developing graphene supercapacitators could help enable high-performance electric supercars. Because graphene supercapacitators are light, they could also reduce the weight of cars or planes, according to the university, which is also studying, with its commercial partners, graphene’s potential in grid applications and storing wind or solar power.

Start-ups have recently accelerated the development of graphene and its incorporation into batteries. Los Angeles-based graphene manufacturer Nanotech Energy, for example, said last year it had developed and scaled a process to produce graphene with more than 90 percent of its content monolayers—the purest form of graphene available in mass production quantities. The company also launched in 2020 a proprietary non-flammable, highperforming battery ready for commercialization.

We perfected the battery by utilizing the extraordinary electronic and mechanical properties of graphene to increase the battery capacity. To further increase the safety of a lithium ion battery, we took a step further by designing a non-flammable electrolyte that can withstand operation at high temperatures without catching fire, Maher El-Kady, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nanotech Energy, said at the time.

JANUARY- 2021

Most industries and end users are confined to the technology of lithium-ion batteries, from smartphone and laptop manufacturers to automotive manufacturers to the consumer at large,” Dr. Jack Kavanaugh, chairman and CEO of Nanotech Energy, said. “Nanotech Energy now offers all of these industries a path toward a safe and more powerful battery technology – a game changer for them,” Kavanaugh added. Graphene Batteries of Norway is developing Lithium-sulfur (LiS) battery technology enhanced with graphene derivatives. The company has developed a sulfur cathode based on a proprietary method and is targeting stationary energy storage systems as one of the areas of application of its technology. U.S. firm NanoGraf is developing silicon-graphene anode materials that enable longer-lasting and fastercharging batteries. NanoGraf believes that current lithiumion battery chemistries have hit a plateau in performance improvements. The company says its silicon alloy-graphene material architecture in the anode could be customized to achieve between three and six times higher capacity than current graphite-based anodes. Electric vehicles with batteries containing graphene will require at least four years of additional research and testing, NanoGraf’s Chip Breitenkamp, a polymer scientist and VP of business development, told Futurism at the end of last year. The company is confident that its technology would work for EVs, but it knows it would take a few more years to have the thumbs-up for electric cars. Graphene is an amazing material for batteries, Breitenkamp told Futurism, adding that, “Essentially, graphene can play a central role in powering a sustainable, electric future.”

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energy storage

Centrica and partners announce Belgium’s largest battery storage project The 10MW/20MWh battery energy storage system is being built in Bastogne. The project will be the first battery park of its kind in the Walloon region of Southern Belgium and the biggest in Belgium. It will be operational from mid-2021.

entrica Business Solutions will operate and enhance the revenue received from the batteries. The system will be used as a virtual power plant and as an environmentally friendly back up to the grid. The battery will be used as a buffer and allows electricity to be injected or absorbed from the grid as required by operator of the highvoltage electricity network Elia. The project will enable the storage of renewable energy during times when generation is high for use when demand is high and generation is low.

Arno van Mourik, international director at Centrica Business Solutions, said: “We are convinced that these new battery-based and CO2 emissions-free ‘virtual power plants’ will continue to be developed in Belgium. They are perfectly in line with Elia’s ambition to gradually open the various electricity markets to demand management. The optimisation of ‘virtual power plants’ allows for a valorisation on multiple flexible energy markets. It represents a unique opportunity for investors.”

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Bruno Vanderschueren, director of EStor-Lux, adds: “This project represents a real step forward in the energy transition by demonstrating the full competitiveness of batteries as an alternative to thermal power plants. Centrica contributed greatly to the feasibility of the project. The service goes far beyond simple access to flexibility markets and includes significant performance guarantees from Centrica.

JANUARY- 2021

energy storage

World’s Largest Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage System now Online Vistra Corp’s Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility is connected to the power grid and began operating in December 2020. At 300 megawatts/1,200 megawatt-hours, the lithium-ion battery storage system, located on-site at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, California, will be the largest of its kind in the world. Furthermore, construction is already underway on Phase II, which will add an additional 100 MW/400 MWh to the facility by August 2021, bringing its total capacity to 400 MW/1,600 MWh.

This is a keystone project and it is important in so many ways – it revitalizes an existing power plant site and utilizes active transmission lines, enhances grid stability, fills the reliability gap created by intermittent renewables, provides emission-free electricity, supports California’s sustainability goals and mandates, significantly benefits the local community, and ultimately provides affordable electricity to consumers, said Curt Morgan, chief executive officer of Vistra. “A battery system of this size and scale has never been built before. As our country transitions to a clean energy future, batteries will play a pivotal role and the Vistra Moss Landing project will serve as the model for utility-scale battery storage for years to come.”

oused inside the power plant’s completely refurbished former turbine building and spanning the length of nearly three football fields, Phase I of the battery system can power approximately 225,000 homes during peak electricity pricing periods. The system is made up of more than 4,500 stacked battery racks or cabinets, each containing 22 individual battery modules, which capture excess electricity from the grid, largely during high solar-output hours, and can release the power when energy demand is at its highest and solar electricity is declining, usually early morning and late afternoon. For further information see the IDTechEx report on Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage 2021-2031. Phases I and II of the Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility are backed up by long-term resource adequacy contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

JANUARY- 2021

“We appreciate the strong working relationship we’ve developed with PG&E on multiple projects and look forward to continuing to help meet its resource adequacy requirements and provide clean, reliable, and affordable power to Californians,” Morgan said. Vistra’s Moss Landing site provides a unique opportunity for extensive future expansion of the battery storage system. With its existing infrastructure and the physical space for potential growth, this world-class industrial-zoned site can support up to 1,500 MW/6,000 MWh of storage capacity should market and economic conditions support it. With the development permit already in place and the site in condition for expansion, Vistra will be able to move quickly when that time comes.

Vistra’s Moss Landing project is the flagship of its 4,000-MW zero-carbon Vistra Zero portfolio, which includes a total of five battery projects in California and Texas: Upton 2 (10 MW/42 MWh) – online December 2018 Moss Landing – Phase I (300 MW/1,200 MWh) – online December 2020 Moss Landing – Phase II (100 MW/400 MWh) – expected online by August 2021 Oakland (36.25 MW/145 MWh) – expected online 2022 DeCordova (260 MW/260 MWh) – expected online 2022

California State Senator John Laird said, “As the largest of its kind in the world, the Vistra Zero Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility will store renewable energy, releasing it when it is needed most. It is meaningful, ambitious projects like these that will help to pave the way to a 100% clean energy future for California and the rest of the world.

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energy storage

Qatar invests $125M in energy storage company Fluence

Fluence, the global energy storage solutions joint venture between Siemens and AES, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) pursuant to which QIA will commit to invest $125 million in Fluence through a private placement transaction.

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onsummation of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances. Fluence intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement to further accelerate development of its product offerings, particularly digital products, and deployment of existing products in more markets globally. AES and Siemens will remain major shareholders, each maintaining an approximately 44% stake following the completion of the transaction and will continue to support Fluence’s long-term growth. QIA is one of six founding members of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Initiative, which is building climate change into financial decision making, and the proposed investment further highlights QIA’s growing focus on the development of green technologies. Fluence’s mission and technology-driven offering aligns with QIA’s investment philosophy and QIA’s other recent green technology investments.

Fluence is helping accelerate the adoption of renewables and is allowing utilities and power producers to incorporate renewables at scale. Its technologies provide storage solutions for energy produced by wind farms and other renewable sources. The Fluence team has been in the global energy storage industry for more than a decade, repeatedly opening new markets and pioneering new applications. This summer, the company announced its sixth-generation Tech Stack, comprising integrated hardware, operating software and digital intelligence engines. Built on 12 years of proprietary operating data from systems in the field, the Tech Stack enables faster deployment of standardized, modular systems, lower balance of system costs, and highly customizable solutions to meet individual customer needs. In October, Fluence announced its acquisition of AMS’ AI-driven software and digital intelligence platform for renewables and energy storage, which can significantly improve revenue of energy storage assets in wholesale markets, and plans to accelerate investment in its digital differentiation.

JANUARY- 2021

business & Finance

France’s Total to acquire 20% stake in Adani Green In 2018, Total had acquired a 37.4 percent stake in Adani Gas Limited and 50 percent stake in its subsidiary Dhamra LNG project. French oil major Total SE will acquire a 20 percent stake in Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL). In a press release, the Gautam Adani-backed company said that Adani Promoter Group will sell 20 percent minority stake in AGEL to the French energy company. “The investment in AGEL is another step in the strategic alliance between Adani Group and TOTAL, across various businesses and companies of the Adani Group, covering investments in LNG terminals, gas utility business, and renewable assets across India,” the company said in the press release. This is not the first time the French major had invested in an Adani company. In 2018, Total had acquired a 37.4 percent stake in Adani Gas Limited and 50 percent stake in its subsidiary Dhamra LNG project.

Speaking on the occasion, Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani, said, “We are delighted to deepen our strategic alliance with TOTAL, a global energy major, and welcome them as a significant shareholder in Adani Green Energy Limited. We have a shared vision of developing renewable power at affordable prices to enable a sustainable energy transformation in India. We look forward to working together towards delivering India’s vision for 450 GW renewable energy by 2030.”

Our entry into AGEL is a major milestone in our strategy in the renewable energy business in India put in place by both parties, which began with our first joint venture 2.3GW of renewable capacity. Given the size of the market, India is the right place to put into action/to deploy our energy transition strategy based on two pillars: renewables and natural gas, Patrick Pouyanné, Total SE CEO said.

Tigo Energy Raises $20 Million in Funding Tigo Energy, Inc., the worldwide leader in Flex-MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) announced a $20 million round of investment, led by Energy Growth Momentum.

2020 has been a breakout year for Tigo and 2021 has the potential for even greater success, stated Zvi Alon, Chairman and CEO of Tigo. “We are excited to have the EG Momentum team’s support and their working capital will enable us to better serve our current customer base and invest in the future expansion with new customers, new partners and new projects.”

he investment will be used to improve upon existing products and develop next generation solutions that maximize returns for PV customers. A portion of the new funds will be used to efficiently and effectively scale. Tigo’s growth has accelerated significantly recently as the company’s products have reached more customer segments and countries throughout the world. With over 40,000 installations in over 100 countries on all 7 continents, Tigo systems generate more than 1 GWh of daily solar production. 26

JANUARY- 2021

Tigo’s solutions are deployed in solar energy generators ranging from single kilowatt residential solar installations to multi-megawatt utility scale sites, roof-top, ground mount and floating systems. Tigo will continue to invest in the personnel, systems and business process improvement to market and support this breadth of customers. Tigo’s products are certified globally. A major differentiator is the UL-systemcertification focus. Tigo’s solutions secured certification with hundreds of inverters from more than 15 manufacturers – giving customers significantly more options than any other company in the industry. This UL certification is part of Tigo’s multivendor initiative providing customers with the freedom to choose the features they want with the inverter they want.

We look for talented and experienced management in order to support digital and renewable energy investments that simultaneously increase market value and reduce carbon emissions, stated John Wilson, founding partner at Energy Growth Momentum, “And the combination of Zvi and Tigo Energy represents just such an investment.”

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Business & finance

Sterlite Power successfully raises Rs 200 cr from Allianz Global Investors Sterlite Power, a leading global power transmission player, said that it has raised Rs 200 crore in debt financing from Allianz Global Investors (Allianz GI) – one of the world’s leading investment managers with focus on sustainable investments.

Carlyle Makes $374 Million Commitment to Renewable Developer Amp his transaction is one of the first infrastructure sector financing deals for Allianz GI in India. The Rs 200 crore facility from Allianz GI has been raised as a nonconvertible debenture with a three-year tenure and is part of the larger refinancing exercise undertaken by Sterlite Power to reduce its holding company borrowings. Sterlite Power is increasingly focused on integrating renewable energy (RE) to the grid. The company enjoys an impressive track record of completing projects on time with the highest standards of quality and safety.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr Pratik Agarwal, Managing Director, Sterlite Power, said, ”This transaction with Allianz GI is a strong validation of the continued trust reposed on us by the banking and investor community, and the rise of power transmission as an asset class with promising returns. We remain focused on our endeavour towards greening the grid by delivering some of the most challenging and impactful transmission projects in the country.”

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Carlyle Group Inc. has committed $374 million in equity capital to Amp Solar Group Inc., a Canada-based global renewables developer. The investment is intended to spur growth in North America, Japan, Australia, Iberia and the U.K., according to a statement. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

he investment comes as more countries prioritize clean electricity to address climate change. But renewables development has sometimes been dictated by government policy, meaning some markets move faster than others.

Amp’s focus on OECD countries enables the firm to pivot quickly when one market gets crowded, said Pooja Goyal, head of Carlyle’s renewable and sustainable energy team and cohead of its infrastructure group, in an interview. “We really like the flexibility that they have.” Amp has developed more than 1.8 gigawatts of renewables projects. Goyal expects the company to complete another 2 gigawatts of solar and more than a gigawatthour of battery storage by the end of 2023. Capital for the deal comes from Carlyle’s global infrastructure opportunity and renewable & sustainable energy funds.

JANUARY- 2021

business & Finance

Jinchen , Waaree signed 3GW high-efficiency PV module line Yingkou Jinchen Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jinchen”), after years of development and deep cultivation in the overseas market, its automation equipment has been widely used in the overseas photovoltaic industry, and has become a first-class manufacturer of module manufacturing equipment.

inchen spreads good news again recently from its overseas markets, signed a capacity of 3 GW high efficiency photovoltaic modules automatic production line with India’s largest manufacturer of photovoltaic modules Waaree Energies Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Waaree”), , which is also the largest project of the PV module production line signed between China equipment manufacturers and local investors in overseas markets.

Although India’s economic growth was slow down in 2020 due to the impact of the epidemic, thanks to superior new energy policies and good investment returns, the demand of the solar PV industry continues to expand. In November 2020, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 15th G20 Summit, he said: “We can achieve the 175GW renewable energy target well before the target date of 2022, we are now committed to reaching 450GW of the 2030 target and have taken a big step forward.”

Mumbai-based Waaree, India’s largest PV module manufacturer, has been working with Jinchen for several years. The 3GW solar PV module production line signed this time will be delivered in April 2021, and officially put into operation in June 2021. By then, Waaree’s total capacity on module manufacturing will reach 5GW, making it the largest module manufacturer in the overseas market.

Vikas Singh, Key account Manager, Jinchen group added, “The cooperation between Jinchen and Waaree is another successful example of Jinchen’s “Intelligent manufacturing” participating in global sustainable development. Multiple repetitive orders from all valued customers in India and overseas; show customer’s satisfaction and trust on Jinchen. In the future, Jinchen will continue to boost the industrial development of the international and domestic new energy industry and contribute to the grand goal of carbon neutrality.

ReneSola Power Announces $250 Million Registered Direct Offering of ADSs ReneSola Ltd (“ReneSola Power” or the “Company”) (NYSE: SOL), a leading fully integrated solar project developer, announced that it entered into securities purchase agreements with several institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 10,000,000 of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each representing ten (10) ordinary shares, at a purchase price of $25.00 per ADS, in a registered direct offering. The registered direct offering is expected to close on or about January 27, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the offering. The gross proceeds from the registered direct offering are expected to be $250.0 million before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds to expand its solar project pipeline (including combined solar/storage initiatives), to fund possible strategic acquisitions, and to meet general working capital needs. The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a “shelf” registration statement (File No. 333-252137) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 15, 2021 and declared effective on January 25, 2021. Such securities may be offered only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering of the securities will be filed with the SEC.

JANUARY- 2021

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Business & finance

Tata Power Solar receives the EPC order for INR 1200 Cr. from NTPC Tata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar company and a whollyowned subsidiary of Tata Power, has received a “Letter of Award” (LoA) to build 320MW of ground mounted Solar PV project for NTPC. The order value of the project is approx. ÌNR 1200 crores ($162 Million). The Commercial operation date for this project is set for May 2022.

ith this addition, the order pipeline of Tata Power Solar stands at approximately 4GWp with approx. value of INR. 12000 Crores. The scope of work includes the land, acquisition, engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning of the grid-connected solar project on a turnkey basis along with three years of operations & maintenance services for the solar plant, power evacuation system and telemetry up to the interconnecting state transmission utility (STU) substation.

Speaking on the achievement, Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, “Tata Power is in the forefront of producing green energy across the country. Such achievement demonstrates the trust and leadership of Tata Power’s project management capability and execution skills in solar projects.” Tata Power Solar comes with a successful background of executing large projects such as the 150MW Ayana at Ananthapur, 50 MW Kasargod at Kerala, 56MW Greenko, 30MWp Solar Power Plant in Lapanga, Odisha, 105MWp of Floating solar at Kayamkulam (under implementation). It has also won an auction conducted by Gujarat for 400 MW of projects to be built at Dholera solar Park.

Sungrow Supplies a 100 MW Energy Storage Project in Texas

Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, announced that it has forged a contract to supply its fully integrated Energy Storage System to the 100 MWac Chisholm Grid project in Fort Worth, Texas. Chisholm Grid has been under construction since August of 2020 and will be one of the largest battery energy storage facilities in Texas when work onsite is completed this June. The facility, utilizing industry leading NMC battery technology, will generate revenue from the sale of energy and grid stabilization services to the ERCOT wholesale electricity market.

he Chisholm Grid Battery Energy Storage Project is owned by Astral Electricity, LLC, a privately-held energy storage power producer, and was developed by Able Grid Infrastructure Holdings, LLC, a joint venture between Able Grid and MAP RE/ES. Able Grid will provide operational asset management services for the site following commercial operations in mid-2021. Sungrow’s ESS solution deployed for this project is the latest product lineup. At the heart of the technology are lithium-ion batteries, combined with Sungrow’s advanced converters and controls. Sungrow Services will maintain the asset under a long-term services agreement, reducing operating costs and extending the life span of the assets.

As an industry leading company, Sungrow must do everything possible to maintain its safety edge. “The safe operation of the project is of vital concern to us,” said Neil Bradshaw, the Senior Technical Sales Manager. “Not only is every cell protected electrically in a three-tier BMS system and supervisory controls, but each small battery module has internal thermal barriers and suppression technology. Sungrow is eager to show the world that battery energy storage at this scale is a safe, reliable and sustainable solution to ensure grid reliability amidst demanding market operating conditions,” he added.

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Years of innovation by Sungrow as a global technology leader now allows companies like Astral Electricity to deploy market-driven solutions that will accelerate the decarbonization of electricity supplies while also improving grid performance. Sungrow’s highly-integrated offering, history of successful deployment and collaboration with technology providers were key factors in our supplier decision. We are looking forward Sungrow’s product providing reliable operations for many years to come,” commented Aaron Zubaty, CEO of MAP RE/ ES. “The landmark Chisholm Grid energy storage project is another exciting milestone in the US energy storage market which is strongly positioned for immense growth,” said Mizhi Zhang, Managing Director of Energy Storage, Sungrow Americas. “We’re poised to pioneer more energy storage innovations backed by the industry’s largest R&D team and 24-year proven track record. Our agile local team can offer responsive technical support, sales and industryleading after-sales service,” he added. As one of the key players in the energy storage market, Sungrow is an early entrant in the North American storage market with a deployment footprint spreading across multiple states including California, Massachusetts and Texas, achieving milestones both in the utility scale storage market as well as the C&I market where Sungrow currently maintains a strong position in North America. The Company acquired orders totaling 1.4 GWh in North America in 2020 including both standalone energy storage projects and storage in combination with power plants.

JANUARY- 2021

international

How much will Africa capitalize on cheap renewable energy as its power grid grows?

Africa’s electricity capacity is expected to double by 2030 — and with the rapidly dropping cost of renewable energy technologies, the continent might seem poised to go green. But a new analysis suggests that fossil fuels will still dominate Africa’s energy mix over the next decade.

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he scientists used a machine learning approach that analyzes what characteristics, such as fuel type and financing, controlled the past successes and failures of power plants across the continent. Their findings suggest that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power will make up less than 10 percent of Africa’s total electrical power generation by 2030, the team reports January 11 in Nature Energy. In 2015, 195 nations pledged to reduce their fossil fuel emissions to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. To achieve that goal, the world would have to reduce its emissions by 2.7 percent each year from 2020 to 2030 — but current pledges are nowhere near enough to achieve that target (SN: 11/26/19). And the energy demand from developing economies, including many on the African continent, is expected to increase dramatically by 2030 — possibly leading to even more fossil fuel emissions over the next decades. However, the price of renewable energy technologies, particularly wind and solar energy, has rapidly dropped over the last few years. So many scientists and activists have said they hope that African countries might be able to take advantage of these technologies, leapfrogging past carbon-intensive coal or oil-based energy growth and straight into building renewable energy plants.

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Whether that’s a realistic scenario hasn’t been clear, says Galina Alova, a sustainability scientist at the University of Oxford. There is a lot of uncertainty about how and why new and planned energy projects might succeed or fail on the continent, she says. “We wanted to understand whether Africa is actually heading in the direction of making that decisive leap, but we wanted to do it looking at the data.” So Alova, along with Oxford sustainability scientists Philipp Trotter and Alex Money, amassed data on nearly 3,000 energy projects — both fossil-fuel based and renewable — that were commissioned over the last 20 years across Africa’s 54 countries. Those projects included both successful and failed energy plants. The data include a variety of characteristics for the different plants, such as how much energy a particular plant can produce, what type of fuel it uses, how well it’s connected to an energy grid, who owns the plant and how it’s financed. Then, the team used a machine learning approach creating a computer algorithm to identify which of these characteristics were the best predictors of success in the past. Finally, the scientists analyzed the chances for success of almost 2,500 projects now in the pipeline, based on those features as well as on different country characteristics, such as the strength of the economy, population density and political stability.

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international Those country-level factors do matter, but they weren’t the biggest predictors of a project’s success, Trotter says. “We do see some truth to good governance, but project-level [factors have] been consistently more important.” Those factors include the power plants’ size and whether the plants had public or private financing, for example. Smaller renewable energy plants tended to have a better chance of success than larger projects, as did plants with financing from large public funders, such as the World Bank, which are less likely to pull out in the face of delays or roadblocks. As for fuel type, there has been a recent uptick in the chances for success for solar energy in particular, the team found — but overall, oil and gas projects still have a much greater chance to succeed. What this adds up to, the team found, is that by 2030, fossil fuels will still account for two-thirds of all energy generation on the continent. Renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, will account for less than 10 percent, with the remainder, about 18 percent of the power mix, coming primarily from hydroelectric power.

The findings were “both quite surprising and unsurprising to me,” says Wikus Kruger, a researcher in the African power sector at the University of Cape Town in South Africa who was not involved in the new study. The finding that project-level factors, particularly financing, are very significant tracks with research he and others have done, he says. But, he says, he is less convinced that the decreasing cost of renewables won’t be a bigger factor.

“We are seeing this massive disruption [to the energy market], in terms of costs of renewables. It’s just completely changed the way that planning is done. What’s exciting about this disruptive moment is that these smaller renewable energy projects are in conflict states that have historically struggled to get anything done,” Kruger says. “But these are smaller, more modular projects, and people are willing to put smaller amounts [of money] into projects that spread the risks out across a wide variety of countries.” One other factor that could change the renewable energy outlook, Alova says, is if many of the fossil fuel plants now in the pipeline were to be canceled, what the team calls a “rapid decarbonization shock.” But that wouldn’t occur just due to a drop in the cost of renewable energy technologies alone. African countries face a tricky challenge of how to balance socioeconomic development with sustainability. Increasing the share of renewable energy in Africa’s electricity mix “will not happen automatically by some invisible hand,” Trotter says. “It’s something that has to happen from the top, from African governments and the international development community.” The danger, he says, is that once a fossil fuel power plant enters production, it will stay in operation for 20 or 30 years, “so it’s really important not to be locked into these. What is clear from our dataset is that we have to act now; this is not something we can postpone any longer.”

PFC issues $500 mn senior unsecured dollar bonds Power sector Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (PFC), has raised $500 million on January 29 through issuance of dollar denominated Bonds with a fixed maturity of May 16, 2031. This is the longest tenor bond issuance from India since the start of 2021. The bonds have a fixed coupon of 3.35 per cent per annum which was inside the fair value of PFC’s secondary bonds.

he order book amounted to nearly $2.55 billion achieving an oversubscription of 5.1 times. The proceeds from bonds would be utilised in accordance with the external commercial borrowing regulations of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including for on-lending to power sector utilities. Commenting on the bond issuance, Chairman and Managing Director of PFC, R.S. Dhillon, expressed satisfaction that despite the challenging Covid-19 situation being witnessed globally, PFC’s bond offer attracted wide participation from international investors. The deal concluded at very attractive terms which reflects confidence of investors in PFC’s business as well as its credit profile and the growth story of Indian power sector, he said.

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JANUARY- 2021

international

SOUTH AFRICA : Zeerust solar power plant (75 MWp) goes into commercial operation The Zeerust solar park is now operational. The installation was recently commissioned by its owner Zeerust Solar. The plant has a capacity of 75 MWp and consists of 250,080 solar panels installed on 179 hectares of land. The electricity produced by the park is fed into the South African national grid via the Kameeldoorn substation owned by Eskom.

he state-owned company has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the developer of the Zeerust Solar project, owned by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments. The consortium also includes Reatile Solar Power, Phakwe Solar, African Rainbow Energy and Power and Cicada Community Trust. With an annual production of 180 GWh, Zeerust Solar estimates that its solar power plant is capable of powering 84,000 South African households. The company has entrusted the construction of Zeerust’s solar power plant to Cobra Energia, a company based in Madrid, Spain. The project was awarded under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Purchasing Programme (REIPPP). The South African government designed this programme to attract private investment in the renewable energy sector. And it has hit the nail on the head as REIPPP has been delivering results for some years. Recently, BioTherm Energy commissioned its wind farm in the Golden Valley in the Eastern Cape Province. The facility was built by the independent power producer (IPP) on 9,000 hectares of farmland. The 48 Goldwind turbines of the Golden Valley wind farm are capable of producing 120 MWp.

Egypt’s decision to decrease renewables’ price helps attract foreign, local investments A recent decision to decrease the price of a kilowatt/hour of renewable energy has contributed to attracting foreign and local investments into the field, said an Egyptian official in the energy sector.

The current prices of the solar and wind energy in Egypt, after the reduction, are considered the lowest cost globally, said Mohamed el-Khayat, the head of the New and Renewable Energy Authority. He explained that Egypt is planning to expand its reliance on renewables as part of its energy mix as part of the Energy Strategy 2035. “Wind projects with a capacity of 500 megawatts are currently being implemented in the Gulf of Suez area (250 megawatts owned by the authority, and 250 megawatts owned by the English company Lekela),” he said. El-Khayyat added that another project to generate electricity from solar cells with a capacity of 70 megawatts is underway, in cooperation with both the German and Japanese government.

JANUARY- 2021

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Spain awards clean power capacity below market price in oversubscribed auction Spain has chosen 32 bidders out of 84 hopefuls to supply more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power in projects that will generate over 2 billion euros in investments, its Energy and Environment Ministry

n the country’s first clean energy auction since 2017, home-grown power group Naturgy was picked to supply 235 megawatts (MW), a company spokeswoman said. Madrid-based market newcomer Capital Energy was awarded 620 MW of wind capacity, a company source said, grabbing the lion’s share of the one gigawatt reserved for wind. Italian renewable firm Falck clinched 40MW of solar capacity, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Winning capacity in auctions assures a developer a fixed price for the electricity generated, shielding it from market volatility. Spain chose a pay-asbid system, whereby each company is paid the price it offers.

Investor interest in the country’s under-exploited solar and more established wind sector has risen as the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez set out ambitious targets amid an international bid to decarbonise economies and halt climate change. The weighted average price of the winning projects was 24.47 euros per MWh for solar and 25.31 euros for wind, 43 per cent below this week’s estimates for 2023, the ministry said, adding that this would filter through directly to lower power bills for households and industrial consumers. A total of 84 bidders submitted projects totalling more than three times the capacity on offer. One gigawatt was reserved for solar photovoltaic and one gigawatt was open to any technology. Naturgy’s allocation consists of 38 MW of wind power and 197 MW of solar photovoltaic capacity, the spokeswoman said. Under its version of the national energy and climate plan required from all European Union countries, Spain aims to install 60GW of capacity by 2030, reaching 74 per cent of electricity generation from renewable sources and thereby cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a third from current levels.

Eneco, European Energy form joint venture for Danish offshore wind bid Dutch energy company Eneco and Danish European Energy have established a joint venture to participate in an upcoming tender for Denmark’s Thor offshore wind farm, they said.

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he Swan Wind joint venture has been prequalified by the Danish Energy Agency for participation in the Thor tender, which is scheduled to conclude in the fourth quarter of 2021, the firms said. The North Sea project is located 20 km (12 miles) off the Danish west coast and will have a capacity of 800-1,000 megawatts and is expected to be connected to the grid between 2025 and 2027. Eneco is owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and Chubu Electric Power. Thor is one of three large offshore wind farms Denmark aims to have built before 2030 as part of its plans to reduce its carbon emissions to 70% below its 1990 levels by 2030. The tender has for Denmark’s largest offshore wind famr to date had drawn a lot of interest, with from a total of six companies or consortia, the Danish Energy Agency said in a separate statement. France’s Total and Spain’s Iberdrola said they will participate in the Thor tender together. Other participants are Denmark’s Orsted, Sweden’s Vattenfall as well as a consortium of British utility SSE and Thor OFW. In addition, Germany’s RWE is participating via a subsidiary called Thor Wind Farm.

JANUARY- 2021

international

Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy tap hydrogen boom in wind alliance

Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy are developing a commercial offshore wind turbine that produces hydrogen via electrolysis, the companies said, marking a breakthrough for the mass production of renewable hydrogen. The companies are investing 120 million euros ($146 million) in the system, which has not been previously reported on. It is the renewable industry’s most concrete plan yet to capitalise on an expected boom in hydrogen demand.

n the European Union, renewable hydrogen, which can replace fossil fuel in sectors that are struggling to decarbonise, is seen as a way to meet goals to reduce emissions. Hoping to get ahead of main rivals Vestas and General Electric, Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa are targeting large industrial players, including steelmakers, refineries and chemical firms, as customers from the mid 2020s.

It’s really about developing a commercially viable product, said Christian Bruch, chief executive of Siemens Energy, which owns 67% of Siemens Gamesa, the world’s largest offshore wind turbine maker. “I don’t know any other company that combines wind energy, electrolysis and offshore high voltage technology all in one enterprise.” Siemens Energy was spun off from parent Siemens last year. About one sixth of electricity generated globally is based on the group’s technology. Green hydrogen is created by splitting water into its two components using electricity from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, as opposed to cheaper grey hydrogen, which is produced via fossil fuels. Although most projects across the continent are at pilot stage, the EU estimates investments in green hydrogen in Europe could reach 470 billion euros by 2050 and create up to 1 million jobs. “What’s charming about our cooperation is that it’s about developing a product,” Siemens Energy’s Bruch said. The plans by Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa are supported by the German government, which has earmarked 9 billion euros to kickstart a national hydrogen industry, with the aim of becoming a global leader in the field. Germany, which borders the North and Baltic Seas, would be a good location for a first commercial project, Siemens Gamesa’s Nauen said. This could be 100-200 megawatts in size, he said, adding potential clients must be located closer to the source as the transportation of hydrogen generated by offshore wind turbines will require pipelines, rather than power cables.

JANUARY- 2021

We have to completely retool the turbine, which has been designed for electricity production, Siemens Gamesa Chief Executive Andreas Nauen said. The joint effort aims to integrate electrolyser technology, which is needed to produce hydrogen, in offshore turbines. “We’re looking at our 14 megawatt turbine, which will be our bread-andbutter product by the mid 2020s,” Nauen said. “Potential offtakers include industries in coastal areas, such as chemical and steel firms,” Nauen said. Industrial firms, including Thyssenkrupp and Salzgitter, are looking to hydrogen technology to help them to significantly cut their carbon footprint. But Siemens Energy’s Bruch said offshore wind turbines able to produce hydrogen are just one of many ways to reach net zero emissions. “Hydrogen is a key topic but there’s no silver bullet here,” he said.

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international

Orix to Buy Spanish Energy Firm Elawan for About $965 Million Orix Corp. agreed to buy Spain’s Elawan Energy, the Japanese financial conglomerate’s first deal to acquire a majority stake in an overseas renewable power company, people with knowledge of the matter said.

okyo-based Orix is purchasing an 80% stake in Elawan from its management and Spanish industrial company Acek, said the people, who asked not to be identified before an announcement. With an additional capital injection later, the deal is worth about 100 billion yen ($965 million), the people said. The acquisition will expand Orix’s global renewable energy operations as it broadens a business portfolio that ranges from leasing to banking and real estate. Acek, which also owns car parts maker Gestamp Automocion SA, has been selling stakes in renewable assets. Tokyobased Orix spokeswoman Yuka Kanaoka declined to comment. A call made to Madrid-based Acek on the Christmas Day holiday went unanswered. Elawan, set up in 2007, develops and operates wind and solar power projects in Europe and the Americas. It has 714 megawatts of operational projects, more than 460 megawatts under construction and a development pipeline of over 10 gigawatts.

Orix has been ramping up investment in renewable energy at home and abroad in recent years. The company is also looking for such assets in the U.S., the people said. In September, Orix agreed to buy a roughly 20% stake in Indian renewable energy developer Greenko Energy Holdings for $980 million, the conglomerate’s biggest investment in the sector overseas.

LafargeHolcim to buy Firestone Building Products in $3.4 billion deal LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker, announced a $3.4 billion deal to buy Firestone Building Products from Japan’s Bridgestone Corporation in its biggest acquisition in more than a decade. The purchase of the roofing products business is the biggest under CEO Jan Jenisch, who since taking over in 2017 has focussed on paying down debts, quitting less profitable markets and smaller bolt-on deals.

t will help LafargeHolcim tap increasing demand for roofs that generate solar energy and cool buildings, with cities such as San Francisco requiring solar panels on new buildings. Jenisch said his company’s focus was now on growth, with plans to roll out Firestone Building Products beyond the United States where it currently generates nearly 90% of its $1.8 billion in annual sales.

Jenisch said his company’s focus was now on growth, with plans to roll out Firestone Building Products beyond the United States where it currently generates nearly 90% of its $1.8 billion in annual sales. “We said we wanted to have a fourth leg for our company – building solutions and products – for this we need a bigger acquisition,” Jenisch told reporters. “We needed a platform which had technologies and an innovative product range to kick start this fourth segment and this is exactly what this Firestone business is offering to us.”

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The Nashville, Tennessee-based business generated an operating profit of $238 million in 2020. Around half of the deal would be financed through LafargeHolcim’s exiting cash, with the rest financed via issuing bonds. LafargeHolcim said it expects the deal to be earnings accretive from its first year, with mid-single digit percentage organic sales growth. Jenisch said there was scope for rapid growth in the $50 billion global market for flat roofs, which he expects to reach $65 billion by 2027, noting increasing demand for roofs that generate solar power and increasing urbanisation. “We want to become the market leader in flat roofing systems. We are currently number four in this fragmented market,” Jenisch said. “We will be significantly increasing the business, we have a lot of opportunities in the core market of the U.S. and then we will expand rapidly into Latin America and also accelerate our business in Europe.” Among competitors are Jenisch’s previous company Sika, although he denied he was trying to copy the Swiss construction chemicals maker. “Sika is also in the roofing market…in some markets, and in some technologies they will compete with us,” he said. “But that is a good thing, it is always good to have a solid field of competitors and I think they are one of them.” Analysts said the deal, although coming at a high price, would help LafargeHolcim expand its solutions and product business, which is less capital intensive than its cement operations. The company’s shares were 1% higher in early trading. “It is clearly a transformational step with significant synergies,” said Bernd Pomrehn, an analyst at Bank Vontobel.

JANUARY- 2021

international

Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited commissions 25 MW solar project in Oman Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited (SWSL) (BSE Scrip Code: 542760; NSE Symbol: SWSOLAR), one of the largest solar EPC solutions providers in the world, has successfully commissioned its second project in Oman. The 25 MW solar project was awarded to SWSL by global energy company Shell.. SWSL commissioned this project on time with more than 300,000 safe manhours during the pandemic by following all the necessary safety protocols and measures set by the local authorities.

Mr. Bikesh Ogra – Director and Global CEO, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited said, “Oman is experiencing a rapid rise in domestic energy demand as more urbanized populations are consuming greater amounts of power. The country wants to expand its electricity generation capacities through renewable independent power projects and aims to derive 30% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It gives us immense pride to commission our second project in Oman during such difficult times. We feel honored to have the opportunity to support Shell and contribute to Oman’s journey of a clean and sustainable future.”

JANUARY- 2021

he project, located on a 50-hectare site within Sohar Freezone, will save 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, thus reducing the dependency of natural gas resources and unlocking large scale solar opportunities for the country. Last year, SWSL became the first Indian company to commission a solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Oman. The Amin Solar Project, with an installed capacity of 125 MWp, is Oman’s first renewables-based Independent Power Project (IPP). Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited has been executing projects globally and has to its credit more than 10.6 GWp of solar power projects (commissioned and under various stages of construction) in various geographies. This portfolio includes a 1,177 MWp Solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi – the world’s largest single-site solar plant. The Company also manages a portfolio of 8 GWp of O&M projects globally, a testament to its best-in-class services.

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international

LONGi Hi-MO series solar modules secure “Energy Innovation Award” from Bureau Veritas Group LONGi, the world leading solar technology company, has secured an “Energy Innovation Award” from the organizing committee of the 2020 edition of the China CSR Ceremony for its long-term commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the technological innovation of its Hi-MO series modules. Mr. Henry Jiang, Vice President of LONGi Solar, received the award on behalf of the company.

he CSR Ceremony invited experts from the Bureau Veritas Group and MoRecycle as the assessment team, which evaluated the Hi-MO series modules against international CSR standards, such as ISO 26000, Social Responsibility Performance and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. As an organization committed to social responsibility, LONGi has established a mechanism to coordinate and manage the company’s donations to charities, to ensure that the activities of the headquarters and all business units are consistent with the company’s social responsibility planning and philanthropic vision. During 2020, the company, through the LONGi One Percent Foundation, announced a donation of 10 million RMB to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic.

LONGi also recognizes that participation in and implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) can promote global governance and present development opportunities. The company combines UNSDGs with its business values, and identifies with the importance and intent of the relevant UNSDGs to the organisation. In 2019, LONGi released its “China PV Outlook 2050” report at the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, the first time a private renewable company, as a key participant, had developed a clean energy technology outlook report on a specific country.

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Being the most innovative solar technology company in the renewable energy sector, LONGi has constantly worked towards developing and delivering high efficiency, high reliability and high-quality modules. From monocrystalline to PERC technology, to bifacial modules and industry-leading gallium-doped low-degradation technology, to 166mm (HiMO4) and 182mm (Hi-MO5) offerings, LONGi products have always been trendsetters for the industry. In 2020, LONGi ranked top among all solar manufacturers, according to new data released by PV InfoLink, with over 20GW of module shipments. With China aiming to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, decarbonization initiatives provide major opportunities to accelerate technology innovation and industrial upgrades in the PV industry. The “Energy Innovation Award” represents strong recognition of LONGi’s success in its continuous innovation and green manufacturing in the renewable energy industry. The company will continue to deliver against its corporate social responsibilities, further developing its “Solar for Solar” concept of manufacturing products using 100% clean energy in order to achieve a negative carbon footprint.

JANUARY- 2021

featured

Solis Makes A Point, With 1 GW Milestone In India

Ginlong (Solis) Technologies, the Ningbo, China headquartered inverter firm release dits 2020 estimated annual financial report on January 22: the annual sales is expected to up to3,40 million USD dollars, the highest growth than the same period last year of 93%. Ginlong (Solis) Technologiesentered India in 2015, and has underlined its strong focus here by crossing the 1 GW milestone in India. The milestone, coming just over 5 years since the firm entered the market, is notable for not just the steady year on year increase, but the acceptance the firm has managed in India. A place in the top 3 inverter suppliers to the Indian solar market.

s an established name embraced across utility, C&I and other segments, the firm’s wide range has had success in a tough value driven market like India mainly due to the long term view the firm took for this market. Unlike many other firms entering the market around the same time, Solis has actually focused on delivering the kind of service and warranties top inverter firms promise. Thus, from a call center in Mumbai to a technical service network available online as well as at short notice across the country, Solis as a firm has managed to convince Indian buyers that it is delivering real value for money. 5 years on, a very low failure rate coupled with higher visibility across quality projects has helped build the trust factor further. The Solis brand, which is the one used by the firm for global sales outside China, has been built on the back of a high focus on quality. From being the Second Inverter manufacturer to get BIS listing for maximum ratings in India, Solis was also the first inverter manufacturer to pass PVEL (former part of DNV-GL) inverter reliability testing. The firm claims that 100% of inverters produced are duration-tested before shipment to reduce failures during installation. Topping it all off is the claim to winning the EUPD research top brand award for 5 consecutive years. The firm currently has BIS certification in place for its inverters in the 700K to 80K range. All of which has made the firm a top 3 ‘Most bankable Asia brand’ by Bloomberg NEF too. Solis has plans to build on its strong legacy of trust worldwide, thanks to the massive capacity expansion it hopes to complete in 2021, wherein manufacturing capacity will go from 5 GW to 20 GW.

JANUARY- 2021

Speaking about the future, the firm’s management believes that in line with global trends, Solis will also be served best by focusing on the energy storage market, where installed capacity of new energy storage is expected to peak at 30 GW per annum from 2030 onwards, That means an energy storage all-in-one inverter, off-grid energy storage inverter, will be next on the agenda. The firm plans to launch its off-grid energy storage inverter for the Indian market this year. It’s wide experience in the C&I segment especially, where it has been used in projects from schools to gas stations, farms and office buildings will certainly give it an advantage building the next generation of products for this market. Having a technically qualified founder familiar with the risks and opportunities in the sector has helped Solis make the most of its opportunities. By 2020 end, the firm had prepared for the next phase of solar growth by getting a stock exchange listing in March 2019, as well as a zero debt status , giving it ample options to fund future growth. A strong R&D focus has helped keep it on the cutting edge of innovations, and R&D investment increased by more than 100% year on year in the first three quarters of 2020, and have a faster go to market record, ensuring customer loyalty is rewarded with low wait times. Regular third party validations have helped no doubt, be it on lifespan projections, or failure rates of under 0.2 percent, both from DNV•GL. Solis is a genuine multinational firm today, with a global brand respected across markets. Solis cherishes the relationship with all India customers. Thank you so much for all your support and understanding as usual.We will make every effort to ensure better service to all of our valuable customers.

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featured

General Motors Pledges a Zero-Emissions Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet by 2035 General Motors plans to achieve companywide carbon-neutrality by 2040 and sell only carbon-emissions-free light-duty vehicles by 2035, a major step by America’s biggest automaker to align its future with the climate-change imperatives of the international Paris Agreement and the Biden-Harris administration.

M, the first U.S. automaker to move into electric vehicles, to a much bigger scope of battery-powered cars and trucks in the U.S. and abroad. By 2025, GM will have 30 battery-powered vehicle models available globally, and those models will make up 40 percent of its vehicle models offered in the U.S. Its new 2040 target to zero out carbon emissions from its vehicles and corporate operations shaves a decade off its previous 2050 commitment. That midcentury target is held by fellow U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. and global competitors including Volkswagen; Toyota has a goal of a 90 percent reduction by 2050. Other automaker carbon-reduction goals include BMW’s pledge to cut vehicle emissions one-third by 2030 and Honda Motor Co.’s plan for electric and fuel-cell vehicles to make up two-thirds of sales by decade’s end.

General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a prepared statement. “We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”

A shift in federal clean transportation policy GM’s more aggressive goals come as federal policy is starting to align with the most aggressive state-level decarbonization targets for the transportation sector. California Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer pledged to end sales of new gasoline-fueled cars in the state by 2035, after a summer of wildfires driven by climate-change-induced extreme weather. The Biden-Harris administration, which has a goal of ending carbon emissions economywide by 2050, has moved quickly to reverse the Trump administration’s rollback of national fuel efficiency standards for road vehicles. President Joe Biden said he would shift all federal vehicle purchases to “clean electric vehicles made right here in America,” and he signed an executive order that, among other things, calls for federal agencies to “procure carbonpollution-free electricity and clean, zero-emission vehicles.” Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, has a long track record of working with automakers during her years as governor of Michigan. In her Senate confirmation hearing,

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Granholm highlighted the job-creation promise of electric vehicles and clean fuel technologies, while also pledging to work to reduce the impact of the Biden-Harris administration’s policies on jobs in fossil fuel industries. EVs made up only 2.6 percent of global automotive and heavy-duty vehicle sales last year, but that share is set to grow to nearly 14 percent by 2030, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Beyond government mandates, EVs are increasingly cost-competitive against fossil-fuel-powered vehicles when lifetime fuel costs are taken into account, although their upfront costs are still higher in most cases.

GM’s storied EV history GM’s new shift comes after years of building on its EV development and market experience, ranging from its ill-fated EV1, the first mass-produced modern EV launched and then scrapped in the late 1990s, to the unveiling of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid sedan in 2010 to compete with Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid. While the Volt was discontinued in 2016 and GM stopped building it in 2019, it has since expanded its EV lineup with the Chevy Bolt in 2016 and an expanding line of all-electric models from brands including Cadillac and Hummer. It’s investing $2.2 billion to convert its DetroitHamtramck assembly plant to all-electric vehicle production and has centered its entire EV lineup on a common battery platform, dubbed Ultium, being produced in a $2.3 billion plant in Lordstown, Ohio in collaboration with LG Chem. GM’s plan won the endorsement of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which previously opposed the automaker’s decision (later reversed) to challenge California’s move to maintain its own fuel economy standards against the reduced standards promulgated by the Trump administration.

Overall by 2050, zero-emissions vehicles will deliver more than $100 billion in net societal benefits each year (economic and pollution benefits) and provide $1.6 trillion in cumulative net benefits to Americans by 2050 — almost 10 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, EDF President Fred Krupp said.

JANUARY- 2021

electric vehicle

A 1500 Km Road Trip in an Electric Car, For Just Rs 700: Jaipur Engineer Shares How While his friends would travel in their IC-engine vehicles, Aakash was planning on driving his Tata Nexon electric vehicle (EV), which has a premium battery range of 312 km. But his friends cancelled on their plans last minute. Aakash, however, was already committed to the trip and had made extensive preparations. Instead of his friends, he would take his wife Kaushal. Thus, in the wee hours of Christmas morning in 2020, the couple embarked on their nearly 1500 km round trip from Jaipur to Longewala, taking them through Pushkar, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. With little to no hiccups, they completed the trip to Longewala and back in over four days.

We started the journey from my home in Jaipur to Pushkar, where we stayed overnight and charged the vehicle. From Pushkar, we went to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and then Longewala town on the Indo-Pak border, says Aakash, the founder of Aha 3D innovations which designs 3D printers. What’s particularly remarkable about this trip was that they spent approximately only Rs 700 to Rs 800 charging their EV. If Aakash had taken this trip in a conventional IC-engine vehicle, that has an average mileage of 15 km per litre, he would have spent close to Rs 9,000 just on petrol. So, how did Aakash take this long road trip to the Indo-Pak border with barely any hiccups and pay so little to power his EV? What Do You Need to Take Your EV Out on Long Road Trips?

First off, EV drivers need to ensure that they can charge their vehicle at any given point. To start off, Aakash made an extension cable and attached it to an electricity meter (electrometer) so that he could measure the electricity consumed and pay the owner of the concerned establishment. During the trip, he also carried an earthing kit because a lot of the hotels and establishments did not have proper earthing. “EV owners often resort to making DIY earthing kits (an iron rod covered by copper wire is inserted into the ground). As you may know, earthing is the process of protecting against unwarranted spikes of electricity that can cause damage to an appliance or in this case my EV. It’s important that earthing is available for this vehicle. There is an iron rod, which I can pitch into the ground and connect a wire to it. This creates earthing, and then this wire connected to the vehicle charger. During my journey, I discovered more ways of earthing like using a copper plate for water-tank based electrical earthing and clamp for getting earthing with any metal structure like plumbing (GI pipes), hand-pumps, railings, pole, electricity board pits, etc. This was the most important discovery I made and would advise the same for anyone who plans on such road trips,” notes Aakash.

JANUARY- 2021

V drivers need earthing to charge their EVs safely, and most places he came across during this trip didn’t have it. Everywhere, they had to make adjustments to create that earthing. After the trip, he developed an EV travel charging kit, which contains all the necessary elements like the extension cable with an energy meter, an indicator to note if the wiring is okay nor not, an iron rod, a copper plate and any other equipment one needs on long EV road trips, which costs up to approximately Rs 9,878. This product is available on the Aha3D website. “We also ensured that every 200-odd km, we planned a stop at a hotel or any such establishment to charge the EV. We stayed at hotels, my friend’s home, and desert camps, which we called in advance to ensure that electricity was available. At every place we stopped for the night, we charged our car for a good 10 to 11 hours. Ideally, however, we would charge the EV when the battery hits 15% and therefore require just 8 hours for a full charge,” he says. In the absolute worst-case scenario, however, if drivers are stranded on the highway with no charge, they can either call up the nearest workshop that can help them tow the car or ask a passing-by vehicle to help with the same. Towing the EV helps charge the vehicle because of a feature called regenerative charging (regen) or tow charging.

“All you need to do is carry your towing rope in your car boot and you can just hail a vehicle ready to tow your car. For every 1km the vehicle is towed, you approximately gain 1.1% charge. If you tow the vehicle for 5 km, you gain 6% of battery charge. Every 1% charge gives you a range of 2.5 km. So, if you tow your vehicle for 5 km, you roughly gain a range of around 15 km in addition to the 5 km you have already towed for,” says Aakash. Thus, another key part of his EV travel charging kit is the tow rope. Of course, he does not recommend this option and it is to be used only in dire need circumstances. If drivers follow the basic plan, they wouldn’t even face such scenarios.

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electric vehicle EVs like Tata Nexon are very predictable and it can tell exactly how many kilometres are left before the battery runs out. If drivers have to travel more than what their car is predicting, then what they can do is adjust their driving pattern to gain more range. “For example, if you’re driving at 80 kmph, you get a range of 200-220 km. But if you discover that this is not good enough, you can always start driving 40 kmph, and this will increase your range to over 300 km. Therefore, at no point were we stranded. Although the company claims a range of 312 km, if the Tata Nexon is driven at speeds of 90-100 kmph, the battery range drops to about 160 km on a single charge. If they drive like monks at speeds of 40 kmph, they can extend the range to up to 320 km,” observes Aakash. It really depends on speed and acceleration. When accelerating hard, a driver burns a lot of battery energy. Sudden breaking also eats up a lot of battery. They don’t want to break too hard or often and instead tap into regen (regeneration of energy). EVs have this feature that if a driver is speeding and wants to stop, they can save energy while stopping. As this article in electrek noted, “Regenerative braking uses an EV’s motor as a generator to convert much of the kinetic energy lost when decelerating back into stored energy in the vehicle’s battery. Then, the next time the car accelerates, it uses much of the energy previously stored from regenerative braking instead of tapping in further to its own energy reserves. It is important to realise that on its own, regenerative braking isn’t a magical range booster for EVs. It doesn’t make EVs more efficient per se.” To stop an EV, all anyone needs is to let go of the accelerator pedal. In the process, the car will start the process of regenerating energy. If a traffic light is 50 metres ahead, one can just let go of the accelerator and the car will stop while saving energy. Besides fast acceleration, even sudden breaking would result in a loss of battery energy. “Our biggest challenge emerged while travelling from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer. Along the route, for about five-odd kilometres, the highway was under construction. The road was all sandy and rocky. These conditions put a strain on your EV battery. We wasted something like 10% of energy in covering just these 5 km. As a result, during the following 148 km we were supposed to travel towards our next destination, I only had a battery range for about 118-120 km. To make matters worse, we were travelling at night, around 9.30 pm, and the road was very deserted. There was no fallback option of towing as well,” he recalls. Instead, they started driving really slowly at around 45-50 kmph and that helped them cover this distance on less charge. However, while returning from Longwala to Jaisalmer, they had sufficient charge and travelled at speeds of 100 kmph on the highway. Speaking of the fuel cost saved from travelling in an EV, Kaushal says, “If we travelled in an IC-engine vehicle with a mileage of 15 km per litre, we would require approximately 100 litres of petrol to cover the 1500 km round trip. Say, we take the price of petrol at Rs 90/litre, I would have spent Rs 9,000 just on fuel costs. In the EV, we spent about 200 units of electricity to charge it. At Rs 7/unit, it comes to about Rs 1,400, which is barely over 15% of the total fuel costs of travelling in an IC-engine vehicle. In fact, there were certain places, where they didn’t even charge us for the electricity consumed. Out of these 200 units, we paid for only 100 or Rs 700. Our fuel costs, therefore, was in the range of Rs 700 to Rs 800 for the entire trip.”

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Thanks to this trip, Aakash has gained a lot of confidence in taking his EV out on the highways cutting through Jaipur. Since the trip, he has made regular road trips. “There is a place about 115 km from my house which I visit every weekend, so that’s a round trip of 230 km. On the periphery of Jaipur city, a lot of fast charging stations have emerged particularly along radial highways to Delhi, Ajmer or Kota. Tata Motors has set up these fast charging stations at places where you can charge your EV and hit the highway. Moreover, all the major cities are within a radius of 250 km. I am currently planning a visit to my native village, which is 230 km from Jaipur,” he says. Before the trip commenced, Aakash had reached out to Amit Goel, a senior manager at Tata Motors, through their informal online network called National EV Owners Club. He asked Amit for routes and technical back-up. In return, Amit supported the couple by lining up commercial workshop owners in the State to support their endeavour. Having said that, with the right charging infrastructure, the day isn’t far away when travellers hitting the highway on their EVs becomes the norm. Despite limited charging infrastructure, Aakash and Kaushal managed a 1500 km round trip with ease. Instead of guzzling litres of petrol or diesel and polluting the pristine air outside our cities, maybe next time you can take your EV out too.

JANUARY- 2021

research & Analysis

Surge in Renewable Energy And Way Forward

Reduced cost of energy. Improved reliability. Diminished carbon emissions. Better supply quality. If all of that sounds good to you, then key for you is to know a recent surge in Renewable power sector. The advent of renewable energy resources, especially Solar PV technology is revolutionizing conventional practices of power sector industry including generation, transmission and distribution. Renewable energy has reached grid parity in almost all parts of the word and it is expected to meet 80% of the growth in global electricity demand by 2030. As depicted in figure 1, the price of electricity from solar has declined by 89% in last decade and price of on-shore wind has reduced by 70% in these 10 years.

Levelized cost of electricity (Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis)

n the latest annual World Energy Outlook 2020 report, the IEA states “Renewables grow rapidly in all our scenarios, with solar at the centre of this new constellation of electricity generation technologies”. It can be analysed in Figure 2 that from year 2000 there is gradual increase in percentage share of renewable energy and on the other hand there is reduction in share of conventional carbon-based fuels in electricity production. To sum up, reduction in cost, supportive policies and evolving technologies; large scale centralized solar and wind project has now become cheapest source of electricity compare to coal- or gas fired power plants in most of the countries. Renewable energy is helping us to achieve an economical energy transition for greener sustainable and carbon neutral future and is evident from the analysis (fig 3) which shows an uptick in electric generation through renewable resources, however the benefits are accompanied with equal challenges due to its intermittency and distributed nature.

JANUARY- 2021

World electricity generation mix by fuel – 2000 – 2018 (IEA)

Large utility scale solar PV and wind project rely on scale of economics; larger the size of project there will be lower cost of energy and better returns for the project. However, there are few constraints that need to be evaluated 1. Infrastructure: it will be difficult to have larger projects at all the location due to constrains in evacuation infrastructure, access to grid and land availability. 2. Capital Requirements: large projects demand complex and huge capital funding 3. Grid Operation: It will also bring in additional challenges for grid operation due to its intermittent in nature and mismatch in energy supply available and load demand requirements. Addressing power regulatory requirement also becomes challenging in terms of voltage, frequency and power quality.

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research & analysis

Change in global electricity generation by source and scenario 2020 – 2040 (IEA)

Moreover, there will be more capital requirement for setting up adequate transmission and distribution network and that will also add to more losses; reduce efficiency of system and will affect overall viability and economics. To talk further on this topic there are some opportunities to explore and benefit from. Decentralised / distributed system and hybrid system (Standalone energy system, microgrid, cogeneration) can be an alternative where we can mix various renewable energy technology like wind, solar PV and solar thermal along with storage system and for minimum back up generator are included. Energy storage plays a progressive vital role in ensuring the flexible and stable operation of power systems, with increase in percentage share of wind and solar energy. It can help in efficient use of energy and better power quality. Infrastructure cost and energy loss due to transmission and distribution system can be avoided. Further, we can have more systematic supply and load planning. During peak power demands, mostly in morning and evening hours, energy requirements can be met though storage batteries and when there is surplus renewable energy, batteries can be charged back. Along with advantages of decentralized / distributed generation comes with some challenges due to their operation and maintenance requirements. Compare to large utility scale centralized grid connect Solar/ Wind generation project, cost of distributed system is at higher end. Further, Storage of energy is also required to overcome intermittent and vulnerable nature of solar and wind energy; which affects overall financials of the project. To overcome power supply uncertainty from renewable energy; a larger grid-based interconnection across geographies and connecting supply across borders arrangement can also be a promising alternative and can play important part. Considering its importance and economic prospect for the World; International Solar Alliance (#IEA) has come up with mantra of “ One Sun One World One Grid” (OSOWOG), a trans-national electric grid supply solar power across globe to leverage multiple benefits.

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Energy curve for distributed renewable energy and storage system

The vision behind OSOWOG The Sun Never Sets and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time. This initiative can help in building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources that are seamlessly shared for mutual benefits and global sustainability. To summarize we can state that advancement in renewable energy technology, along with policies has given hope for economical and sustainable energy transition but the picture is not always bright, and there are headwinds. As per IEA “To achieve net zero by 2050 goal, would involve a significant further acceleration in the deployment of clean energy technologies together with wide ranging behavioural changes”. Big-data will play a significant part in comprehensive flow of information and parameters among stake holders and facilitating dynamic adjustments to real-time market and operational conditions, and promoting efficiencies in generation, transmission and distribution networks. Government agencies and Utilities companies should also look at ways to capture those opportunities with their own products and services; wider deployment of cross border grid connection and distributed electricity generation technologies. Coming century is for fulfilment to eradicating darkness, reaching electricity to each and every home through green renewable energy.

JANUARY- 2021

technology

JA Solar Bifacial Double-glass Modules Increases Energy Yield by 23% in Comparison Test Conducted by TĂ&#x153;V Rheinland With its advantages in increasing energy yield and decreasing LCOE, bifacial double-glass module has become the mainstream product used in large-scale ground-mountedPV power plants. Leading the industry in the development and application of bifacial double-glass modules, JA Solar beganmass production of the PERC bifacial double-glass modules in 2017. Since then, it has supplied modules for a number of large-scalePV power projects around the world,including the world's first large-scale bifacial double-glass modules PV project. The company integrates bifacial double-glass structure with multiple advanced technologies including MBB, half-cell technology, large-size wafers and gallium-doped wafers to continuously improve the power generation performance of the product

44Â

JANUARY- 2021

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technology

oassess the performance of JA Solar bifacial double-glass modules in practical application, JA Solar jointly conduct edan energy yield test with TÜV Rheinland in a stateowned 100MW PV power plant in Delingha, Qinghai. The objective was to compare the power generation performance of bifacial double-glass module (JA Solar) and mono-facial mono modules connected with different types of inverters and racks, in an effort to provide reference points for downstream customers in module selection.

Array

No.1

Module type Bifacial doubleglass 310W(JA Solar)

The result of the test shows that, compared with mono-facial mono modules, the JA Solar bifacial double-glass modules significantly increase power generation. To avoid the influence of export limitation, 4 unlimited arrays were chosen as samples. The 4 arrays are No.1 array with JA Solar bifacial double-glass module, and No. 23 array, No.33array, No.44array installed with mono-facial mono modules from different module manufacturers. Detailed information about the arrays is summarized below.

No.23

No.33

Mono-facial mono 310W(Different module manufacturer)

Rack type

Horizontal uniaxial Fixed adjustable tilt rack(2P Height:2m) angle (15°/37°/55°)

Inverter type

String Inverter

Distributed inverter

No.44 Mono-facial mono 310W (Different module manufacturer)

Fixed tilt angle (37°) Centralized Inverter

String Inverter

Notes: The arrays are neighboring and built on the same land type, designed and constructed by the same construction team with the same construction cycle and grid-connected time. The selected are all export-unlimited arrays. The sample data is from June 6, 2019 to October 19, 2020. After contrasting, cleaning, screening and deleting abnormal data, the data of a total of 485 days is qualified.To ensure the objectivity of data comparison,TÜV Rheinland conducted consistency tests on the performance and quality of modules. The result shows that the power generation performance of both bifacial and mono-facial modules is consistent with their performance in the same period in 2019. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in the quality consistency test including I-V curve measurement, thermography inspection (IR), on-site electro luminescence imaging (EL), and dust loss test

According to the analysis results of TÜV Rheinland, taking into account the influence of the tracking bracket, the energy yield of No.1 array with JA Solar bifacial double-glass modules is 15.44%, 23.34% and 20.25% higher compared with No.23, No.33, No.44 respectively. This demonstrates the excellent power generation performance of JA Solar bifacial double-glass modules in the system part. JA Solar’sbifacial double-glass modules have been widely used in PV projects across the globe. The result of thetest once again validates the excellent power generation performance of JA Solar bifacial double-glass module, enabling it to becomea good choice to guarantee ROIfor downstream customers. With the integration of bifacial double-glass structure with more high-efficiency technologies, JA Solar continues to improve the performance of its bifacial double-glass products to decrease LCOE, and optimizetheadvantages such as low attenuation and long service life to bring more benefits to customers.

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JANUARY- 2021

electric vehicle

EU electric vehicle push needs 80 billion euros for chargers: industry group An EU plan for a fifty-fold increase in electric cars this decade to help cut greenhouse gas emissions will require an 80 billion euro ($96.5 billion) investment in charging points to support it, power industry group Eurelectric said

he European Union has said it needs 30 million or more zero-emission cars on its roads by 2030 as part of efforts to cut emissions by at least 55% this decade versus 1990 levels. The bloc had about 615,000 such vehicles at the end of 2019, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. They are powered by fewer than 250,000 public electric vehicle charging points, which must rise to 3 million by 2030 to meet the green goals, according to a report by Eurelectric – which represents national electricity associations and leading companies – and Ernst & Young (EY).

Expanding the charging infrastructure will require 20 billion euros for public chargers and 60 billion euros for private ones, the report said. That rollout is currently “well below target”, it added, echoing concerns raised by auto industry groups. The power industry group said by 2030 the EU will have 10.5 million electric vehicles in fleets operated by companies or public authorities. Europe’s 63-million-strong vehicle fleets today include only 420,000 electric vehicles. Surging e-commerce amid the coronavirus pandemic has added fresh impetus to a race to develop electric vans and trucks, as there are relatively few models available today. Eurelectric also called for the EU to impose mandatory requirements for carmakers to sell zero-emissions vehicles. The EU has used CO2 emissions standards for cars to promote electric vehicle sales in recent years, and later this year will propose tightening those standards to speed the shift to clean transport.

BMW to Use World’s First Solar-Made Aluminum BMW AG and Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC have struck a deal for the first aluminum produced using solar power, a milestone for both their energy-intensive industries. The Middle East’s biggest aluminum maker will supply 43,000 metric tons per year of solar aluminum to the German carmaker in a deal worth at least 100 million euros ($121 million), the two companies said in statement

GA, based in the United Arab Emirates, is the world’s first firm to make aluminum commercially with solar electricity, according to the statements. It will use power generated at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, located in a desert near Dubai. The aluminum will provide almost half of the needs of BMW’s Landshut plant northeast of Munich. Landshut will play an important role in BMW ’Landshut plant northeast of Munich. Landshut will play an important role in BMW’s plan to take on Tesla Inc., with the facility supplying components for electric vehicles such as the future iX and i4 models.

Solar aluminum is a step forward –- using a natural and abundant source of energy in our desert environment to make a metal that is vital to our planet’s future, EGA’s Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said.

JANUARY- 2021

BMW said the deal is a step toward lowering CO2 emissions in its supply network by 20% by 2030. By using solar aluminum, BMW will reduce its carbon emissions by 222,000 metric tons annually, EGA said. The reductions represent about 23% of BMW’s emissions from its production alone, but just 0.3% of its total emissions when measured on a Scope 3 metric, which includes greenhouse gases produced by people driving cars built by the company. The Al Maktoum Solar Park, operated by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, has a planned 2030 production capacity of 5,000 megawatts. EGA produces aluminum at a smelting factory close to the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, one of seven sheikdoms that make up the UAE. The BMW announcement came hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would keep tariffs in place on aluminum imports from the UAE, a decision that could impinge on EGA’s business.

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electric vehicle

Apple to invest $3.6 billion in Kia to make EVs The iPhone maker plans to set up production with Kia and build Apple cars at the automaker’s facility in Georgia, U.S., the newspaper said. The companies may sign a deal on Feb. 17 and aim to introduce Apple cars in 2024, according to the report, which said they have an initial target to produce 100,000 autos a year.

eports of Apple considering expanding into vehicles have led to speculation on potential manufacturing partners. The technology giant’s car-development work is still at an early stage, and the company will take at least half a decade to launch an autonomous EV, people with knowledge of the efforts have told Bloomberg News. That suggests the company isn’t in a hurry with partnership decisions. Shares of Kia jumped as much as 14% and are trading at the highest since 1997. A representative for the carmaker in Seoul and an Apple representative in California declined to comment on the report. Last month, Hyundai Motor Co., an affiliate of Kia, backed away from a statement that said it was in talks with Apple, revising it to say only it had been contacted by potential partners for the development of autonomous EVs. An electric Apple car would rival vehicles from Tesla Inc. and companies such as upstart Lucid Motors and established manufacturers Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG. Setting up a car plant can cost billions of dollars and take years, likely the reason why Apple is talking to potential partners.

Tesla robotaxis to justify valuation but Tesla Semi waiting for batteries

During Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, said there is a “roadmap to potentially justify” its market cap, which has topped $800bn, making it the fifth-most valuable US company. According to Musk, as Tesla’s self-driving technology continues to improve, Tesla vehicles will become self-driving robotaxis, allowing usage to increase from an average of 12 hours a week to 60 hours a week. Tesla could potentially charge additional fees for those robotaxis, allowing the company to generate much more revenue per car.

usk also announced that Tesla’s Full Self Driving package will be available on a subscription basis starting in Q1, rather than as a one-time $10,000 add-on, which will allow Tesla to begin adding recurring revenue as it works on improving its self-driving technology. Musk’s valuation assumes the company will reach around $50bn in annual car sales. Tesla generated $9.31bn in automotive revenue in Q4 and said that vehicle deliveries would increase an average of 50% a year going forward. “If you made $50 billion worth of cars, it would be like having $50 billion of incremental profit, basically because it’s just software,” Musk said in the introductory part of the call. Based on that formula, Musk says a multiple of 20 times earnings would lead to $1 trillion in market cap — “and the company’s still in high-growth mode.”

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For instance, when Tesla began to discuss self-driving technology in 2016, Musk said the company would complete a hands-free trip across the U.S. by late 2017. The company has yet to complete that mission. Currently, Tesla’s Full Self Driving features include Smart Summon, which lets a driver call their Tesla to roll out from a parking spot to where they are standing, and Navigate on Autopilot, which can pilot the car from a highway on-ramp to an off-ramp, making necessary lane changes along the way. However, significant increases in capabilities are still needed for the vehicles to become full autonomous. Tesla Semi class 8 truck on hold while battery production increases. During the briefing call, Elon Musk also said that volume production of its class 8 truck, the Tesla Semi, is on hold until Tesla can make a high volume of its 4680 battery cells. The cells, which Tesla designed and showed off to shareholders at a battery day presentation in September 2020, are large, tab-less lithium-ion cells that the company is making at its pilot battery factory in Fremont, California. When Tesla first unveiled its Semi trucks in 2017, Musk said they would be delivered to customers in 2019. In April last year, the company said it would delay Semi production until this year. Now the company has said it will deliver its first Semi by the end of 2021. “Prototypes are easy, scaling production is very hard,” Musk commented. Tesla has taken scores of reservations from big name customers for the Semi. Anheuser-Busch, DHL Group, PepsiCo, Pride Group and Walmart put money down for the class 8, battery electric Tesla trucks. “The main reason we’ve not accelerated new products is — like for example Tesla Semi — is that we simply don’t have enough cells for it. If we were to make the Semi like right now, which we could easily go into production with the Semi, but we would not have enough cells for it right now. We will have enough cells for Semi when we are producing the Tesla 4680 in volume. Basically we do not see any issues with creating a compelling long-range truck with batteries apart from cell supply,” Musk said. EQ

JANUARY- 2021

electric vehicle

Ozop Energy/PCTI Partners with Zeem to Develop Evolutionary EV Charging Solutions Ozop Energy Solutions. (OZSC), (“Ozop” or the “Company”), has announced that its fully owned subsidiary Power Conversion Technologies Inc. (PCTI) has announced a development partnership with Zeem Solutions to work on high power charging solutions to address the medium and heavy duty commercial EV market.

Brian Conway, Chief Executive Officer of Ozop stated, “We are excited about this relationship with Zeem Solutions and look forward to working with their team to increase our presence in the burgeoning electric vehicle fleet charging industry. Ozop Energy/PCTI is positioned to take the technology and engineering challenges confronted by companies like Zeem head on. This relationship opens the door further into the commercial EV fleet market and should make a substantial contribution to our bottom-line for years to come.”

PCTI is looking forward to playing an integral part in providing battery charging and discharging solutions to Zeem. Zeem selected PCTI based on reliable designs that have been proven for years in critical applications such as submarine battery charging. said PCTI President, Catherine Chis.

eem Solutions is developing new and unique approaches to accelerate adoption in the commercial electric vehicle (CEV) fleet sector. They offer plug and play solutions for “last-mile delivery” which is the movement of people and/ or goods from a transportation hub to a final destination. Their comprehensive packages include the e-vehicles, maintenance, charging, and overnight parking infrastructure for one monthly cost. According to McKinsey and Co, “by 2030, the US market for services to support the charging of electric vehicle fleets could be worth $15 billion.” Last-mile delivery sectors include pharmaceutical or medical device home delivery; visiting nurses or at-home senior care; rideshare services like ACCESS; custodial/housekeeping services; laundry/dry cleaning for restaurants, hotels, hospitals, etc.; food trucks; roadside assistance; mobile pet groomers; contractors like plumbers, roofers, carpenters, or electricians; HV/AC repair; building maintenance/facilities; funeral services; and government operations, including meter readers, animal control, and libraries.

JANUARY- 2021

Zeem is building a comprehensive zero emission solution for people movers and last mile delivery fleets who do not have the infrastructure to convert to e-vehicles. Their need for high powered charging solutions for large fleets of vehicles demands unique engineering solutions that tie together our electrified future. This technology development with Zeem is a great example of how PCTI can leverage its existing IP portfolio in high-capacity solutions to address the larger power requirements of electric medium and heavy-duty fleets.

Zeem has a deep understanding of the infrastructure issues that fleet operators deal with while transitioning their fleets to electric. Ozop/PCTI has deep expertise in high-capacity charging solutions and we challenge technology companies like Ozop/PCTI to design products that will allow fleet operators to convert their fleet more quickly and efficiently said Paul Gioupis, CEO of Zeem Solutions. The companies are working together to design tailored stationary and mobile charging solutions as part of a future CEV fleet ecosystem. Zeem is product agnostic and focused on vehicle options that meet your transportation requirements. Through the utilization of innovative solutions for charging, grid optimization, and our proprietary operating system, we work to meet a total cost of operation (TCO) par or below the cost of a diesel. Zeem has established partnerships and relationships with best of class product and service providers in the industry with proven track records of success and reliability. Given our focus on TCO, ROI and our product agnostic approach, we have emerged as THE trusted EV consultants for our customers.

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electric vehicle

FAME-II scheme restructuring entire EV industry, needs another extension, says Ather Energy FAME-II scheme, the programme meant to promote electric vehicles in India, has helped in attracting investments in the sector in the country and needs to be extended by another three to four years, according to a top official of Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy.

resenting an opposite view to that of the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) which asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to either rejig FAME-II scheme or reintroduce FAME-I, Ather Energy Co-founder & CEO Tarun Mehta told that what the “SMEV has said does not look like a considered industry view”. The SMEV had argued that since its implementation from April 1, 2019, FAME-II has been able to achieve less than 10 per cent of its target of supporting 10 lakh electric two-wheelers, five lakh three-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers and 7,000 buses by 2022. The EV industry body stated that the preconditions and qualification criteria of FAME-II made the electric two-wheelers unaffordable to the mass market customer despite the subsidy.

Opposing the argument, Mehta said, “A policy like FAME-II is not just a demand creation policy. It is actually about creating the right product. It is restructuring and reachitecturing the entire EV industry to build a new kind of product for the consumer. A journey like that takes three to four years. It is going to be fuelled by a lot by a completely new distribution.” He further said, “We are obviously going to see a lot of sales pick up in the next two to three years. I believe FAME-II needs to be a six to seven years policy not a three-year policy. I am certainly looking forward to FAME-II being extended by three to four years.” Citing the examples of Ola’s planned investment of Rs 2,400 crore on an electric two-wheeler plant and Bajaj Auto’s move to set up new manufacturing unit at Chakan at an investment of Rs 650 crore to produce high-end bikes and electric vehicles, he said it is only after FAME-II came out that legacy players as well as start-ups, including Ather, began doing bulk of investments. It is “because investors see the confidence. Yes, it is a good policy. This policy will support good competitive electric vehicles that can actually have a shot at replacing petrol vehicles finally,” Mehta asserted. “FAME-II in particular has been the driver of these investments in the last couple of years because it has incentivised local production and has incentivised high quality products,” he added. Stating that FAME-I did not encourage a transition like that, he said, “FAME-I encouraged EVs to be toys, which no customer would want to buy. FAME-II finally changed that completely, which is where investments started pouring in. Ola raised a lot of money in 2018, we raised a lot of money in 2018-19. Why? Because finally our investors see a future of EV because of FAME-II and our results have started bearing fruit only now.”

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Completely disagreeing with SMEV’s opinion, he added, “In fact I am deeply disappointed by the view published by the organisation. After almost 14 years of selling EVs in the country it is obvious and apparent to everybody that the time for importing technology, time for importing China-made vehicles is well past its expiry date.” This is not the time to still be talking about selling low-speed electric scooters that do 20-30kmph, he said adding, “that frankly nobody really wants to buy. The industry has not practically grown for over a decadeplus. It used to do 70,000-80,000 units per annum back in 2011-12, even in 2019-20, it is doing roughly the same.” When reached out for comments, a spokesperson of SMEV said, “We support the 100 per cent localisation of EVs fully, most members are asking only the extension of timelines due to COVID-19. …two-wheelers bikes are now available across all price segments and it is left to the customers choice whether they want an affordable bike or a high end one. Currently the market is highly skewed towards the affordable segment and these are not getting sufficient incentive under FAME 2.” Mehta said the EV industry has grown quite a lot, especially on the supply side in the past couple of years with a lot of new products coming out. He asked the government to also start looking to provide support on the supplier side and infrastructure. Stating that a lot of global automotive suppliers want to start setting up large capacities in India to produce EV components, Mehta said, “India can be a natural hub for all of South East Asia… It is a great time for the government to attract those investments. Some supplier side incentives, whether it is on the capex side or taxation side will push the needle a lot.”

JANUARY- 2021

electric vehicle

Triton set to enter Indian market with N4 electric sedan; price starts at Rs 35 lakh US-based Triton Electric Vehicle said it aims to introduce N4 sedan in India with price starting at Rs 35 lakh. The electric sedan, which would be manufactured in the US, is going to be available in four different variants and a high-performance limited edition in the country, the company said in a statement. Only 100 units of the limited edition version — N4-GT — would be produced, it added. The N4 model comes powered by 75Kwh and 100 Kwh battery options giving the vehicle a range of up to 523 km and 696 km respectively, it added. “The base model will be priced at Rs 35 lakh thus, showing the amount of market research that has been put by the company to cater the requirements of the Indian market,” Triton Electric Vehicle said. The company added that it has commenced the prelaunch bookings of the model for the Indian customers on its website.

As we are heading towards a new era of commitment towards our environment, EVs are going to make a definitive contribution in building a future ready society. We aim to make our sincere contribution towards ensuring a future ready society with environmentally friendly clean energy practices, Triton Electric Vehicle Founder and CEO Himanshu B Patel said.

JANUARY- 2021

The company is also in advanced stage of deliberations with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and there would be a potential joint venture between the two companies for the manufacturing of batteries and electronics systems for energy storage system and EVs, he added. Terming India one of the top three markets, the company noted that it has strong plans for expanding in the country. The expansion will be in the area of setting up a manufacturing base as well as developing a strong customer base for various models of Triton Electric Vehicles, it added. “Right now, we are seeking proactive partners who are willing to join us in our journey to capture the most lucrative EV market. We are open to establish local dealerships who are keen to enter into Triton EV retail with service and support to the customers,” Patel said. Triton Electric Vehicle is a new subsidiary of Cherry Hill (New Jersey) based Triton Solar, a leader in solar panel and battery engineering.

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policy & regulation

Maharashtra’s New Renewable Energy Policy to Attract Rs 75,000-cr Investments Maharashtra’s New Renewable Energy Policy will attract Rs 75,000-crore investments, said the state’s Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister Nitin Raut

Nitin Raut, Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of Maharashtra, while highlighting the Maharashtra’s New Renewable Energy Policy said that the policy aims to promote public and private sector participation and will attract an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in power and allied sectors, FICCI said in a statement. Addressing an interactive session with the CEOs of renewable energy and power companies organised by FICCI, Raut said the policy aims to implement 17,000 MW of renewable power projects in the next 5 years. It is expected to create direct and indirect employment for one lakh people, along with giving priority to hybrid power projects. “In line with the Paris Agreement, the Government of Maharashtra is committed to achieving 40 per cent electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2030,” Raut added, as per the statement.

aharashtra Principal Secretary (Energy) Asim Gupta addressed various concerns of the industry related to payment security, transmission, hybrid policy, open access, rooftop solar, and tenders for greenfield renewable energy projects, phasing out old inefficient plants. He said the government is open to suggestions and looks forward to collectively work with the industry for the betterment of the sectors.

Ranjit Gupta, chair of FICCI Renewable Energy CEOs Council and CEO of Azure Power, said Maharashtra is a key state of interest for the renewable energy players, and its new renewable energy policy is a welcome move for the industry. Maharashtra has been leading in terms of renewable energy deployment with push on electric mobility where RE deployment will have greater potential in future. The industrial and commercial segments with strong base in Maharashtra will have great potential for offtake of RE. The roundtable was attended by leading industry stakeholders from power and renewable energy sectors

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such as Azure Power, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd, AMP Energy India, and Amplus Energy Solutions. Avaada Energy, BSES Rajdhani Pvt Ltd, Enel Green Power, Jindal Power Limited, O2 Power, Power Exchange India Ltd, Rattan India, SB Energy, Sembcorp Green Infra Ltd, Senvion, Sindicatum, Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd, and Vikram Solar and Waaree also participated in the roundtable.

JANUARY- 2021

featured

LONGi wins RETC “High Achievers” award for outstanding module performance The US Renewable Energy Testing Center (RETC) has released its “Photovoltaic Module Index Report” (PVMI) for 2020. Having won a “High Achievers” award in 2019, LONGi has once again carried off the award for outstanding performance following comprehensive evaluation of global photovoltaic modules by RETC.

ONGi’s performance in three indicators of reliability, performance and quality identified it as one of only three companies to achieve the award. The company also became the only module manufacturer to perform well in all 8 individual tests, underlining the high reliability and excellent performance of its monocrystalline modules. The PVMI provides a high-level overview of relevant tests carried out by RETC within reliability, performance and quality indicators, followed by a sampling of test data to recognize high performers and showcase high achievement in manufacturing. To characterize reliability, the report presents performance distribution data based on a series of tests, including DH2000, HF30, TC600, DML, UV and PID196h. For the performance category, it presents data characterizing module conversion efficiency, PVUSA Test Conditions (PTC) ratings*, Pvsyst simulation (PAN file) and LID. In regards to quality indicators, the results of Thresher Test qualification protocols are listed, exceeding minimum requirements.

PVUSA Test Conditions PTC: An elevated cell temperature of 45°C, an ambient temperature of 22°C, and a wind speed of 1 meter per second PTC rating is related to a module’s temperature coefficient of power, its nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) and aperture area.

Being awarded as overall “High Achiever” and demonstrating solid top performance on all 8 indicators are good testament to LONGi’s consistent philosophy of delivering reliable products to customers. As the world’s leading solar technology company, LONGi focuses on product reliability, from design to production, providing customers with reliable and value-added photovoltaic modules. Module design starts with theoretical simulation using relevant optical, electrical and mechanical models. Module power, efficiency, energy yield and reliability will all be considered before design is finalized; For module BOM selection, the company has always maintained a highly cautious approach, ensuring long-term product reliability. In addition, LONGi uses Ga doping to control mono PERC module LID, and has also optimized the hydrogen passivation process to mitigate LeTID.

performance distribution data for module reliability Fundamental of LONGi products: comprehensive approach ensuring high reliability

An overview of RETC 8 individual indicators

JANUARY- 2021

Meanwhile, to ensure module reliability, LONGi goes beyond standard testing requirements, establishing a variety of differentiated testing methods based on the results of wellknown research institutions and third-party experts. As for the production process, highly automated equipment not only improves efficiency, but also helps ensure production stability. A comprehensive quality control system guarantees product excellence.

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featured

SUSTAINABLE DEBT BREAKS ANNUAL RECORD DESPITE COVID-19 CHALLENGES Sustainable debt hit a new record in 2020 for greatest volume of issuance in a year, at $732.1 billion across bond and loan varieties raised with environmental and social purposes in mind, according to new figures from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). This represents a 29% increase from 2019’s total.

pearheading the growth was the category of social bonds, which are issued to raise money for social objectives such as employment, public health and education. Issuance of these instruments jumped sevenfold to $147.7 billion in 2020. Another category of sustainable debt – sustainability bonds – grew 81% to $68.7 billion, while the longest-established theme, green bonds, saw volumes rise 13% to a new record of $305.3 billion. Growth was not across the board in 2020, however: both sustainability-linked loans and green loans saw 15% reductions in issuance, to $119.5 billion and $80.3 billion respectively

Mallory Rutigliano, a sustainable finance analyst at BloombergNEF, commented: “Covid-19-related disruption affected issuance of some sustainable debt instruments in 2020, but spurred others. Overall growth of almost 30% in the market showed that sustainability continues to rise up on the agenda for investors, businesses and governments. This relatively new market is now being seen as a tool global economies can use to build back greener and socially fairer.” The highlight of the year in sustainable debt was the explosion in social bond issuance, helped by investor appetite for products that addressed the coronavirus pandemic and the recession. The vast majority of issuance of these bonds came from government agencies and supranational bodies, borrowing money for healthcare and other relief endeavors. Last year saw the largest single social bonds issued ever, from entities such as the European Union, Unedic, and African Development Bank. Green bonds, raised to support environmental activities, also saw an impressive swell, particularly in the closing months of 2020.

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Offerings through August were down compared to the prior year, but they surged in September with a whopping $62 billion, and the momentum continued in the fourth quarter. This allowed green bonds not only to set a new annual record, but took cumulative green bond issuance since 2007 to more than $1 trillion.

Maia Godemer, sustainable finance analyst at BNEF, commented: “Growing demand from investors and stakeholders will encourage the sustainable debt market to innovate and push new types of instruments. There is still a need for stronger scrutiny of the sustainable credentials of these products, and more transparency will be required from issuers. However, the backing of central banks like the ECB and of regulators around the world suggests we will see further, robust growth.” 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 ICMA and the LMA. BNEF also breaks out a subset of this universe into core “principles-aligned” bonds and loans that follow all ICMA and LMA recommendations, such as specific reporting or project selection criteria.

JANUARY- 2021

featured

A possible red hot future for electric vehicle batteries

High-temperature batteries could one day power road vehicles, according to the University of Nottingham, which has worked with Chinese universities to take a step forward with molten salt ‘metal-air’ batteries. “This molten salt battery has multiple feasible application directions, and transport is one of these,” Nottingham professor of electro-chemistry George Chen told Electronics Weekly. “It is indeed a high temperature battery, but the working temperature is actually about the same as the temperature of the engine exhaust gas from a petrol or diesel engine. In principle, maintaining the temperature can be achieved by the currents for charging and discharging of the battery, good thermal insulation and some additional electric heating if necessary. An older version of molten salt battery for transport application is the so-called Zebra battery in mid 1980s, whilst the more recent version is the so-called ‘liquid metal’ battery from MIT.”

ebra and MIT batteries use liquid molten chemical salts, which steadily evaporate, and can spill or leak, according to Chen. The difference between those and the new battery is that the researchers have found a way to convert that liquid to a thick paste – into what is known as a ‘quasi-solid-state’ – without much compromising electrolytic performance. The paste is made by adding a solid powder to the electrolyte, which is a highly conductive (~0.42S/cm) molten mixture of sodium and potassium carbonates. Normally, adding enough powder to solidify the liquid would badly compromise conductivity, but in this case the powder is itself conductive – nanofine ‘yttrium-stabilised zirconia’ – with the result that conductivity stays at a useful ~0.22 S/cm. The mixed carbonate liquid still evaporates out of the quasi-solid, but at half the rate it did before.

So far, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on quasi-solid-state molten electrolyte for high-temperature metal-salt batteries,said the research team in the scientific paper ‘Quasi-solid-state electrolyte for rechargeable high-temperature molten salt iron-air battery‘, published in the journal Energy Storage Materials. The 800°C proof-of-concept iron-oxygen battery showed high capacity and, aside from some electrolyte evaporation, no significant deterioration in capacity over 80 charge-discharge cycles. “Energy densities of our battery is comparable with that of lithium-ion batteries, but ours offers a higher power density and longer discharge-charging cycle life, and also better safety in terms flammable materials,” said Chen – the paper puts energy density at 380Wh/kg, and columbic efficiency above 90%. Yttrium is a rate-earth and not particularly abundant. “There is no yttrium metal in the battery, but the electrolyte contains yttria-stabilised zirconia, which is the same ceramic solid electrolyte used in solid oxide fuel cells,” Chen said. “The content of yttrium element in this ceramic is about 3-5% in weight, and the ceramic used in our battery is completely recyclable.”

JANUARY- 2021

According to Nottingham, other potential uses are domestic to grid-scale storage of energy from renewable sources and, in principle, it might also be used to store solar-derived heat as well as electricity. “Molten salts are currently used at large scale in Spain and China to capture and store solar heat which is then converted to electricity – our molten salt metal air battery does the two jobs in one device,” said Chen. Nottingham UK worked with: Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Soochow University, Anhui University, China Academy of Engineering Physics and University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

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interview

Mr. Santosh Khatelsal Managing Director Enerparc Energy Pvt. Ltd.

EQ: What according to you 2021-2022 market outlook. How many installations are going to happen? Santosh: Looking the trend of last 3 years of solar installations and also that module availability and price have increased substantially in last few months, I expect 6-7 GW as the annual installation in 2021-22.

EQ: How many tenders are expected to take place?

Santosh: Hard to give an exact number of tenders but I expect that the same volume of tenders that existed in 2020-21 will continue into 2021-22 except perhaps a reduction in production linked tender

EQ: What will be the impact of these ultra low bids of 2rs and 1.9rs in recent to 2 tenders on theentire solar market? Santosh: Speculation that price of modules will continue to reduce is one of the basis of these price adventurism and the other being an expectation that interest costs will also remain lower. Due to COVID interest costs were softened in 2020-21 and perhaps will remain favourable in next fiscal too however with a large market for solar modules in EU, China and potentially in USA in 2021-22 and as these markets have higher profitability for module manufacturers, I doubt if solar module prices will go down in 2021-22 drastically. So I suspect that this low tariff which is based on capex reduction speculation has a low probability of actually happening.

EQ: What will be the challenges and achieving the pipeline of projects & tenders in the coming year? Santosh: From an Industry point of view the challenges are modules availability in terms of volumes and its prices plus scrapping of net metering which may slow down / kill roof top market.

EQ: How as an industry you have planned to make sure in upcoming bids there is not another episode like Andhra Pradesh issue? Santosh: Policy consistency, adherence to contracts and commitments is the bedrock on which investments and business is built. If the Government itself does not comply to its signed contracts, there is actually nothing much that businesses can do. This risk called country risk remains and cases like what happened in Andhra will only make investor trust weak.

EQ: Regarding the proposed BCD, what are your views, when it is going to come? & what rate isgoing to come? Santosh: We as a country need to either commit ourself to a free market economy focussed on less trade restrictions, less tariffs and thus encourage capital investments or we start to go towards the earlier tried and not successful model of self reliance and protectionism. Since independence till 1990s India tried the latter model and this resulted in a slow economic growth and a lower wealth creation. Going back to protectionism now after seeing the benefits of open economy to me is not the right approach we should take. Hving said this, dumping needs to be curtained and for a short time protectionism can give relief for domestic industry but what we have seen is once duties on import is imposed, domestic industry simply equates prices to imported ones and increases profitability. BCD however I suspect will come and may even be advanced to 2021-22

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EQ: There are many tenders for which the PSA’s are not getting signed, so what is the current statusin this as per your knowledge and what do you think why the PSA’s are not getting signed? Santosh: Every state DISCOM along with its regulatory commission has its own method of approving SECI’s pooled tariffs and some of the states agree and some do not. Also when pariff falls like it happened in the recent case at Rs 1.9/kwh previous tariffs discovered will have difficulty in having PSAs signed. SECI proposed pooling tariffs and also other measures but as long as Energy is a state subject we will continue to have this issue. I do not see a easy way out of this; except to take some big steps. Either states should auction on their own and award contracts like they did in the past or there has to be a common tariff slab at which bidding can happen and states guarantee they will buy in this slab.

EQ: The wish list from the Budget 2021 that is going to come in January end?

Santosh: As you asked for a wish list ideally it can be remove cross subsidies from electricity pricing, allow electricity prices to be based on demand and supply and fix at least 5 years time period for which open access, wheeling, banking or net metering policies does not change….

Santosh: The Government as of now plans to implement BCD from 2022 and have given a long advance intimation. This knowledge is good for the industry to plan costs and capex. However if as it’s being rumoured the BCD date advances to 2021 mid then the bids already awarded but modules not imported will suffer. Permitting grandfathering clause would have been ideal but as this is not happening the other alternative is not to change the date of implementation of BCD and continue to have this 1 to 1.5 year advance intimation to market so that shock of sudden regulations does not kill the market- in other words policy consistency is the other remedy.

EQ: What are your views about new consumer rules rolled out by the government in which they have stopped the net metering about 10KW? Santosh: This will kill the C&I / roof top solar market completely. For past few years owing to cross subsidy charges industrial and commercial consumers were moving to solar. The stoppage of net metering rules once all states implement will try to recover this loss of cross subsidy due to solar adoption and if we go with Gujarat regulations on this subject solar will become equally expensive as grid power. Instead of addressing the flawed cross subsidy imposed on electricity pricing an attempt is being made to retain status quo which will kill roof top solar.

JANUARY- 2021

interview

Mr. Parag Sharma CEO, O2 Power 56Â

JANUARY- 2021

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interview EQ: What is your 2021-2022 market outlook? How many installations are in the pipeline? PS: Last year, the market was down due to Covid-19 (as most players got extension in CoD timelines). But this, year it is expected to pick up. We expect around 15GW installation next year.

EQ: How many tenders are expected to take place?

PS: Till date, we have around 90GW of commissioned assets, around 20-25GW under construction, and around 20GW awaiting signing of the PPAs. Adding all this, we are, at max, at around 130-135GW of capacity. We need to bid for a lot of projects in the coming six months to be anywhere near 175 GW of installed capacity by 2022. The challenge is that there are about 18 GW of unsigned PPAs. I am not sure whether SECI will first tie up this power, before going ahead with new bids. Hence, the key is discoms’ eagerness to buy out these tenders and enter PSAs.

EQ: What will be the impact of the the ultra-low bids of INR 2 and INR 1.9 we witnessed in the recent two tenders on the entire solar market? PS: Yes, the last two bids went very competitive, and it was largely because they were low risk bids. Connectivity and Power evacuation infra is a big risk, and both these bids had this risk hedged. Moreover, there was no risk in signing of PPAs. We therefore witnessed this kind of a fierce competition as many players are hungry for some actual construction on the ground. We believe this is a temporary phase, and that tariff will correct in the near future. We have seen this happen in the past as well -- developers’ demand dragged the tariff down but it corrected shortly thereafter.

EQ: What will be the challenges in achieving the pipeline of projects & tenders in the coming year?

PS: The biggest challenge is to first sell out the unsold PSAs. Once that is done, we need to keep selling the projects that are tendered out rather than trying to bundle. Secondly, we are running out of good solar sites with CTU substations available near them. Proactive planning and delivery of transmission infra is the need of the hour. Further, there are some regulatory issues like ISTS waiver expiring in June’23, which will expose the bidders to higher transmission charges making projects unviable. To solve these issues, we can expect smooth buildup of pipeline in the coming year.

EQ: How, as an industry, have you planned to ensure that upcoming bids will not witness another Andhra Pradesh-like issue? PS: First of all, we need to be wary of the offtaker risk. The PPAs should have relevant clauses to safeguard bidders’ interest. As an Industry, most of the IPPs are not keen to participate in state (other than Gujarat) tenders . The key reason has been the financial health of discoms. Industry has moved to bids organized by Central Government entities like SECI, NTPC, NHPC etc, where there is not only better creditworthiness of the offtaker but also policy stability. We need to push the states to add sovereign guarantee in the PPA to show their intent and raise the investor confidence,besides strictly following the Standard Bidding Guidelines while conducting the bids.

EQ: What are your views regarding the proposed BCD? When will it be implemented?And at what rate? PS: BCD is in the government’s plan, and we all know that it will be beneficial for the Indian solar manufacturing industry in the long run. As for the rate, there is no point in speculating about it, since it is about to be announced in the upcoming budget . Once the BCD is rolled out, we will have to adapt to the changed market dynamics. This might cause some market disruption during the transition phase, but eventually it should smoothen out. But yes, we will have to put in a lot of hard work to make the manufacturing story a success.

EQ: There are many tenders for which the PSA’s are not getting signed. What is the current status in this as per your knowledge and why do you think the PSA’s are not getting signed?

board for such kind of bids beforehand, it should be a win-win for all. As per our information, SECI has changed the approach for selling the power and they are not going with bundling of tariff. They have started closing offtake PPA wise. It will take time as about 18 GW of PPAs are yet to be signed.

EQ: Your wish list from the Budget 2021 that is going to come in January end? PS: Some of the key suggestions are as follows: Direct Tax Base tax rate of 5% under section 194LC should be extended to include INR denominated ECBs. Extend time of commencement of manufacturing under section 115BAB by another 5 years to 31st March 2028 to attract more foreign capital under Make in India initiative. Indirect Tax Change in explanation to Entry 234 of Notification No. 1/2017 – Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 – In case of composite supply deemed proportion of 70:30 in a Solar Power generating system to be changed to 90:10 Finance Presently Renewable Energy is clubbed within definition of Power under priority sector lending provided by RBI. Due to stressed thermal power assets, majority of Banks are not lending to RE sector citing that their Power sector exposure is full. Industry request is to create separate category for Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Solar Wind storage Hybrid, Biomass, small Hydro) under Priority sector lending to enable RE IPPs to get more bank funding. Creation of large-scale specialized Infrastructure funding Institution which can refinance the operating renewable energy assets at competitive rates and help Banks/NBFCs/ Public Financial Institutions to recycle their Infra debt book and free up their capital to fund more of green field projects. Capitalizing Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) further at concessional rate of funding lines to enable it to fund larger scale green field RE projects without limitation of project & group exposure.

EQ: As grandfathering might not take place, what do you think is going to be the protection or support that industry can really accept from the government for the tenders & projects which are exposed to the risk of BCD? PS: Grandfathering would have been the ideal solution for BCD. Although we have well documented provision for change in law in the PPA, and we expect that there should not be any glitches in SGD / BCD pass through and reimbursement via increased tariff, but key thing is the whole processing time for implementing change in law. The processing time should be shortened. Secondly, in PPAs where there is no formula-driven change in law for BCD, CERC has to clearly narrate the latest formula for change in law implementation.

EQ: What are your views about new consumer rules rolled out by the government in which they have stopped the net metering about 10KW? PS: This will have a negative impact on rooftop solar market, but no impact as such on utility scale. Although what I can foresee is that decentralized micro grid and net metering is inevitable, but sometime away.

PS: The PSAs were not signed largely because of higher tariff discovered in slightly complex bids such as manufacturing, peak power etc. These bids are the need of the hour, but it requires more synergy at the center and state level to adopt such tenders. If we can have buying entities on

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JANUARY- 2021

interview

Mr. Anup Isaac

Country Director, UAE, Yellow Door Energy 58Â

JANUARY- 2021

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interview EQ: Please share your life journey. What are your professional key learning’s? What have been your key leadership achievements?

AI: As the Country Director for the UAE at Yellow Door Energy, I work with a dedicated team of solar energy experts to help businesses switch to clean energy and save money through solar agreements. Since our company’s founding 5 years ago, we have been successful in securing premier customers such as Nestlé Middle East, Unilever Middle East, Landmark Group, Hira Walraven and Hira Industries. My journey in renewable energy started in 2012, and prior to that I worked in the construction and manufacturing industries. As an engineer with an MBA, I have always been attracted to careers that enabled me to combine my engineering education and business acumen. Working as the country director for the leading solar developer in the region, everyday I get to apply my technical know-how and implement my MBA training. In addition, I have learned a lot about international business by working in the UAE alongside the 200 plus different nationalities residing here

EQ: In respect to your Company currently how many renewable assets does this company has? What are the projects in pipeline and what is the plan for the future? AI: Yellow Door Energy currently has over 110 megawatts of solar assets under development in the Middle East and South Asia. Our customers range from global multi-national companies such as Carrefour/ Majid Al Futtaim to leading local players such as Al Nabooda Automobiles. The COVID pandemic has accelerated the growth in our pipeline. As the pandemic persisted, we received more inquiries from businesses interested in our solar agreements in order to save money and put solar on their roofs, all without any upfront investment. In the near-term future, we aim to maintain our market leadership in the UAE and Jordan, while solidifying our presence in Pakistan and expanding to other GCC countries.

EQ: What are all countries you were operating and what are the plans with respect to each country? AI: We operate in the UAE, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. For our core markets in the UAE and Jordan, we want to maintain market leadership. Our Pakistan operations are growing quickly, so we look forward to supporting businesses outside of Lahore and surrounding regions. Saudi Arabia is a vast market, and we hope to make more inroads once the net billing law is implemented. We are constantly monitoring different markets for the latest policy development and technology advancements.

EQ: What are your plans for the Utility Scale Plants and Rooftop Distributed Solar Plants?

AI: Our company provides distributed solar, whether they be rooftop, carport or ground-mount. We aim to be the sustainable energy partner for leading businesses in our markets.

EQ: Due to Grid Instability. What is the outlook for the Hybrid projects and Energy Storage?

AI: The declining cost of storage makes it an attractive option to offer 24-hour electricity to businesses, especially those located in places with unreliable electricity and/or limited access to the national electricity grid. However, a higher share of renewables in the grid will require smarter grid integration and support. Both storage and grid support will drive significant growth for battery solutions in the years ahead.

EQ: What is the role of Hydrogen in the Renewable Energy?

AI: Hydrogen is still in the early stages and has to come down in cost. However, it has a strong potential to fill a role in enabling powering processes with renewable power. Examples of these processes include industrial heating, transport applications, long-term storage etc.

EQ: What are the rates at which Debt Financing for the projects in your region? AI: Financing costs vary from market to market. Across our region, the range is from 4-9% depending on the currency.

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EQ: What is the market outlook and what are the top 5 Opportunities and top 5 Challenges can be in terms of Land,PPA,Bankability and Power Sale Agreement according to you? AI: The market outlook is strong in our core markets. We are constantly monitoring potential new markets and assessing new opportunities. In my view, top 5 challenges in distributed solar are: 1. Electricity subsidies which are keeping grid electricity tariffs artificially low. 2. Some utilities imposing caps or quotas on renewable energy projects, hindering the market’s development. 3. Signing commercially attractive deals that are bankable (acceptable to banks for long-term financing). 4. Businesses hesitating to make long-term commitments due to lack of awareness of the benefits of implementing solar today 5. A large number of solar companies entering the market with substandard solar experience, poor health and safety practices, lackluster financial backing, etc. that may tarnish the whole industry’s reputation On the flip side, there are many opportunities in this industry. The top 5 opportunities are: 1. The declining cost of solar makes Yellow Door Energy’s value proposition more attractive 2. The new markets that are opening have a strong need for reliable energy 3. New technologies, such as batteries, open up solar to new customers 4. The COVID pandemic accelerates the renewable energy transition as cost reduction and energy independence become top of mind 5. Sustainability is now an integral part of leading organizations’ and governments’ agendas

EQ: Kindly comment on the Debt & Equity Finance. Availability about the projects. What are the targets you have been set for the coming 3 to 5 years? AI: There is a significant amount of capital being allocated towards sustainable investments, particularly solar energy. Solar investments have outperformed other investments during the pandemic. Both lenders and investors (debt & equity) are seeking out opportunities with high returns to deploy capital.

EQ: What kind of technologies you prefer AI: 1. In Terms Of Module (Poly Or Mono Perc) And Your Views On Technology Road Map Adoption. 2. In Terms Of Inverter Central Or String Inverter You Were Using For The Utility Scale Project. 3. In Terms Of Trackers Is It Viable In The Region You Are Building Up Your Plant. a. Move from Poly to Mono Perc and Bifacials. Higher efficiently modules and increase in power bin. b. For distributed solar, we predominantly use string inverters. However for wheeling projects, depending on the size of the land, central inverters are considered. c. Yes – depending on the topography of the projects/land.

EQ: What are the kind of challenges and What are the technologies you are deploying for the efficient Asset Management. Are there any grid curtailment in your region and How is the entire ecosystem efficiently managing the renewable energy power plant on the ground?

AI: All our plants are equipped with SCADA systems and sensors. Through our in-house Sustainable Energy Asset Management System (SEAMS), we monitor and optimize the performance of our solar assets across the Middle East and Pakistan. We can troubleshoot in real-time and diligently manage the cleaning schedules of our solar plants to ensure they are at their peak performance.

JANUARY- 2021

interview

Mr. Brijesh Prajapati

Managing Director- India, Sofar Solar EQ: How much Inverters have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2021-2022. Who are yout key clients and your key projects done?

EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc…

BP: To cater to the Indian Market we have established ‘’Sofarsolar India Pvt. Ltd’’ our Marketing and Service Centre in Ahmedabad,Gujarat. Our BP: Since 2016 ,We have supplied more than 550Mw+ solar range of gird tied inverters include 1KW to 6KW in single and 3KW to 255KW in three phases, Support zero export solution . 3kW power storage inverter systems in Indian market With Customer great supinverters and 3-6kW hybrid inverters in Single Phase & 5-20kW hybrid port and trust on our products & team work. Also we have inverters in Three Phase, Li-Ion Batteries. very long vision business road map in current & future sales growth. The company has a total manufacturing capacity of 10 PRODUCT ROADMAP 2021: GW with a Year on Year growth of more than 20 per cent. In a 1. Hybrid Inverter- 3kW/3.6kW/4kW/5kW/6kW (1 Phase) current year we have good business hope with our new innova2. Hybrid Inverter- 8kW/10kW/12kW/15kW/20kW (3 Phase) tive product range. 3. AC Retrofitting Single phase 6kW EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology 4. String Inverter: a. 80 kW (LV)/100 Kw (LV & HV both Option) /125kW etc… (HV)/136kW (HV) BP: To cater to the Indian Market we have established ‘’Sob. 12Kw/15Kw/17 kW/ 20kW/22kW/24kW (New Innovative series) farsolar India Pvt. Ltd’’ our Marketing and Service Centre in 5. New upcoming Rating:- 255kWwith 1500v DC Ahmedabad,Gujarat. Our range of gird tied inverters include 1KW to 6KW in single and 3KW to 255KW in three phases, 6. Electrical Vehicle Charger (EV Charger) Support zero export solution . 3kW power storage inverters 7. STORE BATTERY with Various sizes Battery Pack (BATTERY PACK) and 3-6kW hybrid inverters in Single Phase & 5-20kW hybrid 8. SOFAR AMASS Li-Ion Batteries. (Li-Ion Battery) inverters in Three Phase, Li-Ion Batteries. 60

JANUARY- 2021

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interview EQ: What are your views on BIS and other tariff barriers? BP: Yes, we strongly recommending to go with BIS Certified inverter. People will get certified quality products in the market but besides some lab agency seeking aim is earning money source from manufacturer means they are changing very high unbelievable charges. Also some strictly step needed from Govt./Govt. department MNRE against lab agencies. If Manufactures /OEM companies following BIS necessities rules regulation from Government then why not same action Then why are there no strict rules for Lab agencies. I think it should be compulsory BIS certification in govt. tender otherwise no meaning of BIS implementation and waste of time & money from Manufacturers/OEM companies. WITHOUT BIS CERTIFIED INVERTER NO SUBSIDIES APPLICABLE on Govt.tender. In some state ,specially KARNATAKA Govt.agency BESCOM have a different very funny policy for brand approval in BESOCM Approved list. As per my discussion with BESCOM team they said we are not considering approval based on BIS Certification & IEC certification, means BIS Certification is no meaning for BESCOM. They said me our agency concern person will visit at manufacturing place & they will inspect then after they will see about BESCOM approval with BESCOM Fees/Charges & very important funny thing is manufacturer Company will pay their transportation, food, ,accommodation & other expenses. If manufacturing unit not in India then BESCOM person will visit out of India & all expenses pay by manufacturer (Air-ticket, Accommodation, transportation, food, other expenses) so I think BESCOM have no trust on IEC & BIS certification procedure. It’s same complain from other inverter companies also, requesting to Govt.agency need to prepare common policy for all states brand approval where is government agencies involved., specially for BIS Certification.

EQ: What are your views on Inverters – Make in India? BP: Well, very interesting question about local manufacturing setup. In a 2021 Year SOFARSOLAR is a very aggressive with new agenda for Business expansion with new innovative products & some up-gradation on current products. We have good installation in ROOFTOP Market & also last year business increased very good ,particularly in rooftop segment so it’s very easy to start local manufacturing with existing client data based & SOFARSOLAR Ready to take a any task related to Government policy. We are respecting our client & government Renewable organization so we will not take a backstep in future or will never compromise on products quality with ontime prompt service response. We will start locally manufacturing unit in a year 2021 and will give you update very soon on setup. We are very aggressive to develop our business on local manufacturing concept.

EQ: Currently 10GW + Solar Projects are in the offing, Whats your plan to Capture this opportunity. BP: Yes, we are performing very good in India rooftop & commercial segment market . SOFARSOLAR is a fastest growing product with good qualities, lesser service complain ratio & prompt service solutions. No compromise in quality to make cheap product , no compromise in product case material, wide display. In Indian solar market expecting big projection in coming year after last years slowdown & uncertainties due to some policy & project, PPA. Coming year expected more than 10-12GW in rooftop & Medium - large scale projects. The Government has up-scaled the target of renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by the year 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydropower. The government needs to be more concentrate on the end user’s requirement & support their ability for solar market development, netmetering confusion/clarification, subsidy provision. BIS Certification proposal has been welcomed by the solar industry & It’s likely to also attract more investment & development from Domestic and international manufactures. It will be create more employment in the market & also come with MAKE IN INDIA Concepts. In this year we will more focus in our new product series 255KW with 1500V system so we will try get more order with ontime delivery.

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EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans? BP: We have 10 GW manufacturing capabilities with automatic machinery plant & in-house designing facilities & production capacities .SOFAR Group was established in 2007, with its business involving communication, new energy, industrial park, investment. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOFAR group, SOFARSOLAR was established in 2013, specializing in the R & D, production, sales and service of photovoltaic inverter, energy storage inverter, charging pile and battery. The photovoltaic inverter power section covers 1-255kW, energy storage inverter power section covers 3-20kW, and battery contains high-voltage battery, and lowvoltage battery, etc. To guarantee the long-term sustainable profitability, SOFARSOLAR as supplier of series inverter, relies on its core competitive advantages and unique market strategic layout, which are: 1. high level R & D team and R & D laboratory jointly built with universities. It ensures that the technical level of photovoltaic inverter and energy storage inverter is always at the forefront of the industry, continuously innovating products and providing rich selection space for global users. 2. modern factory. SOFARSOLAR modern factory is located in Dongguan, covering an area of more than 40, 000 square meters, with a number of fully automated production lines, where there are six 100% inspection links from the component incoming to the product delivery to guarantee the product quality from the source, and modern laboratory and burn-in room to escort the product quality continuously. 3. market localization. Plant and R & D center of SOFARSOLAR is located in China, with branches in India, Italy, Australia, Poland, Brazil and other countries, and its market covers more than 60 countries and regions in the world. In order to improve service level and response speed, SOFARSOLAR has set up localized services in many countries to achieve the localization of after-sales service, channel development and market publicity, so as to make the products more adaptable to the habits of local power grid and customers.

EQ: What are your plans for Manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India

BP: Well, very interesting question about local manufacturer. If local manufacturer follow process as per required testing facility , production facilities & required manpower to do complete manufacturing task with proper testing/quality process then customer will get proper worth products as per invested coast. We are recommending to client don’t go on cheap prices & polycarbonate type of body with lesser durability life product available in market. In a now days if any local company providing cheap price product without complete process & assemble type of products so it will be not a long life system. So if client not aware about process so we requesting to them go with proper process & visit some manufacturing company in abroad or collect some online data or visit some online manufacturing setup videos & gain your knowledge to get proper product without any cheating in systems. SOFARSOLAR will start very soon manufacturing setup locally as a “MAKE IN INDIA “ Concept.

JANUARY- 2021

interview

Mr. Ravi Khanna

CEO & MD, Aditya Birla Renewables Limited 62Â

JANUARY- 2021

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interview

EQ: What according to you 2021-2022 market outlook. How many installations are going to happen? RK: Around 50 GW of projects were under implementation as of November 2020 across renewables technologies, we expect 10-12 GW capacity addition this year in solar. While the expected pipeline due to come onstream is more than 15GW, past trends have shown challenges and delays in execution. However, developers will also be in a rush to commission or at least procure equipment before BCD applies from April 2022.

EQ: How many tenders are expected to take place? RK: Going by the previous trend of a normal year, 25-30 GW capacity is annually tendered. The auctioned capacity is invariably 40-50% of it. Large tenders such as AP (6.4 GW), Jammu & Kashmir (7.5 GW) and SECI-Karnataka (2500 MW) which did not mature last year for variety of reasons may be re-tendered this year and hence it is expected that substantial capacity will be on offer. We expect developers will also be in a rush to commission or at least procure equipment before BCD applies from April 2022.

EQ: What will be the impact of these ultra low bids of 2rs and 1.9rs in recent to 2 tenders on the entire solar market?

RK: Such low bids will become a reference point for future bids and may prove to be a hindrance in closure of PSAs and PPAs won in past at higher tariffs. In case the Supreme Court judgement for the developers’ petition against AP Govt. goes in favour of developers it will strengthen the confidence of global investors in the sovereign guarantee and will prove to be a deterrent for other state governments to renege on signed contracts.

EQ: What will be the challenges and achieving the pipeline of projects & tenders in the coming year? RK: The bankable PPAs and track record of payment history of various states will make discerning developers more state specific which will create a situation where some tenders get oversubscribed and push the tariff down while the other tenders go begging. It will set a differential tariff across states based on the inherent risks in PPA. However, state discoms will not be able to acknowledge and reconcile this difference which will lead to greater annulment of tenders or failure in signing of PPAs. So the main challenge is for SECI to sign PSAs to enable their tendered capacity to see the light of day. Currently almost all the tendered SECI capacity in 2020 is stuck without PPAs signed, since SECI is trying to sign up back to back PSAs with state offtakers. No other country who has expanded renewables significantly has retail customers paying tariffs which are significantly below industrial tariffs like India, albeit many of them are more developed countries.

EQ: How as an industry you have planned to make sure in upcoming bids there is not another episode like Andhra Pradesh issue? RK: It’s very difficult to completely eliminate what is essentially a form of “country” or “political” risk. However, it is critical to be on the ground tracking the political positions of the various state governments and oppositions regarding the sector. We consider the known state risks before participation in tenders and give due importance to state solar policies. However, at times we are likely to be caught off guard as the situation dynamically changes. We trust that there may be temporal disturbances but ultimately the central government’s policies and commitment to reduce the carbon footprint will prevail and exercise its power to restore the confidence of investors in the sector. The Ministry of Power recently floated an amended version of the Electricity Act, 2003.

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The proposed amendment includes establishment of an Electricity Contract Enforcement Agency (ECEA) especially after the Andhra Pradesh episode. The formation of ECEA will ensure the sanctity of contracts in the Indian power sector as it will have the authority to direct the party to perform their obligation under the contract and honour the contract. Such steps are positive but it remains to be seen whether they have teeth.

EQ: Regarding the proposed BCD, what are your views, when it is going to come? & what rate is going to come? RK: Historically, many countries like USA and countries in Europe have tried this approach to kick-start manufacturing in their country without much success. In the end it leads to increase in tariff which is passed on to consumers. Given the current financial status of discoms such a step may not be welcome by the consumers. The SGD is valid till July 2021 and my sense is that it will be further extended before promulgation of BCD. During this period the old PPAs without consideration of BCD would be executed and sometime in middle of 2022 BCD may be introduced. There will be a differential BCD between cell and module and could be anywhere between 15-25%.

EQ: There are many tenders for which the PSA’s are not getting signed, so what is the current status in this as per your knowledge and what do you think why the PSA’s are not getting signed? RK: Primarily the reasons for non-signing of PPAs are: a. The demand of electricity has not grown and hence discoms do not have a dire need for signing long-term PPAs b. The current discovered tariffs are much lower than previous tariffs and hence discoms are reluctant to ink PSAs. c. After nearly 4 years of tariffs operating within a range (2.44-~2.80), there is a new paradigm in the pricing, which may further increase reluctance of discoms to sign longer term contracts.

EQ: The wish list from the Budget 2021 that is going to come in January end? RK:a) Greater allocation of clean energy cess to Renewable for strengthening the payment security system of discoms. b) Concessional GST on equipment used in solar plants in view of recent hike in commodity price, c) Clarity is required to resolve the disconnect between policies like BCD to help domestic module suppliers (SGD has been shown to have fairly limited impact in boosting domestic supply) and the huge capacity targets of the government, which are only possible with significant imports from the Chinese market.

EQ: As grandfathering might not take place, what do you think is going to be the protection or support that industry can really accept from the government for the tenders & projects which are exposed to the risk of BCD? RK:The old contracts would be executed by the time BCD is introduced and many new ones have protection clause. Since BCD is in offing and government has given approximate timeline of its introduction also, it is for developers to evaluate and appropriately factor their risk and accordingly decide action.

EQ: What are your views about new consumer rules rolled out by the government in which they have stopped the net metering about 10KW?

RK:This will be dampener for the large scale C&I rooftop market segment. However, at smaller scale it may give a fillip to the storage backed rooftop PV and free some capacity of local transformers for greater proliferation of small size systems. Electricity being a concurrent subject it will also be dependent on the implementation of the policy by different states.

JANUARY- 2021

featured

Adani Green gets 600-MW wind-solar hybrid power project from SECI Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) said its wholly-owned subsidiary Adani Renewable Energy Holding Eight Ltd (AREHEightL) has been awarded a 600-megawatt wind-solar hybrid power project by Solar Energy Corporation of India. “AREHEightL participated in a tender issued by SECI for setting up 1,200-MW ISTS-connected wind-solar hybrid power project. “It has won the letter of award (LOA) for 600-MW wind-solar hybrid project. On December 31, 2020, AREHEightL received the LOA,” AGEL said in a statement. The tariff for this project capacity has been fixed at Rs 2.41 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 25 years. The project is expected to be commissioned in a duration of 18 months from the date of signing the PPA (power purchase agreement), the company said.

ith the latest win, AGEL’s total capacity stands at 14,795 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. Of this, 2,950 MW of renewable energy projects are operational and 11,845 MW projects are under implementation, it said. AGEL Managing Director and CEO Vneet S Jaain said, “The LoA of the 600MW wind-solar hybrid power project is in line with our ambition to achieve renewable power capacity of 25 GW by 2025.” It is also a step closer towards becoming the world’s largest renewable power company by 2030 and contributes to India’s decarbonisation targets. AGEL has a renewable portfolio of over 14 gigawatts of operating, under-construction and awarded projects catering to investment-grade counterparties. The company develops, builds, owns, operates and maintains utility-scale grid-connected solar and wind farm projects.

Smart grid research centre launched in Morocco The new research centre, an initiative of Morocco’s National Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), is aimed to support the development of the country’s renewable energy sector and smart grids. The centre will be comprised of three main laboratories: 1. a modelling, simulation and optimisation laboratory for electricity systems; 2. a quality control network automation laboratory; 3. and a microgrid, flow management and network analysis laboratory equipped to simulate and model the electricity network of a large city the size of Casablanca (population approximately 8 million in the urban and greater city areas).

This platform will help boost research at the national level and attract other partners in the field, said Aziz Rabbah, Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Environment at the groundbreaking. “We will need several partners in the years to come, knowing that we are entering a new energy decade.”

JANUARY- 2021

he smart grid centre forms part of the Green Energy Park, which is being developed as a research, testing and training platform adjacent to the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Ben Guerir. The platform, considered a first in Africa, is intended to create synergies between the various Moroccan research institutions, universities and industrial companies to create a critical mass to achieve excellence in its activities, its website states. Facilities include solar PV, concentrated solar power and molten salt storage installations, which will provide a testing ground for the laboratory simulations. The objective is to develop technological solutions adapted to the national and African context in order to support energy efficiency and to address issues related to the smart and sustainable city of tomorrow, a statement says. This will help position Morocco as a continental hub for research and innovation in these fields.The smart grid research centre and Green Energy Park is being supported by Morocco’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and the Environment and the state owned OCP mining group, with technical and additional financial support of $8 million from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

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international

The Ministry of Energy and ACWA Power achieve momentous milestones as Uzbekistan enhances its clean energy capacity Following agreements signed in March 2020, cooperation between the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, and ACWA Power has led to three major milestones in the development of power projects to enable Uzbekistan’s ambitious energy transformation plan and increase energy capacity by 2500MW. Mr. Alisher Sultanov, Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, he ground-breaking ceremony of the 1500MW said:“Most importantly, Sirdarya CCGT plant, followed by the signtoday’s milestones show ing of two Power Purchase Agreements and that we are delivering on our Investment Agreements for two wind power plants located in Bukhara and Navoi, was promises. Enhancing Uzbekiconducted in the presence of Deputy Prime stan’s clean energy capacity Minister and Minister of Investments and involves many developmenForeign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, tal and investment targets H.E. Sardor Umurzakov, and H.E. Alisher to be hit, over a period of Sultanov, Energy Minister of the Republic of time. By executing our plans Uzbekistan, as well as a Saudi Arabian delegaefficiently, we will only attract more investtion led by H.E. Eng Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of ment to Uzbekistan, and improve our nation’s Investment for Saudi Arabia and H.E. Hisham energy status. The Ministry extends its deep Mishal Al- Suwailem, the Saudi Ambassador to thanks to ACWA Power and the wider Saudi Uzbekistan. Other attendees included senior delegation for making this triumph happen. representatives from the Uzbekistan Ministry We look forward to a long and fruitful working of Energy, Ministry of Investments and Foreign relationship.” Trade, ACWA Power and Air Products. ACWA

Power will be delivering these three projects utilising its technical knowledge, expertise, and experience, to contribute directly to meeting Uzbekistan’s growing yearly electricity demand, which is expected to reach 110 billion kWh by 2030. The company’s contribution is also aligned with Uzbekistan’s national mandate to increase energy efficiency, introduce energy-saving technologies, and develop and implement renewable energy sources, under its recent energy sector reforms.

H.E. Eng Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment for Saudi Arabia, said: “These visionary projects mark the start of a new chapter in the investment relationship between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. As the Minister of Investment for Saudi Arabia, it is particularly pleasing to see a homegrown Saudi company such as ACWA Power supporting Uzbekistan to deliver such a vital component of its infrastructure investment program, which is central to the country’s economic transformation. The Ministry of Investment for Saudi Arabia is proud to have played a leading role in facilitating this momentous agreement.” “ACWA Power is a true Saudi success story and a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s burgeoning private sector. This growth is being supported by various business-friendly reforms introduced by the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade. I am confident that this partnership signals the start of further collaborations in the trade and investment space for both of our nations.”

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ACWA Power is also committed to training and upskilling 1000 local employees in Uzbekistan during the project’s construction and operation phases, generating long-term, socio-economic value through knowledge sharing and job creation.

Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, said: “As a proud Saudi company, we are privileged to play a vital role in supporting Uzbekistan’s decarbonisation efforts and energy transformation, stemming from the international cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan under their progressive and visionary leadership. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Saudi delegation, led by H.E. Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment, and H.E. Hisham Mishal Al-Suwailem, the Saudi Ambassador to Uzbekistan for their valuable support of these projects. We also extend our gratitude to the Republic of Uzbekistan’s Government, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade for their confidence in ACWA Power’s mission to safely, reliably and responsibly produce power at low cost. “Through the addition of new renewable energy capacity, exploration of innovative technologies and the advancement of cleaner, more efficient and cost-competitive gas power, ACWA Power is expanding its presence in Uzbekistan, a high growth market, leveraging our global expertise and technical know-how to create long-term and sustainable value for the country’s local communities.”

JANUARY- 2021

international

Turkey aims to double its solar energy capacity in 2021, compared to 2020 Turkey aims to add 1,500 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity in 2021, double the figures in 2020, when just 672 MW were added due to disruptions in the global supply chain from the Covid-19 pandemic. With last year’s additions, Turkey’s total solar power capacity reached 6,667 MW at the end of 2020. The share of solar power in Turkey’s total electricity generation stood at 4 percent last year. In 2021, we expect 1,500 MW capacity to be constructed and the share of solar in total electricity generation to rise to over 5 percent, Halil Demirdag, head of the Turkish Solar Energy Industry Association (GENSED) told Anadolu Agency.

emirdag recommended full utilisation of Turkey’s solar power potential to help Turkey reduce its energy import bill and contribute more to climate change action. In addition to solar power, Turkey has been making efforts to increase its share of renewable resources in other sectors as well. Renewable resources made up over 50 percent of Turkey’s total installed power in 2020, an all-time high for the country. Of the 4,900 MW of installed capacity that became operational in 2020, 98 percent was from renewable sources. Turkey heavily relies on energy imports, particularly fossil fuels, to meet its growing energy demands. Currently, it imports approximately three-quarters of its total energy needs, which has left Turkey vulnerable to volatility in energy prices as well as challenges in energy geopolitics. Moreover, Turkey has the highest rate of growing energy demand among the 37-member OECD countries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, expanding domestic and renewable energy sources is one of Turkey’s energy priorities, alongside diversifying the sourcing of existing fossil fuel imports to reduce foreign dependency, increasing energy efficiency, and harnessing nuclear energy. Ankara plans to have the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the Mediterranean city of Mersin fully operational by 2023.

Expanding Renewable Alternatives Ankara has been investing in various alternative and renewable energy sources, like wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower. By far, hydropower accounts for the largest share of renewable energy, with an installed capacity of over 28,000 MW as of 2018. With an installed capacity of 8,330 MW as of October 2020, wind power meets around 9 percent of the country’s total electricity generation, and nearly 18 percent of its renewable energy installed capacity. According to Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, the sector employs 15,000 people which help localize energy technologies within the country. “We want to make the wind sector Turkey’s second automotive sector,” he told Anadolu Agency, adding that there are currently more than 80 equipment production companies operating in the wind energy sector in Turkey. With 1,526 MW of installed capacity, Turkey is currently ranked fourth in the globe and first in Europe for geothermal power capacity. As of September 2020, installed capacity of biomass was 1,238 MW (369 MW of which was waste heat), up by 1,141 MW since 2010. A 2020 study found that biomass could meet nearly a third of Turkey’s electricity needs.

JANUARY- 2021

Shrinking Turkey’s carbon footprint The EU’s Green Deal, which aims to make the bloc “climate neutral” by 2050 outlines a series of steps and obligations for member states. It is also considering a border “carbon tax” to help level the playing field for EU companies vis-a-vis rivals who do not consider carbon costs in their production. The tax is expected to be implemented in 2022, though details are vague, and uncertainties regarding the particular challenges its implementation will bring are still being discussed. However, as the EU is Turkey’s number one import and export partner (42.4 percent of Turkey’s exports), it is a development that Turkey is watching closely. “No Turkish exporter can risk losing the European market,” Demirdag told Anadolu Agency. He added that manufacturers will be able to reduce their carbon footprint by installing solar plants for their own processes, which could also contribute to Turkey’s increased use of solar power.

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international

World’s first hydrogen train Coradia iLint honoured Alstom’s innovative hydrogen train project Coradia iLint, commissioned by Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG), has been honoured with this year’s European Railway Award. Carmen Schwabl, Managing Director at LNVG, accepted the award at an online ceremony. Together with its project partners, LNVG has started the initiative to test hydrogen as a fuel in regular rail passenger transport.

lstom’s Coradia iLint was nominated for the award by the jury of railway industry CEOs, EU decision-makers, previous winners and selected journalists. In its statement, the jury praised the outstanding cooperation between the project partners LNVG, Alstom, the Federal State of Lower Saxoy, Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH (evb), the gas and engineering company Linde. Alstom, together with its partners, has proven with the project that hydrogen propulsion is a reliable and emission-free alternative to diesel-powered regional trains on non-electrified lines.

It is not a matter of course that a public authority triggers and accompanies a technological development of this scope. With our partners in the test phase, a real-world premiere in passenger service in Lower Saxony has been achieved, said Carmen Schwabl, Managing Director of LNVG. “Our goal was to offer a true alternative to diesel, to make it market-ready and to use it in a first network in daily passenger operation.”

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From September 2018 to end of February 2020, two Coradia iLint trains from Alstom were successfully covering more than 180,000 kilometres in regular passenger service. Serial production of this groundbreaking innovation for rail transport is currently underway. The first hydrogen-powered series trains will be in regular service in Germany from 2022.

We are very pleased that our client LNVG has been awarded for the innovative hydrogen train project. Our joint project Coradia iLint shows a courageous commitment to green mobility together with state-of-the-art technology. Today, we can be very proud of our innovative Coradia Ilint, the world’s first and only existing hydrogen train, said Gian Luca Erbacci, Senior Vice President Europe at Alstom.

JANUARY- 2021

featured

Canada: Energy Storage Development: Opportunities For Remote Indigenous Communities

In recent years, technologies related to energy storage and other distributed energy resources (such as renewable microgrids) have significantly improved and become more economical. Several projects across Canada have already leveraged the declining costs and maturing technology of battery systems to store electricity from the grid or from community-based renewable generation.

hese trends of decreasing costs and maturing technology, and the potential for the use of this technology in circumstances where a connection to the main energy grid is not available, are creating more opportunities for remote Indigenous communities to reduce reliance on diesel fuel and enhance energy security by investing in energy storage and distributed energy resources.

What you need to know Connections to the power grid may not always be viable. Many remote Indigenous communities depend on diesel generation or long radial power lines for electricity, which are subject to significant reliability, safety and environmental limitations. While transmission lines may be built to connect certain remote communities (e.g., the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project connecting 17 remote First Nations in northwestern Ontario), similar projects may not always be economically or technically viable. Energy storage facility development on the rise. Across Canada, Indigenous communities and project proponents have deployed, or are considering developing, energy storage facilities, often coupled with renewable generation from solar, wind or hydro resources, as a way to reduce diesel reliance and provide much needed supply diversification and reliability. Collaboration key to integration. While battery systems have declined in price and improved in performance over time, their integration with generation facilities remains a technologically complex task, requiring considerable investment and expertise. Widespread adoption of energy storage in remote Indigenous communities may require governments and industry participants to work together to adapt existing regulatory and business models. There are approximately 170 Indigenous communities in Canada (with a combined population of over 100,000 individuals) that are not connected to the electricity grid or natural gas distribution network1. These communities primarily rely on diesel fuel for electricity generation and heating, requiring long-range transport of fuel by airplane, truck or barge (when weather conditions permit). This results in significant environmental, safety, and reliability impacts, including lengthy blackouts during the winter months, substantial greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of spills. Even in areas where a grid connection is available, a conductor outage (which typically involves radial single circuit lines strung over long distances) requires significant efforts to troubleshoot and restore supply. While back-up diesel generation can fill short-term supply gaps, it is often not a reliable replacement for lost capacity during a prolonged blackout.

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Growing adoption of energy storage Distributed energy resources (including renewable microgrids and battery storage) are increasingly being seen as a viable solution for stable electricity supply. In fact, after Crown and private utilities, Indigenous communities and Indigenous-owned enterprises are now in aggregate the largest owner of renewable energy assets in the country2. Given the intermittent nature of wind and solar resources, storage is considered by many proponents to be essential to the penetration of such renewable technologies in off-grid service areas. The adoption of energy storage may make further renewable energy development by remote communities more attractive. Two utility-backed energy storage projects have recently been implemented in Ontario. Aroland First Nation, 350 km northeast of Thunder Bay, is working with Hydro One on a pilot battery project to supply the community in the event of upstream outages (with an expected outage duration reduction of 60%)3. Gull Bay First Nation, 175 km north of Thunder Bay, is working with Ontario Power Generation on a microgrid (owned and operated by the Gull Bay First Nation) that integrates solar panels and battery storage to offset diesel use by up to 30%. Other provinces and territories have also seen remote energy projects that leverage storage to enhance reliability of supply, including the Three Nations Energy Solar Farm (paired with battery storage) in Alberta, the Kitasoo First Nation storage project (paired with an existing lake-fed hydroelectric facility) in British Columbia, the Old Crow Solar Farm (paired with battery storage) in Yukon, and the Hamlet of Arviat project (incorporating wind, solar and battery storage) in Nunavut. Similar to the Gull Bay microgrid, these projects leverage hybrid systems that combine renewable resources (wind, hydroelectric, solar) or diesel generation with batteries to store and discharge power according to load demand.

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All about International Solar Alliance, co-founded by France & India, to promote solar energy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged that India would exceed its Paris Agreement targets while addressing the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, and raised the importance of “global climate partnerships” like the International Solar Alliance.

he International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched by Modi and former French president Francois Hollande in November 2015 at the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris. The alliance was formed with the aim to promote solar energy in 121 member countries and to mobilise over $1 trillion of investment for the deployment of solar energy at affordable costs. It is the first inter-government organisation headquartered in India, in Gurugram. In the wake of Covid-19, ISA has been working towards providing 24×7 electricity to some member countries to power cold storages that will store vaccine. ThePrint explains how the ISA was formed and how it functions.

What is the International Solar Alliance? The ISA is a coalition of solar resource-rich countries that lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Eighty-nine countries have signed the ISA’s Framework Agreement and of these 72 have deposited their instruments of ratification. Two weeks ago, India said membership to the alliance will be open to all member states of the United Nations. The ISA primarily consists of an Assembly, Secretariat and different committees. The Assembly of the alliance is the apex decision-making body and the Secretariat is responsible for its operations and functioning. The body is funded by voluntary contributions by its members, partner countries, the UN and the private sector, while revenue is generated from specific activities approved by the Assembly. The body aims to scale up solar energy applications, take coordinated action through programmes and activities launched on a voluntary basis and facilitate collaborative research and development activities in solar energy technologies.

Founding conference of ISA The founding conference of the alliance was co-hosted by Modi and present French President Emmanuel Macron on 11 March 2018 in New Delhi. Apart from the French President, 21 heads of states, 6 vice presidents and deputy prime ministers and 19 ministers as heads of delegations attended the conference. At the time, the US, under former President Donald Trump, was showing lack of interest in matters related to climate change. Macron also made a veiled reference to Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris accord during the conference. “They (ISA member nations) started to act and to deliver complete results. They didn’t wait, they didn’t stop because few countries decided to just leave the floor and the Paris agreement,” he said.

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At the conference, the focus was on combating climate change and the need to ensure access to affordable and innovative solar energy especially for developing countries, such as those in Africa and small island states. Scaling up of solar technology and production was also discussed.France has also been able to leverage its diplomatic network to bring ISA’s goals to relevant multilateral bodies and raise funds in the private sector through bodies like the Syndicat des Énergies Renouvelables (SER), a renewable energies union in France, and MEDEF International, a non-profit organisation for French companies. According to Upendra Tripathy, director-general of the ISA, the alliance has one primary target in the Framework Agreement and that is to mobilise more than $1,000 billion by 2030, apart from bringing down solar energy cost. There are also talks on to establish a World Solar Bank, which will be headquartered in India. The steering committee of the ISA will, reportedly, meet soon to discuss this and India is expected to become a lead member by picking up 30 per cent stake in the proposed bank through a $600 million equity commitment.

Role of US and its past commitments to fighting climate change The US is also expected to help strengthen the ISA with the recent change in administration, which has been more proactive in matters related to climate change. US President Joe Biden signed executive orders to transform the country’s fossilfuel powered economy into a clean-energy one, a week after pledging to rejoin the Paris accord. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also said there is “strong potential” for New Delhi and Washington to work together in the area of climate change but noted that India is close to catching up with China’s rate of emissions. In November 2014, the Obama administration had pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, an international fund aimed at helping developing countries like India tackle global warming. It delivered $1 billion before Trump pulled out of the Paris accord. US special climate envoy John Kerry said that the US would “make good” on its climate finance promise but didn’t provide any details.

JANUARY- 2021

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Philippines set sights on hydrogen to diversify energy sources The Philippine Department of Energy said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia-based research and development firm Star Scientific Ltd to explore the potential of hydrogen as an energy source in the country.

he Southeast Asian country, which is heavily dependent on imported coal and fuel oil, hopes to be able to utilise hydrogen as a fuel for vehicles and a part of its future energy mix. The use of hydrogen worldwide, mainly utilised in oil refining and to produce ammonia for fertilisers, is expected to grow in the future, with demand seen coming from the transport, building and power generation sectors.

I have often said that there could be a lot of potential for hydrogen for the local industry given that it is seen as the fuel of the future, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp is constructing an integrated hydrogen manufacturing facility at its Tabangao refinery in the Philippines, which has been converted into an import terminal. The MOU with Star Scientific states that the Philippine government and its Australian partner “will investigate hydrogen production in the Philippines in an effort to make the country energy independent so as to significantly reduce the country’s CO2 emissions”. Robert Briggs, senior advisor to the executive chairman of Star Scientific, said the company offered a breakthrough technology called Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser, which converts hydrogen into heat without combustion.

Enel sees more opportunities in US renewables under Biden administration Enel sees more opportunities for its renewable energy business in the U.S. where prospects have improved with the arrival of the Biden administration, the head of the Italian utility’s green energy unit said We have an already ambitious plan so I won’t be saying we will be changing it… but the outlook is more positive, there will be more opportunities, Enel Green Power Chief Executive Salvatore Bernabei said. Enel aims to add a further 1 gigawatt of green capacity in the United States this year and opportunities could include new power purchase agreements with corporations, he said.

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ince taking office, President Joe Biden has signed a raft of measures to combat climate change, as he pursues green policies he bills as a boon for job creation. Bernabei, who took over the green business unit in October, said Enel Green Power was also planning to grow in Europe, especially in Italy, Spain and Romania. The group is monitoring Germany and France but there are no short-term plans there. However, he said the group was not looking for acquisitions. “We can count on a huge pipeline of 140 gigawatts to 2030,” he said. Enel, one of the world’s biggest green energy companies, is planning to spend around 70 billion euros ($85 billion) on renewable energy by 2030, almost tripling its fully-owned capacity. Bernabei said the group would make a stronger push for growth in Asia and Africa, bringing in outside investors under its “stewardship” model. Enel will spend 160 billion euros over the next 10 years but expects to attract another 30 billion euros under the programme. It aims to be totally carbon-free by 2050.

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“This is clearly a future with no gas,” Bernabei said. www.EQMagPro.com

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OPTCL signs MoU with IIT, Bhubaneswar for power sector development

State public sector undertaking Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited has signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar for the establishment of OPTCL Chair in the premier engineering institute. It is indeed a historic moment for Odisha to collaborate with a premier institute like IIT for development of Odisha power sector, Energy Minister D S Mishra said. “We are happy to know that IIT is not only confined to academic service but also extended its arm for the development of the state. This industry-institute interface will be a win-win situation for both with regards to research and development,” Mishra said.

he MoU was signed on 29 January. He said this cooperation will enhance the technical knowhow. OPTCL chairman Sourav Garg said IIT would be a troubleshooter for various technical issues surfacing in the power sector. It is a dream come true and we feel proud to collaborate with the best brains of the nation. The students from IIT will have practical exposure on the real-time projects, at the same time OPTCL engineers will have an opportunity to interact with IITians and enhance their knowledge in the process, Garg said.

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Apart from education, IIT Bhubaneswar is committed to the local area and social development through structured intervention. This Chair will act as an extended arm of the R & D wing for the Odisha power sector, IIT Bhubaneswar Director Prof R V Raja Kumar said. “These synergies are sure to create lasting impact in addressing key issues pertaining to the power sector. We also assure that the proposed Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy, SMART Grid will provide an amalgamation to both academics and industry in general,” he said. Ragunath Pratihari, Director (HRD) OPTCL emphasized on the importance of collaboration in modern development scenarios. This OPTCL Chair will enable a common platform to address issues as regards to both academics and industry, he said. The core objectives of establishing the Chair Position of OPTCL in IIT Bhubaneswar are knowledge sharing, skill enhancement and research and development. A Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy, Smart Grid will be established under the umbrella of this Chair position, he said.

JANUARY- 2021

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Clean Solar Panels From Polluting Coal Plants Listening to the statements at the annual assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), held in Abu Dhabi last week, one would think, at first glance, that the world has fully entered the era of clean energy and that the problem of carbon emissions has become a concern of the past. Ministers from the 163 member states presented reports detailing commitments and ambitious programs to firmly introduce renewable energy into the energy mix, and most of them outlined actual achievements. As much as a gigantic advancement this represents, something seems to be still missing in order to accelerate the transition.

igures presented to the Summit by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), were alarming. They showed that, even if all countries abide by their current commitments, average temperature will rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, which is 1 degree, or 70 percent higher than the limit set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its last report. Scientists stated that an increase of above 1.5 degrees Celsius will have irreversible catastrophic impacts on human life that defy adaptation. The logical conclusion may be that the rate of transition is not fast enough and renewable energy sources cannot be a magical solution, if they are not integrated in an overall strategy. Reducing emissions requires managing energy demand, not just increasing production, regardless of the source, which can be achieved by cutting waste and enhancing efficiency. On the other hand, some seemingly glittering numbers mask a different reality. China, for example, which highlighted its position at IRENA’s Assembly as the world’s largest producer of electricity from wind and sun, is still dependent on coal, the most polluting source, for 57 percent of its energy consumption, while most of its remaining energy supplies come from oil and gas. Since 2011, China alone has burned more coal than all other countries of the world, combined. While China presents its renewable energy figures as a total, it often presents the figures for carbon emissions in terms of per capita share. With a population of about 1.5 billion, it is only natural that absolute renewable energy figures will appear large, while per capita share of emissions show much lower. But China’s emissions are still large even on per capita basis. The country is the leading source of carbon emissions globally, contributing 25 percent, while its population represents 18 percent of the world total. China’s contribution to carbon emissions and pollution exceeds, when measured by the per capita share, the contribution of developing countries by several times, but it is still less than that of the United States and most developed countries, although the gap is narrowing. It is worrying that the principle of ‘shared but differentiated responsibilities’ is being excessively used as a license to pollute.

The irony is that as China has become a global economic superpower, it still hides behind developing countries to obtain exemptions from commitments to reduce carbon emissions and curb pollution. This was clearly evident in international forums in recent years, as China opted to harbor with the Group of 77, the coalition of developing countries of which it was a founder, while current economic developments moved it to the ranks of rich countries. Equally significant is that the failure of developed countries to provide the promised aid to developing countries has contributed to China’s advances to fill the gap, especially in Africa, turning some developing countries into hostages to huge loans, including supporting the construction of new coal plants. The US exit from the Paris climate agreement had a decisive effect in boosting China’s grand plans.

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However, despite the challenges, the meeting in Abu Dhabi showed an unprecedented commitment from most countries to expand the share of renewable energy, by up to 50 percent in 2030 and 70 percent in 2050. Arab countries were not far from this trend, from Morocco and Tunisia, to Egypt and Jordan, as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi Arabia’s commitment emerged as one of the most ambitious goals, which is to switch to renewable energy to produce 50 percent of electricity by 2030. The role of renewable energy in the healthcare sector was a major topic in IRENA discussions, emphasizing bringing electricity to remote areas. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 25 percent of health clinics in developing countries lack access to reliable electricity supplies, or are not connected to networks at all. Aside from operating medical equipment, electricity is necessary to maintain a stable temperature for stored drugs and vaccines. Power cuts lead to the loss of a quarter of the vaccines distributed annually. Figures presented at the IRENA meeting showed that the cost of producing electricity from the sun and wind is now the cheapest compared to other sources. In contrast, the share of renewable energies, including hydropower, is still less than 20 percent of the total, with the sun and wind in most countries contributing less than half of it. On the other hand, the last ten years have witnessed a solid increase in renewable energy investments, in parallel with a steady decline in those related to other energy sources, especially coal. What is delaying the rapid transformation is not lack of financing, especially since investing in generating electricity from sun and wind has gone beyond being a pure environmental act, to become an attractive economic option as well. What is hindering the rapid progress at country level is the weakness of policies and laws, and the political, legislative and economic instability, which are essential factors to attract and protect investments. Renewable energy will continue to expand its reach around the world, as an attractive option in all aspects. But its contribution to development and mitigation of climate change will remain limited, unless it becomes a part of an integrated policy, mainly based on enhancing efficiency and changing wasteful consumption habits. This leads to rationalizing demand rather than simply increasing production. Policymakers must remember that the goal of shifting to renewable energy is not only to improve the environment, but also to contribute to the elimination of energy poverty and the creation of new jobs. There are more than a billion people around the world, most of them in Asia and Africa, who do not have access to electricity supplies, and they need it no matter where from it comes. The transition to renewable and clean energy should not be allowed to be a cover for the creation of new international industrial monopolies, employing such dubious practices as flooding the world markets with solar panels, cheaply produced in factories running on energy generated from the most polluting coal plants. That is blunt political hypocrisy.

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Africa to see a huge renewable energy boom driven by Egypt and Algeria Africa’s installed capacity of renewable energy, which stood at 12.6 gigawatt (GW) in 2019, is set for consecutive years of growth, a Rystad Energy analysis shows. The continent’s capacity is forecast to reach 16.8 GW in 2020, add another 5.5 GW in 2021, and further climb to 51.2 GW in 2025, led by growth in solar and wind projects in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Ethiopia.

t present, South Africa leads the continent in terms of installed renewable energy capacity with 3.5 GW of wind, 2.4 GW of utility solar, and a solar-dominant 1 GW pipeline of projects in development. Egypt and Morocco are in second and third place in terms of solar capacity with 1.6 GW and 0.8 GW, respectively. Nearly 40 out of 50 African countries have installed – or plan to install – wind or solar projects. And although the learning curve may be steep for first-time market entrants with sizable development pipelines, inexperienced players will be able to leverage the lessons learned in Egypt, South Africa and Morocco and implement this knowledge into development plans. Algeria will see the most renewable growth in Africa towards 2025, increasing capacity from just 500MW in 2020 to almost 2.9GW in 2025. The increase will come primarily from one mega-project, the four gigawatts Tafouk 1 Mega Solar Project, which will be developed in five phases of 800MW capacity each, to be tendered between 2020 and 2024. Rystad Energy expects three of the tendered projects with 2.4GW of capacity will be commissioned by 2025. Tunisia will also see formidable growth, skyrocketing from 350 MW of renewable capacity in 2020 to 4.5 GW in 2025.

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The additions will come from larger solar plants, such as the 2 GW TuNur Mega Project, which is currently in the early stages of development and is expected to come on line by 2025. In terms of speed, Egypt has been one of the quickest African nations to install solar and wind since 2017, and currently has approximately three gigawatts of installed capacity. The country has a massive 9.2GW development pipeline, which mostly consists of wind projects – putting Egypt on track to overtake South Africa in 2025 and become the green powerhouse of Africa. Growth will come from large projects such as the 2 GW Gulf of Suez Red Sea Wind Project, which will be located in the governorate of the Red Sea. Of the capacity to be installed, 500 MW will be developed by German giant Siemens Gamesa and 1,500 MW remains to be awarded. Four out of the top 10 projects to be developed in Africa in the next five years will be in Egypt, underscoring the Egyptian government’s commitment to its renewable goals. Morocco follows Egypt in terms of the quick pace of installations with 2.5 GW of installed capacity, dominated by 1.7GW of wind power. Rystad Energy expects solar will drive the growth there, with a handful of large projects already in the works such as the one gigawatt Noor Midelt Hybrid (CSP + Solar PV), the 400 MW Noor PV II, and the 120 MW Noor Tafilalet.

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Solar Power Plant at Orchid Research and Conservation Centre Environment Minister Say Samal said the solar plant with a 32 kW with 87 kW/h battery storage system will play a pivotal role to strengthen the participation of the centre in the identification and conservation of wildlife orchids, plant and animals, especially the rare and endangered species, to ensure the sustainability of biodiversity for the economic, social and cultural development of Cambodia. He said the achievement is a stepping stone for other future supporting infrastructures to further develop the centre to play a significant role in the cooperation, scientific research, exchange of knowledge and technology and raising awareness about sustainability, diversity and conservation developments.

“The centre will contribute to the diversification of the local economy, especially in tourism and culture related fields, as it will boost employment options and additional sources of income to improve the quality of people’s lives,” Samal said. Sonali Dayaratne, representative of UNDP Cambodia, commended the Kingdom for the clean environment achievement, the protection and conservation of biodiversity and its response to climate change.

SJVNL bags 679 Megawatt hydro electric power project in Nepal State-owned SJVN Ltd has bagged a 679 MW hydro electric project in Nepal, the power ministry said in a statement. The Nepalese government has allotted 679 MW Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project in Nepal to SJVN through international competitive bidding, SJVN Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said.

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he Investment Board of Nepal in its meeting on January 29, 2021, chaired by Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli awarded the project to SJVN. Sharma has also met Oli in Kathmandu and assured him that the project will be completed in a time bound manner, the statement said. Sharma said SJVN has bagged the project through international competitive bidding, after competing with various international companies including from China. The Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts of Nepal. On completion, the project will generate 3,561 million units of electricity per annum.

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Sharma further stated that the projects being developed by SJVN in Nepal would result in overall development and boost mutual economic growth in India and Nepal. He said the infrastructural development related to project activities would ensure overall socio-economic development of the region. SJVN is already constructing 900 MW Arun 3 HEP (hydro projects) in Nepal and 217km 400 kV associated transmission system. With addition of Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project to its kitty, SJVN portfolio now stands at 8960.5 MW. The company has presence in various sectors of energy generation which includes hydro, wind, solar & thermal. The company also has a presence in the field of energy transmission.

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Ace constructions Forklifts now run on WAAREE Lithium Batteries WAAREE ESS Pvt. Ltd, is an Indian high tech Lithium Ion Batteries manufacturer located in Surat. WAAREE ESS In association with M/s ACE Ltd (Action Construction Equipment Ltd), has recently designed, developed and supplied high capacity 23KWhr lithium battery for 3 Ton fork lift applications. These forklifts equipped with WAAREE lithium batteries have now been deployed at Chennai airport and operating for 12 hrs per day.

AAREE ESS is the pioneer in addressing the demands of lithium batteries in the material handling and traction equipment like fork lifts in the Indian market. Deployment of Lithium batteries have added value to ACE forklifts, the entire operation is through IOT enabled Smart battery management systems with CAN Bus Communication which has also added to the operating life of the system. Long lifecycles of WAAREE ESS lithium batteries has increased the daily duty hours of the forklifts as compared to the conventional lead acid batteries bringing in more value for the money spent.

Speaking on this Achievement Mr. Shiv Nath, MD of WAAREE ESS Pvt. Ltd, shared “WAAREE is leading the transition to the state of the art smart Lithium Ion systems. We are very excited about this initiative of ours to transform the energy storage for mobility into a smart IOT enabled system with cutting edge technology features for high reliability, safety at a competitive cost. We believe in delighting customers with high productivity and flexibility in operations our offerings bring about”

Mr. Chetan Gole, Vice President of M/S ACE Ltd, shared “In our pursuit to offer world-class products with contemporary technology, we are happy to introduce our Li-Ion battery-powered forklifts to our valued customers. The technology offers virtually maintenance-free batteries, rapid charging/opportunity charging feature, offers longer working cycles and charging during free time to give maximum productivity. Also, it helps avoid the hassles of frequent change of batteries for longer operation cycles. This is relatively a clean and user-friendly technology. We are proud to announce that ACE has bagged the prestigious single largest order of 28 nos. 3T capacity Li-ion battery forklifts with 5 years maintenance contract from Airport Cargo, Chennai. At ACE, we are committed to offer quality products with prompt and efficient services.”

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“It is indeed a proud moment for us as ACE is the first indigenous manufacturer to develop this advance technology product for commercial/industrial use under our “Make in India” initiatives. ACE remains committed to continually develop and supply customer friendly and environment friendly technology products within and outside the country and make the nation proud.” he added. WAAREE ESS lithium batteries have higher energy density, it has also helped in reducing the weight of forklifts, in turn improving the operational energy efficiency of the entire system. The advanced IOT Battery Management System of WAAREE ESS, with “on the Air” features has helped to dynamically manage the battery parameters and life management which is not possible with the conventional lead acid technology. One major advantage that lithium batteries have made to get rid of the charging method of the conventional lead acid batteries wherein battery was required to be removed each time from the fork lift and to be bought at the charging station for charging happen, The lithium batteries can also be “opportunity charged” in Situ. WAAREE ESS state of art design & manufacturing capabilities make it a reliable brand for diverse applications from distributed power reserves to motive power. Their in-house research & development expertise on various lithium batteries technologies including Lithium Ferro Phosphate, Lithium Nickel Manganese gives them an advanced edge in the entire battery industry. With strong domestic & international sales & service presence of WAAREE group, WAAREE ESS committed to achieve highest level of customer satisfaction in growing energy storage segment.

JANUARY- 2021

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