EQ Magazine July 2021 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

JULY- 2021

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Rooftop PV Inverter Supplier in India

Shenzhen Growatt New Energy Co., Ltd. Service Hotline:1800120600600

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Email:info@ginverter.com

JULY- 2021

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

OWNER :

FirstSource Energy India Private Limited

PLACE OF PUBLICATION :

95-C, Sampat Farms, 7th Cross Road, Bicholi Mardana Distt-Indore 452016, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA Tel. + 91 96441 22268

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EDITOR & CEO :

ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net

PUBLISHER :

ANAND GUPTA

PRINTER :

ANAND GUPTA

TRENDS & ANALYSIS

SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net

PUBLISHING COMPANY DIRECTORS: ANIL GUPTA

ANITA GUPTA

CONSULTING EDITOR : SURENDRA BAJPAI

HEAD SALES & MARKETING : BHANU YADAV solardeal@EQmag.net

SR. GRAPHICS & LAYOUT DESIGNER : RATNESH JOSHI

SUBSCRIPTIONS :

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

CONT EN T

VOLUME 13 Issue #07

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’S SOLAR POWER EFFORTS AN EXAMPLE TO WORLD: PRINCE CHARLES

33 BUSINESS & FINANCE SAMSUNG AND Q CELLS ENTER PARTNERSHIP FOR ZERO ENERGY HOMES

61 FEATURED

LEADING SOLAR PANEL MANUFACTURER RAYZON SOLAR ADDING .2GW PRODUCTION CAPACITY BY 2021

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

LONGI SOLAR PARTNERS WITH KRANNICH SOLAR

JULY- 2021

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

INDIA

FUTURE OF ENERGY INNOVATION: AN INTERACTIVE SESSION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

GOVT PLANS INSTITUTION TO FUND BUSINESSES FOCUSED ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: GADKARI

26 40

INDIA

NIRMALA SITHARAMAN CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR RAISING SUPPLY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

INTERNATIONAL ELECTRIC CAR SALES SURGE AS EUROPE’S CLIMATE TARGETS BITE

ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Audi Launches 3 All-Electric SUVs Under Its E-Tron Range

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INTERVIEW MR. SUNIL THAMARAN

INTERVIEW

Electric Vehicles Get Cheaper Every Kilometer

INTERVIEW

MR. LI JIANFEI

ELECTRIC VEHICLE

MR. SAIKAT ROY

TECHNOLOGY Growatt Embraces Smart Manufacturing with Its New Facility

INTERVIEW

MR. AMIT BARVE

JULY- 2021

Founded in 2005, JA Solar is a manufacturer of high-performance photovoltaic products. With 12 manufacturing bases and more than 20 branches around the world, the company’s business covers silicon wafers, cells, modules and photovoltaic power stations. JA Solar products are available in over 120 countries and regions.

JULY- 2021

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Go Solar With IB Solar

Leading Solar PV Modules Manufacturer

Solar panels available in 40wp - 410wp in Poly and Mono Crystalline cells .

Sofar Solar National Channel partners

Sofar solar Inverters in complete range from 1.1kw - 255kw with 8 years and 10 years warranty.

Solar ACDB / DCDB Customized Designs .

IB Solar : Manufacturers of complete range of solar products. One stop manufacturing hub of all your solar needs.

+91-9910222871

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www.ibsolar.co.in

marketing@ibsolar.co.in EQ

JULY- 2021

s rie Se TIT AN

p 0W

C O N TA C T U S W W W . R I S E N E N E R G Y. C O M

JULY- 2021

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india

KONARK TO BE INDIA’S FIRST ‘ZERO EMISSION CITY’ BY 2022 The state government with assistance from the Union government is working hard to make Konark India’s first ever ‘Zero Emission City’ by September 2022, following which the city will use only renewable sources for its energy demands.

he government agencies involved in the work claimed that several aspects of the project have already been completed, while the remaining work is being completed on war footing. All offgrid (not connected to grids) interventions for the project are likely to be completed by September this year, while work on the remaining grid will be over by September next year, officials at Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) told Orissa POST. OREDA has recently taken up the work to set up solar panels at the Konark temple as well as across Konark city. To achieve this, OREDA has been working on two different kinds of interventions, including off-grid project for the Konark Notified Area Council (NAC) area where smaller solar equipment are being installed.

There is a vision for the development of the city. In future when the city develops, it will have more energy consumption demands. We have planned how to reduce the dependency of the city on fossil energy and boost use of renewable energy sources like solar energy, Ashok Choudhury,Joint Director, OREDA, told this correspondent.

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The agency has planned solar trees, drinking water stations, rooftop solar panels, introduction of electric vehicles and battery charging stations. The city will soon host charging points for electric vehicles passenger and commercial vehicles. “To ensure that Konark becomes a zero emission town, we have calculated its entire energy consumption. It came around 10 Mega Watt. Konark is not a feasible area for setting up of a solar power plant due to its proximity to Bay of Bengal. Corrosion activities and vulnerability to cyclones could have created problem for such plants technically,” he said. Instead, OREDA plans to install a solar power plant at Kalahandi to cater to the energy demands of the city. A 10MW solar power plant for Konark will be setup soon at Kalahnadi soon. The tender process is already over and work will start soon, the official said. As per the plan, the energy produced in Kalahandi will be supplied to the local grid. “If the energy produced in Kalahandi is in excess of the city’s demands, Konark will be emission free. We are likely to complete the project by September 2022. Konark will be India’s first zero emission city after achieving the target,” he said. Source : orissapost

JULY- 2021

interview

MR. LI JIANFEI CTO & VP, SINENG ELECTRIC EQ: How much inverters have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in this year and next year? LJ: We have supplied more than 3GW inverters as of 2021. Though 2020 was a bit slower than the predictions made by industry specialists due to the pandemic, but Sineng is expecting a large pipeline of projects to spur the return to growth. We have shipped over 500MW inverters in the first quarter of 2021 and more than 1 GW projects contract have been signed. EQ: Please share your Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc. LJ: Constant innovation and optimization at product level is the only way to exist in the present competitive environment. Market has seen some stability in solar tariffs. We are expecting the same in inverter price. At the moment, the prices have reached to a level where if further drop happens it will be a threat for the industry.

JULY- 2021

However, we are committed to bring out the solutions which can optimize the project cost for the customers. In recent years, we have seen that market moved from small block size to 6.5/12.5MW block size and 1000V to 1500V. Presently, our R&D team is working on higher voltage solution than 1500V for the future. Storage is also going to happen at big scale in near future. We have been providing DC/AC coupled PCS and integrated solutions in China and Korea market. Sineng is one of the few companies who manufactures both central and string inverters. Our string inverter technology is already mature and have been extensively adopted by Chinese customers. We have started to promote it worldwide. Expectedly, our string inverter has been able to turn customer’s attention and that’s why, we are going to set up production lines for string inverter by the Q3, 2021 in India manufacturing base. In 2020, we have added a new string model (SP-275K-INH) in our string inverter product line which gives an ease to design array with larger wafer 210 mm high power module. The maximum current for each string input of this inverter is 20A. On the other side, Sineng is also working to come up with higher capacity compact central inverter solutions in near future.

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interview EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations? LJ: Sineng has served all-round the solar industry by associating with almost all major key players in the market namely Softbank, Spring, Mahindra, ACME, Renew, AZURE, AVAADA, ADANI, L&T, ENRICH etc. We have a total of 3 GW+ supply record in India. Clients has adopted Sineng 1500V outdoor central inverter solutions in all geographic location such as Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Punjab etc. EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities and future expansion plans? LJ: Sineng Electric was founded in March, 2012; and acquired fortune 500 listed company Emerson’s PV business in 2014. We have inherited the entire R&D, production, service and management personnel from Emerson which helped us become one of the top five inverter manufacturer in a short time. By virtue of cutting edge high-quality products, better performance and competitive price, Sineng Electric has achieved the recognition of capital market in last successive years. Consequently, it has been listed as a public company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) in April, 2020. At present, the annual production capacity of China manufacturing base is 12GW and India manufacturing base is 3GW. To meet exponentially increased demand due to the vigorous development of the global PV market, we will increase the production capacity of China and India manufacturing base to 20GW and 10 GW in Q3 of 2021, respectively. At the same time, Sineng Electric will continuously expand the international market and beef up its core business in coming years. As a part of the expansion plan, Spain branch for Europe market and Dubai branch for MNEA market will start its full operation in May, 2021 to better serve the customers in the respected areas in terms of spare parts and after-sales services along with collaboration, cooperation and communication etc. EQ: What are your views on inverters – Make in India? LJ: Sineng realized the future potential of Indian solar market at the earliest. In Bangalore, our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is one of the implementations of that realization. At the moment, it spreads across 38082 square feet area and can produce 3 GW inverters annually. We were, and are very passionate to contribute to the “Make in India” and bring success to the goal. EQ: What are the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India? LJ: Investing in domestic manufacturing reflects the company’s stable and long term plans. With the increasing market share, it was a natural choice to set up a localized factory in India. And, it has been helping us with production planning and forecasting efficiently which, in return, help us reduce the lead time. Thus, we are able to serve our clients timely. We acknowledge that there were many challenges we had faced in the beginning. Skilled manpower was the crucial challenge. To overcome this, we regularly organized internal training and skill competition program. It not only helped our employees to accomplish the company goal, but also achieve their career prospects. Now, we confident that we can provide our clients with localized quality product in time. The other challenge is sourcing of the components. The supply chain of power electronics components has been evolving in India and is still in its infancy stage. Currently, we are using local components which meet quality requirements. Hopefully, we could increase the local sourcing quantity in the near future. EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future? LJ: Prior to discussing Sineng’s focus market, it is worth first mentioning the state of the play of current and forthcoming market. The Asia Pacific region saw significant growth in its contribution to renewable energy (RNEs), thanks in no small part of China, India and Vietnam’s meteoric rise. Asia Pacific (APAC), led by China, is predicted by IHS and other data powerhouses to remain the largest regional market of PV installation in the future.

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The “Rest of APAC” region -Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Japan and others is being driven by strong growth in utility-scale (>5 MW) installations. Therefore, the company focus on already owned large market share APAC regions like-China, India and Vietnam will remain same, on the other hand, it has extended its focus on other regions like Middle East and Europe. EQ: Kindly comment of Energy Storage as a game changer, its technology, cost trends, etc. LJ: There is great potential in the storage segment and that is why so many inverter players have entered this field. Storage options have now been applied to many different scenarios including ground-mounted PV stations, C&I projects and roof-top residential PV. For large-scale PV stations, storage can help shave peaks and improve power quality. For C&I projects, it can improve off-grid utilization. Storage technologies will allow for more reliable and flexible operation of the electricity distribution and transmission grids, enhancing electric power quality and making renewable energy user-friendly. The prices of lithium-ion batteries have fallen from $1,000 /kWh in the year 2010 to approx. $209/kWh in 2020. Bloomberg projections state that prices are set to decline to $100/kWh by 2025 and $75/kWh by 2030. So, there is still lots of potential and we expect the market to boom in the next few years. We saw the turning point coming last year and we know it’s just the beginning. Sineng has been offering its DC/AC coupled energy storage solution with various rating PCS. Our energy storage solutions have extensively been adopted in various place in China and Korea etc. EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology and distinctive advantages etc. LJ: Sineng is a technology driven company and therefore we strive to bring innovative solutions that can offer more competitive advantages in the form of more generation and BOS saving. Sineng have a wide range of central inverters, string inverter and energy storage solutions. Sineng product portfolio have below mentioned solutions for India market: A. 1500V 3125/2500 kW Central Inverter- Higher DC/AC ratio; Grid friendly; Low BOS cost. B. 1500V 250kW/275kW String Inverter- 20A/Input which suitably adopt 210mm wafer; 12 MPPT, high yield; Smart O&M; Cost effective. C. 1500V 2.5~3.465MW PCS and integrated solution- Highly integrated; Smart and friendly; Efficient and flexible. EQ: Please describe in brief about your company’s vision & mission? LJ: Sineng lives by its motto of ‘Endless Energy for Limitless Green,’ to make the world a better place to live in by reducing the globe’s greenhouse emissions! Sineng Electric is a leading global high-tech enterprise specialized in renewables and has been pioneering inverter market with enormous amount of worldwide installed inverters. Being a “one stop solution provider” for solar inverters and energy storage, we have a broad product portfolio to meet the diversified needs of customers for residential, C&I and utility -scale applications. To ensure stateof-the-art technology and reliable products, the company possesses in-house testing center and a dynamic R&D team. As a product-focused company, Sineng always looks at its offerings and there is a zeal in us to make products and service betters. Sineng has been and will be holding on its mission “high quality is low cost” and thus will cope up with the evolving market.

JULY- 2021

interview

MR. SUNIL THAMARAN VP & MD, ENPHASE ENERGY INC. EQ: Please share your Road Maps–Pricing, Technology etc. ST: Enphase aspires to be a world leader in energy technology, providing smart, user-friendly solutions that integrate solar generating, storage, and communication into a single intelligent platform. Enphase's micro inverter-based technology has changed the solar sector, and the company now offers a fully integrated energy management system. Enphase has been working on 3 fronts: Ensemble (Home Energy Management System), Portable Power Storage (akin to power on the go with your own power pack that can be charged with various sources) and Commercial products (IQ8D which is the first in line with dual-panel microinverter). EQ: What are your views on BIS and other tariff barriers? ST: Initially, the BIS requirement and testing process was a challenge as labs were not ready and equipped. But MNRE was proactive and supportive with waivers, until the testing infrastructure was in place. Our inverter is BIS certified. EQ: What are your views on Inverters – Make in India? ST: Make in India is favorable and helps in avoiding BCD (Basic Customs Duty). The manufacturing quality in India is very good. Our Indian manufacturing partner is one of the most advanced and automated plants for us worldwide. Solar manufacturing is a fast evolving industry, and hence it must be a long-term strategy. A long-term approach on the technical frontier will ensure that India's power industry benefits from these improvements. Enphase has set up a fully automated manufacturing facility in partnership with Salcomp, Chennai for its Microinverters. With production around the clock, the facility brings in a quarterly capacity to 700,000 microinverters from one manufacturing line. EQ: What according to you are the current opportunities, biggest challenges, in Indian Solar Market? ST: The Govt. of India has an ambitious solarisation target for Rooftop. India is striving for 450 Gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, with solar accounting nearly 60% of the share. To ensure that these targets are met over the next ten years,

JULY- 2021

roughly 25 GW of solar energy capacity will need to be added each year. It gives ample opportunities for premium residential players like Enphase. There is also priority for rooftop solar with MSMEs, another opportunity for solar companies. One of the key challenges we face is lack of technology awareness among homeowners. Solar energy has financial, environmental, and increased home value benefits that consumers are unaware of. Consumer awareness of solar technology, as well as suitable government measures, should be fostered and promoted to stimulate the use of solar energy for household/domestic purposes. Government has introduced measures like 20–40% capital subsidy for consumers and the creation of the Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI) programme to incentivize DISCOMs and residential customers to install RTS ( roof-top solar). EQ: Expectations from Indian Government, Policy Makers and Regulators? ST: Govt. policies are favorable to applicable segments. What is lacking is the knowledge flowing down to the people who implement schemes. Govt. and equipment manufacturers like Enphase can do a lot in training and upgrading the knowledge of regulators and other ecosystem partners like installers. Enphase has launched an installer network training program where installers can take self certification training to help them gain a sound understanding of the sector/ technology updates. One can become an Enphase certified installer by completing Ensemble Installation Certification training at Enphase University. EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback,. ST: Enphase micro inverters are embedded beneath each panel, converting DC power into usable AC power. Operating independently, these inverters are inherently more reliable, safer and cost effective, ensuring high power production irrespective of the weather. Enphase micro-inverters are premium products that provide excellent values like higher efficiency, better reliability, safer systems and are easy to install and maintain. Our approach has been to work with premium partners in the ecosystem, and have installed microinverters at several apartments, villa communities, small commercial buildings, in addition to thousands of small residences. Enphase solar systems are

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interview installed at several luxury residential complexes in Bengaluru, where homeowners sought a solution that would not only encourage a sustainable lifestyle, but also help them save money and deliver a strong long-term return on investment. Enphase microinverters enable real-time monitoring of energy output and consumption per panel using the Enphase Enlighten smartphone app. Because Enphase is highly automated and all solutions are accessible on one intelligent platform, it is a one-stop shop for all solar demands. EQ: Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar Inverters. ST: Our key and winning segment is residential. We have thousands of happy customers in the country and the count is growing. We have had success working with small commercial projects as well, such as office buildings, show rooms, schools and warehouses. These are asset owners who have understood the value of higher generation and long term reliability. We have worked on large scale installations such as 1MW system near Bangalore and another 4.8MW system is in north Karnataka. These two projects are owned by customers who understand the value of advanced technology giving better returns on their investments. EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission. ST: Enphase Energy is a NASDAQ-listed energy technology company, headquartered in Fremont, California. Founded in 2006 by Raghu Belur and Martin Fornage, Enphase focuses on energy management technology for residential and commercial solar panels. The company has revolutionized the solar industry with its micro inverter-based technology and produces a fully integrated solarplus-storage solution. Enphase has shipped more than 34 million microinverters, and approximately 1.5 million Enphase-based systems have been deployed in more than 130 countries. The company has grown from a start-up to a leading energy technology innovator with over 300 patents, 34 million inverters delivered, and a footprint in 21 countries around the world. Enphase Energy brings a system-based, high-tech approach to solar energy, leveraging expertise in semiconductor integration, power electronics, and networking technologies to continually advance the performance, intelligence, and reliability of solar energy systems. Enphase Energy products make solar power systems productive, smart, and safe, increasing the energy harvest of solar panels by up to 25 percent. EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments, ASP’s, financial figures? ST: We have three manufacturing partners at this time. Our first partner plant is in China, second is Mexico and the latest one is in Chennai. Together, these plants produce over 2Mu+ inverters in a quarter. EQ: What are your plans for manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India? ST: Enphase Energy added another contract manufacturer to produce solar microinverters for the export market, in Chennai, India. Finnish company Salcomp started manufacturing microinverters on a fully automated line for Enphase in 2020. Having a manufacturing process and partner in India will help us to expand the supply chain ecosystem in India. We are looking to source several components from India suppliers and get the benefit of reduced logistics and cost due to import tariffs. EQ: Briefly describe the various technologies and its suitable applications such as Central Inverter, String, Micro Inverter, 1500V, Outdoor, Container solutions etc.. ST: Enphase technology is based on Microinverters - that are the basis for distributed architecture. They can be scaled up when needed for applications like PV (Residential, Small Comm), they are also in Storage (Encharge which have bi-directional inverters), Portable Power Station (where we offer solar + storage with various charging mechanisms). Enphase does not offer Central or String inverters.

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For larger system sizes - IQ8D based dual panel systems are building blocks for a cost effective scaling. EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future? ST: The top markets today are North America, Europe and Australia. Our emerging markets growth team is looking to expand into markets including India, Japan, Korea, Africa etc. EQ: Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, performance report of your inverters. ST: Customers can buy a 25 year warranty inverter from Enphase. And we are BIS certified. EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc. ST: Enphase stands on 4 key pillars: a. Production (higher energy production) - Enphase Microinverters have the most sophisticated inverter technology available, resulting in increased productivity, increased dependability, and unrivaled intelligence. Enphase's seventh-generation microinverters are based on a one of a kind software-defined architecture, which allows for a cost-effective design with a single hardware SKU available globally. Each microinverter operates individually, ensuring each panel reaches its maximum capacity. Microinverters use burst technology that helps generate more energy even during dawn, dusk, and in low-light circumstances, resulting in a longer solar day. b. Reliability (both unit and system reliability) - Enphase's microinverters are intrinsically more dependable since they work independently. A microinverter system has no single point of failure. At Enphase, quality is paramount; if one panel fails, the others will not be affected. Enphase microinverters are subjected to the industry's most stringent product testing. The company also provides the best warranty and service packages in the industry; Enphase microinverter comes with a 10 year warranty . c. Safety - Enphase microinverter are safer as they are an all-AC system, no high-voltage DC power on the roof. Streamlined components make for quicker and less costly installations. Highquality materials and remote problem-solving make Enphase more reliable and secure d. Smart (with app based updates, over-the-air updates) - Enphase Envoy gathers real-time data from installed microinverters and sends remote updates to them, ensuring that the entire system is always in sync. With in-depth monitoring, energy use insights, remote update capabilities, and load control, the Envoy makes life easier for both installers and system owners. The Envoy communicates with each component to form a single, integrated system that is smart, easy, and effective. System owners may also use MyEnlighten to measure their energy output, check the health of their systems, and share their data with family and friends, all from a simple, mobile-friendly interface. EQ: What’s your commitment towards the solar sector in India? ST: Enphase Energy was introduced in India in 2017, and today we have over 1100 employees working towards the country’s solar requirements. Energy is an area where advanced technology adoption is growing. Several people look to work for energy companies because of the impact on a sustainable future. We provide an unique opportunity for technical, management and operations professionals in India to work on it. Currently, our focus is on IoT hardware development, advanced SW development in the areas of AI/ML/Cloud/Mobile. We have an engineering service in Noida that provides high quality project proposals and permitting design services to installers in the US. As we expand our market in the US, we look to grow the capability of this group by adding more resources and automation capabilities.

JULY- 2021

interview

MR. SAIKAT ROY

FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, SADBHAV FUTURETECH

EQ: Please tell our readers about the journey of Sadbhav Futuretech and its progress? SR: Sadbhav Futuretech is the result of the efforts of four passionate entrepreneurs who were extremely successful in their own journeys coming together to forge a common dream. We were set up on 5th June 2020, right in the middle of the first coronavirus outbreak with the common interest of setting up a profitable organization with an underlying focus on Social Impact. Since then, we have installed close to 4000 solar agricultural pumps across India, created a R&D centre for testing agricultural inputs, run 4 warehouses, employ close to 60 staff and have started onboarding farmers on our platform. We have also been able to raise debt from banks and are in discussions with various funds and family offices for raising equity. EQ: What is the idea and vision of this company? SR: ○ Sadbhav is a company incorporated to ease the pain points and plug the leakages across the industries of solar water pumps, farming and supply chain solutions. ○ Currently these all interactive yet distanced stakeholders work in silos with no common link, Sadbhav envisages to be that platform that brings them together. ○ At each touch point, Sadbhav will add incremental value to the stakeholders through our focus on collaborative models, mutually beneficial partnerships and impact creation all across the value chain. ○ Our vision is to be the largest aggregator of solar pumps in the world and work with a hundred thousand farmers and a million retailers over the next 5 years. EQ: The company says it gives wings to the distributed renewable and the agriculture sector. Please tell us more about it. SR: ○ Solar was supposed to be distributed during its initial years of inception and was to be used in villages to give them instant power and lower the burden on the government. Solar’s greatest strength is drawn from its omnipresent source and was thus to be saviour across the rural landscape and far flung regions. It was supposed to be a product that revolutionized energy access at the bottom of the pyramid and generated a massive socio-economic impact.

JULY- 2021

We, however, have the art of finding the easiest way out and hence the industry followed the principle of mass implementation of grid scale projects so that the numbers add up and more importantly show, effort is relatively less and funding is liberal. This rural revolution became a story of climate impact and was spoken to in the biggest of forums, sustainable development goals were set around it and it was packaged to be the saviour. While all of it was not wrong but then this was definitely not the best solar option. Electricity was being provided to those who already had access and issues of grid instability, power losses continued to loom large. ○ At Sadbhav, we were reluctant to get into this game and after extensive study came to the conclusion that the solar pump is one product which is beneficial to all stakeholders, including the DISCOMS, Government both at the central and the state level, farmers as well as the industry. ○ Solar agricultural pumps industry faces two major challenges 1) execution of projects in far flung areas and 2) lack of access to finance as most players in the distributed renewable energy space were not equipped financially to take up large projects. We ironed out both issues by starting to finance projects by buying material on our books and then taking up the entire burden of implementation. In our first six months of operation we have installed close to 4000 solar pumps across Haryana, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra. We do it under our “Solar as a Service” model and work across the industry with the most credible names. This year we intend to install close to 10,000 solar pumps. ○ At Sadbhav, we work with progressive farmers. These are farmers with growth ambitions and contribute to the setting up of their solar water pumps. Typically we work with the marginal farmers who have a land holding of less than 5 acres. We provide all inputs and knowledge to the farmers to increase their yield and also motivate them to increase their incomes by converting them to horticulture products as opposed to conventional MSP based produce. We plan to convert these marginal farmers to “ Lakhpati Farmers” year on year. As the farmer income grows we will also introduce them to better farming practices and service their other needs as well. We will do it under our “ Farming as a Service” model.

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interview EQ: How is Sadbhav Futuretech helping the industry through different interventions such as finance and implementation? SR: Typically a Solar Pump installation has close to 40 different components in its Bill of Material. Since we are one of the largest buyers of material in the industry we use our relationship with the manufacturers and buy material in bulk. We buy material using our finances and then implementation of the whole project is done by our team. We do the warehousing, quality inspections, transportation, vendor finalization , surveys , installation and commissioning as well as local liasoning for our partners, including insurance till handover and then pass it to our partners for the maintenance of the systems. Through our interventions the industry can focus on their core areas of manufacture, they do not have to focus on raising capital and do not have to create a team and increase fixed expenses. Projects are usually cyclical in nature and there are times when the team does not have work and hence it does not make sense for the bidders to keep the team idle. Since we work on a collaborative concept, hence we have work round the year across numerous distributed solar projects. EQ: Please share details on the business model of the company. SR: We are the largest aggregators of Solar Pumps in India. There are various central and state schemes under which close to 35 lac solar pumps will be installed over the next 5 years. The PM-Kusum scheme is the largest scheme of its type in the world. We intend to aggregate close to 1 lac solar pumps out of those over the next 5 years. We do not leave the farmer after the commissioning of the pump. We then take the relationship to the next level and buy him the best agricultural inputs based on our soil and water study. We then buy the produce from the farmer. The produce is pre cooled and then we sell it directly to our chain of retailer partners. All the produce is transported through our own refrigerated vans. We earn better margins as we eliminate a couple of layers in the distribution process and share that with the farmer to increase their income. We also ensure that the nutrient value of the food is not diminished, through our pre-cooling and then refrigerated transportation. Cumulatively we have touched close to 20000 farmers till now through our experience in the management team. EQ: What is the company’s growth opportunity through collaborative efforts with industry, farmers and retailers? SR: We are very strong believers in collaboration and not competition. When we look across, even in nature, we see collaboration all around. As in the case of humans, there is a difference between human needs and human wants, similarly is the case for companies also. While the collaborative approach may impact the bottom line slightly today, it is much more scalable and profitable over a longer time frame. As highlighted, we pass on the margins saved in buying material to our partners in the solar pumping industry, we share profits with the farmers and are able to give retailers produce at a better rate than the market rate so that they can earn better. We collaborate at all levels to ensure our partner’s benefit. EQ: Tell us about your opinion of the market? What are the opportunities and challenges for the company and industry? SR: Indian agriculture is still very heavily dependent on monsoons and rain fed cropping systems. India is a country of 11 cr farmers wherein only 3 Cr use pumps ( either electric or diesel) and the solar scheme will add another 35 lac pump sets. There are still close to 8 Cr farmers who do not have access to water.

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From a standalone perspective this is a huge opportunity and if we can club and synergize the solar pumps with the quality agri produce then it becomes an even bigger opportunity. The biggest challenge is not to produce but to transport and sell it at the right price by establishing the right market linkage. We plan to overcome that with our fleet of reefer vans and cold storages, thereby linking the entire agri supply chain seamlessly. We have created a diverse team who are experts in their own fields and will propel the company forward. The challenge today is that all industries are working in silos and dependent on government support over a long term to build businesses. We should look at the bigger picture and rise to the challenge of creating a sustainable economy which will run long after the government program ends. The second challenge is in terms of the thought process. We should realise that the potential is immense and we do not need to cut corners and compete tooth and nail to win orders. We should rather focus on giving the best to the farmers in terms of material and service and then let the market pan out effectively. EQ: What are the plans and goals of Sadbhav Futuretech? SR: At Sadbhav, we envision to become the largest agrirenewable company in India. This can only be achieved when our stakeholders grow with us. The focus at Sadbhav is to help increase the farmers income and also introduce sustainable agri-renewable practices. This full stack solution offering will work to systamise the fragmented agricultural economy of India. As solution providers we look to tackle the challenges of inadequate water supply, low agricultural productivity, high food wastage and poor market linkages. These comprehensive solutions create immense value for all our stakeholders including farmers, retailers, investors and business associates. With our uniquely collaborative approach, we ensure that we are drivers in an ecosystem of change in the Indian energy and agriculture sectors EQ: What are your views on the future of the industry? SR: Answered earlier. EQ: What message would you like to convey to our audience? SR: India’s growth and sustenance as a global economic powerhouse is intrinsically linked to how well it manages, grows and leverages the abundance of opportunities that lie in its rural landscapes. Central to this are the focus areas of energy and agriculture that are vital cogs in the rural economy. While the segments are poised to grow exponentially, it cannot and more importantly should not happen in silo. Changes in this landscape are people and community driven that require the participation of collaborative forces. At Sadbhav, we see a prosperous future for the farmers with the sun shining bright. If you do too, let's make it happen together!

JULY- 2021

interview

MR. AMIT BARVE

BUSINESS UNIT- HEAD OF SOLAR PANASONIC LIFE SOLUTIONS INDIA PVT.LTD. EQ: Proposed BCD on Module/Cells Import in India. What are your views on this? AB: The proposed announcement of applicable duty on solar cells and modules w.e.f. from 1st April 2022 well in advance has been a welcoming change. For the stakeholders, this window is very useful especially, for ensuring strategic planning and being mindful of the impact duty on imports post 1st April 2021. In the short term, we would see a spike in the import of solar cells and module in a big way to secure imports for the projects which are already planned with imported components. Also, would like to see that these components are in India before the duty is levied. In the mid-term, this is a tremendous opportunity for Indian stakeholders who have been sitting on fence of a decision whether they should invest in the manufacturing of solar components now or at a later stage. Currently, we have perfect conditions making choice for investing in the manufacturing very easy like: 1. Market with the huge pipeline (in GWs) of projects in various stages of execution 2. Tremendous commitment and support from the government of India for market growth in the coming years 3. Long term visibility of market & 4. Long term Policy and commitment for the deployment of solar energy We have already seen a spurt of investment announcements in solar manufacturing in India and, this trend will only go upward in the coming year ahead. In the Long term, this would help the sector with the growth of the ecosystem related to the solar industry getting established in India reducing our dependence on imported components to a larger extent. EQ: Please share your Product Road Maps – Pricing, Technology etc. AB: In the solar business, we would continue to expand our business in two broad areas... Firstly, expand our footprint in offering solutions to C&I customers for behind-the-meter projects PAN India basis using our locally made high-quality solar modules over and above our imported offerings.

JULY- 2021

Secondly, we would continue building on product business by expanding the range of solar modules from Poly to Mono PERC and high wattage options thru half-cut Mono Cells. We are also expanding our product basket beyond modules to other solar products like Solar String Inverters, Street lights, and DIY Residential kits. All these products would be launched with Panasonic assured quality as well as services. All products being serviced currently and would be introduced in the coming days would be in the “Value for money” category. EQ: World Market Scenario and its impact on pricing and availability of modules in this year. Expected Pricing & Availability in this year and next year? AB: We foresee that solar installations worldwide would continue to rule the energy mix in newly added power generation capacity y-o-y for the coming years. As more and more countries are getting are on track and getting aligned in fighting climate change and working towards reducing carbon emission demand for solar energy would remain a priority for growth. With the rapidly changing technology roadmap and time required to adopt them commercially, demand and supply would remain unbalanced in coming months keeping prices of solar modules higher throughout the year including that for India. We expect prices to remain strong and firm in the current year. EQ: What is the likely price trend, availability trend of solar modules in upcoming quarters? AB: As compared to last quarter, availability of solar modules has improved substantially and would remain good in coming quarters. However, prices of solar modules would remain up and strong throughout this financial year on account of increased cost for raw materials and high shipping costs. EQ: How much modules have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in this year and next year? AB: We have been supplying and installing various types of solar modules in India like HIT, Poly-crystalline, and Mono Crystalline. So far, we have installed more than 200 MWp and, we plan to keep doubling our installed base y-o-y for the next few years.

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interview EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your modules in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback. AB: We are glad to share that our solar modules combined with various technologies have been installed across the length and breadth of the country including our neighboring countries. The performance of these modules is as per our set expectations and all our customers/ partners are happy to work with us on a long-term basis. EQ: Kindly comment on policies and regulatory aspects like BCD etc. AB: In order to encourage, domestic producers of solar cells and modules on the government projects front the schemes like BCD, BIS, ALMM will definitely help in strengthening the local manufacturing efforts in India. For example, we already have the DCR scheme that ensures stakeholders use solar modules and cells Made in India. However, this is restricted to government projects and is not a criterion for private players. For the adoption of large-scale locally made solar components, there are several production-linked incentives in place that are getting enormous commitments from large corporates in India who are bidding for these schemes and winning large capacities of allocation in solar manufacturing. Therefore, the proposed imposition of BCD is beyond some of the key initiatives which are already implemented in India. Going forward, to strengthen local manufacturing initiatives we can introduce incentives related to R&D in advanced solar technologies, where there is a good scope of improvement. With an aim to focus on localization for production through “Atmanirbhar Bharat” we equally need to focus on capabilities, ecosystem and robust infrastructure for strong R&D to expand and elevate these initiatives. EQ: What are your plans to ramp up or set up or grow your manufacturing base in India in light of the Proposed BCD? AB: We would keep enhancing our local delivery capability every year with our OEM strategy well in place. This will be a great opportunity for Indian solar component manufacturers to consolidate their position not only in India but start building world-class manufacturing setups which can start exporting solar components across the globe. Also, this is the best time for Indian manufactures to collaborate or partner with international solar technology companies to give them access to the Indian markets through their local manufacturing routes. This can lead to a win-win situation ensuring that world-class technology can flow in India for creating state-of-the-art manufacturing setups and give access to technology companies to participate in the Indian market. With cost competitiveness and sustained access to the market, our local manufacturers would be able to scale organizations and soon can become world-class suppliers. EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission. AB: Over half a century, Panasonic Life Solutions India (earlier known as Anchor Electricals) has managed to capture the minds of every consumer in India. Anchor and Panasonic Brands are committed to delivering products for the better safety and comfort of Indian citizens. The ideology of holistic quality management to improve product offerings has been a part of Anchor’s core business. Since 1963, Anchor is ‘Making in India’ and providing services that deliver social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Brand’s experience and understanding of the Indian market are unmatched in the field of electrical products. With the innovative Japanese technology, today the brand delivers a seamless and extensive range of innovative products in electrical, lighting, and power segments. Apart from Solar, we are present mainly in six product categories, which include switches and wiring devices, wires & cables, lighting, IAQ, EV Chargers, switchgear, housing, and kitchen solutions. Over the period, with a constantly expanding product range and growing market share, Anchor/ Panasonic is one of the largest domestic manufacturers of electrical construction materials.

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For over five decades, Anchor is a preferred solutions provider; winning flagship projects in Energy Management, Real Estate, Smart Cities, Intelligent industrial and residential infrastructure. In 2007, Anchor and Panasonic’s collaboration resulted in advanced products that deliver a seamless customer experience and a vast range of innovative electrical, lighting, and ventilation solutions that exceed global standards. With extensive knowledge of the electrical construction material industry, Panasonic Life Solutions India has made substantial investments in channeling information that links to the company’s range of products. The aim is to drive customer centricity through increased focus on enterprise strategy, corporate culture, operational processes, and enablement of technology & performance measures that delight customers. Over the years, Panasonic Life Solutions India has transformed into a business that provides complete solutions and services to its customers. In recent years the organization has also increased its operations in other categories like housing and solar. The alteration and synergy of Anchor and Panasonic articulate its vision to “Make a better, comfortable life with human-oriented solutions”. EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future ? AB: Mainly our focus is commercial & industrial customers in EPC projects and smaller system integrators in the trade space. We have been active only in quite a few states in India. Notably, the top performers for PLSIND are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, and NCR belt. Over and above these focused states, we are increasing our focus now on Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and soon we plan to expand our footprint in the Eastern part of the country. EQ: Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, performance report of your modules. AB: Our solar modules carry industry-leading 12 years of warranty against manufacturing defects and 25 years of linear guarantee on power performance. Our modules are not only BIS certified but also certified for IEC and complaint to CE Mark as well as RoHS. EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc. AB: Solar business has been an integral part of Panasonic Life Solutions India Private Limited (PLSIND) since the year 2015. We initially started our Solar business in India for the distribution of imported Solar modules (HIT). Over a period, we started building our capability related to system business to deliver full turnkey solutions for setting up solar power projects. Till date, we have worked with multiple high-profile customers in India and have already completed the installation of over 65 MWp. We are amongst only Japanese solar EPC service producing company in India as well as only International solar module manufacturer having local manufacturing capability. On the product side over and above HIT modules, we also introduced Poly as well as MONO solar modules to the Indian market followed up recently by even launching the “Made in India” offering and in DCR variant too. Going forward we are expanding our distribution network across the country and in process of adding multiple solar-based products to augment strength to our channels. With the successful launch of “Made in India” solar modules contributing to the “Atmanirbhar” initiative of the Government of India, we added another feather to our cap by starting exports of these solar modules to European countries and soon would add ASEAN countries to our list of exports. Apart from our business of Solar unit, PLSIND also believes in sustainability as one of its core philosophies and we have been installing rooftop solar plants at our various manufacturing units in India.

JULY- 2021

india

TATA MOTORS BAGS ORDER FOR 15 HYDROGEN-BASED FUEL CELL BUSES FROM INDIAN OIL Tata Motors said it has bagged an order for 15 hydrogen-based fuel cell buses from the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). The auto major noted that IOCL had invited bids for supply of the hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell buses in December 2020.

ll 15 buses will be delivered within 144 weeks from the date of signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), it added. In addition to supplying the buses, the auto maker would also collaborate with IOCL’s Research and Development Centre to undertake projects and collectively study further the potential of fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles, Tata Motors said in a statement. This will be done by jointly testing, maintaining and operating these buses for public transport in real-world conditions in Delhi-NCR. The buses will be refuelled by hydrogen, generated and dispensed by IOCL.

This order to supply PEM Fuel Cell buses from a company as respected as Indian Oil Corporation, further encourages our ongoing efforts on developing India-focused alternative sustainable fuels to transform the future of mobility in India, Tata Motors President (Commercial Vehicle Business Unit) Girish Wagh said. The company has already successfully supplied 215 EV buses under FAME I and won orders for 600 EV buses under FAME II, he added.

IOCL Chairman SM Vaidya stated that the oil major has been pioneering the national efforts towards ushering in the hydrogen economy for various applications, including mobility. This first of its kind project in the country is bringing the country’s largest fuel supplier and largest commercial vehicle manufacturer on board to take the hydrogen and fuel cell technology to the next level, he added. Source : PTI

TATA POWER WITHDRAWS AMALGAMATION OF TATA POWER SOLAR SYSTEMS, APPROVES COMPOSITE SCHEME; STOCK TRADES FLAT Tata Power Company Limited Board after deliberations, and subject to the requisite statutory and regulatory approvals (including approval of the NCLT and Securities and Exchange Board of India), has decided to withdraw the amalgamation of Tata Power Solar Systems Limited with the company and accordingly, approved the amendment to the Composite Scheme.

T 18

he company had earlier announced the Composite Scheme of Arrangement amongst Coastal Gujarat Power Limited and Tata Power Solar Systems Limited and the company and their respective shareholders. “The amendment, as approved, deals with removal of the provisions pertaining to amalgamation of Tata Power Solar Systems with the company and consequential changes or effect thereupon.

JULY- 2021

Upon coming into effect of the amended Composite Scheme, Coastal Gujarat Power will be amalgamated with the company and subsequently, capital of the Company will be reorganized accordingly,” company said in a filing. It further said the Composite Scheme is currently pending for approval with the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). At around 12.54 PM, Tata Power Company Ltd was trading at Rs121.40 per piece up by Rs0.05 or 0.04% from its previous closing of Rs121.35 per piece on the BSE. Source: indiainfoline

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india

INDIA’S SOLAR POWER EFFORTS AN EXAMPLE TO WORLD: PRINCE CHARLES whose solar power efforts are an example to the world, has a vital role to play in the global search for nature-based and technology-driven solutions which are critical to accelerating the move towards a zero carbon future, Britain’s Prince Charles said

he 72-year-old heir to the British throne and environmental campaigner, in a special address at the India Global Forum session on Climate Action, called upon Indian entrepreneurs and CEOs to join the Sustainable Markets India Council, launched to seek out sustainable investments to influence an acceleration towards climate action goals.

With India’s global reach and robust private sector, I believe there are some key ways we can work together to accelerate our efforts and build a more sustainable future. Firstly, we need to focus on accelerating the flow of private capital to support the transition, said Prince Charles. “I know that renewable energy, particularly solar power, is rapidly gaining ground in India and is an excellent example to the rest of the world,” he said. The royal laid out the vision behind his Sustainable Markets Initiative, which he launched in January 2020, to get CEOs from almost every sector together with the express aim of identifying obstacles to progress and finding game-changing ways to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon future. The efforts have identified “large financing gaps” around sustainable initiatives, in the areas of green energy, water, sanitation, transport and other critical infrastructure. “In January this year, I launched the Terra Carta as the mandate of my Sustainable Markets Initiative and the basis of a recovery plan for nature, people and planet. At this historic tipping point, the Terra Carta offers a roadmap for acceleration towards a genuinely sustainable future, one that harnesses the power of nature combined with the transformative innovation and resources of the private sector,” he said. Prince Charles focussed specifically on the need for a clear set of ‘global farm metrics’ to create sustainable supply chains. “With agriculture being so critical to the Indian economy, there is a real opportunity to explore how such metrics could support the lives and livelihoods of farmers in India as well as wider supply chains and markets,” he said. “With India being a global centre of technology and innovation, combined with a deep connection to nature and harmony, you have an absolutely vital role to play in this effort. Particularly, in view of India’s wealth of entrepreneurial talent,” he said, adding that India would play an “essential part” as these efforts are further developed at the COP26 UN climate summit, to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November.

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The Climate Action session of the India Global Forum, a two-day hybrid conference organised by UK-headquartered India Inc. Group, also included a discussion with Michael Bloomberg, former New York Mayor and Founder of Bloomberg Ltd. “I am a believer that the private sector is the one that can deliver climate action,” said Bloomberg. The India Global Forum, pegged around the theme of “Future. Now. – Radical Actions for the Post Pandemic Era”, will bring together a range of worldwide experts. They include World Health Organisation (WHO) DirectorGeneral Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Women and Textiles Minister Smriti Irani across sessions covering India’s role in vaccine and medicine manufacturing as well as cooperation in crucial areas of climate change and an equitable global economic recovery. Source : PTI

JULY- 2021

india

INDIA’S FIRST JUST ENERGY TRANSITION CENTRE LAUNCHED In the run-up to UN climate summit named COP 26, New Delhi-based International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST) launched its India Just Transition Centre (IJTC). ts inaugural virtual session was attended, among others, by MPs Jairam Ramesh and Jayant Sinha and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Coal, Vinod Kumar Tewari. At the event a new report titled ‘Five Rs: A cross-sectoral landscape of Just Transition in India’ was also released.

Speaking at the event, Ramesh emphasised on the need to create capacity in India on just transition. “There is need to create independent research capacity which will be the base for advocacy and eventually a larger policy change. The IJTC will have an important role in creating this capacity and bringing the expertise together,” he said.

he 2015 Paris Agreement has made just transition an important part of the climate change agenda. Just transition has been gaining momentum worldwide. Developed countries are building capacity and knowledge on how to implement a just energy transition roadmap to meet net-zero targets. Sinha, who is from the Hazaribagh constituency, which is a key coal district of Jharkhand, emphasised the need to start planning for a just transition in coal mining areas.

Jayant Sinha, who is from the Hazaribagh constituency, which is a key coal district of Jharkhand, emphasised the need to start planning for a just transition in coal mining areas. “Phasing out coal over the next two to three decades is essential to meet climate goals. The planning for this must start now. The IJTC will play an important role in bridging the gap between state and national policy and the ground realities,” said Sinha.

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Presenting the vision of IJTC, Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iFOREST, said, “The IJTC will be a platform to bring stakeholders together to work on various aspects of just transition in India. Envisioned as a centre of excellence, the IJTC will provide thought leadership, support policies and planning, provide technical support, promote best practices, and build capacity of various stakeholders.” The IJTC is planning to launch a resource centre for just transition in the coming months. “By launching the IJTC, iFOREST has made a long term commitment to work on a just energy transition,” said Bhushan. Coal India Limited (CIL) has also started investing in renewable energy. In April, the company had announced establishing two wholly-owned subsidiaries — CIL Solar PV and CIL Navikarniya Urja Ltd — for undertaking solar PV manufacturing and renewable energy projects. Experts say that India has major challenges of just transition with three-fourth of the country’s primary energy need being met by fossil fuels. Also, there are 120 districts that are significantly dependent on fossil fuels and related industries for revenue and livelihood. At least 20 million workers, a large majority of them being informal, are dependent on fossil fuel and related sectors. The new report of iFOREST, ‘Five Rs: A crosssectoral landscape of Just Transition in India’, brings out the urgent need to start planning a just transition in certain key sectors like coal mining, thermal power and automobile. It highlights 60 districts, many of them in states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, where industrial restructuring will be required to avoid social and economic disruptions due to ongoing energy transition. Source: IANS

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india

SUZLON ENERGY LOSS NARROWS TO RS 54 CR IN MARCH QUARTER Suzlon Energy’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 54.25 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2021 mainly on the back of higher revenues. The consolidated net loss of the company was at Rs 834.22 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2020, according to a regulatory filing. Total income rose to Rs 1,141.15 crore in the quarter, from Rs 658.89 crore in the same period a year ago For the financial year 2020-21, the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 103.59 crore, whereas it had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,691.84 crore in 2019-20. Total income during the fiscal rose to Rs 3,365.59 crore, from Rs 3,000.42 crore in 2019-20. It was an unprecedented and challenging year where economies around the world were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic…The sector (wind energy) was restricted to low volumes with installations of only 1.5GW which is lower by almost 30 per cent from last year which amounts to only 15 to 18 per cent capacity utilization in India, Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director. He exuded confidence that massive global push for renewables post COVID-19 and the government’s thrust on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ will help Suzlon manufacture wind turbines and its components for the sector as a whole in the future and reduce imports while creating long term sustainable jobs and energy security.

Ashwani Kumar, CEO, Suzlon Group said “for Suzlon, this was the first year of restarting our operations post debt restructuring. However, “exponential increase in commodity prices like those of steel has impacted our profitability significantly in India,” he noted. “We closed the year with a healthy order-book of over 817 MW which we aim to service this year,” Kumar added. Meanwhile, the board in its meeting also approved divestment of the company’s 75 per cent stake in Suzlon Generators Limited (SGL), a subsidiary of the company, to Voith Turbo Private Limited or its associates, subject to customary due diligence, necessary approvals and execution of definitive documents.

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he SGL sale or disposal is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2021-22 ((July-September). The said buyer does not belong to the promoter / promoter group / group companies of Suzlon Energy Limited, the company said adding that the consideration (for stake sale in SGL) would be received post execution of definitive agreements. The company’s 26th Annual General Meeting will be held on September 24, 2021, it stated. The company also said that Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, USA (SWECO), a step-down subsidiary of the Suzlon Energy, has filed for voluntary liquidation in the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure of the USA on June 29, 2021.

“The board of SWECO took this decision in wake of continued financial stress sustained by its operations during the pandemic. We do not foresee this decision to have any direct and/or material impact on Suzlon Energy Ltd,” it said. Source : PTI

JULY- 2021

india

ROOFTOP SOLAR : HOW WILL INDIA’S NEW NET METERING NORMS PLAY OUT The Union Ministry of Power has issued the much-awaited amendment to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 concerning net metering for rooftop solar installations. The new rules permit net metering to the prosumer for loads up to 500 kilowatts (kW) or up to the sanctioned load, whichever is lower, and gross metering for loads over 500 kW.

he commissions have introduced time-of-the-day tariffs whereby prosumers are incentivised to install energy storage. The stored solar energy can be utilised by them or fed into the grid during peak hour. Participating in the demand response of the distribution companies (discoms) will help reduce their burden. In case of net-metering / net-billing or net feed-in, the distribution licensee may install a solar energy meter to measure the gross solar energy generated from the grid-tied rooftop solar photovoltaic system for the purpose of renewable energy purchase obligation (RPO) credit, if any. The commissions may also permit gross metering for prosumers who would like to sell all the generated solar energy to the distribution licensee, instead of availing the net metering / net-billing or net feed-in facility. The feed-in tariff for gross metering shall be decided by the commission according to tariff regulations. India has set an ambitious solar target, including the 40 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar energy target by 2022. Net metering for rooftop solar systems was capped at one megawatts (MW) until the government proposed to drastically cut it to 10 kW in December 2020.

Several stakeholders believed that barring the netmetering above 10 kW will be a disadvantage for micro, small and medium enterprises which operate in the rooftop segment. Labour and manufacturing units were also being affected and incurring excessive losses, adding to their liquidity deficits amid the crisis brought in by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In contrast, with its 40 GW target, rooftop solar grew to 5,440 MW by the end of 2019 from 623 MW in 2015. The 200 MW or less added this year pushed the figure to just 5,650 MW. The growth is impressive on a standalone basis but nowhere close to getting to the 40 GW target. The five states with the highest installed rooftop solar capacity are Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat, making up close to 50 per cent of the country’s total. Thus, this move of promoting net metering was extremely important for the government to meet the target. This amendment is pro-consumers, -MSMEs and -new businesses. The power sector is witnessing a shift, where the dominance of discoms will go away and power producers, discoms, financiers and consumers will have to collaborate. Co-existence will be the mantra to move forward.

Source: downtoearth

GOVT PLANS INSTITUTION TO FUND BUSINESSES FOCUSED ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: GADKARI The government is planning to set up an institution to fund businesses with a focus on electric vehicles as well as facilitate new financial instruments for lending to the public transportation and commercial vehicle segment, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said. Addressing the India Global Forum 2021, Gadkari also said the government is planning to bring incentives for construction equipment vehicles to encourage them to become electric ones. According to a recent report, India’s electric vehicle financing industry is projected to be worth Rs 3.7 lakh crore in 2030, which would be about 80 per cent of the current retail vehicle finance industry. The report titled ‘Mobilising Electric Vehicle Financing in India’, prepared by Niti Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) had also said that end-users currently face several challenges such as high interest rates, high insurance rates, and low loan-to-value ratios. “The government is planning to set up a financial institution to fund business with a focus on electric vehicles and facilitate new financial instruments for lending to the public transportation and commercial vehicle segment,” he said. Gadkari, who is the road transport and highways minister, noted that the government is giving highest priority for electric vehicles adoption in India. “India’s electric vehicles sector has been growing rapidly. The government is supporting domestic electric vehicle manufacturers,” he said.

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Further, Gadkari pointed out that battery cost is 50 per cent of an electric vehicle and India’s research institutions are working on an alternative battery technology for such vehicles. “We have huge domestic demand for electric vehicles. Many startups have started producing electric vehicles,” he said. The minister noted that due to import of petroleum products, India is facing problems of pollution. “We will use solar energy for charging batteries of electric vehicles,” Gadkari said, adding that currently, 69,000 petrol stations have electric vehicle charging facilities. Source : PTI

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GREEN TO GREENER: GAIL EYES 1 GW RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY, TO SET UP BIOGAS, ETHANOL PLANTS GAIL (India) Ltd will invest about Rs 5,000 crore to build a portfolio of at least 1 gigawatts of renewable energy and set up compressed biogas as well as ethanol plants as it steps up efforts to expand the business beyond natural gas.

hile electricity generated from solar energy or through wind power is the cleanest form of energy, converting municipal waste into compressed biogas will supplement the availability of cleaner fuel to automobiles and households.

India, which imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs, is stepping up efforts to explore new forms of energy to clean up the skies. The company had in 2019, won a bid for 874 MW operational wind power projects of IL&FS for Rs 4,800 crore. But IL&FS’ other partners used the first right of refusal to block GAIL’s bid, he said. “We are open to acquisitions and will look at any asset that makes commercial sense. We had almost got the IL&FS project,” he said. GAIL has signed up with state-run power gear maker BHEL for renewable energy foray. The tie-up looks to leverage the competitive strengths of both companies. GAIL will be the project developer and BHEL will be a project manager and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor. Jain said GAIL is setting up its first compressed biogas (CBG) plant in Ranchi at a cost of Rs 200-300 crore. The facility will produce five tonnes of CBG per day and approximately 25 tonnes of bio-manure using municipal waste. “The gas produced will be fed into the city gas network supplying CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households. This will help reduce pollution,” he said. GAIL has floated an expression of interest (EoI) seeking partners for the setting up of CBG plants. It also plans to set up an ethanol manufacturing unit, he said. The move by GAIL, which commands a 75 per cent market share in gas transmission and more than 50 per cent share in gas trading in India, is seen as part of the government’s vision to prepare for the energy transition process, under which the share of gas in the energy mix is sought to be raised to 15 per cent by 2030, from the current 6.2 per cent. GAIL recently signed an agreement with Carbon Clean Solutions Ltd. Under this, CCSL will initially build four CBG plants using its own funding, technology, and expertise. These plants will be based on 10-year CBG offtake agreements with GAIL or its associated companies. Depending on the success, the partnership will be scaled up to many more such plants.

Also, it plans to set up ethanol units that can convert agriculture waste or sugarcane into less polluting fuel that can be doped in petrol, helping cut India’s import dependence, he said. While the renewable energy push would cost Rs 4,000 crore, setting up at least two compressed biogas plants and an ethanol factory would entail an investment of about Rs 800-1,000 crore, he said.

GAIL owns and operates a network of 13,340 km of high-pressure trunk pipelines. In addition, it is working on multiple pipeline projects, aggregating over 7,500 km. It owns a petrochemical plant at Pata in Uttar Pradesh and is setting up a new one in Maharashtra. Source : PTI

As part of a push to embrace cleaner forms of energy, GAIL will be laying pipeline infrastructure to connect consumption centers to gas sources and spend as much as Rs 4,000 crore on renewable energy, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said. “We are a business that is already eco-friendly – gas. And now we want to leverage our position to go greener in line with the vision of the government and the Prime Minister to cut carbon emissions and pollution,” he said

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JULY- 2021

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POWER CRUNCH: PUNJAB GOVT REDUCES OFFICE TIMINGS, CUTS DOWN ON SUPPLY TO INDUSTRIES The Punjab government reduced timings of government offices and ordered cut down on power supply to high energy-consuming industries as the electricity demand in the state soared to over 14,000 MW a day. the power demand peaked to 14,142 MW against the supply of 12,842 MW, leaving a gap of 1,300 MW, an official of the state-owned power utility PSPCL had said. So far, there is no decision on banning the use of air conditioners (ACs) in government offices, which will function from 8 am to 2 pm from till further orders, an official spokesperson said. The spokesperson said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to all government offices to make judicious use of electricity, adding that the situation is dire as the peak demand in the state has touched a whopping 14,500 MW. The CM said farmers are losing precious paddy transplantation time due to power breakdowns and added that the agriculture sector needed to be prioritised for uninterrupted power supply.

mid rising demand and prolonged dry spell, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) also appealed to government and public sector offices in the state to use electricity judiciously and switch off ACs up to July 3. The power utility in an appeal said, “Due to prolonged dry spells, paddy transplantation and power shortage owing to failure of one unit of the Talwandi Sabo thermal power plant, the PSPCL is facing problems in meeting the power demand of more than 14,500 plus MW.” According to a statement here, the PSPCL has also decided to impose power regulatory measures on industrial consumers by imposing two-day weekly offs on the industry, including rolling mills, arc and induction furnaces with immediate effect. Erratic power supply in the past a few days have forced consumers to hold protests and block roads at many places, including Mohali, Kharar and Batala.

It is really shocking that on one hand the government is claiming surplus power and on the other, the weekly offs and unscheduled power cuts are being imposed on industries, said Badish Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations. Farmers have slammed the state government for not providing the promised eight-hour supply for paddy transplantation. We are getting four to six hours of supply against the promise of eight hours. Farmers have been forced to use generators to run motors that will add to their cost,” said Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal too criticised the state government for unscheduled power cuts. “Power cuts by @capt_amarinder govt are deliberate excuse for denying free power to farmers at peak of paddy plantation. Era of long #PowerCuts is back though even rivals forced to admit we left Pb power surplus. @AamAadmiParty colluding with Capt. SAD won’t remain mute witness,” said Badal in a tweet. Badal said his party workers will hold statewide protests to demand the restoration of power supply to both agriculture and domestic sectors.

Punjab BJP general secretary Jeevan Gupta said his party will hold statewide protests outside offices of the PSPCL against the erratic power supply. “It is the failure of the Congress government in not ensuring adequate power supply to consumers who are facing problems due to power cuts,” said Gupta. Aam Aadmi Party MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer accused the CM of “abandoning” people of the state, amid prolonged power cuts and said his party will “gherao” the CM’s farmhouse at Siswan in Mohali on July 3. Meanwhile, the Punjab CM urged agitating employees of the power department to call off their stir. The CM also constituted a three-member committee to resolve grievances of the agitating employees. He assured the employees that all their genuine demands will be considered. Source : PTI

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INDIA TAKES A STEP FORWARD TOWARDS DECARBONISATION AND PROMOTION OF RE , HYDRO PSP AND BESS The waiver of ISTS charges also allowed for Hydro PSP and BESS. The waiver of transmission charges allowed for trading of Renewables in the power exchanges.

inistry of Power has issued order for extension of the waiver of Inter-State Transmission system (ISTS) charges on transmission of electricity generated from solar and wind sources for projects to be commissioned up to 30th June 2025. Further, the order promotes the development of solar, wind, Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), trading of RE in the power exchanges and seamless transmission of RE power across the states. The waiver of inter-state transmission charges on transmission of the electricity generated from solar and wind sources of energy that was available to solar and wind projects commissioned up to 30th June 2023 has now been extended till 30th June 2025. The waiver of Inter- State transmission system (ISTS) charges has also been allowed for Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects to be commissioned up 30th June 2025.

This will promote the Hydro Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects for meeting the balancing requirement of the grid caused due to large scale integration of Renewables in the Electricity Grid ie around 450 GW by 2030. The waiver of transmission charges has also been allowed for trading of electricity generated/ supplied from Solar, wind, PSP and BESS in Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) and Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM) for two years i.e. till 30th June 2023. This is expected to encourage the RE trade in the Power Exchanges. The volume of renewable energy trade in the power exchange is expected to increase further. An opportunity to minimise the curtailment of RE as the RE developers will also have the option to sell power in the power exchanges and get instantly paid on the day of delivery of power itself. The buyers of Renewable energy will also have an opportunity to sell their surplus power in the power exchanges or allow in advance the sellers to sell in the power exchange. The order is futuristic as it also allows the waiver of transmission charges for RE trade in the Green Day Ahead Market (as part of the integrated Day ahead market). CERC, POSOCO and the power exchanges are working on it in mission mode to operationalise this product in the power exchanges by end of August 2021.

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It has also been clarified that an intra-State transmission system which is used for the conveyance of electricity across the territory of an intervening State as well as conveyance within the State which is incidental to such inter-State transmission of electricity, shall be included for sharing of interstate transmission charges. Any waiver of interstate transmission charges that applies to Interstate transmission systems shall also be applicable to such parts of the Intra-state transmission. The transmission charges of such Intra-state transmission system shall be reimbursed by the CTU as is being done for ISTS system. Concerned Regional Power Committee may through studies identify such lines. Thus, India paves way for energy transition from Fossil fuel to Non-fossil fuel by giving incentive for power trade from Renewable, Hydro PSP and Energy Storage. This amendment Order will be a boost to renewable energy and also a step forward to achieve the targets of Government of India in meeting the international obligations towards climate change.

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NTPC FLOATS TENDER FOR DEPLOYING HYDROGEN FUEL CELL BUSES IN DELHI, LEH

State-owned NTPC said its subsidiary NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) has floated a tender for deployment of hydrogen fuel cell buses in Delhi and Leh. The bid document sale commenced from June 30, 2021 and will continue till July 16, 2021, NTPC said in a statement. The e-buses would be zero-emission vehicles in true form as hydrogen would be generated from renewable energy making it a pure green initiative.

reen hydrogen would be supplied to the buses by NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. NVVN is providing comprehensive mobility solution in all e-vehicle segments targeting reduction of carbon footprint and achieving energy security. Earlier this year, NVVN executed a turnkey project of supplying 40 e-buses and building charging stations in Andaman & Nicobar Island, a move to reduce pollution in the region. Source : PTI

NIRMALA SITHARAMAN CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR RAISING SUPPLY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES Sitharaman also shared India’s innovative policy mix for better environmental outcomes such as new energy map of India, digital innovation and emerging fuels, international solar alliance for enabling clean energy, promotion of energy efficiency and afforestation, the finance ministry said in a Twitter post.

inance minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for international cooperation to increase supply of alternative source of energy and technologies for adaptation at the G20 High-Level Tax Symposium on Tax Policy and Climate Change. Speaking at the virtual session, she highlighted that India was using fiscal policy options for better environmental outcomes and concessional tax rates have been introduced to promote use of renewables.

She emphasised on the role of technology in fighting climate change. The high level symposium was held ahead of the third G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting which is taking place in Venice during July 9-10. Global tax reform will be the top of the agenda for the G20 finance ministers and central bankers as the world’s leading economies have agreed to levy a minimum global tax of 15%, while ensuring that multinational companies pay their fair share of tax. The minimum rate of tax, agreed upon by 131 countries on July 1, is one of the two pillar of global tax reform which has been under negotiations for years. Source : economictimes

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MUKESH AMBANI CONSIDERS BID FOR INDIA’S SOLAR INCENTIVES IN GREEN PUSH Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is considering a bid for India’s incentives for solar power manufacturing, as the fossil-fuels giant begins a $10 billion push into clean energy, according to people familiar with the plans. Reliance, India’s most valuable company, attended a pre-bid meeting held last month to discuss the subsidy program, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private.

he talks underline Ambani’s ambitions for the company to make rapid growth in renewable energy to supplement its existing businesses. Reliance said last month it plans to build factories to produce solar components, energy storage batteries, electrolysers for making green hydrogen and fuel cells. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has announced financial benefits for manufacturing in a range of sectors, including solar energy and batteries, to revive an economy battered by the pandemic and to reduce dependence on imports. Souring relations with China, India’s biggest trade partner and supplier of nearly 80% of the country’s solar modules, have bolstered the push for self-dependence. It’s an opportunity that’s drawing local and foreign investors. State-run miner Coal India Ltd., which is examining new businesses to offset a slowdown in demand for the fuel, is also considering putting in bids for subsidies to manufacture solar equipment, the people said. U.S. firm CubicPV Inc. said this month it’s looking for an Indian partner to jointly bid for the incentives.

India, the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, plans to expand its renewable power capacity nearly five-fold to 450 gigawatts by the end of the decade, aiming to reduce dependence on fossil fuels that currently drive its economy. Solar power will account for around 62% of the 2030 target, meaning the country will need to add about 26 gigawatts of capacity annually for the next nine years. The country’s own factories can currently meet less than half the demand for modules. The government is giving $603 million to companies setting up solar manufacturing facilities. Proposals like the plan Reliance unveiled last month, to make the entire chain of products — from raw material polysilicon to finished modules — would win preferential treatment, ministry documents show. Source : bloomberg

JSW ENERGY PLANS TO SPEND $10 BILLION ON CLEAN POWER BY 2030 Company Plans to add 15.4 GW of renewables, hydropower Share of clean energy to rise to 84% in capacity mix by 2030 Power generator JSW Energy Ltd. has laid out a 750 billion rupee ($10 billion) plan to shift away from coal, joining other Indian thermal producers who are beginning to seek growth in renewable power. The company will add about 15.4 gigawatts of solar, wind and hydropower plants by March 2030, the company said in its annual report for the year ended March. It also aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.

t expects generation capacity to rise to 20 gigawatts by March 2030, from 4.6 gigawatts now, with all the additions coming in clean energy, according to the report. Coal-fired generation capacity will remain static at 3.2 gigawatts, with its share in JSW’s portfolio shrinking to 16% by the end of the decade from 70% now. JSW Energy’s shift away from coal reflects a growing trend among companies to realign their business ambitions with the need to curb global warming. India’s top thermal power producer NTPC Ltd. recently announced it had almost doubled its clean energy target.

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The pressure to limit climate change has been supplemented by government policies favoring low-carbon growth. India, which produces nearly 70% of its electricity from coal, has announced aggressive targets to add renewable generation capacity and has introduced policies to draw investments in clean energy. JSW will use its free cashflows to reach the 2030 targets and won’t need to dilute equity, it said. The company plans to reach 10 gigawatts of capacity by March 2025, with the share of clean energy more than doubling to 68%. Source: bloomberg

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business & finance

STERLING & WILSON SOLAR RISES AFTER BNP PARIBAS ARBITRAGE BUYS STAKE Sterling and Wilson Solar (SWSL) gained 0.94% to Rs 274.15 after BNP Paribas Arbitrage acquired 11.61 lakh equity shares of the company via bulk deal, 30 June 2021.

NP Paribas Arbitrage fund bought 11,61,000 equity shares (or 0.72% stake) of the company at an average price of Rs 261.96 per equity share via bulk deals on the NSE, 30 June 2021. SWSL, a Shapoorji Pallonji group company, is a global pure-play, endto-end solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions provider. The company’s consolidated net loss stood at Rs 344.80 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net profit of Rs 128.59 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenue from operations dropped 33.8% to Rs 1,364.54 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 2,060.63 crore in Q4 FY20. Source: Capital Market

RENEWABLES GIANT JUMPS IN DEBUT AFTER BIGGEST 2021 CHINA IPO China Three Gorges Renewables Group Co. surged 44%, the daily limit, in its trading debut as investors sought to gain from the country’s push toward cleaner energy.

he unit of China Three Gorges Corp. saw its shares climb to 3.82 yuan apiece in trading on the Shanghai stock exchange, from its IPO price of 2.65 yuan. The company’s listing, the year’s biggest in China, has been eagerly awaited. It raised 22.7 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in a May offering that was 78 times oversubscribed. China Three Gorges said proceeds from the offering would be used to help fund offshore wind power projects and replenish liquidity. The parent is the world’s largest hydropower company, and its renewables unit’s total assets are valued at more than 140 billion yuan, according to the company website. The listing comes amid a concerted push for renewable energy in Asia’s largest economy. China’s aim to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 has fueled a surge in installations of wind and solar capacity. Still, challenges in the wind sector include rising domestic competition and the lapsing of subsides that have helped accelerate the industry’s growth.

The open reflects the investor appetite that we are seeing for new energy stocks such as hydropower and wind power, which have a very positive outlook, Emperor Securities research director Stanley Chan said by phone. “ESG, social and environment stocks will be the main trend for the next decade.” 28

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China Three Gorges Renewables joins a spate of other energy companies going public recently. Among them was Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group’s 2.9 billion yuan offering last month. The stock is now trading 68% above its IPO price.

The unit’s listing also has implications for its parent company. The IPO indicates China Three Gorges’ capacity to diversify financing channels, and the company should be able to improve its debt situation, according to Ada Li, a vice president at Moody’s Investors Service. “CTG renewables’ importance to the group will grow as the group shifts its focus on non-hydro renewables,” said Li. “Technological synergy” is also expected from investments by the parent company and unit in wind turbine makers such as Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. and Germany’s WindMW GmbH. China Three Gorges announced this week that it had completed the construction of China’s first floating offshore wind project. While the country’s wind installations doubled to a record in 2020, the focus has been on onshore projects. Source: bloomberg

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TYCOON GAUTAM ADANI LOSES OVER $13 BILLION IN WORST WEALTH ROUT Billionaire Gautam Adani’s dream run up the global wealth rankings is faltering after a media report raising questions about some offshore investors triggered a rout in his conglomerate’s six listed stocks.

he 58-year-old tycoon has lost more money this week than anyone else in the world, with his personal fortune tumbling by about $13.2 billion to $63.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Just days ago, he was closing the gap with Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s richest man. The U-turn in shares started after the Economic Times reported that India’s national share depository froze the accounts of three Mauritiusbased funds because of insufficient information on the owners. The bulk of the holdings of Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund — about $6 billion — are shares of Adani’s firms. Although the Adani group called the report “blatantly erroneous” and said it was “done to deliberately mislead the investing community,” investors concerned over transparency rushed for the exit. The Mauritius offshore funds hold more than 90% of their assets under management in Adani group companies, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

There should be greater clarity to ensure who the final owners of the shares are, said Hemindra Hazari, an independent research analyst in Mumbai. A spokesperson for the Adani Group declined to comment beyond the exchange filings sent this week. These overseas funds “have been investors in Adani Enterprises Ltd. for more than a decade,” Adani Group said in a June 14 statement. “We urge all our stakeholders not to be perturbed by market speculations.” In identical exchange filings the same day, Adani group companies said that they had written confirmation from the Registrar and Transfer Agent that the offshore funds’ demat accounts in which Adani shares were held “are not frozen.” Albula and APMS, in separate statements dated June 14 emailed via their management company IQ EQ Fund Services (Mauritius) Ltd, said the funds are fully operational.

“Fact is that the relevant NSDL entry for APMS Investment Fund Ltd. shows a technical ‘account level freeze’ only that has absolutely NO relevance to its normal FPI trading activities,” APMS said. The funds didn’t answer questions about why they hold such concentrated positions in Adani stock, nor did they share names of their investors.

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Shares of Adani Green Energy Ltd, the mogul’s most valuable asset, slipped 7.7% this week. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd plunged 23% in four days, Adani Power Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd tumbled at least 18%, while flagship Adani Enterprises fell almost 15%. Three of these firms have slipped by their daily limit for four straight sessions. Excitement around the Adani empire spanning ports, mines and power plants had been building up over the past couple of years as the coal magnate looks beyond the dirtiest fossil fuel for expansion, seeking to dovetail his business interests with infrastructure priorities set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BIG PUSH Investors had sent some of the group’s stocks soaring more than 500% since the start of 2020, betting the first-generation entrepreneur’s big push into sectors such as renewable energy, airports, data centers and defense contracting will pay off. Earlier this month, Adani’s wealth was close to $80 billion. Adding to the tailwind was MSCI Inc’s decision to include more Adani stocks to its India benchmark index despite scant analyst coverage. Three of Adani’s listed companies were included in May, taking the group’s total to five. The inclusion also led to more mandated buying by investors that track the indexes. The quick surge combined with equity largely held by overseas funds with very little public float is a risk for Adani shares, BI analysts wrote last week. This week’s events have also brought the opacity around the group and its key non-founder shareholders into focus. “I expect the speculative cycle in Adani Group company shares has probably reached its term,” Travis Lundy, an analyst at Smartkarma wrote in a note. Source: bloomberg

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business & finance

GODAWARI POWER TURNS DEBT FREE, PAYS ALL LONG-TERM LOANS Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd (GPIL) said it has become debt-free by repaying all its long-term loans. The company said it has repaid the outstanding debt of Rs 457 crore. “The company has become debt-free by repaying all its long-term loans as of date,” GPIL said in a regulatory filing.

he company said its standalone longterm outstanding debt at Rs 1,369 crore as of March 31, 2017 — scheduled to be repaid by FY 2032 — was brought down to Rs 457 crore as of March 31, 2021, by substantial repayment of debt during the last financial year from internal accruals, with improvement in its financial performance. The balance outstanding debt of Rs 457 crore has been fully repaid by the company during the current year out of internal accruals, the company added. Godawari Power and Ispat said on a consolidated basis the long-term outstanding debt is Rs 340 crore as of date, which is exclusively related to Solar Power Project in Godawari Green Energy Ltd. The company said this loan continues to be repaid out of the cash flow of the solar project. To date, the instalments of the solar power project term loan are repaid up to October 31, 2022, it added. Source : PTI

SANGAM RENEWABLES COMPLETES DIVESTMENT OF WAACOX ENERGY; STOCK SURGES 5% With the consummated of the divestment, Waacox Energy, ceased to be subsidiary of the Company with effect from 5th July, 2021. Sangam Renewables Ltd has earlier informed to the exchange regarding approval of board of directors on divestment of the Company’s entire stake/ investment in its material subsidiary i.e. Waacox Energy Private Limited.

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ow, further the company has informed that the underlying transaction has been consummated on 5th July, 2021 and the Company has received the remittance confirmation for 41,60,35,305/- (Forty-one crore sixty lakhs thirty-five thousand three hundred five only), as gross consideration for the divestment and the same will be utilized towards repayment of the debt of the Company, as per filing. Further, with the consummated of the divestment, Waacox Energy, ceased to be subsidiary of the Company with effect from 5th July, 2021. At around 10:35 AM, Sangam Renewables was trading at Rs120.65 per piece higher by 4.96% on Sensex.

Source: indiainfoline

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INDIA’S RENEWABLE CAPACITY GROWS AT CAGR OF 17% IN LAST 5 YEARS, SAYS AXIS CAPITAL The centre and states are focused on renewable energy like solar, wind, and hydropower. Corporate India is making aggressive renewable power generation capacity expansion plans, the most recent being Reliance Industries’ Rs 75,000 crore investment in the energy business in three years.

TPC also recently raised its renewable portfolio capacity target from 30 GW to 60 GW. To discuss what all this means for the power sector going forward. CNBC-TV18 spoke to Sumit Kishore, Executive Director – Capital Goods, Power & Infrastructure, Axis Capital, and Subhadip Mitra Director – Power Utilities, Infra & Capital Goods Research, JM Financial. Kishore said over the last five years India’s renewable installed capacity has grown at a CAGR of 17 percent and the all India renewable capacity is at about 96 GW excluding large hydro.

The government target of scaling to 175 GW by 2022 is going to clip because of COVID impact and other issues but the 2030 renewable target is about 450 GW and the required run rate to get over there is about 35 GW a year over the next ten years, said Kishore, adding that India has till date added capacity at an average run rate of 8.5 GW over the last three years.

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Renewable energy is the need of the hour and solar has been the leading renewable capacity addition in the country ahead of wind over the last four years. “We are optimistic that like the past five years renewable capacity addition in India will grow at mid to high teens CAGR,” said Kishore, adding that leading players in the industry have given growth aspirations. According to Kishore, this is an exciting time for investors and a huge growth opportunity for them to ride on. When asked from a profitable point of view, how the renewable portfolio would like for companies and the trajectory of tariffs that have come down, Mitra said, tariffs have come off from the highs of Rs 7-8 per unit from six-seven years to around Rs 2-3 per unit. “The big change has been because of reduction in capital costs, as well as cuts on the interest rates,” he said, adding that the lower cost of debt is helping renewable companies sustain lower tariffs. Looking at the renewable target India has set, on average, we would be adding around 25,000 MW of solar on annual basis and 10,000 MW of wind per annum. Source: cnbctv18

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business & finance

IND-RA AFFIRMS KEC INTERNATIONAL’S COMMERCIAL PAPER AT ‘IND A1+’; STOCK SHEDS 1% The company is a leading provider of end-to-end turnkey services for projects in T&D, railways and solar power segments. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has affirmed KEC International Limited’s commercial paper (CP) programme at IND A1+.

ccording to the report, the CP has been carved out of KEC’s working capital limits. KEC will use the CP proceeds to meet its working capital requirements. To arrive at the ratings, Ind-Ra continues to take a consolidated view of KEC and its subsidiaries in view of the strong operational

and financial linkages among the entities. KEC is the flagship company of the RPG group. The company is a leading provider of end-to-end turnkey services for projects in T&D, railways and solar power segments. At around 1:26 PM, K E C International was trading at Rs414.60 per piece down by Rs5.3 or 1.26% on the BSE.

TCS, INFOSYS, HCL TECH, IT SECTOR Q1FY22 RESULTS PREVIEW: STRONG REVENUE GROWTH, LOWER MARGINS, WAGE HIKE Three of the top Indian IT companies — TCS, Infosys, and HCL Technologies — are expected to post a healthy set of numbers in the first quarter of FY22 earnings.

nalysts see the IT sector continuing reporting strong momentum with accelerated hiring, faster revenue/earnings growth, and higher cash flow conversion. “IT companies will report further acceleration in on-year revenue growth trajectory with Infosys expected to lead the charge amongst the Tier I techs in terms of sequential revenue growth,” said analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities. Also, despite a high base effect in the second half of FY21, analysts see a strong demand environment and expect deal wins to result in continued strength across large-cap and midcap IT companies. Analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services believe that recent commentary from industry peer Accenture points to a better than expected demand environment. Moreover, commentary with regard to FY22 to remain constructive, with firms maintaining their double-digit revenue growth guidance.

“We also expect better clarity from companies like Infosys, HCL Technologies, and L&T Technology Services, which highlighted COVID-19 related uncertainty in their outlook in 4QFY21,” it added.

Tata Consultancy Services: TCS is set to announce the April-June quarter earnings of the current fiscal later this week. Analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities expects constant currency growth of 3 per cent sequentially, and 30bps of cross-currency tailwinds. Despite the FY22 wage increments being rolled out from Apr’21, EBIT margin decline is expected to be limited to 110bps, due to slight INR depreciation and growth leverage. Key things to watch out for are large deal TCV, outlook on client spending trends and pricing trends, and levers to defend or improve margins in the backdrop of certain supply-side concerns.

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JM Financial raised its TP by 8.2 per cent to Rs 3,300, Motilal Oswal expects strong growth led by a ramp-up in large deal wins in Q4FY21, robust TCV led by continued momentum in deal wins, and decline in sequential margin on account of wage hike during 1QFY22. Infosys: Infosys will announce its first-quarter earnings of the current fiscal next week on July 14. Analysts expect strong revenue growth on the ramp of large deals and higher billing days. HDFC Securities has raised Infosys’ target price by 12 per cent to Rs 1,730 apiece. Similarly, Nirmal Bang increased TP by 18 per cent to Rs 1,167 apiece. JM Financial has raised by 7.2 per cent to Rs 1,630. Analysts at Nirmal Bang expect Infosys to raise its current revenue growth guidance only after 2QFY22. Those at JM Financial Services believe that Infosys may raise its FY22 revenue guidance a tad from the current 12-14% YoY c/c growth range while maintaining its EBIT margin band of 22-24 per cent. HCL Technologies: JM Financial has revised its target price upward by 3.4 per cent to Rs 1,075 apiece, those at HDFC Securities Institutional Equities by 13 per cent at Rs 1,185, and Nirmal Bang by 15 per cent at Rs 1,320 apiece. Analysts expect HCL Tech to quantify its doubledigit revenue growth outlook. Manik Taneja and Vishnu KG, research analysts at JM Financial, see weak sequential revenue growth. Investors are likely to focus on the outlook on CY21 client spending/IT budget trends, update on revenue and margin outlook for FY22, and measures to defend/ protect margins in the backdrop of supply-side pressures. Those at Motilal Oswal expect ramp-ups on deals won in 4QFY21 in 2Q/3QFY22 and improved clarity on guidance. Source: financialexpress

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business & finance

SAMSUNG AND Q CELLS ENTER PARTNERSHIP FOR ZERO ENERGY HOMES Samsung Electronics and Q CELLS announced a new strategic partnership that will see the two companies combine their technological expertise to provide “zero energy home” solutions.

zero energy home is one that becomes energy self-sufficient by only utilizing energy that is drawn from the home itself. This self-sufficiency is achieved by both producing energy through renewables like solar, and reducing energy consumption through utilization of more efficient devices. Under this new partnership, the two companies will work towards establishing new solutions in which Samsung’s SmartThings Energy service is connected to Q CELLS’ solar modules and energy storage systems (ESS). This solution would allow homeowners to produce and store their own energy, then harness the SmartThings IoT platform to monitor and automatically optimize energy consumption in their home appliances and heat pumps (EHS, Eco Heating System). For instance, the solution could automatically switch home appliances that are connected to the platform to energy-saving mode at night or on cloudy days, when solar energy capture levels are low.

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Speaking about the new partnership, Jaeseung Lee, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances Business, said, “We look forward to our collaboration with Q CELLS expanding our presence and strengthening the Samsung brand in global markets. We anticipate great synergy between Samsung’s smart home appliances and SmartThings platform, and Q CELLS’ solar energy and storage solutions.” Q CELLS CEO Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim added that, “We expect the partnership between these two Korean companies to provide our global customer base with even more competitive energy solutions. We are hopeful that synergizing with Samsung Electronics will help strengthen our leading position in the global residential energy market.”

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business & finance

TRENDFORCE: POLYSILICON PRICES SLIGHTLY DEPLETE IN Q3 AND MAY SURGE AGAIN IN Q4 2021 marks the first year of China’s initiation of carbon neutrality, where the concepts of emission peak and carbon neutrality are incorporated into the government work report for the first time, while the country and each province have proposed a significant amount of policies pertaining to the installation planning, energy consumption, and electricity subsidy of the PV industry. The constant improvement in the PV application market has generated a flourishing growth in end demand. As observed by EnergyTrend, the supply and demand of polysilicon remained in a tight balance during the first half of 2021, while the demand and the price of the product continued to rise. The overall supply of multi polysilicon is restricted in the second half of 2021, with a relatively faster growth in demand, and Q3 prices are expected to decrease owing to the pressure coming from the downstream sector within the short term. However, the prices may return to the slope of inflation during Q4 under a continuously enlarging void between the supply and demand of polysilicon.

TOTAL SUPPLY OF MULTI POLYSILICON AT 281K TONS IN 2021 H1 UNDER A TIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND According to the analysis of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), the total domestic supply of multi polysilicon was at about 281K tons in the first half of 2021, which is a YoY increase of more than 30%. Apart from a minor fluctuation in the production volume due to the fewer days in February and the overhaul period for two major polysilicon businesses during May, the remaining months saw a constant increase in production. In January, the domestic production of multi polysilicon arrived at approximately 36.4K tons, which is a YoY increase of 6.7%, and had primarily come from the capacity released by businesses such as Yongxiang, Ordos, and Dong Li after overhaul. In March, businesses such as Yongxiang and GCL had slightly increased their production in order to ensure optimized operation from a sufficient market supply, which resulted in a total volume of roughly 37.5K tons. In April, GCL started to release new capacity, while Daqo New Energy began production under the optimized capacity. Furthermore, businesses such as East Hope and Youser began releasing their scheduled capacity, and actuated the production volume to 39.4K tons. In June, the production volume of multi polysilicon arrived at the highest level of 40.1K tons after a gradual resumption in production from businesses who were previously in the midst of overhaul. The production volume is expected to deplete during Q3 as businesses, including Daqo New Energy and OCI, enter the overhaul procedure.

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The demand and supply of polysilicon sat at about 298K tons and 281K tons respectively judging by the forecasted production volume of wafers during the first half of 2021, which indicates a predominantly tight balance between supply and demand. The advance and excessive release of wafer capacity has generated a surge in polysilicon demand, and polysilicon businesses were essentially operating under a full load status in the first half of the year, where Yongxiang, GCL, Xinte Energy, and Daqo New Energy had ascended to an operating rate of 106% in partial months, with other businesses of below 50K tons in capacity reaching an average operating rate of 111% during partial months. Tongwei and Daqo New Energy are expected to produce a respective volume of multi polysilicon at 75K tons and 35K tons that will further elevate the domestic production volume, though the relatively prolonged duration required for the increment of capacity will lead to a restricted increase in the overall supply of multi polysilicon within the year. Looking at the progress of production expansion for downstream polysilicon businesses, the amplified volume for both Q3 and Q4 is above 50GW, and the demand for polysilicon will only continue to expand alongside the installation rush from the downstream market as the end of the year approaches.

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business & finance

Multi Polysilicon Continue to Rise in Prices and May Reduce Within the Short Term. Polysilicon and wafer businesses are constantly expanding their capacity based on the prospective anticipation on new PV installations, though the expansion of the polysilicon sector requires a longer period of time over that of the wafer sector, and more businesses are signing long-term orders to ensure the supply of polysilicon, which resulted in more than 90% of the polysilicon being occupied by longterm orders in 2021. This particular phenomenon fully reflects the tension in the provision of polysilicon, and has exacerbated the excess demand status of the product during the first half of the year. As indicated by the statistics of EnergyTrend, the average price of mono polysilicon has risen from RMB 86/kg during early 2021 to RMB 210/kg right now, equaling an increase of 139.32%.

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JULY- 2021

business & finance The incessant inflation of multi polysilicon in June had prompted related departments to participate in the coordination for the operation of the polysilicon market. Simultaneously, multiple midstream and downstream businesses have successively lowered their operating rate and boycotted the continuous inflation of polysilicon, which finally suspended the inflation trend of mono polysilicon and stabilized the product at a high price level. Downstream pressure has progressively emitted upward to the wafer sector as cell and module businesses continue to lower the demand. With the polysilicon and wafer sectors stuck in a bargaining, polysilicon prices may reduce by a restricted degree under insufficient downstream demand. An increasing number of businesses that are planning to enter overhaul will lower the supply of polysilicon to a certain extent, whereas the new wafer capacity and the installation rush from the downstream market as the end of the year draws near, will also provide support for polysilicon prices in second half of 2021. Q4 prices are expected to climb back up.

COMPLEMENTARY GRANULAR SILICON AND MODIFIED SIEMENS PROCESS TO PRODUCE 30K TONS AT YEAR’S END GCL has recently initiated the production of its demonstrative granular silicon application in Xuzhou, symbolizing another step towards the mass production of granular silicon. GCL is currently capable of a granular silicon capacity of 10K tons in Xuzhou, and is expected to elevate the figure to roughly 30K at the end of the year, with constant expansion planned in the future to fulfill the increasing demand. GCL has also planned to produce 100K tons of granular silicon in Leshan, for which output is estimated in early 2022. In addition, the R&D and production project for 300K tons of granular silicon with Shangji will derive a capacity of 60K during the first phase at Baotou, and is currently in arrangement with the local government. GCL’s extensive investment in granular silicon fully demonstrates the vast market prospect of the particular product. Possessing distinctive advantages in cost, quality and applications, granular silicon is capable of low energy consumption, low cost, and continuity, which makes up for the poorer continuous production capability of the Siemens process. Granular silicon is mostly used as a mono compound feeding for the production segment of polysilicon. With a sizeable adoption of granular silicon, the product will complement with the modified Siemens process by constantly facilitating an increase in the capacity of polysilicon and mitigating the imbalance status between supply and demand.

ON THE WHOLE, ENERGYTREND BELIEVES THAT THE FOLLOWING FOUR MAJOR TRENDS WILL BE SEEN IN THE POLYSILICON MARKET DURING THE SECOND HALF OF 2021: 1. A restricted increase in supply. According to the planning, partial capacity for polysilicon expansion will gradually release in the second half of 2021, and the granular silicon capacity of GCL will also be released at the same time that will further enhance the domestic provision of multi polysilicon. However, the relatively longer duration required for the increment of capacity will lead to a restricted increase in the supply of polysilicon. 2. Growth in demand. An installation rush may emerge from the downstream market under favorable policies with the end of the year approaching, which further actuates growth in cell and module demand that will ascend to the polysilicon and wafer sectors. On the other hand, the continuous magnification of wafer capacity has proliferated the demand for polysilicon. 3. Multi polysilicon prices may reduce by a restricted degree in Q3 due to downstream pressure, and may return to the slope of inflation during Q4 from a continuously widening void between the supply and demand of polysilicon. Wafer businesses have started to adjust their operating rate under the pressure coming from the downstream sector in the short term, and polysilicon prices may deplete by a constrained degree in Q3 under insufficient demand. Generally speaking, polysilicon capacity will have an insignificant increase in the second half of the year, where the installation rush from the downstream market as the end of the year approaches, as well as the continuous release of new wafer capacity, will further expand the void between supply and demand of polysilicon, and provide a robust support for polysilicon prices that may trigger a rebound during Q4. 4. Vast market prospect for granular silicon. Known for its advantages in low energy consumption, low cost, and continuity, granular silicon will mutually complement with the modified Siemens process to further expand the capacity for polysilicon. Source : energytrend

OMERS, NORFUND IN TALKS TO PICK UP 20% STAKE IN AVAADA ENERGY FOR $200 MILLION Avaada Energy was founded in 2017 by former Welspun Energy promoter Vineet Mittal who left Welspun Group after it sold its renewable business to Tata Power for Rs 10,000 crore in 2016.

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anada-based pension fund Omers and Norway government’s private equity arm Norfund are in talks to invest $200 million in Avaada Energy for a 20% stake, pegging the value of the four-year old renewable energy startup at $1 billion, people aware of the matter said. Talks with the two funds are in an advanced stage though due diligence, which requires site visits, has been delayed due on account of travel restrictions between March and May, the sources said. Omers and Norfund declined to comment when contacted. Avaada Energy declined to comment.

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Avaada Energy was founded in 2017 by former Welspun Energy promoter Vineet Mittal who left Welspun Group after it sold its renewable business to Tata Power for Rs 10,000 crore in 2016. Avaada Energy has executed 2 gigawatt of solar power generation capacity so far and has 3.5 W of capacity under construction across Africa and India. In some cases, it acts as a contractor for setting up solar power projects while in others it owns power generation facilities. Bharti Airtel had recently picked up an 8% stake in a solar power subsidiary of Avaada Energy. Mittal is a Harvard Business School graduate who is credited for the success of Welspun’s foray into renewable energy after he partnered with the group’s promoter Bal Krishna Goenka. Source: PTI

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AS BUSINESS REBOUNDS, ORIANO BAGS MORE THAN 350 MWP OF SOLAR PROJECTS Oriano starts construction of 350+ MWp of utility scale solar projects across various states in India. Oriano has been a key development partner extending services from Lead origination, PPA/SHA acquisition, Land due diligence, Land acquisition, Connectivity, EPC of the project & Asset management on a turnkey basis, thus creating a win-win proposition to all the stakeholders. With this, Oriano’s order book now exceeds INR 300 crore.

ith margin pressures in the EPC business for the last few years, Oriano has increased its offerings with forming of Development division. Lokendra Singh is now the Business Head – EPC business and Co-founder – Development division. In Development business, Oriano has recently won 70 MW of allocation in the state of Uttar Pradesh for C&I customers and closed corporate PPAs of 55 MWp in Karnataka and Maharashtra with AA rated clients. Oriano has created 175 MWp of projects in shovel-ready status. Additionally, Oriano won couple of projects in the captive capex segment. Oriano is executing the project with a scope of Development, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Operation & Maintenance.

Lokendra said, “We had won 125 MWp of projects in Open Access (OA) mechanism last year, however, due to COVID-19 pandemic, these projects PPA / SHA closure got delayed. We have now seen a sharp rebound in the business and our order book has increased to 350+ MWp with mix of Opex and Capex projects. We are seeing increased interest in Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Open Access Segment and we being directly engaged with corporate consumers with their energy needs, we are able to deliver bankable PPAs along with speedy delivery of the project due to in-house Development & EPC Capabilities.”

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Founded in 2015, Oriano has 700+ MWp of Development & EPC projects installed & under execution. Oriano has built solar projects for marquee global IPPs and Indian conglomerates such as Honda, Bosch, Bajaj Auto, Amway, Cipla, Tata Communications, First Solar (USA), Aditya Birla Renewables, Solarpack (Spain), Downing (UK), Technique Solaire (France), HAL, HPCL, among others. Oriano is ranked fastest 50 growing technology companies in India by Deloitte Fast50 in 2018 and 2019 rankings. SIDBI Venture Capital is an equity investor in the company and the company has recently raised debt INR 15 crore from Caspian Impact Investments and Northern Arc. “With this additional 350+ MWp, we are targeting a portfolio of 1+ GW by 2022. Moving forward, we are looking to partner captive customers across sectors looking to adopt solar energy. Additionally, we are in discussions with new partners to fuel our growth,” Lokendra added. Source : ANI

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business & finance

SHRI R K SINGH, UNION MINISTER FOR POWER AND MNRE INAUGURATES “AIMING FOR SUSTAINABLE HABITAT: NEW INITIATIVES IN BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY 2021” Shri R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy announced various initiatives being taken by Government of India towards energy efficiency in the building sector, as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’.

hile inaugurating “Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021” which was virtually launched by Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Union Minister Shri R.K .Singh reiterated his commitment to ensure continuous efforts to enhance energy efficiency in the economy, especially in the buildings sector. He congratulated BEE for organizing the launch event and suggested all officials to continue to strive to remove all barriers in implementing Energy Efficiency in the Buildings sector, creating energy efficient demand and energy efficient designs. Addressing the gathering, Shri R.K. Singh said that building sector is second largest consumer of electricity after industry but it is expected to become the largest energy consuming sector by 2030. Realizing its importance, the Government of India is focusing on improving energy efficiency across residential as well as commercial building establishments.

Speaking at the event Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Cabinet Minister of Power & New Renewable Energy said that these initiatives will help enhance the energyefficiency levels in residential buildings across the country, thereby leading to sustainable habitation. With futuredriven initiatives like smart home ecosystems, optimizing energy-efficiency in any given structure will surely be the need in the coming years. Endorsing these new initiatives, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State, Ministry of Power said that more energy-efficiency means less energy consumption in household and reduced carbon emissions. He added that with all the initiatives launched,

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we will see a better, more efficient residences in future. Mr. Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power highlighted that all these initiatives will go a long way to make India more energy-efficient, and it will be a replicable model across the globe.

THE INITIATIVES LAUNCHED INCLUDED: Specifying code compliance approaches and minimum energy performance requirements for building services, and verification framework with Eco Niwas Samhita 2021. The web-based platform ‘The Handbook of Replicable Designs for Energy Efficient Residential Buildings’ as a learning tool, which can be used to create a pool of ready-to-use resources of replicable designs to construct energy-efficient homes in India. Creating an Online Directory of Building Materials that would envisage the process of establishing Standards for energy efficient building materials. Announcement of NEERMAN Awards, (National Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Movement towards Affordable & Natural Habitat), with the goal of encouraging exceptionally efficient building designs complying with BEE’s Energy Conservation Building Codes. Online Star Rating tool for Energy Efficient Homes created to improve energy-efficiency and reduce energy consumption in individual homes. It provides performance analysis to help professionals decide the best options to pick for energyefficiency of their homes. Training of over 15,000 Architects, Engineers and Government officials on Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 and Eco Niwas Samhita (ENS) 2021).

‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ is the Government’s endeavour to commemorate India’s 75th anniversary of Independence. The commemorations will include 75 events for 75 weeks by the Ministry of Power. Source : pib.gov.in

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business & finance

HERO ELECTRIC RAISES RS 220 CR IN GULF ISLAMIC INVESTMENTS-LED FUNDING

A company statement said that it will direct this investment towards the objective of further supporting the electric vehicle industry and ecosystem.

ero Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd has raised Rs 220 crore in Series B funding round led by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII). The funding round also witnessed the participation of OAKS. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Hero Electric on the transaction. Hero Electric will allocate this investment towards expanding production capacity, consolidating market position to strengthen market leadership, investing in futuristic technology, and grow footprint across India-like markets. To achieve the vision of exponential growth and double sales every year, the company plans to make significant additions to its manufacturing capacity by setting up multiple plants over the next couple of years. It will also focus on India-centric, flexible, and cost-effective innovations that will drive the growth of electric mobility which is in line with making India the EV hub of the world, it said.

The electric vehicles market has undergone tremendous change over the last few years since we raised our first round of funding. The policies are extremely conducive for the growth of the segment and despite the pandemic, the company is poised to grow at over 2X from the last fiscal, Hero Electric Managing Director Naveen Munjal said. He added that the company aims to sell over 10 lakh units per year in the next couple of years. “This round of investments which is a first of a larger scheme will help expand our manufacturing capacities, increase R&D spends that will enable us to continue to launch innovative products to disrupt the category. Hero is committed to its mission of No Emission and build a sustainable future that is electric.”

GII founding Partner and Co-CEO Pankaj Gupta said: “We are delighted to be a part of the growth journey of India’s market-leading electric vehicles pioneer – Hero Electric – through our latest round of investments under India Growth Portfolio II.” As a sustainability conscious and visionary investor, GII has observed the growing role of electric vehicles in mitigating environmental pollution and the opportunities it presents in India, one of the world’s most populous countries and an important investment destination in the firm’s global strategy, he added. Source : ians

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INternational

ELECTRIC CAR SALES SURGE AS EUROPE’S CLIMATE TARGETS BITE One in every nine new cars sold in Europe last year was an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, with low-emission car sales surging even as the COVID-19 pandemic knocked overall vehicle sales, the European Environment Agency said

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he uptick in electric car sales caused a 12% drop in average CO2 emissions of new cars sold in Europe last year, compared with in 2019, reversing a trend that had seen such emissions increase for three consecutive years. It was the biggest annual drop in such emissions since the EU introduced its car CO2 standards in 2010. Of the 11.6 million new cars registered in the EU, Iceland, Norway and Britain last year, 11% were fully electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, according to the provisional data. Those vehicles tripled their share of new car sales, from 3.5% in 2019. Tougher CO2 targets for carmakers came into force last year, pushing carmakers to curb their fleet-wide emissions by selling more low-emission vehicles, buy credits from other carmakers that overachieved their targets, or face fines. The EEA did not confirm which carmakers met their targets. Countries including France and Germany also included electric vehicle subsidies in COVID-19 economic recovery packages last year.

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While overall new car sales dropped, Europe’s electric and plug-in hybrid car sales increased to more than 1 million in 2020. Campaign group Transport & Environment said the data showed the emissions targets were working, but urged Brussels to propose CO2 standards that would ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035, when it announces a package of climate policies next month. EU officials said policymakers have not yet confirmed which specific car CO2 targets the Commission will propose. The average car stays on the road for 10 to 15 years, and campaigners say selling polluting vehicles after 2035 would thwart the EU’s target to have net zero emissions by 2050. Average emissions for new cars registered in Europe were 107.8 grams of CO2 per kilometre in 2020, a decrease of 14.5 grams compared with 2019.

Source: Reuters

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international

THE DANISH ENERGY AGENCY RELEASES THE TIME SCHEDULE AND TENDER DOCUMENTS FOR THE FORTHCOMING DANISH TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL TENDER WITH A COMBINED CAPACITY OF 428 MW The Danish Energy Agency kicks off the tender process for the forthcoming technology neutral tender with the release of the tender documents. The forthcoming technology neutral tender will be held in the autumn 2021.

single technology neutral tender will be held in 2021 combining the allocated funds for 2020 and 2021. In the tender the total potential aid can reach DKK 1.2 billion (2020 prices) and projects with a combined capacity of 428 MW (onshore wind equivalent) can receive aid in the tender.

Both solar PV, onshore wind turbines, open door offshore wind turbines, wave power plants and hydroelectric power plans can participate. The forthcoming technology neutral tender is expected to open in August 2021 with a deadline for bids in October 2021. Source: ens

GREECE JOINS INDIA-LED INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE Greece signed and handed over the agreement on the International Solar Alliance. The agreement was signed during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ‘s visit to Greece . During the visit, the External Affairs Minister paid a courtesy call on Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece,and had bilateral talks with his counterpart Nikos Dendias . The two sides had a comprehensive exchange of views on further consolidating the bilateral relations, which continue to deepen and expand rapidly, according to the India Greece joint statement. “Just concluded official talks with FM @ NikosDendias. Was productive bilaterally and insightful on many regional & global issues. Agreed to step up the pace of engagement and work towards a strategic partnership,” tweeted Jaishankar. During the visit, Jaishankar also unveiled the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Athens on June 26. The statue will act as a strong symbol of friendship between the two countries. “The Greek Foreign Minister signed and handed over the Agreement on the International Solar Alliance to the India n side,” read the statement released after the meeting between Jaishankar and Dendias.

aishankar welcomed Athens to the family of the ISA and both sides agreed that the agreement will assist the two countries in realisation of the energy goals set by the respective governments to make renewable energy a significant part of the energy supply, according to the joint statement. Initiated by India in 2015, the ISA is an alliance of over 120, most of them lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Considering their rich ancient past, the two sides agreed to continue their relationship in the field of culture. Both sides reiterated the importance of signing the Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 20212025 at an early date, according to the joint statement. The two sides also shared views on regional and global issues of mutual interest in the context of new geo-political and geoeconomic realities, including the Indo-Pacific, the MEA stated.

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They noted with satisfaction the convergence of each-others’ vision for a free, open, inclusive and cooperative Indo-Pacific ensuring connectivity and growth for all in the region. Conveying their deep commitment to multilateralism, and a rules-based international order, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of the “urgent reform of the UN, including UNSC expansion, and other multilateral institutions so as to make them more inclusive, transparent, accountable, and better reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities.” Greek side reiterated its support for permanent membership of India in a reformed UNSC. The MEA said India and Greece enjoy close and friendly relations, which have been strengthened by the shared values of democracy, rule of law, pluralism, equality, freedom of speech and respect for human rights. Both sides discussed the COVID-19 situation globally and the process of economic recovery. They also agreed on the need for joint efforts to combat the disease and to work together for consolidating economic and commercial activities during and immediately after the pandemic. During the meet, the Greek Foreign Minister signed and handed over the Agreement on the International Solar Alliance to the india. The MEA said Jaishankar welcomed Greece to the family of the ISA. Both sides agreed that this will assist the two countries in realisation of the energy goals set by the respective governments to make renewable energy a significant part of the energy supply. Source: ANI

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INternational

DENMARK SIGNS FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE WITH INDIA Denmark signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) and Instrument of Ratification with India, informed Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. “On 22 June, Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy, deposited signed copies of ISA Framework Agreement and Instrument of Ratification with @MEAIndia, the depositary of Agreement. Signed copies of ISA FA were handed over to Additional Secretary (ER),” Bagchi tweeted. Meanwhile, Denmark becomes first country to ratify International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) after amendments to it entered into force on January 8.

“Kingdom of Denmark becomes 1st country to ratify International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) after amendments to it entered into force on 8 January this year, opening its Membership to all Member States of the United Nations,” Arindam Bagchi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson tweeted. ISA is an alliance of over 120 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Source: ANI

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international

AIR LIQUIDE, AIRBUS AND GROUPE ADP PARTNER TO PREPARE PARIS AIRPORTS FOR THE HYDROGEN ERA Air Liquide, Airbus and Groupe ADP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to prepare for the arrival of hydrogen in airports by 2035 as part of the development of hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft.

he partners will leverage their respective expertise to support the decarbonization of the aviation industry and to define the concrete needs and opportunities that hydrogen can bring to the aeronautics sector. This partnership reflects the three partners’ shared ambition to contribute to the emergence of an innovative and strategic French sector dedicated to achieving climate-neutral aviation worldwide. To prepare for the arrival of the first hydrogenpowered commercial aircraft by 2035, airports will need to be adapted, in particular to include the specificity of liquid hydrogen supply. The partnership announced & focuses on carrying out feasibility studies aimed at developing this infrastructure. As a first step, a study involving a representative panel of around 30 airports worldwide will be launched to assess potential configurations for liquid hydrogen production, supply and distribution. Detailed scenarios and plans will then be drawn up for the two main Paris airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly.

These scenarios will be essential in defining the required infrastructure, including scope and location, and in identifying and integrating the constraints relative to both industrial and aviation safety standards. This partnership brings together complementary expertise with the ambition to support – starting today – the transformation of airports and to pave the way for a new era of sustainable air travel.

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Matthieu Giard, Vice President, member of the Executive Committee, supervising Hydrogen activities, said: “Air Liquide recently announced ambitious commitments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We must act now, notably by accelerating the development of the hydrogen sector and preparing the future. To the aviation industry, Air Liquide brings its unique expertise in the hydrogen supply chain, in particular with regards to liquid hydrogen, which requires advanced mastery of extreme cryogenics. This partnership, led by three major players, reflects a shared desire to accelerate the energy transition and to build the future for a more sustainable aviation.”

Antoine Bouvier, Airbus Head of Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions and Public Affairs, added: “This partnership between an aircraft manufacturer, an airport authority and a hydrogen expert is an important and necessary step to prepare for the entry-into-service of a zeroemission aircraft by 2035. By starting to introduce hydrogen at Paris airports now, we underscore the shared ambition of an entire ecosystem to make the decarbonization of the aviation sector possible and to achieve our emissions-reduction targets.”

Edward Arkwright, Groupe ADP Deputy CEO, concluded: “With our partners, we are ready to launch feasibility studies to enable the gradual introduction of hydrogen at Paris airports. We must prepare – starting today – to welcome hydrogen aircraft by 2035 by transforming our airports into hydrogen hubs, which, along with other solutions, such as sustainable aviation fuel, will enable the decarbonization of air travel.” Source: en

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INternational

VOLVO, NORTHVOLT TEAM UP FOR ELECTRIC BATTERY FACTORY

Europe has been ramping up efforts to become more autonomous in the battery sector, though it is still very dependent on production from Asia. olvo and Sweden’s Northvolt have joined forces to build a new battery factory in Europe as the automaker aims to sell only fully electric cars by 2030, the companies said. Swedish automaker Volvo and the battery start-up said that, through a joint venture, they will build a gigafactory with a potential capacity of 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, with production expected to start in 2026. This would allow Volvo, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, to equip around 800,000 vehicles per year. Europe has been ramping up efforts to become more autonomous in the battery sector, though it is still very dependent on production from Asia. Europe has projects to build nearly 40 gigafactories with a combined annual output of 1,000 GWh and an estimated cost of 40 billion euros ($48 billion), according to a June report by T&E.

Volvo and Northvolt also plan to open a research and development centre in Sweden next year that will develop “next-generation, state-of-the-art battery cells and vehicle integration technologies”, according to their joint statement.

Volvo, meanwhile, will buy 15 GWh of battery cells per year from Northvolt’s Swedish plant in Skelleftea from 2024. The partnership will contribute to Volvo’s effort to make half of its cars fully electric by mid-decade and all of them 100-percent electric by 2030. The deal has yet to be signed and approved by the boards of Volvo and Northvolt. Northvolt, which aims to become Europe’s largest producer of electric car batteries, has set up partnerships with Volkswagen, BMW and Scania. Source: ANI

ASHOK LEYLAND’S UK SUBSIDIARY ACQUIRES INDIAN EV SUBSIDIARY Hinduja group’s commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland Ltd said its UK subsidiary Switch Mobility Ltd has acquired the entire stakes in its Indian subsidiary Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd.

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witch Mobility Automotive has thus become a step-down subsidiary of Ashok Leyland. Switch Mobility Automotive was incorporated to carry on the business of manufacture and sale of electric vehicles. Recently Siemens Ltd and Switch Mobility Automotive signed an MoU to enter the electric commercial vehicles segment. While Switch Mobility Automotive would bring in its electric commercial vehicles into India, Siemens would provide the charging infrastructure technology and charging infrastructure management software solution to enhance the energyefficient operations of the chargers.

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Source: IANS

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international

MERKEL: NO WAY BACK ON GERMAN PLAN TO END NUCLEAR POWER USE Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her decision to end Germany’s use of nuclear power next year, but acknowledged that it will make it harder to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term.

he decision, taken in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster 10 years ago, is regarded as one of the pivotal moments during Merkel’s 16 years in office. Critics have said the move places a double burden on Germany as it seeks to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2045.

There are other countries that choose differently and in doing so it will be easier for them, in some ways, to achieve climate neutrality, Merkel told reporters in Germany. “I still believe that in the long term nuclear energy isn’t a sustainable form of energy production.” The phase-out of nuclear power by the end of 2022 has made Germany more reliant on coal over the coming years compared to France or Britain. But the German government has also committed to ending the burning of coal by 2038 , a goal Merkel said could only be achieved by significantly expanding the use of renewable energy and relying on less-polluting natural gas as a bridge technology.

She rejected the idea that a future government might reverse the nuclear decision, saying that “for Germany, the die is cast” and called instead for greater efforts to expand production of hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel that experts say will be needed by the country’s industry.

Source : AP

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INternational

GERMAN CARMAKER OPEL TO BE 100 PER CENT ELECTRIC IN EUROPE BY 2028: CEO Opel is owned by European carmaker Stellantis, which was born out of the merger this year of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat Chrysler. German carmaker Opel said that it would stop producing cars with internal combustion engines in Europe by 2028, one of the most ambitious greening targets in the accelerating shift to electric vehicles.

armakers around the world have started setting timetables to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in the face of increasingly strict anti-pollution standards put in place to fight climate change. But among legacy brands only Jaguar has announced a more ambitious timetable than Opel, saying it aims to have 100-percent electric vehicle (EV) production by 2025. Audi says it plans to stop making fossil fuel cars by 2033 while Sweden’s Volvo is aiming for 2030. In recent years, the German carmaker has reduced its range to focus on electric vehicles.

At a press conference, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller said the firm also planned to launch an EV range in the Chinese market, where Stellantis has so far failed to make inroads. To revamp its image Opel will also introduce an electric version of its 1970s sports coupe, the Manta, by “the middle of this decade,” he said. The move is part of a drive by Stellantis, the world’s sixth-biggest carmaker by volume in 2020, to take on Volkswagen in the EV market.

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Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said that the group planned to invest 30 billion euros to electrify its models over the next five years. He announced plans to build a new EV battery plant at a Fiat plant in Termoli in southern Italy, Stellantis’ third in Europe, after one each was announced for France and Germany. “We reached an agreement with the Italian government to have it support the transformation of our engine factory in Termoli,” Tavares said. The announcements come days before the European Commission proposes new regulations aimed at keeping the EU on track towards its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Sources in Brussels expect the commission to announce an end to new registrations of gas guzzlers from 2035. Stellantis this week also announced it was keeping a threatened Vauxhall plant in northern England, with the sole purpose of producing electric vehicles. Source : AFP

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renewable energy

FACEBOOK ACHIEVES NET ZERO EMISSIONS, 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY Releasing its ‘2020 Sustainability Report’, Facebook said that its has also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 94 per cent from 2017 levels, exceeding its goal of a 75 per cent reduction. Facebook has said that it has met goals of reaching net zero emissions and 100 per cent renewable energy for its global operations.

“In 2020,

we set a new goal: reaching net zero emission for our value chain in 2030” the social network said in a statement

Its renewable energy portfolio totalled over 5.9 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar projects under contract, and Facebook increased operating portfolio of wind and solar to over 2.8 GW spanning 15 US states, Europe and Asia.

“Facebook restored nearly 5.8 million cubic meters of water in high water stress regions. We launched the Climate Science Information Center, a dedicated hub for authoritative information from the world’s leading climate science sources,” the company said.

acebook said it has also invested in high-quality carbon removal projects that removed 145,000 metric tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, including reforestation projects in East Africa and the Mississippi River Valley.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face. Delivering essential technologies and reliable climate information to billions of people is at the heart of how Facebook can help address the crisis. And we believe we can do it with a net zero carbon footprint, said Mike Schroepfer, Chief Technology Officer. Source: IANS

HEXAGON’S R-EVOLUTION LAUNCHES ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT PORTFOLIO WITH A FOCUS ON DIGITALISING SOLAR PRODUCTION Hexagon AB, a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions, announced the first of R-evolution’s investments, which aim to reduce carbon emissions by ramping up renewable energy efficiencies and output. The acquisition of a 40-hectare site (equivalent to 60 football fields) in Archidona, Spain, marks R-evolution’s initial plans—to digitalise solar energy production. Launched in mid-February, R-evolution is Hexagon’s business venture focused on reinventing how industry addresses complex environmental challenges—profitably.

ocated just North of Málaga airport, the acquisition includes a newly constructed, 8.24 megawatt-peak (MWp) photovoltaic (PV) solar park, which uses PV cells to convert the sun’s energy into electricity. Site expansion plans already underway involve doubling the park’s peak capacity to 16.44 MWp—enough to power all the households of Archidona every year (a population of over 8 thousand) and the equivalent of offsetting 8,400 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per annum. The completed solar park will house 40,000 bifacial (doublesided) panels mounted on horizontal axis trackers, which together enable energy absorption from both sides and automatic tracking of the sun to increase efficiency and output. R-evolution will operate and expand the park’s efficiency further by putting data to work through the use of Hexagon’s sensor hardware and software monitoring solutions. Hexagon’s visualisation platforms combined with ground and mobile sensor solutions will create a Smart Digital Reality of the facility that can be actively, remotely and autonomously monitored to aid inspections, quickly detect panel anomalies, improve targeted maintenance, and more.

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The site will serve as an exploratory innovation hub for leveraging Hexagon and partner technologies in the solar production ecosystem. It’s an excellent opportunity for R-evolution to gain first-hand experience working with world-leading industry partners, says Hexagon President and CEO “Additionally, the ground-up construction expansion will provide an even bigger opportunity to apply Hexagon’s data-centric solutions—from planning and design through build and operation—essentially digitalising solar production from start to finish.” “This is the launch of a much greater vision for R-evolution,” continued Rollén. “We plan to expand its renewable energy project portfolio to new PV and wind sites with innovative storage capacity, expanding Hexagon’s technology leverage in renewable energy projects while generating cash flow for future waves of R-evolution investments.” Source: itnewsonline

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renewable energy

COVID-19 CRISIS MAKES ELECTRICITY TOO COSTLY FOR MILLIONS IN AFRICA, ASIA The economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 25 million people in Africa and Asia unable to afford electricity, threatening a global goal to provide power to everyone by 2030, international agencies warned

wo-thirds of those affected were in subSaharan Africa, deepening disparities in the region’s access to electricity, according to an annual global report tracking progress on sustainable energy. Millions struggled to pay for essential electricity services to power lighting, fans, televisions and mobile phones as the COVID-19 crisis hit jobs and incomes in 2020, the report said.This threatens progress in the last decade, which saw more than a billion people gaining access to electricity since 2010, making 90% of the world’s population connected in 2019.

But the pandemic has now put the U.N.backed goal to ensure all have electricity by 2030 “in jeopardy”, with the number of people without power in Africa rising in 2020 after falling for the last six years, the report said.”Access to electricity is critical to development, especially in the context of mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and supporting human and economic recovery,” said Demetrios Papathanasiou, global director for energy and extractives at the World Bank. About 759 million people still live without electricity, half of them in fragile and conflict-torn countries, he noted. This could exacerbate broader inequalities, he added, as electrification of health facilities is vital to support vaccine deployment and the pandemic response in developing nations. “Lack of access to reliable energy affects the quality of public health and will require additional efforts to establish the data, communications, logistics and reliable cold chain to administer vaccines,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Under current and planned policies, an estimated 660 million people would still lack access to power in 2030, said the report released by the International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO).

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CLEAN COOKING About a third of the world’s population – or 2.6 billion people – still had no access to clean cooking methods in 2019, despite gains in large parts of Asia, the report showed.The problem was most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 900 million people, or 85% of the region’s population, used smoky cooking fuels like kerosene, coal and wood. The largely stagnant progress on clean cooking is responsible for millions of deaths each year from breathing in smoke and toxic emissions, with women and children especially vulnerable to household air pollution, the agencies said.Maria Neira, the WHO’s environment, climate change and health director, said scaling up clean energy is key to protecting human health and promoting healthier populations, particularly in rural areas. The groups called for more renewables, which account for about a quarter of global power output, to ramp up electrification efforts in developing countries.Renewable energy has seen huge growth in the last decade, with more than a third of the increase in generation in 2018 coming from East Asia, driven by solar and wind power in China.

Greater efforts to mobilise and scale up investment are essential to ensure that energy access progress continues in developing economies, Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based IEA, said in a statement. “This fairer and cleaner energy future is achievable if governments work together to step up actions.” Source: Reuters

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renewable energy

WIND ENERGY COS SEEK DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR PROJECT COMPLETION At a meeting between renewable energy companies and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in June, wind companies have requested the government to extend the deadline for project completion to at least 24 months, according to people who attended the meeting.

ind energy companies in India woefully behind their project timelines have sought a blanket extension for all ongoing and future projects, calling the current 18-month timeframe “unviable”. Projects of Adani Green, ReNew Power, Enel Green Power, Inox Wind, Mytrah, Astro, Srinjan and Alfanar are currently stuck in the pipeline, according to industry insiders, who did not want to be named. These projects have been lagging behind even before Covid-related disruptions started affecting the work from March last year. Developers point to unsustainable tariffs and land acquisition issues as the main reasons for the lack of viability of these projects, especially so when the work needs to be completed in 18 months.

While the government has provided multiple extensions on a case-bycase basis for projects due to Covid-induced delays, most of these deadlines will end in the coming months. The ministry didn’t reply to ET’s emailed questions till press time Source : economictimes

RENEWABLES SURGED IN 2020 BUT WORLD NOT YET ON TRACK FOR CLIMATE GOALS, BP SAYS Last year witnessed the biggest fall in carbon emissions in more than 75 years, putting the world closer to the path needed to hit a target of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius this century, BP’s 2020 Statistical Review said.

ind and solar power capacity expanded rapidly in 2020 while global energy demand cratered because of the pandemic, yet this did not yet reflect a “decisive shift” towards meeting U.N.backed climate goals, BP said in its annual energy review.

Importantly, there was no sign of the decisive shift envisaged by the less than 2 degrees Celsius scenario, BP Chief Economist Spencer Dale said in remarks ahead of the release of the review, seen as a benchmark for the industry. “There is a good chance that much of that dip proves transitory,” he said, adding that changes in 2020 were induced by the pandemic and the world still needed “tangible, concrete differences” to meet climate targets.

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The economic slowdown in 2020 as countries sought to contain the pandemic led to a 4.5% drop in global energy demand, driven mostly by a 9.3% collapse in oil consumption, the review said. At its lowest point in April 2020, oil demand dropped by around 20% or 20 million barrels per day. “This is just off the charts relative to anything seen in history,” Dale said, adding that the slide in energy use would reverse as economies revved up after the COVID-19 crisis.

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renewable energy

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR IN INDIA GETS $70 BN INVESTMENT IN 7 YEARS This assumes significance in view of India’s ambitious target of having 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022. Power Minister R K Singh has said that as much as USD 70 billion (about Rs 5.2 lakh crore) has been invested in renewable energy across the country in the past seven years.

his assumes significance in view of India’s ambitious target of having 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022. Singh was addressing at an event on ‘Accelerating Citizen Centric Energy Transition’, organised by The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It was conducted in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the United Nations and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The virtual event was organised on the sidelines of the Ministerial Thematic Forums week (June 21-25) for the UN High Level Dialogue on Energy to be convened on September 20 this year. India has been designated a Global Champion for Energy Transition, one of the five themes at the dialogue.

Singh said, “During the past seven years, over USD 70 billion investment has been made in renewable energy in India. India has a liberal foreign investment policy for renewables allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in sector.” He added that ensuring ‘ease of doing business’ is the government’s utmost priority. “Our continuous focus is on maintaining sanctity of contracts and safeguarding investments.” The minister also talked about the establishment of dedicated project development cells (PDC) and foreign direct investment (FDI) cells in all ministries for handholding and facilitating domestic and foreign investors. Adequate measures and safeguards have also been undertaken to address the concerns of businesses and investors arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh added. He launched a booklet on ‘The India Story’, a compilation of Indian initiatives that are shaping India’s energy transition. The minister said ‘The India Story’ booklet captures the essence of some of the flagship initiatives that have accelerated energy transition.

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“These will continue to power our ambitious renewable energy programmes, with the end goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, while always keeping the citizen at the center of this transition,” he added. He also launched a website (www.energytransition.in), which will act as a repository of energy transition related knowledge resources from around the world. Singh further said a Renewable Energy Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board (REIPFB) portal has also been developed to provide a one-stop assistance and facilitation to the industry and investors for development of projects and bringing new investment to the renewable energy sector in India. He lauded the commitment shown by the Indian industry to India’s energy transition plans. Several members from the industry have voluntarily declared RE goals and committed to the carbon disclosure project (CDP), renewable 100 per cent and science-based targets (SBTs). Many of them are also preparing substantive energy compacts for the September Dialogue. He was pleased to inform that JK Cement, UltraTech, Toyota and NTPC have already submitted their energy compacts. While talking about the initiatives that will pave the way for future of energy transition in India, Singh said rules are being framed for ‘green tariff’ policy. The policy will help electricity distribution companies (discoms) supply electricity generated from clean energy projects at a cheaper rate as compared to power from conventional fuel sources. In addition to that, the government is promoting Green Hydrogen with obligations for Fertilisers and Refining industries (Green Hydrogen Purchase obligations). The minister also mentioned about the recent initiatives in the renewable energy sector such as viability gap funding options for offshore wind energy, launching of green term ahead market and green day ahead market. Rules for facilitating RE through open access and RE procurement through exchanges will also be notified to promote non-conventional resources of energy. Singh said that in the past six years, India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased by over two-anda-half times and stands at more than 141 gigawatts (including large hydro), which is about 37 per cent of the country’s total capacity (as on June 16, 2021). During the same period, the installed solar energy capacity has increased over 15 times and stands at 41.09 GW. India’s renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world. India’s annual renewable energy addition has been exceeding that of coal-based thermal power since 2017. Source: business-standard

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renewable energy

BUILDING NEW RENEWABLES IS CHEAPER THAN BURNING FOSSIL FUELS It’s now cheaper to build and operate new large-scale wind or solar plants in nearly half the world than it would be to run an existing coal or gasfired power plant.

hat’s the latest analysis from BloombergNEF, which sees that even with the risk of rising commodity prices, a new solar park or wind farm is still competitive with existing coal or gas plants in countries that represent 46% of the world’s population. So far, bigger and more efficient solar panels and wind turbines have helped prevent the higher prices of key materials from adding to the overall cost of projects. But it’s not clear how long that trend can last.

The rise in commodity prices has not resulted in an increase in our global levelized cost of energy benchmarks for solar and wind just yet,said Seb Henbest, chief economist at BNEF. “But if sustained through the second half of 2021, this rise could mean that newbuild renewable power gets temporarily more expensive, for almost the first time in decades.”

The price of polysilicon, one of the key raw materials for solar panels, is up threefold in the past year. That’s set to contribute to average solar module prices increasing at least 5% globally this year from 2020, according to BNEF. The surging cost of steel is set to boost wind turbine prices by as much as 17% this year. Still, the overall trend for renewable power prices makes them increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. The cost of power from solar panels that track the sun fell 4% from the second half of 2020 to $38 per megawatt hour. The cheapest solar projects in Chile, India, the UAE, China, Brazil and Spain can produce power for as little as $22 per megawatt hour, BNEF found. The steel-dependent wind industry has so far seen prices remain flat this year compared to the second half of 2020, with BNEF’s global benchmark cost for wind farms on land steady at $41 per megawatt hour. The rising input costs have been partially offset by increasingly large and powerful turbines, which grew by about 10% on average compared to last year. In countries including China, India and Germany, it’s now cheaper to build a new large-scale solar farm than it would be to run an existing coal or gas-fired plant, according to BNEF. Similarly, in countries such as Brazil, the U.K., Poland and Morocco, a new wind farm would be cheaper than running an existing fossil-fuel plant. Source: Bloomberg

ELECTRICITY DEMAND GROWING FASTER THAN RENEWABLES: IEA Demand for electricity is growing faster than the roll-out of renewable ,leading to a surge in the use of heavily polluting coal and undermining efforts to reach carbon neutrality, the IEA warned

lectricity demand is expected to grow by 5 percent this year, much more than the 1 percent drop it experienced last year as the global economy tumbled into recession thanks to restrictions to stem the coronavirus pandemic. “Renewable electricity generation continues to grow strongly — but cannot keep up with increasing demand,” the International Energy Agency said in a semiannual report on the electricity market. Renewable power production expanded by 7 percent in 2020 and the IEA expects it will grow by 8 percent this year and by more than 6 percent next year.

“Despite these rapid increases, renewables are expected to be able to serve only around half of the projected growth in global demand in 2021 and 2022,” it said. That will leave fossil fuel power stations to cover around 45 percent of extra demand this year. Coal-fired power stations whose emissions are particularly harmful to the environment and contribute to global warming, are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year. The IEA believes they could hit a record high in 2022 While nations are increasingly committed to

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reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century in order to limit climate change, the IEA calculates that in order to reach that goal emissions from the power sector need to be falling now. “Stronger policy actions are needed to reach climate goals,” the IEA report said as nations are set to hold a major climate summit later this year.

While renewable power is growing at an impressive rate, “it still isn’t where it needs to be to put us on a path to reaching net-zero emissions by midcentury,” said Keisuke Sadamori, who heads up energy markets and security at the IEA. “To shift to a sustainable trajectory, we need to massively step up investment in clean energy technologies — especially renewables and energy efficiency,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.

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renewable energy

FUTURE OF ENERGY INNOVATION: AN INTERACTIVE SESSION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY The BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized a webinar on Future of Energy Innovation: an Interactive Session on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency on July 16, 2021, 5:30 PM IST virtually.

n line with the BRICS 2021 Agenda, the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry evaluated the sustainability factor of renewable energy through the panel discussion by assessing the current policy scenario on efficient use and innovation of energy at the global and national level.

The session was inaugurated with a welcome address from Vishwas Tripathi (Chairman, BRICS CCI) who remarked, “We are witnessing an unprecedented momentum for decisive global action to tackle energy access for the first time.”

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THEME 1: ROADMAP TO SUSTAINABILITY: ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INNOVATION: 1. Dr. Elbia Gannoum – Chief Executive Officer at ABEEolica – AssociacaoBrasileira de EnergiaEolica, Brazil & Vice Chairman, Global Wind Energy Council 2. Dr. Jai Asundi – Executive Director, Center for Study of Science, Technology & Policy 3. Arjun Agarwal – Founder & CEO, KR Biofuels 4. HemantMallya – Senior Programme Lead, Industrial Sustainability & Competitiveness, Council on Energy, Environment & Water 5. Frank Cato Lahti – Founder/CEO, Othalo 6. Eric Lau- Strategic Business Leader, V-Flow Tech, Singapore

Dr Elbia Gannoum said, “Brazil has a lot of renewable sources of energy production. New technology has increased the potential of electricity generation. Now we have a hybrid process where you can club solar and wind energy. In the next 10 years, we have special possibilities of producing green hydrogen. We expect that in 2030 we will have 3 times more production than in 2020.”

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renewable energy THEME 2: RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Dr Jai Asundi said, “There is no doubt that renewable energy is a source of future energy. It can have different forms it can be through large solar plants, large windmills and we can also have decentralized renewable energy, it can be looked at from a perspective that the small smart grids that give entities such as villages and towns which are away from town to get access of energy, we have been working on developing techniques for rooftop photovoltaic, coming up with solutions for barriers that are both technical, regulatory and financial”

Hemant Mallya said, “In our recent study we focused on job generation opportunities in the floating solar space, which is traditionally solar plants located on land, but in this case, we are looking to float solar panels on water bodies and generate power from them. “

Eric Lau said, “We at V Flow tech have invested 7-8 years of research work and innovations for new technologies basically focused on Million flow batteries and commercialization of it. As you know the previous decade belonged to solar energy because of its cheapness and renewable source, however, its growth is unsustainable because existing storage solutions are insufficient to support it, so there is a need for reliable, low cost and long-duration energy storage solutions.”

Ranjit Gupta said, “The sector over the last ten years has evolved quite a lot, you could not recognize how the sector was four-five years back. Climate change has made us understand how important it is for all of us to ensure we go towards more carbon efficiency. And there has been a push from the government to move away from fossil fuel.”

Kelly Grace Alcock said, “In regards to BRICS nations’ focus on renewable energy has helped our countries to recover and it has been very beneficial in terms of socio-economic opportunities such as improving the security of applications and improving the cost of electricity.”

Pashupathy Gopalan said, “I think we have to realize that energy is a big part of the civilization that is going through a transformation and it’s my belief that when we look back these two years are going to be instrumental in transforming energy and hydrogen is the future of the entry. The BRICS countries need to recognize the possibility and the beauty of hydrogen is not really new, around 70 million metric tons of hydrogen is used in fertilizer and oil refining processes.” Source : PTI

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featured

FOURTH PARTNER ENERGY RAISES US$125 MN IN LATEST ROUND OF EQUITY FUNDING FROM NORFUND AND THE RISE FUND Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, to infuse $100 Mn and existing shareholder THE RISE FUND to invest an additional $25 Mn in the current round; Funds to be utilized towards business expansion across Indian and International markets

yderabad-based Fourth Partner Energy announced that it had raised $125 Mn in equity funding from Norwegian Investment Fund – Norfund and existing shareholder The Rise Fund, TPG’s global impact investing platform. This $100 Mn marks Norfund’s maiden investment into India’s leading solar energy company, while The Rise Fund is investing an additional $25 Mn into Fourth Partner, following its $70 Mn investment in July 2018. After establishing itself as the market leader for distributed solar solutions to corporate India, Fourth Partner Energy is now strengthening its onsite and offsite solar presence in the subcontinent; as well as key markets across South and Southeast Asia. The company is targeting 3 GW of installed solar capacity by 2025 and expansion of capabilities across energy storage, EV charging infrastructure.

Talking about the new partnership and utilization of funds, Vivek Subramanian, Co-Founder & Executive Director at Fourth Partner Energy said, “Norfund is an established, long-term, institutional investor with a strong global clean energy portfolio, committed to driving impact. We are keen on leveraging this round of funding and their expertise to further cement our leadership position. We also believe the C&I solar market in India is ripe for consolidation and are actively pursuing acquisition opportunities on this front. Our transformational relationship with TPG’s RISE Fund has enabled us to partner with high quality, ESG-centric financiers like Norfund and we continue to seek to work with the best global institutions going ahead. We are grateful to team TPG for this reaffirmation and welcome Norfund into the Fourth Partner Energy family.”

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Anders Blom, Vice President at Norfund explained the rationale behind investing in the Indian clean energy space adding, “Across Asia, Africa and Central America, Norfund has invested in and with companies like Globeleq, Scatec, Berkeley Energy Commercial and Industrial Solutions, d.Light and Yoma Micropower – which prioritize profitability while simultaneously addressing climate change, poverty alleviation and employment generation. Fourth Partner Energy is enabling decarbonization of the C&I sector in one of the most pivotal global markets. We are thrilled to partner with a business that is not just the industry leader but has adhered to high standards of business integrity, ESG and health & safety practices. We look forward to working with their core team and Rise Fund in helping achieve Fourth Partner’s 3GW target by 2025.” “As the global community continues to tackle climate change, Fourth Partner is leading India’s transition to renewable energy. The Rise Fund’s mission is to back businesses that help solve global issues like climate change while delivering attractive returns on investment. Since our initial investment, Fourth Partner has built a worldclass team that consistently delivers strong fundamentals while focusing on high quality customers and carbon aversion. We are excited to be investing additional capital into this platform and continuing to build an industry leading distributed solar energy business in India. Norfund is a great addition to this team, as they share our commitment to strong corporate governance, impact and ESG,” added Ankur Thadani, Business Unit Partner at The Rise Fund. Investec Capital Services India, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Dua & Associates were advisors to Fourth Partner Energy and TPG for this transaction, while Avendus Capital and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised Norfund for the same. In April 2021, Fourth Partner Energy secured a $33 Mn line of mezzanine funding from the CDC Group; prior to which in 2020 the company announced a $15 Mn round of funding from Swiss climate action fund ResponsAbility and a $16 Mn investment from a consortium of European lenders, led by Symbiotics. To date, Fourth Partner Energy manages a portfolio of 550 MW across its distributed and open access solar portfolios. The company has commenced operations across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam. In Indonesia, 4PEL has tied up with integrated energy major Indika Energy to offer solar solutions to corporates there.

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HARTEK SOLAR EXECUTES 500 KWP ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER PLANT AT GNDEC, LUDHIANA The solar PV project will generate 7,30,000 units of clean electricity every year, thus offsetting more than 11251.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

artek Solar Pvt Ltd, the rooftop solar division of the Chandigarh-based Hartek Group, one of the top solar rooftop installers in India, has installed 500 kWp rooftop solar power plant at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana. The solar PV project will generate 7,30,000 units of clean electricity every year, thus offsetting more than 11251.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Executed by Hartek Solar, the leading rooftop installers in India, the plant will meet several day-to-day electricity requirements of GNDEC Ludhiana. It is equivalent to saving about 38000 trees every year. The rooftop solar plant is installed on the RCC roof with latest state of the art technology .The scope of work of the project included complete site survey, design, engineering, supply and construction of the solar plant. Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College is the oldest and minority institution of Northern India, established under the aegis of Nankana Sahib Education Trust (NSET) whose foundation stone was laid on 8 April 1956 by Hon’ble Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. It is the first autonomous engineering college of Punjab and has been named after 1st Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It aims at promoting “Removal of Economic Backwardness through Technology” and has a strong alumni base across the world.

GOODWE TO RAMP UP ITS RESIDENTIAL INVERTER PRODUCTION AS KRANNICH SOLAR PLACED AN ORDER OF 5000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS With COVID-19 situation easing across various states, EPC and installers have resumed their projects again to normal level to meet pent-up demand. They want to accomplish the projects as soon as possible especially the subsidized ones. Projects which were paused due to lockdowns and curfews are now resuming. Business activities across the sector are picking up with the opening of new projects and tenders.

There is a huge sudden demand in the market due to uplifting of lockdown after a while. Also, there are ongoing tenders at the procurement and installation stage. To fulfil this demand, we need to plan a proper and continuous flow of goods in the market., said Sandeep Banodiya, Sales Director of Krannich Solar. He further added, “We are carefully reviewing the demand and supply situation and recalibrating our operations accordingly while protecting the interest of our customers and supplier”.

James, GoodWe Country Manager of India said, “GoodWe is ramping up its production of residential inverters to meet the demand of the Indian residential market”. He added that “We have recently received an order of 5000 Pcs of residential inverters from Krannich Solar, one of our biggest channel partners in the country.’ www.EQMagPro.com

He added that “the company is optimistic about a faster market recovery and expects a demand to further increase. In parallel, the company is also preparing for the C&I and Energy Storage Solution sectors.”

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SOFAR Solar AC Battery Storage Inverter: When Simple Solutions Meet Advanced Technology The SOFARSOLAR AC battery storage inverter ME3000SP was first introduced in 2015. Developed using advanced energy storage technology, with a focus on quality and stability, the AC battery storage inverter ME3000SP, which allows you to charge from the grid or solar panels, has been leading the market in many countries around the world increasing its reputation and becoming a source of constant attraction.

he success of one of our star product is not coming out of chance, but thanks to its characteristics that many satisfied customers around the world have recognized:

UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY SOFAR ME3000SP will properly function regardless of the set-up on the DC side. This means that the system will work with string inverters, dual string inverters, micro-inverters.

EASY MATCHING The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP system can be paired to any DC generating system. It picks up power once it is converted to AC, which means that you will face no limitations caused by string set-ups, or voltage inputs or outputs. The existing system simply carries on doing its job, and SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP is set lower on the system to provide you with the best performance.

SIMPLE INSTALLATION The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP is generally installed close to the fuse board of the house. There is no need to locate it next to the inverter which means that all the necessary cables are available to clamp around the two sensors (the AC supply to the property for monitoring power in and out, and the AC generation from the renewable source – which generally comes down to the fuse board on a single AC feed, or to a small, dedicated consumption unit). The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP system only needs a separate MCB off the existing fuse board (or a dedicated unit), no plug point needed, as it takes the required power from its AC connection. Batteries must be located within 2 meters of the SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP. To summarize: SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP should be set next to the AC supply from the fuse board, two local sensors need to be fitted, and the battery pack should be installed close to the unit. 56

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MONITORING MADE EASY The unit display could not be any simpler. It shows four power levels: 1. The renewable generated energy power (solar or turbine), 2. The battery power, 3. The house generated power, 4. And the grid power.

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featured The system is designed, in case where the renewable energy power does not meet the house necessities, to allow the battery to export energy in order to minimize relying on the grid and increasing electricity costs. SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP is conformed to the safety regulation settings of more than 30 countries, and the switching time follows the safety regulation standards of each country that is set to be less than 10ms, meeting with the backup UPS/EPS scenarios needs. Advanced charge and discharge management technology allows the battery to supply power when the power grid is cut off, when it is restored, the power mode will switch automatically.

POWER USAGE MADE SIMPLE This system will always look for minimizing your house needs to get electricity from the grid which could increase your energy cost. That means that if there is power in the battery and that the renewable energy source is not covering the house capacity, it will kick off and supply power. This is a very important improvement from a simple fill-in-the-day and empty-at-night type of solution, as it means you can have higher savings from your battery capacity.

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SIMPLE WIFI MONITORING The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP has an inbuilt Wi-Fi unit and an external GPRS module unit easy to pair to the house router. Download the free APP (Search for SOLARMAN on your download store) and monitor the performances of your system on your phone (iPhone or Android).

SIMPLE BATTERY OPTION The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP system works with an option of 1, 2, 3 or 4 of the SOFARSOLAR 2.4kWh batteries. These batteries are stackable and can be linked together to increase the capacity of the system. To conclude, SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP is an AC battery storage management unit with a 5- or 10-years warranty. As explained, there are significant benefits to use AC side battery storage and it is fully compatible with any renewable energy systems. The SOFARSOLAR ME3000SP will work with all single phase systems and allow a modulable and expandable battery solution covering all your energy needs, saving costs and preserving the planet.

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UNION POWER MINISTER SHRI R. K. SINGH CONGRATULATES NTPC FOR SIGNING MOU WITH UT OF LADAKH AND LAHDC TO SET UP COUNTRY’S FIRST GREEN HYDROGEN MOBILITY PROJECT Union Cabinet Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy , Shri R.K . Singh congratulated NTPC , Maharatna PSU under Ministry of Power for signing a MoU with UT of Ladakh and LAHDC to setup the country’s first Green Hydrogen Mobility project, strengthening PM Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to ensure a carbon free economy based on renewable sources and green hydrogen.

He said that it is a matter of pride for all of us that Leh is soon to become India ‘s first city to implement a green hydrogen based mobility project with zero emission. REL, a 100% subsidiary of NTPC, signed a MoU with Union Territory of Ladakh, today, to set up the country’s first green Hydrogen Mobility project in the region. The signing of the MoU was also marked with the inauguration of NTPC’s first solar installations in Leh in form of solar trees and a solar car port. The MoU was signed in the august presence of Lt. Governor Shri R.K . Mathur, senior dignitaries of government, NTPC and public representatives. The MoU will enable NTPC to help Ladakh develop a carbon free economy based on renewable sources and green hydrogen. This is also in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘carbon neutral’ Ladakh. LG mentioned that he would like Ladakh to become a hydrogen state and is happy to partner with NTPC to achieve this long term goal. NTPC has planned to ply 5 hydrogen buses, to start with, in the region and the company will be setting up a solar plant and a green hydrogen generation unit in Leh towards this end. This will put Leh as the first city in the country to implement a green hydrogen based mobility project. This would be zero emission mobility in true sense.

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NTPC has been aggressively pushing for greening its portfolio and green hydrogen project is another step towards achieving low carbon footprint. NTPC has also been promoting usage of green hydrogen based solutions in sectors like mobility, energy, chemical, fertilizer, steel etc. NTPC has recently revised its target of achieving 60GW renewables capacity by 2032, almost doubling the earlier target. Recently, NTPC has commissioned India’s largest floating solar project of 10MW at Vishakhapatnam.

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CEAT TIES UP WITH TATA POWER TO SET UP CAPTIVE SOLAR PLANT FOR MUMBAI FACILITY Tyre maker Ceat said it has tied up with Tata Power NSE 0.20 % to establish a 10MW captive solar plant at the latter’s Solapur site for powering its tyre manufacturing facility in Bhandup (Mumbai).

Tata Power has created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) — TP Akkalkot Renewable Ltd — which will be responsible for undertaking the construction, operation and maintenance of this captive solar power plant, Ceat NSE 2.18 % said in a release. While Ceat will hold 26 per cent stake in the SPV, Tata power will own 74 per cent, as per the captive generation rules, it said. “Through TP Akkalkot, we aim to continue to build a robust renewables portfolio and expand our horizons in the captive power generation sector,” said Ravinder Singh, Chief-Solar Rooftops Business at Tata Power.

he power generated will be used for captive consumption by Ceat’s Bhandup plant, the company said, adding, the plant is expected to generate about 21 million units of energy per year and will annually offset approximately 17.43 million kg of CO2.

The tie-up with Tata Power for installation of solar power generation plant in Maharashtra signifies our continued commitment towards shift to sustainable energy, Kumar Subbiah, Chief Financial Officer, Ceat, said. The setting up of the 10MW captive solar plant will not only reduce Ceat’s dependency on non-renewable energy but will also be a significant milestone in the company’s goal towards carbon neutrality, the tyre maker said. Source : PTI

INDIA’S FIRST SOLAR BRIDGE TOP PROJECT Seeing this opportunity the Gujarat Government has taken the initiative of promoting solar projects in different ways. This is a premium and top initiative taken right now,where they have stimulated Solar Panel installation projects, Solar Bridge Projects,various other projects related to solar energy across the state.

olar Rooftop and Solar Ground Mounted projects are the most actively promoted in Gujarat. Under the Smart City Project, which is commenced by Gujarat Government, the first project launched in Vadodara is the bridge top project. The solar panel installations have been made on the AKOTA DANDIYA BAZAR BRIDGE, a 250-meter long on-road bridge. A dome structure is constructed at approximately 80 – 100 ft. height over the entire bridge and 3024 nos of modules are installed which produce 982.8 kWh units of energy. This energy would be used at the different VMC offices. This initiative of making our city smart is done by Green Brilliance. The inauguration of this project of solar panels on the bridge was done on July 1st, 2021 by the Honorable Energy Minister Shri Saurabhbhai Patel. We are proud to be a part of this inventiveness and will continue to support green energy.

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LONGI SOLAR PARTNERS WITH KRANNICH SOLAR

Longi’s innovative and advanced technology with the expertise of global solar distributor will deliver best in class products and services to the Indian PV industry

ongi Solar and Krannich Solar have signed a partnership agreement to expand their strong relationship in India. This partnership is in line with the vision to exchange each other’s expertise and jointly serve the Indian PV market with world-class PV modules through the expertise distribution channel. LONGi is the world largest solar company with a production capacity of over 50GW. Breaking the global shipment record by shipping over 24GW of modules globally last year, LONGi is dedicated to maintaining its leadership in the manufacturing of mono-crystalline silicon products, delivering higher efficiency to its partners. With its partnership with Krannich, LONGi will continue to grow its footprint in the Indian sub continent to ensure top quality products are delivered to the region.

Krannich Solar has been a strong partner to photovoltaic installers since 1995. It comes with 25 plus years of purely distribution experience in the Solar industry. The venture is having a direct presence in 25 countries with 600 plus employees across the globe.

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Being a pioneer brand in the domain, Krannich Solar has always been the name synonymous with solar distribution that is far ahead of the times. The company offers a wide range of revolutionary products that conform to the highest global standards and carry a host of national and international quality certifications. Its complimentary services including expert advice, effective logistics and technical support make them different from others.

We are pleased to sign a partnership agreement with Longi Solar and are excited to work together. With this partnership, we are enriching our portfolio with the world’s leading monocrystalline solar modules. We have a partner that not only offers outstanding PV modules but has an excellent reputation for its quality and reliability said Sandeep Banodiya, Sales Director Sales of Krannich Solar. “With our years of distribution expertise and having the world’s leading PV brand in the portfolio, Krannich is well-positioned to supply cleaner and reliable energy to every corner of the country”.

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LEADING SOLAR PANEL MANUFACTURER RAYZON SOLAR ADDING 1.2GW PRODUCTION CAPACITY BY 2021 A leading solar panel manufacturer RAYZON SOLAR expanding 1.2GW production capacity with ultramodern production technology having Half cut cell bussing system, Multi Busbar Stringer which to be brought from well-known machinery manufacturer; Stringer from Wuxi Lead and other automation from GaoRun, Visual, ASIC-PY and HSPV in association with CLIANTECH SOLUTIONS – INDIA.

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ayzon Solar is a young, dynamic and experienced solar photovoltaic module manufacturer having 300MW state of the art facility in Vibrant state Gujarat, India. We had drawn our vision in 2014 in believing that our customers, partners, and communities should use sun-rays in a simplified way to make their future more vibrant and sustainable. Keeping the vision statement fore and to provide sustainable solution to the nation Rayzon Solar taking initiative to add 1.2GW capacity by the year 2021.

Since the inception, our vision is very clear to make our future more vibrant and sustainable by delivering such solution through which environment problem can be minimised. Our team has successful delivered the Quality Solar panels in the market by providing effective solutions to cope up with the challenge. - Mr. Hardik Kothiya, Director – RAYZON SOLAR

“When our first setup of 40MW executed, we had set our milestone to achieve 1GW by 2024. Soon we were distinguished by our esteemed customers and channel partner, we got enough time to open up the wings and since then our team is achieving and setting new milestone in path of our success journey. All happened because of support and admiration we had from our customer, industry colleague, agencies and well-wishers.” – Mr. Chirag Nakrani, Director – RAYZON SOLAR New setup of 1.2GW would be add-on with latest technology like Half cut cell bussing system with Multi busbar Stringer. MBB-Stringer and Fully Automated Busing system will make available from industry’s well-known machinery manufacturer Wuxi Lead where as other automation from GaoRun, Visual, ASIC-PY and HSPV. We celebrating the day and sharing this rejoice moment with our Esteemed Customers, Stake Holders, Friends & Family and our existing machinery Supplier CLIANTECH SOLUTIONS – INDIA. With all your support and best wishes, we have successfully achieved a milestone in short duration.

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HUAWEI FUSIONSOLAR RESIDENTIAL SMART PV PRODUCT SUITE WINS IF DESIGN AWARD Two key products from Huawei FusionSolar Residential Smart PV product suite — SUN2000 Smart Energy Controller and LUNA 2000 Smart String Energy Storage System (ESS) — have recently been honored with iF Design Awards 2021.

hese awards demonstrate the global recognition of Huawei’s creative and user-friendly designs that blend function and emotion, and fuse tech with nature. This marks the second such iF Design Award bestowed upon Huawei residential Smart PV solution, following the success of FusionSolar App in 2020. Huawei has always adhered to user-centered and innovative product design principles to meet the needs of customers around the world. Since 1953, the iF Design Award is organized by Hannover-based iF International Forum Design GmbH, the oldest industrial design institute in Germany, and has become one of the world’s three most prestigious design awards, and also known as the “Design Oscar”.It builds its reputation on independent, rigorous, and reliable guiding principles. Since 1953, the iF Design Award has been recognized internationally as a symbol of design excellence. The jury of almost 60 world-renowned experts from more than 20 countries select products that excel in design, user experience, and innovation based on rigorous criteria and procedures.

SUN2000 SMART ENERGY CONTROLLER The SUN2000 Smart Energy Controller features a smooth and exquisite appearance that matches its powerful functions.

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As the first-of-its-kind smart PV inverter utilizing AI-boost arcing protection, the smart energy controller boasts the highest safety rating and can increase energy yields by 30% when coupled with the optimizer, providing users with safe, stable, and green energy. Thus, it enables families to enjoy a low-carbon life.

LUNA2000 SMART STRING ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM The smooth, sleek, waterfall-inspired aesthetic design of LUNA2000 ensures a good fit in the home environment, where the device serves as a backup power supply. Advanced highvoltage parallel connection technology supports the mixed-use of both old and new batteries. Its modular design promises both pack-level and rack-level optimizations that can increase the charge and discharge capacity, maximizing the potential of each battery. The home energy storage system gives homeowners confidence and peace of mind with five layers of safety protection.

HUAWEI FUSIONSOLAR APP As an integral part of our residential solution, Huawei FusionSolar App was also recognized with an iF Design Award in 2020. The app refines management to the module level and offers a user-friendly interface, presenting all the information you need right at your fingertips. It also allows you to check home power consumption in real-time and provides suggestions on how to fully utilize excess solar energy, while supporting intelligent management of each PV module to improve the efficiency of energy production. This attention to detail even extends to the APP’s interface that appears warm in color, bringing to mind the comforting warmth of home. Huawei FusionSolar Residential Smart PV solution has already been deployed in over 500,000 households around the world, and has redefined modern living through three-layer protection, proactive safety for the entire house, intelligent management of each PV module to ensure optimal power generation performance, and stable operation during power outages.

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INDORE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION LISTS SEVEN MORE GREEN PROJECTS TO BOOST ITS REVENUE After registering three of its projects under VCS (verified carbon standard, USA) programme, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has now prepared a list of seven environment-friendly projects that can generate carbon credits and help the civic body earn revenue.

P IMC commissioner Pratibha Pal said that preparations to club over half-a-dozen projects eligible to get registration under VCS programme is on. “Once completed, we will apply for registration in separate packages to obtain maximum carbon credits,” the commissioner told TOI. She said that they aim to complete the process within the next six months and sell the carbon credits that would be obtained from the new’ projects in the international market. “We are exploring every possibility to identify and register projects by clubbing them in different categories.

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rojects such as decentralized composting by RWAs and bulk waste generators, home composting, as well as solar power plants operational in the city limits can also be clubbed and listed after registrations under the VCS programme separately,” she added. Though this process to identify new projects was initiated by IMC in December last year, work on the same could not be completed owing to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, IMC became the first civic body in the country to generate revenue by selling carbon credits received from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the VCS programme. IMC had generated carbon credits by reducing over 1.70 lakh tonne of carbon emission with help of projects like composting, bio-methanation and solar power plants.

Manish Dadkara, an official with the firm associated with IMC for a period of 30 years, and sell carbon credits obtained in the international market at a higher price.” “A lot of other projects of IMC are there which can be registered under the VCS programme to generate more carbon credits and generate revenue out of it,” he added. Source: TNN

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SUNGROW SUPPLIES THE WORLD’S LARGEST C&I ROOFTOP PV PLANT Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, announced the Company supplied inverter solutions to the world’s largest commercial & industrial rooftop PV plant, endowing a capacity of 120 MW, in Jining, China’s Shandong province.

ocated in the industrial park covering 43 rooftops, the PV plant is expected to generate 110 GWh per year, powering the industrial park facilities and feeding the excess electricity it produces into the grid as one of the grid-parity projects. The string inverter solutions for industrial rooftops feature multiple MPPTs, ensuring a high yield despite the impact of shade. The high protection capability makes the inverter robust even in the industrial rooftop application where it’s vulnerable to corrosive conditions and extreme heat. With compact and highly integrated designs, the inverter solutions streamline installations and O&M, making them an ideal match to the distributed generation market.

Sungrow proves a robust track record of performance in projects it powers and offers a wide range of commercial inverter portfolios that tackle different applications’ requirements. “We focus on renewable energy as it plays a major role in fighting climate change. Being part of this landmark project proves that Sungrow offers an optimized and pragmatic solution, along with industry-leading services and trusted delivery,” said James Wu, Vice President of Sungrow. China’s poised to move the country toward a cleaner and low-carbon energy structure with an initiative to strive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Sungrow is pioneering product innovation while committing to making renewable energy more flexible and accessible to more facilities and communities; thus facilitating green economic growth.

KSTAR AND A DUBAI PV DEVELOPER SIGN MOU FOR 76 MW SOLAR PROJECT OF UKRAINE China’s solar inverters and energy storage system manufacturer KSTAR has announced recently that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 76MW solar project of Ukraine with CMEC (China Machinery Engineering Corporation) and a Dubai PV developer in UAE.

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he Chinese giants KSTAR and CMEC have teamed up with a Dubai PV developer to sign a memorandum of understanding that will be willing to finance,design,construct, procure and operate and maintain the solar renewable business and projects in Ukraine with the production of PV panels and inverters. Each party believes that it has relevant experience and capabilities that are valuable for the preparation of a successful proposal for these businesses. The parties are actively looking for cooperation in acquisitions of solar renewable projects and development of solar renewable projects.

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The parteis agree to co-operate and collaborate and support the Dubai PV developer to implement the project with a timely basis.CMEC and KSTAR agree to co-operate with the developer to be partner as developer to implement the project. According to KSTAR’s project manager Ven Zhou, the company’s collaboration with CMEC will act as a supporter towards PV development in Ukraine, making it easier for customers and the local people to access solar power.

As one of PV and ESS leaders, our company and CMEC' cooperation will help Ukraine going towards a clean, low-carbon future,” said Ven Zhou from KSTAR. “Our aim is to provide the favorable quality of service in solar industry to our clients in Ukraine and other countries.”

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Singapore Looks to Power Up Electric Vehicle Charging Network Transport authority announces plans to co-fund installation costs of 2,000 electric chargers at private residences, of up to SG$4,000 ($2,959) per charger. Singapore is powering up efforts to expand its charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) with offers to co-fund installation costs of such systems in private residences across the island. These grants will offset up to SG$4,000 ($2,959) per charger and for 2,000 EV chargers.

he EV Common Charger Grant aims to drive the country’s goal of rolling out 60,000 charging points in the next 10 years, including 20,000 in private premises and 40,000 in public carparks. Announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the scheme is available to non-landed private residences such as condominiums and excludes hotels, hostels, and serviced apartments. The government agency noted that these private properties accounted for a significant portion of residences in Singapore and would play an important role in improving the national charging network.Applicants of the grant can be either EV charging operators or owners of the non-landed property, such as the management corporation of a strata-titled development. Grants cover upfront costs of three components in the implementation of EV chargers, namely, the charging equipment, licensed electrical worker fees, as well as the cabling and installation cost, which is capped at SG$1,000. The funds will offset half the cost of these three components, up to SG$4,000 in total per charger.

LTA added that only systems with smart charging functions, which facilitated the monitoring of power consumption and reactive adjustments to the rate of charging, would be approved for the grants. This aimed to drive the adoption of systems that enabled better energy planning and more efficient electricity consumption, the land authority said. In addition, to drive the early rollout of chargers to as many properties as possible, grants would only go towards the funding of chargers for up to 1% of residential parking lots within each private residence. Applications for the grants will open from July 29 when they will be assessed on a first-come, first-served basis, and will remain available until December 31, 2023, or when 2,000 chargers have been approved for co-funding. Selection criteria for the grants include systems that are installed only after July 19 and upon receiving approval from LTA, chargers that are installed in common areas that are accessible to residents, and charging systems that are able to monitor and record power consumption as well as timestamp of consumption. According to Minister for Transport S. Iswaran, just under one million vehicles ply Singapore roads today, all of which the government hopes to have running on cleaner energy by 2040. Heavy vehicles, in particular, make up less than a tenth of the country’s vehicle population, but contribute nearly half the carbon emissions at 3 million tonnes, said Iswaran, who was speaking at the launch of SembWaste’s fleet of 24 electric waste collection trucks and EV charging hub of 18 points. Electrification of vehicles could slash emissions and ambient noise by at least half, the minister noted. Singapore’s total carbon emissions on the road clock at 6.4 million tonnes. From 2023, the government itself would procure only new cars that ran on cleaner energy, he said, with all government cars to run on such energy by 2035.

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Iswaran said: “Over the next two decades, the shift to EVs will gather significant momentum as prices fall, and as a greater variety of models become available. The entire value chain must adapt to this transition–from vehicle sales and engineering, to charging infrastructure and user behaviour.” The government, he added, had made efforts to bring down upfront costs through incentive schemes and expand the charging infrastructure. It also was focusing on regulations, giving LTA new statutory functions to govern EVs and EV charging. These included the establishment of technical standards for chargers, which would be effective from July 29 this year. The transport minister also unveiled that a regulatory sandbox had been set up to assess standards for newer fixed EV charging systems, such as high-powered chargers and swappable batteries for electric motorcycles. LTA would review, alongside industry players and technical experts, the potential inclusion of these evolving systems in the local charging standard, called Technical Reference 25 (TR25). He added that LTA had been in contact with companies to submit specific sandbox applications for case-by-case assessment and establish detailed operating conditions. For example, a sandbox had been launched for Tesla’s V3 Supercharging system, which was touted to cut charging times to 15 minutes. Local shopping mall Orchard Central announced that it had installed three of these Tesla charging systems on the ninth level of its car park, opening it for public use 24 by 7. According to Tesla, there are more than 2,500 Supercharger stations with 25,000 Superchargers deployed worldwide. Slated to be completed by year-end, Iswaran said the TR25 review would enable Singapore to deploy a charging network on a “safe and future-ready foundation”. “We have seen some early progress in the development of charging infrastructure in private premises, which account for one-third of the roughly 2,000 charging points in Singapore today. However, most of these are in commercial developments like shopping malls,” he said, stressing the need to drive the rollout of shared chargers in non-landed private residences.

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TVS Motor Company to Invest Rs 1,000 Crore in Electric Vehicles India’s third-largest two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company, has plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore to manufacture electric vehicles. Sudarshan Venu, the company’s joint Managing Director, said that the proposed EVs will fall under an independent vertical.

r Venu, a TVS Group prodigy, paves the way for the next generation of leaders. As the company’s New Strategy leader, this new line of Electric Vehicles is his vision. Ralf Speth–recently appointed as chairman of TVS Motor and former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover–and Kuok Meng Xiong–a leading global eCommerce investor for ByteDance, Palantir and Airbnb–are mentors to the young scion. It is no secret that an increasing number of startups are focusing on the EV segment, but this does not worry Sudarshan Venu. In his interview with Economic Times, he says, “We’ve quietly worked on EVs for the last one decade. It is a huge focus area for us as we advance.

It is no secret that an increasing number of startups are focusing on the EV segment, but this does not worry Sudarshan Venu. In his interview with Economic Times, he says, “We’ve quietly worked on EVs for the last one decade. It is a huge focus area for us as we advance. We are embracing this future; we are investing in it and are excited.” “We want to scale up the TVS electric experience pan India, and it is a space where we would like to play a leading role,” he continues. Despite new-age EV entrants, mainstream two-wheeler makers are also being measured with them. Chetak from Bajaj Auto seems to be on its reincarnation journey, while TVS Motor seems to be as aggressive as ever. Additionally, Hero MotoCorp is steadily investing in Ather Energy and its in-house EV projects. TVS Motor is working diligently on its 5-25kW two- and three-wheelers portfolio, launching all of them within 24 months. It aims to have electric vehicles across segments like delivery, commuter premium, highperformance sports, and electric three-wheelers. The company’s new EV vertical has 500-600 engineers are already working on multiple concepts for the new market needs. Designed and developed in India with global R&D, this range of EVs aims to launch in foreign markets. With a dedicated, scalable facility for electric vehicles, TVS Motor is also developing integrated vehicle architecture with battery and other critical parts manufactured in-house. MrVenu predicts that with falling battery cost, sustained policy support and product launch investments, customer acceptance will accelerate by 2025.

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“The bull case of the industry is what we will plan for, and we will invest behind it, and be ready for it,” he beamed during his interview with ET.The infrastructure for charging is critical for faster EV adoption and TVS Motor is planning strategic partnerships to create an ecosystem of fast-charging vehicles. TVS Motor’s first EV, the iQube, will go from Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi and Pune to over 1,000 dealerships in major Indian towns and cities by FY22 end. Around then, it will also launch its Creon-concept end, foreseen to be the most advanced electric two-wheeler in India. The company joint MD claims that TVS Motor has a “clear path” for iQube’s positive gross margin. It is all set to transform into a digital-age company with a connected, cool and electric brand, and his commitment of INR 1,000 crore is an investment in that direction. “We are improving the profitability of our core business and cutting any Capex on non-core areas to keep the focus on electrification and digital future,” Sudarshan Venu said still some time away, in the three to five years, you will see significant growth in the industry; that is why we are to ET. When asked about sales and finance numbers, he said, “We should see very rapid growth from here on. While the total cost of ownership parity is investing.” Believing that EV development has to be “ground-up”, he acknowledged that India can play a huge role in the sector, much like conventional two-wheelers. Applauding both states and the central government for the SoPs extended, he said any future policy support should drive “development of technology”, especially through battery technology, cell chemistry, etc.

TVS Motor is involved in the startup ecosystem with a special focus on telematics and connectivity platforms. Having greatly contributed to the company’s core business so far, they are sure their new focus will enhance the EV buying they are sure their new focus will enhance the EV buying experience. TVS agility will be critical in the future of a connected and digital world. Source: ANI

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Not Just Fuel: Tata Power to Offer EV Charging At HPCL’s Pumps Across the Country CHARGING AT FUEL PUMPS According to a PTI report, Tata Power has joined hands with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to provide end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the latter’s retail outlets at multiple cities and major highways across the country.

EV INFRASTRUCTURE Under the pact, Tata Power will provide its EV charging infrastructure at HPCL petrol pumps for users. The charging is enabled with the company’s ‘EZ Charge Mobile’ platform, which makes it a seamless experience to vehicle owners, it said.

IN LINE WITH GOVT POLICY The development and availability of electric vehicles for charging infrastructure is a key requirement for the proliferation of EVs in India, the company said. It added that the partnership is also in line with the government’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP).

ACROSS 100 CITIES Tata Group company has a network of over 500 public chargers across over 100 cities, covering petrol pumps, metro stations, shopping malls, theatres and highways. It caters to all segments of the EV ecosystem — public, captive charging, home and workplace charging as well as ultra-rapid chargers for buses.

ACCESS TO HPCL’S PUMPS Tata Power Head (EV Charging) Sandeep Bangia said, “We are excited to partner with HPCL who share our vision of sustainable mobility. This strategic tie-up provides us access to a vast retail base of HPCL, especially in cities and along the key highways.” Source: ET Online

Tesla Plans to Open Its Charging Network to Other EVs Later This Year Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company is opening up its Supercharger network to other EVs later this year. According to Musk, Tesla has created its own connector, as there was no standard back then and Tesla was the only maker of longrange electric cars. “It’s one fairly slim connector for both low and high power charging,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “That said, we’re making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year,” he added.

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s of May, Tesla’s Supercharger network has reached a total of 25,000 chargers — a big milestone for the fast-charging network. At the end of 2020, Tesla had over 20,000 charging stalls at over 2,100 Supercharging stations around the world. Engadget reports that opening up its network to other companies won’t be simple, seeing as Tesla uses a proprietary connector in North America. It has to make sure the stations will work across brands and that a secure software handshake between a non-Tesla car and a Supercharger is possible, the report said. Source: IANS

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Auto Sets Up

New Company For Electric Vehicles to Make Partnerships Easy, Have Single-Minded Focus on the Sector

Two and three-wheeler major Bajaj Auto NSE -0.29 % is setting up a new subsidiary company to handle it’s electric vehicles business for a more hands-on approach to the emerging sector and make partnerships easy. While the exact set of operations the company will handle has not been finalised, Bajaj Auto felt that it needed a separate company that could focus exclusively on building EVs, said Rakesh Sharma, executive director at Bajaj Auto. “This gives us the freedom to enter into partnerships, engage in discussions in an agile manner, manage the workforce and have a single-minded focus on the category, which in a larger organisation can sometimes get diffused,” Sharma told ET.

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The board of Bajaj Auto approved a proposal to set up this new subsidiary.

“The wholly owned subsidiary will leverage the growth opportunities in the evolving mobility space and will help the company venture into the manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicles in the two, three and four wheelers category,” Bajaj Auto said in a customary exchange filing.

ajaj Auto presently sells an electric scooter under the Chetak brand. The company also has a partnership with sharedmobility startup Yulu. It is also working on performance electric motorcycles with partner KTM. The company is also working on an electric three-wheeler and a quadricycle. In December, Bajaj Auto said that it was building a new plant at Chakan, Pune, to make electric vehicles and high-end motorcycles under the KTM and Triumph brands. The Rs 650-crore facility is expected to be operational by 2023. Source: ET Bureau

JULY- 2021

electric vehicle

Karnataka Plan For An EV Cluster Near Bengaluru Yet to Take Off Due to Land Acquisition Issues Karnataka’s plans to develop an electric vehicle and batteries manufacturing estate on the outskirts of Bengaluru have been bogged down by delays in land acquisition.

he government-owned Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has notified 900 acres of land for the proposed cluster at Harohalli near Bidadi industrial area, but has not been able to move ahead as landowners are quoting prices that the government finds steep. According to KIADB officials, the process was progressing well until some land owners approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the compensation amount based on technical grounds. The court has directed the board to hold talks with landowners and arrive at a consensus. About two years ago, the industries department came up with the idea of developing an EV cluster in about 650 acres of land to help EV and component makers to take advantage of the ecosystem at a single site. The cluster will provide logistics and support for entrepreneurs in the EV sector, the industry department officials had then said. The Karnataka government, the first state to introduce the EV policy, was also simultaneously in talks with some top EV manufacturers including Tesla to have their production facilities here. While the industries department is tight-lipped about any major EV makers showing interest to set up units around Bengaluru, the delay in the land acquisition for the cluster may also be hampering the talks.

Industries minister Jagadish Shettar told ET that the government was making efforts to complete the land acquisition soon, and was simultaneously tapping investors to set up their units here. The government has been in talks with some EV firms to get them to the proposed cluster, he added.

JULY- 2021

We had notified the land near Bidadi for an industrial area, which the government later felt could be suitable for EV manufacturing, N Shivashankara, chief executive officer, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board said. The issues related to compensation, he said, will be sorted out soon. “Landowners have agreed to part with the land. But we have to agree on a price,” he said. Industry officials are cautiously approaching the project as the government cannot afford a manufacturing estate where plot prices are uncompetitive for EV investors. The land around Bengaluru is expensive compared to the bordering Hosur and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu where TVS NSE 0.18 %, Ola and Ather have opened their EV production facilities, tapping on Hosur’s proximity to Bengaluru which has a talent pool and ecosystem conducive for electric vehicle industry. To make the EV cluster work, the government will have to beat down costs and offer plots at prices investors find competitive compared to those in the neighbouring states. The government’s efforts to develop EV clusters in tier cities like Dharwad has not received positive response from EV investors as they prefer land close to Bengaluru over far away places in Karnataka. Source: ET Bureau

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Audi Launches 3 All-Electric SUVs Under Its E-Tron Range The three all-electric SUVs — e-tron 50, e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 — are priced at Rs 99.99 lakh, Rs 1.16 crore and Rs 1.18 crore respectively, Audi India said in a statement. German luxury carmaker Audi launched three all-electric SUVs under its e-tron range with prices starting from Rs 99.99 lakh kicking off its electrification journey in the country. The three all-electric SUVs — e-tron 50, e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 — are priced at Rs 99.99 lakh, Rs 1.16 crore and Rs 1.18 crore respectively (all prices ex-showroom), Audi India said in a statement.

Commenting on the launch of the e-tron brand in India, Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “We are launching not one, but three electric SUVs that begin our electrification journey.” The three electric SUVs are “the perfect confluence of luxury, zero emissions, performance and everyday usability”, he added. “With the three offerings, we have a proposition for every type of EV customer in the small but growing luxury SUV space,” Dhillon said, adding that to ease the transition to electric mobility, Audi India is offering several benefits and packages including after-sales, charging and ownership.

o take it a step forward, he said, “We are also offering a best-in-class 3 year buyback.” Stating that this is just the start of Audi India’s electric journey, Dhillon said very shortly the company will also announce its next EV offering. The e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 have dual electric motors that deliver up to 300 kW of power with 664 Nm of torque, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. These are equipped with a 95kWh lithium-ion battery that enables a 359-484 km range (WLTP – Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure) on a single charge. On the other hand, the e-tron 50 has a dual motor with a combined power of 230kW. It has a 71kWh lithium-ion battery with 264-379 km range (WLTP), the company added. These SUVs have charging ports on both sides, allowing flexibility in terms of parking, Audi India said, adding the e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 have a combination of AC charging up to 11kW and DC charging up to 150 kW. The e-tron 50 has a combination of AC charging up to 11 kW and DC charging up to 120 kW, it added.

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The company said customers who buy any of the three electric SUVs in 2021 will receive a complimentary wall box AC charger in addition to the 11kW charger that comes standard with the car. “Early bird customers can avail of complimentary charging through 2021 at any Audi India dealership that is equipped with the charging facility,” it said adding key Audi India dealerships will be equipped with a 50kW fast charger in a phased manner. Over 100 chargers will be installed across 75 key cities in the country, the company said adding its dealers “will offer, at cost, their charging facilities to all other brand electric car customers”. “In the spirit of promoting electric mobility, Audi India will open access to the ‘Chargers near me’ section of the ‘myAudi Connect’ app and Audi India website to all electric car users in India,” the company added. Audi India said it is offering standard warranty of 2 years and high voltage battery warranty of 8 years or 1.6 lakh km, whichever is earlier along with options for extended warranty across a period of 2+2 years or 2+3 years. It is also offering complimentary 5 year roadside assistance to customers of these electric SUVs. Source : PTI

JULY- 2021

electric vehicle

Tesla Lobbies India For Sharply Lower Import Taxes on EVs: Sources Tesla Inc has written to Indian ministries seeking a big reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs), a move it says will boost demand and generate revenue for the government, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Its pitch, however, is likely to face resistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration which has championed high import taxes for many industries in a bid to boost local manufacturing.

ther luxury automakers in India have also lobbied the government in the past to lower taxes on imported cars but have had little success due to opposition from rivals with domestic operations. Tesla, which aims to begin sales in India this year, said in a letter to ministries and the country’s leading think-tank Niti Aayog that slashing federal taxes on imports of fully assembled electric cars to 40% would be more appropriate, according to the sources. That compares with current rates of 60% for cars priced below $40,000 and 100% for those above $40,000. “The argument is that at 40% import duty, electric cars can become more affordable but the threshold is still high enough to compel companies to manufacture locally if demand picks up,” one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified as the letter has not been made public.

JULY- 2021

According to Tesla’s U.S. website, only one model – the Model 3 Standard Range Plus – is priced below $40,000. Tesla and Niti Aayog did not respond to an email seeking comment. Ministries that Tesla wrote to included the transport and heavy industries ministries, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Indian market for premium EVs, indeed for electric cars in general, is still very much in its infancy with vehicles far too costly for the average consumer and very little charging infrastructure in place. Just 5,000 of the 2.4 million cars sold in India last year were electric and most were priced below $28,000. Daimler’s Mercedes Benz began selling its EQC luxury EV in India last year for $136,000, and Audi launched three electric SUVs this week with sticker tags that begin at around $133,000. While lower duties would give Tesla a better chance to test the market, its plan to begin sales in India does not hinge on a change in government policy, both sources said. Tesla registered a local company in India in January and has ramped up local hiring while also scouting for showroom space. India’s transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters in March that India would be willing to offer incentives to ensure Tesla’s cost of production in the country is less than that in China, but only if it manufactures locally. Source : reuters

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Electric Vehicles Get Cheaper Every Kilometer Electric vehicles (EV) have been around for a while and have been a tantalising, but difficult, choice for prospective automobile customers ever since the first one hit the showrooms. Tantalising, because fuel prices have been on a steady upward trajectory since 2016; but difficult, since despite both Union and state government subsidies, the initial cost of electric vehicles have remained stubbornly, and significantly, higher than those of its fossil-fuel driven peers.

ut the last year has not been a normal one as far as petrol and diesel prices go. Because an increase in fuel taxes by both the Union and state governments during the oil price crash last summer (April-May 2020) has resulted in fuel prices breaching the psychological Rs 100 per litre barrier in several locations now that oil prices have recovered. Compared to costs in July 2020, petrol and diesel prices have risen by 26 per cent and 20 per cent. So, has this sharp increase in fossil fuel prices made electric vehicles a more attractive option for prospective automobile customers? The broad answer is yes. But as with any cost comparison for automobiles, the key factor that determines cost efficiency is the amount of use you plan to get out of the vehicle.

COST OF OWNERSHIP As anyone who has ever owned a vehicle realises quite quickly, the total cost of ownership of a vehicle isn’t simply limited to the number of kilometers it gives per litre of fuel or unit of electricity. Right off the bat, there’re rather stringent insurance conditions which require vehicle owners to mandatorily purchase insurance; there are both scheduled and non-scheduled service costs; and, not to mention, the cost of replacement parts in case of damage that is not covered by either warranty or insurance. And these parameters do not stay the same over the duration of ownership either. In the case of fossil fuel vehicles, or internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles, service costs increase significantly over the years as the automobile gets older. The fuel efficiency or mileage—the number kilometers one can drive per litre of fuel—also tends to decrease. This means fossil fuel vehicles generally become less cost efficient as they get older. But the question, of course, is how the current crop of electric vehicles do on these parameters.

EVS WIN MARATHONS One of the first things one needs to understand with electric vehicles is that in comparison with ICEs, their cost efficiency becomes comparatively better as time goes on. Their primary problem, at least for four wheelers, is that the initial cost is often times nearly double that of comparable ICE vehicles. Take India’s top selling electric car at this moment, the Tata Nexon EV. Its ex-showroom price is just under Rs 14 lakh per unit, compared to around Rs 5.8 lakh for the base version of the petrol Maruti Suzuki Swift and Rs 10 lakh for the Hyundai Creta. The MG ZS EV, another popular electric car, is priced at over Rs 23 lakh. Electric two-wheelers, however, have become more affordable—at least in the low-speed category. The Hero Electric Atria LX, with a full charge range of 75-80 km and a top speed of 25 kmph, costs around Rs 63,000 ex-showroom. The far faster highspeed Ather 450x is priced at Rs 1.41 lakh. In comparison, the latest variant of India’s most popular scooter Honda Activa is priced at around Rs 72,000 and the popular motorcycle Hero Splendor starts at a price of Rs 63,800. On the basis of the initial price alone, EVs do not yet beat ICEs. In fact, their insurance costs are also quite a bit higher than ICE vehicles, because expensive EV batteries form nearly 40 per cent of their total cost and insurance plans haven’t reached the same kind of scale as for ICEs. Where EVs do well is in the long run. Because while ICEs are less expensive in the showroom, EVs beat them hands down on daily running costs.

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Take a look at the per kilometer costs of the above mentioned ICE and EV vehicles. In the 2-wheeler category, the cost per kilometer for ICEs is between 3-10 times higher than that for EVs (assuming petrol cost as Rs 100 per litre and per unit of electricity at Rs 10). In the 4-wheeler category, ICEs are 4-5 times more costly on the road. EVs also have significantly lower servicing costs, and unlike ICEs, where service costs rise sharply with age, EVs see much lower service cost escalation over the same period. And because an EV typically has far fewer moving parts compared to ICEs, they are also cheaper in terms of replacements due to wear-and-tear. Based on data gathered from owners and industry sources on the above parameters, it becomes clear that electric vehicles win in terms of cost efficiency the longer they are on the roads. Calculating for a 5-year period and 1-lakh-kilometers of usage, most electric vehicles come out in front. For instance, low-speed 2-wheelers are many times cheaper than ICE peers and even in the high-speed category, the initial difference in costs is either cancelled out, or sharply reduced. The difference in costs narrow sharply for 4-wheelers too as the calculations show. The cost of running the vehicle is so much lower than ICEs that over a lakh kilometers of usage in the Nexon EV would cost around Rs 96,000 (at Rs 10 per unit of electricity), while the Maruti Swift is likely to cost Rs 4.8 lakh (assuming that fuel costs remain at Rs 100 a litre).

SO, WHAT’S THE FINAL WORD? Well, if we get down to brass tacks, EVs are still far costlier at the showroom and cost even more for insurance. But, over the course of use, their cheaper fuel and service make them steadily more viable. And the more kilometers you drive, the more cost efficient EVs get.

JULY- 2021

electric vehicle

Yamaha Motor Working On All-New Electric Vehicle Platform For India Yamaha says that the larger issue of availability of infrastructure, charging stations, battery production and swapping infrastructure here needs to be addressed. Yamaha, the Japanese two-wheeler company, is working on an all-new electric vehicle platform for India and other global markets. However, the company’s investments in electric mobility in India will depend on the government’s clear road map on e-mobility and stable policy, according to a senior company official.

he government with its FAME II scheme has increased the incentives for electric two-wheelers but Yamaha believes that there exists a larger issue of availability of infrastructure, charging stations, battery production and swapping infrastructure and these need to be addressed.

Yamaha Motor India group chairman Motofumi Shitara conveyed that a team of experts in Japan is focusing on developing an EV platform for India and other markets in the world. “We already have a dedicated team at our Japan Headquarters, working on an all-new electric vehicle platform for India and other global markets,” he was quoted by PTI. He also informed that the brand has been working with Gogoro and has been manufacturing electric vehicles in Taiwan for the last two years. “So, the technology and the expertise to develop and manufacture EV models are in already in place,” he added.

Coming to the India chapter, Shitara informed that there lies significant challenges coming to investing here. “Currently, there are bigger challenges related to investments and this can’t be addressed unless the Indian government lays down a clear road map and a stable policy,” he said. He also stressed that common people can only accept EVs if there is proper availability of charging stations, battery production and swapping infrastructure. “So once all the aforementioned factors are addressed by the government, we will not only introduce but also manufacture EV models in India. Whether a separate investment will be made or not is something we will update you about, closer to the transition,” Shitara was quoted as saying. Yamaha also recently launched Fascino 125 Fi Hybrid scooter. This is the company’s first step towards entering the EV space in the Indian market. The Fascino 125 Fi Hybrid comes with an electric power assist. Shitara added it is just one of many technological advancements and milestones in the field of electric mobility by Yamaha. Source: PTI

Domino’s to Replace Petrol Motorcycle Fleet With Revolt Motors’ RV300 E-bike

Domino’s will procure the entire existing inventory of Revolt’s RV300 electric bike. Revolt RV300 e-bikes going to Domino’s will be specially customised for Jubilant Foodworks, which operates the fast food chain in India, to suit its business needs. Pizza restaurant chain Domino’s has entered into a collaboration with RattanIndia-backed electric motorcycle manufacturer Revolt Motors to replace its current fleet of petrol bikes into electric ones.

nder the partnership, Domino’s will procure the entire existing inventory of Revolt’s RV300 electric bike and will progressively acquire its customised Revolt model to upgrade its fleet of delivery vehicles, PTI quoted a statement from the company. Domino’s has taken the decision to induct Revolt’s electric motorcycles into its fleet of delivery vehicles after a successful pilot, which went on for quite some time now, the statement added.

JULY- 2021

Revolt is happy to join hands with Domino’s in this partnership which not only makes sense environmentally, but also offers great cost savings for the company, said RattanIndia Enterprises Business Chairman Anjali Rattan.

The RV300 motorcycles going to Domino’s will be specially customised for Jubilant Foodworks, which operates Domino’s Pizza in India, to suit its business needs and at the same time ensure a zero-emission delivery experience, Revolt Motors said. Revolt believes that this partnership is just a start of a potential revolution to convert massive delivery bike market electric in the years to come, the company further added. Given the falling prices of electric bikes due to lower production costs and a slew of incentives being announced by central and various state governments, these bikes not only save the environment but also make economic sense, the company said. Source: livemint

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Carmakers Plan Switch to Electric Vehicles: What’s in Store Most leading brands plan to cut back on internal combustion engines. Volkswagen wants to be the global leader in electric vehicles.

n electric car is seen plugged in at a charging point. Leading automakers have signalled their intention to scrap internal combustion engines by 2030 or cut back sharply on their production as the sector turns towards electric vehicles. The latest to unveil plans was German group Daimler, maker of Mercedes Benz and smart cars, which aims to be fully electric before 2030 — five years ahead of a deadline proposed by the European Commission. Plans to invest more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) to be able to electrify all of its cars by the end of the decade. From 2025, all Mercedes “architectures” — the chassis, motor and wheels — are to be 100-percent electric. Daimler also plans to build eight factories to produce the batteries that are the vehicles’ key component. The Stellantis group, which owns brands Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot amongst others, has ditched development of internal combustion engines and plans to invest 30 billion euros to electrify its models by 2025. The Opel division says it will be 100-percent electric in Europe by 2028. Fiat will be, as well, once the price of electric cars is comparable to those with petrol engines, currently estimated to occur between 2025-2030. In the United States, the group’s Dodge division plans to roll out an electric “muscle car” in 2024, and its Ram line of pickups will launch an electric version of the popular 1500 model that year as well.

VOLKSWAGEN The German giant wants to be the global leader in electric vehicles. Its ID3 model, which was launched in late 2020, is battling Tesla for top spot in the European electric market. VW expects electric vehicles to represent half of all sales by 2030 and “almost 100 percent” by 2040 in its main markets. It has earmarked 73 billion euros in investments and, like Tesla, plans to create a global network of charging stations. VW’s high-end Audi brand expects to be 100-percent electric in 2033. Lamborghini forecasts all its sports cars will be hybrid by the end of 2024.

VOLVO Volvo is owned by the Chinese group Geely, and plans to no longer offer internal combustion models, including hybrids, by 2030. The same date applies for Bentley, and Ford in Europe. Volvo chief Hakan Samuelsson told AFP in March that by 2025, “half of our cars will be electric.”

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JAGUAR AND LAND ROVER These iconic brands are owned by the Indian group Tata, which plans to devote a large part of its annual investment budget of £2.5 billion (2.8 billion euros, $3.3 billion) to electric vehicles. Jaguar expects to be completely electric by 2025.

RENAULT The French group was one of the first to offer an electric vehicle, the Zoe, and it expects EVs to account for more than 65 percent of its vehicles by 2025. Plans call for 10 new electric models by that date, including a new and affordable version of its classic compact, the Renault 5.

BMW The German luxury brand is aiming for sales of 10 million fully electric vehicles within 10 years, a sharp jump from its previous target of four million vehicles. BMW already sells the i3 model but it has nonetheless lost market share to Tesla. The group’s Mini line is to be fully electric within 10 years.

The US giant has said it will no longer sell cars that emit pollution by 2035, but has not specified whether that means all its vehicles will be electric.

TOYOTA

The world’s biggest automaker was a hybrid pioneer, and stuck to its guns for a long time before deciding to launch seven fully electric models by 2025. It expects 10 percent of European sales to be vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen by then, along with 70 percent hybrids, 10 percent rechargeable hybrids and 10 percent petrol.

HYUNDAI-KIA The Korean group Hyundai plans to present 23 electric models by 2025 and expects to sell more than one million of them. Kia forecasts seven electrics by 2026, and expects them to account for 20 percent of total sales. Source: livemint

JULY- 2021

technology

Growatt Embraces Smart Manufacturing with Its New Facility Growatt celebrating 10 years of Trust, partnership and Commited towards Greener world with one of the biggest String Inverters manufacturing facility of 20GW yearly production plant Set-up in year 2021. In 2021, Growatt Smart Factory will be officially put into production, which can provide 20GW of production capacity for global customers every year . Huizhou Smart Factory covers an area of 200,000 square meters, including material warehouses, production workshops and finished products warehouses. It creatively proposed and applied platform-based factory design concepts, and established a smart factory system with automated production, intelligent logistics and information management.

The new Growatt manufacturing center introduces a series of modern manufacturing management systems, with the incorporation of varied data management tools and cloud-based technologies, to implement production automation and management digitalization. This includes the deployment of new intelligent production equipment, highly automated inspection facilities, integrated management systems and an advanced unmanned warehouse system.

JULY- 2021

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technology

The new manufacturing center practices a One-Piece Flow production process to ensure continuous high-quality production from PCBA to final package on one production line. To further enhance the efficiency and flexibility of the production process, Growatt adopts a distributed warehouse system to provide nearby materials and storage while reducing the time consumption of materials transportation. The use of intelligent AGVs also significantly reduces manual errors and improves the accuracy of data management. Furthermore, industrial leading ESOP and MES systems enable comprehensive, dynamic, and integrated management, which allows monitoring, tracking, documenting and control from raw materials to finished products.

In addition to the modern production management system, Growatt has world-class manufacturing facilities, including Class 100,000 SMT cleanrooms, fully-automated solder paste printing, AOI inspection and conformal coating equipment, to ensure quality and efficiency of the final product to the greatest extent. In terms of warehouse transportation and management, Growatt is one of the pioneers to realize unmanned transportation between workshops and warehouses, as well as self-check-in and self-check-out of inventories. Growatt’s new manufacturing center is an embodiment of modern high-intelligence, high-automation, and high-digital manufacturing.

Industry-Leading 20GW Production Capacity

The manufacturing center covers an area of 200,000 sqm, with a construction area of 120,000 sqm. Advanced production lines of single-phase and three-phase inverters, hybrid inverters, off-grid inverters, storage batteries are deployed at the facility. Its annual production capacity reaches up to 1.5 million units with a total output of 20GW. With the new manufacturing center put into production, Growatt will continue to provide high-quality products, flexible delivery and sufficient capacity to meet growing global market demand and to provide clear and convenient access to green energy for households and businesses worldwide.

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JULY- 2021

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