EQ Magazine May 2019 Edition

Volume #11 | Issue #5 | May 2019 | Rs. 5/- | Page-1

Will Your Modules Perform for 25+

Pg. No.-57

INTERNATIONAL

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CONT EN T

VOLUME 11 Issue # 05

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

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india

IMC’s first: Green Masala Bonds to fund solar plant

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16 technology

technology

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Delivers Vacuum Coating Machine for Heterojunction High-Performance Solar Cells

LONGi Capacity Planning: By end 2021, Mono wafer: 65GW, mono module: 30GW

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Will Your Modules Perform for 25+ Years?

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

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Article

Panasonic makes first foray toward Indian EV charger network

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14 28 Business & Finance

INDIA

Petronas ventures into renewable energy

DMRC to run on 100 percent Solar Energy by 2021

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interview

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MR. UPENDRA TRIPATHY

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solar projects Azure Power Commissions 150 MW SECI Solar Power Project

38 distributed solar MP govt invites bids for 25 MW rooftop solar projects

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43 awards & recognitions

INTERVIEW

Mr. SHASHIDHARA BV

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Hartek Solar Founder-Director gets global acclaim, figures in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

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INTERVIEW

Mr. Sanjay Agrawal & JUHU SUOMI

EQ NEWS Pg. 08-27 Electric vehicle

LEADING INDIAN BUSINESSES COMMIT TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEETS BY 2030

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product ABB reinvents the circuit breaker – breakthrough digital technology for renewables and next-gen power grids

PRODUCTS Pg. 77

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Huawei is a leading global ICT and network energy solutions provider, currently providing network energy products and solutions in over 170 countries, serving one third of the world's population. Huawei innovatively integrates digital information technologies such as AI, IoT, big data, and cloud computing, with PV technology, to promote industry-leading smart PV solutions for both utility-scale and commercial scenarios. Huawei Smart PV Solutions bring digitalization to every PV plant and renewable energy enterprise, enabling our customers and partners to lead in the intelligent world.

For more information, please visit: solar.huawei.com, you can also follow us @Huawei FusionSolar on social media.

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INDIA

Advisory against M/s CSUN Trading (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., China/ MIs CEEG (Shanghai) Solar Science Technology Co. Ltd., China regarding procurement of Solar PV Modules from them The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued an advisory against procuring solar photo voltaic (PV) modules from China’s CSUN Trading (Hong Kong) or CEEG (Shanghai) Solar Science Technology after receiving numerous representations from various Indian companies regarding breach of contract from the Chinese companies.

It is understood that these companies are part of the same group, The ministry also said that as per the Consulwhich breached the contract by not supplying the modules in accorate General of India in Shanghai, the ministry of dance with the terms of the Agreement and even did not return the external affairs, the Chinese firms are high risk advance paid to them, MNRE said in its advisory addressed to Solar companies and are facing over 160 court cases Energy Corp (SECI), NTPC, solar power association, NSEFI, state govagainst them mostly for breach of contract with ernments, finance ministry, Indian Bank Association and all nationmillions of Renminbi (RMB) in compensation alized banks. Solar project developers Acme Solar, RattanIndia and amount.

Refex Energy had complained to the ministry that CSUN had failed to honour contracts with them.

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ing MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar, that the ministry is planning to prepare a list of approved suppliers to shield Indian companies from the risk of dealing with unreliable suppliers and the ministry will issue the list by March next year.

In the meantime, MNRE has advised all concerned stakeholders to contact Embassy of India, Beijing, China or the Consulate General of India, Shanghai to verify standing and reputation of various Chinese companies before placing any orders so that such incidences can be avoided.Around 90 per cent of solar cells and modules used in Indian projects are imported, the bulk of them from China.

Ministry had taken up these issues with the Ministry of External Affairs to impress upon the Chinese authorities to advise M/s CSUN Trading (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., China (CSUN) / M/s CEEG (Shanghai) Solar Science Technology Co. Ltd., China, to meet the contractual obligations to the Indian companies and also to honour the arbitration award, MNRE said.

ET had reported that in one case CSUN had agreed to supply solar modules of an aggregate capacity of 30 Mega Watt (MW) to Acme Solar, for which Acme Solar paid an advance of $2.95 million, which was 30 per cent of the purchase price or equal to the cost of 9 MW of equipment. CSUN failed to dispatch 9 MW of modules by the agreed deadline nor return the advance either. The Singapore arbitration court settled the matter in favour of Acme Solar on 24 January. However, the award of the Arbitration has not been honoured by the Chinese company.India had recently imposed a 25 per cent safeguard duty on import of solar panels and modules, mostly from China and Malaysia from end-July 2018 for a year, which will be followed by a 20 per cent duty for six months and 15 per cent for another six months. Also, India’s revenue department imposed a five-year anti-dumping duty of up to $1,559 per tonne on imports of a certain type of sheet used in solar cell making from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand to safeguard domestic players against cheap shipments.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

Kochi Metro to double its solar power usage

The second phase powering of Kochi Metro with solar power will be inaugurated with the installation of panels at Muttom yard. This will double Metro’s solar power usage to 40%. on date, solar panels are fitted on rooftops of all Metro stations.

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he panels will be installed at four hectares of the marshy land at Muttom.It is expected that by 2020, an additional 2.5 hectares will be added so that solar power can be used for all stations as well as depots and 13 buildings of Metro.As

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The capacity is 4MW. The new facility will have 2.3 MW and will be grid connected. The new panels will be set up following an agreement with AMP Solar India Private Ltd.KMRL has adopted renewable energy service company model for both its solar projects where vendor would undertake the complete investment, operation and maintenance. KMRL would purchase power from the vendor.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

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INDIA

IMC’s first: Green Masala Bonds to fund solar plant Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) is contemplating on releasing Green Masala Bonds to raise funds for a mega solar power plant project mooted to reduce its monthly power consumption. The corporation aims to raise Rs450 crore through rupee denominated bonds or Masala Bonds for the project. A high-level meeting was also held in Bhopal to finalize a decision.

IMC commissioner Asheesh Singh told TOI, “The Green Masala Bonds will be listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE).” On being asked about why Masala Bond, the commissioner said that currency denomination of Masala Bonds is in Indian Rupee. “So the currency risk would be of bond investors, not ours,” he said, adding that IMC would probably be the first civic body in the country to release Green Masala Bonds.

Singh said that they are already in talks with LSE officials for requirement for listing of bonds such as rating, guarantor, finalization of balance sheet etc.“It would purely be a revenue model which would help us reduce our electricity consumption with minimum financial burden."IMC pays a bill of Rs10-15 crore per month."A minimum of Rs450 crore would be required for setting up a 100 megawatt plant. “We have adequate space for installation of plant at Jalood, or else we can go for Yeshwant Sagar with floating solar plant system.

Though the cost of floating solar system would be a bit high, it would have various other benefits such as high productivity and also save evaporation loss of the water body,” he said.

“The plant would work on net metering system wherein produced energy would directly go to grid and be adjusted in final billing,” he said, adding that special permission also have to be obtained from the government as net-metering is allowed for solar power plants of up to 2 megawatt capacity.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

INDIA

Cabinet approves Cooperation Agreement between India and Denmark in the field of Renewable Energy with focus on Offshore Wind Energy The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for a Cooperation Agreement between Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate of the Kingdom of Denmark on strategic sector cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy with a focus on Offshore Wind Energy and a Letter of Intent to establish an Indo-Danish Centreof Excellence for renewable energy in India. wind industry, onshore as well as offshore; measures to ‘ensure

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he objective of the Cooperation Agreement is to promote cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy with special focus on Off-shore wind. The areas of cooperation would include technical capacity building for management of off­shore wind projects, measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient

high quality of wind turbines, components, and certification requirements; forecasting and scheduling of off-shore wind.

The Indo-Danish Centre of Excellence in Integrated Renewable Power would work on Renewable energy resource assessments with focus on onshore and offshore wind; Hybridisation of wind, solar, hydro and storage technologies; integration of renewable energy inch high level of wind energy, Testing and R&D; and skill development / capacity building.The signing of the documents will help in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

New proposed power dispatch norm will have mixed outcomes: India Ratings The new draft regulation on Market Based Economic Dispatch (MBED) of power proposed by the regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will have mixed outcomes and requires clarity on compensatory tariff payments, according to research firm India Ratings.

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he discussion paper on MBED floated

by CERC proposes that the scheduling of power should be carried out through nation-wide participation in the day-ahead market by both discoms and generators to discover the marginal clearing price based on variable tariff of plants with PPA and quoted tariff of plants selling un-requisitioned surplus or uncontracted power.At present, discoms follow self-scheduling within their own tiedup power sources as against the market-based scheduling covering all thermal plants across the country that has been proposed under MBED. Under the new regulation, the fixed charge under PPAs will be paid as in the present mechanism.

Clearing of bills for variable tariff will be at the marginal cost of power (MCP), and the surplus received by the generator.

MBED will help reduce the cost of power purchase across discoms, enable flexibility in grids to facilitate renewable energy generation, and might also improve the payment track record of discoms. However, MBED could have a highly unfavourable impact on expensive thermal plants that lack long-term PPAs, since country-wide merit order dispatch will send strong economic signals for power buyers,” the agency said in a statement.

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Thus, discoms will effectively purchase power at the price defined under PPA irrespective of the MCP. Supplementary PPAs approved by the regulator need to be signed to implement the bilateral contract settlement. It is, however, unclear how claims for compensatory tariff, which is generally collected much later than the period for which it is approved, will be addressed, India Ratings said.

The nation-wide MCP for variable tariff discovered could provide a strong signal to discoms about the competitiveness of their existing power purchase contracts and to gencos about their competitiveness in a country-wide market.

The MBED framework also assumes a ‘must-run’ status for renewable and hydro projects and conventional plants will be scheduled only after using all available renewable resources.

Grid curtailment possibilities will reduce significantly if the scheduling is carried out on a nation-wide or region-wide scale compared to the state-wide scheduling that is prevalent currently.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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INDIA

ReNew Power commissions 300 MW solar plant in Karnataka

India to install 54.7 GW wind energy capacity by 2022: Fitch Solutions

This is ReNew Power’s largest solar plant commissioned in terms of capacity till date

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Wind Energy, Fitch SolutionsIndia is likely to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against the 60-GW target set by the government, Fitch Solutions Macro Research has said in a report.

ReNew Power announced commissioning of its 300 MW solar plant at Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur district of Karnataka. This is ReNew Power’s largest solar plant commissioned in terms of capacity till date and will help mitigate 0.6 million tonne of CO2 emission per year, a company statement said.

ReNew has a solar portfolio of nearly 3 GW across India, including both commissioned and projects under development.With the commissioning of this plant, ReNew Power looks to partner with the Karnataka government in harnessing the solar potential in the state, company’s Chairman and MD Sumant Sinha said.

We remain cautious on India meeting its ambitious 2022 targets for wind power capacity growth, as land acquisition issues and grid bottlenecks will lead to delays to project implementation in the sector… We forecast India to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022, compared to the 60 GW government target, Fitch Solutions Macro Research, unit of Fitch Group, said in its outlook for the country’s renewable energy sector.

The agency also said it believes that concerns about the economic viability of low tariff projects from India’s wind capacity auctions raise the risk that investor appetite will weaken and auctions will be postponed.

The combination of several challenges in the country’s wind power sector will hit near-term growth momentum, including land availability hurdles, grid access bottlenecks and concerns over the viability of low tender bids. This informs our view that India only will add on average 4.5 GW of wind capacity annually between 2019 and 2022, with the aforementioned risks highlighting further downside risk, the report said.

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This is the first utility scale solar plant in India to use high efficiency Mono PERC solar modules and is based on seasonal tilt technology with string invertors. With the commissioning of this site, we have now increased our installed capacity in the 2,000 MW Pavagada Solar Park to a total of 350 MW, ReNew Power Chief Operating Officer Parag Sharma said.

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The country has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.

he plant, during its construction phase, generated direct and indirect employment for around 1,500 people and will directly employ more than 100 people post commissioning.ReNew is an independent renewable power producer. As of February 2019, the company had a total capacity of over 7.5 GW of wind and solar assets in India, including commissioned and under development projects.

Source: PTI

ccording to an year-end review released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in December 2018, the country seeks to tender a total 20 GW of wind capacity by March 2020, with two year implementation deadlines, in order to facilitate enough growth to meet the expansion targets.

However, delays to the implementation of tendered projects and more muted interest in new auctions will present a substantial hurdle to fulfilling these envisioned expansion plans, the report said.“Of a total of 2,943 MW tendered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu over 2017 – where 42 per cent of total installed wind capacity is located in India as of end-March 2019 – only 825 MW was commissioned as of March 2019,” it noted.

Concerns over the viability of low tender bids and land acquisition issues in Gujarat were key contributors to the slow implementation of the projects, which initially were expected to be commissioned within 18 months, Fitch Solutions said.

Further, the grid connection issues have been also plaguing developers of wind power projects.“In addition, should the facility not be able to sell electricity, the project’s loan interest could start to pile up and alter project economics. As such, grid connection bottlenecks represents a key risk to project developers.

In particular, the expectation for developers to launch low bids, despite substantial project implementation challenges, is set to remain a hurdle to India deploying enough renewables projects to meet ambitious expansion plans, the report noted.

Source: PTI

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INDIA

Fitch Solutions Macro Research maintains positive outlook on India’s renewables Telecom Secy Calls for Joint Task Force with Renewable Energy Ministry to Promote Green Tech Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan proposed setting up a joint task force with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to promote green technology in the sector.

It is critical that we should set up a joint task force between the two ministries (telecom and MNRE) to ensure that we work on this together. The incentives that are given to promote renewable energy, the telecom sector should become primary recipient of that kind of incentives, Aruna Sundararajan said at an event of telecom tower industry body Taipa.

She said that within the mandate of MNRE, there will be scope to design attractive incentivisation policy that can be channelised to telecom companies who adopt renewable energy. “In the new policy, we have already made provision to promote green telecom,” she said.

Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (Taipa) Director General Tilak Raj Dua said the telecom sector in the country has already deployed around 1.15 lakh diesel-free sites by using alternative energy sources, such as lithium-ion batteries and VRLA batteries. Currently, the energy storage solutions contribute up to 5 gigawatt hours (GWh) towards power consumption by the telecom sector and is expected to grow up to 25 GWh by 2022, according to Taipa estimates.

Trai Chairman R S Sharma said with 5G services coming, telecom infrastructure especially base stations will have to be quadrupled and green technology can help industry save cost of operations.

He said rewards associated with adoption of renewable energy are enough to drive its adoption in the sector rather than any strict regulatory measures.

Source: PTI

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Fitch Solutions Macro Research said it is maintaining a positive outlook on India’s renewables growth, excluding hydro power, irrespective of general elections as both the incumbent and the opposition support clean energy.

We maintain a positive outlook on India’s nonhydro renewables growth regardless of India’s Lok Sabha election outcome, as both the incumbent government and main opposition remain strongly supportive of renewables growth, Fitch Solution Macro Research said in its outlook for India’s renewable energy sector.

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he Fitch Group unit expects the country’s non-hydro renewables capacity to grow at a robust annual average growth rate of 11.1 per cent from 71.7 gigawatt (GW) in 2018 to over 204 GW by 2028, with solar being the main driver of this expansion.Despite the strong renewables growth, it highlighted that coal will remain dominant in the country’s power generation mix over the next decade.

Our country risk team believes that Narendra Modi will remain the prime minister, and expects the National Democratic Alliance, led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, to win the most seats in the Lower House but fall short of an absolute majority, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said.

Strong renewables sector growth has been seen as a key marker of Modi’s power sector reform success, and it believes the Modi government will continue to encourage investment into the sector through supportive policies to reach the ambitious target of 175 GW renewables capacity by 2022.

It said, “We do not believe that the new government will back out of the existing renewables sector policies, as they have also promised to promote ‘green energy’ and aim to encourage investments in off-grid renewable power generation in their election manifesto.”

The report also added that although the recent safeguard tariffs on solar cells from China and Malaysia will weigh on investor confidence in the short term, this will not have a significant impact on our longer term outlook, and investor interests will rebound and continue to strengthen the project pipeline.

Source: PTI

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INDIA

Telangana plans to produce 5 GW renewable energy by 2020: TSSPDCL CMD Telangana State and its discoms have been in the forefront of producing renewable energy (RE) . The RE capacity increased from less than 50 MW during the State formation to about 3,873 MW currently, said TSSPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Raghuma Reddy. Speaking at the inauguration of two-day RenewX, an industry event being organised by UBM India at Hitex, he said the State has also pioneered the distributed generation model to harness the benefits of renewable energy. This particular effort

by TS has been appreciated at the central level, he said adding that progressive solar policy and transparent process has helped in growth of renewable energy. The current installed solar capacity in the State is about 3,602 MW, the largest installed solar capacity in the country. Another 150 MW renewable capacity addition are planned to be added by the end of 2019, he said. Overall, the State is targeting a capacity of 5 GW from all forms of renewable energy by 2020, he said.

Challenges The official said that Telangana being the first mover in adopting solar energy has been burdened with solar power at high prices ranging from Rs 5.17 to 6.9. Hence financial prudence is required in procuring energy from renewable energy by 2020. High penetration of renewable raises the challenges of grid balancing, he said adding that innovative solutions are required from all stakeholders to address intermittency in renewable generation.

There is a need for enabling high integration of renewables in the grid he said. Going forward, research should focus on addressing grid balancing issues, on evaluation of storage solutions and on mechanism for using availability of central generating stations to address variability in renewable generation. On the energy outlook for the country, he said India added 6 GW in 2018-19 (till Feb), which takes the total grid connected renewable capacity to 75 GW. The recent discovered tender prices of solar (Rs 2.44 / Kwh) and wind (Rs 2.64/Kwh) will give added momentum to renewable energy addition in the country, he said.

Telangana Special Chief Secretary Ajay Mishra asked the industry to focus on developing newer and better storage solutions even as they draw up a plan to assess environmental impact in the long term due to the use of renewable energy. He stressed that environmental sustainability is also as important as being financially viable. Renewable energy generations are seasonal in nature and there should be backup plans, he said. Adopting decentralised production of renewable energy has helped the State is saving up to Rs 50 crore due to reduced transmission and distribution losses. Also, the model allowed the power generated one a particular area to be used in the same location. This step saved about Rs 450 crore, which the State were to spend in creating transmission infrastructure to far-off places. The State has readied an EV policy and that will be out soon, he said.

Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India said, “Indian renewable energy market is attractive and India ranks fifth in installed renewable energy capacity. South India has become the growth engine by generating half of the country’s renewable energy power”.

Source: telanganatoday

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Jamia faculty receives award from Swiss company for smart solar inverter model

The faculty of Jamia Millia Islamia’s electrical engineering department has won an international award for their ‘smart solar inverter’ model, the varsity said.

The research group has won an award worth Rs 20 lakh from Switzerland based world reputed company Typhoon HIL, incharge of the Advance Power Electronics Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia Dr Ahteshamul Haque said.

The research group comprising students from B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD, headed by Dr Haque had developed a model for ‘smart solar inverters’ with its control and submitted it for evaluation in a competition organised by the company, the varsity said. In award, Dr Haque and his research group got a powerful machine for research worth Rs 20 lakh.

Name of the machine is HIL-402 real time simulator, which is used in power electronics, microgrid and renewable energy applications, the varsity said.

Source: PTI

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DMRC to run on 100 percent Solar Energy by 2021 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is sought to run the Delhi Metro on 100 percent renewable source of energy through the support of Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa Solar Project which has sent 27 Megawatts of solar energy which will gradually increase to 99 Megawatts.

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MRC has started its operations through the support of solar energy from Madhya Pradesh solar project on the Violet line between the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Central Secretariat station.Union Minister of state for power and coal, Piyush Goyal presided over the signing of the Power purchase agreement between the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company and DMRC. Inaugurating the beginning of the use of solar power in the Delhi Metro, DMRC Managing director DR. Mangu Singh along with Manu Srivastava, Chairperson of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar and Director General of International solar alliance traveled in the metro powered by solar energy. Other officials were also present in the metro.Rewa will give 345 Million units of power to the DMRC every year. DMRC officials said that metro corporation will receive 99 MW solar energy. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is intended to build a 100 percent solar energy dependent metro by 2021.

Making this a political agenda, Coal and Power minister, Piyush Goyal said that during the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, renewable energy has seen a growth of 370 percent.

Source: theindianwire

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Funding from ISA no longer required to be routed under FCRA, says Home Ministry India’s solar power capacity addition to grow 15 per cent to 7,500 Mw this fiscal ndia’s solar power capacity addition is set to grow by about 15 per cent to a range between 7,000 Megawatt (Mw) and 7,500 Mw in the current financial year (2019-20) based on the tendering activity and awards of projects in the past 12-15 months.

By contrast, last financial year’s solar capacity addition is estimated to have remained subdued in a range between 6,000 Mw and 6,500 Mw because of weak trend in award of solar projects in calendar year 2017.

Tendered project awards for solar PV projects during calendar year 2018 stood at about 11 GW against 4.5 GW in CY 2017, providing a healthy pipeline for capacity addition over the next 2-year period,” said Girishkumar Kadam, Vice President at ICRA.

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early, 56 per cent of the capacity auctioned in 2018 has been accounted for by central agencies such as Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC Ltd with the balance by state nodal entities or discoms under various state level programmes.Apart from the projects awarded through the bid route, around 1 GW capacity is expected to be added through open access or group captive route and grid-connected rooftop, with these additions being facilitated by favourable solar policies for open access route in a few states.The weighted average solar bid tariff in 2018 reduced to Rs 2.73 per unit as against Rs 3.01 per unit in 2017 and Rs 5.01 per unit in 2016. This was due to a decline in PV module prices in 2018 and aggressive bidding by Independent Power producers (IPPs).

In this context, the viability of such tariffs critically hinges on timely project execution as per the PPA timelines, availability of debt with longer tenures at competitive funding cost and the ability of the project developers to keep the cost of modules within the budgeted levels, ICRA said in a statement.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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The International Solar Alliance (ISA), a world body aimed at providing a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource-rich countries, will no longer be treated as a “foreign source” of funding for Indian NGOs and other entities under the FCRA. The Union Home Ministry officials said the decision has been taken as part of India’s dedicated efforts to assist and help achieve the goal of increasing the use of solar energy in meeting energy needs.

The ISA was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then France President François Hollande in Paris in 2015. “In exercise of the power conferred by sub-clause (ii) of clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Foreign Contribution [Regulation] Act (FCRA), 2010 [42 of 2010], the central government hereby specifies that the international organisation, namely, the ‘International Solar Alliance’ shall not be treated as ‘foreign source’ for the purposes of the said Act,” a Home Ministry notification said.

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his means funds coming to NGOs and other entities from the ISA will not be governed by the FCRA. The ISA is the first full-fledged treaty-based international intergovernmental organisation headquartered in India (Gurgaon).It is an alliance of 121 solar resource-rich countries, lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. So far, 74 countries have signed it and 52 of them have ratified it to formally join the organisation. According to the ISA website, the vision and mission of the organisation is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource-rich countries where the global community, including bilateral and multilateral organisations, corporates, industry and other stakeholders, can make a positive contribution to assist and help achieve the common goals of increasing the use of solar energy in meeting energy needs of prospective ISA member countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner.

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Addressing the first assembly of the ISA in New Delhi last year, Prime Minister Modi said that in the last 150 to 200 years, mankind has depended on fossil fuels for energy needs but nature is now indicating that options such as solar, wind and water offer more sustainable energy solutions.

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In this context, Modi expressed confidence that in the future, when people talk of organisations for the welfare of mankind established in the 21st century, the International Solar Alliance will be at the top of the list. He said it was a great forum to work towards ensuring climate justice and the ISA could replace the OPEC as the key global energy supplier in the future.

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TECHNOLOGY

SB Energy Invests in ClimaCell to Accelerate Deployment of its Revolutionary Weather Forecasting System SB Energy Corp. (“SB Energy”), a Japanese wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., and ClimaCell Inc. (“ClimaCell”), the microweatherTM technology company, announced that they have closed on SB Energy’s investment $7 million in ClimaCell.

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We are delighted to have SB Energy as an investor and strategic partner. Energy companies, particularly those dealing in renewable energies, are particularly dependent on weather predictions – from wind speed to precipitation times – for ongoing operations, with a massive impact on their bottom line,” said Shimon Elkabetz, CEO and Founder of ClimaCell Inc. “We are excited to be partnering with SB Energy to expand and accelerate our offering to the energy sector.”

Source: ClimaCell

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The SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG (SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES) delivers a vacuum coating machine of the GENERIS PVD type for the production of heterojunction solar cells (HJT) to a large manufacturer of solar cells.

limaCell uses the infrastructure of the connected world — wireless signals, connected vehicles, satellite-to-ground microwave signals, street cameras, IoT devices, airplanes and drones — together with traditional meteorological data sources, to provide accurate, realtime, location-specific, and on-demand weather forecasts to any industry with a need for hyper-accurate forecasting. The company’s forecasts can also be used in developing and other countries that have insufficient infrastructure.SB Energy has invested in ClimaCell to bring its weather forecasting system to the renewable energy industry, which is highly dependent on weather and accurate forecasting.

SB Energy will also explore new business opportunities globally by deploying ClimaCell’s weather forecasting systems especially at the intersection of renewable energy, IoT and mobility.

ClimaCell’s revolutionary hyper-accurate weather forecasting technology will bring significant benefits not only to renewable energy but also to other industries and people’s lives, said Shigeki Miwa, Representative Director & CEO of SB Energy Corp. “SB Energy is extremely happy to collaborate with ClimaCell in promoting the fusion of energy and AI and helping realize a more convenient and comfortable society.”

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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Delivers Vacuum Coating Machine for Heterojunction High-Performance Solar Cells

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he order volume is in the mid-single-digit range. In addition to the already very successful SILEX II production machine for wet-chemical processes, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is thus able to position another product in the growing market for heterojunction high-performance cells.

Dr.-Ing. Stefan Rinck, CEO of the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, comments: “With the GENERIS PVD vacuum sputtering machine we are setting new standards for coating technology, which enables a quality improvement of the solar cells and at the same time reduces production costs. The GENERIS PVD therefore adds to our existing offering of the SILEX II, which has become a benchmark for wet-chemical processes for the manufacturing of heterojunction solar cells.”

Source: singulus

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TECHNOLOGY

Huawei PV Inverters Deliver Rapid Shutdown with Tigo’s UL Certification The innovative solution of smart MLPE and inverters are compliant with NEC 2017 for residential and commercial PV installations

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igo Energy, Inc., pioneer of the smart modular Flex MLPE,announced the new Underwriter Laboratories (UL) certification of its TS4 Platform Rapid Shutdown Systems (RSS) with Huawei, a leading global ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and network energy solutions provider. The Huawei inverters listed below were successfully certified with Tigo’s RSS solutions: TS4-F (Fire Safety), TS4-S (Safety), TS4-O (Optimization), and TS4-L (Long Strings).

Tigo is currently compatible and available with Huawei and more tier one certified inverter manufacturing partners throughout the U.S. Contact Tigo about more RSS information for integrated or retrofitted PV installations.This UL certification is part of Tigo’s multivendor initiative providing customers with the advantages of reliable, safe, and cost-effective solutions. The use of Tigo smart modules and high-efficiency inverters allows design flexibility for installers to comply with National Electric Code (NEC) 2017 690.12 RSS regulations. Tigo has also been internationally recognized as the only module-level power electronic vendor with UL-certified RSS with multiple PV module manufacturers. To learn more about Tigo’s RSS solutions, join Tigo’s online NABCEP-accredited trainings.

The following Huawei inverters are newly UL listed as Rapid Shutdown Systems with Tigo’s TS4 units:

TS4-F (Fire Safety) The most cost-effective RSS solution with SunSpec-defined power-line communication.

Huawei SUN2000-33KTL-US Huawei SUN2000-36KTL-US Huawei SUN2000-40KTL-US with SUN2000V200R002C20SPC105 firmware or later

TS4-S (Safety) and TS4-O (Optimization) and TS4-L (Long Strings) The only certified multi-vendor RSS solutions on the market are module-level monitored and include additional features like optimization or long string designs.

Huawei SUN2000-33KTL-US Huawei SUN2000-36KTL-US Huawei SUN2000-40KTL-US with SUN2000V200R002C20SPC105 firmware or later Huawei SUN2000-25KTL-US* Huawei SUN2000-30KTL-US

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Mondragon Assembly will invest 3.5 million to build a new plant in China A new step in its consolidation as a global benchmark group in the automation and solar sectors.

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his 3.5 million euro investment will be used to finance the growth requirements demanded by both the Automation and Solar sectors from the Mondragon Assembly Group in this strategic market, after launching activities in China in 2014.For this purpose, it has acquired a 12,000 square metre plot in the new industrial park of Qiandeng (Kunshan), where it will build a plant measuring about 7,000 square metres. The building will consist of 6,000 square metres of production space and 1,000 for offices. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2019 and the plant is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2020.

Year after year, we consolidate our benchmark position in the market in highly technological projects. “This new plant will allow us to continue growing and taking on the new challenges that we have defined internally and that reflect the requirements of our current and future clients in order to continue to be competitive in an environment as demanding as the Chinese market”, explained the general director of Mondragon Assembly China, Mikel Gantxegi.

Global provider The plant will allow the Mondragon Assembly Group to continue to strengthen its position as a global provider of automated solutions where and when its clients need them, offering high-value technological solutions adapted to the needs of each country/client In the words of the director of the Automation division, Iñigo Velez, “we achieve this through the translation of knowledge and technology between the production plants that we have in Germany, France, Mexico, Brazil, China and Aretxabaleta [Spain] thanks to our global engineering business model.”

Source: mondragon-assembly

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TECHNOLOGY

Growatt Increased Investments in India’s Growing Rooftop Solar India has outstanding solar potential and has become one of the largest emerging PV markets. However, its solar road gets bumpy from time to time.

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n July 30 last year, Indian government announced a 25% safeguard duty on imported PV modules, which shocked the solar industry. As a result, India had added a solar capacity of 8,263 MW by the end of 2018, down from 9,782 MW added in 2017.Yet, India’s rooftop solar continues its growth impressively with YoY growth rate at 66 percent according to report. Under these circumstances, brands from China that focuses on rooftop solar are continuing their expansion across India. Growatt, the Global Top 10 Solar Inverter Supplier has been increasing its investment in India.

We’ve been here in India for over eight years.

And we’ve seen through years of strong growth an enormous solar potential of Indian rooftop.

One key factor is that the commercial and industrial consumers are paying higher grid tariffs and this is a good incentive for them to get PV systems on their roofs. So we are very optimistic about Indian rooftop solar market in the long term. said Rucas Wang, Growatt Regional Director. Wang, who frequently travelled across India for business over the past 10 years, is very familiar with the local solar community. And he understands the potential and importance of Indian solar market.

Indian solar market is on top of our list for business growth. We started increasing our investments significantly in marketing and staffing last year. Now we have a team of 24 local sales and service engineers. Service offices have been established in eight major cities to provide on-site service across India. A toll-free service hotline has also been set up as well to provide fast response for our customers.

With continuous investments by leading solar companies like Growatt, Indian rooftop sector will probably become increasingly vigorous in coming years. And if policy and financing support comes in, rooftop installations will take off for sure.

Source: growatt

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Risen Energy Releases Jäger High Efficiency Mono-Crystalline Half-Cut Module White Paper Ningbo, Risen Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Risen Energy”) released a technical white paper for the Jäger high-efficiency mono-crystalline Half-cut Module series, which have captured much attention since the end of last year.

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he white paper deciphers the new product’s innovative technology and also makes a wellrounded introduction to Jäger series product type, features, advantages and power roadmap.Jäger series were born in response to some of the key industrial pains and customer concerns: how to reduce LID Light-induced Degradation, LeTID (Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation), internal loss, shadow shading and BOS cost. As a new generation of high performance, high cost-effective and reliable products, Jäger series have a total of four types of products: RSM120 RSM132, RSM144and RSM156, of which the highest module conversion efficiency can reach up to 20.6% and the highest power output can reach up to 440Wp. Jäger high-efficiency mono-crystalline cells deploy the world leading two-side-stack-passivation technology, SE (Selective Emitter) technology, low-temperature firing technology and enhanced current injection technology, which can increase the cell conversion efficiency and at the same time reduce LID and LeTID. Jäger cell conversion efficiency can reach up to 22.51% with the efficiency of mainstream bin between 22.1% and 22.2%.The reduction of module inner power loss can efficiently increase the module actual power output. This loss is caused by several negative factors such as the light reflection loss, the conductor/cable resistance loss, and the inter-electrical connection loss and so on. To decrease these negative affections, various methods have been researched and used in PV industry, Jäger series products also use some advanced methods to decrease this inner loss. The Half-cut cell technology is one of the methods which can decrease the inner electrical connection loss. This kind of Half-Cut design not only improves the power output of the module, but also effectively reduces the adverse effects of shadow shading to the minimum. At the same time, the working temperature of the Half-cut Cell module is 2 to 3 lower than that of the Full cell module due to the reduction of the current. In the case of shading, the highest temperature of the module is about 20 lower than that of the Full cell module, which greatly improves the stability of power output and the long-term reliability of the module.As a cost-effective product, the application of Jäger products can effectively reduce the BOS cost of PV system. The BOS cost of a 50 MWp ground-mounted power plant is simulated and compared by Risen Energy engineers and technicians in the White Paper, using the 335 Wp module and Jäger 400Wp module. The results show that the use of high power modules can reduce the quantity of modules, giving rise to the reduction of construction and installation costs of ground piles, brackets, DC cables, shunt boxes and photovoltaic field areas.

Not all Half-cut Modules are called Jäger. Jäger series of highefficiency Mono-crystalline Half-cut modules can be described as “half” work but “double” efficiency.

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Fraunhofer ISE tests and certifies PV modules according to IEC 61215 and IEC 61646.

DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions Partners with Fraunhofer ISE

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Collaboration aims to optimize accelerated testing protocols for c-Si solar panels uPont Electronics & Imaging’s Photovoltaic Solutions business announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, a leading institute for applied scientific and engineering research and development in solar energy, to optimize accelerated testing protocols for crystalline silicon solar panels.

The test equipment includes a climatic chamber for combined exposure to UV radiation and damp heat. PV modules are weathered and tested with UV radiation, humidity and elevated temperatures. © Fraunhofer ISE Fraunhofer ISE will validate and accelerate solar panel sequential testing methods developed by DuPont, to enable service life estimation calculations. The tests aim to address the most common types of panel degradation observed in the field at the backsheet level, by type of material used.

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Commenting on the agreement, Kaushik Roy Choudhury, Ph.D., Global Reliability Manager, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions said: “We are pleased to be working alongside the scientists at Fraunhofer ISE to help validate our set of accelerated tests. Studying how panels age in the field under multiple environmental stresses is critical for customers and future development of materials.”

The proposed tests will be based on DuPont’s Module Accelerated Sequential Testing protocols, whereby solar panels are subjected to several sequences that combine damp heat, UV and thermal cycling to generate accelerated test conditions aligned with realistic stresses experienced in the field.

Karl-Anders Weiss, Ph.D., Project Manager, Fraunhofer ISE said: “The aim of this work is to determine whether the proposed accelerated testing protocols can accurately predict service lifetime of solar panels made with different types of materials. Our intent is to move from the current IEC standards which are limited to predicting early stage failure mechanisms, to a longer-term view of panel aging in the field.”

As part of this collaboration, the testing protocols will be refined by Fraunhofer ISE to enable a simpler and faster recipe that could help to resolve one of the biggest challenges of the photovoltaic industry.

Source: dupont

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TECHNOLOGY

Q CELLS launches latest half-cell solar module Q.PEAK DUO-G6 The new iteration of the award-winning Q.PEAK DUO module range is manufactured with larger wafers for about 6% power output increase, and is available now in Europe and Korea.

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anwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd. (“Q CELLS” or “The Company”), one of the largest solar cell and module manufacturers in the world, announced that the Company has launched its new solar module product, the Q.PEAK DUO-G6, in a range of high-quality solar markets globally.The Q.PEAK DUO-G6 is the new iteration of the popular and award-winning Q.PEAK DUO solar modules series. This latest version of Q CELLS’s half-cell monocrystalline solar module range is manufactured with larger wafers, which boast dimensions of 161.70 mm (as opposed to the 156.75 mm wafer dimensions found in the G5 range). These larger wafers help each module deliver up to about 6% more power, meaning that the 122 cells Q.PEAK DUO-G6 version can deliver 355 Wp. In the format of 144 cells, the Q.PEAK DUO L-G6 has a power output of up to 420Wp.

Half-cell, full benefit Not only does the Q.PEAK DUO-G6 deliver an impressive higher power output, the solar module boasts another unique function – optimized shading behavior. The upper and lower section of the module can operate independently, reducing the impact of shading and thereby increasing energy yields.

Thanks to this function, the Q.PEAK DUO-G6 can generate much more electricity, especially on residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops.The Q.PEAK DUO-G6 also has long-term reliability with 85% initial performance after 25 years.

Furthermore, the module is manufactured using Q CELLS patent-protected passivation technology, which is

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a key ingredient in our Q.ANTUM Technology. Additional cutting-edge technological and security features of Q.ANTUM Technology include excellent Anti LID (light induced degradation) and Anti PID (potential induced degradation) performance, as well as Hot-Spot Protect and traceable quality with Tra.Q laser identification to protect against counterfeiting.The Q.PEAK DUO solar modules series proved its competitiveness for technology and quality at Intersolar Europe 2018, winning the Intersolar Award for best Photovoltaic product in a competitive field.

Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim, the CEO of Q CELLS, said: “Q CELLS will continue to launch higher output and quality solar modules using our proprietary Q.ANTUM Technology. The Q.PEAK DUO-G6 represents yet another step towards more accessible solar electricity for all, thanks to its higher power output.

While we are excited to launch this latest iteration of our half-cell range, Q CELLS will continue to launch other energy solution products and new business models to meet the ever-changing customer needs across the global solar market.”

The Q.PEAK DUO-G6 is available now in Europe and Korea, and will be rolled out in other leading global markets later this year.

Source: q-cells

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Why Is Mono Silicon Wafer Getting Bigger And Bigger?

In recent years, PV technologies have been developing rapidly. With respect to cell, the high-efficiency PERC, bifacial cell and black silicon technologies have started mass production gradually, while N-type and heterojunction technologies have obtained footholds in the market; with respect to module, the double-glass, half-cell, multi-busbar and shingled-cell technologies have realized largescale industrialization. With respect to monocrystalline silicon wafer, many technological breakthroughs have been made and more noteworthy, the wafer is getting bigger and bigger.

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efore 2010, monocrystalline silicon wafers are small-size with 125mm width (f164mm silicon ingot diameter) and a few 156mm (f200mm) wafers. After 2010, 156mm wafers have occupied an increasingly bigger share and become the mainstream. 125mm P-type wafers were almost eliminated around 2014, only some IBC or HIT cells. At the end of 2013, LONGi, Zhonghuan, Jinglong, Solargiga and Comtec jointly issued the standards for M1 (156.75-f205mm) and M2 (156.75-f210mm) wafers. Without changing the size of the module, M2 could increase the module power by more than 5Wp, rapidly becoming the mainstream and maintaining the status for several years. During that period, there were also a few M4 (161.7-f211mm) wafers on the market, the area of which was 5.7% larger than M2, and such wafers were mainly applied to N-type bifacial modules. In the second half of 2018, due to intensified market competition, many enterprises turned their attention to silicon wafers again, hoping to increase the power of modules by expanding the size of silicon wafers to secure product competitiveness. One methodology is to copy the release of M2, continue to increase the width across the wafer, to 157mm, 157.25mm or 157.4mm for instance, without increasing the size of the module, but the increase in power obtained is limited, the requirement on production accuracy is increased, and the certification compatibility may be affected (e.g. failing to meet the creepage distance requirement of UL).

Another methodology is to follow the route of increasing the width across the wafer from 125mm to 156mm, and increase the size of the module, such as 158.75mm pseudo-square wafer or square wafer (f223mm), the latter increases the wafer area by about 3%, which increases the power of a 60-cell module by nearly 10Wp; meanwhile, some N-type module manufacturers choose 161.7mm M4 wafers; some enterprises plan to launch 166mm wafers.

From the perspective of production, the production rates of cells and modules (wafers/hour, modules/hour) are basically fixed, and the increase in the size of wafer can enhance the power of cells or modules produced per unit time, which can reduce the equipment, manpower and even other costs per Wp of the company, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs of cells and modules, especially when 125mm wafers are switched to 156mm wafers.

From the perspective of the cost of power station system, taking terrestrial power station as an example, under the same efficiency, the module obtains higher power due to bigger wafer size, while the number of modules in a string remains unchanged, as a result, the module efficiency on a single bracket increases accordingly, and the costs of bracket and pile foundation per Wp is reduced; when large modules have little effect on the transportation and installation speed, the installation efficiency of modules and brackets per Wp will be enhanced; as the capacity per array is determined by the inverter and can be deemed fixed, high-power modules can reduce the use of combiner boxes or string inverters, and the reduction in the use of brackets can reduce the footprint of the array (considering the front and back spacing and the left and right spacing of the brackets), and the reduction in the number of brackets and their footprint can reduce the use of power cables. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estimated that a 425Wp module using 166mm wafers can save the BOS cost by at least RMB0.05/Wp compared to the 380Wp module using M2 wafers (both of 72-cell type). If a tracker is used or in an overseas area where the labor cost is high, more BOS costs will be saved.

The above two points show that when the equipment production and transportation are not a problem, the wafer size should be as large as possible to save more cell and module costs and system BOS costs. For this reason, cadmium telluride thin film cell manufacturer First Solar directly increases the module size from the fourth-generation 1200*600mm to 2009*1232mm. The module area (near 2.5m2) and the weight (35kg) should be the limit values obtained after comprehensive analysis.

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TECHNOLOGY For crystalline silicon modules, it’s necessary to take the opportunity of this industry change to adjust the size to a more stable and cost-effective one, just like the adjustment from 125mm to 156mm. According to a WeChat article titled “Monocrystalline is easier to realize large wafer size”, the main factor restraining wafers from becoming bigger is the diffusion furnace. To make the wafers bigger in a diffusion furnace with limited diameter, the pseudo-square monocrystalline silicon wafer should have certain advantages over the square monocrystalline silicon wafer.

In conclusion, big wafers can bring obvious value to the photovoltaic industry. Major enterprises should take this opportunity to determine a size that can be relatively stable for many years to reduce repeated investment in production line transformation and module certification expenses . The 166mm monocrystalline silicon wafer, as the maximum size compatible with all production lines, seems to be a good choice at the current stage.

LONGi Capacity Planning: By end 2021, Mono wafer: 65GW, mono module: 30GW LONGi released its 2018 annual report and first quarterly results. The report shows LONGi’s operation revenue in 2018 was ¥21.988 billion, an increase of 34.38% over the previous year and net profit attributed to shareholders of listed companies was ¥2.558 billion. As of the first quarter 2019, the company’s total assets was ¥43.165 billion.

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ndependent third-party research data showed LONGi accounted for 40% of the industry’s monocrystalline silicon wafer capacity, reinforcing its position as the largest monocrystalline module manufacturer in the world. According to BNEF, the financial health index, as measured by Alman-Z score, of LONGi ranks second in all global photovoltaic enterprises and first in China.

7.072GW Mono Cell and Module Shipment in 2018 In 2018, LONGi overseas shipments of monocrystalline silicon wafer was 3.483 billion pieces, an increase of 59% over the previous year. Annual shipment of solar cells and modules reached 7.072 GW, a 50% increase over the previous year. LONGi has actively promoted its brand internationally, made breakthroughs in business operations, and achieved rapid growth in shipments in the US, Europe, India, Latin America, Japan, Australia and Africa. Looking ahead, LONGi will continue its focus on the global market and strive to achieve customer, service and management globalization to serve customers with high-efficiency advanced products.

By the end of 2021, mono wafer 65GW, mono module 30GW By the end of 2018, the production capacity of LONGi monocrystalline silicon ingot/wafer has reached 28GW. The Chuzhou 5GW module factory in Anhui Province was operational in March 2019, further expanding LONGi’s global high-efficiency monocrystalline module capacity. LONGi also released the latest capacity planning: By the end of 2019, the capacity of ingot/ wafer will be 36GW, cell capacity 10GW and module capacity 16GW. By the end of 2020, the capacity of ingot/wafer will be The report consistently showed that sustained R&D investment has 50GW, while cell capacity will be 15GW and module capacprovided strong support for the development of new technologies and ity 25GW. By the end of 2021, the capacity of ingot/wafer will products in LONGi. In 2018, LONGi has obtained 526 patents. reach 65GW, the capacity of cell 20GW and the capacity of module 30GW. Source: LONGi

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Oil-rich sovereign funds look to renewables alongside fossil fuels Sovereign wealth funds from oil-rich countries in the Middle East are moving to diversify into renewable energy, pushed by regulators and pledges on climate change, but are stopping short of following Norway in shedding some oil and gas investments.

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otal sovereign wealth fund investments within the oil and gas industry have dwarfed those within renewable energy in the past decade.But data on private equity investments with sovereign wealth fund participation suggests this balance might be shifting. In 2018, $6.36 billion went into hydrocarbons, compared to $5.81 billion in renewable energy, one of the narrowest margins in the past decade, according to PitchBook, a data and research firm.Data on sovereign wealth fund investments via the stock and bond markets are harder to interpret as many of the funds do not disclose such information.

Norway’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, said it would sell its stakes in oil and gas explorers and producers. But the fund also said it would still invest in energy firms that have refineries and other downstream activities, such as Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil .

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The money in Norway’s fund comes from the country’s hydrocarbon wealth and the fund said its investment plan would make it less vulnerable to a permanent drop in oil prices, which have tumbled more then 40 percent between now and there most recent peak in June 2014.But other sovereign wealth funds from oil-rich countries are not expected to do the same, sources close to the funds and analysts said.

I don’t expect many fiduciary bound investors to follow suit until such a time it can be shown that this divestment activity does not harm returns, Ashby Monk, executive director, global projects centre at Stanford University, said.

It would make sense from a national balance sheet perspective for some of these investors to diversify, but they don’t think in terms of national balance sheets,he said.

Instead of pursuing a strategic approach to design a portfolio taking into account the country’s national wealth, both natural resources and financial, funds are often pushed to focus only on commercial and financial interests, he said.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Many sovereign funds voluntarily commit to the Santiago Principles, a set of guidelines agreed in 2008 to govern how sovereign wealth funds operate. This includes investing based on the basis of economic and financial risk and return related considerations.While most sovereign wealth funds follow the principles, Norway, one of the few oil funds from a democracy, is considered an outlier in its approach, operating under ethical guidelines set by parliament.

Culturally, they’re different,” said one person close to the fund, referencing its relative transparency in comparison to other funds and exclusion of investments in certain companies for ethical reasons. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the second largest oil-based fund in terms of assets after Norway, invests in oil and gas stocks only in line with their weightings in equity indices, according to people familiar with its strategy.It has no plans to change its portfolio based on what Norway has done, said one of the people.

ADIA declined to comment.

Similarly, Mubadala Investment, another Abu Dhabi investment vehicle, has no commitment to cut its exposure to oil and gas, which represents roughly 20 percent of its portfolio, said a person familiar with Mubadala’s strategy.

Renewable energy forms under 5 percent of its total portfolio size.

Mubadala declined to comment.

Qatar Investment Authority is an investor in Total and Glencore, according to its website. It also holds a 19 percent stake in Russian hydrocarbon giant Rosneft.

The QIA declined to comment.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has no oil and gas focus. Last week, PIF sold its only asset with links to the industry, Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) , for $69.1 billion in one of the biggest deals in the global chemical industry.

It’s about diversification away from oil and gas in sector and revenue, said a source familiar with PIF’s strategy.

PIF declined to comment.

CLIMATE CHANGE, REGULATIONS In 2018, ADIA, QIA and PIF and Norway’s fund were among six that agreed to a framework called One Planet, pledging to add climate change considerations into their investment decisions, a sign that the funds are starting to change their approach,

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At that time [of the Santiago Principles], climate risk didn’t even merit a mention as a relevant element of sound long-term investment practice amongst sovereign wealth funds, said Javier Capape, director of sovereign wealth research at IE University. “Now, climate risk is an almost ubiquitous topic.”

That is starting to be seen in investments.ADIA has built a sizeable and growing exposure to renewable energy through investments in green energy companies such as Renew Power and Greenko, both in India, and Britain’s Green Investment Bank, said the people familiar with its strategy.

PIF is making a big play on renewable energy and clean technology, agreeing to invest more than $1 billion in Lucid Motors, an electric vehicle maker, and working with SoftBank and others on large-scale solar projects.More sovereign funds may follow suit as regulators in Europe and elsewhere require institutional investors to clean up their portfolios.

France blazed the trail by bringing in rules in 2016 requiring institutional investors to report that they are integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in their portfolios. France blazed the trail by bringing in rules in 2016 requiring institutional investors to report that they are integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in their portfolios.

I think more and more sovereign wealth funds will scrutinise their funds and apply some negative screening [exclusion of certain companies], said Fabiana Fedeli, global head of fundamental equities and senior portfolio manager of emerging markets equities at asset manager Robeco. “There’s increasing consideration that ESG does help the alpha but reputation risk is a consideration, particularly for sovereign wealth funds and finally there’s regulatory risk.”

Source: reuters

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ILP, AZB act on $50m ADB investment into solar power co Avaada Energy The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to invest $50 million in Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL) to help the company rapidly scale up photovoltaic solar energy generation capacity in India, according to its press release.

Indian Law Partners (ILP) advised Avaada Energy led by a team of partners Gopika Pant and Vineet Gupta, senior associate Abhimanyu Kaul and associate Ira Swain.

AZB & Partners Delhi acted for the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

This deal report is based on a firm’s press release and may be only partially complete. Some firms or names of advisers may be therefore be missing.

Source: legallyindia

Sterling and Wilson Solar files IPO papers with SEBI to raise Rs 4,500 crore

Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s renewable energy arm Sterling and Wilson Solar filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise around Rs 4,500 crore.

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he Initial Public Offer (IPO) will be an offer for sale by the company’s chairman Khurshed Yazdi Daruvala and Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited. Daruvala holds 33.33 per cent stake, Shapoorji Pallonji and Company holds 65.77 per cent stake while the remaining stake is held by Cyrus Mistry and other members of the promoter group.The company commenced its operations in 2011 as the Solar Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) division of Sterling and Wilson Private Limited (SWPL) and demerged from SWPL with effect from April 1, 2017 and is now called Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited.The company’s revenue from operations in the first nine months of 2018-19 rose 83 per cent to Rs 5,915 crore while net profit jumped 98 per cent to 343 crore during the period.

Sterling and Wilson is a global endto-end solar EPC solutions provider and was the world’s largest solar EPC solutions provider in 2018 based on the annual installations of utility-scale photovoltaic systems of more than 5 Mw capacity, according to a report by IHS Markit. The firm had commissioned 183 solar power projects with an aggregate capacity of 6,063 MW at the end of December 2018.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

Avaada Group’s Clean Energy Business Raises INR 1000 Crore Investments led by ADB INR 1000 Crores investments received from ADB, DEG, FMO and promoters Company has currently 2.4 GW of renewable portfolio under implementation and is targeting to expand to 5 GW over next two years Company has executed more than 2 GW renewable projects till date

Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd, clean energy arm of Avaada Group and a leading solar project developer, received INR 1,000 crore investments for financing its 2.4 GW renewable energy portfolio of the targeted 5 GW capacity.

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he equity infusion was split between Asian Development Bank, DEG the German Development Finance Institution, Netherlands Development Finance Company FMO and promoter’s equity.The 2.4 GW capacities funded through this infusion will facilitate Avaada’s leadership role in India’s transition to clean energy and contribution in achieving Government of India’s vision of 100 GW of solar energy by 2022.Reinforcing its commitment towards bringing sustainable energy to developing economies; Avaada is targeting an extensive portfolio of 5 GW solar energy projects across Asia and Africa of which about 2.4 GW capacities are currently under implementation.

Speaking on this development Vineet Mittal, Chairman Avaada Group said, “At Avaada, our business strategies are inter-woven with the ancient Indian principle of ‘sustainability’. We are harnessing the power of the sun to ensure sustainable world for future generations. We are targeting an extensive portfolio of 5 GW solar energy projects across Asia and Africa. I am thankful and appreciate the repeat investments by ADB and DEG in our renewable energy ventures. Investments by these global financial stalwarts revalidates our impeccable execution track record, high preforming assets generating maximum returns for all our stakeholders” Source: avaada

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Renewable energy sector attracts FDI worth $7.48 billion since April 2000 Globally, India is the third largest solar market and has the fourth highest installed wind power capacity

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ccording to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the country’s renewable energy sector attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) worth $7.48 billion between April 2000 and December 2018.The IBEF report pegs new investments in clean energy space worth $11.1 billion in calendar 2018, sourcing data from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and leading consultancy KPMG.The green energy sector boasted 28 deals and grabbed a 27 per cent share of the merger & acquisition (M&A) deals in the power sector valued at $4.4 billion in 2017. Renew Power Ventures, Diligent Power Pvt Ltd, Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd, Areva Solar Power Ltd and Ostro Energy Pvt Ltd figure among the major beneficiaries of overseas financing. Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan-based ORIX Corporation, ENEL Green Power Development BV (Netherlands), Areva Solar Inc (USA), AIRRO Singapore Pte Ltd and ENERK International Holdings (Seychelles) have also sunk in funds on energy renewable projects.The government allows a 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for projects of renewable power generation and distribution provided they comply with the provisions of The Electricity Act, 2003. India aims to achieve 175 Gw of nameplate capacity in renewable energy generation by 2022. The envisaged portfolio includes 100 Gw of solar capacity addition and 60 Gw in wind power capacity. Globally, India is the third largest solar market and has the fourth highest installed wind power capacity. As on December 2018, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra had finalised wind power bids of 500 Mw each.Replacing coal-fired plants with renewable installations is expected to save around Rs 54,000 crore annually for the country on account of shrinkage in power costs.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in percentage contribution of renewable energy to total installed capacity. In 2013-14 the contribution was 12.92 per cent which has increased to 21.21 per cent by December 2018, the IBEF report noted.

Source: business-standard

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Hero arm, Azure Power to raise $1 bn from bond sale Hero Group’s renewable energy arm and NYSE-listed Azure Power are gearing up to raise $1 billion by selling bonds to overseas investors over the next few weeks in separate offerings, according to people briefed on the matter.

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he Delhi-based green power rivals are looking to mop up $500 million each and have appointed investment banks to underwrite the offerings.Hero Future Energies, led by Rahul Munjal, a nephew of Pawan Munjal, is reviving a plan that was shelved for two years. For Azure Power, it is the second such offering, after it raised $500 million two years ago.The Munjal-led company raised $125 million from World Bank arm IFC in January 2017 and is in discussion with a consortium of investors to raise $200 million in equity funding, according to people in the know.Hero is working with three global investment banks for the latest bond sale, while Azure has appointed HSBC, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Barclays. The two companies have a combination of wind and solar generation projects, though Azure leads in terms of installed capacity of rooftop solar plants.Canadian pension fund, La Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), owns 40% in Azure Power and is one of its biggest institutional backers.

When contacted, Hero Group said the company does not comment on market speculation.

“With the NBFC liquidity crisis and increase in local interest rates, we are seeing many of the renewable energy developers diversifying their sources of borrowing, making dollar bond issues attractive,” Vinay Rustagi, managing director at Bridge to India, a renewable energy consulting firm, said.

The top two renewable energy companies by generation capacity — Renew Power and Greenko — have collectively raised nearly $2 billion from bond sale to overseas investors over the past two years. Renew Power recently concluded a $375-million sale of green bonds.

Indian issuers were neglected by international bond investors last year due to anticipation of higher interest rates in the US, leading to drying up of dollar bond issuances,” an executive with a global investment bank said on condition of anonymity. “But that has changed as interest rates in the US haven’t risen as expected.”

Hero plans to expand its green energy business to other parts of the world, specifically in South East Asia and Africa.

It has an installed capacity to generate 1.2 GW of wind and solar power and is adding 500-700 MW to it.Azure Power started predominantly as a solar energy provider but later added wind energy. Spread across 24 Indian states, the Azure projects have a capacity of 3GW. India’s installed renewable energy capacity amounts to about 20% of the country’s total power generation capacity. The government aims to double the renewable energy capacity by 2022.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Petronas ventures into renewable energy Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is acquiring 100% interest in Amplus Energy Solutions Pte Ltd, also known as M+, a leading Singapore-based company with a portfolio of distributed, renewable energy assets in Asia.

In a statement, Petronas said it had entered into an agreement with I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investor for the acquisition.

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he acquisition, which is expected to be completed later this month, marks the oil major international foray into renewable energy.

Established in 2013, M+ caters to commercial and industrial customers, specialising in end-to-end solutions for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power projects.With a cumulative capacity of over 500 megawatt (MW) under operation and development, M+ serves more than 150 commercial and industrial customers at over 200 locations across India, the Middle East and South East Asia.

This acquisition reflects Petronas’ strategic intent to grow in the renewable energy space as part of our strategy to step out beyond oil and gas into the new energy business.“This also represents our first international solar venture and we look forward in providing energy solutions to our customers in these high growth energy markets,” Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said.

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Commenting on the transaction, Gautam Bhandari, founding partner at I Squared Capital said: “Under I Squared Capital, M+ grew by over 400% annually to become a worldclass, end-to-end company serving the corporates in Asia to reduce their greenhouse gases and combat climate change.“We believe that M+ will continue to play a leading role in building a greener future thanks to an outstanding management team and wish them and Petronas the best in their future endeavours.”

Petronas is also working on a number of clean energy initiatives in Malaysia. Recently, Petronas announced a collaboration with UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd, the investment arm of Universiti Teknologi Mara, to jointly develop large scale solar photovoltaic power plants and on-campus energy optimisation and solar rooftop projects.

Source: thestar.com.my

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

New Facility to Mobilize $1 Billion for ASEAN Green Infrastructure Southeast Asian governments, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and major development financiers launched the “ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility”, a new initiative to spur more than $1 billion in green infrastructure investments across Southeast Asia.

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he launch ceremony was witnessed by Thailand’s Minister of Finance Mr. Apisak Tantivorawong and ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao. Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and private sector partners joined the ceremony.The new facility provides loans and necessary technical assistance for sovereign green infrastructure projects such as sustainable transport, clean energy, and resilient water systems.

It aims to catalyze private capital by mitigating risks through innovative finance structures. The facility will mobilize a total of $1 billion including $75 million from the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF), $300 million from ADB, €300 million ($336 million) from KfW, €150 million from the European Investment Bank, and €150 million from Agence Française de Développement. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Global Green Growth Institute will support knowledge sharing and capacity building on green finance. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation has expressed interest in potential financing for emerging projects. The facility is part of a new “Green and Inclusive Infrastructure Window” under the AIF, a regional financing initiative established by ASEAN governments and ADB in 2011 and administered by ADB. Since its establishment, the AIF has committed $520 million for energy, transport, water, and urban infrastructure projects across the region. At today’s event, the AIF also launched a new “Inclusive Finance Facility” to provide concessional financing for critical infrastructure in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Myanmar.

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As ASEAN chair for 2019, Thailand’s vision for finance cooperation is sustainable and inclusive, said Mr. Tantivorawong. “In light of this, the launch of the two new facilities under AIF is timely and much needed.”

Through the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility, ADB will support ASEAN governments in developing green and climatefriendly infrastructure projects that will contribute to fighting climate change, improving the quality of air and water, and reducing environmental degradation across the region, said Mr. Nakao.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Source: adb.org

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UKCI announces £30 million investment in CleanMax Solar UK Climate Investments (UKCI) will underpin the development of a nationwide network of solar farms following an agreement to invest £30 million (INR 275 Crores) in one of India’s leading providers of renewable energy for commercial and industrial clients, CleanMax Solar.

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ounded in Mumbai in 2011, CleanMax Solar pioneered the ‘Energy Sale’ model in India through the development of distributed generation capacity across some the country’s largest cities. Partnering with commercial and industrial (C&I) clients to build new rooftop and ground-mounted solar generation projects, CleanMax Solar enables businesses to access clean, cheaperthan-grid electricity by removing the need for significant upfront capital investment. CleanMax Solar’s innovative business model has seen it quickly grow to become India’s top rooftop installer in 2018 and one of the country’s largest solar developers in the C&I market segment – operating 500 MW of distributed generation capacity across 340 sites. UKCI’s commitment will assist CleanMax Solar as it looks to scale its operations, providing it with the capital needed to expand its network of private solar farms across the country.

Richard Abel, Managing Director of UKCI, said: CleanMax Solar is helping businesses in one of the world’s fastest growing economies rethink how they produce and consume electricity. Our partnership represents an exciting opportunity to help take their platform to the next level – underpinning investment in new renewable generation capacity whilst accelerating India’s transition to a low-carbon future.”

Kuldeep Jain, Founder and Managing Director of CleanMax Solar, said: Corporates are quickly adopting renewables sourcing at scale to achieve the twin benefits of profit improvement and carbon footprint reduction. This investment, along with the know-how of Macquarie will enable CleanMax to continue being the market leader in B2B solar sector. We are excited with our aim to enhance our portfolio from 500 MW to 2000 MW in the next 3 years."

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Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, said: this investment showcases how the UK and India are working together to promote mutual prosperity, clean growth and investment. This unique partnership marries City of London green finance expertise with the innovation of Indian business to deliver clean energy solutions. The UK and India are at the cutting edge of finance and technology, jointly tackling global challenges like climate change and creating market opportunities for the rest of the world.”

CleanMax Solar’s operating capacity has grown from 24 MW in 2015-16 to more than 500 MW in 2018-19, and it expects to expand its customer base from 120 corporate clients to 300 by 2022.

UKCI’s investment in CleanMax Solar represents its fourth commitment to assist the world’s developing economies tackle climate change and promote cleaner, greener growth. Earlier this year, UKCI announced a £28 million cornerstone investment in a dedicated African renewable energy yieldco, Revego Africa Energy Limited. In 2018, UKCI completed the construction of a 60MW greenfield solar project in Maharashtra with Lightsource BP, and partnered with Fortum and Elite Alfred Berg to cornerstone India’s first unlisted renewables yieldco for international investors. UKCI is a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. UKCI is managed

by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, the world’s largest infrastructure manager.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Khaitan, AZB act on Eversource, NIIF $330m investment in Ayana Renewable

PFS partners USICEF for financing solar projects Infrastructure finance company PFS has joined hands with the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) to leverage funds for solar projects in India.

EverSource, NIIF buy stake in Ayana Renewable for $330 million: All three partners will invest $330 million cumulatively, according to a company statement, reported The Economic Times.

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he plan is to build a large scale renewable energy platform by focusing on developing utility-scale renewable energy projects in India, by the investors’ subscribing in a majority stake in Ayana Renewable Power. The investors and CDC Group plc are developing Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited to be among the largest renewable platforms in India, with further investments to follow in order to play an important role in India’s ambition to build 175 GW of renewable energy capacity.

Khaitan & Co advised EverSource Advisors Private Limited National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) led by a team of partner Akhil Bhatnagar, principal associateSamridha Neupane, associate Rahul Rajendra Mishra and associate Jagata Swaminathan.

AZB & Partners acted for CDC Group and Ayana Holdings UK was advised by partners Darshika Kothari, Roxanne Anderson and Kunal Khumbat, and senior associate Shwetank Ginodia.

Deal Dated: 2019-03-29 Deal value: $330m This deal report is based on a firm’s press release and may be only partially complete. Some firms or names of advisers may be therefore be missing.

It is an innovative facility which presents PFS with an opportunity to finance and deploy high-impact development projects which can contribute in achieving India’s distributed energy target of 40 GW by 2022, PFS Managing Director and CEO Pawan Singh said.

As part of it, we have partnered with USICEF to leverage these funds for the most promising, investment-ready distributed solar projects in India,” PFS said in a release.

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TC India Financial Services (PFS) has processed and sanctioned 3 distributed solar power projects with an aggregate debt amount of Rs 242 crore, of which approximately Rs 39 crore is outstanding in the books.The company is actively looking at new distributed solar power proposals being implemented by reputed developers under various schemes.

As one of the pioneers in the clean energy space, we have been actively exploring new opportunities in distributed solar, Singh said.

USICEF is managed by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and was founded in 2017 in partnership with the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, OPIC, IREDA, and leading U.S. Foundations.

Distributed solar energy is critical for India’s clean energy transition, Dhruba Purkayastha, USICEF Director at Climate Policy Initiative said.

Source: legallyindia

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Source: PTI

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Amplus signs MoU with Norway’s Kongsberg to digitalize solar asset lifecycle Amplus Energy Solutions has signed anMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Norway’s Kongsberg Digital to utilize efficiency enhancing applications available in KONGSBERG’sdigital ecosystem, Kognifai.

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ccording to the agreement, the Gurgaon-based Amplus will explore opportunities for applying Kognifai digital solutions and applications includingrenewables asset management to solar asset management.

Both the partners will offer these solutions for the Indian solar market.

Amplus has always been at the forefront of adopting performance enhancing technological solutions. Our customized remote monitoring system used to control operations of all our distributed solar projects has been developed in-house by us.

This partnership with Kongsberg Digital is another step in our endeavor to channelize the power of technology to maximize solar performance”, said Mr. Guru Inder Mohan Singh, COO of Amplus Energy Solutions.

The integrated solution will support automation of work processes, asset management solutions, solar power scheduling & forecasting, and use machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for more efficient work processes.

Amplus will get all data and functionality in one system, with significantly simplified reporting process as one of the benefits.

One of the many strengths of technology is that it is flexible and adaptable. That means technology created for one sector, in this case wind power, can be adjusted and utilized in adjacent industries, like solar power. We have a strong belief in the future importance of solar power and believe we have much to contribute in making this energy source even more viable for the world of tomorrow,” says Hege Skryseth, CEO of Kongsberg Digital.

Hero Group’s clean energy arm to invest $200 million in Rajasthan Hero Future Energies Global (HFE), the clean energy arm of Hero Group, will invest around $200 million in a solar project in Rajasthan. The project will be supported by International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will invest around $43.3 million (Rs 300 crore). The project will be developed by Clean Solar Power (Jodhpur), a step-down subsidiary of HFE.

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FE is a leading renewable energy developer in India and currently has an installed capacity of more than 1.2 GW and is in the process of implementing around another 1 GW. The company proposes development, construction, operation and maintenance of a 250 MW solar farm located in Bhadla, Rajasthan. The solar farm will sell power to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) pursuant to a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Total estimated project cost is approximately $200 million and IFC investment involves a debt financing of up to $43.3 million to the company and mobilization of senior loans on best efforts basis, said the World Bank’s investment arm.

“IFC will provide fixed interest rate local currency loan with long term maturity of up to 20 years which is not easily available in the market. This will improve project viability against any adverse interest rate fluctuations. Moreover, longer tenor loans can help increase the overall competitiveness of the project,” said IFC. The Hero Group, promoted by the Munjal family, is one of the leading industrial conglomerates in India. The group’s main operations have historically been in automotive manufacturing and auto ancillaries, with Hero MotoCorp as its flagship entity. The Munjal family owns a majority stake in the HFE Group. IFC and its Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF) had each invested $62.5 million in the renewable energy company. HFE’s Chairman and Managing Director is Rahul Munjal, the eldest nephew of the Hero group chairman Pawan Munjal. Sunil Jain, the CEO of HFE, has 30 years of experience in the renewable energy sector.

Source: business-standard

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Apis Partners to invest USD 110 mn in L&T Infra Debt Fund British private equity fund Apis Partners on April 25 said it is picking up a 25.1 percent stake for $110 million in Larsen & Toubro Infra Debt Fund (IDF), the infra refinancing arm of EPC major.

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&T IDF has a loan book of Rs 8,000 crore and the investment will help grow the book, an official statement said. Apis Growth Fund II has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the stake in L&T IDF, it said, adding 70 percent of the investment will come as growth capital while 30 percent is a secondary transaction where existing shareholders are exiting their holdings, it said. The investment will support growth of L&T IDFs loan book across sectors such as renewable energy, roads, power transmission, airports and ports, it said. The funding will also strengthen the IDF’s capital structure, technology and digitisation strategy, it added. Partnering with Apis will support the IDF in accessing low cost international sources of funds which will be utilised to refinance operational infrastructure projects in India, the statement said. As of December it had a loan book of Rs 8,000 crore spread across 94 projects with half of the portfolio being guaranteed by a government authority, it said, adding there is no asset quality stress.

This partnership with Apis is a reflection of the value creation that the Indian infrastructure financing space offers to investors looking for sustainable returns in the long term,” Dinanath Dubhashi, the managing director and chief executive of L&T Finance Holdings, the promoter of the IDF said.

Udayan Goyal, co-founder and managing partner of Apis Partners said the IDF has “an exceptional track record in refinancing high potential infrastructure projects and raising funds at competitive fixed rates in tenors of up to 20 years”. The L&T Finance Holdings scrip closed 1.61 per cent down at Rs 137.50 a piece on the BSE, as against a 0.83 percent correction in the benchmark.

Source: PTI

Renewable energy certificate sales down 65 per cent to 3.68 lakh in April Sales of renewable energy certificates dropped by about 65 per cent to 3.68 lakh units in April as compared to 10.62 lakh in same month last year due to lower supply, according to official data.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange of India (PXIL) are the two power bourses in the country which are engaged in trading of renewable energy certificates (RECs) and electricity.

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he trading of RECs is conducted on the last Wednesday of every month.

According to official data, IEX saw total trade of 2.24 lakh in April compared to 7.81 lakh in same month last year.

Similarly, PXIL recorded sale of 1.44 lakh RECs in the month compared to 2.81 lakh a year ago. As many as 1,61,949 units of non-solar RECs were traded at IEX, with sell bids for 3,51,915 units and buy bids for 6,97,502 units.

Besides, 62,853 units of solar RECs were traded, with sell bids for 1,42,148 units and buy bids for 3,61,606 units in April. Both non-solar and solar RECs continued to see low supply situation with buy bids exceeding the sell bids due to very low inventory (supply).

Similarly at PXIL, for solar RECs, there were sell bids for 78,637 units while buy offers were for 1,97,645 units. In the non-solar REC category, the sell bids were for 1,32,223 units while buy bids were for 3,40,999 units in April. Under the renewable purchase obligation (RPO), bulk purchasers like discoms, open access consumers and capacitive users are required to buy certain proportion of RECs. They can buy RECs from renewable energy producers to meet the RPO norms.

The proportion of renewable energy for utilities are fixed by the central and state electricity regulatory commissions. The REC mechanism is a market based instrument to promote renewable sources of energy and development of market in electricity. It provides an alternative voluntary route to a generator to sell his electricity from renewable sources just like conventional electricity and offer the green attribute (RECs) separately to obligated entities to fulfil their RPO. Source: PTI

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Shanghai Electric Signs MOU with Saudi’s ACWA Power to Co-develop Global Solar Projects The MOU marks an expansion in Shanghai Electric’s operations in Belt and Road Initiative countries.

Represents a further step towards ACWA Power’s goal of generating electricity capacity of 150GW of Power by 2030.

Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Electric” or “the Group”), a leading multinational power generation and electrical equipment manufacturing conglomerate, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power on global clean energy projects, continuing the group’s expansion into Belt and Road initiative countries (initiative countries).

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he two clean-energy providers signed the strategic partnership during a visit by Shanghai Electric’s Chairman and CEO Zheng Jianhua to Saudi Arabia on April 16. The scope of the cooperation covers a range of energy projects, including gas turbines construction, desalination development, thermal, photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind and combined cycle power generation.

As part of the “2030 Vision” reform plan, the Saudi government aims to expand renewable energy generation to represent 30% of the country’s energy supply by 2030. Shanghai Electric has worked alongside ACWA Power to construct solar facilities since April 2018 in contribution towards this target.

This win-win partnership will allow us to work more closely with ACWA Power to develop clean-energy projects globally and to build our brand internationally as we continue to expand operations along initiative countries. said Zheng, adding that the Group plans to invest more in the region over the next several years.

Shanghai Electric has made efforts to grow overseas. In 2018, the Group’s overseas business income exceeded RMB 11.2 billion (about US$1.67 billion). Approximately 11% of this growth is attributable to global investment enterprise income, international engineering income and export business income.

To support the brand’s expansion, Shanghai Electric follows methods for global development. The first method has seen the company establish new enterprises in nine Belt and Road countries, including Vietnam, India, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Malaysia.

The second concurrent phase of development sees the brand expand its project footprint in initiative countries. Recent wins include the coal-electricity integration project in Pakistan Thar; the solar-thermal power project in Dubai; the power projects in Pakistan Qasim and Sahiwal; and constructions of the Panamanian and Serbian gas turbine projects.

ZunRoof raises USD 1.2 million Rooftop solar solutions provider ZunRoof has raised USD 1.2 million (around Rs 8 crore) from Godrej family office to fund expansion plans and strengthen product portfolio.

ZunRoof said the funding comes at an integral time for the company, which is working towards fulfilling the government’s target of achieving 40 GW of rooftop solar by 2022. “ZunRoof has raised a fresh round of funding of USD 1.2 million from Godrej family office, a company statement said.

Backing from Pirojsha Godrej comes at the perfect time – allows us to hire and retain great talent, scale solar rooftop operations across India and launch our home-IOT products, Pranesh Chaudhary, Founder & CEO, ZunRoof, said.

The company has designed solar rooftops for over 10,000 residential houses and specialises in solar rooftop design, installation, and management using technology.

Source: PTI

Source: Shanghai Electric

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SOLAR PROJECTS

GSFC commissions 10MW solar power project Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC) announced that the company has commissioned 10MW Solar Power Project. This green energy initiative is in addition to its windmill portfolio of 147 MW and Solar Rooftop of 1 MW.

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he solar project would contribute to the company’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) compliance. Further, being green and clean energy, it shall reduce CO2 emission by about 159,907MT, annually. The plant would generate around 2 crore units of Electrical Energy and it would contribute approximately Rs. 14 crore YoY to the company’s balance sheet.

- Recently, the company had informed about the closure of its Ammonia and Urea plants for maintenance work for around 50 days.GSFC is engaged in the manufacturing of fertilizers and industrial products. The company has created more than 24 brands of fertilizers, petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial gases, plastics, fibers and other products.At 2.45 pm, the stock of GSFC traded at per share price of Rs. 101.30, down by 0.78 percent on BSE.

Source: dsij.in

Azure Power Commissions 150 MW SECI Solar Power Project

Azure Power now has ~1600 MWs of high-quality operational solar assets Highest rated large-scale(1) solar operational portfolio in India, 68% with A to AAA domestic rated counterparties Most diversified solar portfolio in India in highest radiation zones, spread across 24 states, including an industry leading rooftop portfolio of over 200 MWs

Azure Power, a leading solar power producer in India, announced that it has commissioned a 150 MW solar power plant in Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan.

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his section is the first phase of 200 MWs allocated to Azure Power by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Government of India enterprise and a company with AA+ debt rating by ICRA, a Moody’s Company. Azure Power will supply power to SECI at a tariff of INR 2.48 (~US 3.6 cents) per kWh for 25 years. With this project commissioned, Azure Power now has ~1600 MWs of high-quality operational solar assets. This makes Azure Power’s portfolio the highest rated large-scale (1) solar operating portfolio in India with 68% of the company’s portfolio with A to AAA domestic rated counterparties. The company also has the most diversified solar portfolio in Indiain highest radiation

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- zones, spread across 24 states, including a leading solar rooftop portfolio of over 200 MWs, out of which ~81% of the projects are with sovereign counterparties.Azure Power has a strong portfolio in Rajasthan with entities like National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and SECI with debt ratings of AAA and AA+ by ICRA respectively. In 2015, Azure Power developed the first-ever SECI solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan, which was also the largest solar power project under India’s National Solar Mission at the time of its commissioning.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said, “With this commissioning, we have one of the highest rated and diverse solar portfolios in India. This is a direct result of our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities. We are delighted to make this contribution towards the realization of our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy through solar power generation.”

Source: Azure Power

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distributed solar

Waaree Energies Intros Off-Grid Solar Solutions EPC and solar PV company Waaree Energies has made its entry into the stand alone solar solutions segment by bringing to the market its new Off-Grid Inverters. Waaree Energies, the flagship company of Waaree Group, boasts the country’s largest solar PV module manufacturing capacity of 1.5 GW.

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he new development aims substantially cutting down on the dependency on the electrical grid. The solar inverters are available in capacities ranging from of 375 VA to 10 KW across a wide scale of commercial and residential consumers.A report pointed out that the new offering will uphold the strong ‘quality control’ measures of Waaree and will be made available across India in a span of a year through its robust supply/distribution/ franchise chain. With a strong business plan in place, the vertical aims to contribute significantly to the revenue of Waaree in FY 19-20.

With the Indian solar inverter market seen rowing at over 25% CAGR in the next 5 years, Waaree is said t be looking to capitalize on this growth curve and satiate the much needed quality service in the segment. Realising that 10 states are power deficit, Waaree aims to bridge the demand-supply gap and offload capacity from local DISCOMs, while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint.

The ‘generate, store and consume’ energy solution will also cater to clientele in remote areas, especially zones with challenging topography. Solar has been recognized to offer upto, 50% savings in electricity bills and the off-grid inverter solution will follow suit, said the report.

Source: m.dailyhunt.in

Airport gets 1MW solar power plant, to cater to 25% of energy needs a year Trichy international airport got a solar power plant to power its campus here when Airports Authority of India (AAI) board member Anuj Agarwal commissioned the 1 megawatt plant set up on its premises.

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stablished under the National Solar Mission at Rs 4.64 crore, the ground-based solar power plant in Capex model has commenced operation three months after work began on the project. Airport officials exuded confidence that the unit will produce 15.4 lakh units a year, which is approximately 25% of its annual energy consumption. It is expected to save the airport Rs 1.23 crore by way of electricity expenditure per year.The payback period expected of the plant would be three years and nine months.

The electricity sourced from the plant would light up the airport premises throughout the day while regular electricity supply will take care of the consumption at night AAI also said that it was looking forward to effectively minimizing greenhouse gas emissions thereby contributing to India’s goal of minimizing environmental degradation.

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Airport director K Gunasekaran told reporters that “the use of solar power to meet our electricity demand will save several lakhs per month.” He also said that AAI Trichy had handed over two ambulances to ‘108’ services in Trichy function.

The addition of the two ambulances has raised the number of vehicles to 32 including two bike ambulances.

Ambulance service officials said that one of the ambulances would be stationed on the airport premises to be utilized in case of emergencies to passengers or visitors or anyone in the nearby area. The second one will be used at Pulivalam on the outskirts of Trichy near Thuraiyur.

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in

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distributed solar

HCL Samuday invests Rs 30 crores to establish 14 solar mini grids in 15 villages Samuday, the ambitious CSR project of HCL Foundation, has invested Rs 30 crores over the last one year to set up 14 solar mini-grids in 15 villages in UP’s Hardoi district to supply uninterrupted power to 900 underserved rural households. It has also committed to spending Rs 3 crore every year over the next five years to maintain these grids.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on ways to effectively use solar power to energize India, especially rural India, Alok Verma, Associate Project Director, HCL Samuday, shared details about the mini-grids project.

He said: “HCL Samuday is working in collaboration with the Government of Uttar Pradesh on a solar electrification program in three blocks of Hardoi district, namely, Kachhauna, Behendar and Kothawan. We believe our solar power projects in 15 villages have the potential to transform the lives of thousands of beneficiaries from poor socio-economic background. Our efforts in solar energy are in line with the Government of India’s vision that 40 percent of the country’s needs should be supplied through renewable sources.

Alok Varma added: “We at HCL Samuday believe that supplying solar energy to underserved villages will have massive impact on several allied areas too. This includes improving the functioning of healthcare facilities and educational institutions, allowing greater access to potable drinking water by powering underground pipes, supporting agricultural practices by powering mini water pumps, and increasing means of livelihood by powering processing and refrigeration systems for use by fisheries, milk suppliers, etc.”

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ore than 70 high-profile stakeholders in India’s renewables energy sector attended the roundtable hosted by HCL Foundation, including Mr. Vishal Bharadwaj, CEO, Dalmia Bharat Foundation; Mr. Abhimanyu Sahu, COO, Schneider Electric India Foundation; Mr. Bishal Thapa, Managing Director, Saral Urja Nepal Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Pradeep Kashyap, Founder, MART; Mr. Samit Mitra, Director-Program Implementation, Smart Power India; and Mr. Gaurav Kumar, Co-Founder & Director, Claro Energy.Some key issues addressed at the roundtable included establishing sustainable business models to address India’s energy crisis, developing an entrepreneurial mindset among local communities so that they are able to expand and run solar grids without external help, and creating an eco-system to foster economic development. Speakers shared their experiences from working in the field and discussed ways to strengthen solar electrification programs through collaborations between corporates, the Government and non-profits.HCL Foundation’s Samuday project aims to develop model villages in Hardoi by focusing on improving six parameters: Infrastructure, agriculture practices, livelihood, WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene), health, and education. The Solar Electrification program, a major initiative undertaken by Samuday as part of this project, aims to ensure non-disruptive supply of electricity in underserved villages, especially to health centers and schools.

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in

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distributed solar

MNRE working on a unified portal to help consumers install rooftop solar panels

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in association with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank is developing a unified web portal, which will facilitate as a single-window clearance system for the consumers looking to install rooftop solar panels.

Besides, the portal will also help in promoting and creating awareness regarding usage of rooftop solar in India.In India, awareness related to installation of rooftop solar panels is very low among the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and households, said an official involved in the process.

MNRE, ADB and the World Bank are developing Unified Web Portal (UWP). The respective states are also part of the initiative. The portal will work like a single-window clearance system for the consumers looking to install rooftop solar panels, besides promoting and creating awareness regarding usage of rooftop solar in India.If someone wants to install a solar panel at roof of his business unit, the person would not know who to approach,” the official said.

The portal, the official said, will provide all information related to installation of solar panel.“There will be information as to what all agencies have to be approached, how to get clearance for installation of solar panels, what are the necessary documents required, which companies are developers of solar panels and install solar panels, and information related incentives and other benefits,” he said.India has set an ambitious target of having 100 gigawatt (GW) of solar capacity by 2022, and steps must be taken to scale up the use of solar energy in the country, he added.

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he country has achieved 26 GW solar capacity this year.According to an industry source, in 2018-19, auctions for around 8,000 MW solar capacities worth Rs 40,000 crore were cancelled.A survey revealed that several power-consuming small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India are hesitant to install rooftop solar panels due to perceived performance risks.The survey titled ‘Scaling Up Rooftop Solar in SME Sector in India’ conducted by global consultancy giant Deloitte across 150 MSMEs in six industrial clusters said that “the level of awareness about rooftop solar was quite low among the sample surveyed, many high-power consuming SMEs were hesitant to install rooftop solar because of the perceived performance risks.

Source: PTI

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MP govt invites bids for 25 MW rooftop solar projects Madhya Pradesh government said it has invited bids for 25 MegaWatt (MW) rooftop solar projects for industrial units in the state.

The tenders have been invited by state-owned Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) and the last day to submit financial bids is May 10, 2019.

Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) has… invited bids for 25 MW solar rooftop projects under RESCO mode for industries in Madhya Pradesh, MPUVNL said in a statement.

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round 34 companies from across the country attended a meeting organised here to discuss parameters related to the projects with officials of Madhya Pradesh government, World Bank and International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Around 700 industries in Mandideep industrial area near Bhopal have been identified for the project.

The project is being implemented jointly with Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC), which has also provided land on lease to the industries, MPUVNL said. It further said that “MPIDC will be a co-signatory to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and is offering payment assurance for the developer, and there is no subsidy in the project”. However, the World Bank (WB) through State Bank of India (SBI) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) through Punjab National Bank (PNB) are providing concessional loan to successful bidders under the project, MPUVNL said, adding that concessional funding from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is also available.

Rooftop solar project under RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model is an attractive option for industries to implement and achieve significant savings on their electricity bills.

MPUVN and MPIDC have joined hands in this effort to aggregate demand and achieve scale for a competitive tariff from RESCOs. For the first time, state agencies have come together for implementation of a marketbased rooftop solar tender for industries without subsidy support from central or the state, Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary, New and Renewable Energy Department, Madhya Pradesh said.

Source: PTI

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distributed solar

Orb Energy commences installation of third phase of Klene Pak’s 7.63 megawatt rooftop solar system – one of India’s largest multi-site rooftop solar installations Klene Paks is India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of fertilizer bags, and expects to save more than INR 6.5 crores per annum with payback in less than 3 years

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rb Energy (“Orb”) announced that it is in the process of completing phase three of a cumulative 7.63 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar at Klene Paks for their facilities across 3 locations in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Orb had previously commissioned a 3.63 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar system in Maddur, Karnataka and a 1 megawatt (MW) installation at Hassan, Karnataka in 2018, prior to commencing the third phase of a 3 megawatt (MW) installation in Hassan, Bangalore and Krishnagiri.

Commercial and industrial customers in India pay a lot for their electricity – Rs. 7-9 per unit. For companies like Klene Paks, the cost of power is at par with their raw material costs. We are extremely pleased that Klene Paks is now seeing substantial savings on their electricity bill from Orb’s rooftop solar systems. Their decision to work with Orb on a repeat basis is a testimony to the quality of our installations and after-sales service. said Damian Miller, Orb’s Chief Executive Officer.

Orb’s rooftop solar systems provide commercial, industrial and institutional customers a three- to four-year payback without any subsidy – an unheard-of return on investment on an unsubsidized solar power system. Because many businesses and institutions in India can only afford rooftop solar with finance, Orb also offers a collateral-free solar loan that matches their payback period, after which power from solar is effectively free.

Klene Paks is India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of PP woven fabrics with a production capacity of 60,000 MT per annum. Sipani Marbles, our other establishment at Krishnagiri, Tamilnadu has a processing line to craft world class marbles. Our goal is to retain our leadership position by providing quality products at a competitive price. One way to achieve this is to bring down our electricity costs and also support green energy. Once Orb completes installation, we expect to produce an average of approximately 38,000 units of clean solar electricity per day, and save more than INR 6.5 crores per annum in our electricity bill.” said Mr. Vimal Sipani, Managing Director, Klene Paks Limited.

Orb is a vertically integrated provider of rooftop solar solutions, that manufactures its own range of solar panels in Bangalore, India and provides a unique in-house finance for commercial, industrial and institutional customers to own their own rooftop solar system.

Waaree Energies sets up 14 solar power hubs in West Bengal Waaree Energies, a solar PV manufacturer with a capacity of 1.5 GW, has set up 14 solar power centres in the state. The main objective of these centres spread over 14 districts is to make inroads into solar projects segment.

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he company is also a leader in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and rooftop segment.

Waaree was an EPC player in 15 MW power project at the airport, 3.3 MW at the Metro, 8.89 MW with leading steel industry, 830KW leading FMCG and 800 KW with WBSEDCL.

Commenting on their future plans for the region, Nitin Kapadnis, senior VP (Franchise), Waaree Energies, said: “West Bengal is a promising market for the solar industry with notable year-on-year growth of approximately 100% and faster adoption of solar, especially in the commercial segments.West Bengal, being one of the most populated states in the country, has observed a significant growth in adoption of solar energy.

This also shows that consumers are cognizant of the electricity savings of approx. Around 50% that are achievable through solar electrification.”

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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distributed solar

India: BELECTRIC commissions two of Asia’s largest PV rooftop projects for Cleantech Solar Total capacity of 26 MWp BELECTRIC awarded as “Rooftop EPC Company of the year” BELECTRIC targets 1 GW of project allocations in India by end 2019

BELECTRIC, a German based company, is further increasing its footprint in India’s ever-growing solar industry by completing two large-scale PV rooftop projects. With a combined capacity of 26 Megawatt peak (MWp), these solar power plants are amongst Asia’s largest rooftop installations

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he projects were developed by Cleantech Solar, the regional leader in solar energy solutions for corporate customers in Asia.

On behalf of Cleantech Solar, BELECTRIC took control of the construction and commissioning of the large-scale projects. The 16 MWp system for Arvind Limited started full commercial operation while the other 10 MWp system, installed at Apollo Tyres’ facility in Chennai, commenced operation this month. Both large-scale projects were constructed within six months while maintaining the highest Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) standards. The trade magazine EQ INTERNATIONAL acknowledged BELECTRIC’s performance in India with the Gold Award “Rooftop EPC Company of the year.”

We are particularly proud to have completed these large-scale projects not only on time and quality but also in accordance with our high European health and safety standards, explains Ingo Alphéus, CEO of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery GmbH. “This underpins our strong position in the Indian EPC market, which is not only one of the largest and fastest growing solar markets but also one of the most challenging.”

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We are delighted that these industry leaders have once again chosen Cleantech Solar as their trusted long-term partner. We are pleased to collaborate with BELECTRIC, which has a proven track record in rooftop solar deployment and shares our values of delivering high performing systems with high HSE & Quality standards. We look forward to working with BELECTRIC again for future projects,” said Raju Shukla, Chairman and Founder of Cleantech Solar.

Jitendra Singh, CEO & Managing Director of BELECTRIC Photovoltaic India Pvt. Ltd, adds: “Beside these two projects, we are building a ground-mounted solar farm with a total capacity of 250 MWAC. This solar plant in Karnataka is going to be the largest capacity installation we have ever done in India. Construction works are well underway and we anticipate full commercial operation in 2019. With this and further projects we are making great progress towards achieving our target of one gigawatt of project allocations in India by the end of this year.”

BELECTRIC Photovoltaic India Pvt. Ltd. is one of the established EPCs in India. Since 2009 the company has been involved in solar projects in India with an installed capacity of more than 370 MWp. Together with the projects currently under construction and in development, BELECTRIC is likely to break through the one gigawatt level of installed capacity by the end of 2019. Some of the Indian projects were realised with the Wiring Harness System and the new PEG substructure solution provided by BELECTRIC’s subsidiary, Jurchen Technology, which has a manufacturing unit in India. BELECTRIC is steadily growing its team in India in preparation for new projects and has moved to a new office location in Mumbai. The new facility in Lotus Corporate Park can accommodate more than double the capacity of personnel compared to the former location.

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distributed solar

Dedicated financing support key to scale up rooftop solar in SME sector in India

The MSME sector is expected to contribute significantly to achieving the Government’s target of developing 40 gigawatt (GW) of rooftop solar capacity by 2022.

The report highlights possible solutions for addressing the key barriers impacting rooftop solar growth in MSME sector and some them are:

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caling up rooftop solar in MSME sector in India requires addressing issues related to lack of low cost financing, inadequate level of awareness and lack of rooftop aggregation models, according to a new report from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. The report “Scaling up rooftop solar in SME sector in India” evaluates key issues based on the primary survey done across 150 MSMEs in six industrial clusters (rubber and plastic; pharmaceuticals; auto; paper; food and beverage; textiles) in India, selected on the basis of a pre-determined criteria, and recommends possible solutions for triggering rooftop solar growth in MSME sector in India.

Limited access to finance, need to strengthen awareness and escalating energy expenses are impacting the long-term profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability of the sector.

However, it presents great opportunity, and a multi-pronged approach involving supportive regulations, risk-bearing financing, and awareness building are needed to demonstrate viability and help scale up rooftop solar in the sector, says Abhishek Bhaskar, Energy Specialist (CIF).

A well-conceived walk through survey of 150 MSME units spread across six different clusters across India depicted the willingness towards adoption of rooftop solar applications but strengthening an enabling ecosystem shall be critical for for its proliferation says Tushar Sud, Partner (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP).

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In the initial stages target clusters where likelihood of achieving intended outcomes highest higher and developing customized market plans is imperative.

Indian rooftop solar market is currently not geared to implement large-scale rooftop solar projects under the OPEX model in the MSME sector without institutional or financial interventions. A dedicated aggregation vehicle would support implementation of rooftop solar projects across target MSME clusters Regulatory changes for adoption of group and virtual net metering could assist in implementing aggregation models in the MSME clusters and overcoming issues related to scale, diverse customer profile, and financing to a large extent.

Supporting dedicated MSME based portfolios within existing/new lines of concessional credit shall support development rooftop solar projects in MSME sector.

Dedicated scheme supported by Ministry of MSMEs with financial interventions like interest subvention and the Partial Risk Guarantee Fund mechanism through budgetary allocations required for initial pilot projects across target clusters.

Creating awareness and capacity building through dedicated initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps support the support adoption of rooftop solar in MSME sector.

World Bank has long supported India’s renewable energy ambitions, incl. rooftop solar, which is an integral part of our clean energy strategy. Supported by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), the program has delivered financing to close to 300 MW so far working in close partnership with SBI, and is all poised to surpass its initial goals. This CTF supported work is quite timely since a significant amount of this financing goes to installations for SMEs, a sector that we have also identified as one of the potential areas for future growth says Simon Stolp, Lead Energy Specialist, The World Bank.

The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) accelerates climate action by empowering transformations in clean technology, energy access, climate resilience, and sustainable forests in 72 developing and middle-income countries. As part of CIF, the $5.5 billion Clean Technology Fund (CTF) is empowering transformation in developing countries by providing resources to scale up low carbon technologies with significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings.

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Energy storage

Ingeteam supplies its storage power station for pilot BESS project in Dubai’s largest Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park Amplex-Emirates LLC was awarded a pilot project by Dubai’s Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) to install a battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai; the first energy storage system paired with a photovoltaic plant at a grid-scale level in the United Arab Emirates.

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GK Insulators LTD supplied its NAS batteries and INGETEAM was responsible for the supply of a 1.2 MW power conversion system (PCS) with its medium voltage components (power transformer, MV switchgear, etc.), and the power plant controller (PPC). Dubai has accelerated investment in renewable energy to eliminate dependence on fossil fuels and for sustainable economic growth, and is building the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest solar park, in the south of the Emirate. Dubai is targeting introduction of 5,000 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) by 2030, which will raise the ratio of renewable energy to 25% of total generation capacity. Furthermore, Dubai is seeking a 75% power output from clean energy sources by 2050. In anticipation of the largescale introduction of renewable energy in the future, DEWA installed a NAS battery system in the solar park to demonstrate its effectiveness in stabilizing grid fluctuations caused by the nature of renewable energy.

The 1.2 MW/7.2 MWh NAS storage system is allowing DEWA for evaluating the technical and economic capabilities of this technology when integrated with PV arrays in order to increase grid stability and reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, the storage system will be also used for energy time shifting, frequency control and voltage control by using the large capacity of the batteries. This kind of hybrid systems help to deliver clean and reliable power to energy consumers with a greater availability and cost-effectiveness. The Ingeteam supply was comprised of a 1.2 MVA power station equipped with two storage inverters and all the rest of components for a LV-to-MV and DCto-AC conversion (medium voltage transformer, medium voltage switchgear, etc.). These inverters have been conceived to perform according to the most demanding international grid codes, featuring

some very advanced operating functions such as black start capability. Moreover, they are suitable for both standalone and grid-tied systems. Also, Ingeteam supplied the Power Plant Controller (PPC) and the BMS interface control that manages the operation of the overall system, developing the more advanced control features, such as:

Energy Time Shifting. This control mode enables an advanced power generation planning, making the power plant’s production profile unmatch the consumption profile, allowing electric utilities to address daily peak demand that falls outside periods of solar generation.

Predictable PV+BESS production: The BESS is connected in the boundary of the PV plant and receives the real-time PV production. The power station automatically changes the active power according to the PV production variations to ensure a PV+BESS predictable power production in the common point of connection at the Syhaslm- 33/11kV substation.

Fast Frequency Regulation. The system adjusts the power production depending on the frequency variations.

Voltage Droop Control. According to an established droop gain, the system selects the necessary reactive power at the point of connection, depending on the existing voltage difference.

Source: ingeteam

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awards & Recognitions

Hartek Solar Founder-Director gets global acclaim, figures in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

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The only entrepreneur from the region north of Delhi to figure in this coveted list, Simarpreet has taken up the fight against climate change by contributing to the larger cause of building sustainable energy infrastructure on every roof in the form of innovative small-scale solar solutions

artek Solar Founder-Director Simarpreet Singh, a young and dynamic entrepreneur who has set out on a mission to provide clean and affordable energy across the country, has made it to the coveted Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list of achievers for taking up the fight against climate change by contributing to the larger cause of building sustainable energy infrastructure on every roof in the form of innovative small-scale solar solutions.Notably, Simarpreet is the only entrepreneur from the region north of Delhi who has figured in this prestigious roll of honour.

Among the 300 young innovators across10 categories chosen from over 2,000 entries received from 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Simarpreet has stood out in the Industry, Manufacturing and Energy Category for launching customised plug-and-play rooftop solar kits with a mobile solar van aimed at providing sustainable electricity to rural communities. Easier to install with lower maintenance costs owing to its optimised and non-invasive design, these rooftop kits based on a unique remote sensing technology are turning out to be a game changer in driving the demand for rooftop solar, particularly in the residential category.

Hailing the achievement as an acknowledgement of his efforts directed at creating a better and sustainable world for future generations, Simarpreet said, “Sustainability was at the core of the very idea behind founding Hartek Solar in May 2017. Out of the billion people worldwide who do not have access to electricity, 300 million are from India. I want to reach out to as many of them as possible and make a difference in their lives. Working relentlessly towards it with a focused approach, Hartek Solar has emerged among the leading rooftop solar installers in just two years of its inception.”

Driven by a resolve to contribute significantly to the country’s clean energy ecosystem, Simarpreet had embarked on Hartek Solar with a mission of fighting climate change through creation of sustainable energy infrastructure. Simarpreet was instrumental in launching customised plug-andplay rooftop solar kits in May 2018, which have received a tremendous response from residents. Emerging among the first companies in India to launch customised rooftop solar kits equipped with a unique remote sensing technology under Simarpreet’s stewardship in May 2018, Hartek Solar has installed 25-MW rooftop solar kits so far. Simarpreet is credited with making the remote sensing technology, which has largely remained confined to large rooftop solar installations owing to its non-viability for small-scale solar from the commercial viewpoint, commercially feasible for smallscale plants as well by linking it with consumers’ Wi-Fi or GPRS SIM card so that they can get alerts on cleaning and maintenance as well as real-time data on energy generation and savings. The Hartek Solar Founder-Director has gone a step ahead by launching a solar van equipped with all devices catering to installation, operation and maintenance so as to take Hartek Solar’s services to the next level.

Manned by a specialised team of engineers, the van offers a one-stop solution catering to all the needs of rooftop solar consumers, ranging from cleaning, maintenance, installation and operation to checking the efficiency of solar plants and servicing inverters. Simarpreet is now firming up Hartek Solar’s foothold by working on innovative small-scale solar solutions like solar trees and solar fencing and attractive business models to capitalise on emerging trends.

Source: adfactorspr

JinkoSolar Wins the 5th All Quality Matters Award from TÜV Rheinland JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or “Company”), (NYSE code JKS), a reputable solar module manufacturer in the world, announced it won the 5th All Quality Matters Award for PV Module Energy Yield Simulation (Mono Group) at the Solar Congress 2019 organized by TÜV Rheinland.

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ÜV Rheinland’s All Quality Matters Award is the most competitive and highly respected industry award for PV modules, inverters, energy storage systems, and components recognized for its objective and credible evaluation process and authoritative neutral selection mechanism.

The careful evaluation of energy yield simulation is based on performance testing of samples randomly selected from mass production under global conditions that range from irradiance of 100-1100W/m2 and temperatures of 15-75°C. JinkoSolar ranked first in testing conducted for the mono group and was recognized for outstanding energy yield and its high quality standards.

Dr. Jin Hao, Vice President of JinkoSolar commented, “I am pleased to have followed up our win in the poly group last year by winning the energy yield simulation award for the mono group this year. Our R&D team remains dedicated to the development and application of cutting-edge technologies. We continue to accumulate our mono technology and are working to ensure the stable and highly-efficient performance of our modules in PV plant operations.”

Source: ir.jinkosolar

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international

Norway Wealth Fund to Tighten Coal Ban, Add Green Infrastructure Absolute caps on the fuel would target big miners, utilities Renewable infrastructure is first new asset class in a decade Norway plans to tighten restrictions on coal investments for its $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund while opening it up for renewable-energy infrastructure assets.

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he government proposes to expand its coal ban by adding absolute caps on production of thermal coal, or its use in power generation, which would target big companies such as Glencore Plc, Anglo American Plc, BHP Group Ltd., RWE AG and Uniper SE. The current restrictions, introduced in 2015, have been criticized by politicians from opposition parties and environmental groups because their emphasis on relative thresholds mean miners and utilities with a big exposure to coal were left out.

“The coal criterion is amended to also capture companies with considerable coal-related operations in absolute terms,” Norway’s Finance Ministry said.

The government proposed to keep the current rules excluding companies that base more than 30 percent of their revenues or activities on coal, while adding absolute limits of 20 million tons of coal for miners and 10,000 megawatts for power capacity.

To be sure, the current rules allow the fund to stay invested in a company in breach of the threshold if it has specific plans that would make it compliant at a later point, suggesting that could also be the case for the new restrictions. Norway’s coal ban has already led the fund to exclude 69 companies.

Renewable Infrastructure The Conservative-led government earlier resisted calls from several political parties and environmental activists to allow the fund to invest in renewable infrastructure, but said that expectations of significant future investments in these assets made the market interesting.

Allowing for unlisted renewable energy infrastructure is not a climate policy measure, but is a part of the investment strategy for the fund,” Finance Minister Siv Jensen said in a statement. “These investments shall be subject to the same profitability and transparency requirements as the other investments of the Fund.

The government proposed a cap of 2 percent of the fund for renewable-energy infrastructure, and signalled that it would start out in developed markets only. It proposed doubling the upper limit on the so-called environmentrelated mandates to 120 billion kroner ($14 billion), it said in the statement. The infrastructure move marks the first time a new asset class has been added to the fund since it received permission to invest in real estate in 2010. Apart from those property investments, which made up only 3 percent of the portfolio at the end of 2018, the fund is only allowed to hold unlisted equity if the company plans a listing. The proposal adds another step in the diversification of Norway’s wealth, which was built on oil and gas production. The Nordic country, western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer, last month took a step forward in cutting the fund’s holdings in oil and gas companies in order to reduce its overall exposure to the risk of lower crude prices. Investments in renewable energy production have been stable at about $300 billion a year since 2012, Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the fund, said in an October letter to the Finance Ministry where it detailed how its mandate could be opened to infrastructure.

Source: bloomberg

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international

China to give priority to subsidy-free renewable projects in new plan China will give priority to the construction of wind and solar projects that can operate without subsidies this year, and will cap new subsidised capacity, the energy regulator said, part of efforts to ease a subsidy payment backlog.

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fter a rapid fall in manufacturing costs, China has been gradually cutting the amount of subsidies to renewable energy providers. It said last year that it would take action to ensure wind and solar generators can achieve “grid price parity” with traditional energy sources such as coal. China has already promised to launch a series of solar and wind projects that can provide electricity at the same price as coal-fired power, after a surge in capacity left the finance ministry with a subsidy payment backlog of at least 120 billion yuan ($17.9 billion). After studying local conditions, regional energy bureaus should give priority to the construction of wind and solar plants with grid price parity, and rationally control the scale of new projects that still require subsidy, China’s National Energy Administration said in new draft rules.

“Projects that require government subsidy will have to compete with each other on prices … Government payment will prioritise the projects that are expected to become subsidyfree in the near term,” the draft plan said.

It called on local authorities to be more rational when approving new capacity, especially for offshore wind power development. Developers of wind projects will be ordered to ensure their proposed on-grid prices do not exceed the benchmark prices set by government, and also ensure the amount of power wasted because of grid connection failures is kept below 5 percent. The NEA also plans to improve the management of solar power subsidy by imposing differential policies for large solar stations, distributed solar projects, solar plants designed to help alleviate poverty and government-led pilot schemes. The energy bureau is also encouraging solar and wind projects that have already received the green light from authorities on construction, to switch to subsidy-free.

Total subsidies for solar projects in 2019 have been set at 3 billion yuan. Of that, 750 million yuan will be allocated to “distributed” rooftop power projects with a combined capacity of 3.5 gigawatts (GW), with the rest going to solar stations, the NEA said. China added 20.59 GW of wind capacity in 2018, bringing the country’s total to 184 GW, according to NEA data.

It remains shy of its 2020 target of 210 GW. Source: reuters

Bolivia joins International Solar Alliance

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During the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia, Bolivia has signed the framework agreement to join the International Solar Alliance. o far, 73 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was unveiled by Prime Minister of India and French President at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris on November 30, 2015. The idea was to form a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps in their energy requirements through a common approach. India, with a target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, would account for a tenth of ISA’s goal. ISA is the first international body that will have a secretariat in India.

Source: fresherslive

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featured

Huawei Supplies Smart String Inverters to ReNew Power's Largest Utility PV Plant Recently, ReNew Power, India’s largest renewable energy IPP (Independent Power Producer) announced that its 300 MW solar plant at Pavagada Solar Park was successfully on commercial operation. It’s the largest project in terms of capacity that ReNew Power has commissioned to date and will help mitigate 0.6 million tonnes of CO2 emission per year.

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his is the first utility scale PV plant in India uses high efficiency Mono PERC solar modules, fixedtilted PV panels with a tilt angle of 15° due south and flat panel and Huawei FusionSolar 1500V smart string inverter. Especially this year, Huawei updates the traditional astronomical algorithm and adopt intelligent trackers based on AI algorithms to achieve the integration of tracker control and power supply, maximizing energy yields. It’s worth mentioning that the SUN2000-95KTL-INH0 (“95KTL”) 1500Vdc smart interactive string inverters are used in this project. It’s a ground-breaking design in inverter technology, offering 12 strings intelligent monitoring and fast trouble-shooting, 6 MPPT per unit, effectively reducing string mismatch, maximum efficiency 99.0%, European efficiency 98.8%, PLCC (Power Line Carrier Communication)

- and Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis supported, no vulnerable parts like fuses and LCD, protection degree of IP65, high availability, high uptime and low O&M (“operation and maintenance”)cost. With the PLCCtechnology, no RS485 cables is required, which delivers a simpler system with safer and more reliable data transmission.

Pavagada Solar Park is located on the flat terrain with high radiation and very little rainfall. It’s part of Karnataka’s Solar Policy 2014-2021, which aims to shift the dependency from conventional power resources to eco-friendly energy resources. Huawei is very grateful to announce that string inverters have been installed on 3.5 GW of PV plants in India till this April. It’s honored to get together with ReNew Power passing the benefits of clean energy to everyone.

Global Solar PV Market Returns to Double-Digit Growth in 2019, IHS Markit Says The global solar photovoltaic (PV) market is set to bounce back from single-digit growth in 2018 to 25 percent growth in 2019, reaching 129 gigawatts of solar installations, according to global business information provider IHS Markit (NASDAQ: INFO). This revived growth comes mainly from markets outside of China, which are forecast to rise by 43 percent in 2019. Spain, Vietnam and other countries have 2019 deadlines for project completions, as falling module prices at the end of 2018 have led to increased demand.

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iven the current indications of development activity, China, the world’s largest PV market, could grow by 2 percent in 2019, after reaching 45 gigawatts in 2018. The majority of these installations would come in the second half of the year, according to the latest “PV Installations Tracker” from IHS Markit.

Right now, the outlook for China remains highly uncertain, as the new support scheme for PV is yet to be announced,” said Josefin Berg, research and analysis manager, IHS Markit.

“Plans to focus policy more on unsubsidized PV systems could slow near-term deployment, unless strict construction deadlines are imposed to spur 2019 demand.

The United States is forecast to overtake India in 2019, to once again become the second-largest PV market.

As the 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC) ends this year, some projects will rush to meet completion.

However, the safe harbor provisions introduced in 2018, which require a 5 percent investment to be made by the end of 2019 to enjoy the full ITC rate, have also shifted projected installations from 2019 to later years.

“Increasing project development activity shows that the years after 2019 will be booming,” Berg said.

In India, the push toward lower tender prices, at a time when components have become more costly through safeguard duties, has delayed several tenders and could shake up the future Indian solar PV market. Europe is the region with the largest upswing over the past year, after the minimum import price on modules ended. Installations grew by 23 percent in 2018, reaching 12 gigawatts and is forecast to surpass 19 gigawatts in 2019. The revived utility-scale market in Spain alone makes installations almost 60 percent of growth in the region.

Source: ihsmarkit

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featured The strong growth in wind energy generation is making a key contribution to ensuring countries meet their international climate agreement commitments whilst satisfying rising energy demand. It forms a crucial part of the solution to reduce emissions, strengthen energy security, lower costs, and boost investment into local economies.

Appendix: Regional highlights: Asia China accounted for the highest proportion of new installations in 2018, both offshore (40%) and onshore (45%).

Latin America The Latin American wind market has grown over the past ten years, accumulating total installations of 25 GW. Auction and tenders will drive the majority of installations in the Latin American markets. Brazil and Argentina, for example, continue to conduct joint capacity auctions for onshore wind and solar.

Colombia is an emerging wind market, with the government setting the ambition for 1.5 GW of renewable capacity by 2022.

Africa and the Middle East

Governments of South-East Asian markets like Vietnam and the Philippines have set targets for wind energy deployment to increase installations.

The majority of onshore installations are expected to come from Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa, adding over 6 GW new capacity by 2023.

Indonesia and Thailand have plans in place to decrease reliability on nuclear energy and fossil fuels.

The highest capacity additions in 2018 came from Egypt with 380 MW, proving the progress of this market.

Source: gwec.net

Insights from Li Zhenguo, President of LONGi: How Solar Energy Reshapes the Future In a keynote speech at the Future of Technology Summit in Washington, Zhenguo Li, President of LONGi, spoke about how solar energy can reshape the future. The consensus is that the energy transition will accelerate and renewables will grow to a dominant role in energy consumption for the next 10-20 years. Moreover, PV technology continues its rapid progress while cost decreases. It stands to reason that in the next 2-3 years, PV will become the most economical power source in most parts of the world.

“In fact, when solar power is cheap enough and its manufacturing is fully clean, it can also undertake another more important task – that of restoring the earth’s ecosystem,” Mr. Li said. It is estimated that if 70% of earth’s deserts can be transformed to oasis, all carbon emissions generated by human activities can be absorbed, enabling a promising future for solar.

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ooking at the future of PV technology, Mr. Li said, “The development of solar technology is changing every day. Pairedwith energy storage and global energy interconnections, we can solve issues with intermittency. By then, ‘solar energy + storage’ will be the future energy solution, and a powerful catalyst for climate change.” Zhenguo Li added that LONGi is dedicated to promoting solar power applications through technological innovations. Within the industry, LONGi has invested the most in R&D in the past several years. At the same time, LONGi has been pursuing clean manufacturing.

Since 2015, LONGi has sited its main production facilities in Yunnan, China and Kuching, Malaysia, where hydropower is plentiful. This power source conforms to LONGi’s vision of “Producing clean energy with clean energy”. Recently, LONGi has been searching for coastal places with rich sunshine and appropriate terrain that is capable to realize a production model that completely powers solar manufacturing with solar energy. This is called ‘Solar for Solar’. Here, LONGi can combine solar power and pumped hydro energy to make a value chain that is absolutely clean with zero carbon emissions.

Source: LONGi Solar

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featured

GWEC: Global Wind Report forecasts over 300 GW capacity to be added in next 5 years – growth to come from emerging markets and offshore wind GWEC launches a wholly re-designed 14th edition of the Global Wind Report, the most widely used source of data on the wind energy sector for industry, governments and other stakeholders.

Latest Market Outlook: Over 300 GW of new capacity to be added in next five years.

Emerging wind markets to watch include Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

Offshore wind is entering into an accelerated growth period as the sector becomes truly globalised – GWEC predicts 40GW of new offshore wind capacity to be installed over the next 5 years (around 15% of total installations each year).

GWEC Market Intelligence identifies three global drivers for further industry growth: industry participant’s changing business models, corporate procurement outside mature markets and increased focus on value creation.

The Global Wind Energy Council has published the 14th edition of the Global Wind Report, the wind industry’s flagship publication which provides a comprehensive view of the sector. Data in the report confirms that 2018 was a positive year for the wind industry, with 51.3 GW of new installations.

Market-based mechanisms, such as auctions, tenders and Green Certificates were the main drivers behind new installations in 2018.

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WEC expects strong growth in the coming period, with around 300 GW of new capacity to be added in the next five years, as the wind industry continues to prove its cost-competitiveness in relation to incumbent fossil fuel generation and nuclear around the world.

Karin Ohlenforst, Director of Market Intelligence at GWEC, said: “2018 was a good year for the global wind industry, with installations remaining above 50 GW. The dominance of onshore wind power is not surprising given continued and growing investment, with market-based mechanisms like auctions, tenders and Green Certificates being the main drivers of new onshore installations, accounting for 35% of total installations. 2018 was also a pivotal year for the offshore industry, particularly in Asia. If governments remain committed, offshore wind will become a truly global market in the next five years.”

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Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: “We have changed the way we gather, analyse and share data. This year’s Global Wind Report is built on our new and improved Market Intelligence function that offers unmatched exclusive data and insights. We are growing our team and are more dedicated than ever to steering the industry and supporting our members into new and exciting opportunities for wind energy.”

Looking ahead, the market outlook for the global wind industry is strong. GWEC Market Intelligence expects over 300 GW of new capacity to be added in the next five years. In the short term, governmental support, in the form of auction and tender programmes and renewable targets, will continue to be a significant driver for new installations.

In addition, opportunities for wind energy to operate on a commercial basis are increasing as the industry continues to prove its cost-competitiveness and bilateral agreements, such as corporate PPAs, grow. The report identifies three global trends as the main drivers of future market growth, aside from regulation and government targets: changing business models of industry participants, unlocking further volume through corporate procurement outside of mature markets and how value-focused solutions, such as hybrid generation plants, are unlocking more opportunities for the wind industry. Changing business models of industry stakeholders are driving growth by intensifying competition.

Increasing digitalisation opportunities are bringing in new players with new competencies and solutions, whilst a number of traditional players are revising their models to make investments outside of their core business. Meanwhile, a steady growth in corporate sourcing as large companies choose wind as their main preference for power procurement is driving strong growth in mature wind markets. It has the potential to propel further demand but support from local regulators and authorities is required to make this happen.

Taking corporate procurement outside of mature markets can unlock even further volume for wind.

The rising focus on the value an energy source provides to a system and a market, including the produced energy output, is easing integration and helping to match supply and demand. Therefore, in order to develop new solutions for technology, project design and financial structuring, regulatory adjustments are required to account for the added value of energy sources such as wind. GWEC Market Intelligence uses original data and analysis to compile the report and offers broader insight with individual country profiles, stakeholder insights and thought leadership across all regions to inform members and help facilitate the growth and development of the wind industry. GWEC, together with key industry stakeholders, is working to increase policy momentum, as well as understanding of the competitiveness of wind energy globally.

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featured

LONGi 72 Bifacial Half Cell Module Achieves World Record with 450W Front-Side Power LONGi announced that the front side power of its 72-cell Bifacial half ccut module exceeded 450W, achieving the world’s highest power in this module type. This new record was tested and verified by renowned certification agency TÜV-SÜD.

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his is another validation of LONGi’s strategy of enterprise growth through technological innovations.

On April 24 last year, the power of LONGi 60-cell monocrystalline half-cut PERC module exceeded 360W, setting the world record of the highest power of 60-cell PERC half-cut module.

Dr. Lv Jun, Vice President of LONGi Solar, said: “LONGi monocrystalline half cell module combines monocrystalline PERC cell technology and bifacial half cell module construction to effectively reduce package loss and increase average output by 5-10W. Half cell has obvious advantages in power generation under weak light and shadow conditions and excellent heat spot resistance. This new record in module power is another step in our innovative breakthrough and journey.”

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In January this year, the positive conversion efficiency of LONGi monocrystalline PERC cells reached 24.06%, breaking through the industry’s previously theoretical PERC cell efficiency limit of 24%. Continuously refreshing the world record shows LONGi’s continuous technological leadership. As reported in LONGi’s 2018 financial results, the company invested USD183.58 million in R&D in 2018 and has a team of about 548 staff in R&D. LONGI has registered 526 patents and its products and technology are always in the leading positions in the industry. The transformation towards clean and low carbon energy is accelerating globally and with it, the growth of photovoltaics is increasing rapidly. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the total global installed capacity of photovoltaic is expected to reach 1721 GW by 2030, and further increase to 4670 GW by 2050. Innovations in photovoltaic technology will be at the forefront and high efficiency and high quality photovoltaic products are the “main force” to promote energy change.

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trade wars

USITC Institutes Investigation Based on Hanwha Q CELLS’s Claims of Infringement of their Patented Passivation Technology Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corp. and Hanwha Q CELLS USA Inc. (collectively, “Hanwha Q CELLS”), global leading photovoltaic manufacturers of high-performance solar cells and modules, announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of alleged patent infringement by JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group.

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his decision by the USITC signifies that Hanwha Q CELLS’s complaint satisfies the Commission’s rigorous pleading requirements, including evidence of importation and alleged infringement. The investigation will shortly be assigned to an administrative law judge who will set a schedule for the case. The USITC’s decision is based on a formal complaint filed by Hanwha Q CELLS on March 4, 2019 in which the company alleged that JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group are violating U.S. trade laws by unlawfully importing and selling solar cells and modules that infringe Hanwha Q CELLS’s patented passivation technology. The complaint alleges that JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group have unlawfully incorporated this patented passivation technology—which plays an important role in improving the efficiency and performance of solar cells—into the structure of certain of their solar cells. In the USITC, Hanwha Q CELLS seeks an exclusion order to halt the importation of infringing products and a permanent cease and desist order to stop the respondents from importing, marketing, and selling those products in the United States.

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We are pleased that the USITC has decided to initiate this investigation,” said Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corp. “Ensuring strong protections for intellectual property signals to producers that it is worthwhile to undertake the R&D necessary to increase efficiency and lower the cost of solar energy. Ultimately, protecting our intellectual property rights will enable us to keep innovating and investing in our products, which in turn will contribute to the growth and development of the U.S. solar industry and market.

Source: Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd.

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exclusive interview

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Our long-term plan is to create a corpus of $1,000 million by 2025 with contributions which will give us an interest of up to $40 million.

Mr. Upendra Tripathy Director General International Solar Alliance

EQ: What is the future outlook on funding arrangements?

UT : The Government of India gave us $16 million in 2016 and it is giving $2.5 million every year for five years. The government has been giving us money for the past three years and that will stop after two years. As a host country, the government of India had initially promised up to Rs 400 crore. There are other global institutions we are able to attract investment from. The World Bank has given us $0.5 million and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to give us $2 million. The European Union has given $300,000 to build Infopedia. It is an information platform which will have three parts.

First, it will have 1,000 solar videos, then there will be a country counter where each country will showcase what best it has to offer for the industry.

The third aspect is a communication platform where ministers, scientists, experts from 121 member countries can interact.

EQ: How much corpus do you think will be sufficient for ISA to become financially stable? What is the return on investment for the companies who donates to ISA? Do they have decisionmaking power too?

UT : Our long-term plan is to create a corpus of $1,000 million by 2025 with contributions which will give us an interest of up to $40 million. So, once we have a corpus like this we will not need a membership fee. Once an organisation donates the money they can not take part in any decision on how ISA is utilizing it. As far as benefits to the companies for donating to ISA are concerned, we are open to provide the platform for engagements with our member countries which can be beneficial to them in many ways. Recently, the minister of Cuba wanted to meet all our corporate partners and we have facilitated that. Suppose the corporate partners have any issue with any country we can directly communicate to the minister in a particular country. We have a dedicated desk for the corporate partners. If they have any legal issues in any part of the world, we forward it to our national focal contact in that country.

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A treaty-based intergovernmental organization of 126 sunshine countries, International Solar Alliance (ISA) is aiming to become self sustainable. Launched in 2015 on the sidelines of COP21, the alliance is implementing demand aggregation model to make large scale solar projects economically viable. Upendra Tripathy, Director General, ISA in an exclusive interaction with Ankush Kumar talks about the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key initiatives and long term plans.

EQ: Could you give us a break-up of the funds that you have raised so far?

UT : We have got a working budget of up to $4.5 million to be utilized until December this year. This money has come from the interest of the donations made by our partners. The government of India has given around $16 million to ISA which has been deposited in State Bank of India (SBI) and is giving around 7 per cent interest. Chinese solar company CLP has given us $1 million. SoftBank has given us $2 million. Indian PSUs and government organisations like SECI, IREDA, NTPC, REC, PGCIL, CIL, PFC, ITPO have given us $1 million each. All of this works out to around $11 million. Therefore, with contribution from India which is 16 million and this $11 million we have a total of around $27 million. On all these donations we are getting an interest of around 7 per cent.

EQ: You had earlier talked about an aggregation model for pitching large scale projects in other nations. How does this model work and what could be the core benefits?

UT : Beginning next month, we are going to organise a meeting of our partners. The idea is to actively engage and promote the ISA agenda which talks about pitching for large scale projects like home lighting systems and solar cookers by using the demand aggregation model. Through this, we aim to bring the cost of a home lighting system close to what a family pays for kerosene oil. Otherwise they will not buy. Through this aggregation model of demand, risk and capital, we can achieve universal energy access. We also need to establish institutions like a world solar bank which can be dedicated to providing financial assistance for solar projects.

EQ: Solid waste management is a critical area for sustainability. Do you think ISA, being a large and global organisation, can help in building a universal procedure for waste management?

UT : We are trying to recommend to every member country that for every solar unit they generate, they should levy 0.001 per cent of that cost as cess and this should be accumulated as a solar fund. This fund should be used to treat solar waste as it gets generated. In 25 years, all these solar panels will be waste. So, the best thing is to prepare it for now. We will recommend to all these solar countries to create a solar waste fund and levy a sub-charge on solar electricity. We believe that the present generation, which is using solar energy, should make the future generations ready for this solar revolution.

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exclusive interview EQ: What makes SolarEdge technology different than other inverters?

Mr. Shashidhara BV Head of SolarEdge India

>>

EQ: Why should an installer, EPC or system owner choose SolarEdge compared to traditional inverter options?

SB : There are multiple benefits that installers, EPCs, and system owners can derive from SolarEdge solutions compared to traditional string inverters. The SolarEdge system produces more energy by mitigating power losses caused by module-level mismatch for maximum power generation.

With module-level power optimization and fixed string voltage forincreaseddesign flexibility, more modules can be installed on the roof, enabling a shorter project payback. As part of its design flexibility, BoS costs are decreased with longer strings of up to 15.3kW (26-60 modules). In addition, the SolarEdge solution offers advanced PV asset management with its module-level monitoring and remote troubleshooting, transforming labor-intensive O&M to an automated, at-aglance service. Withan enhanced safety solution thatmeets strict safety regulations, the SolarEdge inverter has embedded SafeDC™ technology, which decreases DC voltage to a safe level whenever the inverter or grid power is shut down to protect installers, maintenance personnel, and first responders. Field-proven and built for long-term performance, SolarEdge’sinverter has a standard 12-year warranty extendable to 20 or 25 years and power optimizers have a 25-year standard warranty, further decreasing costs over the system lifetime. This warranty structure means that 60% of the inverter system is warranted for the lifetime of the PV system.

While there might be a higher upfront cost, the SolarEdge commercial solution maximizes energy production and reduces lifetime costs for an overall improved RoI. All of these benefits offered bythe SolarEdge solution provides value throughout the entire supply chain. Installers and EPCs can maintain a competitive edge and achieve higher ASPs by offering customers a scalable, flexible,and larger PV system,while system owners benefit from harvesting more energy for improved RoI.

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SB : By leveraging world-class engineering capabilities, and with a relentless focus on innovation, SolarEdge creates smart energy solutions that power our lives and drive future progress. Established in 2006, SolarEdge developed the DC optimized inverter solution that changed the way power is harvested and managed in PV systems. The SolarEdge intelligent inverter solution maximizes power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the PV system, for improved RoI. SolarEdge continues to invest in itsR&D efforts to increase the proliferation of solar energy.The company developed HD-Wave inverter technology, which represented a significant leap in solar inverters. Themulti award-winning HDWave inverter technology dramatically reduces the size of the inverter's magnetics and cooling components by means of advanced digital processing and a multi-level switching topology.

This novel approach to inverter design increases inverter efficiency toa record-breaking 99% weighted efficiency. Since its IPO on the NASDAQ in 2015, SolarEdge continuously shows significant growth in revenue and gross margin. The company’s financial strength and stability, combined with its cutting-edge technology, make SolarEdge the preferred partner for industry-leading installers, integrators, and other energy market participants.

EQ: Can system integrators save on their O&M expenses if they choose SolarEdge?

SB : The SolarEdge DC optimized inverter solution offers advanced monitoring and PV asset management. Traditional inverters offer limited information, such as string- or system-level monitoring that can indicate underperformance of the array, but little else. Underperformance may then be left undetected causing system downtime for longer periods of time, resulting in energy loss and potential revenue loss. With a traditional inverter, itcan become costly and time consuming to send skilled technicians to perform onsite troubleshooting. An alternative is to install add-on monitoring equipment, which can increase the PV system cost. On the other hand, SolarEdge inverter solution constantly tracks MPP and reports high-resolution data on module performance and sends it to SolarEdge’s monitoring platform. O&M professionals can then leverage SolarEdge’sFREE for 25-years monitoring platform to transform manual, resource-intensive processes to an automated, ata-glance service, ensuring that PV systemsare performing to the best of theirability.Performance monitoring and remote maintenance decrease trips to the site and limit unnecessary exposure to high voltagesand dangerous heights,while time spent onsiteis shortened due to a know-before-you-go approach tomaintenance.

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exclusive interview EQ: The demand in India for residential installations is growing year by year. How can SolarEdge technology benefit the homeowners?

SB : According to IHS, SolarEdge is the world’s top supplier of single-phase inverters in terms of market share (MW shipments).

This ranking is in part due to the benefits that the SolarEdge solution offers homeowners. SolarEdge’s complete residential solution is designed to offer more benefits to the homeowner through increased energy production, more aesthetic rooftops, full system monitoring, advanced safety, longer warranties, and future-proofed solutions. The SolarEdge system maximizes solar energy production with its module-level power optimization.

In contrast to traditional inverters, SolarEdgeDC optimized invertersincrease energy production by eliminating power losses caused by module-level mismatch. While also offering greater design flexibility – with the installation of strings of different lengths, different module tilts, module brands, and module power ratings on the same string, the solution can enable the installation of a largerand more aesthetic PV system.Compliant with advanced safety standards, SolarEdge’s embedded SafeDC™ technology,is designed to reduce the DC cables to a safe voltage aftergrid or inverter shutdown, for the protection of people and property. Offering peace of mind, SolarEdge’s FREE for 25-years monitoring platform enables remote monitoring of system performance from acomputer or mobile device.This includes real-time visibility into the performance of the system, down to each panel on the roof. SolarEdge systems are futureproofed, supporting easy upgrades to future solutions, such as battery storage, EV charging, and smart energy management.

Available warranties are amongst the longest in the industry, with 25 years for SolarEdge power optimizers and 12 years for inverters – extendable to 20 to 25 years.

EQ: Can you share how choosing SolarEdge can help improve typical PV solar system drawbacks familiar to India, such as the effects from aggressive climate conditions and anemerging market workforce?

SB : High temperatures, sand storms,andother challenging weather conditionscan pose a concern for typical PV installations in India. SolarEdge’s solution is designed to withstand a variety of harsh environmental conditions and has a wide ambient temperature range from as low as -40°C to as high as +60°C. SolarEdge power optimizers have an operating temperature range of -400C to +850C. When heavy rain, humidity, or dust storms prevail, SolarEdge’s power optimizers are potted and meet the IP68 standard (rated as “dust tight” and protected against complete, continuous submersion in water), and have a 25-year warranty. SolarEdge inverters are compliant with the IP65 rating and are protected from fine particles, such as dust.

Both SolarEdge inverters and power optimizers are designed to operate at humidity levels of up to 95% (non-condensing).

In India, dustparticlescan soil PV installations all year round, contributing to mismatch between modules and consequently PV systems routinely underperform. Power optimizers eliminate the loss of energy from module-level mismatch. According to IHS PV inverter market tracker Q4-2018, the Indian solar energy marketis considered to be a fast growth market. With its global experience, innovative solutions, and dedication to developing a local presence, SolarEdge is well poised to-

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-support the Indian PV market and meet the changing demands of the green industry. Globally, installers, system integrators, system owners and O&M service providers have benefited from specialized and advanced training to help them optimize their PV businesses. Safety in the Indian market canalso be improved by using systems with enhanced safety mechanisms – such as module-level shutdown.

Advanced inverter systems come with embedded safety technologies, such as SolarEdge’s SafeDC™ technology, whichdecreases voltage in DC wires whenever the gridor inverter are turned off, in order to protect installers, maintenance personnel, firefighters, and assets.

EQ: What are the upcoming training programs conducted by SolarEdge in India, how can one register for the same?

SB : SolarEdge is planning more thana dozen installer training events across India in 2019.Trainings will provide an in-depth look at system design, inverter and power optimizer installation, module-level monitoring, and technical support procedures. Specialized training events at private offices will also be made available, as well as monthly webinars for user convenience.

Online webinars explore the SolarEdge solution and its benefits, andprovide in-depth technical training.

(Installers can find a suitable training option by contacting their local SolarEdge sales representative or email SolarEdge at: infoIND@SolarEdge.com.)

EQ: What are SolarEdge’s plans for 2019 in India?

SB : A global leader in smart energy, SolarEdge is strategically positioned to become a key playerin 2019 in the Indian market. Its award-winning singlephase inverter with HD-Wave technology, inverters with compact technology for small rooftops, as well as its software tools, can help SolarEdge become the go-to residential solution in India. To meet growing commercial demand in India, SolarEdge is expecting to increasethe capacity of its three-phase inverters by 20% to now include 33kW and 40kW inverter sizes, while the range of its three-phase inverters with synergy technology will reach up to 120kW. This new range of inverters are compatible with SolarEdge’s new SetApp tool, designed to simplify and quicken installation and commissioning. In addition, its innovative PID guard is designed to mitigate and prevent the build-up of PID and will befully embedded into the larger inverter with synergy technology.Furthering the scalability of its commercial solution, SolarEdge is planning on launching its M1500 power optimizer that has two inputs and two MPPTs for connection of up to four panels. The new commercial power optimizer allows for up to 35% more power per string, with strings up to 20.5kW. With more than 130 MW of SolarEdge PV systems already installed in India and Sri Lanka, SolarEdge will continue to focus on growing its local team of experts and participating in regional tradeshows with its distributors across the region.

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exclusive interview

Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal Managing Director Fortum India

EQ: What are the biggest Challenges, threats to the growth of Solar in India?

Ans. : One of the major concerns is land scarcity in Indiafor an exclusive installation of solar plant to take place. Dedication of land area near to the substations and also with good irradiation is the most important criterion for putting up a Utility Scale solar power plant.

Apart from that, training and development of human resources to drive industry growth and PV adoption, the need to build consumer awareness about the technology, its economics and right usage is a challenge. Another stumbling block is the complexity of subsidy structure & involvement of too many agencies like MNRE, IREDA, SNA, electricity board and electricity regulatory commission which makes the development of solar PV projects difficult. Even if, there are lots of tender under the Solar park scheme but still there are various delays in handing over of clear title of land and timely availability of Evacuation system which is affecting the delay in execution of the project and ultimately affecting the profitability of business. The last criterion is uninterrupted feeding of solar electricity to grid and timely payment by the counter party.

EQ: What are the expectations from Government / NTPC / SECI Team?

Ans. : India needs at least $125 billion to fund the 175 GW renewable mission, of which 100 GW is supposed to come from solar by 2022. Most of the financing received for renewable energy development comes from domestic bank. However, with the current level of fund generation it is difficult to sustain solar energy goals. Government has done a remarkable job in the past couple of years by boosting demand and ensuring smooth implementation.

New policies such as solar park scheme and SECI/NTPC credit support helped build confidence across the market participants. All these factors also contributed to the record solar tariff achieved early this year. However, it is important

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Mr.Juha Suomi Area Director, Asia Fortum eNext

that the pace of change and certainty in regulatory policies continue unhindered for India to achieve or come closer to 100 GW by 2022. The recent uncertainties w.r.t Anti-dumping duty, custom clearances, power evacuation delays/constraints, re-negotiation of tariffs, Scheduling charges, must â&#x20AC;&#x201C;run status etc. are the challenges which developers had not factored in when they committed to the capacity at such tariffs for their projects. Moreover, these risks, if materialized, would be detrimental to investor/developer community confidence of building projects in India. Also, the sector suffers from issues of quality in installations. There should be better measures for quality control in solar panels, so that they last the stipulated twenty-five-year period.

Another big challenge for the sector is slowing power demand from Discoms. The present power surplus situation in India indicates a plunge in solar power demand which may continue for 3-4 years.

A conducive policy framework balancing between demands of manufacturing and project development activities is a need of the hour. Developers need to be compensated for any extra cost incurred, as many of the ongoing projects are likely to face risk of abandonment owing to a very little financial cushion. On the other hand, imposition of duties is unlikely to have any enduring benefits for domestic manufacturers. Cancellations of various tenders/bids is another uncertain factor added to the lack of solar sector growth in India.

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exclusive interview EQ: What are the real challenges you face building a project with respect to Land, Logistics, Customs, Grid Connection, Manpower resources etc.?

Ans. : As mentioned earlier, one of the major concerns is availability of the suitable land for the project. There are different rules in different states, which restrict the buying of land for industrial purpose beyond a certain Acres/Hectares. The size of solar projects are now increasing (Multiple of 100’s of MW) which require huge amount of land to procure to put up solar power plant (PerMW land requirement is around 1.5- 2.0 Hectare per MW). The acquisition process of the land delays the implementation of the project. Apart from that, training and development of human resources to drive industry growth and PV adoption, the need to build consumer awareness about the technology, its economics and right usage is a challenge. Even if, there are lots of tender under the Solar park scheme but still there are various delays in handing over of clear title of land and timely availability of Evacuation system which is affecting the delay in execution of the project.

EQ: What’s your view on the Government of India target of 100GW Solar and 75GW Wind Power by 2022…? Can we achieve that and what would be the challenges?

Ans. : India has contributed immensely to the energy mix when it comes to solar segment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energy agenda has set an ambitious target for renewables. The aim is to increase renewable capacity on the grid to 175GW by the end of 2022. Around 100GW of that capacity is expected to come from solar photovoltaics (PV). It is difficult to comment as of now on India converting to 100 percent solar in the years to come. But it can definitely contribute largely in the Energy Mix, once Storage also become a reality with viable commercial business model. The imposition of 25% safeguard duty on solar cells imports will benefit only a small section of the domestic industry because a much larger proportion of the capacity to manufacture solar equipment in India is located inside “export-oriented” Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and will not be exempt from payment of safeguard duty thus creating challenge for the solar sector. 80% of the module demand will still be imported with extra capex to developer which will be inbuilt in all the future bids. Therefore, there will be an increase in tariff which need to be paid by the Discom and ultimately, it will be a pass through to the consumer. It means, the final loser is the consumer and no one else. For all the existing projects, which were bid out, the developers are/will approach regulatory commission for increase in tariff. It will be a long process to get the extra tariff as pass through from the regulators. Lots of project will be impacted, delay in project may happen and finally the goal of achieving of 100 GW by 2022 may be affected.

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EQ: India has 750 GW of Solar Potential.

By when should we able to achieve that?

Ans. : The renewable potential of India is around 1,100GW for commercially exploitable sources, the biennial report says. This incorporates 300GW wind and 750GW of solar power. India could integrate 390GW of low-cost wind and solar generation into its grid by 2030, as per the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI).

However, as per the new announcement of MNRE, India is now planned to add 500 GW renewables in to the grid by 2030, which consists of 350 GW solar.

I believe, if we follow the same pace then we can achieve this 750 GW goal by 2050.

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

Ans. : Solar power tariffs in India has witnessed unprecedented fall in past couple of years, largely owing to the fall in imported solar panel prices and competitive bidding scenario prevalent in the industry.

This has helped India achieve more than 20 GW of installed or under installation solar capacity in past 2 years. Most of the States are not supporting open access scheme therefore it’s becoming very challenging to raise Finance under BtB model.

Assured PPA at least for the payback period is very important to raise capital from the Equity & Debt market Therefore the surge in this market is still to be seen. Forex concerns would always remain, as the Forex market is very fluctuating due to Crude price and Iran Sanction. Developers need to consider the hedging cost while participating in the bids. Developer always look upwards while participating the bids and also need to account the delay in project due to delay in land handing over and Power Evacuation under the solar park scheme. The last criterion is uninterrupted feeding of solar electricity to grid and timely payment by the counter party. This is always a challenge under Power Surplus scenario and weak financial position of the DISCOM’s.

EQ: How much projects have you executed in the past, what is the current pipeline, orders under negotiations and mid-term and future plans, targets?

Ans. : In India, we started our activities in 2012 with an acquisition of an operating 5 MW solar plant in Rajasthan, Fortum has created a portfolio of 685 MW (185 operating and 500 under development) solar assets in India. It has formed a Joint Venture with Numaligarh Refinery Limited along with Chempolis for setting up a bamboo-based Bio- Refinery Plant.

Followed by solar energy, we are also in the business of EV charging stations named ‘Fortum Charge & Drive’.

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exclusive interview As Charge Point Operator it has a network of more than 3000 smart chargers in Nordic country out of which more than 30% are DC quick chargers. Starting with a pilot in October 2017, Fortum has already made 40 DC Fast charging points operational in Hyderabad and Mumbai sub urban area. While these DC charging points serves to 4-wheelers passenger cars, we have also launched a pilot project of Battery Swapping for 3 –wheelers in and around DLF Mall of India, Noida where 30 Zbees (e-Autos) are operating with 2X 1.5 kWh swappable battery pack. Coming to an epoch-making concern, many countries along with India already have a strict limit on the emission of nitrogen oxides; thus, NOx reduction technologies are being widely deployed. Keeping this in mind, Fortum would like to bring its own advanced time and cost saving Primary NOx reduction technology to India, which will help India to reach its sustainable goals. It is our goal to develop and encourage product use that are environment friendly and sustainable. For example, our business in biomass replaces unsustainable materials such as plastic. It has been our long-committed goal to innovate and commercialise bio-fractioning methods in cooperation with partners across various fields. The result is a resource efficient and flexible way to produce sustainable and pure materials and end-products.

This will take us one step closer to a cleaner world.

EQ: Kindly highlight your strengths and USP which gives your company a distinct advantage as compared to your competitors.

Ans. : Over the last 30 years, the European Union has periodically tightened the NOx emission regulation for thermal power plants. Being a utility ourselves, we knew performance and behaviour of our plants inside out real time and on ground. This gave us a mindset and more importantly wealth of data to design a optimum system. So, our solution comes from a practical perspective overlaid and enabled by deep knowledge of combustion processes and computational fluid dynamics. Fortum has developed its own NOx reduction technology since 1990's and successfully completed more than 50 similar projects in Central Europe and Asia. We understood this from utility mindset as we had to control emissions and still be competitive in a market driven power tariff regime.

This is the “Key”. Fortum's low-NOx solution is based on primary reduction methods, i.e. the key will be to prevent formation of NOx in the combustion process.

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Fortum’s advanced low-NOx technology reduces emissions effectively (even upto 80%) and, compared to other solutions (secondary methods) there is a minimum need for new equipment, no auxiliary power consumption, no water consumption, and no ammonia or urea consumption and no by-products for disposal.

Fortum eNext provides a time and cost saving tailormade combustion solutions to help thermal power plants comply with the new NOx emission regulation. NOx level of 300mg/Nm3 can be met with our advanced NOx reduction methods without increasing operational expenditures. Furthermore, combining our state-of-theart low-NOx combustion technology with a secondary NOx reduction system, substantial NOx emission reductions can be achieved in an economical way.

Our low-NOx solution is designed to fit any original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) technology. We can guarantee that the desired emission levels are met, regardless of the current set up at the site. Our delivery is an efficient turnkey project with short production down time. Technical implementation will be carried out in cooperation with our local partners.

EQ: Can you tell us about the collaborations that you have entered for your upcoming project with respect to eNext?

Ans. : In 2017, NTPC gave Fortum eNext the possibility to perform a pilot study at its Ramagundam power plant on 2x200 MWe wall fired boilers, and 1x500e MW tangential fired boiler. The aim of the study was to demonstrate and prove that Fortum's long utilized NOx reduction technology is suitable also for the Indian market. During the study, Fortum carried out various field data analysis, tests with local coals in different coal mill operations and combinations, measurements of NOx emission levels at different production loads, as well as Computational Fluid Dynamic modelling combined with their burner technology. I feel very proud to state that we successfully completed our pilot project on the sophisticated NOx reduction technology with NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.). Results showed that this technology can be implemented to meet the desired NOx emission levels given by the Indian regulation at any local power plant in India. We are also carrying out Fortum Low-NOx solution project for a private thermal power producer with Chinese make boiler, which project we expect to complete within next months. In addition, we are bidding together with local partners for several primary Low-NOx projects that are launched to meet the deadlines set by the Indian Government.

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pv manufacturing

Will Your Modules Perform for 25+ Years?

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Convincing investors, insurers, developers and policy makers that PV modules will reliably produce power for 25-35 years has become increasingly important, given the need for sustainable and affordable power that is accessible to all consumers. PV modules in India are subjected to climatic extremes including higher solar insolation, UV, temperatures, dust, precipitation, compared with several countries where solar installations have happened. Solar panels need to withstand the combined effect of these stresses to avoid pre-mature appearance of project performance issues. Now, more than ever, it is critical that the materials used in your module have to be reliable for the duration of its operational service life.

As service lifetime expectations of PV modules continue to grow, it is important that we understand the impact of PV materials durability on module performance and safety so that different stakeholders can make informed decisions on materials selection.

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acksheets, in particular, play an important role in ensuring your module will be sufficiently durable to reach your financial objectives.

While a module may pass standard qualification tests, backsheet defects can develop after just a few years of deployment in the field. The implications of poor backsheet selection involve not just significant safety risks, but considerable losses in performance and revenue. Recently, a large IPP discovered one of their sites was producing less energy than predicted and started reviewing the system for failures. They found certain backsheets had started to crack and delaminate, leading to high leakage currents tripping inverters, and causing partial shutdowns and late starts. DuPont was invited to perform inspection of the affected PV field, using their Fielded Module Inspection Program.The team discovered widespread backsheet cracking and delamination on many of the modules. While the site was composed of modules from a single manufacturer and model, as many as three different backsheet types were identified, suggesting the module manufacturer used multiple Bill of Materials (BoMs) for the same project.

Modules buyers often have specific criteria for purchasing decisions, which may be restrictive to BIS, Tier 1 manufacturers, modules that pass PVEL PQP testing, or modules that are competitively priced. Little consideration is paid to what material is used to build the module.This approach is leading to some system wide failures due to catastrophic degradation of low cost materials that otherwise pass third party testing requirements. Consequently, IPPs are increasingly interested in customizing the BoM in modules during the RFP process.

By specifying the components that are acceptable, IPPs can ensure that each manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s BoM is the same no matter which factory produces the module. The PV industry offers very little information on module failures in the field. To assist buyers in understanding the breadth of component degradation issues that manifest in fielded modules, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions will soon be releasing its annual Field Survey.This annual report is compiled from inspection and analysis of nearly 2GW of PV installations by DuPont teams around the globe.

Since 2011, DuPont has conducted inspections of 355 fields, and 130 module makers in Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Often, fields are inspected at the request of system owners to help determine the causes of under performance. The industry also lacks guidance on applicable remedies once failure has been documented.

Most system owners rely on module warranties to address issues, but a deeper look reveals significantly greater impact on project economics.

In a large field with widespread backsheet cracking, replacement costs of INR 21 Lakhs (approx.) per MW, exclusive of new module costs, have been estimated.This estimate does not include lost revenue or liquidated damages associated with non-delivery of energy under PPA contract.

Article Courtesy: DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions

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research

The decoupling of GDP and energy growth: A CEO guide

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Energy intensity is decreasing, renewables are gaining, and new efficiencies are on the way. Here’s how to build the resilience you need to navigate rapid change. t’s long been axiomatic that economic growth and energy demand are linked. As economies grow, energy demand increases; if energy is constrained, GDP growth pulls back in turn. That’s been the case since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, if not long before.

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ut past is not always prologue. Our latest global energy perspective—part of a multiyear research effort examining the supply and demand of 55 types of energy across 30 sectors in some 146 countries— suggests that we’re beginning to see a decoupling between the rates of economic growth and energy demand, which in the decades ahead will become even more pronounced. That’s not because the world will be less “energy hungry.” People will continue to use energy in their daily lives, and happily, in the decades ahead, more people will have access to more modern appliances and on-the-grid housing. Businesses will still need energy to run; economies will require it to grow. Nonetheless, new technologies and larger trends should cause the energy demand curve to flatten. Indeed, the energy landscape as we know it is poised for foundational change between now and 2050. What does this mean for companies and their leaders? For starters, your core business model may be tested, and new opportunities—and challenges—beyond it will almost certainly arise. Moreover, determining the right path will require companies to adapt both urgently and in measured stages. Navigating the great decoupling will take resilience.

Farsighted leaders should start preparing now.

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Energy and industrialization: A slow burn Energy demand has long tracked economic growth. So much so that for the past two centuries, the amounts of energy that economies need have increased virtually in lockstep with the amounts of wealth that economies create. And, to a remarkable degree, wealth creation has depended on a society’s proficiency at burning things. In 1800, the fuel of choice was biomass, such as wood from fallen trees. Even during the latter half of the 19th century, after the United States and parts of Europe had begun to industrialize, many economies ran primarily on biomass. Biomass was highly inefficient as fuel, as almost all of its embodied energy was lost in its burning. Still, before widespread industrialization, the conversion loss was bearable; generally, there was enough wood to burn to make economies grow. The resulting wealth creation wasn’t enormous, but it was pointing up. Primary energy demand (the demand for energy in its raw form, before it has been converted to secondary energy such as electricity or district heating) pointed up as well, growing at about 1 percent per year from 1850 to 1900. Then, at the turn of the 20th century, rates of both energy demand and economic growth took off. From 1900 to 1950—as horses gave way to cars, oil lamps to electric lighting, and ice boxes to refrigerators—primary energy demand nearly doubled. Economic growth rates soared as well; in the United States (by far the largest economy in the world), GDP per capita in 1950 was more than twice that of 1900.1 For that level of wealth creation, burning trees and other forms of biomass wouldn’t suffice. But burning fossil fuels would suffice, and the 20th century’s embrace of petroleum (to accompany coal) sent production and consumption into overdrive. Fossil fuels lose about 40 to 70 percent of their embodied energy when converted into electrical or mechanical energy—a lot, but not when compared with the neartotal loss incurred by burning wood. While larger economies need more tons of coal and barrels of petroleum to grow faster, the burning goes a longer way (Exhibit 1).

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Service economies and the decline of energy intensity Advanced economies tend to become service economies, and the energy intensity of service sectors is substantially lower than that of industrial sectors—in some cases, as low as one-twentieth. Services already are dominant within OECD countries, with the service sector in the United States, for example, contributing about 80 percent to national GDP. In China and India, lately two of the greatest engines for energy demand, the share of services in GDP will grow by almost ten percentage points in the next two decades.

The efficiency effect

Over the second half of the 20th century, with living standards in the West and other advanced economies rising, the growth in energy demand accelerated even more. Those dynamics have continued into this century, as China has helped power global GDP to a median rise of 3.7 percent per year since 2000, with global energy demand continuing to rise as well. And 21st-century economies will continue their ascent. The world population will continue to grow, potentially reaching ten billion by midcentury; the plateauing of Chinese and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) populations will be more than offset by significant increases in India, other parts of Asia, and, especially, Africa, where more than 50 percent of the world’s projected population increases will occur through 2050. Would you like to learn more about our Electric Power & Natural Gas Practice? Nonetheless, our analysis suggests that while a more populous world will create more wealth than ever, energy demand rates will plateau and demand rates for fossil fuels will begin to declineworldwide. How can that be?

Decoupling energy demand from economic growth The decoupling of the rates of economic growth (climbing steadily) and energy demand growth (ascending, but less steeply) will largely be a function of the following four forces: A steep decline in energy intensity of GDP, primarily the consequence of a continuing shift from industrial to service economies in fast-growing countries such as India and China.

A marked increase in energy efficiency, the result of technological improvements and behavioral changes.

The rise of electrification, in itself a more efficient way to meet energy needs in many applications.

The growing use of renewables—resources that don’t need to be burned to generate power—a trend with the potential not only to flatten the primary energy demand curve but also to utterly change the way we think about power.

These drivers will rewrite the world’s growth-and-energy story and thus have big implications for a range of industries. Each driver is worth a closer look.

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The second factor checking energy demand is the increased efficiency with which energy is put to use. While a growing middle class in many emerging economies will trigger spectacular increases in the demand for products such as refrigerators, laundry machines, and air conditioners, advances in LED lighting, smart appliances, and other applications will substantially lessen the energy intensity of households worldwide. In more developed countries—and to an extent, globally—changes in users’ mindsets will also boost efficiency. Not only are people beginning to be more conscious about their behavior (such as turning off lights and air conditioners when they’re not in use), they’re benefitting from innovations such as automatic sensors and controlled devices, which eliminate the bother of worrying about such things. Companies across sectors will reap the benefits as well. Precisely, because energy costs can comprise a significant share of total expenses in a variety of business models, energy savings often have an outsized effect on the bottom line. This incents implementation of efficiency measures and makes it likely that large-scale improvements will come faster. And while it is conceivable that if electricity costs decline dramatically, incentives to change behavior, invest in efficiencies, and alter consumption patterns could be diminished as a result, so far the trends toward efficiency continue unabated as the demand for electric power grows. Government-mandated standards will also help accelerate adoption and enforce switching. Efficiency investments that are more quickly in the money, such as lighting and improved heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems, will likely be implemented first. Yet even projects with longer payback times and more expensive efforts, such as significant decarbonization initiatives, will eventually be commercialized, tamp down energy needs over the longer term, and prove a net positive for value creation. For plants and factories, energy efficiencies will manifestly help move the needle. Within the global buildings segment, energy intensity will decline as new, energy-efficient technologies are adopted. As a result, the energy needs per capita at a global level will be 10 percent less in 2050 than they were in 2016, despite the rapid rise in demand from the many households entering the middle class in emerging economies. And the transportation sector will realize some of the most dramatic efficiencies of all. The shift to electric vehicles (EVs), combined with improvements to internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles, means that overall energy needs for road transport will increase only slightly—even while the total number of cars and trucks on the world’s roads will likely more than double.2

The rise of electrification A third reason why energy demand should plateau is the promise of electrification. Combustion-powered motors top out at about 40 percent efficiency; electric motors can exceed 90 percent. Given forecasted declines in electric-battery costs, passenger-car EVs could reach cost parity with their ICE-powered counterparts before 2025, with many larger types of vehicles reaching price parity soon thereafter. The rise of EVs will not only shift demand from petroleum, it will also curb the total amount of energy required for road transportation. For passenger cars, electric motors require less than one-third the energy as ICE motors for every kilometer driven.

Critically important as well to the overall energy mix is exposure to price signals; oil is becoming significantly more price elastic (for more about our modeling assumptions and conclusions, see sidebar “Methodology and aggregate conclusions”).

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research The growth of renewables The growth of renewables is essential to understanding why the primary energy demand curve will level off between now and 2050. When we think about how much gasoline our cars need to go, how much electricity needs to come out of a socket to make an appliance work, and how much coal, natural gas, or nuclear fuel must be fed into a power plant to generate the steam that turns the turbines, we naturally start with the amount of fuel inputs needed. With renewables, however, those metrics are practically meaningless. We don’t measure what fuels a solar panel or pushes a windmill—we measure the energy that comes out.

Most important, the near total absence of any conversion loss is radically different: nothing is lost in the burning. Nor do sunshine or wind power need to be generated at large, centralized plants; companies, and indeed individual consumers, can in many cases harness the energy on-site. While most businesses will not be able to go completely or even largely off the grid, many will be able to lessen their electrical costs materially—and some, particularly large retailers, may even in certain locations produce a net energy surplus.Of course, these types of renewable energy need to be captured and stored. Technological improvements to solve those challenges and reduce costs substantially, however, are in process.

The levelized cost of energy (that is, the net present value of the unit cost of electricity over an asset’s lifetime) for renewables has been declining remarkably during the past two decades. We expect that by 2020, wind and solar generation will be cheaper than electricity generated conventionally by new-build coal and natural-gas plants, almost everywhere. By 2025, renewables should be competitive even with the marginal cost of just running existing conventional plants in many countries and regions (Exhibit 2). Our analysis further suggests that renewables, including wind, solar, and also hydro power, will provide more than half of the world’s electricity by 2035.

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The growing use of renewables will affect the future energy mix. Among fossil fuels, only natural gas, which is poised to grow rapidly as a fuel source in the coming 15 years, is likely to maintain a constant share (through 2050, at least); demand for coal, and then oil, will level off and then decline (see sidebar “The evolving energy mix”). Renewables’ share, by contrast, will increase steadily through to midcentury.An important implication is that global energy-related emissions, compared with 2016 levels, should fall by approximately 20 percent by 2050. That’s significant, but not decisive. Absent more aggressive action, the current reductions in emissions by some countries won’t be enough to put the world on the “two-degree pathway” deemed essential by the 2016 Paris Agreement. It’s quite possible, therefore, that governments will implement more substantive policies to meet emissions targets.

A playbook for energy resilience Advances in efficiency are a net positive, but they also will roil through industries and companies in complex ways. Navigating the energy changes, therefore, and continuing to adapt as the foundations shift will take resilience. Once more, consider EVs. Five years ago, though you’d have perhaps driven a Prius, Tesla, or Leaf, electric cars were still just a tiny niche, comprising only 0.4 percent of new-car sales in 2014. In 2018, the share of new-car EVs has more than tripled—and that’s as a global average. In several countries, the share exceeds 5 percent. In Norway, with the support of aggressive regulatory incentives, EVs make up about 40 percent of new-car sales—and the level is rising. Every major automaker is moving aggressively to add EVs to their portfolios, with new players joining worldwide.

That will transform not only the mix of cars on the roads but also the very definition of mobility: from the inevitable growth of charging stations to the possible reinvention of the dealermaintenance model (let alone car insurance), as autonomous vehicles change mobility further. What were once “best guesses,” something to be aware of over the next decade, have become key inputs that can make or break a project’s net present value today. More opportunities and harder choices are approaching, many of them rapidly. Regulatory responses to emissions challenges may well have an impact on energy costs and could especially affect balance sheets in carbon-intense industries. As well, bans or limitations on such things as single-use plastics or diesel-fueled cars in city centers will introduce new constraints on an immense number of businesses, while giving rise to second-order effects with unforeseen implications. Don’t assume you’ll have enough lead time to react on the fly. As a first step to getting ahead of the energy transition, we encourage leaders to think critically about potential sources of value, shifting competitive dynamics, and regulatory policies that could affect both the revenue and expense sides of the ledger (Exhibit 3). To achieve energy resilience, your business should preserve flexibility in its core—and seize opportunities beyond it.

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research Opportunity beyond the core

Flexibility at the core We know that the aggregate energy intensity of global economies will fall. We know, too, that different types of energy will capture expanding slices of the pie. And we suspect that comprehensive environmental regulations may increasingly take hold. A new world offers new opportunities for value from flexibility in resources: refineries that can pivot from producing diesel to making gasoline (and vice versa), greater power storage capabilities than ever before—to name just a few examples. Yet for leaders trying to align their operations with shifting energy realities and deciding how to invest accordingly, going all-in too fast can come with a first-mover disadvantage. To maximize your degrees of freedom, strive for modularity and smaller projects. The first electric heat pumps will be expensive, and the rapid advances of energy technologies will make all-or-nothing investments perilous. Winning companies will stage smart bets over time. For example, one multinational energy company has adopted a 15-year plan to invest in different energy segments, specific infrastructure projects, and targeted regions. The strategy isn’t pie in the sky. Out of the multiple initiatives the company vetted and modeled, more than two dozen have been given the green light, staffed, and funded.

The objective is to double earnings within ten years even while accounting for a wide range of price environments. The plan also pushes the company out of its traditional comfort zones and into cleaner energy technologies, including significant investments in biofuels. Remember, even if you don’t plan for your energy profile to change, the world does. Those shifts can be transformational, and they’re coming sooner than you think. China, for instance, has introduced mandates that call for seven million electric cars to be sold every year beginning in 2025. That would amount to some 20 percent of sales in the world’s largest car market and would be a quantum leap from today’s approximately 4 percent share in China, which itself is several times the present level of EV-car sales worldwide. Multiple countries around the world have announced full or partial bans of ICE-vehicle sales by 2030. Imagine how many businesses across the value chain will be affected (suppliers, gas stations, metals and mining companies, and shippers, to name just a few) when electric becomes the new norm.

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Changes on that order of magnitude bring radical new opportunities. For example, any company with a roof can install solar panels. For large retailers with massive floor space under broad roofs, that’s not trivial: it can afford them a measure of independence from the electrical grid, protection from price fluctuations, and new opportunities for profit by trading in electricity markets.In some industries, particularly those that are currently heavily invested in traditional modes of power, the changeover to renewables will require significant capital expenditures, at least at the start. For other companies, entry barriers that had previously required massive capital expenditures will likely fall. Precisely because many energy-efficient technologies can scale, the marginal benefits of adding bigger power plants will decline—and eventually could disappear altogether. As well, decentralized power generation can make some consumers and businesses electricity producers, which opens up possibilities for those seeking to enable a connecting network. Enhanced energy management to realize efficiency gains will also require increasingly smart devices—and companies to make them. Because having plants and operations with the capabilities to monitor, adjust, and lower energy expenses will become table stakes, billions of devices will need to become connected, and the Internet of Things will move more into the mainstream. Energy systems will increasingly take on aspects of networked economies, and the possibilities for value creation across the energy spectrum will be significant. In our experience, many businesses are primed to capture opportunities from energy efficiency, electrification, or decarbonization—and sometimes from all three—yet lack the awareness or organizational mandate to get started. As your own business prepares for change, remember the imperatives of your competitors, suppliers, partners, and stakeholders will be changing as well. Consumer preferences, including attitudes about greener products and industries, are already shifting. Regulators are gearing up to speed the change. Proactive companies will consider adjacent markets, different parts of the value chain, and even new industries that could eventually prove essential (for instance, makers of convenience-store fare will need to find new sources of shelf space as gas stations fade from the scene). You’ll also want to sharpen your partnership paradigm, whether with technology providers, financial companies (essential for new energy-trading markets and capital management), or the public sector. Cities, for example, are beginning to turn light poles into next-generation charging stations. And car manufacturers are partnering in innovations such as wireless charging, as BMW has done recently with WiTricity. Those kinds of mash-ups will become the new normal under conditions of seismic transformation. The resilient will not only adapt to the uncertainty, they’ll be able to capture opportunities as a result. The centuries-old linkage between economic growth and primary energy demand is beginning to decouple. Even as populations soar and economies continue to develop, the global rate of energy demand will rise at a notably flatter trajectory. Energy intensity is decreasing, new sources of power are poised to ascend, and remarkable efficiencies are coming to bear. The changes will be foundational. The resilient will be ready.

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research

Why, and how, utilities should start to manage climate-change risk

Extreme weather events are exacting a high—and rising—price. Utilities need to devise and implement strategies to adapt.

The Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in late 2018, stated that climate change was already having noticeable effects in the United States and predicted “more frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events,” such as floods and hurricanes. For utilities, the assessment concluded, the possibilities were grave: lower efficiency, higher expenses, and more power outages—even as demand for energy rises. And many utilities are not ready. As the assessment noted, “Infrastructure currently designed for historical climate conditions is more vulnerable to future weather extremes and climate change.”

The brewing cost storm for utilities In 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Caribbean and Florida.

A category 4 and 5 storm, Irma damaged 90 percent of the buildings on the island of Barbuda and caused the fourth-largest blackout in US history. The total cost of damage was $50 billion. And Irma was no outlier. Since 1958, the frequency and intensity of serious Atlantic hurricanes, like Irma, has risen (Exhibit 1).

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he cost of extreme weather is already high, and the frequency and the cost to life and property of extreme weather events has increased in recent years. The cost of extreme weather is already high, and the frequency and the cost to life and property of extreme weather events has increased in recent years. If such events become more common or intense, as the assessment predicts, the price will be even higher. Even now, some utilities are making investments in long lived assets in risky locations, increasing system vulnerability and balance sheet risk. On that basis, we believe there is a strong case for utilities to start now to take steps on climate-change adaptation.

And there are ways for them to do so—for example by strengthening the grid, exploring investments in batteries and microgrids, and working with new partners.

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research In other ways, too, utilities are already more vulnerable to extreme weather events than in the past. When homes are built in areas prone to wildfires, power companies follow, placing their own assets at higher risk. These can even exacerbate the problem, if sparks from power lines ignite. Fires also emit additional carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. In California, the devastating 2018 fire season emitted approximately 15 percent of the CO2 California emits from all sources in a typical year.

Many of the nation’s 8,625 power plants were deliberately sited near shorelines in order to have access to water.

If climate change brings significant sea-level rise, as many models predict, that raises new vulnerabilities, but the risk is material today. In the United States, nine nuclear-power plants are located within two miles of the ocean. Many of the nation’s 8,625 power plants were deliberately sited near shorelines in order to have access to water. As a result, when hurricanes strike, power plants already face significant flooding damage.

According to the Department of Energy, 44 power plants were in flooded areas in Hurricane Irene and 69 were in flooded areas in Hurricane Sandy. During these hurricanes, eight nuclear power plants had to shut down or reduce service. During Houston’s Hurricane Harvey in 2017, wind and catastrophic flooding knocked down or damaged more than 6,200 distribution poles and 850 transmission structures; 21.4 gigawatts of generation were affected by wind damage, flooding damage, fuel supply issues, or evacuations and shutdowns. If sea levels rise, storm surges would hit further inland, causing more damaging coastal flooding to generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

Unless utilities become more resilient to extreme weather events, they put themselves at unnecessary risk, in both physical and financial terms. Repairing storm damage and upgrading infrastructure after the fact is expensive and traumatic. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 forced Entergy New Orleans into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. There are, of course, compelling environmental and social reasons to invest in mitigation efforts sooner rather than later. We believe there are also economic ones. Power utilities need to invest on the basis that the present is already riskier than what was planned and the future will be more volatile. There is evidence that climate change adaptation can also be cost-effective.

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The benefits of being prepared In order to understand the economics of mitigating climate-change risk in the United States, we considered the effect of extreme storms, largely hurricanes, on utilities, because it is relatively easy to measure storm-related impacts. To do so, we examined the financial records of ten large power utilities in seven states where hurricanes are common (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas), plus New Jersey, where hurricanes are less common but dense coastal populations mean damage from storms can be particularly costly. According to this analysis, a typical utility saw $1.4 billion in storm-damage costs and lost revenues due to outages caused by storms over a 20-year period. Then, using estimates from the Fourth National Climate Assessment for increases in extreme weather events and coastal infrastructure damage driven by climate change, we estimated that by 2050, the cost of damages and lost revenues would rise by 23 percent ($300 million), or approximately two to three additional years with major hurricane damage. (These projected increases are conservative; they are based on estimates of regional increases in extreme weather or storm damage due to sea-level rise.) Combined, these estimates give us a baseline: $1.7 billion in economic damage for each utility by 2050.

A typical utility saw $1.4 billion in storm-damage costs and lost revenues due to outages caused by storms over a 20-year period.

Next, we looked at how much utilities have spent on programs to make their assets more resilient. We estimate it would take $700 million to $1 billion for a typical Southeastern US utility to prepare for impacts related to climate change. That is less than current 20-year storm costs of $1.4 billion and much less than the projected future storm costs of $1.7 billion. While each utility’s cost-benefit calculation will differ based on its unique risk exposure profile and infrastructure costs, our conclusion is that it pays to prepare for extreme weather (Exhibit 2). There are also likely to be ancillary benefits, such as improved reliability and enhanced diversity of supply.

This analysis only looks at the threat of increased storm damage to these ten utilities as a potential future cost; the National Climate Assessment notes that utilities could also see negative impacts from increased temperatures and heat waves, as well as sea-level rise even in the absence of storms. This will increase the financial costs to utilities of climate change and increase the benefits of being prepared.

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research How to improve preparedness and resiliency Many power utilities in the United States have already started taking steps in this direction. There are different ways for them to adapt, depending on their geographic circumstances and natural endowments. Even so, we find that these efforts are clustered around the following themes: Harden the grid. This term refers to reinforcing the transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure to prevent or reduce the damage from extreme weather events. There are many examples. New Orleans Entergy, which lost 95 out of 125 miles of transmission lines during Hurricane Katrina, has invested $1 billion to improve the resilience of the substations and T&D lines, to ensure that they can withstand a storm of similar magnitude. Similarly, after Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast in September 2012, ConEd spent $1 billion and four years to strengthen its infrastructure. The utility installed distributed and elevated adjustable relay panels; elevated control houses; ensured all new equipment in flood zones will be able to function if submerged; strengthened overhead lines; and added capabilities to allow isolation of parts of the grid in order to reduce the number of customers affected by damage to one section. Florida Power & Light (FPL) embarked on a long-term grid-hardening program after Hurricane Wilma caused extensive damage in 2005.

FPL spent more than $3 billion on flood protection, distribution feeder reinforcement, and replacing wood poles with steel or concrete structures, among other programs. FPL has also buried power lines underground in select areas, as have other utilities, though the costbenefit analysis of doing so is mixed. These investments are relatively recent. Moreover, the timescales are extended and long-term effects are therefore difficult to calculate. It is too early to know, then, whether these efforts will work as intended. What can be said is that in each case, different utilities chose a similar strategy and that their infrastructure is stronger as a result.

Explore nonwire options that go beyond hardening the grid. Grid hardening is expensive, and even an extensive program may not be enough to cope with the most extreme events. After completing much of its $3 billion grid-hardening program, for example, FPL still suffered more than $1 billion in damage during Hurricane Irma in 2017. There are other ways to build resilience and adaptability. Here are some possibilities:

Decentralizing generation. Locating smaller, utilityscale facilities closer to population centers can reduce reliance on long transmission lines that are vulnerable to damage during storms. It also means that if one facility goes down, others still keep going. FPL, for example, is beginning construction on four new solar plants. While economics and FPL’s clean-energy strategy played a large role in the decision, one of the installations in Miami–Dade county is explicitly designed as part of a resiliency strategy to provide more local generation.

Battery storage. Batteries can provide backup power in the case of outages caused by storms and help utilities meet spikes in power demand. In 2017, Duke Energy announced a plan to invest $30 million to install North Carolina’s largest battery-energy storage system to provide backup power and improve grid reliability. In 2018, Duke increased the investment to $500 million over 15 years. In addition to providing enhanced reliability to the grid, these investments have already enabled the deferral of the construction of a new gas-peaker plant and allowed the utility to integrate larger amounts of renewable power into its mix.

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The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery was installed in the state of South Australia in 2017 near the Hornsdale Wind Farm; the $63.25 million project was intended to support its main power grid during peak summer demand and to help integrate renewable energy. In 2018, the first full year of operation, the system brought in $20.7 million in revenues.

Microgrids. A microgrid is a set of locally controlled loads and distributed-generation resources that can function apart from the centralized grid. A microgrid can power a specific site, such as a jail, campus, or office building; utilities can deploy them to provide backup power in the event of power outages on the central grid. Batteries can also provide power to microgrids. After Hurricane Irene knocked out power to many Connecticut residents in 2011, the state began encouraging the formation of microgrids to improve resiliency. Subsequently, the town of Fairfield launched a microgrid for its critical infrastructure services, including its police department, fire department, communications center, and homeless shelter. While no storm has knocked out power to the main grid since installation, the town estimates the combined heat-and-power microgrid has saved the town an estimated $60,000 a year in electric expenses and $10,000 in heating expenses during normal operations—an example in which improving resiliency can be cost-effective.

Environmental management. Active management of the natural environment can provide utilities and other infrastructure owners with protection against extreme weather. For example, coastal wetlands provide a natural barrier to lessen the impact of extreme storms. A recent study estimated that New Jersey’s coastal marshes reduce flood damage by 16 percent during normal storm years, and that after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the presence of wetlands and marshes up and down the east coast reduced hurricane damage by 27 percent. In 2015, Entergy and other Gulf Coast companies began a pilot program to restore coastal wetlands in Louisiana to provide storm protection. The effort can also be counted as an offset to the companies’ carbon emissions, since wetlands act as a carbon sink, providing a direct financial benefit. The Alabama Power Company has constructed wetlands near its generation facilities; these also serve as filtration systems to remove chemicals from the water used in power-plant cooling.

Active management of the natural environment can provide utilities and other infrastructure owners with protection against extreme weather. www.EQMagPro.com

research Factor an up-to-date view of risk into operations. Utilities should consider the increased risk from climate change predicted by the Fourth National Climate Assessment and other reports as they examine their daily operations, not just when they are considering long-term investments. In a 2019 filing before the California Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison proposed changes to its operations to reflect its acknowledgement of the increased risk of wildfires. These measures include the increased monitoring of electrical equipment, clearing trees that pose a wildfire risk, and enhancing situation-awareness capabilities to allow for rapid emergency response, as well as prioritization of investments based on which locations are at greatest risk of wildfires.

Look for new partners to help develop and finance resiliency strategies. Utilities can work with insurers and reinsurers to assess climate risk and adaptation strategies. The latter can then help them underwrite those risks after the utilities have made agreed-upon investments in modernizing their infrastructures. In developing the Gulf Coast resiliency report, for example, Entergy worked with Swiss Re to develop regional models for climate risk assessment. Public–private partnerships are another way to finance new investments in

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- resiliency (see sidebar, “The role of regulation”). One effort in Colorado is creating a demonstration solar panel and battery-storage microgrid outside Denver. In the event of an outage, the microgrid would automatically be switched on, with power provided by an intelligent rooftop photovoltaic battery system to keep critical services running. The project is also intended to improve the integration of renewable energy and to cope with peak demand.

Climate change could burden utilities with substantial costs above and beyond the damage caused by a particular event. In some jurisdictions, utilities can be held responsible for lost economic output caused by power outages. These assessments are, of course, ultimately borne by consumers, in the form of higher rates. A decade after Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Coast consumers were still paying storm damage charges. Given their capabilities and knowledge, regulators are well positioned to work with utilities to help them make cost-effective investments in resiliency. Regulators can incentivize utilities to develop climate-adaptation plans that protect and upgrade their infrastructure. They can design liability structures that encourage utilities to take preventive actions by shifting the liability burden if specific measures are taken. And they can encourage experimentation and forward thinking. Regulators will have to define their priorities based on their specific circumstances, such as the state of their grid and generating system. An example of resiliency-oriented regulation comes from Florida. Since 2006, the Florida Public Service Commission has required investor-owned power utilities to devise three-year storm-protection plans.

The commission has also required utilities to implement aggressive vegetation management and an inspection program with an eight-year life cycle for wooden poles.

Some utilities, for example, have replaced those poles with concrete structures designed to withstand 140 mile-perhour winds.

Finally, research institutions can help apply new ideas and strategies to a specific utility’s context. For example, the Natural Capital Project—a partnership among Stanford University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Minnesota, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Nature Conservancy— works with stakeholders to develop plans and stimulate investment in developments that improve resiliency through nature-based projects. These and other ideas must be stress tested and analyzed to ensure they are appropriate for specific circumstances. But the point is to begin considering them. Utilities are asset-heavy businesses that must maintain extensive and expensive infrastructures. Unless they become more resilient to extreme weather, those assets will be vulnerable—and so will the utilities. They are not, however, helpless before climactic impacts. They can prepare. Not only does this make good sense, it is good business.

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Research

Source: Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

The Top 5 Inverter Players Saw Their Combined Market Share Slip by 6% Last Year The industry’s leading suppliers have commanded more of the market each year since 2013, but 2018 was different.

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he top five PV inverter market players have commanded more of the market each year since 2013, but 2018 was different. In 2018, the top five inverter vendors decreased their total combined market share, which dropped from 62 percent to 56 percent. Although the top five players lost market share, vendors No. 6- No. 10 made gains, increasing their combined share of the global market from 15 percent to 19 percent, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. Sungrow and SMA have been among the global PV inverter market’s leaders every year since Wood Mackenzie began tracking the market in 2012.

Huawei took the top spot for the fourth year in a row in 2018. Huawei’s global market share dipped by 4 percentage points in 2018 due to China’s solar policy shifts in May 2018, which affected most Chinese manufacturers.

Asia-Pacific remained the largest market in 2018, accounting for 64 percent of global PV inverter shipments, although other markets made significant gains over the course of the year. The U.S. and Canada had 21 percent growth in PV inverter shipments, with growth of approximately 40 percent in both Latin America and the Middle East/Africa and Turkey (MEA), and 50 percent in Europe. Several markets where the top five inverter vendors lost market share in 2018 were also the year’s highest-growth markets. This was the case for the European, Latin American and MEA markets. Overall, global PV inverter shipments increased 8 percent year-over-year in 2018. It was a particularly good year for Power Electronics, now the fourth-largest inverter player after climbing the ranks for several years. The company doubled its shipments in 2018. SolarEdge and Ingeteam broke into the top 10 for the first time. As customers continue to buy inverters primarily based on price and low-cost vendors continue to dominate, it remains to be seen which companies will exit the inverter market and which will drive its growth. Some companies are now looking to differentiate on residential and commercial offerings, and some may opt to exit utility-scale PV entirely, as Schneider Electric did several months ago. Wood Mackenzie expects that exits, mergers and acquisitions may cause the market to consolidate in 2019.

Source: greentechmedia

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Panasonic makes first foray toward Indian EV charger network Panasonic has begun test operation of an electric-vehicle charging station in India, seeking to tap growing demand amid a government push to popularize the environmentally friendly autos.

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he electronics maker has collaborated with local utility BSES Yamuna Power and set up a station in New Delhi last month.

The site boasts Panasonic chargers and is compliant with Indian standards. The Japanese company will decide whether to fully launch charging infrastructure after seeing how the trial goes. It will consider offering a smartphone app that tells the driver about remaining battery charge and the locations of nearby stations. The Indian government aims to have electrics account for 30% of new sales. Betting that motorcycles and auto rickshaws will go electric soon, Panasonic is in talks with their manufacturers on charger supply deals. A subscription service incorporating the app is under consideration as well. The company will also eye tie-ups with well-funded public energy companies. Panasonic leads the Indian market for electrical outlets and circuit breakers, with a roughly 35% share. It seeks to double electrical equipment sales there to 100 billion yen ($895 million) between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2021.

Source: asia.nikkei

FAME II can save 5.4 mt oil: NITI Aayog report Vehicles eligible under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles II (FAME II) scheme can cumulatively save 5.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent over their lifetime, worth ₹17,200 crore, a study said

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ccording to market estimates, in financial year 2018 electric two-wheeler sales almost doubled to 54,800 compared to the previous financial year. Electric twowheelers have been leading the EV market that account for 98 per cent of the country’s EV sales. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI-Aayog) and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), have released a report and technical analysis titled ‘India’s Electric Mobility Transformation: Progress to Date and Future Opportunities’ that quantifies the direct oil and carbon savings that the vehicles incentivised under FAME II will deliver. The report also quantifies the catalytic effect that FAME II and other measures could have on the overall EV market.

“If FAME II and other measures are successful, India could realise EV sales penetration of 30 per cent of private cars, 70 per cent of commercial cars, 40 per cent of buses and 80 per cent of two and three-wheelers by 2030,” the report said.

If realised, the lifetime cumulative oil and carbon savings of all electric vehicles deployed through 2030 could be manyfold larger than the direct savings from FAME II. For example, achieving these levels of market share by 2030 could generate cumulative savings of 846 million tonnes of CO2 over the total deployed vehicles’ lifetime, it said.

Source: thehindubusinessline

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India seeks Lithium from South American nations to meet Solar Energy and Electric Vehicles Target

As India moves closer to implementing policies for achieving its massive targets for electric vehicles and solar energy having a sustainable supply of Lithium-ion is more important than ever. In this report we explain the steps being taken by India to localise Lithium-ion cell/ battery production in order to support future growth.

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With big plans to converting all its vehicles to an electric platform by 2030, India is reaching out to the `Lithium Triangle’ in South AmericaArgentina, Bolivia and Chile seeking the rare metal Lithium to realise its goal. Lithium is needed making batteries not only for the vehicles but is also required for laptops, and mobile phones. There have been hectic diplomatic engagements with inward and outgoing visits to these countries. The common thread has been India seeking to either have joint ventures, acquisition and exploration of Lithium mines in these countries.

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ast week, in the first-ever high-level visit by any Indian leader to Bolivia, President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales had wide-ranging talks on strengthening relations in various sectors including space exploration, mining, mining, information technology, pharmaceutical and traditional medicines. This was also the first time ever that President Evo Morales personally signed the Framework agreement establishing the commitment of Bolivia joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Diplomatic sources confirmed to Financial Express Online that, “President Morales has never inked an agreement with any other leader of any country before. The fact that he personally inked the agreement is indicative of the importance of Indian President Kovind’s visit to Bolivia.” The International Solar Alliance (ISA), is an initiative by India and France, whose major aim is to fight climate change and global warming. In his bilateral discussions, Kovind offered cutting edge technologies that could help Bolivia in developing Lithium products. According to Morales the South American country Bolivia presently has confirmed investment of $4.5 billion for industrialising lithium. Reports have indicated that companies from China and Germany have committed investments in the Lithium processing projects: Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group has decided to invest $2.3 billion and the state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos has a joint venture with and Germany’s ACI Systems in Uyuni for extraction of Lithium and has promised an investment of $900 million. According to the joint statement issued at the end of Kovind’s visit to Bolivia, the two countries have agreed to not only have a joint venture for setting up Lithium Battery/Cell production in India but also to have a beneficial partnership to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India. Financial Express Online was the first to report that state-owned (KABIL) consortium of three PSU companies including: National Aluminum Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd., (MECL) and Bolivian state-owned Yacimientos del Litio Bolivianos (Bolivian Lithium Deposits) (YLB) Corporation will have a joint venture of setting up a Lithium Battery plant in India. The country holds more than 40% of known reserves of Lithium, most of it in Salar de Uyuni. Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat rich in Lithium — a large ground covered with salt and minerals.

During the visit, it was also announced that a delegation from National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage of India will be undertaking a follow-up visit to Bolivia later this year seeking battery storage solutions. Argentina has the largest lithium resources in the world, due to the high exploration activity that has been explored in recent years. Bolivia is still not considered part of the lithium reserve, but has only the resource and Chile has 48% of the total lithium reserves in the world, located mainly in the Salar de Atacama. Discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Argentinean President Mauricio Macri earlier this year focussed on Lithium mining. Soon there will be a huge demand for solar panels which use Lithium-ION based batteries to meet India’s target of 100 GW of solar power generation by 2022 too.

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Where is Lithium in Chile? An interactive Map of Chile Shows the SALAR’s in Chile from where the lithium minerals come. Salar de Atacama and Salar de Maricunga are the major projects and Lots of Companies are active in this Salars like SQM, SCM, Rockwood, SLM, Mineria Li, Cominor, Corfo, Codelco, Simbalik, Albemarle, and others, there are other Salars in Chile where the presence of Lithium mineral is found and exploration of Lithium is still going on. The production of Lithium in Chile in 2011 was 12900 Metric Tons, 2012 was 13200 Metric tons, till 2015 production fell down which was recorded 10500 Metric Tons and then started increasing after 2015. It has been estimated that some 16.0 thousand metric tons of Lithium were produced in Chile in 2018.

During talks between President Kovind and his Chilean counterpart President Sebastián Piñera, among other issues, mining and exploration of Lithium is the focus. According to a Survey Report on Lithium Market in Chile, posted on the Indian Embassy’s website in Santiago, Chile — a Chennai Based company Munoth Industries Limited (MIL) promoter of Munoth Group is setting-up India’s first Lithium Batteries cell for Mobile phone. Automobile sector Maruti Suzuki’s parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has tied up with Toshiba and Denso to set up the country’s first lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Gujarat and Mahindra & Mahindra has firmed up plans to set up an R&D centre and a new battery manufacturing unit in Chakan, Maharashtra.

Mahindra has forged an alliance with South Korea’s LG Chem to make lithium-ion batteries in India.

Source: financialexpress

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Government Bodies float tenders for 500 EV charging stations The announcements came just after the government notified Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme in India on February 29. The scheme proposed for establishment of 2,700 charging station in metros, other million-plus cities and smart cities.

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overnment bodies like Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has floated tender for over 500 electric vehicle charging stations in the last two months. The announcements came just after the government notified Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme in India on February 29. The scheme proposed for establishment of 2,700 charging station in metros, other million-plus cities and smart cities. Delhi-based government body EESL has invited bid to set-up 200 fast chargers in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. The bidder will have to give three years of on-site warranty and annual maintenance contract.

Moreover, it will be also responsible for the finding location, supply and installation. Similarly, a public sector enterprise, Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL), had floated a tender to put 270 electric vehicle charging points across various locations in the country.

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Out of the 270 chargers, 70 normal AC chargers, 170 DC fast chargers, and 30 DC fast chargers will be installed in cities like Ranchi, Bengaluru, Goa, Shimla, Hyderabad, Agra as well as on the DelhiJaipur-Agra and Mumbai-Pune highways. The bidder will have to undertake the annual maintenance services for a period of five years.

REIL has mandated that bidders should open an authorized service centre equipped with required spares and servicemen before the installation of charging stations. NTPC, which has taken various steps to develop an electric vehicle charging station in the country, has also invited bids to set-up EV charging station, especially for buses and four-wheelers. However, there is no clarity on the number of stations to be installed. The selected bidder will have to provide ten years of maintenance service of the charging infrastructure. In November 2018, NTPC signed MoUs with vehicle aggregators Ola, Lithium, Shuttl, Bikxie, Bounce, Electrie and Zoom Car for development and utilization of public charging infrastructure. This collaboration with aggregators, having a presence in the entire spectrum of e-mobility across India, will help the development of charging infrastructure for the various vehicle segments as well as effective utilisation of public charging infrastructure.

Source: auto.economictimes.indiatimes

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Bengaluru Electricity Supply Board pushes for solarpowered electric vehicle, 112 charging stations to come up Banglore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has come up with a new initiative of charging power electric vehicles (EV) with the help of solar energy in order to ensure that clean transport is driven by clean energy.

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s per the reports in the Hindustan Times, by the end of August, around 112 EV charging stations are expected to be in use in the city. Moreover, the stations would be spread across the city including the outer areas such as Kengeri, KR Puram, Yelahanka, and Electronics City. Further, in order to encourage the use of EVs, charging stations have been asked to ensure the required infrastructure. Reportedly, the new stations would be located mostly at government department premises which includes Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ward offices, Traffic Transit Management Centres (TTMC) buildings, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) offices, Karnataka Housing Board office, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board office, and BESCOM and BMRCL offices.

CK Sreenath, deputy general manager of Smart Grid and EV, BESCOM told HT that various other projects like smart metering, the DAS project, EV charging stations, and energy storage have been utilised to make the interactive grid by adopting sustainable energy. He further mentioned that it has been noticed one of the main disadvantages of the push for EVs has been the use of non-sustainable energy such as coal which defeats the purpose of choosing electric vehicles over conventional ones. Reports mention that at present there are four stations which are located at the BESCOM headquarters, Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha, and at the office of Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), and there are around 7,000 EVs in the city.

Source: timesnownews

India could achieve high penetration of electric vehicles by 2030: Niti Aayog The report quantifies direct oil and carbon savings that vehicles incentivised under the FAME II would deliver.

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ndia could achieve high penetration of electric vehicles (EV) by 2030 on the back of the success of FAME II and other measures, according to a Niti Aayog report. The penetration of EV vehicles could reach around 80 per cent in case of two-wheelers and 30 per cent for private cars, the report — India’s Electric Mobility Transformation: Progress to Date and Future Opportunities — by the Niti Aayog and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

The report quantifies direct oil and carbon savings that vehicles incentivised under the FAME II would deliver.

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“According to the analysis, if FAME II and other measures in public and private space – are successful, India could realise EV sales penetration of 30 per cent of private cars, 70 per cent of commercial cars, 40 per cent of buses and 80 per cent of two and three-wheelers by 2030,” the report said. Extrapolating from the same, it added that the lifetime cumulative oil and carbon savings of all-electric vehicles deployed through 2030 could be many-fold larger than the direct savings from FAME II. “For example, achieving these levels of market share by 2030 could generate cumulative savings of 846 million tonnes of CO2 over the total deployed vehicle’s lifetime,” the report pointed out.According to the report, electric buses covered under FAME II will account for 3.8 billion vehicle kilometres travelled (e-vkt) over their lifetime. “Vehicles eligible under FAME II scheme can cumulatively save 5.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent over their lifetime worth Rs 17.2 thousand crores,” it said.

The report suggested that the government should focus on a phased manufacturing plan to promote EVs, provide fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for phased manufacturing of EVs and batteries. The report also suggested different government departments consider a bouquet of potential policies, such as congestion pricing, ZEV credits, low emission/exclusion zones, parking policies, etc. to drive adoption of EVs. The FAME II scheme, which was notified by the union cabinet in February 2019, aims to further accelerate India’s commitment to a clean mobility future, sees the electrification of transportation as a primary focus area, an official statement said. FAME II intends to catalyze the market for faster adoption of EVs to ensure durable economic growth and global competitiveness for India’s automotive industry, it added. RMI is an Indian and global nonprofit organisation focused on driving the efficient and restorative use of resources.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

New FAME 2 specifications put all EVs out of subsidy range The latest FAME2 notifications — with clarifications issued on March 28 — will be available for electric/hybrid cars only if they are less than Rs 15 lakh in price and used as taxis; will not cover any electric car available in India right now — either mass market or premium.

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he specifications not only give a price cut off of Rs 15 lakh but also a battery power (15 kilowatt hour/100 km), a range cut off (140 km) and a top speed specification of 70km/hour. This effectively keeps out not only mass market electric cars but even luxury/ premium vehicles being planned for the Indian market. “FAME 2 doesn’t offer any demand incentive for EVs in the personal mobility space or the luxury segment in specific, and we do not see any demand emerging for the luxury segment. We believe that for an optimal push for EV penetration in the personal mobility space, demand incentives should be extended irrespective of any price bracket or size of the vehicle, as that would stimulate demand from the private car owners and encourage a faster adoption of EVs in this market,” said Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. Others like MG Motor, which has announced an EV launch in India this year, are forging product plans “irrespective” of FAME 2 incentives.

Our second car (after the Hector) is an EV called E-ZS. In FAME the limit is 15 lakh so our first EV, which we will launch this year, is not going to qualify for FAME incentive. We do not depend on FAME incentive to launch our car. Irrespective or independent of that we are going to launch it. This EV should be very competitive and we’re trying to find different ownership possibilities also, said Rajiv Chaba, president & MD, MG Motor India.

The incentive specs-sheet would mean vehicles lined up by companies like Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Maruti Suzuki, who are planning a big e-mobility push, will also not get any tax benefits. “Subsidies and lower taxes encourage faster adoption of environment friendly vehicles and support in achieving government’s electrification mission in the country.

In Toyota’s vision of mobility 2050, all electrified vehicle technologies will remain relevant. Toyota will continue to focus and align with the government objective of minimizing pollution and reducing fuel imports,” said N Raja, deputy MD, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM). Maruti Suzuki refused to comment on the issue.

Others like M&M and Tata Motors have already tweaked their e-mobility plans to give it a fleet focus.

“Mahindra’s product plan and strategy was aligned much ahead on electric fleets and last mile connectivity vehicles. While, the private vehicle support would be preferred to increase EV mobility, clearly the fleet vehicles are priority for FAME II support,” said Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric.

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he new notification, said that the government would offer subsidy to a total number of 35,000 electric and plug-in electric vehicles and 20,000 hybrid vehicles provided their ex-factory price is not more than Rs 15 lakh and they are used as taxis for public mobility. World over, electric and hybrid vehicles attract government subsidy to make them affordable options for buyers. Currently the electric passenger car market is a minuscule part of the overall e-vehicle market and fleet usage contributes over 80% of electric four wheeler sales.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

Global energy storage market to grow 13 times to 158 Gigawatt hour by 2024 The global natural resources consultancy said in its report energy storage has been expanding into decarbonising markets over the past 5 years markets over the past 5 years. Last year witnessed 140 per cent year-on-year The global energy storage market will expand 13-fold to 158 Gigawatt hour (GWh) by 2024 from 12 GWh currently, according to latest research from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.

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he global natural resources consultancy said in its report energy storage has been expanding into decarbonising

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growth in GWh terms – with a total of 3.3 GW/6 GWh deployed globally.

“Half of this GW capacity was front-of-the meter, driven by accessible ancillary service revenues in key markets. There was also a notable trend for solar-plus-storage projects providing semi-dispatchable renewable capacity,” WodMac said.

Between 2019 and 2024, major storage markets are expected to thrive – with a more mature, but still early stage, GWh CAGR of 38 per cent. Additionally, deployment numbers are expected to boom to 63GW/158GWh.

Source: wood mackinzie

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LEADING INDIAN BUSINESSES COMMIT TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEETS BY 2030

Shuttl and BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) have become the latest Indian business giants to join The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative. Through their EV100 membership, Shuttl, a leading mobility services company and BRPL, a leading utility company, have pledged to switch their fleets to electric and install charging infrastructure where they have operations – accelerating the electric mobility transition in India.

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Atul Mudaliar, Sr. Manager Energy Transitions – India, The Climate Group, said: “Shuttl and BRPL join EV100 at a very exciting time, when India is readying itself to transform to clean, connected and shared transportation. With newage companies like Shuttl taking EVs to their extensive customer base and BRPL using their expertise to make efficient use of clean energy for powering EVs, they are sending the right signals to all ecosystem actors including government but importantly also educating the public in making choices. I am looking forward to seeing more Indian companies joining us in this initiative.”

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Amit Singh, Founder, Shuttl India, said: “Shuttl is pioneering urban mobility space by offering ridesharing in buses. Buses are the most efficient way to move people within cities – efficient with respect to emissions as well as surface area on the road. Shuttl has succeeded in moving people away from cars as it provides assured seats in AC buses and thereby reduces congestion & pollution in our cities. “EVs are the future of mobility and Shuttl is keen to play a key role in adoption of electric buses in India which will help further reduce emissions.”

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

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Amal Sinha, CEO, BRPL said, “BRPL is committed towards green and sustainable initiatives that are beneficial both to our consumers, as well as the Indian public. Promoting E-Mobility and renewables are two main drivers to reach our climate action goals. As part of this resolve, we have started inducting a fleet of electric cars and partnering with organizations to setup a network of e­-charging stations for our consumers.”

DRIVING THE SHIFT TO CLEAN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS Shuttl operates nearly 30,000 rides daily to commuters in the Delhi-NCR region and Kolkata. As part of EV100, the company will add 300 electric buses to their fleet by 2020 and install more than 50 charging points in prime locations to power their EVs on established routes. BRPL is based in New Delhi and distributes power to over 2.4 million customers in 21 districts in South and West Delhi. Through EV100, the company will convert its entire service delivery fleet to electric by 2030. BRPL is also investing in testing models for its facilities to support stabilizing the electricity grid for EV charging, as well as pilots for how to effectively integrate renewable electricity (RE) into its grid network. India is currently stepping up action and ambition on EVs.

The national government has pledged to ensure 30% of all vehicles on the road are electric by 2030. Recently, the national budget announcement included an outlay of US$1.5 billion for Phase 2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles scheme to boost electric mobility and increase the number of electric vehicles in commercial fleets. Today’s announcement comes as The Climate Group convenes electric mobility stakeholders to discuss EV aggregation and procurement strategies by and for corporations, in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Energy Efficiency Services Limited. The new EV100 members Shuttl and BRPL will speak alongside member companies Wipro, State Bank of Indiaand BSES Yamuna Power Limited on why and how companies can drive demand and lead the large-scale deployment of EVs in India, supporting the government ambition to accelerate low-carbon transport in the country.

Source: theclimategroup.org

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95% of electric 2Ws sold in India to lose FAME II subsidy: CRISIL In what comes as a shocking revelation to Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturers, the much-awaited FAME II scheme eligibility criteria will see around 95 percent of the existing electric two-wheelers miss the subsidy support, says a report by CRISIL.

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he Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprise issued a notification, which laid out the eligibility criteria for electric buses, passenger vehicles, three- and two-wheelers to avail of the FAME-II incentives.

The criteria based on minimum top speed, minimum range per charge, minimum acceleration and energy consumption efficiency of electric vehicles (EVs). It has also mandated that all EVs except e-rickshaws and e-carts should have regenerative braking capability to be eligible for incentive. The report interestingly found that around 90 percent of the vehicles that availed of incentives under the FAME I scheme, which was operational between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2019, were electric scooters. CRISIL’s assessment of the product portfolio of various EV manufacturers indicates that the electric two-wheeler segment would be impacted the most by FAME-II rules, estimating that more than 95 percent of the electric two-wheeler models being produced now won’t be eligible for the incentive under FAME-II.

While, the government’s outlay of Rs 895 crore for FAME-I has been increased ten-fold to Rs 10,000 crore in FAME-II, which will be implemented over three years starting April 1, 2019, and will be applicable to vehicles with ‘advanced batteries’. About 85 percent of the outlay would be as a demand incentive applicable to buses, passenger vehicles and three-wheelers registered for commercial usage and public transport, along with privately owned two-wheelers. The report says that under FAME-I, incentive was provided to all batterypowered vehicles including those that run on lead acid batteries. Up until September 2018, around 90 percent of the beneficiaries under FAME-I were lead-acid-battery powered electric scooters. This scooters were priced below Rs 50,000 (after including the FAME-I incentive of around Rs 9,000), while lithium-ion battery-driven scooters, which costs around Rs 70,000 after incentive, and many internal combustion engine scooters are more expensive. Because of their lower upfront cost, detachable batteries (limiting need for public charging infrastructure) and inherent cost benefits of EVs led to a pick-up in e-scooter sales to around 55,000 units in fiscal 2018, according to Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) data.

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Stringent eligibility criteria under FAME-II catches OEMs off-guard The FAME-II continues to exclude lead-acid battery-powered two-wheelers. Additionally, as per the latest eligibility criteria, e-scooters ought to have a minimum range of 80km per charge and minimum top speed of 40kph, along with riders on energy consumption efficiency, minimum acceleration and higher number of charging cycles. This precludes more than 90 percent of the remaining lithium-ion battery-driven models from the subsidy. CRISIL says EV makers have been caught off-guard by the stringent eligibility criteria leaving them no time to conform. They are expected to increase the battery size of their offerings for higher range and speed, improve battery technology for more charging cycles and also install electric regenerative breaking technology in their two-wheelers in order to be eligible for the incentives. Moreover, the requirement of 50 percent localisation in manufacturing is also expected to be a hurdle for many OEMs. And going ahead, upgradation of products and localisation would increase the costs for electric scooters, which could hurt demand.

OEMs are expected to take time to come up with new models eligible for FAME-II demand incentive along with the necessary level of localisation.

It would happen only after they make changes in production and exhaust inventory of vehicles that are not eligible for subsidy.

Electric two-wheeler incentives reduced Earlier, the incentive for lithium-ion battery-based two-wheelers stood at Rs 17,000 or Rs 22,000, based on the fuel savings potential and irrespective of the size of the battery. With FAME-II linking the demand incentive to the size of the battery, the government is providing Rs 10,000 per kWh of battery used for a two-wheeler. As the average size of a lithium-ion battery in electric scooters sold during FAME-I was around 1.5kWh (average subsidy of around Rs 15,000 per vehicle), it reduced the average subsidy per vehicle by Rs 2,000 to Rs 7,000. CRISIL finds that the e-scooter industry would see turbulence in the initial phase of the FAME-II. In the near term, liquidating inventory would necessitate higher discounts to offset the lack of subsidy. EV makers would then concentrate on localisation and building supply chains alongside product development to come up with new models. They have also requested the government to re-consider the stringent norms, concludes the report.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES Negative impact on sales

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Commenting on the impact on the industry, Pankaj Tiwari, Business Development Head of Avan Motors, an EV start-up, said: “We welcome the FAME II policy by the government, considering it is an important step forward in the development of the EV industry in India. In light of this development, we would like to highlight a few concerns that might impede the progress of the project while also offering appropriate remedial recommendations.

As the government is aiming to achieve a sale of 10 lakh units of EVs in the next three years, it must also provide the people with continuous subsidies on the EV segment for a significant period of time. The success of this initiative will largely depend on how much feasible and affordable the government manages to make the accessibility of EVs to the masses. Conversely, cutting down the subsidy will negatively impact the sale of two-wheeler EVs, causing it to drop by more than 50 percent of the current volume which stands at 120,000. Localisation is another magnificent decision taken by the government to strengthen the ‘Make in India’ drive. However, the best strategy to glean optimum results out of this initiative would be to phase out the localisation process for the next one year to ensure that manufacturers get enough time to localise their product at sustainable cost.

In addition, vehicle specifications that are mentioned under the current policy will double the cost of EVs. The additional cost will result from the procuring of required vehicular components from suppliers on low volume. In order to take care of this issue, the government should also introduce a strong financial policy for the benefit of customers to ensure an increased and more feasible adoptability of EVs.” Source: autocarpro.in

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ABB reinvents the circuit breaker – breakthrough digital technology for renewables and next-gen power grids A technological breakthrough by ABB – a solid-state circuit breaker – will enhance performance of renewable energy solutions, industrial battery storage solutions and so-called edge grids.

Vital for the electrification of sustainable transport Power losses are 70 percent lower than comparable solutions, enabling savings of up to $200,000 in a ferry and up to $1 million in a cruise liner over a ten-year period Circuit breakers to become 100 times faster than electro-mechanical systems, service no longer needed as no mechanical components Prevents losses of up to $100,000 per plant from missed energy delivery and system recovery associated with a short circuit fault

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BB has developed a revolutionary solid-state circuit breaker concept, which meets the highest demands of nextgeneration power applications as they enter the digital age. The ground-breaking low voltage circuit breaker concept will be revealed to the public for the first time at the Hannover Messe in Germany. The product will be available from 2020. With the new device, today’s electrical grids will be better able to keep up with the rapid growth of renewable energy solutions and the shift towards the electrification of transport – whether that’s electric cars, buses, trucks or maritime vessels – because they will be able to better and more quickly meet new demanding requirements. The ABB solid-state breaker concept works by replacing the traditional moving parts of an electro-mechanical circuit breaker with power electronics and advanced software algorithms that control the power and can interrupt extreme currents faster than ever before.

Developed in Italy at ABB’s Bergamo Electrification business R&D Center, the ABB breaker concept is the first of its kind to use a patented insulated gate-commutated transistor (IGCT) semiconductor technology. This technological breakthrough is combined with new embedded predictive power management software, protection algorithms and higher levels of connectivity.

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For electricity grids, the introduction of the new ABB concept circuit breaker is as dramatic as the switch from vacuum tubes to transistors, which heralded the start of the digital age. “This development is going to strengthen the weakest link in next-generation electricity infrastructure. Our 21st Century circuit breaker technology can better meet the demands of renewables, the electrification of transport and modern edge grids as today`s offerings,” said Giampiero Frisio, the head of ABB’s Smart Power business line. “With the ABB concept circuit breaker, we help to address the big challenges of future energy requirements, with ABB innovation and quality. This is a major step forward that will help customers address the main challenges of future energy requirements.”

The ABB circuit breaker will make electrical distribution systems more reliable and efficient and will drive down maintenance costs while meeting the durability demands of nextgeneration electrical grids. The solid-state circuit breaker will be around 100 times faster than traditional electro-mechanical breakers. Its speed maximizes the performance of power distribution systems, while maintaining service continuity. The new ABB breaker will also improve safety and protection for people and equipment. As there is no energy release when the current is interrupted, there is no risk of arc energy exposure. Grid-edge electrical architectures depend on energy storage systems – whether they are at a household or industrial scale. To operate reliably, they require protection devices with extreme short circuit capabilities and outstanding electrical durability. For example, in the event of an electrical fault in a 4MW utility-scale battery system, the new solid-state circuit breaker can prevent losses of up to $100,000 per plant from missed energy remuneration and system recovery costs.

Traditional mechanical circuit breakers also require regular servicing and have to be replaced after about 10,000 operations.

ABB’s solid-state concept circuit breaker can achieve millions of operations with complete reliability and near-zero servicing. Sustainability and e-mobility will reshape cities and every aspect of the transportation of goods and people. The marine segment, for example, is an emerging market for batteries using energy storage systems to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency for commercial vessels.

Frisio concludes: “The real innovation is how easily the ABB concept breaker will integrate into applications. We looked at the complex, full system solutions already out there on the market and decided to give customers a simple standalone component they can integrate into any solution.

ABB’s technology also has the advantage that power losses are 70 percent lower than comparable solutions, enabling savings of up to $200,000 in a cargo or passenger ferry and up to $1 million in a cruise liner over a ten-year period.”

The ABB concept solid-state circuit breaker will also make it simpler to integrate power installations into the digital world. Connection to the ABB AbilityTM digital platform makes intelligent microgrid management strategies and a host of other data-driven digital solutions straightforward.

Examples of how the ABB concept circuit breaker will underpin the future of energy include: Electric Transportation: In marine vessels, for example, the solid-state circuit breaker will make it possible to keep systems up and running without much interruption, as it is possible to disconnect just a faulty zone while keeping the rest of the electrical distribution system running; complete system shutdowns will be a thing of the past.

Battery storage solutions: In case of a fault, the solid-state circuit breaker disconnects the faulty zone only, which avoids all the rack fuses blowing up and the resultant shut down of the whole system. The result is maximized plant uptime and minimized revenue losses.

Source: new.abb

Ecoppia Launches Dedicated Robotic Cleaning Solution for Single Axis Trackers Ecoppia, the world-leader in robotic, water-free photovoltaic solar panel cleaning solutions, announced the general availability of its newest fully-autonomous solution for single axis tracker installations. The Ecoppia T4 is compatible with all trackers and module types, including frameless and thin film panels.

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he first commercial deployment of Ecoppia T4, at a large installation in the Middle East, is already underway and slated to go fully live by the end of April. Once online, the system will leverage over 100 cleaning robots that perform a nightly cleaning, ensuring that soiling and dust storms do not impact production levels.

The Ecoppia T4 for single axis trackers successfully passed rigorous acceleration testing by independent laboratories, and has been fully certified by leading module makers, tracker manufacturers and financial institutions.

Recognized by industry leaders and renewable energy programs alike, the Ecoppia T4 was awarded the seal of excellence by the European Commission – a quality label awarded to projects succeeding a highly competitive evaluation process by independent experts. With the commercial launch of the T4, Ecoppia is scheduled to expand its activity also to the Americas.

The pipeline for the Ecoppia T4 worldwide has already crossed the 1,000 MW threshold.

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R.N.I. No. MPBIL/2013/50966 | DT OF PUBLICATION 20 MAY 2019 | POSTAL REGD. No. MP/IDC/1435/2019-2021