EQ May/June 2012 Issue : Intersolar EU, NA Special Issue by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

Issue # 13 | May-June 12

INTERNATIONAL 1sstt EQ Map Solar A of US www.EQMaglive.com

ASYS SOLAR – Lowering The Total Cost Of Ownership

Inverters As Grid Managers

M & B Switch GearIndia’s First Solar REC Generator

REFUPMU® - Power Management Unit for Solar PV Plants

Japan FIT For Renewable And Solar

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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PV – Ever closer to Grid Parity, Long Term Outlook BRIGHT, Short & Medium Term Outlook in more bleak.

EDITORIAL

THE SOLAR AGE

nited States & India rated the most attractive Solar Markets according to Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractive Indices for May 2012. April 2012 saw inauguration of 600 MW Solar PV Plants in Gujarat by Hon’ble Chief Minister, MrNarendraModi, at Gujarat Solar Park in Patan district. The Solar Park is the world’s only multi-developer park with an aggregated capacity of 214 Mw of solar projects commissioned at a single location. The rest of the solar projects are at various locations spread across the Gujarat State. This solar park is also Asia’s largest solar power park. Talking on the occasion, Mr D.J. Pandian, IAS, Principal Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals Department, Government of Gujarat said, “Gujarat recognises renewable energy as one of its key sectors. Gujarat has already taken the lead over other Indian states in renewable energy initiatives, particularly in solar power generation. It is the first State in India to achieve its renewable energy purchase obligation. IFC is supporting Gujarat to replicate in five cities a rooftop solar project first completed in Gandhinagar. The two pilot projects of 2.5 megawatt each demonstrated the viability of generating solar power through a grid-interactive system on rooftops, and will serve as a model for roll-out across the cities of Bhavnagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara. IFC is also developing a policy framework for replicating the rooftop solar concept in Gujarat based on the experience gained in Gandhinagar. The weighted average selling price (ASP) for polysilicon used in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells plunged to $27.20 per kilogram in April, down from $30.70 in March, as presented in the table below. This is marks the first time in 2012 that the average weighted price dropped below the $30 threshold pricing fell mainly due to larger volumes of sales on the spot market compared to contract deals. “Polysilicon buyers are flocking to the spot market, attracted by the lower prices compared to contracts,” said Glenn Gu, senior analyst, photovoltaics with IHS. Polycrystalline modules quoted at all time low of $0.70 per watt on the spot market was unsustainable for many manufacturers and a new waye of bankruptcies begun with Germann thin-film pioneer Odersun& German c-Si cell maker Q-Cells – the worlds largest cell maker in 2007 – declaring insolvency. BNEF expect atleast half the manufacturers currently in existence to consolidate, either through bankruptcy or acquisition. Thin film makers are the worst affected by the decline in c-Si prices.Thin film leader First Solar struggles on at reduced capacity utilization, Abound Solar has shut its older manufacturing line already. Indian solar manufacturers such as Tata BP, Indosolar Ltd. (ISLR) and Moser Baer India Ltd. (MBI) are struggling along with counterparts in the U.S. and Europe after lower-cost Chinese manufacturers boosted supply. The chief executive officer of Tata BP Solar Ltd. resigned, exiting India’s third-largest panel maker as the industry struggles to cope with oversupply from Chinese competitors that’s crushed prices.K. Subramanya said in an e-mail The U.S. Department of Commerce issued anti-dumping duties of 31.14 percent on imports of solar cells and panels from Suntech, 31.22 percent from Trina Solar, 31.18 percent from other companies that had requested but not received individual duty determinations and 249.96 percent from all other Chinese producers, including those controlled by the Chinese government. The department also announced that in light of a massive, evasive surge of imports ahead of the determination, these new duties would apply retroactively 90 days. As a result of this determination of so-called critical circumstances, importers of Chinese solar products must post bonds or cash deposits in the full amounts of anti-dumping duties on imports from now forward as well as back to mid-February. The DOC also preliminarily determined that the AD investigation does not apply to modules manufactured in China that incorporate solar cells produced in a third country. The Department of Commerce’s recent rulings are preliminary findings. No final tariff decisions will be made until both the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission complete their investigations, which are scheduled to occur before the end of 2012. The traditional European PV Markets such Germany, France, Italy & UK announces further PV FIT Cuts in 2012 while new markets awakens to The Solar AGE. Germany is seeking to reduce FIT to control the rate of growth & reduce the country’s subsidy budget. Italy released a draft bill which calls for a 35% cut in subsidies awarded to solar energy projects. Canadian Ontario government plans to reduce premium rates for solar power by 20%

NEW MARKETS

Saudi Arabia has launched one of the world’s most ambitious solar-energy programs recently. At the Saudi Solar Energy Forum in Riyadh on May 8, officials from the responsible government entity King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) announced long-term development goals as well as a policy framework. By 2032, the oil-rich country plans to generate almost a quarter of its electricity from solar energy, with 41 GW of solar power capacity. JAPAN SOLAR program is set to launch on July 1, 2012 and solar is regarded as one of the brightest spots in the Japanese recovery from the tsunami.The new program will guarantee payment of 40 Yen/kWh ($0.50) for solar energy produced by projects >10kw (non-residential) and 42 Yen/kWh ($0.53) for energy from projects <10kw (residential) for twenty and ten years, respectively. Today, installed system prices in Japan far exceed global norms – 2011 system costs averaged ~$6.25/w reflecting a high cost of regulation, grid connection, land, labor and construction costs in Japan as well as a module supply largely dominated by higher priced domestic manufacturers. Following the nuclear disaster at Fukushima-Diachi, the Japanese nuclear program came under severe attack. Today, there are no working nuclear facilities in Japan, reducing the country’s energy generation capacity by 25%. With a hot summer looming, the Japanese expect significant power shortages to roll through the country. Brazil plans a new regulation due to be implemented later this year that utilities will be eligible for an 80% discount in taxes paid for distributing solar power and a net metering regulation and cheaper loans to solar projects More mature technologies move ever closer to achieving grid party, it is likely that the renewable energy sector will flourish in the long run. However, in the face of such challenges, the short to medium term outlook in more bleak.

Anand Gupta Editor & CEO

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PV MANUFACTURING

CONTENTS PV MANUFACTURING

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 13

Schanz-Karl

Dr. Burkhard WEHEFRITZ

14 ASYS SOLAR – Lowering The Total Cost Of Ownership

16 SCHMID Group’s Integrated Fab Solutions and Schmid Silicon Technology: Global Integration of the Solar Value Chain

ANITA GUPTA

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Schanz-Karl, Weber Fabian, Dr. Burkhard WEHEFRITZ, Sylvère Leu, Tuteja, Bikesh Ogra, H K Chaudhary, Gyanesh Chaudhary, Wolfgang Hofheinz, Oliver Schäfer, Harald Sellner, Michael Faust, K.Vijaya Bhasker, K Venkateswarlu, Vishnu Reddy, Srinivas Reddy Ponnala, Prashant Sinha, Stefan Mau, Dácil Melián Castellano, Cesar Hidalgo Lopez GL Garrad Hassan, Reza Tajali, Sagar Sanyal, Santosh Kumar Singh, Ravi, Marie Schnitzer, Rakesh Khanna, Anil.Poluru, Mukund Shendge, Keertika Singh, A.Reitz, Lingam, Kiran-Kumar, Cedrik Zapfe, Toni Betriu weidmuller, Chris’O Brien, Stefan Ringbeck, Suchitra Cropped,

SOLAR EPC

SURENDRA BAJPAI

SOLAR EPC

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Vishnu Reddy

34 INTERVIEW Vikram Solar

42 INTERVIEW Cirus Solar Systems

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Cover Hensel India, a subsidiary of Gustav Hensel GmbH & Co. KG Germany, specializes in the field of industrial electrical distribution systems. The Solar Photovoltaic range of products are under the brand name Enysun. The product range includes Array Junction Boxes, String Combiner Boxes, String Monitoring Solutions for PV plants conforming to IEC 60 364 -7- 712.

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SOLAR ENERGY Cooper Bussmann

28 INTERVIEW Sterling and Wilson

32 Strike Action

PV INVERTERS

SOLAR EPC Bikesh Ogra

18 Trends In Wafer Production

PV INVERTERS

Sylvère Leu

SOLAR DEVELOPER

PV MANUFACTURING

CONTENTS

Ravi Agrawal

Rakesh Khanna

A.Reitz

60 INTERVIEW - Louroux Group

68 Inverters As Grid Managers

76 INTERVIEW LTi DRiVES GmbH

Eq Business & Financial News

6-10

PV MANFUACTURING 12

DEK Heralds A New Dawn In Process Improvements And Accuracy Wafer Metrology Sorter System

SOLAR ENERGY 24

Success Factors For Module Suppliers In The Indian Solar Market DB Schenker Provides One Stop Solutions For Solar Industry Logistics Needs Electrical Safety In Large Photovoltaic Systems Product Report – Pregalvanised PU Coated Mounting System from Seven Energies Ltd M & B SwitchGear-India’s First Solar REC Generator

Socomec Launches Complete Range Of Solar Photovoltaic Components For Balance Of Plant (Electrical) PV Plants: Early Detection Of Operational Problems Using Advanced Tools Factors Investors Consider In Project Financing – Reducing Uncertainty In Solar Energy Estimates Risk Exposures In A Solar Plant ….During Construction As Well As Operational Phase Impact Of Grid Connected Solar Power Projects On Financial Health Of Didstribution Companies of Gujarat Factors Investors Consider In Project Financing – Reducing Uncertainty In Solar Energy Estimates

PV INVERTERS

ONE ON ONE with Samil Power REFUPMU® - Power Management Unit for Solar PV Plants

THIN FILMS 78

81 83

Design Of FixationAnd Rack Solutions For Frameless ThinFilm Modules Based On Numerical Calculations The New Wiring Concept For Thin Film PV Plant BOS Innovation “Clicks” For A Competitive Edge

NEW MARKETS 85

Japan FIT For Renewable And Solar

EQ MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA 86-87 PRODUCTS 88-95

66-67 PV INVERTERS News

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INTERNATIONAL

Tata BP Solar CEO Resigns as Chinese Rivals Hurt Indian M The chief executive officer of Tata BP Solar Ltd. resigned, exiting India’s third-largest panel maker as the industry struggles to cope with oversupply from Chinese competitors that’s crushed prices.K. Subramanya said in an e-mail that tomorrow will be his last day at the head of the solar company and that he hasn’t decided yet what he will do next. He didn’t provide a reason for his resignation.Indian panel makers such as Tata BP, Indosolar Ltd.

(ISLR) and Moser Baer India Ltd. (MBI) are struggling along with counterparts in the U.S. and Europe after lower-cost Chinese manufacturers boosted supply. Germany and Italy, the two biggest markets for the technology, have scaled back subsidies for renewable energy. Indian manufacturers received almost no orders for the more than 700 megawatts of sun-powered capacity under construction in the nation last year and have idled their

factories, Subramanya said in an interview in December.Tata Power Co. (TPWR), the utility arm of the industrial group that owns Jaguar Land Rover, agreed to buy out BP Plc (BP/)’s stake in the Indian joint venture in December after the British oil company said it was winding down its solar business worldwide.Prices of silicon-based panels plunged 47 percent in the past year, helping to tip at least seven U.S. and German manufacturers into bankruptcy.

MP Solar Bidding Results : Alpha & Welspun bid lowest amongst qualified bidders On May 10,2012 the commercial bids for proposed 200 MW Solar PV Projects in Madhya Pradesh as tenders invited my MPTRADECO were opened. 125 MW worth of Solar PV Projects were allotted to the lowest bidders. Alpha Infra emerged as the lowest bidder quoting tariff of Rs.7.90 per kwHr for 20 MW Project, Welspun bid Rs.8.05 for 2 Projects of 50 MW and 1 project of 25 MW out which it got 5 MW Project. Finally just 2 bidders were successful, Alpha Infra won 20 MW and Welspun 105 MW. 75 MW Solar PV Project

were reserved by the government with which they earlier signed MOU’s whose names are not officially disclosed. Companies who submitted there bids and didn’t qualify for bids were

were Acme 3*25MW Bid Rs.12.45, Azure 5MW Bid Rs.15.35, Simplex Infra 10MW bid Rs.9.59,

GMR - 45MW,

Sai Sudheer 2*25MW Bid Rs.15.35,

BGR 10MW,

Arjun Green Power 5MW Bid Rs.15.35,

Sapec Enviro 5MW.

Essel Infra 30MW Rs.15.35,

Rest of the bidders who qualified and submitted the bids but couldn’t win projects

IL&FS 50MW Bid Rs.15.35

Solar Polysilicon Pricing Plunges as Buyers Flock to the Spot Market With no sign that the oversupply of solar polysilicon is ending, buyers are shifting their purchasing activity to the bargain-basement spot market, contributing to a sharp 11 percent drop in overall pricing in April, according to an IHS iSuppli PV Perspective Market Brief and the IHS iSuppli Polysilicon Price Index from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS).The weighted average selling price (ASP) for polysilicon used in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells plunged to $27.20 per kilogram in April, down from $30.70 in March, as presented in the table below. This is marks the first time in 2012 that the average weighted price dropped below the $30 threshold.ricing fell mainly due to larger volumes of sales on the spot market compared to contract deals. The volume of trades on the spot market, in terms of kilograms sold, increased by 22 percent from March to April. The spot market accounted for 44 percent of polysilicon shipment volume in April, up from 36 percent in March. The remainder was taken up by long-term agreement (LTA) contracts.“Polysilicon buyers are flocking to the spot market, attracted by the lower prices compared to contracts,” said Glenn 6 EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Gu, senior analyst, photovoltaics with IHS. “This phenomenon is driving down contract pricing, causing the sharp decline in the overall ASP in April. Spot market activity is expected to continue accelerating relative to the contact segment during the coming months, placing further pressure on pricing.”Pricing on the spot market in April ranged from $19.50 to $30.00 per kilogram with an average weighted price of $24.20, IPPI data indicates. Contract prices with LTAs varied from $37.00 to $18.50 with an average weighted price of $29.40. Overall, contract prices in April declined by 7.8 percent while spot prices decreased by 9.0 percent.The continued increase in the proportion of spot market sales indicates that the oversupply situation and pricing decreases are likely to continue.On the spot market, polysilicon is sold for cash by third parties and delivered immediately. In contrast, on the contract market, polysilicon is sold directly by suppliers on credit, often with LTAs for delivery and pricing.When prices are lower on the spot market compared to contracts, it indicates prices will remain on the decline. When spot market prices eventually rise above those of contracts,

that shows the period of oversupply and price decreases has come to an end. Glut’s Happening The global solar polysilicon industry is wrestling with an acute oversupply as production runs far ahead of demand. The decline in polysilicon prices have an impact as well on pricing for solar modules and systems, adding to the woes of the industry in what is already expected to be a challenging year.IHS predicts global solar polysilicon market revenue will amount to $3.7 billion in 2012, down from $7.4 billion in 2011. Keeping Ahead of the Pricing Trends The IHS iSuppli Polysilicon Price Index can be used as a tool to link market price activity to tailored individual needs.The IHS iSuppli Polysilicon Price Index differentiates by LTA and spot price, the quality of material being produced, and other variables such as region of production, size of transaction and trading terms. Data is collected via a survey among buyers and suppliers, with the information showing weighted averages covering at least 45 percent of market-wide transacted volumes by month.

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NTPC Planning to add 301 MW through Solar energy

Saudi Arabia opens door to becoming one of the largest solar markets

NTPC has a plan for adding of 301 MW through Solar energy and the details of the projects are as follows:

(i) Solar Power Plant under implementation with total capacity of 10 MW: Plant Name

Location (District /State ) Status

05 MW Solar PV Project at A&N Island

Port Blair

05 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Dadri

GautamBudh Nagar

Andaman & Nicobar

Uttar Pradesh

Under erection Under erection

i. Plant Name

Location (District /State ) Status

15 MW Solar Baran Thermal Project at Rajasthan NTPC-Anta

Bids are being evaluated

05 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Faridabad

Faridabad

Bids are being evaluated

10 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Ramagundam (Phase-I)

Karim Nagar

10 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Talchar

Angul

50 MW Solar Project at Rajgarh

Rajgarh

10 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Unchahar

Raibarielly

Haryana

Andhra Pradesh

Odisha

Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh

Bids are being evaluated Under Tendering Under Tendering Under Tendering

i Projectt

Estimated Cost (Rs. Crores)

05 MW Solar PV Project at A&N Island

57.9

05 MW Solar PV Project at NTPC Dadri

48.59

The Estimated Cost of NTPC’s ongoing solar project are given below which is expected to be spent in 2012-13.

KA-CARE declared its intention to turn Saudi Arabia into “the Kingdom of Sustainable Energy”. The main objectives of the program are a reduction in oil burned for power production as well as the establishment of a local solar industry and the creation of jobs.Representatives from KA-CARE not only announced longterm targets, but also a detailed roadmap for the development of the solar market in Saudi Arabia starting immediately. The pillars of the program are at least two competitive bidding rounds for around 5 GW of utility-scale solar projects in total, with the first tenders being prepared currently and to be released in early 2013. The tender rounds will be followed by a feed-in-tariff scheme such as Germany’s successful program. Saudi Arabia is ideally positioned to become one of the leading solar markets worldwide, with abundant sunlight, a rapidly growing power demand and unparalleled financial strength. Finally, the country is now tapping into this potential. Apricum anticipates that the Saudi program will trigger enormous activities both from international and local Saudi companies.As a strategy consulting and transaction advisory firm specialized in renewable energy, Apricum has been instrumental in the development of the Saudi solar market, being active in the country for several years. On the one hand, Apricum advises Saudi companies on building comprehensive business development strategies in the solar sector. On the other hand, the firm supports foreign solar companies entering the Saudi market, e.g., by identifying the most suitable local partner company.

Lanco Solar completes 56MW Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant to the grid in Gujarat Lanco Solar, a fully owned subsidiary of Lanco Infratech Limited - the fastest growing business conglomerates in India with interests in EPC, Power, Solar, Resources and Infrastructure, recently announced that it has completed a total of 56MW Grid connected Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants in Gujarat. This includes three plants of 35 MW owned by Lanco Infratech Ltd and additional 21 MW built as turnkey EPC for other developers - the Gujarat 8 EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Power Corporation Ltd (5MW), GSPC Pipavav Power Company Ltd (5MW), GHI Energy Pvt Ltd (10 MW) and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (1MW). These Power Plants will generate upto 90 million units of green electricity annually resulting in reduction of CO2 emissions by85757 tonnes annually.“We came to Gujarat in 2009 to explore the possibility of setting up our Solar business here. The visionary approach of the Hon’ble Chief

Minister and the attitude of Government of Gujarat have been very positive for promotion of solar energy. Gujarat is at the forefront of solar development in the country today, with its excellent solar radiation, progressive solar policies and conducive business environment. We look forward to our continued growth here over our existing 56 MW, that we have built as a Developer & an EPC player in the last one and a half years in Gujarat, said Mr. V. Saibaba, CEO Lanco Solar”

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Gujarat Solar Projects Generation Data for March 2012 ! “Its a matter of Pride that Gujarat contributes 66 % of nation’s total solar power generation.”- Gujarat CM As per the latest data of MARCH 2012 by SLDC (Gujarat), a total of 32 Project Developers have started feeding power to the grid and the cheery news is that GUVNL after some prolonged and delayed verifications of all the documents and readings have released the first payment for most of the solar project developers (Rs. 15 / Rs. 5 fame) in Gujarat. Below is the March 2012 data of power generation by solar PV power developers of Gujarat by SLDC in terms of “Energy Supplied by Solar Power Stations for March – 2012 (Export)”

Azure Gets $70.4 Million From U.S. for First Solar Panels Azure Power India Pvt., an Indian renewableenergy developer, arranged $70.4 million in long-term financing from the Export Import Bank of the U.S. to expand the largest project under the country’s National Solar Mission, using panels from First Solar Inc. (FSLR)The 5-megawatt plant in Nagaur, in the state of Rajasthan, went into operation in December and is being expanded to 40 megawatts, New Delhi-based Azure said today in an e-mailed statement. Construction is underway and the project is expected to be complete by February.The bank has approved the loan and it hasn’t closed, Phil Cogan, a spokesman for the Washingtonbased lender, said in an interview today. First Solar, based in Tempe, Arizona, will be the sole panel supplier for the Nagaur project.India is seeking to develop 20,000 megawatts of solar capacity by 2022 under its National Mission. When complete, the Nagaur plant will be the largest developed at a single site under the program, according to the statement.

Energy Supplied by Solar for March-2012 (Export)* Name of Power Station

Name of Inter face meter location

Lanco

66 KV Bhadrada-Lanco Solar-1&2

2516.95

Soltaire

66kv Soltaire Energy Solar Pvt. Ltd.

2365.00

Precious

2349.20

Azure Power

66kv Precious Energy Services Pvt. Ltd-Solar 66KV Bayal(D)-Azure Power-1 & 2

Sun Edison

11 kv Sun Edison-Medha s/s

102.98

Welspun

66kv Welspun-Dudhai 1&2

3034.50 1704.70

Green Infra

56KV Green Infra-Tanasava-I &II

Aravali Infra

66KV Aravali-Tanasava-I & II

66kv Vadgam-Dhama

66kv Vadgam/Azure ESP Visual Millenium E mco) BITA Solar Power

new solar from Jan 12

573.10 7232.00

Konark

926.80

Backbone

66KV Backbone-Shivlakha No.1

829.05

ICML

66kv ICML solar power at 66kv Rapar s/s (Shivlakha-Rapar Tap ICML)

1228.10

TATA (Mithapur)

4259.30

GHI (Helabeli)

Rasana

66KV TATA(Mithapur)=Varvala Line 1 66KV GHI(Helabeli)-Khageshri Line No.1 11KV Rasana Feeder (66kv paldi)

Rajesh

11KV Rajesh Feeder(66kv paldi)

MBH solar

11kv Chhidra-MBH

87.71

GIPCL

66kv GIPCL-Mosali

731.48

Essar

11kv Essar Soar (66kv Kanyabe)

Louroux

66KV Louroux-Sada Line 1&2

Waa Solar

66kv Waa Solar-Sadla line

1880.00

PLG

66KV PLG-DAHISAR 1&2

2836.00

Line changed on 2.01.2012 Line changed on 1.01.2012 Top Line charged as stop gap arrangement on 3.3.12 polarit changed on 17.3.2012

1735.70 155.47 155.47 Comm on 3.01.2012 Comm on 3.01.2012

152.45 2125.20

Thavar

66KV Khimat S/S 1&2

Charanka SolarPark

220kv Charanka s/s

Jai Hind

670.80

new solar from feb 2012

560.50 21866.91

ACME Solar

66kv JAIHIND-BHADRADA SOLAR1&2 66kv Wadgam (Solar)-Undel-1

ACME Solar

66kv Wadgam (Solar)-Undel-2

676.00

401.79

440.46

Harsha

11kv Harsha Solar (66kv KHANPUR)

PDPU

11KV PDPU Solar (66KV BHAT)

161.85

Abellon Cleanenergy Ltd. Universal Solar

11KV Abellon Cleanenergy Ltd. (11KV Solar Bhatkota) 11KV Universal Solar

440.54

Total

Reading Taken from Bhadarda end

1848.00

66KV BITA Solar Power-Netra S/S Line 1&2 66kv Konark-Shivlakha No. 1

10 EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Energy recorded Remarks in MWH

Sr. No.

335.2365

new solar from 3.3.2012

Taken as per UGVCL

71181.35

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DEK Heralds A New Dawn In Process Improvements And Accuracy

Apollo is the latest addition to DEK’s award winning portfolio including the Eclipse and PV1200+ lines that delivers highthroughput and maximum cell efficiency.

emand for solar as an alternative energy source has never been greater. Alternative Energy is gaining wider acceptance globally and the demand for installations is growing at about 25 to 30 percent annually. As technological advancement develops next-generation applications, there is an increasing need and importance for solar cell partners to deliver even higher-levels of efficiency to manufacturers.

Key features of Apollo include:

DEK is at the forefront of developing innovation, leading the drive towards increased cell efficiency through enhanced metallization processes and technologies. DEK has prioritised reducing the cost per watt; enable the printing of thinner wafers, lower breakage rates and hardware footprint while increasing printer utilization.

Featuring topside cameras for fiducial or pattern alignment, and incorporating handling systems, conveyoring, drying equipment and the ability to integrate directly with other photovoltaic production processes, Apollo is the foundation for DEK’s new generation of solar cell metallization solutions.

One of these innovations, Apollo - a nextgeneration integrated cell manufacturing metallization platform, was recently launched. DEK’s latest offering has been designed to improve performance and help manufacturers to meet the future challenges of the solar industry. Apollo is an integrated cell manufacturing system whose advanced automated features optimise accuracy for Print-on-Print and Selective Emitter processes and offer customers repeatability as well as high performance in an industry-leading small footprint, single line configuration. DEK is committed to developing advanced technologies and processes that help customers reduce costs and optimise cell efficiency, and the ±10 micron accuracy @ 2 Cpk capability offered by the Apollo platform ensures that this commitment can be met. Offering exceptional productivity per meter of floor space the Apollo platform sets the standard in throughput and flexibility. 12

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

•

Breakage rate < 0.15%

•

1450 wafers per hour

•

Single lane, smallest footprint

•

Optimised for high accuracy such as PoP and SE

•

Non edge contact wafer transport

•

Increased process flexibility

•

MES capability

An innovative in process wafer alignment system has been designed specifically for the selective emitter, print on print and MWT process which delivers exceptional alignment accuracy and makes these next generation technologies practical. The state of the art print engine design delivers the highest level of print quality through use of its unique closed loop control system and paste delivery systems. Print results are controlled through an SPC software suite for optimal performance. “We developed Apollo with one primary goal – helping our customers to create a more cost efficient production line,” said Darren Brown, DEK Alternative Energy Global Business Manager. “Apollo boasts market leading accuracy, increased capability and advanced features, and allows us to now offer a comprehensive portfolio of metallization platforms ring fencing the complete spectrum of PV customers, from entry level start up through to the multi-national cell makers.”

DEK Solar’s Eclipse platform is a high throughput metallization technology featuring parallel print head procession options to maximise productive uptime. Its innovative modular design allows manufacturers to easily scale their production to from 1200 to 3600wph to accommodate dynamic production requirements. Far ahead of current solar cell metallization requirements, the Eclipse platform’s accuracy is imperative for demanding technologies like print-onprint. With next-generation zero-edgecontact handling, advanced vision capabilities and exceptional positional accuracy, Eclipse enables high yield silicon cell processing for even the most demanding solar production environments. The PV 1200+ builds on DEK’s proven platform expertise. It operates at optimal throughput of 1450wph and delivers maximum yield while reducing the total cost of ownership with its compact design. Over the years, DEK has grown from strength to strength by leveraging its complete knowledge of the printing process. DEK is the only metallization equipment provider in the industry with in-house screen and stencil design and manufacturing expertise. This enables DEK to provide customers an optimal complete photovoltaic metallization solution from screen and stencil design and manufacture, to the development of award winning solar cell metallization platforms that boost cell efficiency and reduce total cost of ownership. nnn

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ASYS SOLAR – Lowering The Total Cost Of Ownership Mr. Karl Schanz General Technical Manager Solar

Mr. Karl Schanz General Technical Manager Solar

Continuously increasing price pressure in the solar market demands optimized costs along the entire value chain. For the last step in solar cell production, contact metallization, this entails not only the integration of new efficiency enhancing processes but also reducing cost of the production machines themselves. With a modular line concept and a varied offering of high-throughput solutions, ASYS has well anticipated these price demands and is thus the ideal choice for cost-optimized metallization lines.

6 Sigma Standard in Screen Printing – ASYS contribution towards maximum Yield ASYS screen printers provide high-precision and highthroughput for all production demands. 6 Sigma is the ASYS standard for maximum quality in solar production that sets a benchmark for reliable processing. All ASYS SOLAR screen printers constitute an important contribution to highest yield supporting a 6 Sigma standard of performance. The sigma rating is an indicator for the percentage of misposition ed prints resulting from the machine alignment capability. 3 Sigma means a failure rate of 0.27%, representing a sum of 2700 misaligned prints in 1 million total processed wafers. Conversely 6 Sigma corresponds to zero misaligned prints per 1 million processed wafers (equivalent rate: 14

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

1 part per billion). Furthermore, all ASYS screen printing systems are equipped with a patented optical edge recognition system and offer a user-friendly and intuitive user interface, which covers the entire machine

precision and highest throughput for printing wafers or solar cells. The wafer is transported on conveyors and is mounted on the print table by vacuum. The XSR1 Turntable Printer delivers best print results and lowest failure rates for „sensitive materials“. A specially developed transport system and print table enable improved cell handling, and are also applicable for “EFG” wafers as well as ultra-thin materials while eliminating frequent manual cleaning. The turntable printer has 4 integrated stations providing a wide range of functionality ULTRAline Metallization Lines – combined with a minimum Scalable Production Solutions footprint.

status and registers errors in plain text. All product-related, print-relevant parameters can be stored and loaded again if needed. A new screen set-up is performed in seconds, without any test prints being required. The ASYS XS2 screen printer offers highest

Offering both scalable production solutions and highspeed technologies, ASYS is the ideal equipment partner for cost-efficient solar cell metallization. The company’s ULTRAline Metallization Lines are available in single, dual and triple lane configurations, with throughputs ranging from 1,200 up to

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XS2 – High Precision Screen Printer

4,600 cells per hour. They are comprised of independent modules, allowing customers to configure the lines exactly as they need. Easy enhancement or addition of modules is possible, such as printers for Double Print applications or alignment systems for Selective Emitter and Metal Wrap Through. ASYS Metallization Lines are upgradable for all future processes and offer easy access and operation, hence reducing labour costs. Multiple lane solutions help to drive down the costs of manufacturing - if one lane stops for attention, the others continue to process cells. This means that for a dual lane line, an interruption of one lane will only cause a throughput reduction of 50%. Another benefit of a multiple lane line is that it takes up minimal space and reduces the footprint that is needed in cleanrooms. Two Single Lane Lines require about 60% more space than one Dual Lane Metallization Line. Other benefits of the Dual Lane configuration include capex savings of 2 dryers and 1 firing furnace, as well as saving of energy consumption and labour costs. Two Single Lane Lines consume twice as much energy as one Dual lane Line. On the maintenance cost side, it can be mentioned that a Dual Lane Metallization Line requires only as much maintenance as a Single Lane Line. Additionally, based on identical construction principles, training and spare part costs also stay the same; while reduced stocking costs are another benefit of identical spare parts.

Technology Partner for Advanced Cell Concepts For the metallization of solar cells, the role of efficiency enhancing technologies is particularly growing in importance. Increasing cell efficiency results in higher power from modules and thus greater

power concentration in the overall installed PV system. To maintain maximum cell efficiency, the process matching between the structuring and metallization processes must be optimized. For this reason, ASYS offers a complete metallization concept, which allows easy integration of in-house laser machines or screen printing platforms for the prestructuring of solar wafers. ASYS additionally offers modules and platforms for Metal Wrap Through, Local BSF and Selective Emitter processes such as Emitter Etch Back, Emitter Etch Back with Etch Paste, Dopant Paste Print and Laser Doping. ASYS Laser Platforms are intelligent upgrades at the front-end of solar cell production and a perfect complement for ULTRAline Metallization Lines. The aligned laser patterning tools can be implemented for various Selective Emitter technologies as well as laser drilling and back contact isolation of MWT Cells. The SLS 01 is a

Continuous Innovation and Integration of New Technologies

high-performance laser system for structuring or ablation of dielectric layers on the front or backside of solar cells. The system can be equipped with various laser sources for specific process applications. The SLD 01 is a comprehensive solution for the laser drilling of back contacted c-Si solar cells. It detects the wafer edges by 3 matrix cameras from above, then automatically aligns the laser pattern with the wafer. The position of the drilling pattern is defined by a patented optical edge alignment system similar to ASYS screen printers.The SE Screen Printing Platforms set a benchmark

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SAS 01 Alignment System for Selective Emitter, Metal-Wrap-Through, or Dual Print Applications

in prestructuring of Selective Emitter cells in the front end of the cell production. It allows the implementation of dopant ink, etch resistant pastes or etching pates into the SE process. Cross contamination of the wafers and electro static charges are minimized during this process. High-precision screen printing technologies together with mature process know-how prove this ASYS platform to be a forward-looking solution. For recognition of optically visible marks or surface structures, ASYS provides the SAS 01 Pattern Alignment System. Designed for easy integration of Selective Emitter, MetalWrap-Through, or Dual Print applications into ASYS Metallization Lines, the SAS 01 is the ideal solution for combining pattern recognition with XS2 screen printers. The standard SAS01 machine configuration offers from 5 up to 10 camera systems for wafer alignment, SE pattern inspection and breakage inspection, providing up to 12 predefined camera positions. The high flexibility of the predefined camera positions allows easy adoption of the SE, MWT, or Dual Print processes in production. Special customized vision systems, high-resolution cameras and illumination systems for low contrast features are also available. The ASYS XS2 Screen Printer features an optional process control for Double or Dual Print, which ensures accurate positioning of the second print. The process control includes two vision systems: the optional “Screen Monitoring System” for the 1st front side print and the “Double Print Control” for the 2nd front side print. The vision systems are installed on the outlet conveyor of the printer and utilize high-precision X / Y / Theta correction. The screen monitoring system uses printed fiducials to continuously monitor the distortion of both screens. The Double Print Control provides highly accurate alignment of the second print with the structure of the first print. nnn EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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SCHMID Group’s Integrated Fab Solutions and Schmid Silicon Technology: Global Integration of the Solar Value Chain

cological and economic sustainability have become key values for both private investors as well as for public authorities in the field ofpower generation.

Dr. Burkhard WEHEFRITZ, Director Sales Development Department, Schmid Silicon Technology (SST).

production remain the same: energy and labor.

Investment Costs

The investment costs of a polysilicon plant are mainly influenced by equipment (40-50%) and non-equipment costs (5060%), such as engineering, building and piping. The equipment costs of a polysilicon plant of a given technology are globally more or less the same when, as is the case with the monosilane-based polysilicon production technology from SST, key equipment is delivered in pre-assembled parts. This practice moreover provides a clear advantage with respect to IP protection. The non-equipment costs however change according to local factors. Financing also plays an important role where in regions with lower interest rates significant savings with respect to the cost of capital can be realized. These factors have to be looked at in detail to help select the best location for a polysilicon plant.

No matter if one chooses the standard TCS Siemens process for polysilicon production, or the energy efficient monosilane-based polysilicon production technology of German company Schmid Silicon Technology (SST): the determining investment (CAPEX) and operating (OPEX) cost factors of polysilicon

With subcontracting (“localization”) of installation and EPC services to Middle Eastern local companies, in total up to 25% in savings can be achieved, which translates in relation to the invest cost of a polysilicon plant to savings in the range of 0,5 million Euro or above.

For the parties involved,the SCHMID Group develops business models for vertically integrated PV wafer, cell and module production and power generation. SCHMID SILICON TECHNOLOGY’s range of products complete the solar value chain and even include polysilicon production.

Polysilicon Production: Global Integration Investing in a large scale project like a fully integrated solar value chain, the appropriate polysilicon refining technology,as well asthe plant site have to be reviewed carefully.

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Operating Costs Operating costs in a polysilicon production plant are mainly determined by electricity, labor and feedstock material. Feedstock material prices don’t differ significantly in a global perspective, as the main component, metallurgical silicon (mg-Si) is widely used in the steel industry and globally available at comparable price levels. Energy is a different matter altogether. Lower electricity rates and a stable supply situation, e.g. in the MENA region, compared to regions like India or South East Asia contribute significantly to reducing the operating costs to a globally competitive level.As the premium production site to integrate the upstream sector of a solar value chain, low electricity price regions like the Arab World offer optimum preconditions. With SST technology, the entire operating costs in this economic environment can be reduced to as low as 11EUR/kg, including about 5 EUR/kg for energy expenses. The low energy prices also provide an excellent condition to set up ingot production, which itself is a very energy intensive process. Another necessary precondition for the continuous production process in an efficiently working polysilicon plant is

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sufficient energy infrastructure. In Middle East and North African countries, electricity and to some extent water are provided via good infrastructure, as often sea water can be used for cooling purposes. Water is needed both for the polysilicon plant and for wafer production. Therefore, low cost and easily accessible water resource is a basic requirement. In other countries, water often has to be transported over longer distances, producing additional logistics costs. Despite the high-end, R&D-backed and proprietary polysilicon process technology a company like SST provides, polysilicon production remains a labor intensive manufacturing process. Labor costs can vary significantly and make up about 10 - 15% of the operating costs per kg polysilicon. 1000 Euro difference in monthly p. capita wages result in considerable variations of 1-1,5 EUR/kg polysilicon. MENA regions provide a wage environment that still allows for profitable polysilicon refining, as well as ingot and wafer production.

Global integration facilitates cost competitiveness and highest product quality Investing in a polysilicon plant in a Middle East country which uses the latest polysilicon production technology, the monosilane process, a proven and proprietary polysilicon production technology by German company Schmid Silicon Technology (SST), all in all facilitates invest savings up to 20% or more compared to the standard TCSSiemens process. Moreover, the SST method guarantees not only the most competitive cost structure, but also high-end polysilicon quality of solar or electronic grade 9N+ quality. Using this energy and cost efficient process to achieve high-end polysilicon quality will reduce OPEX costs of the plant between 33% (cheap energy location) and 39% (expensive energy location).

Downstream Integration SCHMID’s fully Integrated Fab Solutions, which have an output starting at 1 GWp/ year, can be established nearly anywhere in the world for module selling and power generation. Even countries like Germany, with medium solar irradiation,can be considered as relevant and competitive locations. Still, site selection is crucial for maximizing cost efficiency and sustainability.

Areas with high irradiation will shorten energy payback time which is a main indicator for ecological sustainability. Payback time is the time in which a PV module generates the same amount of energy that has been needed for its production.In India, for example, energy payback time for a PV module produced with SCHMID Technology is only 6 – 7 months. Wage levels in India are still low in global comparison and facilitate cost-savings in the area of invest-costs. Operation and maintenance of PV systems, on the other hand, are more labor-intensive as is operation of the up stream sector of the solar value chain. In China for example, wage levels are even lower, but the annual solar radiation is about 1000kWh/year less than in India. In combination with its excellent irradiance levels of ca.1700-2200kWh/year, India therefore provides a preferable target country for the downstream integration of the solar value chain.

Technology, the technology for each production stepinside the solar value chain is offered on a modular basis. This means, in line with the Group’s continuous R&D achievements, technology upgrades of every single unit in a polysilicon plant or PV system (e.g., only the hydrochlorination unit, or only the deposition unit), can be upgraded easily by exchanging only this onetechnology unit. This facilitates efficient modification without having to upgrade the entire polysilicon plant or PV system, and guarantees that every Schmid or SST system can operate with state-of-the-arttechnology.

Another factor that strongly contributes to maximizing sustainability is energy consumption. An Integrated Fab Solution with its optimum alignment of production processes is alone the key for low consumption. It is obvious that the integration of infrastructure, logistics and media distribution leads to synergies that cut down all kinds of effort and costs and ultimately lead to higher quality and yields. Examples for integration synergies are reduced footprints, an increase in purchasing volumes, and no need for transportation, to name but a few.

Technology& Modularity The commitment to increasing module efficiency and processes that reduce the use of rare materials secures sustainability for the future. With about 250 research and process engineering staff and cooperation with universities and independent institutes, SCHMID endeavors to make the necessary efforts to reach its roadmap goals. These goals are increasing the wafer output of an Integrated Fab by manufacturing thinner wafers and using efficient wafer cleaning processes.Furthermore, highly efficient metallization technologies will significantly reduce the amount of silver, cell backside passivation will lead to a cell efficiency of over 20%, and lastly the multi busbar module designwill enable high module efficiency. In the Schmid Group Technology Portfolio, including Schmid Silicon

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Shifting to Sustainable Power Generation SCHMID’s Integrated Fab Solutions will help to further push the reduction of levelized costs of electricity (LCOE). In most countries the LCOE is already below the residential retail price. For example, in India the LCOE is 4.8EURCents with SCHMID’s technology compared to a residential retail price of 16EURCents. Integrated Fab Solutions is a real chance for policymakers to start reaching their goals in shifting to sustainable energy sources, which also happens to make economic sense. nnn

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Trends In Wafer Production SylvĂ¨re Leu Chief Innovation Officer, Meyer Burger Techology Ltd

The photovoltaic system TTe xturing Texturing Coating Printing TTesting Te sting

Cropping Bricking Squaring

Wafering Cleaning Separating Inspection

Figure 2 illustrates the influencing factors and challenges affecting modern wafer production. In principle, the wafer quality and the wafer requirements as depicted in Figure 2 can be described with three umbrella terms: mechanical properties, material properties and surface properties.

Process Control

Stringing LLaminating i ti Encapsulation

Figure 1: Constant improvement in all areas of photovoltaics is leading to grid parity.

As a result of the rapid development in photovoltaics at all stages in the manufacturing process, it has already achieved grid parity in many countries. This means that electricity generated from solar energy costs the same as electricity from the mains. Nevertheless, further efforts must be made to cut costs even more and ensure a comprehensive breakthrough to the solar age. Photovoltaics consists essentially of five value-creation stages: crystallisation, wafering, cell production, module production and finally the installed PV system. There is still scope for improvements in all five areas with the aid of professional and systematic methods. In this article, we are focussing on the wafering area. 18Â

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Systemic wafering

Material properties

Mechanical properties include geometry, thickness, TTV (total thickness variation), etc. Material properties include the purity of the bulk material, the inclusion of foreign matter such as oxygen, carbon, silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon nitrides (SiNx). The presence of trace elements such as iron, gold or titanium may also have a negative effect on the purity of a silicon wafer. Finally, working life and conductivity are important material properties that exert a major influence on Purity Inclusions Tensile strength Cracks

Wafer quality

Surface properties

Mechanical properties

Sub-surface damage

Cleaniness

Metal contamination

Characterization

Thickness, TTV, saw marks...

Figure 2: Wafer quality and wafer characterisation

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STEWARDS OF TRUST IN INDIA FOR INDIA

UL is the global leader in Product Safety Standards Development, Independent 3rd Party Testing and Certification Services. UL has a network of labs across the globe that have been serving PV Equipment manufacturers, helping them ensure the quality and safety of their products and to access global markets. UL has set up the 10,000 Sq Ft and fully functional laboratory capable of testing PV Modules, both Crystalline Silicon and Thin Films to all applicable International Standards. The lab is accredited by National Accreditation Body for Labs (NABL) for compliance to ISO standard requirements and also is approved and listed on MNRE and TEDA websites. UL also provides independent 3rd party testing and inspection services.

For more information please contact: Hitesh Jain at M: 91.97174.88144 / E: Hitesh.Jain@ul.com UL AND THE UL LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF UL LLC ÂŠ 2012

cell performance. The surface properties also contribute significantly to cell efficiency. Basically, surface defects can be divided up into two types: on the one hand, geometrical defects such as microcracks, subsurface damage and surface irregularities such as chips and saw damage (saw marks 1 and 2), and on the other hand, surface impurities such as foreign particles or machining residues. This surface should therefore be clean, that is to say it should contain no more impurities than are already present in the wafer material itself and have no cracks or discontinuities. Finally the material properties of the silicon change as a result of the sawing process, since it brings about different cutting systems. These have the effect that metal ions are formed due to temperature increases at the point of the cutting process, due to compressive forces arising from the advance of the cutting wire, due to the use of alkaline or acidic cooling systems and due to the duration of exposure to the sawing process, and these metal ions may lead to impurities in three different ways: in the simplest case, particles are deposited on the surface (80%). Temperature and pressure may lead to metal ions forming a chemical bond with the silicon surface that can only be removed with an alkaline or acidic texturing agent. However, the cleaning chemicals trigger the formation of other metal ions on the wafer surface. Thirdly, metal ions may diffuse into the silicon material depending on the length of the temperature and pressure factors and their intensity. These characteristics depend strongly on the cutting parameters. The production of an optimum wafer is a multidimensional process.

Multidimensional optimisation As shown in Figure 3, high wafer quality results in high cell efficiencies. This in turn results in low kWh prices, since the BOS costs (balance of system costs include costs for the inverter, cabling, support, installation, etc.) and thus the costs per kWh produced (see Fig. 3) account for an ever-increasing proportion of the cost in comparison with the module costs. Or expressed more simply, they are the actual fixed costs of a PV system. Today the BOS costs are already in the same order of magnitude as those for the solar module. Less efficient solar modules therefore result in disproportionately high 20Â

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Cell efficiency

LCOE costs

Low efficiency drives BOS/Wp up > high $/kWh

HJT

high

LoBaCo iPERC Selective emitter High efficiency drives BOS/Wp down > low $/kWh

MWT

low

Standard cells

low

Wafer quality

high

low

Produced kWh

high

Figure 3: Relationship between cell efficiency, wafer quality and LCOE costs (LCOE = lifetime cost of produced energy)

system costs. In order to reduce the overall system cost, the cell efficiency must therefore be as high as possible. Cell efficiencies of this order are only achieved if the right wafers are produced with the right cell process. In the following, we will be focussing on the wafer but always from the perspective of cell production requirements. All the factors together determine whether a given cell process will yield a good result with this wafer. From an economic standpoint, it makes perfect sense to reconcile the wafer quality requirements with the target cell efficiency. If an optimum factory performance is to be achieved, costs, yield, uptime and cell efficiency must be viewed as an integrated whole. For some years, research has been conducted on various production processes for the manufacture of solar wafers. Among the areas of research are kerf-free wafering and epitaxial layer build-up on wafer material. Up to now, however, it has not been possible to prove that processes of this type will be economically viable in the near future. The diverse demands placed on wafer quality against a backdrop of rapid development in sawing technologies and the accompanying cell processes suggest that the gap is gradually opening.

Wafer thicknesses are constantly reduced on high-efficiency solar cells: Physically, silicon is a semiconductor and therefore offers a resistance to an electric current. The path that the charge carrier in the wafer has to cover to the two contacts (top and bottom or minus and plus) can be shortened by means of thinner wafers. This reduces the resistance. The downside of this is that thinner wafers mean less silicon for the light path and lower light absorption. As a result, fewer load carriers are generated. In order to compensate for this effect, ingenious textured surface structures are created that increase the light path through reflection on the mirrored back. Silicon solar cells can be manufactured to a thickness of just 80 microns with no loss of efficiency. As a prerequisite for this, the surfaces must be perfectly passivated. The HJT (HELiAS heterojunction technology) and PERC (LoBaCo) from Roth&Rau make passivation properties of this type a reality. Meyer Burger Technology AG has recently managed to saw 85 micron silicon wafers in the laboratory. The next challenge is to get such thin wafers safely through the production processes in one piece. To this end,

Figure 4: Depiction of wafer flow as an integrated process for increased yield as well as optimised processes and reduced handling

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Meyer Burger Technology Ltd has developed a special carrier with which to transport the wafers from the machine saw through the precleaning, separation and cleaning stages. In the Meyer Burger Technology Ltd wafer flow, the process steps wafer separation, precleaning, degluing and final cleaning of the wafers are integral components of the wafer system in which processes are simplified and the handling is reduced to a minimum, resulting in a high yield and simultaneous increase in throughput.

Diamond wire wafering increases productivity and protects the environment

the kerf produced is no greater than with the slurry process.

Modern wafer tracking and process control operate with narrow process windows and increase factory performance: Solar cell manufacturing processes are becoming increasingly complex. Selective emitters, laser-fired contacts, depletion of surface metals, double printed contacts, silver reduction, double anti-reflective layers, AlxOy passivation, 3 or n-fold busbars, thinner fingers, etc. New processes are being introduced, existing ones enhanced or even

data such as temperatures, concentrations, glass flow rates, measurement values, etc. with the marked wafer. In this way, with an understanding of the physical principles of the process, valuable conclusions can be drawn very quickly for the production which can even be evaluated automatically by the MES system. The properties of silicon vary considerably according to the impurities which are in turn determined by the process. It has been shown that with a Cz ingot, the oxygen content increases towards the bottom while the foreign metal concentration declines. This means that solar cells with higher efficiency can generally be produced from the centre piece. The BSC brick slice code process (SEMI standard PV 32-312)

Productivity can be enhanced by reduced material usage, greater cell efficiency and increased throughput. The thinner the wafer, the greater the saving in material used. A higher throughput can be achieved by reducing the process time. Diamond wire wafering (DW) enhances productivity by doubling the process speed. Further benefits are also apparent. If the DW process is correctly Figure 5:The BSC (brick slice code) consists of two markings. The V code allows the position of the performed, smaller and wafer within the brick to be clearly identified. The barcode identifies the brick, ensuring traceability less surface damage and from the ingot to the module. The marking is shown in the right picture. It is located outside the active area. The grey line shows the edge insulation on the cell. sub-surface damage is incurred than with the marks the block even before separation of slurry process. The advantage of this is less supplanted, for example edge insulation the wafers. After separation, all wafers bear sawing damage to make good. The most by lasers or the use of high temperatures. an individual code that can be read on-theminute cracks are extremely detrimental on As a rule, higher cell efficiencies are only fly at up to 600 mm/s during all process highly passivated cells, causing a measurable achievable through additional process steps. steps from the wafer to the solar module. reduction in efficiency, for which reason The increase in complexity is not confined to This process functions flawlessly for mcthe wafers have to be heavily etched with cell production, however; it can also be found Si. A particularly advantageous feature is these cell processes to guarantee a perfect in the upstream and downstream process that this wafer marking is located at the surface quality. Less sawing damage thus steps. There is an overall increase in the edge of the wafer, i.e. outside the active reduces consequential costs. Another major process monitoring requirements and the cell surface, and thus has no detrimental advantage of the diamond wire process is necessity to provide analytical support for effect on cell efficiency. Moreover, extensive the option to employ water-based processes. optimisations between the process steps. practical applications in mass production Here a distinction can be made between two In order to be able to remain within the show no increased fracture behaviour. This different technologies: a 50/50 glycol/water process windows, increasing use must be means that traceability of individual wafers mixture and water-based technologies with made of manufacturing execution systems throughout the entire process is possible for a water/additive mixing ratio of 95/5. The (MES) since no other method achieves a the first time. latter technology in particular is especially high factor performance. This means that advantageous in terms of environmental traceability of individual wafers throughout nnn protection and recycling. Although the the entire process must be guaranteed. Due diamond wire process exhibits a higher to the single wafer tracking system BSC cutting productivity than the slurry process, (brick slice code) a MES system can link tool

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

21Â

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Wafer Metrology Sorter System Bergen Associates Pvt. Ltd.

he Metrology Sorter System consists of a measuring & sorting unit, which tests the solar wafers contact free with various measuring tools for fulfillment of the required quality criteria and puts them down into sorting boxes. They are loaded automatically in an inline concept in which the cleaned wafers, coming from the upstream, multi-track systems are transported via a Pick & Place Robot to one lane. With a continuous throughput of 3000 wafers per hour, the wafers are measured by cameras and laser technology. The data are then evaluated and can be fed to a super ordinate computer system. Within the sophisticated measuring software, numerous statistical evaluations can be conducted. An extended operator interface permits continual onscreen monitoring of the process. According to the results of the measurements the wafers are categorized as different quality classes and correspondingly deposited into the boxes of the sorting unit.

The following wafer properties are checked/ measured: Geometry (width, length, angularity, chamfer, parallelism), bending, μ-cracks, cracks, break-offs, v-shape-intrusions, surface contamination, holes, thickness, TTV, bending, saw marks (top & bottom).

Customer’s Benefits • •

Various measuring stations for optimized wafer inspection Excellent graphical display of the current measurements EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

•

Clear user guidance

Wafer Data

•

Immediate set-down in different Styrofoam boxes (Schmid standard)

•

Gentle wafer handling during inspection and sorting

Types: Mono & multi-crystalline wafer, square and pseudo-square, nontexturized

•

Connection to super ordinate data transfer system OFC

•

Size: Standard: 156x156 mm; 125x125 mm, others on request.

•

Robust steel frame construction reduces vibrations

•

Tolerances: ±0,5 mm

•

Thickness: Standard 120 – 300 µm (others in request)

Technical Data

Tool Data

TTV ≤ 30µm @ Wafer thickness ≥ 180µm; TTV ≤ 20µm @ Wafer thickness ≤ 180µm

•

Throughput: max. 3.600 wph

•

Cycle time: approx. 1 sec per inspection

Cutting Method: Slurry cut wafer/ diamond wire sawn wafer

•

Breakage rate: <0,1% (160µm, TTV <30µm)

Bevel width: 0,2 – 2 mm for multicrystalline wafer and 14 – 17 mm for mono-crystalline wafer

•

Uptime:>95% (to SEMI E 10-0304)

•

Supply: 230 V ±15% 50/60 Hz ±1

Bow: ≤1 mm; larger bow impacts measuring accuracy nnn

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SO L A R ENERGY

Success Factors For Module Suppliers In The Indian Solar Market Jasmeet Khurana, Consultant, BRIDGE TO INDIA

ndia is one of the new avenues for solar market growth across the world. As per BRIDGE TO INDIA’s analysis, India is expected to be a 12GW solar market by 2016. At a time when Europe is cutting subsidies, an access to new growth markets is a make or break opportunity for module suppliers across the world. However, India is an early stage market with a wide range of market players. Given this, there are certain factors that are specific to India that can determine a module supplier’s success in the market. Reverse bidding has put considerable competitive pressure on the project developer’s, squeezing their margins. Land and Balance of System (BoS) costs in India are lower than most mature markets and most installations are ground mounted. Price per watt peak of the system takes precedence over efficiency, making India a price sensitive market. A module supplier needs to be within the price range that a developer benchmarks at the time of tariff bidding to be able to start the sales discussion with the developer. Module manufacturers see India as a key strategic market for the next few decades. They want to gain strategic market entry and offer modules at lower prices to gain a quick initial market share, which they can hope to sustain in the years to come. Further, module suppliers think in terms of a ‘merit order’ – they first sell to attractive markets with high margins and then work their way

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

down to markets with low margins, such as India, where they are willing to offer a lower price. BRIDGE TO INDIA analysis has shown that many module suppliers have an India specific price which is up to 14% lower than the global average. This increases the price competition within the Indian market. In the Indian market, developers buy modules directly from suppliers rather than EPC companies. Some of these developers include companies like Reliance, Mahindra, Kiran Energy, Lanco, Welspun and Green Infra among some others. These key developers account for around 36% of all project allocations in India. Focusing on these key developers is easier than trying to approach the market as a whole. Getting initial sales orders from these developers is difficult but these orders usually have high volumes. It is important for a module supplier to have access to these key clients and they must try to establish an ‘ease-ofworking’ relationship with these developers. This improves the credibility of the module supplier in the Indian market and opens up the rest of the market. Performance of modules in India is not yet proven for any technology or module supplier. High temperatures and dusty conditions differentiate India from most mature markets. Performance of a particular module in the Indian conditions is the biggest concern for developers as well as funding institutions. Communicating

performance in the Indian conditions can be a key success factor for a module supplier. Key technical parameters that developers look at with regards to performance are low temperature co-efficient and better Nominal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT) value so that the module can perform better in high temperature conditions. Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) on crystalline modules, which mandates cells and modules used in solar plants to be manufactured in India, is a major hurdle in getting access to the National Solar Mission (NSM) projects. This dampens India’s appeal to crystalline module suppliers in the short term. In spite of this hurdle, most large international crystalline module suppliers have an India strategy that focuses on projects outside the NSM. Most state level allocations that have happened in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha and Karnataka have no such restriction and offer a significant market that exists outside of the NSM. Apart from the present Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) opportunities, the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO)/ Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) market is opening up. In addition, the distributed rooftop market is poised to take off from 2014. More importantly, some international module suppliers are also looking to undertake contract manufacturing in India to meet the DCR of the NSM. This includes getting wafers from their existing manufacturing units and tying up with an Indian manufacturer to make cells and modules under the branding of the

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international module supplier. Guidelines for phase two of the NSM (2013-2017), are expected to be released in a few months. If the policy continues to push for domestic content in the phase two of the mission, we can expect some of these contracts to take shape early next year. The margins for contract manufacturing will be lower, due to involvement of third party but doing this will minimize the competition NSM projects and give a strategic position to the companies who are first movers in the space. The cost of capital in India is as high as 14% in certain cases. In addition, Indian banks are wary of lending to the solar sector as they face lending caps and have reservations about the bankability of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the reliability of irradiation data. Achieving financial closure has been an issue for many Indian developers. As modules form the single biggest chunk of the capital cost, developers in India expect module suppliers to facilitate financing through international lending institutions and export credit agencies like the US Export Import Bank (EXIM), DEG, Asian

Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) among others. Some of the module suppliers like First Solar are pursuing this approach quite aggressively. Module suppliers that have been able to facilitate cheaper international finance for project developers gain an edge in India. Indian developers have significantly reduced the role of EPC companies in the market. Almost all developers in India procure modules directly from the module supplier. Key developers in the market, who have large project pipelines, are looking to have most project execution capabilities in- house but currently require engineering support. Many module suppliers have developed systems capabilities internationally for their own project development. They can now leverage this position to offer plant optimization and their engineering capabilities to Indian developers to push module sales in India. If a module supplier can provide engineering and optimization support as a part of the sales pitch, it can have a definite advantage

in terms of sales with these developers. As the Indian market matures and moves towards distributed solar generation, the role of various success factors will change. Module efficiency will become a key factor as opposed to just system price. Access to projects would depend on new business models with respect to commercial, industrial and residential parities, as and when they are achieved. Performance in the Indian conditions will remain a strategic success factor. The role of access to international financing support will fade out slowly as the average project sizes come down and the cost of borrowing, which is at its peak in India, starts to fall. As India is a nascent market that is growing at an impressive pace, some of these changes might come sooner than expected and the key to staying successful will be to plan for them.

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Hetero Junction Technology *KIJ GHĆ&#x201A;EKGPE[ EGNNU CV NQY EQUV QH QYPGTUJKR Â&#x201E; 'HĆ&#x192;EKGPE[ QH YKVJ HWTVJGT WRUKFG RQVGPVKCN Â&#x201E; %QUV GHĆ&#x192;EKGPV RTQFWEVKQP FWG VQ NQY VGORGTCVWTG RTQEGUUGU CPF C NGUU EQORNGZ RTQFWEVKQP Ć&#x201E;QY Â&#x201E; (WTVJGT CFXCPVCIGU QP OQFWNG CPF U[UVGO NGXGN FWG VQ VJG NQY VGORGTCVWTG EQGHĆ&#x192;EKGPV Â&#x201E; *'.K# EQCVKPI U[UVGOU CU VJG MG[ EQORQPGPVU HQT VJG RTQFWEVKQP QH *GVGTQ ,WPEVKQP UQNCT EGNNU CXCKNCDNG Visit us at the Meyer Burger booth: Intersolar Europe 13 - 15 June 2012, Munich, Germany Hall A6, Booth 250

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SO L A R ENERGY

DB Schenker Provides One Stop Solutions For Solar Industry Logistics Needs Tuteja – Director Key Accounts and Verticals – India, Schenker India Pvt. Ltd

Scope includes freight and customs services, SEZ handling, land transportation in India and installation of the FAB tool • The team of 5 specialists from DB Schenker has completed the task in record 3 days

olar industry in India has seen

to provide door-to-door supply chain solutions

impressive growth over the

for all its customers’ needs under one roof.

past few years and so is the logistics for same. The industry has become richer in terms of technology, reach and the output. Hence the need of specialized human resource, equipments and their logistics has ever been increasing to cope up with the current scenario of industry in India.

The shipment was designated to DB

DB Schenker provides the integrated logistics services to solar and semicon vertical with the help of its global competence centers located in Asia, Europe and America. The state of the art competence centers are well equipped with the most modern infrastructure for solar logistics needs and managed by the industry experts for innovative solutions to the customers worldwide. Recently, Schenker India Pvt. Ltd. successfully handled and installed FAB Tools for one of its customer in Solar and Semicon vertical market in south India. The Tool was imported from San Francisco USA and shipped to Chennai before being installed at customer’s place in Hyderabad. With the successful installation of the sensitive FAB Tools DB Schenker has once again proved its capability

Schenker customer in south India and one of the important component in the plant. The Tool transported was weighed 8 tons single piece. The scope of work for DB Schenker in this shipment was inclusive of: 

Handling the freight from San Francisco (USA) to Chennai – air freight



Local Customs Clearance in Chennai



SEZ process handling



Land transportation from airport to customer’s place in Hyderabad on Special Trucks.



Local handling and installation of the Tool in the Clean Room Area at the customer plant Because of the size and weight of the

equipment, it had become difficult to ship it via normal air freight. Therefore a charter cargo flight was scheduled from San Francisco to Chennai in India. Chennai was chosen as a destination port because of facilities and infrastructure offered to export/import cargo. Since DB Schenker in south India has airport office along with freighter handling facility

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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with Shock Absorbents and Tilt Meters to monitor each step of handling for safety. DB Schenker used the Air-Ride Truck due to shock sensitive nature of the cargo and also had the cargo escorted by trained staff to ensure the safety en-route. Road surveys were done to plan the routing to ensure the smooth transportation of cargo, the air ride trucks were specially mobilised from North India to Chennai for transporting the and trained staff to handled SEZ customs

distance of 850 kilometres from Chennai to

procedure, it had become cost efficient and

Site location in Hyderabad.

and installed for production at customer’s facility. DB Schenker logistics experts from various departments were called in from other locations as well, that includes Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. A team of 5 specialists has completed the tasks in 3 days that includes from the arrival of the cargo at the airport till the installation of Tool at the customer’s place.

unpacking before that, this is because due

Mr. Sateshwar Tuteja – Director Key Accounts and Verticals – India had congratulated the team for the nice coordination and successful delivery of cargo at customer’s place. He said – “DB Schenker always foster teamwork in our delivery and customer service, this case is a nice example of our proven capability to cater

to any mistake uncalled for could damage

to solar vertical in India; be it our freight

the material. At the customer’s premises

services, land transportation, specialised

a lot of precision and care had to be taken

The next important task for DB Schenker

cargo delivery or Rigging, DB Schenker has

while unpacking the cargo, gradually opening

team was to arrange for the special trucks

excelled its way for customer satisfaction.”

the top, side panes, bars and the wrappers.

which can transport the cargo from Chennai

Once the unpacking is completed, the Tool

to Hyderabad in safe condition as the Tool

was moved to the Clean room area with the

was highly sensitive and also equipped

help of specialised hydraulic equipments

time saving for the customer to get the cargo cleared from Chennai. The entire process of customs clearance and SEZ processing took 2-3 days, which is the time a normal shipment takes during the procedure. This is because of the meticulous planning done 3 weeks before the arrival of shipment and executed well to the details by DB Schenker staff on ground.

Once the transportation is completed, the Tool is offloaded from the trailer with the help of forklifts/ crane and placed on customer’s floor. Installation of cargo was final important leg of the delivery and so is

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

SO L A R EP C

Interview with Bikesh OgraPresident Sterling and Wilson Ltd. EQ : Please enlighten us on the history of your Group, Group Strengths, Vision, Strategy for India etc BO : We are India’s leading MEP services company with more than an eightdecade standing. We entered into India in 1971 with Shapoorji Pallonji group acquiring 56% stake in the company. From pure play premier electrical contracting company we have come a long way by foraying into new businesses like Solar EPC, Diesel Gen-sets, Co-Gen, Data Centers and many more. Today we are among top players in the country for every line of business we are in, which speaks volumes about our engineering and executional capabilities. As far as vision for Solar in India is concerned, we are looking at executing 100150 MW capacity of solar projects in FY 2012-2013.

EQ : Your Group has made significant footstep by winning several EPC contracts in India. What is the role of your group in India and the roadmap, challenges in executing these project. What was the differentiating factor which led the your co win this project. BO : I would say our existing expertise on Electricals systems backed by strong executional capabilities is something which our customers value and appreciate. These kinds of capabilities are a result of 8 decade of experience and can’t be built overnight, hence increase bankability of the projects. 28

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

For instance today we have more than 22 offices across length and breadth of the country. This gives us scale and wherewithal to undertake and execute any kind of solar project in the country. Having said that, we also had our share of issues like stiff deadlines, availability of critical components like Clamps, multi-winding transformers etc, overcoming these issues has helped us to equip ourselves better for coming projects.

on mounting structures and foundations, there is lots of learn from European experience. Having said that, I would also like to add that strong localization is need of the hour to make solar projects bankable in India.

EQ : How India has to evolve in terms on financing of grid connected solar projects and the lessons India must learn from Germany & Europe and other advanced & matured PV Markets.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the projects executed and in pipeline worldwide, and India.

BO : It is a known fact that no market can survive for long on government subsidies, for instance Spain’s solar market fizzled out as soon as government subsidies driedup. For Solar market to thrive, we must reach grid parity as early as possible, which seems to be the case with India. But in pursuit to lower the prices we must not forget that solar plants needs to perform for 25 years and hence cost quality equation must be balanced at all times.

As far as experience in India is concerned, we continue to provide unique value to our customersby always remaining ahead on learning curve as compared to our peers.

BO : Right now we are executing our 20th solar project in India. In a short span of 1.5 years, we have commissioned more than 70 MW capacity of solar projects, rest of the projects are expected to be commissioned by end of Q2 FY 2012-2013. I would like to emphasis that more than 70 MW number, our experience with different states, varying soil conditions and diverse local issues is something which makes us unique and enable us to serve our customers better.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the experience of working with different technologies (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed vs. Tracking, String vs.Central Inverter ec.. etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. BO : Although we are still to use tracking and string inverters in our projects, we believe that as the market will mature in terms

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of technology and acceptance of different financial models, these solutions will be embraced more openly by the developers. As far as usage other technologies is concerned, we had an enriching experience by working on all kinds of modules technologies which includes CIGS, CIS, Mono Crystalline, Poly Crystalline etcand different makes and sizes of central inverters,.We now appreciate and understand finer points of all these technologies from system design and workmanship perspective, which is going to be handy in the coming times for our customers.

EQ : Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators BO : For solar projects to be successful availability of low cost finance is something about which lot has been said but nothing much has been done by the government. If this dire need is addressed successfully, we might repeat Germany for the MW installed capacity.

Besides, to ensure there is no failure in project installation, selection procedures should be made more stringent. I would go to the extent to suggest that before awarding the project EPC player and land should be frozen.

EQ : How has falling modules prices affected the EPC Business in positive and negative manner. As Industry is expecting further drop in module pricesâ&#x20AC;Śwhat impact is it likely to have on the solar industry and your business. BO : We see it in positive manner, as it makes the entire system much more viable and hence pie gets bigger for everyone. Going by the market research reports, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see steep fall in modules prices in the coming time.

EQ : Module Prices have been significantly dropping while the BOS of a solar project has not seen much changeâ&#x20AC;Ś.What change or breakthrough do you

foresee in the BOS in terms of price and technology in the BOS. BO : I think BoS is one area where true engineering strength of any organization could be tested. Without going into many details, I can only share that there are still many components in the system where there is still a lot of room for value engineering, provided organization has right setup and capabilities to leverage the same. On standalone basis we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see any breakthrough innovation in terms of BoSprices and technology.

EQ : A Large chunk of Projects with PPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signed are going to miss the deadline to complete the projectsâ&#x20AC;Ś.Please enlighten our readers the real challenges faced by these projects and the reasons for the same (Is it falling prices or finance or land etcâ&#x20AC;Ś) BO : I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see falling PPA price as a challenge as it is a known business risk taken by developer after accessing their

Local Back Contacts Technology for iPERC cells Upgrade cell performance by back side passivation with Al2O3

Â&#x201E; +ORTQXGF EGNN GHĆ&#x192;EKGPEKGU WR VQ VJTQWIJ YCHGT DCEM UKFG RCUUKXCVKQP YKVJ CNWOKPKWO QZKFG Â&#x201E; MAiAÂŽ EQCVKPI U[UVGO HQT WRITCFG QH GZKUVKPI RTQFWEVKQP NKPGU CXCKNCDNG Â&#x201E; #NN EQCVKPI UVGRU HQT DCEM UKFG RCUUKXCVKQP RNWU CPVK TGĆ&#x201E;GEVKQP EQCVKPI QH VJG HTQPV UKFG KP QPG U[UVGO Â&#x201E; $WPFNG YKVJ TGXQNWVKQPCT[ %#/K0+ÂŽ Ć&#x192;TKPI HWTPCEG HQT DGUV TGUWNVU KP EGNN CPF EQUV GHĆ&#x192;EKGPE[ Visit us at the Meyer Burger booth: Intersolar Europe 13 - 15 June 2012, Munich, Germany Hall A6, Booth 250

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risk appetite. Having understood this point everything else falls in line, be it availability of finance, land or any other resource. Real challenge for me is to produce a plant which can successfully run for 25 years, this is something which every developer shall ensure without falling for fly by the night EPC contractors companies.

EQ : What area the brands with which you generally prefer to work and detailed reasons. BO : Without naming anyone, I can only share that we only work with top brands for all the components that go into solar system. Biggest consideration includes ability to honor product warranties, spare availability and overall product quality.

EQ : Can you please enlighten us on the way you implement a project and what specific or unique things are followed which makes you different from other EPC Players. What are the unique parameters which differentiates projects executed by your company. BO : We believe in developing in-house engineering and executional strength rather than relying on outsourcing model, for the precise control and flexibility it gives you to design and execute the system in most optimal fashion. For instance, we sometimes go for more than 5 revisions from base design in cable routing based on local site conditions, which becomes very difficult once you have third party design team. Similarly outsourced project execution comes with its own difficulties of quality and cost control, which can be avoided once internal teams are available to undertake the work.

EQ : Please tell us about the team strengths and resources developed in order to offer your EPC Services. BO : Today we have experienced in house design team for each and every part of the solar system viz civil, mounting structures, cable scheduling, medium voltage, substation, scada etc. Access to more than 2500 skilled and semi-skilled talent pool gives us unmatched executional capabilities. 30

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

EQ : Thin Film is theoretically supposed to perform better than c-si in Indian Climatic Conditions. What is your view on this. BO : Kindly comment on First Solar’s recent comment “Our experience has shown that our warranty rates for hot climates are slightly higher than for temperate climates,” “As our geographic mix of sales has shifted to hot climates, we have increased our warranty accrual,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Widmar Let me not pass any judgments on First Solar’s comment. However as far as Thin films performance is concerned, we need to understand that every new technology takes time to mature. For it to be known as better or successful technology, it needs to stand test of the time, which thin film is yet to do looking at plant life of 25 years,

EQ : What is your opinion on the JNNSM Batch II Phase I Bidding Outcome. Is it possible to deliver a EPC Solution to match the IRR expectations (Around 15% to 20%) to get the Solar KwHr at a price band of Rs.7.5 to Rs.9.5 BO : I won’t say I would be a cake walk to balance IRR expectation vis-a-vis quality EPC solution, but one needs to work very closely with the developers to arrive at a win-win situation.

EQ : What’s an ideal financial model for the Solar PV Project in India to optimize the IRR BO : One size does not fit all; there is no one financial model to optimize IRR of solar PV projects. To quote some of the options, I would say access to low cost supplier credit and Exim financing could boost up IRR by couple of percentage points, making project viable. But one has to understand that supplier credit and Exim financing are not easy to come by, takes lots of time and are available only to companies with strong financials.

challenge was on our 25 MW ,single project. The timelines, because of various reasons got curtailed to 5 months ,but owing to our wealth of experience on EPC was successfully commissioned on time. B. Logistics/local liaison -Since most of the projects are placed in remote locations,some of the challenges encountered on these projects were very enriching and would hold us is good stead going forward in terms of meticulous planning/coordination on these type of projects. C. Civil Design/Engineering – Lots of developers went for site leveling at huge scale which proved to be a very costly mistake, as it led to multifold increase in cost of foundations. We now prefer to follow natural contour of the land and invest more in design of foundations. D. Execution –Block wise commissioning albeit costly is better approach rather than a big bang one time commissioning of the solar power plans, one can circumvent lots of last minute hiccups by following this approach. E. Planning - We learnt it in a hard way that sometimes small value components like module clamps/nuts and bolts, could prove to be a real bottleneck. hence need to plan to for them in advance. The planning/coordination, therefore is a very vital ingredient in these types of projects .

EQ : What are the future plans in India? BO : We are looking to execute 100-150 MW capacity of solar projects in Fy20122013. At the same time we are actively exploring opportunities in upcoming markets like Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. Hopefully we shall soon start execution of megawatt level solar plants in some of these regions.

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EQ : Kindly describe your Top 5 experiences with Solar PV Industry in India BO : A. Time-lines-Most of the projects executed were under constrained and crunched schedules .The biggest

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SO L A R ENERGY

Strike Action Tony Garlinge-Warren, Cooper Bussmann

Protecting PV system components, in particular inverters, from the damaging effects of overvoltage surges is both crucial and necessary. Here Tony Garlinge-Warren, senior applications engineer, Cooper Bussmann, examines what measures should be considered.

n a world seemingly obsessed by risk assessment and analysis, it is ironic that the topic of surge or overvoltage protection seems to be underplayed and, at times, misunderstood. Yet the need for such protection is largely self-evident as industry and commerce relies more and more on devices that are hugely sensitive to overvoltage events such as surges and lightning currents. Indeed the protection of critical system components vital to the production, conversion and distribution of electricity, such as inverters, needs to be addressed. It is imperative that protection of these systems is considered during the design stage for effectively managing the damaging effects of the overvoltage events.. The major causes for surges in PV systems are over voltages induced onto the system by inductive or capacitive means deriving from lightning discharges as well as lightning surges. Lightning surges in the PV system can damage PV modules and inverters. This can have serious consequences for the operation of the system. First, high repair costs, for example, those of the inverter, can be incurred, and, second, the system failure can result in considerable loss of revenue for the operator of the plant due to downtime. The effects of a lightning strike can induce surges onto electrical systems as far as 2km away from the point of impact. Hence the cause of many system failures is often unknown giving more reason than ever to fit surge protective devices (SPD). SPDs are installed in parallel to the load and they act as pressure relieve valve by taking 32Â

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

access voltage and shunting it to ground thus maintaining healthy stream of system voltage to the application. Obviously coordinating the types of surge protection devices employed is key to combating the damaging and disruptive effects of overvoltages. Typically this involves the following classifications of device; Class 1 SPD aka Lightning Arresters: this device has the largest impulse current discharge capacity. It is designed to handle the damaging effects on the electrical system from a direct lightning strike to the lightning conducting rod. They are used where lightning

A direct lightning strike to the lightning protection system would, in such a system, induce the damaging overvoltage and voltage spikes onto the DC cables, PV panels and input to the system inverter. The cost of repairs would be significant without the protection of the correct surge protective device. A class I device capable of handling a current discharge capability of 50kA (10350ÂľS) would prevent the need for costly repairs. Class II SPD aka Surge Arresters: these surge protective devices have a lower impulse current discharge capacity and protect from the indirect effects of lightning. In the event of lightning striking in the vicinity of the building, but not directly onto the external lightning protection system, electro-magnetic fields develop that may induce dangerously high voltages onto electric circuits.

currents or fractions of currents are not only diverted via the external lightning protection system but also induced into the electrical cables.

However, peak values of the current resulting from indirect lightning strike surges are far lower than the corresponding direct lightning strike current. The duration of the pulse and therefore the energy introduced is lower. Class II SPD are used to protect from this type of surge. Typically these devices can handle surge pulses of 8-20ÂľS and a discharge current of 12.5kA.

This is likely if the plant to be protected is directly connected to the external lightning protection system or, for example, the separation distance between DC cables and external lightning protection is not far enough. Common when an entire roof is covered in PV panels and the mounting frame is equi-potentially bonded to the lightning protection system. In this instance it is a requirement of IEC62305-3 that the DC conductors be protected with class I surge protective devices.

Class III SPD aka Surge Arresters: these devices have the lowest impulse current discharge capacity. They protect sensitive electronic devices from impact by lightning striking far away or more commonly localised switching surges. Typically they are installed as a supplement to Class II devices and are designed to reduce the overvoltage at the terminals of sensitive equipment. Their current discharge capacity is very limited. As a consequence they should not be used alone.

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It is important to understand that a Class I device will provide protection against the high surge voltages and currents induced by direct lightning strikes, but will not protect against the smaller surges of indirect strikes or switching surges.

in DC applications can generate a DC arc.

Attention should be paid to the voltage protection level of the device being used as this is the point at which the device will start to protect as the surge rises in amplitude. e.g. in Class I SPD, the protection level is mostly higher than the dielectric strength of the device to be protected. In such cases a Class II SPD and possibly a Class III SPD must be connected downstream to reduce the protection level to a value suitable for the device.

the arc and safely disconnect the SPD. This

In terms of inverter protection there are several important points to take into account. For instance in inverters with maximum power point tracking (MPPT), PV strings are combined upstream of the inverter and the SPD(s) is/are connected to the linkage point. In inverters with several MPPTs, each input must have an SPD or an SPD combination.

SPDs are also required on the AC side due

Another important point to consider when selecting a Class II SPD is that most Class II SPD devices use a thermal disconnects which

to the system configuration. It is advisable

Once the DC arc is generated it is hard to extinguish thus creating more damage than protection. In this case the ideal solution is using the SPDs that in addition to MOVs also use a fast acting DC fuse to extinguish combination of MOV with fast acting fuse is often time referred to as Short Circuit Technology (SCI). Due to the nature of the PV installation which can be in remote locations, it is advisable to use SPDs with remote contacts which can alert the user should a SPD sustains a strike and goes offline. Along with SPDs used on the DC side, to differences in potential and earthing of the system beyond this point. Unlike on the DC side, several inverters can be protected by one SPD because they are connected to the same (mains) voltage. On the AC output side of the inverter it is important that the SPD device being used is rated according to consult the relevant IEC standard for the possible system types.

When using string circuit protectors and SPDs, the SPD must be installed at the linkage point (combiner box) of the PV strings downstream of the fuses. If the SPD was only to be connected to one PV string between string output and string fuse, the remaining PV strings would be unprotected if the fuse operated. In addition there would be no protection to the inverter if the surge occurs on the remaining live PV strings. In this event, there would be no protection to the input of the inverter from the remaining strings. Hence it is imperative that the DC SPD devices are positioned in the correct circuit position to provide secure system protection. It is often said that prevention is better then cure and given the big investments necessary for PV system build and operation, it seems prudent to invest what is a relatively small amount of money in SPDs to achieve system safety and security.

SO L A R EP C

Interview with

Gyanesh Choudhary 1) Please enlighten us on the history of your Group, Group Strengths, Vision, and Strategy for India etc… GC : The Vikram Group initiated its journey in the year 1974as a forging plant. It rolled out stainless steel segment for CTC rollers. Gradually it diversified into other business sectors like allied Engineering, Dyes and Chemicals, Steel and Power, Textiles, Finance and Infrastructure. Established in 2006, Vikram Solar is the latest addition to the glorious line up of companies under The Vikram Group. Vikram Solar have established itself as a leading company in the highly competitive solar industry. Our strength rests on the unflinching honesty and dedication of our employees, the trust and support of our global customers. The superior quality of our products and the broad vision is what we inherit from our parent company, the Vikram Group. Besides, our strength can be vastly attributed to our vertically integrated business model. At Vikram Solar all the fundamental qualities – innovation, technology, and skill is put in perfect coordination with management, experience, and analysis to transfer this vision into reality. Customer satisfaction is paramount to our success ever since our inception as we continue with our rich legacy to achieve greater feats in the near future. India was always amongst the important areas of our focus. A confluence of things need to come together for India to take off. The central government has put together an exceptional policy with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Multiple states are recognizing the potential that the Centre saw put in place very forwardlooking policies around solar. This is the era for solar in India. We can see substantial solar capacity being added in India. We are one of the earliest people to enter into solar four years ago. We are already one of the leaders on the manufacturing side. We want to be a leader when it comes to establishing 34

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H K Chaudhary-Chairman Vikram Group

Gyanesh Chaudhary-Managing Director Vikram Solar

generating capacity across India. We will own more solar power generating capacity in the world and certainly that would hold true for India also.

2) Your Group has made significant footstep by winning several EPC contracts in India. What is the role of your group in India and the roadmap, challenges in executing these projects. What was the differentiating factor which led the your co win this project. GC : Vikram Solar has very successfully commissioned several projects across the globe.At the moment we are involved with around 30 MW projects in states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Orissa. We had bagged our first megawatt level solar project in Chhattisgarh, India in the month of August 2011 and fortunately we became the first company to get synchronized to the grid here. The winning factors behind our projects are that Vikram provides its clients and investors and maintains-:

Development Bank (ADB) will issue partial credit guarantees (PCGs) in an aggregate amount of up to $150 million of principal (or its equivalent in Indian rupees or other foreign currency acceptable to ADB), in favor of foreign and local commercial banks lending to solar power generation projects in India. The facility will support multiple projects up to a maximum size of 25 megawatts (MW) under a solar power program with the central or state government. Under the facility, ADB will issue PCGs to guarantee scheduled payments of principal and interest under loans to be provided by foreign or local commercial banks. The PCGs will be provided without government counter-guarantee.

4) What are the experiences and learning’s from Europe for constructing a solar farm. How do you think India is a different market than Germany and rest of Europe. What are experiences in India. GC : Installation of solar panels on the scale required for a solar farm is a big task. But like most engineering projects, the installation of a solar farm is made simpler by breaking down the project into its component parts.

•

A fixed completion date

•

A fixed project cost

Site assessment is required to see-

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No or limited technology risk

•

Performance guarentees

What is the earth composed of? What is underneath?

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Liquidate damages for both delay and performance

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Is water available to clean the solar arrays/mirrors?

3) How India has to evolve in terms on financing of grid connected solar projects and the lessons India must learn from Germany & Europe and other advanced & matured PV Markets. GC : A facility whereby the Asian

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Are there any zoning issues?

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How close are existing power lines and substations?

Financing of solar farms can be done through-: •

National lenders (USDA, EPA, SBA)

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Public/private partnerships

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Private investors

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

•

Power companies

•

Leasing

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Incentives 1.

Available from Federal and State government and local utilities

Energy tax credits, rebates, grants, feed-in tariffs

RECs (renewable energy credits)

Solar Farm Financing options are-: •

To get an installation built, most solar farms rely on a combination of loans and grants from both public and private sources. Private investors and

•

public/private partnerships are typical sources of funds. Other options that may be part of the financing deal include leasing land from a user of the

•

solar power generated by the farm.

Solar Farm Incentives •

Rebates and tax credits can help defray the costs of solar farm installation. Feed-in tariffs and solar renewable energy certificates can help make the operation of a solar farm profitable.

5 ) Please enlighten us on the experience of working with different technologies (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed vs. Tracking, String vs.Central Inverter ec.. etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. GC : Thin Film Vs crystalline silicon Fixed Vs Tracking system At midday the output is similar between either of the systems. The tracker does manage to get more power from the sun at other times of the day. This has two benefits… 1. It generates more power – so this is either saving $ or producing $. 2. In a Stand Alone Power System (with batteries) it extends the life of the batteries because they are being drawn down less. So a tracking system is more efficient and viable for a stand alone system rather than a grid connected system and the tracking system is also more costlier.

String Vs Central Inverter 1) Ease of system expansion. The strings of modules in a traditional system terminate at a central inverter. Usually, to keep costs down and efficiency up, the inverter is sized to accommodate only the initial system design. If the customer wants to expand their system in the future, often the inverter has to be changed as well to accommodate the added production. 36

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With a micro inverter system modules can easily be added because there are no strings to size for a central inverter. If you want to add modules at a later date, the only limit to the number you can add is the amount of unshaded space you have and the size of your main electrical panel. 2) Safety. When modules are wired in series the voltage of the string goes up with each additional module. While the typical house has only 120v and 240v circuits running through it, a DC string of modules can producte up to 600 volts of DC power. This is typically done without problems by competent installers everyday. However, when an unqualified installer is playing around with 600 DC volts on your roof top the danger to the installer and the roof top are substantially increased (shcok and fire). With micro inverters, the installer and the roof top are never exposed to anything more than 240v. This means that just about any certified electrician can work with these systems as safely as he would with a series of plugs. 3) Maximum Power Point Tracking on every module with a micro inverter on it. The power produced by a module is dependent on two environmental factors, available sunlight and module temperature. As the available sunlight increases the DC current in the module increases and as the temperature of the module increases the voltage decreases. Finding the best combination of voltage and current gives the highest power production. Maximum Power Point Tracking is when the inverter automatically finds the best combination of voltage and current under the present conditions. String based systems with a central inverter can only provide MPPT on the array as a whole. This means that some modules will be producing more and some less but the inverter will just take the average of all and that some power will be lost. With micro inverters, each individual panel gets MPPT because each panel has its own inverter. No power is lost to the averaged MPPT of a single, central, invertvier. 4) System monitoring. With an inverter on every panel ourselves and our customers can monitor on our computers a real time simulated image of every panel in the array and see exactly how much power every panel is producing. If you pay for 20 modules to produce 200 watts a piece you will know if only 18 are living up to their potential.

6) Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators

Thin Film Vs crystalline silicon

GC : The Government of India (GoI) has set some ambitious targets for development of solar energy projects in India. In this regard, the GoI has formulated the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (National Solar Mission) and also issued the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Guidelines (the JNNSM Guidelines) which sets out the implementation strategy for the National Solar Mission. Apart from the National Solar Mission and the JNNSM Guidelines there are various other legislations that governs solar energy sector, such as Electricity Act, 2003, National Electricity Policy, 2005, National Tariff Policy, 2006 and various regulations issued by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Various states have also announced their respective solar policies, providing for feed-in tariff and other support (like development of infrastructure and provision of waste-land for development) for solar power projects. ‘Investment grade’ solar policy framework is critical in sustaining the excitement brought by the National Solar Mission and various state solar polices. The GoI and various state governments has certainly shown its commitment and seriousness towards building solar energy as an effective mode of meeting country’s energy deficit - however, the existing framework does have some areas which can be improved upon. The policy makers need to find pragmatic solutions to deal with issues which are impeding the existing solar policy framework from being truly ‘investment grade’. This can ideally be met by a mix of policy reforms and positive government action to make economics of solar power attractive for investors.

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7) How has falling modules prices affected the EPC Business in positive and negative manner. As Industry is expecting further drop in module prices…what impact is it likely to have on the solar industry and your business.

13) Thin Film is theoretically supposed to perform better than c-si in Indian Climatic Conditions. What is your view on this.

GC : Falling module prices are making it more affordable to people so the demand is rising but the investors are suffering in a big way as they are hardly being able to make any profit out of it.

GC : Kindly comment on First Solar’s recent comment “Our experience has shown that our warranty rates for hot climates are slightly higher than for temperate climates,” “As our geographic mix of sales has shifted to hot climates, we have increased our warranty accrual,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Widmar

Module Prices have been significantly dropping while the BOS of a solar project has not seen much change….What change or breakthrough do you foresee in the BOS in terms of price and technology in the BOS.

GC : This is a very loaded question and difficult to answer over the small written space. There will be a significant technological shift in the future and will ensure that the size dimensions compensates for the efficiencies and generation is significantly higher and more prominent.

Crystalline Silicon Modules are leaving other types of Panels behind . The massive improvements in the cost and efficiency of silicon modules has left other types of solar technology far behind. Thin Film Companies are not in quite a good financial state due to this reason.

9) A Large chunk of Projects with PPA’s signed are going to miss the deadline to complete the projects….Please enlighten our readers the real challenges faced by these projects and the reasons for the same (Is it falling prices or finance or land etc…)

First Solar panels have issues in hot climates which the company is targeting and its manufacturing issues has already led to a loss in the hundred million dollar range. Both lead to less confidence in the company in a time where there is ferocious competition, this reason might be the outcome of the above decision.

GC : We face various challenges while completion of the project as the time frame given is quite stringent. In that short time we have to complete the ground work, designing different components of the power plant, civil work, soil evacuation, concrete work etc. We also have to manage in any state of natural calamity like rain or extreme flood. Despite problems like no movement of man, materials and machine we put enormous effort to put everything back in track.

11) Can you please enlighten us on the way you implement a project and what specific or unique things are followed which makes you different from other EPC Players. What are the unique parameters which differentiates projects executed by your company.

nnn

GC : Majour reasons for the company’s success is due to our wide experience, long term suppliers and technology tie ups, in house R&D team and lastly but not the least our state of art in house module manufacturing facility. • • • • •

Moreover Vikram provides its clients withA fixed project cost A fixed completion date No or limited technology risk Performance guarentees Liquidate damages for both delay and performance

12) Please tell us about the team strengths and resources developed in order to offer your EPC Services. GC : We have a strong foundation of technical knowledge In the process of expanding our footprint in coupled with experience in building even highly complex solar India SCHOTT Solar is looking out for partners power installations across continents. Our highly skilled manpower who are willing to invest, develop the market helps us deliver turnkey solar solutions to clients on with time.us Perfection and create solar history together and precision in our EPC services coupled with high-level of SCHOTT Solar is a leading international supplier of high-quality solar integrity and excellence the solar industry is whatinmakes technology. Thein company has its corporate headquarters Mainz, us Germany, stand out from others.and is active in the area of manufacturing and marketing premium quality solar modules. Customers, partners and financiers appreciate the products SCHOTT Solar offers for their high quality and

We are committed tocanthe highesttolevels of quality customer durability. This be attributed the company's experience since 1958, intensive R&D work and tests that are often considered to be service providingtwice warranty for our design, engineering and services, as rigid as the industry standard. With manufacturing facilities in United States and Asia, SCHOTT SolarOur is ableprojects to respond to confirming withEurope, the the EPC contract framework. till key markets in a flexible manner. Furthermore, SCHOTT Solar date have beenmaintains successfully commissioned bringing professional a local sales presence in all of the world's most important solar markets. and quality results to our global clientèle. Please apply in confidence with current profile of the organization to

In Solar EPC contracts the contractor bears the responsibility sandesh.shetty@schott.com of undertaking the job of designing and implementation. Hence, we assure our clients to assign the choicest resources to their projects. Our objective is to ensure successful and timely execution of our client projects meeting high quality standards.

We are looking out for Solar Partners who are willing to invest, develop the market and create solar history together with us

SCHOTT Solar is a leading international supplier of highquality solar technology. The company has its corporate headquarters in Mainz, Germany, and is active in the area of manufacturing and marketing premium quality solar modules. Customers, partners and financiers appreciate the products SCHOTT Solar offers for their high quality and durability. This can be attributed to the company's experience since 1958, intensive R&D work and tests that are often considered to be twice as rigid as the industry standard. With manufacturing facilities in Europe, the United States and Asia, SCHOTT Solar is able to respond to key markets in a flexible manner. Furthermore, SCHOTT Solar maintains a local sales presence in all of the world's most important solar markets. Please apply in confidence with current profile of the organization to sandesh.shetty@schott.com

SCHOTT Glass India Pvt. Ltd.

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www.schott.com/india

307, South Wing, Sacred World, Wanwadi, Pune - 411040 INDIA Phone +91-20-40091695 Fax +91-20-40092273

SO L A R ENERGY

Electrical Safety In Large Photovoltaic Systems Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Hofheinz, Dipl.-Ing. Oliver Schäfer, Dipl.-Ing. Harald Sellner, Dipl.-Wirt. Ing. Michael Faust

sing the sun as efficiently as possible – this is the objective of a photovoltaic system. To keep the productivity of a photovoltaic system as high as possible, shutdown on the first insulation fault must be avoided; at the same time the necessary level of safety for personnel and the system is to be provided. The efficient, safe and long-term operation of a photovoltaic system requires more than just an electrical installation with reliable components. The correct selection of system type and protective measures makes a significant contribution to a high level of safety for personnel and the system, and therefore to a positive revenue situation and a reduction in the payback period. For this reason the IT system with insulation monitoring devices in accordance with IEC 60364-4-41:2005 is used on the DC side. The following application report shows how this standard can be implemented in practice in a photovoltaic system. 38

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Layout of the photovoltaic system

Success factor IT system

A photovoltaic system is a solar power station in which solar radiation is converted into electrical energy using photovoltaic cells. Depending on the size and type of the system, the individual solar modules are connected into so-called strings that in turn are combined into fields. Using one or more inverters, the DC voltage generated is converted into an AC voltage compatible with the grid.

High photovoltaic system performance is only ensured if the availability is very high and any work to locate a possible insulation fault can be undertaken in a time and costsaving manner. This aspect was addressed with the selection of the “IT system” on the DC side of the system. It reduces service and maintenance costs, as well as the costs associated with failures, and minimises operational interruptions. The secondary side of the inverter feeds a transformer by means of which the voltage is changed to suit the medium voltage grid. As in this manner an active conductor is not connected to earth, the prerequisites for an unearthed system (IT system) are provided. In the event of an insulation fault, or an earth fault or fault to frame, a short circuit current cannot flow; the upstream fuse does not trip and the operation of the system is not interrupted. The basic requirements, no shutdown on a first fault

The photovoltaic system described has a total power rating of 2.7 MW. It comprises 5 fields that are each connected to a central inverter with a power rating of 540 kW. Thin film modules were used for the photovoltaic modules. 10 modules are connected together to form a string, 720 of these strings are then connected to an inverter. As such 7,200 photovoltaic modules supply one inverter. In total 36,000 photovoltaic modules are distributed over an area of 5 ha.

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and better reliability and fire safety, are met using the protective measure of the IT system and insulation monitoring. At the same time the protection of personnel is increased, as only a lower DC voltage without AC ripple is present at the modules.

Continuous insulation monitoring To detect degradations in the insulation in IT systems at an early stage, an insulation monitoring device in accordance with IEC 60364-4-41:2005 is installed for each inverter. Here the A-ISOMETER® isoPV is used; this device was awarded the “Best Product of Contest” at the world’s largest fair for the electrical and electronic industry, ELECRAMA 2012, in Mumbai (India). The isoPV monitors the entire insulation resistance from the module, through the inverter, to the transformer and is compliant with the requirements of IEC 61557-8:2008 This device uses a special measurement procedure that takes into account the specific characteristics of photovoltaic systems and that can be adapted to suit the module types used. This aspect includes, e.g., taking into account system leakage capacitances up to 2,000 μF and system DC voltages up to DC 1,100 V. The typical capacitance Ce to be expected on thin film modules is approx. 5 to 100 nF per module, i.e. with 10,000 modules the minimum value is approx. 50 μF. According to IEC 62109-2:2011 it must be determined whether a minimum insulation resistance is present prior to connecting an unearthed photovoltaic system to the public grid. The minimum values are given by the table below as a function of the power rating.

film module is in the range from 500 MΩ to 2 GΩ. Taking into account the reduction in the insulation resistance in the morning, Bender recommends setting the response value Ran based on the following formula: Ran = _____40 MΩ__________ Max. number of modules

Quick fault location, low costs According to the standard IEC 60364-441:2005 it is recommended to eliminate the first fault in the IT system with the shortest practicable delay. On PV systems with a high power rating and a large number of modules, it is only possible to locate a faulty photovoltaic module with a large amount of time and expense. The installation of a system for insulation fault location is a logical step. This system comprises a locating current injector PGH, a permanently installed insulation fault locator EDS460 and a portable equipment for insulation fault location for IT systems EDS190. The measuring current transformers for the permanently installed EDS460 are each assigned to a string. In this way it is possible to find the string with the fault in less than a minute. Using the portable EDS190 it is then possible to locate the faulty module on site. This portable equipment for insulation fault location has two probes such that even with conductors (+/-) laid separately between the modules, quick fault location is possible. This device is compliant with the requirements of IEC 61557-9:2009.

Effectiveness or efficiency?

Both are possible! While during the planning of large systems, the implementation of the project with the lowest possible costs is in the foreground, during the operation of the completed system the focus is on the revenue. For high revenues in the long-term, along with weather as sunny as possible, the high availability of the system is a key prerequisite. The investment costs for suitable insulation monitoring including an insulation fault location system from Bender GmbH & Co. are already amortised on the occurrence of the first insulation fault: If the concept of insulation monitoring with an equipment for insulation fault location is already integrated in the project during the planning phase, the prerequisite for a system with high availability for many years is met.

Summary With the usage of protective measure of the IT system with insulation monitoring in conjunction with an equipment for insulation fault location, in the photovoltaic system described not only is the safety of the personnel and the installation ensured, but due to the monitoring a significant contribution is made to the high cost-effectiveness of the system. The objectives of the organisation operating the system were practically implemented: >

Early detection of possible hazards

> Reduction of the risks of shutdown to a minimum > Provision of availability.

high

system

nnn

In practice it is found that the total insulation resistance between the system and earth fluctuates at night and during the day, despite the usage of protection class II modules. During the morning, for instance, the resistance drops due to the formation of dew on the installation and the resistance characteristics of the thin film modules. In principle the insulation resistance of a thin

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SO L A R ENERGY

Product Report – Pregalvanised PU Coated Mounting System from Seven Energies Ltd K.Vijaya Bhasker – Director, Seven Energies Limited, Hyderabad K Venkateswarlu – Corrosion Prevention Expert

even Energies Limited is the first Company in India to introduce Pregalvanized Module Mounting Structures for Solar industry. This has been proven over time by implementation in large scale projects across the country. The basic requirement of a mounting system for Solar PV modules is to support the solar modules at the designed angle within permissible deflections, provide proper load transfer to the ground foundation, resist the module from getting uprooted under expected winds and corrosion free performance during the project life. It is these requirements, which have driven the authors to look for an alternative to the conventional rolled sections of hot dip galvanised structures. The pregalvanised Mounting System being offered by Seven Energies Limited is born out of this zeal to provide the best solution to the SPV industry. Different standard profile sections are available in the market which can be designed to an optimum configuration of the structure, and the member selection will be done from these sections to give the most economical design duly satisfying the structural strengths

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

suiting the soil profile and expected wind loading. The profiles are of cold rolled steel manufactured in a controlled factory environment. The profiles are rolled using 120 GSM pregalvanised steel sheets of reputed make, and are painted with Polyurethane coating system to enhance the corrosion resistance and longevity. The coating system is ‘SOLVO THANE MC SOLAR 7227’, a Moisture Cured Polyurethane coating and a proprietary item manufactured by Solvosol Paints Pvt Ltd. The primer coat is Single pack Moisture Cured Polyurethane Primer 30-40 Micron and finish coat is Single pack Aliphatic Moisture Cured Polyurethane. The advantages of such painting scheme vis-a-vis hot dip galvanisation are enumerated below:

thickness per se is high, the uniformity and quantity of pure zinc layer varies drastically over different points of surface of the steel, and this affects the salt spray corrosion resistance performance. Though a passivation is prescribed after galvanizing, the same is hardly done in practice, as it is a complicated mechanism. In the olden days, chromate conversion coatings with specific ratio of trivalent chrome and hexavalent chrome were maintained. Off late lot of compounds have come, which are chromate free. However, the crux of the matter is properly passivated galvanized steel should pass 100hrs of salt spray test before appearance of white rust. However, usually the white rust starts appearing in about 10-20 hrs itself.

Hot Dip Galvanization:

Our polymeric coating on Pregalvanised sheet:

In case of hot dip galvanizing, it is not automatic. The important parameters such as pre heating, aluminum content in the zinc bath, contact time and most importantly, passivation subsequent to galvanization are totally uncontrolled. The alloy layer which forms with instantaneous metallurgical reaction between zinc and iron at 4400C is totally uncontrolled. Though the galvanizing

We are offering moisture cured polyurethane coating system, which is the latest in urethane coating technology and it is superior to conventional two pack polyurethane coatings. The system is applied over pre-galvanized surface to enhance the life of galvanized steel tremendously. The system comprised of 2 coats. The first coat is MC Clear primer, to fill up all the micro pores

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and it has excellent encapsulation properties. It also offers excellent adhesion properties on galvanized surface, without use of etch primer. The finishing coat is of moisture cured aluminum, and this offers excellent weather resistance and corrosion resistance properties. Because of the lamellar structure of aluminum, corrosion rates are much lower. So, these coatings together, act as a first barrier to galvanized surface and increase the life of galvanized steel. Even Epoxy coating is not comparable to a metallurgical coating like Polyurethane. Epoxy coating with an epoxy equivalent of 400 only will give long life. Nearest comparison to PU Coating is 100% solids epoxy coating to a thickness of 1.5 to 2.00 mm. However, being a two pack system mixing errors are inherent drawback of the system unlike the PU system which is a single pack system.

Resistance to wind > 180 kmph; Seismic Zone V (design as per IS/ ASTM standards suiting the wind profile of the location)

Fire proof with a rating of one hour

Easy to handle and erect and hence speed in execution

Demo Structure erected at Gujarat Solar Park, Charanka â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Load Test witnessed and Validated by LD Engineering College, Ahmedabad

Needs only 75% steel than normal rolled section. Though the profile cost is higher and after adding for the painting cost, it is competitive compared to Hot Dip Galvanised Structure on a Per MW basis.

Design Approved by JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY , HYDERABAD after a LOAD TEST on this Demo Structure in Hyderabad

Polyurethane coating is also UV resistant, while UV resistance of Hot Dip Galvanization depends greatly on quality of Galvanization and hence cannot be ensured. Epoxy coatings have no UV resistance whatsoever and they require further protection with aliphatic polyurethane of a min coating of 40 micron.

Salt Spray Testing Results: We have conducting salt spray tests at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad on 120 GSM pre galvanised Polyurethane coated sheet and it has already passed 4000hrs without any corrosion, and the tests are continuing till failure. While a pre galvanised sheet of 250gsm, without paint coating has failed in the test, as red rust appeared at 1000 hours of salt spray. Result would not vary much in case of hot dip galvanised sheet too.

Erected Structures by Seven Energies with their Product at 9 MW ICML Project in Gujarat for ETA, New Delhi

From the above, it can be safely concluded that the expected life of pregalvanized steel coated with our coating system, will surely meet the project requirement of Solar PV Projects of ~ 20-25 years for corrosion free life, with a nominal periodic maintenance done properly. The structural features of the mounting systems offered by Seven Energies Limited with cold formed hollow steel profiles are: l

Hollow closed sections which provide good rigidity and stability

Reduced Deflections

Structures after fixing the modules at the same project

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Structures after fixing the modules at the same project

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

41Â

SO L A R EP C

Vishnu Reddy-CEO Cirus Solar Systems

Srinivas Reddy Ponnala-VP of Engineering Cirus Solar Systems

Interview with Cirus Solar Systems EQ : Please enlighten us on the history of your Group, Group Strengths, Vision, Strategy for India etc… SRP : Cirus Solar Systems was formed in June 2010 with team of NRI’s who has global expertise in different solar technologies along with Indu Group. Collective group has hands on experience in executing projects of different magnitude all around the world and its strengths are engineering, procurement and project execution. Cirus vision has been to build utility scale solar power plants. Indu group which has its own expertise in setting up conventional power projects and infrastructure developments combined with a very solid balance sheet. The unique expertise of Indu group in optimized power systems design, its loyal equipment vendor base and the execution capability in distributed networks give CIRUS the edge over its competition. Our strategy is to be a major renewable energy player in India to bring solar kWh to grid parity.

EQ :Your Group has made significant footstep by winning several EPC contracts in India. What is the role of your group in India and the roadmap, challenges in executing these project. What was the 42

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

differentiating factor which led the your co win this project. SRP : I am excited to bring to your notice that Cirus has successfully installed and commissioned 70MW projects. Our role is purely EPC and to guide solar developers in India. Our roadmap is to lead EPC for utility scale projects. Challenges that we have faced during execution are closure of our customer financing, land issues, access to the sites due to rainy season, and availability of skilled workmen. We have proven engineering team that coordinated with the customer from project inception to completion, support of strong supply chain team and project execution teams have achieved all the deadlines and protected our customers PPA.

EQ : How India has to evolve in terms on financing of grid connected solar projects and the lessons India must learn from Germany & Europe and other advanced & matured PV Markets. SRP : India has developed an excellent solar policy and reverse bidding is very quickly bringing the cost of kWh close to grid parity. Now the challenge is to get these PPA’s backed by financial institutions. At the same time both public sector and private financial institutions should build solar portfolios.

Predictable PPA with stable road maps supported by financial institutions will help all types of developers. State policies need to be created along with clear rooftop policy supporting net metering.

EQ : What are the experiences and learning’s from Europe for constructing a solar farm. How do you think India is a different market than Germany and rest of Europe. What are experiences in India. SRP : As you are aware in Europe financial closure takes place before project construction is started, also construction is given considerable amount of time to finish the project. In Europe excellent echo systems have evolved to address solar projects. Germany has stable power and addressed decentralized distributed rooftop systems, where as in India more of utility scale projects are addressed due to power shortages. Small scale and roof top solar projects lack stable and reliable grid. Also, India should quickly bring in the net metering policy, which will encourage distributed domestic generation.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the projects executed and in pipeline worldwide, and India.

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SRP : Cirus had an opportunity to execute about 70MW solar projects as follows, Gujarat Solar Park - 50MW, Mithapur 8MW, Bachau - 5MW, Surendranagar - 1MW, Bikaner - 5MW, and Phalodi - 1MW. We are reviewing and working through various opportunities here in India.

EQ : Module Prices have been significantly dropping while the BOS of a solar project has not seen much change….What change or breakthrough do you foresee in the BOS in terms of price and technology in the BOS.

SRP : As you have seen, other than inverter price, basic materials such as steel, copper, cement, sand etc. prices are going up. Need of the hour is a breakthrough technology that can increase module efficiency which could reduce BOS costing.

SRP : We have executed about 50% projects with CdTe Thin Film, and about 50% Crystalline technologies and our experience has been positive in both projects. Out of these we have executed couple of seasonal tracking systems and in all our projects we have used central inverters only. There is no such thing as single solution that fit Indian terrain. Projects have to be reviewed and optimized case by case.

EQ : A Large chunk of Projects with PPA’s signed are going to miss the deadline to complete the projects….Please enlighten our readers the real challenges faced by these projects and the reasons for the same (Is it falling prices or finance or land etc…)

EQ : Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators SRP : India has come up with an excellent policy framework which helped in bringing up several solar projects thus far. I believe going forward individual states have to take up more responsibility in promoting solar projects similar to what Gujarat state has achieved. Therefore the policy framework should be developed inclusive of states responsibility including REC’s, Open Access and enforcing RPO obligations. Single window clearances should be encouraged.

EQ : How has falling modules prices affected the EPC Business in positive and negative manner. As Industry is expecting further drop in module prices…what impact is it likely to have on the solar industry and your business. SRP : Falling module prices have helped in realization of the existing projects, but current exchange rates are impacting EPC business. Industry is welcoming module price drop, with which solar projects can achieve grid parity sooner than expected.

SRP : Yes, Cirus understands these deadlines, so our teams have put in enormous efforts in completing our projects within the deadline and we achieved. There are various unforeseen reasons for these projects that could not take a shape, are project financing and land issues.

EQ : What area the brands with which you generally prefer to work and detailed reasons. SRP : Cirus prefers to use tier-1, proven, and reliable products with excellent track record.

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EQ : Please tell us about the team strengths and resources developed in order to offer your EPC Services. SRP : By executing 70MW projects across the country Cirus has proved its capabilities without a doubt. Our strengths are in Engineering, Supply Chain Management and experienced project execution teams. Cirus is specialized in utility scale projects.

EQ : Thin Film is theoretically supposed to perform better than c-si in Indian Climatic Conditions. What is your view on this. SRP : Kindly comment on First Solar’s recent comment “Our experience has shown that our warranty rates for hot climates are slightly higher than for temperate climates,” “As our geographic mix of sales has shifted to hot climates, we have increased our warranty accrual,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Widmar Yes, we are observing good generation from CdTe Thin Film modules in our installed plants. It would be realistic to comment on this with full year data on hand. We welcome this move made by First Solar as it gives us confidence in their warranty system.

EQ : What is your opinion on the JNNSM Batch II Phase I Bidding Outcome. Is it possible to deliver a EPC Solution to match the IRR expectations (Around 15% to 20%) to get the Solar KwHr at a price band of Rs.7.5 to Rs.9.5 SRP : By the time the financials are closed for these projects, module and exchange rates will dictate project IRR’s.

EQ : Whats an ideal financial model for the Solar PV Project in India to optimize the IRR SRP : Low cost funding!

EQ : Kindly describe your Top 5 experiences with Solar PV Industry in India SRP : 1) Financing, 2) Land Issues, 3) Trained resources, 4) Security and Theft, 5) Workmanship

EQ : What are the future plans in India ? SRP : More EPC Projects. nnn

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

SO L A R ENERGY

M & B SwitchGear-India’s First Solar REC Generator EQ : Whats the history of your group and what made your group foray into solar

Sectors etc. With its 2MWpGeneration Plant at District Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh) MBSL has achieved following two milestones:

M&B : MBSL being the company is promoted by Mr. Shyam Sunder Mundra, Mr. Vikalp Mundra and Mr. Anurag Mundra. Originally Mr. Shyam Sunder Mundra started manufacturing of transformers in the year 1976 in a proprietorship concern “M AND B Switchgears”. Later the same was converted into a partnership, Private Limited & now, MBSL had become NSE/ BSE Listed Public Entity.

1. First Solar Power Plant in India under REC Mechanism.

Today MBSLwhich ,is an ISO 9001:2008 & ISO 14001:2004 certified company, is engaged in two different business areas viz... Transformer Manufacturing and Solar Power Generation. As for the Transformer /business/ Industry/ Activity, MBSL has an existing capacity up to 25 MVA at 132 KV class, Automatic Voltage Controllers. MBSL has an installed capacity to manufacture more than 5000 transformers of different capacities & class and is selling its products to various state electricity boards, public sector undertakings, and private sector companies engaged in Generation and Distribution Electricity and other Industrial undertakings engaged in Steel, Power, Textile, Coal & Mine, Infrastructure, Engineering & Automobile 44

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

2. First MW level grid connected Solar Power Plant in MP. MBSL is now moving ahead with setting up a 20 MWp solar power generation plant in the vicinity of its existing site of Power Plant

It is a very natural forward integration of our business, i.e, from distribution to generation of power. Further, after a power plant is set up, you have to deal with state electricity utilities only, with whom we are dealing from last 3 decades.

EQ : Please tell us the policy under which your project is built and tariff got for your project

M&B : The National Tariff Policy 2006 mandates the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) to fix a minimum percentage of energy purchase from renewable sources of energy. The Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) for all distribution companies & captive power producers starts with 0.25% minimum in the current year and increase gradually over the years and will go up to 3% as per JNSSM. All such obligated agencies will be bound to purchase REC under the RPO as per Central Government Regulations.. Under the powers vested in the CERC under sub-section (1) of Section 178 and Section 66 read with clause (y) of subsection (2) of Section 178 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the CERC (Terms and Conditions for recognition and issuance of Renewable Energy Certificate for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2010 (“REC Regulation”) govern the mechanism of the issuance of the Renewable Energy Certificates (“REC”) and their transferability and salability in India. In REC Mechanism the total tariff is divided into two parts : 1. Power (as normal power) 2. Attribute by which power is generated,

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M&B : These are the most trickiest part & consume most of your energy, 8020 principle applies here also. The 20% consume 80% or your time & efforts.

EQ : Briefly describe the challenges of working with available met data from NASA and others regarding irradiation, GHI etc… i.e, Solar Part (it is eligible for REC) The prices for Solar REC is decided by CERC for next Five yrs. i.e, till 2017 Forbearance Price : 13.40 Rs./unit Floor Price : 9.30 Rs./unit Further, the power generated will be sold to Open Acess Customers which can easily fetch over 3.50 Rs./unit. Hence, the total revenue is much better that any other tariff.

EQ : What were the challenges in securing the finance for your project and who are the bankers & investors behind it

M&B : They provide a good guideline to start. It will take atleast some couple of years after solar plants will generate at various parts of the country & then compilation of data & comparison with available data can be done. Its too early to comment on it.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the selection procedure of equipment & technology (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed structures vs. Tracking, String vs.Central Inverter ec..etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. M&B : We had gone with crystalline modules because of long history of operation. We would like wait for some time to take test & try with other technologies. Trackers are useful when either cost of modules are very high or there is a space constrain.

M&B : When it comes to debt India is still a very immature market, the options are very limited & conventionally banks are very conservative. But, yes few banks have come up & shown interest in first phase of our project of 2 MWp. There after we raised money from the equity market through IPO in Oct. 2011.

EQ : What were the challenges in choosing & securing land, permits, grid interconnection etc…

transformer manufacturer, we had devised a very unique & innovative transformer design for Solar application. Which we sell to other plants also.

EQ : What’s your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators M&B : We feel that still REC Mechanism is not very popular & there is a very low awareness for the same. The same should be increased.

EQ : Any other advice you would like to give. M&B : I would advise that every person who thinks even a little for solar should read Thomas Friedman’s book “Hot, Flat & Crowded”, which connects that by investing into renewable energy we are actually giving our contribution in fighting with terrorism.

For MW level plants majority have opted for Central Inverters, but we feel that string invertors can also be a good option, a detailed technocommercial study is need to be done.

EQ : Who was your EPC Contractor and rationale behind selecting them M&B : We ourselves have done EPC for this 2 MW project.

EQ : Briefly describe the components used and the rationale behind M&B : Modules, Inverters, Monitoring System & Scada, Mounting Structures, BOS, Cables, Transformer etc…

EQ : What are the future plans in India and other countries? M&B : We are coming up with a 20 MWp solar power plant under REC mechanism.

nnn

We opted for conventional outdoor type Electrical switchyard. As we are basically

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

SO L A R ENERGY

Socomec Launches Complete Range Of Solar Photovoltaic Components For Balance Of Plant (Electrical) Prashant Sinha - Asst Manager Opreational Marketing SOCOMEC

ocomec group – the France based Electrical Switching and Energy Performance specialist, with over 90 years of enriching experience has just upgraded their Switching product offer to include a versatile range of PV switches, Fuse Bases and Links and Surge suppression devices. They were already an acclaimed brand in Europe, as well as in US for their pioneering work towards being associated with leading Solar PV renewable-energy power plants The products have been designed SOCOMEC, Your Global Partner For Solar Applications

of the Solar business segment

The updated product range now encompasses, small rating PV Isolator rated 1000V DC suitable for Outgoing of Array JBs whereas, at the top end of spectrum are high rating PV Isolators to be used in String Combiner Boxes and also in Distribution boards. In addition there are Socomec make RM PV range of Cartridge Fuse Base with PV Links. Finally there are both AC as well as DC rated Surge Protection Devices, that are available both with/ without Communication feature

On Load Isolators External Door Interlock Operation

These components, apart from user friendly accessories namely IP65 rated External Handle provide perfect and Safe working conditions for channelizing power through Junction box Sirco PV – Manually operated multipolar load break switches.. using best of international R&D exposure, exclusively for Solar PV market. The switching range starts from 25A and goes all the way to 1250A to address all manner of diverse applications, From Solar PV Roof top installation through Megawatt scale state of art Solar power plants. Solar PV is a very typical application wherein the short-circuit thresholds are quite close to the nominal values, hence the type of Switches employed need to withstand not only the DC arc however, there is also a necessity to incorporate specialized arc extinguishing chambers In fact with a view to do a dynamic planning with a critical view, the group had recently announced creation of a separate vertical, known as Solar BU to manage needs 46

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

• Fully visualized breaking • DIN rail or Panel mounting

• Upto 1000V DC

available to ensure the opening of the circuit before any maintenance operation 1000 Vdc Fuses , Surge Protection Devices & Fuse Bases

• Conformity to IEC 60947-3 and • To IEC 60364-4-410 (provide safety disconnection and protection against over currents)

Ensure the Performance of your installation with

•

To IEC 60364-7-712 (Buildings electrical installations-Part 7-712:rules for special locations-Solar photovoltaic power supplies

Our range is an Unique Supplier at each Level of Your Plant Ensure the Safety of People & Goods with

Protection against reverse current One of the most compact PV switches on the market A large range to choose the architecture which suits your requirements

Ensure the Reliability of your installation with n

A real Photovoltaic especially designed Switching Technology

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Asia's largest event on renewable energy

India Expo Centre, Greater Noida National Capital Region of Delhi, India 7 - 9 November 2012

Knowledge Partner

Media Partner

Supported by

Organiser

Rajneesh Khattar | +91 98717 26762 | rajneesh.khattar@ubm.com

www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com

SO L A R ENERGY Cesar Hidalgo Lopez GL Garrad Hassan

Dácil Melián Castellano GL Garrad Hassan

Stefan Mau GL Garrad Hassan

PV Plants: Early Detection Of Operational Problems Using Advanced Tools Reliability and high performance are some of the main parameters that determine the economic profitability of a PV plant. Thorough simulation of the plant and continuous monitoring of the main PV plant parameters, in combination with site inspections during operation are indispensable to ensure an optimum operation. In order to control and reduce the production losses, GL GH proposes a set of advanced tools that allow the identification of any underperformance of the PV plant.

PV Plant Simulation Tool (PST) In addition to reliable long term irradiance data, a precise simulation of the PV plant response to the incoming irradiance is essential. In that sense, the use of an accurate model to estimate the electricity production of the solar PV plant is required. Besides the use of commercial simulation software, GL GH has developed a PV Plant Simulation Tool (PST) with some specific features demanded by most solar consultants. 48

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

One important feature of the PST is the extrapolation of the PV module production from Standard Test Conditions (STC), to other irradiance and temperature levels using the Two-Diode Model (TDM). The TDM has demonstrated to be more accurate at accounting for recombination losses in the solar cell than the broadly used One-Diode-Model. Information from the module datasheet at STC and NOCT (Normal Operating Cell Temperature) is used to calibrate the TDM. Whereas at

STC (1000 W/m2, 25 ºC) the plant hardly produces electrical energy, at NOCT (800 W/m2, ~45..50 ºC) a high percentage of the annual energy is converted. Another feature of the PST is the simulation of shading effects from near and far obstacles. An arbitrary number of PV modules are placed according to the site topography using digital terrain maps in a very common format. The simulation tool then calculates the shading impact of each PV module by the surrounding modules.

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Thereby, it takes into account the number of internal by-pass diodes, the series connection of modules in a string and whether the module is installed in vertical or horizontal as this affects heavily the module production performance when shaded. The following pictures show the visualization of the module production for a set of modules located in a curved ground profile on February 21st at 6 pm (upper) and 6:10 pm (lower). Red modules are not affected from shading, yellow module produce approximately 30% less and blue modules 70% less than the no shading scenario. The effect of mutual shadings due to the hilly terrain is lower at 6 pm.

daily operation time is longer in summer than in winter (Northern Hemisphere). Also, it can be seen that in August and September the performance during the morning is low (A1) caused by shading from a nearby obstacle in this plant. In winter the PR is generally supposed to be higher due to temperature effects (region 2 of Figure 2). The same plot for another inverter in the same plant (Figure 3) shows the same failure in summer (A3) but also a poor plant performance in winter (A4). In this case, mutual shading between individual rows of modules and the impact of surrounding obstacles causes this reduction.

Performance Control Tool (PCT)

Inverter Control Tool (ICT)

The Performance Ratio (PR) is the parameter that determines the efficiency of a PV plant. It is calculated according the following equation:

E P R =

is very similar to the information of the manufacturer datasheet. The inverter shows constant performance over a large power range and decreasing performance at the lower power range. The ICT also creates a similar plot for the generated electrical energy. An inverter operating properly shows the profile indicated in region 5 of Figure 5. Increasing power goes in parallel with increasing module temperature, leading to a decreasing DC voltage caused by the negative temperature coefficient of the modules. In this special case a second maximum is appearing during winter time (region A6 of Figure 5). The tool alerts that the system is operating with reduced voltage. In this case the system operates out of the MPP-tracking range of the inverter due to the identified shading effects.

Prated GSTC

With: E: Produced energy during interva l of interest (kWh) PRATED: Rated power of plant at standard test conditions (kW) H: Irradiance during interva l of interest (kWh) GSTC: 1000 W/m2 The PR above calculated is given at STC conditions. Therefore, especially for silicon crystalline modules, the PR is higher in cold winters than hot summers due to the negative temperature coefficient of the modules. The PCT is based on the analysis of the PR variation with the season and time of the day. Temporary under performance as well as long-term can be easily identified. The PCT imports the monitored data from an input database. Figure 2 shows an example of the graphical presentation for a top roof solar PV plant near Barcelona, Spain. This PV plant uses crystalline silicon modules and it has a complex layout due to the short and variable distance between the rows. Grey areas indicate that the irradiance is too low to start the inverter operation, while blue areas indicate a low PR, and red areas a high PR. As it can be clearly seen the

This algorithm is used to analyze the performance of the inverters. It is similar to the standard indoor measurements of the overall inverter efficiency. This tool plots the efficiency for the DC power and voltage under real operation conditions. During the analysis the uncertainty of the measurements is taken into account especially if the input data are provided by the monitoring system of the inverters which has typically a reduced accuracy. Figure 4 shows the efficiency of a 11 kW inverter. The calculated efficiency

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CPV Control Tool (CCT) If manufacturers of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems are able to reduce their costs and prove the long-term stability of their components, they can have a very competitive product for regions with high direct radiation and ambient temperature. As CPV systems use only the direct radiation for energy conversion, special attention has to be paid to ensure that the modules are correctly aligned: that is, normal to the beam component of the radiation. EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

49Â

For that, a precise two axis tracking system is required. On the other hand, these systems have lower temperature losses than conventional systems because generally III/V multi-junction solar cells are used. GL GH has developed a tool for the performance analysis of CPV systems. Special attention is paid to any performance reduction due to tracking errors and condensation inside the module, or on the outer front surface. The developed control tool compares normalized electrical production with direct irradiance during the course of each day and alerts if a deviation is found. Figure 6 shows an example of an operating CPV system were condensation on the outer module surface caused severe production losses during the first 2 hours of a day (region A7 of Figure 6). At noon an error of the tracking system caused a production loss of approximately 10 minutes (region A8 of Figure 6). In order to identify tracking errors it is important that the solar sensor is

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

mounted on a separate tracking system. The CCT also calculates the produced energy with the DC power and the voltage. CPV systems operate in a smaller range than conventional crystalline silicon system. This can be seen in Figure 7 that shows the plot for a system with Fresnel lenses and III/V multijunction solar cells for a one year period. There is one smooth maximum indicating that the system is working properly.

Infrared (IR) Imaging This powerful tool identifies any defective module in a PV plant. The use of IV-curve measurements of arrays, strings and modules can give precise information but it will also cause production losses (loss of income), and is very time consuming. Most of the module or interconnection failures that lead to lower electrical production involve an increased temperature of an area or the entire module. This temperature

increase can be detected with an IR camera for a set of modules at the same time and does not require disconnection of the tested array from its respective inverter. According to the failures, ambient parameters and measurement conditions the IR image appears very different and has to be interpreted. The electrical loss is estimated knowing the affected area and the temperature. Depending on the failure and the amount of the loss, it is recommended to either check, repair or exchange the module. Figure 8 shows examples for a short-circuited string (left), broken by-pass diode (centre) and shunted cells (right). The authors are: Stefan Mau, Dácil Melián Castellano and Cesar Hidalgo Lopez nnn

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September 10–13, 2012 Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida www.solarpowerinternational.com

Generating Growth 21,000 + solar professionals in solar energy and related fields, 1,200+ exhibiting companies, 36+ sessions, and growing. That’s Solar Power International 2012. It’s the most comprehensive solar energy event on the continent, bringing together solutions, education and professional connections to feed your business’s success. If growth is important to you, register today.

Presented by:

SO L A R ENERGY

Factors Investors Consider In Project Financing – Reducing Uncertainty In Solar Energy Estimates Reza Tajali, PE. -Schneider Electric Engineering Services

Business Challenge and Drivers Modern inverter equipment is designed to optimize the harvest of solar energy at

includes module’s efficiency and environmental characteristics as well as their ease of installation. •

and considerations for water run-off

field provides the best grounds for the testing

enter into this equation.

and verification of the new inverter products under development. This provided one of the

Mounting surface preparation and and grading of the mounting surfaces

atmospheric conditions. As such, an actual PV

•

Selection of wiring methods and conduit

main business drivers for the construction of

Surface grading was the first step in the construction process. Two retention ponds

Once the surface grading was completed,

These incentives were provided in the form

a full survey of the area was performed

of an energy purchase contract with the

to establish the exact locations for the

utility company which stipulated sales of

attachment posts used with the PV module

the harvested energy at over $0.20 per kWh

racks. The ground in Smyrna, Tennessee is

for 10 years.

generally rocky with the top soil layer varying

Key Parameters Involved in the Design

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Implementation Steps

site maintenance requirements.

a reasonable return on the investment.

Site safety and maintainability concerns.

chosen over the grass option to minimize the

the time of this system installation offered

Selection of the PV modules. This

•

off from the PV field. A gravel surface was

In addition, governmental incentives at

•

Selection and application of overcurrent

were installed to accumulate the water run-

the generating station.

of the PV Field

•

protection equipment.

selection of the racking system. Soil type

different times of the day and under different

disconnecting means.

•

system.

from 5 to 30 inches in depth. Therefore, the

Selection of the location and the

racking support structure had to be suitable

philosophy of application of electrical

for installation in the limestone bedrock as

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well as the top soil. An earth screw system was chosen for this purpose. The earth screws were installed using a specially designed excavator and hydraulic equipment. Each rack structure held sixteen solar panels and was mounted on four earth screws. The screws, racking system and solar panels were designed for rapid installation (One hundred earth screws can be installed by one machine per day.) Wiring connections to the solar panels utilized easy-to-install touch-safe snap-in connectors. Wires were routed in conduits which were laid in wire grid cable trays that ran alongside the PV racking system. The inverters and the DC and AC equipment were installed in a prefabricated steel control house, designed to allow easy installation and removal of inverters and other equipment. PowerLogicTM circuit monitors from Schneider Electric were installed in the DC and AC equipment to capture and record key system parameters. This enabled the condition of the solar field and the power generation parameters to be viewable via web access.

Design Details and Construction The field is divided into eight 125 kW equal sections, referred to as “octants”. Each octant, in turn, is comprised of four 31.25 kW sub-arrays, as shown in Figure 1 on pages 6-7. Each of these 31.25 kW subarrays is comprised of 18 strings. Each string consists of six series-connected PV modules. The strings associated with each array are brought into an array combiner box. Utilizing a proprietary combiner box arrangement, the system is switchable between 600 V and 1000 V by changing the connection arrangement of the individual strings. The outputs of four array combiner boxes are combined to produce one octant (1/8 of the overall field). The outputs of all eight octants are routed to a bank of disconnect switches and then on to a proprietary 1000 V DC switchboard to allow remote switching for inverter testing. A critical consideration in the design of the PV field is maintainability and operator safety. The dual voltage design complicates the operator safety and special considerations had to be made to be able to completely remove all sources of power from the array

combiner boxes while changing the DC field voltage output. This is accomplished through the use of string disconnect boxes which provide the capability to perform a complete lockout and tagout in the field. Inverters convert the DC power from the octant output circuits to AC power compatible with the utility grid. The inverters ensure that the maximum available power is extracted from the PV field by keeping the PV modules operating at their optimum power point. While the number of inverters is configurable for this installation, at the time the system was commissioned it used two 500 kW Schneider Electric XantrexTM inverters with 375 V AC outputs. The inverter AC outputs are connected through step-up transformers to the station grid-tie transformer, which steps the output voltage up to 24.94 kV to match the voltage on the local utility grid. Because this installation can be used for testing of prototype inverters, connection to the grid is through 27 kV metalclad circuit breaker switchgear with appropriate protective relaying. Schneider Electric Engineering Services applied the company’s standardized failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) procedure to assure the integrity of the design. This was a critical step, given the new equipment and technologies proposed for 1000 V DC application. Formalized safety reviews were held throughout the design process to allow for input from the end-use operators and minimize hazards in the final operating environment. Many technological challenges were encountered that had not been attempted before. As of the time of the facility’s commissioning, 1000 V DC fields were relatively rare in the United States. A dual voltage DC field, being selectable to

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operate at 600 V or 1000 V, required special innovations in the combiner box design. The project’s successful implementation was facilitated by a process of involvement and participation. Schneider Electric Engineering Services contacted the code inspection community at the onset of the project, who was brought into the initial code evaluation. The design of the racking system and electrical infrastructure was facilitated by the input from the selected contractors and installers. Photovoltaic electric generation components – racking, panels, connectors, combiner boxes – are for all practical purposes designed to be plug and play. Such equipment can be readily assembled, minimizing the labor and project execution time. However, some of this equipment may have long lead times, especially for array voltages above 600 V. For PV system installations, the lead time in acquisition of components may have a more pronounced effect on the project schedule than the assembly time in the field.

Conclusion Schneider Electric Engineering Services is committed to developing the most effective solutions for harvesting renewable energy sources. The Smyrna, Tennessee generating facility is designed to produce 1,300,000 kWh of solar electricity annually. This clean energy is equivalent to the avoided emissions from 1600 barrels of crude oil. For many years to come, this station will be used to test innovative inverter technologies which, in turn, will push the limits on the efficiency and economy of harvesting this clean source of energy. The Smyrna generating station proved that 1000 V DC can be a workable voltage system for non-utility (under the jurisdiction of National Electrical Code) installations. EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

SO L A R ENERGY

Risk Exposures In A Solar Plant ….During Construction As Well As Operational Phase

Sagar Sanyal

olar energy production is currently at a juvenile stage in India. While multiple operators are in the process of commissioning their respective plants, there are many who are still in the planning stage. The advancement in technology has also exposed the plants to various risks. It s critical to identify these risks and also find the mitigating methods. This article aims at examining the risks which threaten the assets and also suggest the possible transfer of these risks in the form of insurance solutions.

Identifying the major risk exposures: •

While the plants are in the construction phase : Irrespective of whether the plant is being erected by a turnkey contractor or by the operator, the risks associated with the construction continue to pose problems galore.The subsequent paragraphs would throw light on the unique risks prevalent during construction. There would be some more which would be common to the construction as well operational phases and would be touched upon in the later part of the article.

1. Risks during transit: Materials and equipment forming a part of the plant 54

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

and which are required to be installed, would be procured from overseas as well as indigenous suppliers. The critical components of the solar plant would be the solar panels, PV modules, invertors and transformers. Considering the fragile nature of the modules in particular, the probability of breakage as a result of jerks and jolts during transit as well as while loading and unloading are very high. Such damages come to light only when the packing cases are opened. 2. Handling damages: Movement of the construction equipment within site (like forklifts) often results in damages to the components of the solar panels. Human negligence and handling damages more than often contribute to losses sustained during construction. •

While the plants are in operation :

Most of the risks which would be discussed below also exist during the construction phase.

1. Theft of the parts/ components: The installations being in the open, the possibilities of theft of components increase considerably. Such risks are even pronounced during the construction phase (mainly because the complete boundary wall may not be in existence and the security too may not be up to the expected level.

2. Lightning: Areas prone to thunderstorm expose the solar plants to the lightning damages. While there may be direct hits by lightning, induced damages following passage of electricity (surges) through the electrical/ electronic circuits of the equipment are quite possible. 3. Storm/ Hailstorm: The solar panels and the modules may have a frame or may be completely made up of glass. High velocity winds often prevalent in the Gujarat, AP and Rajasthan areas can cause severe damages to these structures. Hailstorms would affect the glass structures much more than the other installations and this makes solar plants more vulnerable to such natural calamities. 4. Flood and Inundation: Though the solar array would be on mounted structures, yet damages due to ingress of water into the premises cannot be ruled out. 5. Breakdown of critical machines: During the operational phase, the equipments are prone to electrical and mechanical breakdown. The invertors, transformers and the electrical machines are more prone while such damages in the solar panels are minimum. 6. Fire accidents in the premises: The possible areas from where a fire can start could be the invertors, transformers

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and the electrical machines. 7. Liability to the general public: Compared to the other power plants, solar plants pose much lesser risks to the public, following its operation. Discharge of water, which could be contaminated to nearby land is a risk with low probability and so are the possibilities of nearby inhabited areas being affected as a result of any accident caused as a result of the operation of solar plants. Notwithstanding the financial loss which the solar plant operator faces, none should forget the crippling effects which follow from the shutdown of the operations after an accident. Till the time the damaged structures are ready for operation, the supply to the grid would be stalled and the owner would be suffering additional financial loss.

Risk mitigation…… It is imperative for all solar plant operators to take the necessary precautions and implement risk improvement measures. The detailed discussions on the risk reduction (loss prevention techniques) are beyond the scope of this article. However loss prevention is not the panacea for all solar plants, even after resorting to various loss prevention measures, still some residual risks remain. Risk transfer through insurance solutions complements such loss prevention techniques. The chart below gives the existing insurance covers available in India, currently.

Conclusion:

the owner of the solar plant. Many times existence of an O&M contract is considered to be an insurance cover...this is incorrect as bit are mutually exclusive and existence of O& M contract can only supplement an insurance contract , not replace the same . It is always a prudent decision to transfer the risk to the extent possible to insurers The opening up of the insurance sector and advent of new insurers has also resulted in innovative covers being designed. Thus with the passage of time, wider risk coverage under existing insurance policies would be a reality . The views expressed in the article are not exhaustive and the author can be consulted for any further details .

Insurance of assets is a key decision for

Type of Insurance policy

Perils / risks which it covers

Industrial All risk policy

One of the most preferred covers, which provides An “all risk cover”. Unlike the other policies, which would be mentioned subsequently, this policy is guided by exclusions. Instead of a “named perils “cover, this policy covers everything which is not excluded. Broadly this policy provides cover under the “Material damage section”, protection against fire and allied perils (as covered under separate fire policy mentioned below), burglary and theft, accidental damages, mechanical/ electrical breakdown. In addition under “Business Interruption section” it provides for coverage against loss of gross profit as a result of any accident due to fire and allied perils. Optional cover is also available for “loss of gross profit “following breakdown of equipment.

Standard fire and allied perils policy

A bouquet of 12 perils (which covers most of the risks specified earlier) is covered. The major perils covered (and which can affect solar plants) are...fire , lightning( direct damages), explosion, aircraft damage , impact damage by rail/ road vehicle or animal, riot , strike and malicious damages, flood, storm, hailstorm and allied perils, bush fire, landslide & subsidence and more…….this policy can be extended to cover earthquake as well as terrorism.

Burglary and theft insurance

Covers burglary and can be extended to cover theft

Machinery breakdown

Covers electrical and mechanical breakdown damages

Commercial General Liability

Covers any financial loss to the insured as a result of legal liability arising due to accidental injury/ death and/ or property damage to general public , due to activities related to operation of the solar plant

Business Interruption covers :----

Reduction in output/ turnover resulting in financial loss due to interruption of operation following accidents as a result of perils covered under fire policy perils, described earlier

Fire loss of profit ( FLOP)

Machinery breakdown loss of profit policy Reduction in output/ turnover resulting in financial loss due to interruption of operation ( MLOP) following Breakdown of critical machinery covered under machinery breakdown policy, described earlier During construction phase : Erection all risk policy

Provides an all risk cover (barring the exclusions) during the process of installation of the solar plant. The cover starts from the time the machines land at site till commissioning of the project. The policy can also be extended to cover any liability risks to general public.

Transit Insurance

The materials in transit from suppliers to the site of erection can be covered on an “all risk “basis

Advance loss of profit

Loss in expected gross profit due to delay in commissioning following outbreak of insured losses.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

SO L A R ENERGY

Impact Of Grid Connected Solar Power Projects On Financial Health Of Distribution Companies of Gujarat Santosh Kumar Singh Greenergy Renewables Pvt. Ltd

Electricity generation in India has been primarily dependent on fossil fuel sources, essentially the ‘coal’ which is expected to deplete in future. In order to boost deployment of renewable energy in general and solar in particular, the Government of India, Other State Governmentsand Regulators have taken several steps in designing suitable policies and regulatory frameworks such as feed in tariff, renewable purchase obligation mechanism, tradable renewable energy certificate mechanism, etc. These policy and regulatory support has provided the initial thrust for large scale development of solar power in the Country. However, it has been noted that such promotion of solar power also has impact on the financial health of the Distribution Companies on account of costly power in nature.

1. Introduction to solar power policy, allotment of projects and commissioning of projects The State of Gujarat was the first State to announce separate policy for promotion of solar energy. The Solar Power Policy was announced in 2009 and shall be operative till FY 2013-14. The policy envisaged supporting solar power generation capacity of 500 MW. However, taking into consideration the overwhelming response from the list 56

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of developers, the Government of Gujarat issued a list allotting solar capacity of 968.5 MW to various solar project developers. The Government envisaged allotted capacityto be deployed in two phases. As against Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), Gujarat awarded solar projects at fixed feed in tariff (FIT), specified by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC), on first-come first-serve basis. It was interesting to notice that, as against guidelines under JNNSM, the Solar Power Policy announced by the Gujarat has not given emphasis on requirement for use of domestic

content for photovoltaiccrystalline module. According to Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA), out of 968.5 MW, around 654.81MW projects have been commissioned successfully till May 9, 2012.It has also been noted that the remaining capacities are unable to commission due to unavailability of evacuation infrastructure.

2. Renewable Purchase Obligation targets in the State of Gujarat

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(Source: GERC RPO Regulations, 2010)

The GERC, on April 17, 2010, has specified GERC (Procurement of Energy from RenewableSources) Regulations, 2010, (hereinafter referred as RPO Regulations). The regulations specified that distribution licensees, being Obligated Entity, shall procure electricity (in kWh) from renewable energy sources, at a defined minimum percentage of the total consumption of its consumers including T&D losses during a year specified as under:

The renewable purchase obligation (RPO) specified for the FY2012-13 shall be continued beyond 2012-13 till any revision is effected by the GERC in this regard. Therefore, GERC has stipulated a progressive RPO for DISCOMs for solar as well.

3. Impact of solar projects on average cost of supply of

Gujarat Discoms The GERC in its Multi Year Tariff (MYT) Orders for the State Owned Distribution Companies (i.e., Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL), Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL), Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL) and Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL)) has approved the solar energy availability for the period from FY 2011-12

*Source: GERCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MYTOrders for DISCOMsof Gujarat

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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excess of their RPO are not entitled for REC. One of the means of mitigating the burden of additional cost due to approval of solar power in excess of RPO may be through entitlement of RECs to DISCOMs for purchasing power in excess of RPO. This will not only help in reducing the project financing risk to the Project Developer but also insulate the end consumers of the DISCOMs from additional financial burden and may encourage DISCOMs to tie up solar power in excess of

*Source: GERCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MYTOrders for DISCOMsof Gujarat

to FY 2015-16. The solar RPO and solar power availability as approved by the GERC in its MYT Orders is summarised as under: It can be observed from the above Table that GERC has approved the solar power availability in excess of the solar RPO specifically for years beyond FY 2012-13 thus making only States to meet Solar RPO. Although for solar, Gujarat may appear as one of the best States given under the positive policy as well as the off-take guarantee provided by the DISCOMs, however such promotion also has led to an increase in the power purchase cost of the DISCOMs. The additional solar power availability impact the Average Cost of Supply of the DISCOMs, which ultimately increases the revenue requirement leading to requirement for increase in tariff for consumers of DISCOMs. The summary of the additional cost on account of excesssolar power is shown in the Figure below:

Though,positive initiatives and progressive policies being taken by the Government of Gujarat, GERC and DISCOMs for promotion of solar power in the State, any excess procurement of solar power (which is a costlier source of power as compared to other renewable and conventional sources) may led to additional burden on consumers of DISCOMs. Therefore, to address any of such concern that may arise due to excess procurement of solar power by DISCOMs of Gujarat following options may be adopted to minimize such impact:

A. Entitlement of REC to DISCOMs for procuring Solar Power in excess of stipulated RPO Under the current provisions of the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Regulations issued by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), only generators are eligible for REC and DISCOMs procuring power from renewable sources in

RPO. Based on the additional solar power as approved by GERC in excess of RPO and assuming that the DISCOMs are allowed for REC, DISCOMs may redeem the same by way of selling RECs on Power Exchanges. The following Figure summarizes the possible reduction in additional cost if RECs are allowed to DISCOMs: The above analysis depicts that if DISCOMs are allowed RECs and the same is redeemed at Power Exchanges platform (assuming the redemption at floor price i.e., Rs. 9.30/kWh) around 60% of additional cost may be reducedwhich would have been borne for solar power in excess of RPO, which in turn will reduce such additional burden on the DISCOMs. Moreover, such sale of solar RECswould be utilized by obligated entities of other States to offset their solar RPO which may have not been able to meet

The above analysis of the shows the impact of approval of solar power in excess of RPO increases from Rs. 474 Crore in FY 2012-13 to Rs. 1422 Crore in FY 2015-16, which is substantial by any standard.

4. Possible ways to minimise the impact of cost of excess power purchase on DISCOMs 58Â

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their solar RPO.

B. Bundling of excess solar power by DISCOMs with excess conventional power available with DISCOMs of Gujarat

considering Capacity Utilisation Factor of 20% of solar plants and in order to meet the MW requirements of any power both from conventional and solar power), and sold to Distribution Companies of the other States to meet both power requirement and solar RPO

solar power meet the two objectives of buyer firstly meeting the power requirement by way of purchase of conventional power and offsetting the solar RPO by way of purchase of solar power bundled with conventional power. DISCOMs of Gujarat may also maximize the sale price of solar power by way of considering the FIT approved by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission for such buyers.

5. Way Forward and Conclusion

The other option that may be adopted by DISCOMs is that it can make an appropriate arrangement to sell solar power in excess of RPO to buyers by way of bundling with surplus conventional power available with the DISCOMs in line with the scheme adopted under JNNSM (i.e., bundling of solar power with unallocated quota of Central Sector Generating Stations and selling to obligated entities to meet RPO). GERC in the MYT Orders for the DISCOMs has also approved the surplus energy for ensuing financial years on account of sourcing power in excess than the expected energy requirement. Assuming that solar surplus power may be bundled with four times of conventional power (i.e.,

requirement. The following figure depicts the above mentioned methodology for bundling of solar power with surplus conventional power available with DISCOMs of Gujarat: If the DISCOMs adopt the above mechanism to sell the solar power in excess of RPO by bundling with the conventional power, the year-wise impact of the same is shown in the figure below: The below analysis shows that around 60% of additional cost may be reduced if DISCOMs of Gujarat sell the excess power by way of bundling solar power in excess of RPO with surplus conventional power, which in turn will reduce such additional burden on the DISCOMs. Moreover, such sale of excess

Although the regulations and policies have provided necessary pathway for deployment of solar powerprojects in the Country in General and Gujarat as a State in particular, the existing framework discourages generation from solar generation facility in excess of the limit specified by the Regulatory Commission. It is essential to develop a suitable mechanism for allowing RECs to DISCOMs or bundling of such excess solar power with surplus conventional power which shall encourage excess generation from solar power projects. Such measures may also help in achieving the target of meeting the solar RPO at the country level and not only at State level. Accordingly, GERC may consider amending its RPO Regulations to suitably incorporate such provisions for treatment of surplus renewable power which will not only help to minimize the average cost of supply of the distribution licenseesdue to cost of purchase of excess solar power.

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Note: Sale Price of excess solar power assumed @Rs. 9.3/kWh and surplus conventional power at the rate approved by GERC in the MYT Orders of the DISCOMs of Gujarat

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I NT ERV I EW

Interview with Ravi Agrawal EQ : Whats the history of your group and what made your group foray into solar RA : Louroux is a group company of Inspira Projects and Ajanta Pharma. We are present in Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure and now solar sectors. The group started operations in 1973 and has recorded sales of about A700cr. Our group operations are spread out across 25 countries with about 3000 team members. We were looking at new business opportunities and realized that that renewable energy is an upcoming sector with tremendous potential in India. We studied various renewable energy options including wind and Biomass. However, we concluded that solar offered most potential in sun-rich country like India. Moreover, India was a virgin market for solar with enough room for players to make their entry.

EQ : Please tell us the policy under which your project is built and tariff got for your project RA : When we started working on solar project, only Gujarat state had introduced a solar policy. Hence, our initial draw was to look at Gujarat. We also contemplated NVVN model however chose not to go for bidding process as it will be futile to compete with said terms. We have completed the project as per the schedule and have received A15 and A5 / unit for the first 12 and 13 years respectively.

have secured this funding. We were fortunate that our bankers showed faith in our project and the promoters. We have had great relationship with our bankers and SBI, Central Bank and EXIM bank considered the project favorably.

EQ : What were the challenges in choosing & securing land, permits, grid interconnection etc……….. RA : I reckon land purchase, particularly larger parcel, is one of the toughest task while doing business in India. With such fragmented ownership with multiple title holders, it becomes extremely challenging to purchase the land and infact it was an activity with longest duration in our project. Thankfully, the subsequent permits and grid connectivity was much easier and various departments in Gujarat have been very conducive to ensure timely execution.

EQ : Briefly describe the challenges of working with available met data from NASA and others regarding irradiation, GHI etc… RA : Since there are only few sources for MET data available, and the primary being NASA we determined to go ahead with NASA; as data available from other sources were varying considerably with the one from NASA which raised some apprehensions. Also as the data from NASA is the averaged for 22yrs, relying on it was easier.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the selection procedure of equipment & technology (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed structures vs. Tracking, String vs. Central Inverter ec..etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. RA : I believe that there is no ideal solution for our or any country. Each technology has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. There is always a debate between CSi and Thin Film and fixed vs Tracking systems. I believe, each developer has to take a call based on the location,

EQ : What were the challenges in securing the finance for your project and who are the bankers & investors behind it RA : Securing finance for any solar project in India is still a challenge. There are a lot of apprehensions that bankers have since this is a new technology for the country. International lenders are vary to lend in India and few developers 60

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environmental conditions, permissible capital costs and more importantly the size of the project. For example, string invertors may be suitable and better performing for small projects but could increase the capex and O&M in a larger project. Such calls will have to be ultimately taken by developer before the project is finalized. Moreover, the technology is changing so rapidly that what may seem ideal right now, may not be so within a matter of a year. That does not mean that the executed project is outdated …it is rather an opportunity to build a better one in future.

EQ : Who was your EPC Contractor and rationale behind selecting them RA : Being in Infra business, we had in-house capacity to execute the project. We partnered with a leading European Solar Company to help us in Engineering services and Management. We are now in process of forming JV with them to offer our services to other solar project developers. We will be able to combine our experience in Indian market with their technological strength to offer a quality product to the clients here.

EQ : Briefly describe the components used and the rationale behind Modules, Inverters, Monitoring System & Scada, Mounting Structures, BOS, Cables, Transformer etc… RA : As I mentioned earlier, there is no ideal solution for selection of technology for PV plants. For our first project, we opted to go with Thin Film technology due to its advantages of having better diffused light absorption and lower temperature coefficient. Selecting central type of inverters working on Master- Slave configuration seemed most optimum for such large scale power plant and for monitoring and SCADA we decided to go with the system supplied by the inverter manufacturer itself in order to avoid any communication and compatibility problems during execution and it was proved that the right choice was made as the system was linked through on the very first connection. For structures, we went with site fabrication solution and it worked very

well for us as it gave us better control on structure availability for execution as the production was varied depending upon the site requirement. However, this may not be the solution for other plants as all plants are unique. Since we had to make state-of-the-art Solar PV power plant we have selected one of the best global companies to supply us with BOS.

EQ : Please share the planned and actual generation, performance ratio, availability of plant & grid. Kindly provide graphs RA : We are expecting around 1.8MU/ MW/year with a Performance ratio of 81% and we are proud that we are touching that estimate

EQ : What’s your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators RA : Government is doing a great job in encouraging solar projects. However, it needs to make REC framework more bankable. We will see tremendous amount of investment under REC mechanism only if the projects are bankable, which unfortunately they are not. Also 1MW rooftop captive power project should get included in REC mechanism to encourage companies to opt for renewable power generation and avoid paying T&D and cross subsidy charges to the utility. Such generation can be monitored using approved meters connected to SLDC systems.

EQ : What’s an ideal financial model for the Solar PV Project in India to optimize the IRR RA : The ideal financial model is Debt equity mix of 3:1. Even this can go to 4:1 as the revenue is assured and operating cost is very minimal. One can look at long term funding, especially from funds earmarked for Green Energy development. They are cost effective as well.

EQ : Kindly describe your Top 5 experiences with building your Solar PV plant in India RA : Believe in your team and empower them. I am proud that despite challenges the team has performed and executed the project.

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Some of the most valuable and practical suggestions have come from the team that saved the company lot of time and money. At one point we were faced with delays in foundations of invertor rooms. One of our civil team member came up with unique structure solution at 10pm at night on the site which helped us save over 5 days on each room. In a country like India, expect things to go wrong. We encountered many including truck breakdowns, supplier & contractor delays, regulation changes, among others. We learnt that we need to take extremely quick decisions to be able to maintain the schedule despite some contingencies built in the project. We went through many such experiences where smallest things could have put us back but timely decisions on site helped execute the project on schedule. There was extreme pressure on the team. It was like a pressure cooker and there needs to be some activity where this pressure is released. We organized few dance and music parties at the site for the team members to relax through a grueling schedule. We did lose a few hours of work but gained many a days in increased productivity subsequently. When the project first went on ground, one of the earliest structures that we erected was a small carpeted shed for educating small children of the laborers. We provided writing aids, books, toys and snacks for the 2-3 hours of class. It was really gratifying to see small children lining outside the ‘school’ for the teacher to arrive and start the session. Also we distributed over a thousand blankets and many sweaters to the contractors, workers and their family members during the winter season to protect them from the bitter cold last season. Such small gestures helped us win the trust of our associates and they worked tirelessly towards the target achievement.

EQ : What are the future plans in India and other countries? RA : At this time we are focused in developing the Indian market. While we will work on EPC model, we also plan to develop our own solar projects. Our short term goal is to achieve 100MW by 2013. nnn

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SO L A R ENERGY

Factors Investors Consider In Project Financing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Reducing Uncertainty In Solar Energy Estimates

hile any energy project has risks, more conventional risks include anything from site control, permitting, securing finance, equipment supply, operations and maintenance agreements and confidence in energy production estimates. With renewable projects, the intermittent fuel or resource adds additional risk. Due to the nature and diversity of these challenges, independent assessments are encouraged throughout the project development life cycle. At the time of a financial transaction, the importance of these reviews is heightened. An independent review, which is often referred to as a due diligence or third party review, provides investors, developers or other stakeholders the opportunity for an objective third-party to assess the attributes of a project. The specific focus of the review or analysis is on those facets which could result in lower revenues and therefore a return on investment risk. An experienced third-party will review the project for technical and commercial robustness. Many aspects of the

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Marie Schnitzer-AWS Truepower, LLC

project will be addressed to ensure the cash flow over the project life. For investors and lenders, understanding the project risks and means to mitigate these risks is important. This article will provide an overview of aspects of technical due diligence conducted by an independent reviewer, including an introduction to the fundamentals of the solar resource as it relates to energy generation.

Introduction to the solar resource To understand the energy potential in solar projects, a key contributor is the solar resource potential, or the fuel. This initial section provides an overview for understanding critical attributes of solar energy projects.

The meteorology around solar energy Atmospheric solar radiation is broken into three fundamental components. Direct normal irradiance (DNI) is the solar radiation

available directly from the sun and normal to the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position. This solar component is important for development of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems and is most directly influenced by cloud cover and atmospheric aerosols. Diffuse horizontal irradiance is the solar radiation scattered by the atmosphere as collected on a horizontal surface. The sum of the direct and diffuse components, or the total solar radiation available, is the global horizontal irradiance (GHI). For photovoltaic (PV) projects, the GHI component is most important to consider.

Solar resource data sources To assess the solar resource for a particular project in a high quality manner requires an analyst to review a variety of data sources as part of the analysis. There are a number of sources of irradiance data with varying quality and uncertainty. Table 1 shows the types of solar reference data available, advantages and disadvantages of each, and an overview of their applicable uses.

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An optimal energy assessment includes a detailed evaluation of all reference data sources. Relying on multiple data sources helps to minimize the uncertainty associated with a project’s energy estimate.

alone analysis and some aspects that have interdependencies. For the purposes of this article, solar project risks will be presented in four categories: Project Design, Performance, Contracts and Financial Consideration.

Modeled: While modeled data is commonly used for prospecting and preliminary energy estimates in the US as a default due to ease of access, there are inherent risks due to potential biases in the data and uncertainty in the measurement accuracy of the resource. Model-based GHI data, while of lower accuracy and limited by spatial resolution, can be representative of a specific site and is more likely to have a long, consistent period of record.

Project Design

Long-term measured reference: Several international, nationwide, regional

An independent review of a solar project evaluates the project design and technical position with respect to technology selection, suppliers and suitability for a given environment. A number of different technologies are available for both panels and inverters, which tend to be higher risk items. Technology review considerations will include an examination of the performance track record of the selected solar module and the module’s long-term reliability and performance. For example, a silicon-based

Table 1. Reference Data Source Selection Details

and state-wide measurement networks measure solar radiation data. These networks exhibit various periods of record and varying degrees of data quality. While much of this data is publicly available and can have greater accuracy than modeled data, it is difficult to find high-quality solar data near a project site due to spatial diversity of reference networks and poor station maintenance. On-Site Measurements: The collection of high-quality on-site measurements at the site can be useful for understanding sitespecific characteristics. These data can also be used to in conjunction with longer periodof-record data sources to estimate the longterm solar irradiation while minimizing the uncertainty associated with this estimate.

Project Technical Due Diligence There are many aspects or technical due diligence that are unique or a stand-

panel manufactured by an established firm that has been demonstrated in many applications for over 20 years may have a lower risk than one that is in a pilot phase of product release by a start-up company. Technology suppliers are evaluated for their historical track record and their experience based on years or projects/MW installed. Manufacturing practices and quality programs are assessed to determine expected consistency in products shipped. Ability to support construction schedules and maintain consistent equipment supply affects the projects likelihood of success and therefore deserves specific review, in addition to equipment and other warranties have been required for the 20-25 year project life. This typically applies to the panels and inverters and will call into question the ability of a supplier to support any warranty claims in future years. Those suppliers with a strong balance sheet tend to be considered favorable or bankable by the investment and banking

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community. More recently, reports at industry events offer an alternative approach where third party insurers have provided assurance future warranty claims can be resolved. Suitability of the equipment for the environment impacts the project’s ability to meet short and long-term goals. Specific examples would include panel efficiency and inverter performance being affected by temperature, and mounting structures and panel design considerations in areas of high wind or snow loading.

Performance Performance of a solar project is influenced by a number of factors and can be estimated as part of an energy production assessment. Due diligence of the expected energy output over the plant’s project life can range from a desktop review for general reasonableness to a complete clean-sheet energy assessment, which is recommended for larger projects. Energy estimates are needed to evaluate short and long-term performance of the project as performance will degrade over the life of the project and will vary both seasonally and over multiple years. This section briefly discusses four influential components driving the energy potential of a solar project: Project location, Plant design, System losses and the solar resource, which is often overlooked as a critical component of this analysis. This is illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Factors affecting solar project performance

The project location impacts the potential energy generated based on sun position, which changes throughout the day and year. These seasonal and diurnal changes are easily characterized when precise project coordinates are established. Surrounding topography and view to the horizon will also impact a project if there are sources of shading such as trees, mountains or ridges. EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Plant design impacts both the firstyear and long-term energy production. The components selected may be higher or lower efficiency, and include tracking devices which will impact the plant’s operations and maintenance. The orientation and spacing of the equipment will be influenced by the terrain and land restrictions. These factors, combined with those during project design provide a more complete analysis of risk through the due diligence process. System losses must be part of an analysis to account for technology, regional or other considerations. While some of these factors will be included in a comprehensive analysis, the losses typically include soiling, shading, mismatch, availability and many others. These losses can be very dependent on the region and technology as well as other factors that an independent assessor can qualify with regard to project risk A solar resource assessment will evaluate the quality of meteorological data used to characterize the project site. For larger projects, a properly managed, onsite measurement program for a minimum of one year will increase confidence that energy generation can be achieved, thereby decreasing the uncertainty of energy production from the project site. The quality of long-term data used in an assessment, be it modeled or measured, and its proximity to the project site are other factors which influence uncertainty around energy projections. Poorly characterized seasonal and inter-annual variability can lead to unexpected high or low periods of energy production. While these are important, they account for only a portion of the considerations used by an experienced analyst to best characterize the resource and energy potential at a project site.

Contract Review The purpose of contract review by an independent reviewer during the due diligence process is not to evaluate the legal terms. The purpose is to review the technical elements of the contract documents, evaluate the reasonableness of the contract, or highlight the risks of not having a contract at all. A partial list of contracts to consider includes. •

Equipment Supply Contracts: evaluate the ability of the original equipment manufacturer to meet the schedule and quality. For example, does current EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

manufacturing capacity support the supply needs or does a new factory need to be built •

EPC Contract: evaluate the contractor’s experience, project management capabilities, and ability to meet overall project schedule

•

Power Purchase Agreement: confirm there is an agreement and evaluate agreement terms with respect to an energy production assessment

•

Electrical Interconnection Agreement: review of Grid Interconnection Plan and Design

•

O&M Agreement: evaluate any plan for replacement parts, maintenance and overall operations of the plan

•

Additional Studies: a number of studies and contracts need to be completed, e.g., environmental studies and permitting. Due diligence will evaluate any outstanding items

Financial Review

The intent of an independent review of the financial projections, obligations and contracts is to ensure shared risk through early stages of the project and balanced, reasonable returns during operation. This includes an assessment of the input assumptions based on energy generation and project design, and an evaluation of the strength of the arrangement with the off taker. These reviews include but are not limited to capital expenses, installation costs, operations & maintenance costs, power purchase agreement price and term, tax rates, incentives and market conditions. A thorough review of these financial metrics will strengthen probability that the cost of electricity generation will be such that allows sufficient project returns. Still, several

stress case scenarios should be applied and reviewed. An input to these stress cases is directly linked to budgeted energy estimates and the probability of exceedence, as illustrated in Figure 3. An accurate resource and energy assessment will provide an annual value for energy on a multi-year basis. For a bankable report – that is, a report that will be relied upon by senior lenders and other stakeholders for financing purposes – it is critical that energy projections are assessed on a one, ten and twenty year average. This best estimate for energy production is referred to as a P50 estimate, implying that there is a 50% chance that the project will produce or exceed the given energy number. For financing parties, an uncertainty analysis is also expected to quantify the level of confidence that a plant’s actual energy production will be at least a certain value. This is done by providing energy estimates at P75, P90, P95 and P99 iterations. Depending on the level of risk the lender is willing to take on, they may base their level of involvement on P90 or P95 energy estimates. This approach mitigates risk by using an energy number that has a 90% or 95% (P90 or P95) of being exceeded. Using these more conservative budget numbers will decrease risk of the projects inability to pay off its debt. While it is conservative, and in some cases prudent, for lenders to use lower energy estimates (P90-P99), it is in the best interest for the overall project to accurately predict the actual energy number over the term of the lender’s involvement. If lower, more conservative energy numbers are used, the project will secure less debt and may be constrained in the early years. Likewise, if the project fails to meet overestimated energy numbers, dividends for equity stakeholders will diminish and the health of the project will also suffer. An accurate P50 number and a thorough energy report provided by an experienced independent solar consultant will mitigate risk of all parties involved, and will increase confidence that the project will remain healthy through the critical early years and provide good returns for equity stakeholders and lenders for the life of the project.

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November 6–8, 2012 India's Largest Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

350 Exhibitors 20,000 sqm Exhibition Space 10,000+ Visitors

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P V I NV ERT ERS

Ingeteam Showcases Its Technological Potential For PV Innovations Intersolar Europe 2012 is the venue at which Ingeteam is to present more technological innovations than ever, in a constant effort to cater for market demands. The new Ingecon ® Sun products, designed to offer customers the maximum guarantee and performance, considerably add to the range of technological solutions for outdoor central inverters, single and three phase inverters, MV substations, micro-grids, micro-wind installations and communications.

Training, with its own website, is intended to offer support and serve as a meeting point for customers, installers and professionals in the PV sector. As a key objective, the Ingecon® Sun Training is committed to providing training

Outdoor inverters As a key innovation, Ingeteam is to showcase its new range of outdoor central inverters. Featuring an innovative ventilation system, these inverters are able to withstand temperatures of up to 50ºC whilst operating at their rated power. This outdoor version of the 375 to 840 kW Ingecon® Sun PowerMaxter family, with its new AC/DC integrated cabinet, makes it possible to maximize performance in low irradiance conditions, and completes the range of central inverters for multi-megawatt systems. A range noted for its optimum cost/ power ratio. This family of inverters is characterised by its high performance levels, with particular mention of the Ingecon® Sun 800 X345 and Ingecon® Sun 840 X360 models, both offering a peak efficiency of 98.8%, one of the highest on today’s global market.

Single and three phase inverters With regard to its single phase inverter line, in Munich Ingeteam is to present its new inverter family with a high frequency transformer, the 2.5 to 6 kW Ingecon Sun 1Play HF. Suitable for outdoor installation, these inverters are able to withstand high temperatures using high frequency technology. This new single phase line is twinned with the 20 to 36 kW transformerless three phase Ingecon® Sun 3Play TL family.

Medium Voltage Ingeteam is to showcase a “turn-key” solution that can be physically seen at our stand, comprising a cabin with a functional enclosure and which houses all the devices required to convert the energy harnessed by the PV array and deliver it to the medium voltage grid. The Ingecon® Sun PowerStation “turn key” solutions can be supplied in a range from 315 kW to 1680 kW and tailored to meet the demands of each and every customer.

Micro-grids and standalone

and to nurturing the professional development of the technical and sales personnel involved in the operation, maintenance and promotion of the Ingecon® Sun equipment. Ingeteam’s customers will be able to enjoy face-to-face workshops, webinars and customised training courses, intended to cover any requirement whatsoever. Whilst installers will find the necessary support to become an Ingecon® Sun Service Partner, thereby allowing our customers to benefit from an extensive service network throughout the world.

To meet market demands, Ingeteam has strengthened its product family Ingecon Hybrid developing a new energy management system for micro-grids and domestic installations, which controls the interaction between all the elements of a micro-grid. This system comes along with a new battery hybrid inverter, featuring a compact design ideal for managing small and medium standalone and micro-grid installations, with PV and wind generation systems. Furthermore, Ingeteam has optimized its modular three phase inverter for stand-alone installations, the Ingecon® Hybrid MS, which will be present at Intersolar Europe 2012. In addition, in the micro-wind power systems area, Ingeteam is to showcase the Ingecon® µWind Interface control and protection solution. Featuring an innovative progressive braking system, the Ingecon® µWind Interface protects the wind turbine and also the Ingecon® µWind inverter against voltage and power surges. All the Ingecon® Sun inverters come with the software Ingecon® Sun Manager and the IngeRASTM PV web portal for viewing the parameters and recording the data of any PV installation.

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Ingecon® Sun Training The recently-launched Ingecon® Sun 66

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AEG Power Solutions Expands Its Solar Product Portfolio With The New Central Inverter Protect PV.630

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Warstein-Belecke, May 29, 2012 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Energy technology and power electronics specialist AEG Power Solutions (AEG PS) today announced the expansion of its product portfolio with a new central inverter with 630 kW performance. The new inverter is the next step in AEG PSâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s offering of high-end utility-class inverters. The product is available as of today. The first central inverter, launched in 2009, already set new standards due to its excellent efficiency levels of 98.7%. Following on from the success of Protect PV.250 and PV.500 (currently with more than 860 installations around the world, from Germany to India). Protect PV.630 now represents the next milestone in the range of industrial inverters for multi-megawatt PV power plants. With its Protect PV series, AEG Power Solutions offers professional solutions for utility-scale solar installations or even for installation on large roofs. All former series are available as different indoor- and outdoor versions for connection to the medium voltage grid. The new Protect PV 630 is immediately available in indoor version, the outdoor solution will be introduced shortly to the market. Designed for global use, PV.630 has received numerous certifications and is compliant with the national grid regulations of several countries. Protect PV.630 is also available as a turnkey container solution, TKS-C 1250, equipped with 2 inverters, transformer and switchgear. The technical highlight of the new inverter is its power stack PV core, designed in-house with a special control system, enabling an input DC voltage of up to 1,000 V and providing the high efficiency levels due to its optimized pulse pattern. This enables the efficient use of thin-film modules and cost-efficient overall equipment planning. The total concept is flexible and adjustable to many requirements and is applicable for almost all grid codes worldwide. â&#x20AC;?With our product portfolio including the new PV.630, and completed by skytron monitoring solutions,, our global footprint, our manufacturing sites in Germany, India opening next month in South Africa we are well positioned to fulfill our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; needs in the coming years. With this latest product enhancement, AEG PS is offering EPC companies and investors a broader range of inverters for the flexible layout of multi-megawatt PV power plants,â&#x20AC;&#x153; stated Bob Roos, Vice President Solar Solutions at AEG PS. AEG PS will again showcast its latest product developments in central inverters, storage concepts and smart grid power solutions at Intersolar Europe in Munich 13.-15. June, 2012.

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Phone: +91 20 21950117

voltage levels enables PV systems

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Inverters As Grid Managers Rakesh Khanna

Anil.Poluru

Anil.Poluru-Manager Technical Sales Support, SMA Solar India Pvt Ltd

Implement target values, control line voltage and bridge voltage dips. In order to successfully advance the integration of solar electricity in Indian electricity grids, inverters must offer key grid management functions. The Indian power company GETCO Gujarat now calls on all solar manufacturers to ensure that their inverters have corresponding functions.

fter minor failures of local electricity grids in various regions of India, power plant operators must ensure in future that the inverters in PV power stations have basic grid stabilization capabilities to prevent further events of this nature. “Based on SMA’s experience in the PV power plant business, we are in a position to support network operators in India in establishing and specifying directives and standards,” says Rakesh Khanna, General Manager at SMA India. “In many PV electricity markets, our employees are helping to shape the future of the transmission lines.” Rakesh Khanna explains: “As standard, SMA central inverters are prepared for all grid management tasks; no external compensation systems are required for grid integration. Investments in SMA inverters are worthwhile, as our customers do not have to make additional investments to install more hardware. The functions are already integrated in all inverters. These capabilities of our devices ensure that solar electricity can be integrated easily into the local electricity grids and that the network operators’/utility requirements are met. Our service teams can easily make any necessary changes to the configuration. 68

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Power Pole With Sun

Stabilized Power Frequency One capability of the SMA central inverters is the automatic power reduction function in the event of excessive frequencies. That makes an important contribution to stabilizing the power frequency if more energy is generated than is required. Also, the inverter’s reactive power capability ensures that the line voltage remains constant and can

also be used to compensate for undesirable phase shifts. Dynamic grid support features support the grid in the event of faults, and can also prevent, or at least restrict, the fault from spreading further. To avoid temporary overloads in the electricity grid, network operators/utilities prescribe specific active power values that the inverters should deliver with minimal delay. Inverters make a significant contribution

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Remote-controlled power reduction

to stabilizing the power frequency by automatically reducing their active power output in the event of sudden frequency increases.

Voltage stability with reactive power

The interfaces in the inverters allow the target values required by the network operators/Utilities to be implemented by all standard protocols. That includes Modbus, OPC, Ethernet and TCP/IP. At the same time, values from the inverter are monitored in real time and are available to analyze current situations and for further use in the SCADA control system.

Fixed Voltage Stability with Reactive Power:

to the electricity grid.” Three versions can be selected:

The network operator defines a fixed reactive power value or a fixed displacement factor. Typically, this is a value between cos (phi) lagging = 0.90 and cos (phi) leading = 0.90.

Dynamic Specification of Reactive Power: The network operator specifies a random value as a displacement factor between cos (phi) lagging = 0.90 and cos (phi) leading = 0.90. The value is transmitted via a communication unit.

Control of the Reactive Power via a Characteristic Curve: The reactive power is balanced via a preActive Power Control

defined characteristic curve, depending on the line voltage or the active power fed in.

Voltage Stability with Reactive Power To control the line voltage, SMA inverters supply lagging or leading reactive power. The grid operator specifies whether the reactive power value is fixed or dynamic. For example, a communication unit like the SMA Power Reducer Box or the Power Plant Controller control gear for PV farms can be used for evaluation and control. Anil Poluru, Technical Sales Support Manager at SMA India explains: “To keep the line voltage constant, our inverters supply lagging or leading reactive power

Dynamic Grid Support Inverters with dynamic grid support functions act within milliseconds in the event of system incidents, preventing the system incident spreading further. The restricted dynamic grid support ensures that the inverter is ready to feed energy into the grid immediately after a drop in the grid voltage. Devices with full LVRT or FRT behavior (Low-Voltage or Fault Ride-Through), like the SMA Sunny Central CP inverters, can also feed reactive power into the grid during grid voltage drops.

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Dynamic Grid Support

The ability to feed in reactive power makes PV power stations in particular the perfect partner for operators of electricity grids. Conventional power plants cannot implement this distributed feed-in, as longdistance transport is not possible, and must therefore purchase reactive power.

Flexible PV Farm Control with the Power Plant Controller SMA has now developed a solution for controlling both central and decentralized system architectures, the Power Plant Controller, to facilitate simple and flexible control in future of even large PV power stations with double and triple digit megawatt outputs. Anil Poluru: “With its direct and precise controllability, the Power Plant Controller guarantees plant and network operators compliance with target values to react to internal or external grid requirements. PV power stations of all sizes can be adapted to these requirements in every operating phase. The particularly rapid implementation of control commands ensures maximum availability of the PV plant at all times and guarantees the stability of the transmission lines. In addition to open interfaces and standard protocols, the Power Plant Controller offers flexible connection of external I/Os for recording and forwarding data.” The Power Plant Controller will be presented at Intersolar Europe from 13 to 15 June 2012 for the first time. Since autumn 2010, SMA has been present in the Indian metropolis of Mumbai with its own Sales and Service Company. Rakesh Khanna and his colleagues support various PV power station projects with SMA technology, including several largescale projects in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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ONE ON ONE with Samil Power

EQ : How many MW’s of Solar Inverters have been supplied by your co in India and how does the future look like.

Transformerless-minimizing size and weight

Maximum Efficiency 98%

Integrated DC switch

Samil Power Co. Ltd. has been supplied 3MW up to now and will yield 30MW by the end of the year.

Flexibility

EQ : Please enlighten our readers on the unique technology aspect of these inverters installed in India and its performance. Samil Power sells its SolarRiver, SolarLakeandSolarOcean series in India. I selectSolarLake series (10000TL/12 000TL/15000TL/17000TL) as an example. For more information, please log on our company website http://www.samilpower. com Features of SolarLake series (10000T L/12000TL/15000TL/17000TL):

Leading-edge Technology l

Certificate: IEC 61683/ IEC 60068-2

DC input voltage up to 1000v

Dual MPPT inputs accommodating wide voltage range

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Use for indoor or outdoor (IP65)

‘Plug and play’ connection for easy installation and maintenance

Multi-lingual display

Automatic country grid configuration

Build to last

string inverters. The possible reasons are: 1. Most of string inverters are with IP 65 features, which not require for any cover or to build a room for the inverters, which will save a lot of construction time and planning time. 2. Demanding lessafter sales maintenance and manpowerfee. 3. The fault string inverters have quick replacement feature which will minimized the pv plant down time risk.

Stainless steel housing

Automatic protection including over voltage, islanding, short circuit, overload and under voltage, under load, etc.

EQ : Please tell us in detail about your company

5 years standard warranty, up to 25 years warranty extension

EQ : Please enlighten our readers on the debate of “Central vs. String Inverters Design” Which concept is best suited for India and why Central inverters and string inverters each has their own advantages. Recently, I find power plants increasingly prefer using

Less power loss means more earn compare to using of Center inverters.

Samil Power is specialized in solar photovoltaic GRID-TIED INVERTERS’ development, manufacture, sales and service. Benefited from the talents hub in Wuxi and Shenzhen, Samil Power establishes two R&D centers in the two regions. Innovation provides endless power for corporate progress in the industry and the strength in R&D teams is always regarded as the most powerful

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force that drives Samil Power ahead over its competitors. Boasting a R&D team of around 200 professionals with outstanding educational background, Samil Power acquires an unparalleled fame in product quality in the global market.The quality of the inverters has been proved by over 50,000 homes. With wide product ranges, Samil Power offers SolarRiver, SolarLake and Solar Ocean series to satisfy various power concerns. Samil Power inverters comply with 18 countries grid connection standards. The inverters superb features offer distinct advantages over similar products from other manufactures. Notably, inverters from Samil Power are crowned to be the NEW CHAMPION reigning over all of Asian inverters tested by Photon Lab in June 2011.

Some Achievements of Samil Power in 2011: l

One of the inverter suppliers of the world largest Solar Plants (200MW)

Top solar inverter exporter in China 2011

Shipments were in excess of 50,000 units in 2011

Advantages of Samil Power Inverters: l

Wide range products

Use for indoor and outdoor (IP65)

Easy configuration for different country grid standard

Quality proved by 50,000 homes

All products from Samil Power are insured by A grade insurance company

The best Asian inverter tested by PHOTON lab June 2011

18 countries grid standard applied (IEC 61683/ IEC 60068-2,VDE, TUV, ENEL, G83, G59, AS4777, CE, Golden Solar, etc.)

Approved capability of LVRT in SolarLake and SolarOcean series

VIPlant advance monitoringenable our clients to monitor their PV plant from their Android/iPhones.

EQ : What are the other products and solutions for Solarpv plant provided by your co and what are its technological features. Accessories for PV system provided by Samil Power are SolarPower Manager, SolarEnvi Monitor, VIPlantand SolarArray Combiner. VIPlant is the advanced monitoring system. Convenient, informative and personalization are the three major features.

Convenient l

Central management of all customers and plants data

Easy understanding report

User and plant maintenance

Worldwide access via the internet (use PC or mobile phones)

inform ation

Informative l

Plan data monitoring

Real time data and historic data statistics of plant

Data statistics of each inverter

Maintenance of inverters

Personalization l

Individual yield and reports send via e-mail

Furthermore, Samil Power has setup local subsidiaries and local services teams to simplify the communication and reduce the service response time. The offices are in Australia, Germany, Italy, UK and India.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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Use your IOS and Andriod system to view your plant at any time you want

OEM is available for different level of requirement

EQ : What are the resources in terms of manpower for sales, O&M and other aspects developed and present in the Indian market. People are key assets for Samil Power. Boasting a R&D team of more than 200 professionals with outstanding educational background, Samil Power acquires an unparalleled fame in product quality in the global market.We have 40 domestic sales and 40 global sales. In India, we have hired one local employee and we are looking forward more locals to joining our team.

EQ : Please tell us about the unique technological features of your products which are also distinguishing factors. l

Efficiency

‘ Samil Power’s SolarRiver SR4K4TLA1 is a single-phase, transformerless inverter with a DC nominal power of 4.2KW. The device’s MPP range stretches from 200 to 450V. The SR4K4TLA1’s conversion efficiency reaches a maximum of 97.6 percent; its European efficiency comes in at 97.1 percent, and the device’s California efficiency is 97.3 percent. The Photon efficiency at high irradiation is 96.5 percent, while the Photon efficiency at medium irradiation is 96.8 percent.’ (Neuenstein&Krause 2011, pp. 188). Notably, inverters from Samil Power are crowned to be the NEW CHAMPION reigning over all of Asian inverters tested by Photon Lab.

S a m i l Powe r i n v e s t s approximately 5% to 10% of sales income in products research and applications of various new technologies every year. New product and service development are roots that drive progress. Products designed by Samil Power for North American market have been certificated by CSAUL, which provide anti-theft function, dual MPPT inputs, multiple communication interfaces, and wide MPPT voltage. And I have mentioned that VIPlant is the advanced monitoring system developed by Samil Power, which could help customers view their plants via Android/ IPhone system. In addition, Microinvertersfrom Samil Power will be launched in November 2012. Furthermore, Samil Power has setup local subsidiaries and local services teams to simplify the communication and reduce the service response time. The offices are in Australia, Germany, Italy, UK and India. We insist local sales local services concept. Additional information about Samil Power is available at www.samilpower.com.

Furthermore, SolarOcean 100TL was crowned to be among the Top 10 World’s Most Efficient Central Inverters (Rietveldn.d.). Inverter efficiency is 98% and rated power output is 100KW which outperform SMA’s Sunny Central 100 Outdoor / Indoor.

EQ : Kindly highlight the recent trends in your company sales, profitability and other key financial figures.

Recently, Our SolarLake 15000TL inverter has passed Photon Grade A test, with 96.7% Euro-efficiency and 97% Max. Efficiency.

The Sales in 2010 was 60,000,000 RMB.

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the ongoing R&D within the company and the way forward for its technology, products and services.What’s your annual R&D budget 72

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

The original 100,000,000RMB.

capital

was

TheSales in 2011 was sharply increased to 400,000,000RMB. We have 20% market share in Australia. We are expecting 20% market share in UK and 10% in China in 2012.

EQ : Have your product won any award recently….Kindly enlighten us in detail about this product l

Samil Power’s SolarRiver SR4K4TLA1 is crowned to be the NEW CHAMPION reigning over all of Asian inverters tested by Photon Lab in June 2011

SolarLake 15000TL from Samil Power wins Grade A tested by PHOTON Lab in Feb 2012, the German article will publish it in its June 2012

SolarLake 15000TL from Samil Power performed well in PHOTON Lab’s tests and appears to be a good-quality product. The approved capability of SolarLake 15000TL has been exported to more than 10 countries since last year. SolarLake 15000TL is one of SolarLake family that comprises a spectrum of PV inverters, namely, SolarLake 10000TL, SolarLake 12000TL, SolarLake 15000TL and SolarLake 17000TL. SolarLake series are capable of wide MPP voltage range, dual MPPT inputs, 98% maximum efficiency and integrated DC switch, etc. Since Samil Power acquires an unparalleled fame in product quality in the global market, its SolarLake series perform well and obtain 18 countries’ certifications of grid-tie inverter, satisfying demands of grid-connected PV plants. Notably, SolarLake series have passed German VDE4105 standard, which drives Samil Power ahead of its competitors in the world’s largest potential PV market.

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Samil Power’s success in meeting the LVRT demands

The SolarOcean 500TL grid-tied inverters of Samil Power have successfully passed the test of low voltage ride through (LVRT) of the State Grid Electrical Power Research Institute in Nanjing recently. The approved capability of LVRT in SolarOcean series signifies another technical achievement of Samil Power in innovation progress.When the voltage is dropping caused by the faulty grid conditions, major blackouts would occur. Therefore, it is required by the National Energy Commission and the State Grid, that grid-tied inverters of solar power plants should all be capable of low voltage ride through to ensure the smooth working of the grid.The passage of the LVRT test in such a short time can best demonstrate the R&D strength in Samil Power, hence facilitating the market exploring of the company. l

Samil Power heads to North America with CSA-UL certificate

By the end of September 16th in 2011, American DOE has guaranteed 42 energy programs, appealing of 40 billion private investments. Driven by American market policy and its potential how could inverter enterprises access to North American market?Inverters made by Samil Power Co., Ltd took the lead in getting PV passport to North America---CSA-UL certificate. Products with CSA mark are qualified to be sold in North America. Recently, products designed by Samil Power for American market are: SolarRiver3KW-6KW, SolarRiver7KW10KW, SolarOcean100-500KW SolarRiver3

000TL,SolarRiver4000TL,SolarRiver5000T L,SolarRiver6000 TL have been certificated by CSA, which provide anti-theft function, dual MPPT inputs, multiple communication interfaces, and wide MPPT voltage. Products described above are suitable for residential roof and commercial roof, possessing 10 years warranty. Despite the awards I mentioned above, Inverters from Samil Power have passed 18 countries grid standards (IEC 61683/ IEC 60068-2, VDE, TUV, ENEL, G83, G59, AS4777, CE, Golden Solar, etc.). All inverters from Samil Power are insured A Grade insurance company.

EQ : Development of MicroInverters and its implication towards development of solar Pv market, its applications and usage…Kindly describe in detail regarding micro inverters Micro-Inverters market remains a niche market. Micro-Inverter is not a new product because it was in European market 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it ‘died’ due to high maintenance fee. Recently, it is popping up in American market because of the improved technology in regards to temperate and efficiency. We have to admit that Micro-inverters are ‘picky’. Being flexible and easy assembling, they are suitable for residential and small-scale commercial use. However, for large-scale commercial use, Micro-inverter is the last choice because of many uncontrollable factors, such as shades, limitations of acreage, high maintenance fee, ect.

EQ : What is your opinion on the JNNSM Batch II Phase I Bidding Outcome. Is it possible to deliver a EPC Solution to match the IRR expectations (Around 15% to 20%) to get the Solar KwHr at a price band of Rs.7.5 to Rs.9.5 The result of JNNSM Batch II Phase I is a super encouragement for solar developers. The government also clearly demonstrates its determination/ attitude toward solar development. However, we have to reduce costs through financing, land utilization fees, and maintenance feesof power plant.For

Rs.7.5 to Rs.9.5, many efforts need to be put to achieve this goal.

We want Indian government to provide an equal foot in competition for Indian and foreign companies. We hope Indian government can learn from European countries for more transparent policies, putting an end to corruption.

EQ : What is your Top 5 Advice to a Project Developer in India while choosing the your products for its Solar PV Plant l

Cost effective

Proven track record by European and AU customers.

Five European countries’ bankability

Less than 1% repair rate.

Indian local support

EQ : What are the prices ( $ or Euros per KW) of your various products. Please give us a range if exact prices can’t be given. Our price lists concerning three series are as follows: l SolarRiverfrom340$ to 280$ l SolarLakefrom270$ to 230$ l SolarOceanfrom210$ to 160$

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the competition scenario and increasing competition from manufacturers worldwide Inverters from Chinese companies are cost-effective with acceptable quality. More than 60 Chinese inverter companies are now competing worldwide; however, only a few Chinese companies have been acknowledged. We are proud that we are among those top inverter companies. Inverters from Samil Power have passed 18 countries grid standards (IEC 61683/ IEC 60068-2, VDE, TUV, ENEL, G83, G59, AS4777, CE, Golden Solar, etc.). All inverters from Samil Power are insured A Grade insurance company. Our rivals are Power-one, SMA, Kaco, SIMENS and Fronius, ect.

References

EQ : Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government.

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RietveldF.n.d., The market share of Chinese manufacturers will increase, but the highquality inverters will remain in European hands,Solarplaza, viewed 17 May 2012,<http:// www.solarplaza.com/article/the-market-shareof-chinese-manufacturers-will-inc>.

Neuenstein H.& Krause B. M. 2011, ‘A serious competitor’, Photon International, August, pp. 188.

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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REFUPMU® - Power Management Unit for Solar PV Plants Mukund Shendge & Keertika Singh Refu Solar Electronics Pvt. Ltd.

REFU Power Management Unit REFUPMU® is a low voltage device which is designed with a view to manage the power fed to the grid also enabling remote network safety functionality for network operators. Solar PV power plants connected to the grid; especially connected to the medium voltage grid more often needs such power management devices. The article discusses the importance of REFUMPU for the PV plants in conjunction with power management and other benefits. REFUPMU® – General Information

Portal Data Transfer and communication: -

REFUPMU® is a power management unit developed especially for REFUSol inverters. It is basically a low voltage device which is usually used in PV plants having connected load more than 100KWp and to the medium voltage grid. Remote power management functionality provided through REFUPMU enables network operators with grid management hence it acts as an essential tool to the network safety.

Portal data transfer functions can be enabled if the data needs to be transferred to REFULOG- the remote monitoring portal. This enables :

REFUPMU is easy to install and assess using PMUVIS tool. Primarily, this allows the network operator to limit the power of the installation by remote control. The other functions of the REFUPMU are mentioned in the preceding sections.

•

Confirmation of the lost earnings of the operator of the installation, all signals of the power reduction and reactive power. Communication with the REFULOG via Ethernet interface. Evaluation of data loggers of various inverters via REFULOG is possible.

Power Reduction: -

Information on the power reduction configuration through the relay inputs can be obtained from the local power supply company. Presently the factory settings for inputs “IN1” to “IN4” are 0.5%, 30%, 60%, 100%.

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

•

REFUPMU allows communication with (2 x 31) REFUSOL inverters and makes the data available to REFULOG.

•

The power limitation of all connected REFUSOL inverters is stored in the REFUPMU

•

The specified cosφ can be transferred to all connected REFUSOL units.

REFUPMU® BASIC – Key highlights REFUPMU is a compact and easy to install device which mainly manages the power and helps network operators in network safety functions. In few countries it is mandatory to use such (power reduction) devices by regulatory directives. However, it also helps connecting REFUSOL inverters to transfer / communicate required data to remote portals.

Figure 1: Example of REFUPMU application

Power reduction is possible with the relay configuration, which allows you to specify the power reduction. The relay inputs to which the ripple control signal of the power supply company is connected are identified with “IN1” to “IN4” (digital inputs of the REFUPMU at terminal X17).

inverters including the limitation.

REFUPMU offers the following advantages: •

The feed power reduction specified by the network operator can be implemented.

•

REFUPMU allows communication with (2 x 31) REFUSOL inverters.

•

In addition to the power limitation and the reactive power, it is also possible to intermediately store the actual feedin power of all connected REFUSOL

Following are the featured advantages of the REFUPMU • Compact and light weight unit about 1.6Kg only. • Lower power consumption. • Power supply requirement AC 230V, 50Hz • Setting and recording of reactive power is possible. REFUPMU device is a pioneering innovation from Power Management device family.

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SOLARCON

India2012

Showcasing the Solar Ecosystem from Polysilicon to Power Plants

• EXHIBITION/CONFERENCE • WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT • LED SUMMIT

September 3–5, 2012 Bangalore International Exhibition Centre www.solarconindia.org

P V I NV ERT ERS

Interview with A. Reitz, Kiran Kumar 1) How many MW’s of Solar Inverters have been supplied by your co in India and how does the future look like. A) We have supplied 10 MW. A new era of solar is starting in India which looks very promising.

A.Reitz

Lingam, Kiran-Kumar

service network in USA, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, China, Taiwan, Belgium, and in India.

for its technology, products and services.Whats your annual R&D budget

2) Please enlighten our readers on the unique technology aspect of these inverters installed in India and its performance.

LTi REEnergy develops and manufactures large-scale inverters for medium and large sized photovoltaic plants.

yield for solar developer, which can be done

A) We develop and manufacture onlyCentral inverters. For medium voltage applications our inverters are designed with liquid cooling to sustain toughest ambient conditions. Inverters in India are working perfectly up to 50 °C outside temperature.

5) What are the other products and solutions for Solar pv plant provided by your co and what are its technological features.

efficiency, UL certification, monitoring and

A) LTi REEnergy provides complete turn-key solutions which have transformer, breaker and HT panel. Depending on developer criteria we offer metal, concrete or ISO container solutions.

11) Development of MicroInverters and its implication towards development of solar Pv market, its applications and usage…Kindly describe in detail regarding micro inverters

3) Please enlighten our readers on the debate of “Central vs. String Inverters Design” Which concept is best suited for India and why A) Central inverters have more advantages compared to string inverters, some of the disadvantages in string inverters are 1.

More cabling

Less efficiency

More losses

More Maintenance

4) Please tell us in detail about your company (Company structure, Sales, Employees, Products & Solutions etc…) A) LTi is a medium sized German enterprise with approximately 1000 employees worldwide and crossed a turnover of € 170 million in 2011. LTi REEnergy GmbH based in Unna, Germany is a member of LTi Group which has been successfully delivering solutions in the field of renewable energy since late 1990’s. We have sales and 76

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

A) We would like to give the best by increasing efficiency >98%. Presently our R&D teams are working in increasing

6) What are the resources in terms of manpower for sales, O&M and other aspects developed and present in the Indian market. A) We have increased our sales and service network recently. Presently, in 14 locations we have our offices in India.

7) Please tell us about the unique technological features of your products which are also distinguishing factors. A) LTi group is a pioneer in power inverter technology with almost 40 years of experience in this field. With technologically sophisticated drive solutions in the industrial environment, where more than 1 million inverters have been used, the same drive is used in manufacturing inverters.

more. LTi Group invested € 37 million for R&D for the year 2011

A) Micro-Inverters are competitive for string inverters where LTi REEnergy has no interest at any point.

13) Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government A) In my view “Reverse bidding was a wrong approach”, instead they would have opted for “Lottery system”.

14) What is your Top 5 Advice to a Project Developer in India while choosing the your products for its Solar PV Plant A) 1. High-end German Technology 2. Quality 3. Reliability

8) Kindly enlighten us on the ongoing R&D within the company and the way forward

4. Service 5. Strength

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July 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12, 2012 North Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premier Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry Moscone Center, San Francisco

950 Exhibitors 1,600 Conference Attendees 22,000 Visitors

Co-located with

www.intersolar.us

T H I N FI L MS

Design Of Fixation- And Rack Solutions For Frameless Thin-Film Modules Based On Numerical Calculations Dr.-Ing. Cedrik Zapfe, Dr.-Zapfe GmbH, Ingenieurbüro für Konstruktiven Ingenieurbau und Solartechnik Photovoltaic Plants for the generation of solar energy are exposed to the natural cli-matic environmental conditions of the respective location. Wind, snow and tempera-ture impacts create loads which both the module and the bearing components have to bear reliably throughout the entire intended period of utilization. According to the building regulations, photovoltaic plants are regarded as building parts or buildings themselves, so that the respective regulations of construction engineering have to be considered. This requirement results in the need for a static calculation according to the acknowledged rules of technology and architecture. Due to the political guideline of permanently decreasing compensations for electricity fed into the grid, the economic operation of photovoltaic plants determines rationalizations in the area of module technology, which go along with higher utilization factors of all system components. In this context, thorough static analyses in combination with experimental verifications are indispensable, in order to avoid damage during the operating life of the system.

1. Preface In view of permanently decreasing compensations for electricity from photovoltaic plants fed into the grid the requirement for an economically efficient operation forces innovative optimizations

of the system in order to reduce the system costs, until the fundamental target of gridparity is reached. Besides the increase in the specific module performance, which forms the focus of the increase of cost – effi-ciency, also the system components have to make an appropriate contribution to the reduction

of costs. In this context a forceful material utilization to the limits of the used materials allows a certain saving potential. Further opportunities could be provided by the optimization of mounting and construction maintenance.

Fig. 1 General fixation concepts (backrail / clamps / spot fastener)

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

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Fig. 1 contains a sample of fixation methods. There are fundament al requirements on a solar module from both a constructional and a construction operational point of view. Thereby, the characteristic of cost-efficiency is in the focus. Besides the con-sideration of the material use and the production expenditure the factors con-struction maintenance and handling during assembly also play a considerable role. The minimization of the construction maintenance costs leads to the need for frameless modules, for example, so that no drain water can accumulate at the frame, which would lower the yield and require cleaning works in certain cycles. Therefore the use of framed modules becomes more and more limited to architectural applications. In the sector of open area plants with high piece numbers, a considerable cost-reduction can be realized by using frameless modules. An essential question is the optimum size of the solar modules. On first thought, the basic idea of ever-bigger modules seems to be target-aimed, because that way the number of repetitive mounting steps, the number of connections, and the cabling effort could be reduced. On the other hand, this requires the use of machines for mounting, because, among other aspects, under the aspect of module weight the handling gets more and more difficult for the installers. But mechanization often requires the presence of optimum conditions, for example still air in case of roof mountings or a solid, unweakened subsoil in case of open area mountings. In order to be able to grant planning reliability for the progress of the project, independently of weather conditions, the demand for lighter modules which can be handled by persons, is evidently present. In turn, from that derive a consistent minimization of the glass thicknesses of glass-glass-modules and the adherence to reasonable module measurements. In the most convenient case, one single person should be able to move and mount the module, because then no coordination will be required.

3. Mechanical Conditions for GlassGlass Laminates In case of laminate safety glass often a PVB – encapsulant or an EVA – encapsulant is used between the glass plates to produce the laminate. An essential characteristic of the laminate materials is a distinctively

Fig. 2 Temperature dependent strain-stress-diagram of TROSIFOL MB temperature-dependent load deformation behaviour. In Fig. 2I this correlation is shown by means of a stress-strain diagram. This chart makes evident that this material reacts in a very inflexible manner at low temperatures T < 0°. Therefore, in case of open area applications under the condition of a possible snow load, there is only a laminate effect with considerably lower flexibility between the glass plates, as it would be the case in midsummer conditions. At temperatures of over 60°C the flexibility of the examined material is so high that the condition of an independent carrying capacity of the glass plates would have to be regarded as the ultimate limit value.

Cold conditions (high modulus of shear) rigid bond Warm conditions (low modulus of shear) no bond

3. Calculation Methods The static calculation of glass glass modules with an elastic compositelayer film is a complex task. In this case the finite elements method offers a suitable instrument to analyze and visualize the nonlinear correlations. Thereby, all components are divided into small elements and put in a numeric equilibrium.

Fig 3. Stress distributions in different thermal conditions and long term loading

Besides the temperature dependence the load duration is important in a similar way, because the modulus of shear decreases under permanent load. Under snow load, this leads to an increase of the stresses. With increasing flexibility of the laminate joint (low shear modulus of the laminate encapsulant), the deformations and also the tensions at the edges increase considerably. It is an essential ascertainment in this context that the laminate is only loaded by its own weight and wind impacts during the warm season, whereat the wind has to be regarded as a temporary phenomenon.

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4. Fixation Concepts At present, a clamping with four module clamps or alternatively inlay-systems have to be regarded as the state of technology in the fastening of unframed glass-glass modules. In the former case, tension concentrations arise in the direct clamping area. For the measuring, the maximum tensions in the clamping area at the sensitive module edge are decisive, whereas the tolerable tensions in the field area are only partially exploited. Fig. 4 clarifies this correlation for current module sizes. Whereas in case of

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Fig. 4 Stress distribution at clamped modules (1200x600x6,8 and 1300x1100x7,0)

the mod-ule size 1200x600x6,8 with 2∙3,2 mm glass and 0,76 mm PVB encapsulant the toler-able tensions of float glass (without safety factor) are adhered to, they are significantly exceeded in case of the module size 1300x1100 with 2∙3,2 mm glass and 0,76 mm PVB encapsulant. In the field area the tensions are on a level of about 40 % compared to the clamping area. Therefore, it seems consequent to relocate the module fastening away from the criti-cal area at the edges of the module towards the inner area of the module surface. Appropriate solution approaches lie in a punctiform or linear mounting, with the fastening elements being glued to the lower side of the modules. Thus, the utilized ad-hesive has to be considered as the critical point, which has to durably transfer the stresses caused by external loads (self weight/ wind/snow) as well as temperature-related restraints for the whole operational life span of the module. In that case two-component silicone adhesives are a good choice, as there is long-term experience from the field of car production for these products. VHB Tapes showed a critical be-haviour in internal applicability tests, whereas defined limit values concerning the tolerable shear stresses are available for short-term loads, the evaluation of perma-nent shear stress is more difficult. Typically, additional

mechanical connections are required in this case. Fig. 5 shows tensions in the glass plate of a module equipped with two backrails and the measurements 1300x1100 as well as the shear stresses in the adhesive joint under DIN IEC load (5400 Pa). Even if the glass tensions in case of using backrails can be lowered significantly, permanent shear stresses from composite action arise. The shear stress level is 8-10 times higher than from downhill-slope forces. Shear stresses in the adhesive joint due to the laminate bearing effect between glass-

laminate with the Optibond® system by the Schletter solar mounting GmbH (limited company) with a specific glueing area of 120 cm2 per fastening spot. Due to the sys-tem, the reduction of the tensions in the glass does not reach the level of the large-surface linear mounting of backrails. Anyway, the glass tensions are within the range of tolerable glass tensions. Due to a low material usage and a significantly smaller glueing area the application of glued-on punctiform – fasteners seems reasonable from an economic point of view, especially as no limitations concerning safety are to be expected.

Conclusions Systematic numeric analyses allow the development of technically and economically optimized fastening strategies for frameless glass – glass laminates. In the course of the examinations of the present report it could be shown that a change from a clamp

Fig 6 Stresses with Optibond (1300x1100x7,0)

glass-laminate and thermal restraints can be avoided by choosing spot fasten-ers in the optimum fastening spots instead of the linear mountings. Fig 6 shows the maximum tensions in a 1300x1100 mm and 3,2 mm glass-glass-

fastening at the edges of the modules to glued punctiform fastenings allows a significant enlargement of the modules without an increase of the glass thicknesses. Based on this basic consideration, it is to be expected that in the future a module size will establish itself, which takes the general requirements of cost-efficiency and module handling into account.

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Fig 5 Stresses with backrails (1400x1100x7,0)

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T H I N FI L M S

The New Wiring Concept For Thin Film PV Plant Toni Betriu weidmuller-Global Market Manager for the PV Industry

t is obvious that all materials used in a PV installation have decreased their price drastically during the last years.

PV modules: Three years ago we paid 3€ per watt, nowadays you can find PV modules at 0,9€ or 1€ approximately.

Inverters: Due to the huge number on new competitors and the strong competition in this market, the inverter manufacturers have reduced a lot their margins.

Combiner boxes and monitoring systems: Weidmüller as a Combiner Box manufacturer knows perfectly this issue.

Others: Connectors, metallic structures, etc. Just with connectors the standard price was close to 3€ per set and now is close to 1.5€

In this case we can consider the material reduction but also the installation cost (this includes the hand labour to install cables and connections).

However these prices have a limit, so the market needs to find new ways to decrease cost; for example to reduce hand labour or to find new technologies in order to eliminate part of the existing materials.

We can count here as well indirect cost reductions: i.e. maintenance of these materials or simply wrong connections.

Current topology

Future Topology

One way is to work with wireless solutions for monitoring systems; for instance: n

Communications cabling and power cabling. How? w

Wire-less solutions for the communication cabling

Devices connected directly to the PV modules to remove the power AC line in the field.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Unfortunately these solutions are still quite expensive and they are not having a big impact into the PV market. WeidmĂźller with the company Biosun have developed a smart way of cabling to ensure that the cost reduction will be much more spectacular and definitely it will make sense to consider these wireless solutions in the future.

The first modification is in the string wiring, As you can see the new wiring concept combines strings using T connections protected with fuses or blocking diodes. This hardnessing can be pre mounted in the factory, so it is not needed anymore to crimp connectors in the field (focus of many problems). We can monitor the current of many strings using the wireless device Transclinic VI which sends the information to one Modbus Receiver. The reduction of cable is huge, besides there is another possible modification in the wiring to reduce even more. The idea (shown in the below picture) is to have one big power cable that will collect the strings prewired as it was shown in the previous example; then we can eliminate the first level combiner boxes (or AJB). Here we would reduce more than 658 meters in a 12 string configuration. Besides there are more additional advantages, for instance:

82Â

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

we reduce cable and also we reduce loses of energy,

We only need to use two cross-sections (4mm2 and 35mm2 or 50mm2 depending on the project size).

The monitoring system is tested since 2009 for O&M

The DC cabling can be installed for non qualified workers because everything is plug& play.

crimpings: 1.170 times

connections at terminals in AJB: 1.170

Example 3 1 fuse or diode per string with Transclinic and without AJB: w

cable 4mm2: 3.500mts

cable 35mm2: 15.000mts

total: 9.250mts

% of cable with Transclinic versus other examples is as follows:

7,57% vs. Example 1

Rohtak 1MW:

14,77% vs. Example 2

Customer: HR minerals

crimpings: 0

connections at terminals in AJB: 0

There is already one PV plant in Rohtak (India) with this technology and these are the main figures and a comparison with standard wiring topologies.

Module thin film 100Wp Sungen (9 modules per string)

Example 1 1 fuse per string with AJB w

cable 4mm2: 119.100 mts

cable 16mm2: 3.050 mts

total: 122.150 mts

crimpings: 2.340 times

connections at terminals in AJB: 2.340

Example 2

1 fuse per 2 strings using T connections and connected to AJB w

cable 4mm2: 5.9550 mts

cable 16mm2: 3.050 mts

total: 62.600 mts

It is obvious that 14,77% of cable means that also the hand labour is reduced in the same percentage. In other words, the wiring is 6,5 times faster. Also the reduction of crimping and connecting wires to the AJB is from more than 2.340 times to 0, in the best case. We reduce the possibility of mistakes, so also the reliability of the system increases considerably. Weidmuller is one of the biggest companies in the PV market, more thant 2Gw are installed with their monitoring systems and this new technology for sure will bring more success for this German company.

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T H I N FI L M S

Stefan Ringbeck

Chris’O Brien

Stefan Ringbeck

BOS Innovation “Clicks” For A Competitive Edge

Novel mounting technology for solar modules brings down BoS costs by as much as 23 percent Chris’O Brien-Head of Market Development, Oerlikon Solar Stefan Ringbeck-PV Product Engineer, Oerlikon Solar

India is widely recognized as one of the most promising markets for renewable energies, and local and international investors are actively evaluating which of the energy sources and technologies will be able to claim leadership in India in the future. Solar power is seen as the most promising renewable energy source for several factors, including the abundant sunshine and the rapid drop in the cost of PV systems that makes solar energy competitive with diesel-fired generators and other conventional energy generation technologies. The recently inaugurated Charankan solar park in Gujarat, the largest solar park in India, and the high number of further planned solar parks like in Bijapur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Barmer, are impressive examples of investors’ increasing trust in this clean energy resource. But it’s not a one-horse race in the Indian renewable energy market and cost will be the decisive factor. Companies of the PV sector have thus more and more been focusing their innovation efforts on cost reduction – just increasing degrees of efficiency is not enough to ensure the technology’s competitiveness. A novel and unconventional PV module mounting technology by Swiss company Oerlikon Solar not only greatly facilitates work for installation teams, but also contributes significantly to optimizing the cost structure in photovoltaics. Oerlikon Solar is one of the worldwide leaders in the development and construction of production facilities for the mass manufacturing of environmentally sustainable thin film silicon solar modules.

onventional mounting systems for frameless solar modules, such as clamps or so-called backrail systems, have proven to be unwieldy as well as time, material and cost-intensive, especially when handling larger frameless PV modules. The novel mounting technology MMITM (Module

Mounting Interface), developed jointly by Oerlikon Solar and Schletter GmbH, a leading manufacturer of innovative light metal products, meets all these challenges with an apparently simple, yet clever solution: akin to the pushbutton principle. The module is clicked in place on a rail-like fixture at

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any freely selectable spot – without using bolts and without needing to protect the PV module during the mounting process. MMITM (an acronym for “Module Mounting Interface”) designates the system’s anchors, which are attached to the backside of the PV module. Compared to conventional fastening EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

methods, PV module mounting time can be reduced by roughly half. The MMITM technology reduces both the number and the size of mounting hardware components to such an extent that mounting material costs are slashed by roughly 20 percent. Compared to mounting devices for framed PV modules, the MMITM technology makes it possible to save approximately EUR 10 in material costs per PV module. Overall, this means that balance-of-system costs (BoS) – i.e. costs for all components except the module itself, e.g. substructure, wiring and inverters – for unframed PV modules can be lowered by around 23 percent. This new mounting technology is suited not only to Oerlikon Solar’s thin film silicon solar modules, but to all glass-glass modules, in which the cell matrix is located between two sheets of glass. MMI™ thus makes a substantial contribution to optimizing the cost structure of the photovoltaic sector as a whole – by minimizing the amount of components.

Interdisciplinary know-how makes cost reduction with MMITM possible The cost reduction associated with MMI™ was only made possible by a comprehensive and holistic system overview, i.e. by taking into account the PV module and the BoS. This holistic approach required an accordingly integrated collaboration between interdisciplinary experts and their teams. There were four key stages in development from the initial idea to its commercial launch. Dr. Ivan Sinicco, Head of Module Technology, was the first to think of MMI™. His Oerlikon Solar colleague Dai-Won Suh from Strategic Sourcing fleshed out the initial idea and also took on the concrete development of the technology. PV Product Engineer Jürgen Dillmann searched for the appropriate manufacturer (Schletter GmbH) for further development and managed the pilot project in Masseria, in the Italian region of Apulia. Finally, Thomas Hälker, Process Development Engineer, conducted mechanical stress tests in order to ensure that MMI™ also met all requirements in practice.

Maintenance-free facilities Since neither bolts nor rubber straps

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

nor any other fastening devices are required, MMITM components are nearly maintenance-free, compared with other mounting methods. In the long term, this can represent a significant cost saving for facility operators.

Maximal module lifespan The MMITM technology maximizes the lifespan of PV modules. It optimally distributes the mechanical stresses generated over a module’s life cycle and it prevents electrical interferences and delamination: For thin film silicon modules produced by Oerlikon Solar facilities, for example, six MMIsTM are affixed, in order to distribute mechanical stresses in the best possible way and prevent glass breakage. Unlike conventional methods, the MMIs™ can be positioned freely and thus optimally on the module backside according to PV module type. With clamped and framed solutions, the washing out of dust can create liquid electrolytes around the mounting components (fixation), leading to a perpetually moisture environment and thus delamination, i.e. damaging of the foil. In addition, the use of rubber straps (ethylene propylene diene monomer, EPDM) does not provide sufficient insulation: since EPDM displays a considerably lower electrical insulation value than glass, it functions like a conductive component. The resulting energy flows have a clearly negative impact on module lifespan. This cannot happen with the MMI™ technology. The individual MMIsTM are always wellinsulated from the electric components. With the MMI™ technology, performance after a so-called biased damp heat test (application of minus 1,000 volt applied to the system) following over 6,000 operating hours is only around four percent lower than initial performance, a level of performance that is superior to all other PV module technologies that undergo the same biased damp heat test regimen.

Cost reduction through certification and fully automated pre-fitting at the plant The MMI™ technology is a solution certified by TÜV Rheinland, which module

manufacturers can directly integrate into their production. As a result of this existing master certificate, valid during commissioning and up to the issue of the client’s own certificate, the client must only post-certify, lowering his workload and his costs. Purchasers of PV modules accordingly benefit from lower prices. The fully automated fitting of modules with MMI™ further lowers the costs of the process. In practical terms, this means that modules are already fitted with the necessary mounting fixtures when they arrive on the installation site, and can be installed without further handling. In addition, in-plant fastening of the MMI™ means that the high quality of the adhesive bond between MMI™ and PV module is ensured throughout.

Photovoltaics as a profitable source of energy The MMI™ technology is already being used by Oerlikon Solar customers in the ongoing mass manufacturing of thin film silicon modules, and it is standing the test of practice. MMI™ can for example optionally be added to Oerlikon Solar’s end-to-end and automated ThinFab™ production lines, which are also certified. The ThinFab™ lowers module manufacturing costs to the record value of around 35 eurocent per watt-peak (Wp). MMI™ is thus a further building block in the overall package of cost advantages made possible by Oerlikon Solar innovations. Of all solar processes, module manufacturing using this facility requires the least energy. The so-called energy payback time, i.e. the time required for the module to produce the amount of energy used in its manufacturing, is less than a year. The company thus draws ever closer to its goal of establishing photovoltaics as a profitable source of energy. Oerlikon Solar sees a big market potential for its technology in India because the thin film silicon technology is especially well-suited for Sunbelt regions due to its low cost and high performance in high temperature conditions. The MMITM mounting technology, combined with the leastcost manufacturing technology available from Oerlikon Solar, result in a winning solution in a fast growing, cost-competitive Indian solar energy market. nnn

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NEW M A RKET S

Japan FIT For Renewable And Solar Suchitra Sriram, Program Manager for Energy & Power Systems, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific

apan, which had led the Asia-Pacific region in adopting renewable energy (RE) technologies through its several incentive programs and policies, was the latest country in 2011 to introduce a Europe-like feed-in-tariff (FIT) policy for RE generated power. This bill is touted to be one of the biggest shot-in-the-arm received by the RE industry following the Fukushima nuclear crisis. This clearly signifies a remarkable shift from nuclear power to more environment-friendly power generating technologies. The bold move from the world’s third-largest economy could stimulate both developed and developing countries that have been deferring the launch of FIT policy to take the plunge. The new landmark legislation, effective 1st July 2012, is expected to bring about a sweeping change in the RE industry in Japan. Several multinational companies and low-cost Chinese companies are expected to foray into the market while domestic conglomerates are likely to ramp up expansion plans to tap the abundant growth opportunities. This policy has the potential to repeat the success story of FIT policies in Germany and Spain.

Key Highlights of the FIT Policy: •

Guarantees above market-rates for three major RE sources – wind, solar, and geothermal power.

•

Rates for RE except solar is likely to be as much as 20 yen (26 cents) a kilowatthour (kWh) for about 15 years

•

Tariff for solar will be higher – 42 yen a kWh for homes and 40 yen a kWh for business and schools

•

Regional utilities to purchase all power generated from solar installations above 10 kW capacity and power from other RE sources at above-market rates

•

The policy will be subject to review and modification at least once in every three years

These rates, if implemented will push Japan to the forefront as the world’s most attractive country that has favorable support mechanisms for RE.

Impact on the Solar Market Japan’s solar market has been experiencing high growth since 2009 with more than 1 GW installations annually across major end-user segments. Nevertheless, the revised FIT policy is expected to increase the adoption of solar power exponentially. With such a strong policy support, the country is well positioned to achieve 28 GW of installed PV power by 2020. More than 90.0 percent of the total installations carried out till 2010 were for the residential customer segment and a mere 10.0 percent for the commercial customer segment. However, the FIT policy is set to increase demand from the commercial segment as well. Apart from continuous investments from the house owners, utilities’ participation in promoting solar power has been on the rise. Utilities, in association with major solar cell and module manufacturers, are building large-scale solar power plants in Japan.

Solar PV Market: Total Annual Additions and Installed Capacity Forecasts (Japan), 20082017

Note : All figures are rounded; the base year is 2010. Source : Frost & Sullivan

Impact on the Wind Power Market Unlike the attractive solar power market, Japan’s wind power market has been experiencing very slow growth since 2007 when stricter guidelines were introduced stipulating wind turbines to get all the safety

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Suchitra Cropped clearances that applies to tall buildings. But in 2011, the Japanese wind power market plunged to a new low with a meager 82 MW annual capacity additions, as reported by the Japan Wind Power Association. However, the recent introduction of FIT policy that applies to wind power is likely to increase the new wind installations in Japan albeit from 2014-2015 onwards because of the longer lead times in planning and executing these projects.

Impact on the Geothermal Power Market Unlike its Asian counterparts such as Indonesia and the Philippines that have huge geothermal resources, Japan’s geothermal reserves are comparatively less. However, they have not been optimally utilized so far largely because of location constraints. To address this issue, the Ministry of Environment intends to amend the laws so that geothermal power plants can be developed in certain sites such as those nearer national parks where 80.0% of the country’s geothermal reserves have been identified. Further, with the introduction of the FIT policy, interest of the industry stakeholders is set to surge the start of a few major geothermal power projects. Introduction of the FIT policy alone will not guarantee the success of the RE market. Clarity and directives in the regulatory framework will help companies reap the benefits of this policy in a timebound manner. As the FIT rates are yet to be finalized, several proposed solar, wind, and geothermal power projects have been kept on hold. Industry stakeholders eagerly wait to hear from the government regarding the bill’s specific details pertaining to two main ingredients - price and period of contract. EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

N EW MA RKET S

RENEWABLE ENERGY MAP OF S

Preferred Bidders Summary No of Bids

MW taken by Preferred Bidders

Maximum MW allocated for round 2

Solar photovoltaic

417.1

450

Wind

562.5

650

Small Hydro

14.3

CSP

50.00

TOTAL

1043.9

INTERNATIONAL

Preferred Bidders Solar Photovoltaic IPP ID

Project Name

Maximum MW allocated for round 2

168

Solar Capital De Aar 3

75.0

450

207

Sishen Solar Facility

74.0

650

373

Aurora

9.0

75 50

375

Vredendal

8.8

523

Linde

36.8

527

Dreunberg

69.6

562

Jasper Power Company

75.0

750

Boshoff Solar Park

60.0

764

Upington Solar PV

8.9

TOTAL

417.1

R E T

Preferred Bidders Salient Terms Solar Photovoltaic Bid Window 2

Bid Window 1

Price: Fully Indexed (Ave Rand per MWh)

R 1 645

R 2 758

MW allocation

417 MW

632 MW

Total Project Cost (R’million)

R 12048

R 21937

Local Content Value (R’million)

R5 727

R6 261

Local Content %

47.5%

28.5%

Job Creation : Construction (People)

4557

10386

Job Creation : Operations (People)

194

221

Preferred Bidders Wind

Preferred Bidders Small Hydro

IPP ID

Project Name

014

Gouda Wind Facility

135.2

IPP ID

240

Amakhala Emoyeni (Phase 1) Eastern Cape

137.9

303

Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm

94.8

309

West Coast 1

90.8

362

Waainek

23.4

364

Grassridge

59.8

372

Chaba

20.6

TOTAL

562.5

Project Name

490

Stortemelk Hydro (Pty) Ltd

4.3

815

Neusberg Hydro Electric Project A

10.0

TOTAL

14.3

Preferred Bidders Investment Per Province Description

Preferred Bidders Salient Terms Wind Bid Window 2

Total Project Cost Local content value (ZAR million) (ZAR million)

Bid Window 1

Northern Cape

12359

5837

Price: Fully Indexed (Ave Rand per MWh) R 897

R 1 143

Eastern Cape

8649

3171

MW allocation

563 MW

634 MW

Western Cape

4684

1829

Total Project Cost (R’million)

R 10897

R 12724

Free State

Local Content Value (R’million)

R 4001

R 2766

TOTAL

Local Content %

36.7%

21.7%

Job Creation : Construction (People)

1579

1869

Job Creation : Operations (People)

128

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

2367

950

28059

11787

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SOUTH AFRICA Preferred Bidders Salient Terms Small Hydro

Q N E ATIO

Bid Window 2

Bid Window 1

Price: Fully Indexed (Ave Rand per MWh)

R 1030

N/A

MW allocation

14 MW

N/A

Total Project Cost (R’million)

R 631

N/A

Local Content Value (R’million)

R 421

N/A

Local Content %

66.7%

N/A

Job Creation : Construction (People)

261

N/A

Job Creation : Operations (People)

N/A

L A

Preferred Bidder Concentrated Solar Power IPPID

Project Name

002

Bokpoort CSP Project

50.0

TOTAL

50.0

Preferred Bidder Salient TermsC oncentrated Solar Power

Bid Window 2

Bid Window 1

Price: Fully Indexed (Ave Rand per MWh)

R 2 512

R 2 686

MW allocation

50 MW

150 MW

Total Project Cost (R’million)

R 4483

R 11365

Local Content Value (R’million)

R 1638

R 2391

Local Content %

36.5%

21.0%

Job Creation : Construction (People)

662

1 165

Job Creation : Operations (People)

Preferred Bidders Job creation Per Province Description

FirstSource Energy INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

17 Shradhanand Marg, Chawani Indore – 452 001 INDIA Tel. + 91 731 255 3881 Fax. +91 731 2553882

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Jobs during construction period Jobs during operations period BW2

BW2

Eastern Cape Province

1026

Free State Province

140

Limpopo Province

Northern Cape Province

4709

151

North-West Province

Western Cape Province

1184

TOTAL

7059

328

Analysis of MW allocation and remaining MW Technology

MW allocation in accordance with the Determination

MW capacity allocated in MW capacity allocated the First Bid Submission in the Second Bid Submission Phase Phase

MW capacity for allocation in future Bid Submission Phases

Onshore wind

1850.0 MW

634.0 MW

562.5 MW

798.9 MW

Solar photovoltaic

1450.0 MW

631.5 MW

417.1 MW

256.0 MW

Concentrated solar power

200.0 MW

150.0 MW

50.0 MW

0.0 MW

Small hydro (≤ 10MW)

75.0 MW

0.0 MW

14.3 MW

60.7 MW

Landfill gas

25.0 MW

0.0 MW

25.0 MW

Biomass

12.5 MW

0.0 MW

12.5 MW

Biogas

12.5 MW

0.0 MW

12.5 MW

Total

3625.0 MW

1 415.5 MW

1043.9 MW

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1165.6 MW

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

PRODUCTS Schletter - AluGrid system PVS

System prerequisites

Large solar power plant workshops

Virtual planning, realistic calculation

Operating system: Windows XP, Vista, 7

• Photovoltaic plants on roofs of industrial buildings

Processor: 1.8 Ghz or higher

The user-friendly Schletter PVS application is the perfect tool for the planning of solar mounting systems. Precise and detailed three-dimensional views of

• Photovoltaic plants in open areas

RAM: 2 GB or more

• Investor workshop

Graphics board: 256 MB or higher Drive: DVD,

AluGrid

Hard disk 1.1 GB

Light as a feather and windresistant

Workshop program PVS

complete buildings can be generated, around which the user is able to move freely. There is also a two-dimensional view to the roof from above. The integrated and extensive module catalogue facilitates the combining of modules and Schletter fastening systems with minimal effort, taking all structurally relevant dimensions into account. A parts list can be compiled and the respective components ordered online. Preparing an offer and ordering components has never been so simple! A free, 20-day test version of the software and an extensive range of training videos are available for reference at www.schletter.de/PVS. A licence for longterm use of the software can be obtained via bestellungen@schletter.de.The range of software features is permanently extended by updates. From the dimensioning of a plant to the on-line ordering of components, Schletter PVS stands for convenient planning. • the quickest way to create an offer • Schletter catalogue included • project-specific dimensioning • including structural analysis and basic calculation 88

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Exchange of know-how Acceptance and economic efficiency of solar plants largely depend on an efficient plant design. Besides high-value and userfriendly fastening technology, Schletter offers a comprehensive workshop program. This program will soon also include mobile workshops, we will come to you with our “workshop truck”. Planning, calculation or application guidelines - the participants of our system workshops, mounting workshops and big plant workshops take advantage from our know-how as Germany´s best-known producer of fastening systems. In order to make our systems even more user-friendly, we are always eager to integrate the experience of our workshop participants in our product developments.

Here is an overview of our workshops System workshops •

Mounting systems for solar plants

•

Auto-calculator & structural analysis applications

•

Lightning protection & insurances

•

Solar carports & electric mobility

Mounting workshops

AluGrid

Thorough cost optimization is the concept behind the Schletter AluGrid product series. Reduced superimposed loads as well as little material and mounting effort make the products from this series especially attractive. Installation is simple and can be carried out almost without tools. The modulesare fastened using spring clamps instead of screws. Many of the other componentscan be connected using our Klick system. The basic design AluGrid, the AluGrid+, the AluGrid100 and the AluGrid100+- all these systems have been designed according to the latest wind-dynamicresearch. Moreover, they have integrated load retainers that allow a loadingaccording to the individual structural requirements. In order to protect theroof, Schletter recommends an EPDM rubber that is perfectly compatible withthe Bitumen roof membranes and is also suitable for numerous kinds ofother roofing membranes.

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PRODUCTS AluGrid+

AluGrid+

The AluGrid flat roof system bySchletter is also available for modulesthat must not be fastened at theedges due to the specifications bythe module manufacturer. Just like the basic version, AluGrid+ excelsdue to low superimposed loads, high wind resistance and almost tool-freemounting. In contrast to the basic design, the spring clamps for themodules are not fastened directlyto the continuous beams but to the cross rails. This makes it possible toshift the fastening points inwards upto 25% and to clamp every module exactly according to the specificationsin the respective data sheet.The inclination angle is reduced onlyby one degree. But this slight disadvantageis more than compensatedby the improved structural safetyof the plant.

AluGrid100 The flat roof system AluGrid100 has beendesigned for optimum roof area utilization. With this system, the modulesare aligned to the east and to thewest. Thus, AluGrid100 considerablyimproves the utilization ratio of theroof area available. Even though the costs of the AluGrid are optimizedanyway, they can be reduced evenmore using AluGrid100, which will compensate the reduced feed-in tariffs at least to a certain extent. Just like the basic design, the system isinexpensive and stands

AluGrid100

out due to low superimposed loads and a structural analysis that is based on the latest wind-dynamic research results.Mounting is convenient and can bedone almost without tools. In orderto facilitate the mounting of the system, we have reduced the numberof components as far as possible.

AluGrid load determination Not only the mounting of AluGrid is convenient. The load calculator on the Schletter website makes the dimensioning of solar plants simple as never before. On the basis of postal codes, the program determines the specific regional loads for

AluGrid100+

AluGrid load determination The AluGrid100+ combines optimumarea utilization with the possibility to relocate the fastening points up to25% inwards. Like this, the specifications by the module producers that are laid down in the data sheets canbe maintained exactly in most cases. AluGrid100+ of course also has allthe advantages of the basic AluGriddesign.

AluGrid Protect Lightning protection does not have to be expensive. With AluGrid Protect, Schletter offers a lightning protection system that is cost-optimized just like the complete product series. Unlike many other systems, AluGrid has conductive connections between the module frame and the rack. AluGrid also has complete interior potential connections and can be easily integrated into the potential equalization. The AluGrid-Protect technology allows an integration of the racks into the lightning protection system. The system is capable of carrying lightning current and can be equipped with lightning spikes. If an expert company or a lightning protection planning office is consulted, even an external lightning protection for the solar plant or the whole building is possible in many cases.

all current elevation systems by Schletter for installations in many countries. Within the framework of the load determination, the program creates an individual superimposed load layout plan.

BiPv 2-11 Integration instead of mere installation Schletter has designed the in-roof system BiPv 2-11 to allow a quick and simple integration of unframed modules. We precompile mounting-friendly mounting kits that are suitable for specific module dimensions. Moreover, we offer useful extras: On request, we deliver the BiPv 2-11 system with an sheet metal bordering kit that consists of

BiPv2-11

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

89Â

BiPv2-11_Blech

mainly suitable for big solar plants that are exposed to sourcesof soiling. This includes modules on barns and stables with ridge airing. In suchcircumstances, modules are extremely prone to soiling. The PVSpin Gen3 is theremedy for this problem and thus safeguards the efficiency of the solar plant. •

High cleaning performance

only a few standard components and is suitable for several kinds of roof coverings. The components can be adapted to the specific roof with just a few work steps and allow a professional connection to the roof substructure. The reduced number of components allows a convenient mounting without special tools. The system is designed for module thicknesses from 4 mm to 8 mm and inclinations of 15 degrees or more and can be fastened directly to the roof battens. If the BiPv 2-11 is fastened in a scaled manner, it is as tight as an uninterrupted tile roof. The module is supported at all 4 sides which leads to an excellent load distribution. As there is no additional elevation, the roof area is utilized to the maximum which of course increases the energy yield - and as a welcome side effect, the system looks really good.

•

Cleaning by two cleaning brushes that turn in opposing directions

•

Robust and powerful water hydraulic axial piston rotating motor

•

No power connection on the roof is required

•

Material-protecting cleaning, as the soilings are soaked before being removed.

•

quick and simple mounting requiring no special tools

Break-proof mounting

System FS

variable sheet metal flashing system

•

suitable for all module sizes

The robust substitute tile “Alu-Tile” can be mounted easily and quickly and isavailable for many kinds of tiled roofs. This substitute tile considerably reducesthe work that is required for the mounting of solar plants on tiled roofs. Whereasregular tiles require painstaking modification operations, AluTile simplyreplaces a whole tile. A wrench with an insert for Torx or similar srews is all youneed for installation. This product

Lean racks for big solar plants

•

• can be completely integrated into the existing roof covering • submitted for certification as a fully integrable system in France

PvSpin Gen3

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Klick-groovecan be mounted. The direct load transfer into the rafter allows heavier loads onthe individual hooks. Thus, the number of roof hooks can be reduced, which inturn lowers the costs. •

Quick and simple mounting without having to work on the tile

•

The device can be operated by one person standing on the ridge

•

It may be required to deploy a second operator to support the first one

Especially for areas with heavy snow loads

•

Demonstration video at http://www. youtube.com/schlettergmbh

Suitable for many types of roof tiles due to its versatile connection piece

•

Direct load transmission into the roof rafter

•

Cost-optimized due to a reduction of the fastening points

Alu-Tile

Increased yields The energy yield of solar modules largely depends on the cleanness of the modules.Schletter offers an alternative to labour-intense manual cleaning systemsand expensive robots. Small, quick and efficient - the PVSpin Gen3 also cleansbig-surfaced plants easily and efficiently. Even more robust than its predecessor,this device is

Alu-Tile_2

Alu-Tile_1

is mainly made of aluminium which makes itcorrosion-resistant and extremely durable. Thanks to the material, the tile alsoresists heavy snow loads, hairline cracks and tile breakage do not occur. Thus,the AluTile is especially suitable for snowy regions like the prealpine lands. If thisproduct is combined with KlickTop, all Schletter rails that have a

Eco-friendly power supply depends both on small stand-alone solar plants and on large solar plants. Thus, investments in solar plants in open areas do not only pay off financially, but also ecologically. As fastening systems for solar plants in open areas usually require a lot of material, a good price-performance ratio is even more important. The construction engineers do not only focus on durability, structural safety and mounting-friendliness, but also on cost optimization. Numerous designs of the FS system are available, made of steel or made of aluminum, as one-support or as a two-support designs. With the FS-system, also big solar plants in open areas are feasible. Mountingfriendly, inexpensive and durable.

FS UNO and FS Duo

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Apart from the basic design, the FS series now also includes the FS Vario design which makes different module inclinations possible, as well as the FS-In lay-in system which makes screws for the fastening of the modules redundant. Our new steel systems FS UNO and FS Duo have been designed with focus on low costs and high quality at the same time. Schletter offers a wide range of services for the FS systems. Our service includes both a structural analysis of the soil and a structural analysis based on the relevant regional data.

FS Duo The FS Duo is a very good fastening solution for wide modules. Just like the FS Uno, the FS Duo is made of steel, which makes it also very inexpensive. For soils with limited loadbearing capacity, the FS Duo system is also available as a FS Duo+ version with a diagonal strut. As the system is pre-assembled by Schletter to a large extent, the mounting can be carried out quickly and conveniently.

FS Uno A lean solution: With the FS Uno, Schletter offers an inexpensive and at the same time high-value fastening system for the mounting of solar plants in open areas. Due to the utilization of steel, this system is extremely inexpensive. As the FS Uno is a one-support rack, any redundant weight is avoided. FS Uno is not just material-saving. As the system is largely pre-assembled, it can be installed with minimal effort.

FS Uno

FS Uno 100 Maximum utilization of the available ground area and minimal material costs - that´s the idea behind the FS Uno 100 system. The beams and the longitudinal edges are made of stripgalvanised steel in order to safeguard durability. As FS Uno 100 is aonesupport design, the material costs are

FS Uno 100

FS Duo

Sofit module cassette system The new Sofit cassette module system does not only make the Park@Sol carports more visually attractive, but it also keeps the rain away from the module gaps. A sheet metal covering conceals the cables of the solar plant and lets the water drain off – a suitable eaves gutter is optionally available. Shade-giving metal sheets bridge the gap to the girders. A front covering makes the cables invisible from the front and also serves as an additional sealing. The metal sheets conceal the fastening screws which of course is an aesthetic plus.

Snow guard systems

Park@Sol Solar power generated on the parking lot The Park@Sol system by Schletter combines weather-protected parking and solar power generation. The carports are equipped with solar modules and make a decisive contribution to an eco-friendly power supply for companies, supermarkets and even municipalities. The mounting-friendly Park@ Sol system by Schletter allows a convenient installation of a wide range of module designs. Based on our open area technology, many Park@Sol carports can be structurally adapted to the local conditions and can be equipped with a variety of fastening systems - for example the extra mounting-friendly Klick technology or the OptiBondglueing technique. On the basis of experience gained in numerous projects, this design series is constantly developed further and completed with useful details. As there are different designs, the carports can be easily adapted to individual parking lots. Thanks to the modular design, the solar carport plant can easily be enlarged later. The combinable modules are suitable for almost all parking lots, for one, two, or more vehicles and of course with the

reduced, too. With this system, the modules are aligned to the east and to the west. Thus, big module areas are possible on comparatively small ground areas. Due to a high level of pre-assembly, FS Uno 100 can be mounted quickly, easily and conveniently.

desired roof inclination. On request, Schletter can modify the carports according to the the customer´s individual corporate design. As a completion to our unit-assemblysystem and accessories, we have extended our product range even more.

The new Park@Sol snow guard systems are just the right device to deal with snow. With these devices, carports can be upgraded easily and inexpensively to meet the legal regulations. Schletter offers two solutions: Modified module clamps made of aluminium are used as snow guards. Our inexpensive plastic snow guards can also be retrofitted. Vertical mounting is also possible. The plastic snow guards just have to be put into the crossing points of the module gaps and have to be fastened by means of a screw on top of the fastener. In order to keep shading as low as possible, the snow guards only protrude a little beyond the modules, which of course does not affect the functionality of the snow guards.

Cable system Cables always look best when they are invisible. The new cable guiding system for the Park@Sol carports conceals the cables and protects them from the weather at the same time. The cables run through the foundation, the strut and the girder to the solar module.

CpLux The CpLux has been developed by Schletter especially for big carport plants

Park@Sol

CpLux

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

and is packed with state-of-the-art LED technology. It´s big dimensioned cooling units safeguard both long durability and high luminosity. A busbar allows an individual programming of the lamp. The integrated proximity switch safeguards that the light is only switched on when it really is required. This makes CpLux both user-friendly and energyefficient. The lighting system is certified for public parking lots and is available in several housing colours. • Extruded cooling elementssafeguard high luminosityand long durability •

Integrated twilight switch

•

Energy efficiency and conveniencedue to an integrated proximity switch

•

Several housing colours

•

Optional sensors to keep trackof the parking lot occupancy areavailable on request.

•

Bus control for individuallyprogrammable lighting systems

•

Certification for public contractsaccording to EN 60598

SL-Sol Daylight at night The energy turnaround does not only take place on the street, but also on the edge of the street. The highly efficient light diodes of the solar street lamp by Schletter provide light at night that has been generated by your solar modules during the day and have been stored in efficient and durable storage batteries. Standard lead acid batteries suffer a loss of efficiency already after 600 charging cycles, but the durability of the SL-Sol batteries lasts for about 3,000 cycles. As there usually is no additional cabling required, the utilization of SL-Sol also considerably reduces the construction costs. •

Can be deployed for street illumination according to DIN13201

•

State-of-the-art battery technology,long service life through active balancing

•

A variety of energy-saving storage capacitiesis available for selection

Bike@Sol Park and charge your electric vehicle The future of city traffic has been launched with electric mobility! If electric vehicles are still seldom seen in everyday traffic, e-bikes and electric scooters are gaining prominence as energy-saving, environmentally-friendly and quick means of transport around the town. Bike@Sol offers an ideal basis for this innovative form of transport and its pleasing, contemporary design can be perfectly assimilated into the townscape. Alternative designs or even complete integration into individual urban planning concepts are possible on request. Depending on the design, the BikePort can serve as a simple roofed parking space, as a charging station for renewable energy and even as a stand-alone solar power plant.

to bridge longlow-luminosity periods as well as for the applicationat places where illumination is compulsory

• The most up-to-date LEDtechnology,service life > 50,000 hours •

Sophisticated energy management

•

Individual lamp profiles and/or programmableenergy saving modes

•

Automatic on/off time adjustment to correspondwith calendar dawn and dusk times

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Modules with optimal low-light characteristics

•

Wireless networking possible for the synchronizedoperation of several lamps

•

Grid operation is also possible in order

•

Modular design for a simple installation on site

P-CHARGE Plug it in, charge it, and go The level of efficiency of electric cars is extraordinarily high - unlike the level of efficiency of combustion engines: Even efficient diesel engines can only transform about 45 percent of the diesel energy into kinetic energy. In contrast to that, the levels of efficiency of electric engines range between 90 and 98 percent. In view of climate change and increasing oil prices, a re-orientation towards electric mobility is the order of the day - both in ecological and economic respect. In view of the increasing use of renewable energies, the further development of electric vehicle technology is more important than ever. This requires an extensive infrastructure of charging stations. Electric vehicles can be charged reliably with the P-CHARGE systems by Schletter. The basis for this is the EWS-Box that allows the coordination of two simultaneous charging processes, both mode-3 charging and mode-2 charging are possible. The high charging power reduces the charging time. The EWS Box controls the P-CHARGE Wallbox that is intended for wall mounting, but it can also be used for charging pillars. The solar modules of the Park@Sol-Carports provide eco-friendly power. The P-CHARGE systems by Schletter can be combined optimally with the Park@ Sol Carports.

Wallbox The P-CHARGE Wallbox Duo is a robust and weather-resistant charging station that is mounted to the wall. The versatile and future-proof device is particularly suitable for subterranean garages and vehicle fleet parking lots. The basic designs has two

SL-Sol_2

Bike@Sol

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

P-CHARGE_Wallbox_Duo

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mode-2 sockets and also supports mode-3 charging, which results in high charging power. The vehicles are ready for action again after only a short while. The sockets can be locked which prevents unintended disconnection. The device can be operated easily using a LED button. An Ethernet interface, an integrated HTML-page and an optional RFID access safeguard convenient control and configuration. By means of the EWS Box, the device can be integrated into a Smart Grid. Besides the standard design, the Wallbox will soon also be available in two further designs including a mode-2 design with two SCHUKO sockets.

sheet metal roofs. So far, these roof areas

P-CHARGE_EWS-Box

•

fully networkable LAN connection,serial connections forGPRS modem or RFID reader

EWS-Box

•

As a wallbox for private applications or as a commercial electric charging station the P-CHARGE EWS-box by Schletter is a versatile and fully networkable control device that allows a simultaneous mode-3 charging

can be integrated into an externalinfrastructure (Smart Grid, buildingcontrol systems)

•

suitable for different kindsof locking actuators

of two electric vehicles. •

high value solution accordingto IEC 61851-1 (Mode-3)

•

simultaneous chargingof 2 vehicles possible

in many cases could not be used for solar plants. But now, the SingleFix-HU system makes them usable for solar installations. Just like the basic design “Single Fix-H”, the Single Fix-HU that is made of aluminum is structurally verified and can be fastened directly to the sides of the standing seams. Moreover, the system has adjustable side parts that are equipped with rubber. Thus, the clamps can be adapted to standing seams from 20 mm to 60 mm. Sealing discs for the screws prevents water ingress.Single Fix HU is versatile and can easily be stored: One single typeof fastener is enough for the mostdifferent kinds of trapezoidal sheetmetal roofs.

Accessories SingleFix-HU With the SingleFix-HU, Schletters offers a variable and mounting-friendly solution for the fastening of solar plants on trapezoidal

SingleFix-HU

New Series Of Cost-Saving Rear Silver Conductor Pastes For Silicon Solar Cells Being Introduced By Ferro Electronic Materials Pastes cut silver usage while maintaining key performance characteristics Ferro Electronic Materials, a leading supplier of materials for fabricating photovoltaic silicon solar cells for more than 30 years, will introduce a new family of rear silver conductor pastes in booth # 550, Hall W4 at SNEC 2012 PV Power Expo, held in Shanghai, China, May 16-18. The new products offer up to 70% savings in silver compared to current pastes yielding a 10micron fired busbar thickness.

PS 213X Series Rear Silver Pastes

are RoHS- and REACH-compliant and are free of lead, cadmium and phthalates.

Ferro’s new pastes offer savings to cell manufacturers via reduced precious metal content and reduced paste laydown. The products have pure silver metallurgy and enable fast printing at speeds of more than 200 millimeters per second. They are compatible with the Company’s back surface aluminum pastes and can be co-fired in a wide processing window. The pastes provide robust soldering behavior with excellent adhesion to silicon wafers. PS 213X Series silver pastes

“These new products lower the cost of ownership to make solar energy more cost-competitive by reducing both precious metal content and paste laydown,” said Todd Williams, business manager for Ferro Electronic Materials. “PS 213X pastes provide the same mechanical performance as current pastes yielding a 10-micron fired busbar thickness at significantly lower cost.”

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EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

PRODUCTS DuPont™ Solamet® PV17x Photovoltaic Metallization Enables Lightly Doped Emitter Technology Novel Formulation Accelerates Further Efficiency Gains for Solar Cells RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 14, 2012 – DuPont™ Solamet® PV17x photovoltaic metallization paste has become the leading frontside silver paste series on the market today due to its ability to raise efficiency in standard solar cell constructions and its unique properties which enable Lightly Doped Emitter (LDE) cell designs. LDE is a strong differentiator for solar cell producers as it can boost efficiency by up to 0.4 percent. DuPont Microcircuit Materials is taking steps to increase its supply capability for Solamet® PV17x to help meet the increased demand for higher efficiency solar cells. “Solamet® PV17x series continue to advance technology to help meet the

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

industry’s goal of 20 percent efficiency by 2012,” said Peter Brenner, photovoltaics global marketing manager, DuPont Microcircuit Materials. “This product has a two-stage advantage, since on its own it can raise efficiency by up to 0.2 percent, and when used to enable LDE, can raise efficiency by up to 0.4 percent. We’re very pleased to see such strong demand and are working to quickly increase supply capability for the growing customer base as it becomes qualified in stages through the next three months.” Solamet® PV17x is the most advanced composition in the market allowing for contact to be made to the most lightly doped junctions. Doping diffusion optimization is a key area of experimental study in the photovoltaic industry for the design of high efficiency cells. Diffusion optimization has been significantly limited by the inability of traditional frontside photovoltaic silver pastes to contact lightly surface doped emitters. Prior to Solamet® PV17x being released, the industry had no real commercially available option for making a screen printed frontside metallization that could economically and practically enable an LDE. However, the excellent silicon to silver contact of DuPont™ Solamet® PV17x technology has demonstrated its capability to enable a wider range of diffusion optimization and higher cell efficiency.

Extensive testing is underway within DuPont and in collaboration with several research organizations as well as in customer trials to fully characterize and continue to advance this technology. For example, RWTH-Aachen University recently published a comparative study involving Solamet® PV17x and four competing metallization pastes. Solamet® PV17x outperformed four competing products, demonstrating its ability to contact 100 Ohm/sq emitters on multicrystalline cells – the first time this had been achieved - with lightly doped phosphorous surface concentration. This enabled an efficiency increase of one full percent versus the homogenous emitter base line and 0.4 percent higher efficiency was confirmed versus laser doped selective emitter technologies. “We presented a characterization of POCl3 parameters influencing the electrically active phosphorus concentration profiles by electrochemical capacitance voltage measurements,” said Ali Safiei, (PhD researcher), Institute of Semiconductor Electronics at RWTH Aachen University. “For the first time we could demonstrate a successful direct contacting of an optimized high sheet resistance emitter at 100 Ω/sq by increasing the n++ layer and at the same time reducing the dead layer. Multicrystalline silicon solar cells were fabricated using five different silver pastes resulting in an absolute efficiency gain of Δη = 1 percent in comparison to a standard 55 Ω/sq emitter. Based on these investigations we evaluated a 160 Ω/sq emitter and could successfully demonstrate by laser doping that a n++ layer of up to 25 nm depth (a Lightly Doped Emitter) leads to high FF and an absolute efficiency gain of Δη > 0.6 percent.”

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PRODUCTS The breakthrough formulation of Solamet® PV17x also enables cell makers to use up to 15 percent less material, in line with the company’s intent to accelerate product developments that help the photovoltaic industry reduce its dependence on silver metals and offset some of the impact that rising silver prices have on the cost of producing solar cells and modules. Continued development on next generation Solamet® metallizations is ongoing with the aim of continuing to improve efficiency and further integrating Solamet® pastes with complementary processes such as LDE and local back surface field (LBSF) cell architectures.

DuPont MCM has over 40 years of experience in the development, manufacture, sale and support of specialized thick film compositions for a wide variety of electronic applications in the photovoltaic, display, automotive, biomedical, industrial, military and telecommunications markets. For more information on DuPont Microcircuit Materials and Solamet® metallization pastes. DuPont™ Solamet® photovoltaic metallizations are part of a broad and growing portfolio of products represented by DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions (DPVS), which connects science and technology from across the company on a global scale to help support the dramatic growth in the photovoltaic industry. To learn more.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation

GOROSABEL NEW STRINGER GTS-18 (1800 c/h) The new stringer model of GOROSABEL named GTS-18 is a milestone in Tabber & Stringer history. This machine has real capacity of 1800 c/h (based on 10 cell/string), being the fastest single stringer in the market, with 50% higher production capacity than traditional 1200 c/h stringers. It is an important step in the cost per watt reduction for PV module manufacturers.

This machine gives to customer very important benefits, such as:

Apart of the high capacity, this machine is equipped with the latest technology in soldering equipments:

Lowest floor space occupation. More capacity in same space

Lowest operator quantity needed

Low maintenance

Accurate vision system for cell inspection and positioning

Accurate and

Advance flux application system by means of electric valves

Soldering process control by temperature with close loop (PID)

Very progressive cooling curve to minimize cell stress after soldering

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continuous process control. High process reproducibility n

Cost per watt reduction

Robust machine for 24 hours operation

Besides, GOROSABEL has also launched the ideal complement for this stringer model: the lay-up GLU-36P, that is able to work with 2 stringers GTS-18. It has a capacity of 3600c/h (based on 10cell/string) using a single 6-axis robot. This lay-up can be delivered with a positioning system or with an advance vision system for the quality inspection and positioning of the strings. The system composed by 2 GTS-18 stringer and one GLU-36P lay-up produces 3600c/h in a fully automatic way, using the minimum space.

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

CONFERENCE & EVENTS Smart Electricity World

Solar South Africa 2012 Power Gen Europe

Date: 12-14 June Place: Cologne Organiser: Penn well Tel.: 44 1992 656 617 Email: exhibitpge@pennwell.com Web.: http://www.powergeneurope.com/index.html

Inter solar Europe

Date: 13-14 June Place: Munich Organiser: Solar Promotion GmbH Tel.: 49 7231 58598-0 Email: steffen@intersolar.in Web.: http://www.intersolar.de/en/intersolar.html

Date: 2-4 July, 2012 Place: Australia Organiser: Terrapinn (Australia) Pty Ltd Tel.: 61 2 9021 8808 Email: isabella.davina@terrapinn.com Web.: http://www.terrapinn.com/2012/smart-

Date: 19-20 June, 2012 Place: Johannesburg Organiser: Green Power Conference Tel.: 44 (0) 203 355 4205 Email: sales@greenpowerconferences.com Web.: http://www.greenpowerconferences.com

electricity-world/

REFF-Wall Street

Date: 19-20 June, 2012 Place: New York Organiser: Euromoney Energy Events Tel.: 44 (0)207 779 8917 Email: cwhite@euromoneyplc.com Web.: www.euromoneyenergy.com

Solar Argentina

Date: 3-5 July, 2012 Place: Argentina Organiser: Zeroemission Tel.: 39 02 66306866 Email: angelo.altamura@zeroemission.eu Web.: http://www.exposolar-argentina.com

SSX 2012 The 3rd World Clean Coal Week

Date: 14-15 June, 2012 Place: New Delhi Organiser: SZ&W Group Tel.: 86 21 5830 0710 Email: doraw@szwgroup.com Web.: www.szwgroup.com/wccwindia2012

20th European Biomass Conference & Exibition 2012

Date: 18-22 June Place: Italy Organiser: WIP-Renewable Energies ,ETA-Florence

Renewable Energies Tel.: 49 89 720 12 765, 39 055 500 22 80 Email: biomass.conference@wip-munich.de Web.: www.conference-biomass.com/

Energy Ocean International

Date: 19-21 June Place: Boston Organiser: Trade Fair Group Tel.: 240.654.7761 Email: PEphraim@tradefairgroup.com Web.: http://www.energyocean.com/

EQ INTERNATIONAL May/June 12

Date: 25-26 June, 2012 Place: Ontario Organiser: ONTARIO SOLAR NETWORK Tel.: 647.932.9750 Email: jacob@solarnetwork.org Web.: http://www.ssx2012.com/

WWEC 2012

Date: 3-5 July, 2012 Place: Germany Organiser: World Wind Energy Association Tel.: 49-4845-790424 Email: info@kromrey-kommunikation.de Web.: http://www.wwec2012.net/

Waste to Energy Summit

The Solar Future UK

Date: 9-10 July, 2012 Place: New Delhi Organiser: Mission Energy Foundation Tel.: 91 9819984644 Email: a.bagwan@missionenergy.org Web.: http://missionenergy.org/w2e/index.html

Date: 26-Jun, 2012 Place: London Organiser: Solar Plaza Tel.: 31 10 280 9198 Email: info@solarplaza.com Web.: http://www.thesolarfuture.co.uk/

Smart Grids India 2012

Date: 28-29 June, 2012 Place: Mumbai Organiser: UBM India Tel.: 022 4046 1466 Email: conferences-india@ubm.com Web.: http://www.smartgrids-india.com/index.asp

Enersolar Brazil 2012.

Date: 11-13 July, 2012 Place: Sao Paulo - Brazil Organiser: Artenergy Publishing Srl Tel.: 39 0266306866 Email: info@enersolarbrasil.com Web.: http://www.enersolarbrasil.com

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CONFERENCE & EVENTS Intersolar North America

Date: 10-12 July, 2012 Place: San Francisco Organiser: Solar Promotion International GmbH

,Freiburg Management and Marketing International GmbH Tel.: 49 761 3881-3110 Email: info@intersolar.us Web.: http://www.intersolar.us/en/intersolar.html

4th Guangzhou International Solar Photovoltaic Exhibition 2012 Date: 21-23 Aug, 2012 Place: China Organiser: Guangzhou Grandeur (Hongwei) Exhibi-

tion Services Co., Ltd

Tel.: 86 20 28945367 Email: marketing7@grandeurhk.com Web.: http://www.pvguangzhou.com/index_e.asp

SEMICON West 2012

Date: 10-12 July, 2012 Place: San Francisco Organiser: SEMI Tel.: 1.408.943.6988 Email: msibley@semi.org Web.: http://www.semiconwest.org/

Date: 19-20 July, 2012 Place: Shanghai Organiser: Cvent Online Event Tel.: 86.21.62750000 Email: rita.li@displaysearch.com. Web.: http://www.cvent.com

Date: 5-7 Sept, 2012 Place: Italy Organiser: Zeroemission Tel.: 39 02 66306866 Email: press@zeroemission.eu Web.: www.zeroemissionrome.eu/

Power Industry India

Date: 30-31 Aug, 2012 Place: New Delhi Organiser: International Trade and Exhibitions

India Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: 11 40828209 Email: deepak.jain@itei.in Web.: www.itei.in

Auroville Green Practices SolarBuzz China PV Conference

PV Rome Mediterranean 2012

Date: 30- 1 Sept, 2012 Place: Auroville Organiser: Auroville Consulting Tel.: Email: agp@aurovilleconsulting.com Web.: http://www.agp.aurovilleconsulting.com/

Solar Power International 2012

Date: 10-13 Sept, 2012 Place: Florida Organiser: Solar Energy Trade Shows Tel.: 202.595.1143 Email: lcohen@solarenergytradeshows.com Web.: www.solarpowerinternational.com

The 2nd Smart Grid World Conference Date: 12-14 Sept, 2012 Place: New Delhi Organiser: SZ & W Group Tel.: 86 21 5830 0710 Email: teal@szwgroup.com Web.: http://www.szwgroup.com/2012/sgindia/

Solarcon India 2012 Reaction 2012

Date: 26-27 July, 2012 Place: Chennai Organiser: Tel.: 91 9944667345 Email: reaction2012@eai.in Web.: http://www.eai.in/reaction2012/

AUPVSEE

Date: 21-22 Aug, 2012 Place: Melbourne Organiser: East Solar Expo & Conference Tel.: 61 2 9882-2688 Email: events@aupvsee.com Web.: http://eastsolar2012.com/

Date: 1-3 Sept , 2012 Place: Bangalore Organiser: SEMI Tel.: 80 4040 7103 Email: solarconindia@semi.org Web.: www.solarconindia.org/

Clean Energy Expo Asia 2012

Date: 12-14 Sept, 2012 Place: Thailand Organiser: Koelnmesse Tel.: 65 6500 6717 Email: l.chew@koelnmesse.com.sg Web.: http://www.cleanenergyexpoasia.com/

The 2nd Solar Energy Africa 2012 Date: 4-5 Sept, 2012 Place: South Africa Organiser: Spintelligent Tel.: 27 21 700 3500 Email: info@spintelligent.com Web.: http://www.solarenergy-africa.com

Solar Energy Forum 2012

Date: 13-14 Sept, 2012 Place: Shanghai Organiser: China Decision Makers Consultancy Tel.: 86 21 63931899 Email: sef@cdmc.org.cn Web.: http://www.cdmc.org.cn/sef2012/

For Listing of your Event : Conference and events are listed free-of-charge, so please feel free to get in touch to tell us about your event. We would also be happy to provide you with free copies of magazine for distribution at your events.(while stock last). Please send your conference information to : Mr. Gourav Garg at gourav.garg@EQmag.net

www.EQMagLive.com

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