EQ Int'l Magazine January 2016 Edition

Volume # 8 | Issue # 1 | January 2016 |

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India’s Oldest & Leading Solar Media Group

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As we continue with undeterred determination in our quest to build an energy-secure future for India, we have notched up another milestone - 1.35GW of turnkey module mounting solutions. Slowly but surely we have lit up many a threshold, and are now gearing up to further envelop the nation in solar-derived power.Â

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TRENDS & ANALYSIS

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CONTEN T

VOLUME 8 Issue # 1

38 INTERVIEW

with Aditya Singhania.

Navitas Solar

37 Yes Bank Commits To Mobilizing USD 5 Billion For Climate Action By 2020 At Cop21, Paris

16 Zynergy Eyes Exponential Growth With Kohli Ventures

Disclaimer,Limitations of Liability While every efforts has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of EQ international and all our authors research articles with the greatest of care and attention ,we make no warranty concerning its content,and the magazine is provided on an>> as is <<basis.EQ international contains advertising and third â&#x20AC;&#x201C;party contents.EQ International is not liable for any third- party content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents

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The data and information presented in this magazine is provided for informational purpose only.neither EQ INTERNATINAL ,Its affiliates,Information providers nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based up on or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this magazine should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sale any securities. The facts and opinions stated in this magazine do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied

Solar Power Systems On Railway Stations

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Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit,or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,Non-Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.If you want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

Solar Power To Farmers

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ADB Lends $1 Billion for Renewable Energy Transmission, Grid Expansion in India

Global Solar Industry Saved from 2017 CliffEdge as US Set to Extend Solar Investment Tax Credit

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08 Softbank Opens Its Solar Account In India

WIND POWER Clean Energy Defies Fossil Fuel Price Crash To Attract Record $329Bn Global Investment In 2015

Are Those Modern ‘Giant Wind Turbines’ Redefining The Wind Sector Dynamics?

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CERC: Waiving of Transmission Charges in Renewable Energy

POLICY & REGULATION CERCDetermination of Benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar PV power projects and Solar Thermal power projects applicable during FY 2016-17

First Global Green Bank Network Will Speed Shift To Clean Energy

62 SOLAR POWER Analysis on Selection of Most Reliable Solar Resource for Selected Locations in India

36 Startup Push – Renewables Offer Excellent Avenues

C ONTEN T

Cover Fusion Solar Smart PV Solution Huawei launched the leading smart PV solution that incorporates its expertise in digital information technology, Internet technology, and PV technology, which has been accumulated for over 20 years. Based on innovated concepts such as simple, full-digital, and automatic global O&M, Huawei aims to build smart solar plants supporting higher yeilds, smart O&M, and safety and reliable, helping customers maximize their ROI within the power plant life cycle. Huawei’s smart PV solution has been widely applied across the world.​

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BUSINESS & FINANCE 44

India’s Clean Energy Investments Cross $10bn On Solar Surge

INTERVIEW 48

Interview with TBEA Team

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS 56

Global Solar Installations Forecast to Reach Approximately 64.7 GW in 2016, Reports Mercom Capital Group

IONS (INDIA) CO., COMMUNICAT HUAWEI TELE Sohna Road, e ITECH Park, 7th Floor, Spaz ia ,Ind yana ,Har Gurgaon-122001 m huawei.co Email: inverter@ ei.com/solar huaw ww. http://w

PVT LTD.

ROOFTOP & OFFGRID 58 Analysis Of PV - Battery Based Micro Grid Energy Management System With Interleaved Boost Converter

SOLAR POWER 66 Solar Power Target Reset To One Lakh Mw 71 Status Of Implementation Of Various Schemes To Achieve 1,00,000 MW Solar Plan

PRODUCTS 80-83

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BUSINESS FINANCIAL

First Global Green Bank Network Will Speed Shift To Clean Energy

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As countries work toward a new international climate agreement in Paris, a group of six green banks and two leading non-profit groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), recently announced they are establishing a Green Bank Network to help meet the urgent need of increasing and accelerating investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency worldwide.

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his green bank network potentially could bring billions of dollars in new investment to speed the development of clean energy, creating jobs and helping reduce climate change. India is moving forward with innovative financing such as green bonds to achieve its ambitious clean energy targets. As a potentially gamechanging financing mechanism, green banks could help unleash capital to power India’s clean energy goals.

Green banks are public entities created to partner with the private sector to increase investment in clean energy and bring clean energy financing into the mainstream. They are a relatively new phenomenon that has been successful in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and several U.S. states.The founding partners of this major clean energy initiative are the UK Green Investment Bank, the Connecticut Green Bank, NY Green Bank, the Green Fund (Japan), Malaysian Green Technology Corporation and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Australia), and the network plans to expand rapidly.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will use its convening power to facilitate the sharing of experience between green banks and countries interested in creating them, building on the OECD-Bloomberg Philanthropies green banks policy guide released today. With nations around the world making new commitments to reducing heat-trapping pollution, more capital than ever will be needed for clean energy solutions. Green banks can help stimulate the private investments necessary for nations to meet their commitments. The network will increase the global impact of green banks by enabling them to collaborate more effectively, share and leverage individual bank experiences, publicize achievements and grow the ranks of green banks worldwide.

“Meeting commitments coming out of Paris will require a profound transformation in global energy investment, The Green Bank Network is a critical tool in this process and NRDC is excited to help facilitate the global scale-up of green banking.”

- Shelley Poticha Director Urban Solutions, NRDC

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INDIA

Sova Solar Stands Softbank Opens Its Solar Account In India Besides The Flood SB Energy, a three way joint venture between Japan telecommunications and Internet Affected Chennai headquartered major SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”), leading The fury of nature causing the devastation wreaked on the city of Chennai has moved us in a great way.

Subrata Mukherjee MANAGING DIRECTOR SOVA Power

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n a parallel note, the strong resilience of the residents of the city and the way in which people around the corner has moved forward to help each other is absolutely commendable and make us feel proud.

Being a responsible entity in the field of Renewable Energy sector, Sova Power Ltd declare to donate its 1% Business Turnover of the last 7 days as a small token of contribution to help the fellow citizens of Chennai. We hope it will help the city, may be in a very small way, to re-organize itself and head forward to a reenergized future!

Indian business conglomerate Bharti Enterprises Limited (“Bharti”) and Taiwan-based top design and manufacturing services provider Foxconn Technology Group (“Foxconn”), won the NTPC bid to develop a 350MW solar plant under the Phase-II, Batch-II, Tranche-I of National Solar Mission at a 25-year tariff of Rs. 4.63/ kWh.

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he project is to be developed in the Ghani Sakunala Solar Park, Kurnool District in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This is SoftBank’s first step towards realising its $ 20 billion commitment to promote clean and safe energy in India. This solar project, under the flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), is located in Andhra Pradesh in the stateowned solar park, which provides land and facilities such as roads, drainage and evacuation to developers.

Winning the bid reaffirms the commitment made by SB Energy to commission 20GW in India.

“Our goal is to create a market-leading renewable energy company, to fuel India’s growth with clean, reliable and affordable sources of energy. I am glad that we could open our account today with this win. This project will immensely contribute to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of meeting the country’s energy demands through clean sources and India’s commitment to providing a safe environment, following the recent Paris convention.

- Nikesh Arora, President& COO, SoftBank

SB Energy is headquartered in New Delhi and has Bharti veteran Manoj Kohli as its Executive Chairman and SoftBank executive Raman Nanda as CEO. Solar in India is likely to grow in 2015 by-

250% Globally, renewable energy outpaced that of fossil fuels in 2015 and a record 107 GW was added through wind, solar, geothermal and other natural sources.

Renewable power has the potential to provide every Indian with access to electricity.

Infosys Campus in Hyderabad to Meet 100% Electricity Needs from Renewables

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Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services,recently announced the launch of its solar PV power plant of 6.6 MW capacity at its Pocharam campus in the state of Telangana.

ith this launch, combined with the existing 0.6 MW capacity rooftop solar plant, the Infosys campus in Pocharam will be one of the first corporate campuses in India that will be run completely by renewable energy. The plant, with a total capacity of 7.2 MW, has been successfully synchronized with the grid and is expected to generate 12 million kWh per annum. This initiative is expected to reduce the company’s CO2 emissions by 9,200 tons.Currently, the company has installed 12 MW solar power plants (onsite) across its campuses and another 3 MW is expected to be completed within the next two months.

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“Our company’s commitment to our broader purpose and to our communities, has always brought us great pride. The Infosys founders set this standard from the beginning, and we see this in the contributions of our employees to their communities and in times of crisis, such as the recent Chennai floods; we see this in the work of the Infosys Foundations; and we see this perhaps most clearly in our work in our facilities. Our team, led by Ramadas Kamath, continues to set new standards in our commitments to reduce electricity consumption. Our beautiful Hyderabad campus is another great example of this commitment.”

- Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys

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INDIA

ADB Lends $1 Billion for Renewable Energy Transmission, Grid Expansion in India

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to provide a $500 million government-backed loan and a further $500 million in non sovereign lending to India’s national transmission company, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

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he funds will be used to build and upgrade high voltage transmission lines and substations in Rajasthan and Punjab states, as part of the Indian government’s Green Energy Corridor initiative. To increase energy delivery from India’s west to southern region, the project will also include new high-voltage direct current terminals in Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala states, boosting interconnectivity between the regions from about 10 Gigawatts (GW) to 16 GW. India is promoting the increased use of clean and renewable energy to meet growing power demand, provide universal electricity access, and increase energy self-sufficiency.

Earlier this year, India announced ambitious plans to achieve a national renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022.

About 90% of this is expected to be generated from solar and wind sources which are concentrated in a few Indian states.

Investment in efficient, inter-state transmission infrastructure that can address the intermittency and timing differences of renewable energy is therefore critical in supporting expansion and optimal use of renewable energy in India.

“The new transmission lines connecting renewable energy-rich areas to the national grid will enhance connectivity between the regions by bringing clean energy to more people, making the overall Indian power system more efficient, and improving India’s overall energy security.

- Mr. Hun Kim, Director General of ADB’s South Asia Department

POWERGRID’s funding needs for the interstate Green Energy Corridor exceed $3.4 billion, while enhanced overall interregional connectivity—critical not just for renewable energy but for large power transfers and power sector optimization—will require a further $10 billion. In order to fund significant expansion plans and maintain affordability for consumers, companies like POWERGRID need to access all available and competitive sources, including multilaterals, international banks and capital markets.

“The combination of ADB’s sovereignbacked and private sector loans is an innovative financing solution that provides POWERGRID with a large, competitive and efficient source of funding. Investment in India’s transmission infrastructure complements ADB’s assistance to other private sector energy projects by creating capacity for significant new energy generation, expanding opportunities for power trading, and generally improving the bankability of the renewables market.”

- Todd Freeland, Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department

ADB’s financing will play an important role in helping the country achieve its ambitious renewable energy targets, as well as increasing overall interregional interconnection capacity. ADB’s presence as a key lender will also help to attract other potential commercial co-financiers and demonstrates ADB’s ability to deliver financing solutions to companies like POWERGRID by accessing the combined knowledge and experience of its regional, country, and private sector operations.

Source: PTI

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INDIA SJVN Inks MOU With Saurya Urja Co Of Rajasthan For Solar Parks State-run SJVN recently signed a pact with Saurya Urja Company of Rajasthan Ltd for allocation of land in solar parks being developed by them in the state.

RAMESH NARAIN MISRA, Chairman & MD, SJVN

“The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on December 3, 2015 with the Saurya Urja Company of Rajasthan Ltd for allocation of land in the solar parks being developed by them at Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan”,

- SJVN, a mini navratna PSU, said in a BSE filing.

SJVN has plans to set up cumulative 300 MW solar capacity in these solar parks, the company added.

According to the company’s website,

SJVN is also executing a-

05 MW 25

The plant has an expansion provision for-

solar PV plant in Gujarat for which land has been allotted at Charnka Solar Park.

MW

capacity

Source: PTI

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INDIA

Andhra Pradesh Inks MOU With Suzlon Energy, Axis Energy Group

In an attempt to boost the energy might of Andhra Pradesh, the state government has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Suzlon Energy and Axis Energy Group for the setting up of 4,000 MW projects in the state.

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ecretary (Energy) Ajay Jain, Suzlon Company Chairman Tulsi Tanti, Axis Energy Group MD K. Ravi Kumar Reddy signed on the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister Sri N. Chandrababu Naidu. Under this MOU, Suzlon and Axis companies will set up solar, wind and hybrid plants with an estimated production capacity of 4,000MW in Anantapur and Nellore districts, in the next five years. They will also facilitate for the setting up of 1,000 MW wind turbine generators.

In this regard, a skill development center will be set up in Anantapur. It has been estimated that these projects will provide 8,000 direct and 25,000 indirect employment opportunities for the people.

That apart, SuzlonEnergy will also provide guidance for the setting up of Energy University that will soon come up in Amaravati. A Board on Renewable Energy will also be constituted.

Within 5 years of the projects’ begin functioning, the state government will have 4,000 MWof green power. Due to this, over 64.47 lakh MT of Carbon emissions can be averted.

The Chief Minister expressed happiness over signing of the agreement and hoped that both sides begin working immediately on the said projects. He said: “The union government aims to achieve 1.75 lakh MW of renewable energy by 2021 ; in this , Andhra Pradesh aims to achieve 1.18 lakh MW.” By 2021-22 the state government aims to tap renewable energy in order to reduce carbon emissions by 252 lakh metric tonnes, he added. Secretary (Finance) Dr. P.V. Ramesh, Secretary to CM Sai Prasad and other officials were present.

CERC: Waiving of Transmission Charges in Renewable Energy Electricity Act, 2003 mandates Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to determine tariffs including transmission tariffs.

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he Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, vide CERC (Sharing of Inter State Transmission Charges and Losses) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2015 notified that no transmission charges for the use of ISTS network shall be charged to solar based generation for the useful life of the projects commissioned upto 30.6.2017. This was stated

by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (IC) in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today . The Minister further stated that in addition, these regulations have also specified that no transmission losses for the use of ISTS network shall be attributed to solar based generation for the useful life of the projects commissioned up to 30.6.2017. However, these charges would be socialized among all Designated ISTS Customers (DICs).

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The Minister further stated that Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved creation of intra-state transmission system in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan at an estimated cost of Rs 8548.68 Cr with Government of India contribution from National Clean Energy fund (NCEF) of Rs 3419.47 crore as recommended by IMG in its 12th meeting held on 30th April, 2015. For the state of Tamil Nadu, CCEA in its meeting held on 10 December 2014 approved the proposal of Tamil Nadu for providing NCEF support of Rs. 637.2 crore. The award of contract through competitive bidding of projects is at various stages with the respective state governments, the Minister added.

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INDIA

SECI And Russian Energy Agency Sign MOU for Development of Solar Projects in India

In a notable step towards catalysing foreign investments into the expanding Indian Solar energy sector, the Russian Energy Agency(REA) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24th December, 2015.

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he MoU was signed by Mr. A. V. Tikhonov, Director General (REA), and Dr. Ashvini Kumar, MD (SECI)in the presence of seniorlevel officials.Under the MoU, the parties have agreed to set up large-scale photovoltaic power plants in India during the years2016-2022. As one of the first stages for realization of the projects, a pilot project of capacity up to 500 MW would be constructed.

The parties have proposed to collaborate and cooperate on the basic parameters of project implementation in order toachieve competitive solar tariffs, and have agreed to devise a roadmap for development of solar projects and manufacturing facilities.

While REA would be bringing in state-of-theart technologies, low-cost financing etc. for the projects, SECI would assist in obtaining the required Government clearances and approvals.

A working group, consisting of representatives of SECI and REA, would be established for deliberating on the next steps forward.This development, being in-line with the Government of India’s plans for massive scale-up of solar power projects and rationalisation of solar power tariffs, would also give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Solar power is an environmentally beneficial and fuel-risk free source of energy,and is seen as an important contributor to India’s future electricity-mix. With the current installed capacity of about 4 GW, solar energy is crucial for lowering of the nation’s carbon intensity to combat Global Warming.

Azure Power Wins Projects With 100 MW Solar Power Capacity Under NTPC Auction

This auction of 150 MW capacity was set for projects using solar cells and modules manufactured in India to promote the government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Azure Power, a leading independent power producer in the solar power sector in India, has announced that it has won projects with 100 MW solar power capacity which were recently put up for auction by NTPC Limited, India’s largest power generation company.

“With this win, we have once again demonstrated our strong project development capabilities. We are proud to have successfully brought down the cost of solar power by almost 71% from INR 17.91 /kWh in 2009 to INR 5.12/kWh in this project.””We are also delighted to make this contribution towards realization of our Honorable Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation,”

he auction is part of the National Solar Mission. The projects will be built in the Andhra Pradesh solar park, where NTPC has auctioned a total capacity of 1000 MW of solar power projects. With this win, Azure Power maintains its strong track record of winning projects under every phase of National Solar Mission policy.

Although ten companies participated in the online reverse auction, Azure Power secured 100 MW of the total 150 MW capacity auctioned off. The tariff on the project will be INR 5.12/ kWh, almost 11% higher than the first two auctions priced in the same solar park. The first two auctions in the Andhra Pradesh solar park were won by Sun Edison and Soft Bank at a tariff of INR. 4.63/ kWh.

Azure Power has been among the most active participants in several solar power auctions since the launch of solar power market in India.

In June this year, Azure Power commissioned the largest solar power project under the National Solar Mission, a 100 MW plant in Rajasthan. Recently, the company also secured 150 MW capacity under an auction of the state of Punjab. Azure Power secured the rights to develop the capacity at a bid of Rs 5.63/kWh.

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- Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power

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INDIA

Andhra Pradesh Solar Corporation Sanctions 4,000 MW Power Parks Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Limited has achieved the distinction of sanctioning 4,000 MW of solar power generation parks under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

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n doing so, it has been chosen as the best government nodal agency for solar energy push.Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation is a joint venture of AP Genco, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh and Solar Power Corporation of India (SECI).

Ultra Mega Parks The corporation has encouraged the setting up of ultra mega solar parks at Anantapur (1,500 MW), Kurnool (1,000 MW) and Kadapa (1,500 MW). Of the 27,263 acres required for implementation of these solar parks, 12,038 acres are already in the possession of the corporation. Acquisition of rest of the land is in progress.For about 2500 MW solar capacity, developers have already been identified, tendering process is in advanced stage and EPC contracts will be awarded by January. For the remaining 1500 MW, 1000 MW has already been tendered out and 500 MW is close to completion.

Lower tariffs In the Kurnool park, a lowest tariff of 4.63 per kWh was quoted by Sun Edison for 500 MW in Phase-1. In Phase-2, SB Energy promoted

by SoftBank of Japan made its debut in Indian solar market with a tariff of 4.63 per kWh for 350 MW in open category.For its role, the Corporation has bagged the Best Government Nodal Agency award for Solar under NSMSolar Excellence and K.Vijayanand, Chairman of APSPCL, was chosen winner of the Sourya Ratna Award.

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INDIA “Following the recent Cop21 Agreement, it is clear that Zynergy is strategically well placed to take advantage of the tailwinds in favour of solar energy driven by the mass market penetration potential of its products and on-going developments. We are pleased to be a lead investor in Zynergy.

We are investing in a company that recognizes that business can partner with social enterprise to benefit the masses,

- Tej Kohli , Chairman of Kohli Ventures

Zynergy Eyes Exponential Growth With Kohli Ventures The Zynergy Group led by Rohit Rabindernath has received initial investments from UK based Kohli Ventures and projects to achieve a turnover of USD 500 million in five years.

Zynergy will raise an additional USD 100 million more from other sources in the following three years.

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he first tranche of Kohli Ventures’ investment amounting to USD 5 million was received recently by Zynergy, an emerging solar products and process player based in Chennai and Singapore.

The group, established in 2011, has evolved as a fully integrated entity offering solar product and process solutions across the sector’s value chain.

This is Kohli Ventures’ maiden investment in the Indian solar sector.

The investment will boost Zynergy’s expansion globally, primarily through the establishment of a state-of-theart manufacturing unit at Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu with technology from Singulus, Germany. Zynergy is already a known name in solar home lighting solutions, having completed the largest implementation by any company in India of over 50,000 rural homes.

Zynergy’s focus since inception has been to conduct pioneering research and development in the sector, thereby securing design, development and delivery capabilities for solutions that span from the retail to industrial/utility scale, in addition to a wide range of product applications for rural communities.

“The output of our R&D efforts over the last two years has enabled us to create a strong manufacturing base for varied products in solar based applications for rural communities. This will be a differentiator in the global market. We will keep a strict tab on the quality, pricing, schedules and utility of our offerings. This investment was possible because of an appreciation of Zynergy’s capabilities to design, develop and deliver a wide range of products and processes for the tough and discerning international market. It is extremely gratifying for us at Zynergy that in addition to directly impacting the quality of life of our rural citizens, our products have the demonstrated potential to create a community of micro entrepreneurs linked to them” - Rohit Rabindernath MD & CEO, ZYNERGY GROUP

Addressing media persons here along with Rohit Rabindernath, Tej Kohli, Chairman of Kohli Ventures said that the decision to get together with Zynergy was taken considering the growth potential of the sector and Zynergy’s position as an early product and process developer in the sector. The first mover advantage, coupled with Zynergy’s ability to positively impact rural communities in India and other developing countries, supported the decision in Zynergy’s favour.

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SOLAR PV MANUFACTURING

& M10 Delivers 300 MW High Performance Stringer To India

Renewsys India Pvt. Ltd. Is Expanding Its PV Solar Cell RenewSys India Pvt. Ltd. is expanding its PV solar cell RESERVTM manufacturing facility at Hyderabad

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enewSys India Pvt. Ltd. (RIPL) an Enpee Group company has placed an order with reputed European manufacturers for a 100 MW solar cell line. The new line will be shipped in Q2, 2016 and enhance RIPL’s cell making capacity to 130 MW. RIPL intends ordering another 100 MW line from the same vendors by Q3, 2016 and gradually build up its capacity to 500 MW. The lines will be installed at the 50 acre Hyderabad factory, RIPL recently purchased from the lenders of Solar Semiconductors. The 80 MW module ( DESERVTM) making capacity at the same premises is also being increased to meet the requirement of OEM customers and for exports.

Concurrently, RIPL continues to play its leading role in the manufacture of EVA Encapsulant (CONSERVTM) and Backsheet (PRESERVTM) at its Bengaluru facility. Expansion plans for both products are on the anvil.

With its focus on quality, in-house R&D and an integrated offering in the PV value chain, RIPL is working towards being a sustainable player in the global solar industry. It must be highlighted that the investments being made by RIPL are based on government policies including capital subsidy and DCR that encourage local manufacture of solar components. The Indian solar industry needs ‘handholding’ and time to build capacity & become competitive. “The future is, hopefully, bright!”

“Emmvee Photovoltaic Power Pvt. Ltd”, the Indian module manufacturer based in Bangalore, has placed an order for two high performance “Kubus” stringers from the German Freiburg-based company M10 Industries AG in December this year.

“This means that our soldering machines from the new stringer generation will be delivered to India the very first time” - Gregor Reddemann CEO and co-founder of M10 AG

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he Indian market has grand ambitions regarding the expansion of their local PV production. “Make in India”: The Indian company Emmvee is translating this into action by expanding their module manufacturing capacities with the help of the newest German solar technology. By means of only two “Kubus MTS 5000” machines, Emmvees’s module manufacturing capacity is enhanced by more than 300 MW.

Stringer “Kubus” reduces production costs M10 Industries developed the “Kubus” stringer due to the simple demand for reduced production costs through uninterrupted production processes. “Kubus”, the new stringer generation, is able to solder three times as many cells, thereby replacing several stringers at once on a minimum surface area. Further the machine has the ability to process 3, 4 and 5 bus bar cell configuration.

Managing Director Manjunatha D.V. from Emmvee confirms that “Kubus”by M10 was selected after intensive capability analyses and having full confirmation of the maximum production capacity.

M10 Solar Campus provides all options for testing “The order from India has now been placed merely twelve months after the first prototype kicked off with production in our subsidiary SI Module in Germany”, says Gregor Reddemann. Emmvee’s decision was based on the customer-friendly options provided by M10 Solar Campus. Here the M10 AG machines are tested internally under production conditions. The certified production line at M10 Solar Campus provides all necessary quality-relevant options for testing.

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OFF GRID ROOFTOP

&

Agrawal Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd. Commissioned 100 KW Solar Rooftop Project In Goa

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e have commissioned 100kW SOLAR ROOFTOP PROJECT on the Solar PV Module Manufacturing unit at Goa. The proposed Roof Top Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant at Factory rooftop is installed utilize vacant area of 1300 sq. m. available on the terrace of the factory. The SPV power plant of capacity 100 kWp is connected to serve the in-house machinery consumption during day hours. The off grid SPV project would be a demonstration plant to harness renewable energy and the data on generation would be utilized for analysis of the various aspects of SPV Technology.

Solar Modules of DHOOP brand manufactured by Agrawal Renewable Energy has been installed with KACO Inverters.

The 100 kWp SPV power plant is estimated to generate annual energy of approx 1,40,000.00 units considering efficiency of the solar modu le as 14%, Inverter as 97.8% and losses as 3% in overall system. This SPV plant is performing very well and efficiently generating 460 units on an average during this winter season. The entire project from concept to commissioning has been done using in house technology.

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Korea

Korea’s No.1, Asia’s Top 3, World’s Top 10 photovoltaic exhibition The sole exhibition co-organized by the Korea 4 major associations in renewable energy field The most important exhibition in Asia market Global forum, Korea’s largest Renewables Energy Conference concurrently held GSA Members Joined Global Solar Alliance as a representative of Korea

We have also commissioned a similar roof top project of 100 kWp for a pharma unit at Verna Ind Estate in Goa.

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green1@exco.co.kr

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Solar Power Systems On Railway Stations

Government is encouraging installation of solar power systems particularly on rooftops all over the country including on railway stations and airports as well. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (IC) in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 11 Dec. 2015.

Shri Piyush Goyal Said that So far as aggregate capacity of 17.69 MWp solar power systems have been installed at airports and 1.5 MWp in railway stations . The details are solar power systems installed at airports and railway stations. The Government is promoting use of renewable energy systems all over the country which includes airports and railway stations and other public places in the country for which the following steps are being taken-

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Ministry of Railways has set a target for setting upof 1,000MWp solar power plants on railway/private land and railway buildings in next 5 years.

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Financial support in the form of generation based incentives and viability gap funding for solar power projects.

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Subsidy for grid connected rooftop solar systems, solar pumping systems, concentrated solar thermal and other off-grid solar applications.

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Fiscal incentives such as accelerated depreciation, concessional custom duty, excise duty exemptions, income tax holiday for 10 years

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Concessional loans from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

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Loans under Priority Sector Lending uptoRs. 15 crore for renewable energy projects.

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Bank loans as a part of home loan/ home improvement loan for solar rooftop systems

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Capacity building and public awareness through electronic and print media.

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Solar Power To Farmers The Ministry has been implementing Solar Pumping programme through States, NABARD & other Government departments for setting up of Solar Power plants to pump water for irrigation purpose.

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his was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (IC) in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha . Shri Goyal further said that the programme is demand driven. State Governments send proposals to the Ministry based on the requirements in their respective States.

Ministry is providing 30% capital subsidy equivalent (Rs/Hp) for setting up of solar water pumping systems, limited to maximum 5 HP, the Minister added. The subsidy pattern is given as follows: *SPV water pumping system over 5HP may avail subsidy under State Government Schemes where ever applicable.

MNRE subsidy will be limited to 5 HP only even for higher capacity pumps till any revision in the Scheme.

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A Big Boost For Solar Rooftops In India

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the scaling up of budget from Rs, 600 crore to Rs. 5,000 crore for implementation of Grid Connected Rooftops systems over a period of five years upto 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM). This will support Installation of 4200 MW Solar Rooftop systems in the country in next five years.

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he capital subsidy of 30% will be provided for general category States/UTs and 70% for special category States i.e., North-Eastern States including Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, There will be no subsidy for commercial and industrial establishments In the private sector since they are eligible for other benefits such as accelerated depreciation, custom duty concessions, excise duty exemptions and tax holiday etc, This capacity of 4200 MWp will come up through the residential, Government, Social and institutional sector (hospitals, educational institutions etc.). Industrial & commercial sector will be encouraged for installations without subsidy. This will create the market, build the confidence of the consumers and will enable the balance capacity through market mode to achieve the target of 40,000 MWp by 2022.

The Government has revised the target of National Solar Mission (NSM) from 20,000 MWp to 1,00,000 MWp by 2022. Out of the 40,000 MWp is to come through grid connected solar rooftop systems. This approval will boost the installations in a big way and will act as a catalyst to achieve the goal of 40,000 MWp.

Background A large potential is available for generating solar power using unutilized space on rooftops in buildings. Solar power generated by each individual household, industrial, Institutional, commercial or any other type of buildings can be used to partly fulfil the requirement of the building occupants and surplus, if any, can be fed into the grid. So Tar, 26 States have notified their regulations to provide Net Metering/ Gross metering facilities to support solar rooftops installations.

Today it is possible to generate solar power from the solar rooftop systems at about Rs.6.50/kWh. This is cheaper than the diesel gen-sets based electricity generation. It is also cheaper than the cost at which most DISCOMs would make power available to the industrial, commercial and highend domestic consumers.

With the new initiative, India will emerge as a major country utilizing the roof space for solar rooftop systems on such a. large scale: This 40 GW will result in abatement of about 60 million tonnes of CO2 per year and will help to fulfil the commitment of India towards its contribution in mitigating the effect of Climate Change.

PFS Sanctions Loan Aggregating To About Rs.825 Crores

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TC India Financial Services Limited (PFS), a leading Infrastructure Finance Company, recently announced that it has sanctioned loans aggregating to about Rs. 825 crores for providing financial assistance to power / infrastructure sector in India.With the focus to increase its loan portfolio in clean energy projects in India, the Company’s Board sanctioned loans in its meeting held on 26th December 2015. The fresh round of loan approvals will help Company further expand into renewable energy projects.The cumulative loan assistance sanctioned during the current financial year has reached about Rs. 4,330 crores as against Rs. 3,562 crores during comparative period of previous year i.e. April 2014 to December 2014. The projects assisted include an annuity based road project as per strategy of PFS for calibrated diversification.

INDIA

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“We are happy that the Company continues to expand its presence in financing of clean energy projects and has now also forayed into financing of an annuity based road project.Thisshall further help consolidate PFS’ position as a leading institution financing renewable energy projects in India.”

- Dr. Ashok Haldia , Managing Director & CEO, PTC India Financial Services Limited (PFS)

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ROOFTOP OffGRID

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Encouragement to Domestic Households for Installation of Solar Panels

ADB Supports Scale Up of Off-Grid Solar Power Systems in Rural India The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is administering a $6 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to help Simpa Energy India Private Ltd expand its off-grid solar home system service to underserved markets in rural India.

“These funds will allow Simpa Energy to offer a cost-effective off-grid power solution to the many people in rural areas that the national electricity grid does not reach, or fails to deliver power,”

Government has set a target for installation of 100 GW solar power by the year 2022. This was stated

by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Government has taken following steps to promote generation of solar power in the country: »

Financial support in the form of generation based incentives and viability gap funding for solar power projects.

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Fiscal incentives such as accelerated depreciation, concessional custom duty, excise duty exemptions, income tax holiday for 10 years

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Concessional loans from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

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Loans under Priority Sector Lending upto Rs. 15 crore for renewable energy projects.

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Bank loans as a part of home loan/ home improvement loan for rooftop solar systems

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Subsidy for grid connected rooftop solar systems, solar pumping systems, concentrated solar thermal and other off-grid solar applications.

The Minister further stated that the Central Financial Assistance of 30% of the benchmark cost is provided for general category States/ UTs and 70% for special category States/UTs including Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep Islands in the country to defined categories including domestic houses.

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-Mohammed Azim Hashimi, Investment Specialist at the ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department impa Energy installs its solar photovoltaic system in customers’ homes for a small initial downpayment, and then customers prepay for power on a daily basis using their cellphones. Part of each mobile payment also goes towards paying off the full cost of the system, with the customer typically able to acquire it after some 1 to 3 years.

As of October 2015, Simpa Energy, a unit of US-listed Simpa Networks, had installed almost 15,000 solar home systems in India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh state which has a low electrification rate.

“Rural India is going solar, Farmers and small shopkeepers are choosing solar as the most reliable and cost-effective solution to their electricity needs.”

-Paul Needham, CEO of Simpa Energy The CTF loan, which will be administered by ADB, will help the company to finance an additional 75,000 solar home systems for both households and microenterprises in 2016. By the end of 2018, Simpa aims to have rolled out 225,000 systems, providing clean energy for almost a quarter of a million households and small businesses, and avoiding generation of over 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Indian households without access to electricity typically rely on relatively polluting kerosene as their primary source of lighting. This investment follows an earlier $2 million equity investment by ADB in 2013. The CTF is a funding window of the Climate Investment Funds which provide resources to scale up the demonstration, deployment and transfer of low-carbon technologies with a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings.

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BUSINESS FINANCIAL

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Maharashtra Breaks New Ground Under Atal Mission; To Set Up Solar Power Plants To Pump Water Maharashtra Government, in an innovate measure has proposed setting up of solar power systems as an integral part of water supply projects to be taken up under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

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roposal in this regard was made in the State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) for 2015-16 presented before the inter-ministerial Apex Committee for AMRUT chaired

by Urban Development Secretary Shri Madhusudhan Prasad today. Officials of the Maharashtra Government explained to the Apex Committee that using solar powered pumps for operating pumping stations would enhance financial sustainability of water supply projects proposed to be taken up by the state government under Atal Mission. Representative of Department of Expenditure supported this proposal. The Apex Committee accorded in principle approval to the proposal and directed the state government to undertake detailed costbenefit analysis before proceeding further in the matter. Maharashtra is the first state to make such a proposal. Apex Committee has earlier approved SAAP for 13 states.

INNOVATIONS for PERC, HJT, CIGS, CdTe

The Apex Committee today approved SAAP for 2015-16 for three states of Maharashtra, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh with a total project outlay of Rs.2,870 cr for improving basic infrastructure pertaining to water supply, sewerage services, storm water drains, urban transport and green spaces and parks. These states account for 72 Atal Mission cities. Of this approved total outlay for 3 states, Rs.2,471 cr will be spent on water supply projects in 31 cities, Rs.260 cr on two sewerage projects in Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra and Shimla, Rs.18 cr on construction of storm water drains in Shimla, Rs.58 cr on urban transport projects in Shimla and Rs.69 cr for developing green spaces and parks in 69 cities.

As per AMRUT Guidelines, central government will provide assistance of Rs.1,349 cr including Rs.938 cr for Maharashtra, Rs.332 cr for Bihar and Rs.79 cr for Himachal Pradesh.Project outlays approved by the Apex Committee are: Maharashtra-Rs.2,047 cr, Bihar-Rs.664 cr and Himachal Pradesh-Rs.159 cr. these states have 44, 26 and 2 Atal Mission cities respectively.Maharashtra will spend Rs.1,782 cr on water supply projects in 16 cities, Rs.223 cr on sewerage project in Ulahasnagar and Rs.42 cr on providing green spaces and parks in 42 cities.

Bihar will spend Rs.647 cr on water supply projects in 14 cities and Rs.17 cr on green spaces and public spaces in all the 26 mission cities.Himachal Pradesh will spend Rs.42 cr to augment water supply, Rs.37 cr on expanding sewerage network services, Rs.58 cr on public transport related projects and Rs.4 cr for providing green spaces in Shimla.

With todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approvals, the Ministry of Urban Development has so far approved AMRUT Plans for 2015-16 for 16 states that account for a total of 358 cities.

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INDIA SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Signs Contract for Delivery of Crystalline Solar Cell Production Line

Rourkela Steel Plant Sets Up 1 MW Solar Unit

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of SAIL Ltd, has set up 1 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation unit inside the plant premises at a cost of Rs 6.68 crore.

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he system, which is in the final stage of commissioning, is expected to generate minimum 1.479 million units of solar energy per annum, RSP said in a statement. It is also installing other facilities for production of green energy.

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Two 5 KW rooftop solar PV power generation systems have already been installed and seven more such systems are in the pipeline. RSP is also in the process of setting up a 15 MW hydro power project on the downstream of Mandira Dam in collaboration with GEDCOL.

INGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG signed recently contract for the delivery of a production line with a customer in India, who plans to invest into the manufacturing of crystalline solar cells. The financing of the project in the amount of approximately € 20.0 million is still open and is expected later in the year 2016.

The contract is still under restriction of the approval of the relevant committees from SINGULUS.

offgrid & Rooftop

Indian Post Offices To Tap Solar Energy The Department of Posts has decided to tap solar energy to manage disruption in power as supply was hit during the rains in Chennai and suburbs last week.

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s a precautionary measure, the State Electricity Board suspended power supply following the record rain that inundated several places in Chennai and its neighbourhood.

“The Department of Posts has initiated action for installation of Solar Power packs in order to provide solar backup during power shutdown. In some post offices, solar power projects were already installed so that “erratic” power supply does not hamper the operations, it said. Three post offices– one in Tiruvannamalai and two each in Puducherry– have installed 2 KWp of solar energy at a cost of Rs 11 lakh, -An Official Release Said Source: PTI

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COP 21

Global Solar Council Launched At Cop-21

“Joining forces under the GSC, will help our Industry to spread the message that from a technology point of view and more generally cost competitiveness perspective, Solar Generation has to be included in plans to fight against climate changes.

Giving future generation the best possible world is a necessity. The intention is to establish the Secretariat and legal entity in the United States and Headquarters in China. Membership is open to any association active in solar power.”

- Eric Ast,

SOLARUNITED

The launch of the Global Solar Council (GSC) at COP21 marks a new era in the development of solar energy on its path to become the world’s largest source of electricity generation. Today the solar power sector has united to fight climate change. There is consensus that solar power will become the principal source of electricity generation. It has a hugely important role to play in the international efforts to ultimately eliminate carbon emissions from the power sector.”

- Bruce Douglas, Chairman of the GSC The GSC strives to convey 3 Key Messages about solar power »»

Solar power is already one of the cheapest forms of electricity globally and prices continue to decline fast. The levelised cost of solar electricity is 80% lower than it was during COP-15 in 2009. Solar provides a cost-effective means of fighting climate change today.

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Solar power is the most versatile form of electricity generation and can be deployed anywhere in the world for the people of developing and developed countries alike. Solar also has the highest share of popular support of any electricity technology.

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To avoid a greater than 2 ºC increase in global temperatures, it is imperative to strongly accelerate the deployment of solar power. A 10% share of global power generation by 2030, from less than 1% today, is possible given the right market conditions.

“Our goal is to encourage the wide-scale adoption of solar energy through cooperation, education, and training. The principal members of the organization are national and regional solar associations from both established and emerging markets, including the world largest markets of China, Europe, India, Middle East, Australia, South America and the United States. “The GSC will provide a coordinated, international voice on behalf of these organizations,”

- John Smirnow, Secretary-General of the GSC

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The Board members of the Global Solar Council are as follows:

Chairman: SolarPower Europe, Bruce Douglas Co-Chairmen: Asian PV Industry Association (APVIA), Gongshan Zhu China PV Industry Association (CPIA), Jifan Gao Italian Solar Industry Association (Italia Solare), Gianni Chianetta National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), Pranav R. Mehta Spanish PV Industry Association (UNEF), José Donoso Secretary: Green Energy Association of Israel, Eitan Parnass Treasurer: SOLARUNITED, Bryan Ekus Secretary-General: John Smirnow Other Board members: Argentinian Renewable Energy Association, Marcelo Alvarez Australian Solar Council, Steve Blume Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (ABSOLAR), Dr. Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia French Renewable Energy Association (SER), Cyril Carabot German Solar Association (BSW), Jörg Mayer International Solar Energy Society, David Renne Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), Imtiaz Mahtab Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), Rhone Resch Taiwan PV Industry Association (Chinese Taipei), Dr. Peng Heng Chang

Founding supporting members of the Global Solar Council so far include: Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association, Meglena Russenova GUNDER (ISES – Turkey), Faruk Telemcioglu Polish Society for Photovoltaics, Stanislaw M. Pietruszko Solar Energy Development Association (SEDA – Egypt), Khaled Gasser Solar GCC Alliance & Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association, Browning Rockwell Svensk Solenergi, Jan-Olof Dalenbäck Swisssolar, David Stickelburger

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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Shipments of Advanced Batteries in 2014 Amounted to 53.3 GWh, According to Navigant Research A new report from Navigant Research details global shipments of advanced batteries, including documentation on energy capacity, power capacity, cells shipped, and revenue, in 2014.

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ith increased sales of consumer electronics, particularly smart phones, plus growing interest in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and grid management, demand for advanced batteries continues to rise. Between 2013 and 2014, the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth rate increased 12.8 percent in terms of energy capacity and 7.1 percent in terms of revenue. According to a new report from Navigant Research, in 2014, the advanced batteries industry shipped 53.3 GWh of batteries, representing more than seven billion individual battery cells and more than $14 billion in sales.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;While the consumer electronics segment saw tepid growth in 2014, the vehicle electrification and grid-energy storage sectors experienced significant increases in energy capacity and associated revenue. The advanced batteries industry remains in growth mode, and the majority of its products are manufactured in China and shipped around the world.â&#x20AC;?

- William Tokash, Senior Research Analyst with Navigant Research As far as battery chemistries, lithium ion (Li-ion) continues to be primarily used in consumer electronics, automotive electrification applications, and grid-energy storage, according to the report. The only major application segment with penetration by other chemistries is grid energy storage, where some systems utilize flow batteries, advanced lead-acid, and sodium-metal halide batteries.

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Vikram Solar brings solar energy to NSCBI Airport, Kolkata

“Kolkata airport is one of the first few airports in the country to get solarised. We are proud to showcase the biggest airport rooftop installation in the country. Vikram Solar were entrusted to execute this prestigious project and they have successfully completed it. The 2 MWp grid connected rooftop solar plant is set to create benchmark by generating 2800 Mwh of solar energy in its first year of operation. It is expected to garner monetary benefit of approx.

Rs. 2.15 cr. per annum through net metering with CESC besides earning carbon credit for green energy generation.”

- A.K. Sharma, Airport Director, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata

“We remain committed to our objective of encouraging and protecting utilization of natural resources of energy.We promote new, clean and cost-effective power generation and implementation of better technologies. At Vikram Solar, we develop world- class technology to design, install and commission benchmark solar projects worldwide and the Kolkata airport is one such example.”

- Gyanesh Chaudhary, CEO and Managing Director, Vikram Solar

Vikram Solar,a globally recognized leading solar energy solutions provider, specializing in high efficiency PV module manufacturing and comprehensive EPC solutions, successfully commissioned a rooftop solar plant with a total 2 MWp capacity at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, West Bengal.

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he project of setting of grid connected solar rooftop project under Jawharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) was implemented for Airport Authority of India within the MNRE scheme.

This project is Vikram Solar’s 3rd such rooftop installation at an International Airport in India, after the 100 kWp installation at Cochin International Airport & the recently commissioned 750 kWp solar plant at Calicut International Airport, Kerala. Vikram Solar was responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, supply, construction, erection and commissioning of this rooftop plant. The whole project consists of 3 separate installations of 180 kWp at the Operations Building, 572.2 kWp at the Cargo & APEDA building, and 1248 kWp at the domestic building. The project is expected to reduce approx 2036.90MT of CO2 emissions per year.

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The solar plant is built using Vikram Solar’s highefficiency ELDORA Prime Silver series’260 Wp 60 cells polycrystalline PV modules (a total of 7848 nos. of modules were used )spread over the area of 3 building rooftops. The solar plant is equipped with Vikram Solar’s advanced Data Monitoring System.

Vikram Solar has also been entrusted with overseeing the operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the plant under a 2-year contract.This is one of the biggest roof top installation in Eastern India and the biggest Roof Top installation of Airports Authority of India in the country.

“Our team is committed to take up complex projects and complete them from concept to commissioning by adhering to best project management practices & ensuring quality checks during entire execution process.

This project has not only resulted in substantial tax benefits but also end-user savings, while considerably lowering the carbon footprint. The plant has been set up using best-in-class technology which includes advanced monitoring system, latest cost effective earthing& lightning protection system, and other safety features making it safe and effective for an International airport.”

- Kuldeep Jain, COO, Vikram Solar

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Tata Power Solar Commissions World’s Largest Rooftop Solar

Tata Power Solar, India’s Largest Integrated Solar Player, Has Successfully Commissioned A 12 Mw Solar Rooftop Project For R.s.s.b.

Educational & Environmental Society (Rssb–Ees).

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uilt across 8 sheltered venues in a single premise at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas – Dera Baba Jaimal Singh in Amritsar, the project is the largest solar rooftop plant in the world, set up in a single phase. The plant will produce more than 150 lakh units of power annually and offset over 19000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. RSSB is a non-profit philosophical organization with its headquarters in Beas, Punjab. It is based on the spiritual teachings of all religions. RSSB-EES is a charitable organization based at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, which operates multiple charitable initiatives in the field of environment and education. The rooftop project is set up under the Punjab Government’s grid connected rooftop solar projects scheme, wherein power from the plant will be fed to the grid. In April 2014, same organisation had set up a similar 7.524 MWp solar plant on a single rooftop.

“We are really pleased and proud to have commissioned world’s largest rooftop solar plant for RSSB-EES. This has been commissioned in a single phase on multiple roofs covering an area of 1.621 million sq.ft with varying roof profiles, roof types and truss frames. With world-class safety being our ethos, the project was commisioned on schedule with highest quality standards by systematic and planned engineering and executed in a safe manner with zero-incidents. This is credible especially when our teams were working on heights with delicate roof material and have achieved this without disrupting the sanctity and utilization of the concerned buildings. The vision shown by RSSB-EES leaders to develop this type of a plant is admirable. This not only highlights their green & environmental focus but also showcases the potential of rooftops in building energy independence.”

- Ashish Khanna, CEO & ED, Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd

Tata Power Solar was ranked #1 in the solar rooftop market in the recently published India Solar Rooftop Map 2016 report by BRIDGE TO INDIA, a leading Cleantech consulting firm.

Apart from the 12 MW project with RSSB-EES, Tata Power Solar has other operating Roof Tops of over 65 MW of distributed generation.

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

& An extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) – the main driver of solar growth in the United States – was unexpectedly included in an omnibus spending bill agreed upon in Washington, D.C. late Tuesday night.

It will be finalized and voted on later this week. The key points for solar power are:

Global Solar Industry Saved from 2017 Cliff-Edge as US Set to Extend Solar Investment Tax Credit The ITC will be extended from Dec 31, 2016 and instead stepped down from 30 percent to 10 percent until 2024. Projects that start construction by 2019 will receive the current 30 percent ITC, while projects that begin construction in 2020 and 2021 will receive 26 percent and 22 percent, respectively. All projects must be completed by 2024 to obtain these elevated ITC rates.

For residential photovoltaic (PV) systems, a similar tax credit phase-out applies until December 31, 2021, after which the tax credit scheme ends.

Situation

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n the early hours of this morning, the U.S. Congress agreed on a bill that would see the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) extended by an additional five years, as part of a $1.15 trillion spending bill. The House is expected to vote on the legislation on Thursday or Friday. Although sudden opposition could block immediate approval of the full bill, it looks close to certain that the ITC extension will go ahead. In addition to an extension of the solar ITC, production tax credits for wind installations will also be introduced, in return for a removal of a 40-year long ban on oil exports from the United States.

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nalysis conducted just two weeks ago by IHS, prior to the extension of the ITC forecast that U.S. solar installations would reach nearly 17 gigawatts (GWdc) in 2016 driven by the rush from developers to finish projects ahead of the December deadline. This would then lead to a drop to just 6.5 GW in 2017. The impact on the global solar industry would have been huge. IHS previously predicted global installations would peak at 70 GW in 2016 – a 20 percent increase over 2015 and largely driven by the huge demand from the United States; however, the cliff-edge in demand facing the country at the end of 2016 would have led to a global decline of 10 percent in 2017, with installations falling back to 63 GW.

The extension of the ITC for solar power projects — and the changed deadline criteria from “placed in production” to “started construction” — relieves the solar industry of the pressure to complete projects in 2016. For projects that are contracted to come into place by the end of 2016, IHS anticipates that developers will renegotiate the deadlines for the least advanced projects. The majority of pipeline projects that are not yet ready for construction are forecast to be completed after 2016, with peaks in 2020 to 2023.

In parallel, the extension of tax-credits for residential PV enables steady growth of this segment through 2022.

Currently, the PV project pipeline in the United States amounts to 58 GW, of which 20 GW have power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place. According to initial assessments from IHS, the five-year extension of the ITC could spur developers to continue growing the pipeline at the current rate of 15 GW per year. Given the overhauled conditions, a high-level, initial assessment conducted by IHS now projects U.S. installations of 12 GW to14 GW in 2016, with 3 GW to 5 GW of utilityscale projects to be shifted from 2016 to later years. IHS forecasts U.S. installations to grow between 13G and 16 GW in 2017.

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his projected decline was based on a bottom-up assessment of more than 70 countries globally, based on known policy conditions. The effects of a sharp contraction in the United States was expected to be compounded by a stagnation of demand in China and Japan – both of which, like the U.S., had previously experience boom years.

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Total Sites of Installation > 1700 No.1 Off Grid\Roof top solar PV power solution provider of the year 2013 - 15 * Winner of Largest Roof top installation company for the year 2013 -15 * No.2 SPCU Manufacturer of the year 2013 - 2015 * No.4 Solar PV Module Manufacturers of the year 2015* No.5 Grid Sharing Solar PV Power Solution provider of the year 2015* IMS accredited company (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 18000) A Team of Expert Engineers with more than 30 years of experience in Power Electronics and Power Systems

PROJECTS & SERVICES Industrial Rooftop

(Formerly Known as NUMERIC POWER SYSTEMS LIMITED) NUMERIC HOUSE, 3rd Floor, No.5, P.S.Sivasamy Salai, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel: +91 44 2499 3266 Fax: +91 44 24995179 E-mail: info@swelectes.com, channels@swelectes.com, Website: www.swelectes.com

Accredited as Channel Partner for Off-grid and Decentralized Solar Applications (PV) under JNNSM, Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme by MNRE Empanelled as Energy Service Company with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) *SD Awards 2015

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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he result of the extension to the solar ITC is not just good news for the U.S. solar market, but is a net positive for the global solar industry as a whole. While prior to the extension of the ITC IHS forecast a 10 percent decline in global installations, this forecast has now been reversed. Global solar installations are now expected to reach between 66 GW and 68 GW in 2016, growing to between 70 GW 73 GW in 2017.

ther changes to the ITC proposed would also create a more stable environment for the global solar industry as reductions to the credit would be stepped down over several years rather than a hard cut-off. In addition the cut-off date for support for projects would be assessed based on when a project starts its construction rather than when it is completed.

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he sharp fall in solar installations which was modelled before the extension to the ITC also had major consequences for the supply chain, with IHS previously predicting a sharp correction in both solar hardware prices and also overall system prices. Whilst our full analysis will take further time, we expect a much more moderate decline in pricing over the next two years at least and a much more stable and predictable environment for the supply chain as a result.

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RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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New Energy Storage Deployments In Asia Pacific’s Major Markets Are Expected To Total Nearly 37 GW From 2015 To 2025 A new report from Navigant Research examines the market for grid-tied energy storage systems (ESSs) in 22 countries, with forecasts for power capacity, energy capacity, and revenue, segmented by technology, through 2025.

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- Alex Eller,

Research Associate, Navigant Research

hile system costs remain one of the largest hurdles to the energy storage industry’s growth, declining prices are helping to move the technology into diverse geographic markets. Because energy storage is quickly becoming a flexible and cost-effective tool for users to control energy costs and for grid operators to manage network instability, several countries are projected to see substantial growth in deployments in the coming decade, with five country-level markets in Asia Pacific expected to experience the largest increases globally. According to a new report from

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“As the industry expands, different countries are expected to rely on different mixes of energy storage technologies and applications best suited to serve the needs of their local electricity grids, As expected individual market leaders for energy storage, the United States and China are projected to have a more balanced mix of utility-scale and distributed storage deployments, while other countries are likely to heavily favor one application.”

Navigant Research, new energy storage deployments in Asia Pacific’s five major markets are expected to total nearly 37 GW from 2015 to 2025.

The increasing amount of variable renewable energy generation being deployed in major markets worldwide, primarily solar photovoltaic and wind energy, is also driving interest in grid-tied energy storage technologies, according to the report. Despite their advantages, however, these variable forms of generation are also presenting new challenges to the electrical grid.

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INDIA

Startup Push – Renewables Offer Excellent Avenues To promote a culture of entrepreneurship, the government announced incentives including an Rs 10,000-crore corpus for innovation-driven enterprises, a three-year break from paying income tax on profits, an Rs 500-crore per year credit guarantee mechanism, and exemption from capital gains tax for start-ups.

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his is great start and support to the entrepreneurs in India. Compared to develop countries, especially USA, we are far behind on innovation driven entrepreneurship. The government’s initiative to come up with such fund, will definitely support many aspiring entrepreneurs in the country to come up with the new ideas and we will see much higher growth of the start-ups.

On the renewable energy front, we need lots of innovation and new ideas to improve the output from Solar Panels bringing in wide-ranging different technologies to Raw Material, Production & Technology. Apart from generation innovations are required in Energy Storage, Transmission and Energy Saving. We need to attract more entrepreneurs and their ideas to make India as a hub of the innovations in solar PV technologies and Storage Systems.

Fortum Statement on Recent Tender Results of NTPC Rajasthan Solar Park

EQ Mag spoke with Mr. Hitesh Doshi, Chairman of Waaree Energies Ltd. on this announcement.

Solar Tariff At A New Low Of Rs 4.34 Per Unit

Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India.

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e understand that we are amongst the successful bidders in the e-Reverse Auction process conducted by NTPC for the ‘Selection of grid connected Solar PV projects under batch II tranche I of NSM phase II state specific bundling scheme in Bhadla Solar Park Phase II in Rajasthan for 70 MW’. However, based on the general procedure, Letter of Intent (LoI) shall be issued within 15 days from the completion of the reverse auction process and PPA shall be signed within 30 days after the LoI is issued. Hence, Fortum will be in a position to disclose more details once the company signs the PPA with a relevant authority in India.”

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olar tariffs have fallen to an unprecedented low of Rs. 4.34 / kWh through reverse auction for one of six projects of 70 MW each to be put up in Rajasthan under the National Solar Mission. NTPC on Monday conducted the reverse bidding for 420 MW solar power projects to be set up in the Bhadla Solar Park-II, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Shri Goyal TWEETED Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy congratulated Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mrs. Vasundhra Raje for the success and tweeted, “Congratulations to Hon’ble Raj CM @VasundharaBJP ji for achieving lowest ever Indian solar tariff of Rs. 4.34/ unit through reverse auction”

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BUSINESS FINANCIAL

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Yes Bank Commits To Mobilizing USD 5 Billion For Climate Action By 2020 At Cop21, Paris YES BANK, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, made a major announcement at Conference of Parties (COP) 21 climate summit in Paris to mobilize USD 5 billion towards climate finance in India.

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o achieve India’s target of meeting its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), YES BANK aims to mobilize USD 5 billion from 2015 to 2020 for climate action through lending, investing and raising capital towards mitigation, adaptation and resilience.

“COP21 is demonstrating the potential to strengthen partnerships amongst governments and business, establishing new pathways to achieve business and financial innovations to address climate change. This was triggered by businesses fulfilling their commitments made in September 2014 at the UN Climate Summit. YES BANK had committed to target funding 5000 MW clean energy annually which it has overachieved. Proactive corporate intervention is critical to achieving the climate goals and financial institutions have a larger role in driving climate action. YES BANK is fully committed to play the role of a catalyst and would work towards unlocking innovative financial mechanisms towards achieving India’s ambitious target of combating climate change in the near and long term.”

- Mr. Rana Kapoor , Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK Through these commitments YES BANK pledges to strengthen overall environment sustainability. The two weeks COP21 Climate Summit, attended by over 150 Heads of States and Governments and more than 40,000 delegates will aim to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2 degree Celsius through a common agreement.

INTERVIEW

Interview with Aditya Singhania Q. EQ : What is the background of your group, key people and your vision, aims, motives etc is the outcome AS : Navitas Green Solutions Pvt. Ltd. companies with ed mind like ral of mutual interest of seve le energy space. an aim to make an impact in renewab highly qualiThe key management team consists of ground with back fied young individuals having business 100 million ve abo centuries of experience group turnover ring and inee Eng er, USD. With rich experience in Pow of delivble capa is team Manufacturing industries the ctive effe cost as well as rior ering technically supe r Sola itas Nav ds. nee rgy ene solutions for the in ers lead stry indu the of one g aims at bein lthe Solar Energy market delivering qua s. ity products at the correct price

What technology have you deployed and what are the USP’s

AS : Navitas Solar houses one of the most advanced solar module assembly lines in the country. The clean room manufacturing facility located in Surat hosts state-of-the art production facility equipped with machines imported from from USA, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, etc. combined with a completely automated material movement system. This translates into high quality, reliability and longevity of the solar modules. Quality of the solar module depends greatly on the materials being used and the process involved during the manufacturing process. Solar module manufacturers in general tend to be secretive about their manufacturing process and facility. Navitas Solar on the other hand, welcomes all its customers to supervise the manufacturing process and the materials being used, thus being sure of the quality of the module being delivered. Also with our existing stringer we can cater to 5 busbar needs. Currently the market is witnessing a changeover from 3-4 busbar which is possible at Navitas.

Q.

What do you think of the PM Modi’s Make in India Initiative?

AS : Our current Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi Ji has been working hard to make economic reforms in the country and making India self reliable for its manufacturing needs. These efforts are still far from showing any real impact on ground realities. India ranks 130 in the ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’ which shows the need of drastic policy changes to make the Make In India campaign successful.

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INTERVIEW

Q. B.Tech (Civil NIT) Director-Operations at Navitas Solar

AS : The government had introduced DCR content in many projects to support manufacturing in India. This made the use of Indian made solar cells mandatory.

While the demand of the DCR modules has been in multiples of 1000MWs the cell manufacturing capacity is very less than this, thus supplying modules for these projects very difficult. Recently, there has been a huge rise in demand in the Chinese market, making the availability of high quality Solar Cells scarce. Moreover, the Indian module market is flooded with Chinese suppliers making the survival of Indian manufacturers challenging.

Q. EQ : What kind r target ? of market is you roducts you are What types of p them. introducing for

projects with ently targeting rr cu is r la So s ity scale solar AS : Navita 5 MW. Indian Util of e e ng ra um nels. While som the maxim Chinese solar pa ith gh w hi e ed id od ov flo pr market is anufacturers solar module m in solar plants do of the Chinese ob ws of pr lems ne , es ality solar ul od m ity qual lar offers high qu So s ita av N n. ai d ag sure this, we surface time an sts of time. To en tegic partte e th ss pa n ca also made stra modules which aterials. We have m ity al qu We are also progh hi use e the reliability. ov pr im to t on g building projners like DuP odules to ongoin m .

V IP B of e us ving them a USP moting the ner as well as gi ee g gr in nt em ou th m e e ak ul ects to m solar mod cently launched them We have also re tend to provide in e clients. W r ou em th to to es y ur er ct liv stru de ucts with timely is is Th e. iv high quality prod tit e prices compe while keeping th rience in h years of expe achieved throug and g in er engine manufacturing, . ry steel indust

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What are the expectations from Government in promoting solar module manufacturing in India.

What are the current challenges?

Global Solar Trade Warsâ&#x20AC;Ś Please comment and enlighten our readers on its pros and cons on Indian Manufacturers.

AS : Global Solar Trade War was an outcome of the intensive dumping of low grade solar modules and cells by Chinese companies in other markets making their products unviable by imposing hefty anti-dumping duties on them. While this has opened huge potential for Indian companies for export business, sourcing of the solar cells still poses challenges as China is the major cell supplier. Many of the Chinese manufacturers have started opening manufacturing facilities in other countries like India, Brazil, etc. The capacities of these plants are large compared to Indian manufacturers and now pose challenge and danger for the DCR market.

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INTERVIEW

Q.

Q.

Recent JNNSM, NTPC Tenders have just around 10% DCR. Please comment

AS : While 10% might seem less on the face value, but it is still large when compared to Indian Cell manufacturer’s capacities. To really help Indian manufacturers through DCR content, there should be an increased content of only modules manufactured in India regardless of the cell source.

Q.

Will you and other Indian manufacturers be able to compete with Tier 1 and Tier 2 Chinese Manufacturing?

AS : Indian solar module manufacturers are already competing with Chinese Tier-1 and Tier-2 manufacturers both in terms of Quality and Price. Where Indian manufacturers lag is in the manufacturing capacity which only comes into picture for very large utility scale power projects.

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What’s your view on the utility scale market…especially in light of the recent aggressive bidding in MP & Telangana AS : Recently, the utility scale power project biddings have seen a drastic and alarming fall in the bid prices. This is making the projects financially unviable for many players and is leading to low quality installations, thus leading utility scale solar industry in danger as a whole. While this is bad enough, many of the bid winners are also backing out of the project, thus making the complete tender void.

Q.

Whats your view on the Roof Top Market (40 GW Target), Off-Grid, Rural Markets and other applications of solar?

AS : Roof top and off-grid market is where the solar industry actually shines. Solar Energy is a highly scalable energy generation method which can be installed at the point of consumption. With the recent introduction of net metering policies in many states and installation of Solar Plant being made compulsory, the market has a huge potential. This is also a market where the Indian manufacturers can really make impact.

Indian rural areas have an acute shortage of electricity supply and small offgrid systems are a need of the hour in these places.

Q.

What’s your view on the export opportunities?

AS : With the ongoing Global Trade War, the export market for Indian modules have a huge potential in European and American market. Also Africa, Middle East and Asean countries have huge potential yet untapped. Countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Combodia are opening up. Also Southern African nations are coming up with their national solar policies throwing open vast opportunities.

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Business & Finance CLEAN ENERGY DEFIES FOSSIL FUEL PRICE CRASH TO ATTRACT RECORD

$329BN GLOBAL INVESTMENT IN 2015 By : Jennifer MacDonald, Bloomberg New Energy Finance

2015 was also the highest ever for installation of renewable power capacity, with 64GW of wind and 57GW of solar PV commissioned during the year, an increase of nearly 30% over 2014.

London and New York, 14 January 2016 – Clean energy investment surged in China, Africa, the US, Latin America and India in 2015, driving the world total to its highest ever figure, of $328.9bn, up 4% from 2014’s revised $315.9bn and beating the previous record, set in 2011 by 3%.

The latest figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance show dollar investment globally growing in 2015 to nearly six times its 2004 total and a new record of one third of a trillion dollars (see chart on page 3), despite four influences that might have been expected to restrain it.

These were: further declines in the cost of solar photovoltaics, meaning that more capacity could be installed for the same price; the strength of the US currency, reducing the dollar value of non-dollar investment; the continued weakness of the European economy, formerly the powerhouse of renewable energy investment; and perhaps most significantly, the plunge in fossil fuel commodity prices.

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ver the 18 months to the end of 2015, the price of Brent crude plunged 67% from $112.36 to $37.28 per barrel, international steam coal delivered to the north west Europe hub dropped 35% from $73.70 to $47.60 per tonne. Natural gas in the US fell 48% on the Henry Hub index from $4.42 to $2.31 per million British Thermal Units.

Michael Liebreich, chairman of the advisory board at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: “These figures are a stunning riposte to all those who expected clean energy investment to stall on falling oil and gas prices. They highlight the improving cost-competitiveness of solar and wind power, driven in part by the move by many countries to reverse-auction new capacity rather than providing advantageous tariffs, a shift that has put producers under continuing price pressure.

“Wind and solar power are now being adopted in many developing countries as a natural and substantial part of the generation mix: they can be produced more cheaply than often high wholesale power prices; they reduce a country’s exposure to expected future fossil fuel prices; and above all they can be built very quickly to meet unfulfilled demand for electricity. And it is very hard to see these trends going backwards, in the light of December’s Paris Climate Agreement.”

Looking at the figures in detail, the biggest piece of the $329.3bn invested in clean energy in 2015 was asset finance of utility-scale projects such as wind farms, solar parks, biomass and wasteto-energy plants and small hydro-electric schemes. This totalled

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Business & Finance $199bn in 2015, up 6% on the previous year.The biggest projects financed last year included a string of large offshore wind arrays in the North Sea and off the coast of China. These included the UK’s 580MW Race Bank and 336MW Galloper, with estimated costs of $2.9bn and $2.3bn respectively, Germany’s 402MW Veja Mate, at $2.1bn, and China’s Longyuan Haian Jiangjiasha and Datang & Jiangsu Binhai, each of 300MW and $850m.

The biggest financing in onshore wind was of the 1.6GW Nafin Mexico portfolio, for an estimated $2.2bn. For solar PV, it was the Silver State South project, at 294MW and about $744m, and for solar thermal or CSP, it was the NOORo portfolio in Morocco, at 350MW and around $1.8bn. The largest biomass project funded was the 330MW Klabin Ortiguera plant in Brazil, at about $921m, and the largest geothermal one was Guris Efeler in Turkey, at 170MW and an estimated $717m.

After asset finance, the next largest piece of clean energy investment was spending on rooftop and other small-scale solar projects. This totaled $67.4bn in 2015, up 12% on the previous year, with Japan by far the biggest market, followed by the US and China.

Preliminary indications are that, thanks to this utility-scale and small-scale activity, both wind and solar PV saw around 30% more capacity installed worldwide in 2015 than in 2014.

The wind total for last year is likely to end up at around 64GW, with that for solar just behind at about 57GW. This combined

total of 121GW will have made up around half of the net capacity added in all generation technologies (fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable) globally in 2015.Public market investment in clean energy companies was $14.4bn last year, down 27% from 2014 but in line with the 10-year average. Top deals included a $750m secondary share issue by electric car maker Tesla Motors, and a $688m initial public offering by TerraForm Global, a US-based ‘yieldco’ owning renewable energy projects in emerging markets.

Venture capital and private equity investors pumped $5.6bn into specialist clean energy firms in 2015, up a healthy 27% on the 2014 total but still far below the $12.2bn peak of 2008. The biggest VC/PE deal of last year was $500m for Chinese electric vehicle company NextEV. There was $20bn of asset finance in clean energy technologies such as smart grid and utility-scale battery storage, representing an 11% rise on 2014, the latest in an unbroken series of annual increases over the past nine years. The final category of clean energy investment, government and corporate research and development spending, totaled $28.3bn in 2015, up just 1%. This figure provides a benchmark for any surge in spending in the wake of announcements at COP21 in Paris by consortia of governments and private investors, led by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

National trends-

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hina was again by far the largest investor in clean energy in 2015, increasing its dominance with a 17% increase to $110.5bn, as its government spurred on wind and solar development to meet electricity demand, limit reliance on polluting coal-fired power stations and create international champions. Second was the US, which invested $56bn, up 8% on the previous year and the strongest figure since the era of the ‘green stimulus’ policies in 2011. Moneyraising by quoted ‘yieldcos’, plus solid growth in investment in new solar and wind projects, supported the US total.

Large hydro-electric projects of more than 50MW are not included in this asset finance figure or in total clean energy investment. However, BNEF’s estimate is that $43bn of large hydro projects reached “final investment decision” worldwide in 2015.

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urope again saw lower investment in 2015, at $58.5bn, down 18% on 2014 and its weakest figure since 2006. The UK was by far the strongest market, with investment up 24% to $23.4bn. Germany invested $10.6bn, down 42% on a move to less generous support for solar and, in wind, uncertainty about how a new auction system will work from 2017. France saw an even bigger fall in investment, of 53% to $2.9bn.

Brazil’s clean energy investment

slipped 10% to $7.5bn in 2015, while India’s gained 23% to $10.9n, the highest since 2011 but a far cry for the figures needed to implement the Modi government’s ambitious plans.

Japan saw investment rise 3% to $43.6bn, on the back of a continuing PV boom. In Canada, clean energy investment fell 43% to $4.1bn, while in Australia, it edged up 16% to $2.9bn.

A number of “new markets” together committed tens of billions of dollars to clean energy last year.

These include Mexico ($4.2bn, up 114%), Chile ($3.5bn, up 157%), South Africa ($4.5bn, up 329%) and Morocco ($2bn, up from almost zero in 2014). Africa and the Middle East are two regions with big potential for clean energy, given their growing populations, plentiful solar and wind resources and, in many African countries, low rates of electricity access. In 2015, these regions combined saw investment of $13.4bn, up 54% on the previous year.

Global clean energy investment 2004-15, $bn

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Business & Finance

India’s Clean Energy Investments Cross

$10bn On Solar Surge Renewable energy investments in India jumped to $10.9bn in 2015, up from an annual average of $8bn in the last three years. Solar PV investment leaped ahead of wind investments for the first time during the year due to a strong policy push for power from the sun.

• Investment in India’s renewable industry increased more than 22% in 2015 to reach $10.9bn (Figure 1), edging closer to the highest ever investment of $13.1bn achieved in 2011. This rise is largely attributed to the utility scale solar sector, where investment reached $5.6bn, up 80% from $3.1bn last year.

• The increase in investment mirrored the optimism generated by the pro-renewable energy policies introduced by the incumbent Narendra Modi-led BJP government. Solar investments have risen for the third year in a row propelled by allocation of 11GW of capacity in 2015 to independent power producers through multiple federal and national-level programmes.

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• Investments in wind have stayed relatively flat at $4.1bn in 2015, which is also the average achieved in the last three years. The government has set a target of 100GW of solar capacity and 60GW of wind power by 2022. A slight increase in financing was observed in energy smart technologies which include smart grids and smart meters.

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Business & Finance • India ranks the fifth largest country by financing in 2015 narrowly overtaking Germany and behind China, United States, Japan and United Kingdom (Figure 2).

• The increase in financing comes against the backdrop of India’s commitment at the Paris climate conference to raise the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity in the country’s power mix to 40% by 2030 from the current level of 30%. The government is also working on a target to provide power for all by 2019.

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• We expect clean energy financing to touch record numbers in the next two years beating the previous best of $13.1bn in 2011.

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Wind Energy

Are Those Modern

‘Giant Wind Turbines’ REDEFINING THE WIND SECTOR DYNAMICS? We’re now able to build (could think at least) practically meaningful wind power projects in the areas where 2-4 years ago you never would have been able to dream; thanks to ever growing wind turbine technologies and infrastructure frame works. As the turbines are getting bigger and smarter, it also throws quite a lot of challenges in terms of logistics and project execution. So the question is ‘how big is too big’ when it comes to wind turbines.

Kiran Nair,

Head : Wind Resource and Forecasting MYTRAH ENERGY

Bigger is better; (but always?)

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ind might currently be considered a matured technology, but it continues to show its incredible potential to evolve in response to market pressure and the competition. During late 90s, a typical wind turbine in India was rated with a capacity of about 200-500 kilowatts with a hub height of 50m and blade length ranging from 25-35m. Today we are talking about the turbines with a capacity of 2000-3000 kilowatts and measure as high as 180m at the tip of an operational modern turbine.

With the entrance of pure play IPPs, where cost per kW matters equally or even more than that of MW, focus of the OEMs changed from increasing the name plate capacity to increase in capacity factor to produce more power at same cost or in a

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way reduced cost per MW. This enables players to explore and develop areas where wind speed is comparatively lower compared to proven high potential sites. Two major donors for this revolutionary developments are rotor blades and towers; though there is also significant improvements transpired in drive-train, BoP components and O&M techniques.

When you move on to low windy sites, you need large rotor diameter for a good conversion ratio. Typically wind turbine blade design is a function of aerodynamic efficiency, structural stability and the cost of production (a new vital fourth factor; transportation tailbacks?). Good amount of research works are flowing in an attempt to makes blades more efficient, lighter, tougher and smarter.

Most of the improvements in rotor blades arena attributes to advanced blade manufacturing techniques (different moulding techniques, optimum fabrication cost/time) and improved efficiency. As blades grow longer and longer, the idea of converting structural areas of the blade from fiber glass to significantly stiffer and lighter carbon fiber beings to make sense, despite the latter’s greater upfront cost. Lighter blades require less robust turbine and tower components, so that cascading cost savings justify the additional cost of carbon. And light carbon fiber will enable manufactures to extend the blade length without compromising on structural integrity. There are challenges persists in carbon fiber technology because of its relative low damage tolerance and it compressive strength is greatly affected by fiber alignment. Modern turbines are having blade geometry designed in such a way that the noise levels are within the set standards which will enable turbine to work under normal operation mode (not on curtailment mode) in decibel sensitive zones.

Controller algorithms in the modern turbines are designed in a way that blades will respond in the optimal manner to gust, turbulence etc. which is key for a safe/reliable operational life span of 20/25 years. Individual blade pitching to maximize aerody-

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Wind Energy namic efficiency is also been featuring in some of the advanced turbines.

You believe it or not; towers will throw more puzzles than that of blades when growing in size. When the turbines are reaching higher heights above the earth’s surface, where stronger winds blow because of relatively lower friction and obstacles around, it allows them to extract more energy than at lower heights. An increase of 30m in hub height (90m to 120m) for a modern Class III turbine can fetch 8-15% more energy depends on the wind shear (rate of change in wind speed as we go vertically up from the ground) at the site. If the incremental cost due to the extra steel and cement could be managed effectively against life cycle cost of energy gain because of the height change, this proposition will be a ‘no brainer’. Conventionally wind turbine towers are tubular steel, lattice steel or concrete and each of these has its own constraints to go beyond a particular height because of cost, structural, maintenance or transportation concerns.

There are innovative approaches in the form of space frame, lattice-tubular hybrid, concrete-steel tubular hybrid etc. and all aims to reduce the cost and mitigate the constraints due to design and maintenance. A different approach than the traditional way of transporting the ‘ready-made tower’ from where it is manufactured to site has been implemented in many cases like using steel partially unrolled and wielded at site, steel concrete to be made at site etc. A potential drawback of this could be additional man power (skilled?), equipment requirement at the site and perhaps a longer assembly time at least for first few sites. Another crucial holdup in growing taller arise from available crane capacity because of the lift weight and height of the key components. Transporting and maneuvering

these large cranes within the wind plants will also remain as a challenge.

O&M (though O is a kind of separated from M already) of running assets is another segment which considerably improved over last 3-5 years (again thanks to IPPs). Heavy investments devoted in design of major components to reduce downtime and hence to ensure higher availability. Wind farms are competing with gas/nuclear plants which normally has availability in the range of 96-98%; and it was not too back owners were happy with 80-90% availability numbers.

Advanced SCADA connectivity/concepts, predictive maintenance matrices for better planning, smart control features (advanced park power control Vs traditional feeder shut down to maximize the grid availability in the case of partial shut downs), generators with optimum grid compatibility and lot wise turbine availability calculations (more to do with contract negotiations though) are some of the other key drivers in state of art modern wind farm management. Though it’s still not that popular, shift from mere availability (time based availability) to meaningful availability (energy based availability) is something has beendiscussed a lot with the evolution of modern technologies and can guarantee the stake holders that the assets are performing as it is supposed

to be if not better!

Higher name plate capacity turbines can significantly reduce the number of land parcels to be bought for the project when compared to its predecessors. This will also ensure that the amount of work that goes into road construction, internal electrical lines etc. are far lower than using a smaller capacity turbine for the same wind farm. And in a country like India, where land procurement, conversion to non-agricultural land, forest allotment stages etc. could be so challenging and even can harmer the project dynamics, the amount of comfort these large turbines can bring for the investors will be enormous.

Modern turbines have conversion efficiency as high as 50% and it is enormous improvement when compared to older models where the conversion efficiency was limited to a maximum of 42-44%. Modern turbines are specifically designed for low wind regime with improved conversion efficiency over lower wind speeds. And it’s been calculated that the latest wind turbine of rotor diameter ~110m and hub height of 120m can produce ~70% more energy than its predecessors (perhaps one which was there in the market couple of years back ; not too old one right !) with ~90m rotor diameter and 80m hub height !!

A typical class III site frequency distribution of wind speed plotted against Cp of a modern turbine (yellow) and an old turbine (green) Since PLF (generation), capital cost and tariff are the three major factors driving the viability of any wind power project, and since the increase capital cost not in proportion to that of generation, there is no surprise that these cutting edge technologies are making many low windy sites into financially viable ones. In another way, despite of having challenging tariffs, policy concerns and higher infrastructure set up costs, these modern technologies are something to look forward to keep the sector alive and investor friendly.

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INTERVIEW

Interview with TBEA

ShaohuaRuan General Manager (TBEA Xi’an Electric Technology Co., Ltd.)

Simon Niu

Project Manager of Indian Market

Ray Luiz

Project Manager of Indian Market

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

TBEA inverter have TBEA : More than one hundred MW Indi-

our prospect, been used in the Indian PV market. For al PV industry in the an market is a new growth area for glob ket potential. TBEA is future, and there is an expansive mar tegy-‘One Belt and positively response to our national stra cooperation with of ber One Road’, and carries out a num field of energy the in es rpris Indian government and ente local indusa ed blish esta has and equipment. TBEA les service r-sa afte and ork netw g trial park, marketin accumulain India. Based on our 4-year market value tion, we look forward to creating more our ing for Indian customers, and shar successful experience with them in more fields.

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INTERVIEW

Q.

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

TBEA : Based on a clear understanding and judgment for the Indian market, TBEA developed TC1000KH-M central inverter in order to be fully satisfied the characteristics of Indian grid and project demand. It is the first high-power PV grid-connected inverter which conversion efficiency is more than 99%, and its output power can be up to 1000kW. Furthermore, this product adopts tri-level parallel technology, intelligent startstop logic, which can help promote the conversion efficiency of whole machine. It can also help project owners achieve excellent earnings of PV station and operating performance because the advantages of our inverter, such as leading power generation around the world, considerably high reliability, much lower investment of PV plant and maintenance cost.

Meanwhile, the product complies with the multi-national grid standards, and be equipped with the function of HVRT, LVRT and multiple independent MPPT. TC1000KH-M can integrate the function of DC distribution cabinet and communication cabinet. And double winding transformer or double split transformer can be free to choose. In addition, lower operation and maintenance cost of PV plant can be acquired due to the modular design, front-door maintenance and pluggable design. It is also convenient to ship both in China and aboard because of the standard container design. Additionally, standard container design can assist reduce the construction of foundation. So, the initial cost to build PV station can be reduced accordingly. Moreover, our PV box-type inverter have extremely strong environmental adaptability, and it can stably operate in various harsh environment.

Q.

Please tell us in detail about your company (Company structure, Sales, Employees, Products & Solutions etc)

TBEA : TBEA Xi’an Electric Technology Co., Ltd., located in Xi’an High and Tech Development Zone, is a branch of TBEA Co., Ltd. As a national high and new tech enterprise, it is specialized in the development of solar PV grid-connected control equipment.

With the R&D and manufacturing experience of electrical devices in the past 70 years inherited from TBEA, the company also owns a professional R&D team which is mainly formed by doctors and masters. Firmly focusing on the development of PV grid-connected control equipment, the company works under a concept of environmentally friendly, reliability and efficiency. And now, the company has established R&D Centers and GW production bases in Xi’an and Hami, whose annual capacity is able to be beyond 4GW. The company has successively undertaken “11th national five year plan” science-technology key programs and more than thirty provincial scientific research projects. It has become the unit of national 863 key projects, who is responsible for “Research on Hundred-megawatt PV system Design and Integration Technology and Development of Key Equipment” and “Development of PV Micro-grid bidirectional Inverter and Research on Key Technology” The company is one of the enterprises which has mastered a number of core technology independent research and development in PV grid-connected inverter field.

The company has now completed the development of a full range of 3kW-2000kW grid-connected inverter, full line of products is now available through a number of domestic and international authoritative certification and testing. Products has been exported to Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, South America and other countries and regions, and the operational performance has exceeded 8.5GW.

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Q.

Please englihten our readers on the debate of “Central vs. String Inverters Design” Which concept is best suited for India and why

TBEA : Central inverter: large capacity for a single machine, less independent MPPT, low cost per watt, the selecting proportion concerning with more than 5MW PV plant has reached 98% in global.

String inverter: small capacity for a single machine (3~60kW), more independent MPPTs, high cost per watt, the selecting proportion concerning with lower than 1MW PV plant has reached around 50% in global.

Comparing with the string inverter, there are some advantages of central inverter in large-scale desert PV plant.

1. Lower initial investment 2. Similar power generation 3. More convenient and economical for the operation and maintenance 4. More conform to the requirement of grid-connection According to the actual situation of Indian PV project, there are some apparent characteristics, such abundant solar resource and large-scale PV project. In order to gain a convenient and economical operation and maintenance of PV plant, and lower investment, the scheme of central inverter is better than string inverter in Indian market currently.

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January 2016

49

INTERVIEW

Q.

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

TBEA : TBEA has now completed the development of a full range of 3kW-2000kW grid-connected inverter. There are diverse solutions for PV plant, which is according to the environment of PV plant.

For flat terrain (PV modules: consistent dip angle, consistent orientation, non-sheltered)

1. Conventional central inverter: TC500kH, TC630kH Characteristics: 1) Maximum conversion efficiency is 98.7% 2) Integrated DC distribution cabinet.

3) High power density 4) Modularized design and front-door maintenance design 5) Without derating ≤ 3000m altitude 2. Modular and parallel central inverter: TC500kH-M, TC680kHM,TC850kH-M,TC1000kH-M,TC1250kH-M Characteristics: 1) Tri-level parallel technology 2) Maximum conversion efficiency is 99%

Q.

3) Integrated DC distribution cabinet 4) Integrated communication cabinet 5) Multiple independent MPPT 6) Duplex winding and double split transformer optional 7) Lower start-stop power and intelligent start-stop logic 8) Master-slave parallel design 9) Modularized design and front-door maintenance design 3.Box-type inverter: TC1000KS, TC1250KS, TC2000KS Characteristics: 1) Protection degree: IP54 2) Standard container design For slowly varying terrain (PV modules: different dip angle, different orientation, non-sheltered) 1.Modular and parallel central inverter: TC500kH-M, TC680kHM,TC850kH-M,TC1000kHM,TC1250kH-M 2. Box-type inverter: TC1000KS, TC1250KS, TC2000KS For abrupt terrain (PV modules: different dip angle, different orientation, sheltered)

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?

TBEA : After more than ten years of development, the company has accumulated a wealth of experience researching the applied technology of PV power generation. Over the years, the company has established a long-term cooperation and exchange platform with the well-known domestic and international research team of power electronics. The platform can help us implement the complement of each other’s advantages effectively, and boost the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. The company has also developed and founded a high quality R&D team that based on doctors and masters, and the percentage of engineer who acquires master’s degree exceeds more than 60%. The company has independently developed and manufactured 3kW to 2000kW full range of PV grid-connected inverter products to meet the demand from the household system to hundred megawatt ultra-large-scalePV plant. At present, the company’s full range of products have passed the core certification and test of around the world. And the performance index of products fully conforms to the requirements of solar industry in Europe, America, North Africa and Central Asia. Currently, these products have been applied massively in domestic and overseas hundred PV stations. More than 50 million RMB are used in the technological innovation and R&D innovation each year.

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Q.

1.String inverter: TS30KTL Characteristics: 1) 240V~1000Vwide input voltage range 2)Maximum conversion efficiency is 98.6%, European efficiency is 98.3% 3) Natural convection heat dissipation 4) Double-circuit MPPT tracking 5) Protection degree: IP65 6) Diverse communication interfaces: RS485, Ethernet, power line carrier communication, wireless communication 2.String inverter: TS40KTL Characteristics: 1) Maximum conversion efficiency is 99%, European efficiency is 98.7% 2) Natural convection heat dissipation 3) High power density 4) Protection degree: IP65 5) Diverse communication interfaces: RS485, Ethernet, power line carrier communication, wireless communication

What are the resources in terms of manpower for sales, O&M and other aspects developed and present in the Indian market.

TBEA : Indian market was the first international market that TBEA entered and TBEA group has established a local industrial park in India. In virtue of the advantage of TBEA group, the company (TBEA Xi’an Electric Technology Co., Ltd.) has founded an outstanding sales team, and equipped Indian solar market with the skilled engineers and the most sophisticated after-sales service personnel. We devote ourselves to do a worthy paradigm of TBEA’s international process in the Indian market with the highest allocation of resources.

Q.

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

TBEA : Distinguishing factors: Small dimension and high power density, high conversion efficiency and high power generation, wide environment temperature and humidity running rang, suitable for high altitude area, run under extreme environment, it is convenient for domestic and overseas shipping.

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INTERVIEW

Q.

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

TBEA : That of central inverters still dominates the company’s overall sales, and the company basically produces in a full capacity. The profits and other financial parameters are recorded by other different departments. The detailed data cannot be offered temporarily.

Q.

Have your product won any award recently. Kindly enlighten us in detail about this product.

TBEA : Our product, TC500KH, has been selected to the Chinese PV Industry “Leader” list. The Chinese PV Industry “Leader” Plan is special plan which can help promote the application of advanced PV products and the upgrade of PV industry, and strengthen the quality management of PV products and project.

The government of China encourages the technology development, publicity and popularization of the products from PV industry “leader”.

Owing to the advantages consist of considerably high conversion efficiency, high power density, modular design, front-door maintenance, pluggable design, excellent grid-friendly and environmental adaptability, the TC500KH has been a preferred PV grid-connected inverter for numerous PV station owners.

Additionally, it has been applied to hundred PV projects in the globe and popular with its stable operating performance and much higher yield. Moreover, TBEA is always keeping improving the products. So, after the constant innovation and upgrade, TC500KH can be suitable for diverse environment. Furthermore, it has been the first grid-connected inverter which passes the certification and test of Chinese efficiency, and achieved an Alevel efficiency certification.

Q.

Development of Micro-Inverters and its implication towards development of solar PV market, its applications and usage…Kindly describe in detail regarding micro inverters

TBEA : Micro inverter: very small capacity for a single machine (lower than 1kW), single independent MPPT, a few pieces solar panels or each solar panel can be done the MPPT control independently, very high cost per watt, selected by household PV system which is usually lower than 10kW. At present, the micro inverter is popular with the North American families.

Q.

What‘s your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advice you would like to give to the government

TBEA : Indian government has paid more attention to the development of PV industry. And the development of Indian PV industry has been boosted because Indian government released a series of national solar plans. We are proud to provide the impetus for the development of the solar industry in India. Meanwhile, we also hope that the Indian government could continue to promote the development of renewable energy industry. And the government could make it easier for foreign manufacturers to participate in and mutually exploit and develop the Indian market on the basis of protecting the state-owned enterprises and capital.

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1.

Be concerned about the brand

2.

Pay attention to the advantages of product

3.

Be concerned about the applications of different inverter.

4.

Pay attention to the yield

5.

Be concerned about service.

Q.

r you s i t to Wha Adviceject

Top

o in a Pr eloper e v l i e D a wh Indi osing cho your the ducts pro its for ar PV Sol nt Pla

5

Kindly enlighten us on the competition scenario and increasing competition from manufacturers worldwide

TBEA : With the slowdown of the global economic, the global manufacturing has been relocated. Due to the pressure of survival and profit, the transference of manufacturing industry has been accelerated from the western countries to the Asia-Pacific emerging markets. The external demand of manufacturing-related sections has been weakened, and several industries are facing re-adjustment.

These are bound to promote the optimization of the manufacturing structure.

In the future, the development of the world’s manufacturing will appear in follow five major trends: Manufacturing Globalization, Advanced Technology, Industrial clustering, Environmental-friendly production and industrial integration.

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January 2016

51

Research & Analysis

Global Solar Installations Forecast to Reach Approximately 64.7 GW in 2016, Reports Mercom Capital Group Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, forecasts another year of solar growth with installations expected to reach 64.7 GW in 2016 up from 57.8 GW forecast for 2015.“The largest markets in 2016 will again be China, the United States and Japan; the United States is set to overtake Japan as the second largest solar market behind China.

These three countries will account for about 65 percent of installations next year” said Raj Prabhu, CEO and Co-Founder of Mercom Capital Group.

Mercom is forecasting the United States to install about 13 GW of solar next year which will be the best year for U.S. solar installations by far. The U.S. solar market is expected to experience robust growth for the next 13 months as the industry rushes to complete projects before the 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC) drops to 10 percent. The industry is hopeful, but not betting, on a possible extension to 30 percent ITC at -

C 52

EQ

30% hina will continue to be the largest solar market in the world, installing approximately 19.5 GW in 2016. China has installed almost 10 GW in the first three quarters this year, well ahead of 3.79 GW installed in the same period last year. Curtailment and delayed subsidy payments remain a challenge. The announcement of an additional 5.3 GW installation quota with a completion deadline of June 2016 for provinces that have met or exceed their installation goals is likely to help China get close to meeting its installation goals in 2015, and ensures a strong 2016.

The Chinese government is expected to increase its 2020 installation target to 150-200 GW.

January 2016

The 2016 installation estimates will need to be revised if solar projects are allowed to “begin construction”

by December 31, 2016 instead of reaching completion, or if there is an agreement in Congress to extend the ITC in any form.

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Research & Analysis

Japan is expected to install about 9 GW of solar in 2016. The Japanese solar industry has experienced two feed-in tariff (FiT) cuts in 2015 as the government looks to trim solar subsidy costs. So far, Japan has approved a little more than 80 GW of solar projects under its FiT program, of which about 25 percent has been installed. Japan is going through a transformation in the energy sector with a change in its energy mix going into 2030, giving more weight to renewables and cutting back on nuclear energy. Japan also is in the process of deregulating its utilities and breaking up monopolies. Japanese domestic solar module shipments have dropped the last two quarters following the reduction in FiTs. In European market activity, the U.K. is expected to lead in terms of PV installations in 2016 followed by Germany and France. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the U.K. PV market with a decision on FiT cuts still pending and Renewable Energy Credits set to expire in April 2016.

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Indian solar installations are expected to reach about 3.6 GW in 2016, significant growth compared to the 2.1 GW forecasted for 2015. Momentum has picked up after the government set a target of 100 GW by 2022.

Aggressive bidding in its recent auctions has caused some concerns as to the viability of these projects due to unrealistically low bids.

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Policy And Regulation

CERC

( CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION ) ORDER

T

he Commission notified the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2012 (hereinafter “RE Tariff Regulations”) on February 6, 2012.

2. The first proviso of Regulation 5 of RE Tariff Regulations provides that the Commission may annually review the benchmark capital cost norm for Solar PV and Solar thermal power projects.

3. In exercise of powers under Regulation 5 of RE Tariff Regulations, the Commission vide Order dated 31st March, 2015, determined the Benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar PV power projects for the year 2015-16 (Petition No. SM/005/2015 -Suo-Motu) at Rs. 605.85 lakhs/MW, and for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects at Rs.12 crores/MW.

IN THE MATTER OF Determination of Benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar PV power projects and Solar Thermal power projects applicable during FY 2016-17

4. Accordingly, the generic tariff for Solar PV projects notified vide Order dated 31st March, 2015, in Petition No. SM/005/2015 and applicable for the financial year 2015-16 is Rs. 7.04/unit, and Rs.6.35/unit with AD benefit. For Solar Thermal power projects, levellised tariff for 2015-16 is Rs.12.05/unit, and Rs.10.80/unit with AD benefit. Recent tariffs discovered in auctions conducted by several states (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, etc) and NTPC are in the range of Rs.4.63/unit to Rs.5.99/unit.

5. The Commission, in due discharge of the mandate under Regulation 5 of RE Tariff Regulations, proposes to determine the benchmark Capital Cost Norm for Solar PV and Solar Thermal power projects applicable during FY 2016-17. The details of the proposal are as below.

BENCHMARK CAPITAL COST NORM FOR SOLAR PV TECHNOLOGIES, FOR FY 2016-17

T

he chart below from Mercom Market Intelligence Report for the week of 16th November 2015 shows an 8.5% drop in module spot prices over the first ten months of 2015. However, last few months show a steady trend, possibly due to year-end drawing close.

Figure 1: Monthly average Chinese module spot prices (Source: Mercom)

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Policy And Regulation

A

nother report from pvXchange shows varied trends over the past one year. The table below shows region-wise average monthly prices in USD/Watt for a period of twelve months, from November 2014 to October 2015 Table 1: Monthly Module Prices (Source: Pvexchange.com)

Non-Module Cost Components

T

he non-module cost components comprise costs towards land, civil & general works, ground mounting structures, power conditioning unit, cabling & transformer/ switchgears, preliminary/pre-operating expenses & financing costs.

Each component of non-module cost of Solar PV based power plant is estimated as under for the determination of benchmark capital cost of Solar PV projects for FY2016-17.

Non-Module Cost Components

L

and Cost Land requirement for solar PV is ascertained to be around 5 acres/MW. While the land costs could vary a lot from state to state, it has been noted by the Commission in the past that land typically used for utility scale projects is arid/barren, and recent slump in real estate market, it is proposed that land cost be retained at Rs. 25 lakhs/MW.

The data shows that since November 2014, regional module prices dropped anywhere between 11%-15% (maximum drop), though they recovered a bit by end of year due to heavy demand from China & US. The data shows that since November 2014, regional module prices dropped anywhere between 11%-15% (maximum drop), though they recovered a bit by end of year due to heavy demand from China and US. Assuming a similar maximum drop over the next twelve months as in the regional table from pvXchange, i.e. 11% from year-end prices for SE Asia of $0.54, the expected module spot price by end of next year would be $0.48/W. It should be noted that discovered spot prices are typically higher than bulk prices that are negotiated by companies for large MW scale projects.

Additionally, from interactions with industry, it has emerged that prices for modules being deployed in the Indian market currently are in the range of $0.43/W - $0.50/W. Thus, it may be observed that current projects are being implemented at module prices well below existing spot market prices.

Considering the data trends above, and factoring in expected price reductions over the next year, the Commission proposes the benchmark cost of modules to be considered as $0.465/W for FY 16-17. 1.6 Average exchange rate for Rupees to US$ for the past six months (May 2015-Oct 2015) as per RBI is Rs. 64.58. This exchange rate has been considered for this exercise.

The Commission has considered module degradation as of about 0.6%, which gives a module degradation cost of Rs 9.89 lakhs/MW. Accordingly, the total module cost is proposed at Rs 310.19 lakhs/MW

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Power Conditioning Unit (Inverter)

A

PCU for grid connected plants typically consists of an Inverter, which converts DC current from the panels to AC current to feed into the grid, at the required frequency. From interactions with industry, it is understood that inverter prices are reducing over time, while their efficiency continues to increase. Good quality inverters that are being deployed in Indian projects are available at INR 27-30 lakhs in the market. It is proposed that inverter cost be set to INR 30 lakhs. It should be noted that this does not include cost of later upgrades/component replacement. Inverter O&M costs are typically included in the contingency fund, which is separately considered at 0.5%-1.0% of total capital cost.

Mounting Structures

M

ounting structures are made of stainless steel, either hot dipped galvanized steel or pre galvanized cold rolled steel. Structures must be designed well, tall enough to withstand flooding conditions while strong enough to withstand strong winds. Typical usage is ~50 tons of steel/MW, though it could vary with terrain. Proper concrete foundation is recommended. Price of steel has been fairly steady over last several months, hile for zinc that is used for galvanization of steel, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has reduced since January of this year.

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Policy And Regulation

WPI index data for Steel is as below

Source: www.eaindustry.nic.in/display_data.asp

As per market information, mounting structure cost may be set to around INR 35 lakhs/MW. Civil and General Works

C

ivil works include preparation of terrain for digging, levelling and mounting, building control room to house inverter and other BoS components, building approach roads, arranging water supply, lighting etc. General works include security of solar farm, setting up of power back-up generator; yard lighting, earthling kits, etc.

Civil and general works cost is proposed to be set to INR 35 lakhs/MW. It could be even lower if the project developer also has in-house EPC arm, but this is being proposed assuming that most projects would get an external contractor.

Evacuation Costs (cables & transformers)

T

his component comprises of cost for transformers and all DC and AC cabling within the solar farm. Cabling cost includes DC cabling between solar PV panels and inverters, junction boxes, AC cabling between inverter and pooling station, and earthing. Step-up transformer, breakers, isolators, protection relays, and meter are installed at the plant level. Depending on local norms for voltage level at evacuation, the costs may vary.

Costs are also dependent on the size of the project. Nonetheless, given all the possible variability, a typical cost has to be assumed. Based on information from several industry sources, it is proposed to consider cabling & transformer costs at INR 40 lakhs/MW.

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Preliminary/ pre-operative expenses

T

he preliminary/pre-operating expenses include transportation of equipment, storage of equipment at site, insurance, contingency, taxes and duties, IDC and finance charges etc. Detailed breakup of Preliminary and Pre-operative expenses and financing cost, lump sum in percentage of total capital cost is proposed as under: i. Insurance Cost and Contingency: 0.5%-1% ii. Interest during Construction (IDC): 3-4% iii. Financing cost: 1% iv. Project management cost: 0.5% v. Pre-operative Cost: 0.5% Preliminary/Pre-operating expenses and Financing Cost contribute to around 5%-7% of total capital cost on average basis. It may be noted that construction period of these projects is rather short, so IDC is not a major cost. Accordingly, these expenses are suggested at 5.5% of total capital cost, or Rs. 26.13 lakhs/MW.

Thus, the BoS costs add up to INR 191.13 lakhs/MW.

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Policy And Regulation Summarizing the cost components

C

onsidering the above facts and data into consideration, the Commission proposes to consider total cost of Solar photo-voltaic power projects for the FY 2016-17 as INR 501.32 lakhs/MW as benchmark project cost of Solar PV projects.

BENCHMARK CAPITAL COST NORM FOR CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER (CSP) PROJECTS, FOR FY 2016- 17

S

olar Thermal technologies use systems of mirrored concentrators to focus direct beam solar radiation to receivers that convert the energy to high temperatures for power generation.

There are four commercially available CSP technologies: a) Parabolic Trough b) Central Receiver Tower c) Dish Engine d) Linear Fresnel So far, three solar thermal power projects, spanning two of the four technologies above, have been commissioned, namely: 1. Godavari Green Energy Ltd, 50 MW, Rajasthan 2. MEIL Green Power Ltd, 50 MW, Andhra Pradesh 3. Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy Pvt Ltd, 100 MW, Rajasthan

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Other projects for which PPAs were signed under National Solar Mission have been experiencing delays due to various reasons. Additionally, worldwide, deployment of CSP projects has lagged Solar PV projects, as the costs of these two technologies have diverged. Currently, 4.5 GW of CSP plants are installed across the world, with Spain and US being leaders, and in upcoming active markets such as South Africa, Morocco and UAE. Pilots are also being conducted on solar thermal with storage, as molten salts can store heat for generating electricity outside the sunlight hours. Since the CSP technologies have not seen economies of scale yet, and based on industry interactions, the Commission proposes to retain benchmark capital cost of Solar Thermal power projects at INR 12.0 Crore / MW for FY 2016-17.

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Solar Rooftop & Offgrid

Analysis Of PV - Battery Based Micro Grid Energy Management System With Interleaved Boost Converter AUTHOR : Umashankar Sa ,Lakshmi Anisha Bhimanapatia INTRODUCTION

E

lectricity is widely used form of energy and global demand is growing continuously.

Smart grids provide more electricity to meet rising demand, increase reliability and quality of power supplies, increase energy efficiency.

BLOCK DIAGRAM

D

ue to the abundant availability of solar energy, PV based applications has been increased from the past years. Power Electronic converters are the major components in smart grid which help in converting the DC output power of the PV arrays into DC/AC power.. When load demand is less, batteries are used to store the DC power. Input to the system is given through a solar PV array and output of PV is boosted to inverter input requirements with the help of interleaved boost converter.

The battery is connected via a dc-dc bidirectional converter.Battery banks when used without a bidirectional converter are required to be large in numbers, but using many batteries is not economical and convenient as even one cell failing can disrupt the entire current flow. The dc-dc converter uses IGBT for its fast switching speed and low output impedance.

Figure 1. Smart micro grid 58Â

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January 2016

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Solar Rooftop & Offgrid

Figure 2. Block Diagram of the Micro grid Energy Management System(EMS)

PV MODULE

T

he Solar PV Module used in this paper acts as an input source for charging the battery as well as supplying to the AC Load during normal conditions. The PV Module model used in this paper has been shown in figure 2. The PV Module operates at constant irradiation level of 1000 Wm-2 and ambient temperature of 25o C. At optimum conditions produces an output of 23 V. The module is connected to the AC Load through a DC-DC Boost Converter and 1-Phase Inverter. It is connected to the Battery through a DC-DC Bidirectional Buck-Boost Converter.

Figure 3. Simulink model of the PV Module

INTERLEAVED BOOST CONVERTER

I

nterleaved boost converter is nothing but parallel combination of number of boost converters.. For high power applications, voltage and current stress can exceed the handling capability in high power applications. So number of power devices can be connected in parallel and/or in series. But voltage sharing and/or current sharing will always be a problem. Paralleling of power converters is an alternate solution instead of paralleling power devices which could be more beneficial.

Advantages of using interleaving technique:

1. Input ripple current will be reduced.

2. With less duty cycle, similar output voltage like normal boost conveter with more duty cycle can be produced.

3. The main advantage of less duty cycle is that time taken for turning on switch is less due to which conduction losses will be reduced.

Figure 4. (a) Circuit diagram of a two phase Interleaved Boost Converter; (b) Theoreticalwaveform

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Solar Rooftop & Offgrid BATTERY

MULTILEVEL NPC INVERTER

M

ultilevel inverters are getting continuous attention in industry and academics. The main concern about increasing the level of the inverter is to reduce the output current harmonic distortion, increasing the efficiency of the inverter. Many topologies of inverters came in to existence due to the wide study, research on the usage of inverters and the applications of particular inverter in different sectors.

Multilevel NPC is one among them.

V0 (volts)

T11

T12

T13

T

he Battery Model used is a Lead-Acid Battery as it is economical.

Nominal voltage of 100V is considered and initial state of charge can be considered according to the requirement.

T14

+Vdc/2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 -Vdc/2 0 0 1 1

Figure 5. (a) Circuit diagram of NPC inverter; (b) Switching table of 3-level NPC

DC-DC BIDIRECTIONAL BUCK-BOOST CONVERTER

A

non-isolated DC-DC Bidirectional Buck-Boost converter is used in this paper to boost PV output to battery voltage requirement during charging conditions and in discharging conditions reduce battery output voltage to desired value to supply the load.

For the Buck Converter operating in Continuous mode, the duty cycle is given by

Figure 6.

Circuit diagram of bidirectional converter

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Discharging & Charging Of Lead Acid Cell Figure 7. Lead Acid Cell

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Solar Rooftop & Offgrid CONTROLLER LOGIC

Table 1. Controller logic

T

he control logic uses relational operator to check when the PV insolation levels or the load current change. IGBT switches of the Bi-directional converter are controlled using multiport switches. Boost mode IGBT is controlled using [A] Goto block and buck mode IGBT is controlled using [B] Goto block. Battery module is connected to the main system using ideal switch controlled by [C] Goto block. Also, the PV array is connected to the system using ideal switch controlled by [D] Goto block. Theses modes depend upon the PV output and battery state of charge (SOC) conditions and variations in the load as well.

Insulation(Wm-2) Mode of operation

[A]

[B]

[C]

[D]

1000

Mode 1: PV supplying load and charging battery

0

1

1

1

700

Mode 2: PV supplying load only

-

-

0

1

300

Mode 3: Battery supplying load

1

0

1

0

1000

Mode 4: PV-battery both supplying the load

1

0

1

1

RESULTS

Mode 1

Mode 2

Mode 3

Mode 4

Figure 8. Output power of PV,load and battery Table 2. comparison of results with boost & Interleaved boost converters

S.no

Parameter

Boost converter Interleaved boost converter

1

Input voltage

23.19V

23.19V

2

Output voltage

317.2V

337.1V

3

Input inductor current ripple

3.32%

2.04%

4

Output voltage ripple

2.83%

1.63%

CONCLUSION

O

utput power of PV, load and battery is shown in figure 7 and various performance parameters are compared in table 2. Interleaved boost converter has better output in terms of output voltage, less voltage and current ripple than normal boost converter. Also if interleaved boost converter and NPC three level inverter.

The system exhibits how a renewable source of energy such as PV array can work together with Battery in micro grid to power local loads.

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January 2016

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Solar Power

Analysis on Selection of Most Reliable Solar Resource for Selected Locations in India Author: P. Aslam Basha ASST. Engineering Manager L & T Constructions

INTRODUCTION In any solar energy conversion system, knowledge on global solar radiation is extremely important for the optimal design and prediction of the system performance.

The Energy (Generation) output of a Solar Power Plant is dependent on the incident solar insolation.

Solar radiation incident on earth surface depends on many factors like the length of atmospheric path, dust concentration, moisture content, scattering effect, etc.

Hence, it is essential to consider appropriate solar radiation data inorder to evaluate long/short term performance of any solar photovoltaic power plants in India.

To estimate solar radiation for a particular location in India we are left withonly limited coverage of solar radiation data, from which the required data is interpolated by the available solar resources like Solar GIS, Meteonorm, etc. Hence it is necessary to examine and conduct analysis on the selection of most reliable solar energy resource for different states in India. As a starting phase, study on global horizontal solar radiation data fortwo locations namely Rajasthan(Pokhran) and Maharashtra (Pune)are performed.

Actual site radiation data of past years were collected on 15min interval and a comparative analysis was performed with available various solar resources.

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DATA AVAILABILITY Solar Irradiation on horizontal surface is sourced through the following sources for our effective analysis.

1. Meteonorm-7 2. SolarGIS 3. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

4. NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 5. Actual data measured from Pyranometers located at respective sites.

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Solar Power

1.

2.

METEONORM-7 Meteonormis a meteorological database containing climatological data for solar engineering applications at every location on the globe. The results are stochastically generated typical years from interpolated long term monthly means. They represent an average year of the selected climatological time period based on the user’s settings. As such the results do not rep-resent a real historic year but a hypothetical year which statistically represents a typical year at the selected location.

SOLARGIS SolarGIS database is a high resolution database. The data is calculated using in-house developed algorithms that process satellite imagery and atmospheric and geographical inputs.

SOLAR RESOURCE ANALYSIS

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ach and every resource has their own successful methodology in estimating the radiation pattern with respect to historic data, current atmospheric conditions, etc. Since every resource has its own value addition, below analysis is to find out most appropriate source for the location.

The analysis is carried out by comparing data from different sources considering nearest value w.r.t measured.

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NASA NASA’s Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy data set records satellite derived monthly data for a grid of 1°x1° covering the globe for a twenty-two year period from 1983 to 2005.

NREL NREL’s Climatological solar radiation model uses primary data from geostationary satellites.

These satellites provide information on the reflection of the earth-atmosphere system and the surface and atmospheric temperature, which is useful in determining cloud cover.

The model calculations are verified with ground-based data to ensure quality of the measurements.

For Rajasthan Location: Measured irradiation data is considered for the period from 2012 to 2015 for the Rajasthan location. Below graph shows the variation of different irradiation sources and measured irradiation w.r.t month.

From the above graph,it can be observed that Solar GIS and Meteonom-7 are favorable in most of the months in a year when compared with measured data.

Fig.1- Comparison of Different irradiation sources w.r.t measured irradiation for Pokhran, Rajasthan

Fig.2- No.of favorable months of different sources w.r.t measured solar irradiation

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For Maharashtra Location: Measured irradiation data is considered for the period from 2014 to 2015 for Maharashtra location. Below graph shows the variation of different irradiation sources and measured irradiation w.r.t month.

Fig.3- Comparison of Different irradiation sources w.r.t measured irradiation for Pune, Maharashtra

Fig.4- No.of favorable months of different sources w.r.t measured solar irradiation

From the above graph, it can be observed that Meteonom-7 and NASA are favorable in most of the months in a year when compared with measured data.

Since solar penetration level is rising to a large scale in coming years, improving the accuracy level of energy yield is necessary.

Above analysis is a continual process in order to select the most favorable resource for the various locations in India.

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SOLAR POWER TARGET RESET TO ONE LAKH MW India is running the largest renewable capacity expansion programme in the world. The government is aiming to increase share of clean energy through massive thrust in renewables.

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he year started with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s statement “India is graduating from Megawatts to Gigawatts in Renewable Energy production. The quote itself set up the higher expectation of clean energy generation in the country. The target of 20,000 Mw of solar power proposed to be installed in the country has been reset by the NDA government to achieve five time more at one lakh mw of solar power by 2022. The target, which looked overambitious, now seems to be within the realms of reality with several States already witnessing silent revolution on rooftop solar power generation with the launch of net metering in the country. As on 31.10.2015, cumulative capacity of about 38 GW of grid-interactive renewable energy capacity has been installed in the

country. Confident by the growth rate in clean energy sector, the Government of India in its submission to the United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change on Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) has stated that India will achieve 40% cumulative Electric power capacity from nonfossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost International Finance including from Green Climate Fund. The Centre has taken several initiatives to increase the uptake of renewable energy through policy initiatives including enactment of a National off shore Wind Energy Policy and throwing support behind generation-based incentives and accelerated depreciation.

Besides the ongoing policies and programmes of the Government in Renewable Energy sector, several policy measures initiated recently by the Government to achieve this up-scaled target, inter-alia, include suitable amendments to the Electricity Act and Tariff Policy for strong enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and for providing Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO); setting up of exclusive solar parks; development of power transmission network through Green Energy Corridor project; identification of large government complexes/ buildings for rooftop projects; provision of roof top solar and 10 percent renewable energy as mandatory under Mission Statement and Guidelines for development of smart cities; amendments in building bye-laws for mandatory provision of roof top solar for new onstruction or higher FAR; infrastructure status for solar projects; raising tax free solar bonds; providing long tenor loans; making roof top solar a part of housing loan by banks/ NHB; incorporating measures in Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) for encouraging distribution companies and making net-metering compulsory and raising funds from bilateral and international donors as also the Green Climate Fund to achieve the target.

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Solar Power The details of year round achievements of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy are as follows: UPSCALING OF RE TARGETS

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he Government has up-scaled the target of renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by the year 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. Stepping up capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five times now India is aiming to generate reaching 1,00,000 MW solar power by by 2022. The target will principally comprise of 40 GW Rooftop and 60 GW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. With this ambitious target, India will become one of the largest Green Energy producers in the world, surpassing several developed countries. The total investment in setting up 100 GW will be around Rs. 6,00,000 crore.

The physical progress of achieving these targets is as follows-

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GREEN POWER CAPACITY INCREASED

total of 2,311.88 MW of grid-connected power generation capacity from renewable energy sources like solar and wind has been added so far this fiscal in the country. The government has set a target of 4,460 MW of power generation capacity addition this fiscal from renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and small-hydro. During the first seven months of the fiscal, 827.22 MW of solar power generation capacity was added, taking the cumulative electricity generation capacity from the source to 4,579.24 MW. The Centre is aiming to add 1,400 MW solar power generation capacity during this fiscal. Similarly, 1,234.11 MW wind power generation capacity was added during the period, taking cumulative electricity generation capacity from this renewable source to 24,677.72 MW. The government has set a target of adding 2,400 MW of wind power generation capacity in 2015-16. Under the small-hydro category, 106.55 MW generation capacity was added till October, taking the total generation capacity in this segment to 4161.90 MW. The Centre has set a target of adding 250 MW of smallhydro power generation capacity this fiscal.

In the bio-power (biomass & gasification and biogases cogeneration) segment, 132 MW of generation capacity was added till October end this fiscal, taking the total capacity to 4550.55 MW in this segment. The government has set a target of adding 400 MW capacity from these sources. In waste-to-power segment, 12 MW capacity has been created till October compared to a target of 10 MW for the entire 2015-16. Now, India has 127.08 MW of power generation capacity under this category. The country’s total grid-connected power generation capacity from all the above mentioned renewable sources was 3,8096.49 MW at the end of October.

REINVEST 2015

irst Renewable Energy Global Investment Promotion Meet & Expo (RE – INVEST) was organised with the intent of providing a platform to the global investment community to connect with stakeholders in India. The Central Theme of REINVEST 2015 is to increase growth of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the country. The Meet showcased the Government’s commitment in the development and scaling up of renewable energy in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable manner to meet the national energy requirement. 118 exhibitors, 200 global investors and financers 202 speakers and 2500 delegates

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from 32 countries have participated in the event. The objective of World’s largest renewable energy financing meet is to showcase India as an investment destination for renewable energy and to encourage investors for setting up projects and manufacturing facilities of Renewable Energy equipment & products in India. The Ministry received total of 2,73,000 MW green commitments including 62,000 MW of renewable manufacturing in the event. On the occasion, 14 banks and financial institutions, 8 PSUs and private manufacturers, 15 private sector companies gave 70,000 MW of renewable finance Commitments.

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Solar Power INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE:

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rime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched an International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the CoP21 Climate Conference in Paris on 30th November as a special platform for mutual cooperation among 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. The alliance is dedicated to address special energy needs of ISA member countries. The new body of Secretariat will be hosted by Government of India. The Centre will provide land and $30 million to form a secretariat for the Alliance, and also support it for five years.

The participants, mostly in Latin America and Africa but also including the US, China, and France, would work together to increase solar capacity across emerging markets.

LOWEST SOLAR TARIFFS:

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n an e-reverse auction conducted by NTPC on 03.11.2015 for 500 MW (10 projects of 50 MW each) to be set up at Ghani Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh under National Solar Mission, Phase-II, Batch-II, Tranche-I of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India, NTPC received the lowest tariff of Rs. 4.63 per unit of electricity. Total 30 bids were received totaling to 5500 MW capacity.

INTRA STATE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM:

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n July 2015, the Cabinet has approved the creation of an intra state transmission system in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan at an estimated cost of Rs 8548.68 crore with Government of India contribution from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) of Rs 3419.47 crore (40 percent of the total estimated cost of project). The activities envisaged under the project includes establishment of 48 new Grid sub-stations of different voltage levels with total transformation capacity around 17100 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) by installing over 7800 ckt-kms (Circuit Kilometers) of transmission lines in these seven states.

The project is proposed to be completed within a period of three to five years. The cost on creating intra-state transmission system is proposed to be met through KfW loan (40 percent of the total cost), NCEF grant (40 percent of the total cost) and the remaining 20 percent as State contribution. These States are rich in renewable resource potential and large capacity renewable power projects are planned there. Creation of an intra state transmission system will facilitate evacuation of renewable power from generation stations to load centres.

SOALR CITIES:

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he Ministry has approved 56 solar cities projects against the target of 60 solar cities under the Development of Solar Cities Programme. The Government has also approved a Scheme for setting up of 25 Solar Parks, each with the capacity of 500 MW and above and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects to be developed in next 5 years in various States and will require Central Government financial support of Rs 4050 crore. These parks will be able to accommodate over 20,000 MW of solar power projects. As on date, 27 parks with capacity of about 18000 MW in 21 states have been sanctioned.

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SOLAR PROJECTS UNDER NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION:

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he Union Cabinet gave its approval for the implementation of the scheme for setting up of 15,000 MW of Gridconnected Solar PV Power projects under the National Solar Mission through NTPC/ NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) in three tranches namely, 3000 MW under Tranche-l under mechanism of Bundling with Unallocated Coal based Thermal Power and fixed levellised tariffs, 5,000 MW under Tranche-ll with some support from Government to be decided after getting some experience while implementing Tranche-l and balance 7,000 MW under Tranche-Ill without any financial support from the Government. Successful completion of additional 15,000 MW capacity of Grid-connected solar PV power generation projects, mainly in the private sector, with largely private investment, under the National Solar Mission would accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar power and also help reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel, which is presently in use to meet the unmet demand.

The Government approved Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to apply to the Registrar of Companies for converting it into a Section 3 company and renaming it as the Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI). After this, SECI will become a self-sustaining and self-generating organization. It will engage itself in owning solar power plants generating and selling power and in other segments of solar sector activities, including manufacturing of solar products and materials. RECI will take up development of all segments of renewable energy namely, geo-thermal, off-shore wind, tidal etc. apart from solar energy.

RE PROJECTS IN PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING:

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n a communication to all central government ministries and departments, PSUs and organizations, state governments, educational institutions, the Ministry said the price of solar power has fallen drastically in the last two to three years and it is economical to generate the power through grid connected solar roof top systems for consumers in states where tariff is more than Rs 7 per unit. Pay back time is about 5-6 years and the life of plant is 25 years. The letter said that the incentive include 15% government subsidy for selected categories, accelerated depreciation benefits for industrial and commercial buildings besides a slew of incentives.

UNNAT CHULHA ABHIYAAN:

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he Unnat Chulha Abhiyan envisages developing and promoting deployment of efficient and cost effective improved biomass cook-stoves in the country. The programme involves demonstration of the various models of biomass cookstoves both natural and forced draft types for domestic and large scale community cooking on cost sharing basis. The programme aims at providing improved cook stoves for clean cooking thus saving lives of thousands of people in the country. 3.5 lakh cook stoves have been sanction under the scheme last year.

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Solar Power SOLAR PUMPS:

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he government has implemented a scheme to install one lakh solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water through State Nodal Agencies and NABARD. These pumps helped lakhs of farmers to increase output, income and also provide drinking water. According to estimates, drinking water problems will be solved for more than 7.6 lakh families through solar pumps for drinking water. MNRE provides 30% capital subsidy

to farmers for installation of solar pumps for irrigation purpose through state nodal agencies. The state governments can give additional subsidy through own funds. The government presented 40% subsidy with mandatory loan to farmers for irrigation purpose through NABARD. The ministry has issued supplementary guidelines for 1,00,000 solar pumps during 2014-15 and Rs 353.50 crore was released to various agencies.

OTHER SCHEMES LAUNCHED FOR ACHIEVING SOLAR ENERGY TARGETS »»

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Off-grid Rooftop: It is proposed to set up 40 GW solar rooftop programmes where grid connectivity is already exist. 15% Government subsidy for non-commercial and non-industrial categories for using domestic solar panels would be provided.

Solar Parks: The Government has approved on 10th December, 2014 a Scheme for setting up of 25 Solar Parks, each with the capacity of 500 MW and above and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects to be developed in next 5 years in various States and will require Central Government financial support of Rs 4050 crore. These parks will be able to accommodate over 20,000 MW of solar power projects. As on date, 27 parks with capacity of about 18000 MW in 21 states have been sanctioned.

Setting up of over 300 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects by Defence establishments and Para Military Forces with viability gap funding. More than 150 MW projects have been sanctioned under the scheme.

Implementation of Scheme for setting up 1000 MW of Grid Connected Solar PV Power projects by CPSUs and GOI organization’s with Viability Gap Funding in three years period from 2015-16 to 2017-18. About 100 MW have been allocated to various CPSUs under the scheme.

Scheme for Development of Grid Connected Solar PV Power Plants on Canal Banks and Canal Tops: MNRE launched a Scheme for Development of Grid Connected Solar PV Power Plants on Canal Banks and Canal Tops

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in the country during the 12th Plan period at an estimated cost of Rs. 975 crore and with Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of Rs. 228 crore. The Solar PV Power Plants on Canal Banks and Canal Tops with 50 MW capacities under each category have been approved to 8 States (Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal).

Scheme for Decentralized Generation of Solar Energy Projects by Unemployed Youths & Farmers. It is expected that about 10 GW solar projects would be setup. Innovative Financing of such projects could be possible as equity is being put up by the state, local bodies and entrepreneurs.

New loan scheme to promote rooftop solar power projects announced by IREDA. The scheme will provide loans at interest rates between 9.9 and 10.75 percent to system aggregators and developers.

Surya Mitra Scheme launched for creating 50,000 trained personnel within a period of 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20).

The course content has been approved by the National Council of Vocational Training as per the National Skill, Qualification Framework. As on 30.9.2015, a total of 27 programmes involving Rs 17 crore have been sanctioned to SNAs by NISE. In 2015-16, 70 programmes will be conducted against which 27 programmes have started.

As on 30.9.2015, about 360 Surya Mitras were trained under the scheme

POLICY INITIATIVES »»

National Offshore Wind Energy Policy, 2015 : Under this Policy, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been authorized as the Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country and the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has been authorized as the Nodal Agency for development of offshore wind energy in the country and to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks, coordination and allied functions with related ministries and agencies. It would pave the way for offshore wind energy development including, setting up of offshore wind power projects and research and development activities, in waters, in or adjacent to the country, up to the seaward distance of 200 Nautical Miles (EEZ of the country) from the base line. The policy will provide a level playing field to all in-

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vestors/beneficiaries, domestic and international. It is planned to set up the first offshore wind power project off the Gujarat coast soon.

Wind Atlas, 2015 Launched: A wind Atlas having information at 100 m height has been launched. It’s a GIS based software tool which will help not only the developers but also policy planners.

Restoration of Accelerated Depreciation Benefits for Wind Power Projects: After significant harm was done to the wind sector due to withdrawal of AD with effect from 1.4.2012, it has been restored on 18.7.2014. This decision of the Government will help in creating a robust manufacturing base for wind turbines in the country.

Establishment of PACE Setter Fund: U.S. and India have signed a MoU to establish PACE Setter Funds with a contribution of US$ 4 million (INR 25 crores) from each side for providing

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grants for seed capital for innovative clean energy projects. The PACE Setter Funds has been formally launched on 19th August, 2015 in New Delhi.

State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) of twenty States have notified regulatory framework on netmetering and feed-in-tariff to encourage rooftop solar plants.

Inclusion of Renewable Energy Projects in Priority Sector Lending Norms of Commercial Banks: Reserve Bank of India vide its circular dated 23rd April, 2015 on ‘Priority Sector Lending: Targets and Classification’ has issued revised guidelines for all scheduled commercial banks making significant inroads for renewable energy in the priority sector lending: Inclusion of renewable energy in categories of priority sector, in addition to existing categories.

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Bank loans up to a limit of Rs 15 crore to borrowers for purposes like solar based power generators, biomass based power generators, wind mills, micro-hydel plants and for non-conventional energy based public utilities viz. street lighting systems, and remote village electrification. For individual households, the loan limit will be Rs 10 lakh per borrower.

Investments in RE is on Automatic route. No RBI/FIPB approval required.

Automatic approval for up to 74% foreign equity participation in a JV. Liberalized foreign investment approval regime.

100% foreign investment as equity is permissible with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Various chambers of commerce and industry associations offer guidance on partners PPAs have been standardized for projects under JNNSM. Land procurement- Many states have provided deemed

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Non Agricultural status for land purchased for RE projects.

Clean Energy Fund: Coal Cess has been increased from Rs 100 to Rs 200/ton which will make available around Rs 12000 crore/year for supporting and incentivizing development of RE in the country.

Enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligations has been strengthened by recent judgement of Supreme Court for captive power generators and Appellate Tribunal Judgement on fulfilment of RPO obligation by State regulators.

Net-metering schemes has been rolled out in majority of States which will help in meeting 40 GW rooftop grid connected solar projects.

Must Run Status for RE projects in most of the states Fiscal incentives in the form of Accelerated Depreciation for wind and solar by Central Govt. and refund of stamp duty, refund on Value Added Tax (VAT) & Goods and Service tax (GST) by some State Govts.

POLICY AMENDMENTS UNDERWAY »»

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National Wind Energy Mission (Proposed): Initiated the process of establishing National Wind Energy Mission. The setting up of a Mission would help in (a) achieving the targets of 12th Plan and energy generation from renewable energy as set under NAPCC, and (b) addressing the issues and challenges which the wind sector is faced with, such as precise resource assessment, effective grid integration, improvement in technology and manufacturing base, to maintain its comparative advantage in the wind sector.

Renewable Generation Obligation (Proposed): There is a policy proposal under consideration that all conventional power plants should have a minimum renewable generation obligation.

Amendment in Electricity Act, 2003 (proposed) Proposed inclusion of “specific mention of penal provisions for non-compliance of RPO including financial penalty and punishment”.

Suggested amendment in the tariff policy to include a RPO trajectory reaching at minimum 15 % of the total electricity mix by March 2019 with solar RPO of Minimum 8% and support by states. It implies that there is a special category for

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solar RPO and other renewable energy sources have been clubbed in non-solar category.

To allow generating / purchasing and bundling of renewable and allow pass through to such power plants where generation and transmission assets are fully depreciated.

Draft RE Act 2015: In addition to the existing provisions in the above act. there is a need for a Renewable energy act in India to facilitate increase in the use of renewable energy for all relevant applications including off-grid, heat and transport in an effective and coordinated manner, which is well integrated with the energy and electricity system, and to do so by developing a supportive ecosystem, laying down an institutional structure, and by creating framework for transparent and effective incentive structure. In the given context, increasing the share of RE in the energy mix will require enabling policies to stimulate changes not only in policies related to RE deployment but also in policies related to the planning of the complete energy system. The mandatory provisions after the enactment of Renewable energy Law will provide the requisite backbone framework to facilitate increase in the use of renewable energy.

OTHER INITIATIVES : INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT: The Minister is seeking cooperation from other countries both on technical and financial side to promote the generation of power from renewable energy sources. On technical side, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) is collaborating with premium institutions/ laboratories of USA, Japan and Germany in the fields of performance evaluation, long term operational reliability and indoor-performance testing of different technology modules.

Similarly, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) in collaboration with specialized institutions of Denmark; USA, Spain and Germany is working in the areas of wind forecasting, offshore wind, aero-structural design, training on testing inter-laboratory comparisons etc. On the financial side, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is also operating Line of Credits from various Bilateral/ Multilateral institutions for further extending the credit to viable renewable energy projects in the country.

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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and France on 10th April, 2015 to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on the new and renewable energy issues, on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity. Another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Renewable Energy Cooperation was signed between India and Seychelles in March, 2015, to strengthen, promote and develop renewable energy cooperation between the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The MoU will also help in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy. U.S. and India have signed a MoU to establish PACE Setter Funds with a contribution of US$ 4 million (INR 25 crores) from each side for providing grants for seed capital for innovative clean energy projects. The PACE Setter Funds has been formally launched on 19th August, 2015 in New Delhi.

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Status Of Implementation Of Various Schemes To Achieve 1,00,000 MW Solar Plan Index

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Solar Power Statement- I (i) Cumulative Commissioned as on 30-11-2015

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(ii) Commissioned in 2015-16 as on 30-11-2015

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Solar Power Statement- II a) Projects likely to commissioned in 2015-16 under State Policies

b) Projects likely to be commissioned in 2015-16 under Government of India Policies

c) Projects likely to be commissioned in 2015-16:-3775 + 570 = 4345 MW 74Â

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Solar Power Statement- III Overall Status of tendering/PPA’s for commissioning in 2016-17

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Solar Power Statement- IV Expected Tender (3991 MW) in December 2015 to March 2015:

Statement- V Rooftops

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Solar Power Statement- VI Trend of Solar Tariff

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PR DUCTS

Trina Solar Announces New Efficiency Record of 22.13% for Mono-crystalline Silicon Solar Cell

Trina Solar Limited, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) modules, solutions and services,recently announced that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology of China has set a new record for industrial high-efficiency p-type monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells.

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he record-breaking p-type monocrystalline silicon solar cell was fabricated on a large-size industrial boron-doped Cz-Si substrate with an advanced Honey Plus process that integrated both front and back surface passivation.

The 156×156 mm2 solar cell reached a total-area efficiency of 22.13%. This result has been independently confirmed by the Fraunhofer ISE CalLab in Germany.This efficiency record breaks the previous record of 21.40% for the same type of solar cell that was also established by the State Key Laboratory of Trina Solar in 2014, demonstrating an impressive efficiency improvement of 0.73 percentage points within only one year.

“We believe that this is the highest efficiency ever reported to date for a p-type industrial solar cell. This Honey Plus solar cell, fabricated with a low-cost industrial process, sits on the efficiency scale which is just 2.87% below the world record of 25% established by the University of New South Wales with a 2x2cm2 laboratory solar cell. In 2015, our R&D teams have achieved two significant records with PERC solar cell technologies: we reached an efficiency of 21.25% with multi-crystalline silicon PERC cells, followed a few weeks later with a 22.13% efficiency record for mono-crystalline silicon cells. This also demonstrates the enormous potential of p-type substrates.”

- Dr. Pierre Verlinden, Vice-President and Chief Scientist of Trina Solar

Dr. Pierre Verlinden continued: “Our goal is to continue pushing technological innovations and implementing laboratory breakthroughs into commercial production. We will continue to develop high efficiency solar cell products to further reduce the cost of photovoltaic power generation. At Trina Solar, we are committed to research and innovation of advanced photovoltaic technology, with a vision for the solar electricity to be as competitive as traditional baseload fossil fuel power generation.”

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PR DUCTS HT-SAAE Milky Way Module of Mass Production Output Power Exceeds Industrial Milestone of

300W

Recently tested and certified by TUV Rheinland, an internationally authoritative certification body, the mass production output power for N-type PERT high-efficiency mono-crystalline silicon solar module (based on 60 pieces of 156mm*156mm) has exceeded 300W. This N-type PERT module was made from independently developed N-Type high efficiency cell technology, highly reliable materials, advanced equipment and fully automated manufacturing procedure. This is the first time for mono-crystalline silicon modules of the same category to overcome the milestone output power of 300W.

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ompared with other traditional mono-crystalline PV modules, the mass production output power for N-type PERT mono-crystalline modules is 10~15W higher than the average industrial level, CTM of this module is 2% lower than traditional P-type modules, and the efficiency of the module reaches over 18.4%. The output power for this module has increased from 285W in February to 300W in October this year. This historical technical breakthrough not only indicates that HT-SAAE has made significant progress on N-type PERT solar modules but also maintains leading position on this technology. This achievement will no doubt provides significant value to the expansion of HT-SAAE’s overseas markets and greatly improve its client’s ROI (return of investment).

In addition, N-type PERT mono-crystalline silicon solar module has passed the full mechanical load test of 10800Pa, reaching the highest load level of the industry which is tested and certified by CSA, an international third party authoritative institution. Meanwhile, this series of products also passed double IEC reliability test. Above all, the induced degradation of DH2000, TC400 and HF20 are all lower than 3%. This test further proves that Milky Way solar module can better adapt to severe environments to satisfy customer demand in areas with high wind and snow pressures, especially in high latitude areas like north Japan, German, Netherlands and heavy snowfall areas such as East Europe.

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“The efficiency improvement on Milky Way’s mass production output power can reduce module installation quantity and the levelized cost of electricity and meanwhile shorten the investment payback period. HT-SAAE will increase investment on technology research and development, and further raise module mass production output power up to 310W by making technical breakthrough on the existing Highway and Milky Way technology.

- Dr. Zhang Zhongwei CTO, HT-SAAE

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PR DUCTS

Solar Frontier Achieves World Record Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency: 22.3%

Solar Frontier, the world’s largest CIS solar energy provider, has set a new world record for thin-film solar cell efficiency. In joint research with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan, Solar Frontier achieved 22.3% conversion efficiency on a 0.5cm² cell using its CIS technology. This is an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the industry’s previous thin-film record of 21.7%. The Fraunhofer Institute, Europe’s largest organization for applied research, has independently verified this result.

“This is a proud achievement for Solar Frontier and a significant advancement for our CIS technology.

This is the first time that CIS has crossed the 22% efficiency boundary – a level not yet surpassed by any other thin-film or multi-crystalline silicon technology, We achieved our latest record through improvements to the CIS absorber layer and junction formation process. This latest advancement brings us a step closer toward realizing Solar Frontier’s long-term goal of exceeding 30% efficiency using CIS. We would like to express our gratitude to the CIS research consortium organized by NEDO, which includes the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), for supporting this joint NEDO project. Solar Frontier will continue to stand at the forefront of research and development, transferring new discoveries into mass production and delivering higher energy yields and lower energy costs to all customers.”

- Satoru Kuriyagawa, Chief Technology Officer, Solar Frontier “Solar Frontier is proud to be a technology leader in the solar energy industry, Increasing conversion efficiency is a key component in driving down the total lifetime cost of solar energy for homeowners and businesses.”

- Atsuhiko Hirano CEO, Solar Frontier

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n addition to conversion efficiency, there are several factors that determine how much energy a solar module will ultimately generate in real-world conditions and, subsequently, its lifetime cost.

Solar Frontier’s CIS modules generate more energy (kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak) compared to crystalline silicon in real-world conditions.

Zeversolar Extends Its Zeverlution String Inverter Series The Chinese PV inverter manufacturer Zeversolar has extended its Zeverlution string inverter series with three new products. With nominal powers of 3.68, 4 and 5 kilowatts, the inverters are the perfect choice for residential installations.

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hey will be available in the UK, Thailand, Taiwan and China in January 2016.

Further countries of distribution will follow in future. With the inverters Zeverlution 3680, 4000 and 5000 Zeversolar broadens its portfolio with more powerful inverters for bigger residential installations. For more flexibility, the three new products have two MPP trackers instead of one. In addition, they work in a much wider MPP range than the other products of the series of 100 up to 520 volts.

Together with efficiencies of up to 97.2 percent, high outputs are guaranteed.

As with the other models of the series, Zeversolar has used a patented inverter topology for the new products that needs around 40 percent less power electronic components. Thus the inverters are very reliable and much lighter which facilitates installation and transport.

No derating at high altitudes All Zeverlution string inverters have a compact design with IP65 casing for outdoor use, Sunclix connectors for toolless DC wiring as well as retrofitable integrated Ethernet and Wi-Fi communication. With noise emissions of less than 25 decibels, they are completely silent. In addition, they are suitable for high altitudes: Even at 3,000 meters they work without derating.

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PR DUCTS Su-Kam Introduces Brainy Touch; World’s First Touch Screen Solar PCU

Su-Kam Power Systems Limited, India’s leading manufacturer of power back up solutions today announced the launch of its new product- Brainy Touch, world’s first touch screen Solar PCU, in Gurgaon. The exclusively designed product comes with a built-in MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) Solar charge controller which efficiently runs the load and charges the battery which is later used for emergency back-up.

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rainy Touch is the world’s first solar PCU which can be controlled and monitored through a smart phone.

A user can effortlessly connect the smart phone to the PCU through its built- in WIFI to seamlessly control the product. Moreover, it can also be monitored on-the-go, through a mobile application which can be downloaded free of cost on a smart phone, this app is specific to Brainy Touch,it’s called Solar PCU Monitor.

The product undertakes optimum utilization of solar energy and progressively runs household appliances, empowering users to save on their electricity cost. Today, it is the only PCU which has an intelligent Charging Sharing feature.

This feature enables the product to capture/ store powerdirectly from

the grid in case less power is produced by solar panels, reducing the dependency to charge the battery on grid power. Brainy Touch easily gets charged through solar power, increasing its life and efficiency. “With expertise in solar, Su- Kam is committed to deliver state-of-art technology based products. We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest offering in the league - the Brainy Touch” said ).“Brainy Ttouch, the world’s first solar PCU is well equipped with intelligence and cutting- edge technology to deliver best-in-class results.

He further added “It’s ability to be controlled by a smart phone and exclusive features such as ‘Charging sharing’powerfully positions it ahead ofcompetition”. Brainy Touch

is powered with DT-6S technology that provides effective 6 stage battery charging ensuring faster charging and battery life increment of up to 30% over existing technology. It has a built-in energy meter that allows a user to learn the exact power generated from solar energy in a graphical format, assisting him/her to calculate savings.Su-Kam is one of the top players in residential solar market with 20.6% market share and pan India presence. A continuing focus on quality and strict adherence to international standards has enabled Su-Kam to export its products to various overseas markets across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific region.

Gintech Energy Introduced Solar Cells With Record High Efficiency Of 21.44% Under Mass Production Gintech Energy Corporation, a global leader in the PV industry, recently announced that it has reached average efficiency of greater than 21.10% with a maximal efficiency of 21.44% with its self-developed PERC technology. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan has also certified these achievements which demonstrate Gintech Energy’s leading position in terms of solar cell efficiency under mass production.

Mr. Arthur Hung, R&D Manager of Gintech Energy, said “We have developed the third generation of our PERC solar cell technology, and applied the second generation of our PERC solar cell technology on the launch of high efficiency solar cell products, optimizing Laser Doping Selective Emitter and Fine Line Metallization on the front side, and cooperating with ITRI to optimize Rear Side Passivation on the back side. These technologies combined have further pushed up the average efficiency of greater than 21.10% and a maximal efficiency of 21.44% on our new generation high efficiency solar cells.”

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Dr. K.C. Lin, R&D Director of Gintech Energy, commented “We are not only launching the mass production of high efficiency solar cells with a maximal efficiency of 21.44%, but also introducing a differentiated solution to cope with Light Induced Degradation (LID) issues of P-type solar cells. We effectively manage the LID issues caused by the physical characteristics of P-type solar cell material. The in-house developed solution is more effective and more stable compared to other prevailing solutions in the industry, and improves the cost performance ratio of our high efficiency solar cells.”

Dr. Walt Huang, R&D Vice President of Gintech Energy, said “We have been sending these products to customers for sampling and qualification, and expect to begin mass production and commercial shipping shortly. Gintech Energy effectively takes advantage of the green energy R&D funding provided by Ministry of Economic Affairs to help develop equipments and materials needed for the next generation solar cells. We collaborate with European silver paste producers, together with the continuous efforts of our R&D team, to adopt the R&D results into mass production, which will further enhance Gintech Energy’s international competitiveness and improve our profitability.”

Dr. Wen-Whe Pan, President of Gintech, further commented “With the recent Paris Agreement, the timely introduction of Gintech Energy’s high efficiency solar cell products is helping the earth against global warming.

Gintech Energy will continue to contribute our efforts in reducing carbon emission and leave our children a cleaner earth.”

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2016

CONFERENCE & EVENTS Intersolar Summit USA East 2016 EUEC 2016

Date: 03-05 Feb 2016 Place: San Diego, California, USA Tel.: +1 520 6153535 Email: info@euec.com Web.: www.euec.com

Date: 06-08 April 2016 Place: Daegu, Korea Organiser: SKorea New & Renewable Energy Association Tel.: +82 53 6015375 Email: pv@exco.co.kr Web.: www.energyexpo.co.kr

9th Solar Srilanka 2016 International Expo

Solarex Istanbul

Date: 01-03 March 2016 Place: Dubai, UAE Tel.: +971 4 3365161 Email: info@solarmiddleeast.ae Web.: www.solarmiddleeast.ae

Date: 23-25 March 2016 Place: Colombo, Srilanka Organiser: CEMS Global Tel.: +1 646 4167902 Email: cems@cemsonline.com Web.: cems-solarexpo.com

PV Expo 2016

Sustainable Energy & Technology Asia 2016

Solar Middle East 2016

Date: 02-04 March 2016 Place: Tokyo, Japan Organiser: Reed Expo Tel.: +81 3 33498519 Email: pv@reedexpo.co.jp Web.: www.pvexpo.jp

Date: 23-25 March 2016 Place: Bangkok, Thailand Organiser: GAT International Tel.: +66 2 5192727 110 Email: wuttaya@gat.co.th Web.: www.seta.asia

EnerTech World Expo

Clean Energy Expo China

Date: 03-05 March 2016 Place: Mumbai, India Tel.: +91 22 40373737 Web.: www.biztradeshows.com/enertech-worldexpo

Date: 29-31 March 2016 Place: Beijing, China Organiser: Koelnmesse Tel.: +86 10 65907766 707 Email: v.song@koelnmesse.cn Web.: www.cleanenergyexpochina.cn

Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2016

Intersolar Summit Turkey 2016

Date: 22-24 March 2016 Place: San Diego, California, USA Organiser: Infocast Tel.: +1 818 8884444 Email: mickt@infocastevents.com Web.: www.infocastinc.com

International Green Energy Expo & Conference - PV Korea 2016

Date: 24-24 March 2016 Place: Brooklyn, New York, USA Organiser: Solar promotion Tel.: +49 7231 58598215 Email: info@intersolarglobal.com Web.: www.intersolar-summit.com/usa

Date: 06-06 April 2016 Place: Istanbul, Turkey Organiser: Solar Promotion Tel.: +49 7231 58598215 Web.: www.intersolarglobal.com

Date: 07-09 April 2016 Place: Istanbul, Turkey Organiser: Solarex Tel.: +90 212 6045076 Email: solarex@solarexistanbul.com Web.: eng.solarexistanbul.com

Power & Electricity World Asia 2016

Date: 13-14 April 2016 Place: Jakarta, Indonesia Organiser: Terrapinn Tel.: +65 6222 8550 Email: mildred.ang@terrapinn.com Web.: www.terrapinn.com

SolarExpo 2016

Date: 03-05 May 2016 Place: Milan, Italy Tel.: +39 0439 849855 Email: press@innovationcloud-expo.com Web.: www.solarexpo.com/eng

Photovoltaic Technical Conference 2016 Date: 09-11 May 2016 Place: Marseille, France Tel.: +33 4 42538150 Email: contact@photovoltaic-technical-conference. com Web.: www.photovoltaic-technical-conference.com

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

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R.N.I. NO. MPBIL/2013/50966 | DATE OF PUBLICATION: JANUARY 20 | POSTAL REGD.NO. MP/IDC/1435/2013-2015