EQ Magazine November 2019 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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CONT EN T

VOLUME 11 Issue #11

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

india

India must focus on natural gas as an intermediate fuel amid rising RE share: Sumant Sinha

business & finance

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Orb Energy secures Shell investment in latest funding round

Solar Plant Monitoring Solution- A Unique way

60 Electric vehicle MG Motor India Takes One More Step Towards ZS Electric SUV Launch

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

Electric vehicle Power Minister Shri RK Singh approves amendments in Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Guidelines and Specifications

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india

featured

Ingeteam strengthens supply chain during key supplier event at new Chennai Factory

Three scientists win Nobel in Chemistry for work on lithium-ion batteries

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rahul talreja

featured

IT Giant TCS Files Patent for a Bot-based Software for Drones, UAVs

41 business & finance Sonam Wangchuk Partners with ‘ATUM’ by Hyderabad-based Integrated Solar Roofing Solution Provider Visaka Industries

technology

Ingeteam launches its new PV string inverter featuring 1500 Vdc technology

62 interview

Manoj gupta

EQ NEWS Pg. 08-60

Electric vehicle

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JLR plans to launch half a dozen electrified models in India in 12-18 months

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Goldi Solar Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Goldi Green Technologies Pvt Ltd) is one of the leading solar PV module manufacturing companies. We have increased our manufacturing capacity to 500MW and subsequently we aim to scale it up to 1GW. We are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007 certified. Our Manufacturing Capabilities: Our modules undergo all stringent quality tests at reputed third-party laboratories, along with being certified for PID resistance. Besides, we are one of the few companies globally to have 4mm glass certification. We are also a leading OEM supplier catering to many international brands across the globe and delivering unmatched quality at a competitive price. Best Manufacturing Practices: Our modules are stringently tested for all product reliability factors across various parameters. Besides having a robust and automatic manufacturing line based on Japanese & German technology, we follow best quality, environment and safety practices at our manufacturing process. We have an Internal Quality circle team, which meets regularly to focus on continuous improvements. Having adopted the best methodologies in our manufacturing process, we also conduct regular in-house training for our Quality & Production teams. All these efforts, backed by zero tolerance for any compromise on quality, help us maintain and deliver excellence in our products and manufacturing. EPC – A natural extension of our expertise: Apart from having a significant & established presence in the solar PV module market as quality manufacturers, Goldi has created significant in-roads in the EPC segment with value-based services and record time completion of projects. Armed with an in-house team of highly experienced engineers with technical expertise we develop the most cost effective and energy efficient solar power plants. Client satisfaction being on the top of our priority list, our EPC services are the ‘best value for money’ investment.

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INDIA

Rs 5 lakh cr investment in power plants in jeopardy due to coal shortage: Power Secy Asserting that Rs 5 lakh crore investment in coal-based power plants was in jeopardy due to the dry fuel shortage, Power Secretary S C Garg said there is an urgent need to bring in large global players for commercial mining to boost output. Garg also said Coal India should be made professionally more efficient as importing 20 per cent of the coal requirement of the country is “untenable”. He was addressing a round table conference on coal here at India Energy Forum. “Many of our coal-based power plants in power sector are today gasping for breath. Some of them are in NCLT, some are producing 15 per cent some 20 per cent, some of them are not producing at all. And as much as something like Rs 5 lakh crore investment is in jeopardy,” Garg said. Terming the current situation “absolutely untenable” when India is not able to exploit annually even one per cent of its explored coal resources, Garg said there was an urgent need for commercial mining by big global players to augment output.

et us get three to five global big players which can produce 100 million tonne of coal (each year)… that would require a very different way of allocating mines. Today, we allocate small mines… If we can get five of these (global players) who can produce 500 million tonne of coal in next two to three years or five years, situation would change, he said. He took a dig at coal mines allocation system saying that it needs to be simplified and with ease of doing business

NOVEMBER- 2019

it has gradually started changing. “There is something pretty wrong about the way we are managing our coal economy. We must become exporter of coal rather than importer. Why are we in this situation… Over last few years lots of mines have been allotted to the power sector. “Close to about 290 million tonne of coal can be produced annually from the mines which have been allotted to power sector. But they are producing only about 15 to 20 million tonne including NTPC,” he said. Garg stressed that 21 discreet measures are required to be taken from the time coal mine is allotted to the time it is operationalised including reducing the time for getting electricity connection. Terming different ways of allocation of linkages “literally nonsense” he said linkages etc were a result of coal shortages and “we are trying to manage the situation as to how to allocate the lesser available coal”. This problem could be sorted out with more production. He said earlier cement and steel were also allocated in the same manner but the situation has improved in those sectors. The Secretary also said the letter of credit system has brought much needed discipline in power sector. “Energy purchase has to be paid for and it has introduced very basic concept into the system and we are happy that it has worked very well. Everybody is paying now,” he said.

The power ministry has made it mandatory for discoms to open and maintain adequate letter of credit as payment security mechanism under power purchase agreements for buying electricity from generating firms from August 1, 2019. He said that NCLT is a perfect mechanism while there are other alternatives like ARC and depending upon specific situation, appropriate mode of resolution needs to be taken up. About the power tariff policy he said it has already been submitted to the Cabinet and is under examination. “Hopefully it will come soon,” Garg said. Source: PTI

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INDIA

India must focus on natural gas as an intermediate fuel amid rising RE share: Sumant Sinha He also said regulators need to incentivise the uptake of natural gas as a fuel due to its higher cost. ReNew Power operates 4.3 Giga Watt of renewable energy capacity including both solar and wind, with over 3.2 GW of capacity in the pipeline for development.

India must focus on using natural gas as an intermediate fuel in order to balance the power grid amid rising share of renewable energy in the energy basket, Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of independent renewable energy producer ReNew Power, has said. “Gas has a property of increasing the flexibility of the grid which is an important aspect as it allows you to have much more renewables in the grid without the need to dial down renewables at any point of time. The more gas we put in the system the better it is,” Sinha said at an industry event here last week. He also said regulators need to incentivise the uptake of natural gas as a fuel due to its higher cost. ReNew Power operates 4.3 Giga Watt of renewable energy capacity including both solar and wind, with over 3.2 GW of capacity in the pipeline for development.

ndia currently consumes 1.2 trillion units of electricity annually. That is expected to go up to 2.4 trillion units by 2030. While a bulk of the additional 1.2 trillion units of electricity will be supplied by renewables, the gap left should be filled by natural gas, he said, highlighting the environmental concerns surrounding hydro power and fuel supply issues with nuclear power. Sinha also pointed out multiple hurdles in increased adoption of natural gas including poor financial health of discoms and high cost of imports and the associated geo-political risks. “If you see what happened in renewables, till about two years ago discoms were buying renewable energy at Rs 5-6. Today, costs have crashed due to technology improvement and capex reductions and renewables are now at Rs 3 per unit. Now, even for a slight increase of 10-30 paise discoms have issues because of financial health,” Sinha said.

NOVEMBER- 2019

The government is planning to increase the country’s renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. This would create surplus renewable energy generation during peak hours leading to reduced uptake of green energy by discoms, he said. He also added that discoms only care for the lowest price of power without worrying about reliability and the industry suffers when they back down on committed purchase. Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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INDIA

Bhopal: State to get nine solar parks The new and renewable energy sources contributed 21% in the initial state to the consumption and supply of electricity in the state but now it had reached 4728MW until 2019.

India to Build 30 Gigawatts of Renewable Plants Along Western Border India is considering building 30 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity along a desert on its western border known for its sunny, windy and arid expanse, according to people familiar with the plan. The projects, which will be spread across the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, are part of efforts to expand the country’s renewable capacity and reduce the share of fossil fuels in its energy mix, the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions are private and at an early stage. The plan was discussed at a meeting in Gujarat last week, they said.

and for renewable projects is a key challenge in India and the high cost of acquisition weighs on the price of electricity. The nation is increasingly looking at barren lands for building renewable projects so its energy goals don’t clash with its growing need for agricultural production. For that reason, India plans to install 25 gigawatts of solar projects, combined with storage capacity, in the high-altitude region of Ladakh in the extreme north of the country, power minister R.K. Singh said in August. The power ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to cut the emissions intensity of India’s gross domestic product by a third by 2030 from 2005 levels to fight climate change. The country recently announced a target to set up 450 gigawatts of renewable power generation capacity by 2030, while it works on a nearer-term goal of 175 gigawatts by 2022. Source: Bloomberg L.P

NOVEMBER- 2019

he state government is focusing more over the renewable energy to hold back the carbon emission due to change in climatic condition in the country. The new and renewable energy sources contributed 21% in the initial state to the consumption and supply of electricity in the state but now it had reached 4728MW until 2019. In a bid to produce more renewable energy, solar parks are being installed at different districts under the new and renewable energy department of the state government. The ultra mega solar power plant with a capacity of 750MW is the biggest project in the world; the solar park is being installed at Gurh Tehsil of Rewa district. The 24% energy from this project is being given to Delhi Metro. The establishment of Rewa project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 5.14 lakh tonnes per year.

The 250MW solar plant at Mandsaur district has been installed at 685 hectares. The 1500MW solar plants at three districts are in the last stage. Also, under the Ultra Mega Renewable Power Project-1, solar plant of 1000MW is proposed to be set up in Sagar and 800MW in Chhatarpur. Under the Ultra Mega Renewable Project-2, 800MW solar plant is to be set up at Morena and 1000MW solar park will be installed at Sagar dam. The state government has also aimed to develop 1000MW ultra mega floating solar project at the Indira Sagar dam. The state will get multiple benefits from this project- electricity will be produced at lower costs, water conservation will increase with reduction in evaporation and also the water quality would be enhanced. Source: freepressjournal.in

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

After Andhra Pradesh, it’s Uttar Pradesh’s turn to flout renewable PPAs Neither the Centre’s admonitions, nor adverse court rulings seem to be dissuading some state governments from dishonouring the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewable power units — a trend that is threatening to put the sunrise sector in jeopardy.

lose on the heels of the Andhra Pradesh government, which virtually called for a downward revision of the tariffs mentioned in the PPAs for 5.2 giga watt of wind and solar power capacity, the Uttar Pradesh government stopped procuring electricity from 650 mega watt of wind power plants effective.The UP government’s excuse for the sudden move is the Rs 3.46-per-unit PPA tariff has not been approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). But the tariff under PPA for wind units supplying to UP is 7% lower than the average power purchase rate of the state and also much lower than the Rs 4.16-6.02-a-unit rate states paid to wind power plants under the erstwhile feed-in-tariff regime. Of the 650 MW, about 440 MW are supplied by companies, which quoted the lowest tariff in the maiden reverse auction for wind power held in 2017. The PPAs for these units owned by Renew Power, Mytrah Energy, Sembcorp and Inox Wind were signed with Central government-owned PTC India and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). These firms were supposed to supply to states which wanted renewable energy at low rates.

According to industry sources, to keep these wind plants running, PTC India is now exploring the option of supplying power from these units to other states. “The development is really shocking to us. We will be talking to our industry counterparts to decide the next course of action,” Siva Girish Arepalli, chief commercial officer, Mytrah, told FE. Recently, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has struck down the controversial July 1 order by the state government asking a highlevel committee to renegotiate the state’s PPAs with renewable power producers, terming it illegal. The court has, however, asked the state electricity regulator APERC to decide on the matter within six weeks. In the meantime, the discoms will however need to pay the reduced price of Rs 2.43-2.44 per unit to the renewable units. The renewable energy sector is one of the major FDI earners and experts cautioned that apart from hindering FDI inflows, such developments can throw a spanner on the 450 GW renewable energy capacity target, which was recently announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United Nations General Assembly. Thanks to the devaluation of the rupee, rising finance costs, governmentmandated tariff caps in reverse auctions and cancellation of renewable project tenders, the pace of adding renewable generation capacities already slowed down in FY19

Ingeteam strengthens supply chain during key supplier event at new Chennai Factory Ingeteam, an independent global supplier of electrical conversion and turbine control equipment, has gathered 75 key suppliers at its cutting-edge new factory in Chennai, with the triple objective to tighten relationships, increase supply chain collaboration and continuous improvement.

Due to the expected increase in demand capacity in both wind and solar solutions, there was a lot of interest from our suppliers in India to strengthen their relationship with Ingeteam and improve their operational knowledge of our production processes. That is why we decided to gather representatives of more than 75 domestic and foreign suppliers at our new factory, with the clear objective to increase supply chain performance, said Sukhwinder Pal Singh, Managing Director of Ingeteam India. Ingeteam’s Indian facility was established last year in the vicinity of Chennai to satisfy the demand for the company’s wind and solar solutions. The factory is equipped with state-of-the-art production technology and serves both the domestic and international markets.

Speaking on the occasion, David Sole, Managing Director of the Ingeteam Group, also addressed the audience: “Our Indian production centre is one of the cornerstones of Ingeteam’s global operations. We are well aware that our success here depends on the performance of our supply chain. And performance is about understanding each other’s needs and adapting to each other’s challenges. Both our Indian and global customer base expects a seamless collaboration leading to the most competitive, flexible, innovative and reliable products on the market.” Source: Ingeteam

Source : financialexpress

NOVEMBER- 2019

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

Madhya Pradesh announces 8th amendment of the Co-generation and Generation of electricity from Renewable Energy Sources Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission recently announced the 8th amendment to the (COGENERATION AND GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY) Revision – I, Regulations, 2010. The following are the changes included in the current version.

Newly inserted clause 3(ii-a): ‘Captive RE Generation Source’ means a RE power plant set up by any person to generate electricity primarily for his own use and includes a power plant set up by any co-operative society or association of persons for generating electricity primarily for use of members of such co-operative society or association and satisfies the conditions contained in Rule 3 (1) (a) and 3 (1) (b) of the Electricity Rules, 2005 as amended from time to time.”

Newly inserted clause 12.3: Banking is no more available to the Captive generation of Renewable energy plant generators.

Newly inserted clause 12(A) Captive RE Generation Source: Total installed capacity allowed for the captive RE plants is 1 MW

NOVEMBER- 2019

Newly Inserted clause 12 (A-1) Forecasting, Scheduling, Energy Accounting, and Settlement:The Captive RE generators can sell surplus power to the Distribution Companies only for which they are the consumers in Madhya Pradesh There will be no cross-subsidy charges for captive generators and in case the power is solar to the distribution companies Transmission & Wheeling charges will be payable by the generators as per the retail tariff order In case the power is supplied to other than captive consumers, such consumers will have to cross-subsidy charges along with transmission/wheeling charges. Consumers of such Captive RE Generation Source will not be eligible for any rebates for captive power plant consumer under HV 3 category in applicable Retail Supply Tariff Order

Newly inserted clause12 (A-2) Renewable Purchase Obligation:Surplus electricity purchased by discoms from the captive RE generators will qualify for the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) of the Discoms. Energy Consumed by the Captive generators themselves will first qualify towards their own RPO, remaining if any surplus electricity will qualify as RPO of the discoms in their area. Prior to this amendment, seven amendments have been announced previously. The last amendment was announced in 2017, post which the latest amendment has been announced. Along with this, the commission has also recently announced the first amendment for the Forecasting & Scheduling Regulations.

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

EESL and NIIF Partner for Smart Meters deployment across India Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) announced a new Joint Venture, IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited (“IntelliSmart”), to implement, finance and operate the smart meter roll-out program of power distribution companies.

mart meters will lay the foundation for smart grids which will be crucial to meet challenges of the evolving energy mix and the Government of India’s target of providing uninterrupted 24×7 power supply to every Indian. The Government of India plans to install 25 crore smart meters in the next few years. With the replacement of 25 crore conventional meters with smart meters, billing efficiency can improve from 80 percent to 100 percent, and has the potential to increase DISCOM revenues by INR 1,104 billion. EESL, has been spearheading the smart meter deployment in India with installation of over 6,25,000 Smart Meters. This partnership of NIIF & EESL will give a fillip to the Smart Meter ambition of the Government of India.

Announcing the Joint Venture, Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL stated, “India has embarked upon a mission to reduce AT&C losses; proven world over for enabling universal, transparent and responsible energy consumption, and smart meters can play a central role in enabling such an endeavour. We are proud to have an established and experienced institution like NIIF partner with us in scaling our ongoing efforts to transform the market for this technology, and to accelerate its application across the country. This venture will support the ambitions of ongoing government programmes, such as UDAY and National Smart Grid Mission.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Sujoy Bose, Managing Director & CEO, NIIF added, “IntelliSmart will support the efforts of the Indian power sector as it strives towards delivering dependable 24/7 service to end-consumers. Smart meters will play a transformational role in bringing efficiencies and generating significant commercial benefits for power distribution companies, while at the same time empowering end-consumers to make informed choices regarding power consumption. We are delighted to partner with EESL, which has a proven track record of driving energy efficiency by operating at a substantial scale through its strong relationship with all stakeholders.” With a focus on expediting the deployment of smart meters across the country, IntelliSmart will seek to operate at scale by leveraging the expertise and capital of both the shareholders, EESL and NIIF. IntelliSmart will work collaboratively with all stakeholders to procure, deploy and provide operations and maintenance for the smart meter infrastructure. Smart meters communicate on a real-time basis with distribution companies enabling remote meter reading and prompt identification of network failures, thereby reducing response time and improving the quality of networks and services. Smart meters also bring benefits to end-consumers by empowering them with consumption data thereby enabling households to lower their energy bills by becoming more energy efficient and contributing to greater security and affordability of the Indian energy market. Leveraging its extensive experience with smart meters technology, EESL has already secured contracts for IntelliSmart to install and maintain over 1 crore smart meters across various state distribution companies; the JV will work alongside EESL to scale this up further. Source: edelman

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

Policy flip-flops will have renewable energy target missing by over 42%: Report Faced by many a regulatory challenge, policy flip-flops and also a steep fall in tariffs, the country is likely to miss the renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022 by a wide margin, says a report. According to a weekend report by Crisil, this target is set to be missed by a full 42 per cent as the industry has been witnessing fast waning interest from developers since the past fiscal. “Renewable energy capacity may increase by just 40 gw to 104 gw in 2022 from 64.4 gw in 2019, thanks to the lingering policy uncertainty and tariff glitches. That would be a good 42 per cent short of the government target of 175 gw,” the agency says in the note.

he report notes that as much as 26 per cent of the 64 gw of projects auctioned by the Centre and the states have received no or lukewarm bids, while another 31 percent are facing delays in allocation after being tendered. Thus, despite the increase in tendering volume, not only has allocation of projects slowed down, but both undersubscriptions and cancellations of awarded tenders have also increased, says the agency. As per the report, the ratio of auctioned or awarded projects to tendered projects plunged to 34 in fiscal 2019 from 77 over fiscals 2016 and 2017.

“The unstable policy environment poses big risks for the renewable energy targets. This is evident in the growing incoherence between the policy thrust on the one hand, and the actual action by implementation agencies like the Solar Corporation of India and state discoms, on the other,” it says. The ongoing issue of tariff renegotiation in Andhra has also acted as a deterrent for most developers. As of July 2019, the Andhra discoms alone owed Rs 2,600 crore to developers, part of which was due to ongoing tariff dispute and the resultant delays in payments. Such prolonged payment delays and disputes not only set a negative precedent, but also put at risk existing and planned investments, the agency warns. Similarly, Rajasthan’s new draft solar and hybrid policy proposes an additional annual levy of Rs 2.5-5 lakh per mw on all projects that sell power to entities outside the state. “Should this be implemented, it could be highly detrimental for the growth the sector given that Rajasthan is one of the most sought-after states for solar power plants,” it warns. Besides this, tariff caps is becoming a new challenge for developers to navigate. “Developers are also increasingly losing interest as central and state discoms are increasingly lowering tariff caps, which is constraining project viability and resulting in renegotiation of tenders, where counterparties disagree on pricing,” it notes. The Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan, which saw tariff bids of Rs 2.44 per unit in May 2017, has become a benchmark of discom expectations on tariff bids today, resulting in a solar tariff cap of Rs 2.5-2.6 per unit. The Solar Corporation had terminated its 2,400 mw ISTS Tranche II scheme as the bid tariff of Rs 2.64 was higher than expected. In addition, another 1.7 gw of contracts were cancelled without renegotiations, citing high tariffs. Wind energy projects, meanwhile, are facing even greater turbulence as their viability has come down following the shift from fixed tariffs to competitive bids, and also because of an increase in capital costs with bleeding original equipment manufacturers no longer discounting equipment.

NOVEMBER- 2019

“The result is, there is hardly any bidding for fresh wind energy projects today,” it says. Incidentally, the solar tariff cap fell to Rs 2.65 in June from Rs 2.93 in December 2018, while the wind tariff cap dropped to Rs 2.83 in May 2019 from Rs 2.93 in April 2018. “Yet, several factors affect viability of solar projects, such as land cost and technical factors like irradiation or wind density levels, apart from capital and funding costs,” it notes. Crisil also expects the installed capacity to only increase gradually. “The renewable energy sector requires investments of Rs 2.6 lakh crore over the next five years. With interest from global investors remaining strong, funding is not a problem provided government policy is consistent,” Crisil concludes. Source: PTI

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

Solar panel import duties: a sop for beleaguered coal By James V Abraham The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently sent a note to the Finance Ministry recommending import duties on solar panels. MNRE recommended a duty of 10% beginning January 2021, rising to 20% in January 2022, and then to 30% in January 2023. The stated goal is to increase local manufacturing of solar panels. The real goal is something else.

What was once heading to a sub-Rs. 2 tariff, solar power tariffs are much higher today, giving some relief to the pressure on coal power. The import duties were never designed to help local manufacturers of solar plants. Duties at approximately 20% are insufficient to close the gap with the Chinese competitors. They were designed to protect our outdated coal industry, and the banks who bankrolled them. It is time to let go of these plants and transition our grid, our sector, and our economy towards renewable power. This transition is going to be expensive. Import duties that act to delay it are only handing a bigger problem to our children.

ook at the recent history of import duties. Last year, the government imposed a safeguard duty on solar panels from China starting at 25%. Despite these duties, panels continue to be imported from China and the local sector has not grown. Some speculate that Indian panels are inferior. That’s not true. Indian-made panels are successful in many global markets with very stringent quality standards. Indian manufacturers enjoy a premium in those markets that they do not enjoy at home. It’s not a quality gap, but a price gap. The safeguard duty was hefty, but was still insufficient to close that price gap. The proposed new duties will be just as ineffective.

Why is the government bothering? Over the past decade, solar power tariffs have reduced far faster than anyone’s expectations. Today, unsubsidized solar power is available at tariffs lower than conventional coal power. Soon, storage technologies will allow us to deliver solar power throughout the day at rates that challenge any conventional power plant. And that’s the problem. Today’s conventional power plants, especially coal power plants, are bankrolled by the public-sector banks. Any challenge to those assets, especially from renewable assets, would further stress the banks’ balance sheets. Enter import duties, which simply add unnecessary costs that will continue to protect these coal plants (and these overburdened balance sheets). The safeguard duty on solar panels did succeed in one area; it increased the tariff of solar power.

Let’s support the solar manufacturers directly. Competing with the Chinese panel manufacturers is no easy proposition – the playing field is far far from level. If India is going to build a manufacturing sector in solar panels, the industry will need many levels of support. They require access to concessional finance, subsidized power and water, and other incentives to improve the cost-competitiveness of the industry. And the government exchequer has the necessary funds in the form of the National Clean Energy Fund. It’s time to let conventional power be replaced by renewables, and let the market boom. After all, there’s no greater push for manufacturing than a booming domestic market. Source: solar-arise

Guj’s rooftop solar power scheme aims to cover 2 lakh families Gujarat energy minister Saurabh Patel said that the state government’s rooftop solar panel scheme aims to cover two lakh households by March 31 next year. Under the scheme, people can install solar panels for electricity generation on the roof of their houses, and if there is surplus electricity, they can sell it to the power grid.

1,600 MW of solar power will be produced through rooftop solar panels in Gujarat by 2021-22, the minister said at an event here, adding that the government aims to cover two lakh families under the scheme this fiscal. The state government had made a provision of Rs 1,000 crore in the current year’s budget for the scheme, Minister Saurabh Patel said, adding that the households which install solar panels will get 40 per cent subsidy from the government for 2 KW capacity and 20 per cent subsidy for 3 KW to 10 KW capacity systems.

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he beneficiaries can avail of subsidy either under the state scheme or the similar Central scheme. The subsidy will also be given to housing societies and residential welfare associations for installing rooftop system for powering common amenities such as water pumps and lights in common areas. Consumers can select any of the 450 firms empaneled by the government for procuring the solar rooftop systems. Source: PTI

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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INDIA

Power sector to save Rs 2,500cr annually due to corporate tax cut: ICRA The government slashed the income tax rate for companies by almost 10 percentage points to 25.17 percent and offered a lower rate to 17.01 percent for new manufacturing firms to boost economic growth rate from a six-year low by incentivising investments to help create jobs.

he corporate tax cut is a positive development for power sector as it will result in an estimated annual savings of Rs 2,500 crore for the power distribution segment, rating agency ICRA said.The government on September 20 slashed the income tax rate for companies by almost 10 percentage points to 25.17 percent and offered a lower rate to 17.01 percent for new manufacturing firms to boost economic growth rate from a six-year low by incentivising investments to help create jobs.

“The recent announcement by the Government… is a positive development for the power sector, as it would allow power generators with cost plus power purchase agreements (PPAs) to pass on the lower tax benefit to power distribution utilities (discoms),” ICRA said in a statement. As per ICRA’s estimates, the extent of benefit that would accrue to discoms from power generation and transmission segments (mainly from central and state utilities), would be about Rs 25 billion (Rs 2500 crore) annually. “The benefit so accrued to discoms in turn would enable them to lower their cost of supply and hence, reduce the gap between average tariff and cost of power supply by about 3 paise per unit sold at all India level.

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However, the extent of reduction in gap for discoms would vary across states depending on the mix of cost plus and bid-based PPAs and share of supply from central sector companies, said Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President & Group Head – Corporate ratings, ICRA. Within the overall annual energy generation of 1250 billion units (1 unit =1 kwh) in FY’2019, about 67 percent is cost-plus tariff based predominantly from central and state sector utilities.Central government entities like NTPC, NLC India, Damodar Valley Corporation, Power Grid Corporation of India and NHPC have cost plus tariff structures, leading to pass through of lower tax incidence to discoms, it said. Also, state-owned power generating companies and power transmission companies, would be benefited from the lower tax incidence, which would be passed on to discoms under the regulated cost-plus tariff structure, it added. The effective tax rate for most of these central sector utilities over the past two years was in the range of 21-23 percent, partly due to availability of tax holiday benefit (where MAT is applicable) for a large portion of their projects. The power generation projects including renewable power projects having PPAs based on competitive bid-based tariffs and under the erstwhile preferential tariff route are expected to benefit from the lower tax rates. For a wind or solar power project commissioned recently, the ICRA estimates the reduction in tax rate will improve the internal rate of return by 40 basis points (bps), though the impact on debt coverage metrics is not material. For projects commissioned prior to March 2017 and availing the tax holiday under Section 80-IA, it remains to be seen, if the MAT credit entitlement accumulated during the tax holiday period can be set off against the tax liability under the lower tax option in future, it added. Source: PTI

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INDIA

R K Singh directs states to clear dues of power generating companies Power minister R K Singh directed the state governments to clear dues of power generation companies, a step which he said will boost investor sentiment and attract investments.

The minister said that attracting investments is one of the major challenges that is being faced by the sector. “Today the outstanding bills for generation companies is Rs 59,000 crore. Looking at this who will come and invest in the sector?,” he said while speaking at the two-day conference of power and new, renewable energy ministers of states and union territories here. He said state departments owe about Rs 49,000 crore to electricity distribution companies (discoms), so if this amount is recovered then a large portion of dues will be cleared which will ultimately lessen the burden on the power producers. The minister noted that investments are crucial for building capacities. He said if there will be ease of doing business and sanctity of contracts and certainty of payments, then players will set up units of generation be it thermal or renewable, and directed the ministers to take steps to get the dues cleared. “The power price is another issue. You buy it at Rs 3-4 a unit and sell it at a price of 7-8 a unit and still there are dues. Who will buy power at such a high cost for their clusters. Steps must be taken to provide new set ups electricity at cheaper rates. Cheap electricity will also help in attracting investments,” he added. Elaborating further, he said it was a remarkable achievement in giving connections to 2 crore 66 lakh households in last 16 months but there is no point in achieving such a feat if some fans and bulbs are not functional. It means the time and money has been wasted. Supplying 24×7 electricity is also a challenge and states must take steps to address this issue. It is right of the consumer as he is paying for the electricity, he said.

Source: PTI

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NOVEMBER- 2019

INDIA

MNRE refutes reports expressing doubt on India’s renewable energy target. ‘India would achieve 1,75,000 MW target on time’ says Secretary, MNRE Reports have appeared ina section of media,citing a CRISIL report, that India may fall short of its declared renewable energy target of 1,75,000 MW by the year 2022. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has refuted such claims. Full text of Ministry’s rebuttal is as below “In some of the recent media reports apprehensions have been raised whether India would be able to achieve 1,75,000 MW renewable power installed capacity target by the year 2022. All these have cited the CRISIL report of September 2019.

owever, the doubts are ill-founded and not reflective of the status on the ground and plans ahead. By the end of September 2019, India has installed more than 82,580 MW of renewable energy capacity with around 31,150 MW of capacity under various stages of installation. Thus, bythe first quarter of 2021, India would have installed more than 1,13,000 MWof renewable power capacity. This would constitute nearly 65 per cent of the targeted capacity.Besides this, around 39,000 MWof renewable power capacity is at various stages of bidding which would be installed by September 2021, taking the percentage of installed capacity to over 87 percentage of the targeted capacity.With only 23,000 MW of renewable power capacity left to bid, India is confident that the target of installing 1,75,000 MW of renewable power capacity will not only be met but exceeded. The Ministry has worked systematicallyto resolve various issues that arise from time to time,putting in place facilitative and ease of doing business policies and programmes for achieving the goal. Renewable power industry, developers, investors and other stakeholders have lauded Ministry’sefforts fortransparent bidding and facilitation for procurement of power at competitive rates. These initiatives have resulted in significant downward trend in solar and wind power tariffs. The wind power tariffs has fallen from Rs4.18 per unit in 2016 to Rs.2.43 per unit during last year and even todayit remains below Rs 2.75 per unit. Similarly the solar tariffs have fallen from Rs 4.43 per unit (with VGF) to Rs.2.44per unit.The Government of India’s endeavour remain that renewable power is procured at a rate which is acceptable to distribution companies. Since March 2014, India’s renewable power capacity has increased from 34000 MW to 82,580 MW recording 138 percent growth. Globally, India stands 5th in solar power, 4th in wind power, and 4th in total renewable power installed capacity. If large hydro included, India stands 3rd in renewable power capacity globally. India’s renewable energy programme is much beyond production of electricity and covers a basket of applications including use of solar thermal energy for cooling, heating, drying and other industrial applications. Renewable energy has emerged as a true multi-benefit system, combining ecological necessities with domestic priorities, economic and job creation opportunities. The journey for expanding the share of renewables in the energy mix has not been without continuous challenges. When the State Government of Andhra Pradesh announced intention to revisit already signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), the Ministry very quickly clarified that no PPAs can be revisited unless there is a clause to do so in such agreement or a case of malafide of corruption is proved beyond doubt.

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The Ministry in consultation with the respective Governments is addressing the issues of allocation of land in Gujarat and revision of land facilitation charges in Rajasthan.Plan for erecting 66,500MW of additional transmission system to ensure evacuation and injection of 1,75,000 MW of power into the main grid is under implementation. The additional transmission would come by October 2021 in phases depending on location based requirements. Also, the Ministry is in the process of developing Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to overcome the problem of land allocation. These parks will have dedicated transmission. First such park is being planned in Dholera, Gujarat by SECI. These apart, the Ministry has strengthened PPA clauses for strengthening investors’ confidence. For mitigating off-takers risk and ensuring timely payments to developers, the Ministry has made letter of credit must for purchase of power by distribution companies. The Ministry has launched three new schemes. The first is the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme Phase-ll for setting up 12,000 MW grid-connected SPV Power Projects, by the Government Producers with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support of Rs. 8,580 crore for self-use or use by Government or Government entities, both Central and State Governments. The Scheme mandates use of both SPVcells and modules manufactured domestically as per specifications and testing requirements. The second is PM-KUSUM (PradhanMantriKisanUrjaSurakshaevemUtthanMahabhiyan) scheme to be implemented over next four years for de-dieselization of the farm sector and increasing farmers’ energy independence and income. Under the scheme, India has plans to provide 1.75 million stand-alone solar agriculture pumps and carry out solarisation of 1 million grid connected agriculture pumps by the year 2022. Under the same scheme, Government is also encouraging farmers to set up small solar plants of the size of 500 KW to 2 MW on barren lands for their additional income. Three components combined, the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022. The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs. 34,422 crore. The third is Roof Top Solar Phase-II programme SRISTI (Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India) scheme for accelerated deployment of solar roof top systems in the country. Under this scheme Central Financial Assistance for 4000 MW of small roof top capacity and incentives to Distribution Companies for 18,000 MW capacity by 2022 have been provided. These schemes will also act as catalyst for adding solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in India. Further, the Tariff Policy is being revised to ensure timely adoption of tariffs.

The CRISIL report being referred to by the media is neither factually correct nor takes into account initiatives taken by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to facilitate accelerated development and deployment of renewable energy in the country. This report lacks in credibility in all respects as CRISIL did not even bother to consult this Ministry for its views. The Ministry is not only confident of meeting 1,75,000 MW target but exceeding it by 2022.” www.EQMagPro.com Source: reconnectenergy

INDIA

India’s largest floating solar plant to come up in MP After establishing a 750MW solar power park in Rewa — one of the biggest in the world — the government now aims to set up a 1,000MW floating solar park at Indira Sagar Dam in Khandwa.

We have done preliminary studies and now World Bank is preparing feasibility reports. The state government is ready to procure 200MW power from the project and we are in talks with other procurers, too. If everything goes well, work should start in 7-8 months,” principal secretary, new and renewable energy, Manu Shrivastav told TOI. The cost of developing this floating solar park will be around Rs 5,000 crores, at Rs 5 crore per MW, said sources.

ndira Sagar Dam — the biggest in Asia — has a surface area of 26,710 hectare, which can accommodate a solar power park of up to 13,000MW, say sources. “There are several issues connected with this project. Land requirement is of biggest concern in case of solar parks, but projects like this solve that problem. There is a minor increase in investment (for a floating solar park), but since land is not required it is minimized,” said an official, pointing out that floating solar systems generate more power than landbased ones. There is only one other floating power project in India — a 100MW one, run by NTPC in Andhra Pradesh. There is another 150MW plant in the pipeline at Rihand Dam, Uttar Pradesh. Renewable energy contributes to around 20% of Madhya Pradesh’s energy needs. The 750MW solar power park in Rewa has a low tariff of just Rs 2.97 per unit, which would eventually lead to savings of around Rs 1,600 crore to the state government, and Rs 790 crore to Delhi Metro, as 24% of its power is supplied to Delhi Metro. Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

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NOVEMBER- 2019

INDIA

Delhi’s power discoms penalised by DERC for defaulting on green power obligations Delhi’s power regulator DERC has imposed penalties to the tune of Rs 1.71 crore on discom TPDDL and Rs 2.88 crore each on BYPL and BRPL for defaulting on renewable energy purchase obligations (RPO) for three financial years. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission(DERC) in its order last month found default on the part of the three power discoms in meeting their RPO. A spokesperson of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) said the order by DERC was under examination and an appropriate course of action will be decided. “Sufficient renewal power or REC (renewable energy certificate) is not available at reasonable rates at power exchanges, to meet RPO compliance. “If discoms meet RPO obligation in an uneconomical way it will have serious negative financial implications and will in fact burden consumer with additional tariff,” he added. BSES discoms have signed long term agreements for around 1700 MW green power at a very competitive rate, which will raise the share of renewable energy in BSES portfolio to 27 percent by 2021-22, said a company spokesperson. “BSES will achieve 100 percent RPO requirement from 2021-22 onwards and surplus energy from renewable energy will help BSES to offset accumulated RPO shortfall of the previous years,” he said. The order was passed on petitions filed by Green Energy Association and Indian Wind Power Association with DERC against TPDDL, BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL).

he petitioners sought action against the discoms under the DERC (Renewable Purchase Obligation and Renewable Energy Certificate Framework Implementation) Regulations, 2012, for alleged failure to meet the RPO. Green Energy Association sought action against discoms for non-compliance of solar RPO in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The other petitioner- Indian Wind Power Association- claimed non-compliance of RPO for financial years 2012-13 to 2014-15. The Commission in its order observed “there is no doubt that discoms have failed to meet their RPO.” The order said, “Keeping in view all factors and various directions of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), it is established that failure of discoms to meet the RPO make them liable to pay penalty.”

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A penalty of Rs one lakh for each year of default and an additional Rs 5000 per day fine for continuing default till discoms met the RPO for a given year, was imposed by the Commission. As per an affidavit filed by TPDDL, the RPO for 2012-13, 201314 and 2014-15 were complied with on February 22, 2017, October 25, 2017, and November 29, 2017, respectively. The penalty in case of TPDDL is Rs 66,60,000(2012-13), Rs 60,20,000 (2013-14), and Rs 45,10,000 (2014-15). The order stated that no compliance of RPO has been reported by BRPL and BYPL and they are in continuous default of meeting the RPO. The BSES discoms were ordered to pay the penalties separately. The penalty calculated in their case is Rs 1,13,60,000( 201213), Rs 96,35,000(2013-14) and Rs 78,10,000 (2014-15). The continuing default in the case of BRPL and BYPL was calculated up to September 20, 2019. The BSES spokesperson said these penalties are for the financial year 2012-2015, during which period, the BSES discoms had sought deferment of RPO as the prices of RECs were “extremely” high, even going up to Rs 15 per unit. The petitioners had maintained that the Commission allocated fund to the respondent discoms for the purchase of renewable energy certificates(RECs) to meet the RPO. But even when RECs were available in the market, no efforts were made by them to fulfill their RPO, the petitioners had alleged. The DERC had issued notices which were replied by the respondent discoms. After hearing their submissions, the Commission reserved the matter for the final order which was announced on September 18 this year. The Commission has ordered the respondent discoms to pay the penalties within one month of the order.

Source: PTI

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INDIA

AP, T’gana discoms payment delay may weaken credit outlook Rating agency Crisil said the prolonged delay in resolution of payments by discoms of states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to renewable energy producers can weaken the credit outlook of the sector and moderate investor sentiment. According to the agency, few renewable energy producers are managing the stress arising from payment delays by these discoms because of their diversified operations and financial flexibility.

risil has analysed 10 companies which have won around half of the projects awarded in the past two years and account for 32 per cent of installed renewable capacity in India. Discoms of Andhra Pradesh have been delaying payments for contracted renewables assets for around one year. This was further compounded by the new state government’s decision to set up a committee to review and bring down the purchase cost of wind and solar energy, it said.

For these renewables companies, the liquidity crunch also got intensified because Telangana discoms stretched their payments, and contributed to cash-flow mismatches. According to the agency, aggregate cash flows from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana discoms to these leading renewables companies were 20 per cent of aggregate revenues as of March 2019.

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While smaller companies with single-asset exposure to the discoms were impacted the most, diversified renewable companies have managed the stress better. On aggregate, these may see their receivables days inch up by 35-45 days by the end of the current fiscal, from around 115 days in fiscal 2019, despite Andhra Pradesh and Telangana stretching payments by more than 240 days,” its senior director Manish Gupta said. The agency noted that leading players with relatively higher exposure to Andhra Pradesh demonstrated superior financial flexibilities reflected in timely refinancing of debt in the wake of building delays, attracting equity capital and prioritizing cash for debt servicing above capex thereby differentiating themselves. “These companies refinanced/ extended maturities of debt repayments for impacted projects and attracted equity flows of over Rs 5,500 crore during the first half of the current fiscal,” it said. Also slower pace of new capacity awards in the past 18 months as against in fiscal 2018, allowed these companies to conserve cash and focus on consolidating capacities before embarking on the next phase of growth, the agency noted. Source: PTI

NOVEMBER- 2019

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Beijing Daxing International Airport, Powered by Huawei FusionSolar, Is Officially Open the world’s largest airport Beijing Daxing International Airport was put into operation. The grid-tied rooftop distributed PV system in the cargo area, east runway, and business jet area has been successfully commissioned. It boosts the development of PV systems and renewable energy application in the civil aviation field.

ith Huawei FusionSolar Smart PV Solution this 5.61 MWp project pioneered the application of clean energy in civil aviation. After grid connection, 6.1 GWh of green energy will be fed into the power grid annually, which equals to 1,900 tons of standard coal saving while offsetting 966 tons of CO2 and 14.5 tons of SO2 footprints every year.

In addition, with smart I-V curve diagnosis, Huawei Smart PV Solution can pinpoint faulty PV strings and discover faulty causes proactively, which guarantees secure, reliable, and long-term power generation.

Beijing Daxing International Airport, being a US$11.2 billion cost and 1.4 million square meter wide structure, is hailed by the British Guardian as No. 1 among new Seven Wonders of the World. The project owner indicated the PV plant with Huawei FusionSolar Smart The grand opening marks the advent of the world’s PV Solution as the reliable source of green energy to the airport thanks to largest single-terminal airport, surpassing Dubai the integration of cutting-edge digital information technologies and higher World Central and New Istanbul Airport. Being a yields, smart O&M, and safe & reliable features. As we all know, airport giant aviation integrated transportation hub, it is safety is the top priority. Huawei FusionSolar distributed solution put a lot expected that the renewable energy supply will of effort in terms of safety consideration in order to leave customers peace account for more than 10% (with 1% being PV of mind. For example, the AI-enabled arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) system contribution) of the airport’s annual energy technology and the fuse-free design can eliminate fire risk. Besides, airport consumption. As a result, Daxing airport tops the equipment will not be affected by minor electromagnetic radiation. list of airports in China in terms of renewable energy utilization percentage.

Source: Huawei

Havells India Becomes the First Indian Electrical Company to Be Part of Dow Jones Sustainability Index – Emerging Markets

Havells India Limited became the first Indian Electrical Company to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index. lso, Havells is amongst the only 12 Indian Companies to be included in the index which is essential for assessing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performances. The company also moved one position to become 6th most sustainable company in the “Electrical Components and Equipment” sector globally.

Speaking on the recognition, Mr. Anil Sharma, Head – Corporate Communications |CSR| Sustainability, Havells India Limited, said, “We are ecstatic and proud to be part of Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Emerging Markets especially in the second year of our participation. This recognition is the result of hard work over the years and our core philosophy of ‘Shubh Laabh’ where we believe in ‘doing good deeds and profits would follow’. This recognition further strengthens our resolve to keep doing good for the environment and communities around us.”

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Havells has undertaken a lot of efficient initiatives that have resulted in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company is reducing its dependency on fossil fuel-based electricity by installing roof top solar power plant across its manufacturing units. Along with that, the company is planting 4 lakh trees annually with an aim to develop over 800 hectares of forest cover by 2023. Promoting the concept of circular economy, the company continuously recycles and reuses more than 94% of the waste generated at its manufacturing units. Havells is the only electrical company in the country to be a “water positive” and “zero fatality” organization and is moving to become wood and paper positive company.

Manjit Jus, Head of ESG Ratings, RobecoSAM said, “We congratulate Havells India Limited for being included in the DJSI – Emerging Markets. The SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment has again raised the bar in identifying those companies best positioned to address future sustainability challenges and opportunities. This year – which marks the 20th anniversary of the DJSI – record corporate interest in the SAM CSA reflects the enduring relevance of the DJSI for measuring and advancing ESG practices.” Source: PTI

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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Three scientists win Nobel in Chemistry for work on lithium-ion batteries

Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries, which have reshaped energy storage and transformed cars, mobile phones and many other devices in an increasingly portable and electronic world. The prize went to John B Goodenough of the University of Texas; M Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton; and Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei Corporation and Meijo University in Japan.

Goran Hansson, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said the prize was about “a rechargeable world.” In a statement, the committee said lithium-ion batteries “have revolutionized our lives” – and the laureates “laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society.” The Nobel committee said the lithium-ion battery has its roots in the oil crisis in the 1970s, when Whittingham was working to develop methods aimed at leading to fossil fuelfree energy technologies.

he prizes come with a 9-million kronor (USD 918,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma that are conferred on December 10 – the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896 – in Stockholm and in Oslo, Norway. Prize founder Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite, decided the physics, chemistry, medicine and literature prizes should be awarded in Stockholm, and the peace prize in Oslo.

Canadian-born James Peebles won the Physics Prize for his theoretical discoveries in cosmology together with Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who were honored for finding an exoplanet – a planet outside our solar system – that orbits a solar-type star. Americans William G Kaelin Jr and Gregg L. Semenza and Britain’s Peter J Ratcliffe won the Nobel Prize for advances in physiology or medicine. They were cited for their discoveries of “how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” Two literature laureates are to be announced, because last year’s award was suspended after a scandal rocked the Swedish Academy. Source: PTI

NOVEMBER- 2019

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Solis ranked Top 3 among Asian brands on BloombergNEF’s Solar Module & Inverter Bankability 2019 Report Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) recently released its Solar Module & Inverter Bankability 2019 report. For the first time, the company made investigations into solar inverters, surveying the bankability of several inverter brands.

ankability’ means banks are more willing to offer non-recourse loans to photovoltaic power generation projects that opt to use a particular inverter brand. Solis’ inverters ranked third for Asian brands: a testament to the brand’s products being well-recognised by global technical experts and respondents. This incredible result also means project developers are more likely to receive bank financing if they use Solis’ products over those of other brands. With a team of experts spread across six continents, BNEF analyses complex data from around the globe to procure in-depth forecasts which highlight the financial, economic and political implications of industry-transforming trends and technologies. For this survey, BNEF sought information from banks, developers and technical due diligence firms about which brands, out of 48 module manufacturers and 17 inverter manufacturers, they considered to be bankable.

Interestingly, regional differences are far starker when considering the bankability of inverters compared to modules. Unlike panels, inverters are less of a commodity as modules have only one function — producing energy — while inverters have multiple purposes. Aside from converting direct current into alternating current, inverters interact directly with the grid and aggregate power output data. As such, there are different types of inverters for different project requirements (for example, some projects require central inverters while string inverters are more suitable for others). SOURCE Ginlong(Solis)

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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Policy stability at state level must to boost renewable projets: ReNew CMD Policy stability, particularly at the state level, is a must for boosting installation of clean energy capacity in the coming days, a top official of ReNew Power said

His comments have come against the background of Andhra Pradesh seeking to renegotiate tariff price of concluded power purchase agreements with renewable energy developers.Renewable energy developers as well as government nodal agencies, NTPC and Solar Energy Development Corporation, have refused to do so.

There is a policy stability issue at the state level… There is one state (Andhra Pradesh) which tried to open the concluded power purchase agreements in renewable energy recently, ReNew Power Chairman and Managing Director Sumant Sinha said in a panel discussion at the India Economic Summit.

eNew Power has a total capacity of over 8 GW of wind and solar power assets across the country. Sinha was of the view that in case of such disputes, the developers have to service their loans with uncertainty, which is resolved only after the legal course which takes one or two years. In the present scenario, the investor sentiment is low in the renewable energy sector which is evident from lukewarm response to auction for clean energy projects due to regulatory issues. Besides, the developers are also against the capping of tariff in the renewable auctions and want that discovery of tariff should be left to the markets in a competitive bidding process. India has set an ambitious target of having 175GW of renewable Energy by 2022 which includes 100 GW of solar and 60GW of wind.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Seeking the government’s proactive approach, Sinha said, “Today we have a regulatory constraint. Tomorrow it could be discom financing. It could be general financing constraint. There is connectivity issues, that absorbs much power.” He also said, “The reality is that just given the situation we have in India right now in terms of distribution companies’ financial health, the intermittency issue, implementing large projects on the ground … Given the fact that we are doing (adding) 10GW to 15 GW renewable capacity every year, at best to my mind, we can double it in the next 10-12 years like 25 GW to 30 GW every year.” He also said, “Currently, the installed capacity is 350GW including about 80 GW of renewables. If we are looking at power demand growth 5 to 6 per cent every year then by 2020, we would be doubling the power demand, we have right now. Today we consume about 1.2 trillion units which would be 2.4 trillion units in the next 12 years (by 2030).” Source: PTI

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Abu Dhabi’s Masdar to buy stake in Hero’s Green Energy arm for $150m Making its entry into renewable energy space in India, Abu Dhabi government-owned energy company Masdar Clean Energy is all set to acquire about 20% stake in Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group of the Munjal family, for $150 million, said two people aware of the development.

ost the transaction, Masdar will own 20% stake, IFC will own 27% stake while the rest will be held by promoters. International Finance Corp (IFC), the private sector investment arm of World Bank, invested $125 million in Hero Future in 2017. Masdar is advised by BNP Paribas while JP Morgan advised Hero Future in the stake sale process. The deal will be signed by this week, said one of the persons cited above. Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Clean Energy has entered into exclusive talks to acquire a minority stake in Hero Future Energies, ET first reported in January this year. Launched in 2012, Hero Future Energies is led by Rahul Munjal, the elder son of Hero MotoCorp founder late Raman Munjal. Hero Future has 1,200 MW capacity of installed solar and wind power while another 500 MW is being built and 300 MW more is in pipeline. Hero Future Energies (HFE) has presence in 10 states of India with operating asset base across wind, solar PV (grid connected) and rooftop plants. In rooftop solar, the company has plans to implement 100 MW by 2018-19, while building a portfolio of 3.5 GW by 2022. A Hero Future Energies spokesperson declined to comment while a mail sent to Masdar did not elicit any response till the press time.

Wholly-owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar has made multiple acquisitions in new markets. The total value of renewable energy projects in which Masdar is a partner is more than $8.5 billion, with Masdar’s investment stake worth $2.7 billion. Under wind, solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP), the total generating capacity of these projects exceeds 2,700 MW. Masdar’s renewable energy projects are located in the UAE, Jordan, Mauritania, Egypt, Morocco, the UK, Serbia and Spain. Some of the significant projects of Masdar include the 630 MW London Array offshore wind farm and the 402 MW Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm. Some of Asia’s leading energy firms such as Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Masdar and Singapore’s Sembcorp are in separate discussions to acquire a significant minority stake in Hero Future Energies, ET had reported in October. Source: economictimes.indiatimes

Awards in 2017

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Awards in 2018

NOVEMBER- 2019

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IT Giant TCS Files Patent for a Bot-based Software for Drones, UAVs

Of late, Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have already started to play a crucial role in performing inspections of solar panels as well as wind turbine blades. Solar Panels or Wind Turbines installed at high vertical heights has found Drones/UAVs as an efficient, safer, and less-expensive alternative to traditional thermographic inspections of solar fields and wind farms.

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ompanies across the globe are now increasingly looking at drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to perform inspections or clean the surface of solar panels. Going in line with this opportunity, Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Servics (TCS), is also developing software capability for Drones/ UAVs that can potentially be used to fix problems in windmills or solar farms in mostly inaccessible terrain. According to an Economic Times report, has filed for a patent in India for the software, which will help UVs in providing services to customers using bots.

NOVEMBER- 2019

As per the patent filing, which ET claims to have reviewed, the unmanned vehicle will be used to track the bots until they return after completing the assigned tasks, with help from a software and data processing module aboard the vehicle. TCS could deploy the patent-pending software in drones for customers in its main markets. It was in May 2017, when TCS has opened its first Drones Research Lab in the US at its Seven Hills Park Innovation Center located in Cincinnati, OH, to address the rapidly expanding demand for UAVs and business solutions across industries.

The drone lab applies advanced computer vision, machine learning and deep learning algorithms to process the images captured by drones. Indian IT services firms are building capability to deliver services using drones due to growing demand from customers globally in infrastructure, agriculture and defence. Source: indianweb2

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India Economic Summit: Expect a massive cut in interest rates, says ReNew Power

As the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to announce the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy for 2019-20, renewable power producer ReNew Power expects a massive cut in interest rates.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18’s Anshu Sharma, Sumant Sinha, chairman and managing director, said, “I do not see why real interest rates in India should be as high as they are. I know there is some argument to be made to protect savers, but I think that is the wrong way of doing it. I think you cannot have companies borrow at 7 percent of interest rate or even higher than that and I think it’s depressing both the consumption demand as well as investment appetite in the country.”

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He further added, “I don’t see any reason why there shouldn’t be a 1 percent cut in interest rates as inflation is at 3 percent, the repo rate is at 5.4 percent and it is supposed to be an accommodative rate, that is 2.4 percent real repo rate. So, I do not understand why it should be so high. In other countries, the accommodative monetary policy typically means 0 percent interest rate. The other question is inflation is at 3 percent, the RBIs target is 4 percent plus / minus 2 percent. So, we actually have a lot of room for inflation to go. I think inflation expectations are anchored. I think the only people for whom inflation expectations are not anchored right now is the RBI who keeps having the apprehension that inflation might suddenly go up. However, it hasn’t gone up for the last 18-24 months. So, with the whole economic activity being so depressed, why should there be any expectation that inflation will go up?” Source : cnbctv18

NOVEMBER- 2019

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Acme at No.3, Adani at no.6, Enerparc at No.11, Tata Power at No.12, Greenko at No.13, Renew at No.14 on Global Solar PV Asset Ownership Report Italian renewable company Enel Green Power ranks fourth globally, with 2.21 GW of cumulative solar capacity installed. However, only a small portion of its assets are in Europe, with 83% of its capacity residing in the Americas

he European solar PV market is highly fragmented due to the large proportion of small-scale distributed assets installed by individual residential, commercial or industrial consumers. The level of fragmentation could decrease slightly, with close to 50% of new installations from 2019 to 2024 expected to come from >5 MW installations. That’s up from 26% between 2013 and 2018.

NOVEMBER- 2019

So which companies are leading in Europe today? Europe’s solar PV asset ownership landscape is dominated by infrastructure asset funds. The largest of these is Octopus, which largely holds assets in the UK acquired during its partnership with Lightsource (now Lightsource BP). However, the largest solar asset owner in Europe is Enerparc – an independent, vertically-integrated independent power producer (IPP) focused on the German market. Sonnedix, another independent IPP, also breaks into the European top 10. Encavis is the largest listed asset owner in Europe, with over 100 MW of assets under ownership in Germany, France, Italy and the UK. Institutional investors also play an important role in Europe’s solar market, though the evolution of the market toward riskier merchant deals could change that. Such assets may be less attractive to risk-averse investors. We could see a greater role for large utilities, which will be more comfortable with exposure to wholesale power price risks. Global Solar PV asset ownership report and database 2019 includes the ranking of top solar asset owners globally, by region and by country. Complete the form on the top of the page to get the free brochure and see the top 15 global (excluding China) solar asset owners.

Global Solar PV (ex. China) Asset Ownership Report The global solar market remains highly fragmented with the top 15 solar asset owners (excluding China) accounting for 9% of the global solar capacity. The largest top 15 global solar asset owners are dominated by owners from the Americas region. Of the 30 gigawatts of cumulative capacity of the top owners, the Americas region accounts for 62% while Asia Pacific (excluding China) and EMEA account for 19% each. The Global solar PV asset ownership report and database 2019 provide the capacity of the top solar PV asset owners across the globe. In addition to a global overview, the rankings and capacity are divided into three regional sections: Americas (AMER); Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific excluding China (APeC). Sub-regional rankings are provided for the AMER and EMEA regions. The database also contains classifications of asset owners into various types. The next slide highlights the top 15 owners globally, but the full report breaks it down by region and by country Source: woodmac

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Nemji Solar Plans UltraModern 1GW Solar Panels Mfg Facility by April 2020 Nemji Solar (Nemji EVPV Pvt Ltd) headed by Chetan Shah, is a Solar EPC company, undertaking commercial and residential solar power installations. Recently the company has announced plans to foray into solar module manufacturing. The company will be setting up an ultra â&#x20AC;&#x201C; modern facility of 1GW and intends to commence operations by April 2020.

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ith this facility, the company plans to implement the latest manufacturing technologies and introduce high quality modules delivering enhanced performance and best generation, undergoing all stringent quality checks and having all the required certifications from

reputed international entities. With the inclusion of automated processes like auto bussing, auto curing line and automatic module sorting, its assembly lines will also be fully equipped for half-cut cell, bifacial, BIPV and glass to glass module manufacturing. The company will be introducing a range of modules using Mono and Multi -crystalline cells along with catering to clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specific requirements.

NOVEMBER- 2019

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Tata Power bags 105 MW floating solar project Tata Power Solar, with 29 years of expertise, is one of the pioneering solar manufacturers in the world and India’s largest specialised EPC player. Tata Power Solar has won the bid for 105MWp floating solar energy project in Kerala. The project will be executed on a reservoir of NTPC at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district of the state, and will be commissioned not later than 21 months, a company statement said.

Floating Solar has immense potential in our country and we will ensure that this project will act as a benchmark for floating solar project, Ashish Khanna, MD & CEO, Tata Power Solar and President, Tata Power (Renewables) said. Tata Power Solar, with 29 years of expertise, is one of the pioneering solar manufacturers in the world and India’s largest specialised EPC player. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power.

Source: PTI

India’s goal on renewables to boost green bond sales overseas Green issuers are supported by rising global appetite for Indian notes. India’s goal to more than double energy generation from renewable sources is fueling bets that debt offerings from green companies may grow.

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dani Green Energy kicked off a roadshow for a potential dollar bond as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the more ambitious plans. Indian alternativeenergy firms have sold about $3.4 billion of foreign-currency notes in 2019, after none last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

NOVEMBER- 2019

There is a dearth of Indian dollar green bonds and demand is rising for such notes, said AS Thiyaga Rajan, a senior managing director in Singapore at Aquarius Investment Advisors Pte. Green issuers are supported by rising global appetite for Indian notes, which offer attractive yield. Foreign-currency note sales from the nation’s borrowers rose to a record $18.5 billion so far this year, and renewable companies Greenko Energy Holdings and ReNew Power have already tapped the market more than once.

Source : bloomberg

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Sonam Wangchuk Partners with ‘ATUM’ by Hyderabadbased Integrated Solar Roofing Solution Provider Visaka Industries The partnership is for a pilot project in Ladakh that incorporates Visaka Industries’ product, ATUM to build a solar battery house.

The battery house, an innovative design by Sonam Wangchuk, uses indigenous materials for passive solar heating for buildings. The solar battery house coupled with ATUM will shelter the Soldiers of the Indian Army from the extreme Ladakhi winters. Visaka Industries Limited (NSE:VISAKA INDUSTRIESIND), one of India’s leading manufacturers that deliver innovative and sustainable products for construction and textile industries globally, announced its collaboration with renowned innovator and education reformist, Sonam Wangchuk, for a pilot project in Ladakh. Built to shelter the Indian Army from Ladakh’s freezing winter, the solar battery house is roofed with ATUM, a product of Visaka Industries.

TUM is India’s first patented integrated solar rooﬁng solution that serves all the functions of a traditional roof while giving 20 per cent more installed capacity than conventional solar panels in the same space. Not only does the roof generate power, it also earns for you. Made to withstand heavy snowfall, ATUM can bear loads of up to 450 kg/sqft and can regulate temperature with a higher efficiency. Visaka Industries has provided four ATUM panels that can generate 1.3 KW of electricity for this project. Completed in two working days, the walls of the house are made of mud, acting as a thermal conductive shelter for the soldiers. The battery house is the first of many similar collaborations for housing solutions in the future.

Sonam Wangchuk said, “We hope that this will not only become a solar roof, but a solar roof that shelters our forces who normally feel very cold in the Ladakhi temperatures. Another novel idea that we are using is the batteries of a battery house as thermal mass that will keep the heat of the day to last throughout the night. We are very grateful to ATUM and Visaka Industries for joining us in this innovative experiment.”

Vamsi Gaddam, Joint Managing Director of Visaka Industries, said, “We are excited to partner with Mr. Wangchuk for his sustainable initiative. As Ladakh is not connected to the national electricity grid, ATUM aims to provide consistent renewable energy supply to our soldiers. Addressing both roofing and power requirement issues, with ATUM, we can make choices that can save our wallet, planet and the future of the coming generations.” Visaka Industries and Sonam Wangchuk plan to replicate this in other residential establishments in Ladakh. The company will continue to redefine the construction space with Vnext, an eco-friendly and durable range of products including Vnext board, Vpremium boards, Vpremium planks and Vinfill as a substitute to plywood, gypsum and other environmentally damaging construction material. Through its innovative and sustainable products, Visaka Industries has been able to save 4,73,787 trees from being cut and 43 million PET bottles from being dumped. Source: thegutenberg

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NOVEMBER- 2019

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Urja Global gets shareholders’ nod to raise USD 500 mn via green bonds The company has received approval for listing the bonds overseas at the London Stock Exchange or Singapore Stock Exchange or Nasdaq or any other foreign exchange, it said in a regulatory filing.

enewable energy firm Urja Global said it has received shareholders’ nod to issue USD 500 million (Rs 3,500 crore) green bonds to finance energy projects and electric vehicles. The company has received approval for listing the bonds overseas at the London Stock Exchange or Singapore Stock Exchange or Nasdaq or any other foreign exchange, it said in a regulatory filing. The special resolution for “approval on issue of green bonds of up to USD 500 million for financing the renewable energy porjects and e-vehicles” and nod for listing them in overseas stock exchange received over 99 per cent votes in the 27th annual general meeting of the company held on September 30, 2019, it added. Shares of Urja Global closed at Rs 1.96 apiece, up 4.81 per cent from its previous close on the BSE.

Source: PTI

Total Wafer Shipments to Drop 6 Percent in 2019, Resume Growth in 2020, Set New High in 2022, SEMI Reports Total wafer shipments in 2019 are expected to decline 6 percent from last year’s historic high, with growth resuming in 2020 and shipments reaching a new high in 2022, according to SEMI’s annual semiconductor industry silicon shipment forecast.

orecast demand for silicon units through 2022 shows polished and epitaxial silicon shipments totaling 11,757 million square inches in 2019, 11,977 million square inches in 2020, 12,390 million square inches in 2021, and 12,785 million square inches in 2022

2019 SILICON SHIPMENT FORECAST (MSI = MILLIONS OF SQUARE INCHES) Actual MSI

Forecast

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

11,617

12,541

11,757

11,977

12,390

12,785

8.0%

-6.3%

1.9%

3.5%

3.2%

Annual 9.8% Growth

*Total Electronic Grade Silicon Slices – Excludes Non-Polished Wafers *Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications.

Silicon shipment volumes are expected to decline this year as the industry works through accumulated inventory and weaker demand,” said Clark Tseng, director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. “The industry is expected to stabilize in 2020 and regain growth momentum in 2021 and 2022.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), September 2019 Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or chips are fabricated. All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers and epitaxial silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users. Data do not include non-polished or reclaimed wafers. Source: SEMI

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

IHS Markit Launches First Global Index for Carbon Credits IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, announced that it has launched the IHS Markit Global Carbon Index, the first benchmark for the global price of carbon credits.

ccording to the IHS Markit Global Carbon Index, the global weighted average price of carbon credits is $23.65. Since the beginning of 2018, the total return potentially gained by investors in global carbon is 132 percent, index data show. The design, construction and administration of the IHS Markit Global Carbon Index is a result of extensive collaboration among the firm’s Indices, Environmental and Energy businesses, including OPIS, the company’s energy price reporting arm, which offers data and pricing services to help businesses manage costs and risks associated with national and regional environmental compliance programs.

the California Cap-and-Trade Program, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The index is calculated using OPIS data and carbon credit futures pricing in those markets. Putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions through cap and trade programs and other market-based mechanisms is a primary strategy for reducing carbon emissions. Worldwide, 57 jurisdictions have carbon pricing mechanisms, up 34% since 2017. The IHS Markit Global Carbon Index was developed in consultation with Climate Finance Partners, a specialist in climate finance.

The IHS Markit Global Carbon index creates an important benchmark which helps financial institutions to better assess and price climate-related financial risks,” said Eron Bloomgarden, co-founder of Climate Finance Partners. “We see growing investor interest in carbon credits as an asset class.

IHS Markit administers more than 14,000 benchmark, economic and tradable indices across assets. More than $130 billion in assets under management are held by exchangetraded funds referencing IHS Markit indices. The new index is an example of the firm’s growing set of solutions covering carbon markets, sustainable investing and corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) needs. The firm’s Environmental Registry tracks the issuance, transfer and retirement of over 350 million carbon, water, and biodiversity credits. Last year, it launched a repository to collect, store and disseminate corporate ESG data, including carbon emissions. IHS Markit is also well known for its daily OPIS Carbon Market Report, national carbon policies database and for developing industry standard methodologies for greenhouse gas accounting and disclosures. Its research and expertise on carbon policy impact, low-carbon and cleantech technologies and carbon risk management guide companies in The Global Carbon index tracks the performance of the largenergy, petrochemical, automotive, shipping, agriculture and est, most liquid and most accessible tradable carbon markets, namely the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS), other sectors critical to the global economy.

The IHS Markit Global Carbon Index creates a valuable new benchmark for corporations, investors and financial services firms, all of which have to navigate the emerging but increasingly important markets for carbon credits, said Sophia Dancygier, managing director and head of Indices at IHS Markit. “It also demonstrates our ability to apply our expertise in data, energy and other major industries and capital markets to develop unique products to address the most pressing and complex information demands within business today.

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NOVEMBER- 2019

BUSINESS & FINANCE

LGT Lightstone plans to invest up to $50m in Canadian firm AMP’s India unit Attracted by India’s green energy trajectory, LGT Lightstone Aspada plans to invest up to $50 million in Canadian firm AMP Solar Group’s India unit, said four people aware of the development.

he India-focused impact investment platform will acquire a significant minority stake in AMP Energy. The investment, to be announced shortly, will help form the beachhead for Lichtenstein investor LGT, a bank and fund manager with around $220 billion of assets, to foray into the Indian subcontinent’s energy market. LGT Lightstone Aspada, the world’s largest family-owned private banking and asset management group, has already invested around $180 million in India, including a $12 million investment in Lithium Urban Technologies Pvt. Ltd—India’s first electric cab service. Going forward, it wants to focus on India’s energyefficiency market, which is estimated at ₹1.5 trillion, in areas such as financing.

Formed in partnership with Aspada and LGT in August 2019, LGT Lightstone Aspada is an investment platform of LGT Lightstone. LGT Lightstone is part of LGT Group, owned by the Princely family of Liechtenstein. “The transaction envisages an option to invest up to $50 million over the next 2-3 years. The transaction has already closed for the first infusion for a sizeable minority stake,” said Vignesh Nandakumar, partner, LGT Lightstone Aspada.

AMP Energy is a global renewable energy utility with India, the US, Canada and Australia as its core markets. The local platform was co-founded by Pinaki Bhattacharyya, chief executive officer for India, and caters to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers from assets using solar, wind and storage. EY provided the tax advisory for AMP Energy India. “Set up around three years ago, AMP Energy India has raised around $60 million of capital from institutional investors and has a 500MW portfolio across 15 states. It aims to cross one gigawatt (GW) in the next two years,” said a second person aware of the deal, requesting anonymity.

NOVEMBER- 2019

This marquee deal comes at a time when credit availability for renewable energy firms has tightened with the drying up of debt financing. Large lenders, such as the State Bank of India, have curbed funding for projects selling power at less than ₹3 per unit. Most lenders are wary of the viability of projects with rock-bottom tariffs. Queries emailed to AMP Solar Group and EY on 14 October did not elicit any response. “At LGT Lightstone Aspada, we believe that there is a significant opportunity in India and other markets to support businesses and consumers to move towards a more sustainable environment. Towards that thesis, we look to invest in businesses that can deliver solutions in a commercially viable manner to help industry and consumers reduce their carbon footprint, and at the same time, evolve these ecosystems to reinforce an environmentally sustainable approach to growth,” said Nandakumar. The yet-to-be-announced deal for Amp India comes at a time when the Indian renewable energy sector is going through a rough patch with delayed payments to generation utilities. The payment delays by state-run power distribution companies range from two months to 15 months, besides there are problems with non-allocation of land to wind-power projects, as well as transmission and connectivity challenges. livemint.com.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

AMPSolar Signs PPA With Bharti Airtel Under The Group Captive Model Airtel will subscribe to 84,000 equity shares, equivalent to 26 per cent stake in the company, for Rs 10 each amounting to Rs 8.4 crore. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel said it would acquire a stake in solar power firm AMPSolar Evolution Private Limited for around Rs 17 crore.

he Sunil Bharti Mittalled firm has signed an agreement with the renewable energy company to meet the green energy needs and optimise energy costs, as well as to comply with the regulatory requirement around consumption of electricity.

“The Company has entered into an agreement of October 18, 2019 for acquisition of equity shares and compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs) in AMPSolar Evolution Private Limited,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing. AMPSolar Evolution is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMPSolar Technology Private Limited and a special purpose vehicle for the purpose of setting up captive solar power projects in Uttar Pradesh. Airtel will subscribe to 84,000 equity shares, equivalent to 26 per cent stake in the company, for Rs 10 each amounting to Rs 8.4 crore and 83,160 CCDs of Rs 1,000 each amounting to Rs 8.31 crore. The turnover of AMPSolar Evolution was nil as on March 31, 2019, according to the filing. Source: newindianexpress

Rays Power Infra to invest Rs 1,700cr to set up 450 MW renewable projects Rays Power Infra is among the largest solar developer and EPC management company with over 1,000 MW of solar power project development and construction across India. Solar power developer Rays Power Infra will invest Rs 1,700 crore to set up 450 MW of green energy projects in four major states of the country, a top company official has said.

The company will be selling the energy generated to private and industrial consumers in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Rays Power Infra Managing Director Ketan Mehta said. “We will be investing an amount of Rs 1,700 crore to develop and construct 450 MW solar projects under open access regulations… The projects will be spread across Haryana, UP, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,” he said. On the timeline of the projects, he said the company has already started site activities of projects and expects to bring these projects online next year.

“All projects would operate under the group captive model with long-term bilateral power purchase agreements (PPAs) executed with commercial and industrial consumers. Rays Future Energy, a subsidiary of the company, has identified more than 50 good rated offtakers for buying electricity in all states except Andhra Pradesh,” Mehta said. In Andhra Pradesh, where Rays Power will set up a 150-MW project, he said, the company is already in process of signing PPAs with stakeholders. Rays Power Infra is among the largest solar developer and EPC management company with over 1,000 MW of solar power project development and construction across India. The company recently commissioned a 50 MW solar power project in Vietnam. Source: PTI

Adani Green raises $362 million from sale of dollar bonds Adani Green Energy, the renewable power arm of Gautam Adani-controlled Adani Enterprises, has raised $362.5 million by selling dollar bonds, as it plans to refinance its existing debt and support capital expenditures. “This is the first 20-year green bond out of India and the first such investment grade bond. This money will be used to refinance loans the company has taken,” said a another person involved in the deal.

dani Green is into solar projects across India. Such dollar-denominated bonds yielded 4.625 per cent with 20-year maturity. The company obtained an order book more than $2 billion with global investors like PIMCO, Fidelity, Eastspring betting on the same. Individual investors could not be reached immediately. Global rating company S&P rated the paper with BBB-, lowest in the investment grade.

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“Pool of diversified solar assets spread across different sites in India and presence of stronger counterparty, SECI, relative to state distribution utilities should limit volatility,” S&P said in a note. AGEL RG2 operates a pool of 10 solar assets spread across two states in India. It sells power to Indian utilities under fixed-price longterm power purchase agreements (PPAs). HSBC, JP Morgan, BoAL are some of the lenders that helped the company raise the money.

Source: PTI

NOVEMBER- 2019

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Orb Energy secures Shell investment in latest funding round Fresh funds will help fuel the growth of Orb Energy’s in-house finance facility for more Indian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from solar power

rb Energy, a leading provider of solar energy solutions in India, announced that Shell’s New Energies business* has acquired an almost 20% stake in the firm in its latest funding round. The fresh investment will help more Indian SMEs – a largely underserved part of the market – benefit from lower-cost solar power.

Orb Energy offers SMEs credit to invest in their own rooftop solar systems, driving Orb Energy’s growth in sales and helping Indian businesses boost their competitiveness. “In the last decade, we have cemented our position as one of India’s most trusted solar companies. We are therefore delighted that Shell New Energies has recognised our work and decided to invest in a close to 20% stake”, said Damian Miller, Orb Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. “Shell’s investment will power the next phase of our growth and ensure that more underserved SMEs in India can benefit from clean, lower-cost electricity from solar.”

NOVEMBER- 2019

Brian Davis, Vice President, Shell Energy Solutions, commented: “We were attracted by Orb Energy’s focus on providing cleaner and affordable energy solutions to SMEs in India. This is a vital and growing sector, with great potential to contribute to the country’s renewable energy ambitions.” “We look forward to supporting this company in reaching its potential, as we move closer to Shell’s energy access ambition. That is, to provide a reliable electricity supply to 100 million people in the developing world by 2030.” Existing investors in Orb Energy include FMO (The Netherlands), Bamboo Capital Partners (Luxembourg), Rianta Capital (Switzerland), Acumen Capital Market Funds I (USA), and Pamiga SA (Luxembourg). Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Orb Energy for this transaction. Source: orb

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Netherlands’ FMO expects India portfolio to grow to 1 bn euros in 4 years: CEO Dutch development bank FMO expects its investments in India, its biggest investment destination, to touch Euro 1 billion in the next four years, said a senior executive in an interaction with Mint.

he Netherlands-based development, a growth stage investor in private sector firms in developing countries, focuses on sustainable economic and social development. Founded in 1970, it manages a portfolio worth 9.7 billion euros spanning over 85 countries, of which 2.5 billion euros is invested in the Asia region. FMO’s average ticket size for investment is €15 million and it invests across equity and debt.

At the present growth rate 8%, our India portfolio could reach 1 billion euros in the next four years, subject to us finding quality investments. Our investments will also be aligned to our strategy, sufficient risk mitigation, country limit and regulatory possibilities, said Peter Van Mierlo, chief executive officer of Dutch Development Bank FMO. “As a bank, we diversify our book and work with country limits based on investments and risk exposures. But, our investments could rise in India because of its size of India and growth potential. Even though our India allocation will never go beyond 10% of our balance sheet, it will rise as we are presently at 7% and there’s still room in terms of our country limit. Also, our balance sheet is growing and our investments will also grow accordingly,” he added So far, FMO has invested about 703 million euros in India across 61 companies. As a strategy, the bank focuses on sustainable economic and social development across three sectors— financial institutions; energy; and agri-business, food and water.

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“Our investments in India are roughly divided into financial institutions which form 36.5%, energy which forms 31.5%, agriculture, food and water makes for 10.9% and other sectors constitute 21.1% of our gross India portfolio,” said Mierlo. The development bank has done 15 successful exits across its India portfolio and recorded double-digit returns from its investments in financial institutions such as MAS Financial Services, Equitas and Ujjivan, he said. Apart from direct investment in companies, FMO has also supported private equity fund managers that invest in themes similar to its own. Going ahead, the development finance institution wants to increase the proportion of direct investments in its portfolio. “As a global strategy, we look to increase our direct equity investments. Presently, the ratio between indirect and direct equity investments on is 60:40, and we would like to turn that around to 40:60 as a direct communication with companies helps us maximize impact and focus,” said Mierlo.

The bank has also invested $37 million in Aavishkaar Group, India’s biggest homegrown impact investor by size of investments, it said.

We look to use the funds to hire talent across Asia and Africa. We look to replicate the kind of platform we have created in Africa as well, where we may start a bank to cater to different financial needs for low-income households and strengthen our ability to deliver impact sustainably, said Vineet Rai, founder and chairman of Aavishkaar Group. Presently, FMO has invested across 18 funds in India, including Caspian Impact Investments, Lok Capital, Omnivore, Kaizen Private Equity, BanyanTree Growth Capital, Ventureast, Omnivore Capital and Baring India. Some its recent direct investments in India include a $35 million investment in InCred, a Mumbai-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) that focuses on lending to small business and micro-entrepreneurs, a $30 million debt investment in Kolkatabased Srei Equipment Finance Ltd, which finances or leases out equipment used for renewable energy projects. Other companies in its portfolio include Intellecash, Mera Doctor, Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company and Zameen Organics. Source: livemint

NOVEMBER- 2019

TECHNOLOGY

JA Solar Licenses IP Rights of Gallium-doped Silicon Wafers for Solar Cell Applications from Shin-Etsu Chemical JA Solar has reached agreement with Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan to license its intellectual properties of using Ga-doped silicon wafers for solar cell applications. Shin-Etsu Chemical holds a number of patents on doping Ga in silicon crystals and using the Ga-doped p-type crystalline silicon wafers for making solar cells. An official ceremony of signing the agreement took place recently in Tokyo, Japan, has effectively granted JA Solar the IP rights over various nations and regions the patents covered.

t is well known that solar cells using boron doped p-type silicon wafers have long suffered a so-called light induced degradation (LID) upon initial light illumination. With the adoption of PERC cell structure in recent years, the problem of LID associated with solar cells made from B-doped silicon wafers becomes more severe. Using Ga-doped silicon wafers can effectively mitigate such a problem that assures the performance of PV modules assembled with p-type silicon-wafer based solar cells more stable and better in long-term energy generation.

WoodMac: Bifacial Solar Market Set to Grow Tenfold by 2024 More than 20 gigawatts of bifacial modules will be installed each year by the mid-2020s, a new report says. Bifacial solar modules have attracted a lot of market attention in recent years. Installed capacity grew from only 97 megawatts globally in 2016 to over 2,600 megawatts in 2018.

hat number will double by the end of 2019 to reach 5,420 megawatts, according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables’ first report focused on the global bifacial market. That will bring the global cumulative bifacial solar capacity to over 8,200 megawatts. Furthermore, between 2019 and 2024, the size of the bifacial market is poised to increase tenfold. The driving forces behind the growth differ from region to region, but one unifying factor is the growing affordability of bifacial modules. The WoodMac study found that the production cost differential between bifacial mono PERC and monofacial mono PERC module is now as low as half a cent. It helps that it’s relatively easy to retool existing monofacial module production facilities to manufacture bifacial modules, which provides supply certainty should the market demand the product. Together, the comparable production cost and the ease of supply buildup are allowing bifacial modules to compete with conventional modules and gain market share.

The value proposition

Mr. Jin Baofang, JA Solar’s Chairman of Board of Directors, commented that “using Ga-doped silicon wafers for solar cell application definitely results in better performance of solar cells and PV modules, as well as the improvement of their long-term reliability. Being the patent holder of several leading technologies including bifacial PERC technology in China and other countries, JA Solar has benefited from and always supports IP protection. We deeply appreciate Shin-Etsu Chemical granting JA Solar their IP rights of Ga-doped crystalline silicon technology, which is an important step for JA Solar in introducing advanced technology and supporting the industry’s intellectual property protection. JA Solar will continue to develop and provide high-performance PV products and clean-energy solutions to our customers worldwide through technological innovation and continuous performance improvement.”

Unlike conventional monofacial solar modules, bifacial solar modules can generate electricity from both the front and the back sides of the panel, increasing the energy yield. Many advanced commercial solar cells are inherently bifacial, which means that the electricity generation from the back side comes with little additional cost at the cell manufacturing level, and a marginal increase on the module assembly level, to allow the back side of the panel to access sunlight. As a result, solar projects built using bifacial modules would generate more electricity than monofacial module projects of the same size, have a lower levelized cost of energy and provide higher economic returns.

Forecast of Global Annual Installed Bifacial Solar Capacity, 2019-2024E (MWdc)

Source: JA Solar Co., Ltd.

NOVEMBER- 2019

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TECHNOLOGY

The bifacial module market has seen growing pains. The new technology is experiencing the same challenges that today’s mature renewable energy technologies like wind and solar faced in the 2000s: It has not accumulated enough long-term field data to demonstrate its real-world performance under all conditions. Five-year outlook: An embrace of bifacial modules WoodMac predicts annual global bifacial module capacity will exceed 21 gigawatts by 2024, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total installed capacity in that year, quadrupling the share of bifacial solar in 2019. Regionally, China has traditionally been the flagship bifacial market thanks to the country’s Top Runner program, which incentivizes the deployment of new technologies. Going forward, WoodMac finds that the Chinese bifacial market will continue to grow but at a slower rate of 20 percent a year, as the country adapts to the subsidy-free system. The U.S. bifacial solar market, meanwhile, is poised for significant growth due to the Section 201 tariff exemption on imported bifacial solar modules. For a long time, the U.S. solar market has faced a module supply shortage, caused by many tariffs on module imports and the country’s small domestic manufacturing scale. As a result, the prices of solar modules in the U.S. are 40 to 50 percent more expensive than those in European countries and Australia.

However, the bifacial module tariff exemption announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in June 2019 will bring much-needed relief to the module supply chain in the U.S. Because of the exemption, bifacial solar modules made in Southeast Asian countries will gain significant price advantage (given that they incur no import tariffs of any kind). This will have a profound impact on the technology preference of U.S. developers, especially those in the utility-scale business. Bifacial module installations in the U.S. will experience sustained growth in the next five years, expanding from just over 500 megawatts in 2019 to over 2,000 megawatts in 2020, and rising to more than 7,000 megawatts in 2024. The Middle East, too, is expected to see a significant level of bifacial adoption. The region’s sandy terrain makes it a good host for the bifacial technology. Oman, a rising solar star in the region, has a 600-megawatt bifacial project pipeline.

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The UAE is also an early adopter, having announced a 320-megawatt bifacial project in June 2019. Saudi Arabia is expected to see an increase of bifacial solar capacity, given the country’s rapidly developing solar sector. State-run large-scale tenders in Brazil, Mexico and Chile will drive the growth in Latin America. Similar mechanisms will drive bifacial development in Egypt and Africa. Northern European countries will continue to see bifacial adoption due to the region’s high latitude. The U.K. and Denmark have over 150 megawatts of projects in their pipelines. Although the fast-growing Southern European market has not seen a clear preference toward bifacial modules, the region’s fast-growing solar installations, driven by both policy and market conditions, offer a welcoming environment for bifacial solar to prove its potential. Finally, Australia leads the pack in Oceania, thanks to its bifacial-friendly desert terrain in the middle of the country and the high electricity tariffs that originally spurred solar’s growth. Nevertheless, risk factors exist, and they could hinder the global adoption of bifacial solar modules. A global economic recession could slow down the progress of solar market development in general, and policy uncertainty surrounding the longevity of the U.S. section 201 tariff exemption also presents a challenge to manufacturers’ capacity planning and could limit the market size of bifacial solar in the United States. Industry efforts to increase bankability he development of international standards, testing procedures and modeling tools tailored to bifacial modules is still in progress. A lack of real-world data and standards contributes to temporary uncertainties about the bankability of bifacial modules and solar projects that use them. As a result of this, risk-averse financial institutions are not yet rushing to embrace bifacial modules projects on a large scale. However, the industry is beginning to develop standards to self-regulate, increase credibility and further improve technologies’ bankability. The Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables study highlights the progress made to date to collect field data, enhance bifacial-ready simulation software programs, and develop industry standards and certifications. If the history of wind and solar development is any indication, through accumulating real-world data to prove performance and improve bankability, bifacial solar modules will win the trust of the investment community and achieve significant global market share. Source: greentechmedia

NOVEMBER- 2019

TECHNOLOGY

Ingeteam launches its new PV string inverter featuring 1500 Vdc technology Ingeteam is finalizing the launch of its new INGECON® SUN 160TL photovoltaic string inverter, offering the possibility of achieving a power output of 160 kWAC in a single 75kg/165lbs unit. This inverter, which has already been physically showcased at a number of national and international fairs, is now at the production stage thanks to an order for two hundred units for the Brazilian market.

his new three-phase inverter, featuring 1500 Vdc technology, is suitable for indoor and outdoor installation alike, and is primarily directed at multi-megawatt projects, in other words large-scale solar PV plants. In addition to its high power density, the inverter’s main features include its high maximum efficiency (99.1%), Wi-Fi and Ethernet and PLC (power line) communications supplied as standard, and advanced grid support functionalities, with low voltage ride-through and reactive power capability. A further key advantage lies in its significant cost savings potential, given the fact that its high power density means that it is possible to drastically reduce the number of inverters to be installed and, therefore, the total amount of cabling. Furthermore, no connection boxes are required (either in DC or AC) and neither is a neutral cable necessary, thereby reducing the total AC cabling cost by up to 20%. All this leads to huge reductions in capital expenditures (CAPEX).

NOVEMBER- 2019

This inverter also offers lower operating costs, thanks to the Wi-Fi communication which is supplied as standard, making it possible to start-up, monitor and control the PV installation through either a mobile phone, tablet or laptop. Furthermore, its string inverter philosophy guarantees minimum potential maintenance requirements, with no need to vacuum the inverter interior or to check the state of the fuses, or the thermal magnetic breaker or torque. The new Ingeteam inverter can be supplied in two different versions (STD and PRO) in order to adapt to customer needs and to the technical requirements of as many projects as possible. This PV inverter is part of the INGECON® SUN 3Play family which has PV inverters installed in more than 15 countries and which, up to now, had power outputs of between 20 to 100 kW. Source: Ingeteam

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policy & regulation MPERC publishes first amendment of Forecasting & Scheduling Regulations for Wind and Solar The Honourable Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (‘MPERC’) published its order for the first amendment of Forecasting & Scheduling regulations, and for approving the operational procedures in MP.

Executive Summary The key contention of generators and QCAs in MP was that DSM was implemented even before the “Detailed Procedures” were approved by the Commission. Clause 6.5 of the regulations had required that: “The plan for data telemetry, formats of forecast submission and other details in this regard shall be provided in the Detailed Procedure to be prepared by SLDC and approved by the State Commission” Since approved procedures were not available, it was also requested that DSM charges be waived off till approved procedures are provided by the Honourable Commission. In the recent order, MPERC has approved the procedures and provided them as part of the order. However, the order is silent on the waiver of past DSM pertaining to the period prior to approved procedures being available. Our interpretation of the current order is that past DSM charges will be payable by generators. Several states have waived, extended or given concessions in past DSM charges where generators or QCA’s had faced issues or problems.

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Other points in the order: The Order says that intra-day revisions are to be restricted to 16 revisions in a day at an interval of 1.5 hrs (in line with CERC guidelines). Earlier, there was no restriction on the number of revisions. Detailed requirements for metering, AMR installation and meter readings provided. Till AMR is fully in place, meter readings to be done on a monthly basis. MPERC has asked QCA’s to submit payment security in the form of Bank Guarantee towards the settlement of DSM charges. Payment security has to be provided for Solar at Rs.10,000/ MW and for Wind at Rs. 40,000/MW. Various other clarifications have been provided on procedural matters.

Waiver of DSM charges prior to amendment order:

As mentioned above, since approved procedures were not available, generators and QCAs requested MEPRC that DSM charges be waived off till implementation procedures are approved. However, the current order is silent on the waiver of past DSM. The following are examples of the approach taken by other states where generators or QCA’s faced issues or problems in the implementation of F&S regulations. Rajasthan: Decisions on payment of DSM by RERC: In Maharashtra, MERC has granted additional time for commercial implementation of DSM – to be effective from Jan 1, 2020. In Tamil Nadu, SLDC has already requested TNERC to commence commercial implementation from 1.04.2020 and the mock implementation is commenced from 1.01.2020 to 31.03.2020. Source : reconnectenergy

NOVEMBER- 2019

distributed solar

More use of rooftop solar benefits discoms: BSES-CEEW study Power distribution companies (discoms) can enjoy net gains of upto 22 paise for every unit of electricity generated through solar rooftops, according to a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Delhi discom BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL), BSES announced A BSES release said over a system’s lifetime, discoms could save Rs 5,500 for every kilowatt (KW) of capacity installed. “Increasing the share of solar rooftop is a win-win proposition for both the discoms and the consumers alike. It can lead to significant net financial savings for both,” it said. “Discoms could enjoy net gains of upto Rs 0.22 for every unit of electricity generated via solar rooftops.”

hese findings are based on the data collected from solar rooftop installations connected to nine distribution transformers and one group housing society feeder in BRPL’s license area. The study also found that discoms stand to benefit more by scaling up solar rooftop installations among residential consumers, especially those in lower tariff slabs, versus industrial and commercial consumers.

“Over a system’s lifetime, discoms could save Rs 5,500 (net-present value) for every kilowatt of capacity installed. This is in addition to the savings accruing to the rooftop solar consumers,” the statement said. The CEEW-BRPL study recommends deploying solar rooftops in areas where distribution transformers experience frequent overloading and day time peaks to increase net benefits.

NOVEMBER- 2019

This study highlights costs and benefits of deploying solar rooftops for discoms and could guide strategic deployment of solar installations in licensed areas going forward. Widespread adoption of solar power is beneficial to both consumers and the discoms alike, BRPL Chief Executive Amal Sinha said in a statement. According to thge report, discoms should prioritise the net export of solar power from subsidised consumers into the grid and adopt net-metering based compensation.

Our analysis highlights that focusing on scaling solar rooftops among residential consumers leads to enhanced discom revenues, while also advancing India’s solar targets, and creating new jobs, said CEEW Programme Lead Neeraj Kuldeep. Source: IANS

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distributed solar

Dynamic Cables Ltd. and SunAlpha team up to commission 1200 kW solar project

Cleanmax Solar fits 1,200kWp solar plant at Danube hub in Dubai

Rajasthan-based Dynamic Cables Ltd, a global manufacturer and supplier of cables & conductors, has partnered with SunAlpha Energy to set up 1200kW of rooftop solar power project at its manufacturing units in Jaipur and Reengus in Rajasthan.

Indian rooftop solar power provider’s work at Danube Group’s Techno Park facility in Dubai to cut 845t of annual CO2 emissions Indian rooftop solar power provider Cleanmax solar revealed it had partnered with Dubai’s Rizwan Sajan-founded Danube Group to commission a 1,200kWp rooftop solar plant at the building materials company’s manufacturing facility at Techno Park, with the project expected to save Danube $81,680 (AED300,000) per annum on electricity bills.

ynamic Cables will meet about 30% of its energy requirement through rooftop solar project and will be able to generate approximately 17, 00,000 kWh of clean energy annually, cutting down 42,000 metric tonnes of carbon emissions. The project was commissioned under the Rajasthan solar net-metering policy.

Dynamic Cables Managing Director, Mr. Ashish Mangal said, “Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step to address our carbon footprint globally. We, at Dynamic Cables, believe in long-term sustainable growth through cost rationalisations with efficient improvements and innovations in our product portfolio as well as the way we consume energy. This partnership with SunAlpha is in keeping with this vision and allows us with a clean energy solution that offsets the greenhouse gas emissions from our manufacturing facilities, as part of our broader sustainability commitments.”

practices. “

Speaking about the partnership with Dynamic Cables, SunAlpha co-founder & CEO Mr. Raghav Mittal said, “SunAlpha is proud to partner with Dynamic Cables and contribute to their vision of sustainable manufacturing. There is a global drive to curb the effects of climate change and Dynamic Cables is leading the way by demonstrating its commitment towards green energy. SunAlpha provided turnkey EPC services on the project that was developed using tier-1 system components sourced in record time & constructed as per SunAlpha’s industry-leading HSE best Source: sristipr.in

he build-own-operate project will span four buildings and will be owned and operated by Cleanmax Solar, with Danube paying for solar power as and when it is generated. The project is part of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) Shams Dubai programme, which will allow Danube to sell excess power generated by the solar plant to the emirate’s grid, with the company receiving credits for units sold. Danube is expected to abate 845 tonnes of CO2 per annum with the project, Cleanmax Solar said in a statement.

Commenting on the project, Danube Group’s founder and chairman, Rizwan Sajan, said: “Thanks to the wise leadership, the UAE has decided to diversify its energy mix in order to sustain its progress and at the same time minimise the environmental impact that may arise from burning fuel. Keeping this in mind, visionary government of UAE launched Dubai Clean Energy Strategy. “Under this strategy, they aims to have 25% of solar energy in the energy mix by 2030. We completely support this vision and are aligning our business objectives towards achieving a sustainable future. “Clean energy transition is no longer an option, but a necessity and Danube Group is proud to associate with Cleanmax Solar.”

Co-founder and chief executive officer of Cleanmax Solar Mena, Sushant Arora, added: “Danube Group is committed towards providing environment-friendly products and services that can truly be achieved through the incorporation of solar energy across every stage of its operations, and we are proud to assist them in this cause. “Buildings are among the highest consumers of power and renowned companies like the Danube Group are adopting solar energy to achieve the twin benefits of profit improvement and carbon footprint reduction.”

Source: constructionweekonline

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NOVEMBER- 2019

Research & Analysis

Tata Power (BUY): APTEL’s favourable order on Prayagraj is a big positive APTEL’s favourable judgment on Tata Power (TPWR) backed Resurgent Power Ventures’ (RPVPL) petition against UP Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (UPERC) order to reduce power tariff from the 1,980MW Prayagraj Power (PPGCL) by Rs0.14/kWh, and its approval of transfer of 75.01% ownership of PPGCL to RPVPL, is a welcome development.

his will not only benefit Tata Power (holding 26% in RPVPL), but will also expedite the resolution of other stressed assets. As per our estimates, the acquisition will yield 15-17% IRR for RPVPL and will add Rs1.5-2bn per annum to Tata Power’s consolidated earnings (includes O&M income). We expect the development to add Rs4/share to the SoTP valuation; however, we have not yet included it in our estimates as we are awaiting clarity from the management on the timeline of the takeover post this judgment. Maintain BUY.

The plant was acquired by RPVPL under a debt resolution scheme carried by the lenders to the project. With this order, transfer of 75.01% ownership of PPGCL to Renascent Power (a whollyowned subsidiary of RPVPL) is now likely to be completed in the next few months and we also expect plant operations to stabilise.

PPGCL, earlier owned by JPVL, was classified as an NPA in 2017, after it failed to service its debt obligations. In a competitive bidding process held in 2017, RPVPL emerged as the successful bidder, with its offer to acquire 75.01% equity shareholding along with 100% preference shares of PPGCL and transfer balance 13.50% equity shares to existing lenders. Bid was at Rs60bn vs cost of Rs150bn; however, UPERC ordered the reduction in PPA tariff by Rs0.14/kWh (PPA tariff originally signed at Rs3.02/kWh). This was challenged by RPVPL at APTEL, which on 29th Sept’19, pronounced against the revision of the tariff, reinstating the original tariff of Rs3.02/kWh.

We believe the order will also be useful in resolving the contractual issues of renewable energy projects under question in Andhra Pradesh and also expedite the resolution process of other stranded thermal assets. The fact the order has ruled that state commissions need to only verify whether bid was transparently conducted or not, eliminates any case of tariff revision by state commissions, which is out of their purview. The judgment also stated that subsequent reduction in PPA tariff, post the conclusion of the bid process by lenders of the project, amounts to change in the fundamental basis of the bid. The upfront payments to lenders will be Rs60bn post which Rs10bn will be further invested as capex; all financed with a D/E of 78/22. This is expected to earn an IRR of 15-17%, as per our estimates for RPVPL. However, for TWPR, additional benefit is expected as it will be doing the O&M for the plant which is expected to result in savings of ~Rs1bn p.a. Hence, TWPRs IRR is expected to be much higher. Maintain BUY:We maintain our BUY rating on TPWR with an unchanged target price of Rs87/share as we await clarity on the timeline from the management. Reduction in Mundra under-recoveries and further sales of non-core assets could trigger further upside. Source: icicisecurities

India to install 2.9 GW wind capacity in 2019: Report According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the country will install 2.9GW in 2019 against 2.3GW in 2018. In 2016-17, 5.4GW was added, while 3.4GW was achieved in 2015-16

ndia is likely to install more wind capacity in 2019 than it did last year, but it will still be well below what it used to be earlier. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the country will install 2.9GW in 2019 against 2.3GW in 2018. In 2016-17, 5.4GW was added, while 3.4GW was achieved in 2015-16.

We expect 15.6GW of new wind projects to be added between 2019-22. Thus, India will reach 51GW of wind installed capacity by 2022, 9GW less than the target of adding 60GW of onshore wind projects by 2022,” said Atin Jain, associate at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Bloomberg’s dismal forecast could be attributed mainly to the financial stress turbine makers are under, land acquisition issues and grid connectivity delays. “The Indian wind industry is amidst a perfect storm. Many projects that were supposed to get commissioned by mid-2020 would be delayed by 9-10 months,” Jain said. Auctions were conducted for 5.2GW until August 2019 but only 2.9GW was awarded because of lack of developer interest, according to BNEF. Recent tenders too have seen tepid participation leading to continuous postponement. “Some IPPs have stayed away from recent auctions as they are busy building their projects awarded in previous auctions,” Jain said. In the latest wind auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the nodal agency of the ministry of new and renewable energy, only two developers took part. Even though the original size of the tender was 1800MW, allotment was reduced to 440MW.

“The practice of setting ceiling tariffs by SECI has dampened developer interest. We requested them to remove it several times to improve participation but it doesn’t look like they are doing away with it any time soon,” said a developer, requesting anonymity. “Projects awarded till SECI IV wind auction are progressing with some delays but there is very little on the ground activity for projects awarded in subsequent auctions,” said Jain. The new YSR Congress government in Andhra Pradesh has been attempting to renegotiate wind and solar PPAs. This has also added uncertainty within the industry. Source: BNEF

NOVEMBER- 2019

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Research & Analysis

ICRA downgrades around 1.9 GW of wind and solar power projects Rating agency ICRA has downgraded around 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power projects in its rated portfolio This comes in the backdrop of India’s clean energy sector going through a crisis

n what may impact India’s emerging green economy, rating agency ICRA has downgraded around 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power projects in its rated portfolio and has also revised the rating outlook for some projects. This comes in the backdrop of India’s clean energy sector going through a crisis. With record low solar and wind power tariffs, banks are wary of lending to developers as they suspect the viability of projects that have agreed to sell power at rock-bottom tariffs. There are other problems such as delay in payment by state-run power distribution companies that range from two months to 15 months and non-allocation of land-to-wind power projects, as well as transmission- and connectivity-related challenges.

“Given the headwinds faced by the wind and solar energy power segments coupled with a gradual deterioration in the liquidity profile of the IPPs due to payment delays from a few state distribution utilities (discoms), ICRA has revised the ratings / rating outlook of almost one-third of its rated portfolio,” ICRA said in a statement. Discoms are the weakest link in the electricity value chain, plagued by low collection, increase in power purchase cost, inadequate tariff hikes and subsidy disbursement, and mounting dues from government departments. This has resulted in discoms having poor payment records.

“As per a note by the rating agency, about 20% (1.9 GW) of the rated portfolio in wind and solar power segments in terms of installed capacity has been downgraded, while the rating outlook has been revised for another 10% of the portfolio,” the statement added. Seized of the issue, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured global investors about the sanctity of power purchase contracts in India. Also, power and new and renewable energy minister Raj Kumar Singh said state electricity distribution companies (discoms) remain a challenge.

Off and on, in some states, in some discoms, there is stress, RK Singh said, who has also discussed payment security at a two-day conference of state power ministers.

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India is however confident of meeting the target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. While 83,000 MW of clean energy capacity has already been set up, 29,000 MW is under construction. Also 30 GW is under bids. “Near term headwinds for solar energy sector, given the regulatory uncertainty, payment delays from the utilities and tight financing environment,” the statement said. This comes against the backdrop of controversial attempts by the Andhra Pradesh government to renegotiate clean energy tariffs with developers. Concerns about the sanctity of power purchase agreements (PPAs) have also been articulated by various global investors with states such as Uttar Pradesh looking for curtailing purchase of green energy.

As per the data by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), payment dues to renewable players stood at ~ Rs. 97 billion as on July 31, 2019 with almost 67% of it being contributed by utilities in three states namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Such payment delays (in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) along with uncertainty over resolution of tariff issue for projects (in Andhra Pradesh) and instances of grid curtailments have adversely affected the credit profile of the wind and solar power projects having PPAs with these state discoms,” Girishkumar Kadam, sector head and vice president, corporate ratings, ICRA Ltd said in the statement. India’s emerging green economy is expected to require investments of around $80 billion till 2022, growing more than threefold to $250 billion during 2023-30. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been trying to attract investments in the backdrop of the Indian economy battling a severe demand slowdown and liquidity crunch that resulted in the growth rate slowing to 5% in the three months ended June. Source: livemint

NOVEMBER- 2019

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

JLR plans to launch half a dozen electrified models in India in 12-18 months

The UK-based auto major also said it is on track to offer electrified options for each of its entire portfolio of vehicles by 2020 globally. s part of its global push for environmental-friendly vehicles, Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to launch half a dozen ‘electrified’ models in India over next 12-18 months, a company official told PTI on September 26. The electrified versions are a part of JLR’s initiative ‘Destination Zero’ to achieve zero fatality, emission, and congestion to develop a safe and clean environment for the future through its mission The plan involves offering an electrified option for each of JLR’s entire portfolio of vehicles globally, by 2020, the UK-based auto major said. The electrified models in India would include a range of hybrid vehicles under the Land Rover badge and its I-Pace all-electric car.

We are on track to fulfil our 2020 commitment to offer our customers an electrified option in every model, JLR CEO Ralph Speth said here. For decades, the company has invested over proportionally in sustainable products, latest facilities and new technologies, he added. “We were the first to bring a premium all electric SUV…Based on our rich experience gained from the I-Pace, the Formula E, we will also deliver the world’s first fully electric luxury sports saloon, the flagship of Jaguar the all new XJ,” Speth said. In India, the company would introduce pure electric SUV Jaguar I-Pace in second half of the next year, he added.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Some of the existing Land Rover models in India will also be upgraded with hybrid technology. Speth said that in order to encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility trends government, academia and industry will have to come together. “Environment is an obligation for all. The automotive industry is playing its part and JLR has built a strong foundation for this transformation,” he said. Speth said India is a signatory to the Paris agreement and is really at the forefront in this (sustainable mobility) kind of thinking and the mindset. “I am absolutely sure that in India, a lot of customers, from our point of view, will be prepared for this kind of technology,” he noted. He, however, added that the question is not to bring in technology just for the sake of technology. It has to contribute to the environment. “But it doesn’t make sense if the source of energy is not renewable. So, therefore, we need renewable energy. Does India have renewable energies,” Speth asked. JLR’s product portfolio in India ranges from the Jaguar XE sedan with starting price of Rs 40.61 lakh and going all the way up to the Range Rover priced at Rs 1.82 crore onwards. Currently, it is locally manufacturing six vehicles at its facility in Pune. These are Jaguar XE, XF, F-PACE under its portfolio and the Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar and Discovery Sport under the Land Rover portfolio. When asked about demand for I-PACE globally, Speth said the company has received an “overwhelming” response and the company is facing capacity constraints. JLR expects supply situation to remain challenging with shortage for batteries, he said, adding that the company expected the battery prices to remain high in the coming three years at least.

Source : PTI

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

EESL signs MoU with BSNL to install 100 public charging stations and promote electric vehicles in Punjab Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BSNL (Punjab Telecom Circle), an Indian state-owned telecommunications company, to install 100 public charging stations to boost e-mobility in Punjab. Both EESL and BSNL have entered this 10-year MOU with the objective of building electric vehicle infrastructure in BSNL, Punjab Telecom Circle area and explore synergy for further promoting EVs, including electric two-wheelers in the state.

nder the MoU, EESL will make the entire upfront investment on services pertaining to the MoU, along with the operation and maintenance of the public charging infrastructure by using qualified personnel. BSNL would be responsible for providing the requisite space and power connections for installing the charging infrastructure.

Talking about EESL’s mission to build a robust EV infrastructure, Mr Venkatesh Dwivedi, Director (Projects), EESL said, “Developing a strong supporting EV infrastructure is the key to cultivating consumer confidence in electric vehicles and would significantly enhance consumer convenience as well. EESL is leading initiatives to promote EV adoption in India under its national e-mobility programme. We are glad to partner with BSNL for synergistic action on setting up public charging infrastructure and services in Chandigarh.

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Several states in India have released policies for promoting local adoption of EVs. Installation of public charging stations would help in gaining considerable strides towards creating a sustainable EV ecosystem in the states. With installation of public charging stations, the range anxiety among residents will reduce considerably, which would spur the proliferation of e-mobility. This would help meet the state level targets of increasing EV adoption as well and will help bring down emission levels. Taking forward the vision of the National Electric Mobility Programme, EESL has commissioned 300 AC and 170 DC chargers across India, with 65 public charging points currently operational in Delhi NCR. In pursuit of increasing the charging infrastructure penetration, EESL has also signed MoUs with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Noida Authority, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRCL), Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRCL), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) for development of Public Charging Stations (PCS) in their respective areas. With its innovative model of demand aggregation and bulk procurement, EESL receives electric vehicles and chargers at a signiﬁcantly discounted rate vis-à-vis the actual market value. Further, with access to low cost funds, it is able to discover the most competitive project costs. Using this approach, EESL has established a sustainable business model, which makes EVs affordable for the end-consumers.

NOVEMBER- 2019

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Power Minister Shri RK Singh approves amendments in Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Guidelines and Specifications

‘Revised guidelines will address the concerns of EV owners’ says the Minister At least one Charging Station to be available in a grid of 3 Km x 3 Km in the cities and one Charging Station at every 25 Km on both sides of highways/roads All Mega Cities & expressways connected to these Mega Cities to be taken up for coverage in first phase, other big cities to be taken up in second phase For inter-city travel, Fast Charging Station to be installed at every 100 Kms Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) nominated as the Central Nodal Agency to facilitate installation of Charging Infrastructure In a major decision to give a boost to Electric Vehicles in country, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri RK Singh has approved amendments in Electric Vehicle Charging Guidelines and Specifications. These Revised Guidelines and Specifications for charging infrastructure shall supersede the earlier guidelines and standards issued by the Ministry of Power on 14.12.2018.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Speaking about the decision, Power Minister Shri RK Singh said that revised guidelines are more consumer friendly as they incorporate a number of suggestions received from various stakeholders. “We have tried to address the concerns of EV owners in new guidelines” he said and expressed hope that revised guidelines will encourage faster adoption of EVs in India.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

n order to address the range of issues of the Electric Vehicle Owners, a phase-wise installation of an appropriate network of Charging Infrastructure throughout the country has been envisaged in the Guidelines ensuring that at least one Charging Station should be available in a grid of 3 Km X 3 Km in the cities and one Charging Station at every 25 Km on both sides of highways/roads. It has been envisaged that in the first phase (i.e. 1-3 years) all Mega Cities with population of 4 million plus as per census 2011, all existing expressways connected to these Mega Cities & important Highways connected with each of these Mega Cities may be taken up for coverage, while in the second phase (3-5 years) big cities like State Capitals, UT headquarters may be covered for distributed and demonstrative effect. Further, important Highways connected with each of these Mega Cities may also be taken up for coverage. To address the concerns in inter-city travel and long range and/or heavy duty EVs it has been provided that Fast Charging Station for long range and/or heavy duty EVs like buses/trucks etc., shall be installed at every 100 Kms, shall be installed one on each side of the highways/road located preferably within/alongside the Public Charging Station (PCS) mentioned above. The above density/distance requirements shall be used by the concerned state/UT Governments/their Agencies for the land use planning for public charging stations as well as for priority in installation of distribution network including transformers/feeders etc by the DISCOMs. This shall be done in all cases including where no central/state subsidy is provided. Assuming that most of the charging of EVs would take place at homes or at offices where the decision of using Fast or Slow chargers would rest on the consumers, it has been clarified in the guidelines that private charging at residences/offices shall be permitted and DISCOMs may facilitate the same. As far as the Public Charging Stations (PCS) are concerned, it has already been clarified by Ministry of Power that setting up of PCS shall be a de-licensed activity and any individual/entity is free to set up public charging stations, which has also been reiterated in the guidelines, subject to the conditions as specified in the Guidelines. Further, the guidelines specifies the type of chargers of different standards (viz. CCS, CHAdeMO, Type-2 AC, Bharat AC 001) thus ensuring that the PCS owners have the freedom to install the chargers as per the market requirement. To keep the PCS technology agnostic, it has been provided that any other fast/slow/moderate charger as per approved DST/BIS standards whenever notified can also be installed at the PCS. Thus, the Guidelines provide an extensive flexibility while ensuring a democratic choice to both EV owners and PCS providers to install the type and number of chargers. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under Ministry of Power has been nominated as the Central Nodal Agency. Further a provision for State Nodal Agency for the respective states has been provided for in the Guidelines. The roles of the respective Nodal Agencies have been specified. These Nodal Agencies will act as the key facilitator in installation of Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles throughout the country.

The tariff to be charged, from Public Charging Stations as well as from domestic consumers for domestic charging, by the DISCOMs and the Service Charges to be charged by these PCS from EV users have also been covered in the guidelines. It has been provided that the domestic charging shall be akin to domestic consumption of electricity and shall be charged as such. However, in case of PCS, it has been provided that tariff for the supply of electricity to PCS shall be determined by the appropriate

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commission in accordance with the Tariff policy issued under section 3 of Electricity Act 2003, as amended from time to time. As far as the Service Chargers at PCS are concerned, while it has been clarified that charging of EV is a service, to ensure that the incentives (financial or otherwise) provided to PCS owners in installation of charging stations are transferred to the EV owners, it has been provided that the appropriate agency/commission shall fix the ceiling of Service Charges in such cases. Source: PIB

NOVEMBER- 2019

65Â

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

MG Motor India Takes One More Step Towards ZS Electric SUV Launch Its third alliance with the Indian charging solutions company will help MG set up charging networks for the ZS EV eChargeBays is a charging infrastructure startup in New Delhi. Experts will visit the locations and help set up ideal EV charging home stations. MG ZS electric vehicle to be launched in December 2019. SUV has a WLTP range of 262 km, takes 6 hours to charge at 7.2kW home charging.

he Ministry of Renewable Energy had issued new guidelines earlier this month for EV charging in India, de-licensing EV charging infrastructure and allowing the set up of charging stations for personal or commercial use. Following this, MG Motor India has announced a partnership with eChargebays to provide home charging solutions to customers of the upcoming MG ZS electric vehicle (EV). The SUV was launched in the UK earlier this year, and MG states, “received exceptional response in international markets, having secured 2,000 orders within two months of its UK launch.” Prices for the MG ZS EV have not been announced for India yet, but are expected to start from Rs 25 lakh. When launched, the electric car will compete with the Hyundai Kona EV.

NOVEMBER- 2019

This is part of the company’s efforts to make EV ownership more practical in Indian cities. MG has previously partnered with other EV charging solutions companies, like Fortrum for fast charging solutions, as well as multinational companies like Delta Electronics India. MG’s first electric vehicle in India will be the ZS EV, which the company claims will be launched in India in December.

eChargeBays is a start-up in New Delhi working on EV charging infrastructure. The company release quotes Rajesh Singh, the founder and CEO of eChargeBays, “Most prospective EV buyers are hesitant on account of the limited charging infrastructure available. We aim to provide Indian car owners with a robust and safe one-stop solution for their home charging-related needs using our homeCharge solution. Apart from this, eChargeBays will also launch a series of service solutions in the charging infra space which would aim at providing a seamless EV charging experience to EV customers.”

The MG ZS electric car has a WLTP range of 262km on a single charge. It has a 44.5kWh battery, which takes 6 hours to charge with a 7.2kW home charger. When plugged into a CCS fast charger at 50kW, a charge to 80 per cent takes 40 minutes. MG’s all-electric SUV has 145PS and 353Nm of torque, enough to propel it from a standstill to 100kmph in a claimed 8.5 seconds. MG has not changed the timeline of launch (December 2019), but has not disclosed a date either. Prices are expected to start from Rs 25 lakh, making the ZS EV competitively priced against the Kona SUV. The upcoming Mahindra XUV300 electric and the Tata Nexon EV will be other electric SUVs in the space. However, the MG ZS also has active driver assistance systems, which further justify the asking price.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES In an industry-shaping development, MG Motor India has today announced its partnership with eChargeBays, a Delhi-based start-up, to assist its customers with lastmile assistance in setting up infrastructure at their home for charging their EV. As part of the partnership, MG will send experts to identify the best way in which MG ZS EV buyers can install an EV charger at home. The move comes ahead of the MG ZS EV launch in December 2019.

Speaking on the collaboration, Rajeev Chaba, President & Managing Director, MG Motor India, said, “The government’s recent announcement around creating charging amenities for customers at public places is a positive step for the EV industry. Our latest association is aimed at supporting the government’s EV vision by providing a viable residential EV charging infrastructure. It also highlights MG’s commitment towards going the extra mile and delivering a convenient ownership experience for its EV customers. This partnership is yet another step towards driving EV adoption in the country.” MG’s partnership with eChargeBays is the latest in a series of alliances with EV charging players aimed at creating a robust charging infrastructure in the country. As part of its commitment to creating an ecosystem for EVs and drive EV adoption in India, the company has already partnered with Fortum and Delta Electronics India for the fast charging and slow charging segments, respectively.

Speaking on the association, Rajesh Singh, Founder & CEO, eChargeBays, said, “Most prospective EV buyers are hesitant on account of the limited charging infrastructure available. We aim to provide Indian car owners with a robust and safe one-stop solution for their home charging-related needs using our homeCharge solution. Apart from this, eChargeBays will also launch a series of service solutions in the charging infra space which would aim at providing a seamless EV charging experience to EV customers.” MG’s efforts to create the right ecosystem for EVs are part of its long-term commitment to bring environment friendly mobility solutions in the country and are aligned with the government’s vision to encourage EV adoption in India to bring about a material improvement in air quality. The MG ZS EV is a global product that combines MG’s experience in EV manufacturing with best-in-class technology and design. MG ZS has already received exceptional response in international markets, having secured 2,000 orders within two months of its UK launch.

With FAME harder to come by, electric 2-wheeler sales crash

Electric two-wheeler sales under a government incentive programme crashed by 94% in the first six months of FY20 after policy changes led customers to opt for more affordable models. About 3,000 electric twowheelers were sold through phase-II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) initiative from April to September, a decline from 48,671 units in the year-ago period, according to Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).

Sale of electric two-wheelers under FAME-II have fallen drastically, said SMEV director general Sohinder Gill. “Not only have subsidies come down under FAME-II, the products on which these incentives are being offered are costlier, making buyers opt for more affordable low-speed vehicles.”

bout 49,000 low-speed electric two wheelers were sold during the six-month period, according to industry estimates. These are strapped with smaller lithiumion batteries and have lower acquisition and replacement costs, making them ineligible for FAME-II subsidies and benefits. Only electric 2-wheelers with maximum speed of 40 kmph and a range of 80 km per charge qualify for subsidies. These criteria necessitated a bigger battery, increasing the purchase price. A low-speed electric two-wheeler is available for Rs 55,000-60,000, while a highspeed vehicle costs over Rs 75,000. The battery replacement cost of highspeed electric two-wheelers after four years of use is double, at Rs 40,000-45,000.

“If government had continued to incentivise low-speed lithium-ion electric two-wheelers under FAME-II, these products would have been available for Rs 38,00040,000,” Gill said. Another reason for poor sales under FAME-II were norms needing re-certification of vehicles to avail of incentives.

It is only recently that most other players got products re-certified. So, sales have been low, said Jeetender Sharma, MD of Okinawa Autotech.

Source : zigwheels

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Source : economictimes

NOVEMBER- 2019

interview

Mr. Manoj Gupta Vice President- Solar and Waste to Energy Business Fortum India Pvt. Ltd.

Q.-1: 100GW by 2022. Is this Really Achievable? What are the Opportunities & Roadblocks?

Q.-2: Challenges like Grid Curtailment, PPA re-negotiation, Delay in Payments.

MG: Government of India has ambitious plans of generation of 100 GW of solar energy capacity by 2022 but momentum has been severely eroded in the last few months, according to industry players. Issues such as uncertainty around import duties and future tax rates on existing power purchase agreements have dampened investor sentiment. With the imposition of safeguard duty on solar cells I believe it has become more difficult. The last year development of a safeguard duty are still to be digested by the industry and this is eroding the equity in the market because Safeguard duty and GST of affected projects is funded by the Equity. The safeguard duty will only be justified, and the country can achieve this target if the domestic industry is able to match cheap imports within the two years but need to maintain the same international quality of module and continuous upgradation of their manufacturing facilities. We hope that soon the domestic industry will scale up and bring down the cost differential. Additionally, Solar power tariffs in India has witnessed unprecedented fall in past couple of years, largely owing to the fall in imported solar panel prices and competitive bidding scenario prevalent in the industry. Solar manufacturing industry in India, on the other hand, has not been able to keep pace with the evolving technological efficiencies, scale of production, developed supply chain etc. which would help them compete with the large-scale Chinese manufacturers. For e.g. India’s module manufacturing capacity of slightly over 5 GW and cell manufacturing capacity of over 1.5 GW is no way close to China’s capacity of over 50 GW annually. Moreover, indigenous items make barely 10-20% cost contribution in the production of domestic solar modules. Given the fact that manufacturing in India is sub-optimal, developers tend to favor cheaper imports in expectation of lower tariff, as the modules account for nearly 60% of a solar power project’s total cost. It is grappled with similar issues that are/were being faced by most of the manufacturing industries in India and one might argue that India has missed the solar “manufacturing bus” in its initial phases. Policy makers have a tough job to ensure demand for domestic modules on one hand and keeping the tariffs low and achieving the target of 100 GW by 2022 on the other. Absence of Proper frame work of Distributed solar is another challenge to achieve this target. Let us see how much support KUSUM scheme gives to achieve the part of local distribution.

MG: A system is needed to enforce offtaker obligations in case of default. An offtaker may delaypayment, or fail to observe termsof payment security mechanism specified in the PPA, such as replenishing guarantee amountin case of utilisation. If a PPA is terminated prematurely, a developer has limited options (asidentifying a substitute offtaker is difficult); also, payment is uncertain. Market tariffs are falling, and developers need to secure cheaper sources of debt and equity to ensure that the tariffs they quote are competitive; the risk margin factored into the calculation of the quote is miniscule, and there is little leeway to accommodate project risks – foreseeableor unforeseeable – in the falling tariffs.Grid curtailment is also another issue during rainy season. Going forward, Scheduling and Forecasting penalties are adding up another challenge to the industry.

NOVEMBER- 2019

Q.-3: Budget 2019 Announcements and its Impact. MG: The Union Budget presented by the Hon’ble Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clearly demonstrated the government’s vision of putting India on a growth trajectory. Fortum India appreciates the various steps taken by the government in addressing the issues related to tax and duties in the renewable sector and electric mobility. As Fortum India proceeds in setting up fast-charging EV infrastructure in India, the reduction in GST and import duties will accelerate the deployment and usage of electric vehicles in India. We now see a lot of action in the electric mobility, charging and storage space in line with the government’s green vision, which is very encouraging for the industry. We at Fortum wish to collaboratively work with vigor towards government’s aim of having 30% electric vehicles by 2030, by continuing our investments in recycling the capital. Q.-4: Market in 2020 after Safeguard Duties. Do you think any sort of Anti-Dumping or Safeguard duty will come again after August 2020? MG: With the withdrawal of the anti-dumping petition by Indian manufacturers, currently no outstanding anti-dumping investigations remain pending. However, given the ineffectiveness of the currently imposed safeguard duties in protecting the domestic industry, future petitions seeking the imposition of trade protection measures cannot be ruled out. At a time when the renewable energy sector should be seeing pareto efficiency enhancing interventions, the imposition of the safeguard duty on solar cells and modules does quite the opposite. It adversely impacts discoms, IPPs, investors, and electricity regulators, all while not creating the necessary conditions to boost domestic manufacturing.In our view, under no circumstances should a developer get impacted by this. When the projects were bid out, it was not known that this safeguard duty would come up. The WTO has its own rules with respect to safeguards duty which deal with whether the domestic industry has got impacted and whether there have been excessive imports. We need to see what the domestic industry is producing and what the quality standards are.

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interview On an overall basis, one should think about what the objective of this duty is — whether the objective is to have a reasonable tariff or to increase domestic manufacturing irrespective of the costs involved. Every country has its geographic advantages and disadvantages. I think much more effort should go into doing an interest subvention scheme – just as it was done for textiles – to promote and handhold the domestic industry. Duties like safeguards and anti-dumping have never worked in the past. It goes without saying that if the duty is again introduced then the tariff will go up further. But I am sure there is a mechanism to holistically evaluate the situation on a clear parity basis. For example, there are many types of modules which are not even manufactured in India. If the objective is to promote domestic industry, slapping these duties may or may not work. Q.-5: Challenges in Rooftop: RESCO Model - Emerging Regulatory Challenges, Few States baring Net Metering. MG: The solar market in India so far been dependent on subsidies given by the Government. But after Paris agreement, since India committed to setting up 175GW of renewable energy till 2022, we have seen the emergence of RESCO Solar model of PV installation. Factors such as frequent power cuts, increasing prices of conventional power, high irradiation and the falling costs of solar are driving the demand in Roof Top Market. RESCO model would work in India as it is less capital intensive as compared to CAPEX model where the entire system is owned by the rooftop owners. Additionally, there is a huge government support as Central and State Government agencies provide subsidies to RESCO Solar developers on overall project cost. Currently 1GW Roof top capacity is installed in India. Government has targeted 40GW Rooftop Capacity till 2022. In order to meet the goal, in some special category states upto 70% subsidy is given to RESCO solar developers. Since the cost of solar panels fluctuates drastically due to uneven demand, customers are reluctant to opt for CAPEX model. With RESCO and attractive feed-in tariffs by the state regulators, consumers are less wary to get their piece of clean energy on their rooftops. Q.-6: Energy Storage is the need of the hour… Kindly comment. MG: India has committed to increase its share of non-fossil fuelbased generation sources to 40% by 2030 which necessitates a demand for flexibility in power systems. The ‘Power for All’ target of 24x7 electricity for all by 2019 created an increase in power requirement and a need to balance the supply and demand of electricity. Energy storage will play a crucial role in increasing the system’s overall flexibility by serving multiple grid applications. The recent developments in the Electric Vehicle (EV) sector and its ambitious targets will only increase the demand for energy storage systems. Energy storage market in India witnessed a demand of 23 GWh in 2018 with 56% of the battery demand coming from inverter segment. During 2019-2025, the cumulative potential for energy storage in behind the meter and grid side applications is estimated to be close to 190 GWh by India Energy Storage Alliance. The electricity system has historically operated on a “just-in-time” basis − with decisions about electricity production based on realtime demand and the availability of transmission system to deliver it. Because of this, generation and load must always be perfectly balanced to ensure high power quality and reliability to end customers. At very high penetrations of variable wind and solar generation, energy storage can be effective for storing excess energy at certain times and moving it to other times, enhancing reliability and providing both economic and environmental benefits. Q.-7: Banks funding drying up. MG: Banks play a very crucial role in the development of this sector by providing subsidised loans to developers and end users. One such contribution has been extended by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) supported by other multilateral agencies like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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The World Bank signed a 650 million USD agreement with the State Bank of India, while the ADB signed a 500 million USD agreement with Punjab National Bank (PNB). Both multilaterals will combine the share of CTF received, with a specific focus on the deployment of rooftop solar projects. Traditionally, banks were sanctioning loans to rooftop developers at a rate of 10–12% and in some cases, the rate reached up to 14% depending on the credit rating of the borrower and the risks associated with the project. The banks were offering higher interest rates due to the absence of any concessional funding support and limited experience in the rooftop segment in India. However, with the availability of CTF money, the interest rates for lending project loans has been reduced to 8.5–9.5% on a project-to-project basis, offered by the banks receiving such concessional funding. The rooftop sector in India is lagging in meeting the annual installation targets set by the Government of India. The major reason identified was the lack of low-cost financing in this area. Huge upfront cost and high-cost loans contributed to the slow growth. However, for the past 2 years, rooftop solar has been able to gain scale with the availability of international lines of credit from various multi- and bilateral institutions to support domestic banks. This has created developer and consumer interest in the rooftop solar sector and at the same time, the rooftop systems, with the availability of concessional financing, have become financially viable for end consumers. Funding to Utility scale project is definitely drying up due to increase in project development risk ( Like on time grid availability, land acquisition etc ), introduction or change of new tax/duties structure, Payment security, negotiation of PPA, cancellation of bids and also threat of termination of PPA agreements. Q.-8: Chinese losing interest in India. MG: Around 85–90% of the modules are imported from China and this leads to a huge forex transfer of approximately 20,000 crore INR (2.96 billion USD) because the Chinese modules are around 10% cheaper than Indian manufactured solar modules.While China has been dominating the market, both in terms of manufacturing and installed capacity, other emerging markets are also beginning to contribute significantly to the global growth.India is also expected to become a major market in the next few years since it is in the market transformation phase and hence, the need of the hour is to address the issues and challenges hampering this growth. Other developed countries like Germany, China and the US have faced these barriers in the early growth years. Q.-9: Deteriorating Construction & Plant Quality Standards MG: The solar sector in India suffers from issues of quality in installations. There should be better measures for quality control in solar panels, so that they last the stipulated twenty-five-year period. There is a need to define the technical standards for rooftop systems to ensure quality installations and operational efficiency. Again, the issue of low tariff and various uncertainties in the project are increasing the CAPEX of developer compared to what it was envisaged at the time of bid therefore industry is forcibly looking for cheaper module options in the market and that is how there are likely chances of deterioration of quality of the project. Q.-10: Difficulty in getting pass through and CERC announcement of reimbursement of the safeguard duties to developers MG: While classifying the reimbursement of safeguard duty under ‘Change in Law’ provision, the CERC allowed the developers under various schemes to be compensated by counterparties (including the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd, NTPC and various other electricity distribution companies).However, through a notification issued in July 2018, the centre imposed safeguard duty on the import of solar cells and modules at a rate of 25 per cent for the first year (July 2018 to July 2019) and 20 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, for each of the six months’ period following July 2019.Timely compensatory payments from counterparties are essential to ensure developers do not lose time value of their investments and Equity is reinstated in the system to develop more and more new projects.

NOVEMBER- 2019

interview

Mr. Rahul Talreja Director TrackSo (FSGL Pvt LTD) 70Â

NOVEMBER- 2019

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interview Q.-1: Please Tell us in Brief about your company, its Promoters, Directors, Owners, Vision, Mission. RT: TrackSo is an IoT based solar PV monitoring and data analytics platform for solar plant operations and maintenance providers. TrackSo is a product of Free Spirits Green Labs Pvt Ltd. TrackSo was launched in India in 2017 with a vision to make the world cleaner and greener by preventing energy wastage. TrackSo was conceptualized by Alumni of DTU (formerly known as Delhi college of engineering - DCE) and IIIT-Allahabad. Rahul Talreja, Kovid Batra and Nitin Saini experienced the problem of high O&M cost and energy wastage at that exists in the Solar PV industry. The solution to this problem was right in front of the team from the industry and technology experience they hold. The team decided on their mission to build an IoT based data monitoring and data analytics platform for solar plant O&M providers so that they can monitor, analyze and predict plant dynamics and reduce their manual O&M cost, detect and rectify anomalies instantly and increase the productivity. Q.-2: Please Highlight your few of Achievements, Milestones, Innovations, Noteworthy Projects etc... RT: The journey so far for TrackSo in the industry has been very exciting. TrackSo is currently deployed at 2000 solar pv sites across country with 100 MW+ capacity being monitored on the platform. Projects ranging from size of 3 KW and going upto 3 MW have been executed. Few remarkable projects are as follows: Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati (3 Mw) Patanjali, Tezpur (2.2 Mw) AIIMS Jodhpur (1.3 MW) Pragati Power, Bawana (1 MW) IIT Patna (1 MW) NIT, Agartala (1 MW) NIT, Silchar (1 MW) Q.-3: Your View on the Safeguard Duty. RT: Even after the imposition of safeguard duty, the demand for local solar panels has not increased and manufacturing capacity in the country is still the same. So the govt not only has to impose taxes on import but at the same time incentivize solar module manufacturers and promote R&D in the country by cutting corporate taxes for such business. Q.-4: Your view on the Government Policies, Regulations, the way the support for Solar is happening in reality. RT: The Goals set for solar industry are highly optimistic. The policy and regulation structure is not in place for a sustainable growth. The policy and regulation makers have to be more connected to the ground realities and bring more insights based policies into the system.

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Q.-5: What are the Products / Services / New Launches You are exhibiting at your booth? RT: We have zero export - power control hardware that we have recently launched in the market. We have also introduced advanced diagnostics functionality on our software platform. Q.-6: Please enlighten us about the Technology and Pricing Roadmap of the Products / Services You offer. RT: TrackSo is an IoT based platform which provides advanced data analytics for instant anomaly detection and predict plant operational dynamics. TrackSo is growing keeping in my the Indian customer requirement and thus it is a premium economy solution that provides quality without any compromise. Q.-7: Can we really achieve 100GW by 2022....60GW by Utility Scale and 40GW by RoofTops ? What are the Challenges and Opportunities? RT: 100 GW is a feasible target but a sustainable growth can be achieved with a more insightful understanding of the market dynamics by the policy makers and regulators. Q.-8: What do you think about the Electric Vehicles and Energy storage Sectors? RT: Definitely one of the most booming sectors. Bringing more private players and creating a competitive structure for the private players not just on pricing but quality too. Q.-9: What is the Pipeline of Your Projects in Hand? RT: All we can tell is that we have some great projects lined up with the most prominent EPCs in the industry. Q.-10: Challenges for Upscaling & Mainstreaming Rooftop Solar. RT: Well structured state and central level policies. Bringing better financial models to make the rooftop solutions less CAPEX intensive. Q.-11: Please enlighten us with figures about Your Market Share....How much you have supplied/ installed in 2017 & 2018 and whats the target for 2019 and any export figures to report? RT: Dont have much figures around market share. The targets for 2019-20 is 1 GW Q.-12: EQ Magazine has completed 10 Years ... Please say something about us. RT: Congratulations on your 10 th Anniversary. We got to know about EQ from PRs and our clients. We believe that EQ contribution is huge in driving awareness and bringing connectedness in the ecosystem. It is needed for any industry to sustainably grow and prosper. So we wish you all the best to keep doing what you are doing for many more years to come.

NOVEMBER- 2019

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pv manufacturing

El Camino Technologies-Solar: Technology Partner for Solar PV manufacturing Lines El Camino Technologies has been addressing the Indian market for over three decades in the field of Semiconductor and Solar market. We provide turnkey line solutions, individual equipment, process support and technology transfer from the well known Solar companies in the world. It is good to see the exciting changes in the Indian market which has matured since El Camino started in the year 1985. El Camino’s first sale for Solar Cell line manufacturing was Diffusion Furnace from Tempress, Netherlands in the year 1985 to RES Hyderabad and then TATA BP in the year 1995. Now, we see several new entrants in all segments - customers, suppliers, technologies and industry which has matured tremendously. As for El Camino Technologies- Solar Division, we have the manufacturing solutions for Solar PV right from Ingot, wafer, cell, module and setting up of Solar PV TEST LABS as well. Along with our partners we provide complete solutions for existing and upcoming technologies -Standard multi, Mono, PERC, nPERT, Bifacial, IBC, HJT and TOPCon including upgrades of existing lines. We have expertise in setting up the TEST Labs for testing of modules having worked with top Solar Labs such as NREL, UL, TÜV, FSEC, CSA, and KIER.

ECN.TNO offer: Focused Co-development opportunities at pilot level PERC upgrades N-Topcon and P-Topcon p-IBC. Full poly-IBC Tandems Sustainability and Design for Recycling.

Solar PV Cell Line:

We have been associated for 25 years partner Tempress systems, Netherlands for Diffusion and PECVD furnaces with experiences of 40 years in manufacturing of SOLAR PV Cells. They have developed common platform for ease of operations for different processes. The platform has advantage by its large batch loads, low power consumption and re circulating air cooling Here are some highlights of our products and partners(i.e. low cleanroom air consumption for cooling purOur Technology partner is one of the top Solar R&D Lab, ECN.TNO Solar poses). With the manufacturing shifted to China office, Energy, Netherlands who provides support for Materials development and se- gives competitive edge with same European technollection at low cost, Cell technologies, process optimization and manufacturing ogy advantage. support for Crystalline and Thin film PV. SPECTRUM PECVD Tempress SPECTRUM is a batch-type PECVD system for SiOx and SiNx deposition on silicon solar cells. Two research sites, Petten (near Amsterdam) and Eindhoven High throughput >200 MW / system Dual technology focus: xSi and Thin Film PV Strategic goal: SPECTRUM LPCVD Poly Reducing the cost of solar energy technology Lower material Costs. The Tempress SPECTRUM LPCVD Poly system is Higher conversion efficiency. used for in-situ oxide and poly deposition in a so-called ‘TopCon’ solar cell. The system is capable of depositing Faster manufacturing processes. both undoped and in-situ doped polysilicon, with uniLower installation and system costs. form deposition over the entire batch. Proven Topcon Accelerate the technology development cycle. production solution in high volume manufacturing. (proof-of-concept → pilot production) SPECTRUM BBr3 The third generation of Tempress BBr3 systems uses the common Tempress SPECTRUM platform, thereby Crystalline silicon (x-Si) solar cells and modules strengthening Tempress’ position as global leader in Advanced PolySi passivation for n-type Si BBr3 diffusion furnaces. Advanced PolySi for p-type Si (PERC enhancement, PERC+) SPECTRUM POCl3 MWT and IBC cell and module technology (including p-IBC) Due to 40 years of experience, Tempress has estabMost of the cell technologies developed are suitable for Bifalished a POCl3 diffusion platform capable of delivercial applications ing the most stable, reproducible and versatile process conditions at the lowest cost of ownership. Tempress Thin-film PV technologies (Eindhoven) has shipped more than 30 GW of diffusion furnace sysPerovskites (opaque and semi-transparent). tems for Solar applications. Tempress Semiconductor Flexible CIGS. experience is a fundamental part of our core technology Tandems and knowledge.

Solar Energy Activities

Si-PSC and CIGS-PSC

NOVEMBER- 2019

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pv manufacturing Laser Solutions: We have Industry leader from Germany for Laser systems, first to introduce Lasers in the Solar industry for more than 20 years. The company has supplied several systems for the upcoming technologies such as PERC for LCO opening and Selective emitter for enhancement of

conversion efficiencies. The company has developed and supplied systems with high throughput of upto 7500 wafers/hour.

LDSE: Selective Emitter

While the highly doped areas underneath the metal fingers enable a low contact resistance the lower doped areas between the metal fingers show a wider window for light conversion higher passivation efficiency and hence allow for a higher efficiency of the solar cell. For a successful integration of the additional laser doping step some other process steps need to be adapted and fine tuned. It is mainly the POCl3 process, which must be tuned to provide a sufficient P concentration of >1020/cm2 at the surface and an increased sheet resistance of>120 W/sq compared with typically <100 W/sq for standard emitters. The PSG etch after the LDSE process can optionally be enhanced with a slight Sietchback to remove remaining excess P. In order to align the front metal grid with the LDSE pattern a high precision alignment unit in the printing tool is required. The selection of the Ag paste and the contact firing parameters is facilitated due to a wider process window enabled by the SE architecture.

LCO: Laser Contact Opening for PERC With its 20 years of experience in building machines for laser applications in the PV, electronics, semiconductor, and printed circuit board industries, and a worldwide install base of more than 350 machines, InnoLas is able to offer optimized machine platforms specifically tailored to the LDSE process. High speed galvanometer scanners, automatic vision alignment and machine calibration systems, which have been integrated repeatedly by InnoLas, assure a very high accuracy and stability in a 24/7 production environment as well as extremely high throughputs up to 7500 wafers per hour for various process applications like LDSE or laser contact opening (LCO) for PERC.

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Testing Tools for Process control and optimization of Solar Cells : Solutions to test and measure the challenges faced in R&D and manufacturing for process control. Partnered with Sinton Instruments, USA we provide testing tools for Bulk silicon Characterisation, wafer lifetime tool with PL, Temperature, INLINE WAFER testing to eliminate low quality wafers used measuring lifetime, trapping and resistivity. Process control and optimization at dopant diffusion and Nitride deposition steps, SUNS-VOC for post diffusion process control. Sunlab ( part of TNO Lab), Netherlands has a long tradition in the delivery of reliable and cost-effective measurement instruments in the field of solar cell resistance measurements. The unique and worldwide sold Corescan® is able to detect spatial resolved contact resistance problems that can be induced by different metal pastes or wrong firing settings. Next to that it is able to perform simple Shunt, Voc and LBIC scan to detect spatial resolved sheet resistances in the range of 10-200 Ohm/sq. this tool is very helpful to check the results and homogeneity of the diffusion process. Sunlab has developed special software to measure the sheet resistance of selective emitter solar cells. Both the low and high ohmic emitter structures in the cell can be measured and are given in absolute Rsheet values. In the development of high efficiency solar cell the use of selective emitter structures is becoming part of cell process flows. As the development of solar cells continues to move towards higher efficiencies solar cell concepts like interdigitated backcontact solar cells (IBC) become interesting. As the front and back structures are now all on the backside of the cell it becomes very important to optimize the size of the structures for optimum conductivity and the problem of creating shunts between the two polarities. As structures go towards tenths of mm’s it is needed to have the proper tools. Sunlab and its partner has developed a totally new sheet resistivity scanning instrument based on the THz near field technology. The THz scan makes it possible to detect sheet resistance differences on structures as small as 30 um, also spatially resolved.

NOVEMBER- 2019

pv manufacturing Testing Tool : Module Manufacturing EternalSun Spireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solar simulators use proven Single Long Pulse (SLP) flash technology to accurately measure the performance of a PV module,

Ensures your lamp life is long-guaranteed 200000 flashes, customers usually go upto 400000 flashes. Ready for high end PV and Future Technologies-Mono PERC, IBC, HJT, TopCon, Bifacial etc. One system can handle 250MW.

TEST LAB SOLUTIONS: Looking for setting up a TEST LAB?

Eternal Sun Spire provides solar testing advice, infrastructure, training and network to enable local players setting up test and certification labs. The company supports labs to be able to test and certify according to: IEC 61215:2016: Photovoltaic (PV) module Design qualification and type approval. IEC 61730:2016 : Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification. IEC 61853-1:2011: Photovoltaic (PV) module performance testing and energy rating - Part 1: Irradiance and temperature performance measurements and power rating Suited for ISO17025 accreditation. Eternal Sun is able to assist in the process.UL, BIS and ASTM standards. EternalSun SPIRE has expertise in Solar Testing equipment and services including RELIABLE AND HIGH ACCURACY TEST SETUPS, which allows Test Labs and R&D departments to efficiently analyze and improve their prototypes for commercialization. A high speed and high accuracy setup allows efficient quality testing of products and reduction of risks, SAVE valuable time and money.

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We offer aftersales service and support for classification and calibration for all our models*. We're in an era where adaptability is one of the most important qualities we find at every level. We are consistently looking to challenge ourselves to be better and are excited to work with our customers to develop new operating models that drive the industry towards more efficient applications. We look forward to cooperating with customers to be partner in their growth.

author:

Chetna Mohan Managing Director

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solar project

Milestone | The Largest Power Station Project of Half-cell Modules Supplied by Suntech Successfully Connected to the Grid in India Recently, the Pavagada solar park project in India, to which Suntech contributed a total supply capacityof 210MW, has been successfully connected to the grid. It, utilizing solely polycrystaline half-cell modules from Suntech, has become the largest one amongst all the established solar power stations with half-cell modules in the world.

ocated in Tumakuru, Karnataka of India, the Pavagada Solar Park covers an area of 13,000 acres and is about 180 kilometers away from Bangalore – India’s fifth largest city. It is one of the ultra-large solar parks in Asia. The project is at a place with abundant light supply, but suffers from harsh environmental conditions such as sand storm.

The Pavagada project, the largest of all the established and gridconnected solar power stations with half-cell modules worldwide, was completed and got connected after 7 months from January 2019 when the construction began. A total of 626,866 pieces of Suntech’s high-efficiency, polycrystalline half-cell anti-fouling modules were put into the project. With excellent anti-fouling performance, these modules supplied by Suntech can enhance the self-cleaning ability of modules used in deserts and under harsh environments. In addition, the half-cell technology powering these modules can also reduce both the internal losses between modules and the operating temperature in the case of actually running the power station, thus supporting steady operation and lowering future maintaining costs.

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Mr. Cao Xiaorong, Vice President of Suntech Power, expressed that The smooth grid-connection of the Pavagada project in India marks the fact that Suntech’s half-cell products not only were put into mass production, but also reached a new level for actual construction and operation of the power station; in terms of better customer satisfaction and loyalty, a demonstration effect was shown as well. In the future,Suntech will continuously provide photovoltaic products with high quality, high reliability and high cost performance for customers in India by virtue of the State-of-the-art technical advantages and the excellent manufacturing level.

NOVEMBER- 2019

pv manufacturing

India's

1st NABL Accredited Laboratory

For PV Encapsulants & Backsheets

A specialized facility that ensures quality assurance on demand for project financiers, solar power plant developers, system integrators, module manufacturers, and solar polymer component manufacturers alike. The Lab tests the critical performance parameters for PV Module Encapsulants and Backsheets like Gel Content, UV Cut Off, Thermal Shrinkage, adhesion strength. RenewSys is the 1st Integrated Manufacturer of Solar PV Modules and its key Components â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Encapsulants (EVA & POE), Backsheets and Solar PV Cells. The cost of PV modules are typically between one-third to half of the capital cost of a PV system, depending on the size of the project and the type of PV module*. Thus, the impetus on keeping tariffs low for solar plants and PV installations constrain all system component manufacturers, especially solar module manufacturers, to deliver PV modules at very competitive prices.

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pv manufacturing

he 25 year plus lifetime that attracts investors is dependent on the quality that sustains the power output through thousands of temperature cycles from extreme heat and cold to extreme weather like sandstorms and snow. PV plant financers and developers are dependent on data that predicts module degradation over time through these conditions. It is imperative, for financers, developers, installers and even largescale end customers like industries to ascertain that their modules deliver on performance and output expectations, and lifetime.

The true test – in Field performance A study of field failures of solar power plants reveals that though Encapsulants and Backsheets constitute only 4% of the bill of the material cost of a module, however, if their quality is compromised they can be the cause of massive field failures. Unlike defects like microcracks and breakage in cells, substandard or compromised module polymer components, i.e. Encapsulants (EVA & POE) and Backsheets are not visible to the naked eye. Thus periodic testing of the components used in modules becomes a significant indicator of overall PV module health and quality.

Illustrating why such a facility is the need of the hour Avinash Hiranandani, Managing Director, RenewSys India, said, “The Indian solar industry is growing by leaps and bounds each year. Quality of the components used, and their impact on plant performance starts gaining importance when the PV plants get older, and we see modules reaching mid-life in the field. Preempting the need for a better understanding of Encapsulants and Backsheets, the critical components for module life, RenewSys has been working on innovation and reliability testing of these components at its Bengaluru Polymer Specialty Division - the driving force behind setting up India’s 1st and only dedicated Encapsulant and Backsheet testing facility that is NABL accredited. It has already begun providing on-demand access to Project Developers and Module Manufacturers to quality assurance.”

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While there are several test centres to test modules as a whole, there is only 1 lab in India that tests the Encapsulants, Backsheets and their raw materials. An independently run facility, this lab is one of its kind that ensures quality assurance on demand for project financiers, solar plant developers, module manufacturers, and solar module polymer component manufacturers alike.Run by a team of experts from the solar industry, it can test all polymers including Encapsulants, Backsheets and their raw materials. The lab conducts tests like Gel Content, Density, Tensile Strength and Elongation, UV cut off, Opacity and alike. RenewSys has also set up a world-class reliability testing laboratory for PV modules that is India’s only Intertek certified Satellite® testing facility at Hyderabad. This lab has seven environmental chambers that test modules at accelerated and adverse environmental conditions like damp heat, dry heat, temperature cycling, UV exposure. *As per IRENA’s global PV system cost analysis

NOVEMBER- 2019

operations

Solar Plant Monitoring Solution- A Unique way

here has been a focus on automation through IT interface at generation, transmission and distribution sectors with core focus on the smart grid including AMI, automation of switchgears, SCADA, GIS, billing platforms etc. Under this umbrella, is the fast booming rooftop solar market in India and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. With a renewable energy target of 275 gigawatts by March 2022 in India, with major share of distributed solar generation both at roof top and ground mounted level, Solar Plant Monitoring plays a key role in effective management of solar assets across all levels. Soar Plant Monitoring is an IoT based platform which virtually measures and monitors all nodes and devices through multiple connectivity and supports multi user on real time. This paper would discuss about the need of Solar Plant Monitoring Solution and its advantages to all stakeholders.

gives instant alarms in case of any anomalies occurring at the site. Its interactive platform, rules & alarms engine combined with advanced analytics helps maximises the solar yield and highly useful for key stakeholders such as asset owners, site operators and maintenance team. Trending and comparison of major electrical parameters are available through MIS and graphs. Available in multiple communication variants like GSM, Ethernet, RF, WiFi. The system provides continuous online readings of different electrical parameters of solar inverter. Trending of all the major electrical equipments for which the electrical parameters are available is made live through MIS and graphs. Data logging and reports on timely basis (hourly, daily) as & when required. Generation of different kinds of reports e.g. Daily, Periodic, month wise generation can be viewed.

Standard Solar Plant Layout

Key Objectives-

The Solar Monitoring IoT platform helps monitor the solar plant Starting right from module level to String Combiner Box to inverter to Solar meter to Net meter to Transformer and grid output.

Monitoring Solar through Logics PowerAMRa unique way Our Remote Monitoring System often known as (RMS) is a complete package for Energy Information, Data Acquisition, Monitoring & Control, Reporting, Analytics, Preventive Maintenance, energy forecasting that enhances the experience of Solar Energy Management. The system is plug and play and remotely connects to any solar inverter, energy meter and solar assets. Our RMS provides 24*7 real time monitoring, helps reduce O&M cost by 30%,

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Maximize PerformanceAlgorithms to predict plant, inverter, string, module, device output in real time. Benchmark actual device performance with ideal state. Device benchmarks to identify underperforming devices. Optimize O&M Predictive maintenance scheduling and tracking. Inverter/ string errors and alarm management . Integration with ERP to simplify inventory management. Plant Monitoring Real time monitoring of physical health of plants and devices. Role based access to track plant KPIs. Detailed alarms and events with customized features. Portfolio Management Comparison of Plant performance against different KPIs like PR, CUF, yield, specific power, solar insolation, etc. Accessibility of all plants under a single dashboard. www.EQMagPro.com

operations Generation Forecasting Advanced algorithms to forecast plant generation. Meet the Government Mandate There is a government mandate to monitor all solar roof top plants with capacity above 50 KW along with irradiation data of the respective plant. All plants under the subsidy have to be monitored to have effective knowledge and control over the plant.

Key Driversof RMS IoT based Universal Data Gateways which work on any network, any device, any protocols, especially at distributed rooftop requirements where communication wiring across multiple rooftops is not feasible. The solution is self healing and customizable with different options at site, such as an industrial grade USB cell modem for cellular based connectivity, broadband over Ethernet, Wi fi , RF, etc. Big data architectureand server- Contains various actionable modules separately to take care of voluminous amount of data for assessment and analysis. Integration with weather sensors inclusive of pyranometers, anemometer, module temperature sensor, ambient temperature to measure the plant actual generation wrt the expected generation and determination of low PR and underperforming plants. Advanced analytics for underlying the health and underperforming plants- Our deep dive data analytics and optimization services built with domain expertise, helps enable relevant data analysis and obtain actionable insights.

Typical RMS Architecture

IoT Platform for online Monitoring

Communication Integration through Universal Data GatewaysOption for GSM, Ethernet, RF and wi fi RTUs integration on same platform

GSM RTU

Logics PowerAMR- Web Portal Overview Executive Dashboard

FeaturesSuper User for High level overview of specific plants. Drill down to zone level to quickly identify underperforming zones. Targeted for CXOs with KPIs. BenefitsComplete performance overview of site. Comparison with predicted values to compare ideal state performance with actual performance to identify underper formance.

Technical Dashboard Features: Monitor technical performance of plant. Single Line Diagram. Real Time Information. Energy Reporting. Power analysis and power graphs. Drill down to zone level to quickly identify underperforming zones. Targeted for plant operations managers with KPIs. Benefits: Identify alarms and underperforming devices quickly. Root cause analysis of underperforming devices. SMS and E mail notifications.

Wi Fi Gateway

Real Time Monitoring through SLD Ethernet RTU

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Combo Gateways

NOVEMBER- 2019

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operations Superuser Dashboard Super user dashboard allows to monitor multiple solar power plant of different inverter makes over single platform through single login credential . Separate login credential can be generated for different user/client to monitor their plant separately through hierarchical region wise, division wise, plant wise selection. Compression of generation data for all plants on single table/platform, allows multi parameter comparison of different plants.

String Comparative

Data Historian Multiple Plant Comparative

1 minute data availability of all parameters of all devices like inverters, solar meter, net meter, string combiner boxes, transformer data etc for historical data analysis

Insightful Reports

Maintenance Scheduler and Custom Alarms

System is capable to generate general and customized reports. System supports daily, weekly, monthly reports, flexi time reporting architecture. Also facility to export data over a custom time interval to CSV, EXEL, PDF, word format. Reports have the facility to demonstrate instantaneous values ( max, min, averaged values, aggregated sum) over a defined period

Maintenance Scheduler Track Planned and Breakdown maintenance. Linked with stores to optimize inventory levels. Alarm Management Alarm in case of power outage critical in cases of RECO and grid connected plants. Alarm in low PR, low CUF and deviation of yield per KW etc. Escalation Matrix based on alarm severity and impact. Better control over plant performance. POWER INTERRUPTIONS CAPTURED

Energy Reporting

Device Level Pages Features: Relative benchmarking with respect to global maxima. Ranking across multiple parameters for exhaustive monitoring . Targeted for plant technical team with KPIs. Benefits: Identify underperforming devices to optimize O&M cost and effort. Predictions enable comparison with ideal state.

System Analytics& Sensor Integration Inverter generation v/s solar meter generation for loss analysis/ calibration issues. Self Diagnostic Features. Graphical Analysis. Power On/ Off duration and events. Generation Analysis. Expected v/s Actual Generation. Underperforming plants with reasons . Corrective actions.

MPPT Monitoring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DC Voltage v/s current

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operations

Power v/s Irradiation Curve

Advantages of Device Level Segregation Monitoring the solar plant Starting right from module level to String Combiner Box to inverter to Solar meter to Net meter to Transformer and grid output helps achieve deep down analysis of solar plants with key benefits as follows-

Irradiation Curve v/s Module Temperature

Higher degree of accuracy: Each Combiner Box carries ~ 150 kW of power, In a 100 MW plant this leads to an accuracy level of .15%. Accurate Fault Identification: Accurately identify faulty devices and direct O&M efforts in an optimised manner. Equipment Benchmarking: Benchmark equipment performance across plant to identify under performing equipment. Address Heterogeneity: Account for system effects arising from cable lengths, module power mismatch, device behaviour etc.

String- DC Voltage/ DC Current

System Health Reporter Diagnosis tool to identify the health of entire plant. Inverter Error Alarm Management Event Reporting Health Reporting

Plant PR curve and logs VARIATION IN CUF OF DIFFERENT PLANT AT SAME LOCATION

Peak Generating Conditions Percentage Load Unbalance Highest Phase Current Average Voltage Load factor Effective Solar Plant Monitoring is game-changer for the Indian rooftop and ground mounted segment. Itensures that solar installation sites are well-maintained and performing as expected.

author:

Deepak Chauracia Director

Logics PowerAMR Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

www.EQMagPro.com

NOVEMBER- 2019

81Â

rooftop solar

Demystifying India’s rooftop solar policies I

About rooftop metering arrangement n accordance with the Electricity Act, 2003, every state in India has come up with a net metering policy or a rooftop solar policy which dictates the modalities of installing grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) or a small solar power plant in the given state. These policies determine how consumers are compensated for the electricity produced by their solar system. Currently, the metering arrangement can be either net or gross or both. So far, 19 states offer both net metering and gross metering (subject to conditions) while 17 states permit only net metering. This document aims to serve as an easy-to-use guide for consumers, developers, and investors in the RTS sector. It shares macro insights on state policies and provides comparisons between states on key parameters for installing RTS systems.

The difference between net metering and gross metering

the billing period. A bi-directional meter is used to measure the net electricity consumption of the system. In case of gross metering, the total electricity generated by the solar system is injected into the grid, and the consumer imports electricity from the grid for consumption. At the end of the settlement period, the consumer is compensated for the electricity exported to the grid at the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) rate determined by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Net metering arrangement

n the net metering mechanism, the electricity generated by the RTS system is consumed by the user and any excess electricity is injected into the grid. In case the consumer requires more power than what is produced by the RTS system, they can import the balance from the grid. At the end of the settlement period, the consumer is only charged for the ‘net’ energy utilised – the difference between the energy produced through the RTS system and the energy consumed over

Gross metering arrangement 82

NOVEMBER- 2019

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rooftop solar A state-wise perspective of net metering policies

Limitations on transformer capacity

The allowed limit of the system size lies between 1 kW and 1 MW for most states. The minimum and maximum size is limited to 1 kW and 1 MW by 20 and 22 states respectively. Some notable outliers like West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have a minimum requirement of 5 kW and 10 kW, respectively, whereas Jharkhand is the only state which allows connectivity upto 2 MW.

For the integration of the generated solar power into the grid, almost half of the states allow connectivity up to 50 per cent of the transformer capacity for grid integration on a first come first serve basis. The notable exceptions are the states of Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, which allow an addition of 100 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, of the transformer capacity.

a Limitations on system size -minimum system size

Voltage connectivity b Limitations on system size - maximum system size

For consumers with single-phase low tension (LT) connections, most states allow connectivity up to 5 kW, while for three phase LT consumers, most states allow up to 100 kW. The data is not specified for three states.

Voltage connectivity: single-phase LT

Sanctioned load

Voltage connectivity: three-phase LT

As far as limitations on the sanctioned load are concerned, most states limit system capacity to 100 per cent of the sanctioned load, while a few restrict it to below 100 per cent. A notable exception in this case is Jammu and Kashmir, where the size of the system is restricted to 50 per cent of the sanctioned load. Chhattisgarh, in contrast, permits systems with capacity above 100 per cent of the sanctioned load.

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NOVEMBER- 2019

83Â

rooftop solar Export of electricity with respect to consumption Compensation mechanism For grid integration of the generated electricity, the net metering policies also cap the export of electricity with respect to consumption. As per this limitation, 11 states mandate that the capacity exported should not exceed the capacity consumed (100%). In these states, there will be no compensation for the surplus power. A notable outlier is Chhattisgarh, which limits export with respect to generation. Consumers can only export 49 percent of the total electricity generated from the system.

Lastly, states have different types of billing arrangements and compensate consumers at different rates for the surplus generation. An analysis of the same is presented below.

Net metering policies of India October 2019

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rooftop solar

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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rooftop solar

Glossary Sanctioned load/contracted load – Sanctioned load is the maximum demand which is to be supplied by the discom to the consumer as indicated in the agreement between them. It is denoted in kW, kVA, or HP. Distribution transformer (DT) capacity – A distribution transformer is a step-down transformer which is used for electric power distribution. DT capacity is the maximum load that can be put on a transformer within voltage limits by the electricity-generating consumers. Surplus generation – It is the difference in electric power exported from the RTS plant and imported from the grid. It is denoted in kW, kVA, or HP. Cap on export with respect to consumption – It is the limitation put on the export of electricity to the transformer with respect to the consumer’s total consumption. Billing period – The time period for which regular electricity bills are prepared for the consumers by the discom. Settlement period – The time period within which consumers should be compensated for the surplus energy injected into the grid if it has not yet been settled in the billing period.

Range allowed – This is the approved minimum and maximum capacity of the rooftop solar system which can be installed by an eligible consumer. Average power purchase cost (APPC) rate – The weighted average pooled price at which the discom purchased electricity from its energy suppliers, except those based on renewable sources, including its self-electricity generation cost in the previous year. Feed-in tariff (FiT) – The payment made in proportion to the power generated to consumers who generated electricity from renewable sources and provided it to the grid. Group-net metering – An arrangement whereby the surplus energy which is generated from a renewable source and fed into the grid through net metering is adjusted within the same discom’s area of supply in more than one electricity service connection(s) of the same consumer. Virtual-net metering – An arrangement in which the entire energy which is generated from a renewable source is exported to the grid through a net meter or gross meter, and the exported energy is adjusted within the same discom’s area of supply in more than one electricity service connection(s) of the participating consumer.

authors:

Saloni Jain Analyst (CEEW-CEF)

NOVEMBER- 2019

Tanushree Garg Research Fellow (IIM Ahmedabad)

Rishabh Jain Manager (CEEW-CEF)

Neeraj Kuldeep Programme Lead (CEEW)

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policy & Ragulation

Analysis of RERC’s order on the Forecasting & Scheduling Regulations Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission published an order announcing judgments to the current Forecasting & Scheduling regulations post several petitions filed over issues stated below along with the resolutions:

Billing on schedule and recovery of revenue component in DSM The second major issue raised by the petitioners was that for inter-state power, billing on the schedule was not yet operational. This caused a problem as DSM calculations also included recovery or payment of revenue relating to the difference between the scheduled and actual generation. In its order, RERC has laid down procedures for certifying of schedules by the SLDC – this will enable billing on schedule. However, since DSM has been made applicable from Oct 2018, the onus will now be on NVVN/ SECI to ensure that past billing on schedule is settled.

Timelines for DSM implementation RERC has waived off DSM charges till September 30, 2018, and has made it applicable from Oct 2018, based on the below schedule: Similar relief has also been provided for DSM charges for inter-state power (Paras 279 A and B). This is a significant relief provided to generators by the honorable RERC. RERC further said that SLDC will be re-calculate DSM based for the above timelines till Nov 15 after which comments shall have to be submitted to SLDC in 15 days. The generators will be required to make DSM payments in one month from the issue of final bills.

Adjustment of inter-state and intra-state power One of the main issues under consideration was the order in which inter-state and intra-state power were adjusted on pooling stations where electrical separation is not possible. The earlier regulation resulted in significantly higher DSM for the inter-state portion. RERC changed this to adjust inter-state and intra-state DSM in the ratio of such power. The order states the following: “in case of electrical separation not being possible, then a combined schedule of inter and intrastate transaction with bifurcated interstate (with state wise bifurcation) and intrastate (with Discoms/ deemed licensee wise bifurcation) schedule shall be allowed and actual generation of the connected generators shall be considered and adjusted in the ratio of inter and intrastate schedules.” – Paragraph 247 in the order

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Other than the above issues, other key points which have been discussed in the order are as follows:

RERC rejected the request for “Aggregation” of schedules stating “The Commission agrees with the view of the SLDC that Aggregation at State level would result in no deviation charges for the error band of +/15% for such a large penetration of Renewable Energy and such magnitude would be detrimental to the stability of the Grid. This would result in a huge liability of DSM charges on the State Discoms, which will otherwise have to be passed on to the end consumers” (Para 180). RERC also deleted the clause relating to the virtual pool in the original regulations (Para 185). RERC has directed all generators to install check meters at RVPN GSS within 4 months (Para 191). The specifications of the new ABT meter, DCU (Data Concentrator Unit) and meter box along with Modems are available on RVPN’s website and the same is to be integrated with servers of STOMS control center at SLDC. Source: reconnectenergy

NOVEMBER- 2019

andhra Pradesh

AP High Court Order:

Immediate Resolution of Cash Flow Stress in State Renewable Projects Unlikely India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes solar and wind power projects in Andhra Pradesh are unlikely to secure any immediate respite from cash flow-related pressure in view of the recent order given by Andhra Pradesh (AP) high court. The order to pay an interim tariff of INR2.44/unit and INR2.43/unit for solar and wind projects, respectively, will not be sufficient for the entire debt servicing for the capacity of 554MW in Ind-Raâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state portfolio (with AP state discoms as direct counterparties).

n the absence of internal liquidity generation for the following six months at least, all these affected projects will have to necessarily lean on sponsor support or any balance liquidity available with the project (reserves, undrawn lines, cash balance etc.) for debt servicing till the projects start receiving full monthly tariffs as per power purchase agreements (PPA). Almost all of the projects that have direct or indirect exposure to AP state counterparties have already been kept on Rating Watch Negative (RWN)* by the agency, and the cash flow stress can increase

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from here owing to non-recovery of full project tariffs in the coming months. Also, the interim tariff judgment as per the order could set a dangerous precedent. If other discoms follow a similar course of action, it will endanger foreign as well as domestic investments, leading to an increase in the share of non-performing assets. In its press release dated 4 July 2019, Ind-Ra had highlighted the risk faced by solar and wind power projects in AP state due to tariff renegotiations and payment delay risks.

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andhra Pradesh

The high court order has given three broad directions – 1) All the issues related to tariff are to be raised with Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) and need to be resolved within six months; 2) A directive has been issued that power curtailment cannot be imposed without followed regulatory processes and giving required notice; 3) Payment of interim tariff at the rate of INR2.44/unit and 2.43/ unit will have to be made for solar and wind projects, respectively. Hopes of immediate resolution of the matter by generators seem to be waning as the matter might not be resolved for at least six more months, as per timeline stipulated in the order, necessitating the need for addition liquidity injection by sponsors into the project or additional working capital lines to fund burgeoning receivables (AP discom has made payments only till the month of July 2018, as per Ind-Ra rated portfolio). Given the seriousness of the situation, lenders might become wary of increasing their exposure to these projects, forcing generators to depend on sponsors or group companies for their funding requirements. Sponsors that are already low on liquidity and have significantly large exposure to AP state discoms might find it increasingly difficult to keep supporting their projects. With respect to the second part of the order, the directive prohibiting arbitrary curtailment is slightly positive, but the actual implementation of the same is unclear.

S. NO.

Since most of these old PPAs do not have any provisions for providing compensation to generators in case of grid curtailment, there is a risk of permanent revenue loss in case some of these projects are not allowed to inject power into the grid. Regarding the third and last part of the order, while these truncated tariffs might be better than an absence of revenues, this certainly would not avert payment defaults by projects in many cases. The interim tariff level suggested in the order seems to be insufficient for the affected projects to ensure timely debt servicing, as per the agency’s estimates. Even the timing of this interim tariff payment remains a question as of now, given the chances of additional litigation on this issue. A total 554MW projects in Ind-Ra’s portfolio that have been directly affected have an average tariff of INR5.50/unit, resulting in an average debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 1.22x. Based on just the interim tariff of INR2.44/2.43 per unit mentioned in the order, none of the projects in Ind-Ra’s portfolio are self-sufficient with respect to debt–servicing, and will have to depend on external support for the same. Any payment delays on account of non-availability of support will adversely affect project lenders (including public sector lenders) and the industry as a whole. In a nutshell, the order has extended the timeline of resolution of matters by at least six more months and has not given enough support to generators for the interim period. The liquidity pressure on the affected projects would not ease in the near term, which is clearly a credit negative for these projects. Ind-Ra had placed the ratings of the below mentioned entities (including entities that are part of obligor co-obligor structure wherein AP is one of the counterparties) on RWN in July 2019. The RWN indicates that the ratings could either be affirmed or downgraded from the existing levels.

ENTITY NAME

CURRENT RATING

Aarohi Solar Private Limited

IND BBB+(CE)/RWN

ACME Jaisalmer Solar Private Limited

IND BBB+(CE)/RWN

Dayanidhi Solar Power Private Limited

IND BBB+(CE)/RWN

Niranjana Solar Energy Private Limited

IND BBB+(CE)/RWN

Vishwatma Solar Energy Private Limited

IND BBB+(CE)/RWN

Mahbubnagar Solar Parks Private Limited1

IND A(CE)/RWN

Polepally Solar Parks Private Limited1

IND A(CE)/RWN

Hindupur Solar Park Private Limited1

IND A(CE)/RWN

Winsol Solar Fields (Polepally) Private Limited1

IND A(CE)/RWN

10.

Bindu Vayu Urja Private Limited2

IND A(CE)/RWN

11.

Mytrah Vayu (Krishna) Private Limited2

IND A(CE)/RWN

12.

Mytrah Vayu (Pennar) Private Limited2

IND A(CE)/RWN

13.

Zemira Renewable Energy Limited

IND BBB/RWN Source : indiaratings

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NOVEMBER- 2019

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For 1 Issue:

o Indian citizens Rs. 200

o International $ 25 / € 20

APAR........................................................................................19

econess energy....................................................................25 EL CAMINO...............................................................................29

For 1 Year (12 issues):

o Indian citizens Rs. 2400

o International $ 300 / € 240

goldi solar........................................................front cover goodwe..........................................................front gatefold GROWATT.........................................................fRONT GATEFOLD

Please Mail the coupon to: Name:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HPL Solar..............................................................................17

Job Title:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

huawei...................................................................Back cover

Department: --------------------------------------------------------------------------Company:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INGETEAM...............................................................................13

Description of the Company: ----------------------------------------------------

INSOLATION............................................................................35

Adress:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INVT.........................................................................................27

City/State/Zip Code:-----------------------------------------------------------------

JINCHEN...........................................................inside back LHS

Country:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mondragon..........................................................................09

Phone:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fax:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOVASYS.................................................................................21

E-Mail. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ODIN........................................................................................31

Web site:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTON SOLAR.......................................................................33

PAYMENT 1.- My Cheque/DD in favour of “FirstSource Energy India Private Limited”

premier energies...................................................Pop up- 07

for Rs……………………………………………………………………

Drawn on………………………………………is enclosed herewith.

RENEWSYS..............................................................................39 rena solar............................................................................11

Date/Signature:

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2.- I will pay by Credit Card

SNEC........................................................................................85

Type:...........................................................................

Name on Card:..............................................................

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Number:.......................................................................

Security Code: ..............................................................

Expiration Date:.............................................................

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Mail this coup on to: First Source Energy India Pvt. Ltd. Subscription Department. 95 C, Sampat Farms, Bicholi Mardana Distt-Indore 452016 Tel. + 91 96441 22268

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NOVEMBER- 2019