EQ March'14 Edition

Volume # 4 | Issue # 3 | March-2014 |

Pages#68 | Rs.5/-

Vikram Solar Showcases Its Expertise In Tamil Nadu Interview - Nimish Jain, Country Manager Jinko Solar Co., Ltd Kerala Draft Grid Interactive Distributed Solar Systems Interview - Himamsu Popuri, CEO Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd. JNNSM PHASE II BATCH 1 and Madhya Pradesh Solar Tender Bidding Results

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

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EDITORIAL Next-Generation Photovoltaic Technologies to Take Center Stage as Solar Expenditures Rebound : IHS Advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies such as diamond wire and n-type substrates will increasingly find their way into mainstream solar manufacturing, especially with capital expenditures set to bounce back this year, according to IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS).

In a move that will coincide with the launch of a new spending cycle within solar circles, manufacturers along the PV supply chain will transition from standardized technologies at present to next-generation mechanisms for solar-related mass production in the near future.

Capital spending will reach an expected $3.4 billion by year-end, IHS believes, after bottoming out in 2013.

“Innovative technologies will be atop the agendas of major solar manufacturers globally now that supply and demand has come to closer alignment,” said Jon Campos, analyst for solar demand at IHS. “While most experts thought that overcapacity issue would remain significantly longer, the fundamental assumptions made by IHS were that the industry would move toward market equilibrium behind increasing demand in the emerging markets, and that PV manufacturers would turn to advanced technologies to compete with traditional forms of energy production—assumptions that are now coming to fruition,” Campos added.

These findings can be found in the report, “PV Manufacturing Technology Report – World 2014,” from the Power & Energy service of IHS. The report delivers an in-depth look into the competitive landscape of the world’s leading solar manufacturing technologies, materials, and cost trends through 2020.

Wafer manufacturers to shift from steel wire to diamond wire With the scale of the solar industry growing, new pressures on driving down costs-per-watt have become more significant. And as the solar shakeout intensified in the last 18 months, manufacturers have also been seeking alternative slicing tools.

The diamond wire market, in particular, is promising, with the shift from steel wire expected to begin this year as the economic landscape of the industry improves and capital expenditures return to the market.

While diamond wire accounted for 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of the marketplace last year, usage will grow to 27.2 GW by 2017 and to 43.1 GW of solar installed capacities by 2020, as shown in the attached figure.

N-type cells to spark growth in monocrystalline market share Solar technology changes will also extend to p-type substrates, which have generally been the solar industry norm. However, significant research and development is being conducted on n-type silicon, shown to have a higher tolerance to common impurities and resulting in high minority carrier diffusion lengths compared to p-type. Furthermore, n-type crystalline does not suffer from the boron-oxygen-related light-induced degradation (LID) that is common on p-type Czochralski silicon.

IHS forecasts that n-type applications will mature and find their way into mainstream manufacturing. N-type will be mostly a monocrystalline technology, growing from 5 percent of total cell production capacity last year to approximately 32 percent by 2020.

CdTe to continue dominating thin-film market With a new capex cycle due in 2014, a slight increase in spending will take place as existing suppliers add capacity. Such a development will benefit thin-film technologies after investments in new thin-film module manufacturing equipment declined in 2013 to their lowest level in five years.

The top two thin-film suppliers, First Solar (CdTe) and Solar Frontier (CIGS), represent currently dominant technologies. Both companies increased their production slightly in 2013, but have not announced any expansions in the near term.

Anand Gupta Editor & CEO

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SOLAR MENA REGION

CONTENTS SOLAR ENERGY

VOLUME 4 Issue # 3

Samujjal Ganguly 16

ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net

Vikram Solar Showcases Its Expertise In Tamil Nadu

Ali Nourai 18

The Fastest Path To Implement Renewables: Distributed Storage

PUBLISHER:

ANAND GUPTA

PRINTER:

ANAND GUPTA

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SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net ARPITA GUPTA arpita.gupta@EQmag.net

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Samujjal Ganguly, Ali Nourai, Richard Fioravanti and Atif Raja, Tseard Zoethout, Ali Nourai, Jillis Raadschelders, Richard Fioravanti, Kapil Maheshwari, Sergio Hurtado, Klaudia Schober, Werner Krumlacher, Saumya Bansal Gupta

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Nuevosol is a turnkey mounting solutions provider with Design, Supply and Installation forming the core portfolio. With over 300 MWs installed experience and another 90 MWs under execution, in 15 states over 50 projects, Nuevosol is experienced in designing and executing a wide range of products for ground mounting, roof mounting and any other specialised mounting. In ground mount Nuevosol has experience in design and installation of structures for modules ranging from 50Wp to 300Wp with a plethora of foundation type. In roof mounting, Nuevosol has executed some of the first MW scale projects for metallic roofs, flat roof and car ports. Nuevosol promises designs which are optimized on multiple fronts to ensure speedy manufacturing and installation and has developed capabilities to supply at a pace of more than 50MW per month and install at 1MW/day.

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Nimish Jain 26

Country Manager

Kapil Maheshwari 28

Reliability And Efficiency of PV Backsheets – Crucial For PV Modules Lifetime Performance

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SOLAR ENERGY Installation of 17,500 nos. of SPV Water Pumping System Within 2 Years In Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar And Other Selected States To Meet The Irrigation Requirements

Maximum flexibility up to 20 kW – the Fronius Symo product range is complete The Easiest Way to Take Part in the Energy Transition: SMA Launches New Micro Inverter

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CEO Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd.

POLICY & REGULATION 36 39

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SOLAR INVERTERS

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Himamsu Popuri 42

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Solutions Based On Power Electronics to Increase Connectivity And Grid Access For Solar Power

QUARTER RESULTS

50 52

EQ BUSINESS & FINANCIAL NEWS

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Sergio Hurtado 30

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Werner Krumlacher

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Danfoss FLX Inverter Series - When Experience Meets Innovation

INTERVIEW

SOLAR PV MANUFACT.

Jinko Solar Co., Ltd.

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SOLAR INVERTERS

SOLAR INVERTERS

INTERVIEW

CONTENTS

Kerala Draft Grid Interactive Distributed Solar Systems MERC Dismisses Reliance Petetion to Purchase Additional Quantum of 250 MW of Solar Power To Offset Non-Solar RPO Exemption from Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) in compliance to directions of APTEL’s order dated 10.4.2013.

In The Matter Of Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation To Be Fulfilled By Kerala State Electricity Board And All Other Licensees In The State Of Kerala.

Madhya Pradesh 100MW Solar Tender Bidding Results JNNSM PHASE II BATCH 1 : 750 MW TENDER BIDDING RESULTS

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Advanced Energy : Increased Global Presence And Completed The Restructuring Accelerated The Revenues SunEdison – Q4 reflected Strong Demand In Its Solar Energy Segment FirstSolar 2013 Q4 Result Trina Solar – Geographical diversification will continue to be a key strategic focus in 2014 Development of 1000 MW Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh

by SECI & APIIC JinkoSolar - Third straight quarter of Profitability

PRODUCTS 58 59 60 61 61 62 63

IBC SOLAR presents new IBC SolStore storage ...

JinkoSolar Launched New Series of Smart ...

BenQ Solar Presents World’s Lightest Mono-Crystalline ...

PVR-B90 bendingunit For cross connectors (ribbons)...

Powador TL3 series from KACO new energy fully ...

Power-One to present energy storage system REACT ...

Future-Proof and SelfSufficient: SUNNY ISLAND ...

EQ March 2014

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& EQBusiness Financial National Solar Energy Federation Of India Meets Union Minister GOI MNRE: India and Argentina Dr.Farooq Abdullah to Strengthen Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy

N a t i o n al S o l a r En e r g y Federation of India ( NSEFI ) delegation led by Pranav Mehta, Chairman and Deepak Gupta, Director General met the Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah at New Delhi on Wednesday, 19th February,2014.

The delegation stressed the urgent need for immediate disbursal of the pending subsidy to MNRE Channel Partners for Off Grid SPV as also Solar Thermal, which if not done will undermine the cause of the Mission. The Minister agreed and assured the delegation that every possible effort will be made to provide the necessary funds so that more ambitious programmes can be undertaken.

Further, NSEFI highlighted the fact that there is a need for upscaling the targets and achievements and maintaining the momentum of Solar growth especially in the context of the problem the country is facing in the conventional Power sector and the substantial outgo of foreign exchange and large subsidy burden in the consumption of fossil fuel. In this regad, NSEFI mentioned 6

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the

plan on this model.

Following suggestions which require attention :

The Minister welcomed these suggestions and mentioned that Ministry and the Federation will work together to prepare the Policy and Programme in this regard.Shri Deepak Gupta, Director General,highlighted the fact that NSEFI is an umbrella organization of solar developers, manufacturers, MNRE Channel Partners, EPC Contractors, Component Manufacturers, NGOs, Service Providers and all stake holders of solar energy in India and not confined to some single segment of the Industry.

The meeting ended with a group photograph and thanks to the Minister for his valuable time.

• Development of Solar Park policy to assist the State Governments and start the development of such Solar Parks across the country for which land needs to be identified forthwith. This will allow a proper development of evacuation infrastructure and land availability.

• Solar Grid power development with bundling arrangement of tariff with thermal power.

The NSEFI delegation also emphasized that there should be a special mission to support large scale installation of solar agricultural pumps for irrigation purposes throughout the country.

This will provide financial relief to State Utilities by reducing huge susbsidy burden and improve their rating.Similarly Solar mini grids in remote unelectrified and poorly electrified areas of the country needs to be promoted in a big way. NSEFI suggested that Biomass – CSP hybrid needs to be promoted and that the Ministry should consider a pilot

India and Argentina have agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of renewable energy. In a meeting with a delegation led by Dr. Antonio Bonfatti, Governor of Santa Fe. Rosario Province, Argentina Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy conveyed the willingness of the Government of India to enhance bilateral ties and economic cooperation with Argentina especially in the field of renewable energy.

Collaboration in sectors of biodiesel and possibilities of future commerce and business in biofuel were also discussed. Dr. Antonio Bonfatti agreed that the two countries should use their full potential to enhance cooperation and bilateral ties.

Hon’ble Minister informed the visiting dignitaries about the National Policy on Biofuels which was announced in December, 2009 and endeavors to bring about development and utilization of indigenous feedstock for production of biofuels. He highlighted the Indian approach to biofuels which is based solely on nonfood feedstock to be raised on degraded or wastelands that are not suited to agriculture, or through use of wastes and residues, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel and food security. Dr. Abdullah also informed the visiting delegation that the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme is currently being implemented by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) with the overall aim of achieving on EBP of 5%.

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& EQBusiness Financial Gujarat CM Narendra Modi unveils one of Breakthrough in Hydrogen Production world’s largest 151 (DC) MW solar project Provides the Cheapest Fuel Source, Game Changer for the Global Energy Market in MP Welspun Energy Ltd (WEL), one of India’s leading power generating companies , formally inaugurated its 151 (DC) MW solar project – commissioning it 8 months ahead of schedule

, located in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh . Being the one of the largest solar projects in the world and given the project’s contribution towards the nation’s energy security, Chief Minister of Gujarat , Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated theproject along with Hon. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan .

WEL, through its subsidiary , Welspun Solar Madhya Pradesh Private Limited (WS MPPL) had won the project against 12 qualified bidders . It is also the largest solar power project awarded to any industry player in India and will enable powering of 6,24,000 homes in Madhya Pradesh. It will help mitigate2, 16,372tonnes of carbon emission annually. Gujarat Chief Minister , Shri Narendra Modi said, “ Our nation has set ambitious goals to achieve energy security through renewable sources . Projects like these are a perfect example of what should be done to achieve these goals. Using clean energy in the present will help secure a greener world for the future generations – and this is a priority for us. With the ever increasing power crisis and rising 8

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prices of coal and gas, we must tie together the power of wind and sun to produce electricity for the commercial and household use.Creating clean energy infra structure will, in turn, help create employment opportunities for people, h e a l t h y competition in the market and the community at large will benefit in several ways.

” Shri Shivraj Sing h Chouhan , Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh , said, “ Climate change is generally accepted as being the greatest environmental challenge facing our world today.

Together with the need to ensure long - term security of energy supply, it imposes an obligation on all of us to consider ways of reducing our carbon footprint and sourcing more of our energy from renewable resources. The government has responded by setting legally binding targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 and such projects will help achieve those targets.

This is a milestone project in MP that sets the standard for other industry players to develop such large scale projects across the nation. ” This project is a role model for solar projects in India. It is part of government’s continued efforts to increase clean energy adoption. Further, few UMPPs are also in pipeline across various parts of the country to bring sustainable energy to the forefront. In line with the government solar initiatives, Welspun Energy aims to develop 1750 GW of solar and wind power projects by 2017.

Menlo Park based technology firm Solar Hydrogen Trends, Inc. announced a breakthrough in hydrogen production that will revolutionize the energy market with the world’s least expensive fuel source – hydrogen. Their invention is the world’s fi rst reactor for the production of unlimited hydrogen (patent pending) and provides clean fuel that can be generated anywhere across the globe.

Economic Impact Solar Hydrogen Trends’ reactor provides high-yield hydrogen cheaply and efficiently, making 1 kg of hydrogen from 1 liter of water at the cost of only 25 cents! According to the US Department of Energy, 1 kg of hydrogen has the same energy content as 1 gallon (3.2 kg) of gasoline (download http://www. hydrogen.energy.gov/permitting/ pdfs/43061.pdf). With this 25 cent price tag, 1kg of hydrogen equaling the same energy as 1 gallon of gasoline is an unprecedented breakthrough for the US and World Economy.

Environmental Impact Hydrogen is an extremely effective alternative to fossil fuels as the fuel does not produce any harmful byproducts (its main byproduct being water vapor).

Current electricity production relies on pollutants through dangerous fuels including coal, natural gas and nuclear reactors.

Coal and natural gas contribute to climate change, already manifesting through alarming weather patterns. Nuclear is simply deadly: One needs look no further than Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi as proof.

World leaders, scientists, experts and citizens understand that there is far too much reliance on oil for energy, another major pollutant.

Global Energy Breakthrough It is widely agreed that the USA

needs is another breakthrough in energy with magnitude of Manhattan project. This breakthrough has occurred and will change the landscape of energy generation over the course of the next decade and into the distant future. Jack Aganyan and Konstantine Balakiryan, Founders of Solar Hydrogen Trends commented “The world is looking to the United States for leadership in this field. Our hydrogen reactor is one of the most significant inventions of the 21st Century that will positively and permanently improve our world with unprecedented flexibility in low cost energy production.

Kirill Gichunts, a venture capital investor, said “Solar Hydrogen Trends is on track to be the most valuable start-up company this decade, and will become the largest company by market cap coming out of Silicon Valley. If used to fuel cars, the hydrogen reactor will save 90% over gasoline.” Kirill further commented that “the hydrogen reactor coupled with CHP technology (fuel cell or turbine) will bring energy generation to industrial and consumer clients and slash the price per kWh by over 50% -- saving hundreds of billions by avoiding the grid distribution.”

The Impossible Becomes Possible The hydrogen reactor actually turns 1 liter of water into 1kg of hydrogen! While this flies in the face of today’s basic science where even a 5th grader knows that 1 liter of water contains 111.11 grams of hydrogen and 888.89 grams of oxygen - - nevertheless, numerous performance tests, including Airkinetics Inc., a prominent EPA-certified national emissions testing specialist, measured the output reactor at 50 ACFM with 93.1% Hydrogen content.

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& EQBusiness Financial Jakson Group Eyes Rs. 600 crore revenue in FY 2017 from Solar Projects

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lar P

VP

ow e r Jakson Group, Pl an t, Ba India’s leading power p, R a ja s th solutions company, recently unveiled an blueprint to up revenue share in its total additional earnings from solar business. As part of its Rs. 600 crore strategy, the company is targeting revenue by 2017. The company is of Rs. 600 crore by March 2017 through currently implementing 10 MW solar expanding its solar power production (IPP), project in Bundelkhand region, Uttar mobile & containerised solar gensets and Pradesh, with an investment of Rs. 80 EPC portfolio. The company also plans crore. to increase its solar business presence in Jakson has state-of-the-art manufacturing overseas market primarily in Middle East facility in Greater Noida (NCR) region to and Africa. manufacture solar products. The plant is Jakson is already getting strong response for expected to manufacture 5000 units per its stand alone solar mobile & containerised gensets. Jakson recently introduced India’s Containerised Solar Generator first environment friendly Solar Gensets as part of its plan to launch innovative solar products.

annum of the current range of solar products besides having the capacity to produce another 5000 units per annum of new products which shall be added to the offerings from Jakson in due course. The company is in the process of setting up new dealers and distributions network to market these new products in India and Overseas.

Apart from this, the company plans to enter into Indian Defence Sector with a vision to become an integral part of Indigenization drive started by Ministry of Defence. Jakson will offer its innovative solar product line in the defence sector for their power needs at remote locations.

Mr. Sundeep Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Jakson Group, “We are very optimistic about the future of our solar business vertical and we are moving steadily to achieve our desired target. We at Jakson Group believe in technological innovations which are future ready, efficient and environment friendly. We are hoping to cross our revenue targets by 2017 through our Solar Business Channel.”

Mobile Solar Generator

The company has commissioned its first 20 MW solar power plant at BAP, Jodhpur District, Rajasthan in February, 2013 with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The company plans to further expand the capacity from 20 MW to 100 MW with an investment of

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& EQBusiness Financial India: EUR 200 million loan for renewable ADB Headquarters Switches to 100% energy and energy efficiency Renewable Energy The European Investment Bank is providing a long-term loan of EUR 200 million to the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to help finance projects in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector in the country.

EIB Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez Arza and Shri Debashish Majumdar, Chairman and Managing Director of IREDA, signed the loan agreement in Delhi today.EIB Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez stressed that “the Framework Loan will make long-term loans available to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in India, a priority for the Bank’s lending activity” and highlighted “the excellent cooperation with IREDA in this operation.”

Ambassador of the European Union to India, Dr João Cravinho, st ated: “This agreement significantly strengthens an important dimension of our relationship with India, and it opens up new perspectives for cooperation between the EU and India in a sector that is of great interest for both. The private sector is the global engine of growth and the primary source of new investments and the EU is committed to encouraging such investments in India.”The Framework Loan will significantly contribute to the EU-India Strategic Partnership in the area of climate change, fostering the development of renewable energy and the efficient use of energy. It will also contribute to covering energy demand and thus to economic growth and development in India.

the production of energy from renewable sources and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other airborne pollutants.

The project schemes will be identified and presented by IREDA. The EIB will perform due diligence to ensure that all projects are economically and fi nancially viable, technically adequate and in compliance with the Bank’s social and environmental standards and Guide to Procurement.

The EIB loan would provide long-term financing, which will enable IREDA to extend longer-term loans. This will bolster the financial structure of the renewable energy and energy effi ciency projects, as the development of this kind of investment requires substantial financing with long maturities appropriate to the economic life of the project. The longterm loan will be reimbursed in several instalments over the next 20 years. The EIB finance will cover up to 50% of the total project cost.This loan is being provided under the EUR 4.5 billion Energy Sustainability and Security of Supply Facility. This is the EIB’s seventh operation in India where it started operations in 1993. It is also the Bank’s first lending operation with IREDA, the government agency funding only RE and EE projects.

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) headquarters in Manila is now meeting all of its energy needs from renewable sources, following a geothermal power supply agreement with AdventEnergy Inc., a licensed retail electricity supplier of Aboitiz Power.

The headquarters is now powered by 100% renewable energy generated by geothermal plants in Tiwi in Albay province and Makiling-Banahaw in Laguna province, both of which are on the main Philippine island of Luzon, in addition to existing onsite solar power generation.

“As an institution we are strongly committed to expanding the use of renewable energy across Asia and the Pacific, so it is only fitting that we walk the talk in our own headquarters,” said ADB Vice President Bruce Davis at a ceremony in ADB headquarters. “This agreement will allow us to cut our annual corporate carbon footprint by nearly 50%, with an emission reduction of more than 9,500

tons of CO2 equivalent.”

The supply contract with AdventEnergy will see ADB purchase an average of 1.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a month. This will be supplemented by about 50,000 kWh generated monthly from ADB’s rooftop solar panels.

These two sources will meet the entire energy requirements of the headquarters building, where more than 2,600 staff and consultants work each day.

It also means ADB will no longer purchase electricity directly from the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), although it will continue to use the company’s distribution network. The move follows ADB’s decision to take advantage of electricity reforms in the Philippines which allow large users to choose their power supplier. The contract with AdventEnergy followed a competitive bidding process. It was selected as it was the only one to offer a large portion of its electricity generated from renewable sources.

The proposed Framework Loan will be a multi-investment scheme that will bring economic benefits to the region through 10

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& EQBusiness Financial Solar PV Industry to Transition to Supply- Rays Power Infra launches solar park in Driven Market in 2014, According to NPD MP Solarbuzz Over the past three years, solar photovoltaic (PV) installed system prices, module prices, and module production costs have all fallen by more than 50%, while a shakeout of uncompetitive PV cell manufacturers has caused the number of suppliers to decline from 250 in 2010 to 150 in 2013. According to the latest edition of the NPD Solarbuzz Marketbuzz report, as a result of these falling prices, manufacturing consolidation, and a more balanced supplydemand picture, PV demand will continue to grow and the solar industry will shift from a demand-constrained market into a classic supply-driven market in 2014.

“Until recently the size of the PV industry each year was constrained by deployment levels across individual endmarkets, with global forecasting performed by adding demand from each country,” said Michael Barker, senior analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. “Ultimately 2014 year-end demand will be determined by how much product can be produced and shipped, analogous to a classic supplydriven market environment.”

The d eman d - cons trained environment of the past few years was a catalyst behind the industry’s over-capacity and oversupply problems that hindered capacity utilization rates, and resulted in capital expenditure declining to an eight-year low in 2013. Demand during 2013 was driven primarily by the booming Asian market, led by China and Japan, which are the top two markets globally. Adding in the United States, the third largest market, the top three countries accounted for almost 60% of

total annual demand in 2013.

“Looking at the glob al segmentation of the endmarket demand in 2014, it is important again to consider the cumulative demand that is likely to be shipped into China, Japan, and the United States, rather than the specific number of gigawatts in each of these countries,” according to Barker.

“A shortfall at any given time, in any one of these countries, will likely result in an uptick in demand from the other two.”

For example, any demand downturn this year in the United States, arising from the current investigation by the US International Trade Commission against China and Taiwan, may prompt the Chinese government to increase domestic demand, in order to absorb excess supply from its local manufacturers and enable them to maintain high factory utilization rates.

“The solar PV markets in China, Japan, and the United States are characterized by strong PV project pipelines, flexible and innovative financing vehicles, and proactive government policies that can be adapted to drive short-term demand upside,” added Finlay Colville, vicepresident of NPD Solarbuzz.

“Understanding the changing supply dynamics into each of these countries during 2014 will represent a key tactical challenge for all module suppliers serving the PV industry this year.”

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In a bid to revolutionize the solar power sector, Rays Power Infra, the largest private solar park owner in the country, has announced the launch of solar park in the state of Madhya Pradesh.The announcement

Rays Power Infra has already popularized the concept of solar parks in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh by offering the lowest cost of electricity. Solar parks have become tremendously successful benefitting

was made at the recently held Solar Development Summit in Bhopal in which Mr. Ketan Mehta from Rays Power Infra was a key speaker.

large industrial houses and contributing substantially to the local economy.

The development of solar energy, which is a renewable and sustainable source of energy, will have long-term impact on the state’s economy. Madhya Pradesh is blessed with plenty of sunshine and vast barren lands, and the establishment of a solar park will hugely benefit the state as businesses will be able to leverage world-class facilities with ready-to-move infrastructure.

The launch of the 50 MW solar park is significant as it will contribute towards the state’s power generation capacity. More importantly, the initiative will set new benchmarks in generating power in a sustainable manner.

Commenting on the launch,Mr. Ketan Mehta, Director, Rays Power Infra Pvt Ltd said, “Rays Power Infra has harnessed solar power and made it available to large number of industrial houses in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh by setting up solar parks. We want to replicate the model and bring our expertise in harnessing renewable energy for commercial purposes in a sustainable manner to the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The Madhya Pradesh government is bullish on renewable energy projects and we are excited to take up this opportunity. We are committed to the development of solar energy in the state.”

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& EQBusiness Financial $350 Million ADB Loan to Help Madhya ACME Solar commissions 25 MW Solar PV Plant in Madhya Pradesh Pradesh Better Meet Power Needs The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a $350 million loan for selective transmission and distribution system improvements critical for meeting the growing demand of power in Madhya Pradesh.

The loan agreement for the Madhy a Prad esh Power Transmission and Distribution System Improvement Project was signed by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, in the Ministry of Finance and M. Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission on behalf of ADB. Rajesh Chaurasia, Deputy Secretary, signed the project agreements for the Government of Madhya Pradesh along with senior officials from state distribution and transmission companies.

“Despite impressive network gains in recent years, demand for power in Madhya Pradesh is outstripping supply, and the quality and reliability of electricity – especially in rural areas – needs further improvements,” said Ms. Kho. “The project will help increase capacity and operational efficiency in the electricity transmission and distribution system in Madhya Pradesh.”

The project will carry out physical upgrades to increase capacity and deliver power more efficiently.

It will fund about 1,800 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and more than 3,100 circuit kilometers of distribution lines, as well as building or upgrading transmission and distribution substations.

“The loan will help improve reliability of electricity supply 12

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in Madhya Pradesh and boost efforts to provide good quality power 24 hours a day,” said Mr. Mitash.

Madhya Pradesh, whose economy is growing at a quicker rate than the national average, is expected to see its demand for electricity rise by about 11% a year between fiscal years 2013 and 2017, resulting in a potential transmission and distribution capacity gap of about 20%.

The mismatch between supply and demand has caused regular load shedding in the past, and currently only about two-thirds of all households are connected to the system.

Training and other support will be given to staff of the Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company, as well as three state distribution companies, to strengthen their management capabilities and to make the companies more financially su s t ain a ble an d s er vic e oriented.

The project will build on previous ADB investments in the state’s power sector including transmission and distribution assets totaling more than $1.3 billion since 2001. Along with ADB’s loan from ordinary capital resources, the Government of India will provide $150 million for a total investment cost of $500 million. The project will run for about four and a half years with an estimated completion date of December 2018.

ACME Solar, one of India’s leading solar power producer and a joint venture between ACME Cleantech and the renewable energy arm of French state-run electricity utility Électricité de France S.A. major EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN) and EREN, Luxembourg, announced the commencement of commercial operations at its 25 megawatts (MW) solar power plant in Khilchipur, Madhya Pradesh, thus increasing its generation capacity to 42.5 MW across a total of three commissioned power plants.

“The commissioning of the Khilchipur Solar Power Plant positions ACME Solar as the leader in the field of solar power generation. With partners like EDF EN and EREN, ACME Solar will be at the forefront of serving the nation through higher uptake of renewable energy in the country.” said Mr Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Chairman, ACME Group.The power generated from this solar plant will be evacuated through a 132 KV line linked to project

site and supply electricity to the state of Madhya Pradesh under the PPA signed with MP Power Management Company Limited in October 2012. ACME Solar commissioned the solar power project in Madhya Pradesh in record time of 150 days starting from foundation stone laying to electricity generation.

With the combination of the expertise of EDF EN as a world leader in the field of renewable energy, experience and expertise in project financing of EREN and the prowess of ACME Solar in developing and structuring solar projects, ACME Solar will be at the forefront of the renewable energy sector in the country.The Solar Power Plant is using Solar PV Technology and has over 1,65,000 Solar PV modules mounted on steel structures, which are erected on concrete foundations.ACME Solar is currently operating 42.5 MW solar power plants in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and is in process of commissioning another 25 MW in Odisha.

New IEA’ s report: Positive conclusions on power system integration of variable renewables The report released today by the IEA sheds light on the economics of the integration of variable renewables as well as on key power system features that can facilitate a cost - effective energy transition .As a member of the advisory stakeholders’ board, EPIA - the European Photovoltaic Industry Association - welcomes the report’s conclusions. “ This report rightly shows that the costs of renewables - based power systems can be minimised

by adapting some planning and operational procedures ” , said Giorgia Concas , EPIA Policy Advisor . “ This way, photovoltaics and wind would bring higher benefi ts to the system ”, she continued. EPIA fully agrees with the IEA’s conclusion that power systems hosting growing shares of photovoltaics should feature short - term wholesale markets liquidity and allow for short - trading blocks as well as close - to - real - time schedule updates on wholesale and balancing markets .

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& EQBusiness Financial Planning Mexico Boosts Its Global Solar Appeal, Now No.3 Behind South G O I Commission : IndiaAfrica and Turkey Mexico in the first quarter raised incentive schemes, is deemed coming online. But to avoid the US Energy Dialogue its attractiveness profile in the global photovoltaic (PV) market to close in on reigning leaders South Africa and Turkey, while the Philippines is now in the top 10 among the most appealing PV markets for the first time ever, according to new analysis from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS).

Approximately 300 megawatts (MW) of solar projects are currently under construction in Mexico, of which 100 MW broke ground in the last quarter. The increased construction activity has pushed up Mexico’s solar attractiveness index to 43 from 40, making it No. 3 overall. A total of 327 MW is expected to be installed in Mexico this year, IHS predicts.

Outranking Mexico are South Africa in fi rst place, with an index score of 67, and Turkey in the runner-up position, with a score of 45. In fourth place is Israel with a score of 42, followed by Switzerland with 40, as shown in the attached table. Last year’s No. 3 player, Romania, has fallen out of the top five and is now in ninth place, after solar subsidies there were cut in half in January.

The IHS attractiveness index for PV markets rates the allure to prospective investors, developers and manufacturers of emerging solar markets in countries throughout the world. Countries are rated in four categories, including macroeconomic climate, potential market size, project profitability and pipeline maturity.

Assessed on a quarterly basis, the attractiveness index takes into account 17 parameters within the four areas above.

Profitability, as determined by power prices and the pull of

the most important factor for near-term attractiveness.

Overall, the resulting index gives an indication of the emerging solar markets where current conditions support near and mid-term growth, with the rankings subject to fluctuation each quarter as policy schemes evolve and pipelines mature.

For the Philippines, the country is seeing 25 MW of construction at present, to be joined in the next few months by another 42 MW via signed power-purchase agreements (PPA). With some 117 MW to be added in the Philippines this year, up from just 9 MW in 2013, the Philippines will figure in the top 10 of the most attractive emerging solar markets. The country’s index currently sits at 38.6, up from 35.3.

“IHS sees signs of an increasingly dynamic PV environment that is boosting the attractiveness index of both Mexico and the Philippines,” said Josefin Berg, senior analyst for solar demand at IHS. These findings are contained in the report, “IHS Emerging Solar PV Markets Tracker Q1 2014,” from the Power & Energy service and Solar Demand research area of IHS Technology. The total pipeline for the 40 countries covered by the report will amount to 43 gigawatts (GW) when construction is finished.

At present 1.7 GW are under construction, but these markets together will install more than 5 GW of solar capacity by the end of this year.

Chile heats up—but at what cost?

In Chile, years of development are now resulting in PV projects

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tough competition brought about

by PPAs, many developers are opting to sell at spot market prices, particularly in highpriced nodes of the grid, Berg added.

“IHS is flagging it as risky that a too-high concentration of PV projects under merchant schemes will suppress future power prices,” Berg remarked.

“Close to 1 GW of PV projects is looking for financing in Chile, and revenues could face risks even if only a third of those are connected to the same nodes and linked to spot prices.”

In comparison, bilateral PPAs with electricity consumers are a safer option to guarantee revenue. But the competition here is fi erce—not only with solar but also with wind.

Emerging markets are not without risk Despite the attractiveness posed by emerging solar markets as areas with potential, the markets can be girded with regulatory risk, Berg noted. This is similar to apparently stable incentive schemes in Western solar markets that get upended because of market factors or other variables, such as the decision by a country to end an ongoing subsidy.

Among newly attrac tive PV markets, Puerto Rico is renegotiating signed PPAs for 1 GW of solar capacity, but only 167 MW have come out of the process so far with new contracts.

Signs of caution are also coming from Ecuador, where licenses were revoked in December after contract breaches for 112 MW of projects granted earlier via feed-in tariffs.

India and the United States agreed to fur ther work collaboratively on energy sector.

At the India-US Energy dialogue in New Delhi today, both the countries agreed to promote scientific cooperation, research & development for greater technological innovation and for deployment of environmentallyfriendly technologies and products. Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr.Montek Singh Alhuwalia and the United States Department of Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz after participating in the Dialogue, held a press interaction in New Delhi today. They hoped that the Dialogue will lead to businessto - business collaboration of both the countries. The expected expanding trade and sound regulatory frameworks would emerge to deliver energy solutions for sustainable growth of economies of both the countries for benefi t of their people.

Five of the six working groups affiliated with the Energy Dialogue (Coal, Oil & Gas, New Technologies and Renewable Energy, Power and Energy Efficiency, and Sustainable Growth) have held meetings over the last five days at the Co-chairs level including experts/officials.

U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and development Centre had also brought up issues relating to progress on solar energy, advanced bio-fuels and energy efficiency of buildings under PACE-R.Partnership to Advance Clean Energy PACEResearch & Development (PACE-R) has been working on research and development projects on solar energy, Building Energy Efficiency and Second generation bio-fuels. A number of consortia from Industry, R&D and Education Institutions have been formed to take up the projects in these areas.

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& EQBusiness Financial Danfoss / SMA Solar Technology Tie-Up Creates Solar Inverter Industry’s Strongest Player but Challenges Remain Ash Sharma, Senior Director – Solar Research, IHS Today’s announcement that Danfoss would sell its entire solar inverter business line to SMA and in return acquire a 20% share of SMA for just over €300m highlights the on-going consolidation of the European solar manufacturing business in a declining domestic market.

The tie-up does not come as a huge surprise given the struggles the industry currently faces as it deals with a shrinking European market, rapid price declines but conversely booming overseas demand.

Combined, SMA and Danfoss held an 25% share of the global solar inverter market in 2013 (down from 35% in 2012) and more than 35% of the European market. This tie-up undoubtedly strengthens their position but also provides SMA with other benefits.Firstly, the alliance will open up a cheaper supply of components to SMA via Danfoss’ much greater purchasing power.

This alone will drive down SMA’s bill of materials; if in addition SMA has access to Danfoss’ manufacturing facilities this will further allow SMA to drive down costs using Danfoss’ economies of scales. This will become even more critical to manufacturers as

government incentives for solar continue to drop and competition from low-cost Chinese vendors intensifies.

Secondly, this deal allows SMA to take advantage of Danfoss’ design and manufacturing expertise. Technically, solar inverters are very similar in design to drives which Danfoss has manufactured for more than 40 years and according to IHS was the 5th largest supplier of these products globally in 2012. Danfoss’ background in the drives industry allowed it to very quickly make advances in the solar inverter industry and was one of the first suppliers of three-phase string inverters which revolutionised commercial solar projects. This experience and know-how will likely prove incredibly valuable as SMA seeks to advance inverter designs whilst driving down costs.

Thirdly, as the solar industry globalises and new end-markets appear in a vast number of emerging countries, suppliers of solar products will need to have a global footprint, not just for sales but perhaps more importantly for aftersales service. Whilst SMA was already the largest solar inverter

supplier prior to this deal with a presence in most of the key markets, this deal will further strengthen this position. Danfoss has more than 23,000 employees in 51 countries and will allow SMA to more effectively serve the quickly developing emerging markets of Latin America, Middle East and Asia.

Having an investor such as Danfoss holding a 20% share, with a no buy/sell lock-up period for two years will also provide SMA with some much needed, albeit short-term stability amid fears of other European suppliers facing bankruptcy and acquisition. Despite all of these advantages that this deal presents to SMA, it will undoubtedly face on-going challenges: There is considerable overlap between SMA’s and Danfoss’ inverter business. Both were largely focussed on the European market with 55-60% of their 2013 business coming from this region. They also have a very similar product line-up, both with particular strength in three-phase string products for commercial and utility-scale PV installations.

Despite access to Danfoss’

enhanced procurement, SMA will still face intense challenges from low-cost suppliers from China who benefit both from low-cost components sourced in China and also huge economies of scale given their booming domestic market. Furthermore, this tie-up with Danfoss will not improve SMA’s position in the China and Japan solar markets which will account for nearly 50% of all PV installations in 2014. In the past two years this had been one of the biggest weaknesses of SMA as it had little presence in these booming markets.

Unfortunately Danfoss has also had limited success in China and Japan and this alliance is unlikely to help them see a significant improvement in addressing these important markets.

Danfoss’ solar inverter business, that was almost entirely focused on Europe struggled in 2013 as its core markets dwindled.

Whilst it was ranked as the 5th largest supplier of solar inverters in 2012, it fell to outside the top 20 in 2013 according to IHS’ latest analysis. Similarly, SMA’s global share of the inverter market fell from 30% in 2012 to around 23% in 2013.

Record - year for photovoltaic markets in 2013, Asia taking over the leading role According to preliminary figures 1 gathered by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and presented today during its 9 th Market Workshop in Brussels, the world added at least 37 GW of new PV capacity in 2013. The global PV cumulative installed capacity reached an impressive 136 .7GW at the end of last year , which represents a 35% increase compared to the year before .

The se globally positive figures result from a much qualifi ed situation at regional level , with 14

EQ March 2014

Europe losing its leading role in the PV market in 2013 . While it concentrated more than 70% of the world’s new PV installations in 2011 and still around 59 % a year later , with more than 10 GW of new capacity installed in 2013, Europe only accounted for 28% of the world’ s market . Dynamic Asian markets, led

by China and Japan ( around 11 .3 GW and 6.9 GW respectively ) , partially explain this trend reversal, as the Asia - Pacific region represented 57 % of last year’s global market. Such trend

is expected to continue, with China experiencing a robust and sustained growth which should enable the country to remain the number - one market in the coming years. Conversely, the relative slowdown of European PV markets should not be underestimated. “ In a number of European countries, harsh support reduction, retrospective measures and unplanned changes to regulatory frameworks that badly affect investors’ confidence and PV investments viability have led to a significant

market decrease ”, said Gaëtan Masson, EPIA Head of Business Intelligence. This is particularly the case for Italy - third global market in 2012 - which experienced a 70% market decrease compared to the year before . Germany – formerly the top global market - also experienced in 2013 a steep PV market decrease (57%decrease compared to 2012) , originating from intentional regulatory changes .

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& EQBusiness Financial IBC SOLAR presents new IBC SolStore storage systems with additional backup box for stand-by power supply IBC SOLAR AG, a global leader in photovoltaic systems, now makes using solar energy storage units even easier and more efficient: the new IBC SolStore systems are now available as complete systems and are supplied with all components required for installation, including battery inverters. Type and size of the battery can be selected individually so that installers are able to adapt the storage system to end customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requests. In addition, the integrated energy management system enables system operators to control their targeted consumption and use solar energy as efficiently as possible. The new IBC SolStore Backup-Box ensures proper energy supply from the storage unit even in case of power cuts.

The new complete sets are available with four different battery systems: two lead gel models with 8 or 16 kWh, one lithium ion model with 5 kWh or a lead gel battery rack with selectable capacity. All storage systems are available as single-phase or three-phase solutions, and they are supplied as complete systems including battery inverters as well as all required additional components and an energy management system for targeted consumer control. As a result, system operators can make ideal use of the solar energy and increase self-consumption.

Based on the system principle, both ins t allers and end customers will benefi t to the same extent. The installer

receives a complete set ready for installation with perfectly coordinated components that can be used immediately. However, end customers also benefit from the particularly fast and costeffective installation. Thanks to its modular design principle, the IBC SolStore system now offers even more combinations allowing installers to adapt the storage solutions precisely to the respective end customer application.

Customers who choose a lead gel battery have the option to integrate the new IBC SolStore Backup-Box, which guarantees a stand-by power function for IBC SolStore storage systems. In case of power cuts, the optional component automatic ally switches to backup electricity

within five seconds and supplies consumers inside the building with energy. The backup box is easy to install, small-sized and can simply be retrofitted to existing plants.

IBC SOLARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storage technology scores with a long service life, high cycle stability and operational stability. The four new complete sets IBC SolStore L1, IBC SolStore L3, IBC SolStore XL1 and IBC SolStore XL3 are now available via IBC Solar Premium Partners. End customers in Germany may also apply for state funding for all storage systems, amounting to a maximum of 30 percent of acquisition costs. The sets have been approved for use not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Denmark and Belgium.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Vikram Solar Showcases Its Expertise In Tamil Nadu Samujjal Ganguly, Vice President - Project Vikram Solar Pvt Ltd

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ikram Solar, the Kolkata based internationally acclaimed Tier 1 enterprise which specializes in manufacturing of PV solar modules & is an established EPC contractor, installed a 5 MW solar power facility for JVS Exports, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, under REC mechanism in the month of September,2013.

JVS Exports is a leading manufacturer and exporter of home textiles. The customers of JVS include the likes of Wal-Mart, Lifestyle, Kohlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Reliance Industries Limited.

The Project is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in a place called Panayur , about 80 kms from the city of Madurai.

The plant is situated on a 25 hectare of land with a installed capacity of 5 MW. The project is a grid connected solar power plant using polycrystalline solar technology installed on a fixed tilt hot dip galvanized structure and is connected to 33 KV MUTHURAMALIMGATURAM SUBSTATION.

JVS Exports has in the past diversified their investments into wind power sector & is the owner of several wind projects across India. Later they entered into the solar power generation industry. This very project was executed in a record time of 75 days from the time of receiving of order to commissioning of the project, which is itself a major achievement in the history of solar sector in India. Vikram Solar Projects Pvt. Ltd. was entrusted with full responsible for supplying the solar photovoltaic modules and other associated equipments including designing of the plant, procurement of BOS, installation and commissioning of the facility followed by O&M. Extensive research work & detailed

feasibility study was done before the beginning of the project. The whole work was done at a time when monsoon season was at its peak in the region. There were many obstacles as the site was placed in a very remote location with almost zero availability of construction power facility.

The extensive usage of small solar captive plants installed during the construction phase & diesel generator sets was a necessity to continue with the work. Also we had to arrange for water, needed during the time of the construction of the plant as the available underground water wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t suitable for construction. And in addition to this, the black cotton soil of the area posed the greatest hindrance during the rains to build

The project uses a state of the art design with highest efficiency poly silicon PV modules manufactured in India, best of the class grid connected 630 KVA invertors built on German design & manufactured in India & 250 Wp polycrystalline modules.

The plant has got the power transformers manufactured by internationally renowned companies with Online Tab Changers (OLTC) to intelligently & accurately monitor the grid & subsequently optimize the energy harvesting.

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EQ March 2014

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the structure of the plant. It took a great team effort, immaculate planning & great execution to complete the whole project in just over a span of 2 months.

energy, the vision of Mr. M. Britto, MD of JVS

Currently, this project is helping preserve the non renewable resources by generating power naturally and has immensely helped the locals of the area by generating employment for them. The concept of promoting green

award Vikram Solar to execute the project

Exports , is very much in place through the installation & commissioning of this project.

According to Mr M. Britto, the decision to was taken only after carefully evaluating the production, technical, & execution capabilities of the company & its past track record. Mr Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD & CEO, Vikram

Solar, commented on the occasion,â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are honoured to get an opportunity to install our solar power plant there. We are thankful to JVS Exports for giving us an opportunity to showcase our expertise in the state of Tamil Nadu.â&#x20AC;?

SO L A R M ENA REGI O N

Huge arrays of solar rooftop panels in the Middle East

The Fastest Path To Implement Renewables: Distributed Storage Ali Nourai, Jillis Raadschelders, Richard Fioravanti and Atif Raja. Edited by Tseard Zoethout

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magine an Arab country that has successfully reached its renewable energy targets by 2020. Then, all of a sudden, during a hot summer night when stable energy supply is essential to keep humidity and temperatures within limits, city lights go out and air conditioning in residential buildings start to falter. That might happen in some areas when this country, due to pressure on its governmental budgets for energy and water, doesn’t pay enough attention to distributed energy storage, a critical yet affordable tool to secure a smooth transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

The Fastest Path To Implement Renewables: Distributed Storage Recently, Middle Eastern countries are embarking on a sustainable energy path. Saudi Arabia is taking the lead with ambitious targets for renewable energy generation.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also following a strategy of increasing renewable energy in its energy mix. Recently, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have launched tenders for two large-scale solar plants, each 100 Megawatts in size, while Abu Dhabi will submit a recommendation for a solar rooftop panel programme for 500 MW this year. According to experts, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ ground mounted solar plants and solar rooftop panels will start to penetrate Middle Eastern consumer markets.

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EQ March 2014

‘During super storm Sandy in 2012, many houses in New York and New Jersey that had PV panels went dark due to lack of batteries.’

Depletion of fossil resources and increased environmental awareness are lesser reasons, though. As former US president Bill Clinton said, ‘it’s the economy, stupid’. This century, levelised costs – i.e. the costs of production, operation and maintenance - for renewable energy have been steadily declining, setting them on par with the generation costs based on fossil fuels. Moreover, during the last eighteen months, PV panels have hit rock-bottom prices; making grid parity for some USA states and EU countries to come within reach (i.e. for electricity consumers pay just as much for renewables as for fossil fuel based electrical energy supplies).

The Edge Of The Grid These developments will not only change the energy mix but they’ll also create tremendous opportunities for trade and industry and Middle Eastern governments alike. When consumer prices of PV panels drop even further, solar power may soon undercut the costs of wind energy installations, thereby becoming the major force in energy transition worldwide.

Double-digit growth of photovoltaic energy - year after year – is just the beginning.

Electricity demand in the Middle East is expected to rise by 75 percent by 2020, thus placing governments and utilities for a dilemma: how to secure a safe, reliable network when pressure on the grid increases whilst, at the same time, more energy at the customer side of the meter is generated?

Without appropriate backup, solar

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energy generation may cause complex integration issues for utilities: they fail to optimise the grid, leading to lower utilisation and higher network supplied electricity prices for all customers In turn, these customers also start to purchase independent solar panels, thus leading to a further reduction in network optimisation and utilisation by utilities. This tendency is already emerging in several EU countries with significant levels of solar power penetration in their networks.

Governments in Germany and California have recently drawn up legislation for distributed storage (see box).

The camel and elephant When a significant amount of solar electricity is fed into the grid, it can take sizeable portions of mid-day peak load off the grid. Traditional sources (such as fossil and nuclear) do not work well with such fluctuations… Distributed storage is the answer to limit the impact on the system from variations of demand and extend the availability of solar energy.

Distributed Storage Fortunately there are solutions to secure a safe and reliable network while simultaneously keeping track with renewable energy objectives and the vision of smart self-sufficient cities Middle Eastern countries start to embrace. The answer is energy storage in batteries close to load centres, in effect decoupling supply and demand on the grid. Although present-day costs per kilowatthour of distributed storage still outweigh those of fossil fuel generation, experts expect they’ll drop rapidly, making battery storage competitive with gas-fired plants within eighteen months. Options of storage depend on the chosen location, application and size.

Distributed storage has several key advantages, as well as for the grid as behind the meter. By using this kind of storage, utilities in the Middle East have three additional sources of revenue. The first and most obvious is on capacity: energy storage will reduce demand charges, monetising its capacity value. Far more important though,

Regulations ahead California The State of California has adopted a comprehensive legislative package for energy storage, to be effective this year. By 2020, three electricity companies and energy service providers in California must store 1325 MW while service providers have to do the same with at least one percent of their annual peak load by 2016. The law paves the way for mechanisms, monitoring and evaluating energy storage.

Depending on their use and application in the value chain and without specifying capacity that directly impacts storage costs, more than twenty types can be chosen.

Until recently, there was no clear way to evaluate applications and results.

Therefore, DNV GL Energy has launched some innovative analytics tools tailored to utilities’ growing need to assess storage. These tools shows if, when, where and how large distributed energy storage systems have to be in order to reach the optimum return on investment. The California Public Utility Commission is already using one of these tools, ES-GRID. According to Greentech media, the 81-page legislation is considered as ‘a bold first step into untested waters of combining new energy storage technologies, regulatory structures and economic models into a working whole’.

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is its size, low up-front investment and scalability. Storage units can easily be placed in those areas of the grid that require the most attention but where traditional solutions are either too expensive or impossible to install.

Last but not least, modularity of distributed energy storage provides an excellent opportunity for governments and utilities in the Middle East alike to grow in par with the rollout of large-scale solar rooftop programs without placing too much pressure on already constrained budgets.

This considered growth facilitates the time to develop or facilitate business models in an emerging new landscape in which utilities are about to deliver services for distributed energy storage while customers provide intermittent solar electricity to the grid.

Leapfrogging To highlight the risks of the emerging landscape without appropriate preparation, one can look to the change in the transportation and telecommunications industry. At the dawn of the industrial age in Europe as well as in the US, trains between cities (like transmission lines) and inside these cities (like distribution feeders) were sole means of transport. With the advent of gasoline-driven automobiles their heydays were over. Within a generation, cars and trucks, not so rigid to schedules, transformed our mobility. Half a century later, though, the growth of distributed transportation (vehicles) backfired. While employees were coming from ever-farther distances, highways within cities weren’t made bigger in time. Consequently, the western world is dealing with chronic traffic jams, over-utilised infrastructure and complex planning issues as a result.

Fortunately, electric networks have the option to avoid similar congestion related issues and the resulting curtailments, i.e. fortifying the grid with strategically located distributed storage. Just as the development of mobile phones in Africa has allowed rural communities access to a plethora of services, Middle Eastern utilities have the possibility to leapfrog their way into a sustainable future, skipping obsolete stages and bypass, in many cases, the need to expand the grid or defer their construction or upgrade.

A prerequisite for implementing distributed storage is awareness. Up to now, 20

EQ March 2014

governments and utilities in the Middle East Regulations ahead Germany Though the EU is lagging behind the US in applications, the market for energy storage over there is changing rapidly. Germany may take the lead, just as it did with the feed-in-tariff system seven years ago. Growth of rooftop solar systems is staggering; now the country has scaled down its subsidy support levels recently. The market is starting to move away from large investors and pure feed-in-tariffs towards more self-consumption driven regulatory frameworks. A prime example is the relatively new solar storage subsidy program of the Bundesrepublik, covering up to thirty percent of the cost for residential storage equipment when it’s added to a new PV system.

Under influence of the boom in rooftop solar panels, large European utilities are starting to alter their corporate policies. Because of a massive erosion of wholesale prices, huge problems for many in the EU have arisen. Some of them will therefore refocus from present-day large-scale solutions to more ‘capital light’ versions in which they position themselves as a retail provider and a system integrator for solar prosumers (producing consumers).

are unprepared for storage as a solution or mix in future power system designs. Geographic and geological conditions are favourable. In the medium term, large amounts of energy can be stored as compressed air in depleted gas caverns, competing with and acting like gas turbines. But just like large scale pumped hydro this technology requires huge investments and years to prepare and deploy.

Until then, distributed storage in batteries is, by far, the smartest and most sustainable way to mitigate the adverse impacts of electricity generated from decentralised intermittent sources. It will give utilities the ability to reduce peak demand and provide for spinning reserve, thereby safeguarding the reliability of critical infrastructure that may erode flexibility on the grid (in case nothing is done).

Community Storage In fact, while solar rooftop panels are expected to provide for five to ten percent of renewable sources by 2020, distributed energy storage is the other side of the coin to realise smart cities some Middle Eastern countries are aiming for. In theory

the combined effects of energy storage and distributed renewable generation could reduce some of the investment needs in future transmission lines. In fact, it’s all about stepping into smart combinations, selecting secure operations and appropriate energy management for a greener and more sustainable society.

In an ideal situation, systems and procedures between customers and utilities will become intertwined. Distributed energy units with smart controls, close to load centres, provide flexibility as well as back-up and energy savings for the benefit of communities. Storage, depending on type and size, can provide for energy for many hours. In case of an emerging outage caused by a major weather event, distributed units may recover the grid in such a way that consumers won’t be exposed to a disruption in service. It’s time right now to monetise ‘plug ‘n play’ solutions for energy storage and renewable energy sources to the benefit of all communities in the Middle East.

About DNV GL Driven by our purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organizations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. We provide classification and technical assurance along with software and independent expert advisory services to the maritime, oil and gas, and energy industries. We also provide certification services to customers across a wide range of industries. Operating in more than 100 countries, our 16,000 professionals are dedicated to helping our customers make the world safer, smarter and greener.

In the energy industry DNV GL delivers world-renowned testing and advisory services to the energy value chain including renewables and energy efficiency. Our expertise spans onshore and offshore wind power, solar, conventional generation, transmission and distribution, smart grids, and sustainable energy use, as well as energy markets and regulations.

Our 3,000 energy experts support clients around the globe in delivering a safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy supply.

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EU PVSEC 2014 29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition

RAI Convention & Exhibition Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands Conference 22 - 26 September 2014 Exhibition 23 - 25 September 2014 www.photovoltaic-conference.com www.photovoltaic-exhibition.com

SO L A R ENERGY

Installation of 17,500 nos. of SPV Water Pumping System Within 2 Years In Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar And Other Selected States To Meet The Irrigation Requirements

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NRE confirmed sanction for installation of 17,500 nos. of SPV water Pumping System to meet the irrigation requirements with a financial support from NCEF of is Rs. 299, 50,00,000 (Rupees Two Hundred and Ninety Nine Crores Fifty Lacs only), in in Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other selected States at a project cost of Rs. 997,50,00,000 (Rs Nine Hundred and Ninety Seven Crores Fifty Lacs only).

tracking.Electronics could include Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT), Inverter and Controls/Protections.

The programme is applicable to only those states who are willing to contribute not less than 15% of the project cost as state shares. The commitment of state share is to be communicated of project stage itself.

Ministry will provide up to 2% of CFA as service charges to the implementing SNAs towards implementation and monitoring of SPV Pumping System.

Ministry will provide 30% of the project cost as subsidy. State Government/ Department has to provide minimum subsidy of 15% and remaining cost will be met by the beneficiary

Due to lack of grid power electricity, a large number of diesel pump sets are being deployed every year in the country.

This project help in reduction of diesel consumption. It will obviate farmers from long distance travels to procure and transport diesel. It will increase the cropping intensity of the states through this intervention provided

Specifications of the proposed models of SPV pump for irrigation

A solar photovoltaic(SPV)water pumping system consists of PV array, a DC/AC surface mounted/submersible/floating motor pump set, electronics if any, interconnect cables and an “On-Off” switch .PV Array is mounted on a suitable structure with a provision of

(ii) DC Submersible motor pump set

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Budget: Estimated budget for the project is Rs. 299.5 crores (calculated on the basis of tentative project cost of Rs 997.5 crores assuming average size of SPV pumption system 3 kWpcapacity ). A 3 kWp pumping system consist of a 3000 W SPV Panels + 3HP Pump + Frames + Wires + Pipes + Insurance + Installation+ Transportation + 5 years AMC Contract to sites.

Selection of beneficiaries: The selection of beneficiaries will be done by the State Renewable Energy Development Agencies by inviting expression of Interest.

MOTOR PUMP - SET Following types of motor pump sets could be used in the SPV water pumping systems: (i) Surface mounted DC motor pump - set (iii) AC Submersible motor pump set (iv) Any other type of motor pump set after approval from MNRE 

In case of the mono block DC/ AC

centrifugal motor pump set, its driving unit and impeller be mounted on a common shaft, there by giving it a perfect alignment. The pump should be provided with specially developed mechanical seals which ensure zero leakage. 











In case of D.C. Motor Pump Sets, spring loaded “Carbon Brushes”, should be specially designed for long life.

The suction and delivery head will depend on the site specific condition of the field.

Submersible pumps could also be used.

The suction/ delivery pipe (GI/HDPE), electric cables, and other fittings required to install the pump - set have to be supplied as per site requirement.

The following details should be marked indelibly on the motor pump set (a) Name of the Manufacturer or Distinctive Logo. (b) Model Number. (c) Serial Number.

Components and parts used in the solar pumping system including the metallic structures should conform to the BIS specifications, wherever such specifications are available and applicable.

IV. MOUNTING STRUCTURES & TRACKING SYSTEM To enhance the performance of SPV water pumping systems covered under the

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programme, it is desirable to use a tracking system. Manual, passive and electronic tracking are permitted. The PV modules will be mounted on metallic structures of adequate strength and appropriate design, which can withstand load of modules and high wind velocities up to 200 km per hour.

The support structure used in the pumping system will be hot dip galvanized.

These structures for the Solar panel could be so designed, that they can be manually / auto adjusted for optimal tilt throughout the year. A simple provision is to be provided so that the panel can be manually adjusted three times a day (East - South - West) to face the sun optimally.

This adjustment could be done in the early morning, noon time and afternoon to increase the total input solar radiation on the solar panel surface substantially. This provision helps the motor pump set to start early in the mornin g and function efficiently till late in the afternoon, thereby increasing the total output of the pumping system. Facilities to be provided in the panel: Seasonal tilt angle adjustment Three times manual tracking (East - South - West) In morning, noon a nd afternoon

V. ELE CTRONICS AND PROTECTIONS 





Use of Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) is encouraged to optimally use the Solar panel and maximize the water discharge.

Inverter could be used, if required, to operate an A.C. Pump.

Adequate protections should be incorporated against dry operation of motor pump set, protection against lightning and hails & storms. Full protection against open circuit, accidental short circuit and reverse polarity should be provided.

VI. ON/OFF SWITCH A good reliable switch suitable for DC / AC use is to be provided with the motor pump set. Sufficient length of cable should be provided for inter - connection between the PV array and the motor pump set.

VII. PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS (DUTY

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CYCLE) 







The Solar PV Water Pumping System should provide a minimum of 77 liters of water per watt peak of PV array used per day under average daily solar radiation conditions of 5.5 KWh/sq. m. on a horizontal surface, from a total head of 10 metres (Suction head u p to a maximum of 7 metres).

The Solar PV Water Pumping System should provide a minimum of 50 liters of water per watt peak of PV array used per day under average daily solar radiation conditions of 5.5 KWh/sq. m. on a horizontal surface, from a total he ad of 15 metres (Suction head up to a maximum of 7 metres).

Use of a tracking system to enhance the availability of solar radiation to lift desired quantity of water is permitted.

The manufacturer of SPV Water Pumping Systems is required to specify whether the minimum water output is achieved directly or through tr acking of PV Array.

The manufacturer of the PV pumping system will submit a declaration that the PV array size has been selected for optimal matching with the motor - pump set to give the desired water output performance. They will also report the overall efficiency of the motor - pump set, including electronics (Inverter, MPPT etc.) used by them.

VIII. O/M MANUAL An Operation and Maintenance Manual, in English and the local language, should be provided with the solar PV pumping system. The following minimum details must be provided in the Manual: (a) About photovoltaics (b) About solar pump (c) About PV module (d) About motor pump set (e) About tracking system (f) Clear instructions about mounting of PV module. (g) About electronics used in AC motor pump sets, if any (h) DO’s and DONT’s, (i) Clear instructions on regular maintenance and Trouble Shooting of the pumping system. (j) Name & address of the person or Centre to be contacted in case of failure or complaint.

IX. SCOPE OF WORK AND DETAILEDTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

General Information: The information given here under is indicative only and the designer must satisfy himself regarding quantity and quality wise supply of Solar Modules / panel, Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) Pump, and GI support structure as well as all aspects of commissioning of solar infrastructural facility. The scope of work includes supply, installation & commissioning of Solar PV Water Pumping system (on an open well or bore - well of 4” onwards to be provided by the user) at various sites as per the technical specification mentioned below along with 5 years warrantee for the whole system, including submersible /surface pumps and electronics.

A) 1800 Wp Solar PV PV Array Rating (Wp) At

18 0 0 Watt

STC

Peak

PV

array

mounting

Tr a c kin g

arrangement

facilities

Max. Suction Head (in

7.0 mtr

meters) (in case of DC Surface Centrifugal Pump set) Max. Dynamic Head (in 15.0 mtr. meters) Pump Capacity

2.0 HP

Overall Effi ciency of Motor Pump

Set

40%

(i n c l u d i n g

electronics / Inverter) Water Output* (litres / day/

77 LPD/Wp

Wp) Minimum Daily Water Output*

1,40,000

At 10 Mtr. Total Dynamic Head

Litres/ Day

Conditions (Liters/Day)

Water Pumping system: * Water output figures are on a clear sunny day with three times tracking of SPV panel, When solar radiation on horizontal surface is: 5.5 KWH/ sq.m/ day

Required

Manual/Auto Tracking

Tracking

facilities

Facilities Protection

Hot dipped galvanized

against rusting

(GI)

Protection

Provided with proper

against high

spacing among The

wind velocities

Modules & suitable

provided

foundation Size withstanding pressure of wind speed of 200Km/H

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Mounting Structure Against dry operation of Motor Pump set

Manual switching off

Against lighting and hails & storms

Earthing of the array

Against open circuit, accidental short circuit & Reverse polarity

MCB at out put

Protection and Safety tem & Part No.

Quantity

Carbon brush( in case of DC Surface Centrifugal Pump set)

5 sets

Cable terminat ion kit( in case of submersible Pump set)

2 sets

Tool Kit

1 set

List of spares parts for five years operation & Tool kit: PV Array Rating (Wp) At STC

5000 Watt Peak

PV array mounting arrangement

Tracking facility

Overall efficiency of the SPV Water Pumping >40% System (including electronics / Inverter) Max. suction Head (in case of surface pumps)

7.0 mtr.

Max. dynamic Head (in meters)

30.0 mtr.

Motor - Pump set Capacity

5.0 HP

Overall Efficiency of Motor Pump Set (including electronics / Inverter)

 40%

Water Output (litres/day/Wp)*at 10 m head 77 LPD/Wp 15 m head 50 ltr/day/ Wp Minimum Daily Water Output* At 10 Mtr 3,75,000 Litres/Day Total Dynamic Head Conditions (Litres/Day)

B) 5000 Wp Solar PV Water Pumping system: Required Tracking Facilities

Manual/Auto Tracking facilities

Protection against rusting

Hot dipped galvanized (GI)

Protection against high wind Provided with proper spacing among The modules velocities provided & suitable foundation Size withstanding pressure of wind speed up to 200 Km/Hr * Water output fig ures are on a clear sunny day with three times tracking of SPV panel, When solar radiation on horizontal surface is: 5.5 KWH/ sq.m/ day Description of DC/ AC Motor – Pump set, Electronics/ Inverter (Make, capacity, nominal operating voltage, efficiency, etc.

Description of Control switches Against dry operation of Motor Pump set Against lighting and hails & storms

Earthing of the array

Against open circuit, accidental short circuit & Reverse polarity MCB at out put

Inverter / Electrical, Protection and Safety components List of recommended spares parts for five years operation & Tool Kit: Item & Part No.

Quantity

MCB/ISOLATOR/SELECTOR SWITCH

1 set

Cable termination kit (in case of submersible Pump set)

2 sets

Tool Kit

1 set

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EQ March 2014

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www.africapvsec.com

I NT ERV I EW

Nimish Jain Country Manager Jinko Solar Co., Ltd.

EQ : Whats the current production capacity of your company NJ : About 2.1GW

EQ : What is the unique advantage in being a vertically integrated manufacturer 

Minimal dependence on third-party suppliers, guaranteeing reliability and consistency of our products.



Superior quality control, allowing for better energy output and project planning.



More cost synergies as you explore ways to reduce expenses and protect margins.



Commercialized technological innovation and faster time to market.



More streamlined manufacturing processes with fewer disruptions.



Leaner production for lowering costs, reducing stockpiles, and stabilizing prices.

EQ : How much has been the sale to India and what does the future look like NJ : Module sale to Indian market has been so far good and encouraging for us.

We have sold around 120 MW solar PV modules in Indian market in last year to major 26

EQ March 2014

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solar PV companies including Sterling and Wilson, L&T, Enrich Energy, Mahindra Solar etc.

The future of Solar PV in India looks bright with few hurdles and delays in the policies. The upcoming Central and State level policies will definitely provide a positive thrust to the market and in turn our business.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the thin film vs. c-si debate (explain with market share, performance etc…..in detail). Market share of thin film makers such as CDTE, CIGS, CIS, a-Si have been steadily increasing and their performance in hotter climates such as India is reportedly better than c-Si… please comment and clarify on this.

NJ : Performance problems looming Sharply shrunk cost gap, higher efficiency and less degradation makes c-si a better choice than thin film. The importance of product quality is as “the most significant metric” for solar panels. Field reliability of thin-film panels is less proven, and high temperature degradation of c-si is known and understood. Even world No.1 thin film maker was facing serious warranty related issues due to faster degradation, especially in high temperature areas for example India, Africa and South East Asia, where this degradation accelerates.

EQ : What changes have your experienced in selling PV in last 5 years NJ : There are many changes in the last 5 years in the solar PV Industry in general and Indian solar PV industry in particular. The Industry has matured a lot and the solar PV technology has emerged as a sustainable and economically viable energy alternative.

The customers have become more familiar and well versed with Solar PV technology in these years resulting in more concrete and specific discussions. Even the procurement and commercial people in the companies now ask very specific questions

EQ : Which are the top 10 markets for your co and approx shipment to these markets NJ : China, Japan, USA, India, South

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Africa, Australia, Germany, UK, Turkey, etc.

EQ : What s the roadmap for production rampup for your co and further growth in terms of technology, output of your products NJ : Further increase panel efficiency to reach 17% for poly by end of 2014, which will be one of the most power poly panel of this kind. Launch smart module by Q2 this year and Eagle II series by Q3.

EQ : 2011 had witnessed a huge surge in installations in Germany, Italy and Europe, despite of which German companies have gone bankrupt like solon, q.cellss.e., closing down of REC operations in Norway, selling of cell line by schott…..what are your views on this.

NJ : Sustainability of a company is the key to survival, which includes her capability of continues R&D, non-stop operation improvement, zero quality incident, better after-sales service, higher efficient operation and flexibility, as well as forward thinking strategy

EQ : What is your view on the allegations posed by solarworld and the US trade petition…. please describe in detail NJ : We believe that these are nonsense accusations. These type of petitions and allegations are against the open market policy of WTO.

EQ : Do you forsee a further drop in the prices of PV and to what extent NJ : No further room to drop, instead, the prices will increase a little bit due to recovery balance of supply and demand

EQ : Many Chinese companies are rapidly ramping up production capacities, while many like LDK are laying off workmen and many are closing down… what is the reason for this phenomena…where does your co stand in this

we only focus on ourselves. In fact Jinko has been very successful in expanding its manufacturing capacity from 1.2 GW to 2.1 GW in the last year. Also, we are among one of the profitable and sustainable solar PV manufacturer with robust financials and order pipeline.

EQ : How much responsibility your co has for a fair trade NJ : Coop with investigation institutes to complete necessary procedure

EQ : What is the annual expenditure on R&D and how much is it as a % of total sales NJ : 1% of total revenue

EQ : Present and explain the recent trends in your sales, shipments, share prices etc…

NJ : In the last year we had very good sales and capacity utilization both in Domestic and International markets. In fact Indian market has been very promising and we were among the leading suppliers of Solar PV modules in India. Our sales volume and price have gone up and of course our share prices.

EQ : With European demand falling and given the fact of huge manufacturing base in china… chinese government has lot of pressure to accelerate deployment of PV within china and china is expected to install 8GW in 2012….whats your opinion on this statement.

NJ : Yes, the demand in European market is falling but at the same time, demand in many other Asian and African markets including China, Japan, India, South Africa, Australia are booming. Also, the overall solar PV market is expected to grow in the coming years which is a positive sign for the industry.

EQ : Japan has recently announces a very good FIT for PV….what is the expected size of the market in Japan.

NJ : Japan has already been one of the largest PV market, second only to China

NJ : Different company has different strategy, business model and way to survive,

EQ March 2014

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Danfoss FLX Inverter Series - When Experience Meets Innovation Kapil Maheshwari - Head, Solar Inverters, Danfoss India

T

he FLX Series is the result of the accumulated knowledge of Danfoss’ considerable experience in the solar industry. It is the answer to hassle free installation, high yields and easy commissioning and use. Danfoss is the first inverter manufacturer to launch a 2nd generation three phase string inverter.

String inverters from Danfoss are well known for their flexibility and versatility.

They can be used in around 40 different grids designed into complex residential installations as well as giant power plants. The FLX is every bit as flexible as its predecessor, even adding power sizes to the range with 5, 7 and 9kW as well as 17kW inverters. The FLX has 1000VDC, 3 truly independent MPPTs, a very broad MPP range from 250-800 V and a flat efficiency curve with max at 98% and EU efficiency of 97.4%, ensuring you get maximum utilization of your system.

Self-consumption and power limitations are no problem As the demand for self-consumption increases and restrictions on feed into the grid are enforced in many places, the engineers at Danfoss have come up with clever answers; ACC and DPD ACC Adaptive Consumption Compensation (ACC) ensures that although you are limited by a power limitation, you can still utilize your full power potential. Set the power limitation and then when you have a consumption the inverter starts producing power taking both your limitation and the consumption into 28

EQ March 2014

in the web interface. Several periods can be entered for each of the strings. It is proven that regular PV sweeps can significantly increase the output of a string during shading conditions.

Installer’s input essential

consideration, ensuring that the limitation is not exceeded.

DPD Similarly, if you have larger systems with more inverters Dynamic Power Distribution (DPD) will ensure that under power limitations the inverter that has the most power potential is allowed to feed it in.

Normally, the power limitation is distributed evenly across all inverters in the system.

Even if one inverter has panels in shade and therefore does not fulfill its allowance, the other inverters cannot compensate and fill up the gap. With DPD activated they can.

The inverters know exactly who produces how much, and they know the level of system limitation at the PCC. They then ensure that power potential is passed on, increasing the overall yield of the plant.

When developing and designing the FLX string inverter from Danfoss, the development team set up interviews; video filmed installers at work and looked through installer input given to Danfoss employees in the field. They wanted to understand the conditions installers work under, and what would benefit the installer when working with the inverter.

The result is an inverter where attention has been paid to every detail, where packaging, lifting, mounting, opening and connecting have been scrutinized and perfected.

360 degree scrutiny to make installation easy It all starts with the dimensions of the inverter. The FLX is shipped in pallets of 6, two pallets on top of each other. This means 12 inverters or 204 kW per pallet place.

Ergonomic lifting Reducing losses due to shading to a minimum The FLX includes an advanced PV sweep functionality, which ensures that PV Sweep is activated at specific periods of the day, when shades occur. The periods are specified

Weighting only 39 kg, the inverter is easy to handle. Despite this Danfoss understands the need to protect the installers’ backs. The packaging has been especially designed to allow for upright unpacking. That means that lifting the inverter entails no twisting of the

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operation and maintenance

back. The wall plate can be extracted from the packaging without having completely unpacked the inverter, allowing sequential installation.

Accurate mounting on wall plate The mounting plate itself has been designed to give the installer visual feedback during the installation. That means you are able to see first-hand whether the inverter has been installed correctly on the wall during mounting.

Split-lid with magnets When opening the inverter, the FLX has been fitted with a split-lid that opens up into the installation area. 2 captive screws fasten the lid, making opening and reclosing fast and easy. The lid is held open by magnets. In this way you avoid placing the lid on the ground. The dedicated installation compartment ensures the installer is in no danger of getting in contact with voltage carrying components. The compartment is big and AC connections and communication interfaces are of course easily accessible ensuring fast, accurate installation. At the bottom of the inverter youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find Sunclix connectors for safe, secure and tooless PV connection.

ConďŹ guration options The one click installation options program gives more opportunities for configuration such as GSM, sensors and grid management. They are easily fitted into the dedicated slots and with one click, correct assembly is achieved.

Commissioning made easy Wizards, integrated web interface and the master follower concept in all FLX inverters, enables you to commission inverters accurately and fast regardless of whether is it a single unit or part of a large plant.

Start-up wizard ensuring accuracy and eliminating mistakes When the inverter boots up for the first time a wizard guides the user through the commissioning process. This ensures that all relevant data including grid code selection is entered making the setup configuration easy and accurate and the later monitoring

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of system data precise.

Built-in monitoring in all FLX inverters A web interface is integrated into all inverters in the FLX series. From a web browser, simply logon to the inverter using the IP address. Once logged in it is possible to scan the network and access all other inverters from there. It is also possible to view accumulated system data as well as individual inverter parameters. Ethernet communication allows for fast data exchange and easy plug and play setup of the network.

The web interface has been optimized for usability making it easy and intuitive to navigate. Everything from the monitoring of household consumption to the commissioning of an MW plant can be done from here.

Genuine hassle-free monitoring with the Danfoss SolarApp The Danfoss SolarApp is a simple, easy to understand monitoring solution, which can be used on smartphones, tablets and computers.

It gives you overview of production data and the current status. You can also keep track of production, revenue and saved CO2 emissions.

The app gives you one point of readout of real time data. Once downloaded to your smartphone or tablet connecting it to the FLX inverter is really easy. Thanks to the technology behind ConnectSmartâ&#x201E;˘,which is integrated into all FLXs, you avoid additional onsite IT configuration.

The possibility to copy settings and parameters from one inverter to all other in the network means that configuration is quickly completed. The Master Inverter functionality provides a unique facility to access and manage your PV system. The functionality allows one inverter to become the master of the network. One click in the web browser and all other inverters in the system can adapt all settings of the master inverter, streamlining commissioning. The master also collects data from the other inverters in the network and summarizes it to show accumulated system values or upload it to external sources. Through the web interface of the master it is additionally possible to see the individual inverter parameters of all inverters in the network.

This functionality is the key to making string inverters work in large installations.

Service The FLX inverter has the benefit ofbeing a standard component, which iscommercially available. This means it ispossible for a local installer with someexperience to carry out the exchangeof inverters or the plant maintenancewithout additional training. In case of failure only a small part ofthe system will be affected. Fora 15MW plant, more than 9 inverters mustcompletely fail before the loss reaches1% of production, and then extra inverters can also be kept in stock locally for fast exchange. At very little cost you get very high availability of your plant.

No service is required on the DC side asthere are no junction boxes installed. The 2-year warranty remains unchangedfor inverters used in largeplant applications and warranty extensionup to 10 years are available.

Streamlined control with Master Inverter, the enabler of power plant commissioning, EQ March 2014

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SO L A R I NV ERT ERS

Solutions Based On Power Electronics to Increase Connectivity And Grid Access For Solar Power Sergio Hurtado - CTO GPTech Spain

N

owadays, one of the main concerns of RE plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s developers is the fulfilment of technical requirements demanded by the energy sector. The peculiarities of each market make that the regulation for renewable energies integrationdiffer from one country to another. Therefore, manufacturers of equipment and electric devices to be installed in RE plants have to adapt their products to the local normative according to requirements imposed by each government.

In this scenario, companies as GPTech, expert in the development of innovative devices to integrate renewable energies into the electric grid, are key partners to provide integral solutions to those countries less experienced in grid integration.

Similarly to what has happened in many other countries, the government of India promoted in June 2010 a major initiative concerning solar energy, denominated Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM onwards). The main objective of this initiative is to drive down the cost of solar energy in order to achieve grid parity by 2017-18 with regard to other conventional sources. The number of grid connected largescale Solar PV power plants deployed in India over the last 2-3 years was 1962 MW

by October 2013. This figure overtook the number expected by the JNNSM for the first phase of its plan (1.100 MW), but there is still a long path to be traversed before achieving 20.000 MW by 2022. Additionally, in the last few years, PV solar market demands are becoming more stringent due to design constraints to achieve a constant energy production of the facility. R+D engineers 30

EQ March 2014

are working for innovative solutions where latest power electronics technology and high integration level are the driving factors during the design process. The aim is to fulfil with the each time higher demanding technical requirements.

For the last years, GPTech has adapted its strategy to specialize as assistant integrator.

It offers to itsclients the added value that gives the development of custom solutions adapted to the project needs.

The second phase of the JNNSM, which is currently ongoing, has as main objectives the encouragement of local manufacturing, the development of storage systems and the increase of connectivity and grid access for solar power. With regard to the first aim, it will be decisive to achieve strategic partnerships with local partners that know with precision the characteristics of the Indian market.

In relation to energy storage systems, many companies are already working on their own solutions. There are many indications that there is a large potential market for

such systems. Energy storage technology is necessary to enhance grid stability and support a higher penetration of solar generation systems. Obviously, the storage system does not work in isolation, but together with other renewable energies that can be conventional or non-conventional. In this sense, hybrid power plants combining both conventional and non-conventional energy sources become an optimum solution for countries as India, where the use of diesel-based electricity is increasing. This energy source is both expensive and polluting. On the other hand, solar power is still high on absolute costs compared to other conventional sources.

In addition, one single PV plant entails some risks when powering a significant population due to the intermittent nature of the renewable energies. The conjunction of these three elements (storage system, Solar PV, diesel) has shown to avoid problems on grid integration and grid stability. Besides, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has concluded that combination of storage system, Solar PV and diesel has less costs than other configurations based on

Figure 1.GPTechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conďŹ guration for hybrid power plants

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diesel + storage, diesel + PV, PV + storage or diesel alone, because there is only a high initial investment.

GPTech’s offer consist on a configuration for the hybrid power plant set up by a storage system based on batteries plus diesel generators, PV inverters and a central control system to coordinate both energy sources.

Batteries are nowadays the most likely form of long-term energy storage, although there are other alternatives, as water pumps or fuel cells. Nevertheless, while water pumps are used for hybrid systems that combine both PV solar and wind energies, fuel cells still present some significant disadvantages: they cannot store energy, present as low response and difficulties to cold start, and their output voltage fluctuates with the load.

Batteries, then, arise as the best option for a hybrid power plant. They act as a power conversion system that couples the converter (power module) to a distribution substation through a MV transformer. Additionally, they are able to save energy when the electric energy from the PV panels is higher than the power evacuated by the inverter, and can pour out this energy when the power generated by the system is lower than the nominal power of the inverter. Batteries working as energy storage systems achieve the enhancement of grid stability. Besides, GPTech has developed scalable solutions with large capacity batteries emulating the spinning reserve of traditional generators, with output to MV or HV. The spinning reserve represents generation capacity that is up and running, but not providing power for the grid. The stored energy is held in reserve in case there is a sudden increase in demand. Normally, batteries need larger time of response, but GPTech has achieved a spare power ready to be supplied at any moment.

Another key element for hybrid power plants provided by GPTech is the PV inverter.

This device provides remote control of active and reactive power, as well as instant power regulation according to frequency and voltage variations. It works as a support for diesel generators in order to reduce the costs of producing this energy. Combination of both energy sources allows the operation in different working conditions to ensure best performance under any circumstance.

Hybrid power plants require, in addition, a central control system to guarantee

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PV inverters

optimum performance of the facility. This Power Plant Controller coordinates the different energy sources, thus enhancing the grid-integration capabilities of hybrid plants, as well as controlling reactive power supply, regulating system voltage and stabilizing weak grids. This device is the core of hybrid plants and it works as a master controller.

For that reason, it is important to count on an experienced partner with a large trajectory in the development of these solutions.

GPTech’sknowledge on the improvement of a Power Plant Controller for stable control of wind turbines in combination to diesel plants makes the company capable of anticipating any requirement or necessity for PV – diesel hybrid plants.

The development of hybrid power plants will also help to meet the third objective of the second phase of the JNNSM: to facilitate the increase of connectivity and grid access for solar power. Other options, depending on the necessities of the grid, involve the supply of other devices as centralized PV power inverters or integrated stations. GPTech has developed Smart PV inverters characterized for a high flexibility depending on the necessities of the facility: the power operation range can be customized based on the power factor required by the plant.

This means that the same inverter can work properly in different scenarios, what make it a suit able device in international m arkets, where

the technical requirements or the ambient conditions may vary from one country to another.

For utility-scale plants, GPTech provides Advanced Power Integrated Stations (APIS).

These innovative product solutions include, in a container or on a platform, two Smart PV inverters, AC/DC disconnection modules and a customized MV transformer. They are easy and fast to install, and provide all the benefits from Smart PV inverters’ flexibility.

This article outlines how the need of developing products and solutions capable of adapting to different technical requirements and ambient conditions is becoming essential and how GPTech can respond to this necessity.

Its large experience in wind energy, which had afaster growth than PV solar energy, makes the company a strategic partner ready to faceall the difficulties derived from the youth of this sector. GPTech accompanies its clients through the whole process of the PV plant development in order to have a complete perspective of the project and supply the fittest solution for any demand.

Advanced Power Integrated Stations (APIS)

EQ March 2014

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Maximum Flexibility Up To 20 KW â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Fronius Symo Product Range Is Complete Fronius International GmbH

Following the successful gradual introduction of the Fronius Symo power categories up to 8.2 kW, the final stage of the expansion is now imminent. From the end of May 2014, five additional inverters in the 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5 and 20.0 kW power categories will complete the range and widen the application possibilities of the Fronius Symo inverter from single-family homes to field installations.

New generation of inverters with SnapINverter technology The SnapINverter installation system is used for both the Fronius Galvo and Fronius Symo, enabling installation and servicing to be performed with ease. After fitting the wall bracket and cabling for the device, the inverter is placed in the wall bracket before being moved into position and secured.

As it is light in weight and compact in size, the Fronius Symo series is easy to handle during installation.

SuperFlex design The SuperFlex design of the Fronius Symo combines all the system design requirements into a single inverter form. The high system voltage of up to 1,000 V and the wide input voltage range (from 150 to 800 V) ensure maximum flexibility in system design across the entire power range.

Challenges such as varying roof pitches and one or two strings being in the shade are no longer an issue thanks to the integration of two MPP trackers and the freedom of unrestricted outdoor use*. Every roof surface can be used to its full potential.

Dynamic Peak Manager The Dynamic Peak Manager

32

EQ March 2014

is a new MPP tracking algorithm, which dynamically adapts its behaviour when searching for the optimal operating point. This allows the inverter to deliver the maximum output in all circumstances. A particularly impressive feature of the Dynamic Peak Manager is that it automatically checks the entire characteristic at regular intervals to ensure it can always find the maximum operating point, even when partially shaded.

The two MPP trackers in the Fronius Symo work completely independently of each other, meaning guaranteed maximum power and yields, even under difficult conditions such as (partial) shade, foggy weather, module failure, etc.

Communication

An internet connection via WLAN or Ethernet, integrated data logging and interfaces to easily incorporate the device into third-party systems are all standard features of the Fronius Symo.

The free Fronius Solar.web and corresponding Fronius Solar.web App online monitoring tools enable system operators to monitor their PV system yields at their own convenience.

Smart Grid Ready The Advanced Grid Features (AGF) in the Fronius Symo include a range of functions that support reliable grid operation and facilitate simple control by the power supply companies. The AGFs in the Fronius Symo are preset depending on the country setup, but can be individually configured and adapted to suit specific local conditions. When new regulations on feeding energy into the grid come into force, these features can be enabled at any time.

Future proof Innovative plug-in card technology ensures the devices are truly futureproof. Possible future challenges, such as an expansion of the energy management system, connection to building management systems or an arc detector, have already been taken into account.

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SMA Solar Technology AG

S

MA Solar Technology AG (SMA) now offers the Sunny Boy 240 micro inverter also in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With this micro inverter, PV system operators have access to an easy-to-install and expandable modular solution for various applications, including differently configured substrings or systems with regularly shaded modules.

An inverter for every module With the micro inverter system, micro inverters positioned directly on the module are used to convert direct current to alternating current instead of a “large” string inverter. The completely new developed Sunny Boy 240 follows this concept.

Every system can easily be expanded

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This means that the Sunny Boy 240 – thanks to its modular design principle – allows operators to expand PV systems as desired - in accordance with local regulations.

It is equally well suited for PV system operators who want to add module inverters to an existing string system and those who are looking for a system with only module inverters. The system can be expanded or modified step by step, depending on the operator’s needs and financial resources.

Multigate, the interface to the utility grid, the Sunny Boy 240 also guarantees analysis, diagnostics and yield monitoring via Sunny Portal or locally via Sunny Explorer. Access to the SMA Online Portal comes standard and offers an option for simplified servicing.

For example, shading or module problems can be quickly identified and rectified.

Easy installation, efficient operation

With a combination of individual modules plus the Sunny Boy 240, even challenging applications can be met. These include partial shading, complex roof structures, extremely small systems or combinations of different roof orientations. Thanks to its modular design principle, the system offers a lowcost entry point to self-generated electricity and therefore low-cost access to the energy transition for people who are interested in photovoltaics.

One of the great strengths of the new Sunny Boy 240 and of the entire system is the simplicity. Thanks to its specially developed concept the Sunny Boy 240 holds approximately 50 percent less components than competitor products, it makes for particularly easy plug-and-play installation and efficient system operation. Through Sunny

Wide-ranging applications

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SO L A R I NV ERT ERS

The Easiest Way to Take Part in the Energy Transition: SMA Launches New Micro Inverter

S O L A R P V M A N UF A CT URI N G

Klaudia Schober - Head of Corporate Communications ISOVOLTAIC AG

Werner Krumlacher, Vice President Research & Development

Reliability And Efficiency of PV Backsheets – Crucial For PV Modules Lifetime Performance Experience and innovation support bankability

The classic TPT composites – not all the same

The quality of the backsheet is crucial for the lifetime of a photovoltaic module.

From the technical aspect, the main task of a backsheet is to protect all the components of a solar module throughout its entire service life, ensuring sustained loss-free energy generation. There are two objectives, namely to protect the active elements from environmental influences, especially from moisture, weathering, chemical substances and mechanical damage, and to protect the environment from the active electrical elements by providing insulation.

Tedlar®/PET/Tedlar® (TPT) composites have a long history as PV backsheets and Tedlar® has proven its reliability as material for the protection of solar cells.

Fluoropolymer films resist ageing from UV and have therefore good resistance against weather.

In order to accomplish this task reliably over several decades, the backsheet must have long-term stability both at its interfaces and within the material itself. The main parameters required here include bonding strength to the encapsulants materials and junction box adhesives, barrier properties against water vapour and oxygen, UV resistance, internal layer adhesion as well as breakdown voltage and resistance to partial discharges.

Basically quality and reliability of a backsheet are determined by the material used for its single layers, by the resins between the layers and by the adhesion of the material to EVA. 34

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Having been developed as separation material Tedlar® is known for its low adhesion properties. Therefore the lamination of the material with other films e.g. PET or EVA presents a challenge for the manufacturers of PV backsheets. This is where differences in quality can be seen. Adhesion between the layers and the bonding to EVA often

turn out to be weak points, resulting in delamination or displacement of layers in the damp heat test and finally in the field resulting in defective modules.

ISOVOLTAIC is the only backsheet manufacturer with +25 years’ experience in laminating Tedlar® with PET. The company has developed a special resin system that enables high and durable adhesion between the layers of its ICOSOLAR® backsheets.

This resin system is long-lasting, stable against high temperatures, hydrolysis and other influences of the environment and it has proven to last more than 25 years.

In addition to using the right resin and the right polyester an efficient production and process technology has to be used and permanently further developed. Like this precise resin application can be ensured while in-process quality control enables early error detection.

ICOSOLAR® 2442 has proven its efficiency and reliability in the field since 1988. In this TPT film composite, a PET core provides the mechanical and electrical qualities while the outer and inner Tedlar® layers protect the PV module against weathering.

Its special surface treatment shows considerably better bonding to the encapsulants.

To enhance adhesion of the inner Tedlar® layer to EVA most of the backsheet m anufacturers use an additional primer layer. This means that a layer with again different features is added. Time has revealed that this primer layer causes supplementary problems and

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mostly does not persist 25 years –resulting in delamination of the backsheet.

ISOVOLTAIC does not use a primer layer but applies a special surface treatment to its TPT backsheets that increases adhesion of Tedlar® to EVA typically by a factor of 20 – best-in-class. This special surface treatment is purely physical, does not influence the chemical structure of Tedlar® and is field proven for +25 years.

Tedlar® meets Polyamide Further optimization would be to reach high EVA adhesion without additional process step. This can be achieved by using Polyamide for the inner layer of the backsheet. The innovative ICOSOLAR® TPA product line can provide this by combining the proven Tedlar® with innovative Polyamide. These backsheets’ inner layer (with contact to EVA) consists of a modified high-performance Polyamide film developed by ISOVOLTAIC. Polyamide has already proven convincing features and long term stability e.g. in the automotive industry. The first backsheets on the basis of modified polyamide were brought to the market in 2009 by ISOVOLTAIC and have been a resounding success since then.

Backward-integration has made this possible.

Being able to

ICOSOLAR® 2442 has proven its efficiency and reliability in the field since 1988. In this TPT film composite, a PET core provides the mechanical and electrical qualities while the outer and inner Tedlar® layers protect the PV module against weathering. Its special surface treatment shows considerably better bonding to the encapsulants. produce films by extrusion enables to determine the properties

of the material required for backsheets by intervening in chemical formulations on polymeric level.

ICOSOLAR® TPA backsheets (Tedlar®/ PET/Polyamide) combine the best out of two film technologies and show extremely high and long-term stable adhesion to EVA (up to 100 N/cm measured by leading tier one module manufacturers) without additional surface treatment. The product line includes two backsheets. ICOSOLAR® TPA 3G looks very similar to TPT backsheets, while ICOSOLAR® TPA HR has been optimized for ideal reflection (+10% compared to TPT backsheets) by a very glossy and high-quality Polyamide inner layer. Internationallyrecognised technical analyses as well as practical experience in the field show that high diffuse reflection of backsheets clearly results in increased module efficiency. The high reflectivity of Polyamide in ICOSOLAR® TPA HR enables higher module efficiency of up to +2% depending on the design of the module.

The ICOSOLAR® TPA product line also uses the unique resin system of ISOVOLTAIC that has already proven to be best-in-class for more than 25 years in TPT-backsheets like ICOSOLAR® 2442. It assures layer adhesion that still works after 3500 h damp heat testing.

Due to their outstanding features ICOSOLAR® TPA backsheets are highly reliable, perfectly fit for installations under especially challenging conditions and increase module efficiency.

ICOSOLAR® TPA The new backsheet product line of ISOVOLTAIC combines the best out of two film technologies: Tedlar® & Polyamide.

Due to its outstanding features these backsheets are highly reliable, perfectly fit for installations under especially challenging conditions and increase module efficiency.

ICOSOLAR® TPA The new backsheet product line of ISOVOLTAIC combines the best out of two film technologies: Tedlar® & Polyamide.

Due to its outstanding features these backsheets are highly reliable, perfectly fit

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the inner Tedlar® layer of the backsheet by an E-Layer (TPE). “E” stands for EVA or polyethylene. This layer has a low melting temperature and therefore melts during the lamination of PV modules. Thus even at minor processing errors electrically conductive components (strings, ribbons) will penetrate into this melting layer. In this case electrical module safety cannot be guaranteed anymore due to low isolation properties.

Currently a revision of the PV module safety qualification standard IEC61730 is in progress. The international standards working group for PV (TC82/WG2) has also recognized the safety risk that melting layers cause. It will define that only not melting layers will count for guaranteeing isolation.

Safety has always been of central importance for ISOVOLTAIC. Therefore ICOSOLAR® backsheets will also fulfil this new standard. Polyamide layers are dimensionally stable and do not melt during the module production process.

ICOSOLAR® TPA 3G and ICOSOLAR® TPA HR have been certified by all internationally important certification bodies.

They are UL recognized, TÜV type approved and JET component registrated – each at the highest level for PV components. To document the consistent quality of the product factory inspections from all 3 bodies are performed periodically (at least once a year).

In addition to that the company has been certified according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. The way ISOVOLTAIC does business as well as its processes and products are all governed by high quality and safety imperatives.

The essential factor for the bankability of a solar system is to minimize the risk.

This can be done by using certified high quality material for every component.

ICOSOLAR® backsheets support bankability and sustainability by experience, know-how and reliability.

Revision of standards for backsheets prevent safety risks S ev e r a l b a c k s h e e t manufacturers have taken similar approaches by replacing

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P O L I CY & REGUL A T I O N

Kerala Draft Grid Interactive Distributed Solar Systems

E

ligibility and general conditions of installation of grid interactive distributed solar energy system.(1) All consumers in the area of supply of the distribution licensee are eligible to install in their premises, the grid interactive distributed solar energy system, either owned by them or by any third party.

(2) The solar energy system installed by the consumer shall be: (a) within the permissible rated capacity as specified under these Regulations. (b) located in the premises of the consumer. (c) Interconnected with interlocking system and operated safely in parallel with the distribution system of the licensee.

(3) The capacity of the solar energy system to be installed at the premises of any consumer shall not exceed three megawatt (MW): Provided that the capacity of the solar energy system shall be in conformity with the provisions relating to the connected load or contract demand permissible at each voltage level as specified in the Kerala Electricity Supply Code, 2014, as amended from time to time.

Obligation of the distribution licensee to make available the connectivity to its distribution system.

(1) The distribution licensee shall, without any discrimination, provide the connectivity to its distribution system for 36

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the solar energy system of every consumer in its area of supply,

TRANSFORMER The distribution licensee shall give connectivity to the solar energy system of any consumer provided the cumulative capacity of solar energy systems connected to the distribution system under a particular distribution transformer does not exceed fifty percent of the capacity of the such transformer.

Provided that the distribution licensee shall make available on its website and in its local offices, the information relating to the capacity available for connecting the solar energy systems to the distribution transformer and shall update such information.

If the cumulative capacity of the solar energy systems under a distribution transformer exceeds the limit as provided in sub regulation (3) above, the licensee shall, within a period of two months, replace such transformer with another transformer of required higher capacity.

Obligation of the distribution licensee to provide banking facility and capacity target.-The obligation of the distribution licensee to provide banking facility to the eligible consumers shall be limited to the target capacity of the solar energy purchase obligation of the licensee, fixed by the Commission in accordance with the relevant

provisions of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation and its Compliance), Regulation, 2010, as amended from time to time: Provided that the target capacity of solar energy purchase obligation of the licensee in megawatt or in kilowatt shall be assessed taking into account the renewable purchase obligation

Metering arrangement.

(1) Net meter shall be installed at the interconnection points of the eligible consumers with the network of the distribution licensee.

(2) Solar meter shall be installed at the delivery point of the solar energy system to measure the total solar electricity generated.

(3) The solar meter and net meter shall be compatible with meter reading instrument (MRI) or with wireless equipment for recording meter readings: (4) Check meter shall be installed for the solar energy system having capacity more than 20kW and for the solar energy system of capacity less than or equal to 20 kW, the check meter would be optional:

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(5) The meters installed shall be jointly inspected and sealed on behalf of both the parties and shall be tested and installed only in the presence of the representatives of the consumer and the distribution licensee:

settlement of electricity generated and consumed by an eligible consumer who is not in the ToD billing system.

(6) The meter reading taken by the distribution licensee shall form the basis of commercial settlement and a copy of the meter reading statement of the net meter and solar meter shall be handed over to the consumer as soon as meter reading is taken.

(1) The total electricity generated and injected into the installation of the consumer and the distribution system during a billing period shall be assessed using the readings in the solar meter.

Banking of electricity.

(1) The licensee shall allow to the eligible consumer, the banking facility for the electricity generated and injected into the distribution system by the solar energy system of the consumer, subject to the conditions specified in the subregulations below.

(2) The eligible consumer in time of the day (ToD) billing system shall be entitled to use the quantum of electricity banked by him, first in the corresponding normal period in which the electricity was generated and injected into the system and the balance in the peak period and in the off peak period in succession.

(3) The eligible consumer who is not in time of the day (ToD) billing system shall be entitled to use the quantum of electricity banked by him, irrespective of the normal, peak or off-peak periods.

(4) The energy banked by an eligible consumer shall be accounted and settled in accordance with the provisions in regulations 15 and 16.

Right of the eligible consumer to use the excess energy in other premises.

(1) The eligible consumer shall have the right to avail open access for wheeling the excess energy generated by the solar energy system installed in one of his premises and to use such excess energy in any other premises owned by him within the area of supply of the licensee.The eligible consumer shall pay wheeling charges at the rate of five percent of the energy wheeled for use in other premises owned by him.

Accounting and

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(2) The quantum of electricity drawn from the distribution system of the licensee for the use of eligible consumer, the quantum of electricity injected into the distribution system of the licensee and the net quantum of electricity used or injected into the distribution system by the eligible consumer during a billing period shall be assessed using the readings in net meter.

(3) The total electricity consumed by the eligible consumer shall be computed using the above readings.

(4) If the electricity generated and injected into the system as measured in the solar meter exceeds the total electricity consumed by the eligible consumer in the same premises during any billing period, such excess electricity injected into the distribution system may be used by him in any other premises owned by him as specified in regulation 12 above and balance excess electricity shall be carried forward to the nextbilling period as electricity credit and shall be accounted and used to settle the electricity consumed by him in future billing periods.

(5) If the electricity generated and injected into the system by the eligible consumer as measured in the solar meter, is less than the total electricity consumed by him in all the premises owned by him within the area of supply of the licensee, during any billing period, the licensee shall recover from such eligible consumer, the electricity charges at the rates specified in tariff order issued by the Commission, for the net quantum of electricity drawn by him from the distribution system, after taking into account any electricity credit balance remaining from previous billing periods.

(6) The licensee shall give a statement of accounts of electricity showing the following particulars, along with the energy bill relating to each billing period: (i) quantum of electricity injected into

the distribution system by the eligible consumer; (ii) quantum of electricity supplied by distribution licensee to the eligible consumer; (iii) quantum of net electricity which has been billed for payment by the consumer; (iv) quantum of electricity generated and injected into the distribution system in excess of the consumption by the eligible consumer which is carried over to the next billing period: (7) The licensee shall pay for the net excess electricity injected into the distribution system from the solar energy system of an eligible consumer at the end of the settlement period at the average pooled purchase cost of electricity for the year.

16. Accounting and settlement of electricity generated and consumed by an eligible consumer who is in the ToD billing system.-(1) The total electricity generated and fed into the installation of the consumer and the distribution system during a billing period shall be assessed using the readings in the solar meter.

(2) The quantum of electricity drawn from the distribution system of the licensee for the use of eligible consumer, the quantum of electricity injected into the distribution system of the licensee and the net quantum of electricity used or injected into the distribution system by the eligible consumer during a billing period shall be assessed using the readings in net meter.

(3) The total electricity consumed by the eligible consumer shall be computed using the above readings.

(4) If the quantum of electricity generated and injected into the system by the solar energy system of the eligible consumer as measured in the solar meter, exceeds the total electricity consumed during the normal period in all the premises owned by him, within the area of supply of the licensee, in any billing period, such excess electricityinjected into the distribution system shall be set off, first against the electricity used during the peak period and then during the off peak period in the same billing period.

(5) If the quantum of electricity generated and injected into the distribution system by the solar energy system of the eligible consumer during a billing period exceeds the quantum of electricity consumed

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by him during the same billing period and adjusted as per sub-regulation (4) above, such excess electricity shall be carried forward to the next billing period as electricity credit and shall be accounted and used to settle the electricity consumed by him in the future billing periods, as per the procedures specified in sub-regulation (4) (6) If the electricity generated and injected into the system by the eligible consumer as measured in the solar meter, is less than the total electricity consumed in all the premises owned by him within the area of supply of the licensee, during any billing period, the licensee shall recover from such eligible consumer, the electricity charges at the rates specified in tariff order issued by the Commission, for the net quantum of electricity consumed by him from the distribution system, after taking into account any electricity credit balance remaining from previous billing periods.

(7) The licensee shall give a statement of accounts of electricity showing the following particulars, along with the energy bill relating to each billing period: (i) quantum of electricity injected into the distribution system by the eligible consumer; (ii) quantum of electricity supplied by distribution licensee to the eligible consumer; (iii) quantum of net electricity which has been billed for payment by the consumer; (iv) quantum of electricity generated and injected into the distribution system in

excess of the consumption by the eligible consumer which is carried over to the next billing period: (8) The licensee shall pay for the net excess electricity injected into the distribution system from the solar energy system of an eligible consumer at the end of the settlement period at the average pooled purchase cost of electricity for the year.

Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation.(1) The quantum of electricity generated from the solar energy system of an eligible consumer and consumed by him, shall qualify for accounting towards the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) of such eligible consumer if he is an obligated entity under Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation and its Compliance) Regulation, 2010.

(2) The quantum of electricity generated from the solar energy system of an eligible consumer, shall qualify for accounting towards the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) of the distribution licensee if the eligible consumer is not an obligated entityunder Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation and its Compliance) Regulation, 2010.

18. Exemption from banking charge and cross subsidy surcharge.-The electricity generated by an eligible consumer using the solar energy system installed in his premises, whether owned by him or by a third party, shall be exempted from banking charge and cross subsidy surcharge.

ANNEXURE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 GRID INTERACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM

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P

etition filed by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., in the matter of Regulations 7, 18 and 20 of MERC (Renewable Purchase Obligations, its Compliance and Implementation of REC Framework) Regulations, 2010, in respect of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) target.

M/s. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (Distribution) (herein after “the Petitioner”) filed a petition on affidavit before the Commission on 27 June, 2013, in the matter of Regulations 7, 18 and 20 of MERC (Renewable Purchase Obligations, its Compliance and Implementation of REC Framework) Regulations, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as “MERC (RPO –REC) Regulations, 2010”) and Section 86 (1)(e) of the Electricity Act 2003 and Regulation 92 of MERC (Conduct of Business) Regulations, 2004, inter alia, in respect of renewable purchase obligation (“RPO”) target.

purchase of additional solar power to offset its non-solar RPO target, is the similar issue which was decided by the Commission in Case No. 109 of 2012 dated 2 January, 2013 pertaining to the interchangeability of non-solar power with solar power in order to fulfill the total RPO target. The relevant portion of the Commission’s ruling in Case No. 109 of 2012 is reproduced below: g.

The prayers of the Petitioner are as under: “ a. theHon’ble Commission may be pleased to allow RInfra to purchase additional quantum of 250 MW of Solar Power to offset Non-Solar RPO or any other capacity as Hon’ble Commission may deem appropriate considering the difficulties faced by RInfra in meeting Non-Solar RPO and in consumer interest.; b.

pass any other Order as may be appropriate under the circumstances;

c.

theHon’ble Commission condone any inadvertent omissions/ errors/ shortcomings;

d.

theHon’ble Commission may be pleased to permit the Petitioner to add or modify this petition with additional information, if so required during the course of hearings.”

e.

Decision With Reason:

f.

Having heard the Petitioner and Consumer Represent ative, the Commission is of the view that the issue raised by the Petitioner with respect to

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h.

“a) Inter-changeability of Solar and non-Solar RE Procurement to meet RPO – view of Forum of Regulators: The issue of inter-changeability of Solar and Non Solar RPO as raised in the present Petition by RInfra-D was discussed in detail during the 33rd meeting of Forum of Regulators (FOR) held at Port Blair on 7 and 8 December, 2012. As regards this issue, it was agreed that such interchangeability, especially, compliance of non-solar RPO by solar power purchase would not be desirable till solar power achieves grid parity. At the same time, this might adversely affect promotion of other Renewable Energy sources.

The relevant extract of the Minutes of 33rd meeting of FOR is reproduced as given below for ease of reference: Agenda Item No. 2 (A) : Discussion : Issues on RPO Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement. “... Given the enthusiasm in the country for investment in the green energy segment, the stakeholders are looking forward to support from the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions on creating and sustaining demand through setting RPO at appropriate levels and more importantly by ensuring compliance of the RPO targets set for the obligatory entities. After discussion, the following was agreed.

parity. At the same time, this might adversely affect promotion of other renewable energy generation sources. ...” i.

18. In view of the aforesaid discussions and analysis by Commission in earlier paragraphs and also in light of views expressed in the FOR meeting in the matter of Inter-changeability of RPO targets, the Commission is of the view that such inter-changeability of RPO may not be desirable till Solar power achieves grid parity. Further, in the present market conditions, compliance of non-solar RPO through purchase of non-Solar RECs shall cause lesser cost burden on the Obligated Entities as compared to allowing an option of compliance of non-solar RPO through additional Solar power procurement.

The Commission does not wish to burden the Obligated Entities or consumers with undue cost burden by allowing such option of compliance of non-solar RPO through additional solar power procurement.”

j.

Further, the contention raised by the Petitioner with respect to non availability of biomass power, difficulties faced with tying up of wind power and unavailability of bagasse based power due to non extending the exemption of sugarcane purchase tax to other distribution licensees, were considered by the Commission in Case No. 109 of 2012.

k.

In view of the decision already rendered by this Commission in Case No. 109 of 2012 by Order dated 2 January, 2013, the present petition is not maintainable as it is hit by Res Judicata.

The petition is accordingly dismissed as not maintainable.

On the issue raised by MERC Chairperson regarding inter-changeability of solar and non-solar RPO, it was felt that such interchangeability, especially, compliance of nonsolar RPO by solar power purchase would not be desirable till solar power achieves grid

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P O L I CY & REG UL A T I O N

MERC Dismisses Reliance Petetion to Purchase Additional Quantum of 250 MW of Solar Power To Offset Non-Solar RPO

P O L I CY & REGUL A T I O N

Exemption from Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) in compliance to directions of APTEL’s order dated 10.4.2013.

1. Sri I.J. Joshi, Jt. President, Hindalco 2. Sri R. P. Sharma, Jt. President, Hindalco 3. Sri Kailash N. Pandey, Vice President, Hindalco 4. Sri Utkarsh Raghubanshi, A.G.M., Hindalco 5. Sri Shahid Rizvi, Advocate, Hindalco M/s Hindalco, the Petitioner, is a company producing Aluminum at Renukoot and having a captive thermal power generating capacity of 742 MW. It has also set up a co-generation plant of 78 MW capacity using fossil fuel exclusively for its captive use.

The petition no. 717 of 2011 was filed by the Petitioner for exemption from Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) casted for promotion of Green Energy as per UPERC (Promotion of Green Energy through Renewable Purchase Obligation), Regulations, 2010 dated 17.8.2010 (hereinafter called Regulations, 2010). The Petitioner had also requested for inclusion of cogenerating plants using fossil fuel in the category of ‘Renewable Energy Sources’ under Regulation 2.1(p) of Regulations, 2010.

In the matter, Hon’ble Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) order dated 26.04.2010, M/s Century Rayon, Maharashtra Vs. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), was cited wherein it was held that M/s Century Rayon, being a co-generator, was producing energy more efficiently as compared to conventional power plants and was under no obligation to procure electricity from renewable energy sources for fulfillment of RPO. After the due deliberations and in view of the Electricity Act, 2003, National Electricity Policy and Hon’ble APTEL’s conclusions, vide order dated 4.11.2011, the Commission observed as below: “In light of the Electricity Act, 2003, National Electricity Policy and Hon’ble APTEL’s conclusions, the Commission reckons that cogeneration based on fossil fuel should also be promoted but the generation based on renewable energy sources has its 40

EQ March 2014

definite category under Regulation 2.1(p) of the UPERC (Promotion of Green Energy through Renewable Purchase Obligations)

consonance with the finding of the Tribunal in Century Rayon case in relaxation of its Regulations. Accordingly directed.

Regulation, 2010 and therefore, cannot include co-generation from fossil fuel under its definition. In this regard the Forum of Regulators (FOR) in 23rd Meeting on 29th & 30th April, 2011 has also agreed that “the RPO should be made applicable to cogeneration based captive consumers as well, in line with the spirit of Section 86(1) (e) of the Electricity Act, 2003. It was also felt that the scope of Section 86 (1)(e) is to promote Renewable and that only the non-fossil fuel based cogeneration plants should be covered under the said provision for the purpose of RPO. It was agreed that MNRE and MOP should be apprised of this development and professional support, if any, required by GERC in contesting the case before the High Court may be extended by FOR Secretariat.”

In view of above the impugned order is set aside. The State Commission is directed to pass consequential orders as per the directions of the Tribunal at the earliest”.

Therefore, the Commission opines that in present situation, the cogeneration by grid connected fossil fuel based co-generating plants cannot be considered for fulfillment of Renewable Purchase Obligation under the Regulations. The matter shall be taken up by the Commission suo-motu as and when required.”

M/s Hindalco has further filed an application petition no. 902 of 2013 for passing of consequential order as per the directions of the Hon’ble Tribunal. 6. In compliance to direction of Hon’ble APTEL and in consonance with the finding of the Tribunal in Century Rayon case in relaxation of its Regulations, the Commission opines that for those captive consumers who meet the specified percentage of energy from the captive co-generation plant using any fuel are exempted from RPO obligation under the UPERC (Promotion of Green Energy through Renewable Purchase Obligation), Regulations, 2010 w.e.f. the date of publication of the Regulations in Official Gazette. The necessary changes in the Regulations are being made accordingly.

However, the onus of establishing that such consumption was not less than the specified obligation shall lie with the captive consumer.

Against this order of the Commission, the Petitioner went into appeal. Hon’ble APTEL, vide order dated 10.4.2013 has directed to the Commission as below: “We would, therefore, direct the State Commission not to enforce Renewable Purchase Obligation on the captive consumers who meet the specified percentage of energy from the captive cogeneration plant using any fuel and exempt them from RPO obligation in

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P O L I CY & REG UL A T I O N

In The Matter Of Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation To Be Fulfilled By Kerala State Electricity Board And All Other Licensees In The State Of Kerala.

Sri T.M.Manoharan, Chairman - Sri. P.Parameswaran, Member - Sri Mathew George, Member

The Commission Issued Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation And Its Compliance) Regulations, 2010 On 03.11.2010 And The Renewable Purchase Obligation For Licensees Are As Follows As Per The Regulation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Renewable Purchase Obligation:Every obligated entity shall purchase not less than 3% of its consumption of energy from renewable energy sources under the Renewable Purchase Obligation during the years from 2010 with annual increase of 10% of 3% per year up to a maximum RPO of 10%. Provided that 0.25% of the consumption of energy shall be procured from generation based on solar as renewable energy source only; Provided further, such obligation to purchase renewable energy shall be inclusive of the purchases, if any, from renewable energy sources already being made by the concerned obligated entity; Provided also that the power purchases under the power purchase agreements for the purchase of renewable energy sources already entered into by the distribution licensees and consented to by the Commission shall continue to be made till their present validity, even if the total purchases under such agreements exceed the percentage as specified hereinabove.â&#x20AC;?

The Commission observes that the Licensees in the state have not met the solar purchase obligation as per the above regulation from 2010 till date. The matter was considered by the Commission in detail and it has been decided that in view of the

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urgent need to promote the renewable sources of energy in the state with special focus on development of solar electricity, the solar power obligation by the Licensees shall be insisted with immediate effect.

Clause 6(2) of the above regulation empowers the Commission to impose penalty under section 142 of the Electricity Act 2003 if any obligated entity failed to comply with the obligations and also to allow carrying forward the compliance requirement for the next year. Even though the regulations prescribe solar power obligations from 2010 onwards none of the Licensees have approached the Commission to allow carrying forward the obligation till date.

obligation shall be enhanced by 10% every year thereafter.

2.

The consumption for 2013-14 shall be taken as the base year in the case of KSEB and 2014-15 for other Licensees for computing the obligation.

3.

ANERT being the designated state agency shall monitor the solar power purchase obligation and submit periodical reports to the Commission as per the Regulations

However in view of the fact that the solar electricity generation in the state as well as the Solar REC market in the country is yet to develop and mature, the Commission has decided to enforce the solar purchase obligation by the Licensees from the FY 2013-14 only.

The Commission hereby issues the following orders on the matter: 1.

Solar Power purchase obligation as per the Regulation cited, at the rate of 0.25% of the consumption of energy, shall be insisted from the FY 2013-14 in the case of KSEB and from the FY 2014-15 in the case of other Licensees in the state. The solar power purchase

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I NT ERV I EW

Himamsu Popuri CEO Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd.

EQ : What is Nuevosol trusted for in the Industry?

HP : Firstly, I would like to thank every client, who trusted in Nuevosol. We are trusted

by Developers and EPC firms for being a mounting structure partner, who is like an in-house team which can support in all fronts of

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optimization, operational as well as technical.

We are trusted for taking up challenges and meeting super fast execution targets. We provide not just a mounting solution but a completely holistic solution which optimizes the power plant as a whole. Also, Nuevosol is known for its experience in meeting aggressive price targets, unexpected site conditions and going out of the way to achieve the targets for our clients.

EQ : Nuevosol is known for anything new and anything big, Can you explain your experiences in deploying India’s many firsts?

HP : Nuevosol is always open for challenges, be it technical, operational or in doing anything unconventional. This attitude of team Nuevosol has helped us achieve some of the India’s many firsts. In ground mounted products we developed structures that follow the contour upto 11 deg in both EW and NS directions. Contour following structures at this inclination are being installed for the first time in a mega power plant of 50 MW in Madhya Pradesh. First MW scale inclined roof mounting has been an achievement; as it took a lot of R&D to develop a robust product which penetrates the roofs yet makes it completely water proof. Today our structures are covering some of the biggest factory sheds in India with our mounting structures.

In the operational front Nuevosol has taken up challenges to develop numerous new foundations and many new ways to optimize the time to install, which made us install power plants at a pace of 1 MW per day. Not only developing these innovative methodologies, but also actively pursuing the approvals of the same from many PSUs, to break the conventional wisdom, is one of our achievements.

Very recently we have also made a mark in being the first, probably in the world to design, manufacture and install a 1 MW Car

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Port system, which is a design and execution challenge like none else. We also are the first to install our structures in two international airports in India.

EQ : What is Nuevosol’s contribution to the growing rooftop market?

HP : Innovation for economic feasibility is one aspect where Nuevosol has been actively involved in rooftop market. We have been developing numerous products to suit for the varying rooftop conditions. Nuevosol has so far deployed more than 10 MWs of rooftop structures. These rooftop projects have been executed for corporate giants in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai for the biggest EPC firms in India.

Rooftop industry in India is very naïve and we have been working to standardize many products to ensure faster deliveries. Currently the capabilities of Indian manufacturers to supply at the required pace is very limited and has been hampering our efforts. We are in the process of setting up manufacturing units specifically for rooftop products and also in the process of improving the capability of existing manufacturers.

EQ : How are your products different from those of your competition?

HP : Mounting systems developed by Nuevosol standout in many different ways: Firstly, our structures are developed with totality into consideration. Not many design structures to optimize layouts or with a thought to increase IRRs. What we offer is not just a structure, but it is a solution, which is linked with the entire power plant, its energy output, economic viability of the plant, IRR and many such parameters, which are of interest to the EPC Contractor as well as the Developer.

Secondly, we treat design of structures to be as scientific as any other component of

the power plant. The tool of optimization used to design structures incorporates multiple parameters like cost, strength, ease of manufacturing, ease of installation to bring our structures, which act like a system than a stand- alone entities.

Thirdly, our products accompany services, which are targeted towards making execution simpler and better. A package of turnkey services ensures there is single point responsibility and hassle free execution.

We aim at reducing our client’s efforts, the manpower deployed by them, meet their super-track schedules and ensure complete peace of mind throughout the period of execution.

Finally our products are built out of passion and respect towards mounting structures. There needs to be an attitudinal shift where most people believe that Lean is weak and Heavy is durable or many such notions. This is a layman approach to design and highly unscientific and not our way of design.

EQ : What challenges did Nuevosol face in the last FY? HP : India has to gear up manifold.

Steel industry is clearly, not adequately prepared to the supply of raw material i.e Pre-Galvanized Steel mainly. The pace at which solar industry is growing requires 1 lakh tonnes of steel supplied to various manufacturing yards only for the purpose of manufacturing solar structures. There is a huge scarcity of the base raw material, as there are very few suppliers for the huge tonnages that we require. Many times there is price escalation and material shortage impacting the timelines of projects. For some niche materials that we use in our structures there is monopoly at play leading to random price escalations and material shortages.

This is one of the biggest concerns in the industry right now.

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However we are thankful to all the clients, suppliers, contractor and even the logistic providers who trusted in us and helped us achieve more than 350 MWs in the last two years.

EQ : With JNNSM and many state policies planned in this year, What are your plans to meet the growing demand?

HP : Nuevosol works on a focused objective of â&#x20AC;&#x153;making things betterâ&#x20AC;?. Every year we are increasing the deliverables while reducing the costs much further. We have developed numerous new structures and every project has a new innovation aimed at faster manufacturing and execution. We have helped many of our clients win the bids and working for more than 500 MWs next FY,.

We are planning to achieve this in a threefold strategy, design supremacy, optimized manufacturing and simplified execution.

Design and manufacturing have to be synchronized to the maximum possible extent. Nuevosol involves itself in developing newer manufacturing tools to enable our manufacturers reach our levels of optimization thereby developing newer sections. These designs are aimed at super fast execution targets. Standardizing the use of hardware, reducing the number of manual operations, increasing automation are some examples.

Currently there is a wide gap between the demand and supply in manufacturing of steel structures. This gap is going to only widen in the coming year. While Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steel industry is struggling to meet the demands of growing solar industry, Nuevosol has embarked on a mission to develop capabilities of manufacturing facilities in a decentralized fashion. There are many units all over India, which are not technically or operationally mature enough to supply at the pace and quality at which solar industry requires.

Nuevosol is actively pursuing the task to bring 44

EQ March 2014

these into mainstream solar manufacturing.

Apart from the bigger units, it is essential to optimize these decentralized units to enable India reach the set targets.

of tool design for faster manufacturing and also has quality, product personnel deployed who look at optimizing the floor layouts to higher throughput.

On the regulatory front, we are hoping there will be many changes in existing Excise duty exemption regime and incentives for decentralized units who cannot set off the duty exemption. We are going to approach the MNRE with our plea on this. Also in the raw material industry we are expecting more support from the steel manufacturers in deploying more resources towards solar specific steel

Our structures are designed with a perfect blend of customization and standardization. This helps faster execution on site. Our installers are happy to work on these structures, which require very less labor. We have been generating skilled manpower and contractor network and today we have huge network capable of installing at 1 MW per day and more.

Installation is also an area of concern with inadequate skilled manpower and resources to achieve the targets. Nuevosol has developed numerous contractors and sub-contractors all over India who trained with videos and animations of our structure installation. Training is a key aspect, which Nuevosol is concentrating on to ensure there is adequate manpower to achieve the forthcoming targets.

EQ : Nuevosol has been executing at a pace of 50 MWs per Month, how is the manufacturing and installation at this pace being managed?

HP : Nuevosol has been executing at the rate of 50MW per month and is expecting to execute at the rate of more than 100 MW per month in the coming quarters. This calls for three main capabilities.

One, a chain of manufacturers located all over India and Two, designs which are easy to manufacture and optimizing the manufacturing layouts to produce faster,Three experienced installer network. Nuevosol has over the past 2 years generated a network of more than 30 contract manufacturers.

The relationship with these units is not like that of a buyer and a seller, but is highly integrated. Nuevosol goes into the details

EQ : What are your immediate plans for the coming FY. HP : The coming FY is very exciting with JNNSM and many state policies taking off soon. We are excited and geared up to take up Mega Power projects, from the experience we gained over the last two years in executing projects at a pace of 50 MW per month.

We have plans for exporting structures which is materializing in the coming months.

Internationally Aluminium structures were used for ages. The scope of optimization in Aluminium structures to reduce costs has saturated and globally the requirement is shifting towards steel structures. The level of optimization achieved by Nuevosol in steel structures is much above the global standards and thereby there is scope for exporting.

Right now even with export of structures we are able to provide at lower costs than those being manufactured locally in Europe and US. Our structures are competing with many European and Chinese manufacturers and are standing out successful on the design and price competitiveness.

Finally, we once again thank all our clients, suppliers and contractors who helped us achieve this feat and hoping for the same in future.

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P O L I CY & REG UL A T I O N

Madhya Pradesh 100MW Solar Tender Bidding Results

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P O L I CY & REGUL A T I O N

JNNSM PHASE II BATCH 1 : 750 MW TENDER BIDDING RESULTS

O

n 21st February 2014, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) opened the financial bids for the allocation of solar PV projects under batch one of phase two of the National Solar Mission (NSM).

A total of 122 project bids were received from 58 developers. The Non-DCR category was oversubscribed by 4 times and the DCR category was oversubscribed by over one and half time. Four bids - those by PMP Auto Components, Zandu Realty, Golden Crystal and Green Energy Wind - were cancelled as they did not meet the technocommercial criteria. The bid by Moser Baer was cancelled as the bank guarantee was not provided.

The highest and lowest Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category were INR 13.5m (USD 0.23m) by Swelect (10 MW) and INR 24.99m (USD 0.47m) by IL&FS Renewables (10 MW). The lowest and highest VGF sought for projects outside the DCR were INR 1.7m (USD 28,300) by Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (10 MW) and INR 24.9m (USD 4.7m) by Madhav Infra (10 MW).

Project-wise Allocation for DCR Category (Part-A) Sl.

Project capacity as Project capacity |VGF Sought

Bidder Name

allocated(MW)

byBidder

1 2

(MW) Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. 10 Sharda Construction & Corporation Pvt. 10

10 10

in(INR/ MW) 135,00,000 139,50,000

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Ltd. Today Homes And Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. SEI Suncells Pvt. Ltd. Today Homes And Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. SEI Sitara Pvt. Ltd. Laxmi Diamond Pvt. Ltd. Today Homes And Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. RDA Energy Pvt. Ltd. Palimarwar Solar Project Pvt Limited Solairedirect Energy India Pvt. Limited Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd. Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. Solairedirect Energy India Pvt. Limited Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd. Waaree Energies Pvt. Ltd. Hero Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. IL&FS Energy Development Company

10 20 10 30 10 10 10 10 20 40 10 10 20 50 10 20

10 20 10 30 10 10 10 10 20 40 10 10 20 50 10 20

144,50,000 147,29,000 169,50,000 186,97,000 202,00,000 209,50,000 212,00,000 216,40,000 219,00,000 220,00,000 225,00,000 229,00,000 230,00,000 235,00,000 239,00,000 239,99,000

19

Limited Green Energy Development Corporation Of 20

20

240,00,000

20

Odisha Limited IL&FS Energy Development Company 20

20

241,00,000

20 5

244,99,872 245,60,000

No.

21 22

per Bidsubmitted

Limited Ranji Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. Welspun Renewables Energy Ltd. TOTAL CAPACITY

20 20 375 MW

Based on the final tally, under the nonDCR category, 15 project developers are expected to be invited to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 24 projects, totaling 375 MW. Under the DCR category, 15 project developers are expected to be invited to sign PPAs for 21 projects, also totaling 375 MW. The highest winning bid under the nonDCR category is INR 13.5 m (USD 0.23m).

The highest winning bid under the non-DCR category is INR 24.5m (USD 0.4m) by Tata Power Solar.

Bidders have been able to absorb 64% of the total available VGF of Rs.1875 crores, thus leaving a surplus of 36%.

Sharda Construction & Corporation Pvt. Ltd.

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Project-wise Allocation for OPEN Category (Part B) Sl.

Bidder Name

No. 1 Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd. 2 SEI L'Volta Pvt. Ltd. 3 Finnsurya Energy Pvt. Ltd. 4 Rishabh Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. 5 SEI Suryalabh Pvt. Ltd. 6 Finnsurya Energy Pvt. Ltd. 7 Medha Energy Pvt. Ltd. 8 Backbone Enterprises Limited 9 Today Homes And Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. 10 Focal Energy Solar India Pvt. Ltd. 11 Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited 12 Enersan Power Pvt. Ltd. 13 Acme Mumbai Power Pvt. Ltd. 14 Belectric Photovoltaic India Pvt. Ltd. 15 4G Identity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 16 Acme Rajdhani Power Pvt. Ltd. 17 Today Homes And Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. 18 Focal Energy Solar India Pvt. Ltd. 19 Hero Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. 20 Acme Gurgaon Power Pvt. Ltd. 21 Vishwaj Energy Private Ltd. 22 Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd. 23 Hero Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. 24 Focal Energy Solar India Pvt. Ltd. 25 Sunil Hitech Engineers Ltd. TOTAL CAPACITY

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Project capacity as per

Project capacity

VGF Sought by Bidder in(INR/ MW)

Bidsubmitted(MW) 10 20 30 10 30 10 20 10 10 10 10 10 20 10 10 20 10 10 10 20 10 40 10 20 10 375 MW

allocated (MW) 10 20 30 10 30 10 20 10 10 10 10 10 20 10 10 20 10 10 10 20 10 40 10 20 5

17,50,000 73,29,000 81,99,000 85,00,000 87,28,494 96,99,000 97,79,439 99,00,000 99,50,000 99,89,000 104,00,000 108,00,000 113,99,884 117,90,000 118,00,000 118,98,897 119,50,000 119,99,000 122,00,000 129,99,943 130,00,000 130,00,000 131,00,000 131,80,000 135,00,000

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

Advanced Energy : Increased Global Presence And Completed The Restructuring Accelerated The Revenues Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International •

Revenue of $153 million

•

GAAP earnings of $0.83 per diluted share

•

Non-GAAP earnings of $0.67 per diluted share

•

Ended quarter with $150 million in cash

Advanced Energy Industries, announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013. The company reported fourth quarter sales of $152.6 million compared with $142.9 million in the third quarter of 2013 and $113.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Income from continuing operations was $34.4 million or $0.83 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP basis, income from continuing operations was $27.8 million or $0.67 per diluted share.

Based on our current mix of profits between thin films and solar, the effective tax rate excluding restructuring was approximately 0%. The company ended the quarter with $149.7 million in cash and marketable securities, a sequential increase of $45.0 million.

and geographies. With a variety of new thin films products, growing demand for our revamped inverter product line and a strong pipeline of opportunities in both existing and new applications, we believe we are poised for a strong 2014.”

Thin Films sales were $87.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, a 16.2% increase from $75.4 million in the third quarter of 2013 and a 64.4% increase from $53.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Growth this quarter was particularly strong as our OEM customers prepared for first quarter shipments to their customers and the company’s multitude of new products continue to enable expansion into new applications.

the fourth quarter to meet demand.

First Quarter 2014 Guidance The company anticipates first quarter 2014 results from continuing operations to continue our trend of significant year-overyear increases. This guidance reflects some Solar seasonality partially offset by demand for new products and the resulting impact of last quarter’s strong OEM sales in Thin Films.

Guidance is within the following ranges: •

Sales of $138 million to $146 million ($112 million in Q1 2013)

•

Earnings per share of $0.36 to $0.42 ($0.17 in Q1 2013)

•

Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.41 to $0.47 ($0.29 in Q1 2013)

Solar Energy sales were $64.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, down 4% from $67.5 million in the third quarter of 2013 and an increase of 8.9% from $59.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Backlog for our new 1 megawatt inverter remained strong as the company began to ramp production in

“Two years into our strategic plan, we have increased our global presence, completed our restructuring, improved margins, accelerated revenues and effectively utilized our cash for acquisitions and share repurchases, all in order to return value to our shareholders,” said Garry Rogerson, CEO of Advanced Energy. “Our highly efficient engine is now in place, with R&D centers throughout the world and our manufacturing centralized through Shenzhen. Entering the new year, our opportunities span applications 48

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

SunEdison – Q4 reflected Strong Demand In Its Solar Energy Segment

Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International

Fourth Quarter 2013 Highlights: •

GAAP revenue of $551.2 million and GAAP EPS of $(1.07)

•

Non-GAAP revenue of $960.7 million and non-GAAP EPS of $(0.48)

•

Solar Energy recognized non-GAAP revenue related to 206 MW of solar energy systems, retained 127 MW of solar energy systems and ended the quarter with 504 MW under construction

•

Projects retained on balance sheet represented an estimated $257.0 million of retained value

•

Solar project pipeline grew to 3.4 GW and backlog remained at 1.1 GW

•

Semiconductor Materials generated positive operating cash flow

•

Successfully raised $1.2 billion through a convertible senior note offering and redeemed 2019 Senior Notes

term debt refinancing in connection with the convertible senior note offering, inflows from solar project financing and working capital management, partially offset by outflows from solar project construction.

On February 18, 2014, SunEdison announced that it confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of the common stock of a yield vehicle. The number of shares of common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The initial public offering is expected to commence after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team, we achieved our target for solar project completions in the quarter. Our

geographic breadth and early presence in regions now experiencing growing demand enabled another quarter of pipeline growth.

The successful debt refinancing completed late last year and our proposed yield vehicle are important steps towards lowering our cost of capital,” said Ahmad Chatila, Chief Executive Officer. “Despite challenging conditions in the semiconductor market, our Semiconductor Materials segment generated positive operating cash flow and continues to take action to lower its cost structure. According to industry forecasts, the semiconductor market is expected to grow in 2014, and we are positioned well from a customer, product and capability perspective to participate as the market improves. In 2014, we remain committed to strengthening our balance sheet and creating value for our stakeholders.”

SunEdison, announced financial results for the 2013 fourth quarter that reflected strong demand in its Solar Energy segment.

Solar pipeline grew sequentially despite significantly higher project completions in the quarter. Lower revenue in the Semiconductor Materials segment was due to lower volumes and continued pricing pressures, influenced primarily by industry related weakness. We ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $573.5 million and cash committed for construction projects of $258.0 million, totaling $831.5 million, resulting from the net cash inflows from

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

FirstSolar 2013 Q4 Result Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International

•

Net sales of $768 million for the fourth quarter and $3.3 billion for 2013

•

GAAP earnings per fully diluted share of $0.64 for the fourth quarter and $3.70 for 2013

•

• •

Non-GAAP earnings per fully diluted share of $0.89 for the fourth quarter and $4.35 for 2013 Cash and Marketable Securities of $1.8 billion, Net Cash of $1.5 billion Earnings guidance of $0.50 to $0.60 per fully diluted share for the first quarter of 2014

First Solar, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2013. Net sales were $768 million in the quarter, a decrease of $497

million from the third quarter of 2013. The sequential decrease in net sales is primarily attributable to lower systems business project revenues as initial revenue recognition for Desert Sunlight and sale of the ABW projects were both achieved in the third quarter of 2013.

net income per fully diluted share was $0.89.

The Company reported fourth quarter GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $0.64, compared to $1.94 in the third quarter of 2013. The fourth quarter of 2013 was impacted by pre-tax restructuring and asset impairment charges of $24.9 million primarily related to an additional writedown, due to a change in marketing strategy, in the value of our idle Vietnam facility.

Excluding the impact of the restructuring and asset impairment charges, Non-GAAP

down of our Vietnam facility. Non-GAAP

The company reported a full year GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $3.70 for 2013, including the impact of pre-tax charges of $86.9 million related to previously announced restructuring activities, the sale of our Mesa, Arizona facility and the writenet income per fully diluted share for the full-year 2013 was $4.35.

Cash and Marketable Securities at the end of the fourth quarter were approximately $1.8 billion, an increase of approximately $232 million compared to the end of the third quarter of 2013. Cash flows from operations were $192 million in the fourth quarter and $856 million for the full-year 2013.

5years Stock Chart : Source Bloomberg

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The Company also provided guidance for the first quarter of 2014 as follows: •

Net Sales of $800 to $900 million

•

EPS of $ 0.50 to $ 0.60 per fully diluted share

•

Cash used in operating activities of ($300) to ($400) million

“The fourth quarter and full-year 2013 shows our Company’s continued progress in achieving the strategic objectives we outlined during our Analyst Day event in April,” said Jim Hughes, CEO of First Solar. “For the year completed we delivered on several key objectives, including additional bookings of approximately 1.7GWdc, significant reductions to our module manufacturing cost, and a strong financial performance. As we move into 2014 the company remains focused on continuing to achieve our strategic objectives to ensure future success.”

First Solar achieved several milestones over the past year: •

Set a new world record for CdTe cell efficiency at 20.4%.

•

Reduced the average module manufacturing costs on its best plant by 17% from $0.64 per watt in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $0.53 per watt in the fourth quarter of 2013 (excluding underutilization and upgrades).

•

Surpassed 8 GWDC of cumulative production, enough to provide clean electricity for approximately 4 million homes and displace 5.2 million metric tons of CO annually.

•

Added approximately 1.7 GWDC of new projects to the Company’s project pipeline.

•

Acquired TetraSun to expand addressable market opportunity.

•

Completed its first utility-scale project in the Middle East and the largest operating solar PV plant in the region. 

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

Trina Solar – Geographical Diversification Will Continue To Be A Key Strategic Focus In 2014 Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International

Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial and Operating Highlights •

•

•

•

•

Total net revenues were $1.77 billion, an increase of 36.9% from 2012

•

Gross profit was $218.2 million, an increase of 281.2% from 2012

•

Gross margin was 12.3%, compared to 4.4% in 2012

•

Net revenues were $525.6 million, a decrease of 4.1% from the third quarter of 2013

Operating loss was $43.8 million, a decrease of 83.5% from 2012

•

Gross profit was $79.1 million, a decrease of 5.2% from the third quarter of 2013

Net loss for the full year was $77.9 million, a decrease of 70.8% from 2012

•

Loss per fully diluted ADS for 2013 was $1.09, compared to a loss of $3.77 in 2012

all key geographies and end segments. In particular, we are seeing substantial sales growth in China, and anticipate that trend to continue following the government’s increased target of 14 GW in new solar installations for 2014. Our efforts to diversify our business beyond the traditional markets in Europe and the USA where we have maintained leading positions and into additional emerging markets have progressed well. Geographical diversification will continue to be a key strategic focus in 2014. We have achieved significant sales volumes in 2013 in new nontraditional markets, including China, Japan, South East Asia and the Middle East.

“We are pleased to report that in the fourth quarter we continued to make progress in executing our operating strategy across

“Operating and financial management remained a key focus in 2013, and I am happy to announce that operating expenses as a

Solar module shipments were 770.1 MW during the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 774.6 MW in the third quarter of 2013

Gross margin was 15.1%, compared to 15.2% in the third quarter of 2013

•

Cost of revenue was $446.5 million, a decrease of 4.0% from the third quarter of 2013

•

Operating income was $14.1 million, an increase of 133.8% from the third quarter of 2013

•

Operating margin was 2.7%, compared to 1.1% in the third quarter of 2013

•

Net income was $9.6 million, a decrease of 3.5% from the third quarter of 2013

•

Earnings per fully diluted American Depositary Share (“ADS” and each ADS represents 50 of the Company’s ordinary shares) was $0.13, compared to $0.14 in the third quarter of 2013

Full Year 2013 Financial and Operating Highlights •

52

PV module shipments were approximately 2.58 GW, compared to 1.59 GW in 2012

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percentage of revenue declined substantially from 17.1% in the first quarter of 2013 to 12.4% in the fourth quarter. In addition, our dedication to fiscal discipline has generated positive results across most key metrics.

Days of sales outstanding and inventory days continued to decrease over the previous quarter. As we closed the fourth quarter, Trina continued to stand out among its Chinese solar peers as maintaining one of the relatively healthier balance sheets. We will continue to focus on ensuring the right balance between business expansion and maintaining our financial strength.

on developing downstream projects and increase the contribution from these projects to our total revenues and gross margins.

To achieve this goal we have been building project pipelines in a number of different geographical regions that we anticipate will provide the Company with a platform for further growth.” said Mr. JifanGao, Chief Executive Officer of Trina Solar.

“As a leader in R&D and innovation, Trina Solar achieved a breakthrough in cell technology in the quarter. After two years of research, last week Trina Solar announced it had jointly developed an Interdigitated high efficiency Back Contact (“IBC”) cell in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU).The IBC cell, independently tested by the FraunhoferCalLab in Germany, was able to deliver an efficiency of 24.4%, putting it among the most efficient solar cells to date. Trina Solar has independently developed a commercial version of the IBC cell and expects it to be ready for trial production in its “golden line” production line as one of Trina’s focuses for R&D in 2014.

“To ensure Trina Solar has access to sufficient production capacity to meet the anticipated increase in global demand in 2014, the Company recently announced two strategic investments in China to expand its solar cell and module production capacity.

These agreements provide Trina Solar with the means to efficiently and cost-effectively increase production capacity as needed. At the same time this initiative has an important role to play in helping to achieve the healthy and sustainable growth of the Chinese solar industry. We expect consolidation to continue in the solar sector. This is beneficial for the industry as a whole, but ultimately for customers and end-users as well.

“In 2014, we are optimistic that solar PV demand will continue to be strong and expect China, Japan, as well as the broader Asia Pacific region and the Middle East to be key drivers of this increased demand. At the same time, we remain committed to securing ongoing growth in Europe. To capitalize on this growing demand, we will work towards solidifying our leading position in modules sales. At the same time, we will focus further

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

Development of 1000 MW Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh by SECI & APIIC Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International

Solar Energy Corporation of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh for setting up a 1000 MW Solar Park .This would be located in Gattu mandal of Mahbubnagar district and will be one of the largest solar parks in the country. AP Park will be built on plug and play model and solar developers will be able to set up power plants in a much shorter time frame of 3 to 6 months without any botheration of land, water, power evacuation etc. . Mr. Rajendra Nimje ex-IAS, Managing Director of SECI is instrumental in taking this initiative with APIIC. This park will bring direct investment to the tune of Rs. 8,000 Cr. to Rs. 10,000 Cr. Besides large indirect investment in the region. Financial support from multilateral/ bilateral agencies, is also envisaged for setting up the Solar Park, besides some grant from Government of India.

A number of officials participated in MOU signing at APIIC today comprising Sri Rajendra Nimje, ex-IAS, Managing Director, Dr. Ashvini Kumar, Director (Solar), Mr. Sitaram Babu, AGM(IT), Mr. Satyapal Singh , Advisor(Solar). The officials From APIIC who attended today’s event included Sri Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sri Narsimha Reddy, Executive Director and Mr. Shiva Reddy , Company Secretary. From NREDCAP, Sri Kamlakar Babu, Managing Director and Mr. G. M. Srinivas, General Manager were present.

4.1 This Memorandum Provides a Flexible,Overarching framework under which all the parties may collaborate and cooperate to form a joint venture company(JVC) Under

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not cast any financial Obligation with regard to the projects.

5.0 Roles and Responsibilities 5.1 SECI’s Responsibilities:SECI shall be responsible for carrying out following activities for collective achievement of goals stated in this MOU through the proposed JVC:

the companies Act 1956 for Conceptualizatio n,structuring,Implementation,Operation and maintenance of Andhra Pradesh Solar park at Gattu Mandal,Mahabubnagar District,Andhra Pradesh by optimum utilization of resources of all the parties.New & Renewable Energy Develoment Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (NREDCAP)will also participate in the equity of JVC as soon as they get approval from the competent authority.

4.2 The JVC shall (i) plan,develop and operate the Solar park and (ii)Plan such other Solar Projects as a developer or under any other arrangement as may be decided by the JVC from time to time.

4.3 SECI intend to support the initiative of the APIIC in pursuance of its mission to extent permissible by the SECI’s internal policies,the prevailing laws,rules and regulations operating in force at the relevant time.

4.4 APIIC ,intends to support the initiative of the SECI in pursuance of its mission of developing Solar power market to the extent permissible by the APIIC’s inernal policies,the prevailing laws,rules and regulations operating in force at the relevant time,.

4.5The Memorandum seeks to utilize the comparative advantages of all the parties for development of Solar Sector and does

i) SECI Shall prepare documents related to forming of JVC Viz. Memorandum and Articles of association and help obtaining necessary approvals for its incorporation. ii

)SECI shall provide technical advisory services to JVC for development,Operation and maintenance of the solar park including on preparation,floating and evaluation of bids as required for capacity allocation to the solar power developers in the solar park.

iii) SECI Shall subscribe to the equity in the agreed proportion of JVC as and when required. iv) SECI Shall help JVC to arrange funds including grant support from national clean energy fund ,debt from multilateral or international Banks required for development of the solar park.

V) any other responsibility that all the parties deem fit and proper.

5.2 APIIC’s Responsibilities :APIIC Shall be responsible for carrying out following activities for collective achievement of goals stated in this MOU I)

APIIC Shall assist in providing land to JVC for development of solar park at an agreed price.

ii)

APIIC Shall help JC obtaining all permits and clearances required for the development of solar park.

iii) APIIC shall help JVC in the development of all kinds of infrastructure facilities

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including landscaping ,land leveling/ grading ,fencing roads,water facilities ,water distribution network ,drainage &sewage treatment systems ,power evacuation infrastructure ,auxiliary power distribution network,telecom network,fire station and helping etc and iv) APIIC Shall subscribe to the equity in the agreed proportion of JVC as and when required.

V) APIIC Shall help JVC to arrange funds from Andhra Pradesh Government or other sources in its Knowledge or domains for development of the solar park vi) any other responsibility that all the parties deem fit and proper 5.3 NREDCAP responsibilities: NREDCAP Shall provide all the assistace that will fall in its area of operation as one of the JVC partner.

5.4 All the parties at its discretion ,in consultation with the other party ,can Utilize the expertise of other agencies in implementing the project and is free to sign any agreement /Memorandum of understanding with such agencies .However any duties and liabilities arising from such agreement /understanding shall be made liable for the same ,whatsoever.

6.0 Equity Holding 6.1 Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. (APIIC) and New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation Of A.P. Limited (NREDCAP) will be the initial equity partners of the JVC 51%of the shares will be held by the SECI and the balance will be shared between APIIC and NREDCAP as 40% and 9% respectively.the percentage of equity to be held by the unit holders of the solar park shall be decided by the Board of JVC. 6.2Financial Arrangements: The Source of financing for total project cst is as follows: 20% equity to be contributed by the shareholders.

Grants of 30% are envisaged from NCEF (20%) and AO Government (10%) 50% debt from multilateral /bilateral banks. A Proposal is envisages to be made to japan international cooperation

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Agency(JICA) 6.3 SECI Shall be the lead partner of the JVC. 7.0 Term 7.1 This memorandum will remain in force for a period of five (5) years from the date of its execution i.e. 28.02.2014 or expire on formation of SPC whichever id earlier.The Memorandum can be extended for such periods or further periods by the mutual consent of all parties ,All such extensions shall be in writing.

8.0 Procedures for Amendment ,cancellation ,Arbitration and NonExclusivity 8.1 The Execution of this MOU Shall in no way constitute an obligation or commitment to proceed with the contemplated transaction shall be contained only in the definitive documents as when executed .it is expressly understood that the provisions of this MOU do not create any legally binding commiyment between the parties hereto and it is therefore agreed that there shall be no liability or claim for damages of any kind arising from this MOU or Negotiations hereto.

8.2 This Memorandum amy be amended at any time during its term,if the work or environment of the SECI ,APIIC and NREDCAP ,is so altered that the contents of the Memorandum are no longer appropriate or unworkable in the manner envisaged in this Memorandum.

8.3This Memorandum embodies the understanding of the parties as to its subject matter and shall not be amended except in writing executed by all the parties to this Understanding .Any changes are to be recorded in writing and inserted or attached to this Memorandum and this will have the effect of updating the Memorandum.

8.4 Either of the parties can,at any time during the period of the Memorandum, rescind/cancel the same after giving a notice in writing ,The Notice will not be less than one month prior to the actual date of rescinding /cancellation this Memorandum .However,if any act needs to be performed which though stated before the rescission /Cancellation and which needs to be completed,shall be finished by that party by whom it is to be performed ,to the extent it is possible of performance,and it shall not be open to that party to complain that irt shall not perform the incomplete acts.

8.5 This Memorandum does not grant any exclusive right to any of the parties in the areas of cooperation that they mutually agree and shall not create any legal binding obligation upon either party.

8.6 In case of any dispute or differences arising between the parties arising out of or in relation to this Memorandum,the parties shall promptly and in good faith negotiate with a view to its amicable resolution and settlement .In Cse the perties are not able to resolve the dispute within 30days of itsbeing raised the same shall be referred to arbitration to be presided over by a sole Arbitrator.The arbitration shall be conducted as per the rules and procedures of the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation Act,1996.The Laws of India Shall Govern This Memorandum and the Courts at Delhi shall have the Exclusive Jurisdiction.

9.0 COOPEATION 9.1 SECI,APIIC and NREDCAP will consult each other,whenever it may be appropriate and necessary,on the matters covered by this Memorandum and will use their best endeavorsto ensure that employees and other staff of all the parties the Organizations Cooperate in good faith with one another.

9.2 All the parties should apprise/keep eah other informed on project relatedmatters. if any issue or dispute arises between SECI and APIIC,they will use their best endeavors to resolve the dispute promptly and amicably.

10.0 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 10.1 Neither party shall use the intellectual property of the other party in any manner whatsoever,without the prior written concent of the other party.

11.0 ASSIGNMENT 11.1 This MOU shall ensure to the benefit of the parties hereto and to their respective sucessors and permitted assigns.

No Party shall assign thisMOU to any third without the prior written consent of the other party.which written consent shall not be unreasonably withheld by the other party.

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QUA RT ER RESUL T S

JinkoSolar - Third straight quarter of Profitability Saumya Bansal Gupta - EQ International

Fourth Quarter 2013 Highlights •

Total solar product shipments were 586.3 MW, consisting of 533.3 MW of solar modules, 7.3 MW of silicon wafers and 45.7 MW of solar cells.

This represents an increase of 13.0% from 518.9 MW in the third quarter of 2013 and 94.3% from 301.9 MW in the fourth quarter of 2012.

•

As of December 31, 2013, the Company had connected approximately 213 MW worth of solar PV projects to the grid.

•

Total revenues were RMB2.19 billion (US$361.4 million), representing an increase of 11.5% from the third quarter of 2013 and 87.5% from the fourth quarter of 2012.

•

Electricity revenues generated from solar projects were RMB29.8 million (US$4.9 million).Excluding the government subsidy recognized during the third quarter of 2013 for electricity revenues generated before July 1, 2013, it represents an increase of 41.2 % from RMB 21.1 million in the third quarter of 2013.

•

Gross margin was 24.7%, compared with 22.3% in the third quarter of 2013 and 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012.

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders of RMB761.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

•

•

•

Diluted earnings per American depositary share was RMB 5.88 (US$0.96), compared with diluted earnings per ADS of RMB4.40 in the third quarter of 2013 and a diluted loss per ADS of RMB34.32 in the fourth quarter of 2012. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2013 was RMB218.5 million (US$36.1 million), compared with non-GAAP net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders of RMB196.9 million in the third quarter of 2013 and a non-GAAP net loss attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders of RMB699.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB8.12 (US$1.36) and RMB7.80 (US$1.28), respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Full Year 2013 Highlights

•

Income from operations was RMB262.3 million (US$43.3 million), compared with income from operations of RMB244.3 million in the third quarter of 2013 and a loss from operations of RMB733.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

•

Total solar product shipments for the full year 2013 reached a record high of 1,933.1 MW, consisting of 1,765.1 MW of solar modules, 54.8 MW of silicon wafers and 113.2 MW of solar cells, an increase of 62.7% from 1,188.3 MW for the full year 2012.

•

Net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders was RMB164.3 million (US$27.1 million), compared with net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders of RMB103.5 million in the third quarter of 2013 and net loss attributable to

•

Total revenues were RMB7.08 billion (US$1.17 billion) for the full year 2013, an increase of 47.6% from RMB4.79 billion for the full year 2012.

•

Electricity revenues generated from solar projects were RMB76.7 million (US$12.7 million), representing a significant increase from RMB1.6

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million in 2012.

•

Gross margin was 20.3% for the full year 2013, compared with 4.8% for the full year 2012.

•

Net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders was RMB188.0 million (US$31.1 million) for the full year 2013, compared with a net loss of RMB1.54 billion for the full year 2012.

•

Diluted income per ADS for the full year 2013 was RMB7.84 (US$1.28), compared with diluted loss per ADS of RMB69.52 for the full year 2012.

•

Non-GAAP net income attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders for the full year 2013 were RMB414.4 million (US$68.4 million), compared with non-GAAP net loss attributable to JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.’s ordinary shareholders of RMB1.42 billion for the full year 2012.

•

Non-GAAP basic and diluted income per share for the full year 2013 were RMB4.41 (US$0.73) and RMB4.31(US$0.71), respectively, and non-GAAP basic and diluted income per ADS for the full year 2013 were RMB17.64(US$2.92) and RMB17.24(US$2.84), respectively.

“Having recorded our third straight quarter of profitability, I am proud to report another strong performance as we continue to expand our manufacturing and downstream businesses,” commented Mr. Kangping Chen, JinkoSolar’s Chief Executive Officer. “From the third quarter we delivered on our promise to achieve net profitability for the entire year. We closed out 2013 on a stronger footing by further cutting costs and improving gross margins for the fourth quarter to an industry-leading 24.7%. With total product shipments for the year reaching an all-time high of approximately 2 GW and a new revenue stream from our rapidly expanding downstream business, we have only increased our ambitions.”

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“As the market evolves, we are devoting a substantial amount of our resources towards JinkoSolar’s transformation into a one-stop energy solution provider. During the quarter, we connected a total of 108 MW worth of solar PV projects to the grid through five solar PV projects in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Gansu Province. With 213 MW worth of solar PV projects connected to the grid as of December 31, 2013, we have already completed our 2013 target and are preparing for the more than 400 MW worth of projects we have earmarked for 2014. We currently have a total pipeline of more than 700 MW in utility scale and more than 400 MW in distributed systems. We are in a unique position to directly benefit from the expected growth in the rapidly expanding downstream project business that has only just begun to show potential. With gross and net margins for our downstream business exceeding 60% and 30% respectively, the Board of Directors has authorized an ambitious plan to explore strategic alternatives to JinkoSolar’s downstream solar PV project business.

China’s National Energy Administration’s 2014 14 GW installation target and strong interest from local governments has given us great confidence that demand for renewable energy systems will continue to increase.

While revenue generated from these projects continues to grow in scale, we expect that it will represent a larger portion of our profit and help maximize shareholder value as we move forward.”

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“During the quarter, we established a new R&D center with a team of approximately 100 talented employees. This investment in our future will provide us with the tools we need to continue developing innovative products and technologies, such as our next generation high efficiency cells, super PIDfree technology, and the Smart Modules we recently unveiled at the PV Expo in Japan, as well as the Eagle II modules that will begin mass production soon.”

“As we steadily gain market share in important markets such as the US and Japan, we also maintain our established advantages in China, Europe and South Africa, making our geographic mix more balanced and sustainable. We recently increased our capacity by beginning to operate Topoint’s manufacturing assets which will help us address growing demand and further increase our vertical integration.”

“We raised approximately US$272 million in net proceeds from our concurrent offerings of ADSs and convertible senior notes in January. The proceeds will be used to supplement the working capital needed for project investment and manufacturing. I am confident that we will see sustainable and long-term return on this capital. With another strong quarter behind us and a solid finish for the year, this vote of confidence in us by both investors from capital markets and customers from end-markets has further energized our ambition to build on our position as one of the global leaders in the solar PV industry.

Having successfully navigated through the

industry’s toughest times, we look forward to leveraging the investments we made in our downstream expansion, technology, client relationships, cost structure and brand equity to drive future growth.”

Solar Project Capacity As of December 31, 2013, the Company had connected approximately 213 MW of solar PV projects to the grid.

Solar Products Production Capacity As of December 31, 2013, the Company’s in-house annual silicon wafer, ingot, and solar cell production capacity was approximately 1.5 GW each, and the Company’s annual solar module product production capacity reached approximately 2.0 GW.

First Quarter and Full Year 2014 Guidance For the first quarter of 2014, total solar module shipments are expected to be between 440 MW and 470 MW. For the full year 2014, total solar module shipments are expected to be in the range of 2.3 GW to 2.5 GW, with total project development scale expected to be above 400 MW.

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PRODUCTS IBC SOLAR presents new IBC SolStore storage systems with additional backup box for stand-by power supply IBC SOLAR AG, a global leader in photovoltaic systems, now makes using solar energy storage units even easier and more efficient: the new IBC SolStore systems are now available as complete systems and are supplied with all components required for installation, including battery inverters.

Type and size of the battery can be selected individually so that installers are able to adapt the storage system to end customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requests. In addition, the integrated energy management system enables system operators to control their targeted consumption and use solar energy as efficiently as possible.

The new IBC SolStore Backup-Box ensures proper energy supply from the storage unit even in case of power cuts.

The new complete sets are available with four different battery systems: two lead gel models with 8 or 16 kWh, one lithium ion model with 5 kWh or a lead gel battery rack with selectable capacity. All storage systems are available as single-phase or three-phase solutions, and they are supplied as complete systems including battery inverters as well as all required additional components and an energy management system for targeted consumer control. As a result, system operators can make ideal use of the solar energy and increase self-consumption.

Based on the system principle, both installers and end customers will benefit to the same extent. The installer receives a complete set ready for installation with perfectly coordinated components that can be used immediately. However, end customers also benefit from the particularly fast and cost-effective installation. Thanks to its modular design principle, the IBC SolStore system now offers even more combinations allowing installers to adapt the storage 58

EQ March 2014

solutions precisely to the respective end customer application.

Customers who choose a lead gel battery have the option to integrate the new IBC SolStore Backup-Box, which guarantees a stand-by power function for IBC SolStore storage systems. In case of power cuts, the optional component automatically switches to backup electricity within five seconds and supplies consumers inside the building with energy. The backup box is easy to install, smallsized and can simply be retrofitted to existing plants.

SolStore L3, IBC SolStore XL1 and IBC SolStore XL3 are now available via IBC Solar Premium Partners. End customers in Germany may also apply for state funding for all storage systems, amounting to a maximum of 30 percent of acquisition costs.

The sets have been approved for use not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Denmark and Belgium.

I B C S O L A R â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storage technology scores with a long service life, high cycle stability and operational stability. The four new complete sets IBC SolStore L1, IBC

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PRODUCTS JinkoSolar Launched New Series of Smart Modules at PV Expo in Japan JinkoSolar a global leader in the solar PV industry, today announced that it will launch a new series of Smart Modules at the PV Expo in Japan .

JinkoSolar Smart Modules correct mismatch issues towards cells and module strings by using embedded cell optimizer ICs that provide sub-panel level Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) functions. This allows any underperforming cell or module strings to continue contributing power to the string while not restricting the flow of the others. The Smart Modules will also significantly minimize the risk of hot spots

which are the primary cause of module failure. Electricity generation increases approximately 20% when compared with standard solar modules which tend to have difficulty operating in unfavorable conditions such as in the shade, under clouds that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t oriented properly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are pleased to introduce the latest advancement in JinkoSolar technology. Our Smart Modules will significantly improve working performance for the PV system. With the introduction of a

new generation of smart modules, JinkoSolar will continue to provide customers with affordable clean energy choices,â&#x20AC;? commented Mr. Kangping Chen, Chief Executive Officer of JinkoSolar.

Organiser

Government of India

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXPO ON RENEWABLE ENERGY Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Number 1 Renewable Energy Event Â&#x2021; 2YHU &RPSDQLHV Â&#x2021; %XVLQHVV 9LVLWRUV Â&#x2021; 6SHFLDO (PSKDVLV RQ 6RODU 39 DQG 6RODU 7KHUPDO as TN has the most Ambitious Solar Policy in India Â&#x2021; )RFXV RQ &RPSDQLHV 3URYLGLQJ 8QLTXH DQG Innovative Solutions in all Sectors

Exhibiting Sectors ! Solar PV ! Solar Thermal ! Waste to Energy

Â&#x2021; 3URGXFW /DXQFKHV DQG /LYH 'HPRV

! Wind Energy

Â&#x2021; GD\V LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRQIHUHQFH &RPSOLPHQWDU\ Business Matching

! Biomass Energy ! (QHUJ\ (IĂ&#x20AC;FLHQF\

Â&#x2021; &(2 &72 &RQFODYHV

! Green Mobility

Â&#x2021; 7UDLQLQJ 3URJUDPPHV DQG :RUNVKRSV

! Green Buildings

Marketing and Knowledge Partner

12 - 14 June 2014

Chennai Trade Centre Nandambakkam, Chennai Tamil Nadu, India

www.renergyteda.com

CONTACT DETAILS Rajneesh Khattar M: +91 9871726762 E: rajneesh.khattar@ubm.com

Julian Thomas M: +91 9940459444 E: julian.thomas@ubm.com

Gaurav Singh M: +91 9008018873 E: gaurav.singh@ubm.com

Iyer Narayanan M: +91 9967353437 E: iyer.narayanan@ubm.com

PRODUCTS BenQ Solar Presents World’s Lightest Mono-Crystalline Module for the Japanese Market With the demand for high performance and cost-efficient residential solar solutions on the rise, BenQ Solar, the leading solar solution brand of AU Optronics, announced today that it has developed Aer PM060M01, the world’s lightest(*) 60-cell crystallinesilicon module for the Japanese residential market.

To specially address the Japanese market, BenQ Solar has developed lightweight solar solutions which include Aer PM060M01, an ultra-light mono-crystalline module weighing only 10.5 kg (5.3 kg/sqm), with the maximum power output at 280W. The module is approximately 45% lighter than conventional counterparts, making it the world’s lightest(*) among all 60-cell crystalline-silicon modules. It is safe to be installed even on thin metal-sheet roofs, which effectively reduces the risk of collapsing if an earthquake strikes.

Furthermore, BenQ Solar partnered with IRFTS, the French company renowned for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) mounting systems, to deliver the 4.2 kg only lightweight EASY ROOF EVOLUTIONTM mounting system that is flexible, easy to install and aesthetically pleasing in design.

In addition, to provide customers with more choices of racking solutions, BenQ Solar offers the revolutionary G-Racking Series for different roof types. These flexible racking solutions effectively lower balance of system (BOS) costs and offer easier, quicker and safer installation process.

composed of heterojunction cells with 315W power output and high module efficiency of 19.6%. This proprietary module technology is also free of potential induced degradation (PID-free) and light induced degradation (LID-free) to ensure the optimal power performance.

uninterrupted power supply (UPS) in case of emergency. The all-in-one system is capable of supporting hybrid energy inputs and outputs, and contains complete but fewer components to allow quicker installation, making it a flexible and cost-saving solution for homeowners.

In view of the huge growth potential for high efficiency solar modules in places with limited installation space, BenQ Solar has successfully developed a breakthrough technology in high efficiency solar module,

Also designed specifically for the residential market, PowerLegato® is an integrated energy storage system with the EnergyOptimizer software to ensure the efficient utilization of energy and

To fulfill the diversified needs from different regions around the world, BenQ Solar has also developed solar solutions such as water pumping, desalination, and power station.

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PRODUCTS PVR-B90 bendingunit For cross connectors (ribbons) Economical production of L-Ribbons For connecting the junction box, crossconnectors are generally bent into an L-shape. Thereare two options to obtain those parts: “Self-bending” or buy “ready-made” connectors.

When purchasing, the material supplier cuts and bends the cross connector on a fully automatic machine, achieving a good quality.

However, the disadvantage is the higher price and more importantly, the higher cost of the logistics and longer delivery times, higher costs for packaging, shipping and storage, and losses due to unintentional bending of the already pre-bent bulky L-connector.

Manual bending usually fails due to lack of reproducibility and lower quality, in addition to being labor intensive.

Due to the good results, its easy handling and the low investment, the ATN bending

device is economical even for samples and small series. With a few hours of operation per month,the unit pays for itself, because it reduces many hours of work necessary for manual bending. Also it brings a better, reproducible quality.

Operation The operator places the cross-connector position exactly (guided by leading edge length and position) and presses the foot pedal. The connector is clamped and gripped at the free end with the bending gripper. The bending gripper is oriented at a 45° angle and rotates 180°, creating the 90° bend. Then the two press cylinders flatten the bend. After the press opens, the finished cross connector can be removed.

For other dimensions only the length stop has to be adjusted to the length of the bended leg.

Technical Data Dimensions 570 x 370 x 290 mm Weight 16 kg Power supply 230 V Air supply 5-6 bar Control mini-PLC Pressing force 1 kN Dimensions of ribbons 3,0 x 0,1 mm to 7,0 x 0,5 mm Length of bended legs 20 mm up to 100 mm * * other sizes available on request

Powador TL3 series from KACO new energy fully qualified for use in the UK Powador TL3 inverters from 5 to 50 kVA offer the best solution for commercial PV systems. The unrivalled range of 3-phase inverters is now fully qualified for use in the UK. With G83/2 and G59/2 certification, these units offer complete options to match your medium-size array requirements.

Every unit of these 2 and 3 MPP tracker inverters has the capacity for symmetric and asymmetric loading, giving designers complete freedom to maximise the efficiency of their layout. With a DC disconnect for every MPP tracker, built-in web-server and positive and negative string fusing on our larger inverters, we have aimed to reduce cabling and monitoring costs by integrating the components our customers tell us they need most.

Richard Orttewell, UK sales Manager comments: “With this superb range of extremely flexible units, PV designers are finding it easy to produce highly efficient, simple to install lay-outs, reducing cabling and labour costs and maximising system performance. Our most popular inverter, the 50 kVA Powador 60.0 TL3 unit, is becoming the go-to product for roof and ground-mount arrays from 50 kWp up into the multi-MW range.“Produced in our newest, carbonneutral manufacturing plant in Neckarsulm near Stuttgart, Germany, we continue to place our research effort in both improving our inverters and developing larger storage solutions to help companies mitigate the ever-increasing cost of grid energy.

PRODUCTS Power-One to present energy storage system REACT and its smallest three-phase string-inverters in Bad Staffelstein Power-One, a member of the ABB Group and the world’s second largest designer and manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters, announced today that the company will showcase REACT, their first 4.6kW / 2kWh energy storage system enabling self-consumption and energy independence for home owners, at the 29th Symposium Photovoltaische Solarenergie at the monastery Banz near Bad Staffelstein, Germany. From March 12 to 14, visitors will also have the opportunity to set a closer look at Power-One’s smallest transformerless string inverters: the three-phase TRIO5.8/7.5/8.5 for residential applications.

“The Symposium Photovoltaische Solarenerergie is the place to meet the German PV industry as well as to discuss the opportunities and challenges of photovoltaics and the renewable energy generation in general,” said Gerhard Schackert, Local Sales Director for PG Solar, Germany, at ABB. “We are looking forward to this special event as well as to presenting our latest products to its select audience.”

which will be available in 2014, allows home owners and landlords to store any excess energy produced by their PV installation during peak times for periods with higher energy demands. The solution consists of a 4.6kW or 3.6kWh, respectively, single-phase Power-One inverter and a lithium-ion battery providing 2kWh of usable energy. Due to its dual MPPTs, broad input voltage ranges and high efficiencies, the integrated inverter offers maximum installation flexibility for optimal energy harvesting. To allow system operation in the event of a power outage, Power-One also plans to integrate basic load management outputs and an auxiliary AC output The energy storage system has been designed for a long life-cycle with a ten year expected life of the battery. The solution can also be expanded by additional battery modules to up to 6kWh of usage energy. Due to the integrated Ethernet port, the energy storage system allows for remote or local monitoring without requiring any additional interfaces.

TRIO-5.8/7.5/8.5-TL-OUTD

REACT Power-One’s residential energy storage system REACT (Renewable Energy Accumulator and Conversion Technology),

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With an output of 5.8kW, 7.5, and 8.5kW respectively, the TRIO-5.8/7.5/8.5 are Power-One’s smallest transformerless three-phase string inverters and ideally suited to the needs of the residential market. Like all members of the TRIO string inverter family, the compact devices benefit from a redesigned topology used in Power-One’s TRIO-20.0-TL-OUTD and TRIO-27.6-TLOUTD, thereby ensuring high conversion efficiencies of up to 98 percent across a wide voltage range. The high-speed MPPT algorithm enables real time power tracking as well as improved energy harvesting. Both,

the TRIO-7.5 and the TRIO-8.5, feature two independent MPP trackers, offering maximum installation flexibility for optimal energy harvesting.

The new TRIO inverters are equipped with a sliding front panel with captive screws which makes installation and maintenance processes easy: the connection and configuration area can be accessed without requiring the complete removal of the cove or fumbling with loose screws. A graphic display allows for quick connection parameter setting and functional control.

Furthermore, the devices offer integrated power control and monitoring functionalities as well as environmental sensor input without requiring any external components. The systems can also be extended by an optional expansion card, which gives users access to the Ethernet data logger to monitor the installation both locally or remotely with a LAN connection. The three inverters are suitable for unrestricted outdoor use – thanks to a robust IP65 enclosure.

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Future-Proof and Self-Sufficient: SUNNY ISLAND 6.0H/8.0H Now Includes Battery Backup Function The battery backup function for the Sunny Island 6.0H and 8.0H battery inverters, which is now available with firmware version 3.0, guarantees a reliable energy supply during power outages. As of now, all Sunny Island 6.0H and 8.0H models will be delivered with this firmware version. This function is also available to operators of existing installations as a retrofit.

SMA customers will also benefit from further new developments offered by this firmware version. Now, for the first time, it is possible to incorporate a three-phase battery backup and self-consumption systems using Sunny Island. This move makes it possible to plan installations on an industrial scale. Sunny Design provides reliable data on self-consumption and self-sufficiency quotas, thanks to the software’s comfortable system planning features.

“Both private and industrial customers can now use Sunny Island to set up interesting, new arrangements for battery backup and self-consumption systems with the two new battery backup and three-phase functions,” explained Nico Kreutzer, Product Manager at SMA. “The battery backup function helps protect operators from incurring costs caused by potential power outages. The Sunny Island features a high level of overload capacity, which ensures maximum supply reliability.”

In addition, there are several decisive advantages for system operators. “It’s possible to increase battery service life thanks to seasonal operation, which leads to lower system costs,” continued Kreutzer. “Optimized control automatically means the total efficiency of the system is higher.” For example, when the minimum state of charge is reached as of firmware version 3.0, functions that are no longer needed are turned off until the next opportunity to recharge with solar energy.

The new Sunny Island 6.0H/8.0H is SMA’s answer to the question of increased self-consumption and a reliable supply from the battery backup, as well as a solution with forwardlooking technology for people who want to actively shape their energy supply, no matter whether their installation is a new or existing one.

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Intersolar China 2014

Date: 26-28March2014 Place: Beijing, China Organiser: Intersolar Tel.: +86 10 84600392 Email: yuliang@ciec.com.cn Web.: www.intersolarchina.com

Polymers in Photovoltaics 2014 Date: 8-10April2014 Place: Cologne, Germany Organiser: amiplastics Tel.: +44 117 9249442 Email: rju@amiplastics.com Web.: www.amiplastics.com

Africa Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition 2014

All-Energy Canada Exhibition & Conference 2014

Date: 27-29March2014 Place: Durban, South Africa Organiser: Africapvsec Tel.: +49 89 72012735 Email: info@africapvsec.com Web.: www.africapvsec.info

Date: 9-10April2014 Place: Toronto, Canada Organiser: Intersolar Tel.: +1 203 8405613 Email: inquiry@all-energy.ca Web.: www.all-energy.ca/en/

Power & Alternative Energy Asia 8th International Exhibition & Conference

PV Platform Romania

Date: 29-31March2014 Place: Karachi, Pakistan Organiser: Powerasia Tel.: +92 21 111222444 Email: info@powerasia.com.pk Web.: www.powerasia.com.pk

Date: 9-11April2014 Place: Arad, Romania Organiser: REECO Tel.: +40 257 230999 Email: info@reeco.ro Web.: www.enreg-expo.com

Novogradac Financing Renewable Energy Conference Date: 24-25April2014 Place: San Francisco, California, USA Organiser: Novoco Tel.: +1 415 356 7970 Email: events@novoco.com Web.: www.novoco.com

Semicon Singapore 2014

Date: 23-25April2014 Place: Singapore City, Singapore Organiser: SEMI Tel.: +65 6391 6361 Email: ltan@semi.org Web.: www.semiconsingapore.org

The Solar Show Asia 2014 Date: 22-25April2014 Place: Singapore City, Singapore Organiser : Terrapinn Tel.: +65 6222 8550 Email: enquiry.sg@terrapinn.com Web.: www.terrapinn.com

3rd Power & Energy Africa 2014 International Green Energy Expo & Conference Korea 2014 Date: 2-4April2014 Place: Daegu, Korea Organiser: Tel.: +82 53 6015371 Email: energy@excodaegu.co.kr Web.: www.energyexpo.co.kr

3d International Conference & Exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Solar energy in the CIS and Eastern Europeâ&#x20AC;?

Date: 8-9April2014 Place: Sochi, Russia Organiser: IBCENTRE Tel.: +7 495 9835938 Email: oksana.razladova@ibcentre.org Web.: www.ci-solar.com

5th Annual Qatar Alternative Energy Investors Summit Date: 13-14April2014 Place: Doha, Qatar Organiser: QAEIS Tel.: +971 44 557956 Email: register@qaeis.com Web.: www.qaeis.com

Sub-Saharan Africa Solar Energy Conference 2014 Date: 23-24April2014 Place: Accra, Ghana Organiser: Magenta-Global Tel.: +65 6391 2530 Email: r.raj@magenta-global.com.sg Web.: www.magenta-global.com

Date: 27-29April2014 Place: Nairobi, Kenya Organiser: Expogr Tel.: +971 50 6285684 Email: sheryl@expogr.com Web.: expogr.com/kenyaenergy

POWER-GEN India & Central Asia 2014 Date: 05-07May2014 Place: New Delhi, India Organiser: Pennwel Tel.: +44 1992 656610 Email: kelvinm@pennwell.com Web.: www.power-genindia.com

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

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EQ March 2014

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EQ International Magazine Editorial Advisory Board

Shivanand Nimbargi MD & CEO Green Infra Limited

Rajesh Bhat - Managing Director juwi India Renewable Energies Pvt Ltd

Oliver. Behrendt Managing Director - REFU Solar Electronics Pvt Ltd

Ravi Khanna - CEO Solar Power Business Aditya Birla Group

Gyanesh Chaudhary Managing Director Vikram Solar Private Limited

Gaurav Sood Managing Director Solairedirect Energy India Pvt Ltd

Inderpreet Wadhwa CEO Azure Power

Sunil Jaini Chief Exe. Off. & Exe. Director Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd.

Pashupathy Gopalan Managing Director MEMC-SunEdison

Paulo Soares CFO & Director Inspira Martifer Solar Ltd

K Subramanyam Former CEO Tata BP Solar

Shaji John Chief Solar Initiatives, L&T

Complies M with JNNS s regulation