EQ Int'l November'13 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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INTERNATIONAL

November - 2013 Interview With Mallikarjun Malyadri Head - Solar Business Bonﬁglioli Transmissions (Pvt.) Ltd. Interview With Stefan Müller Founder & COO - ENERPARC AG Interview With Oliver Behrendt Managing Director - REFU Solar Electronics Pvt. Ltd. Interview With Vinay Goyal Managing Director - Ganges Internationale Pvt. Ltd. Financial Analysis For Project Under VGF

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refusol.com

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powering your future we can do it. Together. We believe in a new business concept and we work every day to make it possible. INSPIRA MARTIFER SOLAR is the winning partner in India, to transform solar energy into real and profitable business, in which the production of electricity is as competitive as traditional non-sustainable energy sources.

Pure Energy to build a green future, together.

EDITORIAL Renewable Energy - The way forward The Government recently announced an ambitious plan to produce more electricity from renewable sources as a part of its target to add 10 Giga watts of solar energy by 2017 and 20 Giga watts by 2022. The steps being taken in this direction include setting up of an ultra-mega green Solar Power Project in Rajasthan near Sambhar Lake. The project will be the first of this scale in the world and will thus turn to be a model for future projects. With the completion of the first phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by surpassing the target, the country is set to embark on its second phase. In the first phase 1685 MW of solar energy was generated against the target of 1100 MW. In the second phase, areas for focus have been identified in Rajasthan, Kargil and Ladakh. Generation of solar energy has come a long way since we embarked on the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar mission in 2010. Today, we generate 1.8 GW of electricity from solar energy which is going to be multiplied in the years to come. Despite this, solar energy forms but only a small fraction of power generation in the country. In fact the entire sector of renewable energy, which includes small hydro- electric projects, contributes only 12 % to the national power kitty; about 17% comes from hydro- power and about 2% from nuclear power. The bulk 70% comes from coal and gas based plants. Sixty-five percent of power from renewable sources comes from wind energy. Biomass accounts for 14%, small hydro- power projects contribute 13% and solar energy 5%. Other sources contribute about 3%.This imbalance needs to be corrected on many counts, on top being the environmental concerns. When the world is seriously concerned about global warming, non-conventional sources of energy need to be exploited to the maximum extent. And that is precisely what India is trying to do. Besides, the country imports 70 % of oil which is a big drain on its foreign exchange reserves. The total installed capacity of power generation in the country now stands at just over 223 GW, far less than the requirement. The demand for power is estimated to increase by 16 GW a year at least until 2020. In this situation, every source of energy needs to be tapped to meet the needs of a growing economy. The 12th plan provides for increasing the capacity generation by 72 GW in thermal sector, 11 GW in hydro sector and over 5 GW in nuclear sector. In physical terms renewable sources of energy contribute 29 GW of electricity. The country is set to double this generation to 55 GW by 2017. Solar energy generation alone will increase to 20 GW during this period under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar mission. Even though India has less than global average of wind speed, wind energy has been the most successful renewable source of energy in the country. Bulk of it comes from just five states, with Tamil Nadu as the leader. An encouraging factor is that off shore wind energy is becoming cost competitive with the energy generated from fossil fuels. It therefore becomes an attractive option for electricity generation. Biomass is another area which holds a good promise. With over 60 % of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population dependent on agriculture, the area throws up opportunities for power generation. No wonder major projects in this field are coming up in different states particularly in Punjab. The estimated power generation capacity in this area is put at 18000 MW. In Britain and some other European countries too, coal-fired plants are converting to bio mass. Proper exploitation of this field needs huge investments for building storage capacity and plants, the way countries like Finland and Sweden have done. In Finland 20 % of power generation and in Sweden 16% of power supply come from biomass. With about 200 tons of agricultural waste going unused in India, the potential of harnessing this area is substantial. Though per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India are very low, it has added about 2000 clean power projects in the last decade or so. The number of greenhouse buildings where solar and wind energy mechanisms and water harvesting etc. are in place has reached 2204. The number is planned to reach 1 lakh mark-an ambitious target indeed- by 2025. The Asian Development Bank has just announced that it will provide $500 million to build a power transmission system to carry clean electricity from wind and solar power projects in Rajasthan to the state and the National grid. Since setting up of transmission lines to evacuate power from the generating stations is a massive challenge, it will go a long way in dealing with the problem. Today, India is in a position to help other countries also. It has offered line of credit and expertise to Cuba to develop renewable energy projects to enable it to reduce its dependence on oil imports. NTPC is exporting 250 MW of electricity to Bangladesh at a fixed tariff. India has also invested in power projects in Bhutan. In short, keeping in view the challenges of power shortage and increasing demand in developing countries and environmental challenges across the world, India as also the rest of the world, needs to pay adequate attention to power generation through non- conventional sources. According to one estimate India has the potential to generate 150 GW of power through renewable sources alone- thanks to plenty of sunshine for most part of the year and a good wind velocity in many parts of the country. But it needs huge investment to realise it. The rich countries must come forward to help developing nations to promote clean power generation. India on its part is well on the march.

Anand Gupta Editor & CEO

INTERNATIONAL

Owner :

FirstSource Energy INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

INTERVIEW

CONTENTS INTERVIEW

VOLUME 3 Issue # 11

Place of Publication :

17, Shradhanand Marg (Chhawani) Distt-Indore 452 001, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA Tel. + 91 731 255 3881 Fax. +91 731 2553882

Chanchal Bhatnagar

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Editor & CEO:

ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net

Business Development Power One Renewable Energy Solutions (I) Pvt Ltd

Arturo Herrero 16

CMO Jinko Solar Co., Ltd.

PUBLISHER:

ANAND GUPTA

PRINTER:

ANAND GUPTA

TRENDS & ANALYSIS

Cover

SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net

Electrifying ideas.

ARPITA GUPTA arpita.gupta@EQmag.net

We develop new ground-breaking products from brilliant ideas. With knowledge, guts and technical creativity we make today, what will lead the way tomorrow.

PUBLISHING COMPANY DIRECTORS: ANIL GUPTA

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Editorial Contributions:

Dr. Jaya Singh, Rajesh M. R, Vaman Kuber, Vijay Balaji, Umakant Shende, Bamapada Ghatak, Sishir Goel, Dwipen Boruah, Badrinarayanan Suresh, Aditya K. Singh, Chris Giannoumis, Nikhil, B. S. Arun Kumar, Dr Peter Wallmeier, Anmol Singh Jaggi , Tanmay Bishnoi, Ujwala Seethamraju, Arnau Sumpsi, Varun Goyal refusol.com

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PRINT PACK PVT. LTD. 60/61, Babu Lalbhchnad Chajlani Marg, Distt-Indore, (Madhya Pradesh) Disclaimer,Limitations of Liability While every efforts has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of EQ international and all our authors research articles with the greatest of care and attention ,we make no warranty concerning its content,and the magazine is provided on an>> as is <<basis.EQ international contains advertising and third â&#x20AC;&#x201C;party contents.EQ International is not liable for any thirdparty content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents The data and information presented in this magazine is provided for informational purpose only.neither EQ INTERNATINAL ,Its affiliates,Information providers nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based up on or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this magazine should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sale any securities. The facts and opinions stated in this magazine do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied Restriction on use The material in this magazine is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify,copy,reproduce,republish,post,transmit,or distribute any part of the magazine in any way.you may only use material for your personall,Non-Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.If you want to use material for any non-personel,non commercial purpose,you need written permission from EQ International.

REFUsol is a leader in photovoltaic inverters technology with almost 50 years of experience. Recently acquired by Advanced Energy Industries, the company provides very economical, often distinguished inverters, from small roof top installation to large solar power plants. The product range comprises string and central inverters with output from 1.8kW to 1.3MW having peak efďŹ ciency of 98.7%.. REFUsol operates around the globe with staff in Germany and Europe, subsidiaries in Japan and India and many national Sales & Service partners. Refu Solar Electronics Pvt. ltd. is located in Pune India, where we offer sales, service, R&D, application support and product management.

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INTERVIEW

CONTENTS

Mallikarjun Malyadri

Stefan Müller

Vinay Goyal

Tanmay Bishnoi 54

Faqs On Solar Power Plants

Oliver Behrendt

Arif Aga

Managing Director REFU Solar Electronics Pvt Ltd.

EQ BUSINESS & FINANCIAL NEWS

6-10

32 34

SOLAR ENERGY 14

18 20

Solar Radiation Measurements : Accuracy Matters Nemmadi Kendra Centres 2 KW Solar Systems Large Scale Solar PV Power Plant Performance Monitoring, Evaluation And Improvement Solar Diesel Hybrid Model – A Simple Yet Powerful Solution To Substantially Reducing Diesel Power Costs Thermax Marks Milestones In Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic.

Managing Director Ganges Internationale Pvt Ltd

INTERVIEW

Founder & COO ENERPARC AG

INTERVIEW

SOLAR ENERGY

Head - Solar Business Bonﬁglioli Transmissions (Pvt.) Ltd.

38 40

PV Power Plant Audit to Maximize System Performance Making PV & Diesel Talk Competitive Bidding or Licensing Distributed Solar Energy Systems Will Be The Center Stage In The Near Future Non Penetrative Roof Mounting Solutions SOLAR ROOF TOP : Precautions To Be Taken For Enhancing Energy Yield And Prevention Of Hot Spots Grid-Stability And Energy Storage: Challenges And Trends In The Race Towards The Integration Of More Renewable Energy Sources Financial Analysis for Project under VGF

Director SgurrEnergy India Pvt. Ltd.

58 60

New DCR & RFID Mandate For 750MW Batch-I Phase-II PV String Monitoring: Is It Worth It? Only you can decide! (...but let Weidmüller give you 10 facts) DEHN Advantage Type 1 + 2 for Solar PV Systems

PRODUCT REPORT 66-75

& EQBusiness Financial Shri. Rajendra Nimje, IAS (Retd.) Joins as Managing Director in Solar Energy Corporation of India Shri Rajendra Nimje has worked in different positions in the Indian Administrative Services. After taking VRS from service, he worked in various companies as President and Executive Directors in energy sector. He holds a Master’s Degree from IIT Mumbai and he is a Digital Vision Fellow of the Stanford University, U.S.A. He also holds Bachelor degrees in Engineering, Law and Journalism and PG Diplomas in Business Management and in German Language. Overall, he has more than 30 years of experience in various sectors which includes

Power, Telecom, e-Governance, Engineering, Banking, Construction and Irrigation. His major focus was on the development of Power in solar, thermal and hydel sectors. Shri Nimje has won many awards during his illustrious career. He was conferred with the prestigious ‘Social eChallenge’ award at the Stanford University, USA for his innovative ‘e-Immunization’ project. His ‘Giri-Pragna’ project conceived for the most disadvantaged section of the society was the ‘Finalist’ in the Stockholm Challenge Awards

in 2006 & 2008. His e-Governance projects ‘Parishkruthi’ and ‘e-Hyderabad’ reached Finals in Stockholm Challenge for the year 2006 and 2002. He also won National awards for his projects ‘e-Immunisation’ and ‘Health Call Center’. The entire team at Solar Energy Corporation of India whole heartedly welcomes Shri. Rajendra Nimje on his joining as Managing Director on 18th October, 2013 and wishes him a fruitful career in the company.

Waaree Energies completes solar power project execution in record time in MP Waaree Energies, one of India’s leading innovative solar solution companies, has successfully executed the installation of a 1 MW power plant for Navi Mumbai-based Neel Properties in Susner, Madhya Pradesh in a record time of 24 days.The work on the plant started on September 5 this year and was commissioned on September 29, making it one of the fastest project executions in the solar power space till date. The project employed 3,920 modules of the 280Wp Poly Crystalline WS Series of Waaree Make.

achievement of executing this project for Neel Properties in such a short period of time, without compromising on quality and excellence. This was no mean feat and bears testimony to the growing efﬁciency of our technology and manpower as one of the frontrunners in the Indian solar industry. We hope that this accomplishment motivates all of us to scale greater heights and helps in building more confidence and longterm engagements with new and existing clients.”

Mr. Hitesh Doshi, CMD, Waaree Group commented, “We are delighted at our

WAAREE Energies Ltd is a fast growing, innovative and dynamic company with its key

offering of comprehensive EPC services for setting up solar PV power plants, backed by their experience in executing over 100 MW of solar PV EPC contracts across India. The other offerings include solar street lights, home lighting solutions, solar water pumps, water heating solutions, solar portable kits etc. With 110 MW PV Module manufacturing capacity per year and a rich experience in the solar industry, the company has recently diversiﬁed into Solar Thermal too.

JinkoSolar Signs Strategic Agreement for 120MW with the local authority in Electromechanical Industrial Park, Zhenjiang New Area in Jiangsu Province JinkoSolar Holding Co.Ltd. a global leader in the solar PV industry, recently announced that it has signed a strategic agreement with the local authority in Electromechanical Industrial Park, Zhenjiang New Area, Jiangsu Province, to develop 120 MW distributed PV power plant within 3 years. It will be the largest distributed PV power plant in China upon its completion. With a total investment of more than RMB 1 billion, the project covers an area of approximately 1.2 million square meters and is designed for commercial and residential rooftop installations in Zhenjiang New Area, Jiangsu Province. JinkoSolar will be responsible for project declaration, investment, EPC, operation and maintenance. Following completion, the rooftop’s owners will be able to self-generate and consume the energy and allow for excess

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

power to be sold back to the state grid with the distributed on-grid power tariff. “The strategic agreement signed with the local authority in Electromechanical Industrial Park, Zhenjiang New Area will aid the development of medium and small-sized distributed PV power plants in commercial areas and residential communities of eastern China, and is in line with the Chinese government’s policies to develop distributed energy,” commented Mr. Xiande Li, Chairman of JinkoSolar. “With JinkoSolar’s renewable energy solutions, sustainable and stable clean energy sources will be provided to the properties in the area. We are glad to promote the development of distributed energy in China with the local authority in Electromechanical Industrial Park, Zhenjiang New Area, and at the same time demonstrate the important role renewable

energy technology plays in boosting the sustainable development of local economy and environmental conditions.” “As a national economic technological development zone, Zhenjiang New Area has been complying with the Chinese government’s policies on energy savings and emissions reduction. We hope to use stable, reliable and clean energy to provide power for the whole area. JinkoSolar is a highly recognized and respected company that has a large share of the domestic and overseas market. Its outstanding technologies and advanced environmentally friendly philosophy make JinkoSolar the ideal choice,” Mr. Jianmin Xia, head of the management ofﬁce of Electromechanical Industrial Park in Zhenjiang New Area, commented.

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& EQBusiness Financial New Generation Power’s Consortium to be Awarded 315 Megawatt Power Purchase Agreement in India One of the largest PPAs signed in Indian history. New Generation Power, a Chicago based renewable energy company, along with Premier Solar Group, a Hyderabad based solar company has signed one of the largest Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) in India by a consortium. Under the Andhra Pradesh Solar Scheme, the open bid process will now be part of a 1,000 megawatt (MW) development plan that will be built out in the region. Expected to cost roughly US$400 million over a period of 12 months, installations will spread across multiple sites in the State of Andhra Pradesh with PPA’s for 20 years. NGP’s valuable consortium will build, own and operate all of the plants. The initial phase for the 70 MW PPA has been executed and development work has already begun. By the end of 2014, the entire 315 MW of solar projects will be completed. WAAREE Energies Limited has been awarded the exclusive EPC contract for 245 MW and Premier Solar/WAREE will be the joint EPC contractor for the initial 70 MW.

Long term financing for the project is being negotiated with various EXIM and other financial institutions. WAAREE Group, a Mumbai based leading multi-technology company, along with Patriot Solar Group (PSG), will be setting up a joint-manufacturing facility in Gujarat, India that will be fully capable of supplying all product solutions and opportunities by the project’s completion. “We are very happy with a partnership that will bring more green, sustainable energy to the world. WAAREE will bring its manufacturing and project execution skills to execute this project,” said Hitesh Doshi, Chairman of WAAREE Group. “Patriot Solar Group is truly delighted to be a part of this world class team. Together with WAAREE Group, the production facilities for our full line of tracking, mounting and mobile fixed off-grid solar systems are already being developed,” said Patriot Solar’s President, Jeff Mathie.

this large contract and partner with New Generation Power, on the largest solar development project in India. Premier will bring its project development and execution skills to get the project off the ground and ensure timely completion”, said Mr. Karthik Polsani, CEO of Premier Solar group. Premier’s co-development partners on this venture are RRE Power and Inspirra Energy, both US-based development ﬁrms. “New Generation Power will build a world class solar facility that India will be proud to call its own that will create signiﬁcant job opportunities and economic development for Andhra Pradesh. It’s an honor to be part of one of the largest solar farms globally in my native country,” said Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, the Chairman of New Generation Power. NGP’s additional partner in this venture is Thermo Source. NGP is currently developing grid scale projects in Africa, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

“Premier Solar is proud to have won

Multicrystalline Silicon Modules to Dominate Solar PV Industry in 2014, According to NPD Solarbuzz The production of multicrystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is set to dominate PV manufacturing during 2014, with p-type multi c-Si technology accounting for 62% of all modules produced, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly report. Solar PV manufacturers are currently planning to increase module production by 25% in 2014, to 49.7 GW of modules, compared to the 39.7 GW of modules being produced in 2013. This is in line with the upgraded forecast from NPD Solarbuzz that end-market solar PV demand will reach 45-55 GW next year. “PV manufacturers continue to prioritize cost-reduction across the entire c-Si valuechain, with improvements in efficiency coming mainly from higher-quality multi c-Si wafers,” said Finlay Colville, vice president at NPD Solarbuzz. ”While there

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

will inevitably be short-term supply issues throughout the year, polysilicon and wafer supply is considered adequate for 45-50 GW of c-Si module shipments in 2014. Chinese cell and module suppliers will continue to operate a flexible manufacturing strategy, with new capacity expected to come online during 2H’14.” Thin-film production will continue to lose market share, declining from 9.4% in 2013 to 8.9% in 2014. Investments in new thinfilm manufacturing equipment declined to an eight-year low during 2013, but are forecast to increase significantly in 2015, as existing suppliers and new entrants into the market add capacity. The top two thin-film suppliers, First Solar and Solar Frontier, will produce almost 85% of all thin-film modules in 2014. Standard p-type multi c-Si modules will continue to be the leading solar PV

technology, with 35% of PV modules produced in 2014. However, the strongest technology share gains in 2014 will come from the advanced p-type multi segment, which includes double-screen-printing, ionimplanting, selective emitters, wrap-through variants, and rear-surface passivation. This segment will increase from 23.8% in 2013 to 27.2% in 2014. While the share of high-efﬁciency p-type mono and n-type modules is set to decline from 29.6% in 2013 to 29.3% in 2014, production will grow by 2.8 GW in 2014 due to the overall growth of the industry. This increase in high-efﬁciency c-Si modules is being driven by space-constrained solar PV deployment, characterized by the booming Japanese end-market, and by the strategies of established leading tier 1 suppliers, such as SunPower and Panasonic, that continue to secure premium module pricing levels through the downstream channels.

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& EQBusiness Financial Solar sector sees $207 million in VC funding, strong project funding and M&A activity in Q3 2013, reports Mercom Capital Group Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report today on third quarter funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the solar sector.Global venture capital (VC) funding in Q3 2013 totaled $207 million, up slightly from the $189 million raised in Q2 2013. VC funding was distributed across technology groups this quarter with PV companies receiving the most, $57 million.Total corporate funding in the solar sector, including VC, debt financing and other equity financings raised by public companies, was significantly higher $2.18 billion, compared to $915 million in Q2 as a number of public companies took advantage of rising market values this quarter. Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, commented, “Overall market conditions for the solar sector continue to improve. Project funding and M&A activity were at record levels reflecting an improved demand outlook. Taking advantage of rising market values, we also saw significant financing activity among publicly-traded companies this quarter.” The largest VC deal in Q3 2013 was the $39.9 million raised by Solexel, a developer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules. Investors included Technology Partners, DAG Ventures, Northgate Capital, GSV Capital, KCPB Holdings and SunPower. CSP project designer and developer eSolar raised $22 million from Oak Investment Partners. Clean Power Finance, a provider of thirdparty financing for distributed PV projects

through its software platform, raised $20 million from UAE Fund, followed by HelioVolt, a manufacturer of thin-film (CIGS) solar modules, which raised $19 million from SK Group. Rounding out the Top 5 was Dyesol, a manufacturer of solar cells using dyesensitized photovoltaic technology, which raised $16 million from Tasnee, a Saudi Arabia-based diversifi ed conglomerate. Third-party solar finance companies raised $584 million in disclosed residential and commercial project funds in Q3 2013. Announced solar lease funding comes to $2.4 billion YTD.Solar M&A activity increased in Q3 2013 both in transactions and dollars, totaling $9.8 billion in 23 transactions compared to $1.3 billion in 18 transactions in Q2. Most of this quarter’s M&A activity was either strategic or acquisitions of distressed assets/companies/technologies on the cheap. Though not a pure-play solar transaction, Applied Materials’ $9.4 billion acquisition of Tokyo Electron accounted for most of quarter’s total. Included in the acquisition was Tokyo Electron’s amorphous silicon equipment business. Other top M&A transactions included: the acquisition of LDK Solar’s Hi-Tech (Hefei), a verticallyintegrated manufacturer of PV products, by China’s Tongwei, a polysilicon manufacturer, for $142 million; SolarCity, a solar installation and lease company, acquired direct sales company and channel partner Paramount Solar for $120 million; and First Solar, an integrated manufacturer and developer of PV systems using its cadmium telluride (CdTe)

thin ﬁlm technology, acquired GE’s global CdTe solar intellectual property portfolio for 1.75 million shares of First Solar common stock (~$84 million). Shanghai Ronglian Leasing, a Chinese leasing company, acquired Shunfeng Technology, a unit of Shunfeng Photovoltaic International (a manufacturer and developer of solar equipment), for $49 million. There were 37 announced large-scale project funding deals (almost 1,267 MW) in Q3 2013 totaling $2.89 billion. Mercom also tracked about 5.5 GW of new announced large scale projects in various stages of development worldwide.There were about 3,000 MW of projects that changed hands in Q3 2013. The Top 5 project acquisitions by project size included First Solar’s acquisition of Element Power’s solar development project pipeline (1,500 MW). The second largest transaction was for the acquisition of 400 MW of solar projects from a consortium of companies led by GD Solar by Goldpoly New Energy. Goldpoly also acquired 300 MW in solar projects from Zhongli Talesun Solar through its wholly-owned subsidiary China Solar Power Group. The fourth largest transaction by project size was First Solar’s 250 MW acquisition of the Moapa Solar Project from K Road Power. Rounding out the Top 5 was the acquisition by Rainy River First Nations and Fiera Axium Infrastructure Canada II of Seven Canadian Solar projects totaling 67 MW from Global PVQ.

S&W 30 MW.Solar Park Awarded with the prestigious “BEST SOLAR EPC 2013- By Ernst & Young” in India, Sterling and Wilson Ltd. an associate of Shapoorji and Pallonji group has again outshined every competitor and has made another signiﬁcant mark in the books of SOLAR INDIA. And this has been achieved by commissioning the 30 MW Solar Park on 30thSeptember 2013. The Solar Park is located in Village Berami, Dist. Pali, Rajasthan, INDIA. The Solar Park constitutes the plants of various sizes ranging from 1 MW to 8 MW, and is for 11 different customers. 10

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

This displays the trust and faith on the organisation by various clients to avail the services from Sterling and Wilson. Moreover, the goal of commissioning was achieved in merely 83 days which again reﬂ ects the resource mobilisation and execution as a forte of Sterling and Wilson. . Today Sterling and Wilson appeared to be one of the strongest and aggressive pure play EPC player and hence today it has raised its tally to 149.28 MW commissioned and connected to the grid, and with projects of 200 MW under construction.

The present project is based on the REC mechanism and the developers are availing Accelerated Depreciation beneﬁt too. With the commissioning of 30 MW solar park the solar park is left with the space for 10 MW which is to be ﬁlled very soon. Moreover this solar park will provide electricity to approximately 96,000 households annually and will prevent 33,870 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This project is another landmark in the history of Sterling and Wilson ltd. and yet another step for cleaner and greener earth.

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I NT ERV I EW

Chanchal Bhatnagar Business Development

Power One Renewable Energy Solutions (I) Pvt Ltd EQ : A brief profile about Power-One CB : Power-One has a long-standing history in the power electronics industry and this has served us very well as we have made great strides within the Renewable Energy industry. As a global company, we have many benefits to offer our customers. First, our range of Aurora products is renowned for being one of the most efficient, robust and technically advanced currently on sale. Industry magazine Photon magazine said our European 10.0kW three-phase inverter ‘takes its place among the top devices Photon Lab has tested so far’. We also provide our customers with an excellent pre- and post-sales service ensuring the orders they place are correct to their specification as well as an efficient care package to ensure their goods remain in perfect working order for more than their expected lifetime. Power-One has built its Renewable Energy business on a very open, transparent approach, providing our customers with clear payment and delivery schedules while maintaining a very close relationship throughout the manufacturing process and beyond. We are very satisfied with the feedback from our key clients who we see more as partners than customers. As a business-tobusiness organization, we like to think of ourselves as our customers’ manufacturing arm – no different than if we were within their organizations. Our objective is to be the best in class for on-time delivery and reliable products. Since 2009, Power-One has gone from the Top 10 of the world’s solar inverter manufacturers to the Top Two by market share at the end of 2010 till now.

EQ : Power-One plants among top 10(4 among top 10 and 3 among top 5). What are the factors you attribute it to? CB : We have to understand that

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

inverter is not a commodity, and not all inverters are same. Technology / Algorithm is a big differentiator , Our inverters are more advance in topology, using NPC3 and NPC4 conversion topology. Which are a generation ahead of rest, modularity and wider DC input windows making inverter wake up early , Thus providing better energy yield which has clearly come out in the study. They also give distinct advantages like multiple paralleling upto 3 MW block on a transformer. We are seeing these topologies now propagated by Semiconductor manufacturers and adaption.

EQ : Gujarat was the first state in India where PV systems were implemented at a massive scale. What were the challenges the inverter sector in general and Power-one in particular faced?

Our internal target is to be the best service provider with R&R of 24 hr and customer delight.

EQ : During the first year of operations, what were the common problems related to plant performance that came up, especially since the inverters were used in India for the first time? CB : Adjustment to India Grid condition, along with site conditions, accessibility to site and trained/experience manpower were the major challenges. But it is all part of the learning curve. India went from 50Kw to 1Gw in less then 12 months.

CB : Not having a national grid standard for Solar was a big challenge, the various parameters like Frequency, Voltage variation are big in comparison to standard and actual.

EQ : Since Power-one also has a big installed base in Rajasthan, can you throw some light on the differences in performance between Gujarat and Rajasthan?

We learned and tighten our protection by upgrading the ﬁrmware and coming out with India speciﬁc version. Site conditions and non availability of trained manpower where initial challenges we faced as an industry.

CB : Inverter performance is very similar but other variables Grid conditions, Grid availability are better in Gujarat in comparison. Also Dust & heat related environmental issues are aggressive in Rajasthan.

EQ : How did power-one overcome the challenges of having the need to ramp-up sales and technical support teams quickly?

EQ : What would be your advice to developers/EPCs regarding inverter selection?

CB : India is a priority market for Powerone and we have made investment in our infrastructure , We have Power-one trained engr. at 5 location presence with spares storage facility and soon we will be having a high level repair centre in country.

CB : Inverter is the brain on the PV plant and only 6-9% of the project cost. Please have a balance between price and performance in buying decisions. Technology, Service infrastructure & bankability/global presence of manufacturer Are equally important parameters to consider in making a buying decision.

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IT TAKES MORE THAN ONE INVERTER TO POWER INDIA.

BROADEST RANGE OF INVERTERS To meet the energy needs of a growing nation, solar power will need to be tapped at every scale. And no manufacturer is better prepared for that than Power-One. From 250W single-panel MICRO inverters to commercial-grade string to utility-scale 1400kW central inverters, we offer one of the broadest and most innovative lines of inverters anywhere. And with the highest yields and most responsive service in the industry, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no surprise we have been trusted with over 11GW of installations worldwide. So whether your job is big or small, we are here to help you do it right. For technical information email sales.india@power-one.com or call +91-22-66632222

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EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

Solar Radiation Measurements : Accuracy Matters

Dr. Jaya Singh, BKC Weathersys Pvt. Ltd.

High quality solar radiation data is critical throughout the life-cycle of a solar power project. Although solar radiation measurement equipment present less than 2% of the total cost of a solar project, we often see compromised quality of instrumentation for measuring solar radiation. In this article, we describe solar radiation measurement equipment, and present a case study where ground measurements for a solar power plant client in Maharashtra were compared to satellite and model derived solar radiation forecasts. This analysis established the inadequacy of instrumentation for the solar project needs, and that an initial cost-saving in investment was not worthwhile for the client in the long run.

igh quality solar radiation data is critical throughout the life-cycle of a solar power plant. Once a plant has been set-up and is operational, high quality solar radiation data is required for maximizing operational efﬁciency, scheduling maintenance, monitoring performance, and for output forecasting. Errors in the solar radiation measurements can signiﬁcantly impact upon the return on investment for solar projects.

How is Solar Radiation Measured? All solar power plants require high quality solar radiation measurement instruments in order to accurately measure the amount of solar energy incident at that location. A combination of pyranometers and pyrgeometers for measuring GHI, DNI and DHI constitutes a “Solar Monitoring Station”. High quality instruments provide solar radiation data that is accurate enough to allow comparison with data from other sites as well as with data from other sources such as satellite data. High quality ground-based measurements

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

of solar radiation are made by radiometers that have a ﬂat spectral response over a wide spectral bandwidth. These radiometers use a thermopile detector that absorbs the incoming radiation and converts the increase in temperature into a small electrical signal. Instruments that employ silicon based detectors instead of a thermopile, are lower cost but highly compromised in accuracy. The case study reported below also illustrates this. Along with solar radiation parameters, meteorological parameters such as wind speed, wind direction, ambient temperature, relative humidity and other environmental factors such as cloud cover and dust also impact the solar energy at any given site. Consequently, solar plants also require a high quality weather monitoring stations. Solar Weather Monitoring Stations are normally connected to a data logger that records and stores the readings. Data can be forwarded in real-time via telemetry or periodically downloaded for processing and analysis. A large site may have two or more Solar Weather Monitoring Stations. For one client in Charanka Solar Park, Gujarat, we have installed four high quality Solar

Weather Monitoring Stations at a single plant to accurately capture data that allows for accurate nowcasting and forecasting of energy output.

World Standards for Solar Radiation Measurement Instruments With the wide range of solar radiation measuring instruments available in India, we often get questions from clients enquiring about the standards and priceeffectiveness of available technologies. Our recommendation is to use pyranometers and pyrheliometers that meet performance speciﬁcations calibration standards laid down by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the International Standards Organisation (ISO). Instruments that comply with WMO and ISO classiﬁcations provide accurate measurements of the solar radiation under all weather conditions. Through partnership with Kipp and Zonen B.V, The Netherlands, other leading OEMs, BKC Weathersys Pvt. Ltd. provides turnkey solutions for Solar Weather Monitoring

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Stations and also provides services for data analysis during plant operation. We also correlate ground measurements with satellite data and advanced solar models to ensure accuracy as you will see in the case study

Figure 1

measuring the Global Horizontal Radiation (GHI). To guage the operational efﬁciency of the plant, they wanted to correlate groundmeasurements with satellite data. We employed the automated solar forecasting workstation developed at BKC WeatherSys Pvt. Ltd. to carry out this analysis. Furthermore, we carried out a correlation of ground measurements and satellite based forecasts at two other sites, one in Gujarat (Figure 2) and the other at our project ofﬁce in Uttar Pradesh (Figure 3), where we have installed Solar Weather Monitoring Stations that employ thermopile detector based radiation sensors from Kipp and Zonen, The Netherlands. Figure 1. Plot of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) , Actual and Satellite derived Forecast, from 13th June to 18th August 2013 at client site in Maharashtra. Actual GHI is in red and Forecast GHI is in blue, and the values are poorly correlated. Ground measurements were obtained using silicon-based radiation sensors.

Figure 2

below.

Figure 3

Case Study: Correlating Solar Forecasts with Solar Monitoring Station Data for a client in Jalgaon, Maharastra A client had installed a Solar Monitoring Station in Jalgaon in Maharashtra, India. The Solar Monitoring Station included a silicon based solar radiation sensor for

Figure 2. Plot of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) , Actual and Satellite derived Forecast, from 01st to 31st August 2013 at BKC WeatherSys Pvt. Ltd. project ofﬁce in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Actual GHI is in red and Forecast GHI is in blue, and the values are well correlated. Ground measurements were obtained using a Kipp and Zonen CMP11 pyranometer. Figure 3. Plot of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) , Actual and Satellite derived Forecast from 01st to 31st August 2013 at client site at Surender Nagar, Gujarat. Actual GHI is in red and Forecast GHI is in blue, and the values are well correlated. Ground measurements were obtained using Kipp and Zonen radiation sensors (CMP 11 pyranometer). After analysis by our team (see Figures 1, 2, &3 ), we found that the correlation factor between the forecasted GHI value and the actual GHI value as measured by the client’s silicon based sensor is very poor (0.51). Their current solar monitoring station

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cannot be relied upon for either monitoring plant efficiency or making output forecasts as ground measured radiation data is in error of over 50%. In contrast, ground measurements and satellite based forecasts at two other sites, one in Gujarat (Figure 2) and the other at our project office in Uttar Pradesh (Figure 3), where we have installed Solar Weather Monitoring Stations that employ thermopile detector based radiation sensors from Kipp and Zonen, The Netherlands, have good correlation factors. These Solar Weather Monitoring stations included various sensors Including a Kipp and Zonen CMP11 Pyranometer. The CMP11 (traceable to WRC,Davos ,Switzerland) is an ISOSecondary Standard Pyranometer that allows for accurate measurement of GHI. These results are not a surprise. Silicon based radiation sensors are known to have limitations arising from temperature fluctutation, spectral range, and degradation and cannot be relied upon for accurate measurement of solar radiation under all weather conditions.

Impact of Inaccurate Data on Return on Investment The use of low quality radiation measurement instruments for reference purposes and for providing data for informing key decisions like scheduling maintenance and cleaning of panels, monitoring performance, and even predicting plant output is fraught with error. As solar radiation measurement equipment present less than 1-2% of the total cost of a solar power project, investing in high quality instruments makes sound ﬁnancial sense. Poor quality data can compound errors in plant design, performance and output forecasting, negatively impacting return on investment. In conclusion, investment in reliable solar radiation instruments pays off during plant design as well as the entire life cycle of the project.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

I NT ERV I EW

Arturo Herrero

CMO-Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. EQ : Whats the current production capacity of your company AH : 1.5GW production capacity in 2013

EQ : What is the unique advantage in being a vertically integrated manufacturer AH : The main advantage in being vertical integration is more control over the value chain, including costs, consistent quality, delivery time, scale effect as well as ﬂexibility to comply with technical innovation.

EQ : How much has been the sale to India and what does the future look like AH : We will have about 50-100MW sales in India in 2013. India has seen a remarkable growth in solar capacity addition over the last couple of years. Installations are poised to continue in the same vein under the National Solar Mission alone by 2017. The solar market boom is witnessed, but it is also a very price sensitive market, Brand, Track Record & Credibility become one of the biggest factors inﬂuencing developers’ decisions. A solar unit is expected to last for more than 20 years and produce as many units of electricity it can at that. Thanks to JinkoSolar’s credible track records across the world and our brand value, we are conﬁdent to increase our sales in India next year.

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. AH : This statement has been proven ungrounded even by First Solar’s chief finance officer, Mark Widmar’s admission that his company’s thin-film modules might not stand

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

up so well in hot climates.He said in public that they were increasing their warranty provisions by 1% because they were getting more claims on their warranty than they thought they would get in hot weather. JinkoSolar’sEagle series has been certified as the world firstcrystalline Si module under the condition of 85�/ 85% relative humidity. It was test proven to have a better performance in India’s muggy climate. Our Eagle PID free module can avoid potentially increased failure rates in hot climates compared to competitors’ products. Both Widmar and a group analysts’ objective comments knock the bias of c-si panel in hot weather regions, generally the overall competitive landscape globally is definitely in favor of crystalline siliconbecause of its higher efficiency, lower degradation over time, cost competitive, and same if not better performance reliability in hot and humid installation environment.

EQ : Which are the top 10 markets for your co and approx shipment to these markets AH : China, Japan, USA, Australia, India,South Africa, Middle East, South America, UK, etc.

EQ : What s the roadmap for production rampup for your co and further growth in terms of technology, output of your products AH : It is hard to give a detailed ﬁgure of coming years because the market is so changeable.

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. AH : It is for sure EU market will continue to grow in the years to come no matter of origin of the suppliers.

EQ : Do you forsee a further drop in the prices of PV and to what extent AH : There is less room to further drop down, it almost close to the bottom. With the balance of supply and demand in global scale, we expect the price will increase a little bit to return to a stable level.

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 AH : JinkoSolar focus on and insists its own strategy, will not be impacted by others. This is the main reason to maintain its position and image of “ themost sustainable and healthy solar PV company”

EQ : What is the annual expenditure on R&D and how much is it as a % of total sales AH : Appro. 0.5% of total sales is been invested in R&D

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EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

Roof top Installation

Tile Roof Installation

Nemmadi Kendra Centres 2 KW Solar Systems Rajesh M. R - Power One Microsystems Pvt. Ltd.

overnment of Karnataka has set up a network of 800 Nemmadi centers at village / Hobli levels and 203 back offi ces at Taluka level. These Nemmadi centers deliver G2C services at the citizen’s doorsteps. The Government of Karnataka has set up these Nemmadi Centers with a vision that Information Technology enabled Government services should be accessible to the common man in his village, through efficient, transparent, reliable and affordable means and with a mission to deliver effi cient Government Services at the Citizen’s doorstep.

Energy Dept., Gok will meet another 20 %

To strengthen these Nemmadi Centers it was decided to provide Solar Power Packs of 2KWp capacity each at 601 Nos. out of 800 No.s Nemmadi Centres (totalling to 1.202 MW) from approved MNRE Channel Partners. The power generated from these power plants will be used for day to day operation of 3 Computers, one printer and 2 LED lights at each Nemmadi Centers. The total estimated cost of this project is Rs. 27.50 Crores. Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka has sanctioned 50 % of the estimated project cost; KREDL/

Solar Modules, 3KVA, 96V Solar PCU, 12V,

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

of the project cost. Our contribution in this project is we have Installed & Commissioned 2kwp solar power pack at 354 different locations across Karnataka (Belgaum-59, Mysore-130, Gulbarga-165). Which Totaling to 708 kw within a short duration of 60 days. The cost for implementing these projects is Rs. 15 crore, installed system at each site will generate 06-08 units per day (totaling to 2124 units from 354 systems), each system consists of 2kw (250wp x 08 no’s) 150Ah, 08 no’s of Solar Batteries, Lightning arrestor, ACDB, DCDB and other standard

The solar power system where it is installed is rural areas as their power is not available for more than 8-10 hours. Now after installing solar these Nemmadi Centers are working without any shutdown continuously. The specially designed PCU will work like online UPS during non solar hours & ensure there is no shut down of server ( no change over), and the Grid voltage is regulated free from spikes, surges, over voltage , under voltage to protect the computers & other IT equipments. As per the contract we have to visit to each site every month for maintenance of the systems. We have our own ofﬁces across Karnataka & maintaining these systems every month apart from any break down calls.

electrical accessories. The solar power system where it is installed is rural areas, we had the barriers such as transportation, man power, non availability of electricity in spite of all these, we successfully Installed & Commissioned within a period of 60 days with a different kind of sites like ﬂat roofs, metal sheet roofs, tile roofs etc.

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CORPORATE & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

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SO L A R ENERGY

Large Scale Solar PV Power Plant Performance Monitoring, Evaluation And Improvement Vaman Kuber, Solar Systems Solutions, Pune

he number of grid connected largescale Solar PV power plants deployed in India over the last 2-3 years is 1962 MW (Oct. 13). The energy generation data of plants installed under NSM phase 1 and that of plants installed in Gujarat is readily available in public domain. In fact, the plants installed in Charanka, Gujarat under one roof is an excellent opportunity to study their performance. Nowhere in the world, are a number of plants installed in one location and their generation data made available. When solar radiation and energy generation profiles of these plants are analyzed over a period of 1 year, a wide variation in their performance is observed, indicating ample scope for improvement. Taking the next step of evaluating the PV and Inverter technologies employed in these plants, the performance trends specific to location, environment and technology can be analyzed. The idea behind this study is to develop right mix of technologies suitable for given sites for the plants to be installed in future, to improve their performance and to maximize returns on investment. Does use of high efficiency PV modules mean higher generation and better performance? The PV module efficiency is the energy conversion efficiency from solar to electrical. For example, 1m2 size and 15% efficient module would generate 150 Wp of electrical power output under STC conditions for 1000 W/m2 solar radiation. Thus, higher module efficiency means less area for a given power output and lower module efficiency means more area for the same power output. Therefore, the module efficiency does not determine performance of the plant for a given Wp size, but it determines the size 20

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

of the array. The overall electrical energy conversion efficiency of Solar PV power plant is termed as systems efficiency of the plant. The plant performance ratio (PR) is synonymous to systems efficiency. The plant PR is the ratio of plant measured yield or output AC energy generated to the rated DC energy generation capacity of the plant under STC conditions, usually over a period of one year. For example, a plant rated at 1MWp DC has energy generation capacity of 1500 MWh for 1500 Peak Sun Hours (PSH) in a year. If the plant AC output energy generated is 1200 MWh, the systems efficiency or plant PR = 1200/1500 = 80%. PR, by definition, does not depend on amount of radiation, as both rated DC yield and plant AC yield are proportional to radiation. Therefore, PR is

a true indicator of plant performance.In this example, if 1800 PSH were available, the plant yield would be 1440 MWh for PR of 80 %. Thus, the plant yield is directly proportional to the amount of available radiation for a given plant PR. The more commonly used plant performance indicator is Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) or Plant Load Factor (PLF). CUF is deﬁned as ratio of measured yield to the maximum potential yield of the plant over a period of 1 year, assuming the plant is operational 24x7. For a 1MWp DC plant, the maximum potential yield in a year is 24x365x1 = 8760 MWh and the CUF = 1200/8760 = 13.7% for the above example plant having PR = 80% and PSH = 1500. The CUF of the plant is directly proportional to the amount of radiation as the potential yield

Figure 1: Charanka PV Plants Performance

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The PV array design, inverter integration, PV panel tilt and pitch and other systems integration aspects needto be evaluated in light of plant yield. In summary, a systematic performance evaluation matrix can be formulated.

Figure 2: Charanka Plants-PV and Inverter Technology

of the plant is independent of radiation. In this example, if 1800 PSH are available, the plant yield would be 1440 MWh and the CUF would be 1440/8760 = 16.4%. Thus, CUF is not a true indicator of plant performance but is a measure of plant utilization and is useful in evaluating plant location. For a given location, the amount of radiation available is known and the plant yield depends on its PR and the CUF depends on plant yield.The PR of the plant depends on PV and Inverter technology employed amongst other factors. Thus, both PR and CUF indicators can be used to evaluate technology for a given location. The PV power plant performance is dependent on several site, environment and plant related factors and their interdependence on each other.The performance is a function of PV module and inverter

loss factors, environment, PV-Inverter integration, BoS parameters, systems integration, installation and maintenance processes and quality practices. The Charanka, Gujarat normalized PV plant generation data available over the last one year is evaluated in view of PV and Inverter technology employed.The plant Performance Ratio (PR) and the Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) are computed for direct comparison in Figure 1. As many as 40% of plants are found to under perform compared to the benchmark. The performance of power plants using four different PV and Inverter technologies in Charanka is compared for a period of 1 year in Figure 2. Further, the plant sites and environment can be studied and their effect on PV performance and plant yield can be analyzed.

Figure 3: PV plant performance loss diagram

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

The average energy generation over lifetime is governed by plant PR, PV module degradation factor, and availability of solar radiation. The DC performance loss factors associated with PV modules through to Inverter and AC performance loss factors associated with Inverter through to power evacuation cumulatively determine PR and energy generated. A typical PV power plant performance loss diagram is shown inFigure 3. The total energy losses from plant DC nameplate capacity to AC output are typically 24%, comprising of 18% DC performance loss and 6% AC performance loss. The typical plant PR is 76%. Sol2Sys has formulated the design criteria and implementation strategies to minimize individual loss factors and maximize systems efficiency. The example loss factors improvement strategies are outlined. Sol2Sys has developed a comprehensive method to evaluate the plant performance. The plant function al, accept ance andperformance tests have been identified. The one-off functional tests are designed to test modules through to power evacuation including inverter and cabling. The acceptance tests usually run for a period of 1 week. The average, integrated and weighted PR of the plant is determined along with sensitivity to seasonality. The annual radiation and PR tests are conducted to corelate predicted and actual PR and estimate generation adjusted for irradiance. The plant degradation rates can be evaluated based on annual PR tests.The DC to AC conversion efficiency test is used to isolate module/ inverter underperformance. Sol2Sys has identified a comprehensive set of equipment required for performance monitoring. The equipment includes radiation, temperature and electrical energy monitoring in addition to electrical parameters. Using these tests, actual PR and yield of a plant can be compared with predicted values and the variance can be analyzed for root cause and remedial measures. The DC and AC plant performance can be separately monitored to identify problem areas. Further, both electrical and thermo-

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Loss Factor Module Mismatch

Estimated % value

Proposed improvements

Improved % value

2-3

Positive tolerance, Current matching, Uniform tilt, Avoid partial shading

1-2

DC Interconnections and Cabling

1-2

Optimum plant layout, Appropriate cable size, Minimum cable length, Quality Installation

0.5-1.0

Inverter loss due to operating voltage and power

3-4

PV-Inverter matching, Inverter topology

1-2

Plant Downtime

Variable

Robust monitoring, Prompt repairs, Spares holdings, PDM

graphic tests at component level can be useful in PDM (Predictive Diagnostic Maintenance) and FMCEA (Failure Mode Cause and Effects Analysis) of plant equipment. Finally, recommendations can be made for performance improvement of under performing plants. Solar Systems Solutions (Sol2Sys) is currently ﬁnalizing scope for performance evaluation of 5MW Solar PV power plant. Various tests at system, sub-assembly and component level are identiﬁed. The test sequences are formulated. The test equipment

Signiﬁcant Reduction

and their speciﬁcations are determined. The performance evaluation methodology also has been formulated. In conclusion, plant performance improvement is not a substitute for upfront design review and veriﬁcation in due diligence stage to optimize plant performance. The plant functional and acceptance tests identify short term under performance issues. The plant long-term performance tests help compare actual irradiance and performance with predicted values. The plant long-term performance tests are also required to

understand plant degradation rates as well as location and technology specific energy generation. The large-scale PV power plant performance monitoring, evaluation and improvement offers a number of benefits to industry. PV, Inverter and BoS technology can be optimized to maximize plant yield. Installation quality practices as well as O&M routines can be improved for better plant performance. The performance improvement essentially means higher yields and better returns which translates to reduced energy cost, faster payback and bankability of a PV power plant project.A 5% improvement in performance of a plant having PR of 80% would imply an absolute increase of 4% in PR resulting in Rs. 40 Lakhs of additional annual income for a 10MW PV power plant generating 15 million units of electricity at a rate of Rs. 6.25 per unit. The field performance evaluation of existing plants will be useful in selecting optimum location and technology and maximizing yields of the plants deployed in future.

SO L A R ENERGY

Solar Diesel Hybrid Model – A Simple Yet Powerful Solution To Substantially Reducing Diesel Power Costs Vijay Balaji- Director - VD Swami And Company Private Limited.

n this period of time, the electrification of rural areas has become an effective instrument for the sustainable development of such regions in both developing and developed countries. During last couple of decayed, an increasing interest has been observed in the deployment of medium to large scale wind-diesel, PV-diesel and wind-PV-diesel hybrid power systems for rural electrification in various countries around the globe. There are many indications that there is a large potential market for such systems, and though there are an increasing number of demonstration projects but a true market for such systems has yet to emerge. The foundations for hybrid power systems architecture and design and presented hybrid systems as an optimum approach for standalone power supply options for remote area applications. We at VDSOLAR studied technoeconomical characteristics of hybrid power systems and outlined the expected future directions for the development of hybrids. According to our technical team, the hybrid power systems were found to be more favorable when the cost of diesel fuel transportation is a significant percentage in the analysis. We studied in detail the technical and operational characteristics of solar diesel hybrid systems and found the various advantages of the system in terms of saving diesel. Especially in areas with intermittent power diesel generators are the only source of power. Based on our 24

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

experience we ﬁrmly believe and recommend introducing solar energy generation to the existing diesel only system so that diesel fuel cost which are substantial plus transportation cost of diesel and pilferage especially in remote areas, can be minimized efﬁciently. Now the utilization of PV systems in India is economically more feasible than using diesel generators or extension of the high voltage electric grid. Our technical team has assessed the economics of hybrid power systems versus the diesel generation

diesel fuel price subsidies. The solar PV/diesel hybrid power systems provide a reduction in operation and maintenance costs and air pollutants emitted in to the local atmosphere compared to that of a diesel only system. The diesel price today is reaching peaks and it is 55.37 Rs./Lt and it can shoot up more at any time. So it is the right time to go for a Solar Hybrid system in which there is only an initial investment and then you

Features

100 Kw Annapoorani Cold Storage

Spv Modules

Indian Made MNRE Approved Monocrystalline Modules

Geographical Location

Kumbakonam-621007 Tamil Nadu

Lattitude And Longitude

10.960/ 79.380

Total Area In Sq. M

1050 Sq. M

No Of Modules

400 [250wp Each]

Installation Location

Open Terrace Area Of The Building

technology in different parts of Tamil Nadu for different requirements. The optimization results showed that hybrid systems are less costly than diesel generation from a net present cost perspective even with the high

can enjoy FREE GREEN POWER for next 25 years.

Study Project And

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Site Specifications At Annapoorani Cold Storage, Kumbakonam We VDSolar the renewable energy division of VD Swami and Company Private Limited, an MNRE Channel partner have set up an Solar Photovoltaic Diesel Hybrid Power Plant of 100KW (DC) capacity on the rooftop of Annapoorani cold storage unit situated in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India to provide renewable power to the electrical loads of the cold storage unit, since the cold storage unit is located in Kumbakonam the interior of Tamil Nadu, in an agricultural belt where Power availability is a major issue. The installation of the Power plant not only energizes the loads but also saves conventional energy and fossil fuels. Prior to installation of Hybrid system the cold storage unit situated at Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu had 6hours of power availability a day from state electricity grid, whereas the unit functions complete 24 hours a day nonstop. Given the unavailability of power from the state electricity grid the cold storage unit is forced to run a Diesel Generator (D.G) of 125KVA capacity at load of almost 80% therefore resulting heavy diesel bills and also increased operation and maintenance cost for the D.G making the unavailability of power an extremely frustrating and painful experience for the cold storage owners. Therefore the solar hybrid system of 100 KW capacity was a tailor made solution to provide uninterrupted clean source of power available to run the cold storage unit, which will be extremely beneficial to save India’s agricultural produce. The Solar power plant proposed is with an objective to attain the following benefits, •

Providing renewable power to the equipments in the cold storage unit.

•

Saving of precious fossil fuels

•

Noiseless, pollution free and eco-friendly power.

•

Saving cost

•

Can work as a demonstration project for further expansion of solar PV technology all over the country for cold storages.

was connected to the internal grid and also was synchronized with the D.G. No battery storage was provided.

Real Time Savings In Diesel- By Puttiing 100 KW System So, from the above graph we can clearly see the difference between the two scenario’s, the blue column indicates the diesel consumption in liters on diesel only system, which is 160 Liters / day approximately. But from the second column marked in red we can ﬁnd out that only 60 Liters/day is consumed at the same site for the same number of hours when a 100 KW Solar system was installed. So, totally around 100 Liters/day of diesel is being saved by installing a Solar Diesel Hybrid System.

Installing A Solar Diesel Hybrid For 10 Years A 100 KW Solar Diesel Hybrid system can save a sum of Rs. 2,021,0050 on diesel cost alone, we at VDSOLAR are able to generate 93.2 KW out of 100 KW this is due to our optimum design, high efﬁcient components and the installation techniques

adopted. This fact is supported by a line graph shown below.

Money Savings By

The Solar PV 100KW plant’s output 26

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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Fig 4: The peak shows the AC Power generated between 12’0 clock to 2’o clock.

Fig 5: The peak Energy generation for a 100 KW system.

Online Monitoring For Energy GenerationTo Have A Seamless Communication Gateway Online Monitoring is an important part of Annapoorani Cold Storage. The online monitoring gives a clear idea of the Energy generation per unit hour or per unit day or a month. This system makes a seamless coordination between Customer and VDSolar team. Here below are some of the examples of the online monitoring so to have a good communication gateway.

Overall Photograph Of 100 KW Installation At Annapoorni Cold Storage-Grid Type The 100 KW @ Annapoorani Cold Storage, Kumbakonam is supporting 30% of the total energy requirement, and generates a minimum of 400 units per day. And hence satisfying our logo statement “ENERGIZE YOUR ENERGY SOLUTIONS”

Solar Panels From 10W-300W Mono & Poly Crystalline with 10 years warranty with OEM and Plant Capacity 12MW per Annum

AKSHAYA SOLAR POWER (INDIA) PVT. LTD. Our company has the following certificates: • Solar Panels are IEC 61215, 61730-1 + IEC 61730-2 Certified by UL • ISO 9001: 2008 Certified Company • MNRE Channel Partner • NREDCAP Registered Supplier.

Head Office:

AKSHAYA SOLAR POWER (INDIA) PVT LTD, Plot No.60/C/E, Phase – I, IDA Jeedimetla, Hyderabad - 500 055, AP, India Phone : +91 98480 37227 E-mail : raju@akshayasolar.com URL : www.akshayasolar.com Our Branches Offices New Delhi : Mr. Mukesh Kaushik, 15-3rd Floor, Jangpura Road, Bhogal, New Delhi- 110014 Contact : +91 99103 83424 E-mail : sales.delhi@akshayasolar.com Pune : Mr. Kalyan Desai, 580/2,Telco Colony, Bhekrainagar, Phursangi, Pune – 412308, Maharastra Contact : +91 94218 72170 E-mail : sales_west@akshayasolar.com

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Kolkata : Mr. Prasenjit Sarkar, #197, Anandpur, Hossenpur, Kolkata-700078, West Bengal Contact : +91 98748 11106 E-mail : sales.ez@akshayasolar.com 27 EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

Thermax Marks Milestones In Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic. Umakant Shende Head-Solar PV Business , Thermax Ltd.-Solar Business Unit

ooftop Photovoltaic has taken the world by storm, primarily due to its versatility and its scalability. Ranging from small plants which range in the tens of kilowatts to the mega size rooftop power plants, Solar PV has proven its mettle as the next generation Renewable energy that is easily adoptable. One of the main facets of this option that makes it easily adoptable is that it can be used on any free area, rooftop or ground with minimal loading constraints and good wind and weather resistance. At Thermax, we have realized this ﬂ exible nature of Solar Photovoltaic and its role in helping the cope up with grid power quality and shortage issues, and ensuring energy stability, in addition to contributing to a greener cleaner world. With over 3.9 MW of Solar Installations all India under various stages of execution, we are one of the leading players in optimizing Solar for rooftop space. In this article, we talk about our various installations and the different and innovative support mounting structures that we have developed for them to conform to various roof types. Roofs in India come in various types-Inclined and Flat, made of RCC or lightweight sheets of metal or asbestos. The key to identifying the right solution depends on three factors – determining the loading constraints, the weather conditions for wind load resistance and the orientation. In the following article, we talk about four different roof mounting structures that we have developed in house to mount rooftop PV panels. 1.

be placed close to the ground, at areas where there is high wind speeds there is a need to provide good wind resistance. Installation with standardized mounting components is quick and fast. 2.

Single Pole Mounting - Inclination Adjustable : This is used for its easy ﬁeld deploy ability, since their inclination can easily be adjusted in the ﬁeld.

In addition to having mechanism for altering inclination even for seasonal variations, they are also adequately ballasted for strength and wind resistance. Modules can be placed horizontally or vertically. 3.

For Inclined Roofs : This used in areas where the natural inclination is oriented to North-South , so that modules can

Thermax Installation at government institution in Gujarat

Thermax Installation at Government Institution in Haryana

Thermax Installation at Food Processing Major Chennai

Ground Hugging Mounting: This is used in areas where the PV modules need to

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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be placed perennially facing the sun. Extreme precaution has to be taken so that modules do not penetrate the roofing structure and just act as a superstructure above it. A few installations are shown below which highlight the concept. Modules can here be placed vertically or horizontally depending on the requirement. 4. Ballasted Mounting (for Roof and Ground Mounting) In this type of roof mounting structure, cemented ballasts are provided which strengthening the structure from the foundation up. It has relatively increased material costs, but leads to better wind load resistance. Also, since it is more permanent, shifting the site becomes troublesome. It has high ground clearance due to which space can be made available for other purposes.

Liner Support - For Landscape Mounting

Cross-Rail MountingRafters/Purlins

Thermax installation at a petrol pump in Gujarat

The best Solar solutions - Needs the best mounting Solution The best in Solar Energy Solutions - NEPC , presents cost effective and long lasting aluminium mounting solutions for flat roof tops with the ability to accommodate the needs of any type of solar array installation.

Distinctive features of Aluminium MMS by NEPC - Full aluminium frame for flatroof module structures - No rust, No corrosion. - Very Competitive price and matches the prices compared to regular MS Structure. - Direct mounting of panels on site without any fabrications, it comes pre-assembled. - Only 10 kilos per kW | Quick Installation time of 30 mins per kW. - Quick Guaranteed wind speed load for 150 Km/hr. | Saves transport, civil works, time.

FOR MORE DETAILS No 36, Wallajah Road, Chennai-600 002, Ph: +91- 98417 25555, Web: www.nepcindia.co.in | E-mail: solar@nepcindia.co.in facebook.com/nepcindialtd

twitter.com/nepcindialtd

We also undertake ground and other specified structure required, call now for all types of module mounting structures. To ďŹ nd out how the system can be installed : http://nepcindia.com/videos.php

SO L A R ENERGY

Bamapada Ghatak

Sishir Goel

Dwipen Boruah

PV Power Plant Audit to Maximize System Performance

nstalled capacity of large Grid Connected Solar Power Plants in India is has crossed 2GW as on 30th Sept 2013. These systems are installed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), state level solar policy and REC framework.MNRE has recently released its approval for implementation of scheme for setting up of 750MW Grid-connected Solar PV Power projects under Batch-I of Phase IIJNNSM with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support from National Clean Energy Fund. Projects under different state government policy initiatives are also on the anvil. The sudden scaling up of grid connected PV market in India through government support has created an unhealthy competition among project developers, construction companies, equipment suppliers and service providers and the unfortunate consequence is that quality standards in project design, selection of equipments and balance of system, installation and even O&M practice being compromised in many instances.

for underperformance, which is not merely related to regular operation and maintenance issues.

and tilt angle of the module, degradation of solar modules, plus any other location speciﬁc factors that could have impact on the array’s performance.

What determines PV Power Plant Performance?

But these are not only the factors that determine PV system performance. Favourable solar radiation and best of the equipments cannot alone perform well if the system is not designed or installedin a technically competent way. Some of the factors responsible for under performance of a PV power plant are -

The amount of energy delivered by the PV system depends on a number of factors, but the primary factors are: 1.

Size of the PV array

Amount of irradiation (sunlight) it receives

The total efﬁciency of the system

In general PV systems are exposed to a variety of losses some due to environmental factors, some due to device limits and others due to manufacturing defects. The losses will include things such as soiling (dust), shading, manufacturer’s tolerance, temperature, voltage drop, inverter efﬁciency, orientation

Poor system design

Poor quality equipment and materials

Under sizing of equipments

Improper installation and integration of equipments

Mismatching of different parameters

Unstable grids

Frequent equipment failure and shut down

A considerable number of large grid connected power plants are reporting poor performance due to known or unknown reasons. Many developers and investors are desperate to improve their power plant performance but failed to understand the reason

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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Potential Induced Degradation (PID)

Inadequate O&M planning etc.

A well designed and installed PV grid-connected system should have fault free operation for many years.Poor system design can result in the PV array operating at voltages outside the inverter voltage window and consequently the inverter disconnects from the grid for long periods.Poor system design relating to the PV array and inverter also force inverter to operate very inefďŹ ciently. In many cases, ownerhas been givena prediction of unrealistically high energy yield from their PV system.This usually occurs due to ignorance or poor estimation of system losses by the system designer or the consultant. Some of these losses are easy to rectify but some require in-depth understanding and testing of the system and components.

Why PV Power Plant Audit? The objective of PV plant audit is to ensure grid safety and improve the power plant performance. PV power plant audit is necessary - if 1.

The performance ratio (PR) of the power plant is below 90% of designed/ expected value;

The plant is not working during peak time;

The plant degradation is higher than the expected;

There is frequent tripping and shutdown of the power plant for known or unknown reasons.

PV power plant audit identify the root causes of these losses and help to maximise itsperformance. A simple PV audit process starts with the data analysis process with in-depth analysis of the available wind, temperature, irradiation, DC power output and AC power output data. This allows the auditors to understand the system behaviour and conduct the audit in a systematic manner. An analysis of the design documents allows the auditors to validate the design process according to best practices and industry standards. Bill of material audit is also a critical step in ensuring PV plant durability and reliability. This involves benchmarking the quality of installed components with our internally developed metrics and PV audit experience around the globe.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Making PV & Diesel Talk Badrinarayanan Suresh - Managing Director, DEIF India

olar power is a booming market in India, and DEIF India is in the process of developing a control solution for PV/Diesel Hybrid plants that will give greater value and reliability compared to existing systems. In the words of the company’s Managing Director B. Suresh, DEIF brings fine-tuning to the control system and make PV and diesel power plants talk. Few nations stand to benefit more from solar power than India where the government initiative the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aims to deploy 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022. According to Suresh, government incentives in the form of schemes concessions, attractive rates for the solar power produced and other benefits make investing in solar power financially viable and more attractive.

Reliable Operation Is The Challenge As Suresh points out, “India has abundant sun 10 months of the year, and you can generate power practically all year round.” Domestic solar power generation has taken off, and the market for solar plants for standalone generation is growing. “Where you have small industrial units out of reach of the normal distribution system, for instance, people already see the advantage of using solar plants combined with diesel plants, a PV/Diesel Hybrid.” “Controlling them and making them run reliably is the challenge. Many are trying but with our expertise we believe we are able to deliver a solution that is two or three notches beyond what is available on the market today. We have a set of innovative ideas, and we are working globally with some of the solar manufacturers in developing our solution.” Suresh believes existing systems

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

lack in information exchange between the solar power pack and the DG set. “That is what DEIF can deliver and bring value to PV/Diesel Hybrids.” PV plants have energy storage limitations but when coupled with diesel generators to take over during times when solar production fall you get a steady power supply. “What you need to do,” says Suresh, “is make these two sides talk.”

Intelligent Information Exchange “DEIF will provide a power management system, where the information exchange between the PV and the diesel generators is dynamic. The converter on the solar system will give information on the level of generation, current and expected, and the level of energy stored in the battery. Based on this information, the DEIF Control system will estimate the amount of power that needs to be supplemented by the diesel gensets and control them accordingly. Instead of responding to unknowns as it happens, we create a smooth ﬂow of power by analysing and managing data. In our view, this level of predictive control can be done by very few people in the industry.”

The solution, called the Automatic Solar Controller, ASC, is in development and will be ready two roll out in 1-2 years. “But,” says Suresh, “with a good project case and a good partner we can develop this solution much faster. If there is someone who wants it in six months and is ready to invest, we can do it.”

Deif Has A History Of Innovation More than 20% of The DEIF Group’s +500 highly skilled employees work in R&D, supporting the group’s pursuit of excellence, consistently mapping new ways in power control technology.Already a market leader in wind power, critical power, rental power, and other decentralised power applications, drawing on its award-winning expertise DEIF’sgoal of creating innovative and efﬁcient solutions for the solar energy market is part of its Green Strategy and commitment to renewable energy. PV/Diesel hybrids offer a relatively high ROI and can ensure a cost-efﬁcient energy supply for locations with limited or no access to the energy grid. The Autom atic Solar Controller, ASC, answers and surpassesour competitor’s technological and operating concerns.Designed with both new installations and retrofit applications in mind and placed on top of the PV power plant, the ASC applies power demand to the PV power plant.

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Power Management Systems New projects will beneďŹ t from using DEIFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market-leading and comprehensive Automatic Genset ControllerAGC controllers on the gensetsas this enables integration with the ASC as a complete DEIF Power Management system.

Enclosing solutions for the solar industry

This will provide an optimised solution with integrated overall system monitoring and control including keeping a minimum amount of load on running gensetsto avoid them operating at loads that are too low and maintaining a spinning reserve in the diesel system to withstand PV capability drop.

Stand-Alone In retroďŹ t applications with pre-installed controllers of a different make, we can create a solution where the Automatic Solar Controller works as a stand-alone controller with no direct interaction to the diesel system. The ASC will control the PV power production based on transducer measurements of the total, production to grid etc., but start/stop of the gensets according to the diesel power demand etc. will continue to be handled by the existing genset controls, outside the scope of the ASC.

Downtime Is Not An Option DEIF has a strong track record in developing emergency, standby and backup power solutions for mission-critical facilities and businesses including life safety, medical, industrial process control, data centres, telecommunications, and television and radio broadcast systems. Resilient turn-key packages, DEIFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solutions incorporate intelligent power distribution and controls, switchgear, and generator and grid protection to guarantee uninterrupted power supplies in cases of mains failure. We design and integrate system architecture with unique standby capacities and can deliver record start-up from an impressive six seconds for multiple gensets in parallel, redundant control systems, or even an entire redundant power plant. According to Product Manager Florent Simon, â&#x20AC;&#x153;DEIF has the technology and the capability to install rock solid critical power solutions without interrupting or bringing risk to your current systems. This too sets us apart from our competitors.â&#x20AC;?

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SO L A R ENERGY

Competitive Bidding or Licensing Aditya K. Singh - Kam Solar Energy Consultants

entral Government is targeting deployment of grid connected solar power capacity of 20,000 MW by 2022. To achieve this target, Central Government and various States have been introducing various initiatives to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenge. We appreciate the initiatives of the concerned government agencies for the promotion of generation from renewable energy sources. However, recently many states have introduced solar power policy wherein they have introduced approval route for the establishment of solar plant, for example Haryana has recently published Draft Solar Policy, 2013, wherein developers are required to take approval prior to setting up a power plant. The main objective of the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003 was to make generation activity license free. Any solar power developer can set up the power plant in any part of India without obtaining prior approval for setting the power plant subject to compliance of other statutory approvals. It appears to us that the recent solar policies of various states are in contravention of the Electricity Act, 2003 and bringing back license era in the electricity generation segment. Before dwelling upon this issue, it is pertinent to dwell upon regulatory scheme concerning the procurement of power. Section 10 of the Electricity Act provides that a generating company may supply electricity to any licensee in accordance with the Act and rules and regulations made there under and may, subject to the regulations made under sub-section (2) of Section 42, supply electricity to any consumer. The National Tariff Policy, formulated by the Ministry of Power, has speciﬁc guidance on purchase tariff for power generated from renewable energy sources: Section 6.4 “…. It will take some time before non-conventional technologies can compete with conventional sources in terms of cost of electricity. Therefore, procurement by distribution companies shall be done at preferential tariffs determined by the Appropriate Commission. Such procurement by Distribution Licensees for future requirements shall be done, as far as possible, through competitive bidding process under Section 63 of the Act within 34

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

suppliers offering energy from same type of non-conventional sources. In the long-term, these technologies would need to compete with other sources in terms of full costs.” Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003 states that Appropriate Commission shall adopt the tariff if such tariff has been determined through transparent process of bidding in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Commission. In December 2012, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for grid connected power projects based on renewable energy sources. After reviewing existing regulatory scheme, it appears that the concerned state agencies can procure the electricity from the renewable energy sources by competitive bidding process in compliance with MNRE guidelines. Various state agencies have already adopted this mechanism. Various state solar power policies (For example Haryana, Rajasthan etc.) speak about approval route for the establishment of any solar power plant in the state. It appears that any solar power developer has to take approval from nodal agency prior to setting up power plant in these states. We argue that the approval route is not having any valid statutory force and it is an attempt to go back in pre 2003 era. Prior to enactment of electricity act, CEA approval was required for the establishment of any power project. Electricity Act, 2003(“Act”) had brought smile on the faces of generating companies. A new license free regime for generating companies came after the enactment of this act. Section 7 of the Act states that any generating company may establish, operate, and maintain a generating station, without obtaining a licence under this Act, provided it complies with the technical standards regarding connectivity with the grid. As per Act, Generation including those from renewable energy sources is a delicensed activity. Hence an IPP, if they desire and subject to any other statutory clearances, may set up a power plant on a self identified site. Licensing was dispensed because it was felt that it leads to delay, to harassment and possibly corruption. A company that is investing millions in setting up a power plant is fully qualified to assess whether the project is technically sound and financially

viable. Electricity Act, 2003 imposes license requirement only for licensing, trading and distribution of the electricity. Section 8 speciﬁcally states that Hydro projects however, would need clearance from the Central Electricity Authority. Legislatures expressly excluded all power generation sources except Hydro. Requirement of approval for setting up solar power plant is in clear violation of the Electricity Act, 2003 in its letter and spirit. State Agencies have a mandate to promote cogeneration and renewables and hence a major role in mainstreaming renewable energy sector under the Electricity Act, 2003. It appears that the purpose of these policies is to backdoor introduction of ‘regulatory control’ of generation business. Various state electricity regulatory commissions had also expressed their displeasure on the attempt by state agencies to bring back power generation industry under license regime. In the case number HERC/PRO-10 of 2012 in the matter of Suo moto petition for determination of generic tariff for renewable projects to be commissioned during FY 2012-13, Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency brought to the notice of the HERC, clause 19.3 of the Renewable Energy Power Policy dated 23/11/2005 of the Haryana Government wherein it was required that Commission shall entertain tariff proposal of only HAREDA approved IPP. The Commission was not convinced with the view of HAREDA and observed that, though desirable, the proposal to entertain only the proposals from the IPPs after approval from HAREDA lacks statutory support. Therefore, in light of the abovementioned observations, we are convinced that the approval route for establishment of solar power plant does not have statutory force. The distribution licensees can invite competitive bid for the procurement of energy from generating companies but any attempt to impose unreasonable restriction on the ability of the power developer to generate the electricity will be in clear violation of the Electricity Act and various articles of the Constitution of India (Article (19)(1)(g) and Article 301 of the Constitution of India.

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Distributed Solar Energy Systems Will Be The Center Stage In The Near Future Chris Giannoumis, Technical Engineer, GreenBrilliance

study based on the analysis of the production data of all systems installed it has been determined that “Distributed power” closest to the load(s) is the most efﬁcient and personalized method of offsetting energy needs. Our optimally designed and engineered systems in conjunction with high performing quality solar panels and configured with high quality components exhibit ideal production customized to each site that exceeds customer expectations. The estimated production numbers vis-à-vis the actual productions are substantiated with accurate real-time production monitoring systems.

In case of an inverter fails, only one needs to be changed out with minimal impact to the production of the entire system. Due to these qualities micro-inverter based solar system designs are highly reliable, with low

risk, and distributed impact on utility. As a turnkey solutions provider extensive site analysis is unable to obtain ideal orientation or location, in such cases microinverter based solar system designs allow the system to maintain greatest production levels throughout the day. It offers enough flexibility to utilize roof orientations and inclines. In a thorough study of several installed systems, we have realized that distributed power design utilizing micro-inverter technology is far more effective in transmitting the alternating current converted from direct current produced by the solar modules right at the source. This technology has a decisive impact on production numbers and design optimization, not only for residential systems but for utility grade systems as well. “Distributed power” design based on microinverter technology minimizes loss of power in wiring and transmission that results in higher efficient power production that is harvested at its fullest capacity. Apart from being production efficient, the micro-inverter design is faster to install due to plug-and-play application, and is equally easy to maintain. 36

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

Nearly all ﬂush roof mounted systems use the existing roof slopes to determine the tilt angle therefore choosing the best azimuth angle chooses the ideal roof location. Even though we provide an extensive site analysis, sometimes an ideal orientation or location cannot be obtained. Microinverters allow the PV system to maintain the greatest production levels throughout the day, even

if a small shade pattern is present. We can also utilize other roof orientations that may be slightly less optimal, but still produce great results. Nearly all of our flush, roofmounted systems use the existing roof slope to determine the tilt angle, and therefore, choosing the best azimuth angle means choosing the best roof that faces the most ideal direction. GreenBrilliance feels that educating the customer on these parameters is the best way to create a trustworthy relationship with our clients that result in stimulating testimonials. The system “up time” is critically important to Solar Photo Voltaic systems as the energy source is continuous, but with varying results. A system that has individualized components such as the one designed with micro-inverters allows installers the ability to troubleshoot each component quickly and efficiently. The system based on micro-inverter technology includes real-time panel-by-panel monitoring systems with all of our solar PV installations. This type of system architecture not only provides current and accurate data that can be used to determine maintenance requirements and troubleshooting issues, but it also displays performance data. The built in alert functions gives immediate attention to any system issues or common occurrences that can aid the customer and installer to determine the best course of action to remedy the event. The customer benefits greatly by having access to all information plus the historical data for logging power production, graphical representation of real-time and historical system performance, and carbon footprint offsetting to date. It allows the customer to be a part of their system’s function and design and gives them the ability to share their results with others.

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A sample site was chosen to highlight an important consideration when dealing with system estimates and actual production values. This smaller residential system, rated at 3.84kW (DC power), was calculated at producing more than 400kWhr’s per month for the past 6 months of 2013 (April – Sept). The actual production, with micro-inverter technology coupled with real-time monitoring at the panel level, has uncovered a major consideration in the use of online calculators and there accuracy in system production estimates. It is an understanding that real world conditions can pose a number of unforeseen variables that can play a major role in diminishing overall system performance. However, the need to understand that a good estimate can promote the desired tone required to enhance the conﬁdence in the customer will keep this industry ﬂourishing.

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SO L A R ENERGY

Non Penetrative Roof Mounting Solutions Nikhil, CTO Nuevosol Energy Pvt Ltd

Rooftop mounting requires a right blend of customization and standardization. With numerous factors to account for, rooftop mounting becomes a specialized job where meticulous design plays a key role in making the project viable and sustainable. At Nuevosol we have developed a new product line of Non Invasive mounting structures for flat RCC roofs as well as inclined Metallic Roofs. Through this article we present the challenges faced in roof mounting and specific solutions we suggest in mounting perspective. Flat RCC Roofs: Reinforced concrete roofs are usually of two types. They are either completely free from any type of obstructions and hence minimal shading or they have projecting column members which cause shading. While a modular low elevation structure suits the roof types without any obstructions, an elevated structure is required to avoid shading losses in roofs with raised obstructions. Both types of structures can be non-invasive or invasive depending on the requirement, each having its own signiďŹ cance.

Low Elevation Ballast Structures One of the key objective to be met during design of rooftop structures is optimal standardization to address installation ease. As most rooftop installations happen in cities and hugely populated areas, if the installation is labour intensive or time consuming it can cause discomfort and also would increase the cost of installation. Considering these constraints a do-it-yourself kit with minimal components, which can be installed by semi-skilled personnel is ideal for such installations. Coming to the design aspects the structure

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has to be optimized to maximise the area usages. This is possible through a modular structure which can be expanded from one module to any scale while maximizing the roof usage. Rooftops experience higher wind loads compared to mounting at ground level. These structures have to be designed to resist wind loads greater than 200kmph. For maximal area usage , the elevation has to be lower and also the angle. Ideally angles between 5 degrees to 12 degrees would provide optimal area usage and generation while keeping the costs lower. Many MW scale projects supplied for by Nuevosol preferred these low elevation structures even at higher latitudes as it

is optimized for costs, timely installation compared to a higher elevation, and higher angle structure.

Elevated Non Invasive Structures Requirements of higher tilt angle, higher ground clearance to avoid shading and also to make use of the roof space after the installation calls for elevated structures. Elevated structures on roof face heavier wind loads compared to low elevation structures and have to be carefully designed when they are to be non penetrative. Conventionally elevated structures have been installed by anchoring into the roof or using the columns

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of the existing buildings, which made work highly cumbersome. If one is looking for higher ground clearance and yet non-penetrative structure, the structure has to be designed to be capable of resisting heavy wind loads incident on an elevated structure. Apart from being an elevated structure it has be designed for sufficient variance in several parameters like ground clearance and array configurations. Typically these structures need to be designed to have ground clearance between 500mm to 1000mm this structure and should be customizable in various array configurations with 2 in a portrait in N-S direction and expandable from 2 in EW to even 10 in EW configuration, thereby giving flexibility to deploy 4 module structures to 20 modules. This kind of flexibility allows one to optimize the space easily without leaving anything unutilized due to shading. Also these structures can be designed to take a tilt of 5 degrees to 30 degrees, thus accommodating higher flexibility while maintaining standardization to ease the installation and commissioning.

anchoring in the concrete. Many installers fail to foresee that a typical ﬂat roof have 40mm to 100mm of Mortar finish for waterprooﬁng and drainage purposes. This layer needs to be chipped locally to reach the actual concrete before anchor holes are made. Fail to do the same and you are risking the structural integrity of the mounting system as a whole.

Metallic Inclined Rooftop Mounting. Non Invasive Inclined roof mounting has been usually restricted to special roofs with 100mm lock or standing seam profiles. However globally so far trapezoidal roofs have not been mounted without penetrating the roofs. Mounting on trapezoidal roof sheeting has been through invasive techniques. But Nuevosol developed a patented product for trapezoidal roofs which does not require any penetration into the roof. This is yet to be commercialized. Roof profiles with standing seams and Klip lock roofs have non invasive mounting systems which are already in use. These roofs have the advantage of noninvasive mounting due to their profile.

Structures with Anchoring: Anchoring into roof eliminates many cost components in the structure like windshields and ballast which will save considerably. For structures where the ground clearance has to be more than 1m, a heavy elevated structure has to be installed which we insist on having the column post of the mounting structure to be located only on the column/beam of the existing structure. This will ensure proper anchorage depth availability and also the loading on the mounting structure will be transferred to the load bearing members of the existing concrete structure. Though this will eliminate the scope for any ﬂexibility in optimizing the roof area it will provide the required stability and safety to resist heavy incident wind loads. Also one has to bear in mind that the anchors available in the market insist on

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Role of Mounting Structures in Rooftop Systems While mounting structures for Solar Farms play a crucial role in ensuring grid parity and sustainability, it can be comfortably claimed that mounting structures are pivotal in roof mount systems. There is no rooftop system without a viable mounting solution. This being the case one should apply caution in designing these structures ensuring all the parameters of safety and durability are considered without going for hasty execution. At Nuevosol the research team continuously develops various systems for roof mounting with an optimal blend of customization and standardization.

SO L A R ENERGY

SOLAR ROOF TOP : Precautions To Be Taken For Enhancing Energy Yield And Prevention Of Hot Spots B. S. Arun Kumar - Senior Manager, TÜV Rheinland (India) Pvt. Ltd.

ith approximately 300 million roofs top available to harness solar power. The next revolution may unfold solar roof top installation with proper policy and clear road map. With each Indian state framing their respective roof top policy whether it is for off grid or on grid, the momentum has begun. Germany undoubtedly has shown the way with approximately 76% of installed solar capacity on roof top. With the insolation level in India being much higher in comparison to Germany and states with conviction that it is an untapped potential. Not only the grid be relieved of the demand but also the household or commercial establishment will have uninterrupted power during the day and night with battery backup. These small power plants help in a tremendous reduction of carbon footprints. To maintain quality and safety, proper guidance for installation needs to be imparted for an effective generation of power. TUV Rheinland with its 30 years of experience in solar business, where it inspects and tests solar panels as per IEC standards. It has been also able to spread its wings to roof top installation by performing a site survey of roof top using a shadow analysis instrument with software to mitigate hot spots and reduced generation. A scientiﬁc analysis not only ensures proper designing of solar installation but also ensures Return on Investment (ROI). 40

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Hot Spot seen using IR Camera

Damaged cell image using EL camera

HOT SPOT A module which contains solar cells connected in series. If any one cell is covered by a shadow of building or tree or bird dropping or any obstacle the cell which was otherwise acting as a conductor becomes a resistor in the path of ﬂow of current. A hot spot which occurs because of the above problem not only leads to drop in output but also causes excessive heating which eventually results in damaging the panel. A hot spot can be viewed by an IR camera Annual Sun Path View ( ﬁg 1)

when plant is in operation (fig 1). An EL image also gives cells cracked, damaged or any interconnection, disconnection etc. (Fig 2) when test is conducted in a lab. It will be necessary to conduct a roof top survey from generation point of view and also to prevent Hot spots by using scientific measurement before installation. Given below are analysis provided by instrument used by our engineers to find the sun path and also get the shading analysis for the entire year. By capturing the annual sun path, the shading nthly Solar Access View (Fig 2)

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Obstruction Elevation View ( ďŹ g 3)

that occurs during a particular month and loss in generation per annum, a quick decision can be taken on feasibility of roof top installation for a particular given area. The software also has a feature where in manually the portion of shading can be eliminated and the resultant solar annual access can be viewed to take corrective action if feasible. A graph of Elevation Vs Azimuth can also be generated as shown in fig 3 The above critical tool available makes the Independent Power Producer (IPP) confident that his ROI is ensured and also provides a road map for correct installation. If every roof top is surveyed before installation we could generate several millions of units which otherwise would have gone waste, due to shadow. With the latest technological advancements we need not waste our time to reinvent the wheel, whether it is mandatory or not, whether the policy is favorable or not it is up to us to take charge and utilize this energy which is given free to us 300 days.

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Mallikarjun Malyadri Head - Solar Business

Bonfiglioli Transmissions (Pvt.) Ltd. EQ : How many MW’s of Solar Inverters have been supplied by your co in India and how does the future look like. MM : Bonfiglioli has supplied inverters for more than 580MW in India Till date. Considering the growth of the Solar PV Sector in India since 2009, the sector has performed very positively with overwhelming participation in Govt Bids. Starting from the benchmark tariff, the aggressive bids in the last batch of JNNSM Ph I, by participants has resulted in new price discoveries. Developers are finding all possible ways to match feasibility in these achieved tariffs by using most optimized technical products for the project. In execution side, most of the developers were able to achieve the deadlines agreed during bidding process. MNRE’s released monthly generation data is showing very good generation figures building positive hopes for the future phases of JNNSM & State policies.

EQ : Please enlighten our readers on the unique technology aspect of these inverters installed in India and its performance. MM : Completely Modular Design Our innovative concept is “String inverter performance at central Inverter price” Owing to the unique “completely modular design”, the major advantage of the technology offered has been the highest single unit capacity available (1780kWp) in market with proven Multi MPPT & Master Slave Technology. Bigger size single unit inverters ensure significant reduction in AC side BOS cost by helping reduce no of MV transformers and HT Breakers (RMUs). Both Multi MPPT and Master Slave technologies have been successfully running in multi Megawatt installations in various parts of India.

a) Master Slave Configuration Master-Slave configurations intelligently 42

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manage the working load of each inverter module, maximising conversion efficiency, optimising the consumption of each inverter module and guaranteeing an extended working life. Automatic disconnection of individual modules in the event of a fault guarantees maximum output and limits energy production losses. In particular, Master-Slave configurations optimise inverter efficiency under part load conditions. Depending on the operating conditions, Master-Slave configurations can offer significant Advantages over standard central PV inverters e.g. Higher fault immunity, longer daily production time and longer expected lifetime to name a few.

b) Multi MPPT Configuration The surface of a solar field may often be exposed to the sun in a non-uniform manner, especially in rooftop installations. The use of different types of PV modules within the same installation can render multiple MPP trackers attractive in order to reduce mismatch losses. The RPS TL system’s Multi-MPPT configuration manages multiple sub-fields and reduces mismatch losses caused by variations in PV generator performance. Depending on the operating conditions, Multi-MPPT modular configurations can offer numerous advantages compared with standard central inverters e.g. Higher productivity due to lower mismatch losses, Higher fault-immunity to name a few.

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

MM : Both String and Big size inverters have their own advantages and disadvantages. Major advantage of String inverters is that individual String inverter can manage a particular sub-field and reduce mismatch loss. Major disadvantage being the higher AC transmission loss due to low Voltage AC transmission and the difficulty to manage multiple nos of inverters per MW. With size of projects more than 100-200kW, the disadvantages start overpowering the advantages making it a clear economical sense to use bigger size inverters (Central or Modular). The Multi MPPT inverters of Bonfiglioli can be considered with the advantage of both string and central inverters. Made up of Small Inverter Modules which are completely independent in design, it provides the advantage of lower mismatch loss compared to central inverter and also gives economical advantage which makes string inverters less attractive.

EQ : Please tell us in detail about your company (Company structure, Sales, Employees, Products & Solutions etc…) MM : Bonfiglioli Transmissions Pvt Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Bonfiglioli Italy, has its manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India. With a modest beginning in 1999, the company now has two stateof-the-art factories for the mechanical power transmission products in Chennai. We not only caters to the demand of Indian subcontinent but also exports over 50% to the world markets.

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Our third and new manufacturing fecility is coming up in Bangalore, The Regenerative & Photovoltaic Business Unit is headquartered from Chennai with Sales offices in major metro cities and a big service team across the country, our Indian service team is the second biggest team we have apart from our German team in Europe.

EQ : What are the other products and solutions for Solar-pv plant provided by your co and what are its technological features. MM : We can offer the complete power conversion solution from string to the grid. Bonfiglioli inverters represent the heart of solar energy systems, transforming the continuous current produced by the photovoltaic cells into alternating current, ready to be directly absorbed into the electricity distribution grid. Bonfiglioli offers a complete range of inverters and components for monitoring and controlling photovoltaic systems, covering a wide variety of power levels and installation types. For rooftop commercial or industrial installations, Bonfiglioli offers both indoor and outdoor inverters that are ready to use and highly efficient.

EQ : What are the resources in terms of manpower for sales, O&M and other aspects developed and present in the Indian market. MM : Bonfiglioli considers continuous R&D and after sales service support as two most important aspects for success in business. The R&D is spearheaded at our Germany facility. For service support in India, Bonfiglioli has India Service Head office at Chennai with a 15 members team of resident engineers across India with spares availability at each point of contact. Resident engineers ensure faster turn-around time being near to the installation area. The trained service experts of Bonfiglioli India have experience of commissioning and managing more than 500 MW covering various different grid regions in India. The technical application team is based in Chennai. Bonfiglioli has regional sales offices in major metro cities.

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

MM : Bonfiglioli Renewable business unit has been growing very rapidly since its inception in India in 2009 with more than 24% market share. The ongoing year is proving to be the most successful year in terms of growth in Sales since last years.

EQ : Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government MM : Rebate in customs duty for foreign technology products has been a landmark step in achieving the aggressive targets set by GOI for solar capacity enhancement. This not only helped Indian developers to get opportunity to use state of the art proven technologies at world market price but also enhanced confidence of global technology organizations on working in India. This trend was further facilitated by Excise duty exemption for MNRE approved solar projects. The effect of the same is clearly visible as most of them are now ready with their Indian manufacturing setup with capital investments in various parts of India. Another positive step had been the extension of accelerated depreciation scheme for developers from already ongoing wind industry to solar industry as well. Implementation of Solar Energy Purchase obligations (RPO) will be an area of improvement which even the state government is not very keen to do owing to the weak financial health of the distribution utilities. Solar, being a comparatively new technology business, the developers have found it difficult in getting funds at competitive interest rates/duration. The future of VGF in newly drafted JNNSM Ph 2 policy will be closely observed by concerned industry professionals. In coming time, we expect policymakers to encourage the Indian manufacturing facilities to build the infrastructure for the aggressive capacity enhancement plans for solar industry. Helping the stakeholders in the above mentioned challenges will also be desirable.

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

•

While designing Solar system, the reduction in losses (e.g. mismatch loss, dc cabling loss etc) must be given prime importance as it may have very significant effect on the future returns.

•

India being geographically diversiﬁed country, importance should be given to the service team’s experience of working in the areas of as many state grids as possible

•

The availability and proximity of service personnel from the installation site can be helpful for longer plant availability.

•

The performance of past installations and long term plan of the Inverter supplier should be examined apart from the strong financial strength and global credibility like bankability.

EQ : What are the prices ( $ or Euros per KW) of your various products. Please give us a range if exact prices cant be given. MM : Pricing depends on the selection of technology, sizing of the plant and also depends on the various other services like response time, resolution time, and extended warranties etc..

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the competition scenario and increasing competition from manufacturers worldwide MM : India has been an attractive market for world technology organizations with increasing demands for Solar PV Products. With healthy competition among various technology solution providers, Solar Industry is being benefited with new and improved designs developed by every player to counter the competition. There is a flip side to this scenario as well. Being a new market with decent demands for solar technology products, many new entrants are finding India best for testing waters with no capital investments & unclear plans for long term stay. This resulted in consolidation in market in terms of many new entrants winding up their business proving threat to the existing users of their products in India.

MM : • Selection of Solar inverter matching the PV String design is of prime importance.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R P V I NV ERT ERS

Grid-Stability And Energy Storage: Challenges And Trends In The Race Towards The Integration Of More Renewable Energy Sources Dr Peter Wallmeier, CTO, AEG Power Solutions

olar power generation is developing at different paces around the globe, but the trend is there, this also applies to wind and all kinds of new energy sources. As capacity increases, problems are growing in terms of network integration. This has become a real challenge “This becomes an even stronger challenge now that utility scale solar plants are increasing,” explains Dr Peter Wallmeier, CTO, AEG Power Solutions. “If you install 100 MW somewhere, this is different to when you add an additional kilowatt into the power grid. Such large-scale integration with existing systems can cause voltage band problems, reversed power flow, and oscillations. Often, the consequence is that solar plants are shut down or cannot deliver their full power”. AEG Power Solutions has the expertise in interfacing the grid to secure power for critical applications and has been at the fore front of innovation and efficiencies within the renewable energy sector for many years. “We are uniquely positioned to analyze these problems and to find and implement solutions,” Wallmeier states. And they do. Within only three months, following a request from a German local operator, the company has developed an innovative voltage regulator which is able to regulate the voltage continuously in specific sections of the network. “We are pioneering this technology and offer an efficient alternative to the much more costly grid expansion. This is part of what we are now calling our 44

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Grid-Friendly approach. We are convinced that the evolution of the grid towards a more decentralized smart-grid must, in the end, be a win-win revolution! The customer running the applications which require the power wants a resilient, secure and as cost effective power delivery as possible. Network operators need technical solutions to integrate new resources and balance the load. We are active in creating solutions to meet those demands”, Wallmeier asserts. All that is required of large scale power electronics is also applicable to smaller units. The 50.2 Hertz problem is an example. Here, grid-stabilizing measures that have long since been part of the repertoire for large systems are also being established in small systems. Energy storage: a key role in renewable energy integration to the grid Enregy storage systems must also be considered as a major component in grid stabilization. The objective here must be to manipulate solar power production, or in fact any fluctuant renewable source of power, with a set of measures that enables it to be

better aligned with the load on the network. This definitely includes storage and must be understood in both technical and economic dimensions. In 2012, 20 billion Euro was spent on the promotion of green electricity; however, the value of the quantity produced in the market was only three billion Euro. Storage can make a difference here. “With the help of storage, power is only fed into the grid when it is actually needed” declares Dr Wallmeier. “You combine two advantages here: the grid is much more stable and a higher price can be achieved.” Storage technologies are still in their infancy. In Germany, a country which has been quite ahead in solar energy for many years, the federal government is only now just starting to encourage and subsidize storage initiatives. But the trend also seems to be spreading worldwide. Wallmeier continues:” We have worked around the Federal Solar Industry Association, because this program is so important. It solves problems, because storage helps to improve the profitability of solar energy production. At the end of

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plant at our WarsteinBelecke site. We connect solar, wind and combined heat and power plants with long-term storage units, short-term storage units and load management systems. This composite system delivers the power exactly when the consumer wants it, and that in close proximity to each other,” describes Wallmeier. This could be the path to the virtual power plant.

the day, our long-term aim must be to make do without the stateguaranteed feed-in tariff. In the end, solar energy must be self-financing and integrated storage systems will make an important contribution to this. We currently see more and more projects around the world and are part of several ongoing trials and experiments.” AEG Power Solutions is focused on large storage systems. Only 20-25 percent of electrical energy is consumed in households, the majority goes to business and industry. Addressing the subject of energy storage for large-scale consumers is a clear necessity. But large storage unit dimensions hardly exist right now, and the question is whether the solution lies with these types of systems. Norway is an example. There are a few large-scale pumped storage facilities in use, but between 10 and 15 percent of the energy is lost during transport. That makes no sense from an energy supply point of view. The solution lies rather in bringing production and consumption closer together, than in transporting energy over long distances with correspondingly high losses.

A combined approach “Ideally, we should combine a mix of instruments,” explains Wallmeier. “These include smart grids for intelligent power flow control, but also battery storage units or methanation of green electricity. We see the combination of battery storage and power-togas as very promising. The current, industrially available power conversion technology is alkaline electrolysis. However, this is very slow and not dynamic enough to balance sudden fluctuations in the grid. An alternative is PEM electrolysis (Proton Exchange Membrane), a technology which is in development but will only mature in the next five to eight years. Meanwhile, the option is often to go for battery storage, which can be lead or nickel-cadmium batteries and more and more often, lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-Ion, is a promising starting technology,” continues Wallmeier. “Lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries are already much further in their technical development and are reliably

From a financial perspective, such schemes have to find their business model, but the trend is there. available. When you combine these batteries with power-to-gas, then you have a highly efficient system that can also provide long-term storage which is available for days and weeks and thereby facilitates the integration of renewable energy.” Power-to-Gas is already well out of the research stage and is now emerging as an effective alternative. Hydrogen is used in many cases. There are hydrogen internal combustion engines, and there are CHP stations that are fully fueled with hydrogen. Besides, there is a highly developed hydrogen industry. Dr Wallmeier continues: “For powerto-gas why not start with hydrogen and only later take the step of CO2 methanation – that is, the conversion of hydrogen to natural gas. This development has long been underway; we have a project with Eon in Falkenhagen and with Enertrag in Prenzlau. They use large electrolyzers with three MW capacity. This is of a magnitude with which one can certainly store gigawatt hours.” The option clearly favored by AEG Power Solutions is to install a storage unit directly at locations where there is a solar park, for example, and to integrate other decentralized power producers that may be in the area. In this way, transport losses are minimized. “We are currently testing such a renewable power

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Towards smart energy management Another major evolution could come from medium and low voltage intelligent power-electronic controllers. These allow the manipulation of the load flows at the interfaces of different network layers in order to enable the integration of energy from renewable sources. “Exactly,” continues Wallmeier, “we call them intelligent routers. You know this from the IT sector, where a router decides where the data flows should go. We plan the same for the flow of energy. Substituting simple iron and copper with intelligent silicon and ferrite, we will obtain a modern and controllable system. The aim is for so-called energy gateways, as they are currently mainly used in pilot projects in the domestic sphere but could be transferred to the medium voltage and low voltage arena.” Such systems would allow for power flow control and easier feed-in of renewable energy to local networks. Maybe not tomorrow, but it looks like it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

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Stefan Müller Founder & COO ENERPARC AG

EQ : Please enlighten us on the history of your Group, Group Strengths, Vision, Strategy for India etc… SM : Enerparc AG is an internationally successful specialist in the whole value chain of large-scale photovoltaic power plants in the megawatt segment. The company was founded beginning 2009 and as pioneers of this industry, the Enerparc team is specialized in project development, EPC as well as in the investment and operation of solar power plants. The service ranges from the technical planning (EPCm) to the turn-key delivery (EPC) and finally to the operation (O&M) of the power plant. In the last 24 months the Enerparc Group successfully connected European-wide more than 1000 MW to the grid and it meanwhile operates more than 500 MW of own PV power plants.

E Q : Your Group has made significant footstep by winning several EPC contracts in India. What is the role of your group in India and the roadmap, challenges in executing these project. What was the differentiating factor which led the your co win this project. SM : I am sure that this was our international standing and expertise combined with a strong and talented Indian team with Indian and global experience in setting up solar projects. The high flexibility in the services we offer ranging from the technical planning (EPCm), EPC Light with selective services and to full turn-key delivery (EPC) and finally to the operation (O&M) of the power plant provides an array of cost effective EPC services to our Indian customers. Enerparc AG as one of the major investor and leading service provider knows how to combine the different needs and expectations competently, always aiming for a sustainable and successful integration of photovoltaic power plants into the global future energy supply.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

EQ : How India has to evolve in terms on financing of grid connected solar projects and the lessons India must learn from Germany & Europe and other advanced & matured PV Markets. SM : Over the last 3 years since grid connect solar projects in India started in a big way, the market has evolved in many areas and reached a certain level of maturity. On policy front, there is now a much clearer policy intent and deployment. On technology and engineering side, there is now an availability of talent locally as well as awareness in the value chain. There are certain areas where Indian solar market needs to further evolve and develop and one of them is financing of solar projects. In mature solar markets like Germany, the financial institutions and equity investors have a complete understanding of the solar business. Consequently, solar projects are predominantly funded through non-recourse debt financing. This is yet to happen in a significant way in India. Another area that needs to evolve is related to payment securities and derisking collections. Key to further growth of solar in India will depend largely on these aspects.

EQ : What are the experiences and learning’s from Europe for constructing a solar farm. How do you think India is a different market than Germany and rest of Europe. What are experiences in India. SM : Speed of execution of project build is an area where mature markets like Germany excel. We recently executed on site a build for a 78 MW solar project in 6 weeks time. This is possible through a combination of supply chain optimization and proper planning. In India, the gestation time for project completion is still very long. This will add in costs.

Most of the European solar support programs offer generation based incentives for energy produced while in India the tariffs for solar projects are determined through competitive bidding. While a sense of what is a realistic tariff among experienced developers and investors in India is arriving, there is still a bullishness in quoting un economical tariffs in winning bids and this then translates to cost reduction push in areas where performance of the solar plant get compromised. A few of the early projects in India are already facing this issue. A solar plant has a life of 25 years and the plant needs to operate to its full performance for this period. Badly engineered and drastically “optimized” plant build will reduce the project life, performance and returns. A learning that India can take from mature markets is to look at medium to long term while investing in solar.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the projects executed and in pipeline worldwide, and India. SM : Enerparc has executed 1000 MW of solar projects as an EPC contractor in Europe and we have also made quick inroads in the 2 new markets we entered in year 2012 USA and India. We have ongoing projects in these countries and see both USA and Indian market growing to significant contributors to Enerparc’s portfolio over the next 1-2 years. In Europe we are continuing to work on a pipeline of projects both in Eastern Europe

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and also in continental Europe. Apart from these we have also ongoing projects in Turkey as well as middle east markets and Russia.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the experience of working with different technologies (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed vs. Tracking, String vs.Central Inverter ec.. etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. SM : As an EPC contractor, Enerparc is technology agnostic and believe that a choice of technology is specific for a given project, its geography of installation, the costs relevant to that project as well as the meteorological conditions of the project site. We have worked on projects with both central and string inverters as well. For any market the ideal choice on investment will definitely be the one that provides a sustained return on project investments. Capital cost alone will not be a metric of decision making

EQ : Whats your view on the Indian Policy Framework and one piece of advise you would like to give to the government and regulators SM : India has over past many decades actively promoted and supported renewable energy. In early days through capital subsidy for off grid solar projects and more recently through tariff support for gid connect solar projects. The Indian solar policy has taken the learning from policies deployed in other parts of the world and has put in enough checks and balances to ensure success in attracting investors and to prevent excessive exchequer burden as well. As an international IPP and investor, the one area where Enerparc feels that more can be done is the gap between intent and action in some policy deployments. Take the case of a few state government policies in recent past where the intent at the time of RFS was to have a L1 bidding tariff fixed per district and later on the rules of game changes mid way and becomes a cut off tariff to which developers are invited to comply. Such decisions send mixed signals.

EQ : How has falling modules prices affected the EPC Business in

positive and negative manner. As Industry is expecting further drop in module prices…what impact is it likely to have on the solar industry and your business SM : First of all, module prices are not reducing in recent months. In fact they are increasing. Yes we certainly saw a significant drop in module prices in 2011 and 2012 beginning but in this year the prices on a USD level have hardened. Coupled with this the exchange rate of Indian rupee to USD has seen a massive volatility. The net result of these 2 is that the project costs are not falling down as they did in the past quarters but hardening. Imported module manufacturers also have increased their module prices in Indian market owing to multiple actors but mainly driven by attractive markets opening elsewhere in the world like Japan. Overall for the solar industry and especially for the module manufacturers who have been selling below cost in many cases, this effect of some rationalism coming in prices is good as this will sustain the industry. There is no point in buying modules so cheap if there is a related threat that the company that sells the module may not exist to stand by the warranty offered. Overall the solar industry is seeing a stabilization of prices and volumes and this will be good for the industry and the investors in medium term.

EQ : Please tell us about the team strengths and resources developed in order to offer your EPC Services. SM : Enerparc has in India and Germany an experienced team of solar industry professionals with experience in handling large solar projects. We also partner with companies that provide top class subcontracting services.

EQ : What is your opinion on the Recent Bidding Outcome. Is it possible to deliver a EPC Solution to match the IRR expectations (Around 15% to 20%) to get the Solar KwHr at a price band of Rs.7.5 to Rs.9.5 SM : With the current EPC price and for a tariff levels between Rs 7.5 to Rs 9.5 it is possible to reach IRRs of 15% to 20%

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depending on the debt interest rate and other component of costs like land, evacuation etc.

EQ : Whats an ideal financial model for the Solar PV Project in India to optimize the IRR SM : There are a few possible investment models for solar in Indian market. Be it for Government subsidy based projects or retail energy based investments, an investor can typically look at rupee term loan, foreign currency loan, buyers credits and an optimal mix between these depending on the specific project can be worked out. For the retail energy market, being very new in India, there are certain additional aspects like payment securities that needs to be considered as well.

EQ : Kindly describe your Top 5 (worthwhile discussing) experiences with Solar PV Industry in India SM : • Commitment levels both at government and investor levels for solar energy is very high •

Level of skilled and experienced manpower in solar business is good and getting better

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Ancillary industry to support PV like transformers, HT panel manufacturers need to accelerate the delivery cycle time

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Gap between intent and deployment of policies in some cases needs to be addressed

•

In the end, there is a real need for solar energy in India. Owing to scarcity of energy and an economy which is growing at a fast pace, also coupled with the fact that gas and coal resources are not very abundant, India needs solar energy to ensure economic prosperity in a sustained way

EQ : What are the future plans in India ? SM : Enerparc sees India as a market where we will continue to have a strong presence. Starting from EPC services where we have an existing business, Enerparc also wishes to develop our own projects in India in near future and also get into O&M services where there is a significant opportunity.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

I NT ERV I EW

Vinay Goyal

Managing Director

Ganges Internationale Pvt Ltd

EQ : Please enlighten us on the history of your Group, Group Strengths, Vision, Strategy for India etcâ&#x20AC;Ś VG : Ganges with a group turnover of 1000+ crores turnover is into Solar Turnkey, Structure and Tower fabrication, pipes, heavy engineering, PEB and Food products. To be global leader in infrastructure business with commitment to nation building. We shall be known for commitment, speed of execution and quality of operation. To become largest manufacturer of module mounting structure worldwide and turnkey solution for India.

EQ : Your Group has made significant footstep by winning several contracts in India. What is the role of your group in India and the roadmap, challenges in executing these project. What was the differentiating factor which led the your co win this project. VG : Continous focus in R&D, Commitment on delivery and quality has enabled us in winning contracts in India and building in the confidence of customers for repeatative orders. We provide complete solution for module mounting viz, design, structures, foundation and installation. We have revolutionised the way modules are mounted by bringing down the cost by 30% and implementation time by 20% by reducing the no of parts . Completed 289MW till now and 65MW in pipeline and are expecting to complete 150MW this year. 48

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

EQ : Every Project is unique when it comes to mounting structures in terms of kind of land, different modules, different climatic conditions etcâ&#x20AC;ŚCould you share your experiences of working in such diverse environment VG : Our mounting structure is designed for the location by considering all the factors viz, wind speed, terrain category, tilt angle, soil conditions, module arrangement as required to fit in the available space with least shading. We have a complete office setup at every site with professional team. Site team is well experienced to work in all kinds of soil, land profile and handling local issues.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the projects executed and in pipeline worldwide, and India. VG : We are working with all the leading EPC companies/Developers who are EPC themselves in India. We have been approved as global vendors by European EPC companies for their project in Africa, Europe, Middle East and South America.

EQ : What is your opinion on working with c-Si, Thin Film modules VG : In India developers and EPC companies are generally going with c-Si modules as it is a proven technology and

available for a long time. For us thin film or c-Si modules does not make a difference as we have good designs both for c-Si and thin film modules and we provide the best solution to any type of modules.

EQ : Please tell us about the team strengths and resources developed in order to offer your Turnkey Services. VG : Our strength lies in our team only. We have a set of professionals in Engineering, Procurement and Project team at Head office handling the PAN India operations. We have inhouse engineering team for complete design of structure, foundation and plant. At site also we have the same setup reporting to HO staff who handles site operations. We have all the machineries for site work. We have tie up with major suppliers across India. We have state of the art manufacturing and galavanising facility for manufacture of mounting structure in Pondichery and Raipur with a capacity of 36000MT/month. Since the execution time is short, the supply has to start within a short time from PO and the most important is arranging of raw material. As a group into pipe manufacturing and fabrication we procure 5000~6000MT of raw material and have long term contract with the primary steel

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manufacturers which enables us to start material supply immediately when the order is received.

weight and since cost of manufacturing is less in India, Global players are unable to match our prices.

EQ : What are the future plans in India and other Countries ?

EQ : Which states are most interesting for you and why

VG : We are working on concrete less foundation and Roof top solar solutions. Also working closely with EPC companies abroad for technology transfer and supply of mounting structure.

VG : As a turnkey solution provider in telecom we have Pan India footprints having executed close to 40,000 telecom site. We are aware of all the geographical conditions, statutory requirements ,local issues and also we have registration under VAT act in most of the states. So we are comfortable working in any state in India.

EQ : How has the depreciating rupee affected the costs of structures and how is the competition scenario in India from Global Players and in International Markets what scope do you see for an Indian company like yours VG : Depreciating rupee does not have huge impact on the cost of the structure but projects which were slated to start by now got delayed. Ganges USP is we have internationally accredited designs which are economical in

EQ : Could you enlighten the Developers, EPC Companies, Investors & Banks the importance and nitty-gritties of mounting solutions. VG : Mounting solution is the key component in a solar farm. The structure has to last 25 years. The design has to be robust to take care of all loads with the optimum steel requirement to make it cost effective. Steel used has to be from primary supplier, zinc used in galvanizing to be of high

quality so the selection of right supplier by developers/EPC companies who maintains all the quality standards is very important. The financial health and size of the company is important to safeguard the developers/EPC companies against the warranties.

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the ongoing R&D within the company and the way forward for its technology, products and services.Whats your annual R&D budget VG : We have a team of engineers continously working on R&D of structure and foundation . We are working on new concept of concrete less foundation, use of different profiles in structures to reduce weight which reduces implementation time thus cost. Annual budget for R&D ranges 80~100 lacs.

Maybe you can’t pronounce our name... ...but you know you can trust our 850MW of solar energy expertise Owner’s engineering Detailed design services Lender’s independent engineer Technical due diligence Independent plant performance testing Call us: +91 (0) 206 527 9957 Email us: india.info@sgurrenergy.com ^ŐƵƌƌ͕ ƉƌŽŶŽƵŶĐĞĚ ^ŬŽŽƌ͖ Ŷ͘ƉĞĂŬ͕ ƉŝŶŶĂĐůĞ͕ ƐƵŵŵŝƚ

Visit us at stand 1315 at Inter solar India, Mumbai

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SO L A R ENERGY

Financial Analysis for Project under VGF Anmol Singh Jaggi - Director, Gensol Consultants

Policy Snapshot:

Capacity limits: •

Minimum: 10 MW

•

Maximum: 50

•

Max allocation per bidder: MW*

100

*(Affiliates, group companies, parent company can bid for a maximum of 3 projects at different locations subject to a maximum aggregate capacity of 100 MW)

Net Worth: •

•

Greater than the value calculated at the rate of Rs. 2 crore or equivalent US$ per MW of the project capacity up to 20 MW. For every MW additional capacity beyond 20 MW, additional net worth of Rs. 1 crore is necessary. VGF disbursal method:

•

50% on successful commissioning of full capacity.

•

Remaining 50% over a period of ﬁve years from the date of commissioning of the project, with 10% each year.

•

All VGF disbursements are subject to achievement of minimum declared CUF of 19%.

•

Par t commissioning: Par tial commissioning is allowed in multiples of 10 MW. PPA would be enforced from date of part commissioning for a period of 25 years.

•

Commissioning Schedule and Penalty for Delay in Commissioning – All projects be commissioned within 13 months of the date of signing of PPA.

•

In case the project is delayed by one month, then SECI will en-cash 20% of the total PBG on a per-day-basis and proportionate to the capacity not commissioned in lots of 10 MW each.

•

In case of a delay of more than one month and up to three months, PBG would be encashed by SECI in a similar manner.

•

In case there are delays of more than 3 months, then the pre-fixed levelized tariff of INR 5.45/kWh shall be reduced at the rate of INR 0.50/kWh per day of delay for the uncommissioned capacity. Clearly, projects slipping schedules

MNRE has proposed to fund solar energy projects under phase-II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) through Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Tariff:The tariff to be paid to the developer is fixed at Rs.5.45 per kWh for 25 years. In case benefit of accelerated depreciationis availed for a project, the tariff will get reduced to Rs.4.75 per kWh. Upper limit for VGF: The developer will be provided a viability gap fund based on their bid. The upper limitfor VGF is 30% of the project cost or Rs.2.5 Cr/ MW, whichever is lower.

•

Equity contribution: At least Rs. 1.5 Crore per MW.

•

Domestic content requirement: Out of the total capacity of 750 MW, a capacity of 375 MW will be reserved for DCR. Developers may submit bids for either “DCR” or “Open” or both the categories.

Processing Fees: Alongwith the RfS, a non-refundable processing fee of Rs. 1 Lakh for each Project up to 20 MW capacity and of Rs.2 Lakh for each project above 20 MW capacity is to be submitted.

Bank Guarantees: •

EMD of Rs. 10 Lakh/MW in the form of Bank Guarantee along with RfS.

•

Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of Rs. 20 Lakh/MW on PPA signing. The Bank Guarantee towards EMD will also be converted into PBG.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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beyond three months would depart from the viability zone. â&#x20AC;˘

Criteria for generation: The developer will declare the CUF of their plant at the time of commissioning and will be allowed to revise the same once within

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1 year of commissioning. The declared CUF shall in no case be less than 17% over a year. A variation of -15% and 10% in the declared value is allowed for the first 10 years. For example, if the declared CUF is 20%, variation

allowed will be in the range of 17% to 22% only.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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The right solution for Photovoltaic Power Systems. More than 500 MW PV projects already equipped with Bonfiglioli Inverters in India.

Courtesy Welspun Energy Limited, 30 MW Solar Plant, Gujarat

As one of the world’s leading players in clean energy today, Bonfiglioli has an innovative know-how and technical capability to bring utility and large-scale PV power plants to life. w} Ê6iVÌÀ Ê i ÌiÀÊ Ê iÀ > ÞÊìÃ } ÃÊEÊ > Õv>VÌÕÀiÃÊ>ÊÜ ìÊ À> }iÊ vÊ } ivwV i VÞÊ«À `ÕVÌÃÊv ÀÊi iÀ}ÞÊV ÛiÀÃ ÊvÀ ÊÎäÊ 7Ê Ì ÊÎÊ 7°Ê/ ÃÊ i ÌÀiÊ vÊ ÝVi i ViÊv ÀÊ* Ì Û Ì> VÊ iÀ}Þ]Êi ÃÕÀiÃÊ > Ê «Ì > ÊÀiÌÕÀ Ê vÊ ÛiÃÌ i Ì°Ê7 Ì Ê ÛiÀÊ£ÓÊÞi>ÀÃÊiÝ«iÀ i ViÊ ÊÌ iÊ India and its 17 branches spread across the country catering to sales > `Ê >vÌiÀ Ã> iÃÊ ÃiÀÛ Vi]Ê w} Ê ÃÊ iÊ vÊ Ì iÊ i>ìÀÃÊ `À Û }Ê Ì iÊ green revolution in India. / iÊvÕÌÕÀiÊ ÃÊLÀ } ÌÊÜ Ì Ê w} t

For details please contact:

Bonfiglioli Transmissions (Pvt) Ltd, Business unit-RePV, Survey No. 528/1, Perambakkam High Road, Mannur Village, Sriperambudur Taluk, Chennai - 602 105, India * \Ê³ £Ê{{ÊÈÇ£äÎnääÊUÊ >Ý\Ê³ £Ê{{ÊÈÇ£äÎ ÊUÊ«Û° ` >JL w} °V www.bonfiglioli.com

SO L A R ENERGY

FAQs On Solar Power Plants Tanmay Bishnoi, CEO, ADS Projects & System Pvt. Ltd. A. What are the various modes under which we can setup a Solar Power plant? There are various modes under which a Solar Power plant can be setup depends on the specific requirement – •

Off-Grid Captive Consumption for domestic/commercial premises

•

Grid Connected (Net Metered) Captive Consumption for domestic/commercial premises

•

Sale of power to the local distribution company (DISCOM) through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA mode)

•

Sale of Power generated to local distribution company (DISCOM) plus the sale Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) Sale of Power generated to 3rd Party consumer (Industry or Commercial entity)

If you are looking to enter the Solar Sector or if you have some questions in mind which needs answers, then please do contact us at info@adsprojects. org or log on to the website of ADS Projects & Systems Pvt Ltd. to know our coordinates and fix up a meeting with one of our technical experts to have the right solution for your problem. B. How much land is required to setup a 1MW solar power generation Unit?The land required for a 1 MW power plant setup is around 4-5acres for crystalline technology and around 6-7 acres for Thin-Film technology. This is only a rough benchmark and 54

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

may vary based on technology and efficiency of panels. C. What is the annual energy generated from a 1 MW Solar Power plant?The energy generated from a 1 MW Solar Power plant is considered as 1.5 Million units, for rough calculations or preliminary calculations. The actual amount of energy generated from a Solar Power Plant in a year depends on a number of environmental factors. Few of them are listed below •

Number of sunny days

•

Solar Irradiation

•

Day Temperatures

•

Air Mass

The other factors which are within the control of a Solar Developer: •

Plant Location

•

Usage of Solar Tracking systems

•

Quality of equipment used

• Workmanship of the EPC contractor •

O&M activities

D. What is the costing of a 1MW Solar Power Plant? Currently, the costing of a Solar Power Plant varies a depending upon the quality, technology and warranties selected. The costing of a 1MW Solar Power Plant ranges from Rs 6.50 Cr to Rs 8.50 Cr, excluding land, and depends on a number of factors like whether or not you are using tracking systems, the kind of EPC Contractor you choose for power plant system, expertise of the Designing Team and the Installation team, etc. Sometimes, a Consultant is hired to decrease the life cycle cost of the plant without compromising the quality of the plant, which means, to design a flawless plant and help procure good quality components that lasts for atleast 25 years. According to recent CERC guidelines, the benchmark cost of the Solar Power Plant is Rs 8.00 Cr, which can be viewed at CERC website. E. What is the payback time on the system? No one can be exact, but based on average electricity costs, and assumingmodest inflation of energy prices, you can reasonably expect the system tocompletely pay for itself in about 6-9 years, after realizing applicable tax incentives, depreciation and other financial benefits. If the predicted trend for energy prices to soar comes

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true, this could besignificantly reduced – and this is not taking into account the added valuethat a solar electricity generating system will undoubtedly add to the value of your property. To know your project IRR or ROI and preparation of the financial proposal as well as the Detailed Project Report, kindly be in touch with one of our solar experts. F. How much maintenance is required? You really have to do nothing at all. These systems are self-contained, haveno moving parts and don’t require regular servicing. Obviously, if there is a build up of dirt such as bird droppings, moss / lichenor environmental pollution, they will require cleaning. Other than that, it’sjust a periodic inspection, as you would have for any electrical system in yourhome. G. What is the current, expected life span of an inverter used on a solar array? It is reasonable to expect that the inverter will be replaced atleast once during the life cycle of the Solar Plant. Inverters typically have warranties from 5 to 20 years depending on the manufacturing company. ADS Projects & Systems provide Solar Plant Consultancy on Procurement and DC Design phase, which will provide value for money for the client. H. What are the typical causes of system downtime? Inverter service and maintenance is the primary cause for system downtime. Real time monitoring of the plant can help detect component failures and minimize system downtimes. Downtimes can vary in length depending on the system failure and range from hours to days. I. What would be the Operation& Maintenance cost of a Solar Power Plant?Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) benchmark costs for O&M is Rs.11.63 lakhs/year/MW for 2013-14 with a 5.72% increase every year,

which varies from project to project based on the number of people you employ for maintenance, frequency of cleaning of panels, onsite-engineer availability and many other factors. J. Which kinds of Solar Power plants are eligible for REC benefits?Solar Power Plants need to be Grid-Connected on order to avail REC benefits. Though there have been recommendations on multiple occasions that Off-Grid Solar Power plants be made eligible for RECs, the proposal is still under discussion. Solar Power plants setup under the following 3 modes is eligible for REC benefits: • • price

Captive Power plants Sale of power to Govt. at APPC

• Sale of power to 3rd party at mutually agreed price • Captive Power Plants are eligible for RECs subject to the condition that Concessional/Promotional Transmission or Wheeling Tariffs and/or banking facility benefit are not availed. Also, Solar Power plants setup under Preferential Tariff schemes is not eligible for RECs. K. Does the energy that is generated go into batteries or the building’s main distribution for Roof Top KW size solar power plants? In most cases, solar PV systems use batteries to store energy in India. But since the launch of net metering policy, the power goes to the building’s main distribution infrastructure, which uses the utility grid as the “battery” by way of net metering. As the system produces more electricity than the facility can use it runs the excess electricity back onto the grid, running the

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meter backwards and the net difference in amount has to be paid to the discom. Another way is the usage of two separate energy meters. L. What is the cost of setting up a Rooftop Solar Power plant for domestic or commercial use?Rooftop Solar Power plants can be broadly categorized into Batterybased and Non-Batterybased systems. The benchmark cost set by MNRE for the year 2013-14 for these systems are Rs. 90-100 per Watt for Non-Battery based systems and Rs. 170-210 per Watt for Battery-based systems. M. What size Solar Power plant is required for domestic or commercial use?Identifying the Solar Power plant size for your domestic or commercial premises depends on number of factors, out of which some of them are listed below •

Rooftop space available for solar plant to setup

•

Wattage of appliances to be run on Solar Power

•

Monthly energy consumption from these appliances

•

With battery or without battery system

•

Energy Backup/ Days of Autonomy required

ADS Projects is a progressive and dynamic technology specific innovative Solar Solutions Provider, which is managed by Technocrats and provides best value for money for the client. It is committed in providing end to end solutions. An orderly way of studying and analyzing the project is more important than simply designing and executing it. That is why, our solar expertslay more emphasis on proper planning and monitoring of the project. EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

I NT ERV I EW

Oliver Behrendt Managing Director REFU Solar Electronics Pvt Ltd.

EQ : How many MW’s of Solar Inverters have been supplied by your company in India and how does the future look like. OB : We have installed more than 1250 inverters in India and we stay committed to the Indian market with our determination to provide new and technologically advanced highly reliable product for the PV clients, since reliability is what pays you back. REFUsol is a leader in photovoltaic inverters technology with almost 50 years of experience in power electronics and now after being acquired by Advanced Energy a global leader in reliable power conversion solutions used in solar energy generation, we would certainly like to increase our market share in India.

EQ : Please enlighten our readers on the unique technology aspect of these inverters installed in India and its performance. OB : In India we have installed our proven three-phase string inverters REFUsol 008K – 023K on a huge scale. The inverters are of full power classes therefore provide a high power density. In addition, they perform without noise and are extremely lightweight. Even at low irradiation, they achieve an efficiency of up to 98.2 per cent. As a result of these high efficiency levels, convection cooling is all that is needed to dissipate the heat. The integrated data-logger can send all important operating data to the REFUlog internet portal. For visualization and evaluation purposes, data can be transferred via the standard cable or an optional wireless connection using the new REFUconnect radio module. 56

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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



String inverters facilitate individual MPP tracking for small portions of the plant which reduced mismatch losses and improves performance of the overall plant.

OB : Currently we are concentrating on our string inverters range REFUsol 8kW – 23kW. String inverters as compared to central inverters are expensive in cost; however in long-term scenario string inverters may prove to be more economic. Benefit to cost ratio of the system utilizing string inverter is always better than multi megawatt PV system using central inverters.



String inverters also reduces BoS components such as DC generator combiner boxes, DC cabling, separate SCADA & monitoring system etc. this is beneficial with view to ease in system integration, operation and maintenance.



Central inverters require extensive maintenance strategy supported by service contracts leading to additional cost and exposes to the risk of huge revenue loss during the system recovery.



Replacement reserve for central inverters increases the O & M cost of the PV plant reducing overall profitability.



String inverters are more efficient and provide string performance monitoring of the plant which help maximizing the uptime for entire plant.

In particular PV system designed with string inverter offers overall better reliability to the PV system.

EQ : Please tell us in detail about your company (Company structure, Sales, Employees, Products & Solutions etc…) OB : REFUsol is a leader in photovoltaic inverters technology with almost 50 years of experience. Recently acquired by Advanced Energy Industries, the company provides very economical, often distinguished inverters, from small roof top installation to large solar power plants. The product range comprises

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string and central inverters with output from 1.8kW to 1.3MW having peak efficiency of 98.7%. We operate around the globe with staff in Germany, US and Europe, subsidiaries in Japan and India and many national Sales & Service partners. Refu Solar Electronics Pvt. ltd. is lo¬cated in Pune India having strength of about 55 employees, where we offer sales, service, R&D, ap¬plication support and product management. We commit to give better support & services through direct zonal sales offices covering the entire geographical regions of India, rather than the dealer network.

EQ : What are the other products and solutions for Solar PV plant provided by your company and what are its technological features? OB : We have the AE StringCombiner boxes: To increase the efficiency of largescale PV systems multiple strings can be easily concentrated with the generator connection unit AE StringCombiner. The unit can con-centrate up to 24 strings and can be connected to the inverter using just one cable. The StringCombiner monitors the PV system and diagnoses errors at string level. In the event of an error, it protects the connected strings and PV modules from being damaged. The String¬Combiner communicates directly with the inverter without additional components and is available in 1000 V and 1500 V versions. We have also come up with the online string sizing tool web application – REFUdesign. The aim of this application is to provide our customers (solar power professionals, plant designers and solar plant installers) the possibility to design their PV plants with REFUsol inverters to finally find the optimum configuration for their plant to be built.

EQ : What are the resources in terms of manpower for sales, O&M and other aspects developed and present in the Indian market. OB : REFUsol Indiahas a full-fledged team ofMarketing, Sales, Services, Application and R&D, enough to cover all the aspects & requirements of Indian market in terms of Sales, service support and new

implementation of Viability Gap Funding mechanism?

developments.

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the ongoing R&D within the company and the way forward for its technology, products and services OB : R&D India is one of the ‘Global R&D center’ of REFUsol. It works with core focus on “promoting the energy transformation and making solar energy economical and affordable worldwide”. With our highly efficient &reliable development team we are concentrating mainly on products for Indian market such as the Hybrid Controller.

EQ : Have your product won any award recently….Kindly enlighten us in detail about this product… OB : REFUsol 333Kis winner of the “Reddot Design Award 2013”. According to the Jury ‘The outdoor enabled REFUsol 333K transferred its technical innovation in a compact body and a distinctive color scheme.’ REFUsol 333K is the high-efficiency central inverter for open field sites and industrial rooftops. Low system costs and an extremely high level of efficiency of over 98.4 % are just two of the many good reasons to use this model for large-scale projects. Operated together, just three of these devices provide one megawatt of power. The high energy yield, easy installation, efficient handling and the possibility of using industrially manufactured standard transformers and components from the wind industry results in a significant reduction of the BOS and absolute system costs for larger PV systems. We have also been awarded 3 times in a row the “Top 100” Innovation Award for 2011, 2012 & 2013. “Frost & Sullivan” has bestowed upon us the prestigious European growth leadership award. REFUsol 20K-SCI inverter, based on the silicon carbide technology has won the international ‘Plus X Award’for Innovations, High Quality, Functionality and Ecology.

OB : JNNSM Batch II Phase I is already delayed, it is expected to be geared up soon. VGF mechanism should prove a new approach to stimulate utility scale PV market in India. Confirmation of the viability funds for the projects will reduce project completion risk in terms of achieving desired financial closures of the projects in time.

EQ : What is your Top 5 Advice to a Project Developer in India while choosing your products for its Solar PV Plant’ OB : I would like to advice the Project Developers to consider the following most important aspects of our inverters for its Solar PV Plant 

Higher efficiency of the inverters ensures better returns.



Ability to produce maximum yield with precise MMPT controllers.



Reliability of the product is what pays you back – one should not compromise on the quality



To enhance Benefit to cost ratio for the entire system, Optimization of balance of system should be ensured during plant installations.



Choose maintenance free product as far as possible and ensure prompt service support is agreed.

EQ : Kindly enlighten us on the competition scenario and increasing competition from manufacturers worldwide. OB : Solar is a promising business sector worldwide. It is naturally attracting competition in all the sectors of solar value chain. Recently many big players from versatile industries have entered into the PV inverter sector. However AE REFUsol’s presence in the global PV market is very significant, and as far as competition is concerned we are well placed with right products to the market in right time.

EQ : What is your opinion on the JNNSM Batch II Phase I and

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EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

New DCR & RFID Mandate For 750MW Batch-I Phase-II Ujwala Seethamraju - Head- Operations, Coresonant Systems Pvt Ltd

NRE in-association with SECI( Solar Energy Corporation of India) announced RFS to Solar Power Developers for 750 MW Grid Connected Solar Projects under JNNSM Phase 2 Batch 1. Out of the total capacity of 750 MW under Batch-I Phase-II, a capacity of 375 MW will be kept for bidding with Domestic Content Requirement (DCR). Under DCR, the solar cells and modules used in the power plant must both be produced in India. (Source: Govt websites, Internet portals and Media)

Why RFID for PV Modules? As a part of this mandate, the government directs each solar—or photovoltaic (PV)— module placed into use must carry an RFID tag, so that it can be easily identified and tracked throughout its useful life. The objective is to link PV module manufacturers to solar power deployments—which, in some cases, will contain many hundreds of modules. “Different manufacturers will sell panels into

The Domestic Content Requirement opens up significant opportunity to Indian PV manufacturers. Now, the worse is over with MNRE recognizing the importance of promoting Indian solar manufacturer’s cause. Though there was opposition from countries such as US, still the Govt. of India went ahead with DCR clause which is commendable.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

Sustainability will be achieved only with quality for which PV Manufacture’s need to adapt a robust technology which will help to enforce standard manufacturing procedures with international standards. RFID is the key to help manufacturers achieve visibility and control required in dealing with competition. Performance test: For MNRE, performance of the module over a period of time is of utmost importance. Therefore RFID tag is suppose to hold all the electrical parameters along with manufacturing details. This is so as to compare the data in the tag with actual performance data at any point of time during the project period.

MNRE in-association with SECI has also clarified the requirement of RFID as same as earlier. I.e Each PV module used in any solar power project must use a RF identification tag. This can be inside or outside the laminate, but must be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. India is blessed with abundant sunshine throughout its varied landmass. However, it is only in recent years that the Government has started recognizing the potential of Solar (Photovoltaic) energy as an important ingredient in the Renewable Energy mix. India has emerged as an important market in a short span, with cumulative Solar Installations crossing 2 GW until Sept 2013, which is a big jump considering that less than 50 MW had been installed at the end of 2010 in the entire country, of which only 10-15 per cent will use domestically made cells and modules, even though the domestic industry has a capacity to provide for 100 per cent of these installations.

into their business, under the following factors. Following the current policies, there is forecast of vast growth in the solar vector, which will introduce new players in the market, following a rush of Modules in the market.

Catch fraudulent practices: As RFID is fixed permanently inside the solar module any fraudulent practice of reusing the same module in multiple projects to claim funding, subsidy or other benefits are completely preempted. a big deployment, and RFID Technology will play a important role in such multi player scenarios” says, Srikanth Reddy, Sr. Business Development Executive, Coresonant Systems, an Indian IT product firm specializing in identification systems and radio frequency identification, which is helping PV module manufacturers meet the tagging mandate. A module is a collection of PV (solar) cells built into a single board. A panel is two or more modules wired together and ready to be fitted into a power system. Manufacturers must clearly understand the need for embracing RFID technology

Tracking and work order progress: Apart from MNRE mandate, Manufacturers see a vast scope in adapting RFID technologies which will help them in using the same in their logistics and work-order management before it is delivered to the client. The portability of RFID tags where in we can store multiple data help the production team to keep track of PV Modules based on their batch number and production unit. This might be a miniscule procedure which will help the company in monitoring it quality and standards in the long run. From April 2013, MNRE has mandated that all the module manufacturers to use

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RFID tags inside the lamination of the module. The RFID tag should contain all the electrical parameters of the module at the time of manufacturing. But due to the above issues it was postponed to June 2013. In MNRE- Manufacturers meet held on 27th May 2013 there are some grievances of the module manufacturers regarding the inside lamination of RFID tag. Particularly, manufacturers have highlighted the problem of •

de-lamination,

•

decrease in module efﬁciency and

•

tag reading issue

After the meeting, MNRE formed a committee to standardize the RFID tags & software that was used for data encoding. So that it be easy to track the data at the time

As per the Mr. Vidyasagar, Director sales, Coresonant “ We have been closely working with module manufacturers and found that maximum no of manufacturers have moved to tagging inside lamination on before April 2013 and continuing the same till now as cost of inside lamination tag is low compared outside tag”. He further added with solar manufacturing there was indecisiveness whether to go for inside lamination or to continue the external RFID tag. MNRE continues the mandate of using RFID tags in solar projects with latest final guidelines and it remains same as earlier. This mandate is to avoid the fraudulent practices and identify the modules that are installed under MNRE scheme. The success of JNNSM lies in the flourishing of solar projects across India without any malpractice or misuse. In the endeavor RFID plays a critical role and needs to be enforced strictly. A brief comparison of HF & UHF RFID tags for Solar Modules:

of MNRE inspection. I.e. Any reader with software can read the complete data of the any RFID tag used in MNRE project. As part of this RFID standardization MNRE should see that only the original RFID tags are used by the manufacturers & EPC companies who develop the project under MNRE to get the maximum benefits from the RFID mandate.

solar manufacturers and helping them comply with MNRE RFID requirement having experience of supplying RFID tags to more than 60 client and 300Mw project worth executed, mentioned that “In the beginning of 2010, most manufacturers like Solar Semi, Titan Energy, Surana espoused HF tags due to higher memory and better performance in metal environment, while around the same time EPC companies like L&T, Azure power, KSK chose UHF tag due to the read range & cost factor. Later in 2011-12 it was observed that module manufacturers increasingly shifted towards UHF tag”. He further sees a vast application of RFID technology among

Technology

UHF( Ultra High Frequency)

Operating Frequency Read Range

860-960 MHz 20cm~ 1 m with Desktop Reader(200 m.watt), 2~4 m with HHT(1000 m.watt) 512 bits Yes -20°C to +80°C 25~50 years High Low

Memory Suitable for MNRE Storage Temp Life of the tag Cost of Hardware Cost of Tags

According to Mr. Srikanth Reddy, Sr. Business Development Executive, PVID Sales, Coresonant, who has successfully overseen above 12 MNRE inspections for

HF(High Frequency) 13.56MHz 2 ~8 cm

1k, 2k Yes -20°C to +70°C 10 years Low High

the solar modules manufacturers which will stream line their production and installation process.

Conclusion: This article’s main aim is to apprise players in solar industry about new DCR & RFID requirement under 750Mw phase-I batch-II solar projects under MNRE. Further it is also gives a better understanding of RFID tag and its advantages to the solar industry. The ideal RFID tags can add immense value to the solar module manufacturers in India, compliant with JNNSM guidelines and MNRE mandate.

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EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

PV String Monitoring: Is It Worth It? Only you can decide! (... but let Weidmüller give you 10 facts) Arnau Sumpsi - Colom

Market prices are falling and you are tempted to give up string monitoring because this will lower the total PV plant investment. This reasoning makes sense, but we would like to give you 10 qualitative facts in order your decision about string monitoring is well informed. The facts FACT 1: a Weidmüller monitoring combiner box allows earlier detection of DC underperformance There are many factors in the DC side of the PV plant that can reduce the energy generated. Some are product quality defects (short-circuited junction box in a module, open circuit junction box in module, cracked cells...), some are installation quality defects (intermittent string connection due to poor wiring) and some are environment-related (dirt on modules, partial shading...). When the underperformance affects one single string (~5 kW for crystalline) or, even worse, one single PV module (~250 W for crystalline), this is impossible to detect by analyzing the monitoring data from a central inverter (let’s assume a 500 kW MPPT). Here’s why: i. by instantaneous comparison between the affected MPPT and a “healthy” MPPT, the DC power difference will be ~0.05 % in case of a module-level defect and ~1 % in case of a string-level defect. These values are lower than the DC current total measurement error at the inverter inputs, therefore they will be “lost in the noise”. ii. by comparison of performance ratios between the affected MPPT and a “healthy” MPPT conclusions cannot 60

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

be reached either. The performance ratio calculation involves using data from irradiance meters that typically have measurement errors significantly higher than 1 %. Again, the underperformance will be “lost in the noise”. As a conclusion of the above reasoning, module- and string-level underperformance results in immediate revenue lost but are invisible until more modules (respectively strings) in the same MPPT fail. Typically, without string monitoring no decision can be made until the underperformance reaches 5% to 10% of a central inverter’s MPPT input.

FACT 2: a Weidmüller monitoring combiner box allows better planning of maintenance trips to the PV plant As explained previously, the information about DC underperformance is available earlier thanks to the string monitoring in the combiner boxes. This is an advantage because: i. Maintenance planning can be done in a “calm” situation, before the underperformance levels become an emergency. ii. String-level granularity means that the maintenance teams know, in advance,

what exact zones in the PV side they will need to troubleshoot. In other words, DC maintenance takes a much shorter time. iii. Since small underperformance levels can be dealt with before they become major, the DC side troubleshooting can be bundled with other maintenance activities such as PV module cleaning and surge protection replacement. Overall, better maintenance planning means lower running costs (and lower stress!).

FACT 3: a Weidmüller monitoring combiner box detects and warns about surge protective devices that have reached the end of their service life Surge protective devices contain voltage-limiting devices (i.e. varistors) that can reach the end of their service life either due to one single surge above their ratings or due to repetitive surges that wear out the component. In both cases, surge protective devices would not protect the DC side any more. A Transclinic monitoring system is permanently assessing the health of the DC SPDs and therefore the risk of surges damaging DC side components in the field (modules, combiner boxes) is significantly lower.

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Figure 1 – Schematic of a Weidmüller DC SPD with auxiliary contact FACT 4: a Weidmüller monitoring combiner box can detect fire hazards The Transclinic inside the Weidmüller combiner boxes not only measures string current and system voltage but also the temperature of the air inside the combiner box. If a loose connection creates a hotspot (i.e. a string wire not properly tightened to the fuse-disconnector) there will be an overtemperature alarm that will trigger a quick reaction before the hotspot becomes a fire.

FACT 5: a Weidmüller monitoring combiner box can detect reverse module current A Scada system can be programmed to create alarms when the current in a string measured with a Transclinic drops to zero during daytime and then goes back to normal. This is a symptom of reverse current: if it was due to a blown fuse-link then the current would not “recover”. The Transclinic reads negative currents as zero in order not to waste measurement range (with the benefit of a higher accuracy). Detected reverse current

Figure 4 – Weidmüller monitoring combiner box

is a hint about short-circuited modules or DC side earth faults.

FACT 6: a PV plant with Weidmüller monitoring combiner boxes has a higher resale value Even though there is no quantitative relationship between the premium in the plant resale value and the existence of string monitoring, it is true that in the terms and conditions of PV plant acquisitions the buying party imposes certain performance metrics to be available before the acquisition can happen. Plant-wide string monitoring provides DC performance transparency that helps reassure the buying party that they are buying a trouble-free PV plant.

FACT 7: in Germany (the most experienced PV market) virtually all new utility-sized PV plants include string monitoring Germany is the country that started the megasolar PV era and therefore the country that has more accumulated years of experience in utility-sized plants. Despite the decreasing FIT incentives, still today almost all megasolar plant developers prefer to pay the initial premium that corresponds to combiner boxes with string monitoring.

FACT 8: a PV plant with WeidmülIer monitoring combiner boxes has lower running costs and higher energy production

Figure 2 – Thermography Of A Combiner Box Showing A Potential Hotspot

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benefits that result in lower maintenance costs and higher energy yield. From a Scada viewpoint, the supervision of the plant is not significantly more complex because of the individual string monitoring.

FACT 9: the investment premium of a PV plant with WeidmülIer string monitoring combiner boxes is only marginally higher than without string monitoring It is hard to come up with statements valid for any PV plant in any country, but in general it is quite accurate to say that the price premium for individual string monitoring versus no string monitoring results in an investment premium around 0.15% – 0.35% for the whole PV plant. This premium includes not only the Weidmüller monitoring combiner boxes but also the additional labor and materials for field wiring and the networking devices needed in the inverter shelters.

FACT 10: as of 2013, there is no independent TCO business case about PV string monitoring... ...and even if there was an independent total cost of ownership (TCO) business case, it would be hardly applicable to all PV plant designs in all possible countries. This means that each PV developer must do what we are encouraging you to do: the math on a case-by-case basis.

As you have seen while reading the facts above, once the initial investment is made, string monitoring only offers

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

I NT ERV I EW

Arif Aga Director

SgurrEnergy India Pvt. Ltd.

EQ : What are the services offered by SgurrEnergy in India. Please describe the detailed international and national background of the company. AA : SgurrEnergy is a global independent renewable energy consulting company headquartered in Glasgow, UK. The company was established in 2002 with a goal to deliver full lifecycle services to renewable energy clients. Now, in 2013, the company has over 180 employees across nine international offices. SgurrEnergy has spread the reach of its renewables expertise to create an impressive track record spanning onshore and offshore wind, solar, hydro, wave and tidal and bioenergy. We have worked on projects in over 50 countries, across six continents and have now assessed over 110GW of renewable energy projects globally. SgurrEnergy India was incorporated in 2007 to provide local knowledge and renewable engineering expertise to a growing solar and wind market in India. In the last five years, the Pune office has grown to 18 specialist employees working in renewable energy projects across the country. SgurrEnergy India has consulted on over 850MW of solar PV projects, with all of these projects either commissioned or under implementation. To support the rapidly growing renewable energy market, SgurrEnergy India’s key services include owner’s engineering services, detailed engineering services, technical due diligence, lender’s engineering services and independent plant performance testing covering predominantly solar and wind projects.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the key strengths, manpower and other 62

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

resources and offices. AA : As a global consultancy, it is important for us to know that we’ve got local people, with local experience working in the area that they know most about. We want our experts to advise on projects with knowledge of local government policies, incentives and regulations and having an office in India to work on Indian projects allows us to achieve this. SgurrEnergy has proven capabilities to deliver at every phase of a solar project, from early stages of inception right through to implementation and testing. Our team possesses comprehensive and flexible expertise in the fields of energy yield analysis and forecasting, contract negotiations, infrastructure planning, electrical and civil engineering, system integration, evaluation and risk mitigation of solar assets, and testing and commissioning. Our office in Pune has 18 employees, ranging from engineers to renewable energy consultants and project managers who have extensive experience in renewable energy and engineering projects globally. As part of a larger international organisation, SgurrEnergy India has access to a wealth of experienced engineers at its Glasgow headquarters as well as its other international office hubs in Dublin (Ireland), Paris (France), Hamburg (Germany), Portland (USA), Vancouver (Canada), Beijing (China), Stavanger (Norway) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

EQ : Please elaborate on the projects undertaken and executed by SgurrEnergyand briefly describe your experiences, SgurrEnergy’svalue addition etc…

AA : SgurrEnergy is committed to providing technical excellence to ensure successful delivery of solar projects promptly and on budget. We undertake owner’s engineering, detailed engineering, technical due diligence and lender’s engineering services for our clients. SgurrEnergy has consulted over 850MW of solar PV projects implemented in India, of which SgurrEnergy has completed over 350MW of owners and detailed engineering assignments and another 350MW of technical due diligence and lenders engineering assignments making us one of the most experienced technical consulting companies in India. It’s worth mentioning that we have worked onover 250MW of solar projects usingCdTe solar modules. Our people are our key strength; having global technical expertise in the field of renewable energy projectscombined with our local presence with substantial knowledge base of the Indian renewable energy sector has made us one of the leading renewable energy consultancies in the industry. We add value by leveraging our truly global experience of over 110GW of renewable energy projects to our clients and our years of experience in planning, development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects plants means that we can cover all aspects of renewable energy projects, no matter how specialist.

EQ : GHI, DNI and other irradiation parameters are important while considering a Solar Project… Kindly enlighten our readers how you deal with this aspect. AA : India has very few meteorological

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stations to collect the reliable ground measured solar irradiation datasets like GHI, DNI and other irradiation parameters. It is a standard practice to choose various satellite based datasets and compare it with ground measured datasets from the closest meteorological stations, and many times the uncertainty of such datasets are neglected. SgurrEnergy, however, compares various satellite based datasets like Meteonorm, Solar GIS, NASA, amongst others, and selects the most representative dataset for a given location. Our team has worked on and reviewed several projects located in multiple states which has given us considerable experience of selecting the right dataset for the evaluation of solar projects. It is worth mentioning that we have reviewed operational data for five projects in India where we have provided energy yield analysis and owner’s engineering services, and the accuracy of our predictions has been between 98 to 99%. All of these projects are now generating higher than our predictions.

EQ : Please describe in detail the project engineering, project management and due diligence services offered by SgurrEnergy AA : Successful project delivery is at the heart of all we do and our expert engineers and consultants provide full lifecycle engineering and advisory services on solar projects. . Investors can require due diligence support at any stage of their renewables project so SgurrEnergy provides technical, commercial and environmental due diligence assessments across all of these areas, from greenfield to partially developed and operating renewable sites. Our due diligence services include resource assessment, energy yield prediction, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), commercial due diligence, economic assessments and market studies and reports. Our expert teams provide civil, mechanical and electrical engineering services for renewable energy projects. Experienced electrical engineers conduct grid connection, power system, protection and electrical loss studies for our clients and provide design and SCADA technical support on projects. Our solar advisory

team reviews and evaluates prospective technologies for projects to ensure that they are fit for purpose and they conduct design assessments, standards compliance and in depth assessment of technology manufacturers to cover all mechanical engineering aspects of a project. Civil engineering covers a large area of expertise and SgurrEnergy provides services including technology evaluation, structural engineering, highways engineering, design evaluation and standards compliance. Hydrology assessments, geotechnical studies and swept path analysis are specialist areas that the civil engineering team are experienced in undertaking.

EQ : Please enlighten us on the experience of working with different technologies (c-si vs. Thin Film, Fixed vs. Tracking, String vs.Central Inverter ec.. etc…) Whats the ideal solution for India and why. AA : Performance of the solar PV technologies is greatly dependent on climatic conditions. Experience shows that C-Si technology is better suited for lower temperatures whereas thin films perform better comparatively in higher temperatures. Degradation of modules is dependent on various factors but on a technology level degradation of thin film is higher. For Indian conditions, Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) technology has shown better performance resulting in higher Performance Ratio (PR) and Plant Load Factor (PLF). Tracking is generally required where the intensity of sunlight is low throughout the year, although this condition is not experienced in India. Trackers however, increase the PV plant generation by 10 – 40% depending on the option selected; single axis or dual axis trackers respectively. This increase in generation is usually offset by increased capital cost for trackers and additional Operation and Maintenance (O&M) expenses. The increase in generation should be compared with increase in project cost to conclude the benefits of using trackers for a project. String inverters are generally better suited for small scale PV plants and for variable terrains. Utility scale PV plants are known to employ central inverters as it reduces the plant Balance of Systems (BOS) and is considered easier for O&M.

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/ crystalline technologies with central inverters fixed to an optimum tilt is the best suited combination for utility scale PV plants. However, this is a generalized opinion and therefore it is recommended that a thorough feasibility study with technology evaluation be performed prior to finalizing a particular technology.

EQ : Can you please enlighten us on the way you implement a project and what specific or unique things are followed which makes you different from other Players AA : Irrespective of the nature of the consulting assignment we work on we provide impartial expert advice to our clients. We strive hard towards delivering outstanding services to our clients to ensure they benefit from the profitable development of renewable energy projects. SgurrEnergy has dedicated civil and electrical teams having 3,000MW of solar projects experience globally.

EQ : What are the key aspects of due diligence process looked at by investors while financing solar PV projects in India? AA : The financing of solar PV projects is typically arranged by the developer or sponsor. It comprises two parts: an equity investment and project financing to cover the debt portion. The due diligence phase of evaluating a project takes three main forms – legal due diligence, insurance due diligence and technical due diligence. The process of due diligence can require considerable effort from the developer to satisfy the requirements of the lenders. It is important that the developers haverealistic financial models with contingencies clearly shown. Alongside, it is also imperative to have a sensible construction programme, which takes contingencies into account. Such a programme will clearly show that the target deadlines are realistic and achievable. The due diligence process is likely to identify risks, and help develop solutions to mitigate the issues found. It may result in changes in the design or use of components in the plant tomake the project “bankable” for the lenders.

Overall, in our experience, thin filmCdTe EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

SO L A R ENERGY

DEHN Advantage Type 1 + 2 for Solar PV Systems Varun Goyal - DEHN INDIA PVT.LTD.

primary condition for a lasting and safe functioning of the Solar PV system is a well-considered, structurally aligned and adequate planning and design. Taking into account also the protection against lightning, the scope of requirements for the photo-voltaic and thermal use of solar energy has to be considered in the planning phase itself. DEHN has taken on the task of reliably protecting people, buildings, electrical and electronic devices and systems from the hazards related to lightning and surges. With our expertise, dedication and pioneering spirit, we have been stimulating development in the fields of surge and lightning protection as well as safety equipment for decades. We regard ourselves as a renowned expert with long-standing experience of over a century. Innovations from DEHN are based on ideas that are spawned by market trends and customer’s individual needs.They also result from our R&D activities in our test laboratory and cooperation with universities and research centers. Innovative strength and flexibility are the key pillars of DEHN and the driving forces that encourage us – as a technological leader – to new ideas, further developments and solutions tailored to customer needs. PV systems are exposed to all types of weather conditions and cabling of PV systems runs through the building and extends over long distances until it reaches the grid connection point. Lightning discharge cause field-based and conducted electrical interference. This effect increases in proportion with cable lengths or conductor loops. Surges not only damage the PV modules, inverters and their

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

monitoring electronics, but also devices in the domestic installation. Production facilities of industrial buildings may also easily be damaged and production may come to a halt. If surges are injected into stand-alone PV systems, the operation may be disrupted.

Necessity of a lightning protection system on buildings The energy released by a lightning discharge is one of the most frequent causes of fire. Personnel and fire protection is paramount if a direct lightning strike hits the building. A lightning protection system should be incorporated in the design stage. In case of industrial or private buildings it depends on location, construction type and utilization. Structures in need of protection must be provided with a permanently effective lightning protection system. Substantial lightning interference may be injected into the building through a PV system. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the risk of damage posed by a lightning strike as per IEC 62305-2 and to take the results from this into account for design. This risk analysis result must be understood by all parties involved and should meet optimum technical and economic requirements.

connected to photovoltaic installations calls for installation of SPD unless a risk analysis demonstrates that SPDs are not required. This standard and supplement 5 of EN 62305-3 standard provide a detailed description of the types of SPDs and their place of installation.

Cable routing of PV systems Cables must be installed avoiding large conductor loops. This must be observed when connecting the DC circuits to a string and several strings with one another. Moreover, data or sensor lines must not be routed across several strings and form large conductor loops with the string lines. This must also be observed when connecting the inverter to the mains connection. For this reason, the power lines (DC and AC) and data lines must be installed together with the equipotential bonding. The modular surge arresters type DEHNguard M YPV SCI...(FM) was particularly designed for protecting equipment in photovoltaic systems. The

Necessity of surge protection for PV systems Surge protective devices (SPDs) have proven very effective in protecting electrical systems from these destructive voltage peaks and are frequently required for equipment safety for PV systems. Section 4.5 of the CLC/ SPDs

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innovative three-step DC switching device makes these arresters especially safe so that they fulfill the requirements of modern photovoltaic systems. The application characteristics of the modular arrester design of the Red/ Line product family are similarly unique. The module locking system firmly fixes the protection modules in the base part of the arrester. Neither shock nor vibration nor the enormous forces of discharge affects the safe connection to the protection module. Nevertheless, the protection modules can be easily replaced without tools by simply pressing the user-friendly module release button on the protection module. In order to avoid incorrect insertion by the installer, every protective path of the DEHNguard M YPV SCI ... (FM) and every protection module is mechanically coded. To fulfill the specific requirements of photovoltaic systems, the tried and tested safety philosophies of the fault-resistant Y circuit consisting of three varistor protective circuits and the combined disconnection and short-circuiting device were integrated in a single device. This synergy reduces the probability of an arrester failure in case of operating and fault states which have to be considered in photovoltaic systems. This ensures arrester protection in case of overload without presenting a fire risk to the system.

arresters also feature a three-pole terminal for remote signaling. With their floating change over contact, the remote signal can be used as make or break contact according to the particular circuit concept. The DEHNguard M YPV SCI ... (FM) surge arresters of the modular DEHNguard M family incorporate multifunctional terminals on a standardized spacing of 1 module for connecting conductors and bus bars for easy wiring with other DIN mounted devices. Further, be it roof-mounted or groundmounted systems, central or string inverter systems: photovoltaic systems are frequently equipped with lightning and surge protection. The new lightning current carrying DEHNcombo YPV SCI combined arrester reliably protects the DC side of PV systems from lightning and surge damage without backup fuse up to 1000 A. Thanks to its SCI technology, this combined (Type 1 + Type 2) arrester fulfills personal and system protection requirements. The SCI technology also prevents switching arcs in case of an overload, thus ensuring fire protection. Arresters for system voltages of 600/1000& 1500 V are available to achieve optimal coordination and thus efficient protection of terminal equipment. All these versions have a width of only 4 modules.

DEHNcombo YPV SCI (Type 1+2) • Approved fault-resistant Y circuit prevents damage to surge protective devices in case of insulation faults in the generator circuit. Unique SCI technology.

Even in case of voltages up to 1200 V DC, an arc, which is likely to occur when a conventional disconnection device is activated in the surge protective device, is quenched immediately and without risk. Fire protection is the top priority of the DEHNguard M YPV SCI...(FM) arrester. A fuse particularly developed for photovoltaic systems is integrated into the short-circuit path to ensure safe electrical isolation, which allows de-energized replacement of the protection module without arc formation, in case of a faulty surge protection module. This unique design combines surge protection, fire protection and the protection of persons. DEHNguard M YPV SCI...(FM) can be used in all low, medium and high performance photovoltaic systems without backup fuse due to the high breaking capacity of the integrated fuse. The green and red indication shows operational readiness of every protective circuit. DEHNguard M YPV SCI ... (FM)

surge arresters with innovative Short Circuit Interruption (SCI) technology - providing maximum safety and fire protection for photovoltaic systems. A fuse specifically dimensioned for PV systems in the bypass path ensures safe electrical isolation of the surge protective device at any time. This fuse is combined with a disconnection and short-circuiting device with Thermo Dynamic Control. Moreover, the Y circuit has proven its worth in practice. The interaction of these functions in a single device ensures maximum operational reliability and failsafe performance.

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Total discharge current (10/350) I = 12.5 kA Type 1.

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Short-circuit withstand total capability ISCPV = 1000 A(Without backup fuse).

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Narrow width of only 4 modules.

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Touch-proof without additional cover.

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Operating state/fault indication by indicator flag in the inspection window.

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Optional remote signaling contact (FM) for monitoring device (floating changeover contact)

Unique SCI technology

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DEHN is the only company that offers

The market leader DEHN is a globally active family-owned electro technical company with more than 1500 employees worldwide. DEHN offers innovative products and solutions as well as comprehensive services in the field of surge protection, lightning protection and safety equipment. DEHN focuses on the protection of SOLAR PV systems, telecommunication, process systems, photovoltaic systems and wind turbines. The company’s continuous growth is based on more than 100 years of tradition and experience as well as highest quality standards and consistent customer and market orientation throughout the world. DEHN India Pvt. Ltd. is the 100% subsidiary of “DEHN + SOHNE” Germany, located at Gurgaon and is propelled by Mr. Vikas Almadi who is credited for bringing state of the art lightning protection technologies to INDIA in 90’s . EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

PRODUCTS Mobile Solar Generator Mobile Solar Generator is a compact and portable power unit which is easy to install and starts generating electricity within minutes delivering profitability from day one. Designed for residences, small offices and remote locations, Solar Generator powers your requirements during the day and can store the excess power to meet your needs during night & non sunny days. This device features high efficiency PV modules mounted over a robust collapsible structure giving it a compact footprint and a longer product lifetime in outdoor conditions.

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No noise emissions

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Robust structure engin eered for harsh terrain and severe weather conditions

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Capable to store surplus power for usage during night

applications regardless of their location or environment.

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Single point of warranty* for all components

*1 year warranty against manufacturing defects

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Local service support across all locations

**Technical Specifications are subject to change without prior notice

Key Features & Benefits •

Compact unit with foldable module mounting structure instant power generation with easy installation, operation & maintenance

Product Applications Jakson solar generators are designed to offer exceptional reliability and consistent performance to power various

***Assuming an average peak sunshine of 5.5 hrs/day

Dependable Power In Demanding Environments Containerised Solar Generator is a compact power unit capable of delivering uninterrupted clean power. Ranging from 12.5 KW to 25KW peak power output and an average power output of 50 KWh to 100kWh per day, the Containerised Solar Generator is a quickly deployable, ready to use, factory assembled all weather solar power station. It is designed to meet the reliability, durability and efficiency required in demanding projects regardless of their scale, location or environment.

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Easy installation with minimal set-up time and no civil work

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Easily transpor t able deployable

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Collapsible structure

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Easily integrates with grid supply and diesel generators to provide a complete hybrid solution.

Containerised Solar Generator delivers 24 x 7 uninterrupted power through Solar PV Modules/Battery Bank/AC Mains or DG Set depending on the availability of each source.

Containerised Solar Generator has a compact & robust structure with a collapsible module mounting unit. It houses reliable and efficient components to meet highly demanding requirements with greatest efficiency.

Key Features & Benefits •

Ready to use Mobile Solar Power System

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24x 7 availability of power

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

module

and

re-

mounting

Compact Solar energy Systems with built-in efficiency

surface extends beyond the container to capture maximum solar energy. The structure can also be dismantled and stored inside the container ensuring safety during transportation. A compartmentalized section of the enclosure can be utilized as an operator room or to house DG sets. *Technical specifications are subject to change without prior information **Optional

During use, the PV

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PRODUCTS MOTECH to Unveil New Generation, High Efficiency Monocrystalline Cell At Solar Power Industry Meeting and International Press Conference New technology delivers peak efficiency over 20.5% for increased value MOTECH announced it will introduce a new generation Monocrystalline solar cell, called, ‘Sirius,’ as part of its participation at the Solar Power International (SPI) meeting and International Press Conference in Chicago, IL. Sirius is a technological advance with an industry leading peak conversion efficiency over 20.5 percent, and the capability to increase cost efficiency and value. MOTECH works to provide a global source of clean and renewable energy, and strives to create a sustainable environment for future generations. According to Dr. Allen Wu, VP Sales and Marketing at MOTECH Taiwan, “This

is a truly meaningful development since the Sirius Monocrystalline cell’s higher capability leads to premium module power output and efficiency, which makes it a natural choice for our customers. Motech continues to effectively improve the conversion efficiency through the innovation of its R&D and manufacturing team in process optimization and material enhancement. The introduction of Sirius is likely to drive down the cost of solar energy by increasing the energy production from each solar panel made with Motech cells. The flexibility of mounting sizes and improved design will lower system and installation costs, while increasing renewable yield. Increased power and efficiencies and focus on quality and reliability, helps drive revenue

for developers, installers and investors.” Sirius 60 cell solar module provides superior temperature coefficient and low light behavior and offers power classes up to 280 W, and 72 cell solar module with power classes up to 335W. The cells will be available first quarter, 2014, while modules will be available upon request. Dr. Wu also added, “Clearly, with the advantages Motech brings to its products, Sirius will be an important option for all professionals involved in solar energy procurement and construction.”

PROINSO presents PV-DIESEL hybrid systems with sizes from 300kVA to 6MVA The multinational firm bids strongly on R&D and resources to boost sales of this power generation system that is increasingly being used in emerging countries where power is normally produced by combustion engines. Asia, Oceania and South America are priority markets to PROINSO, whose hybrid systems have been warmly welcomed in Brazil, Japan and, especially, India. The PV-DIESEL hybrid systems supplied by PROINSO have been presented in leading trade shows in these countries. The sizes range from 300kVA to 6MVA. They can help reduce diesel consumption 68

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

by 66,000L/year in a 300kVA engine. How much fuel consumption is saved depends on the power of the engine, the project location and how many hours it is on.

feature modules from leading international brands, inverters and smart fuel save controllers from SMA, and structures from MECASOLAR

The PV-DIESEL systems by PROINSO

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PRODUCTS KACO new energy’s latest: the Powador 20.0 TL3 The German Inverter Manufacturer Introduces Its Strongest Wall Mounted Device So Far. Available As Of Now. KACO new energy has started delivery of the Powador 20.0 TL3. The new inverter is the flagship of the company’s three-phase inverters in the medium power range. With an AC power of 17.0 kVA the youngest exponent of the TL3-series transports all the features that installers and owners have come to appreciate into a new dimension: double MPP-tracking (symmetrical and asymmetrical loading up to 14.9 kW per tracker), European efficiency rating of 97.6%, integrated webserver and

a USB-port for updates. Still in the well-known stable die cast enclosure with roughly 40 kg, KACO new energy’s most powerful wall-mounted inverter belongs to the lightest on the market in his output class. Starting with single installations in the medium power range up to solar parks with a decentralized layout, the Powador 20.0 TL3 is recommended as a highly cost efficient solution.

The Powador 20.0 TL3: 17 kVA in a conveniently sized package.

PRODUCTS Solectria Renewables Introduces the SGI 500XTM and SGI 750XTM, External Transformer, 1000VDC Inverters Solectria Renewables, LLC, a leading U.S. PV inverter manufacturer, announced today at the Solar Power International Trade Show in Chicago, Illinois, the introduction of its new SGI 500XTM and SGI 750XTM, 1000 VDC inverters. The XTM inverters are 380 VAC, direct to medium voltage, utilityscale inverters. Solectria Renewables’ external transformer SGI 500XTM & SGI 750XTM inverters are designed to maximize return on investment (ROI) through high efficiencies, easy installation, a wide operating voltage range and integrated customized options. These inverters boast an industry leading 98% CEC weighted efficiency translating into increased energy generation for utilityscale PV systems. The inverters offer grid management options such as real power curtailment, reactive power control, and voltage and frequency ride through. These

critical utility options, combined with an unsurpassed efficiency ratings and the lowest nighttime tare losses in the industry mark the SGI 500XTM & SGI 750XTM as the premier solution for the next generation of large commercial and utility-scale systems. “Utility-scale solar now represents the largest segment of the PV market in North America,” said Mark Goodreau, Director of Utility-Scale Solar Solutions at Solectria Renewables. “Solectria created the SMARTGRID series of inverters to address the special requirements of utility companies and large project developers, and is actively developing advanced smart grid features in partnership

with EPRI, National Grid, Xcel Energy, and Detroit Edison. We continue to develop the SMARTGRID inverter series to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

TMEIC Introduces Solar Ware® Samurai 1.667MW Inverter TMEIC Corporation in Roanoke, Va. introduces the new Solar Ware® Samurai 1.667 MW Inverter, approved for outdoor installation. The new inverter is the latest addition to TMEIC’s portfolio of PV utility scale solar inverters for industrial markets. Built on decades of engineering experience with power electronics, Solar Ware® inverters offer the industry’s most advanced grid management in an efficient, compact footprint.

Patented new 3 Level Multilevel Inverter Technology

Maximized and optimized efficiency

Wide MPPT range (550Vdc - 950Vdc) allowing for best in class DC/AC Ratios

Flexible DC-input configuration to meet complex array configuration

New cooling system for desert environments

The Solar Ware® Samurai inverter’s unique features include:

Proprietary anti-islanding technology uses slip-mode frequency shift methodology

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

“The Solar Ware Samurai is a revolutionary new inverter for the solar industry. The Samurai’s new thermal solution offers a cooling system designed for the desert environment,” says Donn Samsa, Director of Marketing, TMEIC. “It is the result of decades of research and development to create the most advanced inverters in the industry.”

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PRODUCTS Trojan Battery Introduces Online Automated Battery Sizing Calculator For Off-grid Renewable Energy Applications Trojan’s battery sizing calculator is designed to simplify the task of properly sizing a battery bank for off-grid renewable energy systems. A battery bank is a vital component of a system, so careful attention must be paid to battery sizing to ensure maximum battery performance and longevity. Three factors must be considered when sizing battery banks for renewable energy systems: 1) the electrical power required, or load, of a particular application, 2) the maximum depth of discharge (DOD) the battery will be allowed to go down to and 3) the autonomy desired, or the number of days the battery will be used to power the loads. “Failing to properly design the system to meet specific load requirements, leads to

improper sizing of the batteries which can reduce the life of the battery bank. Therefore, it is important to optimize systems to meet the load requirements of a customer’s particular application requirements,” said Kalyan Jana, technical product manager at Trojan Battery. “Not fully understanding the system’s load profile for both the real energy demands and the duty cycle can have a dramatic impact on system performance. It also can potentially cause the system to lose power or require a replacement battery bank sooner than necessary. Trojan developed its battery sizing calculator to simplify this process and make it more convenient for our customers to determine their battery needs.”

Trojan’s battery sizing calculator is an easier way to determine battery capacity than manually calculating load requirements and then converting them to battery capacity. Customers simply fill in the appropriate information on the electronic form such as battery voltage, desired to depth-of-discharge (DOD), days of autonomy, AC and DC loads, device types with power ratings, and hours per day or days per week used, and the application automatically determines the required battery capacity. It then recommends the Trojan battery models for their particular set up. The calculator also allows customers to run “what if” scenarios to find specific battery options to meet their budget or configuration requirements.

PRODUCTS Ground and Roof Top Solar Mounting Solutions by Tata BlueScope Steel Tata BlueScope Building Products, a business division of Tata BlueScope Steel caters to the solar sector by providing premium and durable structures made from LYSAGHT® products for installation of solar PV cells for both ground and roof top application. LYSAGHT® brand has a legacy of over 150 years and has been consistently introducing innovative & precision engineered products to meet the changing customer requirements.

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LYSAGHT® ground mounted systems are manufactured from cold rolled Zinc / Zinc-Aluminium products and offer a series of benefits specifically for the Indian solar industry. LYSAGHT® offers warranty up to 15 years on some of its products specially designed and manufactured for this application. Benefits of these systems include:

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WEIGHT OPTIMISATION: Since the mounting structures are made from high strength steel which provides the scope of down gauge and weight optimisation

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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CUSTOMISED SOLUTIONLYSAGHT®’s technical team undertakes customized feasibility study and detailed analysis to provide the best-in-class mounting arrangements with varied combinations, thereby meeting every customized requirement of the client. QUICKTO INSTALL-The entiremounting structure is factory made according to the approved design and pre-punched allowing quick and easyinstallation. ECONOMICAL: Due to superior weight optimization, the overall quantity of material required for the project is reduced;also the reduced quantity lowers the cost of transportation and installation thus providingsavings on overall project costs. DURABILITY: The systems for this application are manufactured from high strength Zn-Al coated raw materials ensuring longer life and better durability.

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LYSAGHT® brand offers Al-Zn coated products for customised ground mounting application

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The products are four times stronger than conventional materials (Refer attached brochure for further details)

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Light weight and pre-punched sections provide better return on the project

Features of LYSAGHT® Roof Top Mounting Solutions: •

LYSAGHT® brand offers specially designed clips to mount the PV panels on concealed type roofing system.

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These clips can be easily installed on LYSAGHT®roofing profile

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Savings inoverall project costs

Some of the major projects where LYSAGHT® solar mounting structures have been installed are Moserbaer India, M&B Switchgear, Tata Power and Daimler India Commercial Vehicle etc.

Features of LYSAGHT® Ground Mounted Solutions:

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PRODUCTS 3M India combines nature and stateof-the-art technology with the ‘3M Tubular Daylighting Device’ Offers a significant reduction of electrical energy bills effectively for 8 to 10 hours a day 3M India’s Architectural Markets Division has developed a sustainable lighting system, ‘3M Tubular Daylighting Device’. The 3M Tubular Daylighting Device (TDD) combines nature with state-of-the-art technology to provide energy that is 100% green and comes with all the physiological and economical benefits of natural sun light. 3M’s Tubular Daylighting Devices effectively transports sunlight from the roof into interior spaces while cutting out heat, glare and radiation. The system offers a significant reduction of electrical energy bills effectively for 8 to 10 hours per day, a payback period of 3 to 3.5 years. The 3M TDD is employable at factories, warehouses, wedding halls, auditoriums, offices and homes. It is an ideal, natural lighting solution in new as well as retrofit projects. The core of the 3M Tubular Daylighting Device is made of a 3M material that possesses high reflectivity, minimal loss and negligible colour shift - even in cloudy conditions and has the highest visible reflectivity that is greater than 99%. Another 3M innovation, a unique lens design, reduces glare and eliminates hot spots and does not alter the colours of the transmitted light.

A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M’s core strength is applying its more than 45+ distinct technology platforms – often in combination – to a wide array of customer needs. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs approximately 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. (LEED) designation. The system offers the potential to reduce a building’s energy demands during peak hours, when rates can be at their highest. In addition, the system can improve the well-being of people in the building, as multiple studies have shown that daylighting has a direct impact on productivity and satisfaction. 3M’s Tubular Daylighting Device has been showcased at CII’s ‘Green Building Congress 2012’, Hyderabad.

About 3M

The 3M Tubular Daylighting device is designed to meet needs of multiple incentives, rebates and building code mandates, as well as green building code certifications such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

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3M India Limited is the Indian arm of 3M Corporation and has been in the country for the last 24 years, having been established in 1988. The Company markets about 7000+ products in India with leading positions in health care; industrial markets; display and graphics; consumer and office; safety, security and protection services; electronics and communications; and transportation. In India, 3M has manufacturing facilities at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pondicherry, Pimpri (Pune) and Ranjangaon (Pune) and has R&D Centers in Bangalore & Delhi.

About 3M Architectural Markets 3M is bringing its unique solutions to the architecture and design communities with the launch of a new Architectural Markets Business. 3M Architectural Markets brings the company’s strong tradition of innovation into the design world to help commercial architects, designers and building owners create amazing spaces.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

PRODUCTS Santerno Introduces New PV Power Plant Controller that Provides Single Point of Control at Solar Power International New Power Plant Controller Reduces Cost of PV System Management By Eliminating Need for Multiple Controllers and Includes Self-tuning POI to Accommodate International Grid Codes CHICAGO – At Solar Power International this week, Santerno the Carraro Group company that specializes in alternative energy electronics and industrial automation, will display its new Santerno PV Power Plant Controller (PPC). The Santerno PPC is a utility-scale solar power system controller that consolidates management of photovoltaic (PV) power plants, providing a single point of integrated control and monitoring. Santerno developed its own power plant controller in order to reduce costs and expand management capability and control for its utility PV customers. The Santerno PPC is a complete control solution that provides a single access point for the plant supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) control systems, including all PV inverters, the data logger, and auxiliary services. This eliminates the need to integrate a separate management system for the solar power inverters.

Unlike other systems, the Santerno PPC does not require the trial and error approach typically used to match standard PI regulators. The power parameters are set in advance using the plant data and the electrical characteristic data for the Point of Interconnection (POI) so it automatically matches international grid code requirements. “As an engineering oriented company, we are always working to develop new technology that solves our customers’ needs

and delivers the highest return on investment. By developing our own Power Plant Controller we are able to consolidate management of Santerno solar inverters with other plant monitoring and SCADA systems into a single interface,” said Franco Valentini, Marketing Director of Santerno. “When you add in support from our online Web management portal, you have a complete controller solution, including remote monitoring.” The Santerno PPC can be configured for most grid operator protocols, and is compliant with European and worldwide standards, field programmable according to local regulations. It also can be optionally configured to control static VAR compensator (SVC) or static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) at the Point of Interconnections (POI). This enables the PV plant for Extended Power Capability or Flexible AC Transmission System functions. It also has Digital Control Functions, including closed loop active power curtailment, closed look reactive power control, closedloop POI voltage control, and P(f) curtailment control.

The Santerno PPC also provides a single, self-tuned, modified proportional internal (PI) controller which operates at the plant level to make sure all the inverters match power grid code requirements. 74

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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PRODUCTS SMA Expands Service Portfolio with Plant-Wide Operations and Maintenance Plans New Services Increase Performance Ratios, Protect Power Production and Simplify Long-Term Planning SMA--already the world’s largest servicer of solar inverters—now offers plantwide operations and maintenance (O&M) as part of its top-ranked service portfolio in North America. Available in three plans— Preventative, Proactive and Performance— SMA provides world-class O&M services that increase performance ratios, optimize power production and simplify long-term planning. “Executing a successful O&M strategy is paramount to the long-term viability and

profitability of a PV plant,” said Henry Dziuba, president and general manager of SMA America and president of SMA Canada. “SMA’s service team of electrical engineers, solar professionals and critical support staff ensures that the plant remains in peak shape and produces reliable power during its operational life, thereby stabilizing cash flow.”

SMA’s Solar Asset Management portfolio of services provides developers, EPCs, utilities, and investors with the PV industry’s best financial backstop and longterm plan to maximize system performance. SMA’s three levels of O&M support— Preventative, Proactive and Performance— provide essential to comprehensive services with the ultimate goal of ensuring long-term plant performance. In addition to these plans, SMA offers individual services that can be integrated in a flexible fashion, resulting in a highly customized O&M solution.

Suntech announces 1500V frameless PV module The new module provides an optimized balance of system value for utility and commercial customers. Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest solar companies, showcase its 1,500V frameless photovoltaic module at the Solar Power International (SPI) Exhibition in Chicago, Illinois. This higher voltage module, engineered for utilityscale and commercial applications, lowers balance of system costs. Suntech’s 1,500V frameless PV module will be on display at booth #243. The 60-cell IEC-rated 1,500Vdc module achieves lower balance of system costs by allowing longer cable runs and longer strings, fewer combiner boxes and smaller wire sizes. Because there is no frame around

the modules, equipment grounding is not required. Labor and materials are reduced, saving money for the installer and for the customer. The frameless construction is a “glass-onglass” structure which replaces the backsheet with heat-strengthened glass. Its IP67-rated junction box greatly reduces the possibility of water or dirt ingress. Eliminating the frame removes a key mechanism for Potential Induced Degradation (PID). The new module is backed by the Company’s 25-year linear power warranty. Aesthetically, the glass-only module presents a clean look. Its low profile is only 6mm thick. Effective wire management with no grounding lugs contributes to the sleek aesthetics as well.

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“Suntech continues its commitment to develop solutions to better meet the requirements of our customers throughout the value chain,” said Mick McDaniel, Managing Director of Suntech America. “This new higher voltage module incorporates the most recent advances in solar technology to enable our partners to install ever more efficient and durable utility and commercial power plants.” The introduction of this new module extends the Suntech portfolio of photovoltaic products. The new 1500V frameless 255W (STP255-20/Wdj) and 250W (STP250-20/ Wdj) modules will be available for installation beginning in the first quarter of 2014.

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

Solar Industry Summit - Middle East 2013

Date: 6-6Nov-2013 Place: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Organiser: Solarpraxis Tel.: +49 30 726296-301 Email: tina.barroso@solarpraxis.de Web.: www.solarpraxis.de/en/conferences/solar-

Distributed Solar Summit 2013

Global Solar Forum 2013

8th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition

Solar Now: Turkey

Date: 18-20Nov-2013 Place: San Diego, California, USA Organiser: Infocast Events Tel.: +1 818 8884444 Email: mail@infocastevents.com Web.: www.infocastinc.com/events/dsolarwest13

Date: 21-24Nov-2013 Place: Singapore Organiser: Tel.: +44 2070 606200 Email: eorange@catalystsbm.com Web.: www.globalsolarforum.com

industry-sum...

Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America 2013 Date: 12-14Nov-2013 Place: Orlando, Florida, USA Organiser: Renewable Energy World Tel.: +1 918 8329249 Email: dickr@pennwell.com Web.: www.renewableenergyworld-events.com

Intersolar India 2013

Date: 11-14Nov-2013 Place: Mumbai, India Organiser: MMI India Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +49 7231 58598-212 Email: steffen@intersolar.in Web.: www.intersolar.in

Solar Philippines 2013

Date: 14-15Nov-2013 Place: Manilla, Philippines Organiser: IMPS Ltd Tel.: +44 208 9794784 Email: john@imps-uk.com Web.: www.solarimps.com/phillippines

8th Solar Bangladesh 2013 International Expo Date: 14-16Nov-2013 Place: Dhaka, Bangladesh Organiser: CEMS-Global Tel.: +1 212 6344833 Email: contact@cems-solarexpo.com Web.: www.cems-global.com

Date: 18-20Nov-2013 Place: Berlin, Germany Organiser: EUROSOLAR Tel.: +49 228 362373 Email: IRES2013@eurosolar.de Web.: www.energystorageconference.org

Liveweek Business

Date: 25-27Nov-2013 Place: Istanbul, Turkey Organiser: Solarplaza Tel.: +31 10 2809198 Email: t.vanderlinden@solarplaza.com Web.: solarnowturkey.com

Date: 19-20Nov-2013 Place: Delhi, India Organiser: Liveweekbusiness Tel.: +91 98101 70265 Email: shobhit@liveweekbusiness.com Web.: www.sustainableenergyliveweek.com/solar.

PV China 2013

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Date: 27-29Nov-2013 Place: Shanghai, China Organiser : HNZ media Tel.: +86 21 31276308 Email: david.guo@hnzmedia.com Web.: www.pv-china.org

14th Forum Solarpraxis

Solar Energy Southeast Asia 2013

Date: 21-22Nov-2013 Place: Berlin, Germany Organiser: Solarpraxis Tel.: +49 30 726296301 Email: tina.barroso@solarpraxis.de Web.: www.solarpraxis.de/en/conferences/14-

forum-solarprax...

Date: 3-4Dec-2013 Place: Bangkok, Thailand Organiser: solarmedia Tel.: +44 20 78710122 Email: sbradshaw@solarmedia.co.uk Web.: seasia.solarenergyevents.com

RENEXPO速 SOUTH-EAST EUROPE Date: 20-22Nov-2013 Place: Bucharest, Romania Organiser: REECO Tel.: +40 257 230999 Email: info@reeco.ro Web.: www.renexpo-bucharest.com

Solar China 2013

Date: 5-6Dec-2013 Place: Shanghai, China Organiser: acemarketing Tel.: +86 21 51082666 Email: tonyji@acemarketing.com.cn Web.: www.solarimps.com/china/index.php

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

EQ INTERNATIONAL - November 2013

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