EQ Magazine Sept 2017 Part 2/4 by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

Stand the Test of Time

• Project Name: Adani Solar Power Plant • Location: Tamil Nadu, Southern India • System Size: 222.5MW

Renewable Energy India 2017 Date：Sep 20- Sep22 Booth：Hall10 10.96 Venue:：India Expo Center, Greater Noida www.suntech-power.com

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C ONTEN T

VOLUME 9 Issue # 9

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 –party contents.EQ International is not liable for any third- party content or error,omission or inaccuracy in any advertising material ,nor is it responsible for the availability of external web sites or their contents

INDIA

Cochin International Airport new T3: From solar power..

09 INDIA

States accounting for Rs. 3,62,231 crores of DISCOM debt join UDAY: Shri Piyush

10 INDIA

Coal India ropes in KPMG for Vision 2030 road map

16 INDIA

Power plants without unique registration numbers can’t sell to grid

28 INDIA

Free electricity connec tions released to 2.63 crore BPL

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.

September Part B 2017

SOLAR ROOFTOP Solar-powered pumps to revive 100 water bodies in forests

SOLAR ROOFTOP

Indian builders pledge “green” homes in race to meet climate goals

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ENERGY STORAGE Siemens and AES Join Forces to Create Fluence, a New Global Energy Storage Technology Company

INDIA

India will implement Paris climate pact in letter and spirit PM Narendra Modi

INTERVIEW

With Mr. SUKHW-INDER PALSINGHN,DIRECTOR INGETEAM

BUSINESS & FINANCE BlackRock Busts $1 Billion Green Power Goal With Second Fund

48 SOLAR Tracker NEXTracker Announces True Capture,a evolutionary Intelligent Control

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ENERGY STORAGE ISRO’s battery technology may soon power India’s e-vehicle dream

Policy & Regulations

GOA Solar Power Policy 2017

ENERGY STORAGE Sungrow Supplies Energy Storage System to the Bahamas

ENERGY STORAGE

Tabuchi America’s Next Generation Solar-plus-Storage System Debuts with UL 9540..

EQ NEWS

Pg. 09-29 SOLAR ROOFTOP

SOLAR ROOFTOP

Govt To Install Grid Connected Solar Power Plants In All Raipur Govt Buildings

3 war heroes install 40 solar panels atop Mumbai society, help save 98%

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September Part B 2017

Huawei : With an established presence in solar markets worldwide, Huawei provides new generation string inverters with smart management technology to create a fully digitalized Smart PV Solution â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FusionSolar. FusionSolar is smart, safe and reliable whilst consistently delivering high yields and ROI, making Huawei the preferred choice for investors and developers worldwide. Huawei has been ranked as No.1 in the world for global inverter shipment for 2015 and 2016.

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INDIA

States accounting for Rs. 3,62,231 crores of DISCOM debt join UDAY: Shri Piyush Goyal Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, informed the House that so far, 26 States and 1 UT have joined Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) for financial and operational turnaround of their DISCOMs.

inister said that out of Rs.3,75,430 crores debt of state owned power distribution utilities, as existing on 31-03-2015, UDAY States account for Rs.3,62,231 crores of debt. The States/UT under UDAY scheme include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Puducherry. States and their Distribution Utilities have issued Bonds worth Rs.2.32 lakh crores.

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Adequate Supply of Coal to Power Sector During the period April, 2016 to December, 2016, the coal based power generation grew by 6.18 per cent to 674.492 Billion Units over the same period in the previous year.

ispatch of coal and coal products to power sector from Coal India Limited (CIL) sources in October, 2016 was 31.91 Million Tonnes (MT) as against 34.50 MT in October, 2015. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. This was due to more than adequate availability of coal in stock at power plants and better quality of coal resulting in improvement of Station Heat Rate and reduction in coal consumption per unit of power, despite higher generation.

that the target of coal production for CIL for 2017-18 has been as 600 MT. The coal production of CIL have been 462.422 MT, 494.238 MT, 538.754 MT and 554.14 MT in the years 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17 respectively. There is a continuous annual growth in coal production by CIL, the Minister added.

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INDIA

5MW solar plant to come up in Makkuva

Coal India ropes in KPMG for Vision 2030 road map

A giant solar energy plant cum storage battery system with a capacity of five megawatts (MW) is coming up at Makkuva in Vizianagaram district to provide electricity for farm motor pumps falling under AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL).

KPMG will submit its report in 14 weeks after the formal contract award. KPMG had prepared ‘Vision 2020’ besides a few other assignments for Coal India. Coal India invited bids for ‘Vision 2030’ because coal is likely to decline in country’s energy mix with big boost to renewables.

“AP Transco will float tenders to invite bids for the 5MW project at Vizianagaram and 1MW project at Nellore. It will materialise soon,” energy secretary Ajay Jain said. The successful bidder will have to install solar power panels to generate power. The AP discom will purchase the requisite power from the solar plant and divert it to the agriculture pump sets. “We have selected Makkuva in Vizianagaram district as it has vast government land as well as sufficient solar radiation,” the discom official said.

MNC consultant KPMG is being roped in by Coal India for a business roadmap plan ‘Vision 2030’. “We have selected KPMG for ‘Vision 2030’ plan in which all options remain open at a time when coal demand are subdued and uncertainty looms over it in the long run,” Coal India officials said.

ower plants account for over 80 per cent of coal demand in the country and is now is showing signs of stagnation in demand. Coal India is now looking at diversifying into related energy fields like renewables. Possibility of it entering into mining, metals and minerals are not ruled out. In the notice inviting tenders for the Vision 2030, Coal India said With governments efforts to push renewable energy due to international conventions on climate change, increase in carbon cess and other initiatives for lesser use of coal, there is a need for Vision 2030 for the coal sector, which takes into account the environmental factors such as reduction of carbon footprint, abatement of global warming.

Coal India is gearing up for 10,000 MW plant of solar power to focus on renewables. Coal India is the largest coal producer company in the world and contributes around 82% of the coal production in India. Source:millenniumpost

September Part B 2017

he energy generated from the solar plant will be supplied to agriculture pump sets in the day and surplus power will be stored in the batteries. Lithium ion batteries will be used to store unused power. The state government has planned two such units with a total capacity of six MW on a pilot basis — one in Vizianagaram of five MW and another with one MW capacity at Kassumarra in Nellore district. Twenty five acres of land has to be identified in Makkuva to set up the massive plant, the likes of which are yielding good results in Germany and US. Nearly 2,000 farming consumers could be ought under the solar plant. The state is spending Rs 5 per unit to supply free power to the agriculture consumers as of now. The department of energy has planned to complete the project within six months from the start of the tendering process and wants to ready the project before the onset of next year’s summer. Setting up the solar plant is among a host of reforms that the government has planned to bring about in the the power sector. Andhra Pradesh will be the first state in the country as well to have a system of solar energy-stored power supply for agriculture.

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September Part B 2017

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INDIA

Affirming its commitment towards ‘India is looking at the Karnataka market, Rays Power 30 % carbon emisInfra successfully commissions a sion cut by 2030’ 5.5 MWp Solar PV equity project Upholding its commitment towards the promising solar power market existing in Karnataka, Rays Power Infra, a leading Solar Energy Company, announced that it has successfully completed a 5.5 MWp Solar PV equity project in the state. The project execution work was started in October’2016 while the project was commissioned in February 2017.

Commenting on the milestone, Sanjay Garudapally, Director – Business Development, Rays Power Infra, said, “Karnataka is an important market and strategic geography for us and we are fully committed towards catering to its requirements. The State has an ambitious renewable energy policy and we are focused on supporting their endeavor. On one hand, India is an energy deficit country coupled with high cost of electricity and on the other hand, customers are now increasingly acknowledging the importance of solar energy over other sources available.” “Rays Power Infra Pvt. Ltd. has done the complete design, engineering, civil work, Installation process, testing and commissioning of the Solar PV project”, he added.

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read over an area of 28 acres at Koppal District, Karnataka, the project was executed on turnkey basis right from the land acquisition till the commissioning. With this, the total portfolio of commissioned projects of the leading integrated solar power company crosses over 400 MW. Rays Power Infra is the 3rd largest solar services company in India and a pioneer in the development of GREEN Technology solutions for Roof Top Solar Power Plants, which are environmental friendly, energy efficient, cost effective and are need of the hour.

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The Union Government’s target of achieving 200 GW renewable energy production in the country by 2022 is humongous, but possible, said Chitra Rajagopal, Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation . At the inaugural of the three-day international conference on “Renewable Energy and Sustainable Environment”, organised by Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology at Pollachi on she said that the country was also looking at reducing carbon emission by 30 % by 2030.

part from the economy, social and environment issues were also important for sustainable development. There was a need for a powerful international organisation that would lead the change, giving importance to economy, environment and society. There should also be a change in the mindset of people and a systematic approach and analysis was needed to address this, she said. Ashok Pandey, scientist at Centre of Innovative and Applied Bio Processing and chairman of the conference, said the event looked at projecting a network for sustainable environment globally, with focus on quality, applications, and linkage. According to M. Manickam, chairman of the institution, there is need to tap renewable energy resources to cope with growing needs and combating air pollution. The stakeholders should find ways to conserve the natural resources so that renewable energy could be used all through the year. Vanitha Niranjan Thakkur, secretary general of Solar Energy Society of India, inaugurated the SWELECT training and research lab for PV modules on the campus for research in photovoltaic modules and for students to learn about the applications of PV modules. R. Chellappan, managing director of Swelect Energy, said solar energy fuelled growth of renewable energy.

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INDIA

SOVA SOLAR ALLIANCES WITH IIT KHARAGPUR

of Prof. Pallab Dasgupta, Dean- IIT KGP, Prof. Jatin Roy, Professor-IIT KGP, Mr. Subrata Mukherjee, CMD-SOVA SOLAR, Mr. Soumyen Mukherjee, President-Sova Solar, Mr. Krishnendu Mukherjee, COO-SOVA SOLAR & Mr. Saugata Datta AdvisorSova solar Ltd.

Mr. Subrata Mukherjee, Managing Director Sova Solar announced after

With the immense desire for quality and efficiency development of product quality, Sova Solar has moved forward to make a collaboration with IIT KGP.

ndia’s leading PV Module manufacturer SOVA SOLAR LTD. will now have the expertise of IIT Engineers in maintaining or enhancing the quality of the PV modules manufactured by them. The meeting took place in the presence of Prof. Pallab Dasgupta, Dean- IIT KGP, Prof. Jatin Roy, Professor-

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Signing of Technical Collaboration Agreement between II-KGP & Sova Solar Ltd. He said that this association would be beneficial for their long term business, keeping in mind the guidance and support the will be getting from the R & D division of IIT KGP for a new end to end production. The Dean IIT KGP, Prof. Pallab Dasgupta also expressed his delight to be associated with Sova Solar and said with this collaboration, IIT KGP will get a chance to contribute to the future of Renewable Energy in India.

September Part B 2017

INDIA

New ministerial panel mulls multiple ways to cut oil imports

Mizoram to set up 20 Megawatt solar park

Set with a steep target to cut India’s oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022, the Oil Ministry has formed an inter-ministry monitoring and advisory body to achieve the mark through a combination of raising domestic output and relying on alternate fuel sources. The first meeting of the newly formed Integrated Monitoring and Advisory Council (IMAC) was held yesterday wherein the progress on import reduction of oil and gas was reviewed, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said “Increased domestic production, promotion of biofuels, renewable energy, better roads, urban planning, fuel conservation, development of mini-grids, promotion of electrical vehicles put together will contribute in the process” of achieving the import reduction target, he said.

rime Minister Narendra Modi had in March 2015 set a target to cut India’s reliance on imports for meeting its oil needs by 10 per cent to 67 per cent by 2022. “Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas prepared an elaborate roadmap to achieve the goal of 10 per cent reduction in import dependency set by the Prime Minister during Urja Sangam,” an official statement said. IMAC was envisaged to facilitate better coordination and comprehensive strategy for all energy resources by focusing on supply and demand side management. It consists of Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas and officers from ministries of new and renewable energy, urban development, road and transport, agriculture, power, rural development and finance. During the meeting chaired by Pradhan, “the Ministry highlighted major policy initiatives taken in recent past to enhance domestic production of oil and gas,” the statement said. These included measures like resource re-assessment, National Data Repository (NDR), Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP), Discovered Small Field Policy, tapping unconventional sources such as Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and Shale Gas besides enhancing production of bio-diesel and increased use of PNG and LPG. Officials of other ministries also explained policies, schemes and projects taken towards augmenting the supply of energy, energy saving and demand substitution/reduction through alternate modes. While the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway high ighted measures such as e-tolling to cut waiting time at toll plazas and notification of fuel efficiency norms for LCV, Ministry of Rural Development stressed upon their bio-fuel scheme for rural sector. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) pointed out measures for industrial and transport sectors. MNRE elaborated on energy generation through renewable sources such as solar and wind power and their future strategy in this regard. Pradhan stressed on the importance of concerted and coordinated efforts by all ministries to create an enabling environment for accelerated exploration and production activities. hlighting other measures like promoting conservation and energy efficiency, exploring opportunities for oil demand substitution and tapping the potential of bio-fuels, he said that these are required to be perused in more aggressive and synchronised manner.

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Aizawl: Mizoram’s Solar Power Project Approval Committee (SPPAC) has approved the proposal for setting up of a 20 MW solar park today.

he project will be implemented by the state power and electricity department and Zoram Energy Development Agency (ZEDA), an official statement said. A meeting chaired by Secretary for Power and Electricity H Lalengmawia discussed wide ranging issues concerning generation of power through solar energy, it said. The Solar Power Policy of Mizoram, 2017 envisaged all government office buildings should harness solar energy in their building premises, the statement said adding, the committee decided to convene a meeting of all heads of departments to ensure implementation of the policy.

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September Part B 2017

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INDIA

Power plants without unique registration numbers can’t sell to grid: CEA proposal Power generating plants of over 1-mw capacity will have to obtain unique registration numbers without which they will not be able to inject their electricity in the grid, according to a proposal by the Central Electricity Authority.

A meeting was held by CEA with power generators and state distribution companies. The proposal includes assigning unique registration number to all generating units. “A National Level Data Registry is to be maintained by CEA for all the generating units through which all the generating units will get an online generated Unique Registration Number,” minutes of the meeting available on CEA website said.

nce the generating units will get registered with CEA through this unique registration number , Generation Capacity data and other details of Power Plants including Captive Power Plants/Renewable Energy Generators(particularly Wind and Solar) of installed capacity of 1 MW and above would be available with CEA. “In order to ensure that every generating unit, of capacity 1 MW and above, has this registration number, they would have to quote this registration number while applying for connectivity to the grid, for grid connected generators. Without this unique registration number, application for grid connectivity would not be entertained and if grid connectivity has already been obtained, then in that case, the physical injection of power into the grid would not be allowed without this unique registration number,” the minutes said.

Source: ET

September Part B 2017

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INDIA

Finland’s Taaleri looks at India solar power play Attracted by the opportunities in India’s solar energy space, Finland’s Taaleri Plc is evaluating assets for acquisition here. This interest by the Nasdaq Helsinki-listed firm is reflective of the trend wherein overseas firms have led the race on aggressive tariffs to secure renewable energy project contracts in India.

aaleri Solar Wind fund is Finland’s first equity fund to invest in overseas green energy assets. Taaleri’s India playbook follows the investment thesis adopted by other overseas investors such as France’s Engie and Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. It is the lower cost of foreign capital and the size of the Indian solar power generation market that has helped script India’s solar story. “Taaleri Plc is actively looking for acquiring solar power projects in India,” said a person aware of the firm’s India strategy, requesting anonymity. Another person, who also didn’t wish to be identified, confirmed the development. The interest in the renewable energy space also seems to be buoyed by

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federal policy think-tank Niti Aayog’s projections of a 597-710 gigawatt (GW) capacity by 2040 in its new draft energy policy. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has set up an ambitious clean energy target of 175GW by 2022. Of this, 100GW is to be generated by solar projects and 60GW by wind projects. India’s scale of green energy play caught Taaleri’s attention. “The fact that renewable energy has become competitive when compared with conventional forms of energy production will for its part allow adherence to the commitments of the Paris agreement. Taaleri, whose operations are supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority, has three lines of businesses—wealth management, financing, and energy. Queries emailed to Taaleri Plc spokesperson on Tuesday remained

unanswered. India will require overseas investors to help reach its energy goals given the investment requirement of $3.6 trillion between 2015 and 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. These investors are queuing up in the backdrop of record solar power tariffs of Rs2.44 per unit. In one of the largest overseas investments in the Indian rooftop solar space, Warburg Pincus Llc will invest up to $100 million in CleanMax Solar, the on-site rooftop solar power developer said in a statement on Thursday. Mint reported on Wednesday about Engie being in talks with Singapore-based renewable energy developer Equis Energy to acquire projects from its India portfolio. Also, Moscow-based Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp., through its unit JSC OTEK, plans to acquire wind energy projects in India. Source:LiveMint

September Part B 2017

INDIA

Andhra Pradesh mulls floa-ting solar power plant at Mudasarlova

Maharashtra’s Energy Minister and Nagpur’s Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule inaugurated two-day convention of Principal Forum

he project will have a power generation capacity of 2,000 kilowatt peak (KWp), nearly 20 times the capacity of the recently-launched floating solar power plant in Kayamkulam, Kerala. Besides being environment-friendly, the project reduces demand for land and makes use of the unutilised surface area of the reservoir. The solar panels will also help in reducing evaporation from the reservoir to some extent. Mudasarlova reservoir is situated near Arilova Health City between Kailasakonda, Kambalakonda and Simhachalam hills. About 1 million gallons per day (MGD) of drinking water is drawn from the reservoir and supplied to about 6,000 households in the city. But since it is near residential colonies, garbage is often dumped into the reservoir.

"Though the technology is in its nascent stage in India, Kerala and West Bengal recently installed floating plants. The proposed capacity of Mudasarlova reservoir is higher than the other projects. The Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Limited has issued a request for the project proposal," a source said. According to experts, floating solar panels have been found to be more efficient than landbased ones, but the challenge is in designing a system to make the panels withstand all weather conditions.

September Part B 2017

Government fears solar developers may delay projects to ‘gain’ from fall in tariffs With the steep fall in solar tariffs in the last two years, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has written to all states to ensure that solar developers do not get “undue benefits” from the development by insisting that solar projects meet the deadlines initially set for them without any extensions. Tariffs have fallen from Rs 7-8 per unit in mid 2015 to Rs 2.50-3.50 per unit at present. One of the reasons of falling tariff is lowering of prices of solar cells/modules internationally,” said a letter from Dilip Nigam, adviser, National Solar Mission in the MNRE, to principal secretaries (energy) of all states. Falling prices may give undue benefits to developers at the cost of the government if project duration is extended. ” Developers take a completely different view. “When a developer is putting in a bid, certain assumptions about panel prices are made months in advance,” said one of them, not wanting to be named. “If that’s the way the MNRE wants it, it should allow developers to bid without considering panel cost and then add it later. You can’t have the cake and eat it too. If panel costs fall, developers will obviously want to take advantage of it.”

owest tariff was Rs 2.44 per unit at a solar auction conducted for projects at the Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan. The fall is largely due to the lowering of prices of solar cells and modules in the global market, especially in China, which has seen considerable overproduction. The MNRE is concerned that developers who signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) at fairly high tariffs while solar equipment prices were also high, could earn a windfall over the next 25 years – most solar PPAs are for 25 years – if they delayed buying their requirements and did so after prices had dropped. Others feared the letter could be used by state distribution companies as a pretext to renegotiate earlier contracts at tariffs lower than already signed for. Recently, Uttar Pradesh reworked contracts it had signed with developers following an auction in September 2015 at prices between Rs 7.02 and Rs 8.60 per unit. It insisted that, since solar tariffs had fallen, all of them should sign fresh contracts at the lowest tariff reached during that auction ie. Rs 7.02 per unit. “The letter doesn’t say so, but states might take a cue from it and start renegotiating the way UP has,” said another developer. The construction period usually allowed for a solar plant can vary between 13 and 18 months, with stiff penalties for delays. But given the difficulties of locating suitable land, and other impediments, projects are often delayed and extensions usually allowed. “It is important that already awarded projects are commissioned on time,” the July 3 letter added.

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Ingeteam’s new 100kW string PV inverter This world class photovoltaic inverter is able to provide its rated power -100kW- up to 50ºC ambient temperature. It is suitable for outdoor installations thanks to its IP65 protection rating. Thanks to its greater output power –up to 110kW if connected to a 440Vac network-, the new INGECON SUN 100TL allows to drastically reduce the number of inverters required for designing a PV power plant. Thus, it minimises the labour cost and reduces the global cabling cost. Furthermore, it enables up to a 20% cost reduction in AC cabling as this PV inverter does not require a neutral wire. Moreover, it does not require DC combiner boxes, nor AC combiner boxes, ensuring the minimum possible CAPEX –Capital Expenditures-. It allows a wireless communication network, so the power plant can be commissioned, monitored and controlled without any communications cabling. Ingeteam offers two different versions –STD, PRO- in order to adapt to each and every project, but all these inverters are equipped with DC and AC overvoltage protection with surge arresters, type II.

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September Part B 2017

INDIA

50% discount on equipment to educational institutions, if they use solar energy Maharashtra’s Energy Minister and Nagpur’s Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule inaugurated twoday convention of Principal Forum

olar will be our new source of energy in coming era. Its importance is increasing. Considering the various aspects of solar energy, the educational institutions in State should come forward in that area. State Government is very positive about increasing use of solar energy. To promote use of solar energy in educational institutions Government will give 50 per cent discount on solar equipment to those institutions which are using solar energy, declared Maharashtra’s Energy Minister and Nagpur’s Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule while inaugurating convention of Principal Forum held at Dhanwate National College on Sunday. The convention is jointly organised by Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University Principal Forum and Dhanwate National College. Adv Arunkumar Shelke, President of Shivaji Education Society presided over the function. Sunil Kedar, MLA; Dr Dhanraj Mane, Higher Education Director; Dr Subhash Brahmbhat, President of National Principal Forum; Dr Rajan Welukar, ex-VC of Mumbai university, Mahadev Bhuibhar, Haribhau Thakare, Nareshchandra Thakare, Dr V G Thakre, Arun Sangole, V R Patil, Nandkumar Nikam, Dr Baban Taywade, Principal of Dhanwate National College; Dr Anjali Rahatgaonkar, Joint Director of Higher Education, Nagpur region, Secretary Dr Tale were present.

Nagpur’s Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “If more and more colleges start using solar energy then 80% electricity can be saved. This will result in taking our state ahead. I appeal colleges to send proposals.” Dr. Subhash Brahmabhat said, “The budgetary provision being made on education is very less. It has paving way to privatisation of education sector. When we point out the education being imparted in other countries we forget how the respective Government there look at the education. Political leaders should press Government for increasing budgetary provision in education.” Adv Shelke held Government responsible for the degradation in quality of education. Dr Jagannath Patil, Advisor of Western Region of National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) put a very valid point during his power point presentation. He said, “Now onwards the database of colleges will be available on-line. The students’ participation will be there during the valuation of university and colleges. About 80 per cent part of the present curriculum need to be changed as it is creating unemployable youths.” Earlier a video film wherein Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar delivering message was shown. Dr Baban Taywade gave introductory speech. Dr Komal Thakre compered the programme and Dr Tale proposed a vote of thanks. Earlier the souvenir was released.

September Part B 2017

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INDIA

JSW a Group to submit Salboni land plan to West Bengal Government Kolkata: JSW group will require not more than 1,500 acres for it’s plans including a 200 MW solar park, out of some 4,300 acres it currently holds at Salboni. The group is preparing a report on best possible use of the excess land, a senior company official today said.

“We have said that with all plans in place, we will require not more than 1,500 acres and are open to options for the excess land. State government has asked us to prepare a plan on how best the land can be used for industrialisation and we are working on it,” Parth Jindal, JSW Cement managing director and son of chairman Sajjan Jindal, said here.

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n a clear indication that JSW is not averse to returning the excess land it holds, he said the land can be converted to an industrial park. JSW Bengal had earlier proposed Rs 35,000 crore investment in an integrated 10 million steel plant at Salboni and the group is currently running a 2.4 million tonne cement plant, with proposals for a paint plant, steel finishing unit and a solar park. Jindal said they are in advance talks with foreign contractors for a 200 MW solar park at Salboni for implementing the project with a guaranteed buyback of power with them. It may entail an investment of Rs 800 crore, he said adding, if fructifies, it will initially be of 100 MW. If the solar project did not take off, then JSW will go for 36 MW thermal captive power plant for cement manufacturing at Salboni, Jindal said. Meanwhile, JSW was supposed to offer jobs to 488 land losers as part of rehabilitation package for the Salboni land. With the current operations in cement, farm and all future proposals, JSW has been able to offer 300 jobs and is unable to offer any job assurance to the remaining 188 land losers.

September Part B 2017

INDIA

CIL ropes in KPMG for Vision 2030

India will implement Paris climate pact in letter and spirit PM Narendra Modi

MNC consultant KPMG is being roped in by Coal India for a business roadmap plan Vision 2030.

At a time when the United States’ stand on climate change has pitted it against every other country, other major economies appear not to have given up hopes from the Paris Agreement with India on Friday reiterating its commitment to implement the global deal in “letter and spirit” while underlining the importance of its implementation to globally fight the menace of climate change. The country’s stand was articulated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking at the informal meeting of BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Describing implementation of the Paris Agreement “globally” as essential to fight climate change, PM Narendra Modi noted that it was “mandatory” to implement the consensus reached at Paris. “India will implement the agreement in letter and spirit,” he said while highlighting important roles of other BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa – as well in achieving the goals under the global deal on climate change.

Addressing the session on sustainable development, climate and energy at the G20 summit, the Prime Minister stressed on the need to be forthcoming on climate change action and emphasised that the developing countries must have enough room to grow.

The remarks come amid general disappointment over the US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to withdraw from the deal. Though the US technically cannot withdraw from the deal before November, 2020, the move has already cast a shadow over the world’s second biggest polluter’s (after China) pre-2020 climate action. Trump had last month announced his administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, saying the deal unfairly benefited countries like India and China. As the US is not on board, it will be a real challenge for the remaining G20 member countries to put their joint stand on the issue of climate change before the conclusion of the summit in Hamburg. It is, however, expected that the countries may spell out their commitments to scale up their climate action and the intent would reflect in the joint statement on the concluding day of the summit. It may include the rich nations’ commitment to improve the flow of climate finance to developing countries for their adaptation and mitigation actions.

"We have selected KPMG for Vision 2030 plan in which all options remain open at a time when coal demand are subdued and uncertainty looms over it in the long run," Coal India officials said.

PMG will submit its report in 14 weeks after the formal contract award.KPMG had prepared Vision 2020 besides a few other assignments for Coal India. Coal India invited bids for Vision 2030 because coal is likely to decline in countrys energy mix with big boost to renewables. Power plants account for over 80 per cent of coal demand in the country and is now is showing signs of stagnation in demand.Coal India is now looking at diversifying into related energy fields like renewables. Possibility of it entering into mining, metals and minerals are not ruled out. In the notice inviting tenders for the Vision 2030, Coal India said ?With government?s efforts to push renewable energy due to international conventions on climate change, increase in carbon cess and other initiatives for lesser use of coal, there is a need for Vision 2030 for the coal sector, which takes into account the environmental factors such as reduction of carbon footprint, abatement of global warming.? Coal India is gearing up for 10,000 MW plant of solar power to focus on renewables.

Source: TOI

September Part B 2017

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September Part B 2017

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INDIA

IGNOU to offer three distance courses on solar applications

India’s outdated electricity grid needs major upgrade: Expert

In collaboration with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will offer three Open Distance Learning (ODL) courses on solar applications from the coming session.

India’s power grid needs to be upgraded if the plan to sharply step up power from renewable energy is to be successful, an energy expert has said.

“The now-outdated grid interface needs to be modernised into a smart grid capable of handling the ever-greater share of generation to come from new, low-cost renewable energy. That can’t happen overnight,” Tim Buckley, the Energy Finance Studies Director with the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told in an interview here.

uckley, who is studying the transformation of the Indian and Chinese electricity markets, said the development and strengthening of the national electricity grid would be a critical factor in facilitating the government’s ambitious plan on renewable energy. India’s draft “Ten Year Electricity Plan” calls for 275 GW of renewable energy by 2027, in addition to 72 GW of hydropower and 15 GW of nuclear energy.

September Part B 2017

“Both at the national and state levels, load balance and grid inter-connectivity constraints need to be managed carefully,” Buckley said, adding that “each state needs to carefully model its electricity generation, supply and demand profiles and the level of inter-connectivity of the grid to ensure a balance is maintained”. The utilisation of India’s sustainable resources like hydro, wind, solar and biomass will all play a key role in the transformation of electricty markets, premised on rapid expansion of India’s economy in the process, he said. India’s electricity system has historically been 70 to 75 per cent reliant on coalfired power generation. Buckley, on his visit to India, said solar power generation was a near-zero marginal cost source of supply and hydro-costs varied dramatically, but were very competitive in India — particularly as a system balancing the supply for peak electricity demands.

“Once built, solar, when available, is the best source of generation, squeezing out higher marginal cost sources like thermal power,” he said, adding that hydropower in the range of Rs 1-4/kWh range, was an important contributor to system capacity growth and peak power generation. “Hydro can also provide instantaneous electricity generation, helping with grid stability and balance,” he said. Hill states like Himachal Pradesh, which has hydroelectricity generation potential of 27,436 MW — about 25 percent of the country’s total potential — has harnessed 10,351 MW till December 2016, almost 37 per cent of the total potential.

“All of the courses will be available on the international platform. They’ll be translated into French, Spanish and hopefully also to Arabic. For Spanish and French we already have the facility, but for Arabic it may take some time,” said IGNOU vice-chancellor Ravindra Kumar.

ourses will target international students. ISA is an international alliance of 120 ‘sunshine countries’ (abundant in sunlight) with a focus on solar power utilisation. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015, at the CoP21 climate conference in Paris, and has its headquarters in Gurgaon. Kumar said the university had formed a committee to work on the modalities last week. The government has already said that the first 300 students enrolling in these programmes will not be charged any fee, although a formal announcement on the same is yet to be made. By and large, all of the 300 students will be from outside India.

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INDIA

Cochin International Airport new T3: From solar power to world-class facilities, this Kerala airport is special

ochin International Airport: India’s infrastructure is definitely meeting world-standards and the latest terminal T3 at Cochin Airport is one such example. Opened in March 2017, Cochin International Airport’s T3 is 1.5 lakh sq.m. structure. It is nearly 2.5 times bigger than the existing two terminals taken together, says CIAL, the operator of the airport. Cochin International Airport is famous for its drive to promote clean energy – it even has a car park with solar panels! We take a look at 10 interesting facts about Cochin International Terminal and its new T3

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September Part B 2017

INDIA

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Development of green airports in India is not just a fad but a permanent sustainable solution to the increasing demands placed on the aviation infrastructure in the nation. India is amongst the top five fastest growing markets and is set to witness a whopping 266 million additional passengers per year, to see a total of 367 million passengers by 2034.

hile the growth is prominent, the infrastructure expansion this growth will bring about has a flip side to it – obstructive impact on the environment and nature – causing air, water and noise pollution, landscape deterioration and biodiversity damage. To avoid inflicting irreparable damage to the environment, many stakeholders have made sustainability their focal point, even as India is engaged in building new airports and reinvigorating old ones. One of them is GHIAL, which operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad. The airport became south India’s first and India’s second airport to convert the entire Taxiway Edge Lights from halogen lamps to energy efficient LEDs. Complementing the recently achieved recognition of being a Carbon Neutral Airport (Level 3 + Neutrality), GHIAL is on its green journey of transforming RGIA into a 100

September Part B 2017

pc LED airport, out of which 75 pc of the work has been already completed. With its mission to move from conventional energy to renewable energy sources for environmental sustenance, the airport had recently commissioned a five MW solar power plant for its captive use. While a significant proportion of the airport’s total daytime energy requirement is met by the solar power plant, now to reduce their carbon footprint even further, RGIA started converting the entire lighting at the airport to LEDs. The airside, which is the busiest and the most critical area of the airport, had also undergone LED transformation, where close to 500 halogen lamps of Taxiway Edge Lights were converted to LEDs. The lumen level of these LED lights installed at Taxiway Edges meets the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requirements. Extensive tests and trials were also carried out after the installation of the LED lights and regular observations were collected from pilots.

Conventional lighting lamps like Mercury Vapour (MV), Sodium Vapour (SV) lamps and Fluorescent Lamp (FL) have chemicals such as lead, phosphorus and mercury, which are hazardous to the environment; while on the other hand, LEDs are environmentfriendly, energy-efficient and help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking on the initiative, SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL said,

“GHIAL is committed towards fostering a green culture at RGIA. We have been progressively taking steps to transform our airport into a truly green airport. Migration to LED has been a strategic decision for environment sustenance with the objective of reducing carbon emissions and promoting energy efficiency. Very soon we will become 100 pc LED lit airport. At the same time, initiatives such as the installation of the five MW solar power plant helps us to meet a significant amount of the airport’s energy requirement using renewable means. Our pro-active environmentally sensitive measures have helped us earn the coveted Level 3+ Carbon Neutrality recognition from ACI. We are proactively contributing towards building a cleaner and greener future.”

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September Part B 2017

INDIA

Free electricity connections released to 2.63 crore BPL Households under DDUGJY; a total of 6,015 villages were electrified in 201617: Shri Piyush Goyal Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today, informed the House that under Rural Electrification component of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), 2.63 crore BPL Households have been electrified till 30.06.2017.

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nswering to a separate question in Lok Sabha today, Shri Goyal also informed that as per information provided by the States, as on 30.06.2017, there are 3,618 un-electrified census villages left out of the total 18,452. He further added that a total of 6,015 villages were electrified in 2016-17.

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INDIA

Sl. No.

Free electricity connections Name of State released to BPL HHs (Nos.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Total

Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh J&K Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal 2,63,25,259

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2648777 51621 1210211 4339872 1149542 843104 198580 16290 69148 1277605 987629 150305 1803951 1221350 70187 104457 29710 54484 2845434 92988 1227216 13601 502394 708865 148368 2110609 237921 2211040

STATE–WISE DETAILS OF VILLAGES ELECTRIFIED DURING 2016–17 Sr. No.

State

2016–17

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Total

Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Himachal Pradesh J&K Jharkhand Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Rajasthan Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal 6,015

175 1,218 556 294 27 5 1,104 14 159 121 681 24 76 1,092 263 17 162 18 9

September Part B 2017

Roof top & Offgrid

Solar-powered pumps to revive 100 water bodies in forests About 100 watering holes and lakes in forests across the state will be refilled through the use of solar water pumps this year. The Forest Department is launching this scheme to revive dried-up water bodies to mitigate the acute water crisis faced by wild animals in deep forests. The project, costing `10 crore, will be funded under corporate social responsibility schemes while the deficit amount will be raised through the major works scheme.

few solar-powered pumps have already been set up in Nagarhole and Bandipur where partially dried-up lakes and tanks were recharged. In Bandipur, the pumps were set up in collaboration with WWF-India. Working 7-8 hours a day, a solar pump can refill a partially dried-up watering hole with almost 50,000 litres of water while allowing the excess water to flow downstream. Each solar pumping unit costs `10 lakh and has been installed in Southekere and Kundakere in Omkar range of Bandipur National Park and Antarsanthe Range of Nagarhole National Park. According to park officials, this initiative has benefited big carnivores and herbivores as more than 50 per cent of water bodies had gone dry. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Head of forest force) K S Sugara explained that wild animals usually come out of the forests during the summer season or during droughts in search of water. If this new technique is utilised in protected areas, then water could be pumped to the lakes in the forest areas.

However, criticizing the scheme, wildlife activists add, “If this project is initiated, borewells can be drilled in protected areas. In the long run, it will not only adversely affect the habitat but also disturb many species. Moreover, drought is a natural phenomenon, some animals may die while some may survive. This is how nature balances the wild animal population. Why should we interfere with nature?” they asked. Wildlife activist G Veeresh added, “This has been installed in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and is totally unscientific – if the forest department is providing water to animals then will they provide food too? If the population of wild animals increases, this will again cause an imbalance in the food chain. Such schemes and programmes are a sheer waste of precious resources.”

Source: newindianexpress

September Part B 2017

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Aditya Aluminium installs solar street lights in Sambalpur Aditya Aluminium in collaboration with the Odisha government has launched a project to facilitate uninterrupted, sustainable and low-cost solar power to four villages of Sambalpur district.

art of its CSR initiative, the company has already installed solar-powered street lights in 4 villages – Bhursipali, Bhalupatra, Tileimal and Pitapali . This electrification work has benefited 550 people, company officials said. The company has installed 28 street lights, they According to Bibhu Prasad Mishra, chief operating officer (COO) of Aditya Aluminium, the company chose these villages for the project since they have 300 sunny days. The company also intends to roll out more such programmes of this kind.

“Safe and sustainable electric energy has already been distributed for free to these villages. The well-lit streets mean that the villagers can now move in and around their neighbourhood without fear after dark. Their children could study under the solar powered street lights. In addition, the village youth have been trained to carry out repair and maintenance activity in case of an emergency,” Said, Bibhu Prasad Mishra, chief operating officer (COO) of Aditya Aluminium Source:PTI

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September Part B 2017

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Here’s why govt may fall short of 40 GW target for solar rooftop power by 2022

Ashutosh College among solar-compliant campuses

India’s ambitious target of plugging into 40 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop-solar energy by 2022 seems difficult, says a report.

eport CARE Ratings and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry states that “implementation of rooftop solar is taking place at a much slower pace and it seems unlikely that the government would achieve its 40GW target by 2022.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed India to ensure that its energy demands would be met with 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. Of this, 100 GW would be solar-powered. 40 GW of this energy would be through solar-powered rooftops.

From next month, Ashutosh College’s monthly electricity bill will reduce by a third as the college has it will generate 20KW of electricity on its own through a solar facility on its roof. With its entry

This could due to two major headwinds in the sector, primarily: Challenges in Net Metering implementation: Net metering is the system by which customers who generate their own electricity from solar power can feed their unused electricity back into the grid and be compensated for that. However, the heavily subsidized solar tariff rates would imply that while they would be selling this unused reservoir of electricity at a loss, which would further discourage customers from net-metering. Also, distribution companies are also wary of implementing the Net-metering for their own reasons. Financial implementation: Union Minister Piyush Goyal had stated that India would need to invest an estimated of Rs 6000 crore to achieve the 100 GW target. This amounts to Rs 6 crore per megawatt. With particular reference to rooftopbased solar grid, the CARE report says an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore was approved for the implementation of grid-connected rooftop systems over a period of five years up to 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM). This move was expected to support the installation of 4,200 MW solar rooftop systems in the country between 2016-20. Nonetheless, this still falls short of the initial target of 40 GW of rooftop solar power that was outlined. The report also stated that the provision of rooftop solar and 10% renewable energy is now mandatory under Mission Statement and Guidelines for development of smart cities Also, the Reserve Bank of India has included renewable energy projects under priority sector lending for which bank loans up to a limit of Rs.15 crore to borrowers will be available for renewable energy projects. This includes grid connected solar rooftop and ground mounted systems. With the current need of the hour being the resolution of the non-performing assets, it remains to be seen to what extent the RBI is willing to lend a hand in this exercise. A Moneycontrol report stated that in light of current trends in the solar industry, a target of acquiring anywhere between 45 to 60 GW of solar energy would be an achievable target. With only 3 percent of the total solar rooftop solar energy having been met so far, the CARE report stressed the need for specific policy initiatives as well as offering incentives in order to attract financial investors to support the solar energy targets as the way ahead.

shutosh is now the 12th college in Kolkata to set up a solar rooftop plant. In addition, there are around 50 schools in the city with rooftop solar facility. Inaugurating the facility at Ashutosh College, power minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said his department would continue to support solar initiatives in educational institutions and expected the movement to gain momentum through the the Aloshree programme, which was announced by the CM last year. Progress in the project has been ham pered due to the delay in release of funds by the ministry of new and renewable energy . The Aloshree project proposes to cover all state government offices, municipalities, corporations, panchayats, state-run public sector undertakings and other autonomous bodies of the state government. Altogether, 32 MW is to be added -10 MW each by WBPDCL, WBSEDCL and a school project (10 KW unit in 1,000 schools). The West Bengal Green Development Corporation Ltd is also setting up 5KW units in 100 schools. Earlier, 10KW plants were set up in 100 schools.WBPDCL and WBREDA will also be funding the project in 200 other schools. Among colleges that have set up solar plants include St Xavier’s College, St Andrew’s College, Derozio College, Sammilani College, Jogesh Chandra Chowdhuri College and Muralidhar Girls College.

Source : MoneyControl

September Part B 2017

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September Part B 2017

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Soon, Nagpur HC building to shift to green energy Nagpur: In a first of its kind probably in the country, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, responding to the growing calls of reducing pollution and using green energy, has decided to shift to solar energy.

was announced by District Mineral Fundations (DMFs) member Anik Kilor on Monday. The DMFs, which are formed in every district as per Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), will sanction the fund for the purpose. “The high court administration has already granted green signal to the proposal. It was prepared by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA), a government of Maharashtra Institution,” an elated Anil Kilor, the brain behind the concept, told TOI. The solar panels will be installed on the roof of the historic edifice, popularly referred as ‘Poem in stone’ due to its unique structure. In fact, Kilor had moved the proposal last month in the capacity of Nagpur High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president, which was readily agreed by the court’s administration. The entire project would cost Rs1.35 crore which will cover all three wings of the building. Though the cost appears to be exorbitant, it will help saving Rs39 lakh every year. Once started, it would just take four months to install the solar panels on rooftops of entire structure. Usually, the life of solar panel is around 20 years, which means the entire court premises would be getting free power for 20 years.

As per the scheme (PMKKKY), the royalty generated through sale of minerals should be used in that district only to benefit the citizens affected by mining-related operations. The funds are provided under nine heads, including education, sanitation, health care, skill development, environment conservation and others. Of them, we are getting funds under renewable energy,” Anik Kilor said. The HCBA will soon be submitting the proposal to DMF in next couple of weeks after which the funds will be released. Under Kilor, the new HCBA team has already given a facelift to the historic premises by changing its interiors.

September Part B 2017

GOVT TO INSTALL GRID CONNECTED SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN ALL RAIPUR GOVT BUILDINGS The Chhattisgarh Government will implement 21,255 Kw grid connected solar PV system scheme for Government buildings located in Raipur city under Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.

otal of 159 Government schools in Chhattisgarh were using solar energy to meet their power supply requirements during the last financial year (2016-17), officials informed.The State currently also has total renewable energy potential of 4,500 MW which includes solar (grid connected and roof top), wind biomass and small hydro, they informed. It has also planned to install solar powered pump sets for agriculture consumers which will benefit 16,000 consumers. It may be recalled that there are significantly more number of villages which are to be electrified in Chhattisgarh using the off-grid (solar) mode than the grid-based (conventional power supply. The State has also launched a ‘Solar Community Irrigation Project’ for drawing water extracted using solar pumps for supplying to the agricultural land of farmers across the State. The Central Government has released Rs 12 lakh each for Raipur and Bilaspur for the Solar City project, officials informed.

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Roof top & Offgrid The Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) will be installing Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant in seven locations of the State. The SPV plants would be would be installed at District Hospital, Bijapur, Bastar, PWD Head office building, Naya Raipur, District Panchayat, BIjapur, Bastar, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, at Bharari in Bilaspur, Govt Digvijay College, Rajnandgaon, Indira Art & Music University, Khairagarh, Rajnandgaon district and CSPSCL Training Institute, Gudhiyari, Raipur, officials informed. Chhattisgarh will procure additional power from renewable energy sources to the tune of approximately 700 MW by FY 2018, officials informed. With this the average power purchase cost for Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Ltd (CSPDCL) based on the above power availability will increase from 2.58 Rs/kWh in FY 2015-16 to 3.12 Rs/kWh in FY 2018, they informed. The rates have been derived based on cost of power at existing rates and considering no escalation in power purchase cost since it is passing through for the distribution company.

REDA has invested Rs 400 crores during last 11 years in developing infrastructure for solar power generation which had resulted in 40 MW of electricity being generated from non conventional energy sources. The agency will be installing a total of 10,000 submersible and surface solar photo voltaic (SPV) irrigation pumps in farm lands soon across the State. The SPV Pumps shall be provided with lightening and over voltage protection. The principal aim in this protection is to reduce the over voltage to a tolerable value before it reaches the PV or other sub-systems components. The source of over voltage can be lightening or any other atmospheric disturbance, officials informed. The State Government has already commenced preparation for setting up 51,000 solar powered irrigation pumps in a span of two-and-half-years in the State. The Government has set the target of setting up 11,000 solar pumps in the current financial year till March 2017 and the rest during the next two years. Chhattisgarh Government is also planning to add 2640 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by financial year 2018-19, officials informed. There had been a saving of 190 MW of power during peak demand for electricity recorded every day due to use of LED bulbs across the State, officials here informed.

he information was provided in a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh to know the progress of implementation of ‘Rashtriya Ujala Yojana’ and distribution of LED bulbs to the various households in the State recently. During the meeting, it was informed that the State is saving Rs 379 crore due to less consumption of power on account of use of LED bulbs by consumers.It was also informed in the meeting that about 72.90 lakh LED bulbs had already been distributed in the State so far. A total of 661 street lights have been replaced with LED lights under Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in Chhattisgarh as on February 2016, the Central Government had informed. A total of 1,639,265 street bulbs have been replaced with LED Lights throughout the country under SLNP during the aforesaid period. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had launched the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) on January 5, 2015 to attain significant savings by promoting LED based lighting. The scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture company of four Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of Power. There is no element of Government of India subsidy in the scheme. EESL has evolved a service model to enable municipalities to replace conventional lights with LEDs at no upfront

cost. The resultant reduction in Energy and maintenance cost of the municipality is used to repay EESL over a period of time. The target is to install 3.5 crore LED street. The energy efficiency market in India is estimated at US$ 12 billion that can potentially result in energy savings of up to 20 per cent of current consumption, by way of innovative business and implementation models. Under the SLNP, SDMC area alone accounts for over 2 lakh street light replacements. The cumulative annual energy savings in SDMC through this programme is 2.65 crore kWh which has helped to avoid capacity addition of 6.6 MW, resulting in a daily reduction of 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. In the SDMC Project, EESL is addressing complaints from various sources viz, registered from BSES helpline, night patrolling team by

EESL, mobile vans, e-mails, social media and other sources including Ward Councilors. Additionally, EESL is putting stringent complaint redressal mechanism and Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) to enable remote operation and monitoring of the street lights. CCMS provides real time information on energy consumption and remote monitoring of the street lights. It may be mentioned here that the State Government had been distributing three LED lamps free of cost to those who fall under the BPL category. The Above Poverty Line ration card -holders can buy LED lamps on EMI also. A consumer can save up to Rs 160 per annum on each LED bulb. The officers said that 09 watt LED bulb gives an illumination of 100 watt. It is estimated that there will be a saving of Rs 300 crore per annum with this scheme. Source : dailypioneer

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September Part B 2017

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India’s top builders have pledged to make at least a fifth of their new housing developments sustainable by 2022, as the country looks to tap sectors other than renewable energy to meet its ambitious climate goals.

ampaign is led by the Sustainable Housing Leadership Consortium (SHLC) comprising builders Godrej Properties, Mahindra Lifespaces, Shapoorji Pallonji, Tata Housing and VBHC Value Homes. It is backed by the Ministry of Housing. Builders will use mainly local and recycled material, and design homes that conserve water and electricity and make best use of natural light and wind patterns, while also pursuing more energy-efficient methods of construction.

The construction industry has one of the biggest carbon footprints, so it’s really important for us to take action to minimise the impact,” said Jainin Desai, head of design and sustainability at developer Mahindra Lifespaces. “This initiative pushes us to incorporate sustainability right from the selection of the site to the design, the use of materials and in increasing awareness in the industry, as well as among our clients,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. As a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, India is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by a third by 2030. It is doing so with tougher emission norms, more electric vehicles and giant solar power plants to replace energy generated by coal. The real-estate sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. Those emissions come mainly from energy-intensive processes in making construction materials such as steel, cement and bricks. As India’s economy grows at a fast clip, demand for homes, offices, roads, airports and factories is also rising. The demand for homes is particularly acute: in urban areas alone, there is a shortage of about 20 million homes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made affordable housing a priority, with incentives such as subsidised loans to meet a 2022 target of “Housing for All”. This has led to a boom in construction across the country. The effort by SHLC – an initiative of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation under the eco-cities programme of the European Union – will add 110 million sq ft of green housing by 2020. 38

September Part B 2017

Indian builders pledge “green” homes in race to meet climate goals

GREEN HOMES THE NORM? While “green” homes were built at a premium earlier and therefore had a niche appeal, newer technologies and greater demand have narrowed the cost differential between them and traditional housing to “almost nothing” now, Desai said. Developers and buyers are also able to tap financing more easily for sustainable projects, as banks and investors look beyond renewable energy. The SHLC campaign is backed by HDFC Bank and PNB Housing Finance.

“India has huge funding requirements in … sustainable housing, metro rail networks, urban waste management and infrastructure development, that can be met through green financing options,” said Sanjeev Jha, India head of Global Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. India, a relatively new player to green financing, has issued nearly $4.5 billion worth of green bonds so far, he said. For homeowners, green homes will create savings of 198 million kWh per year in electricity consumption, and 108 billion litres in water savings, according to SHLC. This will reduce India’s carbon footprint by approximately 0.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, it estimates. “Our long-term goal is to make green homes 100 percent of the industry portfolio,” Desai said. “We see green homes becoming the default choice.”

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Source : news.webindia

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September Part B 2017

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Roof top & Offgrid Refraining from burning coal and fossil fuels to generate electricity, the 10 kilowatt (KW) solar system atop Thrishul society has polycrystalline panels. These panels, spread across 1,000 sq ft, generate about of 40 kilowatt hour (kWh) electricity per day. A city house with two bedrooms on average uses 8 to 10 kWh electricity daily.

3 war heroes install 40 solar panels atop Mumbai society, help save 98% on electricity bills They were part of air sorties during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars. Today, these war heroes are leading a campaign for clean energy.

hree retired squadron leaders PK Purushe, AC Kalele and BS Rathode have installed 40 solar panels atop their 14-storey Trishul Cooperative Housing Society (CHS) at Lokhandwala, Andheri, in November last year. The electricity generated from these panels is powering the common areas of the housing society and has helped to reduce the monthly electricity from Rs20,000 to Rs350 — a drop of almost 98%. The society spent Rs8.38 lakh to install the solar project Of the 120 people living in 42 flats, the building houses 20 retired Indian Air Force officers.

“Apart from reducing electricity bills, we wanted to leave something behind for the future generations and make them understand the importance of harnessing energy from the sun,” said Purushe, who was in-charge of operations across northeast during the two wars. Prior to the installation of solar panels, the occupants were unsure of their benefit, said Kalele, former pilot in-charge of flying paratroopers. “We are yet to inform the other residents about the 98% drop in the electricity bills. I am sure their perspective will change,” & “We learnt about the benefits of solar from a the residents of a nearby complex and a detailed presentation from the private company that installed ours.” Lights in the staircases, water pumps and common areas in the housing society are powered using solar energy. “We are saving more than Rs17,000 a month and expect our annual savings to touch Rs2.4 lakh,” said Rathode, former pilot in-charge of an entire fleet of HS748 aircrafts. 40

September Part B 2017

“On a sunny day, the power generated can be as high as 63kWh. And can drop to 15kWh per day during the monsoon season,” said Sishir Garemella, founder and chief executive officer, Sunvest Energy Private Limited, the company that installed the solar panels. “We hope that solar panels will become a consumer product on every rooftop in Mumbai in the years to come.” The renewable energy source will not only benefit the residents, but even areas in the city where electricity is inadequate. A net metering system has been installed at the building, which allows surplus power generated by solar panels to be transported back to the grid. Also, the society can ask for power in case of a shortfall and will be charged by the power supplier only for the net usage. Besides saving electricity, the society has been segregating 10kg of dry and wet waste for the last four years before sending to the city dumps. In addition, the society has planted 20 fruit trees on its premises.

“We salute the war veterans for protecting us in the past and setting and an example with this initiative. Stalwarts like them will be seen as role models by generations to come,” said a senior official from the state government. Source : HT

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September Part B 2017

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PV MANUFACTURING

Centrotherm’s subsidiary FHR Anlagenbau was awarded a major contract by Manz AG for the delivery of inline coating technology for CIGS solar module

THIN-FILM SOLAR MODULES centrotherm’s subsidiary FHR Anlagenbau GmbH has been awarded by Manz AG (Reutlingen) to deliver a number of sputtering systems for the manufacture of high-efficiency CIGS thin-film solar modules.

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ystems are to be delivered in 2018 and commissioned in two fully integrated factories in China. The latter are part of the major orders Manz received in January 2017 from two leading Chinese companies in the energy industry. The order volume is in the lower double-digit million range. The parties have agreed to keep the exact volume undisclosed. At the same time, the centrotherm Group through its subsidiary FHR Anlagenbau GmbH aims at a strategic partnership focused on further developing the CIGS thin-film technology together with Manz.

September Part B 2017

orsten Winkler, general manager of FHR, stated: “Since our founding in 1991 we have considered ourselves as pioneers in vacuum process technology for the deposition of a wide range of functional thin films. The special electrical, optical or other functional coatings are used today in many different sectors. We can contribute our core competence into the development partnership with Manz. Together we intend to further enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of thinfilm solar technology in the photovoltaic market.”

n concluding this agreement, centrotherm has achieved an important milestone in its corporate strategy of further diversifying its range of services. As a leading technology provider of production solutions for the manufacture of standard p-type crystalline and high-efficiency PERC solar cells, we have again delivered proof throughout the group with FHR of our strong competence in thin-film vacuum coating,” emphasizes Gunter Fauth, Chief Operating Officer of centrotherm international AG.

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124

MW DELIVERED

7521

INVERTERS SUPPLIED

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE ROOFTOP AT A TIME

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TE A N R O NTEE GUARA E IC V SER

We’ve partnered with the best-in-class solar brands from around the world to provide smart solar solutions to fulfil your needs. #BETTERTOGETHER

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September Part B 2017

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

In Exclusive Talk With

Mr.SUKHWINDER PAL SINGH EQ: How much Inverters have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2017-18

SPS : Ingeteam enjoys a very good installation base for both central & string inverters in India and our global strength presents us as a major supplier in the coming years. Till now we are maintaining around 950MW of solar PV plants in India including Bonfiglioli’s equipment, and we have supplied more than 50 MW to India.

SOLAR PV DIRECTOR

INGETEAM

EQ: The recent aggressive bidding by various developers keeping Solar Tariffs in the price range of Rs.2.44-3.3 per kWh in various Solar Tenders…Whats your view on the viability, Costs & timeline pressures, Resource Challenges (Materials, ManPower, Execution, Grid Connection, Land Possession) etc… SPS: It is true that the solar power industry has experienced a strong price decline that has changed the business landscape and the strategies of the different players that are active in the game. For inverter manufacturers, the price decline has forced them to make a bigger effort in order to optimize supply, production costs. With our focus on R&D we are optimizing our product portfolio by offering outdoor solutions, paralleling options, etc. which helps reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCOE). Solar power is now the cheapest energy source in many countries of the world and that is a big strength for our industry.

EQ: Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback.

SPS: Our inverters have been performing globally in all kinds of climatic conditions and in India we don’t 44

September Part B 2017

see any challenge in already installed inverters where customers are seeing our advantages like less maintenance, higher efficiency and prompt O&M services.

EQ: Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar Inverters

SPS: These are some of our main references worldwide: Chile: 100MWAC Amanecer Solar CAP PV project: http:// eng.cap.cl/news/amanecer-solar-capthe-largest-photovoltaic-plant-in-latinamerica-is-now-a-reality/ Italy: 70MWAC San Bellino PV plant: http://www.renewable-technology. com/projects/sunedison-san-bellinophotovoltaic-power-plant/ South Africa: 94.3MWDC Sishen PV plant: http://www.acciona-energia.com/ areas-of-activity/photovoltaic/majorprojects/sishen-photovoltaic-plant/ South Africa: 95MWDC Jasper PV plant: http://www.solarreserve.com/ en/global-projects/pv/jasper Australia: 56MWAC Moree Solar Farm: http://www.moreesolarfarm.com.au/ announcements/frv-announces-moreesolar-farm-opening-and-confirms-futurefor-solar-in-australia

EQ: Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission

SPS: Ingeteam is a global company specialized in the design of power and control electronics (frequency converters, process automation and control systems), electrical machines (generators and motors), electrical engineering and generating plants. To date, Ingeteam has supplied 46 GW in power converters for renewable energy plants and is amongst the TOP 10 companies dedicated to the operation and maintenance of renewable plants, with a portfolio of more than 10 GW. The company operates on all continents, and has a headcount of around 3,898 employees around the world.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW EQ: What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments, ASP’s, financial figures, SPS : Ingeteam features three different factories (in Spain, USA and Brazil) dedicated to the production of factorytested and totally bankable power converters for the PV, wind and storage sectors. Ingeteam is present in 22 countries and is planning to continue its expansion across new markets.

EQ: What are your plans for India, your view on the GOI target of 100GW Solar Power by 2022

SPS: We see this as an opportunity to provide our clients with the latest technology inverters with grid support features, top class services and maintenance since these would be critical features as the capacity enhancement happens.

EQ: What are your plans for Manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India

SPS: We are about to start manufacturing wind converters in India.

EQ: Briefly describe the various technologies and its suitable applications such as Central Inverter, String, Micro Inverter, 1500V, Outdoor, Container solutions etc.

SPS: Ingeteam offers a wide range of PV inverters and storage inverters for both indoor and outdoor use. At string inverter scale, Ingeteam offers single-phase and three-phase string inverters (2.5kW – 100kW) for residential, commercial and industrial application. At utility scale, Ingeteam offers 1,000V and 1,500V central inverters. These central inverters are one of the most light and compact equipment, conceived to optimise their integration into medium voltage power stations of any kind. Moreover, the 1,500V inverter series is proudly famous for featuring the photovoltaic market’s highest power density: 358kW/m3.

EQ: How much is your R&D budget as % of your sales / profits

SPS: Ingeteam invests 5% of its annual turnover in R&D, which is the backbone of the company's business activity.

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EQ: What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future

SPS: In 2016: Jordan, Chile, Mexico, USA, India In 2017 (estimated): Australia, India, Chile, Mexico, USA

EQ: Technology road map in terms of 1500V , micro inverters, upcoming game changes technologies

SPS: In 2017, 1,500V inverters will experience market consolidation at utility scale. We are currently supplying several projects with our 1,500V central inverters. The solar market will also see how the main PV inverter manufacturers will launch a 1,500V string inverter along 2017 and 2018.

EQ: Kindly comment of Energy Storage as a game changer, its technology, cost trends…etc.

SPS: Energy storage will keep experiencing a cost decline, especially within the different battery technologies, and thanks to this cost reduction the installations of energy storage systems will progressively be more and more attractive and it will be more frequent to find large battery systems coupled to generating power plants at utility scale. But the energy storage market may still need some more time of cost decline in order to become much more attractive, especially for residential users. We have already installed +30MWh storage capacity globally meeting the most stringent grid support requirements.

EQ: Explain various guarantees, warranties, insurance, certifi cations, test results, performance report of your inverters

SPS: Ingeteam’s PV inverters feature a standard 5-year warranty and comply with all the main applicable international standards as well as the markings, guidelines, grid codes and local standards. Realms of security, electromagnetic compatibility and grid functionalities and requirements are covered. Certification is the essential tool that Ingeteam uses to provide trust on its equipment. It involves type testing, analyzing the models that can cover this type of tests and auditing that all the equipment produced meets the same quality standards as the type tested sample. Ingeteam’s inverters are certified by Accredited Certification Bodies and type tested by Accredited Laboratories. This fact ensures the independence of the organization that emits the certificates and the proficiency to do it right. Every certification body that takes part certifying Ingeteam’s inverters has been accredited

by a full member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) under the ISO/ IEC 17065 standard.

EQ: Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc.

SPS: Ingeteam’s B Series 1,500V central inverters feature the solar market’s highest power density: 358kW/m3. Thanks to this inverter and to the ability of connecting up to four inverters to the same transformer, Ingeteam is able to offer a MV solution of up to 6.55 MW that integrates the PV inverters, MV transformer, MV switchgear, LV cubicle and auxiliary services transformer. Also, Ingeteam has recently developed the most powerful string inverter in the solar market, as it is able to provide up to 110 kW in a single 75 kg unit.

EQ: What is your commitment towards the solar sector in India

SPS : We see India as one of the largest and most successful markets of the world in the coming years. That is the reason why we decided to take over Bonfiglioli’s solar division. They had a wide base in India and that is helping us to have a stronger sales and service network across the country.

EQ: What will be the cost, techn ology trends in solar inverters

SPS: In 2017, price pressure and technology inovation will continue to be a main market trend globally. Because of that, 1,500V technology will experience market consolidation at utility scale in 2017 and the following years. Ingeteam is currently supplying several projects with its B Series 1,500V central inverters. The solar market will also see the main PV inverter manufacturers launching 1,500V string inverters along 2017 and 2018.

EQ: What are the expectations from Government / NTPC / SECI / RUMS Team

SPS: With the implications of GST/ IGST there is bound to be increase in the overall cost and the Govt. should allow the concessional duties to be continued for solar projects, which would be good for the industry as a whole.

EQ: Are the developers betting on Modules/EPC Prices or Interest Rates ?

SPS: As the technology advancements happen in Modules, inverters etc. there is bound be some effect on both the capex / opex investments. Further as the solar projects becomes more reliable we do feel that the interest rates may also fall in near future which would be a good sign for our industries.

September Part B 2017

PV MANUFACTURING

Patent Decision in Taiwan Reaffirms Commitment of Heraeus to a strong IP Position in Photovoltaics Industry Heraeus Photovoltaics, the worldwide leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, announced that the Taiwanese Intellectual Property Court decided to dismiss the infringement case of Heraeus against Giga Solar with Heraeus’ Taiwan patent no. I432539. Heraeus is reviewing the ruling carefully and reserves the right to appeal against the decision.

eraeus filed a lawsuit against Giga Solar complaining that Giga Solar infringes Heraeus´ patent-in-suit with its tellurium containing glass frit as a central technical component in the production of metallization pastes. Andreas Liebheit, the President of Heraeus Photovoltaics, believes rulings like these can have a significant effect on the pace of innovation in the photovoltaics industry, which is vital to accelerate global adoption of solar power.

“We are surprised and disappointed by the court’s ruling because in the course of two years of litigation we saw our strong patent decision confirmed several times. While we consider our options to appeal, it is important to note that rulings like these send a chilling message to companies throughout our industry who invest significant capital on R&D efforts. Without appropriate protection for legitimate patents and intellectual property, the collective result is less incentive to make necessary investments across the PV industry.” Before decision, this patent infringement case had a lengthy history with several positive decisions for Heraeus directly or indirectly. In December 2015, the Chinese Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office confirmed the validity of Heraeus´ Chinese patent no. 201010529562.7, which is technically related to Heraeus´

September Part B 2017

This currently includes more than 300 granted patents and patent applications around the world. The patents focus on solar pastes, with a specific focus on glass compositions. Mr. Liebheit said, “As a company, we remain undeterred. To deliver the top quality and efficiency gains our customers need, we will continue to invest, we will continue to rapidly innovate, and we will rigorously protect and defend our intellectual property.” Taiwanese patent-in-suit. In August 2016, the Taiwan IP Court dismissed all invalidity arguments raised by Giga Solar in the patent infringement lawsuit and confirmed the validity of Heraeus’ Taiwanese patent-in-suit. An anti-trust complaint filed by Giga Solar against Heraeus in 2016 was also dismissed by the Taiwanese Fair Trade Commission. Most recently, on June 30, 2017, the Taiwanese Intellectual Property Office, again dismissed a patent cancellation action and confirmed the validity of Heraeus´ Taiwanese patent no. I432539. Despite the ruling, Liebheit affirmed the company’s legal efforts to aggressively protect its industry leadership in PV metallization innovations.

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PV MANUFACTURING

Latest mechanical engineering and smart solar panels from Germany / M10 Industries and SI Module show new developments for the solar industry M10 Industries and SI Module show new developments for the solar industry Joint presentation for the M10 Solar Campus at the Intersolar North America in San Francisco: The Freiburg-based company group, consisting of the mechanical engineering company M10 Industries AG and the solar module manufacturer SI Module GmbH, will be showing its product range for PV automation and building-integrated photovoltaics between July 11th and 13th 2017 (Booth 9011).

Colourful facades with “Saphir-Skin” photovoltaik panels

Kubus MTS 5.500: Innovative production technology for the photovoltaic industry

he M10 Industries present new features at the Intersolar: “After winning the Intersolar Award 2016 for our soldering machine in the photovoltaic sector last year, we can now present it with a ten percent increase in performance”, says Gregor Reddemann, co-founder and CEO of M10 Industries.

his year, SI Module will focus on photovoltaic panels for building integration (BIPV): “Our latest product innovation is the frameless glass-glass panel “Saphir-Skin”, which is ideally suited for the design of facades. Thanks to the general approval for overhead installation we see many interesting projects coming up”, explains Gregor Reddemann, Managing Director of SI Module and M10 Industries. The solar manufacturer, specializing in special module design, uses “Saphir-Skin” to apply colour to the facade: The solar module offers a multitude of colour variants and the front glass, which is printed with a special pattern, appears as a homogeneous coloured surface. The individual solar cells are almost invisible, but the remaining power yield of almost 90 percent compared to previous solutions is very high. “With the use of glass-glass panels, architecturally appealing facades can be realized, which also produce solar energy”, assures Andreas Kotterer, sales manager at SI Module.

Smart connection technology for photovoltaic modules The high-performance stringer “Kubus” is now soldering 5,500 cells per hour and thus achieves an annual capacity of 190 megawatts for module production. It is the world’s only tabber-stringer that can connect all the cells for an entire module in a single soldering process and operates without interruption. “With Kubus, the cost is further reduced and the performance is increased. The high-performance stringer is ideally suited for the international photovoltaic industry, to maximize their ROI emphasizes Reddemann. The system will be presented on this year’s exhibition at the “Innovation & Application Stage.

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he SI Module also uses smart connection technology for solar modules: Whether module optimization, monitoring on the module level or fire protection – smart connection technology offers safety and control at the module level and guarantees maximum performance.

September Part B 2017

PV MANUFACTURING

Meyer Burger awarded contract for DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting technology for around CHF 12 million

EC Group has awarded Meyer Burger a contract for the delivery and installation of the latest generation DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting platform for multi-crystalline silicon block slicing. Total contract volume is around CHF 12 million and delivery of the equipment will start in Q3 2017. Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) today announced the successful conclusion of an important contract for its industry leading DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting platform. REC Group is a leading integrated European brand for solar panels which will shift its entire multi-silicon wafer slicing to diamond wire cutting technology. REC Group has selected Meyer Burger’s latest generation diamond wire cutting equipment for its vertically integrated manufacturing in Singapore, following a competitive in-depth technical evaluation. The contract value of around CHF 12 million includes the delivery, installation and commissioning as well as service support and onsite training for the DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting platform. Delivery of the equipment will start in the third quarter 2017.

Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group

comments: “As an industry leader for high-power multi-crystalline solar panels for many years, our success is also based on cutting-edge and cost effective manufacturing technology. Choosing Meyer Burger and their outstanding diamond wire cutting technology enables us to continue to provide high-quality solar panels with a strong reliability at a competitive price.”

Meyer Burger awarded contract for DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting technology for around CHF 12 million from leading European brand of solar panels

September Part B 2017

Hans Brandle, CEO of Meyer Burger Technology Ltd: “This important order confirms our excellent long-term relationship with REC and once more demonstrates that Meyer Burger’s DW 288 Series 3 diamond wire cutting technology remains the industry-leading solution for the costeffective production of solar wafers. The product is highly attractive to customers in both the mono-crystalline as well as the multi-crystalline wafer markets.”

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September Part B 2017

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

BlackRock Busts $1 Billion Green Power Goal With Second Fund BlackRock Inc. exceeded a $1 billion fundraising target for wind and solar investments for its latest global clean energy fund, underscoring investor interest in renewable energy amid policy uncertainty in key markets. The second Global Renewable Power Fund, or GRP II, managed by BlackRock’s Real Assets closed after it raised $1.6 billion from 67 pension funds, insurance companies and institutional investors, according to a statement .

Funds will be invested in projects from North America to Europe, Japan and Australia as well as Latin America, balancing its portfolio against varying weather patterns around the world, said David Giordano, head of renewable power for North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America, in a phone interview.

“Despite a lot of geopolitical movements between Brexit and the election here in the United States, we’ve just seen a huge commitment to renewable energy as a discreet category for institutional investors in infrastructure,” he said.

September Part B 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to scale back environmental regulation and boost support for coal hasn’t dampened the market for renewable energy because demand is largely coming from a state and corporate level, “The U.S. is going to continue to be one of the largest demanders of capital for new renewable energy projects, despite the sound bites from the federal government,” GRP II fund has already invested almost 20 percent of the money raised in five wind and solar projects across the U.S., Norway and Japan, according to the statement. It expects to invest its remaining funds within five years,

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

After UK-India Energy Growth Partnership, Prashant Modi of GEECL Plans £768 Million Investment on Unconventional Energy Sources Following the recent energy trade collaboration between the UK and India, Prashant Modi CEO and MD of Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (LON:GEEC) said that he is looking forward to investing a whopping £768 million (USD $1 billion) to further tap on the unconventional energy resources of India.

ame after the recently held 9th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) where both the governments decided on a £240 million joint investment to boost India’s fast growing energy market as well strengthen the trading relationship between both the nations. These recent developments in the country are further expected to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s enterprising energy plans as well as boost bi-lateral ties between both the countries. Earlier in April, UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark visited India and discussed new partnership opportunities with Piyush Goyal, minister for Coal and Mines, New & Renewable Energy and Power. Among all the G20 countries, the UK is the largest investor in India and it believes that, Brexit along with the latest political developments taking place in both the nations will further strengthen B2B and G2G activities amongst them.

Last year, Rt Hon Phillip Hammond MP met with Mr. Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister, Defence, Minister of Corporate Affairs in the Cabinet of India) to build a new partnership which will leverage the investment of City of London into the growing energy market of India. In the same week, the UK Trade and Investment also welcomed the issuance of the world’s first Masala Bond at the London Stock Exchange by renowned Indian Corporate, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

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Elaborating on the business approach of GEECL, Prashant Modi said that “At present the top priority of GEECL is to continue its drilling activities in the Raniganj (South) block located in the state of West Bengal, India, where further 144 wells are to be dug. In the next 5 years, we will invest £768 million (USD $1 billion) across the unconventional energy space in India focusing on CBM and Shale gas as well.” As of now, the company has no plans of entering the conventional energy sector of India. The government of India, over the past couple of years has taken various steps to reduce its dependence on energy imports. In March 2016 last year, the government adopted a new policy, HELP (Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy) based on a revenue sharing model which focuses on 4 main aspects – uniform licensing, marketing & pricing freedom and open acreages. Speaking on these developments, Prashant Modi stated that he is confident that it will encourage investment from foreign as well as domestic players into the fast growing energy market of India.

The adoption of new policy measures by the Modi government has certainly encouraged an increasing number of UK businesses to increase their investments in the country. According to the UK-India Business Council, as much as sixty percent of business based in the UK has increased their investments in India because they feel opportunities are available in plenty in the country. With India being the 3rd largest foreign investor in the UK and the vast opportunities of investments in India making it a preferred destination for investment for the UK, things are so far moving ahead in the right direction for both the governments.

September Part B 2017

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Greenko completes $1 bn green bond offer Renewable energy company Greenko has completed placement of $1 billion green bonds in the international market. This bond offer is split across two tranche maturities of 5 and 7 years with a weighted average interest rate of 5.1 per cent.

he process, Greenko joins the league of Asian high yield issuers who have priced $1 billion or above in single transaction. The company’s offer received Ba2 from and BB- from Fitch – highest rating provided from Rating agencies from India for restrictive group concept. According to the offer, the issue was split into tranches as planned by the board across – $650 million through NC 3 bonds and $350 million through 5 NC2 structure to de-risk and plan the refinancing comfort across the debt profile of Greenko. This bond offer achieves a new landmark for green bonds and is the largest ever such offer from Asia, sources said. The two tranche structure was designed to keep the interest expense of the Group under control. It would not have significant refinancing risk associated with a single $1billion transaction. In order to maximise the refinancing flexibility, a call option was added after 2 years in the 5-year tranche. The offer was oversubscribed where investors including Goldman Sachs, Blackrock, Fidelity, among others participated.

Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd’s subsidiaries divest stake in Satluj Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd

ammon Projects Developers Limited and Gammon Renewable Energy Infrastructure Projects Limited, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd have divested their entire shareholding held in Satluj Renewable Energy Private Limited, nonmaterial and non-operational indirect subsidiary of the Company. Shares of GAMMON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.4.17 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 4.19. The total number of shares traded during the day was 101938 in over 91 trades. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 4.25 and intraday low of 4.15. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 429143.

September Part B 2017

IFC to invest up to $6 billion on energy initiatives in India International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, said that it will invest up to $6 billion in the next five years on various sustainable and renewable energy programmes in India, of which 20% will go in building eco-friendly or green homes in the country, said a top company executive.

Jun Zhang, country head, IFC India said affordable and sustainable homes is a key part of the organization’s strategy in India.

n a press conference which announced the launch of an awareness programme on green homes along with Sustainable Housing Leadership Consortium (SHLC), a group of real estate firms which supports green homes, Zhang said IFC has invested around $2 billion on renewable energy and climate change programmes in India since 2005. Formed in 2006, members of SHLC include Godrej Properties Ltd, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, Tata Housing Development Company and VBHC Value Homes Pvt. Ltd. “We invest and advise housing finance companies, developers, and have also helped leading private-sector banks to issue green bonds to finance green homes. Through this first-of-its-kind multi-stakeholder consortium, we are trying to identify private-sector solutions for greener homes, “ he said. IFC has already invested in affordable housing projects through partnerships with various leading real estate firms like Tata Housing Development Company Ltd and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate Ltd. As part of the green home campaign launched on Tuesday, SHLC along with various other stake holders are working towards making 20% of India’s new homes eco-friendly by 2022. At present, around 2% of the existing homes are certified green buildings. In a press statement, SHLC said it is collectively committed to making 100% of its new housing portfolio green, thus contributing 100 million sft of green housing by 2020.

Anita Arjundas, managing director, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, said there’s an incremental cost of 2-3% on making green buildings. However, the effort is to reduce the cost by as much as possible by through initiatives and by identifying technologies, she added. Tata Housing Development’s managing director and chief executive officer Brotin Banerjee said the consortium would tie up with various industry bodies to spread awareness about green homes across the country. Source:LiveMint

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

China seen making 25 percent I Squared Is Said to Join Bidding for $4 Billion more solar panels in 2017 Equis Portfolio than last year China’s solar industry is expected to produce 25 percent more panels in 2017 than last year, supported by domestic sales and demand from the United States and emerging markets, the head of a Chinese industry association said. China was expected to produce solar panels with a combined capacity of 60 gigawatts (GW) this year, said Wang Bohua, secretary general of China’s photovoltaic industry association.

China seen making 25 percent more solar panels in 2017 than last year

espite growing global demand, China’s solar industry faced challenges ranging from possible tariffs abroad to inadequate grid connections at home, Wang told an industry gathering. The United States has told the World Trade Organization it was considering putting emergency “safeguard” tariffs on imported solar cells, a move aimed at shielding its industry from a damaging, unforeseen surge in imports. The United States has been vying with China and India to become a market leader in an industry where production costs have tumbled, favouring producers of scale. In China, solar generation has been hindered by wastage or curtailment, in which inadequate grid connections mean not all capacity is utilised. “Wasted solar power in northwestern China is still significant and it may extend to a broader region such as the central and northwest part of the country,” Wang said. Environment group Greenpeace said solar curtailment rates across China rose 50 percent in 2015 and 2016, with more than 30 percent of available power in northwestern province Gansu and Xinjiang failing to reach the grid. Wang also said there was no efficient system to solve a shortfall in subsidies for the solar industry. As capacity has surged, Beijing has struggled to find the cash to pay subsidies to renewable energy producers, with the shortfall last year exceeding 60 billion yuan ($8.86 billion), according to industry estimates. China had a total of 101.82 GW installed solar capacity by June, after adding 24.4 GW in the first six months of 2017, the industry association said. It will soon reach 110 GW, the target Beijing had aimed to achieved by 2020. “In a long term, there is great potential for China’s solar industry to develop, as the Paris Accord has set a firm foundation for solar power,” Wang said. He said China’s Belt and Road Initiative to boost trade links through regional transport and infrastructure projects would help.

I Squared Capital, the infrastructure investment firm, is among suitors preparing bids for Equis Energy’s renewable power business, people with knowledge of the matter said.

rix Corp. is also planning to make an indicative offer by this week’s deadline for the portfolio of Asia Pacific assets, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The Japanese firm is bidding together with Dutch asset manager APG Groep NV, the people said. Singapore-based Equis, which has appointed banks for a strategic review, is seeking to value the portfolio at more than $4 billion including debt,

State Power Investment Corp., the Chinese state-owned electricity generator, and French utility Engie SA have also been considering bids for the Equis business, people with knowledge of the matter said last month. Equis expects a transaction to close in the fourth quarter, the firm’s Communications Director Roberto De Vido said at the time. Renewable energy assets are drawing increased investor interest as governments throughout Asia are encouraging the use of non-fossil fuels to combat pollution in the region. Announced acquisitions of Asian alternative power companies total $6 billion so far this year, up from $5.1 billion during the same period in 2016, data compiled by Bloomberg show. No final decisions have been made, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to firm bids, according to the people. Representatives for APG, Equis and Orix declined to comment, while a representative for I Squared Capital didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Equis, run by former Macquarie Group Ltd. executives, is pursuing a sale after delaying plans for an initial public offering of its operational assets, people with knowledge of the matter said in March. Its portfolio includes about 4.7 gigawatts of solar, wind and hydro generation across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand, according to an April statement from the company. I Squared Capital has a global clean energy portfolio of more than 4,300 megawatts in operation or under construction in 13 countries, according to a February statement. The investment firm agreed last October to buy Duke Energy Corp.’s South and Central America businesses for about $1.2 billion including debt.

Source: reuters

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September Part B 2017

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Tata Power to invest $90 million in renewable energy arm TPREL Tata Power Co. Ltd plans to invest around $90 million (close to Rs600 crore) in equity capital in its renewable energy arm Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) as the company seeks to develop its immediate pipeline of 320 megawatts (MW) of solar assets, two people aware of the development said.

PREL currently owns around 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind assets, including the assets that it acquired from Welspun Energy. In all, Tata Power owns over 3GW of green assets, including its hydropower assets. TPREL had in June 2016 1.1GW of solar and wind assets of Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd, a part of the $3 billion Welspun Group, across eight states in India. Of this, about 990 megawatts (MW) is in solar projects and about 150MW in wind projects. As part of the plan, the company invested around Rs170 crore in TPREL last quarter, said one of the two people cited above, requesting anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

“The pipeline of projects, which is worth around 320MW, is spread across six projects in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The total equity requirement for these projects is around Rs600 crore, which the parent company will infuse in tranches. Tata Power has so far self-funded the development of the renewable arm,” he said.

September Part B 2017

These include a 150MW asset in Pavagda solar park in Karnataka and a 100MW asset in Anantapur solar park in Andhra Pradesh, he added. A Tata Power spokesperson declined to comment. TPREL recently also raised debt of around Rs500 crore for capital expenditure and the refinancing of short-term debt of these assets. Tata Power has also been refinancing the over Rs5,000 crore debt it acquired from the purchase of Welspun’s assets. In January, the company informed the stock exchanges that it has refinanced around Rs1,200 crore of Welspun’s debt through private placement of non-convertible debentures, with a coupon of 8%. While Tata Power has so far financed its renewable energy arm through its own funds, a large number of Indian companies have raised money from investors. Mint reported that Adani Group’s renewable energy arm is seeking to raise external equity capital after having pumped in millions of dollars of its own money to build a pipeline of projects worth over 2GW. The proposed fund-raising could see Adani’s renewable arm—Adani Green Energy Ltd—raise as much as $200 million. In October 2015, the Aditya Birla group announced a partnership with Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Group to build a renewable energy platform with a focus

on developing solar power plants. Last year, Ajay Piramal-controlled Piramal Enterprises Ltd and Dutch pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management committed to jointly invest $132 million in Essel Infrastructure Ltd’s solar platform. Deep-pocketed investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, attracted by the scale of the renewable opportunity in India, have backed large renewable platforms in recent years.

power minister Piyush Goyal said the country will add 15GW of solar power capacity by June 2018. The Narendra Modi government is targeting to achieve renewable energy capacity of 175GW by the year 2022. Those that have already placed bets in India include Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte Ltd, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

ReNew eyes Orange’s portfolio in $950 million deal to bulk up before IPO

Sumant Sinha led ReNew Power Ventures Pvt Ltd, a Goldman Sachs backed clean energy company is in active discussions with Orange Renewable to acquire its portfolio of a little over 600 MW of predominantly wind and a smattering of solar assets for Rs 6175 crore ($950 million) of enterprise valuation, according to multiple officials in the know.

enew has already submitted a non binding offer and is conducting diligence, the sources add. Orange promoted by Singapore’s AT Capital was founded by Arvind Tiku, a Russia based Indian origin billionaire who made his fortunes in Central Asian oil and gas industry. Earlier this year it mandated investment bank Rothschild to help scout for a strategic buyer for its assets. Negotiations between both sides are ongoing but the talks are not exclusive in nature. Sources add that Orange has also reached out to a few other strategic players including Adani and Greenko, but the dialogue with ReNew is most advanced. The exact structure of the deal is not yet final but chances of Orange merging into ReNew in a part cash part stock deal is likely, said one of the officials involved directly on condition of anonymity as the talks are in private domain. ReNew valued at $2 billion is one of India’s leading green energy company with over 2300 MW of operational wind and solar assets and another 1 GW in the pipeline. Other than Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the company is backed by a clutch of blue chip investors like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Global Environment Fund. Earlier this February, Japan’s JERA Co. Inc– an equal joint venture between their largest utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power Co — bought into the company with a 10% stake for $200 million. Most analysts see this move as an attempt by ReNew to bulk up its portfolio further ahead of its proposed $400-700 million IPO. Mails sent to Tiku, Deepak Mawandia, chief investment officer and director at AT Capital and Sudhir Nunes, CEO or Orange Renewable did not generate a response. Sumant Sinha, chairman and CEO of ReNew and the company’s spokesperson also did not respond to ET’s email query till the time of going to press. “In 2017 so far, the global M&A calendar has been dominated by deals in wind and solar on one hand, and in projects linked to electrified transport and digital energy on the other. The story is similar for India. We can see new investors (Japan’s JERA), as well as atypical financiers (Piramal). There will certainly be more deals announced. It will be interesting to see who will emerge as the Warren Buffett of renewable energy In India.” said Vandana Gombar, Editor, Global Policy Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a Londonbased research firm. Utilities in Europe are building renewable energy projects to sell…For example, ENEL has a build-selloperate (BSO) model. Similar Indian models are yet to emerge.

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DIVERSIFIED INTERESTS Orange founder Tiku has interests in oil and gas, property and renewable energy, held through his private holding outfit, AT Holdings. Tiku left India at age 18 to study mechanical engineering in Russia and worked as a commodities trader before branching out on his own in oil and gas in Kazakhstan. Among other businesses, he owns a minority stake in London-listed Kazakh oil explorer Nostrum Oil & Gas along with steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and Kazakh billionaire Timur Kulibaev, son-in-law of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2010, he and Kulibaev became embroiled in a criminal case linked to the sale of Kazakh oil assets to the Chinese, but a Swiss court cleared them of all charges three years later. Orange’s wind portfolio spans across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, AP, Maharastra, Karnataka and Gujarat. As per the company’s website, the company currently has 567.2 MW of operating wind capacity with over 2250 MW under development in various states across India. It has equity of over $100 million invested in Indian SPVs to implement various wind energy projects. The projects have turnkey contracts with Gamesa and Suzlon. The solar foray has been more recent with a maiden project in Maharastra as of now.

September Part B 2017

BUSINESS & FINANCE

“They have build a sizeable portfolio in the last 2-3 years staying below the radar. For anyone looking to scale up, this could be an interesting platform,” said a London based consultant, who tracks the Indian green energy space. “ReNew is well capitalised. Their last round of funds from

JERA can be used for strategic inorganic opportunities. Between 2011 and now, ReNew Power has raised over $850 million from a variety of investors, including the initial Goldman Sachs investment of $250 million. Additionally, it has also secured long-term $390 million debt funding from ADB and successfully raised another $450 million through a masala green bond. The company doubled power generation capacity in a single year’s time to cross 2000 MW (2 GW). In the financial year 201617, the company has made investments of INR 6700 crore (approximately USD 1 billion) to add 430 MW of solar and 626 MW of wind capacity. In India, which is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China, renewable energy accounts for 17.5%, or 57,260.23MW megawatts (MW), of the

total installed capacity of 326,848.53MW. Electricity generated by coal and gas fuelled projects still accounts for 217,492.26MW or 66.54% of the installed capacity. This year has seen major developments in the country’s renewable energy sector last month: Solar and wind tariffs converged, and fell to below Rs 3.50 per unit in competitive auctions. While solar auctions have been commonplace, India saw the first auction for wind projects in India. Such low tariffs, argue analysts would inevitably lead to a strategic rethink within the government, as well as at companies active in this sector, on the future path for electricity. However, the commercial sustainability of most could become a challenge going forward. In solar, particularly, tariffs have nosedived—50% over the last year, with a 25% drop in the last three months alone—bringing them to a level where they’re cheaper than coal-powered electricity. At Rs2.44 per kilowatthour (kWh), the tariffs are in dangerous territory, Sinha concedes, although his assessment is that the bigger players may be able to take the beating if the projects don’t turn profitable. Source:ET

An analysis of GST impact on Solar Tariff, suggested to this Ministry For the small-scale roof top projects and other projects, where duty exemption was not availed, the impact of GST is almost nil after considering that the developer is implementing through EPC. In case developer directly setup the project, the impact of GST will be 6% increase on the project cost due to varying GST rate applicable for different components. Particulars

Cost Breakup (Rs Lakh / MW)

% of Total

Before GST

After GST

Capital Cost after GST

PV Modules Land cost Civil and General Works Mounting Structures Power Conditioning Unit Evacuation Cost upto Interconnection Point (Cables and Transformers etc) Sub Total- Hard Cost Soft Cost Total

204 25 38 26 26

51% 6% 9.5% 6.5% 6.5%

0% 0% 4% 12.5% 12.5%

5% 0% 5% 5% 5%

214 25 39 24 24

15%

12.5%

379 21 400

5.5% 100.00%

382 21 403

or large scale ground mounted projects, prior to GST, fiscal benefits in the form of exemption of customs and excise duties were available for various components like mounting structures, invertors, transformers, cables etc. Against the exemption certification, no duties were payable on the components other than modules. Solar Modules were exempted for Customs and excise duty by Govt of India. Offset on account of input credit is not available as electricity is under ‘Exempt’ Category. Perceived Impact of GST on the project cost may increase in some cases in the range of 5-10% depending on the Procurement strategy and availability of input credit.

September Part B 2017

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

ADB Sells Dual-Tranche $750 Million 5-Year and $500 Million 10-Year Global Green Bonds to Spur Climate Financing The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised $1.25 billion to help finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects with the issue of dual-tranche 5-year and 10-year green bonds.

roceeds of the green bonds will support lowcarbon and climate resilient projects funded through ADB’s ordinary capital resources and used in its non-concessional operations. In 2015, ADB announced that it would double its annual climate financing to $6 billion by 2020. ADB’s support for climate change will rise to around 30% of its overall financing by the end of this decade. Out of the $6 billion, $4 billion will be dedicated to mitigation through scaling up support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and building smart cities, while $2 billion will be for adaptation through more resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and better preparation for climate-related disasters. The 5-year bond has an issue size of $750 million, a coupon rate of 1.875% per annum payable semi-annually and a maturity date of 10 August 2022. It was priced at 99.531% to yield 16.3 basis points over the 1.875% US Treasury notes

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“ADB is responding to the rapidly growing demand for green bonds with our second dual-tranche outing and our first 5-year green bond offering,” said ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “We have found the dual-pronged approach taken today to be an efficient means of reaching ethical investors active at different segments of the yield curve. This approach means that ADB is reaching an increasing number of investors who understand the importance of the green label.” due July 2022. The 10-year bond has an issue size of $500 million, a coupon rate of 2.375% per annum payable semi-annually and a maturity date of 10 August 2027. It was priced at 99.172% to yield 20.5 basis points over the 2.375% US Treasury notes due May 2027. The transactions were lead-managed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole CIB, and J.P. Morgan. A syndicate group was also formed consisting of Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and TD Securities. Both issues achieved wide primary market distribution with 24% of the 5-year bonds placed in Asia; 29% in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and 47% in the Americas. By investor type, 38% of the bonds went to central banks and official institutions; 31% to banks; and 31% to fund managers. For the 10-year bonds, 13% were placed in Asia; 69% in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and 18% in the Americas. By investor type, 25% of the bonds went to central banks and official institutions; 52% to banks; and 23% to fund managers. ADB plans to raise around $27 billion to $30 billion from the capital markets in 2017.

IDFC Alternatives acquires First Solar’s 190MW assets Alternatives said it acquired 190 MW of solar power assets of First Solar Group across seven projects in India for an undisclosed amount.

IDFC Alternatives’ India Infrastructure Fund II (IIF II), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Vector Green Energy, entered into definitive agreements with First Solar Power India, First Solar FE Holdings and their affiliates for the complete acquisition of seven operating solar projects owned and operated by the First Solar Group,” the company said in a statement.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed. First Solar is currently operating seven projects in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana aggregating to a capacity of 190 MW. “Consistent with its stated strategy of aggregating operating renewable assets, the IIF II is well on its way to achieving an installed base of 400450 MW of operating renewable assets by the end of the current financial year,” IDFC Alternatives Partner Aditya Aggarwal said. Commenting on the deal, First Solar India Country Head Sujoy Ghosh said, “This is an important milestone for our company’s development activities in the country. “We are able to demonstrate the ability to recycle capital, by creating a portfolio of de-risked assets that demonstrate predictable and reliable cash flows and thereby create value for sophisticated financial investors like IDFC Alternatives.

September Part B 2017

Policy & Regulations

GOA

Solar Power Policy 2017

olar energy is the most secure of all energy sources. It is abundantly available. It can be easily converted into electrical energy. Production of electrical power and its easy availability at regulated rates is an established benchmark of development. No major economic activity can be sustained without adequate and reliable sources of power. The challenges of Climate Change and Global Warming resulting from burning of fossil fuels are continuously threatening the world community. Solar Power generation offer an environmentally safe and sustainable alternative. Goa is richly endowed with moderate climate and bright sunshine for almost 8-9 months in a year for generating solar power. The State of Goa entirely depends on thermal energy generated in other States. Goa being eco-sensitive, no Thermal Energy generation is possible in the State. Hence in order to attain self-reliance in Power generation and to promote clean source of Power, Solar Policy is being adopted. This would result in reduction of carbon emissions. The challenge before the State Government is not only to meet the ever growing demand for power but also to progressively increase the share of Renewable Sources in the energy - mixso as to achieve overall energy security and

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September Part B 2017

also to meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) as per the target fixed by appropriate authorities from time to time. It can be done by promoting the systematic tapping of the solar energy potential to the maximum. Technologicalimprovements have now made generation of solar energy economically viable and would lead to reduction of expenditure of the State in purchase of Conventional Power from the Grid.

An appropriate policy framework is therefore essential to promote the Solar Energy generation initiatives. Therefore, the State Government is pleased to introduce the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Solar Policy -2017â&#x20AC;?, as under:

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Policy & Regulations

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY: Several provisions under the Electricity Act, 2003 mandates the Electricity Regulatory Commissions and the Government’s to take the necessary steps for promotion of renewable energy. The Section 108 and Section 109 of the Electricity act 2003 mandates the Government to give directions to the State Commission in the matter of policy involving public interest. Accordingly, the state Government in exercise of its powers has formulated this Policy.

OPERATIVE PERIOD: This policy shall come into effect from the date of notification in the official gazette in the state of Goa and shall remain in operation up to 7 (seven) years. However, this is subject to modifications as may be made by Government of Goa from time to time, without jeoparding the already signed Agreement or MOU. Even though, the policy will be in operation for 7 years, however all Agreements and PPAs signed shall be valid for the period of Agreement / PPA.

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CATEGORY FOR GENERATING SOLAR POWER (5.1) Category I: Prosumer

“Prosumer” is a Consumer having an already connected load with the Goa Electricity Department (GED) and is also a Producer of Solar Power. Prosumer is categorised into two types namely Small and Large. a) Small Prosumer is a person already having an LT connection i.e. connected load upto 100kW with GED. It will include Residential, Commercial, Institutional or Industrial consumers. They are allowed to go for Gross metering upto 100kW or the connected load, whichever is lower. The feed in tariff will be as per the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) approved solar tariff rates for that year. 4 The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based within the same premises. However, the Small Prosumer is also allowed to opt for Net metering, if he chooses so. b) Large Prosumer is a person having an HT connection i.e. connected load of minimum 100 kW & maximum 2000kW with GED. It will include Residential, Commercial, Institutional or Industrial consumers. All large prosumer upto maximum load of 2000kW shall be allowed to go for Net metering only. The feed in tariff will be as per JERC approved solar tariff rates for the surplus energy exported as per the net metering mechanism of JERC. The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based within the same premises.

(5.2) Category II : Producer The Producer is an entity intending to set up a Solar Power plant with a capacity of more than 100kW exclusively for sale of power to the Distribution Licensee under gross metering as per the tariff discovered by Reverse Bidding. The solar power plant can be installed on rooftop or ground based. Producers are allowed to participate in reverse bidding for four sizes of installation i.e. i) 100kW to 1MW, ii) 1MW to 5MW, iii) 5MW to 10MW and iv) 10MW & above. The producer will be selected through Reverse Bidding on the basis of the maximum discount offered on the levillised tariff fixed by the JERC for the solar power plant for that year. At the above discovered price of Solar tariff for that slab/size, the GED will enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with all intending producers subject to availability of infrastructure for evacuation of power.

September Part B 2017

Policy & Regulations

I. Norms / Conditions Applicable for Reverse Bidding In order to keep away speculative bidding and to ensure participation of only serious power producers, following conditions for bidding shall apply :i. Price : Price for supply of solar power shall be as per the discount offered on the levellised tariff rate as declared by 5 JERC and duly notified as on the last date of responding to the Expression of Interest (EOI)/bidding. ii. Eligibility : Besides other General Condition of EOI/bidding,only those who have firm proof of land in their ownership or NOC/confirmation from the owner of the land regarding his intention to lease out the land to the bidder (in case of bidder being successful in the bid) for a period equal to or more of the period of PPA shall be considered. iii. The term for starting of supply from completion of bidding process & execution PPA shall be as mentioned at point no. 12 of this policy. iv. The solar capacity to be approved for each year for all the 04 slabs as mentioned above at para 5.2 shall be separately notified by the Government at the time of bidding. The lowest bidder in each slab shall have the right to go for PPA for the whole capacity allocated to that slab. In case he desires to restrict to only his quoted capacity in the bid, then other bidders in that slab will be given the option to match the L1 rate. In case they agree for the same, then PPA at L1 rate upto allocated capacity of that slab will be entered with them. In case there are more bidders than the allocated capacity in that slab, then priority will be given in terms of next lowest bidder and so on i.e. from L1 to L2 to L3 and so on till the whole capacity in the slab is exhausted. In case even fter signing of PPA with all bidders in that slab, the capacity is still left, then only non-bidders will be given the option to enter into PPA at L1 rate at the discretion of the Government.

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September Part B 2017

V. PERMISSIBLE DELAYS AND PENALTY THEREOF :a) Any delay though condoned, shall not increase the period of PPA. Thus while delay could be permitted to the extent permissible on pay ment of penalty, the total time frame of PPA shall remain unaltered. b) Maximum delay permissible to start the supply shall be 12 months. However, the State Government at its 6 discretion may permit further delay of upto 12 months on payment of twice the penalty levied for the 1st delay permitted. Provided that inspite of delays of first 12 months as permitted and subsequent iscretionary delay, if permitted by Government of Goa, do not result in supply, then the PPA stands null & void and all Bank Guarantees shall be encashed. c) The supplier shall give notice of his intention of supply three months prior to date as scheduled in PPA. Failure to give this notice will automatically be considered as delay until the notice is received for 90 days for intention to begin supply. Delay accordingly will be calculated in days and penalty will be imposed as per rules. d) For supply to be considered as valid supply, atleast 50% of power as per PPA (averaged over the month) should be made available. Failure will be treated as breach of contract & one month supply value equivalent BG will be encashed or penalty imposed. e) Upto 10% lower supply quantum will not attract penalty. Anything above 10% & upto 50% will be levied penalty at 5% of value of supply that is missing above the 10% threshold (on monthly average). f) For delay upto 12 months, the bidders shall pay penalty equal to 5% of alue of energy committed for every day of delay. For delay upto next 12 months (if approved by Government), the penalty will be at twice the rate as already mentioned at point (b) above. g) The bidder will have to provide 6 BGs each equivalent to 30 days supply for the capacity of the plant size he has quoted based on his own expectation of generation. The bidder shall clearly mention the size of the plant he plans to install and the minimum average units per KW per month that he commits to be generated from the same. This will be the basis for calculation of his value of BGs and penalties, if any, in case of default. h) PPA shall not take into consideration the rainy season wherein supply as available will be considered for payment and above clauses a) to g) shall not be applicable. The start of rainy season shall be date of onset of monsoon as declared by Meteorology or the day in June when seasons rains cross 25cms whichever is early & will last for purpose of this PPA for 60 days from that date. i) The BGs submitted shall be valid for atleast 02 years and then shall renewed atleast 15 days in advance before the expiry every time, till the eriod of PPA. j) Both the penalties i.e. for delay in supply or for short supply, shall be levied simultaneously if there is a default on both the accounts. However, in case one month BG is encashed in any month because of short supply, then no other penalty in that month shall be imposed to save the bidder from double whammy.

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Policy & Regulations LAND

PRODUCER SHOULD IDENTIFY SUITABLE ROOFTOP OR PRIVATE LAND FOR ATLEAST 25 YEARS FOR THEIR PROJECTS WITHIN THE STATE OF GOA. a) To generate solar power, conversion of land is not needed. b) 2% of the total area can be used for construction, operation and Office set up subject to a maximum of 200 Sq. mtrs./per facility. c) No Town & Country Planning T&CP) permission will be required for setting up of solar farm including construction for operational space as mentioned at (b) above. d) For the rooftop installation of 100kW and above, the building structure needs stability certificate from PWD/Chartered Engineers. Apart from structural stability certification, nothing else is required. e) No Gram Panchayat/Urban Local body/T&CP Department Construction licence/NOC/Completion certificate will be required. f) For a Communidade Land, 1% of the land value as determined at the circle rates calculated by taking into account the status of land (Agriculture/Orchid,etc.) will be payable as rent per annum [This is fixed to avoid speculation]. g) Separate Policy will be formulated for fixing rate for allotment of the Government Land.

GRID CONNECTIVITY, SAFETY AND BILLING CYCLE

he cumulative solar capacity allowed at a particular Distribution Transformer (DT) shall not exceed the 30% of the peak capacity of the DT. GED will undertake power cable connectivity and charge it to the installer with due installation charges. The Billing cycle for large prosumers will be monthly and the settlement period will be six months basis. However for the educational institutions, it will be annual from April onwards. The billing cycle for small prosumers and for producers shall be on monthly basis and their settlement will be within next 30 days.

SUBSIDY/INCENTIVES: a)

The Subsidy received from the Government of India will be credited to the prosumer/developer as per the guidelines of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). b) For Small Prosumers i.e. for solar plants of upto 100kW size, the State Government shall grant 50 % of the Capital Cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE whichever is lower, as interest free loan, which will be recovered in instalments after six months onwards, from the time power flows into grid. The recovery will be made from the payment to be made to the generator for every kWh supplied to the grid. The recovery will be at Rs.4 per kWh or JERC feed in tariff rate whichever is lower. c) The State Government shall provide a subsidy of 30% of capital cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE, whichever is lower, for plants of size upto 100kW for the standalone systems including the cost of battery (Off-grid Systems) which will be released by way of Rupee 1 for every unit of power generated and will be paid once in six months. A sealed tested Energy meter form GED is required to be installed at the generation side to measure the solar power generation. No payment shall be made to such producer under Net/Gross metering to avoid possibility of Double benefit. d) For Small Generators, the meters will be rented out on payment of monthly fees. In case of Large Generators, the meters shall be procured at their cost.

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For all the grid connected and battery backup stand-alone installations, all the instrumentation, operating unit specifications and safety norms will as per the guidelines of JERC and MNRE but State specific. These will be specified, reinforced and checked periodically by GED.

ADMINISTRATIVE MODALITIES

very Prosumer and Producer in the state will have to enter in PPA with the GED for the period of 25 years and the tariff will remain fixed for the period and required to submit account of the power generated annually before year end. The disputes related to the power sale to GED will have to be settled through the empowered committee constituted by the State as notified. The Prosumer shall have the right to terminate the PPA at any time by serving a written notice of 60 days in advance to the GED. All the Solar/RE power projects will have to be initiated through GEDA, the MNRE nodal agency which will serve as single window dealing with projects.

September Part B 2017

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Policy & Regulations

ROLL OF STATE NODAL AGENCY GEDA a) Announcement of Scheme : The Nodal Agency shall bring out a comprehensive scheme to implement the targets of Renewable Energy (RE). The scheme should elaborate the appropriate process for invitation of bids/applications, incentives and central financial assistance, if any, targets, implementation mechanisms etc. b) Allotment of the Solar Power Capacities : The Nodal Agency shall, from time to time, undertake the process for allotment of solar power capacities to the project developers. The Nodal Agency in consultation with the related stakeholders shall announce the process for allotment of solar power capacities.

c) Facilitation in Development of Solar Power Plant : The Nodal Agency shall, facilitate the project developers in Setting up of solar projects including sanctions/clearances from number of Government agencies/departments. The State Government will provide requisite clearances through a “Single Window Clearance Mechanism”. It will be operated through GEDA. d) Identification of Government Land and Facilitation of its allotment for Solar Power Plant Development : The Nodal Agency shall identify government land and shall coordinate with the Government departments, prepare transparent procedure, take necessary approvals and clearances for the allotment of Government Land to the project developers for the development of power plant. e) Support in availing the Subsidy : The Nodal Agency shall facilitate the prosumer/producer to avail the subsidy, if any, available from Central and/or State Government. f) Capacity Building & Awareness : The Nodal Agency shall organize Capacity Building & Training Sessions for participation by the segment stakeholders. The Nodal Agency shall also take necessary steps in creating awareness among the citizens of the State. g) Coordination with MNRE for Technical Specification : The State shall follow the technical specifications and standards as specified by the MNRE, from time to time. The Nodal Agency shall provide its inputs to the MNRE for specifying new standards or amending existing technical specifications for different component of solar plant photovoltaic.

ROLE OF DEPARTEMENT OF ELECTRICITY, GOA

he Department of Electricity, Goa State also referred as GED shall extend their support and guidance to the eligible entities installing solar power plant and their connectivity with their electricity system. The Dept. shall comply with the regulatory framework specified by JERC and provisions contained in this policy only if they are not contradicting the JERC regulations. Its role includes: a) To provide banking facility for solar energy, incentives in the form of exclusion from open access charges, wheeling charges, T & D loss for solar power. b) To conduct feasibility study for evacuation facility and connectivity with the local grid facility. c) The voltage of evacuation of electricity generated, from the solar power plant shall be governed by the directions of the JERC. The evacuation infrastructure for the solar power plant wherever necessary shall be developed and augmented, by the Department of Electricity as per the JERC regulations in force. d) Electricity Department will conduct supervision, safety check and extend technical support to Developers wherever the evacuation line is laid from site of power production to the nearest grid connectivity point as per the JERC regulations in force.

September Part B 2017

TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT

or solar projects beyond 100kW capacity proposed under Reverse Bidding, the time schedule of completion will be from the date of approval by the GED is as follows: Plant Capacity Time Schedule 100kW - 1MW

240 Days

1MW – & above

1Year

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energy storage

Siemens and AES Join Forces to Create Fluence, a New Global Energy Storage Technology Company

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iemens AG (“Siemens”) and The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES, “AES”) announced today their agreement to form a new global energy storage technology and services company under the name Fluence. The joint venture will bring together AES’ ten years of industry-defining experience deploying energy storage in seven countries with over a century of Siemens’ energy technology leadership and its global sales presence in more than 160 countries. Combining the proven

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AES Advancion and Siemens Siestorage energy storage platforms with expanded services, Fluence will offer customers a wider variety of options to meet the challenges of a rapidly transforming energy landscape. The company will empower customers around the world to better navigate the fragmented but rapidly growing energy storage sector and meet their pressing needs for scalable, flexible, and cost-competitive energy storage solutions.

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energy storage Siemens and AES will have joint control of the company with each holding a 50 percent stake. Fluence’s global headquarters will be located in the Washington, DC area with additional offices located in Erlangen, Germany and select cities worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2017, subject to regulatory and other approvals. Fluence will operate independently of its parent companies, combining the robust capabilities and expertise from Siemens’ battery-based

energy storage solutions group under the Energy Management division with AES’ subsidiary, AES Energy Storage. AES and Siemens are currently ranked among the leading energy storage integrators worldwide by Navigant Research. Together, the two companies have deployed or have been awarded 48 projects totaling 463 MW of battery-based energy storage across 13 countries, including the world’s largest lithium-ion battery-based energy storage project near San Diego, California.

“As the energy storage market expands, customers face the challenge of finding a trusted technology partner with an appropriate portfolio and a profound knowledge of the power sector. Fluence will fill this major gap in the market. With the global reach of an experienced international sales force as well as Siemens’ leading technology platform Siestorage at its disposal, Fluence will be perfectly equipped to serve this very interesting market,” said Ralf Christian, CEO of Siemens’ Energy Management Division. Siemens and AES will have joint control of the company with each holding a 50 percent stake. Fluence’s global headquarters will be located in the Washington, DC area with additional offices located in Erlangen, Germany and select cities worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2017, subject to regulatory and other approvals. Fluence will operate independently of its parent companies, combining the robust capabilities and expertise from Siemens’ battery-based

The grid-connected energy storage sector is expected to expand from a total installed capacity of three gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2016 to 28 GW by 2022 according to IHS Markit, which is equivalent to the power used by 18.6 million households. By incorporating energy storage across the electric power network, utilities and communities around the world will optimize their infrastructure investments, increase network flexibility and resiliency, and accelerate cost-effective integration of renewable electricity generation.

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“Over the past ten years, AES has become a global leader in utility-scale, battery-based energy storage. Today AES’ Advancion platform is present in seven countries with more than 200 MW of energy storage deployed, including the largest installed system of its kind in the world,” said Andrés Gluski, AES President and CEO. “Partnering with Siemens to form Fluence will offer both large and small customers the full gamut of proven, state-of-the-art energy storage solutions in over 160 countries. This will accelerate the integration of renewables into the energy network of tomorrow.”

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energy storage The AES Advancion and Siemens Siestorage technology platforms each support a multitude of energy storage applications, together representing an industry-leading suite of choices for customers. Siemens brings its experience in microgrid and islanding applications, renewable hybrid technology, black-start capability, and consumer peak shaving, building on its intimate knowledge of customer power needs as a leading global original equipment manufacturer (OEM). AES brings its deep expertise in utility-scale battery-based energy storage solutions for flexible peaking capacity, ancillary services such as frequency regulation, transmission and distribution reliability, and renewable integration applications dating back a decade and representing several of the largest energy storage installations in the world.

Siemens Safe Harbor Disclosure This document contains statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Siemens that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “look forward to,” “anticipate” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “will,” “project” or words of similar meaning.

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ISRO’s battery technology may soon power India’s e-vehicle dream The central government’s ambitious electric vehicles project will take off soon as the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has approved commercial use of lithium-ion battery technology. The glitch is companies will be required to pay Rs 1 crore for the technology to Isro for every e-vehicle.

Commercialisation of ISRO’s technology could save 10-15 per cent of the cost of e-vehicles. Some experts are of the view that the electric vehicle technology is still in the development stage and the cost is substantially higher. Besides, the ecosystem for e-vehicles is not yet ready. “Charging stations are not in place, the cost of the battery itself is high. There are affordability and durability issues,” an expert said.

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energy storage

At present, the cost of buses used by state transport undertakings varies from Rs 18 lakh to Rs 45 lakh. Luxury buses like Volvos cost between Rs 18 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

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challenge is customer scepticism about the workability of electric vehicles. Officials said it was important to weigh the economic consequences of the deployment of electric vehicles on a large scale. Concerns include the difference in the cost of an ordinary automobile and an e-vehicle. The cost of an ordinary electric bus is approximately Rs 1.5 crore if procurement volumes are assured as against the Rs 20-50 lakh cost of diesel buses.

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energy storage

nother concern is the flammability of the lithium-ion battery. In view of weather conditions, this is a technological challenge and cooling the battery will raise operational costs.

lectric vehicles, in view of their cost, will justify deployment only as public transport buses, taxis and three-wheelers. “Creating demand for e-vehicles is important. Get private investors in through some incentives,” the expert said. Isro and BHEL have tied up to help develop low-cost lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

esla founder Elon Musk had in 2015 said the company might set up a factory in India to make lithium-ion batteries. “Given the high local demand, a factory in India would probably make sense in the long-term,”

lithium-ion battery factory will bring down prices and increase mass adoption, crucial for storage of renewable energy generated through solar or wind power. Though the company also announced it would set up an electric car unit, not much has happened in this connection.

Sungrow Supplies Energy Storage System to the Bahamas Sungrow, the global leading PV inverter system solution supplier, has announced to have provided the entire energy storage system, including an UL certified SC250KU storage inverter, for a commercial and Industrial (C&I) PV plus storage project in the Bahamas.

ighly integrated 500kWh energy storage system, which is customized for the North American C&I market and consists of a 250kW storage inverter and 500kWh of lithium ion batteries, will efficiently improve the local energy mix. The system is best characterized by the separate design of inverter and battery which enables flexible installations and saves cost for installation and O&M. Its battery section is equipped with air conditioner and automatic fire fighting system. Based on customers’ varied needs like load-shifting, peak-shaving, and micro-grid, the system can be configured with different battery capacities rated at 2H, 4H, etc.

Source : business-standard

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energy storage

The storage inverter SC250KU, which has recently received the UL compliance certification, is also a customized product for the North American market. It features a high efficiency, wide voltage range, and the virtual Synchronous generator (VSG) function. This inverter, when connected with the Li-ion batteries supplied by Sungrow-Samsung SDI joint venture, can be applied for large C&I and microgrid projects.

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“Sungrow has been focused on the renewable energy industry for over 20 years. Targeted the residential, C&I, and utility storage market, we’ve developed storage inverters rated in a wide power range, including the SC1000HV (high voltage), the SC1000KU, SC500KU, and the SC250KU, along with Li-ion batteries with different C-rate from 0.3 to 3C, in order to meet the needs of load shifting, micro-grid, and frequency regulation. Our cutting-edge energy storage equipment and system solutions are applied in over 500 projects around the world by June 2017, totaling 1.3GWh. We’ll keep on developing products and solutions that are more efficient, more flexible, and more reliable, in order to better service people who are in need of green energy,” said Prof. Renxian Cao,

President of Sungrow.

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energy storage

Tabuchi America’s Next Generation Solar-plus-Storage System Debuts with UL 9540 Certication for Safety and Reliability Tabuchi America, the world’s leading residential hybrid solar-plus-storage manufacturer, announced today the launch of its Next Generation EcoIntelligent Battery System (EIBS).

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“As interest in energy storage grows in the residential sector, attention to safety regulations is more important than ever, not just to protect the safety of people and property, but also to expedite the permitting process,” said Harumi

McClure, COO and President of Tabuchi America. “We’re pleased to receive the cUL

9540 certification compliance on our highlyefficient Next Generation EIBS. The system is designed for adaptability and ease of installation with a direct current (DC) coupled battery. This maximizes the amount of solar energy utilized by the system and safely provides solar power to the grid, and to residential customers during power outages.”

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energy storage

he all-in-one system is compliant with the CUL 9540 certification requirements, which provides third-party validation of safety, reliability and efficient energy management for hybrid solar-plusstorage systems. Tabuchi’s grid-friendly system includes a high efficiency inverter, stackable batteries and integration with GELI software for the most adaptable battery storage system on the market. While there are many efforts to develop and apply safety standards for the rapidly evolving energy storage industry, the cUL 9540 certification compliance is limited to a relatively small number of energy storage manufacturers. The standard certifies Tabuchi’s Next Generation EIBS as a home energy storage system that interacts safely with the cUL 1741 requirements certified hybrid inverter.

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Consumers get more out their system because both the battery’s bi-directional converter and the solar inverter are DC-coupled. This allows the energy generated by the solar panels to directly charge the batteries without first converting to alternating current (AC) like most storage systems. This leads to higher system efficiency through one fewer DC-AC inversion. The modular stackable battery system is key for customers with larger homes, as well as those who are looking to utilize the system for backup power. The increased storage capacity can help customers keep the critical electrical loads operational longer during a blackout. It also lowers their energy bills by reducing the amount of electricity purchased from the grid during peak hours when prices are highest and/or when utilities levy additional charges. Added surge capability enables the EIBS system to power motor-driven loads such as water pumps, which have a higher starting load, allowing greater integration within the home.

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SOLAR Tracker

NEXTracker Announces True Capture, a Revolutionary Intelligent Control System for Solar Power Plants

NEXTracker™, a Flex company, launched TrueCapture™, a first-ofits-kind intelligent, self-adjusting tracker control system for solar power plants. TrueCapture’s technology continuously refines the tracking algorithm of each individual solar array in response to existing site and weather conditions. Typically delivering 2-6 percent energy gains, TrueCapture enables system owners and developers to maximize solar system performance and enhance profits for solar power facilities.

TrueCapture is our biggest innovation since we introduced independent row, self-powered tracking,” said Dan Shugar, CEO at NEXTracker. “For the first time, advanced machine learning is being applied to unlock the true potential of power plant performance. We are taking a technology that has been around for over two decades and infusing it with intelligence to meet the needs of a new data-driven world.”

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SOLAR Tracker

olar power plants suffer energy production losses from construction variability, terrain undulation and changing weather. TrueCapture is the first tracker solution to simultaneously solve these factors, leveraging forecast-based tracking behavior algorithms for clouds, fog or haze and row-to-row (R2R) hybrid closed-loop selflearning that course corrects the panel direction to minimize production loss due to shading and clouds. Wireless self-powered controllers on the tracker sync with the smart panels and the NEXTracker SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, connected through Flex’s IoT platform, a secure, NERC-CIP compliant, industrial-strength connected intelligence platform. From the Flex IoT platform, communication is continually dispatched to control each independent row.

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”If any company can incorporate as-built site conditions and machine learning into its system design, it’s NEXTracker,” stated Clenera CEO Jason Ellsworth. “The Company continues to push our industry forward with new ways to improve system performance.”

Backtracking, first introduced in 1991, offered a significant improvement in PV plant energy yield. It was optimized for flat arrays and low diffuse conditions. TrueCapture advances these yield gains by incorporating individual row tracking for real world conditions that have hilly terrain and partly cloudy or fully diffuse conditions. With TrueCapture, proprietary smart panel sensors provide real-time shading information on each tracker row. The data is integrated with design parameters and processed by machine-learning software to build a virtual 3D model of the job site. An intelligent control engine combines the model with the latest meteorological forecast data to calculate and send updated and optimized tracking commands to every independent row. As a result, energy production gets a significant boost. With more production, solar power plants are worth more, adding value for project developers and the long-term owners who will typically operate a facility for up to 30 years.

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