Saurenergy International Magazine April Issue 2021

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April 2021 | `200

DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 | VOL. 5 | ISSUE 08 | TOTAL PAGES 64 | PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

EMERGING OPPORTUNITY-SOLAR O&M With an ever growing base of solar installations, the solar O&M market could be the next big opportunity in solar

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL VOL 5 | ISSUE 08

GROUP EDITOR

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

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From the

Group Editor SAUR ENERGY

DIRECTOR

Prateek Kapoor prateek@meilleurmedia.com

EDITOR

Manas Nandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

STAFF WRITER

Ayush Verma editorial@meilleurmedia.com

MANAGER - MEDIA SOLUTION Girish Mishra girish.mishra@meilleurmedia.com

DESIGN HEAD Sandeep Kumar

WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Jitender Kumar

WEB PRODUCTION Balvinder Singh

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Kuldeep Gusain subscription@meilleurmedia.com Saur Energy International is printed, published, edited and owned by Manas Nandi and published from 303, 2nd floor, Neelkanth Palace, Plot No- 190, Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, New Delhi- 110065 (INDIA), Printed at Pearl Printers, C-105, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi.

DISCLAIMER: Editor, Publisher, Printer and Owner make every effort to ensure high quality and accuracy of the content published. However he cannot accept any responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor and publisher. The information in the content and advertisement published in the magazine are just for reference of the readers. However, readers are cautioned to make inquiries and take their decision on purchase or investment after consulting experts on the subject. Saur Energy International holds no responsibility for any decision taken by readers on the basis of the information provided herein. Any unauthorised reproduction of Saur Energy International magazine content is strictly forbidden. Subject to Delhi Jurisdiction.

The Good , The Bad, and The Ugly Let’s start with the good news. Better sense seems to have finally prevailed, and it looks like the MNRE might yet increase the limit on net metering to 500 KW, from the shocking 10 KW limit it had proposed.

That, while not a return back to the 1 MW limit that existed earlier, is a welcome move to respond to industry feedback, and should cover a vast majority of the proposed projects at rooftop and smaller plant scale.

The bad news is the sudden rise in imported module prices, which seems to have caught many developers unawares, and could create a serious issue for projects that are to be completed in the next 12 months. With the time to order nearer than ever before the April 1, 2022 deadline for customs duty nears, these large developers will face some tough choices.

In our cover story this month, we have looked at Solar Operations and Maintainance(O&M), a category that is set to come into its own, now that there are enough projects getting close to the 5 year old mark, besides a growing pipeline of new projects . Many players see an opportunity to differentiate here , and it should be interesting to see how the market develops.

And no, I haven’t forgotten the ugly. That, as you might have guessed it, is the second wave of Covid that has ravaged our healthcare systems again. It’s a good time for industries to go back to all the claims they made about a safe working environment yet again, and do what it takes to protect their employees and worker partners. Bearing the cost of vaccinations is one easy step that everyone in the sector should strive to take. Stay safe.

PRASANNA SINGH

Group Editor

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CONTENTS VOL. 05, ISSUE-08

A P R I L 2021

S AU R E N E R GY . C O M

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Policy and Legal

PLI Scheme for Solar Manufacturing Finally Gets Cabinet Approval

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Feature

Solis Backs The Rise Of Storage, With Special Hybrid Inverters

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Grid and Transmission

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Column

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Report

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Hydrogen

30

Storage

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Module

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Finance

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Special

Electricity Market at IEX Records All-time High Volume of 8248.52 MU in March 2021

World Adds Record new Renewable Energy Capacity in 2020: IRENA

IIT Hyderabad Develops an Alternative for Typical Lithium-ion Batteries

ReNew Power Successfully Prices USD 585 Million of Green Bonds

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As Solar Pumps Take Centre Stage In Agriculture, Solar Controllers Matter

India H2 Alliance Formed With Focus on Hydrogen in the Energy Transition

Borosil Renewables to Invest Rs 500 Cr to Double Solar Glass Manufacturing

Solar Country Rankings. The top 5 in Past 5 Years, the Next 5 Years

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COVER STORY 26

Solar’s O&M Opportunity A Business With Serious Numbers, Finally.

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61 A PRIL 20 21

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PLI Scheme for Solar Manufacturing Finally Gets Cabinet Approval

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et another piece in India’s solar manufacturing ambitions fell into place today with the union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approving the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy’s proposal for the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme ‘National Programme on High-Efficiency Solar PV (Photo Voltic) Modules’ for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in high-efficiency solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs.4,500 crore.

Solar capacity addition presently depends largely upon imported solar PV cells and modules as the domestic manufacturing industry has limited operational capacities of solar PV cells and modules. The National Programme on High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules will reduce import dependence in a strategic sector like electricity. It will also support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Solar PV manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process. PLI will be disbursed for 5 years post commissioning of solar PV manufacturing plants, on sales of highefficiency solar PV modules. Manufacturers will be rewarded for higher efficiencies of

solar PV modules and also for sourcing their material from the domestic market.

Thus, the PLI amount will increase with increased module efficiency and increased local value addition.

The outcomes/ benefits expected from the scheme are as follows: 1. Additional 10,000 MW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants, 2. Direct investment of around Rs.17,200 crore in solar PV manufacturing projects 3. D emand of Rs.17,500 crore over 5 years for ‘Balance of Materials’, 4. Direct employment of about 30,000 and Indirect employment of about 1,20,000 persons, 5. Import substitution of around Rs.17,500 crore every year, and

6. I mpetus to Research & Development to achieve higher efficiency in solar PV modules.

The cabinet approval and new details will be welcomed by manufacturers both existing and aspiring, looking to take the help of the scheme incentives to scale up.

The focus on efficiency is also welcome, as the country desperately needs to break out of the low-cost low-quality loop many parts of solar manufacturing, especially that in the MSME sector, is stuck in.

With a high target of solar additions, one has to be optimistic that the scheme will finally nudge solar manufacturing in the country on a fresh growth path. Till the announcement of this scheme, firms had announced plans for almost 15 GW of manufacturing in India, mostly in the form of fresh green field capacity and some expansions.

A key challenge that has come up is the need for backward integration to ingot and polysilicon wafer production levels, as those critical inputs in the value chain are even more strongly dominated by Chinabased firms. Thus, the risk of an ‘export duty’ on those cannot be discounted, even as India builds fresh cell and module manufacturing capacity.

At ₹3.85, CERC Approves 7% Hike in APPC for Open Access Solar in 2020-21

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n its order notified last week, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has set the national Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) for open access at ₹3.85/ kWh. This implies that for wind or solar generators that are regional entities and selling power under open access, which is not accounted for RPO compliance of obligated entities, and for captive power plants where PPAs do not exist, settlement shall be done at APPC determined at the national level.

It is part of CERC’s remit to determine the APPC for settlement of charges at national

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level.

The APPC would be applicable during the financial year (FY) 2021-22 or until further orders for deviation settlement regarding open access and captive wind and solar generators fulfilling regional entities’ requirements.

The APPC is usually determined by computing the average APPC of all states and union territories, weighted by the conventional power purchased by the respective states and union territories. It is usually a point of contention with many states still not really welcoming it as it should be.

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APPC excludes the cost of generation or procurement from renewable energy sources and transmission charges, as it is supposed to be derived from the cost from conventional power sources. Ever since the commission first notified the APPC for 2015-16 at Rs 3.48, the cost has seen a stead increase in subsequent years, to arrive at the current rate of Rs 3.85. Which seems to be broadly in line with inflation rates too.

In arriving at its order, the commission rejected the suggestion from Power Company of Karnataka Limited (PCKL), which had requested it to

consider determination of National APPC based on actual costs instead of approved cost of power purchase. PCKL has also requested to consider tariff obtained through competitive bidding in respect of wind and solar power projects or rate determined under generic tariff

by CERC whichever is lower. This would have led to a lower cost, but possibly impacted prospects for developers in the open access market too.

Most other suggestions were about updating relevant data for individual states, which the CERC duly incorporatedin its calculations.

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Maximum 6 Months Extension for RE Projects in Exceptional Cases: MNRE

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he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has offered further clarification on the issue of award of time extension for the commissioning of under-development renewable energy (RE) projects in the country on account of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown in the country last year.

Via its order issued on August 13, 2020, the ministry had provided a blanket extension for all RE projects on account of COVID-19 for a period of 5 months. In this order, the MNRE had issued directions to treat lockdown due to COVID-19, as Force Majeure. It was also instructed that all RE projects under implementation as on the date of lockdown, i.e. 25th March 2020, through RE Implementing Agencies designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of the MNRE, shall be given a time extension of 5 months from 25th March 2020 to 24th August 2020.

This blanket extension, if invoked by the

RE developers, was given without case-tocase examination and no documents/ evidence was to be asked for such extension. Then in February 2021, after receiving requests for further extension beyond 5 months on account of COVID-19, the ministry had issued an order stating that renewable energy projects under implementation as on the date of lockdown, i.e. March 25, 2020, through RE Implementing Agencies designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of the ministry can seek to get a further extension beyond 5 months if granted by the

implementing agencies in exceptional cases. It was clarified that the extension for the projects will be granted by the implementing agencies after due diligence and careful consideration of the specific circumstances of the case, and if allowed in terms of the provisions of the relevant contract.

Now, the ministry has further clarified that the total extension provided by implementing agencies on account of COVID-19 should in no case be more than 6 months including the 5 months blanket extension given by this Ministry in August 2020.

Furthermore, in case an implementing agency feels that there is a requirement to give an extension beyond 6 months, it shall make a reference for consideration to the MNRE with due justification and supporting documents. No such extension shall be granted by the implementing agencies on their own.

India and US Agree to Revamp Energy Partnership, Shift Focus to Clean Energy

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ndia and the United States have agreed to revamp their strategic energy partnership with a greater focus on cleaner energy sectors, an official statement said. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Has held an “introductory meeting” with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. The two leaders reviewed the India-US Strategic Energy Cooperation (SEP).

It has been reported that the two nations will intensify efforts to take advantage of advanced US technologies and India’s rapidly growing energy market, the statement said.

“Both leaders agreed to revamp the India-US SEP to reflect the new priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden with focus

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on promoting clean energy with low-carbon pathways and accelerating green energy cooperation,” it added.

They agreed to prioritise greater collaboration in the cleaner energy sectors of biofuels, CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), hydrogen production and carbon sequestration through technology exchange, joint R&D through Partnership to Advance

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Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), among other initiatives. “Both sides agreed to convene the third meeting of a revamped India-US Strategic Energy Partnership at an early date,” the statement said. “They decided to intensify the efforts to take advantage of the complementarities of both the countries – advanced US technologies and rapidly growing India’s energy market,

for a win-win situation through a cleaner energy route with low carbon pathways.”

Recently, after a five-day tour of India, Britain’s Minister of State for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad has said that UK and India are working to expand research and collaboration links to tackle climate change.

Speaking on this two-nation partnership, Ahmad stated, “India has quadrupled wind and solar capacity in the last decade and committed to net-zero emissions in the Indian Railways by 2030. I saw firsthand how we can work even more closely together on tackling climate action by sharing our solutions and expertise. Deepening UK-India collaboration will be crucial to building up to a successful outcome at COP26.”

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DGTR Initiates Anti-Dumping Investigation on Fluoro Backsheets for PV Modules

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he Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has notified that upon successful application by Renewsys India, it has initiated an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping of Fluoro Backsheets used in the manufacturing of solar PV modules originating in or exported from China PR. Upon completion of the investigation, the DGTR will decide/ recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which is levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic injury.

Product Under Consideration

The product under consideration in the present application is “Fluoro Backsheet” which is a polymer-based component used in the manufacturing of solar PV modules. It is manufactured using a lamination process where one or more sheets are laminated/ coated using solvent or extrusion lamination and/or liquid coating technology. Currently, there are mainly two types of backsheet in the market, Fluoro and non-Fluoro.

Backsheet is used to manufacture solar PV modules to protect cells and other module components from dirt, dust, moisture and UV radiations during the service life of the module. One sheet of the Backsheet equal to the size of the module is used in making one set of module. The cell connected with string is placed between two sheets of Encapsulant followed by a layer of the backsheet. Glass is placed on other side of the sandwich during the module making.

The sandwich is then put into hot chamber under a vacuum where the Encapsulant is melted to form the module. This semi-finished module is further subjected to framing, function box fixing, testing and final packing for shipments.

Petition

Renewsys India Private Limited has filed an application before the Designated Authority in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, for the imposition of AntiDumping Duty on imports of Fluoro Backsheet from China PR. The applicant ‘Renewsys’ – which manufactures all forms of backsheet depending upon the market demand and the customer requirement and the DGTR has accepted as viable representation of the domestic industry – stated that the subject products are predominantly imported under Chapter Heading 39 “Plastics and articles thereof’. They have further stated that the subject goods are imported under different codes from company to company and country to country (majorly under the headings 3920 and 3921).

The Authority noted that the custom classification is indicative only and in no way, it is binding upon the product scope and the product description prevails in circumstances of the conflict.

The applicant further claimed that the subject goods, which are being dumped into India, are identical to the goods produced by the domestic industry. There are no differences either in the technical specifications, quality, functions or end-uses of the dumped imports and the domestically produced subject goods and the product under consideration manufactured by the applicant. The

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two are technically and commercially substitutable and hence should be treated as like article under the AD Rules. Therefore, for the purpose of the present investigation, the subject goods produced by the applicant in India are being treated as Like Article to the subject goods being imported from the subject country.

Dumping Margin AND Injury & Causal Link

The normal value and the export price have been compared at ex-factory level, which prima facie shows that dumping margin is above the de-minimis level and is significant in respect of the PUC from China PR. There is prima facie evidence that the PUC from subject country is being dumped into the Indian market by the exporters from the subject country.

Further, the information furnished by the Applicant has been considered for assessment of injury to the domestic industry. The Applicant has furnished prima facie evidence regarding the injury having taken place as a result of the alleged dumping, resulting in increased volume of dumped imports in absolute terms and in relation to production and consumption in India and price undercutting. The performance has been adversely impacted in respect of profitability and return on capital employed, as a result of an increase in imports of the product under consideration at a price below selling price and non-injurious price for the domestic industry. There is sufficient prima facie evidence of material injury being caused to the domestic industry by dumped imports from the subject country to justify the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation.

Based on the above factors, the DGTR has decided to initiate the investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping of Fluoro Backsheets used in the manufacturing of solar PV modules originating in or exported from China PR.

Period of Investigation

The period of investigation (POI) for the present investigation is October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020 (12 months). The injury period under investigation will, however, cover the periods April 2017 to March 2018, April 2018 to March 2019, April 2019 to March 2020, and the period of investigation (POI).

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RERC Invites CSR Funding to Energise Schools in Rajasthan With Solar

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n a follow up to its draft order issued on February 10, regarding provision of solar plants at schools that are off grid or have very poor grid connectivity, the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC), in an order on March 25, has responded to suggestions as well as queries from stakeholders. The order has followed the shortfall in the state discoms meeting their RPO obligations, effectively forcing the regulator to take matters into its own hands.

Thus, to a suggestion from the World Resources Institute (WRI), to add a storage component to these systems where possible to allow schools to adopt other extracurricular activities during non-school hours, the commission agreed.

Similarly, queries from the discom Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL) on issues like cross-subsidy surcharges payable on such generation even if it doesn’t use the grid, and to count such power as part of the discoms Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) target, were

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both tackled. To the former, the commission has clarified that corporates using CSR funds to set up such systems will transfer ownership of the same to the school, and hence not be liable to pay any cross subsidy surcharge on generation. To the latter query from JVVNL, it allowed all such generation, even where there is no net metering or grid connectivity, to be counted towards the RPO obligations. An annual rate of 1762 units/KW/year or 4.8 units per KW has been considered for calculating generation for self use that will be counted under RPO for the discom too.

These clarifications, and by clearly allowing and specifying the method and use of CSR funds by corporates (Besides the state government) for such installations, the RERC has set a great example for other states to follow.

Speaking to developers in the state, we were told that the overall potential in just the schools that meet the criteria of being off-grid, or with dysfunctional grid connectivity, is well over 1500

schools. At even between 5KW to 20 KW per school, developers are confident that more than 15 MW can be installed in just a year if corporates take up the offer.

For corporates in the state as well as those outside, this is a great opportunity to direct their CSR spending towards a long-term, sustainable cause that will truly have an impact on the well-being of the next generation. With costs having dropped considerably, sponsoring a single school for a 5 KW system, for instance, could cost as little as Rs 150,000 to Rs 400,000, depending on whether the system has storage or not.

Note: At SaurEnergy, we have been part of projects that have considered the feasibility of just such a measure by corporates, across states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. For any corporates that are interested, we will be happy to share our learnings and the way to go about it.

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Power Ministry Yields; Proposes Net-Metering Limit of 500 kW

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he Ministry of Power had notified the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 on December 31, 2020, under section 176 of the Electricity Act, 2003. And since its release, the provision of net metering in Rule 11(4) of the bill – which limits net-metering installations at 10 kW project site – has garnered unbounded reactions from the industry, especially the medium to small scale developers, with the general consensus being that the provision to limit netmetering is a ‘disaster’. And now, after yielding to the representations received from industry stakeholders on the provision, the Power Ministry has finally drafted an amendment to the bill – proposing a new and improved 500 kW limit for net-metering of rooftop solar systems.

The ministry has now invited comments/ suggestions from stakeholders on the new Draft Amendment Rules by April 30, 2021.

And it will come into force once all necessary amendments are made post consultation with the industry.

In the new draft, the ministry has added in sub-rule to the Rule 2 of the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, the following definitions: (a) “Gross-metering” means a mechanism whereby the total solar energy generated from grid-tied rooftop solar PV system of a Prosumer and the total energy consumed by the Prosumer are accounted separately through appropriate metering arrangements. For the billing purpose, the total energy consumed by the Prosumer is accounted at the applicable retail tariff and total solar power generated is accounted for at the feed-in tariff determined by the Commission. (b) “Net-metering” means a mechanism whereby solar energy exported to the Grid from grid-tied rooftop solar PV system of a Prosumer is deducted from energy imported from the Grid in units (kWh) to arrive at the net imported/exported energy.

The net energy import (or export) is billed (or credited/carried over by the distribution licensee on the basis of the applicable retail tariff. A single bidirectional energy meter shall be used for net-metering at the point of supply.

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(c) “Net-billing or net feed-in“: A single bidirectional energy meter shall be used for net-billing or net feed-in at the point of supply. The energy imported from the Grid and energy exported from grid-tied rooftop solar PV system of a Prosumer are valued at two different tariffs. The monetary value of the imported energy is based on the applicable retail tariff. The monetary value of the exported solar energy is based on feed-in tariff determined by the central/state regulatory commission. The monetary value of the exported energy is deducted from the monetary value of the imported energy to arrive at the net amount to be billed (or credited / carried-over).

And for the Sub-rule (4) of rule 11 of the Principal Rules, the ministry has issued the following amendment: • The arrangements for net metering / gross metering /net billing or net feed-in shall be as specified by the State Commission by regulation from time to time. Provided that where ever the regulations does not provide for netmetering/ net billing or net feed-in, the Commission may allow net metering to the prosumer for loads up to 500 kW or upto the sanctioned load, whichever is lower and net-billing or net feed-in for other loads.

•A nd in the case of Prosumers availing net-billing or net feed-in, the commissions may introduce time-ofthe-day (ToD) tariffs whereby Prosumers are incentivised to install energy storage so that stored solar energy can be utilised by them or fed into the grid during peak hours thus helping the grid by participating in demand response of the Discoms.

• I n case of net-metering/ net-billing or net feed-in, the distribution licensee may install a solar energy meter to measure the gross solar energy generated from the grid-tied rooftop solar PV system for the purpose of Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation (RPO) credit, if any.

•C ommissions may permit gross metering for Prosumers who would like to sell all the generated solar energy to the distribution licensee instead of availing the net metering/ net-billing or net feed-in facility. The feed-in tariff for gross metering shall be decided by the Commission as per tariff regulations notified for this purpose.”

The ‘draconian rule’ as some installers had labelled the net-metering cap in 2020 is finally getting amended, much to the respite of the rallying project developers and industry stakeholders.

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Electricity Market at IEX Records All-time High Volume of 8248.52 MU in March 2021

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purred by the increasing demand for electricity across the various States, the electricity market at Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) achieved an all-time high volume of 8248.52 MU in the month of March 2021. The robust volumes led to a 92 percent YoY growth in electricity market during the month. According to the power demand data published by the National Load Dispatch Center (NLDC), the national peak power demand touched 186 GW seeing a 9 percent YoY growth while the power consumption grew 23 percent YoY. The market faced transmission congestion on the inter-state transmission network due to which 24 MU was lost during the month, representing 0.03 percent of total traded volume.

For the fiscal year 2021, IEX reported that the Exchange Market performed spectacularly well despite the COVID-19 induced lockdown which resulted in a significant reduction in the demand for electricity in the country in the first two quarters of the year.

The electricity trading market achieved an all-time high volume of 73,941 MU during the year leading to 37.2 percent YoY growth. The

new market segments introduced during the fiscal year 2021 – the real-time market, as well as the green market, made 14 percent contribution to the volume traded during the year. As per the NLDC data for the fiscal year 2021, the national peak demand for electricity at 190 GW saw 3.5 percent growth while electricity consumption at 1,281 BU was down 0.6% YoY, a first for over 15 years.

Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM) The IEX had launched the Green TermAhead Market (GTAM) on its power trading platform on August 21, 2020, after receiving approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) through an order dated August 17, 2020. The market offers trade in four types of green term-ahead contracts a. Green Intra-day contracts, b.

Day-ahead Contingency contracts, c. Daily Contracts and d. Weekly contracts.

As per the IEX numbers, • the GTAM traded a volume of 51 MU during the month comprising of 21 MU in the solar segment and 30 MU in the nonsolar segment.

• Further, a total of 24 participants participated during the month with

distribution utilities from Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, New Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra among others as the key participants.

• IEX also revealed that to date, the market has cumulatively traded 786 MU volume since its launch in August 2020.

The market has been enabling distribution utilities, industrial consumers, and green generators to buy and sell green power while also supporting them in fulfilling their Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets in the most competitive way.

Elsewhere, in the controversial Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) segment, the trading session which was scheduled on March 31, 2021, did not take place due to the stay order from APTEL in response to the petitions filed by a few Renewable Energy Associations against the CERC order dated June 2020 regarding revision in the floor and forbearance prices of REC. However, during the fiscal year prior to June 2020 – when the trading was closed – the REC market cumulatively traded a 6.97 lakh green certificates.

Tata Power-DDL Brings Narrow Band-IoT Tech to its Smart Meters

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fter successfully installing 2.3 Lakh smart meters on RF technology, Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL), a leading power distribution company serving a populace of 7 million in North Delhi, has launched a unique Narrow Band–Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology in Smart Meters. This is the first installation of its kind in the country where smart meters have been installed on NB-IoT. The technology integration has been done involving meter manufacturers and NB-IoT service of Reliance-Jio Network.

NB-IoT is a new and costeffective technology in the 4G

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and 5G spectrum with fast deployment quality. With this technology, the interference and obstruction arising due to public network congestion will not hamper the performance of smart meter anymore as data will smoothly flow through a dedicated channel. It will also enable more remote meter readings possible thereby ensuring the safety of the consumers during pandemic times.

Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power-DDL said, “Tata PowerDDL is a forerunner in adopting and implementing latest technologies and solutions for its consumers. The introduction of

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new Narrow Band–Internet of Things (NB-IoT) in smart meters is one such revolutionising technology. It is 4G & 5G compatible and will ensure smooth flow of data via a dedicated channel ironing out the interference and obstruction due to ever congested public network leading to seamless performance of smart meters. I believe, this unique technology integration will not only strengthen our credentials as a Utility of the Future but also take the Indian Smart Metering Mission to the next level.”

The interoperability has also been achieved at Meter Data Management level whereby

meters from multiple makes and different technologies are collected, worked upon and analysed at the same platform.

Recently, the Discom had launched India’s First GridConnected Community Energy Storage System (CESS) in Rani Bagh, New Delhi. The project, executed in collaboration with Nexcharge, a joint venture between Exide India and Leclanché, saw the installation of a 150KW/528KWH CESS at Ranibagh Substation to improve the supply reliability at the distribution level that is mainly at load centre to mitigate peak load on Distribution Transformers.

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Adani Electricity Bringing Renewable Power to Mumbai

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umbai’s largest electricity distributor, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) is launching Mumbai Green Energy Initiative.

Under this program, customers will have the flexibility to set their own targets for renewable energy.

AEML will source over 30 percent of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2023 and further increase this share to 50 percent by way of consent already being sought from MERC to add an additional 1000 MW of RTC Power with more than 51 percent component from RE Power.

Under the initiative, AEML customers can approach for 1. Options to buy RE Power under current MERC announced scheme of providing 100 percent RE Power, by paying 66 paisa extra.

2. AEML will be able to provide RE Certificates to customers as AEML will

receive 700 MW supply from Hybrid solar and wind generation in Rajasthan towards end of 2022-23. It will also add an additional 1,000 MW power with substantial component of green energy (Already, put up for approval of MERC).

AEML’s new initiative will help its customers who have global footprint and have stated the goal of sourcing 25 percent or higher share of their total energy consumption from renewable sources. The same can be met through RE certificates.

This innovative step, the firm expects, will be a significant contribution for customers to meet their sustainability goals.

Through a combination of direct renewable energy supply and indirect offsets, AEML will enable its corporate customers to meet their sustainability commitments at Mumbai, India and global level.

Kandarp Patel, CEO and MD, AEML said

“as the company significantly scales up its renewable energy projects, AEML will empower its customers to choose the source of their energy, making green electrons accessible to everyone and enabling the green energy transition. We can guarantee 100 percent green energy supply and certificates in Mumbai, without any modifications or disruptions.

We will create customised renewable energy solutions for all customers to take full advantage of the renewable energy opportunities and achieve their sustainability goals.”

The new initiative is a voluntary program and is for existing AEML consumers and prospective customers. All existing and new customers are eligible to participate. AEML will issue monthly certificates to such customers stating the percentage (%) of power requirement that has been sourced through renewable energy.

KPTL Secures Domestic and Foreign Orders Worth Rs 625 Crore

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alpataru Power Transmission Limited (KPTL), a leading global EPC player in the power and infrastructure contracting sector has announced that it has secured new orders/ notification of award worth a combined Rs 625 crore.

The projects have been won across three continents across the power and transmission sector: 1. T he first order has been won in Africa by the company’s power transmission business, 2. T he second order has been received for railway electrification in India, 3. The third order has been received by KPTL’s international subsidiary for new power transmission projects in Europe.

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Commenting on the new order announcements, Manish Mohnot, Managing Director & CEO, KPTL said “we are delighted with the new order wins in our power transmission and railways business. The new orders in the T&D business provides us with a strategic entry in a new country in the African market, demonstrating sheer focus on strengthening our presence in key markets.

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“Our order wins for 2020-21 have reached around Rs 8,500 crore at the standalone level and has exceeded Rs 16,000 crore at the consolidated level.

Our diversified order book, robust execution capabilities and strong balance sheet position gives us confidence of growth from a long-term perspective.”

In February, the firm had issued its financial results for

the quarter ended December 31, 2020, reporting revenue growth of 11 percent YoY to Rs 3501 crore in Q3FY21. With the increased revenue the firm also posted a strong Profit After Tax (PAT) growth of 132 percent YoY to reach Rs 308 crore with a margin of 8.8 percent in Q3FY21. The firm had also reported that its standalone net debt declined by 39 percent YoY to Rs 612 crore and consolidated net debt declined by 36 percent YoY to Rs 2,343 crore as on December 31, 2020.

YTD FY21, the received orders are worth R 13,744 crore; L1 position of around Rs 3850 crore. The firm also stated that new orders received by KPTL were for Rs 835 crore and that for its subsidiary JMC Projects orders were received for Rs 760 crore in Q4FY21 to date.

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Corporate Office- CBIP Building, 2nd floor, Plot No.21, Institutional Area, Sector 32, Gurugram, Haryana, India- 122001

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World Adds Record new Renewable Energy Capacity in 2020: IRENA

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lobal renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 beat earlier estimates and all previous records despite the economic slowdown that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data released today by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) the world added more than 260 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity last year, exceeding expansion in 2019 by close to 50 percent.

IRENA’s annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 shows that renewable energy’s share of all new generating capacity rose considerably for the second year in a row. More than 80 percent of all new electricity capacity added last year was renewable, with solar and wind accounting for 91 percent of new renewables.

Renewables’ rising share of the total is partly attributable to net decommissioning of fossil fuel power generation in Europe, North America and for the first time across Eurasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation and Turkey). Total fossil fuel additions fell to 60 GW in 2020 from 64 GW the previous year highlighting a continued downward trend of fossil fuel expansion.

“These numbers tell a remarkable story of resilience and hope. Despite the challenges and the uncertainty of 2020, renewable energy emerged as a source of undeniable optimism for a better, more equitable, resilient, clean and just future,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera.

“The great reset offered a moment of reflection and chance to align our trajectory with the path to inclusive prosperity, and there are signs we are grasping it.

“Despite the difficult period, as we predicted, 2020 marks the start of the decade of renewables,” continued Mr. La Camera. “Costs are falling, clean tech markets are growing and never before have the benefits of the energy transition been so clear. This trend is unstoppable, but as the review of our World Energy Transition Outlook highlights, there is a huge amount to be done. Our 1.5 degree outlook shows significant planned energy investments must be redirected to support the transition if we are to achieve 2050 goals. In this critical decade of action, the

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international community must look to this trend as a source of inspiration to go further,” he concluded.

The 10.3 percent rise in installed capacity represents expansion that beats long-term trends of more modest growth year on year.

At the end of 2020, global renewable generation capacity amounted to 2 799 GW with hydropower still accounting for the largest share (1 211 GW) although solar and wind are catching up fast. The two variable sources of renewables dominated capacity expansion in 2020 with 127 GW and 111 GW of new installations for solar and wind, respectively.

China and the United States were the two outstanding growth markets from 2020.

China, already the world’s largest market for renewables added 136 GW last year with the bulk coming from 72 GW of wind and 49 GW of solar. The United States installed 29 GW of renewables last year, nearly 80 percent more than in 2019, including 15 GW of solar and around 14 GW of wind. Africa continued to expand steadily with an increase of 2.6 GW, slightly more than in 2019, while Oceania remained the fastest growing region (+18.4%), although its share of global capacity is small and almost all expansion occurred in Australia.

Highlights by technology: • Hydropower: Growth in hydro recovered in 2020, with the commissioning of several large projects delayed in 2019. China added 12 GW of capacity, followed by Turkey with 2.5 GW.

•W ind energy: Wind expansion almost doubled in 2020 compared to 2019 (111 GW compared to 58 GW last year). China added 72 GW of new capacity, followed by the United States (14 GW). Ten other countries increased wind capacity by more than 1 GW in 2020. Offshore wind increased to reach around 5% of total wind capacity in 2020.

•S olar energy: Total solar capacity has now reached about the same level as wind capacity thanks largely to expansion in Asia (78 GW) in 2020.

Major capacity increases in China (49 GW) and Viet Nam (11 GW). Japan also added over 5 GW and India and Republic of Korea both expanded solar capacity by more than 4 GW. The United States added 15 GW. • Bioenergy: Net capacity expansion fell by half in 2020 (2.5 GW compared to 6.4 GW in 2019). Bioenergy capacity in China expanded by over 2 GW. Europe the only other region with significant expansion in 2020, adding 1.2 GW of bioenergy capacity, a similar to 2019.

•G eothermal energy: Very little capacity added in 2020. Turkey increased capacity by 99 MW and small expansions occurred in New Zealand, the United States and Italy.

•O ff-grid electricity: Off-grid capacity grew by 365 MW in 2020 (2%) to reach 10.6 GW. Solar expanded by 250 MW to reach 4.3 GW and hydro remained almost unchanged at about 1.8 GW.

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No way out for Stranded Thermal Assets in India, Amid RE Push : IEEFA

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ndia’s 40 gigawatts (GW) of stressed and stranded thermal power assets, identified by a special parliamentary committee in March 2018, still linger on – most of them without any feasible resolution. The multitude of fundamental problems still persist despite efforts to resolve them by the government, lending institutions and proponents of the projects.

These include lack of appropriate coal linkages, lack of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and capital cost overruns due to delays in acquiring land, accumulated interest funding costs and getting environmental clearances.

For example, some 24.4 GW of the total stranded capacity was fully commissioned, however, 8.2 GW of it lacked PPAs as per the committee’s report.

The IEEFA analysis finds that consecutive years of flattening power demand are extinguishing hopes that a sustained rise in power demand growth might partially revive the stranded capacity without PPAs. Also, availability of ultra-cheap renewables at sub Rs 2.5/kWh compared to coal-fired power tariffs of above Rs 4.0/kWh means that renewables are eating into the market share of coal-fired generation and going forward will serve the incremental supply requirements when electricity demand starts growing at the expected rate of 5-6 percent per annum.

India’s total electricity demand grew by only 0.9 percent in the fiscal year (FY) 2019/20 and was further suppressed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Year-to-date demand in FY2020/21 is down 2.6 percent in FY2020/21. In FY2019/20 thermal generation (including gas) dropped by 2.7 percent compared to FY2018/19, losing market share from 78 percent of the total generation in FY2018/19 to 75 percent in FY2019/20. Whereas renewable generation increased 9.1 percent in FY2019/20 and is up by 2.2 percent year-to-date in FY2020/21 despite an overall drop in demand due to the pandemic.

No way out for the stranded assets The analysis goes on to add that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wants to push the 40 GW of non-performing assets to bankruptcy

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proceedings if the proponents and the lenders are unable to resolve the assets outside the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Fully or partially built projects with coal linkages and PPAs have a greater chance of finding resolutions outside NCLT through strategic debt restructuring or recapitalisation from the lenders, albeit only after taking significant write-downs.

However, most of the stressed projects are still not fully resolved. And some of the projects saw previously interested investors back away in 2020.

One example of which is JSW Energy recalling its bid for acquiring IndBarath thermal power plant (owned by Australian asset manager Macquarie Group) through the insolvency process initiated in 2019, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. The power generation infrastructure developer had agreed to pay Rs 845 crore upfront for the under-construction pithead 700 MW coal-fired power plant in Odisha. But later leveraged an ‘adverse events’ clause to pull out from the deal structured in October 2019, due to the pandemic impacting the viability of the project.

According to Global Energy Monitor’s (GEM) data no new Indian coal-fired power plants were announced in the last 12 months.

Moreover, there has been no movement in the 29.3GW of pre-construction (announced + pre-permitted + permitted) project pipeline in the last 12 months. This is an indication of the lack of availability of financing for new coal-fired power projects and/or demand for additional power by discoms. The continued financial distress in India’s power distribution sector makes thermal PPAs even more unbankable absent long-delayed distribution sector reforms.

In September 2020, the Indian government-owned thermal behemoth, NTPC, announced that it will not be pursuing any new greenfield development of coal-fired power projects.

Last year the states of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh announced they will not pursue new coal-fired power project development, as did Gujarat. With the persisting structural issues in India’s coalfired power sector there is no appetite from international or domestic investors, apart from state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), to risk capital in a sector that continues to carry USD 40-60 billion of non-performing assets.

India’s thermal capacity additions could hit a historic low in FY2020/21

Year-to-date thermal capacity additions could hit a record low in FY2020/21 with just 1.27 GW of net new coal-fired capacity added as of January 2021. There was 0.76 GW of end-of-life coal-fired capacity retired against 2.03 GW gross new coal-fired capacity additions.

New thermal capacity additions form only 18 percent of the total capacity added in FY2020/21. On the other hand, variable renewable capacity forms 77 percent of the total new capacity added with 5.52 GW of new capacity additions as of January 2021 (1.4 GW of new solar was added in January 2021 alone). Although renewable capacity installations are nowhere near the targeted annual capacity additions of ~35 GW to reach India’s ambition of building 450 GW of renewables by 2030, the significantly higher share of renewables compared to coal is reflective of the transition that is well underway in India’s electricity market.

The authors further stated that the recent record low tariffs of Rs 1.99/ kWh achieved in Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s (GUVNL) 500 MW auction and Rs 2.00/kWh in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) 1.2 GW auction, 16 percent lower than the previous record low tariff of Rs 2.36/kWh just six months earlier, illustrate continued accelerated deflation in India’s renewable energy prices.

And concluded by stating that against the mounting pressure of fuel cost inflation and high capital costs of emissions control systems, expensive and inefficient coal-fired power plants will have to be retired.

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Backlog of Unsigned PSAs Risk Slowing India’s Renewable Energy Growth

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elays in signing power sale agreements (PSAs) are a bottleneck in the growth of renewable energy capacity in India, jeopardising the government’s renewable energy target of 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022, dampening investor confidence and threatening the viability of projects, finds a new briefing note from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research.

The analysis finds that PSAs for nearly 19 GW of renewable energy capacity tendered by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) are yet to be signed by state-owned distribution companies (discoms). Manufacturinglinked solar projects account for the majority (63 percent) of this capacity.

“This situation is having an adverse impact on the morale of project developers and investors and is slowing overall progress on renewable energy installation,” said co-author Vibhuti Garg, IEEFA Energy Economist, Lead India. “The missing link of PSAs affects the entire value chain. For example, without the assurance of the off-take of power for auctioned renewable energy projects, it becomes virtually impossible for developers to secure debt financing.”

Developers with SECItendered projects in their pipelines awaiting PSAs include Adani, Azure Power, ReNew Power and Greenko, which together form 78 percent of the total capacity in limbo, according to the note. On average, 37 percent of the entire (installed and pipeline) project portfolios of these prominent developers is SECI-tendered

projects with non-executed PSAs. “This significant share of capacity poses a substantial risk to the overall conversion of projects in the pipeline,” added Garg.

The note then points to the falling solar tariffs, driven by declining solar module prices, as a key reason for the Discoms’ reluctance to sign PSAs – and in a few cases attempts to renegotiate or renege on wind and solar power purchase contracts.

“In 2020 we saw solar tariffs hit a record low of Rs 1.99/kWh. Discoms are anticipating that solar module prices will decline further, leading to a reduction in future solar auction tariffs, so they are delaying signing PSAs at higher prices,” said co-author Jyoti Gulia, Founder – JMK Research. “However, with electricity demand now picking up and the imposition of 40 percent basic customs duty on solar modules, tariffs will be unlikely to fall further in the near-term.”

In fact, adds Gulia, with tougher penalties and enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) under the draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2020, Discoms would have to procure power from renewable sources.

The Ministry of Power’s Bill also proposes setting up a body to enforce contracts between generating, distribution or transmission companies.

The authors also suggest other measures to persuade Discoms to sign PSAs. These include setting a PSA signing deadline for all renewable tenders, requiring all Discoms to devise long-term plans estimating the amount of renewable energy capacity to be integrated into their power mixes each year, and SECI seeking assurances from discoms on purchase of power before planning auctions.

They also suggest evaluating the option of ‘tariff pooling’, where a weighted average is taken from tariffs discovered in SECI auctions over six months, A PRIL 20 21

to eliminate the advantage gained by Discoms that secure PSAs at relatively low tariffs. And tariff renegotiation – but only as a last resort option “under specific market conditions”.

“India must look for ways to speed up renewable energy installation to meet its national target of 175 GW,” said co-author Akhil Koshy Thayillam, Research Associate at JMK Research. “Expediting the signing of PSAs would not only free up a major share of ‘on-hold capacity’ but also reinvigorate the industry and the stakeholders who have been impacted.”

Recently, ICRA Ratings had stated in its analysis that policy support and tariff competitiveness factors are likely to continue driving investments in the renewable energy (RE) sector. However, on the flip side, the delays in the signing of the power purchase agreements (PPAs) and power sale agreements (PSAs) is a key downside risk in the near term.

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Solar’s O&M Opportunity

A Business With Serious Numbers, Finally.

Sudershan Bhosale

Rananjay Singh

Nalin Sharma

Bikesh Ogra

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s India’s solar footprint has grown, from a tentative 3.7 GW in 2015 to over 40 GW now, a little appreciated, but growing opportunity is finally getting its place in the sun too. The Solar Operations and Maintainance (O&M) business.

A $4 billion business worldwide in 2019, it is set to be a $9 billion business by 2024.

Long divided between developers doing ‘self-maintenance', EPC contractors and Independent operators, it is the latter that could potentially come into their own in the next wave of contracts and changes.

For firms in India, the new opportunities in Solar O&M are real. Not only is there a growing domestic market, but learnings here can also potentially open up opportunities globally. That is because, like many other businesses linked to the solar sector, the focus here is on lowering costs and technology upgrades. Of course, like any new opportunity, the players are also many, including small local players. States like Rajasthan and Gujarat, where a lot of large projects are coming up now, have an

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especially high number of local players vying to win O&M work, making it a very competitive business indeed. However, at this stage, we have refrained from going into a listing of the top players, catch that in a future issue of Saur Energy.

For Sterling and Wilson Solar limited, the leading global EPC firm in solar from the Shapoorji Group, the O&M business is more than just a business opportunity. O&M earnings can also smoothen out its revenue flow, unlike the lumpy EPC business. And it

has used its international presence to make inroads here too.

Speaking at its analyst call in February, Bikesh Ogra, Director, and Global Chief Operating Officer said “ Coming to operation and maintenance business, we currently manage around 8.1 gigawatts as our portfolio; we have acquired a substantial amount of third-party operation and maintenance business for India. On the international front operation and maintenance market for those projects where the EPC was undertaken by third-party companies is expected to grow in the coming financial year. Our objective is to acquire an additional third-party O&M portfolio of at least 1 gigawatt each in the domestic and international market for FY2022, this obviously would be incremental to our regular self-EPC executed O&M business. I am very happy to share that we have recently won our first O&M project outside India on a competitive basis in Oman.”

The firm’s CFO added that O&M revenue increased by 27% to Rs 180 crores in the nine

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months of FY2021 compared to Rs 132 crores in the corresponding period of FY2020 with an EBIT margin of 36.9%. For SW Solar, the O&M business contributed 4.8% of revenue in nine months FY2021 as compared to 3.8% in nine months FY2020. With a positive margin impact, since the EPC business rarely crosses 10-11 percent margins.

Rananjay Singh, Head of Marketing at Gensol Power Group, whose 2.8 GW O&M portfolio makes them the largest Independent Service provider in the space, agrees on the potential.

“Solar O&M is a growing business and set to grow well going forward. If you consider the majority of large projects today, most started coming up post-2017-18. Most contracts come with a defect liability period of between 3-5 years. If we consider a 5-year exit clause, the majority of these assets will come into the market by 2022-23. Plus the 30 GW project pipeline currently. That is a very large market up for grabs”.

Singh however has a warning for firms eager to get in.

"We expect to see more competition because the barriers to entry are not very high in O&M. However, margin pressures will remain. We are happy to work with even 3-5percent margins, as long as there is a bonus clause in the contract linked to say plant output or low downtime."

Add to that, people going for multiple contractors instead of EPC. So O&M contractor can pitch in from day 1.

What’s New In Solar O&M?

PV Diagnostics, a Mumbai-based solar specialist firm that offers technology, consulting, and advisory for its clients, is very clear on what a solar pant owner should expect a solar OM to deliver.

Compiled by its expert Sudarshan Bhosale, Lead Backend Analyst, and his team, the firm lists the following terms of reference for an O&M contract • Generation guarantee terms and

associated liquidated damages • Plant availability guarantee • Warranty terms • Cleaning cycles and their maintenance • Scope coverage for the O&M of the plant & GSS bay • Conditions for effective monitoring and reporting system • Documented insurance for an operation period • Well-defined clauses for response time, sub-contracting, spares and consumables, etc.

• Defined qualification for operations team personnel with respect to standard industry practice • Preparation and maintenance of records and documents related to work permits, checklists, and SOPs • Documentation of training records, LOTO system, proper housekeeping, safe work area, and vegetation clearance • Forecasting and Scheduling: Appointment of Qualified Contracting Agency (QCA) & executing QCA agreement; and assessment of F&S, deviation settlement mechanism with offtaker and associated penalties He adds that the major difference between the Indian and global markets is the requirement of manpower on the site for the O&M activities. “In the Indian solar plants, the manpower requirement is usually high as compared to the other developed nations.”

However, Gensol’s Singh believes this is changing very fast now. “There are two major issues driving change today. One, the business is changing from a conventional manpower service to tech-driven. At the project level, there are anticipated challenges like water usage and rising wage pressures for workers.

That is driving firms towards implementing robotic systems for one. Using data and implementing analytics remotely is another way to both improve efficiency and reduce manpower requirements at the site," he adds.

Sameer Chaudhary, Senior Manager (Operations) at Amplus Solar highlights the typical exclusions too. “Key exclusions which shall be in the scope of the owner are plant insurance, land lease payments, internet charges, forecasting and scheduling, regulatory approvals, DISCOM payments, CEIG inspection and renewal, factory license, energy meter calibration, payments to state bodies (unless due to negligence of contractor), among others”.

So technology and manpower. And no one would their impact know it better than one of the world’s largest robotic cleaning firms, the

Israeli firm Ecoppia. Nalin Kumar Sharma, Vice President, Asia and Pacific highlights how until a few years ago, solar O&M was limited to module cleaning, plant security and vegetation removal. “As of today, it has evolved into a stand-alone business vertical. Many 3rd-party O&M service providers now offer a range of services to solar plant developers. An emerging trend we see today in 3rd-party solar O&M is the adoption of automation and digitalisation to reduce project downtime and improve plant performance.

Tech-based solutions and increased automation also reduce O&M costs. The module cleaning and associated manpower costs together constitute the major component for plant O&M costs in India. We see that automation significantly reduces such costs by allowing O&M firms to reduce manpower costs and maintain profitability.

Furthermore, O&M firms are moving from corrective and preventive maintenance to predictive and prescriptive analytics-based maintenance performance to reduce downtime and improve operational costs of solar projects.

Sharma adds that firms like Ecoppia have adapted to the new challenges and opportunities “ Cleaning accounts for almost 40 percent of the cost of Solar O&M typically.

With the new breed of large utility-scale projects, we believe annual cleaning is simply not an option anymore.”

He’s right. Automation is coming, and not just for cleaning. Deep inroads have been made into plant monitoring, data collection, and analytics, often the difference that wins projects for players today.

In the US and China, we have seen autonomous drone inspections, modulewashing robots and robotic lawnmowers already put to use at large projects.

Besides reducing labour costs, in the Covid period, technology products have also aided the protection of staff, besides providing safe and reliable service with low risks. In fact, the low downtime of renewables during the Covid lockdowns and beyond has been a standout feature of 2020 for the sector.

From being tried by a few early adopters, the Covid pandemic has simply accelerated the development process of these tools, as buyer interest has grown. In India, we currently have a clutch of start-ups trying to build a robotic cleaning solution for solar panels and beyond. While some have even received investor funding, others are charging ahead on the back of ever-lower costs and bigger promises.

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The PSU Opportunity

Analytics platforms today forecast component failures, while drone-based remote monitoring can reduce the need for site visits

The Big Drop. Prices

However, by far the biggest change in Solar O&M has been pricing. Prices have mirrored the fall in module prices, dropping from as high as $12-20/KW in 2015 to barely $5-8/KW now. In India, that has meant a drop from Rs 8 to 10 lacs per MW per annum to Rs 2.5 lacs per MW per annum now.

However, it is not lower module prices and higher efficiency, but a learning curve in other areas that have aided this price drop.

From more efficient robotic cleaning options, to better capturing of data and its analysis, to better performance of inverters, especially the newer string inverters, a lot has changed to make the pricing more aggressive.

Earlier O&M models used to be all in contracts, covering hardware as well as replacement risk. This was partly because the firms providing O&M services on those smaller projects were also the manufacturers themselves, the EPC contractors and even worked with inverter manufacturers, giving them the confidence to offer such terms. It was also driven by client needs, with most customers not really keen on dealing with multiple vendors with barely a record in sight. With scale, risk has been pushed back to project owners, even as technology finds ever newer ways to provide better inputs.

Ecoppia’s Sharma explains. “As Ecoppia secured over 11.5 GW in this region, we see that most commonly solar sites are faced with construction quality issues, which includes structures, wiring, inverters, and panel degradation from hot spots due to improper cleaning. Ecoppia’s sophisticated cloud-based solution allows site developers full visibility of the site.

While traveling nightly on the panel the

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robotic cleaning solution collects millions of data points related to cleaning performance, weather conditions and the correlation between them, using both physical input from the actual site and external data sources such as APIs. Our robust AI platform integrates these multiple data sources and by applying machine-learning layers, can offer an optimal operation while constantly improving our offering and services."

However, while Independent Service providers like Gensol will point to the liquidated damages as a key reason why they hold an edge over in-house teams, others are not so comfortable yet. Both Ecoppia’s Sharma and Gensol’s Singh agree that over 50 percent of large solar capacity is self-maintained. A senior executive at a large EPC developer we spoke to said this on condition of anonymity. “We usually find that our in-house team, thanks to their involvement with the vendor negotiations and technical expertise, can keep O&M costs low. And yes, they are incentivised also to ensure high uptime and output.

EPC’s come close on the cost front at times, but we find that they can slack off on maintenance after a year or two, as other pressure points on the business emerge. It is a very competitive business, and with an asset that has a 25 year lifetime, it will take some more time before many of the largest developers trust someone else to manage it.”

However, with financial investor-backed projects increasingly in vogue, the future remains bright for independent service providers as well as EPC’s like Sterling and Wilson Solar, as financial modeling will be decisive in deciding contracts.

On the advantages Gensol brings, Singh of Gensol adds that “when it comes to an analytics model clubbed with our O&M portfolio, it gives us an advantage. He also urges potential developers not to underestimate the value of outsourcing.

“In-house O&M can make employees

The 5 Maharatna’s identified for executing solar projects are NTPC, CIL, SJVN, NHPC, NLC. Since these firms do not have dedicated manpower for solar projects, they usually tend to combine EPC and solar O&M for a 5-10 year contract period.

Early results have been mixed. An SJVN project in Gujarat had to be shifted to another O&M firm, as the original EOC started defaulting.

Similarly, NTPC has also gone with local players in some cases, for reasons best known to the firm.

Coal India Limited and NHPC also seem ill-equipped to do it in-house, and will in all likelihood outsource, or do it through another PSU partner which will handle the third-party contracts. The PSUs deserve special mention only because, in the coming 5 years, they are set to add a collective 20 GW or more of solar capacity on their own. accountable, but you cannot penalise them.

Whereas, when you outsource, you can have liquidated damages after 6 months or a year.”

Inverters, probably the most important component after the modules, are a key point of discussion. Most come with a 5 to 10-year warranty, and are the first to require retrofitting. Right now, in a vast majority of the cases, such extension of AMC or overhauling is being done directly by the owner. Besides proprietary items like SCADA. Currently, some of the biggest developers like Acme, Renew Power, Azure, Greenko are all managing their assets in-house. But as their portfolio sizes expand, expect changes soon, as lower costs linked to guarantees become too attractive to be missed for at least some of them soon. Add to that the new trend seen in some cases, for a developer to contract out the work to multiple vendors, instead of a single EPC. That means the O&M contractor can pitch in from day 1.

What About Smaller Projects and Rooftop Category?

This is where the situation becomes interesting in India. While the share of this category is just about 6 GW out of a total 40 GW of solar capacity, the number of

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projects are in the thousands, if one considers residential rooftop. Take that out, and you still have a large addressable market. Add to that the fact that even in the residential rooftop market that is subsidy backed, the typical maintenance contract is for 5 years, and you see some real potential.

However, the economics can be very different here.

Amplus Solar’s Chaudhary states that “the cost depends on several factors including soling at a particular location, security situation, quality of water available, location and accessibility, etc. and there are no stringent criteria, but the prerequisites might differ from case to case. However, as per our experience, we can say the overall cost including statutory cost is around 5.5 LPA for RT and around 3.5 LPA for Open Access plants”. That premium is supported by all the other EPC’s we spoke to.

A massive stumbling block of course is the singular focus on costs over everything else, by a majority of owners. Anurag Paliwal, Founder at Infisolar, a Rajasthan-based EPC firm, laments the cost focus as a major reason why solar O&M does not interest him yet. “ Another problem is that many EPC’s at this scale, when they run up against a cost obsessed client, tend to downplay O&M needs and costs, to close the deal”.

PV Diagnostics Bhosale adds that the smaller plants “ surely present an opportunity for O&M companies. However, it is challenging to make these O&M contracts profitable especially for small rooftop solar power plants. For small project sizes, the cost of O&M is approximately the same whether it’s a 5 kW plant or a 20 kW plant, or even more.

Therefore, it is important to have multiple plants under management in the same vicinity to make it financially viable.

Additionally, the quality of these assets is very different from a standardisation perspective, therefore, its standardization becomes very difficult. Also, PR/CUF commitment becomes a challenge. In recent times, we have seen multiple companies taking up and exiting O&M contracts of rooftop power plants.”

Options like robotic cleaning are also not practical yet for these smaller plants.

Paliwal does add that for plants in the MSME sector that are say, sub 500 KW, most firms will usually have their electrical resource at hand, who is usually tasked with maintaining the solar system as well, including warranties and AMC’s on key equipment.

But don’t count out Indian ingenuity to discover a business model for small plants.

In the NCR region, we have already heard of some smaller installers offering rates as low as Rs 500/600 per KW per year to maintain smaller plants. Work involves a quarterly visit to clean and check all critical components. With a promise to ‘handle’ any breakthrough in terms of coordination with the manufacturers etc.

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With almost all the key requirements in place, the solar O&M market is set to grow with the broader solar sector. Perhaps the only slight disappointment is the creation of lesser than expected jobs, as more and more roles are performed by technology interventions.

However, firms looking to make a splash in this business will need to invest, in both people, technology, and credibility.

As PV Diagnostics Bhosale adds, even where warranties and retrofits are to be managed by owners, the O&M players will have a role to play. “The onus of ensuring warranty lies with the O&M firm to some extent. Some of the warranty terms are associated with the design and installation.

Since these phases are not associated with the O&M firm, certain warranty clauses may become void if O&M is not carried out properly. For example, improper handling of modules may result in the breaking of module glass or backsheet scratches, affecting the warranty of the modules.

Similarly, there are no standard training procedures related to repairs which can affect the warranty if not executed effectively.”

On the relative advantages and disadvantages of O&M, between an independent O&M specialist versus the EPC or the developer. He adds that with Large EPC player or module manufacturer that also offers O&M, the advantages are: • They have a good understanding of the installation of the plant and its design so that they can understand the bottlenecks very well. This will prove beneficial while carrying O&M activities.

• Since they have a substantial team size, they will have an impeccable cross support system, thus helping in quality data analysis, troubleshooting, and implementing long-term solutions for performance improvements and maintenance of the plant.

An independent O&M specialist will have the following advantages:

• Large EPC players, or a module manufacturer that also offer O&M might have a certain bias and may look down upon certain issues related to design and modules. This bias won’t be a concern with an independent O&M specialist.

This can be a considerable factor in ensuring proper O&M. • O&M specialist has a specific focus on O&M related issues which can help in better O&M quality Amplus’s Chaudhary also has no doubts about the growth potential. “The Solar O&M Market in India is undoubtedly bound to grow, and we shall witness all present mid-size players evolving further and competing with the large established players. The market is only going to expand.

With PPA dipping to an all-time low, the market shall be highly competitive and only those with a long-term vision on providing and maintaining quality and prompt service shall fare through.”

As far as the onus of ensuring warranty is concerned, Amplus in all its contracts has entrusted this responsibility of OEM coordination to its contractors and results to date have been satisfactory.

For large rooftop and sub 50 MW groundmounted projects, he is happy with the experience so far. “As our and general industry experience goes, awarding a combined EPC contract with limited-term O&M, apart from being cost beneficial is the best bet for overall plant performance and stabilisation. There is a seamless takeover from the contractor EPC team by its O&M team, HOTO, and warranty issues are internally resolved without much hassle to the owner.

However, 2-3 years down, once the plant is completely stable, we can re-tender the contract and invite independent O&M specialists for bidding.”

Ecoppia’s Sharma also has positive news on Indian developers, who he finds to be very open to new technology and have astonishingly high adoption rates. With much larger sized projects, the growth of their robotic solutions is a given for them, although price sensitivity remains the final hurdle in most cases “As the engagement with the robotic cleaning supplier is a long one (25 years), it is critical to also verify the financial backing and stability of the supplier, ensuring he is capable of supporting the O&M properly for 25 years.” The financial point is a point well made, and one we have heard repeatedly for this story.

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IIT Hyderabad Develops an Alternative for Typical Lithium-ion Batteries

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esearchers at IIT Hyderabad have come up with an alternative for the conventional Lithium-ion batteries. It is a more sustainable and low-cost Dual carbon battery, which may find potential use in high voltage applications, sophisticated battery-run medical devices, regenerative braking systems in electric vehicles (EVs), and stationary grids. Finding options that are cheaper and more effective to the current lithium ion batteries has become a sought after target, thanks to the need to cut down on dependence on the metals involved in current lithium batteries.

The all-new 5V Dual Carbon battery is developed at Electrochemical Energy Storage (EES) Lab at IIT Hyderabad, under the supervision of Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Dr. Surendra Kumar Martha, utilizing self-standing carbon fiber mats as both electrodes (cathode and anode). This new model sets aside the requirement of toxic, costly, and heavy

transitional metals.

Rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) need toxic and costly metals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, etc., for functioning.

Concentration of Lithium and cobalt in a few places and high mining costs have made prices go up amd volatile markets in recent times. The price stability that large scale LIB packs used in EVs need has become a mjor issue for aspiring manufacturers. In the dualcarbon battery, both the electrodes consist of carbonaceous materials, and the ions from the electrolyte intercalate and de-intercalate into the electrode matrix.

According to the developing team, the novel dual carbon battery consisting of zero transition metal is environmentally benign.

It may cut down the overall battery cost by 20-25% and is expected to curb the unpredictability in market price. The use of carbon as electrode active material as well as current collector replacing heavy metals brings in the aspects of lightness and

flexibility. The fabricated 5.0 voltage (nominal voltage 4.6 V) cell provides an energy density of 100-watt hour per kilogram approximately and can be extended up to 150- watt-hour per kilogram with further modifications. This compares favourably , or at par with lithium batteries in the market currently.

The head of the investigation team, Dr. Surendra Kumar Martha, says, “The study will be extrapolated to push the energy density limits further, and their broad vision includes introducing the dual carbon system as a cheaper LIB alternative to the Indian Market.”

Recently in January, IIT Hyderabad associate professor of the department of chemical engineering and creative & advanced research, Chandra Sekhar Sharma, had developed a Lithium-CO2 battery, which many hope could power India’s space projects and the grand Mars Mission in 2024.

Wärtsilä Selected by RWE for 80 MWh Energy Storage Project

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he technology group Wärtsilä has bagged the award of a contract to supply an engineered equipment delivery (EEQ) of a 40 MW / 80 MWh DC-coupled solar plus storage system to the Hickory Park Solar project in Georgia, USA, from RWE Renewables, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies.

The Wärtsilä system will enable a subsidiary of RWE Renewables, Hickory Park Solar, to sell nearly 200 MW of generation from the solar PV panels to Georgia Power Company.

The order was booked by Wärtsilä in Q4 2020.

The Hickory Park Solar project will see the deployment of GridSolv Quantum, Wärtsilä’s next-generation energy storage system (ESS).

The project is currently designed with CATL batteries. With functionality a key feature, GridSolv Quantum is a fully integrated modular and compact solution that enables a holistic and intuitive ESS, while maintaining a minimalist design to ease the scope and complexity of deployment activities. The solution also delivers the

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lowest lifecycle costs and the smallest system footprint. The co-located energy storage system will be DC-coupled with the solar system, allowing a number of benefits, such as improved system efficiency, lower balance of plant costs, and clipped solar recapture. With storage attached to the solar system, the batteries can be charged with excess solar generation when the PV reaches its peak and would otherwise begin clipping. The stored energy can be introduced into the grid at the appropriate time, maximising the value of the system’s generation. “For us, this is a milestone project of renewable integration involving solar PV plus energy storage, with the batteries being charged entirely from the solar system. It is one of the very few projects globally on this scale using DC-coupling. The flexibility and broad capabilities of the GEMS software enable effective and efficient control over the entire system, which is essential in this 80 MWh project with the GridSolv Quantum ESS,” said Andy Tang, Vice President, Energy Storage and Optimisation,

Wärtsilä Energy. In addition to the storage system, the firms’ sophisticated GEMS Digital Energy Platform will control the entire hybrid plant, comprising close to 200 MW solar PV and a 80 MWh GridSolv Quantum energy storage system. GEMS monitors, synchronises, and optimises generation assets at increments of 100 milliseconds, using machine learning and historic and real-time data analytics to calibrate the type of generation needed at any specific time, all under a single portfolio.

And the firms’ IntelliBidder auto-bidding solution allows Hickory Park Solar to provide Georgia Power a day-ahead firming solar plus storage profile, which will improve the predictability of the intermittent generation. The cloud-based IntelliBidder uses machine learning and algorithms based on automated and forecasted data, taking real-time trading and combining it with a smart control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimisation.

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Waaree Energy Storage System Secures Seed Funding of USD 2 Million

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he energy storage division of the WAAREE group – Waaree Energy Storage System (WESS) has announced that it has raised USD 2 million in seed funding from an HNI investor. As per the firm, the newly infused operating capital will drive the expansion of WESS’s manufacturing capabilities and aid product development with laser-sharp emphasis on smart IOT based batteries and telematics. Moreover, it will enable the company to strengthen its energy storage capacities and bolster its footing across both domestic and international frontiers.

The energy storage division has claimed that it will now mobilize resources towards the development of world-class Energy Storage Systems for industrial, computing, telecom, residential requirements and propel electrification of transport in the Indian market.

The company will also focus on proliferating high-end twowheeler and three-wheeler batteries to optimise lifecycles, yield improved results and make them ‘re-usable’. This in turn will also give impetus to the recyclable energy ecosystem in the country, thus significantly paving the path for circular economy in India.

These developments come on the back of the company’s advancement in research and edge in providing innovative customer-centric solutions.

Shiv Nath, Managing Director, Waaree ESS said, “Lithium-ion batteries are the cornerstone to the country’s ambitious green energy development plan and we are focused on contributing towards the government’s vision of achieving RE targets of 175 GW by 2022. With easy maintenance will come the acceptance towards green energy transition among both corporates and consumers.

“We’ve achieved remarkable success in delivering state-of-theart solutions in last year and have

supplied around 16 Million Watthours to companies.

In our effort to revolutionise the energy storage segment, we are foraying into the future with advancements in integrated and high-tech battery management systems and charging solutions.

We are bullish on creating economically viable and easy – to – adopt solutions to push – forward the adoption of solar across varied facets of day-today life. This round of funding will help us double down on product capabilities, formulate our approach to repurpose the end–of–life batteries and cement our segment leadership.”

EIB Provides Brenmiller Energy with €7.5 Mn for Innovative Thermal Storage Factory

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he European Investment Bank (EIB) and Brenmiller Energy, an Israeli provider of industrial energy storage solutions, have signed a €7.5 million financing agreement to back the company’s construction of the first large-scale factory for its bGen storage unit. The loan will allow the company to commercialise the third generation of its heat storage and steam generator system throughout Europe, North America and Africa, thereby bridging the gap between renewables and conventional power.

The transaction is supported by the InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects facility (InnovFin EDP), which is funded under the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020.

Brenmiller Energy’s thermal storage system consists of three key elements: thermal storage, heat exchangers and a steam generator, all inside the same unit. It uses crushed rock as storage material, guaranteeing high performance and low maintenance over time as well as an environmentally friendly manufacturing

cycle. Additionally, the technology can use multiple heat sources such as residual heat or biomass. It can also be charged electrically via embedded electric heaters.

On the output side, the storage unit is just as versatile and can provide energy in the form of steam, hot water, air or electricity.

“More and more countries in Europe and around the world are committed to stepping up green electricity generation,” said Thomas Östros, the EIB VicePresident responsible for energy. “While this is certainly a necessary move, renewable energy alone will not solve our climate problem. Energy storage will have to play an equally important role. Only through reliable storage systems can we back up intermittent renewable energy, accelerate the decarbonisation of the electricity grid, improve the security and efficiency of electricity transmission, and also ensure a more secure energy supply.

Today’s deal supports a promising technology provider in the field, and I am pleased that the EIB can help this young, innovative company to scale up its production.”

Thermal energy storage is a cross-cutting technology that will contribute to a green and sustainable energy system by: increasing the share of renewable energies, especially solar thermal technologies and power to heat/heat to power concepts; adding operational flexibility to industrial processes; enabling waste heat recovery in industrial processes; and increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes and buildings.

Avi Brenmiller, CEO of Brenmiller Energy added that “the decarbonisation of heat, industrial and district heating is one of the major challenges in the fight against climate change. I believe our unique thermal storage technology will play a significant role in integrating renewables into the industrial segment, thus enabling deeper integration of renewables into the grid. Our cooperation with the EIB is a major milestone in the road towards the full commercialisation of our technology. The EIB’s support will facilitate the fast ramp-up of our production lines to keep up with the increasing demand for our products.”

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Progress On Aluminium Based Storage Batteries

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n recent time, capturing solar energy has been becoming quite affordable, but the cost and technology to store it, given that its supply is irregular, has not kept pace. Now, scientists at Cornell University in the US have developed cheap and long-lasting batteries using aluminium, a low-cost alternative that is abundant and has a well developed industry that can match increased demand with adequate supplies. The latest announcement follows collaborations between Chinese and US universities which demonstrated fastcharging and stable aluminium batteries in early 2021.

A team of researchers led by Lynden Archer, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering and the James A. Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering, has been working to make solar energy storage affordable and safe by using low-cost aluminium to make rechargeable batteries. In their paper entitled ‘Regulating electrodeposition morphology in high-capacity aluminium and zinc battery anodes using interfacial metal–substrate bonding, published in

‘Nature Energy,’ the scientists demonstrate an aluminium battery with 99.5% reversibility that offers upto 10,000 errorfree cycles, making it a much more environmentally sustainable alternative to the lithium-ion ones currently in use.

The paper’s lead author, Jingxu Zheng, said, “A very interesting feature of this battery is that only two elements are used for the anode and the cathode – aluminium and carbon – both of which are inexpensive and environmentally friendly.”

Although aluminium is found in nature aplenty, integrating it into a battery’s electrodes can be challenging since it reacts chemically with the glass fibre separator- a physical division between the anode and the cathode- causing the battery to short circuit and fail. The scientists solved the problem by designing a substrate to separate anode and cathode. Aluminium anode still erodes, but not as quickly. Upon the battery being charged, aluminium reacts with the carbon structure and the two exchange electron pairs. This technique uses a nonplanar architecture to finely control the deposition of aluminium.

“Basically we use a chemical driving force to promote a uniform deposition of aluminium into the pores of the architecture,” Zheng said. “The electrode is much thicker and it has much faster kinetics.”

This approach has been derived from the researchers’ previous work on zinc-based batteries and can be applied to other materials as well. “Although superficially different from our earlier innovations for stabilizing zinc and lithium metal electrodes in batteries, the principle is the same,” Archer said. The co-authors of the paper are: doctoral students Tian Tang and Yue Deng, master’s student Shuo Jin, postdoctoral researcher Qing Zhao, laboratory manager Jiefu Yin, Xiaotun Liu, Ph.D. ’20, as well as researchers from Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory. The research was carried out under the aegis of the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences Program, through the Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties, an Energy Frontiers Research Center, hosted at Stony Brook University.

Apple Commits to More Clean Energy, With Energy Storage Marking a new Frontier

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pple has announced that over 110 of its manufacturing partners around the world are moving to 100 percent renewable energy for their Apple production, with nearly 8 gigawatts (GW) of planned clean energy set to come online. Once completed, these commitments will avoid over 15 million metric tons of CO2e annually — the equivalent of taking more than 3.4 million cars off the road each year.

Additionally, Apple is investing directly in renewable energy projects to cover a portion of upstream emissions, as well as a major energy storage project in California to pilot new solutions for renewable infrastructure.

The firm has revealed that it is

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constructing one of the largest battery projects in the country, California Flats — an industryleading, grid-scale energy storage project capable of storing 240 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy, enough to power over 7,000 homes for one day. This project supports the company’s 130-MW solar farm that provides all of its renewable energy in California, by storing excess energy generated during the day and deploying it when it is most needed.

The firm is investing in utilityscale storage in California and research into new energy storage technologies, even as it builds upon distributed storage capabilities in Santa Clara Valley and through Apple Park’s

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microgrid.

“We are firmly committed to helping our suppliers become carbon neutral by 2030 and are thrilled that companies who’ve joined us span industries and countries around the world, including Germany, China, the US, India, and France,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “In a year like no other, Apple continued to work with a global network of colleagues, companies, and advocates to help make our environmental efforts and everything we do a force for good in people’s lives — and to work alongside the communities most impacted by climate change.”

Last July, the company unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. Since that announcement, Apple has significantly increased the number of its suppliers that are transitioning to renewable energy. Apple is already carbon neutral today for its global corporate operations, and this new commitment means that by 2030, every Apple device sold will have net-zero climate impact. The company recently shared new details about its USD 4.7 billion spend in Green Bonds to support environmental projects around the world.

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Could Deep Shaft Mines Get a Second Life As Energy Storage Sources?

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inding a way to extend or wring some positives out of abandoned or exhausted mines, particularly deep shaft mines, has become a new challenge for many stakeholders. Startups like Gravitricity have got close to building a business out of using them for energy storage, for instance.

Now Centennial, an Australian mining company which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banpu Public Company Limited, has begun a technical feasibility study to ascertain if underground coal mines can be used to build a 600MW pumped hydro energy storage facility. The company supplies coal to domestic and export markets and powers close to 30% of New South Wales (NSW) coal-produced electricity. Additionally, it owns 5 operating coal mines, 2 under “maintenance” mines, and other potential new mining and energy projects. This important study will be funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) ($995,000) and NSW Government ($4.16 million) for a technical review and pilot trial, which would reveal important details about the viability of the new concept of underground pumped hydro energy storage.

Its results would be key in exploring coal’s reaction to water movement and the ‘revival’ possibilities of unemployed brownfield sites and coal mines, this time as energy storage sites. The site in question, for now, is the Newstan Colliery in Fassifern, south-west of Newcastle, which has been on care and maintenance since 2014, that is, it’s been kept by the owner on the off chance of needing to scrape more coal out of it in the future. The whopping $13 million being spent on the study might be worth it since the site seems viable for pumped hydro: it houses an upper and a lower reservoir and is already connected to the grid, with proximity to a secure water source. If successful, the proposed 600 MW PHES plant would not only serve a vital storage need but also provide employment to around 1000 people during construction and a further 50 people in ongoing operational roles.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller has said, “Through Centennial’s study we aim to

discover the factors that could lead to broad commercialisation uptake in repurposing brownfield sites and giving them a second life as energy storage facilities to support the growing share of renewable energy in our system.” The plan is to cause minimum water loss by carrying out a closed-loop operation where water in flooded mined seams about 50 metres underground will be transferred to seams about 250m farther down, or 300m underground. The upper reservoir could also include a traditional ground-level reservoir, other underground coal seams or open cut voids. At the time of abundant and cheap solar energy, the water can be pumped to the upper reservoir, turning the pumped hydro system into a storage of sorts, which can sell stored energy at a profit later on.

Since the mine is located near the large 2.88GW Eraring coal-fired power station, the two would together form an extensive underground battery to make transmission efficient. “We are excited to

be working with ARENA and the NSW Government on this pumped hydro project which represents an important and tangible step in evolving Centennial’s business from one solely based on coal, to a diversified energy company,” said Katie Brassil, Centennial’s Executive General Manager External Relations. If the study’s results are positive, the coal mine turned solar energy storage would be a significant addition to the network of renewable energy storage projects being undertaken by the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap which could potentially generate 2 GW of pumped hydropower.

Gravity-based storage (including large Hydropower projects) remains the biggest energy storage option for the world till date, accounting for over 90% of global storage capacity. This old fashioned technology to generate power on demand from the 19th century clearly has a role to play in many ways yet.

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ReNew Power Successfully Prices USD 585 Million of Green Bonds

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eNew Power Private Limited, one of India’s leading renewable energy company, has announced the successful pricing of USD 585 million of 4.5 percent US dollardenominated senior secured “green bonds” due 2028 on March 31, 2021, to be issued by certain of its subsidiaries.

The Company plans to utilise the proceeds to, among others, repay outstanding debt. The bonds have a tenor of 7.25 years and a fixed interest rate of 4.5 percent per annum. In-principle approval has been obtained for the listing and trading of the bonds on the India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited (the India INX).

ReNew Power a leading renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) by capacity and is the 13th largest global renewable IPP by operational capacity. It develops, builds, owns and operates utility-scale wind energy projects, utility-scale solar energy projects, utility-scale firm power projects and distributed solar energy projects. As of December 31, 2020, the firm had a total capacity of close to 10 GW of wind and solar energy projects across India, including commissioned and committed projects.

ReNew Power’s current group of stockholders contains several marquee investors including Goldman Sachs, CPP Investments, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, GEF SACEF and JERA. In February, the firm had started the process to achieve a listing at the NASDAQ market in the US via the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) route. The SPAC in this case is RMG Acquisition Corporation II. According to the official announcement, the pro forma consolidated & fully diluted

enterprise value of the transaction is approximately USD 8 billion and it is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

More recently, the firm had announced the commissioning of a 300 megawatt (MW) wind power generation facility in Gujarat.

The project was previously awarded to ReNew’s operating subsidiary ReNew Wind Energy (AP2) Private Limited in a competitive E-reverse auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

In January 2020, the firm had priced USD 450 million worth of green bonds. With 7 years of maturity, these dollar bonds were priced at 5.875 percent coupon rate and issued in 2 tranches with an average maturity tenure of five-and-a-half years.

Neoen Secures Financing for Finland’s Largest Wind Farm at 404 MW

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eoen has announced that it has finalised the financing of Mutkalampi, a 404 MW wind farm in Central and Northern Ostrobothnia in western Finland. Fully owned by Neoen, the project will be the country’s largest wind farm.

The project will be financed

by Neoen’s own capital and a 290 million euros non-recourse senior debt facility provided by German institutional asset manager MEAG, a Munich Re company, acting on behalf of primary insurance companies of ERGO, institutional investors via MEAG and several investment funds managed by MEAG. Neoen has also secured 38 million euros in VAT funding from Swedish

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bank SEB. Total investment in the wind farm is projected at 478 million euros, aside from financing costs.

Jerri Loikkanen, Neoen Finland’s Managing Director, said “we are delighted that Mutkalampi has achieved a significant step in securing financing. With over 500 MW, Neoen already is among the market leaders in Finland, and one of the most innovative.

Thanks to our firm local grounding and dynamic team, we will continue helping to achieve Finland’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2035.

The majority of the Mutkalampi electricity output is allocated to five 10-year corporate Power

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Purchase Agreements: a 125 MW agreement with Google from 2019 and four other agreements signed with a Dutch consortium (Heineken, Nobian, Philips and Signify) in 2020, amounting to 126 MW. Commencement of energy production will be staggered, with a first leg scheduled to open by the end of 2022 and the second in the third quarter of 2023.

Vestas has been elected to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC contract). The park will comprise 69 turbines of varying power, designed to maximise efficiency and keep visual and noise annoyance to a minimum.

Site preparation work is already

under way.

Xavier Barbaro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neoen, added: “We are proud of our rapid expansion in Finland, which is now in our top three countries and I congratulate our local team. With this first project financed by MEAG, we are pleased to diversify our funding sources and thus provide new categories of lenders with an opportunity to participate in the energy transition. The Mutkalampi wind farm also reflects our ability to enlarge our customer base to major industrial clients and to innovate with a panEuropean Power Purchase Agreement for green energy.”

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GCF Approves USD 137 Mn FMO Investment in India’s Green Growth Equity Fund

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he Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved Dutch development bank FMO’s proposal to accelerate private and public sector investment in India’s green infrastructure projects. Through the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), managed by EverSource Capital, the Dutch development bank will invest USD 137 million in the energy value chain, water, waste and transport sectors that promote low carbon and climateresilient initiatives in line with India’s climate objectives and Sustainable Development Goals.

The project is FMO’s second collaboration with the GCF, following the USD 100 million that the GCF invested in Climate Investor One in 2019.

Linda Broekhuizen, CEO ad interim at FMO said “we are excited to announce our second GCF project, with such a substantial contribution to sustainable development goals, across economic, environmental and social dimensions. Apart from contributing to India’s climate goals, GGEF contributes to job creation and increased economic activity. This stimulus is particularly timely now, in a covid19 pandemic environment, which is threatening India with the economic slowdown, job losses and negative implications for businesses.”

India faces major climate change challenges largely due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-induced warming.

The country faces increasingly extreme weather events and natural hazards, putting pressure on critical natural resources such as water, while

damaging infrastructure and threatening the livelihoods of its population. There is a clear need for far-reaching mitigation and adaptation measures, since GHG emissions in India are the third-largest in the world, contributing to 7 percent of global emissions and temperature rise.

The total investment needs to ensure low-carbon and climateresilient pathways for India is estimated at USD 2.5 trillion over 2016-2030. An upcoming study by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) finds that India is mobilizing less than 25 percent of the investment needed to reach this target (CPI, 2020). These mitigation and adaptation gaps are especially evident in the infrastructure sector, with the government facing budgetary constraints and limited capacity to structure and deliver green infrastructure projects.

That is why the EverSource

Capital managed GGEF targets raising equity capital up to USD 940 million for India’s green infrastructure sectors such as renewable energy, transport, resource efficiency and energy services. The program is innovatively structured, blending concessional equity and grant capital to mobilize significant amounts of commercial equity to accelerate investments in these sectors, while providing the necessary USD 4.5 million in technical assistance support to create an enabling environment.

Dhanpal Jhaveri, CEO, EverSource Capital said “we are delighted to receive GCF Board approval for an investment in GGEF. This is the largest single country amount approved by GCF ever for a private sector equity fund focused on climate mitigation.

This investment commitment strengthens our resolve and ability to work towards supporting India’s climate A PRIL 20 21

objectives and Sustainable Development Goals along with creating impact and value in India’s clean energy ecosystem.”

By investing across the energy sector value chain, transport and waste sectors, the program reduces GHG emissions and increases access to alternative water resources in India through investments into wastewater treatment and desalination plants. The total emission reduction expected from the equity investment of the program is the equivalent of 166 million tons of CO2, while treating and generating an additional 5,700 million cubic meters of water from alternative resources for use by households, farmers and businesses.

The GCF is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund. Its mandate is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission, climate resilient development pathways in developing countries.

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Tata Power & Social Alpha Invest in Smart Energy Management Startup ‘URJA’

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ata Power and Social Alpha have announced an investment in Industrial IOT startup ‘URJA’ – an innovative solution consisting of Smart Sensors and Analytics platform founded by Saurabh Jhamb and Anant Jhawar in 2017.

With the infusion of new investment, the company aims to scale up its sales strategy, expand B2B business and strengthen its back-end technology using advanced artificial intelligence/machine learning capabilities.

URJA has been awarded a patent on the sensor technology and analytics platform that generates ‘real-time actionable insights’ for factory floor monitoring & automation. The URJA sensors manufactured in-house have enabled small and medium businesses to save on their electricity consumption by detecting energy losses and predicting maintenance of production machinery. With this offering, Tata Power aims to be a fully integrated Energy as a Service (EaaS) solution provider with niche Smart Energy Management offerings. Tata Power believes in emerging technologies that can help commercial & industrial users to efficiently manage their energy consumption through its offerings. “We are glad to strengthen our

partnership with a deep tech company like URJA. It shares our goal of delivering enhanced value-added energy management experience for customers. With this seed support, we look forward to creating a robust solutions to offer newer services to our customers in the space of energy consumption and optimisation.” said Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power.

According to Founders, URJA is estimated to potentially save over USD 2 billion through its patented Sensors & Analytics platform and has already tracked Rs 20 crore worth of energy consumption through URJA EcoSense till now.

“We are just scratching the surface of how powerful device-level insights can be when it’s offered at a massive scale to a Manufacturing & Power ecosystem. The financial backing of Social Alpha and Tata Power will help us execute our vision even more rapidly and build scalable products, learning from experience, perspective and relationships of a leading Power Company,” said Saurabh Jhamb, Chief Executive Officer, URJA. RISE Institute Sweden has estimated that device-level energy innovations such as URJA have the potential to enable the avoidance of 13 MtCO2e per year by 2030.

URJA is being incubated since 2019 at Social Alpha’s Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC), a joint initiative of the Government of India and Tata Trusts, and supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), BIRAC, Tata Power and Tata Power-DDL. CEIIC is India’s first international incubator in clean energy under the aegis of Mission Innovation.

Manoj Kumar, Founder and CEO of Social Alpha, said, “we incubated URJA at our Clean Energy Lab – Clean Energy International Incubation Centre in 2019.

We have, since then, seen their progress and commitment to building an energyefficient future with their patented sensor technology innovation.

“At Social Alpha, we are committed heavily to strengthen our investments in clean energy and climate tech start-ups as the world combats climate crisis. With our co-investment in URJA alongside Tata Power, the company will have access to our entire ecosystem of technology and business offerings and investor network to help them become growth-ready. The future is bright for clean energy start-ups and we can’t wait to see the journey unfold for URJA.”

Norway’s $1.3 Trillion Sovereign Fund Makes First Green Infra Investment

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orway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, a pioneer and probably the largest in the world has announced its first investment into renewable energy infrastructure on April 7. The fund, which was in the news for its decision to stop and exit from all investments in fossil fuel-based firms, sold the last of its holdings in such firms early this year. The first investment into green infrastructure, a 50% stake in the Borssele offshore wind farm in the Netherlands from Danish energy firm Ørsted A/S for €1.375 billion is typical of the scale at which the fund operates.

For Ørsted, the new investor will be a

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welcome partner once the transaction is closed by the third quarter this year, with Ørsted continuing to be the wind project’s co-owner and operator. The Borssele wind project has a capacity of 752 megawatts.

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund was formed in 1990, ironically to invest profits from Norway’s huge oil and gas revenues for a future cushion when the oil ran out. As it turns out global warming has happened before the oil ran out.

The fund generated $123 billion in returns in 2020 has, in recent years faced strong competition for its big cheque writing powers from sovereign wealth

funds, including from the middle eastern region. However, it is safe to say at this stage that talk is cheaper than action for most such funds when it comes to investing in renewable energy. At a global level, investments into fresh fossil fuel projects, be it for gas pipelines or petrochemical complexes, have easily dwarfed any investments into renewable energy infra.

Funds like the Norwegian fund have also focused more on the developed world, due to political reasons as well as stringent norms to follow regulations in respect of rules regarding labour, land acquisition, or even sourcing in the supply chain.

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Solis Backs The Rise Of Storage, With Special Hybrid Inverters

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f the energy story of the past decade has been the emergence of solar, on the back of a drop in costs and increase in efficiency, it has long been recognized that the next big shift will be solar+storage.

The reasoning is quite simple. At current solar costs, storage could potentially be a viable option for users, reducing dependence on grid power. Secondly, in off grid locations, or even emergency situations, storage offers a level of flexibility that was unavailable till recently at this price.

Solis, a leading solar PV inverter firm worldwide, has also welcomed the opportunity, following market trends. The firm now offers Hybrid solar inverters that can enable uninterrupted supply of electricity to homes and businesses that will not affect their operations in the event of a grid supply failure or blackout. The young (started in 2005) firm has gone with string inverter technology for its inverters, building an enviable reputation for its &D capabilities and reliability of its inverter line up today.

The firm believes that the case for storage and solar is very strong, and will open up clear opportunities in the coming period. The rise of storage mirrors the rise of solar we have seen in the past decade, riding on the back of dropping prices and safer, more efficient storage options.

It cites recent reports issued by the World Bank and other international organizations, which highlight that over 840 million people worldwide continue to live without access to electricity. 96 countries have not achieved 100% power supply, most of which are located in southern Africa and Central & Southern Asia.

More tellingly, electricity prices are rising in most parts of the world. These increases have been driven mostly due to the cost of grid upgradation, and legacy issues like high dependence on thermal and nuclear power, where delinking has also proved to be a long and expensive process for the generating firms. The impact of cleaner and cheaper renewable energy will be felt only in the coming decade.

Thus, the cost of electricity in almost all European countries has continued to rise over the past 10 years. In 2019, the average electricity price for European residents was 20.5 Euro cents/kWh, which is 19% higher than the average price of 16.8 Euro cents/kWh 10 years ago.

Australian electricity prices have risen by an average of 75% over the past 10 years and continue to increase.

A key factor has been the rise in frequency of natural disasters, or extreme weather events such as floods, blizzards, typhoons and polar cold waves. Not only are these becoming more frequent, their intensity is also going up substantially, making terms like ‘once in a century’, ‘highest ever recorded’ or ‘decades high’ far more frequent than anyone is comfortable with.

These extreme events have added to the risk for legacy power power grids that are relatively fragile, and has frequently caused blackouts.

Thus, for many governments at national or state level, installing a solar + storage solution for residents is a key risk mitigation measure for residents living in those areas. We have seen this being tried extensively in California in the US, where Forest fires have led to massive power cuts, leaving residents nearby helpless, a situation now being managed by a massive push for solar +storage solutions.

Similarly, Australia too has pushed for storage subsidies to cover for

the high cost of rid failure and maintainance otherwise in places that are at the edge of the grid. Retail scale or smaller scale storage in these markets has followed the success of large scale storage, with cases like the Hornsdale battery in Australia, and now the Victoria Bi Battery, which work with the grid to help stabilize and support power supply, demonstrating the advantages storage can bring. And when it comes to storage for commercial and retail segments, few firms can match the record Solis has built up in the past few years.

So how do Hybrid solar PV systems help? Unlike conventional solar installations, which send the excess energy generated to the national electricity grid, a hybrid system sends the solar energy to lithium batteries that are responsible for storing it to be used at night or in an emergency. Existing solar PV systems can also be upgraded to include energy storage by utilizing a specific inverter for this purpose.

Among the benefits of adding energy storage to a solar PV system is: 1) Maximize self-consumption: You can use most of the energy produced by solar panels to power your daytime energy demand and at the same time charge a battery. This stored power can be used at night.

2) Reliable and clean energy: Energy is generated from the sun, free of charge. Besides that, this energy does not pollute the planet.

3) Cost reduction: When drawing energy from the grid, the intelligent hybrid inverter can be programmed to only consume from the grid and charge the battery in low-cost periods. With variable costing of power becoming a key tool to manage power demand, this featire will become increasingly important across the world.

4) Safety: There are many reasons why the power grid can fail unexpectedly, but with a battery powered system, you can maintain your power supply to critical loads such as refrigerators.

The functionality that hybrid inverters offer should be carefully reviewed prior to system design and installation, as they are essential in the success of PV installations with battery storage. It is critical to note that a successful storage solution must feature gridcompatible inverters and batteries. The compatibility of the battery to the inverter is of equal importance – the inverter you choose must be paired with a relevant compatible battery. The solar hybrid inverters from Solis are a reliable and flexible option, backed by many successful installations globally. These smart hybrid inverters can be programmed in four different modes to maximize the above benefits.

Solis offers both hybrid inverters for new installations and “retrofit” AC coupled solutions to upgrade existing solar PV systems. Both of which are grid tied solutions..

“This type of technology is revolutionizing the traditional power supply system since it gives the user the power, security and independence to generate, store and consume their own clean energy, thus reducing their dependence on the grid and traditional generating plants”. said Solis Product Director Kun Zhang The Hybrid inverter also takes the ‘smart’ to a whole new level, by effectively offering a user never before options to manage power consumption and storage. In effect, handing over even more control to the user when it comes to energy consumption. It’s a long way from the passive consumption that was the norm till just a few years back.

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As Solar Pumps Take Centre Stage In Agriculture, Solar Controllers Matter

VIRENDRA BAGDE Senior Manager Sales – Solar Vertical Factory Automation & Industrial Division Mitsubishi Electric India Private Limited

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under-voltage tripping and to maximize output delivery from morning to evening.

The automatic operation function enables VFDs to operate automatically without turning on their switch. Through the flow rate monitor, it is possible to monitor flow rate via an operation panel with suitable parameter settings or Modbus communication.

nnovative technologies are replacing conventional technologies and methods across sectors. Irrigation and farming domains are no different. India depends hugely on its Agri-economy.

Hence, conventional irrigation methods need a rational transformation towards innovative farming techniques that brings efficiency in food production. Irrigation across farms in particular is executed by thermal power. However, the supply of thermal power being irregular in rural areas, much of the dependence is on the diesel-run pumps. These are not only expensive options due to the rising fuel prices but are also less energy efficient.

As per statistics, 18 million pumps are connected with grid power with a further 7 million running on diesel. As a result, the two common options of irrigation; electric pumps and diesel pumps are associated with some limitations which restrict small farmers in the country to enjoy their total benefit. In such a scenario, solar powerdriven pumps can function and fulfil the needs of irrigation and drinking water simultaneously.

The real benefit

The Government is pushing for increased use of solar-powered pumps across regions.

Farmers being the biggest beneficiaries, the Indian Government now offers a subsidy on solar technologies. That is another reason why solar-powered irrigation is becoming a viable option for both large and small-scale farmers. While it reduces energy cost for irrigation, it leads to optimization of other agricultural resources as well.

The Guarantee

The mighty solar pump!

A solar pump works on the simple mechanism of using the sun’s energy as an alternate source of energy and converts it into power to run. This said, there are a score of benefits that one can earn through its use. First, there is a low-carbon footprint while using the technology. Being environment friendly, it puts less pressure on mother nature. And if the same is given a controller that improves its function, it adds value to the offering.

Mitsubishi Electric has developed a solar power-operated Pump Controller that converts the DC power to drive the AC induction motor of a water pump and control its function. It currently offers E12 series of drives. The controller has more efficiency, is compact in size, easy to maintain, has simple operational functions, and has built-in application-specific

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dedicated features. Its operation capacity ranges from 3 hp to 10 hp with FR-D 700 & FR-E 700 series variable frequency drives (VFDs). Mitsubishi Electric also offers up to 60 hp with its FR- A800 series of variable frequency drives.

The controller has some advanced built-in features including MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking), Optimized output frequency control, automatic restart function, dry-run detection, flow rate monitor, remote monitoring function, and capacity to work on solar and grid supply.

The dry-run detection function helps prevent the motor from remaining rotating without enough water flow or with a blockage in the pump. It also comes with a power failure stop function where the DC bus minimum voltage is reduced to avoid

Mitsubishi Electric solar pump controllers are manufactured under the guidelines of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). They are produced in state-ofthe-art manufacturing units and are compliant with all the major quality standards. Besides, Mitsubishi Electric focuses on features like easy installation, low maintenance, simplicity and reliability, better MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) range in its solar pump controllers which give effective pumping output for a larger period. The advanced technologies help monitor the various irrigation parameters through remotely and supervisory intelligent control system.

Mitsubishi Electric’s latest range of solar pump controllers is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and can be controlled through smartphones.

Solar pump controllers offer a viable option for irrigation pumps. These solar power pumps are the perfect remedy to the irrigation problems of today. As farmers will benefit, there will be visible advantage of clean air and pollution-free operations.

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New renewables like CBG can make India energy independent

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etrol and diesel prices in India are at all-time highs largely due to increasing crude oil prices. The government certainly has an eye on this key commodity crucial for economic growth and one can expect appropriate policy action to help mitigate the impact of higher fuel prices at least in the near term.

In the longer term, the government has been working towards a more sustainable solution for energy security by introducing several initiatives to lower India’s import dependency. This will allow India to become ‘Aatmanirbhar’ in its energy generation.

Renewable energy is increasingly becoming an important constituent of ‘socio-environmental’ progress and economic growth. A third of global power capacity is now based on renewable energy, according to the ‘Annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2020’ published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Within the broader renewable’s discussion, biogas has emerged as a promising energy source globally. This is not only because it is an environmentally sustainable solution, but because of the crucial role it has played to help nations transition to a circular economy.

To promote a circular economy between municipal solid waste and industrial/ agriculture waste management systems, sustainable biogas systems can play a significant role. Waste management, especially organic, poses a severe challenge to nations. Methane (greenhouse gas - GHG) emissions are now already a major threat owing to the harmful effects of GHG. Governments across the world are today waking up to the possibility of harnessing compressed biogas (CBG), a yet unmapped but potentially a vast renewable energy source. CBG, otherwise also known as biomethane globally, is an enriched form of biogas containing more than 90% methane.

India, among other countries, has been

Vinod Paremal Regional President for Evonik in the Indian Subcontinent

promoting ‘Waste-to-Energy’ projects using bio-methanation since 1982. More recently, CBG became a valuable component of India’s future green mixture, outlined in the Government of India’s 2018 ‘Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation’, or SATAT, scheme. The government, under the SATAT scheme, envisages setting up 5,000 CBG plants by 2023-24 with a production target of 15 MMT. This is expected to create both greener fuels and new employment opportunities in rural belts. Letters of Intent (LoI) for more than 900 CBG plants have already been given by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. The ministry has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading oil & gas companies, as well as technology providers to establish Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants under this initiative. The initiative is in line with the goals of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and the national priority to boost the MSME sector.

The government’s seriousness it appears has had a positive rub off on industry. As if on cue, oil and gas marketing companies have also been quick to realise the benefits of CBG. In 2019, oil marketing companies (OMCs) had invited expressions of interest (EOIs) from potential entrepreneurs; organised many roadshows across India to promote the use of biofuels such as CBG. The EOIs were invited from entrepreneurs willing to set up CBG plants and offer them to the OMCs for marketing through their retail outlets.

OMCs are sweetening the deal further by assuring entrepreneurs planning to set up CBG plants that they would purchase CBG for the next 10 years. It is expected that petrol pumps would be able to purchase CBG at Rs 46 plus GST/kg. The biggest advantage of CBG is that it benefits the environment, while the waste is being utilised gainfully.

First, biogas is produced through anaerobic decomposition of biomass. Since

biogas contains 55 to 60 per cent methane, 40 to 45 per cent carbon dioxide (CO2) and trace amounts of hydrogen sulphide, the second process involves purifying the gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide gases to prepare CBG. Thus chemically, CBG is the same as CNG — both are compressed methane — and has the same calorific value. The difference is that while CNG is a (outcome of oil &gas exploration), CBG can be produced from any biomass, be it crop residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal wet waste or effluents from a sewage treatment plant.

This makes CBG a commercially viable option as it can be directly used to replace or supplement CNG in transportation fuel.

Just like CNG, CBG too can be transported through cylinders or pipelines to retail outlets.

Bio-manure produced from paddy straw also has a high-water retention capacity that helps reduce irrigation requirement.

The other by-product is CO2. It can be tapped while purifying the biogas and used to produce liquid or solid CO2, which have high demand for food preservation or to be used in fire extinguishers.

There will be multiplier effects of CBG on several key sectors. In the transport sector there can be myriad benefits such as waste management, reduction in carbon & GHG emissions, while it would create additional revenue sources for farmers by creating a waste to wealth opportunity. It will also give a boost to entrepreneurship and the rural economy by generating employment opportunities.

Promoting CBG in the transport sector will also strengthen the Indian economy against the shocks of fluctuating crude oil and gas prices to some extent. If significant potential of CBG is exploited in the country, India can make significant dent on LNG imports, can supplement to the local production of gas.

CBG and its by-products hold the chance for a circular economic growth. Let’s make it work this time.

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India H2 Alliance Formed With Focus on Hydrogen in the Energy Transition

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lobal energy and industrial majors have come together to form a new energy transition coalition, the India H2 Alliance (IH2A), focussed on commercialising hydrogen technologies and systems to build net-zero carbon pathways in India.

IH2A has been established with the objective of building the hydrogen economy and supply chain in India and to help develop blue and green hydrogen production and storage as well as build hydrogen-use industrial clusters and transport use-cases with hydrogenpowered fuel cells. The alliance will focus on industrial clusters, specifically steel, refineries, fertiliser, cement, ports and logistics; as well as heavy-duty transport use cases and the establishment of standards for storage and transport hydrogen in pressurised and liquified form.

The India H2 Alliance will work with the government on five areas – (1) develop a National Hydrogen Policy and

Roadmap 2021-2030, (2) creation of a National H2 Task-force and Mission in a public-private partnership format, (3) identify National Large H2 Demonstration-Stage Projects, (4) help create a national India H2 Fund and (5) create hydrogen-linked capacity covering hydrogen production, storage and distribution, industrial use-cases, transport use-cases and standards.

Commenting on the focus of the India H2 Alliance, Anurag Pandey, R&D Team Lead, Reliance Industries, said, “India needs to identify and execute large-scale hydrogen demonstration projects if it wants to be part of the global supply chain for hydrogen. Beyond R&D pilots, India needs ‘hydrogen-valley’ style national initiatives across a region like a high-traffic industrial freight corridor, with multiple use-cases. Such hydrogen-related systems projects are strategic for India’s energy

transition plans, linking closely with renewables and battery-technology. These require multiple industry players to come together and form consortia to implement such projects. IH2A will take the lead on such initiatives.”

The India H2 Alliance will have a panel of hydrogen experts and a IH2A secretariat to support member companies, the alliance is co-led by RIL and Chart Industries. The IH2A Secretariat will be run by consulting firm FTI Consulting. Jillian Evanko, CEO and President of Chart Industries and founding member, said, “Proactive industry collaboration with the government is key to creating a hydrogen economy in India.

Through India H2 Alliance, we will bring best-in-class hydrogen technology, equipment and know-how to create a hydrogen supply chain in India, and in many cases, “Make in India”. By prioritising national hydrogen demonstration projects, innovations to further reduce the cost of hydrogen will become prominent, locally.”

LONGi Signs up for Green Hydrogen With Special Unit

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ONGi Green Energy, the largest solar manufacturer globally, has gone ahead and incorporated a business unit in March to explore and get in early into the green Hydrogen market. LONGi has a targeted manufacturing capacity of 40 GW in modules, 20 GW in cells, and mono ingots at 65 GW. The move by LONGi really shouldn’t surprise, considering how we have reported earlier on the implications for renewable energy from Green Hydrogen.

As a firm that could potentially supply 25 percent of global demand for modules, LONGi will have a very high interest in the progress f green hydrogen manufacturing, especially where it is solar powered. Readers will recall

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that the focus on green hydrogen, which essentially means hydrogen produced using renewable energy, has been heralded as the next big opportunity for renewable energy. Especially with energy storage costs falling, large-scale energy storage powered by renewable energy is widely considered a possibility by 2025-26 at a price that will easily meet energy needs for powering large hydrogen

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electrolysers. At a price that will meet or beat grid prices anywhere.

Hydrogen itself is a very good storage option, with a production price of sub $2 widely considered a level at which it would open up many new opportunities across industries. At present, costs have ranged from $4 to $ 6, under different conditions.

Li Zhenguo, the founder and president at LONGi, has opted

to be the chairman of the new business unit, indicating just how seriously LONGi sees the new opportunity. Named Xi’an LONGi Hydrogen Technology Co, the unit is expected to gradually figure out and build a direction for the firm to invest aggressively if required.

Yunfei Bai, director of industrial research at LONGi, said in a statement that continued cost reductions of generating solar power had presented the opportunity to reduce electrolysis costs in turn. Combining the two technologies can “continuously expand” the scale of green hydrogen production and “accelerate the realisation of carbon reduction and decarbonisation goals of all the countries in the world”.

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Plug Power led Consortium Pledges $320 Mn to new Clean Hydrogen Fund

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lug Power, Chart Industries, and Baker Hughes have announced their intention to become cornerstone investors in the formation of the FiveT Hydrogen Fund, a unique new cleanhydrogen-only private infrastructure fund dedicated to delivering clean hydrogen infrastructure projects at scale.

Plug Power intends to commit €160 million ($200 million), and Chart Industries and Baker Hughes each intend to commit €50 million respectively ($60 million), recognising the unique value proposition that FiveT will bring to the hydrogen sector. These investments will enable FiveT to establish itself at the heart of the hydrogen industry and help advance a broader global mission to address climate change and accelerate the energy transition.

This Euro-denominated Fund, offered only to qualifying and verified investors, has the ambition to raise a total of €1 billion from both financial and industrial investors.

The energy industry and many corporations broadly agree the hydrogen economy needs to build scale at speed to succeed and become a key part of the solution to building a net-zero global economy. And investors have an important role to play in driving success, and smart collaboration between financial and strategic stakeholders in hydrogen infrastructure can unlock the potential of the

broader hydrogen economy, accelerating the pace of investment and supporting a net-zero emissions future.

Plug Power, Chart Industries and Baker Hughes are early cornerstone investors in the Fund, with the objective of helping it to establish its market presence and enabling the first stages of its investment activity.

“Plug Power established the first commercial market for fuel cells and is now building the first green hydrogen generation network across the United States,” said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “We are now one of the original investors in the first significant fund to support funding hydrogen infrastructure projects. FiveT was an early investor in the hydrogen industry and is leveraging its’ knowledge and Pierre Etienne’s leadership in the industry to build the team and create the best in class infrastructure fund in this field. We believe this fund will help accelerate the construction of hydrogen infrastructure globally which will support rapid deployment of fuel cell applications.”

The Fund will exclusively finance projects in the production, storage and distribution of clean hydrogen. Projects will aim to achieve strong infrastructure returns and deliver true sustainability for a lasting impact on the environment, society and businesses. The Fund will continually seek alliances with industrial companies looking to build the

hydrogen energy supply chain and form alliances to grow projects at scale.

“To drive the energy transition forward requires innovative models for collaboration and investment, and new energy frontiers like hydrogen will progress faster when key players come together,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “The FiveT Hydrogen Fund will combine the financial strength as well as the strategic and technical expertise of our companies to help advance hydrogen in new ways. As an energy technology company with almost 60 years’ experience in the hydrogen space, Baker Hughes is pleased to continue our commitment to a net-zero future with our intended investment in FiveT. This is another good example of our approach to new frontiers where we are making calculated, strategic bets to drive the energy transition forward.”

By combining deep financial strength and investment rigor with unparalleled knowledge of and access to the hydrogen market and its technology, the Fund is expected to be a catalyst for both the financing and building of hydrogen infrastructure projects. The Fund is led by Pierre Etienne Franc, who was, up to the 31st of March, the vice president of Hydrogen Energy for Air Liquide and co-secretary of the Hydrogen Council.

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Borosil Renewables to Invest Rs 500 Cr to Double Solar Glass Manufacturing

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orosil Renewables, the only domestic manufacturer of solar panel glass, has announced its plans for doubling its capacity to 900 tonnes per day with a planned investment of Rs 500 crore. The renewable venture of the Borosil Group currently has a 450tonne per day solar panel glass manufacturing capacity at its Baruch plant in Gujarat, which is enough to power 2.5 GW of solar power plants.

With the brownfield expansion at the Barauch plant in Gujarat, the capacity will jump to 900 tonnes per day or 5 GW of the installable capacity of solar power plants. The new plant, at an investment of Rs 500 crore, should be up and running by July 2022, and this is the second doubling

of its capacity in the past five years, Shreevar Kheruka, the managing director of Borosil Group was quoted by local reporters.

The firm is in a unique position not only for being the sole domestic manufacturer of solar panel glasses but also its business is protected from an anti-dumping duty on its only competition i.e. imports and thus not having any price setting power. Since the anti-dumping duty was announced, the firms’ share price has soared around 500 percent from its 52-week low in March 2020.

This is the second doubling of capacity addition in five years after the Rs 235 crore expansion in 2016. Kheruka is hopeful of the company more than doubling the

topline in the just concluded FY21 at Rs 500 crore, from Rs 240 crore in FY20, along with a fatter bottomline, which he did not quantify. For the parent Borosil, he expects a flat topline of Rs 600 crore given the loss of business in the first half.

In the solar panel glass business, which is globally controlled by China with around 90 percent market share, Borosil meets 40 percent of the domestic demand of 650 tonnes glasses per day, while the rest is imported from China and Malaysia.

Kheruka further told reporters that the company exports almost 20 percent of its present solar panel glass capacity to Europe, with primary focus being Germany, Spain, Portugal Russia and Turkey, and also the US.

Even As Solar Glass Prices Retreat, Price Pressures To Continue On Modules in 2021

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he year 2020 was highly profitable for solar glass manufacturers everywhere. Not because they sold more, but because they could get much higher prices for their output. After being range bound for all of 2019 and right upto August 2020 between RMB 25-27 (1 RMB = Rs 11.3), solar glass prices shot up to a high of almost 50 RMB in a matter of months since then. Xinye Solar, one of the biggest solar glass leaders, earned US$15.8 billion in 2020- a 35% jump in revenue- and made a net profit of US$5.86 billion- an almost 89% jump. Another firm, Luoyang Float Glass increased their profits by 6 times. While the current rate is around RMB43 per sq meters, proceeding into H2 2021, prices are likely to reduce below RMB35 per sq meter or lesser.

In India, the situation was made ‘worse’ by the imposition of a 9.71 percent CVD (Countervailing duty) for five years, starting March this year. So what caused this shortage and high prices in the first place. Two trends. The shift to a higher share of bifacial modules in advanced markets including China, and the new

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trend towards larger panels. Both together have contributed to a much higher demand for solar glass , leaving industry capacity lagging. Belatedly, global China based manufacturers like Xinyi Solar, Flat Group, Caihong Group, CNBM and CSG Holdings have all announced significant expansion plans or plans to expedite their plans, much like Borosil Renewables, the lone player in India, has. For the record, Borosil, after grappling with Chinese and Malaysia based competition, also swung into profits in 2020, thanks to the price improvements. The firm is set to announce another strong quarter in results for the Jan-Dec period now. It is

also doubling capacity to 900 tonnes per day, equivalent to 5 GW by 2022. The firm claimed earlier that Chinese players control almost 95% of the solar glass market, so protection was strongly needed to enable it to build a level of scale, and for the country to build some self sufficiency in the area. But the picture is changing quite quickly.

In China, the global hub for solar equipment, major module manufacturers lobbied in November 2020 for the Chinese government’s intervention, saying that solar-grade glass prices had spun out of control as they had more than doubled in the last four months. Some small-scale module suppliers had apparently been quoted even RMB50 per sq metre at the time, leading to module manufacturers scaling back production to rein in demand. New policies were brought into force to deal with supply constraints which also spilled into the following year, ensuring prices continue to be high initially in 2021. However, manufacturers are anticipating a decline over the majority period of this year due to fresh capacity coming online.

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Agrivoltaics Promise Coexistence With Agriculture For Solar

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olar, despite great progress for towards becoming the cheapest, greenest and cleanest source of power, still has one weak spot. The large tracts of land that are needed for every MW of solar produced on the ground. At almost 5 acres per MW, this has regularly been pointed out as the biggest achilles’ heel for the green power source. With only so much waste land and viable desert land (close to transmission facilities), solar increasingly finds itself up against a tradeoff on other uses for the land it will be built on. In fact, this has been among one of the few key reasons why solar has failed to make a significant impact in large parts of North and East India, where agricultural land has tended to be much more fertile. And hence, not a viable possibility for handing over to a solar power plant. Laws exist in fact that expressly disallow the use of fertile agricultural land for the purpose.

A new study produced by the LOCOMOTION project and funded by the European Union, estimates that 5% of the total landmass would be needed if solar was to supply 80% of the electricity produced in the EU, India, Japan, and South Korea by 2050. The environmental cost of decarbonising the energy system would include: conversion of arable land, fragmentation of ecosystems, further deforestation for relocation of agricultural activities to biodiversity-rich areas, etc.

This is why balancing agriculture with solar power generation hs become an increasingly urgent issue. Or the growing interest in floating solar.

Enter agrivoltaic, or solar designed specifically for working on agricultural land. Ideally, they seek to deliver three positives- to increase food production, boost renewable energy production and achieve important water savings — all on the same piece of land. A further benefit we were introduced to at a solar farm was how the land and the air under the panels is much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Agrivoltaics have become a viable option thanks to the drop in panel prices, that has more than offset the higher structural costs due to the increased height.

For instance, both Japan and India have been working towards using farmland more effectively by setting up solar power plants

in it without impeding agriculture. The Farmdo Group, a Japanese renewable energy company, is aiding the government in fulfilling its goal of net-zero emissions in 2050, by harnessing the sun’s energy using the solar panels of vinyl greenhouses, inside which plants like arugula and lettuce are grown. The greenhouses are spread over 48 hectares in Gunma Prefecture and generate electricity which can power 10,000 households. The installation of solar panels requires the conversion of a portion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use, and from 2013 to 2018, agricultural land allocated for solar power generation grew from 19 to 560 hectares. Experts reckon that by 2050, 30% of solar power generation on land is likely to be concurrent with some sort of agriculture alongside.

In India, Delhi‘s state government also decided to set up solar power plants in agricultural lands, without giving up agriculture there, back in 2018-19. For the same, this year in January, the Delhi government has finally secured consent from farmers across 9 villages to use their 225 acres of land as part of a long-awaited scheme- ‘Mukhyamantri Kisan Aay Badhotri Yojana’- that aims to enhance farmers’ income and the city’s power production. It is said that the farmers would be able to continue their farming activities post the power plants’ set up since the solar panels would be installed at a minimum height of 3.5 metres from the ground. This would allow tractors and other machinery to ply on the field. Like in the case of Japan, a portion of Delhi’s

agricultural land- 6 hectares to be exactwould be converted for non-agricultural use, that is, for setting up a 1 MW plant which would run for 25 years and generate 1.2 million units of electricity annually. The farmers would get 1,000 units of energy, ₹1 lakh rent (increasing at 6% compound interest) per acre per year. Of course, agriculture experts might prefer rowing suitable vegetables on such ground rather than staples like wheat, which actually do need their fill of direct sunshine too.

Agriculture-plus-solar projects have raised real concerns among farmers about crop growth being hindered by the solar panels blocking the light. To solve this, the Japanese agriculture ministry requires panels-installed lands (except abandoned farmland) to produce 80% or more crops per square meter compared with the regional average, leading farmers to growing low-sunlight consuming crops like myoga (Japanese ginger) and fuki (Japanese butterbur). Still, fears about solar expansion leading to decline of agricultural production capacity persist. Indian farmers are similarly worried about the possible deprivation of direct sunlight, loss of land fertility, and reduction of yield over time.

To look into these concerns, the government set up a demo project at an agriculture institute’s campus in Kirari in January 2020, which was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Results from that would surely open up many more possibilities to make agrivoltaics more relevant and efficient.

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Solar Country Rankings. The top 5 in Past 5 Years, the Next 5 Years

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he explosion in solar capacity in the past decade, particularly since 2015, has been out there for all to see. It was just a few years back in 2012 that the world celebrated topping the 100 GW mark in solar. Contrast that with 2021, when the world expects to add 150 GW in just the year itself!

That massive rate of change has meant an upheaval in country rankings too, as far as solar goes. While comparing top 5 rankings for the full decade would cover almost 10 countries, it is interesting that when we reduce the period to the last 5 years, ie, 2015- 2020, then we see an element of stability too, going by IRENA’s country rankings.

Not only does China continue to enjoy its unrivalled 1st Rank five years later, but it has also increased its solar power capacity by almost 6 times since 2015 to 240 GW in 2020. In 2021, China could be adding as much new capacity as the world did in 2016, ie, 70 GW. India, which ranked 10th in the list five years ago, sped up to the 5th position in 2020 by increasing its capacity to almost 40 GW. European leaders like the UK, France, Italy have long been eliminated from the top 5 list, replaced by Asian giants like Japan, India.

China secured the first rank in 2020 with a total installed solar capacity of 254,354.800 MW. Five years ago too, it had the highest capacity in the world as 43,548.800 MW of its energy was being produced by solar power. Depending on plans, the country might be looking at between 800GW to 1000 GW of solar by 2030.

The USA ranked second in the 2020 list by producing 75,571.700 MW of solar energy.

In 2015, its position was 4th and its capacity stood at 23,442 MW. The US stands out for the impact individual states to have had on solar expansion, with California leading the way till recently.

Japan earned third place in 2020 and enjoys a capacity of 66,999.949 MW. The island country more than doubled its 2015 solar power capacity of 28,615 MW, which, incidentally, was also the third-highest in the world then. Expansion might actually slow down in Japan, thanks to a lack of land as well as an economy where power demand

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is very stable and likely to remain so with more efficiency.

Germany slid to rank 4 from rank 2 in the last five years due to a lukewarm increase in its capacity- that is, from 39, 224 MW in 2015 to 53,783 MW in 2020. Germany, as one of the oldest and biggest backers of solar, might see a major repowering of its solar facilities, besides new installations in the coming decade, Expect overall capacity to peak out at 100 GW by 2030.

India enhanced its solar power capacity massively from 5,593.484 MW in 2015 to 39, 211.158 MW in 2020, making a five-rank leap from its 10th position five years ago.

The country has a target to reach 300 GW or more by 2030.

Italy, like Germany, a strong former solar champion, registered meagre growth (from 18,907.070 MW in 2015 to 21,600.345 MW in 2020) and a rank depreciation from the 5th to 6th place.

Going beyond the top 5, tiny Australia (by population) moved two places up from its 9th rank in 2015 by increasing its solar power capacity by more than three times from 5,946 MW five years earlier to 17,627 MW in 2020.

Vietnam (16,504.490 MW) and the Republic of Korea (14,574,791 MW) bagged the 8th and 9th places respectively in 2020 even though they were absent from the top-ten list five years prior.

Spain secured the last position in 2020 with a total capacity of 14,089.018 MW. Despite two dips in rank, it managed to double its capacity from 7,008.063 MW in 2015 which had earned it 8th place then.

Looking at the next 5 years, it seems safe to say that the top 5 on the board look well placed to continue their reign. While China will probably need just one-two more years of its frenetic additions to cement its position at the top till 2025, the US should also hold on to its position, thanks to the new green deal of the Biden administration.

However, if one looks beyond the top 5 club, then get set for a lot of changes, as countries across the world embrace solar in a bigger way. From the Saudis in the middle east, to Australia’s plans to be an energy exporter by exporting solar power generated on the continent, to a resurgence in Spain and in parts of South America, expect the top 10 list in 2025 to feature a whole new set of countries too.

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New Solar Projects Accelerate Saudi Vision 2030

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audi Arabia is on its way to achieving its ‘Vision 2030’ goal, which aims at diversifying the Kingdom’s economy away from dependence on oil and towards renewable energy.

In addition to announcing the opening of the ACWA Power-developed Sakaka solar power plant, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman also revealed that agreements for 7 new solar projects across the country had been signed. Additionally, it appears that the construction of the Dumat Al-Jandal wind energy plant is also nearly complete. All these plants are expected to produce more than 3,600 megawatts energy. “During the past weeks, the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative have been announced, which showed that we, as a leading global oil producer, are fully aware of our share of the responsibility in advancing the fight against climate change,” he said.

Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the new projects “will contribute to … shifting from liquid fuels consumption to gas and renewable energy, which makes them milestones in the development of the energy

sector” and praised the private sector’s “fundamental role” in them. At a launch ceremony in Jouf, he inaugurated the Sakaka plant, which has an output capacity of 300 MW and represents the kingdom’s “first step to utilise renewable energy” according to the Crown Prince. The location, capacity, and investment alliances (5 in number, made up of 12 Saudi and international companies) pertaining to each of the 7 new solar projects are as given below: “The completion of these projects, and others, and linking them to the national network, will contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s capabilities in producing electricity to meet the national need, enhance the reliability of the electrical grid, and support the Kingdom’s ambitious plans to become one of the main countries in the field of producing and exporting electricity using renewable energy,” the energy minister added. In other firms, maintain a strength in energy exports, even if the oil runs out or loses value .

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIL), which owns 50% of ACWA, said that the Sudair project would be one of the

largest solar power plants in the world and the largest in the Kingdom. Its construction is likely to start in the latter part of 2022 and will likely produce 1500 MW to power 185,000 homes and decrease carbon emissions worth 2.9 tons per year. A consortium supported by the fund signed an agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company for 25 years for the project. PIF Governor Yasser Al-Rumayyan expressed his faith in the project by saying that it “embodies our commitment to invest in the sectors that will shape the future of the global economy.”

The biggest project is of course the $500 billion dollar Neom city, planned to be a smart city attractive for tourists and international investment too.

By 2030, the Kingdom plans to produce half of its electricity with gas and the other half with renewables so as to replace about 1 million barrels of oil equivalent of liquid fuels. This would be a welcome outcome since the country is one of the highest emitters of CO2 per capita and the largest consumer of oil for electricity production in the world.

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And the 2021 BNEF Pioneers Are…

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he BloombergNEF Pioneers Competition– an annual technology and innovation contest started in 2010has announced the 12 winners of the 2021 edition of the competition. The winners list includes Convoy, Nautilus Labs, and EConcrete among others which were chosen from over 250 applications received from 36 countries.

Previous winners have ensured the award is a respected one, as demonstrated by last year’s BNEF analysis which stated that almost 25% of the previous winners have been acquired and around 40% were “thriving” and “progressing” private companies. Last year’s winners include the likes of Israelbased StoreDot, known for its lithium-ion batteries which can charge an electric vehicle (EV) in just five minutes, Germanybased Next Kraftwerke, one of the largest virtual power plants globally, UK-based Plastic Energy, known for its chemical recycling technology which converts plastic into recycled oils (Tacoil), etc.

This year’s competition was a bit different from the previous years in that applicants were required to take on three particular climate-tech innovation challenges: 1. Heavy-Duty Transport: because until land-based long-haul freight optimises movement, it cannot avoid empty cargo space- commonly called “shipping air”. While Long-haul freight used at sea may be more efficient, it uses bunker oil as fuel which is emits a massive amount of carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen pollutants; 2. Materials: because removing the emissions from the transformative processes which fashion material is a difficult but inevitable challenge; Climate: because keeping constant tabs on our world, especially invisible pollutants in unnoticed places, while working towards sustainability is an essential task.

Claire Curry, selection committee co-chair and head of digital industry research at BNEF, said, “ By focusing on specific themes each year where technology innovation is sorely needed, we hope that the competition will continue to shine a light on important, pioneering innovations.” The winners of the 2021 BloombergNEF Pioneers, challenge-wise, are the following: Challenge A : Managing and Optimising Long-haul Freight: i. Convoy– American digital freight network provider; ii. Nautilus Labs– American predictive decision-support provider for global maritime shipping; iii. Ontruck– Spanish digital transportation company that combines automation and machine learning to reduce partially empty voyages.

Challenge B: Advancing Materials and Techniques for Sustainable Products: i. Cemvita Factory– American company which engineers microbes that use carbon dioxide or methane as a feedstock for producing carbon-negative industrial chemicals; ii. Pyrowave– Canadian company that electrifies chemical processes in the circular economy of plastics; iii. Via Separations- American company electrifies chemical separation processes.

Challenge C: Monitoring and Understanding our Changing Planet: i. Pachama– American company that uses machine learning with satellite imaging to measure carbon captured in forests; ii. Planet– American satellite-imaging company with daily frequency; iii. QLM Technology– U.K. company that uses camera systems to visualise and quantify greenhouse-gas emissions.

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Wildcards: i.75F- a building-management system; ii. ECOncrete– develops marine fauna-attracting concrete for coastal and marine infrastructure; iii. Pivot Bio– makes products that can replace the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers.

One of the winners, Convoy Co-founder and CEO Dan Lewis said, “To be recognized by BloombergNEF is a huge honor and highlights the importance of Convoy’s mission to transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste.” Diego Saez Gil, CEO and co-founder of Pachama was likewise delighted and was quoted as saying, “Being named as a Bloomberg Energy Pioneer, alongside highly respected entrepreneurs and leading innovators is an honor for Pachama. We are delighted that our technology is being recognized and validated as a means to accelerate global forest conservation and reforestation and grateful for the doors this opportunity may open allowing us to further scale our technology and impact.”

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IIT Delhi Halves Carbon Footprint With 4.7 MW Green Energy Capacity

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ndian Institute of Technology – Delhi (IIT-D) has announced that from April 1, 2021, the institute achieved the milestone of becoming the first Central Government funded technical institute to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 50 percent.

This, the premier institute claims, was made possible by its recent bilateral power purchase agreement with a hydropower generator in the state of Himachal Pradesh for sourcing 2 MW green energy for its power demands.

Prof V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said, “availing green power through open access is another important initiative that we have taken in recent times to share our responsibility towards clean climate. IIT Delhi has always shown a pathway and provided leadership for new initiatives like these. Through many such proactive actions, we are making good progress in achieving the target of making our campus – smart, sustainable and green. The Institute has plans to expand the green power purchase portfolio in the near future.”

The firm stated that open access provisions

The rooftop solar system at IIT – Delhi

in Electricity Act 2003 have made it possible to buy power from the generators of their choice through bilateral contracts or energy exchange, for large consumers of power like IIT Delhi. The institute made use of these provisions to its advantage by involving PTC India as a trader to identify a source of ‘green’ power. Buying 2 MW of power exclusively from ‘green’ generator is equivalent to offsetting about 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The institute already has 2.7 MWp of rooftop solar PV installation on campus.

And with the addition of 2 MW of hydropower in the kitty, IIT Delhi’s power purchase portfolio has 4.7 MW of green power as against contract demand of around 8.5 MW with the local utility that essentially serves

academic and hostel areas.

“With this, IIT Delhi shares its responsibility in achieving the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target as part of climate change pledge by the Government of India during the Paris agreement,” the institute stated.

Dr. Abhijit Abhyankar, Associate Dean (Infrastructure) and Professor, Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi said, “It is expected that IIT Delhi would do substantial cost saving with green power procurement. The Institute also wishes to expand this initiative by exploring further cost-saving opportunities provided by the energy exchanges in India.”

Availing open access to purchase green power entailed adopting a procedure laid down by state and central electricity regulatory commissions for obtaining approvals from local utility, various load dispatch centres, installing open access meters, etc.

Dr. Abhyankar added, “IIT Delhi has created a template for educational institutes who wish to avail this facility.”

ReNew Power Commits to Achieving Net-Zero Emissions by 2050

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eNew Power, one of India’s leading renewable energy companies, has announced its commitment to achieving netzero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A commitment with which the Gurugram headquartered clean energy major stated that it ‘aims to help address the global climate crisis and lead the way in the world’s transition to a low carbon economy.’

The firms’ pledge aligns with the ‘Race To Zero’ campaign – the largest ever global alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions. At the same time, it stands committed to its long-standing program of research and collaboration with businesses, policy makers and

non-governmental organizations to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy.

The firm added that it going beyond business, it has always been at the forefront of the climate action agenda, utilising diversified platforms to mobilize different stakeholders, share knowledge and opinions, discuss strategies, and chart a practical course of action. The Company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint through improved energy efficiency, increased renewable energy supply, and reducing network waste.

Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ReNew Power, said, “as one of India’s leading

renewable energy companies, ReNew Power is committed to tackling climate change by identifying, assessing and managing climate related risks and opportunities. By extending our support to the “Race to Zero” campaign, we aim to stabilise global emissions by 2050 and create opportunities for low carbon innovations that will drive the transition to a low carbon economy and spur the investment and innovation needed to make the net-zero goal attainable. We endeavour to embed sustainability in the ethos, strategies and practices of our organization, as well as in product design, to secure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all.”

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is a global effort to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon future that prevents future threats, creates jobs and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.

Representing 471 cities, 23 regions, 1,675 businesses, 85 of the biggest investors, and 569 universities, the campaign mobilises a coalition of leading net zero initiatives.

The announcement comes on the heels of the firm announcing the successful commissioning of a 110 MW solar generation facility in Jaisalmer. A part of the eventual 2300 MW solar capacity that ReNew is bringing up in Rajasthan.

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SolarWindow Sets new Record by Doubling its Power Conversion Efficiency

What If- Renewable Powered Power Trade Between India And Pakistan

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olarWindow Technologies, a developer of transparent liquid coatings and processes for generating electricity on glass and plastics, has announced that it has more than doubled its prior certified performance, also achieving the highest independently-certified power conversion efficiency of previous organic photovoltaic devices fabricated at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

The firm reported a record 14.72 percent (+/- 0.29 percent) power conversion efficiency using industrystandard single-cell patterning for performance testing. Spurred by these positive results, engineers are already working to further optimise power conversion efficiency for a single cell, and additionally translate this record efficiency to large-scale SolarWindow applications for products such as electricity-generating glass windows for buildings, automotive sunroofs, and more. “This remarkable efficiency tangibly demonstrates SolarWindow capabilities to the marketplace by setting a new standard for power conversion efficiency, the absolute metric for determining how much power is generated from light. This is only the beginning,” stated Dr. James Whitaker, SolarWindow Principal Scientist and Vice President of Technology Development. Last quarter, SolarWindow management announced plans to increase power and prototyping capabilities. Within weeks, Dr. Whitaker and his team achieved a 500 percent increase in testing speed, 12-fold greater testing capacity and output, and 20-times reduction in material costs for rapid lab-scale prototyping of SolarWindow electricitygenerating glass.

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eaders might be surprised to know that India’s trade in power is not insignificant when it comes to its neighbours. The country annually imports around 1,200 MW of power from Bhutan, exports 1,200 MW to Bangladesh, exports 450 MW to Nepal and 3 MW to Myanmar.

India is also working on a plan to develop an undersea cable for trade with Sri Lanka that could potentially cut the latter’s generation costs by $180 million annually.

However, the biggest potential for power trade remains unused, ie, that between India and Pakistan. Power, like so many other trade commodities, from sugar to wheat to capital goods and pharma, is an area where Pakistan stands to save literally billions of dollars, if it were to trade directly with India.

A market-based approach between grid operators of the two countries would probably be the easiest to execute, if political differences did not exist, as a significant demand centre like Lahore in Pakistan is barely a few kilometres away from, say, Amritsar on the Indian side.

Unfortunately, the power exchange possibilities between India and Pakistan have been left largely unexploited, a circumstance not helped by the current suspension of trade between the two countries due to geopolitical conflicts surrounding Kashmir, especially since Article 370’s abrogation. Pakistan’s long years of a power crisis, involving frequent outages for 6-8 hours at a time, has many causes: flawed energy policies and poor planning, high cost of generation, poor transmission and distribution infrastructure, high dependence on expensive and imported furnace oil, lack of

technical know-how to develop renewable sources even though resources like solar and wind are present aplenty. India, on the other hand, would seem to face a problem of plenty, with solar costs reaching Rs 2 per unit, and utility-scale projects at a price of Rs 2.70 still to find takers. In Pakistan, by contrast, prices across domestic and industrial categories are 15 to 20 percent higher, and seemingly locked into an everescalating cycle due to continued dependence on fossil fuels.

Oil-produced costly electricity coupled with delayed payments by households has led the Pakistani government to finance power single-handedly and get caught in ‘circular debt’ for years which now exceeds PRs two trillion. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-2020, the country’s principal source of energy- thermal poweraccounts for a massive 60% approximately.

Interestingly, the total installed generation capacity is 37,402 MW, and while the maximum demand is 25,000 MW, the distribution capacity is capped at 22,000 MW. Clearly a paradoxical situationsurplus capacity and power shortage- has developed in the nation in recent times.

Interestingly, there will be 50% ‘excess’ energy by 2030 which will increase the government’s financial burden. The reason for this excess power may be attributed to the much-hyped China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)- a $47 Billion investment (worth $62 billion as of 2020) in Pakistan’s infrastructure (chiefly, the energy industry) as part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative that aims to increase China’s trade and growth through forging connecting routes with Europe, Africa and the rest of the world.

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ReNew Power Commissions 110 MW Solar Project in Jaisalmer

Radiance Renewables Acquires 152 MW Solar Rooftop Assets of Azure Power

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eNew Power has announced that it has commissioned a 110 megawatt (MW) solar generation facility in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. As part of the project, the firm has signed a power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at a tariff of Rs 2.49/kWh . The solar project in Jaisalmer district is a part of an eventual 2300 MW of solar capacity that ReNew is bringing in Rajasthan, the company said in a statement. The balance of the 2300 MW capacity will generate electricity to be fed into the national grid “ The commissioning of our solar project in Rajasthan is another step in ReNew’s ambitious solar energy programme. In Rajasthan alone, we aim to commission 2300 MW of solar power capacity by 2023,” Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, Sumant Sinha said. With this commissioning, ReNew’s total solar capacity in Rajasthan stands at 500 MW. In March, the firm had announced the commissioning of a 300 MW wind power generation facility in Gujarat. The project was previously awarded to ReNew’s operating subsidiary ReNew Wind Energy (AP2) Private Limited in a competitive E-reverse auction conducted by SECI. The 300 MW project, located in Gujarat’s Kutch District, will provide clean power to the states of Haryana and Orissa at a wholesale rate of 2.44 Indian Rupees (USD 0.034) per unit (kWh), a lower rate than that of power generated through conventional thermal power plants in the region.

With this commissioning, the firm cemented its position as the leader in the renewable energy sector in the state of Gujarat, with commissioned wind generation capacity of 950 MW.

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adiance Renewables, a player in the competitive renewable energy solutions for commercial, industrial and residential customers has announced an agreement to acquire the solar rooftop assets of Azure Power Global Limited. The consideration is Rs 536.5 crore covering 152.5 MW including 8.1 MW of under construction and 18.5 MW of recently commissioned assets. Radiance is a 100% subsidiary of the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), India’s leading Climate fund, managed by EverSource Capital.

The current acquisition makes it one of the largest such deals in the rooftop solar assets space in India, catapulting Radiance among top bracket solar rooftop players in the country. Through this transformative acquisition, Radiance has PSU customers such as Indian Railways, DMRC, JNV, DJB amongst others where 99% of PPAs are for 25 years.

At the announcement, Manikkan Sangameswaran, Executive Director, Radiance Renewables Private Limited, said “This strategic acquisition will position Radiance as a significant pan India player in the Commercial, Industrial and Institutional segments with exposure to long term power purchase agreements with quality customers based on net metering in the build-out of its distributed generation

platform. This transaction allows Radiance to bring its high-quality asset management skills to improve asset performance given its focus on enhancing and delivering value to its stakeholders. We plan to introduce cutting-edge asset management tools such as real-time monitoring with analytics and aim to make Radiance, a leading Renewable Energy as a service (REaaS) player in India.”

Dhanpal Jhaveri, CEO, EverSource Capital, said “ At EverSource, one of our core agendas is sustainability and this transaction reinforces our commitment towards creating a clean and sustainable energy ecosystem. This investment will also help Radiance broaden its horizon of servicing C&I customers, which will pave the way for it becoming a leading player in its domain.”

Ranjit Gupta, CEO, Azure Power said, “This is the first-ever sale in Azure Power’s history and we are delighted to sell these assets to a high-quality focused C&I developer, Radiance Renewables, which is backed by high quality shareholders. At Azure, we are committed to capital discipline and our focus is on the creation of shareholder value. This sale allows us to enhance returns on invested capital through efficiency gains and cost optimization.”

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MNRE Invites EOI for Installation of Innovative Solar Pumps Again

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he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had in June 2020, issued the guidelines for promoting innovative solar pumps, applicable for all Indian innovators/ manufacturers/service providers, who wish to include innovative stand-alone solar pumps technologies/models under Schemes (PM-KUSUM) operated by the MNRE. And now, the ministry has invited them to submit an expression of interest (EOI) to participate in the abovementioned scheme for the promotion of innovative solar pump technologies. The call for EOIs follows on from a similar notification from the ministry in September 2020. As per the ministry, the purpose of this call for EOIs is to promote innovation in the solar pumping sector by allowing the innovators to showcase their technologies in real field conditions.

The ministry has clarified that it will shortlist the promising technologies with variable claims for improved parameters and allow the selected innovators to install solar pumps under the PM-KUSUM Scheme. The last date for submission of EOIs is April 22, 2021.

eligible to participate. In this case, organization that has filed the patent should be the sole applicant or lead partner in case of a consortium/JV. Applications by eligible participants will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee constituted by MNRE. Test report for the proposed solar pump must be submitted by the innovator along with EoI, however, if deemed necessary, the Committee may recommend re-testing of performance of the pump at NISE or any other NABL accredited lab before allowing installation of such pumps in the field. Further, the elements of innovation in the context of improved performance of solar pump needs to be mentioned very clearly by the applicants in their response to EoI. A costbenefit analysis shall also be enclosed with the proposal. Innovators declared successful by the evaluation committee will be invited by the Ministry to install up to 50 number of improved standalone solar pumps under the PM-KUSUM Scheme. And those Innovators who accept the invitation of the Ministry will be empanelled and allocated sites for the installation of solar pumps.

In July 2019, the MNRE had updated specifications for stand-alone solar pumps. It had then received representations from innovators claiming that by using different design/hardware/software for the solar pump they can achieve performance better than specified by MNRE in a cost-effective manner. At the time, to promote innovation in technology, the Ministry had decided to permit the installation of innovative standalone solar pumps in test mode and later formalised it in the June 2020 order. After which, innovative solar pumps have now been cleared for installation (with approval) under the ministry’s biggest solar pump scheme i.e. PM-KUSUM. To be eligible for participating in the call for EOIs, the developers/ innovator who wish to install such stand-alone solar pumps should satisfy the following criteria: • Only those innovative products which are available for testing and field trial will be eligible for participation. Test reports for the improved solar pumping system shall be available with the innovator.

• New technologies for which patent/IP related filings have been done (patent may not have been awarded) will also be

Central Coalfields Tenders for 20 MW Solar Plant in Jharkhand

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entral Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, has issued a tender for the implementation of a 20 MW solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plant at the vacant land within Piparwar MGR at Piparwar, in Chatra district of Jharkhand.

The scope of work for the selected developers will include the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the solar plant. The developers will have a period of 270 days to complete this phase of work for the project. After which they will be required to provide five years of

Operation and Maintenance (O&M) works and further sign an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) of critical equipment for a period of 10 years of the solar PV plant on a turnkey basis.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 91.93 crore.

To be eligible, the bidder should have designed, supplied, erected/ supervised erection and commissioned/ supervised commissioning of Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) based grid-connected power plant(s) of cumulative installed capacity of 16 MWp or higher, out of which at least

one plant should have been of 10 MWp or higher capacity.

The reference plant of 10 MWp or higher capacity must have been in successful operation for at least six months prior to the date of technical bid opening.

Financially, the average annual financial turnover during the last three years, ending March 31st of the previous financial year should be at least 30 percent of the estimated cost put to tender (~Rs 30 crore).

The last date for bid submission is April 29, 2021, and the techno-commercial A PRIL 20 21

bids will be opened on April 30, 2021. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for April 6, 2021, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders.

In December 2019, CCL had issued a similar tender for the development of a 20 MW solar plant on the vacant land within piparwar MGR at Piparwar.

However, the estimated cost of the project listed by the corporation at the time was Rs 80.31 crore. At a time when costs have actually come down, no explanation has been provided for the higher estimate this time.

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Airtel Commissions Captive Solar Plant for its Data Centres in Uttar Pradesh

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s part of its mission to rapidly grow its green energy footprint, Bharti Airtel, one of India’s premier digital communications solutions providers, has announced that it has commissioned a 14 MWp captive solar power plant to meet the energy requirements of its core and edge data centres in Uttar Pradesh.

The facility in Tilhar (Shahjahanpur, UP) is the first of the two solar plants being set up by Airtel in partnership with AMP Energy. The second plant at Begampur is expected to be commissioned in the next quarter.

The firm expects the two projects will provide a major boost to Airtel’s initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint. It had acquired 26 percent equity stake in AMP Solar Evolution as mandated by regulations.

Data Centres, which play a key role in the digital ecosystem, have large power requirements. ‘Nxtra by Airtel’ currently

operates 10 large and 120 edge data centres across India. During FY 2022, it aims to meet over 50 percent of its power input through renewable energy sources and contribute to Airtel’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO – Nxtra Data “As a responsible corporate, green energy is a top agenda for Airtel. We take pride in being ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing sustainability initiatives. We will continue to accelerate our commitment

to reducing our carbon footprint through multiple interventions.”

The company stated that it is proactively implementing clean fuel-based power solutions for its towers, data centres, switching centres and other facilities. In FY 20, the company has achieved an average Carbon Emission reduction (CO2 /PB) of ~114 percent from the base year 2011-12 against Department of Telecom’s target of 30 percent.

Last week, we had reported that Airtel in furtherance to its acquisition of 5.2 percent equity shares in Avaada MHBuldhana Private Limited – a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Avaada Group formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Solar Power Plant in November 2020, had now acquired an additional 2,914,100 equity shares (approximately 3.33 percent) at Rs 10 per equity share in the SPV as mandated by state regulations..

ONGC Tenders for 15 MW Solar Plant at Vagra Site in Gujarat

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he state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a multinational crude oil and gas entity, has issued a tender for the commissioning of a 15 MW (ac) grid-connected solar power plant at the firms’ Vagra Site in Bharuch, Gujarat.

The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, procurement and supply, construction and installation, and commissions of the 15 MW (ac)/ 17.5 MW (dc) solar plant with the associated transmission system works. The developer will have a period of 245 days to complete the work on the project, after which it will be required to provide comprehensive Operation and Maintenance Services for the plant for a period of 15 years from the date of

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successful commissioning.

The last date for bid submission is May 17, 2021, and the tenders will be opened on the same date.

A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for April 19, 2021, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders.

In November 2019, the state entity had issued a similar tender for the development of the 15 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at the firms’ Vagra site in

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Bharuch District of Gujarat. All the provisions of the tender were identical to the ones issued in the current tender. In May 2020, ONGC and NTPC ltd had set up a Joint Venture (JV) company for the renewable energy business.

According to an ONGC statement, the two Maharatna’s entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 21, 2020, in Delhi to formalise this arrangement. The MoU will

enable both companies to achieve their targets in the renewable energy business.

As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore and set up renewable power assets including offshore wind, in India and overseas, and explore opportunities in the fields of sustainability, storage, e-mobility, and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) compliant projects.

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Flipkart Ties up With Mahindra Logistics to Accelerate EV Deployment

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ndian e-commerce major – Walmartowned Flipkart has partnered with Mahindra Logistics Limited (MLL) as one of its key logistics partners to help fasttrack deployment of electric vehicles (EV) across its logistics fleet in the country. The move follows on from the e-commerce majors’ commitment to have a 100 percent electric logistics fleet and deploy more than 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 in the process. With a shared commitment and vision towards sustainable business practices, Mahindra Logistics has already launched EDEL, its own electric delivery brand in late 2020. EDEL has partnered with companies in consumer & e-commerce to provide sustainable lastmile delivery across six cities in India. MLL through EDEL will enable Flipkart in its journey towards building a green supply chain by not only deploying a large fleet of EVs but also creating a conducive environment for EV deployment and operations across the country. This

includes building supporting infrastructure and technology such as charging stations and parking lots, training workforce, route planning and even battery swapping stations in the near future. Another key focus area will be technology and control tower operations to enable greater efficiency and cost competitiveness.

Hemant Badri, SVP Supply Chain, Flipkart Group, said “electrification of the logistics fleet is an important part of Flipkart’s larger sustainability goal and a key focus area for the company. We are happy to have Mahindra Logistics on-board as a logistics partner, who will play a major role in helping us achieve our vision of making our logistics fleet fully electric by 2030. Through collective efforts, we aim to build and support solutions that boost EV adoption across the country and gradually make a 100 percent transition to EVs in our logistics fleet” Flipkart has already partnered with many OEMs and introduced two and three-

wheeled electric vehicles in its supply chain. The company’s partnership with MLL EDEL will further propel this momentum and help in deployment at a National scale, further enhanced by infrastructure and technology support that spans charging, tracking, asset, safety, and cost. MLL will, under its electric delivery brand EDEL, be procuring different types and classes of electric vehicles from OEMs as it establishes a pan-India EV presence.

Rampraveen Swaminathan, CEO & MD of MLL said, “Mahindra Logistics is deeply committed to sustainability, in line with our RISE philosophy. The EV-based last-mile delivery service EDEL is aligned to this and provides customers with a sustainable, cost-competitive and technology enabled last-mile delivery solution. Our focus is on expanding our network based on our deep partnership with large enterprise customers. We are pleased about this engagement with Flipkart and look forward to partnering with them.”

Will EV’s Need Solar To Stretch Range To 1000 miles?

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ange anxiety, or the fear of running out of charge on your electric vehicle (EV) with not a charger in sight, or the thought of waiting for hours to get a full charge, has been a real issue for EV’s to manage. While it is not faced by manufacturer’s selling EV’s for dense urban environments, like E-rickshaws or two wheelers, for longer commutes and situations, apprehensions remain. Even EESL cut back on its large 10,000 vehicle tender of 2019 when government employees using the cards complained of range issues.

That has led to many in the global industry setting an ambitious 1000 Mile (1600+ km) range for the coming generation of larger EV’s.

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technologies have emerged, including solar. Consider the single-crystal silicon on the sides, which was demonstrated to be viable by Sono Motors at CES 2021.

Beyond land, solar boats– are appearing with effectively infinite range because of the availability of a large area for solar, so much so that some boats possess the generating capacity to supply three houses upon arrival at a harbour.

Solar racing cars have been designed for school students,

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that can also run exclusively on solar power, by squeezing their drivers for ultra-low drag factors and by using expensive 3-5 compound solar, both of which are unsuitable options for vehicles meant for everyday travel. Yet these developments indicate a coming period of innovations in space travel to land travel, from robot shuttles to trucks and cars. Established clean energy companies, like Tesla and Lucid, and startups like Aptera, are all working to extend the range.

San Diegobased Aptera unveiled a new solar-based three-wheeler in December last year, which is touted as never having to be recharged and offering a 1,000mile battery-electric range as well. Tesla and Lucid’s existing

vehicles already offer more than 500 miles range through low drag factor, light-weighting with composite materials, more efficient power electronics, aluminum monocoque et al.

And all this is without resorting to solar. The famed Tesla Roadster achieves 620 miles by doubling the battery size.

Lightyear solar family cars can reach around 500 miles range.

They have exceptionally extensive solar bodywork and, more importantly, more efficient in-wheel motors which have also worked for Tesla in enhancing its range. Many of these vehicles, whose exterior is already largely made of glass, are set to use solar building windows as material soon like Hyundai’s upcoming translucent solar roof.

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Ashok Leyland Planning two Green Mobility Subsidiaries in India

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shok Leyland through its subsidiary Switch Mobility, the U.K.-based EV producer of Buses and Vans, has announced its global expansion plans into India and its plan to create two subsidiary companies. The first, Switch Mobility Automotive, is being formed to carry on the EV strategy in India, which forms part of its global entity. The second is OHM Global Mobility, which will focus on providing Mobility as a Service offering.

Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility said, “Switch Mobility Automotive will help us fulfill our aspiration of zero carbon emission transportation. With a strong presence and proven expertise in the commercial vehicle market in India and the experience of operating a large number of electric vehicles successfully in India and the UK, we see huge opportunities for growth through Switch’s expansion in Indian and Global markets.”

Switch Mobility Automotive brings together Ashok Leyland’s capabilities both from Optare UK and Ashok Leyland’s EV Division. Whereas, OHM Global Mobility is a solutions company being piloted in India with ambitious plans to roll out Mobility as a Service (eMaaS) globally. Together, Switch and OHM will provide a net carbon zeroemission solution to India’s exciting trend towards EV urban buses and LCVs. Commenting on OHM Global Mobility, Dr. Andrew Palmer, Vice Chairman, Switch Mobility, said, “Through OHM Global Mobility Private Ltd, we believe we can accelerate the transition to net-zero carbon mobility in buses and vans. OHM Global Mobility’s pioneering offering is not only extremely comprehensive in India, but is also world-leading and will provide a robust model of business that can be leveraged by Switch in all its markets.”

Ather Energy Brings Online First Batch of Charging Points in Mumbai Network

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engaluru-based EV two-wheeler startup Ather Energy has announced the setting up of its fast charging network Ather Grid in Mumbai. Working in collaboration with startup Park+, the firm has already brought online 10 charging points across various key locations in the city with a further 30 such points expected by next year.

In a press statement, the firm stated that it has set up 128 public fast charging points across 18 cities in the country as part of the network, which can be used by all electric two-wheelers and electric four-wheelers. And that this facility is being offered free of charge to everyone till September this year.

The charging network is supported by Grid app, which allows all EV owners to locate and check the availability of the nearest charging stations in real-time. Delhi-based Park+ which collaborated on the project – offers a smart parking solution that allows users to locate parking, book slots and pay digitally.

The company has already installed 20 chargers across cities and will expand this number to 30 by April. By bolstering the charging infrastructure set-up in a faster, more hassle-free way, it is looking forward to the accelerated adoption of EVs in the country, said Amit Lakhotia, Founder Park+.

Ather Energy in its accelerated expansion phase targets to set up 5-6 points before delivery across the 27 markets that it will be present in by the third quarter of 2021. “Ather Grid has seen steady adoption across all the cities we have begun deliveries in and we believe that accessible charging infrastructure is critical before launching our products in any market we enter. “We have already signed up with multiple partners and will continue to do so in the months to come.

Park+ has also been instrumental in finding us locations in Mumbai and increasing our reach,” said Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy.

Xiaomi to Enter EV Industry, to Invest $10 Billion Over 10 Years

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iaomi Corporation has officially announced its plan to enter into the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The company has announced an investment of USD 10 billion in smart EVs over 10 years, escorting in the new Xiaomi.

According to the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, the new business will be operated under a Xiaomi whollyowned subsidiary with an initial investment of RMB 10 billion. Also, Lei Jun will concurrently serve as the CEO of the smart EV business.

The firm claims that Xiaomi is at its prime and has set a foundation for it to break new ground and commence building its smart EV business. According to its latest financial results, Xiaomi’s global smartphone shipments reached 146 million, upholding the company’s position in the top 3 globally. By the end of 2020, the Group held a cash reserve of RMB 108 billion.

“The smart EV is the broadest race track in the next decade. It is an inseparable and crucial part that forms the smart

ecosystem; It is an inevitable choice to expand the integrated ecosystem of AIoT smart living; It is also the only path for us to fulfill the vision of the company and to bring a better life to everyone through technology.

By stepping into a new domain, we will certainly encounter many challenges. The automobile industry features great complexity, a huge amount of investment, a long product cycle, and low fault tolerance, which requires us to treat it with full respect and seriousness. Facing these challenges with a fearful heart as if we are walking on thin ice,” Lei Jun expressed.

Also, on the same day, Xiaomi released the brand new Xiaomi logo and added the logo with the letters “xiaomi”.

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IIT-Guwahati Team Develops new Technique to Boost Li-ion Batteries Performance

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new and advanced technique has been developed by a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology – Guwahati (IIT) that can precisely estimate one of the most important internal states of a battery known as State of Charge (SOC), a technique they expect will help boost the overall performance of rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that are widely used in electric vehicles (EVs).

The research was carried out by a team consisting of Gautam Sethia, Research Scholar, Dr. Sisir Kumar Nayak, associate professor, and Professor Somanath Majhi, all associated with the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering.

With their research findings recently published in the IEEE transactions on Circuit and System I: Regular Papers, journal.

Discussing their work, the team told local reporters that they divided the problem into two parts. The first was to derive the

mathematical model of the lithium-ion battery, which can closely exhibit its dynamic characteristics. Then, the second was using few advanced system control and mathematical concepts such as sliding mode theory, to try to estimate the battery internal states precisely.

As per the team, the proposed technique shows highly robust characteristics and works accurately even in the presence of various external disturbances such as sensor inaccuracy, temperature variation, etc. Compared to the existing techniques, the proposed technique not only increases the accuracy but also reduces the computational time, and hence needs a cost-effective microcontroller chip for its implementation or commercialization.

State of Charge (SOC) reflects the remaining capacity of the battery, i.e., how much more charge can be withdrawn from the battery before it gets fully discharged. The knowledge of remaining capacity helps to optimise battery’s

capacity utilisation, prevent overcharging and undercharging of the battery, increases its lifespan, reduces cost, and ensures safety of the battery and its surroundings.

The team is currently also working on various other battery issues including cell balancing, monitoring state of health, state of power, etc. IIT Guwahati Li-ion Performance Recently, we had reported that a team at IIT Hyderabad had come up with an alternative for conventional Lithiumion batteries. A dual carbon battery, which may find potential use in high voltage applications, sophisticated battery-run medical devices, regenerative braking systems in electric vehicles (EVs), and stationary grids. Finding options that are cheaper and more effective to the current lithium-ion batteries has become a sought after target, thanks to the need to cut down on dependence on the metals involved in current lithium batteries.

Fill Solar Jobs Advertise with the most read solar magazine in India.

To advertise, get in touch with girish.mishra@meilleurmedia.com

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As Solar Takes Lead, Moment of Reckoning For Wind Energy

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SNEC PV POWER EXPO 2021

RENEWX 2021

website: www.snec.org.cn

website: www.renewx.in Location: Hitex, Hyderabad Phone: +91 93792 29397

START DATE: 23 April 2021 END DATE: 24 April 2021

START DATE: 2 Jun 2021 END DATE: 5 Jun 2021 E-mail: info@snec.org.cn

E-mail: amitava.sarkar@ubm.com

AGRIVOLTAICS 2021

ENVEX 2020

website : www.agrivoltaics-conference.org Location : Freiburg, Germany START DATE : 14 Jun 2021 Phone : +49 761 76991820 END DATE : 16 Jun 2021

website : www.envex.or.kr

E-mail : info@agrivoltaics-conference.org

E-mail : envex888@epa.or.kr

START DATE : 8 Jul 2021 END DATE : 10 Jul 2021

SOLAR PV WORLD EXPO 2021

ASIASOLAR 2021

website:www.pvguangzhou.com

website : www.asiasolar.net

START DATE : 16 Aug 2021 END DATE : 18 Aug 2021

Location: Shanghai, China Phone: +86 21 33685117

Location : Guangzhou, China Phone : +86 4006 258268

START DATE : 2 Sep 2021 END DATE : 3 Sep 2021

Location : Seoul, South Korea Phone : +82 2 34071542

Location : Hangzhou, China Phone : +86 512 53986898

E-mail : intl@pgo-china.com

E-mail : 1009472995@qq.com

6TH SOLAR AFRICA 2021

THE 13TH CHINESE RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

website : www.expogr.com/tanzania/solarexpo

website : www.crecexpo.com

START DATE : 28 Sep 2021 END DATE : 30 Sep 2021

Location : Tanzania Phone : +971 4 3721421

INTERSOLUTION 2022

INTERSOLAR INDIA 2021 website : www.intersolar.in Location : Mumbai, India Phone : +49 7231 58598206

E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

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Location : Wuxi, China Phone : +86 510 81827276

E-mail : liuyang@crecexpo.com

E-mail : expo@expogr.com

START DATE : 14 Dec 2021 END DATE : 16 Dec 2021

START DATE : 4 Nov 2021 END DATE : 6 Nov 2021

website : www.intersolution.be START DATE : 19 Jan 2022 END DATE : 20 Jan 2022 E-mail : info@intersolution.be

Location : Ghent, Belgium Phone : +32 9 3857719

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GoSun Flow Pro: The Best Water Purifier and Sanitation Station PRODUCT FEATURES:

A solar-run water purifier that can function as a portable hand-washing station, hot shower, source of clean drinking water, and more. It uses solar energy to filter 99.99% of pathogens from water.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

PRODUCT BRIEF: A water purifier cum portable basin which runs purely on solar energy.

Solar Buzzkill PRODUCT BRIEF: A portable battery-free solar powered bug zapper that kills off moths, mosquitoes, and other pests.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Uses advanced PV technology by building energy throughout the day, and uses ultraviolet light to attract the bugs, along with a live wire to destroy them once in contact.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

It has a solar panel on the back of it,

Easy to use. Simply empty the dirty water into the pump and click a button.

The solar water purifier and its USBpowered pump then purifies the water.

When you’re done, it’ll easily recharge with the sun’s energy.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

This gadget can pump over 100 gallons of water on a single charge. It comes with an 18.5 WH power bank that can help run the solar-powered water purifier for hours.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at an approximate retail price of INR 20,850 on https://gosun.co/products/flow-pro

along with a series of suction cups that allows you to attach it to any window and let it charge up during the day. Once it’s fully charged, you can remove it from the window and set it up anywhere to help zap bugs wherever you are.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Since it is battery-free and cordless, it’s great for picnics, in the backyard, in the bedroom, or just in the kitchen to clear away bugs that might have gotten in throughout the day.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of

INR 1,500 on https://prettylittledealstore. com

ABFOCE Solar Bluetooth Portable Speaker PRODUCT BRIEF: Solar charging and water resistant dual speaker with mic, that runs off Bluetooth connections.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

A compact, portable and easy to carry machine with no hard edges, weighing just over a pound. Built for outdoor use and has a category IPX6 certificate, meaning it’s water-resistant and can handle rain, snow, and dust. Uses crystal silicon solar panels to charge its 5000 mAh battery which can play music for 60 hours. Its two 40mm speakers to give a great stereo sound.

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PRODUCT APPLICATION:

The controls are basic but effective and are located on one end of the outer cabinet.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Ideal for camping or just a day by the pool or the sea. Compatible with all Bluetooth devices and operates at the standard 30-meter range. Powerful and rugged speaker that also has an LED flashlight and SOS lighting. Can even charge a phone while playing music.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 5,836 on https://www.ubuy.co.in

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Motozoop Mini Metal Solar Rotating Car Perfume-Fan Product Brief:

Motozoop air freshener and fan uses solar energy as a power source, and rotates while driving in daytime.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Features unique regulation mechanism with imported cologne spice and aromatherapy core which contains plant extracts that are mild, non-irritating and non-alcoholic.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Its recyclable bottom adhesive ensures hassle-free placement on the car’s dashboard or anywhere else. It sources its

power from sunlight. Reusable & washable adhesive allows you to repeatedly set this air freshener in different places without hurting your car.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Neutralises stinky odours to create a pleasant and relaxing car ambience. The gadget has a durable rubber base, and is high-temperature resistant and hazard-free.

Its ingredients are safe for pregnant women and babies.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 549 on https://www.motozoop.com

Solar Garden Fountain PRODUCT BRIEF:

Solar-run garden fountain that circulates water in garden accessories like birdbaths and ponds, preventing water stagnation that breeds mosquitoes and causes algae formation.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Carefully designed to match a wide variety of birdbath finishes, this garden fountain includes 4 different fountain heads that alter the style and pattern of the water as it sprays out of the top of the fountain. It has a 7 inch diameter and weighs 6.7 ounces.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Simply place the fountain pump into the water, with the solar panels facing up, towards the sun. The fountain will automatically run, every day. Attached to the bottom of the garden fountain are suction cups that can be adhered to the bottom surface of your birdbath or pond, keeping it from floating around freely.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Runs on solar power, which means there’s no maintenance, ugly wires or time consuming set up. A perfect decorative accessory which can be used anywherea backyard, a garden or a home.

Infinite Solar Street Light PRODUCT BRIEF:

An aesthetically appealing solar-powered street light that is rain proof.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The unit comes with a 7.5w led luminary with in-built battery and a mnre approved 10w solar panel. It takes 12 sunny hours to get fully charged

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 2,240 on https://prettylittledealstore. com

(under ideal conditions) and can then run for 14-20 hours.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Just attach this to a pole of 3.5 to 4.5 meters and you are ready to go.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Versatile and lowmaintenance solar street light. While traditional solar street lights look bulky A PRIL 20 21

ugly and require heavy and expensive batteries, this light weighs less than 8 kgs and doesn’t require complex fabrication. All that’s needed is a simple pole. Ideal for gardens, gateposts, lawns, small streets, and internal roads.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 6,500 on https://www.amazon.in SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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GE Renewable Energy

HELIUM Solar System Integrator

Position: Sr. Application Operations Engineer

Position: Electrical Engineer- LT/HT system installation and Photo Voltaic

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Location: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Odisha

Job Description: As part of GE Renewable HPC team you will be responsible of the system administration of the HPC computational resource, related network and storage systems. You will be responsible for providing technical support regarding the applications setup and configuration of the CAE environment used within the business sector and responsible to fix application and system problems, or any incident that is disrupting the respective application service that business users depend on. The job calls for both technical capability and understand business HPC uses cases. Crucially, HPC infrastructure must be available in production environment: any issue needs to be addressed immediately to avoid business impact. An unflappable temperament is a must.

Responsibilities: • Design including Technology Selection, System Configuration, Electrical Connection, Distribution and Control Systems, Power Conditioning Systems for Photo Voltaic power plant • Responsible for complete project management through the installation, testing and commissioning of the system.

• Design, Erection, Commissioning and Maintenance of Photo Voltaic Power Plants • Working with the company‘s engineers and program managers to ensure customers’ needs are met.

• Develops plans, coordinates and directs the engineering work for a major project, or several smaller, but complex projects, or for the design within a specific discipline.

• Maintains engineering records, lists and reports as required to ensure compliance with the client’s schedule, adherence to the budget, adherence to procurement specification, or to ensure engineering problems are monitored and resolved.

Essential Responsibilities: •R esponsible for supporting and maintaining multiple user and customerfacing applications related data processing platforms and services.

• E nsure the user-facing business applications are consistently available and meeting customer expectations.

•M onitor HPC performance and availability as per defined SLA’s •A ct as a primary executor in responding to customer and user-reported application issues and incidents.

Qualifications/Requirements: •B achelor’s Degree in Information Systems, Information Technology (IT), Computer Science or Engineering.

•A minimum 5-8 years of professional experience Linux Administration, HPC (High Performance Cluster), System Administration and setup of main CAE simulation tools (e.g. Ansys, Matlab, Bladed) Technical Expertise: •U ser and SSO administration, in particular LDAP •H PC (High Performance Cluster), Azure, AWS Environment & Tools •P arallel file systems and storage system (e.g. NetAPP storage, Lustre, Isilon, etc. SMB / NFS protocols) •U nderstanding of Infiniband architecture •P ython Scripting (Very Essential) How to Apply : https://jobs.gecareers.com/renewableenergy/global/en/apply/

Desired Candidate Profile: • BE/ Diploma – Electrical, specialization in LT/HT systems design, installation and operation. Hands on experience in field installation and commissioning of complete power and transmission systems with AC and DC cabling, switchgear, SCADA, transformers, instrumentation. Should have ability to get the relevant certification with codes to connect to the grid and transmission lines.

• Minimum 5 years of experience, preferably in the area of power generation system design and project management. Should have experience in managing design, installation and commissioning of complex large scale PV generation projects.

• The position is project based the candidate should be willing to travel and locate on site for the duration of project. Ideal candidate will be able to address all requirements for getting job done including interaction with customers, suppliers, vendors and local labor.

How to Apply : Interested Candidates can directly share their resume on Email: info@heliumsolar.in shortlisted candidates will get a call or email from HR Team for further interview process.

Convergence Energy Services Limited Position: Head – Front Office (Contractual) Location: New Delhi, India Job Description: Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) is a newly established subsidiary of state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited, itself a joint venture of public sector companies under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. CESL is focused on delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy.

Convergence focuses on energy solutions that lie at the confluence of renewable energy, electric mobility and climate change. It builds upon the decentralised solar development experience in under-served rural communities in India, and over time, using battery energy storage, will deliver renewable energy solutions to power agricultural pumps, street lighting, domestic lighting and cooking appliances in

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villages. CESL will also work to enable battery powered electric mobility and its infrastructure and design business models to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in India. To enable commercialization of these solutions at scale, Convergence will employ business models that utilize a blend of concessional and commercial capital, carbon finance and grants as appropriate.

Responsibilities: • L ead engagement with external partners such as multilaterals, and other international bodies, the advisory board, members of the thought leadership unit and other policy specialists to build meaningful long[1]term partnerships on behalf of CESL. •C oordinate across unit heads and business leads on behalf of the MD Secretariat to plan implementation and track execution of the

strategic framework to ensure that this is timely, focused, and value adding.

Qualification: Full time Master’s degree in Public Policy Experience and Eligibility: • A minimum of 7 years of post-qualification relevant experience majorly in the following areas: • Multilateral experience in global development by aligning programs with investor priorities, collaborating with thought leaders.

• Knowledge and experience in transition, climate finance, energy innovations, systems thinking, and environment/climate change policy.

How to Apply : https://recruitment.eeslindia.org/ cesl_320_05/