Saur Energy Magazine August 2018

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SAUR ENERGY

AUGUST 2018 | Rs. 200

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

DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 l VOL 2 l ISSUE 12 l TOTAL PAGES 64 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

RAGHVENDRA MIRJI

AVP & Head – Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

INDIA'S SOLAR RACE TOWARDS NEXT DECADE

PROVIDER SOLAR & POWER

TURNKEY SOLUTION

1111, 11th floor, Unitech Arcadia, South City-2, Sector-49, Gurgoan-122018 Mobile: +91-9871115441 | Landline: Direct (0124)-4377220 Landline Office: (0124)-428990 | pawan@raditeenergy.com | info@raditeenergy.com

SAUR ENERGY I N T E R N A T I O N A L EDITOR

MANAS NANDI manas@meilleurmedia.com

DIRECTOR MARKETING

PRATEEK KAPOOR prateek@meilleurmedia.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

NILOY BANERJEE niloy@meilleurmedia.com

SUB EDITOR

MANU TAYAL manu@meilleurmedia.com

SUB EDITOR

ANIRUDH SHARMA anirudh@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 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.

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.

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR According to 2011 Census, Indian Cities accommodate nearly 31% of our current population and contribute 63% of GDP. These cities are expected to house 40% of our population and contribute 75% of country’s GDP by 2030. This requires comprehensive development of physical, institutional, social and economic infrastructure. All are important in improving the quality of life and attracting people and investment.

Cities are truly the engines of growth today that needs a holistic approach. To meet the overarching aspirations of growing urban population and sustain a virtuous cycle of growth and development, development of Smart Cities has become crucial. However, the Smart Cities Mission calls for appropriate local spatial development plans.

Among the projects in SCM are affordable housing, integrated multi-modal transport, creation and preservation of open spaces, and waste and traffic management, among others. The projects focus either on a particular area of the city or the entire city.

The initiative is significant because it allows debt-ridden urban local bodies an alternative to making their cities future-proof. It is also to be seen in the context of the fact that India, a third of whose population currently lives in urban areas will increase by huge number by 2030.

The Smart Cities Mission requires smart people who actively participate in governance and reforms. Citizen involvement is much more than a ceremonial participation in governance. The participation of smart people can be enabled by the SPV through increasing use of ICT, especially mobile-based tools.

Lots more inside.

Happy reading!

ManasNandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

CONTENT

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RAGHVENDRA MIRJI

AVP & Head – Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

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SAURABH BHANDARI Founder & CEO SolarMaxx

KHALID NADEEM

Chief Operating Officer Solar Business Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd

INDIAN SMART CITIES SHINING BRIGHTER WITH SUN

POLICY

MARKET

EV

61 14 Coimbatore’s 2 Smart City Projects Get Administrative Approval Goa Legislator Seeks Law Mandating Solar Panels on Hotel’s Rooftop Telangana Unveils Electric Vehicle Policy

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38 Solar, Wind Provide Almost 50% of Electricity Globally by 2050, says Report Adani Solar Recognized Globally for its Durability and Reliability

Delhi Govt to Run 1,000 Electric Buses to Curb Air Pollution SMEV Seeks Efficiency Based Subsidy for EVs TGI Solar Soon to Make Electric Vehicles; Mulls Europe Expansion

PAGE

COVER STORY

CONTENT

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INDIA'S SOLAR RACE TOWARDS NEXT DECADE

20

PUSHPENDRA SINGH

Managing Director | LEONI Cable Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd

MODULE MANUFACTURING QUALITY MANAGEMENT A HUGE OPPORTUNITY

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INNOVATION

PROJECTS

FINANCE

34 59

ACME, NHPC, Bihar-Based Startup Get SIPB Clearance for Solar Projects

ARCI Develops Self-Cleaning Solar Panels

Azure Power Secures 160 MW Solar Project in UP Auction with Highest Tariff

Solaria’s New Innovation!

PowerXT 430Wp Module for Commercial Properties

Amplus to Setup 400 MW Solar Capacity in UP; Mulls to Invest Rs 2,000 Cr by FY21

55 Essel Invests Rs 1750 Cr for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in UP NDB Clears $300 Mn to Fund South African Energy Sector ADB Raises €600 Mn via Green Bond to Spur Climate Financing

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India's SOLAR RACE

towards Next Decade

STORY

Basant Jain CEO Mahindra Susten

P. Vinay Kumar

MD India Renewables Brookfield Asset Management

Guru Inder Mohan Singh Chief Operating Officer Amplus Solar

COVER

Maxson Lewis MD Magenta Power

Buoyed by the quite impressive country’s solar dreams. about the ambition and scale of the government’s performance of India’s renewable In my journey of exploring about the current audacious 40 GW bidding goal every year. energy sector and especially in scenario of solar space in India, its growth & But look at the flip side of the macro picture. the solar space in recent years, development, hindrances related to the policies, Renewables today are mainstream, and they are the Government of India and its future as per the government’s ambitious no longer the exotic fringe of the power sector. took a daring move and plans for the sector; a few among the well- They form the core of the power sector today revised its ambitious known industry veterans - Basant Jain, CEO, and probably eclipse the old workhorses viz., renewable energy Mahindra Susten; P. Vinay Kumar, MD India coal and gas soon. If we take this perspective targets from 175 Renewables, Brookfield Asset Management; and revisit this goal, it does not at all look GW to 227 GW Guru Inder Mohan Singh, Chief Operating ambitious. But the key to achieving this, is by 2022.

Officer, Amplus Solar; and Maxson Lewis, MD, to tackle transmission and Grid bottlenecks.

Following Magenta Power, discussed extensively about The flagging interest, in the bids, of late has the move, their expectations from the government in the been largely attributed to the lack of clarity it also aimed near future as well as their concerns they hope on the allocation transmission capacity and to auction 40 will soon be addressed for the brighter future paucity thereof on the ISTS. This could play G W o f of solar in the country… spoil sport, to the bidding goal, if not tackled renewable energy on war footing. projects every Government is mulling to auction 40 GW year for the renewable energy including 30 GW for Guru Inder Mohan Singh next 10 years solar and 10 GW for wind every year till till 2028 which 2028. In your view, is the government’s Given the current state of affairs in the renewable comprised of 30 target feasible? energy sector and the challenging revised GW of solar and target of 227GW by 2022, the government has 10 GW of wind Basant Jain to focus on creating an enabling environment energy, indicating involving all stakeholders to actively participate huge potential for India has been adopting and implementing and contribute towards achieving this goal. An domestic manufacturers and Solar exponentially and the installed capacity ecosystem of supportive policy and regulatory developers. has grown YoY at approximately 98.5% and framework, increasing demand to match supply, Undoubtedly! This is the welcome step taken 130% from 2015-16 and 2017-18 respectively. improving financial stability of discoms and by the Indian Government in order to fulfil its However, looking at the aggressive 2028 plan, augmenting the transmission and distribution dream of achieving sustainable development the 2017-18 installed solar capacity stands at network to accommodate RE generation are goals promised at the COP 21 Summit in Paris. 10 GW which is only 25% of required annual some of the enablers that will help in pushing To achieve such ambitious targets, the capacity of Governments 2028 plan. On a the capacity to meet the target.

Government needs to work on war footing and global outlook, only China has been able to to take some decisive actions such as it has install more than 15 GW annually and stands Maxson Lewis finally took the call and imposed safeguard duty modest at 53 GW installation in FY2017. on solar imports from China PR and Malaysia Even when EPC companies like ours have At the outset, we are happy that the government for two years. scaled up their workforce to achieve more has set target’s. Ambitious or not, these targets Now, the move has clear the clouds of installation capacity in view of rising demand push for action on the ground and rightly so. uncertainty on solar imports which haunted of PV installation, it is admittedly a welcome To answer your question, 30 GW in a year would the entire solar industry for a long time. but aggressive target by the Government. mean close to 80 MW of solar power plants Besides, there are a few other hiccups and going on stream daily, every day of the year for challenges such as transmission and grid P. Vinay Kumar the next 10 years. Even if we were to assume etc. in the solar industry which, too, needs to that installing these capacities is achievable, be taken care of on priority basis to live the It is often too easy to ridicule and be sceptical given the pace of increase in manufacturing

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COVER

STORY

transparent mechanisms. We need the political will to tackle this, just as it has been done in the case of LPG subsidies. It is often lamented that since Power is a concurrent subject, reform is difficult. This is a false argument. If we can implement GST (taxes are a concurrent subject), we can do this in Power too. We need a GST type reform zeal and action in the power sector to tackle the issues.

Guru Inder Mohan Singh capacities, the challenge to reaching this goal lies elsewhere – ‘Evacuation of Power’. Our current grid is incapable of handling even if half of the targeted capacities go online. This becomes especially serious on two counts: 1). Most solar plants are setup at remote locations and the lack of a grid connectivity makes the project unviable. Also, solar power generation on that scale does not have a shelf life, a day of generation lost means that production cannot be recovered, unlike conventional systems where you can save the fuel to be used later.

2). Secondly, even if available, the grid stability and availability is another critical issue since solar power evacuation is close knit with grid uptime.

to incentivise private solar parks and speed up implementation of government solar parks.

Solar parks tie up the land and transmission pieces in one go. Land pooling and streamlining of Revenue land allotments to the sector will go a long way. Similar is the case of allotment of forest lands. Land conversion policies are patchy across the country. While states like AP and Telangana have deemed conversion provisions, many other states need to spruce up their land conversion procedures.

Also the current PPA model, which is purely tariff based needs to revisited. While it has been successful in driving tariffs down and bringing down the overall cost of power to the consumer, there is a now a need to review the PPA structure to incentivise other grid services that solar plants can offer like frequency What can be the roadblocks that Indian regulation, peak shaving, capacity on demand Government may face in achieving its etc., Unless we are able to create a market renewable goals and what are your for Grid services that newer technologies like suggestions on this? storage can offer, we may be lagging in making our Grids smarter and in making them capable Basant Jain of handling intermittent renewable power.

Unless we innovate on these and other The renewable energy industry faces an unusual technologies like CCS and nuclear -- solar and degree of policy uncertainty. Tax reforms and wind will soon reach a point of “value deflation”, solar trade cases have slowed wind and solar after which additional incremental solar/wind deal activity. power added to the Grid will be unwelcome.

The latest recommendation of Safeguard duty It is necessary to plan for a future that does not

by DGTR for period of two years has again left invite value deflation. manufacturers specially in SEZ and developers The elephant in the room is the financial health in grey as the recommendation is open for of the discoms. While there are no easy answers inferences and does not come out very clear. to this, the time has come to deal with power Additionally, as renewable source of energy is subsidies in a transparent manner and grab not primary source of generation Government the bull by its horns. It is necessary to move should indicate plans to tackle grid imbalance subsidies to the government’s balance sheet in view of aggressive renewable targets. and free the power sector of this burdensome legacy. Some suggestions from the Niti Aayog in P. Vinay Kumar the National Energy policy need to be heeded. As they put it, there is a case of migrating all power Land, transmission and financial health of subsidies into the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) the discoms remain as the quint essentia mode. All consumers, including agricultural bottlenecks. We can speed up capacity roll ones need to pay the unsubsidised tariffs for outs if government partners with private sector power. The subsidies can then be deployed in both on the land and transmission. WE need a targeted manner, through DBT or such other

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RE in India specifically wind and solar have been experiencing an exponential growth and will add significant capacity if the momentum is maintained. However, certain recent developments such as anti-dumping duty and safe guard duty in solar, record low tariffs in wind and shift in focus from wind to solar tend to dampen the spirit of the sector and creates doubt on long term viability of the sector. India has set up an ambitious target and it can only be achieved if all the stakeholders work together towards the common goal in a conducive environment enabled by a systematic policy and regulatory framework.

Maxson Lewis Like we mentioned earlier, achieving these targets require that the government look at this target and the green energy intention with a macro view. We can use this solar initiative to drive a revamp in our power infrastructure.

Also, if these capacities come upstream, we will need to plan for the ‘Duck curve’ which will hit the grid in 2-3 years from now.

Another challenge which will need to be addressed is the clarity on the safeguard duties on imported panels – this has a direct impact on the economics of setting up projects on those targeted scales.

As recently, the Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister asked states to curb the losses incurred by Discoms. What steps do you feel should be taken by the states in this regard?

Basant Jain A good way to curb losses can be with implementation of technology like automated energy auditing software which can provide accurate measurement of line losses. Also peak sharing can be introduced by virtue of tariff for all consumers not only limiting to industrial consumers.

STORY

P. Vinay Kumar Technical losses require deployment of equipment and technology. Recent APDRP schemes have shown the way how capex incentives can be tied to loss reduction. It has worked well in some states and less so in some. There are also deep learnings that these schemes have thrown up over a period of time, which can be used to come up with innovative and discom centric mechanisms for reducing technical losses. Loss reduction should be a national goal. We need to reach global levels here. Countries like South Korea have shown how this is possible. There are examples that abound and we can emulate and tailor them to uniquely Indian conditions.

The State Gencos and the Transmission Utilities all over the country play big brother to their Discoms. This does not seem to be helping.

There is a case which can be made out for empowering discoms to handle their own affairs with effective and light touch oversight by the STUs and Gencos.

Commercial losses require administrative will, political support with a dose of technology. The prescriptions are well known.

Guru Inder Mohan Singh Financial viability of distribution companies is a major concern and would hamper the growth of RE in the country. Hence, definitive measures are needed to help discoms recover and become financially stable. UDAY scheme has really helped discoms reduce their losses by almost 50% in FY-18 by reining in the cost of electricity generation at state owned power plants, tariff hikes and digitising the billing and collection process.

In this regard following recommendations might be helpful in order to improve the financial health of discoms and keep the market attractive for investors.

• Effective implementation of UDAY scheme • Bringing in operational efficiencies which will bring down costs • Tapping into RE which is cheaper than conventional power which will bring down APPC (average power purchase cost) • Technical improvements to curb power thefts to reduce AT&C losses

Maxson Lewis AT&C losses have been a bane which the governments have been trying to address for decades now. Positive steps have been taken

COVER

and we have come a long way from the time is the speed and clarity with which disputes when the AT&C losses were higher than amount are resolved, and how long term stability can accounted and paid for. But truly solving this be achieved in public policy. Policy stability issue requires a technical and importantly a is important and our fondness for constant socio-political angle to it. Technical solutions tinkering needs curbing. like Smart metering, Pre-paid meters and upgradation of the distribution network are Guru Inder Mohan Singh the easier part to solve and implement. The socio-political interventions will require political The solar sector needs to stabilise in terms will power and implementation of the rule of of consolidation and disputes affecting the the land for erring parties. sector so that capacity addition can be an Accountability at the state levels was helped by efficient and smooth process. The recent the trifurcation of the DISCOMS, but I believe developments has created a stir and doubt somewhere in between we have not forced in the mind of developers and investors alike the accountability with the same intent with and government must provide clarity on the which the trifurcation was done. following issues to keep the general sentiment optimistic.

As renewable installations surge in India, no. • Pass through of additional duty such as the of trade disputes affecting solar too climbed. recent safeguard duty.

In your opinion, what are the issues to be • Implementation of anti-dumping duty which resolved on priority? keeps coming and going.

India has highly challenging target to achieve Basant Jain and such developments create uncertainty in the minds of the developer, questions the A uniform and clear net metering policy viability of ongoing projects and might dampen needs to be implemented to avoid any future investor interests. probable disputes. To have a better demand and supply management, all energy meters to Maxson Lewis have a common platform and an automated and transparent metering system.

Undoubtedly, the disputes are bound to increase in a fast industry with a lot of entrants whose P. Vinay Kumar intents are purely economic. The entry barriers being low, we find a lot of layers between Trade disputes surrounding solar are common the lead agency working on the project and across the world and are not unique to India. the actual agency working on the ground The recent imposition of antidumping duties delivering the installation. There are only a and previous instances where this has been few good installers of repute who can take done in the US and Europe evidence this. It up and execute project end to end. However, is only natural, as the world’s energy sector is most projects are given out on the basis of the going through a massive transition to clean and one who can quote lowest, which effectively is renewable energy. This is a reality we need to driven by the depth of the pockets involved, live it. Government needs to understand that and not a view of the technical capabilities. while the sector can deal with tariffs, dumping Clarity on rules regarding land usage for solar investigations, WTO compliances etc., and all installations is another challenge that need to the things that a rapid energy transition can be addressed.Our view is that one big set of throw at the sector, what the sector cannot deal disputes lie with the obligation of the authorities with is - uncertainty, especially long periods of who are supposed to make the payments indecisiveness and drawn out investigations for the power generated. Large number of of trade disputes. Trade disputes needs to be unpaid bills for power generated is an issue resolved swiftly and decisively. The inordinately which is directly hitting the business cases long time taken by the government recently in negatively and projects are turning into NPAs. handling the Customs classification dispute Indiscriminate PPAs signed with a short term on solar panels, and the ongoing safeguard view to win projects are coming back to haunt and antidumping investigations leave much the roost. Our prediction is this will be one of to be desired. After years of experience in the biggest issues impacting the solar industry trade facing public policy, we still need to get in a few months, not years. the basics right. It is not much consequence -MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM whether a levy is fair or unfair, what does matter n

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GRID

UPDATES

Greenrays Kicks Off 200kwp Solar Rooftop Plant with Net-Metering at Navi Mumbai Mumbai based Greenrays Enersol has successfully commissioned 200 kWp roof top solar plant for a High tension (HT) customer at Navi Mumbai.

Moreover, the plant also received netmetering sanction from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) which would help simple determination of the bills for the consumer.

CEO, Sitapathy Chavali said, “Company is presently executing more than 1.5 MW of roof top projects in Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra and also closing on few opportunities in other states. With over 50 rooftop projects of cumulative 4MW capacity completed in last 2 years in both ON-Grid and OFF-Grid space, Greenrays has established itself as one of the key EPC players in Mumbai market, having proven track record of end to end project execution from design stage to handover to customers.

Greenrays also manages all its projects through a centralized monitoring facility at Mumbai and provides best in class services post project completion and handover.”

Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. For

example, if a residential customer has a PV system on the home’s rooftop, it may generate more electricity than the home uses during daylight hours.

With successful completion of this project, the company also bagged its phase-2 capacity addition of another 100kWp at same customer premises.

MIDHANI Sets up 4 MW Solar Power Plant

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State-owned Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) has set up a 4 MW solar power plant with an investment of about Rs 20.36 crore.

Further, this plant was inaugurated by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production), Union Ministry of Defence.

Moreover, the solar power plant is spread over 20 acres of land and is expected to generate 7,000 MW hr/year of electricity with a projected saving of Rs 5 crore per year and reduction of 5,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.

Additionally, it will cover upto 15 percent of the power requirements of the company from renewable sources and the plant is grid connected to the state discom.

Besides, Dr. Ajay Kumar has also reviewed the various projects and activities of Midhani.

The company was set up in 1973 at Hyderabad with the objective of providing the nation self reliance in strategic materials.

For over three decades now, it has been handling challenging tasks of developing alloys, taking a lead position in indigenization of critical technologies and products to render support to several

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programmes of National importance and hi-tech segments of Indian industry.

POLICY

UPDATES

Coimbatore’s 2 Smart City Projects Get Administrative Approval Under the smart city mission, the city corporation of Coimbatore is ready to implement two of its ambitious projects as the standing committee has provided its administrative nod for the same.

Out of the two projects one is multi-level car parking facility at DB Road and the other project is 3.6 MW solar power plant at Ukkadam.

According to a senior official from the civic body, tenders would be floated for the projects as soon as the technical sanction is obtained, and the implementation time for the projects is about eighteen months.

Moreover, the multi-level car parking facility will be set up at a cost of Rs 42 crore, and the facility will be having four-levels to accommodate upto 370 four-wheelers, the official added.

He further said that, “An automated mechanism, where human intervention is minimal, will be set up. Vehicles will be lifted from the ground and moved to the vacant parking spaces above. Workers will be appointed only for gate keeping.”

Besides, the 3.6 MW solar project will be set up on a 15-acre land located near the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Ukkadam.

On the cost of the solar plant, the official said, “The plant will be constructed at a cost of Rs 17 crore.

It will have 11,286 solar panels, each of which can produce 320 watts. Power generated at the plants will be transferred to the main grid of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s (Tangedco)

Telangana Unveils Electric Vehicle Policy

14 AUGUST 2018

Becoming India’s fourth state to declare its own solar policy, Telangana has unveiled electric vehicle policy which would help in the smooth transition to electric vehicles.

The policy will help the state in rolling out a new range of benefits to push forward the EV infrastructure of the state.

“There will be several incentives for vehicle manufacturers, and also sops for setting up charging stations and other infrastructure.

The policy has been prepared in consultations with the industry players and most of those expectations have been included in the policy,” the official said today.

Pawan Goenka, Mahindra & Mahindra’s managing director, unveiled the policy in the presence of Telangana Industries and IT Minister K T Rama Rao and other industry leaders, the official added.

The policy has three components. One is for manufacturers.

The second component in the draft policy is about the support for users who want to shift to EVs from the regular vehicle and the third component is about infrastructure, Telangana Principal Secretary-IT and Industries, Jayesh Ranjan had said earlier.

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sub-station at Ukkadam. It will be used to offset the electricity bills of the city corporation.”

“By offsetting the electricity bills for water treatment and pumping station at Velliankadu, the civic body will be able to save Rs 5.8 crore per annum on electricity bills,” he added.

Goa Legislator Seeks Law Mandating Solar Panels on Hotel’s Rooftop To solve the electric power disruptions in the state, Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Michael Lobo said during the ongoing session that the state needs a mandatory law to install solar panels on hotels.

“Around 50% of hotels along the state’s coastal belt do not have solar panels installed on their rooftops. Therefore, there should be a law making it mandatory for hotels to fit solar panels before they seek the relevant permission from the town and country planning department, Goa State Pollution Control Board, and the village panchayat,” Lobo said.

Meanwhile, similar stress was given by the opposition Congress MLAs to install the solar panels not only on the hotels but also on the government buildings which would help power generation.

During the monsoon session of the Goa Vidhan Sabha, MLAs from different constituencies put up different issues either regarding power disruptions or redressal of public grievances about power irregularities. Apparently, the state is expected to address the recent power disruptions on a serious note.

UPDATES

India Imposes 25% Safeguard Duty on Solar Imports Keeping in view the interests of the domestic solar manufacturers, Indian Government imposed long awaited safeguard duty on imports of solar equipment from China and Malaysia for two years.The safeguard duty on the imports is imposed following recommendations from the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) of the commerce ministry.

The finance ministry has imposed a safeguard duty of 25 percent on the imports from July 30, 2018 to July 29, 2019 and a gradually reduced rate of 20 percent from July 30, 2019 to January 29, 2020 and 15 percent from January 30, 2020 to July 29, 2020.

Also, impose of safeguard duty on imports came on the back of its investigations which concluded that high numbers of solar imports has caused ‘severe injury’ to the domestic producers.

Further, the authorities were pushed upon by the imports of the solar cells which jumped to 9,790 MW in 2017-18 from 1,275 MW in 2014-15.

The safeguard duty is also said to be a result of an application filed on December 5, 2017 by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) which included seriously sought imposition of safeguard duty on the imports. The application was filed mainly by the top five Indian solar manufacturers.

As a result of the increased imports, solar manufacturing facilities in India were left unproductive and the industry faced heavy losses.

POLICY

India Plans to Auction 40 GW Renewables Per Year for Next 10 Years To boost the local manufacturing and help developers of the country, India has decided to auction 40 GW of renewable energy projects which would include 30 GW of solar and 10 GW of wind energy for the next 10 years till 2028.

“We have 30 GW solar energy bidding plan for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

This 30 GW auction per annum would continue till 2028. Similarly, we have to auction 10 GW of wind energy for next 10 years till 2028 to meet the power demand of 862 GW by 2030,” New and Renewable Energy Secretary Anand Kumar said at the Global Wind Day celebration by the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) .

He further added, “We have to do 350 GW in solar (to meet demand by 2030), of which 100 GW is planned till 2022. So we have to bid out at least 30 GW each year from 2020 onwards to achieve additional 250 GW.” Kumar further said, “Therefore, we have to do 10 GW every year till 2028 to meet the overall power demand of 862 GW by 2030.

India has already achieved 70 GW of renewable energy capacity including 22 GW of solar and 34 GW of wind.”

About the best bidding mechanism, he said, “We have engaged IIM Lucknow for preparing a detailed report on merits of close envelop auction and reverse bidding method. They are expected to give their report in July. The government will take a call only after that.” Kumar explained that some players had expressed concerns that the bidders with deep pockets can hurt small developers by outbidding them in auctions for renewable projects.

However, he also admitted that tariff-based reverse auction helps in achieving the best pricing.

Under the close envelop auctions, the bid price cannot be changed whereas in reverse auction, the bid price is known and bidders can outbid each-others.

Scatec Solar Gets 47 MW Solar Project in Ukraine UP Govt Cancels 1 GW Solar PV Projects Auction on Higher Tariffs Weighed down by higher solar tariffs up to Rs 3.48 per unit, the Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to cancel the auction for 1 GW of grid-connected solar PV projects.

The auction conducted by Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) saw a high tariff rate bidding by the participants and it will go for re-bidding.

Previously, the auction for the projects was attended by 13 industry players quoting tariff rates of around Rs 3.48/kWh to Rs 3.54/kWh. The bidders included Mohoba Solar, Maheshwari Mining and

Energy, ACME Solar Holdings, Sukhbir Agro Energy and more.

However, the trend of higher solar tariffs as per Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) did not support the tariff rates as high as offered by in the Uttar Pradesh July auction.

Commenting on the development, UP Power Corporation, Chairman, Alok Kumar said, “The state government as well as the SECI feels that the tariff is very high, and so the UPNEDA should go in for re-bidding. We think we can discover tariffs between Rs 3.05 and Rs 3.10/kWh. Final touches are being given to bid documents and that those would soon be uploaded.”

Further, the bidders were heard anticipating the cancellation of the auction process by the UP Government.

Safeguarding the bidders’ interests, National Solar Energy federation of India (NSEFI) requested the state energy minister to consider the auctions and regard the tariffs quoted by the bidders.

The association’s letter to the state energy minister said, “NSEFI has apprehension that the government of Uttar Pradesh may not honour the bidding process… even through a transparent bid process followed, which saw overwhelming participation.

There shouldn’t be any comparison as tariff varies from state to state based on various bid factors.”

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POLICY

UPDATES

Manufacturing to Become a Key Element for Solar Power Projects, says Govt As the country aims to add close to 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, the government plans to make local manufacturing of solar equipment a key element in tenders for large solar power projects.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) plans to design the bids in a way to bring manufacturing into the country while taking care of the interest of small and medium developers, said Anand Kumar, Secretary, MNRE. “So the bigger bids will be focused on manufacturing, while smaller bids will take care of smaller developers,” he told.

“If there is one big bid and one player takes it all, that will be unfair.” It would be difficult to attract manufacturers with smaller bid sizes, Kumar said.

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While around 80% of the equipment used in wind power projects are manufactured locally, in the case of solar projects about 90% of the equipment are imported and 85% of which come from China. The cost of solar equipment is expected to fall further after Chinese government recently decided to put brakes on its solar capacity addition.

The Ministry of Power, MNRE and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have worked out the country’s installed capacity till 2030.

Of the total power requirement of 862 GW, as much as 350 GW will come from solar and another 140 GW will come from wind projects.

“These long-term projections are being made so that manufacturing gets a boost

and people are assured of what kind of market they are looking at,” Kumar said.

To reach there, the Ministry plans to bid out 30 GW solar and 10 GW wind projects every year till 2028. SECI earlier this year floated a global tender for setting up 5 GW manufacturing capacity linked with ISTS-connected solar project for 10 GW aggregate capacity.

The gover nment, however, has not mandated use of locally manufactured solar panels in the project as part of the tender, thereby steering clear of landing into trouble at World Trade Organisation (WTO), officials said.

“These tenders are WTO compliant,” Kumar said. “The developer is not bound to use the components in the power project.

They are free to export,” he said.

Tata Power to Develop 250 MW Solar Projects at Pavagada Solar Park

TMEIC Solar Inverters to Power Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Park in India

MNRE Extends Timeline for Implementing 40 GW ‘Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects’ Scheme to 2021-22 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has extended the timeline for the implementation of 40 GW scheme for developing solar parks and ultra mega solar power projects from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

The MNRE said in a statement that, “The guidelines for implementation of scheme for ‘Development of solar parks and ultra mega solar power project’ issued vide this Ministry’s order no. 30/26/2014-15/ NSM dated 21st March, 2017. The timelines of the above scheme is extended from 2019-20 to 2021-22 without any additional financial implication.”

The move will provide more time for developers and EPC companies for implementing their projects.

Earlier in March last year, the President of India had sanctioned the implementation of a scheme to enhance solar park capacity from 20 GW to 40 GW for ‘Development of solar parks and ultra mega solar power projects’ for setting up of at least 50 solar parks each with a capacity of 500 MW and above by 2019-20, with an estimated Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of Rs 8,100 crore.

The objective of the scheme is to provide a huge impetus to solar energy generation by acting as a flagship demonstration facility to encourage project developers and investors, prompting additional projects of similar nature, triggering economies of scale for costreductions, technical improvements and achieving large scale reductions in GHG emissions.

Myanmar Signs ISA Framework Agreement; Becomes 68th Member Taking a step forward to combat climate change, Myanmar has recently joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) and has become the 68th member of the solar alliance.

On the sidelines of the ‘Delhi Dialogue 10’ of the India-ASEAN summit in New Delhi, the Minister of International Cooperation of Myanmar, Kyaw Tin has handed over the ISA Framework Agreement to the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The Ministry of External Affairs, Spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar informed through the tweet, “Mr. Kyaw Tin, Minister of International Cooperation of Myanmar handed over the ISA Framework Agreement to EAM @ SushmaSwaraj on the sidelines of #DelhiDialogue10.”

“Myanmar became the 68th signatory to the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance,” he added.

He further said that, both the leaders, Tin and Swaraj met and exchanged views on cementing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

During her speech in the Ministerial Session at ‘Delhi Dialogue 10’, Sushma Swaraj said, “The Delhi Dialogue, has emerged as India’s foremost ASEAN-centred Track 1.5 Forum for realisation of full potential of India-ASEAN relations.”

ISA is the first international inter-governmental treaty based organization that will have a secretariat in India.

It provides a common platform for cooperation among sunny nations lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn seeking to massively ramp up solar energy, in order to bend the global greenhouse emissions curve by providing clean and cheap energy.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

UPDATES

POLICY

SECI Extends Bid-Submission Deadline for Rihand Dam 150 MW Solar Tender

SAARC Energy Centre Invites Tender for Hybrid Solar PV Systems for Kabul, Dhaka Offices

Punjab Gives Seal of Approval for Rs 100 Cr Renewable Projects The Punjab Government has approved Punjab renewable energy projects worth Rs 100 crore, the State Minister for Renewable Energy Sources Gurpreet Singh Kangar said.

Apparently, the segment includes nine small hydro projects with the combined capacity of 5.55 MW worth around Rs 60 crore, one bio-CNG Project of Rs 17.50 crore and a bio-coal of around Rs 26.75 crore.

“The private companies are envisaging immense interest in the renewable energy sector. This will not just fetch investment but also increase the capacity of green power generation. In addition they will utilize rice straw for production of bio-CNG and bio-coal,” Kangar said in a statement. After the successful installation of the hydro power projects, the total installed capacity of small and mini hydro power plants of the state are expected to reach 180 MW by 2020-21.

Agriculture based bio-CNG plant is decided to be set up in Mohali

by Mumbai-based Mahindra Waste to Energy Solutions and the estimated time of completion is 15 months.

Meanwhile, Neway Renewable Energy (Bathinda) has been shortlisted for the construction and management of bio-coal plant at Mehma Sarja village in Bathinda. The plant is based on the processing of paddy straw.

Subsidies in Power Sector Should be Routed via DBT: RK Singh The Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh said that subsidies in power sector should be routed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

While addressing the Conference of Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministers of States & UTs held at Shimla, the Minister also said, “We are one team and should work together to provide electricity connection to every poor household in India. Access to energy is a prerequisite for a poverty free India. Energy is the engine of growth and no country can ever develop with millions of its citizen living without electricity.”

During the conference, which was deliberated upon various issues pertaining to the power and RE sectors in India, various government programs were taken up for discussion such as – Power for All, Saubhagya, IPDS, UDAY and RE sector.

Further, calling the discoms as the axis of power sector, the Minister called upon the states to plug discoms losses.

Singh also highlighted slow utilization of the funds approved by the center and said that center is ready to provide more funds if needed for infrastructure creation and the states meeting their targets speedily will be incentivized.

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AUGUST 2018

POLICY

UPDATES

Mytrah Energy Wins 100 MW Wind Power Project under MSEDCL Bid The 2nd India-Korea CEOs Forum meeting was held in New Delhi with leading CEOs from both the nations developing an ambitious agenda to enhance trade and investment between the two countries.

Further, the industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said in a statement that, “The CEOs announced the formation of 6 working groups in sectors like Auto, Infrastructure, Services, Electronics (including renewable and allied sector) & IT and Startups and Innovation Ecosystem (including MSMEs & SMEs) and Defense Manufacturing.”

According to the joint statement issued, CEOs deliberated upon the progress on major recommendation from the first meeting in the field of energy, including renewable energy technologies, nuclear power and LNG shipbuilding, by way of joint developments, technology transfer and enhanced bilateral trade and in the field of infrastructure with a view to benefit from technological and business expertise of Korean enterprises in developing quality infrastructure in India such as intelligent transportation systems, roads & highways, bridge & tunnels, railways, ports, and ship-building, amongst other infrastructure areas.

The first India-Korea CEOs Forum was held in Seoul, South Korea on May 19, 2015.

Given the huge impetus on manufacturing with ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian government, and Korea’s manufacturing strengths, the CEOs recommended greater co-operation between the Korean and

Indian enterprises. There are opportunities in developing manufacturing facilities in India for products where South Korea ranks amongst the leading producer countries, such as in the fields of solar, storage, consumer durables and electronics, and e-mobility. Moreover, CEOs from both the sides highlighted some of the recent developments in Korean investments in India and welcomed the establishment of Kia’s first manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh and Samsung’s new manufacturing unit in Noida, Uttar Pradesh that was inaugurated

by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

In the renewable energy sector, especially

solar energy, the CEOs recommended collaboration between the Indian and Korean companies to set up manufacturing facilities in India and also committed to promote and work towards joint projects in the areas of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, future manufacturing, robotics and green tech.

Also, CEOs reaffirmed that India and South Korea wants to grow together by complementing each other’s strength and by joining hands. India has skills and South Korea has manufacturing experience. By merging these two qualities the two countries can enter markets in third countries.

UP Govt. Decides to Give Solar Charkhas, Khadi Benefits to Weavers

18 AUGUST 2018

In order to double income and improve the efficiency of yarn spinners of UP, the state government is planning to give away 400 solar-powered charkhas to registered yarn spinners. UP will also become the first state to recognize cloth woven on solar charkhas as khadi.

Although the solar charkhas are used in other states as well, the cloth that is produced from these charkhas is not considered as khadi.

This deprives the weavers of government benefits under khadi promotion.

Minister for khadi, Satyadev Pachauri, said that the scheme may be rolled out from October

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

2. “There are 300 committees registered with Khadi and Village Industries Board. We will provide charkhas to them for spinners registered with them. If they are earning Rs 3,000 right

now, they will start earning Rs 8,000,” he said.

“At some point, when we are able to supply solar charkhas to everyone, we will also ensure that only those with solar charkhas will be eligible for concessions and subsidies,” he said.

The Solar Charkha scheme was launched in July by the President Ram Nath Kovind in which the government will disburse a subsidy of Rs 550 crore to thousands of artisans across the country’s rural areas.

Under this scheme, the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) will cover 50 clusters and each cluster will employ 400 to 2,000 artisans.

THE CONVERSATION

PUSHPENDRA SINGH Managing Director, LEONI Cable Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd

“Make in India” was one of the factors influencing our decision to set up the Solar Junction Box Manufacturing Line in India. It is a good initiative for industry as well as for the society, says Pushpendra Singh, Managing Director, LEONI Cable Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd, an arm of LEONI Group and a leading player in the cable manufacturing space. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Sub Editor, Saur Energy International, Singh shared his views on varied subjects along with his company’s evolution in India. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

Your operations are in 31 countries across the globe, what prompted you to start your manufacturing operations in India?

LEONI has been present in India for some time now. The Indian Manufacturing for Industrial Products started in 2013, with Refinery Projects like Reliance being a loyal customer. Since 2014-15 onwards India has been one of the significant Global markets for Solar and the rate at which it has grown in last couple of years is impressive.

LEONI has been committed to Business in India and other markets addressable from India. The government with the “Make in India” and the JNN Solar Mission has been supportive. The location, far reaching trade relations, access to skilled manpower, strong domestic market and Logistical advantage are some quick thoughts which prompted the decision to “Make Solar DC Cables in INDIA”. LEONI expanded its facility last year by setting up the new Solar Line as well as setting up the EBEAM facility which is currently operational.

Q

As of now you have seen the ambition of solar sector in India, how is Leoni addressing this demand in India with its portfolio of products for solar and wind industry?

20 AUGUST 2018

In several regards, Indian Solar Market had been dependent on the developed countries for the technology and on China to some extent for the Manufacturing prowess. The quantum of solar modules imported from China and different Solar Technologies inducted from Developed Countries signify this.

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The job in such a market is dual pronged.

To spread the word about the advantages/ must have features of an application specific products against a generic product and then justify the Business preposition of the same to the customer.

In this regard, the Indian market has been tremendously demanding and probably is one of the pioneering markets to reach the maturity in the market. With consolidation, the responsibility on performance and longevity is the thing to look for.

LEONI offers a complete range of DC string cabling products including the BETAFLAM Solar DC Cables, LEONI LSC Solar Connectors, LEONIPSOBOX Solar Junction Boxes. LEONI also offers products like Main DC cables in Aluminium construction for Large scale Projects and MODBUS Cable for communication in the Solar Projects. All these products are designed, manufactured in accordance to the Global Standards.

Q

Please tell us more on your quality tests that you perform on your products before you ship it to your customers?

LEONI follows a very meticulous Test plan and has a in house Lab best Equipped to ascertain the product quality. Particularly with the Solar DC cabling products, the lower conductor resistance and longer life expectancy is very important.

After production Tests like Hot Set, Conductor Resistance, Accelerated ageing test and other Routine acceptance tests are carried out. We also offer Factory tests to our customers based on their expectations.

We offer best quality for a reasonable price.

Q

What are your thoughts about ‘Make in India’ campaign? What benefits does the company take from it?

“Make in India” was one of the factors influencing our decision to set up the Solar Junction Box Manufacturing Line in India.

It is a good initiative for industry as well as for the society.

However, certain level of concentricity in different rules/norms of the trade/industry is expected. The government should implement measures to offer level playing field to the companies making in India. The import duty structure and BCD exemption on the Select Solar Components are one such example, where the companies making in India are devoid of level playing field against the Chinese dumping.

Q

What are the achievements of Leoni in India till date and brief us more on your future plans for this market?

LEONI in India has been on path of growth and success. There has been a strong commitment and consistent investment by LEONI. We currently have as many as six Business Unit present in India.

Solar & Wind (SW) and Industrial Projects (IP) Leading the Pack. They are followed

by Transportation (TR), HealthCare (HC), Fibre Optic (FO) and Digital Solutions Group (DSG).

Q

Please tell our readers more about your BETAflam Photovoltaic power cables?

LEONI has been supporting the Solar Market with right kind of Cable products since early

THE CONVERSATION

days. There are several installations in Europe which are performing for more than a decade now. During these years the characteristics/features of the Solar Cable have improved a lot and the expectations also have gone up in exponential proportion.

For a market like India, which is very sensitive to LCOE or the Landed tariff of the Electricity, a capable evacuation infrastructure is a must. LEONI cables offer best evacuation performance and excellent life expectancy.

The BETAFLAM 125 RV Flex 1500V is the product for PV DC market.

This cable is copper conductor, XLPO insulated in construction and cross-linked with Electron Beam Technology.

This product offers excellent weather resistance, best conductor resistance and is very flexible. It is also resistant to scratches, Ozone and Hydrolysis.

In red and white marking these cables ensure safe sleep for the end user.

Q

As a cable manufacturer for solar photovoltaic installations please tell us more about the 1500 V DC market. How do you see the demand in India for this segment?

LEONI was one of early birds to offer 1500V Cables and Components for the Optimised DC infrastructure and slowly the trend is shifting due to its advantages. The Cable requirement by Value in a Solar Project is a little less than 2%. With 1500V infrastructure, more no of modules can be accommodated in the single string. This will further reduce the cable value in the Project Capital Cost.

The catch here is that, 100% of the project performance is dependent on the 1.5% of the Cabling cost. This is because of lesser no of string cables required to evacuate power. For efficient performance, faster paybacks and long life the DC cabling has to be dependable, robust and efficient.

LEONI 1500V just does that.

The awareness in the market along with the push by the bodies like MNRE will mean whole ground mount market getting converted to 1500V by end of 2018.

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AUGUST 2018

THE CONVERSATION

Khalid Nadeem

Chief Operating Officer – Solar Business, Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd

Solar Tariffs are already at its lowest level and developers are in no position to absorb the impact of 25% safeguard duty imposed on Imported PV Module. In my opinion, for new bidding there will be slight increase in tariff (30- 35 paisa/ Kwh) due to imposition of the 25% safeguard duty, says Khalid Nadeem, Chief Operating Officer – Solar Business, Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd, a diversified group with an annual turnover of Rs 3,000 crore. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Sub Editor, Saur Energy International, Nadeem shared his views on various issues which the power sector is currently dealing with along with his company’s expansion plans in the near future in renewable energy segment. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

Could you give us a brief overview of your company, various products & services and its contribution towards clean energy?

We, at SAEL, are committed to bring you economical and reliable solar power. We have years of experience, the complete knowhow and cutting-edge technology in harnessing solar power. Further we are a diversified group established in 1971, with an annual turnover of Rs. 3000 Cr. SAEL’s expertise in solar energy is technology agnostic. We cover everything and include Ground Mounted, Rooftop, Canal Top, Trackers, etc.

We have a team with cumulative experience of more than 1 GW. In fact, SAEL has a pan India presence in solar energy solutions with an experienced team that is focused solely in the renewable energy sector. Needless to say, we employ the latest software for design engineering and maintenance.

Q

What are Sukhbir Agro’s ambitious plans for solar industry in India?

We are currently operating as IPP and EPC for both Utility Scale and Rooftop Project (Institutional & Commercial) and we intend to move further down the value chain by entering into manufacturing of Solar Cells/Module and Storage Solutions (Lithium –Ion Batteries) in next 1-2 years.

Q

22 AUGUST 2018

What differentiate Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd from others?

Our priority is to optimize the project performance, and reduce the lifetime cost of energy, ensuring longer system life and high long-term return.

• We use only the highest quality components, including tier 1 modules backed by robust linear degradation warranties, and other components supplies.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

• We match the system design with the location requirements, including wind speed, corrosion risks, maintenance requirements and other factors.

• Our in-house engineering, procurement, projects and operation & maintenance teams work together closely on each project design.

• We undertake rigorous shadow analysis to optimize the plant design, taking account of shadows from nearby objects throughout the year.

Q

Recently, Ministry of Finance has imposed safeguard duty on solar imports from China and Malaysia for two years, what are your views on the current scenario?

From developers prospective, it will have serious impact on project IRR if their PPA does not have pass- through clause and project may become financially unviable. On the other hand, this safeguard duty will give some breather to Indian Manufacturing from onslaught of module dumping from China. However, moving forward, Indian manufacturers has to improve quality and productivity to match with international standard to stand on their feet in future.

Q

In your view, how the tariffs will be affected after implementation of safeguard duty?

Solar Tariffs are already at its lowest level and developers are in no position to absorb the impact of 25% safeguard duty imposed on Imported PV Module. In my opinion, for new bidding there will be

slight increase in tariff (30- 35 paisa/ Kwh) due to imposition of the 25% safeguard duty.

Q

What are the solar projects on which the company is currently working on or in queue?

We are currently working with MES, Railways and State Discoms for Utility Scale and Rooftop Solar Projects. More than 40 MW Solar Projects are currently under execution in various states.

Q

In near future, what will be the Sukbhir Agro’s expansion agenda for the solar sector?

We will continue to focus on increasing our market share of Solar IPP and EPC business in India and will expand our reach in Middle East and African Countries.

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Industry Perspective

Module

Manufacturing

Quality

Management

A Huge Opportunity

14

Ivan Saha

BU Head of Solar Manufacturing & CTO | Vikram Solar

Neelesh Garg

Director Saatvik Green Energy

M

anufacturing sector plays a vital role in the success of the industrial development of any country and also contributes significantly towards it’s economy. With market globalization, India’s manufacturing industries, including photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing industry, has improved their competitiveness to face tougher challenges in the market. In today's scenario, quality has become the key focus area for better competitiveness.

Sunil Rathi Director Waaree Energies

FEATURE

With the boom in solar sector in the country, the PV module manufacturing industry has also grown rapidly. However, solar developers always remained much concerned about the quality of the PV modules produced because it is one of the important elements to ensure the long-term reliability of the PV modules. As, modules contribute major portion in the costing of developing any solar project.

Further, Indian government has also launched various initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ to back the domestic manufacturing industry; and in the solar segment too it has now provided relief to local module manufacturers by imposing safeguard duty on solar imports from China and Malaysia for two years, and ensuring huge potential for them.

Now, Indian module makers, too, want that no stone will be remained unturned in order to grab this opportunity and also in contributing towards the significant growth journey of the solar space in the country.

In my journey of exploring about the current module manufacturing scenario of solar industry in the country; a few among the well-known industry veterans, Ivan Saha, BU Head of Solar Manufacturing & CTO, Vikram Solar; Neelesh Garg, Director, Saatvik Green Energy; and Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies, discussed in detail about significance of Hi-quality modules used in the projects, raw material availability, pre and post production quality check parameters, module efficiency, and new research & developments in the sector…

As such, it is imperative that the components that go into construction of a solar power plant is of high quality. Keep in mind that these components will be open to the environment for 25 years. Modules form ~60% of the Capex cost for a solar project. So the developer has to always make sure that modules used in his projects are manufactured according to highest quality standards and qualify and reliability standards. This will ensure better ROI and lesser uncertainty in plant operation for entire lifetime.

The products we offerWe offer solar PV modules within the range of 10 Wp to 370Wp to our customers. In 2014, we introduced PERC technology-based modules.

We focus on manufacturing high-efficiency poly-crystalline and mono-crystalline silicon PV modules.

A few of our polycrystalline modules are72 cell ELDORA Grand • ELDORA Grand Ultima Silver 60 cell ELDORA Ultima Silver • ELDORA Ultima All Black • ELDORA Prime In 2017, we introduced our line of monocrystalline module with higher energy generation capacity (at least 10% more than poly crystalline modules). It is named ‘SOMERA’.

Our Monocrystalline modules areSomera Series 72 Mono Cells • SOMERA GRAND ULTIMA SILVER 1500V SERIES • SOMERA GRAND 1500V SERIES Why is it important for a developer to have 60 Mono Cells Hi-quality modules for their projects? In • SOMERA ULTIMA SILVER 1500V SERIES power industry what products do you have • SOMERA ULTIMA ALL BLACK SERIES to offer?

• SOMERA PRIME 1500V SERIES Besides providing modules, we offer Ivan Saha comprehensive EPC services ranging from conceptualization, execution, commissioning High quality modules make sure that the solar and acquisition of developed sites. energy generation plant performs as expected. We also offer O&M solutions providing preventive Although, solar energy harvesting technology and corrective maintenance services for solar is simple in comparison to the fossil fuel energy plants. generation plants (as there are no complex We intend to start production of Smart Modules, machinery and no moving parts), the plant AC Modules, Bi-facial, and Half cell modules is still exposed to the outer environment to by Q3 FY18-19. generate energy.

Therefore, the modules have to be durable, Neelesh Garg and efficient to maintain standard level of performance to satisfy energy requirements. Low Any developer, who is signing a PPA with the quality modules can lead to faster degradation government for a period of 25 years, has to of the panels and deficient energy generation, invest heavily in the set-up and maintenance of which can make solar plants unviable. solar power project. While solar power projects Solar industry PPAs run for 25 years. It offers is more of a financial model than technology, power generation guarantee for the entire period. it is still crucial get the technology and quality

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right. Every unit of electricity produced for the next 25 years is what will form the revenue for them, hence a little extra spend on right quality and technology will go a long way in giving them the financial returns they expect.

Sunil Rathi Solar energy is inherently a fit-and-forget system of generating power, since once the system has been installed; a little additional intervention is required, besides occasional cleaning and maintenance. However a solar PV system is installed is actually a long term investment and with Hi-quality modules a plant could be more cost-effective in the long run as it would generate more power in less space (enhancing space efficiency too). As such, efficient functioning and performance of the system throughout the estimated lifespan of 25 years is only possible if developers use reliable and Hi-quality modules for their projects, which can stand the test of time.

In order to assist the Indian Government in transforming the landscape of the transport industry in India, especially commercial transport, Waaree Energies offers a number of unique products. The Waaree Flexible Merlin Modules, created in collaboration with Merlin Solar, can be installed easily by peeling the stickers off and fixing them in place with the help of their adhesive coating. They are also lighter, durable, and more efficient making it perfect for moving vehicles such as trucks, LMV, HMV and Railway coaches. We also recently launched a range of flagship DIY solar kits for rooftops called Prontokits. These ready to install kits are easy to setup & use and were launched for the purpose of making solar power more accessible across the country.

They are available in the range of 1-10 KW, can be installed in under 30 minutes, and can be operated by just two people.

How do you maintain and ensure that all modules that go to the market are of same quality?

Ivan Saha In line with our company’s focus on adopting pioneering and innovative technologies, our manufacturing facility has the finest testing machinery and equipment imported from the United States, Switzerland, Germany and Japan.

Our modules come with• High durability attribute audited by Black & Veatch

FEATURE

• 12 years of product warranty quality conscious company, hence precision offer high performance and uphold the quality • 27 years of linear performance warranty plays a very important role. To assist our people standards that we commit.

• Our modules are resistant to PID, ammonia and processes, we have all necessary quality EL testing - Through EL testing process and salt mist corrosion control/inspection equipment both in-line and we check whether there are fissures, crack, • Highest efficiency at NOCT (certified by OST in the laboratory, to ensure precision in our or breakages on the cell, which cannot be energy) and superior PTC rating production for highest quality products. seen through naked eye. Utilizing this test Vikram has recently launched its ‘Somera‘ helps us to maintain the quality standards of series of monocrystalline modules that can Sunil Rathi manufactured modules. withstand 2400Pa Wind Load, 5400Pa Snow Hipot testing - Hipot Test is short name of high Load and Dynamic Wind Load– ideal for harsh As a Tier I module manufacturer, it is crucial potential (high voltage) Test and it is also known climatic conditions. that every module that goes into market from as Dielectric Withstand Test. Hipot inspection Vikram Solar manufacturing facility at Falta our manufacturing unit has to meet global process performs electrical isolation tests on SEZ, West Bengal is compliant with following quality standards. There are three basic ways the panel.

ISO standards. by which we do it here at Waaree Energies. Hipot tests are helpful in finding nicked or • ISO 9001 Quality Management System The first is incoming quality check, second is crushed insulation, stray wire strands or braided • ISO 14001 Environmental Management System inline production quality check and shielding, conductive or corrosive contaminants • BS OHSAS 18001 Health & Safety Management the third is post around the conductors, terminal spacing System production problems, and tolerance errors in cables.

• SA 8000 Social Accountability Standards quality This assures that modules will perform All our modules are certified according to as expected. global standards Flash testing - During a flash test the PV • IEC 61215, 61730, 61701, 62716 Certified module is exposed to a short, bright flash of • UL 1703 Certified light from a xenon filled arc lamp. The output To maintain long term focus on quality spectrum of this lamp is as close to the spectrum and reliability, we have developed testing of the sun as possible. The output is collected facilities and operation procedures that check. by a computer and the data is compared to make sure that during and post production, a exactly calibrated reference solar module. the modules comply to highest quality This test produces results highlighting the standard matching our commitment capability of a solar module under the sun. to the client.

Thus, allowing us to be sure of performance We maintain complete traceability of of the manufactured modules while they module manufacturing BOM, process are in operation. details and enforce people accountability to The inline production quality check is important ensure 100% of all modules produced are of as it tests both our experienced man power and Neelesh Garg similar quality. best in class machinery. Right from solar cell Quality processes like- Statistical process processing to final module packing, almost every While the basis to have quality management is control are implemented on shop floor to process is carried out with utmost care where to install quality inspection tools and equipment ensure the above. quality check is an integral part. These quality in the manufacturing process. Starting from checks ensure that module we manufacture incoming quality control to finished product Neelesh Garg and supply into the market have passed quality check, various machines have been through various important yet rigorous tests. installed such as cell inspection machine, EVA People. Process. Precision. We work on They also ensure that the modules are both gel content tester, EL testers, Sun simulators, these three principals to ensure quality in our visually and electrically perfect and are ready hi-pot tester etc. More important is to train to organisation. People are the most important to be deployed on field. With such predefined the people working on these machines, to resource in any organisation, and we go an and multiple quality checks points during each help achieve the purpose of these machines. extra mile to make sure that our people are process, one could be rest assured that each of Adequate off the job and on the job training performing to their maximum abilities at all our modules is at par with international quality to all employees is a pre-requisite for better times. We conduct regular training and personal standards and would work for its lifetime without quality. Most important is to set the internal guidance sessions for all our staff, to ensure any problem. standards as to what is acceptable or not. that they are satisfied both at work, and outside If the criteria of rejection is kept very basic, work. If processes are well defined and easy What are the parameters you use for post- the production process will definitely churn to understand, it leaves no room for error. Not production quality check for your products? out some defective products. Hence, it is a only do we comply with ISO, but we have also comprehensive process, and depends on implemented SAP H4 HANA which helps in Ivan Saha the vision of the management. Our values of automating a lot of manual processes, for sustainability and integrity dictate that we follow superior records and quality implementation. We use operation processes such asa strict quality policy, for long term relations If your people and processes are sorted, EL testing, Hipot testing and Flash testing to with our esteemed customers. precision comes naturally, and we are a very make sure that the cell to module transition will

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FEATURE

Sunil Rathi

both front and back side giving 15% - 30% gain in generation) and half cell module (more power and less shading loss) in 2018. A part of the team is actively pursuing super high efficiency Heterojunction technology (min 24% module efficiency) in association with CEA-INES, France for launch in early 2019.

In system level innovation, we are looking into floating solar, energy storage with Lithium ion batteries and smart cities infrastructure as areas that will see rapid growth in the near future. A part of the team is active in these areas keeping the future in mind.

While we perform precise and strict quality checks on our products at every stage of manufacturing, our post-production quality checks involve a number of specialized evaluations such as: • Based on random sampling, climatic chamber tests which are conducted to test the effects of a range of environmental conditions on the products, ensuring they do not malfunction when exposed to extreme climatic conditions. They include Damp heat test, Thermal Cycling test, Humidity freeze test, UV pre-conditioning test to name a few. Neelesh Garg • Potential Induced Degradation or PID has been one of the most troubling issues At Saatvik, we are presently working on in today’s PV plants. PID is a complex optimiser based solar PV panels, and phenomenon which directly reduces the micro-inverter technology to understand power output of the module by more than the performance of such systems, and how 60% in extreme cases. To address this, can they benefit our customers by paying we carry out PID test over and above as extra or when they are financially feasible. mentioned in standards. This is to ensure Apart from that, there are some other new that PID is the thing of the past for our technologies and innovative products that modules. our team is working on, which we will reveal • Salt Mist corrosion testing of PV modules are in due course of time. conducted to check the corrosion resistance of the protective coating on samples, before Sunil Rathi they are launched in the market.

• Static mechanical load and suction tests Our R&D team is currently working to are conducted by exposing the products enhance the productivity of our existing to a simulation of hail impact, to check their facilities while maintaining the delivery of top durability and robustness under extreme quality products. In addition to that, we are conditions of physical impact. also working on developing modules which In order to ensure that a solar module is ready can sustain extended tests to maintain the for the worst of the extreme conditions, we superior quality that our products are known carry out a sequential testing of all the above for. This is a part of continuous research mentioned individual tests in predetermined work our team is working upon. You can order and monitor the performance of our expect a lot of exiting products from our team module after each test. This ensures that within a short span of time. We had recently we simulate a more on-field situation and commissioned one of its kind installations at ensure that our module would work above BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Gujarat where 36 their lifetime. kWp PV power plants was installed in record 12 hours. This is by far the largest installation What currently your R&D is working on to of flexible solar panel at a single place. We increase quality and efficiency? had been awarded a special order of merit for this record installation. Activities like such Ivan Saha bolster our confidence and challenge us to always deliver more in efficient manner.

Vikram Solar has a robust R&D team working on high efficiency module technologies as How do you ensure the raw material you well as upcoming technologies like energy use is worth using in your products? storage, floating solar, IIOT based monitoring of solar plants etc.

Ivan Saha In the PV module space, we are launching module level power electronics (MLPE) We have been navigating in the solar sector for based modules (“smart” & AC modules), nearly 12 years now. And we do understand bifacial modules (that are photoactive on that for this energy revolution to succeed, we

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must focus on quality and performance of the technology. Supply chain development and management is of paramount importance in sustaining a growing business. Keeping this in mind we have developed a robust supply chain that sources raw materials and components from a diverse group of Indian and global suppliers. We ensure that each and every component going into a Vikram module is of highest quality. There are stringent Incoming Quality Control (IQC) tests on raw materials. Vendor facilities are periodically visited to acquaint ourselves with changing technology. All data pertaining to raw materials and production are logged via SAP and maintained at secure servers for analysis. All these measures enable our modules to record cell to module (CtM) power ratio close to 100%.

Neelesh Garg We have a standardised procedure of on-rolling raw material vendors. Before enrolling any new vendor, we conduct sample checking at our facility to approve or reject the product.

Even after enrolment of vendors, every lot is sample checked to ensure highest quality throughout. Apart from that, we have limited the number of vendors for each product, so that the quality of input and output can be easily monitored and standardised.

Sunil Rathi A solar module is only as reliable as its used raw materials are. It thus becomes crucial that a thorough check is carried out for all the raw materials we receive. We have best in class laboratory and equipment’s that ensure that any/all the raw material we use in our solar module are tested rigorously.

Additionally any new raw material claiming its superiority is tested in the most rigorous manner before being put to use and/or is certified in accordance with both national and international certifying agencies. We source our material only from globally trusted and certified suppliers with appropriate audits carried out as and when required to ensure that they supply us only the premium grade materials. With all such checks, our customer can be rest assured that modules from Waaree Energies would meet its expectations both technically while giving him the maximum possible advantages commercially.

-MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM n

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THE CONVERSATION

Raghvendra Mirji Associate Vice President & Head – Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Imposition of safeguard duty will increase the overall cost of solar power plant by 15% and will decrease ROI & thus equity IRR for Developers. But it is also vital to promote Indian module manufacturing and as per DGTR the safeguard duty was necessary to prevent complete erosion of manufacturing base of solar industry in India.... But before imposing safeguard duty we could have ramped up the capacity too to meet 100 GW target by year 2022, believes Raghvendra Mirji, Associate Vice President & Head – Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., part of $ 4.1 billion Godrej group having diversified business segments. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Saur Energy International, Mirji shared his views on emerging issues which the solar sector is currently dealing with along with his company’s vision for 2020. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

Please tell our readers more about Godrej’s solar division, its products & services.

Godrej & Boyce, a Godrej Group Company, operates across 14 diverse businesses.

Founded in 1897, the company started with the manufacture of high quality locks. It has since diversified into Consumer Goods, Office and Industrial Products & Services, Infrastructure & Real Estate. Headquartered in Mumbai, Godrej & Boyce specializes in and is a market leader in Appliances, Furniture & Interiors, Security Solutions, Locking Solutions, AV solutions, Vending, Material Handling, Industrial Logistics, Aerospace, Nuclear Power, Défense, Tooling’s solutions for Auto industry, Process Equipment, Power Infrastructure & Renewable Energy, Real Estate and Green Building Consulting. Godrej is one of India’s most trusted brands serving over 1.1bn customers worldwide, every day.

Godrej Solar is a part of Renewable energy segment of PIRE (Power Infrastructure and Renewable Energy). PIRE is the vertical of Godrej Electricals & Electronics (E & E), one of the 14 divisions of the Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Ltd. Godrej E&E is recognized as one of the leading technology solution providers in India. This division basically caters to the needs of Indian and global customers in the area of Power Infrastructure & Energy Management with complete installation and maintenance.

Godrej Solar provides turnkey EPC solutions and is majorly focused on Capex based rooftop & ground mounted projects. The solar power is seen as the fastest developing

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industry with increase investments and favourable government policies.Godrej has evolved as most trusted EPC solution providers for solar rooftop projects in Indian Market.

Q

As part of the Godrej’s vision 2020 towards Greener India, what are the major initiatives that the company has been taken so far?

Today, we enjoy the patronage of 1.1 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. In fact, our geographical footprint extends beyond Earth, with our engines now powering many of India's space missions.

With a revenue of over USD 4.1 billion we are growing fast, and have exciting, ambitious aspirations. Our Vision for 2020 is to be 10 times the size we were in 2010. But for us, it is most important that besides our strong financial performance and innovative thought process and bend of mind, much-loved products, we remain a good company. Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in the Godrej Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our Good & Green initiative of 'shared value' to create a more inclusive and greener India.

Godrej & Boyce Mfg Ltd is installing 2-3 MWp/ year on its own premises to reduce carbon footprints. The solar power plant installed at our premises will reduce approx. 4500 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Q

What are the solar projects on which the company is currently working on or in queue?

As informed, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. install solar roof top plants every year in its own premises and we plan / add up approximately 10 MWp - 20 MWp of roof top plants every year ranging from 10 KWp to multi MW and above. We have very reputed customer bases. Some of them are Shipping Corporation of India, BPCL, NIIT, Apollo LogiSolutions, Hotel Crown Plaza etc. We had touched base to entire industry segment i.e. Automobile, FMCG, Hospitality, Manufacturing & Corporate houses etc.

There are approximately 10 MWp of solar rooftop projects which are under execution and around 16 MWp under design stage.

Q

What is your opinion on the recent levy of safeguard duty on solar modules and cells? How it will affect the domestic solar market?

In todays globalised economy any protectionist approach from Government, may benefit Indian manufacturing companies in the short term but it will have long term impact on the competitiveness and quality of the services, that is inherent part of this sector.

The imposition will increase the overall cost of solar power plant by 15% and will decrease ROI & thus equity IRR for Developers.

But it is also vital to promote Indian module manufacturing and as per DGTR the safeguard duty was necessary to prevent complete erosion of manufacturing base

THE CONVERSATION

of solar industry in India. Around 90% of the solar modules used in Indian projects are imported from China and Malaysia because it is cheaper than domestic manufacturers.

But before imposing safeguard duty we could have ramped up the capacity too to meet 100 GW target by year 2022.

Q

How do you see the future of Indian rooftop solar in coming years and what will be the key trends that drive in shaping the industry & in near future, what will be the Godrej’s expansion agenda for the solar sector?

We are very optimistic about solar roof top segment. Among the diversified sources like coal, natural gas, hydro & nuclear power, the solar power is the fastest growing industry with increasing investments and favourable government policies.

In India, rooftop solar has maintained a 10-12% share of overall solar capacity & it is bound to increase multi fold in coming future.

Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. will play a pivotal role in uplifting the sector both in terms of increasing awareness & quality standards both in roof top and Ground mounted segments.

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THE CONVERSATION

Saurabh Bhandari Founder & CEO | SolarMaxx As a module manufacturer, we are aggressively looking at supplying our modules to EPC companies for rooftop installations. At the same time we are actively looking at expanding our EPC business across India with a strong focus on rooftop installations., says Saurabh Bhandari, Founder & CEO, SolarMaxx, a leading player in the high efficiency Solar PV Modules manufacturing space. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Sub Editor, Saur Energy International, Bhandari shared views on his company’s growth trajectory in the solar space along with the company’s future plan of action in the renewable energy segment. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

To begin with can you give our readers a brief overview of SolarMaxx including the vision behind its formation and its current role in the market?

32 AUGUST 2018

SolarMaxx, established in 2008, is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high efficiency Solar PV Modules suitable for utility scale power plants as well as rooftop solar.

SolarMaxx is a proud leader in its regional market of Rajasthan and is rapidly expanding across India.

SolarMaxx believes in manufacturing in the markets we serve. SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are a renowned quality offering that undergo multiple stages of stringent quality checks and tests during production before being packed for delivery. Needless to mention our modules are duly tested and approved and hold required IEC and TUV certification from world’s one of the most prestigious certification agencies. SolarMaxx Solar PV modules are also MNRE tested and are an eligible offering for various state and national tenders.

SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are available in wide range of sizes and wattages.

Even though our main focus is to produce high efficiency 325+W modules for utility and rooftop sectors, we can also cater to customised requirement for modules from 40W and above.

While SolarMaxx Solar Panels are a leading quality offering, SolarMaxx EPC services are revered as amongst the best in aftersales and O&M besides being amongst the fastest to deliver rooftop as well as ground mounted projects. Over the past decade we have attained expertise in EPC with in-house design, engineering and procurement capabilities.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

Q

SolarMaxx offers a broad range of solar solutions; could you highlight your products for our readers?

A small idea from a milk vendor led to the foundation of this current solar venture, SolarMaxx, in the year 2008.

SolarMaxx indulged in distribution of Solar lamps with an objective to light up the rural India before diversifying into manufacturing of Solar PV Panels, Solar Water Heating and related Solar Energy equipment. SolarMaxx played a pioneering role by taking Solar to the residential sector in its earlier years when Solar was perceived as a very expensive and rather an experimental commodity. Having successfully launched residential Solar solutions in the early stages of SolarMaxx, we introduced commercial and institutional solutions. By 2012-13, we were the leading Solar brand in Rajasthan with reasonable presence in neighbouring states.

It was only in late 2014 that we decided to commence manufacturing of Solar PV Modules and set up our manufacturing facility in record time of less than 6 months.

Today, SolarMaxx solar modules are amongst the most popular modules in our regional market. Our modules have acquired all required certifications and approvals such as IEC, TUV and MNRE. Our EPC vertical has completed several small to large rooftop projects, utility scale MW projects and a number of off-grid projects across North India.

Q

What is the unique value proposition of SolarMaxx and what are your key competitive differentiators?

We focus on sourcing of extremely high quality raw material from some of the most

renowned brands globally. We operate as a boutique production house with strong focus on quality. Our relatively smaller size helps us keep our cost overheads low without compromising on the quality of our product.

With increased automation in production, we keep our product offering consistent which is very important for our clients that are mostly renowned EPC companies and developers.

Q

What is your strategy in regards to offering best value to customer for the price, compared to similar offerings from competitors?

Solar sector has become extremely competitive in India due to the fact that it has attracted enormous attention from the Govt., investors, entrepreneurs and consumers. We are essentially a manufacturer and then an EPC services provider. Even though both the verticals operate independently, we do leverage synergies. We use SolarMaxx modules in our EPC projects as we are confident of our own quality and performance. This also ensures that we continuously focus on improving our product output. Using our own manufactured modules in our projects gives us the comfort of offering long terms product warranties and generation guarantees. This acts as an added advantage to our clients as they receive maximum support at reasonable price point.

Q

How do you envision the future for solar in India and what role do you expect SolarMaxx solar to play in shaping the future of the industry?

Govt. of India has set a solar installation target of 100GW by the year 2022. 40GW out of this 100GW is planned for rooftops. I believe Rooftop Solar is an excellent solution

THE CONVERSATION

for India’s power problems. Rooftop Solar in India is bound to grow at a high rate especially with increased awareness of the associated benefits.

Businesses and institutions have understood the economics of Solar rooftop and have started to deploy solar panels on their factory sheds and office roofs. Subsidies have helped making rooftop solar attractive to residential users. It is to be seen how they may react once the subsidies are over, but the overall scenario looks exciting.

There are some obvious challenges. DISCOMS are not particularly in favour of implementing or continuing net metering schemes as they directly affect their revenue. RESCO model especially in the private sector is still considered risky.

As a module manufacturer, we are aggressively looking at supplying our modules to EPC companies for rooftop installations. At the same time we are actively looking at expanding our EPC business across India with a strong focus on rooftop installations.

Q

Please tell us about your manufacturing process, sourcing, quality and innovation.

We are progressively taking steps towards maximum automation in our manufacturing process to evade human intervention as much as possible. This has certainly enhanced "quality" yield of our modules. The wastage has reduced while uniformity of output has increased. This has quite clearly prompted an increase in quality of the product. We focus

on efficiency and are producing high wattage panels. We recently introduced half-cut cell panels to increase the output by reducing the cell to module losses. This will certainly lead to reduction of overall project cost of developers and EPCs alike. With the utilization of certified, excellent class raw material, particularly PID resistant cells, our performance is guaranteed overtime. Reasonable price, performance and prompt delivery are our basic strengths.

We prioritse sourcing of extremely high quality raw material from among the most renowned global brands.

Since solar is our main bread and butter and not a side project to other business interests, our production house srtongly focuses on quality.

With increased automation in production, we keep our product offering consistent which is very important for our clients that are mostly renowned EPCs, developers and investors.

Q

What role do you think SolarMaxx can play in emerging trend of EV in India?

As a starter, SolarMaxx solar panels were amongst the very first used to develop a prototype solar car by one of the leading private universities in India.

Electric Vehicles is the future of transportation.

Whether it is India or anywhere else in the world, EVs will tremendously help in not only controlling but also reducing carbon emissions.

We already have experience of integration of Li-Ion batteries with solar. One of the most important challenges in the EV segment is to have reliable power at charging stations, some of which may as well be located at

remote areas especially on highways. Solar is possibly the best option to power these stations. Not only is Solar easy to install and maintain, it may in fact prove to be cheaper than to draw transmission infrastructure to these stations. With our experience with Li-Ion batteries, we believe we will be able to answer questions this new emerging sector may raise in the near future.

Q

What do you want the company to accomplish in the next couple of years and how would you define success for SolarMaxx?

SolarMaxx is rapidly expanding its network in India. Considering the current scenario, popularity and increased acceptance of our modules and our own growth in the EPC vertical, we aim to increase our manufacturing capacity threefold within the next one year. While we remain the leading manufacturer and provider of Solar Modules in our regional market, we are aggressively looking at expanding our EPC footprint in the neighbouring states. We are glad to be empanelled as a leading manufacturer under MNRE’s subsidy program for the residential and the non-profit sectors. This has not only helped us grow but has also made Solar attractive to sectors where it was earlier found to be unaffordable.

Success for SolarMaxx is when Solar becomes a household commodity rather than a prized possession. We aim to introduce quality products and innovative solutions to make Solar more efficient and affordable.

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PROJECTS

UPDATES

ACME, NHPC, Bihar-Based Startup Get SIPB Clearance for Solar Projects In a move to boost solar power generation in Bihar, the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has provided its stage -1 clearance for the proposals of three companies, i.e.

ACME, NHPC, and Hemlet and Solar Project Collaborators, to set up solar power projects in the state.

Country’s one of the leading utility-scale solar power developer ACME Group through its two arms ACME Nalanda Solar Power and ACME Magadh Solar Power to set up 15 MW and 10 MW solar projects respectively in Kakwara village of Banka, Bihar with an aggregate investment of about Rs 188.76 crore.

Besides, NHPC, which is the Indian hydroelectric power generation company, to set up two solar power projects in the state of Bihar at a combined cost of approx.

Rs 274.95 crore.

Of the two projects, NHPC to set up one project having capacity of 250 MW electricity

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in Gaya and another project with capacity of 10 MW power generation in Khagaria of Bihar respectively.

On the other hand, a Bihar-based startup

Hemlet and Solar Project Collaborators to set up 500 MW capacity solar project in Patepur block of Vaishali district in Bihar with an investment of about Rs 3,600 crore.

Azure Power Secures 160 MW Solar Project in UP Auction with Highest Tariff

Azure Power Bags 600 MW Solar Power Project in SECI Auction

Independent solar power producer, Azure Power has won the 160 MW solar power project in Uttar Pradesh at the highest tariff in a recent auction conducted by the Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).

Further, the company will sign a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) which has a domestic debt rating of A+ by CRISIL, a S&P company, at a tariff of Rs 3.55 (~US 5.2 cents) per kWh, ~45 percent higher than the lowest tariff bid for a solar project in India.

The project is expected to be commissioned in 2019 and developed outside a solar park.

With this win the company’s solar portfolio will be 260 MWs in Uttar Pradesh which is the most populous state in India and has a large peak energy supply deficit, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). It is among the largest solar developers in UP and in 2015 it has built the first utility scale solar project in the state.

Commenting on the project win, Azure Power, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Inderpreet Wadhwa said, “We are pleased to announce our win in Uttar Pradesh, and with this we have once again demonstrated our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities. We are delighted to make this contribution towards realization of our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation.”

Azure Power has won a 600 MW solar power project in the SECI’s 2,000 MW tender auction.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is a Government of India (GoI) enterprise and a company with an AA+ domestic debt rating by ICRA, a Moody’s company.

Further, the project is the largest solar auction in India and also the first Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) grid connected solar PV project auctioned by SECI. Moreover, the company is expects to sign a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SECI to supply power at a tariff of Rs 2.53 (~US 3.9 cents) per kWh, approximately 4 percent higher than the lowest bid in the same auction.

Furthermore, this project can be developed outside a solar park anywhere across the country and is expected to be commissioned by 2020.

Commenting on this project win, Azure Power, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Inderpreet Wadhwa said, “We are pleased to announce our largest capacity win and with this, we continue to demonstrate our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities Our long history of superior solar power operations right from the inception of the National Solar Mission has contributed to our success of procuring one of the largest solar power contracts with SECI.”

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UPDATES

PROJECTS

Amplus to Setup 400 MW Solar juwi Completes 135 MW Capacity in UP; Mulls to Invest Rs Utility-Scale Solar Park in 2,000 Cr by FY21 Karnataka Amplus Energy Solutions plans to invest Rs 2,000 core in Uttar Pradesh (UP) by Fiscal 2021 as part of the GoUP’s Solar Policy 2017 and has committed to setup 400 MW solar capacity.

Guru Inder Mohan Singh, Chief Operating Officer said that the Mirzapur project will supply green energy to environmentally conscious industries across the state. Industry in UP has been long demanding direct purchase from renewable energy projects for reducing their carbon footprint.

He added that, we had signed MOU with the Government of Uttar Pradesh in February. Within five months of the signing, the project is shovel ready. This has been possible due to the Government’s unprecedented support and quick response at all levels.

In the first phase of investment, the company will set up 50 MW ground mounted solar PV project eyeing an investment of over Rs 250 crore in Mirzapur creating 130 sustainable high value additional jobs for the locals.

“UP’s Solar Policy 2017 is supportive to the investors. It has provided a friendly environment for the investment and provides consumers an option to procure green power on reasonable ter ms. Suppor tive policies by the state governments provide the right platform for solar energy adoption to grow at a rapid pace in the country,” Sanjeev Aggarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Amplus Energy.

The company, in its solar capacity in UP drive, has also solarised three out of the 13 sites of Walmart outlets – 1 in Agra and 2 in Meerut, UP. It has also set up a rooftop solar plant of 2.5 MW at IEML’s Greater Noida facility, which is the first solar plant for an Expo Mart in India.

One of the leading renewable energy development company, juwi group has completed the construction of a 135 MW DC utility-scale solar power plant for Energon Soleq Ravi India Power Resources.

This 135 MW solar plant covers an area of 243 hectares and is situated near the village of Guttigoli (Belgaum district) in the southern part of Karnataka, India.

Further, the project is expected to generate over 226 million kilowatt-hours of power every year, enough to avoid the emission of 122,743 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually.

Moreover, juwi India will perform the operations and maintenance of the solar power plant along with maintenance, monitoring and reporting services.

With this project, juwi India’s current total O&M portfolio has become 347 MWp and is expected to cross 500 MWp by this year’s end.

Commenting on the development, juwi-COO, Stephan Hansen said, “Utility scale solar PV has become the most cost-effective source of energy in many parts of the world. The juwi group is globally very well positioned and one of the top renewable energy project developer and EPC service providers. The high quality construction of the 135 megawatt solar project emphasizes our striving for operational excellence in EPC.” Besides, from the South African renewable energy market, the company was able to finalize the contracts for building a portfolio of 250 MW as it has been selected preferred EPC contractor to 3 utility-scale PV projects in bidding round four.

“We are expecting financial close for these projects by the end of July. We also signed the contract with our client for the sale of our self-developed 138-Megawatt wind-farm Garob in the Northern Cape. We are expecting financial close for this project by the end of August”, Hansen said.

Mytrah Energy Wins 100 MW Wind Power Project under MSEDCL Bid Country’s one of the leading independent power producer, Mytrah Energy (India) Pvt Ltd (MEIPL) has secured a 100 MW wind power project for the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) through competitive bidding.

The company has quoted a tariff of Rs 2.86 under the reverse e-auction for the 200 MW capacity and won the bid for a capacity of 100 MW in Maharashtra to supply power to the MSEDCL. Commenting on the achievement, Mytrah Energy, Co -founder, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Vikram Kailas said, “Our most recent win at MSEDCL

demonstrates Mytrah’s strong renewable energy capabilities that will serve the increasing need for renewable energy in India. With our Pan-India presence and strong in-house technology we will help the government meet their renewable energy requirement to make the country more sustainable.”

Further, in the reverse bidding total six companies had participated and collectively submitted quotes for a cumulative capacity of 821.8 MW. The bidders were given a choice to reduce the quoted capacity during re-auction.

Besides, other players who won the bid were

Adani Green Energy and KCT Renewable Energy, each with 75 MW at Rs 2.85, Inox Wind with 50 MW of capacity, Hero Wind Energy with 75.6 MW all three at Rs 2.86 and Torrent Power, which bid for 146 MW but was awarded 124.4 MW of capacity at Rs 2.87.

However, the auction was conducted to seek bids to procure 500 MW wind power supply from bidders post releasing a tender on December 21, 2017.

Meanwhile, the project is expected to be commissioned within 18 months from the execution of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

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UPDATES

Scatec Solar Gets 47 MW Solar Project in Ukraine Independent solar power producer Scatec Solar has entered into agreements with Rengy Development securing projects of 47 MW in Ukraine.

Further, the projects will be realized under the country’s feed-in-tariff scheme and the 3 plants are expected to produce about 58 GWh per year.

The company said that the public land will be leased for an extended timeperiod and the plants are also expected to deliver power beyond the 10 years feed-in-tariff period.

As per the deal, the company will own 51 percent of the projects and Rengy Development will own the remaining projects.

Moreover, it will be the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services provider and also provide operation & maintenance along with asset

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management services to the power plants.

With this pact, the company has so far secured 130 MW of projects under the feed-in-tariff scheme in Ukraine.

“We are very happy to partner with a strong local player as Rengy Development to further strengthen our position in

Ukraine. Rengy Development brings a solid track record in solar in Ukraine to the project ensuring efficient realization.

We see continued strong commitment by the Ukrainian government to secure growth of clean energy in the country,” said CEO Raymond Carlsen.

Rengy Development is one of the largest developers and independent solar power producers in Ukraine. It was established in 2009 and has to date developed, built and commissioned a 70 MW portfolio of solar power plants in Ukraine.

Total capex for the projects is estimated to EUR 52 million. The project finance process has been initiated with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in lead. Financial close and construction start is expected later in 2018 with commercial operation during 2019.

Tata Power to Develop 250 MW Solar Projects at Pavagada Solar Park

TMEIC Solar Inverters to Power Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Park in India

Power major Tata Power’s renewable arm, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL), has received a Letter of Award from Karnataka Renewable Energy Development (KREDL) to develop 250 MW, i.e. 5 projects of 50 MW each, of solar projects in Tumkur district of Karnataka.

Adding to it, these projects will be set up at the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka and the energy will be supplied to the State Discoms under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).

The company said in a statement that, it has won this capacity in a bid at a tariff of Rs 2.85/kWH announced by KREDL during April 2018. The projects will be commissioned within 12 months from the date of signing of the PPA. Commenting on solar projects win, Tata Power, CEO & MD, Praveer Sinha said, “We are proud to announce that we have been awarded the 250 MW Solar Project in Karnataka, and thankful to the Government of Karnataka and the officials at KREDL for this opportunity. We are delighted to contribute towards the realisation of our country’s commitment towards clean and green energy through solar power generation.” Till now, this 250 MW solar projects capacity is the largest capacity won by the company in a bid.

With this addition, TPREL will have an overall operational capacity of 400 MW in Pavagada Solar Park as 150 MW has already been operational since FY18.

Meanwhile, the plant is expected to annually offset approximately 578631 tCO2e per year. TPREL has an operation capacity of 675 MW making it a key player in the renewable energy space. 1.6% of their total annual consumption will be met with this project.

TMEIC Industrial Systems India (TMEIC India), Indian arm of TMEIC Japan, has inked a pact with a leading EPC company in India for the supply & commissioning of its 2.55 MW solar central inverters of type PVH-L2550E. The company will supply it’s 100 solar central inverters for the 250 MW phase of a prestigious 750-MWac Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Park in Central India.

The Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Park is a step towards the Central Government’s goal in achieving 40 percent clean power by 2030.

After completion, this 750 MW solar power plant would be one of the largest single site solar power projects across the globe.

Further, this is a project funded by the World Bank under its “Clean Technology Fund”.

Commenting on the development, TMEIC’s Renewable Energy Business in India, Head, Syed Abbas said, “With more than 3GW of installations in service, TMEIC technology is well established as the most economical, in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX. TMEIC leads the market not just in bankability, but also as the driver behind the lowest LCOE for its solutions.”

The company produces large capacity ground mount central inverters with single unit upto 2,550 kW capacity in its state of the art manufacturing facility in Tumakuru near Bengaluru.

Moreover, TMEIC’s green factory in Tumkuru, which manufacturers solar inverters, has achieved carbon & water neutrality through rain water harvesting, zero discharge, natural air ventilators, natural lighting, and in-house solar power generation.

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UPDATES

PROJECTS

SECI Extends Bid-Submission Deadline for Rihand Dam 150 MW Solar Tender

SAARC Energy Centre Invites Tender for Hybrid Solar PV Systems for Kabul, Dhaka Offices

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has extended the bid submission deadline for the tender of 150 MW grid connected floating solar power project to be installed at Rihand Dam, Uttar Pradesh.

The deadline of the bid submission has been extended up to September 4, 2018. The SECI website mentions that the technocommercial bidding process would start at 11 am of September 5, 2018 according to the new bid submission dates.

The tender which was available for bidding on April 17, 2018 included designing, engineering, procurement, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the grid-connected, floating solar PV project.

As a boost to the nuances in the renewable energy, floating solar power projects are gaining adhesion in the renewables industry.

Many reservoirs and lakes are to be used by the Solar authorities to build Solar projects in the upcoming years citing National Solar Power Mission.

SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed

by SAARC leaders, invited sealed tenders for 20 kW, 3 phase hybrid solar system for its two offices in Kabul and Dhaka.

The scope of the tender for hybrid solar systems includes designing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning, along with after sales service of its 20 kW, 3 phase hybrid solar system.

The SEC said in a statement that, “All Reputed national/multi-national firms with sound financial strength, specialization in Hybrid Solar PV systems, having good track record of installing/maintaining solar home systems are encouraged to apply.”

Further, the bidders have to submit separate bids for each project location and each bid shall comprise separate envelopes of technical and financial bids, it said.

Also, the financial proposal should include annual cost of service after warrantee period i.e., SLA.

New Energy Solar to Buy 87 MW Beryl Project from First Solar Sydney based New Energy Solar has inked a binding pact to acquire Beryl solar project from First Solar in Australia.

The company said in a statement that, “It has entered into binding agreements to acquire the Beryl Solar Farm (Beryl) from a subsidiary of First Solar.”

Currently, the 87 MW Beryl Solar Project is under construction and is expected to start commercial operation in mid-2019.

As per the deal, the company will acquire interest of 49 percent in Beryl immediately after the project’s construction work starts.

Once, Beryl reaches commercial operation (targeted for mid-2019), and subject to remaining consents and conditions, the company will acquire the remaining 51 percent stake.

On full commercial operation, the plant will sell approximately 134,000 MWh of electricity per annum to Transport for NSW (TNSW) under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to meet the electricity requirements of the Sydney Metro Northwest railway.

“Once completed, approximately 20% of New Energy Solar’s portfolio will be in Australia. The project provides stable $A cashflow under the long-term PPA with TfNSW. The PPA structure, under which the majority of the offtake is contracted,

is consistent with our strategy to secure predictable, low-risk returns for investors.

At the same time, the uncontracted volume allows us to explore other PPA arrangements, battery storage and other value-enhancing options,” said Liam Thomas, Head of Investments, New Energy Solar.

In May this year, Downer Utilities Australia, an arm of Downer EDI, has commenced the construction of the plant utilising First Solar’s latest Series 6 modules.

Meanwhile, Beryl solar project is expected to generate over 199,000 MWh of power during the first operating year by reducing more than 167,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions p.a.

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MARKET

UPDATES

Adani Solar Recognized Globally for its Durability and Reliability In a recent report released by DNV GL, the solar manufacturing arm of Adgroup, Mundra Solar PV has emerged as the only Indian company to feature in the fourth annual PV module Reliability Scoreboard report.

Mundra Solar PV has been awarded the top award for three rigorous tests- Thermal Cycle 600, a Dynamic Load Test (DML), and Potential Induced Degradation (PID).

The report has been published by the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts.

According to Ramesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer of Mundra, Adani implements stateof-art facility with best industry practices to ensure superior performance.

“Developers and investors should be aware

that not all manufacturers have their modules tested for quality and reliability to vouch for their product lifetime. Procuring unevaluated modules is always a risk that could have major ramifications for their projects. Adani is a committed manufacturer which has implemented state-of-the-art facility with best industry practices ensuring superior performance and reliability of its products,” said Nair.

Anshul Khandelwal, Head Sales, and Marketing of Mundra Solar PV added that DNV GL is an invaluable tool for the developers.

“DNV GL’s PV Module Reliability Scorecard is an invaluable tool that developers should use for overall procurement strategy. This

ensures the projects are built with reliable and durable products that would perform as expected; ensuring best returns,” said Khandelwal.

The solar installations are expected to cross the 100 GW (gigawatt) mark in 2018.

The healthy surge in installations is driven by higher efficiency PV (Photovoltaics) modules with new materials projecting higher returns and lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).

Adani Solar is the first Indian company to vertically integrate businesses that offer services across the spectrum of photovoltaics manufacturing and is optimized for scaling up to 3 GW of modules and cells under a single roof.

Solar, Wind Provide Almost 50% of Electricity Globally by 2050, says Report

38 AUGUST 2018

The solar and wind technology will account for almost half of the total electricity globally, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Of this, hydro, nuclear and other renewables taking total zero-carbon electricity up to 71 percent.

“By 2050, wind and solar technology provide almost 50 percent of total electricity globally – “50 by 50” – with hydro, nuclear and other renewables taking total zerocarbon electricity up to 71 percent,” stated Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2018 report, released by BNEF. The report further added that, “By 2050, we expect only 29 percent of the electricity production worldwide to result from burning fossil fuels, down from 63 percent today.”

However, the report cited the reason behind major renewable shift that, this dramatic shift to “50 by 50” is being driven by cheap solar PV, cheap wind, and falling battery costs. The cost of an average PV plant falls by 71 percent by 2050.

Besides, BNEF outlook also forecasted that, wind energy is getting cheaper too, and we expect it to drop by 58 percent by 2050.

Also, PV and wind are already cheaper than building new large-scale coal and gas plants. Batteries are also dropping dramatically in cost.

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Commenting on the latest NEO outlook, BNEF’s Seb Henbest said, “We see USD 548 billion being invested in battery capacity by 2050, two thirds of that at the grid level and one third installed behind-the-meter by households and businesses.”

Henbest further added that, “The arrival of cheap battery storage will mean that it

becomes increasingly possible to finesse the delivery of electricity from wind and solar, so that these technologies can help meet demand even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. The result will be renewables eating up more and more of the existing market for coal, gas and nuclear.”

MARKET

UPDATES

Six UP Cities Alone Have Potential to Generate 11.4 GW, says Report In a report released by the Centre for Environment and Energy Development, the six UP cities alone have been identified that can generate 11.4 GW of solar energy using 11 percent of their built-up area only.

The report titled “Uttar Pradesh: Uncovering Solar Rooftop Potential in Urban Cities” said the installation of solar rooftops in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Meerut, Allahabad, and Gorakhpur can also generate 3 lakh jobs in the state.

It suggested that the peak power deficit is met by installing grid-connected solar rooftops by 2025 to generate 1,674 MW. CEED Programme Director Abhishek Pratap said: “Solar rooftop has a gamechanging potential to completely revitalize the development landscape with improved power supply, massive capital infusion and

a significant rise in job creation.”

He added that the 11.4 GW of solar rooftop potential in these six cities can “bring Rs 570 billion investment in the solar energy sector in the state, thus creating a ripple effect in employment generation with a possibility of 3 lakh jobs in next five years along with an expansive boost to manufacturing, assembling and service sectors in the

PE/VC Inflows Surged by 46% in 1st Half, Cross $15 Bn, says Report

40 AUGUST 2018

The funds from the private equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VCs) have surged by 46 percent in the first half of this year and has crossed USD 15 billion.

The growth was driven by the buyouts, said a report by EY. The report stated that the period saw as many as 36 large deals worth USD 11.5 billion, which were mostly buyouts, making such deals the highest ever at USD 4.9 billion, or 32 percent of all investments received.

But exits stood higher, another record, at USD 5.5 billion, across 99 deals, on the back of a few large strategic and secondary exits even though open market deals were subdued due to market volatility.

In terms of fundraising, it stood at USD 3 billion, a third of which was targeted at the real estate sector, it said.

According to the EY’s private equity deal tracker, “H1 of 2018 recorded investments worth USD 15.2 billion across 351 deals, on the back of 36 large deals of value greater than USD 100 million, strong buyout activity and investments in infrastructure and real estate asset classes.”

Buyouts as a theme has become even stronger in 2018 and is on course to become a prominent facet of PE investing in the country, notes Vivek Soni, a partner at EY India. He attributes this to the entry of large pension funds looking to invest directly into assets, which has provided a significant impetus to investments in the infra and realty asset classes.

“In our view, notwithstanding headwinds like high oil prices, falling rupee and potential of global trade wars, the first half performance on PE/VC investments, exits and fund-raising have been strong and appears to be well on course to surpass the record highs of 2017,” he said.

The largest exit was Actis selling its stake in Ostro Energy to ReNew Power for USD 769 million, followed by TPG moving out of Vishal Mega Mart to the Partners Group and Kedaara for close to USD 769 million, which was also the largest PE/VC exit in the retail and consumer products sector in the country.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

solar industry”.

Among these cities, Lucknow (3187 MW) has the maximum potential, followed by Kanpur (3010 MW) and Agra (1986 MW), whereas Gorakhpur (833 MW) has the lowest solar rooftop potential. The potential of the other two cities — Allahabad and Meerut — studied in the report are 1577 MW and 900 MW, respectively.

“For catalysing energy transformation in the state, government buildings offer best options with the bundling of projects which helps in reducing the cost,” said Anand Prabu Pathanjali, Manager – Clean Energy at CEED. “Metering guidelines and their implementation need further strengthening for a higher amount of solar power through distributed sources,” he added.

Chinese Solar Panels Dumping Causes Loss of 2 Lakh Jobs: Report The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce estimated loss of 2 lakh jobs in the country due to dumping of Chinese solar panels.

The loss of jobs came on the heels of disproportion in the trade patterns between India and China and a faulty implementation of interest safeguarding policies.

The panel advised the commerce department to wisely decide upon the implementations of the reports given by the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) about the use of Chinese Goods.

Excerpts of the report said presently, the exports from India have been decimated and brought to a standstill. Immediate trade remedial measures need to be deployed to protect the domestic solar industry.

Uncertain dumping of the Chinese goods also caused unethical imports by the industry players.

“The anti-dumping framework also suffers with lax implementation. The unscrupulous elements are able to import the Chinese goods by circumventing the goods put under anti-dumping framework through misclassification of products,” the report said.

The parliamentary panel also reiterated India’s trade deficit with China in the report. The deficit was recorded around USD 63.12 billion in 2017-18 up from USD 51.11 billion in 2016-17.

“Nothing should be agreed to at the cost of our industrial health,” the panel said.

UPDATE

Renewables Supply 75% of Electricity in India by 2050: BNEF Report The Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in its latest New Energy Outlook 2018 (NEO) report has forecasted that the renewable energy supply will account of 75 percent of electricity in India by 2050.

On the global outlook, BNEF said in its latest NEO 2018 report that, “By 2050, renewables supply 87 percent of electricity in Europe, 55 percent in the US, 62 percent in China and 75 percent in India.”

The report further added that, “India has the cheapest new wind and solar anywhere in the world. This poses a profound challenge to the orthodoxy there that coal is forever king.”

“While we expect coal-fired electricity to continue to grow in India in the short to medium term, by 2050 wind and solar dominate, supported by batteries and flexible gas. This pushes India’s emissions 22 percent below what they are today,” BNEF forecasted.

The BNEF’s NEO 2018 outlook saw, USD 11.5 trillion being invested globally in new power generation capacity between 2018 and 2050, with USD 8.4 trillion of that going to wind and solar and a further USD 1.5 trillion to other zero-carbon technologies such as hydro and nuclear.

According to the report, cheap renewable energy and batteries fundamentally reshape the electricity system, as we shift from two-thirds fossil fuels in 2017, to two-thirds renewable energy in 2050.

MARKET

Investment in Solar Power Projects Likely to Fall in 2018 In the first half of 2018, the global net investment in solar power projects fell 19 percent from USD 71.6 billion as compared to previous year in 2017. The main reason is the cutbacks in China and lower equipment costs, trends that are expected to further strengthen in the second half of 2018.

According to the research by BNEF, the mixed picture for global clean energy investment in 2018 is emerging, and at the same time, the commitment to wind and energy-smart technologies such as EV and batteries are running above last year’s levels.

Data compiled by BNEF showed world investment in clean energy in the first six months of 2018 stood at USD 138.2 billion, down just 1 percent from the same period in 2017. The second quarter, from April to June, actually saw a rise year-on-year – of 8 percent to USD 76.7 billion.

“A sectoral split for the first half of 2018 shows solar investment down 19 percent compared to the same period last year at USD 71.6 billion, with wind up 33 percent at USD 57.2 billion. The slippage in solar reflects two main developments – significantly lower capital costs for photovoltaic projects, and therefore fewer dollars spent per megawatt installed; and a cooling-off in China’s solar boom. These trends are set to gather pace in the second half,” BNEF said in a statement.

On June 1, the Chinese government released a policy document restricting new solar installations that require a national subsidy, with immediate effect. “We expect this to lead to sharp drop in installations in China this year, compared to 2017’s spectacular record of 53GW,” said Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific at BNEF.

Rooftop Power Plants Can Save 95% on Bills, says Study Households owning rooftop solar systems could save up to 95 percent on their electricity bills, says an independent study released at the CEEW Renewable Energy Dialogue 2018 by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Residents buying power from a community rooftop solar PV plant, via a subscription plan, could also save up to 35 percent on their electricity bills. These savings have been estimated over the 25-year lifetime of these systems.

These are some of the findings from a study undertaken by CEEW in collaboration with power distribution utility BYPL in east and central Delhi. The study found that involving electricity distribution companies, designing innovative business models, and introducing financial incentives are key to scaling up rooftop solar in the residential sector.

“Solar system costs have declined by 27%

over the last three years, making rooftop solar a lucrative investment. However, despite a 30% government subsidy, households have installed only about 400 MW of rooftop solar across the country (and 60 MW in Delhi),” says the report.

Key challenges for residential consumers include high capital cost, lack of access to finance, lack of consumer awareness, issues with roof ownership and access, and

a roof lock-in period of 25 years.

BYPL also teamed up with the council and came up with designs of three innovative utility-led models — community solar model, on-bill financing model, and a solar partner’s model. These models target residential consumers ranging from those living in gated communities to low-income consumers receiving electricity subsidies.

At the CEEW RE Dialogue, Praveen Kumar, Additional Secretary, MNRE, said, “Understanding and resolving the challenges faced by households, developers, discoms, and financiers will be crucial to speeding up residential adoption of rooftop solar.”

P R Kumar, CEO, BYPL, said, “Adoption of rooftop solar will also help us to manage the peak demand and fulfil our renewable purchase obligation (RPO). A large portion of our BYPL consumers are in the residential segment.’’

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Smart Cities Must Be A Habitat Where The Rural And Urban Divide Is Reduced To A Thin Line.

Dr. A.p.j. Abdul Kalam

Indian Smart Cities Shining Brighter with Sun A

great scientist, thinker, writer and Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, dreamed of seeing India as a ‘Developed Country’ by 2022 when it celebrates its 75th Independence Day. The roadmap of ‘Smart Cities’ is a part of the ‘India Vision 2020’ which initially designed by the Government of India’s Technology Think Tank ‘TIFAC’ an arm of Science and Technology Department chaired by Dr. Kalam, who also known as the ‘Missile Man of India’.

His vision for developed India covers various pointers including- infrastructure with reliable electric power i.e. providing urban amenities to rural areas, and surging solar power operations. He dreamed of a nation where there is an equitable distribution of, and adequate

access to, energy and quality water.

According to the Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, “Smart cities must be a habitat where the rural and urban divide is reduced to a thin line.”

Following the Dr Kalam’s dream of ‘Developed India’ and his vision document the Indian Government launched various schemes such as Smart Cities, Saubhagya, Amrut cities, PMAY, DDUGJY, Kusum Scheme etc.

Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was launched by the Government of India on June 25, 2015 and the objective of the Mission is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and provide a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment along with application of ‘Smart’ Solutions.

SMART CITY

Besides, the Mission’s aim is sustainable development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.

Moreover, the Indian government has designed the Mission to display such an example that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, and catalyzing the creation of similar Smart Cities in different regions on pan India basis.

Further, Smart City would include some core infrastructure elements such as - sustainable environment, assured electricity supply, adequate water supply, sanitation, including solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing etc.

Besides, the strategic components of the ‘Smart Cities Mission’ are retrofitting, redevelopment and Greenfield development with a Pan-city initiative in which ‘Smart Solutions’ will be applied covering larger parts of the city. The application of such Smart Solutions will enable cities to use technology to improve infrastructure and services.

Thus, the all-round development of the city in such a way will improve the quality of life, create employment and enhance incomes for all - especially for the poor and disadvantaged people of the country.

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Initiatives towards Smart Cities PM Modi has dreamed of developing 100 smart cities in India as satellite towns of larger cities and to modernize the existing mid-sized cities. Following this, the Urban Development Ministry is implementing the smart cities mission jointly with the state governments of the respective cities.

The Indian government has launched various other initiatives also which go along with the ‘Smart Cities Mission’ such as ‘AMRUT’ and PMAY. Further, the Smart Cities’ selection process has been set by the government on the basis of Competitive and Co-operative Federalism and follows a Challenge process to select cities in two stages.

In January 2016, 20 smart cities were selected in First Round based on the All India Competition, while in fast track round 13 more Smart Cities were selected in May 2016.

In the Second Round, 63 potential smart cities participated out of which 27 Smart Cities have been selected in September 2016.

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On the other hand, in the Third Round, 45 potential smart cities participated out of which 30 Smart Cities have been selected in June last year.

Besides, in the Fourth Round, a total of 15 potential smart cities participated out of which 9 Smart Cities have been selected in January this year.

Furthermore, as per the government data, a total investment worth Rs 2,01,981 crore has been proposed by the 99 cities under their smart city plans and area based projects are estimated to cost Rs 1,63,138 crore. Also, smart initiatives across the city account for the remaining Rs 38,841 crore of investments.

Additionally, implementation of the SCM Mission is done through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to be set up at city level in the form of a limited company under the Companies Act, 2013 and it will be promoted by the State/Union Territory and the Urban Local Body (ULB) jointly both having 50:50 equity shareholding. Post selection, all the Cities selected as the Smart City has to set up the SPVs and start implementing their Smart City Proposal, preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), tenders/ bids etc. After this, the proposal will be transformed into projects by the SPV via Project Management Consultants (PMCs) and implementation thereafter.

Under the ‘Smart Cities’ Mission as of May 2018, 1,333 projects worth Rs 50,626 crore have been completed or under implementation/ tendering. While, overall projects worth Rs 2,03,979 crore have been identified for all 99 smart cities on pan India basis.

Out of the selected 99 smart cities, 91 of them have already incorporated SPVs and nine Smart Cities viz. Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Pune, Kakinada, Bhopal & Nagpur have already established Integrated City Command and Control Centres (ICCC). However, the work

under progress is on 14 other cities along with 32 others are under tendering stage.

Besides, the Smart Solar projects have been completed in six cities, while in 49 cities projects were under implementation/ tendering stage.

Under AMRUT scheme, as of May 2018, out of the State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) size of Rs 77,640 crore, 84 percent projects worth Rs 65,075 crore were under various stages of implementation including projects tendered and where DPRs have been approved. Also, over 22 crore urban population is expected to be benefited from this mission.

So far, a total of Rs 11,945 crore has been released by the government and around 400 projects worth Rs 325 crore have already been completed under AMRUT scheme.

Besides, thirty seven lakh street lights were replaced with energy efficient LED street lights while around 322 green spaces and parks projects were completed under the Mission.

Under the PMAY (U) scheme, as of May 2018, an aggregate of Rs 24,475 crore has been released to the States. So far, 45.86 lakh houses have been sanctioned, out of which 23.43 lakh houses have been grounded and 7.02 lakh houses have been completed (including incomplete houses of earlier scheme).

Sustainable & Clean Energy Empowered Indian Smart Cities As India imports nearly 80 percent of its crude oil consumption, around 15 percent of its coal consumption, about 35 percent of its natural gas consumption and also around 75 percent of Greenhouse gas emissions produced only in cities & communities, which poses a severe threat against actions taken towards climate protection and conservation.

The potential answer to such challenges will be interlocking renewable energy with conventional energy in a big way for all Smart Cities.

SMART CITY

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Already, the Smart City guidelines insist that 10 percent of the Smart City’s power requirement will come from solar energy.

In order to achieve the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) joined hands with the Ministry of Urban Development to provide renewable energy from sources like sunlight, wind and hydroelectricity for the smart city’s electrical grid.

Besides, MNRE also targeted to produce an aggregate227 GW (earlier 175 GW) of electricity from renewable sources, including nearly 113 GW from Solar power, nearly 66 GW from Wind energy,10 GW from Biomass power, 5 GW from small hydro and 31 GW from floating solar and offshore wind energy.

Furthermore, PM Modi’s vision of making 100 smart cities stressed upon the use of Smart Energy including renewable power generation, smart metering and assured power supply, and sustainable development.

With the development of smart city speeds up in the country, the energy requirement too surged and consequently, the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in these cities, also grew.

Here’re a few areas where there will be immense potential for solar power such as - Solar PV power generation in city & offsite; Solar Water Heaters for hot water; Solar PV Rooftop systems for electricity; Solar street lightings; Solar pumps for water lifting; Solar concentrators for steam based cooking; Solar traffic signals; Solar road studs/blinkers; Hybrid systems (solar-wind, solar DG set); Green buildings with solar passive designs etc.

Also, the green buildings of Smart Cities include - nearly 40 percent of energy is consumed by buildings in cities; Promotion of energy-efficient green buildings based on solar passive design will be done; Green buildings combined with Renewable Energy and energy conservation systems can save

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up to 30 to 40 percent of conventional energy used in the building; there should be provisions for green buildings in building bye-laws etc.

These smart cities will not only go a long way in imparting a clean and green living style in India but also improve the conditions of employment generation and an urban living style, it will also go a long way in promoting the usage of renewable forms of energy and thus help India fight the rising concerns of global warming and pollution.

For the speedy development of Smart Cities, the government provides around Rs 50 lakh per city for the preparation of Master Plan, setting-up solar city cell, awareness generation, capacity building and oversight of implementation. However, most of the urban local bodies are not taking benefit of the financial assistance of solar cities, but have agreed to set up Solar City Cell. It’s various benefits include- Savings in transmission & distribution losses; Low gestation time; No additional land requirement; Improvement of tail-end grid voltages and depletion in system congestion with higher self-consumption of solar power; Local employment generation; Trimming of electricity bill via supplying surplus power to local electricity supplier etc.

Existing Smart Cities – An Inspiration Undoubtedly! Existing Smart Cities can prove to be a good source of inspiration for other aspiring Smart Cities for example: Recently, Diu has become India’s first Smart City to run entirely on renewable power during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become cleaner and greener.

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs said in a statement that until last year, Diu had been importing 73 percent of its power from Gujarat state.

Nowadays, Diu adopted a two phase approach in which the 9 Megawatt solar park which spread over 50 hectares rocky

barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof tops on 79 government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW annually, it added.

Moreover, to further expand its solar capacity, Diu offered its residents a subsidy of Rs 10,000-50,000 for the installation of 1-5KW roof top solar panels, the Ministry said.

Besides, Diu is saving about 13,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

Also, on the back of low-cost solar energy, power tariffs have been cut in residential category by 10 percent last year and 15 percent this year.

Besides Solar, Diu is also exploring other options such as wind energy. By 2019, it will be ready to set up windmills that will generate 6.8 MW of clean energy. At the time when it will happen, not only will Diu be energy self-sufficient but it will also be entirely from renewable sources.

On the global front, Kodiak Island in Alaska completely runs its grid on wind and hydropower. Also, Cape Verde of Africa pledged to get all its electric power from renewable sources by 2025.

Beside , in the wake of Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster on March 11, 2011 in Japan, which is constrained by landmass and dotted with islands, the country is building floating solar park islands. Also, Dubai wants to meet 75 percent of its energy needs from clean power by 2050.

Way Forward As long as the Government makes appropriate policies and keeps its support for private and public initiatives in the field of solar, there will not be any reason why all smart cities in India cannot be like Diu. Thus, ‘New India’s New Landscapes’ seem to be driven by the ‘Power of Sun’.

These smart cities will surely define the dream of every Indian to live in a city where not only will there be cleaner streets, but also well managed infrastructural facilities such as power for all, health, water, safety and education. It will also further boost the country’s economy.

In such a scenario, the words of the ‘Missile Man of India’, Former President and a role model for millions of people, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will be evident, he rightly said that, ‘Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action’!

-MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM n

PRODUCT

UPDATE

Products Feature HPL, with its unwavering commitment to the creation of worldclass quality products, has created a niche for itself in the electrical industry. Nowadays, HPL Electric and Power is regarded as one of the premium manufacturers of reliable Metering Solutions, Switchgears, Lighting Equipment and Wires & Cables. In solar division, it is having an expertise in the manufacturing of junction boxes for the Balance of Systems (BOS).

SOLAR DC DISTRIBUTION BOX (DCDB) 4 The DC distribution unit is used to collect the DC output from Array Junction Box (AJB) and supply it to the inverter 4 DC Distribution Box provides flexibility for the operator of the solar power plant to disconnect and connect both inward solar supply and battery terminals 4 In the HPL DC Distribution Box we have two sections one is the solar section and the other is the battery section 4 In each section of our DC Distribution Box there is MCB/ MCCB and a fuse of proper rating depending upon the capacity of the power plant and the battery bank are used 4 DC Distribution Box isolates battery bank & inverter from any electric surge, while making maintenance easier and enhancing system reliability.

4 Our series of PV DCDB is designed to deliver high performance and better reliability of PV Combiner Box attached to access Inverters 4 It is added to the inverter for minimizing the system installation time and maximizing the Inverter safety

FEATURES:4 All of HPL-DC Distribution boxes is tested/certified as per IEC/IS standard 4 The enclosure is accessible only via the tools in order to ensure the protection 4 Customizable based solution as per customer needs & requirements 4 Reliable electric safety to avoid hazard 4 Easy and decent Cable management 4 Wall mounting design for easy installation and maintenance 4 Every terminal is secured and

weather proof for outdoor applications also, highly secure wiring, besides being insulated with PG Cable Gland or built-in MC4 terminal connector on demand 4 Protects the system if there is any fault during failure in DC side

AC DISTRIBUTION BOX (ACDB) for Solar Application

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4 The ACDB receives AC power from solar inverter and directs it to AC loads / LT Panel.

4 ACDB is an important part of SPV system as it provides extra protection to the system in case of failures on load side 4 A provision can also be made in ACDB to monitor the consumption of power from SPV Power Plant 4 AC Distribution Box makes maintenance easier and enhances system reliability 4 ACDBs from HPL are designed to deliver high performance and added protection by isolating inverter from mains as and when required 4 Inclusion of ACDB significantly reduces overall system installation time 4 ACDB enables installer to isolate different loads from each other at same location thus making repair and maintenance much safer and faster

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FEATURES:4 All of HPL-AC Distribution boxes are tested/certified as per IEC/IS standard 4 The enclosure is available only via the use of designated tools in order to ensure the protection 4 Customizable based solution as per customer needs & requirements 4Reliable electric safety to prevent 4 Wall mounting design for easy installation and maintenance 4 Every terminal is secured and weather proof making it suitable for outdoor applications also, highly secure wiring, besides being insulated with PG Cable Gland or built-in MC4 terminal connector on demand.

4 Protects the system if there is any fault during failure in AC side 4Internal Wiring with lugs, ferrules and dressing included

UPDATE

PRODUCT

SOLAR ARRAY JUNCTION BOX (AJB) 4 Array Junction Boxes (AJB), also referred to as PV combiner boxes, it collects DC power from PV strings with blocking diodes on each string for protecting panels from reverse current flow.

The collected power is then transferred to inverter to be converted into AC. 4 AJB is meant for combining all the incoming lines from the solar panel strings/arrays and deriving one common string/array output for the multiple array inputs.

4 HPL offers highly functional PV Array Junction Box, fabricated with the use of latest technology and is suitable for Solar Power applications of various capacities. Our PV Array Junction Box is tested by the experts under strict industry norms to guarantee flawless functioning and durability.

4 HPL array junction boxes are dust, vermin and waterproof and made of Thermoplastic (ABS).

4 HPL junction boxes have suitable cable entry points fitted withMC4 connectors of appropriate sizes for incoming and cable glands for outgoing cables (customizable as per customer’s requirements.

FEATURES:4 HPL array junction boxes are total insulated according to the requirements of IEC 61439-1 as mandate by MNRE and tested up to an operating voltage of 1000 V DC. 4 The enclosure is made of high quality polycarbonate.

4IP66 / 67protection.

4 The enclosure is accessible only via the use of tools in order to ensure additional protection.

4 Can be customized based on customer requirement.

4 Blocks the reverse flow of current from battery to solar panels.

4 Reliable electric safety to avoid hazard.

4 Obstructs sudden surges due to lightening strokes during cloudy

and rainy conditions and ground the surges immediately.

4 Fuses for overload protection on each string.

4 Blocking Diodes for reverse current flow protection (Optional).

4Easy DC-termination.

4 Time and money saver Solar String management.

4 Space saving and orientation flexibility.

SOLAR MAIN JUNCTION BOX (MJB) 4 Main Junction Box is used to combine output from several Array Junction Boxes and connect it to DC Distribution Box OR to Power Conditioning Unit / Solar invertor 4 The MJB consists of two sections • One to combine all the positive terminals • Second to combine the negative terminals on the other side 4 Tested under strict industry norms by experts to guarantee flawless functioning and durability 4 HPL Main Junction Boxes are made from high quality Thermoplastic (ABS) with the use of latest technology and is suitable for a range of Solar Power applications such as standalone rooftop systems, Hybrid systems etc.

4 HPL Main Junction Boxes are dust, vermin and waterproof 4 Fitted with cable glands of appropriate sizes for both incoming and outgoing cables

FEATURES:4 HPL’s Main Junction Boxes are fully insulated according to the requirements of IEC 61439-1 as mandate by MNRE and tested up to an operating voltage of 1000 V DC. 4 The enclosure is made of high quality poly-carbonate.

4 Degree of protection IP-66/67 4 The enclosure is accessible only via the use of tools in order to ensure the protection 4 Customizable based on customer needs 4 Blocks the reverse flow of current from battery to solar panels 4 Reliable electric safety to avoid hazard 4 Obstructs sudden surges due to lightening strokes during cloudy and rainy conditions and ground the surges immediately

4 Fuses for overload protection on each string 4 Blocking Diodes for reverse current flow protection (Optional) 4Easy DC-termination 4 Easy and decent Cable management.

4 Time and money saver Solar String management.

4Space saving and orientation flexibility.

4Reliable electric safety to avoid hazard.

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PRODUCT

UPDATE

SOLAR CABLE SOLAR CABLE is nervous systems of a Solar power plant from panels to invertor and, therefore, one of the most crucial parts. They are connected on DC side of the system, proper cable sizing and its quality ultimately decides the power delivered to the load and in turn efficiency of the entire system because undersized cable results into heating which may lead further up to hazardous incidents like fire. Also even a small increase in cable resistance resulting into increased I2R losses which is considered as a

higher loss of energy and such cable will lose its acceptance.

Further as solar cable has to function in open atmosphere over a long period, it has to withstand all environmental severities like UV radiation, rain, dust & dirt, temperature variations, humidity, insects and microbes etc. frequent failure / replacement of solar cable will lead to decrease in the overall project efficiency resulting in high operational costs. HP Solar cables are made under stringent MNRE parameters to deliver lasting performance throughout the lifetime of the PV system.

Special Properties of HPL Solar Cables 4 UV resistance: full protection against ultraviolet rays.

4 Outdoor durability: resists extreme temperatures (-400C to 1200C) and ozone resistant.

4 Halogen-free: Low Smoke Emission & Low Toxicity/Corrosively during fire.

4 Properties against fire: flame

retardant, fire retardant.

4 Flexibility and stripping ability: for fast and easy installation.

4 Lifetime and stripping ability: lasts up to 30 years even under tough external conditions.

4 Fully recyclable: in accordance with new environmental regulations.

4Suitable to any connector types.

4According to EN/IEC/IS. CONSTITUENTS:HPL solar cables are manufactured with the following materials.

4Zero Halogen Polyolefin Compound 4Annealed Tinned Copper Conductor 4Cross Linked Polyolefin Compound

FEATURES:HPL Solar Cable has Electrical, Chemical, and Thermal & Mechanical features, detail profile are mentioned below:CHEMICAL FEATURES:4Resistant to mineral oils 4Resistant to acids & alkaline

ELECTRICAL FEATURES:4Voltage Rating : 1.5 (1.8) KV DC 4High voltage test: 6.5 KV DC for 5 minutes

THERMAL FEATURES:4 Maximum conductor temperature of operation- 1200C during 20000 4Minimum operating temperature :- 400C

MECHANICAL FEATURES:4Resistant to Impact, tear & abrasion 4Minimum bending radius- 4 times of overall diameter 4Safe pulling force – 50 N/sq. mm

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:S. NO.

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AUGUST 2018

PARTICULARS

CABLE SIZES

Size of Cross Sectional Area in (sq. mm)

2.5

6

10

16

35

50

1

Max. Conductor D.C. Resistance at 200C (Ohm/km)

8.21 5.09

3.39

1.95

1.24 0.79

0.56

0.39

2

Average Diameter of Conductor (mm)

1.88 2.39

2.93

3.9

5.4

6.73

8.08

9.69

3

Approx. Overall diameter of cable (mm)

5

5.8

6.4

7.7

9.4

11.3

12.7

14.9

4

Approx. Overall weight (kg/km)

45

60

80

120

180

275

370

515

5

Minimum Bending radius (mm)

25

29

32

39

47

57

64

75

6

Current rating under continuous operation 900C and ambient temperature 400C (Amp)

30

42

52

76

95

125

159

185

7

Short circuit current rating for 1 sec. duration

0.32 0.5

0.76

1.3

2

3.15

4.41

6.3

8

HR 1050C PVC Insulation Thickness-Nominal (mm)

0.7

0.8

1

1

1.2

1.2

1.4

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

4

0.8

25

NATIONAL EVENTS

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

WORLD RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY CONGRESS & EXPO

2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND RESOURCES

START DATE : 21-Aug-2018 END DATE : 23-Aug-2018

Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 9213901510 E-mail : punit.nagi@ee-foundation.org

START DATE : 27-Aug-2018 END DATE : 28-Aug-2018

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDIA EXPO 2018

INTERSOLAR SOUTH AMERICA 2018

START DATE : 18-Sep-2018 END DATE : 20-Sep-2018

Location : Greater Noida, India Phone : +919990962410 E-mail : Pankaj.sharma@ubm.com

START DATE : 28-Aug-2018 END DATE : 30-Aug-2018

FUTURE ENERGY EXPO 2018

THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC EXPOSITION

website : wretc.in

website : www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com

Location : Boston, USA Phone : +1 888 8438169 E-mail : renewablescott@gmail.com

website : www.intersolar.net.br

Location : São Paulo, Brazil Phone :+49 7231 58598207

E-mail : info@intersolar.net.br

website : www.optotaiwan.com/solar

website : www.futureenergyexpo.in START DATE : 20-Oct-2018 END DATE : 22-Oct-2018

website : renewableenergy.conferenceseries.com

Location : Indore, India Phone : +91 129 4323518

START DATE : 29-Aug-2018 END DATE : 31-Aug-2018

Location : Taipei, Taiwan Phone : +886 2 23514026

E-mail : info@futureenergyexpo.in

E-mail : ginger@mail.pida.org.tw

INTERSOLAR INDIA 2018

2ND SHENZHEN INTERNATIONAL SOLAR PV EXHIBITION

START DATE : 11-Dec-2018 END DATE : 13-Dec-2018

Location : Bangalore, India Phone : +49 7231 58598215 E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

START DATE : 29-Aug-2018 END DATE : 31-Aug-2018

14TH INTERNATIONAL BATTERY, SOLAR AND LEAD RECYCLING EXHIBITION & SEMINAR

6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GREEN ENERGY & EXPO

website : www.intersolar.in

website : www.csepv.org.cn

E-mail : li.csepv@gmail.com

website : greenenergy.conferenceseries.com

website : www.batteryfair.co.in START DATE : 18-Jan-2019 END DATE : 20-Jan-2019

Location : Shenzhen, China Phone : +86 21 54401210

Location : Noida, India Phone : +91 11 22137081

START DATE : 29-Aug-2018 END DATE : 31-Aug-2018

E-mail : info@batteryfair.co.in

Location : Toronto, Canada Phone : +1 888 8438169 E-mail : sponsors@conferenceseries.com

6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION ON ENERGYSTORAGE & MICROGRIDS IN INDIA

2018 INNER MONGOLIA INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ENERGY AND PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION INDUSTRY EXPO

website : www.esiexpo.in START DATE : 22-Jan-2019 END DATE : 23-Jan-2019

START DATE : 31-Aug-2018 END DATE : 02-Sep-2018

Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 11 48550059

website : www.innsolar.cn

Location : Inner Mongolia, China Phone : +86 471 6239706

E-mail : DhumalA@md-india.com

E-mail : 3483497352@qq.com

RENEWX 2019

SNEC 13TH INTERNATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION & SMART ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

website : www.renewx.in START DATE : 19-Apr-2019 END DATE : 20-Apr-2019 E-mail : julian.thomas@ubm.com

Location : Hyderabad, India Phone : +91 99404 59444

website : www.snec.org.cn START DATE : 03-Jun-2019 END DATE : 05-Jun-2019

Location : Shanghai, China Phone : +86 21 53893020

E-mail : info@snec.org.cn

VOL 2 l ISSUE 12 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

51 AUGUST 2018

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Merlin Modules

A sneak peek of its premier technology!

Figure 1: A typical flexible solar module (Source: Team Merlin, Waaree Energies)

Sunil Rathi

Director Sales & Marketing Waaree Energies ltd

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AUGUST 2018

Solar module has seen immense developments in power output, efficiency, interconnection, etc. in the recent years.

However the heavy weight of solar panel primitively due to the glass and Aluminium frame (used in it) limited its use on many roofs. Replacing these materials was a tough as it challenged the reliability, ruggedness and aesthetic appeal of a PV module. This is when flexible (and frameless) modules came into picture. As the name suggest flexible modules are those which can (almost) be installed on any shape and/or size of mounting surface. These modules tend to fulfil almost all the customizable requirement. With the world adding almost more than 200 GW of solar PV modules in the next 5 years, it is estimated that the share of flexible modules in such capacity addition would be around 3 to 5%. One reason that can be attributed to this is the widespread adaptation of PV modules and increased energy demand of consumer. This quantifies the usage of solar PV flexible modules for many customized applications (such as on car sheds/ports, transportations, remote mobile applications, residential roofs with special conditions). Merlin (Figure 1) is one of its kind flexible modules available in the market. While there has been a lot of buzz in the market, very less is actually known

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

Figure 2: Difference between Merlin (left) and conventional (right) solar cells

Figure 3: Flexibility test of Merlin module (left) and EL image of the module (right)

about the module. This blog hence aims to educate its readers on the technical aspects and advantages of using Merlin modules.

Conventional solar cells have fingers and busbars which are used for current collection. The cells in Merlin module use patented manufacturing process & design (7 patents in US with 53 total patents pending worldwide) to encapsulate its cells. Known as the “grid� (as evident from Figure 2), the mesh type front grid has 20 busbars which

are optimally designed to ensure maximum light falls on the solar cells. Overall the entire grid has around 1,200 current collection points which are way more than the normal solar cell. These busbars in the front grid are interconnected with each other. This enables that the current is collected efficiently even in case of micro crack or a crack in the solar cell. The rear grid in Merlin cell in addition to carrier collection, also ensures that the entire assembly is held together

OPED

(without damaging the solar cell) when bent giving the module its flexible nature (to an extent). The grid uses almost half the silver while comparing it to the normal busbar cell. Additionally, the extension of front grid (circled in red in Figure 1) is used as an interconnect between the cells.

Hence, utilizes maximum possible area in a module.

The next and the most important property of Merlin module is its reliability. The flexible module has been tested under various conditions, climates & orientations and in all the tests, they have been found to operate at a level much above the normal.

One of the test was to test the flexibility of the Merlin grid and cell. For this, a module was made and bent as shown in Figure 3 (left). The Electro Luminance (EL) image and power output before and after the test was recorded Figure 3 (right). As expected, the module was found to be perfectly intact and there was almost no loss in power output even after extended testing.

The figures below compares the testing result of Merlin module to the primitive modules.

Figure 4 shows the test result of 1500 Pa mechanical loading test subsequently followed by humidity freeze test. Figure 5 shows the test result of transportation test where modules were mounted on a transport vehicle for a specified distance.

Figure 6 shows the test result of thermal cycling after 1,000 cycles. It was found that the Merlin module almost outperforms the standard module in almost all the standard tests depicting the rugged nature of Merlin modules.

The conventional solar module (normally) comes in two standard offering i.e. 60 cell and 72 cell which has cell configuration of 10 x 6 cell & 12 x 6 cell. The size of these modules is (approximately) 1650 mm x 990 mm & 1960 mm x 990 mm respectively. The merlin modules on the other hand could be made up with any number of cells depending on customer’s power requirement. The cells in this module can also be arranged according to the requirement and space availably of the end consumer i.e. say a module of 24 cells can be made by 4 x 6 cell or 6 x 4 cell or even in 12 x 2 cell configuration.

Such customized panels are of use mainly in northern and western countries where (specifically 2 x 12 & 2 x 10) modules fit exactly into the size of their roof without compromising the roof’s purpose (to allow easy drifting of snow during winter).

Figure 4: Modules subjected to 1500 Pa load test and Humidity Freeze test (Source: Team Merlin, Waaree Energies)

Figure 5: Modules subjected to Transportation test (Source: Team Merlin, Waaree Energies)

Figure 6: Modules subjected to Thermal Cycle test (Source: Team Merlin, Waaree Energies)

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Figure 7: Different possible sizes in Merlin module

The Figure 8 below depicts (few of) the various configurations available for a typical PV plant. Installing such power plant requires a lot of steps such as levelling the rooftop ground, drilling, digging, piling, bolting, welding, etc. before the solar modules are actually installed. This process may take about 1~3 months of time and its equivalent man-hours & adequate capital before the power plant is up and running.

Compared to such perplexing process, the installation of the entire Merlin modules hardly takes any time & capital. As evident from (Figure 9) below, the Merlin modules have a special tape which is already fixed on the backside of the module. At the site, the installer/ end consumer only has to peel the tape such that the module can be stuck on to the rooftop/ industrial sheds without any hassle and/or extra material (Visit here for more info: https://youtu.be/-s7kDmb8ec8).

If required, these mowdules can also be bolted, riveted, screwed over the rooftop.

This technology enables the entire plant

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AUGUST 2018

Figure 8: Various possible orientation of a rooftop plant (Source: Google images)

Figure 9: An example of peel and stick Merlin module

to be almost weightless and thus making the end consumer relaxed about the load bearing capacity of its roof.

Waaree had commissioned one of its kind installations at BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Gujarat where 36 kWp PV power plant was installed in record 12 hours. This is by far

the largest installation of flexible solar panel at a single place. We had been awarded a special order of merit for this record installation.

Let us all pledge to make solar energy the primary source of energy in the near future.

Figure 10: Award received by Waaree energies for installation of flexible module

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

UPDATES

FINANCE

Essel Invests Rs 1750 Cr for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in UP To foster the use of Electric Vehicles in the country, the ESSEL Group’s Essel Infraprojects (EIL) has launched its electric vehicles charging stations and battery swapping technology in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

The launch of the stations and the swapping technology is the part of Essel Group’s Essel Green Mobility program. The initiative comes along an investment of Rs 1750 crore.

PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the charging stations and the battery swapping technology initiative.

The project is expected to attract an overall investment of Rs 1750 crore in a phased manner. The EIL’s project involving 250 charging stations and 1000 battery swapping points, was one of the several EV projects announced by the state authorities on July 29, 2018.

Additionally, EIL will install 25000 e-rickshaws which will generate employment of around 50,000 individuals in the state.

The project is aimed at reducing overall cost of battery charging and providing options to cut the high consumption of other nonrenewable resources.

Further, the battery swapping stations are to be tracked through a mobile application. The stations will be used to swap charged batteries and would thereby increase the running time for the electric vehicles.

The project would be operational in major cities- Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Noida, Meerut, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Ghaziabad, in the first phase followed by other cities.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Essel Group Subhash

Chandra said, “With the launch of this initiative, we have enhanced our association with the state and look forward to doing our bit in the government’s vision of clean mobility. The launch of EVs in a holistic manner will augment the state’s transport infrastructure and also create job opportunities.”

With an encouraging push to the project, Indian Government seems more optimistic about the use of alternative modes of mobility. It plans to make work 7 million electric or hybrid vehicles on road by 2030 under its National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.

NDB Clears $300 Mn to Fund South African Energy Sector New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral development bank established

by BRICS states, has approved the USD 300 million loan to fund energy sector projects in South Africa.

The recipient authority would be the Development Bank of South Africa who would further distribute funds according to the government allocations.

The NDB said in a statement that, “NDB will provide a loan of USD 300 million without sovereign guarantee to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development Project.”

The loan is aimed at reducing the overreliance on coal, greenhouse gas emission reduction and sustainable energy sector development projects.

Further, the money will be used to enhance the energy sector of South Africa and substantially reduce the use of other nonrenewable energy sources like coal or

natural gas. The loan would also benefit the overall clean energy production of the country.

The sanctioning of the USD 300 million loan is also the part of the New Development Bank’s objectives to mobilize resources for

the BRICS countries and other developing countries as well.

Besides, the bank also looks forward to invest more than USD 1 billion in South Africa for infrastructure development projects in various sectors.

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FINANCE

UPDATES

ADB Raises €600 Mn via Green Bond to Spur Climate Financing Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised €600 million to help finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects through issuing 7-year green bond.

From the proceeds of the green bond, ADB will support low-carbon and climate resilient projects funded through it’s ordinary capital resources and used in its non-concessional operations.

Further, the bond has a coupon rate of 0.35 percent p.a. payable annually and a maturity date of July 16, 2025. It was priced at 99.924 percent to yield 43 basis points (BPS) over the DBR 0.5 percent February 2025.

Commenting on the development, ADB, Treasurer, Pierre Van Peteghem said, “Since

the inaugural US dollar denominated green issue in 2015, ADB has steadily expanded its green bond offerings, having pioneered the dual-tranche format for supranational green bonds in 2016 and issuing its maiden green Indian rupee-linked bond in 2017.”

“We are very pleased to accommodate the

JA Solar Vietnam Gets $68.4 Mn Loan for 1.5 GW Wafer Mfg Plant

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AUGUST 2018

J A S o l a r Vi e t n a m Company, a whollyowned subsidiary of JA Solar Holdings, has entered into a long-ter m buyer credit loan pact with China Minsheng Bank Corporation Ltd Shijiazhuang Branch.

Further, the move will help JA Solar arm to fund the procurement of equipment at it’s 1.5 GW of wafer manufacturing facility in Vietnam.

As per the deal, the Chinese lender agreed to provide JA Solar Vietnam with a loan facility of up to USD 68,396,100 with 7 years term period.

In addition, the company had inked a guarantee pact with the Chinese lender, under which the company will provide corporate guarantee against the loan facility.

JA Solar is a leading high-performance solar products maker that converts sunlight into electricity for residential, commercial, and utility-scale power generation.

It is one of the world’s largest producers of solar power products and its standard and high-efficiency product offerings are among the most powerful and cost-effective in the industry.

The company distributes products under its own brand and also produces on behalf of its clients. It shipped 7.6 GW of solar power products in 2017.

Meanwhile, it is headquartered in Beijing, China, and maintains production facilities in Shanghai, Hebei, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia and Anhui provinces in China, as well as Penang, Malaysia and Bac Giang, Vietnam.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 2 l ISSUE 12

strong demand for our green bonds from euro investors with last night’s offering, which allowed us to both tighten price guidance while increasing the issue size for our first euro denominated benchmark green bond,” Peteghem added.

Besides, the issue achieved strong primary market distribution with nearly 90 percent placed in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and 10 percent placed in Asia.

Moreover, 39 percent of bonds went to central banks and official institutions; 12 percent to banks; and 48 percent to fund managers, insurance, pension funds, and others.

In 2018, ADB mulls to raise around USD 23 billion from the capital markets.

Indian Manufacturers to benefit from Rs 8000 Cr Solar Energy Scheme A 12 GW Solar Energy Scheme to back the indigenous manufacturing of the solar energy components is underway. The scheme is proposed to be costing Rs 8000 crore.

If the scheme gets required approvals and executed, it would mandate the Indian solar component’s manufacturers to manufacture without the violation of WTO’s trade rules.

According to WTO’s trade rules and support of complaints by U.S., India violated rules by using locally made cells and modules under its National Solar Mission.

This has been the major reason for the downfall of Indian manufacturers. The scheme would safeguard India’s opportunity to participate in the solar energy sector as scope of other nonrenewable energy sectors plummet.

The scheme is in the final stage of approval from the different ministries including finance, commerce and PMO. Rs 8000 crore scheme would allow different PSUs to roll out tenders for the private players in India to set solar power projects for their own consumption. Since the power is consumed by the tender owner PSU (government), the use of indigenous equipment would not be a violation of WTO’s trade rules anymore.

Backing the local players, Government sets the scheme implementation period of four years and ensures a minimum manufacturing capacity of 3 GW of solar cells in India per year by 2022.

The scheme would also relieve the domestic market of hardships from the untaxed solar imports from China, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Therefore the domestic aspirants are additionally pressing upon a safeguards duty on the imports. Also, addition of Rs 8000 crore business to the domestic market of the sector makes the industry players safer.

UPDATES

FINANCE

World Bank Okays $250 Mn for Rajasthan’s Electricity Distribution Sector Reforms The World Bank has approved USD 250 million development policy loan (DPL) aiming to help Rajasthan government in improving the performance of its electricity distribution sector under it’s 24×7 Power for All scheme.

This is the secoand loan for Rajasthan in the series of two operations planned for a comprehensive turnaround of the state’s electricity distribution sector. It’s first loan was closed in March 2017.

Further, the discoms in Rajasthan provide electricity to about 9.5 million customers.

However, a combination of high generation costs, inefficiencies in the distribution sector and an accumulation of long-delayed tariff adjustments have resulted in several years of continuing losses for the discoms leading to a total outstanding debt of Rs 780 billion as on July 2015.

Commenting on the development, Task Team Leaders for the operation and Lead Economist of the World Bank Frederico Gil Sander and Senior Energy Specialist Rohit Mittal said, “The electricity distribution sector in Rajasthan has taken number

of initiatives over the last few years that have helped in improving the operational and financial health of the DISCOMs. It is important that the DISCOMs continue to focus on improving operational efficiency, consumer engagement and transparency in the sector among other initiatives to continue

the positive trend in performance and steer the electricity distribution sector on a path to sustainable recovery.”

Meanwhile, the loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a grace period of 3-years, and a maturity of 21 years.

LONGi Solar Inks $600 Mn Pact with American Firm LONGi Solar said it has signed a USD 600 million contract with an American company to sell high-efficiency monocrystalline modules in the United States.

This is another solid step LONGi Solar has taken as a global leading monocrystalline module maker in its overseas deployment.

The company said in a statement that, adhering to the philosophy of “good corporate operation is the best protection for customers”, it has always been pursuing stable operation and sustainable profitability while developing fast.

The 2018 Q1 financial report shows that the company continues to hold the top position in terms of profitability of PV companies, and rank No.1 in terms of financial health among more than 50 core manufacturing enterprises in the world, which not only reflects the company’s strong profitability and cost control ability, but also provides strong support for the global competition.

The sound financial health and good revenue have provided strong support for technological innovation of LONGi and become the core elements of enterprise growth.

For LONGi, the USD 600 million order from an American customer is a strong endorsement of its overseas market exploration that more customers are willing to pay for high-efficiency products.

In the long run, the biggest value is that LONGi will continue to reduce the LCOE with innovative efficient products and advanced

technologies.

By maintaining financial health and continuously upgrading technologies, LONGi Solar is committed to making new breakthroughs for the development of the industry and advancing PV grid parity worldwide. From this point of view, Chinese PV companies surviving the competition will surely embark on the road of globalization, and LONGi has already walked in front of the industry.

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FINANCE

UPDATES

Tata Power Q1 Net Profit Jumps Four-Fold to Rs 1,735 Cr

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AUGUST 2018

Country’s one of the leading integrated power company, Tata Power has reported a four-fold jump in its consolidated net profit after tax at Rs 1735 crore during the first quarter of FY19, helped by exceptional gain from the sale of investments.

It had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 406 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said.

The company said in a statement that, “Consolidated PAT stood at Rs 1,735 crore up by 328 percent as compared to Rs 406 crore in Q1 FY19 due to all round performance and exceptional gain of Rs 1,483 crore (net of taxes).”

During the June quarter, its consolidated revenue rose by 16 percent at Rs 7,139 crore as compared to Rs 6,166 crore last year. This is mainly due to higher generation at CGPL, TPDDL, commencement of Ajmer Distribution operations, coupled with higher generation in Renewable business, Tata power said in a regulatory filing.

It further added that, higher coal prices, MTM loss and adoption of IND-AS 115 impacted CGPL profit as compared to previous period. Also, coal companies performance impacted due to change in the Indonesian regulations for Domestic Market Obligations (DMO) and higher mining costs.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Tata Power, CEO & MD, Praveer Sinha said, “During the quarter, Tata Power has redesigned its organization structure to focus on key identified growth areas like renewable generation, transmission, distribution and new & value-added businesses including rooftop solar, smart metering, micro grids in rural areas and setting up of electric vehicle charging units. While the traditional business

of thermal and hydro continues to perform well, we believe our future growth areas will bring in greater value and help us align with the consumer needs. The distributed generation business will be of great value to the end users as well as of the best of quality due of our domain expertise.”

“At Present, we are working with the High Powered Committee to resolve the Mundra issue and we hope that the resolution will benefit all stakeholders. During the quarter, all our businesses have done well. Renewable continues to be the higher contributor to the profitability of the company. Our PAT was impacted during the quarter due to change in Accounting standards, higher mining cost, change in Indonesian Regulations in coal companies and forex hit in CGPL. The company is committed to deleveraging the balance sheet by divesting the non-core assets,” he added.

SEBI Permits ‘ReNew Power’ to Float IPO

Tata Power Shareholders Nod to Raise Rs 5,500 Cr via NCDs

In a substantial addition to solar industry, market watchdog SEBI sanctions Goldman Sachs’ ReNew Power to float its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The ReNew Power IPO aims at green energy sector.

The IPO comprises of new shares worth Rs 2,600 crore. The move also comes with an additional offer for sale of over 94 million equity shares by existing shareholders.

The existing shareholders include Global Environment Fund, Green Rock Energy and GS Wyvern Holdings, an investment arm of Goldman Sachs. It was founded in 2011 by Suzlon Energy’s former Chief Operating Officer, Sumant Sinha. The company flourishes, owns and operates large scale wind and solar power projects that generate energy for commercial and industrial users. It owns over 5600 MW of commissioned and under development clean energy projects.

The company had filed for the IPO in May and received a go-ahead on July 18. It looks forward to use the returns therein for fund acquisitions, redemption of company’s debentures and general corporate purposes.

The ReNew Power IPO, according to the draft sent by market regulator, would be managed by the Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, DSP Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, JM Financial, J P Morgan India, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), IDFC Bank, UBS Securities India and YES Securities.

Tata Power claims it has got shareholder’s nod to raise Rs 5,500 crore through issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD) on private placement basis.

A BSE filing stated that the company had sought shareholders’ permission to issue NCDs at the annual general meeting.

According to the notice, the long term borrowings of the company as on March 31, 2018, were about Rs 12,300 crore.

The notice seeking permission stated that the consent of the shareholders is accorded to the board “to subscribe to cumulative/non-cumulative, listed or unlisted, redeemable nonconvertible debentures (NCDs)…aggregating to an amount not exceeding Rs. 5,500 crore or its equivalent in one or more currencies on private placement basis.”

Tata power said it plans to raise Rs 5,500 crore within 12 months from the date of passing of this approval by the shareholders in the annual general meeting.

The company also plans to raise more funds through various means such as issuing NCDs. Further the company also mentioned to raise another Rs. 2000 crore through similar means to leave Coastal Gujarat Power foreign currency loan if required.

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UPDATES

INNOVATION

Solaria’s New Innovation! PowerXT 430Wp Module for Commercial Properties Solar module technologies provider Solaria Corporation has introduced its latest innovation in its industry-leading efficiency roadmap, the SolariaPowerXT 430Wp, optimized for commercial applications.

Further, this new module is now available through the company and its leading solar distributors supplying thousands of engineering procurement & construction (EPC) professionals and solar installers across the world.

Commenting on the development, Solaria, CEO, Suvi Sharma said, “The demand for aesthetic, high density solar panels has been growing.”

“Solaria’s technological innovations bring to market a high value, superior performance product backed by a 25-year product warranty. Businesses and organizations that want to avail themselves of best-in-class

photovoltaics will find that PowerXT exceeds their expectations; the sleek all black module delivers an elegant streamlined look and industry-leading efficiency. Our high energy yield technology addresses rooftop space constraints, drives accelerated customer payback – while increasing installers’ profitability,” Sharma added.

The company’s patented new modules maximize system power and performance through delivering high power and highly aesthetically-pleasing PV panels.

Sharma further said that, “We’re very pleased that PowerXT modules are empowering property owners -such as New York’s Cornell Tech - to transform their buildings into clean power plants affordably and attractively.”

“Commercial property owners appreciate rooftops and building envelopes that look sleek and sharp. Solaria’s aesthetic, highly efficient, and delivers a competitivelypriced solution. The PowerXT modules are the most efficient, aesthetic and costcompetitive solar modules on the market today,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, the new modules ensure labor savings on racking and system components over other lower wattage modules.

ARCI Develops Self-Cleaning Solar Panels Hyderabad based International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) has developed self-cleaning solar panels adding another breakthrough in solar industry.

The institute has used Nano-technology to build solar panels that are capable of cleaning themselves.

The principle coat on the surface of the solar panels is a highly water-proof material that prevents dust particles to settle on the panels.

The new invention of self-cleansing m e c h a n i s m m a k e s t h e p ro c e s s o f management easier than the traditional method where panels were cleaned with detergents manually.

Dr S. Sakthivel said, “Solar panels should be cleaned every week or few weeks to maintain high efficiency which is especially hard to do for large solar panel arrays.

The surface of solar panels with superhydrophobic coating stays clean. It works like Lotus flower. Water droplets fall off the leaves themselves during the rainy season.”

The self-cleaning panels are said to be facing no loss of transmittance due to

other uncertain climatic conditions of India.

Assuring the importance of self-cleaning panels, Sakthivel said, “Power capabilities

of an uncleaned solar panel in a high dust area can drop by 30-40 percent.”

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EV

UPDATES

Exicom, Kinetic Green Partner for Advance Lithium-Ion Batteries Exicom has entered into partnership with Kinetic Green to provide them advanced lithium-ion batteries for application in their E-Rickshaws.

The use of Exicom’s lithium-ion batteries in E-Rickshaws have many benefits including high energy density leading to low weight thereby operating for more kilometers between charges, fast charging time of 2 hours, long life of 1500+ cycles, low self-discharge, higher efficiency i.e. 25 percent low charging cost, zero maintenance, no requirements for water Top- Up, option of 2 cycles per day and many others.

The company is the largest supplier of Li-ion batteries in India with a deployment of more

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than 650 MWhr. Further, the company’s ‘Make in India’ Lithium ion batteries and chargers with intelligent BMS have all the safety features to protect the battery and vehicle in turn.

Also, from the company’s in-built BMS, the user can get complete information on number of charge and discharge cycles of the battery which helps him in providing hassle free service.

The battery provides complete information to driver on Dashboard about charging requirement, kilometers remaining for charging etc. which makes customer comfortable.

Through this partnership, both the companies showed a strong commitment to provide pollution free green mode of transportation

that is best in safety, reliability and efficiency.

Moreover, Kinetic Green’s e-Three Wheeler ‘Kinetic Safar’ has been approved by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to meet all government safety norms as per Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR).

The company supplies the entire kit including Lithium-ion Battery, BMS (battery management system) and charger for it.

Commenting on the development, Exicom, Managing Director, Anant Nahata said, “Kinetic Green’s selection of Exicom as its partner is a testament of our world-class battery and charging infrastructure solutions. We’re thrilled to play a significant role in our country’s transformation towards electric mobility.”

Exicom Becomes Member of CharIN e.V. to Back Global Standard for EV Charging

Tata Power Launches 3 EV Charging Stations at Cognizant’s Hyderabad Campus

Exicom Tele-Systems has become a core member of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN e.V.), an open coalition of world-class firms from the automotive sector and associated industries aiming to support and promote the Combined Charging System (CCS) as a global standard for electric vehicles (EV) charging.

Further, the motive behind the move is to continuously and competently advance the combined charging system (CCS) with an aim to establish this system in the global markets.

This universal charging interface for EVs is mature, field-tested and already a standard in the US and Europe.

Through this membership, the company aims to foster advance standardization of CCS in other regions of the world including India.

Currently, CCS is the world’s only charging system that covers all charging scenarios with a single product.

Moreover, the company will work together with CharIN association as a team in further positioning CCS as a global standard for EV charging by advocating standardization in the field of eMobility to achieve more flexibility and security for users.

Exicom’s aim is to support the rollout of the CCS and contribute actively within various dimensions of the CharIN mission.

Commenting on the development, Exicom, Managing Director, Anant Nahata said, “We are delighted to join CharIN e.V. as a strategic move as it fits very well with our strong commitment to develop fast, reliable and future proof fast charging technologies for electric vehicles. We will actively participate in the standardization and market development activities of CharIN e.V. to make this breakthrough possible. As CharIN e.V. is built by a team of experts from a wide range of fields, we look forward to share and learn from each other’s wealth of technical knowledge to further advance our wide range of internet-based charging infrastructure solutions.”

One of the leading integrated power company, Tata Power has set-up three fast charging Electric Vehicle (EV) stations at the leading IT firm Cognizant’s Hyderabad campus.

The move will be in line with the government’s vision to achieve 100 percent e-mobility by 2030.

The company said in a statement that it will expand to Hyderabad to encourage people to shift from vehicles run on fossil fuels to eco-friendly EVs. Further, the two Tata group companies, Tata Power and Tata Motors, will jointly execute the consolidated e-mobility solution as part of the Cognizant’s ‘Go Green’ programme for its employees in Hyderabad.

Tata Motors will supply 10 Tigor EVs, while Tata Power will provide the necessary electric mobility infrastructure by installing three charging stations at the company’s sprawling campus.

Commenting on the development, Tata Power, CEO & Managing Director, Praveer Sinha said, “With the deployment of the fast charging EV stations in Hyderabad we are happy to make the city more conducive towards a pollution free environment. This is in line with our endeavor to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles across the country by providing the much-needed mobility infrastructure to support EV growth.”

While on the successful deployment of Tigor EVs, Tata Motors, President –Electric Mobility Business and Corporate Strategy, Shailesh Chandra said, “We at Tata Motors, are extremely committed to the Government’s vision of e-mobility in India. We are excited to be associating with Cognizant to provide them with a comprehensive solution towards the goal of a sustainable future, with our ‘One Tata’ approach, involving our other group companies. We will continue to strengthen our portfolio of EV offerings across our passenger and commercial vehicles, to meet future requirements.”

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EV

SMEV Seeks Efficiency Based Subsidy for EVs

TGI Solar Soon to Make Electric Vehicles; Mulls Europe Expansion

Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), association of electric vehicle makers in India, has sought to link government electric vehicles subsidy to certified efficiency parameters of speed and range instead of the currently proposed battery capacitybased subsidy.

SMEV opposes the current proposal of linking subsidy to the battery capacity as it does not include the efficiency of the electric vehicles as a factor.

To provide a remedy, SMEV also agreed to propose a method to model a subsidy under the guidelines of Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR). The subsidy would mostly be based on the speed and range of the electric vehicle certified by CMVR. Speaking to media, Director General, SMEV, Sohinder Gill said, “This directly translates into higher subsidies for EVs that consume least amount of batteries to give higher performance. The subsidies under this formula will discourage EVs with poor performance and high electricity consumption.” Rubbishing the present proposal of subsidy, Gill said, “Anyone with a very low efficiency powertrain can get disproportionately higher subsidy merely by adding more batteries to cover up the inefficiency. Also, sports bikes and cars that pack three times the batteries to speed up to 200km/hr. may end up claiming 3 to 4 times the subsidy.”

The discussion would continue in the phase 2 of the scheme for promoting the use of electric vehicles and eco-friendly zero emission vehicles in India.

TGI Solar Power Group (TGI Solar) has received a draft of manufacturing agreement, which would allow the company’s auto division to begin production of electric vehicles and further proceed with its expansion plans in Europe.

Commenting on the development, TGI, CEO, Henry Val said, “I would like to recognize the ZAZ team, our long-term manufacturing partners for TGI AUTO project for their commitment and execution, which will be critical elements in the successful financing and implementation.”

The company’s initial plan of electric vehicles assembly plant, will require financing of Euro 15-20 mm in combination of debt and equity.

It further said that financing is going to be done through wholly owned European subsidiary whose proposed name is TGI Auto Group AB. Big Ben proposal calls for pre-IPO placement of €2.5MM ($2.9MM) and follow up financing in order to prepare for becoming a publicly traded entity on the Nordic Growth Market NGM AB, MIC Code XNGM (NGM), a regulated Swedish Stock Exchange in Stockholm and subsidiary to Boerse Stuttgart (SWB) in Germany.

The company is a diversified holding company. It’s strategy is to acquire innovative and patented technologies, components, processes, designs and methods with commercial value that will give competitive market advantage and generate shareholder value.

Delhi Govt to Run 1,000 Electric Buses to Curb Air Pollution In a move to tackle the severe air pollution problem in the national capital, the Delhi Government has approved the hiring of a consultant to run 1,000 electric buses on Delhi roads.

Further, the move is in-line with the Delhi government’s 2018-19 Green Budget aimed at fighting against air pollution, as it had planned to reduce 20.9 lakh metric tonne CO2 and PM 2.5 by 503 MT. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had informed about the development on Twitter through his tweet, “Cabinet approves hiring of consultant to run 1,000 electric buses in Delhi. A big step in modernising Delhi’s transport sector and reducing pollution.”

Earlier this month, the Delhi government had informed the Supreme Court that each vehicle would cost around Rs 2.5 crore.

In March this year in its green budget, the Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia had announced that 1,000 electric buses to be procured. “Apart from China, this would be

the biggest fleet of electric buses in the world,” he said.

Besides, 905 electric feeder buses for the Metro for last mile connectivity were also

announced during the Budget.

To boost electric mobility, electric vehicle policy with a focus on two-wheelers to be formulated, said the Delhi Finance Minister.

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