Saurenergy International Magazine August issue 2020

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August 2020 | Rs. 200

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DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 l VOL 4 l ISSUE 12 l TOTAL PAGES 60 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

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From The Editor PRASANNA SINGH Group Editor

prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

A

t the outset, our apologies for a slightly delayed issue this month, as some ill timed health issues finally reached our team too.

On the other hand, the issue reaches you at a crucial time, when virtually every hope of a recovery, or even an improvement have been belied. Capacity additions are moving at a snails pace, the delays are seeding the ground for future disputes , and finally, the project pipeline we keep hearing about is looking increasingly leaky. Yes, it is clear by now that close to 10 percent of the projects in the pipeline today will never see sunshine in this case. Let's face it, the solar sector is sick, and it's not just the Covid pandemic anymore.

So we looked deeply into just what the challenges are, and what can be done about them, in our cover feature.

Elsewhere, we looked hard for some good news, and came up with new developments, including the start of manufacturing at one plant in China, of Perovskite thin film solar, something that could potentially be a game changer.

In Portugal meanwhile, the game has already changed with a solar auction where the lowest bid dipped under Rs 1 . Yes, you read that right.

And before I sign off, here's a heads up. Our September issue is going to be our 5th anniversary issue, so you can look forward to an issue that is bigger, smarter and more useful than ever. See you in September then!

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

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04 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

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content

www.saurenergy.com | vol 4 | issue 12

12

15 years On, Ginlong Solis Is A Solar Champion

06 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

08 20 24 26 28

POLICY MNRE Grants Blanket 5-Month Extension for RE Projects due to COVID-19

PROJECT NTPC Seeks EPC Firms for 1070 MW Solar Projects in Rajasthan

GRID Rate of Decline In Power Generation Slows, Seen as a Sign of Recovery

STORAGE BHEL Tenders for Commissioning of BESS for TERI at 3 Sites in Delhi

FINANCE Azure Power Reports Q1 Financial Results, Revenue of Rs 394 Crore

TECHNICAL FEATURE Perovskite Solar Cells, Coming Soon To a Product Near You

MARKET Wind and Solar Met 9.8% of Global Electricity Production in H1 2020

EVs Allowing Sale of EVs Without Batteries not Well Planned: Mahindra Electric

OPINION Explaining India’s 175 GW Renewables Target. The Big Change Making It Possible

MILESTONE Maharashtra has Achieved 9.7 GW of its 22 GW by 2022 RE Target

14 COVER STORY

32 34 38 44 50

STARTUP NEWS

41

The Triple Challenge Dragging Down Solar In India

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 07

POLICY UPDATES

MNRE Grants Blanket 5-Month Extension for RE Projects due to COVID-19 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has informed that in supersession to its previous orders, it has been decided that all renewable energy (RE) projects under implementation as on the date of lockdown, i.e. March 25, 2020, through RE Implementing Agencies designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of the MNRE, shall be given a 5-month time extension from March 25, 2020, to August 24, 2020.

The ministry in April had issued an order to all its implementing agencies to treat delay on account of disruption of the supply chains due to spread of Coronavirus in China or any other country, as Force Majeure and that they may grant a suitable extension of time for projects, based on evidence /documents produced by developers in support of their respective claims of such disruption of the supply chains due to spread of the virus.

Subsequently, RE developers had made a case with the Ministry that they may be granted a general time extension on account of lockdown (due to COVID-19) and then be granted additional time which will be required for normalisation after such lockdown.

Pursuant to which, on June 30th, the MNRE had issued a new order clarifying that the lockdown period for a time extension for renewable energy projects as per its previous order will be considered from March 25, 2020, when the lockdown was first started to May 31, 2020. And now, after further examining of the situation and further requests made by industry bodies like NSEFI

and project developers, the ministry has issued a new order granting the 5-month extension. While the decision will bring relief to many developers, the localized lockdowns across the country are likely to ensure that we haven’t heard the last of this issue yet. Many developers who have already spoken about the difficulty of finding manpower after the lockdown are grappling with local issues in key states from Maharashtra to Karnataka, and Rajasthan. Don’t be surprised to see an eventual case made for upto a 9 month extension.

MoP Extends ISTS Charges Waiver for Solar & Wind Projects Until 2023 The Ministry of Power (MoP) has notified that it has extended the waiver of inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charges and losses on the supply of power generated from solar and wind power projects until June 30, 2023. In its notification, the Ministry added that no ISTS charges would be levied for 25 years from the date of commissioning of the power plants for the supply and sale to entities having renewable purchase obligations (RPO), irrespective of whether this power is within RPO or not, provided that in case of distribution licensees (Discoms), the power has been procured competitively under the guidelines issued by the Central Government. The Ministry of Power in 2018 had issued an order for a waiver of ISTS charges and losses on the transmission of the electricity generated from solar and wind sources of energy. This Order had superseded the earlier orders issued in 2016 and 2017. Further, the MoP in its order dated November 2019, had 08 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

extended the waiver date from date March 31, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The MoP also added that the solar PV power plants commissioned under “MNRE’s Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme Phase-II and the projects commissioned under SECI’s tender for manufacturing linked capacity scheme for sale to entities

having RPO, irrespective of whether this power is within RPO or not will also be included under the order.

In June, Union Power Minister RK Singh has said that the power ministry (MoP) may consider extending beyond 2022 the waiver of Inter-state Transmission System (ISTS) charges for renewable energy projects.

POLICY UPDATES

BCD on Chinese Imports to be Delayed by 2-3 Weeks: MNRE The basic customs duty (BCD) on solar imports from China, which was supposed to be implemented from August 1, will be delayed for another two to three weeks, per an industry meeting with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The renewable energy ministry has been in talks with the Ministry of Finance over the customs duty for nearly three weeks now. The power purchase agreements (PPAs) which were already signed remain the biggest issue between the ministries, according to people present at the meeting. Last month, Union minister for power and new and renewable energy RK Singh had told said that project PPAs signed before August 1, 2020, would be eligible for a “grandfather” clause, which would have allowed renewable energy firms to claim reimbursements on the duty they have paid while importing equipment from

China. Adding the said “grandfather clause” to existing power purchase agreements would mean that there is an understanding between solar developers and the government that

the project costs more than the allocated budget at the time of closing of the deal, and hence, compensation will be provided to the developers via the distribution companies.

Corporation of India (SECI).

According to the amended guidelines, the dedicated transmission lines, including bay(s) at generation pooling stations, will be under the scope of work of the applicants/ developers, and the associated bay(s) at the ISTS substation will be under the scope of transmission licensee owning the ISTS substation subject to compliance of relevant provision of tariff policy.

Upon receipt of the connectivity

application, CTU shall carry out necessary study for grant of connectivity in the available margin in the nearest existing ISTS substations or in new sub-stations under implementation/ planning stage.

New sub-stations for harnessing renewable generation potential shall be planned

by CTU in consultation with CEA, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) or its designated agency/ authority/ nodal officer.

CERC Issues Draft Amendments for ISTS Connectivity of RE Projects The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has issued the draft amendments for its regulations and procedure for granting of connectivity to projects based on renewable energy (RE) sources to inter-State transmission systems (ISTS). The central commission has stated that the detailed procedure is proposed to be amended in view of seventh amendment to the CERC (Grant of Connectivity, Longterm Access and Medium-term Open Access in inter-State Transmission and related matters) Regulations, 2009 notified oil January 2019, and based upon feedback from the Central Transmission Utility (CTU) and subsequent developments in the sector.

As per the amendments, the guidelines will now be applicable to the CTU, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), regional load despatch centres (RLDCs), state load despatch centres (SLDCs), state transmission utility (STU), concerned Discoms, and renewable energy implementing agencies like the Solar Energy

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 09

POLICY UPDATES

MERC Rejects Grace Period Sought by 28 RE Generators The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has partially rejected a plea by renewable energy generators in Maharashtra seeking intervention in a matter regarding non-compliance of a MERC order regarding forecasting, scheduling and deviation settlement.

Gajalaxmi Industries_HUF, Shivashri TechnoHomes Pvt.Ltd., Ushahkal Nursing Home, Sai Service Pvt. Ltd., Bhanudas G. Raibage (Raysons Group), Rayson Marketing Pvt Ltd., Sheela Shivaraj, S. K. Shivaraj, B.C.Umapathy_HUF, B.C.Chandrashekar_HUF, B.C.Shivakumar_ HUF, BSC Textiles, B.S.Channabasappa and Sons, Sri Amareshwara Industries, Sri Laxmi Industries, S.K.Veerbhadrappa & Co., S.K.Parik, Sun Irrigation Systems Pvt Ltd., Shri Tejas Sizers, Jathar Textiles Pvt Ltd., Balkrishna Sizing Industries, Vaanya Resources, Harshita Sales Corporation, Sridevi Trading Company, Sree Veerbhadreshwara Rice & Flour Mill and B. C. and Sons had approached the MERC seeking a trial/grace period to assess the challenges faced in compliance with the provisions of the Forecasting Regulation 2018 and amended procedure relating to scheduling and forecasting.

Petitioners had also prayed that penalty be levied for any deviation after the grace

period. They had also prayed that penalty being imposed for any deviation should be applicable post trial period. These petitioners account for 42.80 MW renewable energy capacity. While going through submissions made by all parties, the state electricity commission observed that all the stakeholders including MSLDC, STU and MERC DSM Working Group have taken all the necessary efforts to ensure commencement of commercial

implementation of forecasting and scheduling framework. In its order, the MERC specified that the petitioners’ prayer for additional trial/grace period for implementation of the forecasting and scheduling regulations is rejected.

MERC directed the DSM Working Group to undertake detailed scrutiny of the computation of impact of the State Periphery Charges vis-à-vis the requirements laid down under the procedure and the Regulations.

MERC Approves Tariff of Rs.2.59/kWh for a Hybrid Project The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) at the behest of Tata Power Company Limited (Distribution) (TPC-D) has approved the tariff of Rs.2.59/kWh for evacuation of power from a wind+solar hybrid renewable energy project of capacity 225 MW. The project will be set up in parts in Rajasthan and Maharashtra

by Tata Power Green Energy Limited. TPC-D had submitted to the MERC that this power purchase will accrue towards fulfilling its renewable purchase obligation (RPO). While going through submissions, MERC observed that a transparent reverse auction had been conducted by TPC-D to arrive at the rate. There were two bidders; AMP Energy Green Private Limited which had quoted a tariff of Rs.2.60/kWh to set up 100 MW of wind+solar hybrid projects and Tata Power Green Energy Limited that had bid for 225 MW wind+solar hybrid project capacity at a tariff of Rs.2.59/kWh. It was also observed that the tariff quoted in TPC-D’s hybrid auction was lower than that quoted in Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s phase-I (Rs.2.67/kWh) and phase-II (Rs.2.69/kWh) hybrid auctions.

In its order, the MERC stated that TPC-D can now enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Green Energy 10 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

Limited for a tenure of 25 years at a tariff of Rs.2.59/kWh. The power procured will be considered for meeting the Solar and Non-Solar RPO of TPC-D. Recently, the MERC had provided relief to TPC-D in a matter of stand-by charges concerning Indian Railways.

POLICY UPDATES

Indian Railways to Pay Rs.27.35 Crores Plus Surcharge to TPC-D The Indian Railways will have to pay more than Rs.27.35 crores to Tata Power Company Limited (Distribution) (TPC-D).

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has issued an order directing the Indian Railways to pay the outstanding stand-by charges of Rs 27.35 crores along with delay payment interest of 1.25% per month computed from January 2019 till date of payment to TPC-D. TPC-D had petitioned the MERC stating that Indian Railways had not complied with the commission’s previous order regarding payment of stand-by charges. TPC-D had also prayed that the MERC take appropriate action and direct Indian Railways to pay the sum of Rs. 31.37 crores towards refund of stand-by charges for the period December 2015 to March 31, 2018 (Rs.27.35 crores – stand-by charges along with + Rs.0.34 crores delayed payment charges + Rs.3.67 crores interest) and also to pay further interest till payment of this sum. Indian Railways submitted that it had approached the APTEL regarding the issue, but as

the APTEL had not put a stay on MERC’s previous order, it will be paying the standby charges along with surcharge to TPC-D. While going through the submissions made by all concerned parties, the MERC found

that the Indian Railways has accepted to make the payment of the amount along with the surcharge and hence did not find it necessary to initiate action regarding noncompliance of its previous order.

CERC Approves Tariff for 480 MW Solar PV Projects The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved a petition filed by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for approval of power purchase agreement (PPA) tariff and SECI’s trading margin for sale of power from 480 MW gridconnected solar PV projects.

The power will be purchased by Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited, North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited. GRT Jewellers India Pvt. Ltd. had been awarded a capacity of 150 MW at a tariff of Rs.2.53/kWh and SBE Renewable Sixteen Pvt. Ltd. had been awarded 330 MW capacity at a tariff of Rs.2.65/kWh, by SECI. SECI had submitted that the CERC approve above-mentioned tariffs along with its trading margin of Rs.0.07/kWh which it had mutually agreed on with the distribution companies (DISCOMs) of Bihar.

While going through the submissions made CERC found the tariffs to be competitive.

The commission also did not raise any concern regarding SECI’s trading margin.

Commission found everything to be complying of the norms regarding the tariff.

But, the CERC raised an objection; “intermediary procurer is required to inform the commission about the initiation of the bidding process. However, SECI did not inform the commission regarding initiation of bidding.” In its order the CERC specified that since SECI has undertaken that it will

forward the intimation regarding bidding initiation, it must comply in the future.

In another decision, the CERC approved the petition filed by Pranurja Solutions Ltd, a company promoted by BSE, PTC Ltd and ICICI Bank, to establish the third power exchange in India after Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL).

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 11

TECHNICAL FEATURE

15 years On, Ginlong Solis Is A Solar Champion Yiming Wang

Founder | Ginlong (Solis) 12 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

TECHNICAL FEATURE

2020 might be a year most firms would like to forget, but for Ginlong Solis, the global inverter manufacturer, the year remains a key milestone on the firm’s journey to an ever growing role in the global solar market.

This year marks the firms 15th year of operations, a journey every stakeholder can look back with pride. Starting from a small start at Ningbo, one of China’s oldest historical cities in Zhejiang province, Ginlong (Solis) has today grown to be a global string inverter major, or tier 1 firm as the industry jargon goes, with a 5 GW production capacity that is set to be expanded to 20 GW by 2021-22. With 15 GW of global deliveries behind it, the firm today has over $200m in assets, and a 1000 strong global workforce with 200 plus technicians.

That growth plan is backed up with strong financial numbers, with the Shenzhen stock exchange listed company reporting its strongest ever quarter in Q1 this year. The zero debt company reported revenues of US$40.28 million, up 75.49% year on year, while net profits increased to US$ 8.4 million, a 766% jump vs the same period in 2019. Numbers that have been achieved with product offerings right from 700W to 255 KW. In fact, as the only listed string inverter manufacturer, the firm is

emerging as a key bellweather for the spread of string inverters worldwide. Ginlong’s focus on string inverter technology has positioned it well to meet emerging customer needs across all segments of the solar industry. Be it residential, C&I and utility Applications. A good example is its intelligent hybrid PV inverter designed for solar-plus-battery systems. Designed for flexibility and performance, the storage inverter -- soon available in the U.S. --allows residential customers to maximize self-consumption while boosting efficiency and overall returns.

Independent validations have followed-- including its third-place ranking among Asian brands in Bloomberg NEF’s 2019 Inverter Bankability Report . In June this year, Ginlong Solis was conferred with respected industry body, TÜV Rheinland’s “All Quality Matters” award for its commercial inverters Solis-(25-50)K-5G in recognition for the outstanding product quality in 2020.

The company’s founder Yiming Wang, dropped out of a PhD program at Bristol to found the firm. He is also a visiting professor at Ningbo University to boot, ensuring that his firm keeps a strong connect with academic research. The firm developed a joint academic workstation with Shanghai University back in 2012.

Solis has set its sights firmly on the utility segment, besides a stronger investment into its PV plant division. For the utility segment, where it sees a more predictable and higher growth market, its latest offering, the Solis 255K string inverter is its 5th generation offering.

The inverter incorporates a record 12 MPPTs design, a maximum efficiency of 99%, besides supporting 200% DC/AC ratio . That also gives it an ability to handle 15 A maximum DC input current. It has 53 MPPT/MW high power tracking density and is compatible with higher watt peak modules and the latest 500W Bi-facial modules.

Besides offering performance at high temperature going upto 50 degrees, the inverter, with its Fuse-less design, and IP66 protection class is well built for harsh environments.

Boasting an integrated anti-PID Recovery function to improve system efficiency means lower maintainance costs with extra safety.

With the form reporting a failure rate of less than 0.2 percent in the independent DNV-GL reliability audit, Ginlong Solis is well poised to ride the expansion and growth in solar energy, especially on the back of string inverters, worldwide.

The firm has its sights firmly on being a global firm, with a strong presence in European markets, besides India. That is reflected in its status as the first string inverter manufacturer to be listed at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, besides its aggressive expansion plans that will be backed by a strong R& D culture.

Nestled in a particularly scenic part of Zhejiang Province, the firm was recently recognised with the province’s “Hidden Champion” award by the regional Zhejiang Provincial Economic and Information Commission. The award takes into consideration the firms positive impact on the local community, environment and economy. It’s an attitude that serves the firm well as it seeks to make a case for its role in the spread of solar power around the world. For Ginlong Solis, the 15 year journey has been a rewarding trip, with its products sold in 100+ countries and regions today, with a total installed capacity of 15GW +. That translates to a reduction of 5,864,660,000 tons of CO2 and 1,764,67,000 tons of SO from the environment, which is equivalent of planting 195,700,000 trees for the earth. Numbers any firm would be proud of.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 13

COVER STORY

The Triple Challenge Dragging Down Solar In India On August 21, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the premier national body tasked with laying down the roadmap to power for all citizens, and the policy interventions to get there, released a report on India’s solar and wind sector. Titled simply as “ Report of Under Construction Renewable Energy Projects”, the bland title laid bare a shocking truth formally. That India’s renewable sector, especially the solar sector, was in some serious strife.

The CEA report has information over 90 projects countrywide, 14 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

adding up to 39.4GW, which are facing delays due to various reasons. Coupled with data from the MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy), the picture is stark.

Of this 39.4 GW of renewable projects, over 28 GW of solar projects are running behind schedule, of which 20 GW have got a 5 month extension as per the rules for Covid impacted projects. The remaining 8 GW are not even getting of the ground anytime soon, as they are missing a formal Power Purchase Agreement(PPA) or a Power Sales Agreement (PSA).

COVER STORY

The PPA is usually what developers sign with a centrally appointed agency like SECI or NTPC, which sign this subject to a back to back arrangement in the form of a PSA with a discom.

So no PSA, no PPA .

A detailed reading of the report makes it clear that even projects that have taken the benefit of an extension due to the Covid rule, many will still miss the newer deadlines, thanks to the limited progress made on critical parameters including financial closure, land acquisition, or even probability of transmission offtake in time.

Now, if this was the only issue facing the solar sector, the MNRE, which has been unusually aggressive in pushing for more tenders and a better policy environment , could have been trusted to seek a way out. After all, there is a target to be met. 100 GW of solar (out of a renewable target of 175 GW by 2022 end). But the sheer scale of challenges facing the sector today mean that come 2022 , the best the MNRE can hope for is a ‘well tried’. So what are the biggest challenges that we see. Lets move to the challenge number 1.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 15

COVER STORY

Source: CEA Report On Optimal Generation Capacity Mix 2029-30

So what are the biggest challenges here?

By far, the biggest stumbling block to real change is the nature of the whole ecosystem that has come up around thermal. From long term PPA’s that have locked in discoms to buying fixed, or fixed plus costs for a long time, to the massive investments already made, The discom issue has been well documented, caused as it has been by years of mismanagement, poorly managed subsidies, and worse. Current outstandings to the generation sector have crossed rs 1,50,000 crores, of which over Rs 8,000 cores is owed to Union Power and MNRE Minister R.K. Singh. In The Hot Seat. the renewable energy sector. Multiple industry bodies have been sending missives to the government to help out, with some claiming India’s Thermal Legacy that these delays could even push cash stretched developers to bankruptcy. But actual progress has been very slow.

At 231.5 GW out of a total capacity of 371 GW, India’s thermal A report by Vibhuti garg and Kashish Shah, of the Institute of sector (coal+gas+diesel) accounts for just over 62 percent of total Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, called “ The Curious capacity. Of this 62 percent, almost 88 percent is coal and lignite (55 Case of India’s Discoms- How Renewable Energy Could Reduce percent of all sources total), with the remaining accounted for by Their Financial Distress” describes the discom issues well. To gas (6.7 percent) and diesel. That’s a number expected to go down quote, ”The absence of competition, unsustainable cross-subsidies, to possibly 50 percent by 2022. But don’t let that confuse you. In economically inefficient tariff setting processes, expensive terms of actual share of generation, thermal sources are comfortably thermal power purchase agreements (PPAs), and a lack of modern above 75 percent even today, and by 2022, are expected to be well technology and infrastructure development are adding to discoms’ over 65 percent. losses.”.

The report, among other action points, proposes the shut down of end of life, ageing plants. Or avoiding entering into anymore long India Power Sources Capacity (In GW) term thermal power contracts for high cost power. Both points Thermal 231.5 have merit. If we take 1985 as a cut off year, then the total potential ( Coal+ Gas+ Diesel) for retirements here will be close to 35 GW ! The Central Electricity Authority, taking a cut off of 25 years, has actually retired, in the Nuclear s6.7 March’ 2016 to May’ 2019 period, 30 different units spread across 26 Hydo 45.7 projects using inefficient coal / lignite based thermal power units.

These units were rated for a total 8470 MW generation capacity Renewables ( Solar+ Wind+ 88 . In addition, 810.94 MW capacity Gas based/ DG Set units have Bio Gas+ Mini Hydro) also been retired since Sept.’2015 to May’ 2019. Besides these, it India’s Power Capacity as of July, 2020 does consider further retirements totalling 25252 MW in the period Source: National Power Portal 2022-2030. Keep in mind that all these are mostly public sector units. There is significant scope to create capacity for new power demand by finding ways to retire inefficient diesel and thermal units The sheer dominance of thermal means that the country’s power in India’s massive captive power sector too, variously estimated at infrastructure moves to the beats and vagaries of fossil fuels today.

50 GW capacity. Though, more dependable power supply from the Be it the coal mines that supply the coal, the massive investments central grid will be the surest way to ‘retire’ this particular capacity. locked into thermal plants, or the transmission infrastructure An unexpected challenge to a faster phase out cycle is the fact that designed for thermal offtake, thermal dominates. That makes it among all the fossil fuels, the only one we have in abundance is a very powerful incumbent to dislodge, or even cede ground to coal. That is the reason that even on date, almost 60 GW of thermal renewable energy as it must. projects stay on the planning horizon. That is unconscionably high, 16 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

COVER STORY considering the cost, impact and sustainability of coal fired power versus renewable energy today. The wide domestic availability of coal decided not only our high focus on thermal power, but today, even plans to phase out thermal energy have to consider its impact on coal mining in India. Barely any effort has been made to explore options beyond mining, including letting the coal stay underground in some of the more eco sensitive zones, including virgin forests.

A recent decision to open up 40 more sites for mining have been uniformly condemned accordingly. Like large Hydro projects with their questionable delivery and performance record , our addiction to coal powered energy is not just hurting our present with the pollution and damage it causes, but also our future, by suffocating the growth of renewable energy. In effect, this has become a political decision today, the worst way to delay any decision in a noisy democracy like India. A public sector firm, Coal India Limited, and its 285,000 employees account for over 80 percent of the mined coal in India, spread across multiple states. It might sound big, but today that number is no longer as important or large as say 20 years ago. The coal mining sector, according to TERI, accounts for less than 0.7 percent of the economy today. That makes a transition away from coal, in a period much shorter than the over 30 year period envisaged in plans currently, eminently possible with the right political will and negotiations.

Challenge number two, which has taken many by surprise, has to be the sheer failure of electricity demand to keep up with capacity additions. The demand issue is not a new one, as through most of 2019, it was already sending warning signals. But the Covid 19 pandemic has simply taken it to a whole new level. Where 2019 demand numbers were being compared to the higher 2018 figures, 2020 demand numbers are not expected to match even these lower numbers now. In simple terms, chances are that demand will hit be subdued right till 2021, assuming that the recovery from the pandemic picks up pace. In fact, a recent report from TERI posits that demand could be hit by 7 -17 percent till 2025, due to the Covid impact, which is still being measured. This, when power demand was projected to triple by 2040, on 2015 numbers.

That is a huge blow to renewable energy plans. Not only has this demand slowdown/contraction already put pressure on discoms to curtail renewable purchases, it has absolutely frozen progress on signing of PPA’s/PSA’s for fresh projects that have been tendered out in 2020. This will lead to a chain of delays, that can potentially impact capacity creation right upto 2022 and beyond now. As mentioned at the start here, almost 8 GW of renewable energy projects are stuck at the LOA stage, with no PPA signed between SECI/NTPC with relevant discoms to move ahead to stage two.

The demand issue is an even bigger problem to solve, thanks to the huge idle capacity of thermal plants that already exists, like a ticking time bomb for the banks that have lent money to them.

Consider this. Of 33 stressed ‘assets’ or projects that have been taken up for some sort of resolution, worth 40 GW of capacity, 14 were actually ‘resolved ‘ in the past 12 months. But now, even these 14 projects with a size of 16,500 MW are struggling to meet debt servicing obligations due to inadequate cash generation, caused by both low offtake, and delayed discom payments. Reviving this massive basket of projects, with a sunk investment of over 200,000 crores potentially, is already leading to demands for extending PPA benefits beyond the original period, or retaining high tariffs, or finally, allowing them to sell merchant power at the energy

exchanges in the country. Except for the last, each of the options is an indirect blow to renewable energy providers seeking to get a share of the stagnating demand pie. The saving grace is that despite all these challenges, demand , as expected is the easiest of the challenges to manage, thanks to the sheer size and options India has.

So there is work that has already been done, besides what can be done to revive demand. What is done is that in the last three years, almost 26 million Indian households have been connected to the electricity grid for the first time, thanks to the Saubhagya initiative launched by the government of India in October 2017.

This cohort of new users, along with rising incomes of the rest of the consuming class, can push up power demand by a clear 5 percent, as they acquire more household appliances. Add the push for 24X7 power to all, and you have the base for a steady driver of electricity demand growth.

The second big move that needs to be done is electrifying the transportation sector. While many policy announcements have been made, actual movement on the ground has been slow going.

But the picture here is promising, as it does look like the process here is on an irreversible path. From the many metro systems across the country, to the pledge of the railways to go all electric by 2025 or earlier, to the revised EV policies in key consuming states like Delhi, momentum is truly building up. As this electrification spreads to bus transport and personal transportation like two wheelers and four wheelers, the benefits will be enormous for demand as well as renewable energy. A strong backer for this is Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who holds the road transport portfolio, among others.

With a strong reputation for execution of large projects, Gadkari is a major votary for electrifying the transportation sector, to take care of surplus power production.

Nitin Gadkari. Solve The Demand problem By Finding Consumers in Transportation

The final big move would be the green energy corridors, envisaged as grids dedicated for agricultural use, powered exclusively by renewable energy. Till a year back, July 2019 to be exact, Power Minister R.K. Singh, while replying to a question in parliament, had stated that India has added 10261 MW of renewable energy capacity Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 17

COVER STORY to the Green Energy Corridor. According to the numbers provided, Madhya Pradesh has seen the maximum growth in renewable energy capacity with nearly 4593 MW of new renewable energy capacity added to the ISTS under the project. The second best in the list is Karnataka with 1532 MW of renewable capacity and Rajasthan in third with 1100 MW renewable capacity added. The logic here, that in states that subsidise power for agriculture, the investment into renewable energy and transmission infrastructure for the green energy corridors, will easily pay for itself in 5-7 years, depending on the extent of subsidies saved once the corridors are functional.

Madhya Pradesh has already tied up about 21,000 MW through long-term PPAs even as its peak demand in 2019-20 was 14,886 MW. It is no coincidence that states which have signed up for contracted capacities in excess of actual demand have got some of the most stressed discoms too. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are two prime examples, with both signing contracted capacities that are over 40 percent over their peak demand.

At a time when even round the clock energy from renewable energy projects is available at under Rs 4, which will typically take far less than the 54 months the thermal plant will take to set up , these decisions are inexplicable. Worse, chances are, by 2025, thanks to lower storage costs the renewable costs will be even lower, while the thermal costs have no such future.

Political apathy has led to a steady build up of issues related to land acquisition for renewable energy projects. As of now, over 1.5 GW of projects have been cancelled by developers claiming issues related to land allotment, among other things. Close to 11 GW of wind energy projects face a similar predicament.

Not Ambitious Enough

The ambitions PMKUSUM scheme for solar water pumps ( Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan) is another initiative that can power this . Launched initially to support solar water pumps in off grid areas the PMKUSUM scheme has been expanded to target solar water pumps for 3.5 million farmers now, with the opportunity to supply excess power to the grid and earn too. IF executed well, this could be a huge driver of demand for power as well as solar at that.

Finally, though it is not spoken about as much, but remains an issue that is hurting all of us, is the sheer apathy of a large part of India’s political class to the environment. Or a greener future. In state after state, especially the leading industrialised states where action is most urgent, the political class borders between apathetic to resistant to any major change . It is this love for the status quo that has become the biggest challenge for further inroads by renewable energy. Can you recall any election being fought on a green issue?

Yes, elections have been fought on say, the compensation paid for displacement due to large dams, or rehabilitation from natural disasters of the kind whose frequency is increasing every year. But none of our political parties is ready to commit to sustainability the way we should by now.

On the one hand, thermal power has created a web of incestuous links between the coal supply chain, plant owners, and calculation of fixed charges and cost plus margins, renewable energy, especially solar power has become a political minefield, seen as a pet project of the central government. Take just one example , the case of the 1320 MW power plant to be st up by Pench Thermal Energy , a subsidiary of Adani Power. It has signed a 25 year PPA with the MP Power Management Company Limited , for supply of 1230 MW of power. The agreement, the first thermal signing across India since the last such PPA in Kerela 5 years ago, was won with a reported bid price of Rs 4.79/unit (Rs 2.90/unit as fixed charge and Rs 1.89/unit variable charge), by Adani Power.

18 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

Source: CEA Report

The challenges we have outlined here might seem daunting, as they truly are, but the best ray of hope comes from the market. If allowed to function in a truly free market for energy, chances are, India too will move like the rest of the world towards renewable energy. We have just heard news of solar auctions in Portugal where developers have bid under Rupee one per unit for grid tied solar contracts, thanks to cleverly designed contracts. Or how coal has fallen from grace in the world’s largest energy market till recently, the US. No one predicted it, least of all the IEA, (International Energy Agency) whose 2006 prediction had expected coal consumption in the US to be 1267 million tonnes in 2030, and 1150 million tonnes in 2015. Well, consumption in 2020 is projected to be UNDER 400 million tonnes now, at 395 million tonnes. All driven by lower renewable prices, a conscious political move to discourage coal power, and consumer driven pressure to clean up.

As it turns out, coal production peaked way back in 2007, at 1023.3 million tonnes.

It’s time for India to aim for peak coal by 2025, and then, thanks to lower energy storage costs, higher efficiency and a further drop in renewable costs, a much faster transition to an energy mix that is truly renewables driven.

-Saur News Bureau

PROJECT UPDATES

NTPC Seeks EPC Firms for 1070 MW Solar Projects in Rajasthan NTPC Ltd has issued a tender, inviting bids from eligible firms for taking up the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) work along with land for the development of up to 1070 MW of solar PV power projects in Rajasthan. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, packing and forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage, installation and commissioning of grid-connected solar PV projects located anywhere in Rajasthan on a turnkey basis. The scope of work for the solar plant up to the interconnecting substation will include the complete transfer of ownership/ lease of encumbrance free land in favour of NTPC. The developers will also be required to provide comprehensive operation & maintenance of the complete solar PV plant including switchyard and power evacuation system till STU substation along with consumables and spare parts for a period of three years from the date of successful completion of a trial run.

The individual projects awarded under the tender will be of a minimum of 50 MW or higher capacity in multiples on 10 MW. The last date for bid submission is September 17, 2020, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the same date. The date and time of opening of the price bids and the start of the reverse

auction will be intimated separately by NTPC to the technically cleared bidders.

A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for September 3, 2020, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders. The bid security amount to be submitted by the successful bidders will vary on the project size ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 50 crore.

SECI Awards Only 970 MW of 2 GW Wind Tender, Vena and JSW Winners The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) recently concluded the auction for its 2 GW ISTS-connected wind projects tender.

The nodal agency has awarded only 970 MW capacity to the two successful bidders in Vena Energy (L1) and JSW Energy (L2).

The tender (Tranche-IX) for the selection of the wind power developers was issued

by SECI in March, with bid submission deadlines and document submissions ending on July 28, 2020.

Vena Energy, which recently won 100 MW capacity as the lowest (L1) bidder in the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s (GUVNL’s) solar auction for its 700 MW solar tender, also won this tender after submitting the L1 bid of Rs 2.99 per unit. The firm was awarded 160 MW wind projects capacity in the auction.

Making its entry into the wind energy sector, JSW Energy – the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sajjan Jindal led JSW Group – submitted the L2 bid of Rs 3.00 per unit and bagged a massive 810 MW project capacity in the auction.

Besides the two winners, only one other bid was submitted for the tender, by Inox 20 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

Wind. Wind tenders have been heavily undersubscribed in the last 18 months in India. This could be attributed to problems in securing good sites with attractive wind resources and adequate access to transmission networks. Key states like Tamil Nadu have virtually declared a halt on fresh capacity, while issues with land allotment in Gujarat have been well documented .

The winners will now set up the projects anywhere in India on a “Build Own Operate” basis. SECI has been designated as Trader for purchase and sale of wind power from the projects and will enter into Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with the two winners for a period of 25 years and Power Sale Agreements with the interested Buying Entities.

PROJECT UPDATES

PM Modi Brings Massive 7.5 GW Ladakh Solar Project Back In Focus Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech reinstated the Centre’s aim to establish a 7.5 GW solar power park in Ladakh to set the union territory on course to becoming carbon neutral.

In his speech, Modi said that “Ladakh has several specialties. Not only do we have to preserve them, we have to nurture them as well.

As Sikkim has made its mark as an organic state in the northeast, Ladakh — Leh and Kargil — can also create their own niche as carbon-neutral regions,” as he mentioned about the proposed solar park project.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is moving to partly fund the linked transmission line, the cost of which was making power unaffordable. “The transmission project is being included in the Centre’s Green Energy Corridor Phase-II for viability gap funding (VGF),” as per Power Minister RK Singh. Which will make the transmission project eligible for up to 40 percent Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from the Centre.

The project has an estimated outlay of Rs 45,000 crores with a target commissioning date in 2023, saving 12,750 tonnes of carbon emissions in every year of operation. Of the 7.5 GW capacity, a 5000MW unit is being planned at the Morey plains, some 215 km east of Leh. And a 2,500-MW unit is to be built at Suru in Zanskar, 245 km east of Kargil.

Some 25,000 acres in Leh and 12,500 acres in Zanskar has been earmarked for the project. The Leh and Kargil hill councils will earn Rs 1,200 per hectare, with a 3 percent annual escalation.

At this stage, while it is certain that the project will showcase some innovations in every sphere from financing to technology used due to its high CUF requirement of 30 percent, the 2023 date might be too stiff a target.

5 Winners in GUVNL’s 700 MW Solar Tender, Vena & Tata L1 Bidders The recently concluded auctions for the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s (GUVNL’s) 700 MW solar tender saw the entire capacity awarded to five bidders. With Tata Power and Vena Energy submitting the winning bids (Lowest Bids – L1) of Rs 2.78/ kWh. As per industry reports, both the L1 bidders secured capacities of 100 MW each under the tender. Followed by ReNew Power which secured 200 MW project capacity with its bid of Rs 2.79/kWh. SJVN Limited came in with the L3 bid of Rs 2.80/kWh and secured 100 MW capacity while TEQ Power secured the remaining 200 MW capacity with its bid of Rs 2.81/kWh. The ceiling tariff for the tender was set at Rs 2.92/kWh. In March, GUVNL had floated its tender for the selection of solar power developers for setting up 700 MW solar projects at the Dholera Solar Park. As per the RfS, GUVNL had re-tendered the 700 MW capacity which remained unallocated in solar tenders invited by the agency on January 16, 2019,

(Phase V) and June 24, 2019 (Phase VII).

As per GUVNL, the tender had been issued in order to fulfill the renewable power purchase obligation (RPO) and to meet the future requirements of Discoms.

The five winners will now set up the projects in the Dholera Solar Park on a Build Own

and Operate basis in accordance with the provisions of this RfS document and standard Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

GUVNL shall enter into PPA with successful bidders for a period of 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date of the project.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 21

PROJECT UPDATES

4 Winners in NTPC’s EESL Tenders for 279 MW of Solar 1.2 GW Solar Tender, Power Systems in Maharashtra Winning Bid at The Energy Efficiency Services Limited operation and maintenance services (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the for the solar plants upon successful Rs 2.43/kWh Ministry of Power, has issued a tender for commissioning. The last date for submission

NTPC Ltd has concluded the e-reverse auction for its tender for the selection of solar power developers for setting up 1.2 GW ISTS-Connected solar PV power projects anywhere in India. Four winners in O2 Power, Tata Power, Azure Power, and AMP Energy emerged as winners in the tender, with a total of 1170 MW capacity awarded.

O2 Power, Azure Power and Tata Power emerged as the winning bidders after all three matched the winning bid of Rs 2.43/ kWh. O2 Power secured 400 MW capacity, Tata Power bagged 370 MW capacity and Azure secured 300 MW capacity at the winning tariff. Whereas, AMP Energy has secured 100 MW capacity at a tariff of Rs 2.44 per kWh. “O2 Power, which is a new entrant in the market will now have a pipeline of 780 MW of solar projects. AMP Energy is also now aggressive in the recent tenders and is looking to build its portfolio and with this 100 MW win, it will now have a portfolio of 300 MW of solar projects in the pipeline,” stated research consultancy JMK Research.

The low tariffs seen in the last two tenders, namely, the SECI 2 GW with the record low Rs 2.36/ kWh tariff and this one are a throwback to the record lows seen in 2017.

The low tariff trends can be an opportunistic play by developers looking to take advantage of the current situation wherein only safeguard duty of 14.9 percent is applicable.

Though there is a high probability of double duties in the form of safeguard duty as well as Basic Custom Duty (BCD) of 20-25 percent due to ongoing China border issues.

So far, the government has held back on the BCD announcement, perhaps due to the competing claims of high duty demands from manufacturers versus developers warning of higher end prices.

22 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

the commissioning of 279 MW (cumulative) solar power generating systems (SPGS) of capacities ranging between 2 MW and 10 MW at various locations across Maharashtra. India has received financing from the German state-owned development bank KfW towards the cost for scaling up demand-side energy efficiency (sector) project, and a part of this financing will be applied to eligible payments under the contract for this invitation for bids has been issued. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing, commissioning of the solar power generating systems. The developers will also be required to provide comprehensive

of bids is September 25, 2020, and a pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for September 11, 2020, to address the concerns raised by prospective bidders.

The bidders should have successfully or substantially completed within the last seven years ‘similar work’ to the proposed contract, where the cumulative capacity of the bidders’ participation shall exceed: For Lot 1 and Lot 3 – 15.6 MW For Lot 2 and Lot 4 – 17.7 MW For Lot 5 – 17.1 MW Out of which at least one grid-tied groundmounted solar project should have been of capacity 5 MW or above OR two projects of capacity 4 MW or above OR three projects of capacity 3 MW of above.

Masdar, EDF to Partner on 8 US Renewable Energy Projects Worth 1.6 GW

between our two companies focused on the North American market. I would like to highlight the exceptional quality of work for both the Masdar and EDF Renewables North America teams over the last year to execute this transaction in particularly troubled times.”

Power from the diversified portfolio projects will be sold under long-term contracts to a variety of offtakers, including utilities, hedge providers and community choice aggregators (CCAs). And will displace more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

“As the second largest renewable energy producer in the world in terms of installed power capacity, the US offers considerable scope for further growth and diversification of our renewable energy portfolio,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. “We are delighted to expand our presence there through this landmark deal to invest in eight clean energy assets in California, Nebraska and Texas, and to further strengthen our global partnership with EDF Renewables.”

The deal is well timed, coming in the same week as UAE apparently deciding to normalize relations with Israel, a move that will place it firmly in the US camp as a friendly Arab country.

EDF Renewables North America and Masdar, a subsidiary of UAE based Mubadala Investment Company, have announced Masdar’s second strategic investment in the United States (US) in a deal with EDF Renewables North America that will see it acquire a 50 percent stake in a 1.6-gigawatt (GW) renewable energy portfolio. Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar has acquired a 50 percent interest in three utility-scale wind farms in Nebraska and Texas totalling 815 megawatts (MW), and five photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in California – two of which include battery energy storage systems – totalling 689 MW of solar and 75 MW of lithium-ion battery energy storage.

Tristan Grimbert, President and CEO, EDF Renewables North America, said, “EDF’s collaboration with Masdar runs deep in the Middle East and North Africa already. This deal writes a new chapter of cooperation

PROJECT UPDATES

Siemens Gamesa Selected for Adani’s 473 MW Wind Project in Rajasthan The German-Spanish Manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, continues its resurgence in India. The firm, one of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers and solutions provider, has announced that it has received a firm order from Adani Green Energy for one of the largest wind power projects in India. The company will deliver 215 SG 2.2-122 wind turbines, totalling 473 MW, in what is one of the largest orders it has secured in the subcontinent to be developed in Rajasthan.

The agreement with Adani will see Siemens Gamesa deliver on its core strengths covering manufacturing, supply, installation, and pre-commissioning of the wind turbines for the project in Fatehgarh, Rajasthan, India. Siemens Gamesa had earlier signed several projects with Adani totalling 391.2 MW, in which 87.6 MW has already been commissioned with the remaining MWs under construction. Adding this new order to the existing contracted capacity the Siemens Gamesa – Adani partnership surpasses 860 MW, underscoring SGRE’s position as one of the most trusted renewable energy partners in India. “We are happy to announce this new deal with Adani Green Energy and we thank them for placing their confidence in our capabilities. Growing partnerships

with leading IPPs like Adani encourage us to enhance our efforts in developing innovative technologies to deliver more value for our customers,” said Navin Dewaji, India CEO of Siemens Gamesa.

Siemens Gamesa has operated in India since 2009, and the base installed by the company recently surpassed the 6.9 GW mark, making India one of the firm’s biggest onshore wind markets worldwide.

NHDC Tenders for 25 MW Floating Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh NHDC Limited, a JV company of NHPC Ltd and the Government of Madhya Pradesh, has issued a tender, inviting bids from eligible firms for taking up the Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) work for 25 MW floating solar power park at the Omkareshwar reservoir in the Khandwa district of MP. The park will consist of two floating solar power projects of 13 MW and 12 MW capacity. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, EPC, and other related work for the commissioning of the project. The developers will also be required to provide comprehensive operation and maintenance services for the plants and the associated 33KV transmission line and switchyard at Sanavad for a period of five years from the date of successful commissioning. The developers will have a period of 12 months to complete the work on the successful commissioning of the project after which the 5 year O&M period will begin. The last date for bid submission is August 25, 2020, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the next date i.e.

August 26, 2020.

To be eligible, the bidder should have

experience of having successfully completed a solar power project during the last seven years on EPC basis having capacities as below, as on the last date of the month prior to the bid submission date: A Solar Power Project of at least 20 MW Capacity or Two Solar Power projects of at least 12.5 MW

Capacity each or Three Solar Power projects of at least 10 MW Capacity each.

Furthermore, the bidder should have successful experience of Operation & Maintenance for a minimum of 10 MW solar power projects for at least one year during the preceding seven years.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 23

GRID UPDATES

Rs 1.8 Tn Investment Rate of Decline In Power Generation in Transmission Slows, Seen as a Sign of Recovery Segment in India According to data made available by of July progressed. The decline continued government resources, the rate of decline at much faster pace in the latter part of the by 2025: ICRA in power generation in the past few months month, than it did in the first half. In the Credit rating agency ICRA has revealed in a new analysis that it expects an investment of Rs 1.8 trillion over the fiveyear period from FY2021 to FY2025 in the power transmission segment at all India level, driven by evacuation infrastructure for renewable energy (RE) projects.

In line with the shift in policy focus from conventional sources (coal and gas) to renewable power sources (wind and solar), the focus of the transmission segment according to the report is towards augmenting the transmission infrastructure for evacuation of power generated by renewable energy projects.

Sabyasachi Majumdar, Group Head & Senior Vice President- Corporate ratings, ICRA, said “the Government of India has lined up 14 transmission projects under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route for developing transmission infrastructure for evacuating power from 25 GW renewable power projects and another six projects in the intra-state segment, providing a healthy pipeline for private sector players. While there is likely to be a slowdown in electricity demand and investments in the sector in FY2021 amid the COVID-19 induced disruption, the same are likely to recover from FY2022 onwards.”

In the past five-year period, the power transmission segment of the Indian power sector has witnessed healthy growth with an average annual capex of ~Rs 500 billion, in line with the significant growth seen in the installed power generation capacity.

The investments in the power transmission segment have been led by the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and by the state transmission utilities, followed by the private sector.

The analysis goes on to add that while the National Tariff Policy mandates that transmission projects must be awarded through the competitive bidding route, many projects continue to be awarded to PGCIL and the state transmission utilities under the regulated tariff mechanism citing certain exceptions.

24 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

has slowed down in July. This slowdown is being seen as a sign of recovery, that the economy is (perhaps) gradually returning back to normalcy after getting severely hit by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures to contain its spread. As per data available with grid operator POSOCO, electricity generation fell by 1.8 percent in July as compared to the much sharper fall of 9.9 percent in the previous month of June. The generation had also fallen sharply in April when most parts of the country were under full lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, it is also interesting to note that while there has been an overall increase in power generation and consumption, the trajectory of the consumption and generation has been negative as the month

first half, the decline in generation was just about 0.6 percent, but it rapidly increased to 3.1 percent after July 15. The slowdown in generation decline has come at the behest of a pick up in power consumption in large populous states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. However, the power consumption continued to remain slow in the industrial states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, indicating that things are still far from normal and both economic growth and a pick up in power consumption will take more time to materialise. The real power consumption story, and state of recovery, is likely to become clear only from October, as July-August-Sept usually see a drop in demand due to the monsoons too.

‘Surge ‘in Residential Rooftop Solar in NCR: The Alternative Reality Of Delhi Discoms

shows that the highest number of rooftop solar net metering connections is in the domestic segment. In fact, the rooftop solar connection is a big hit among the central government housing society (CGHS) segment wherein around 90 societies and apartment complexes have opted for it with a sanctioned load of over 5 MWp,” he added. 5 MWp. Let that number sink in, especially when compared with Delhi’s declared target for 2019; The Delhi Solar Energy Policy (2016) says: “Delhi established solar generation targets of 1 GW (1000 MW) by 2020 (4.2% of energy consumed) and 2 GW (2000 MW) by 2025 (6.6% of energy consumed).”

With the largest chunk of solar rooftops accounted by government buildings and institutions, including the state government’s own push to have it on government schools, the road ahead for solar rooftop needs far more than a surge as described by the discoms. It needs clear rules, an approval timeline process that needs to be halved or more from the current 2 months plus with no certain outcome, and a real will among the discoms, enforced with penalties that make a difference.

Irony just found a new supporter. The Delhi discoms. According to them, barely 1900 solar rooftop connections in the past three years count as a ‘surge’ in solar rooftop adoption. Of course, this makes sense if you consider the low base of solar rooftop in NCR region. But beyond that, the reality could not be further from the truth.

The BSES Discoms have claimed that they have so far energised over 2,700 solar net metering connections in the city, with the highest number of rooftop solar connections in the residential segment (1,526) followed by educational (581) and commercial (473) segments, an official spokesperson said.

Media reports quoted the said officials claiming that “An analysis of the data

GRID UPDATES

PXIL Highlights Power Market Regulatory Reforms and Insights Ahead of the public hearing of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations 2020, the Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL), conducted its 2nd Market Advisory Committee and Stakeholder consultation meeting to discuss key market regulatory reforms concerning the power industry.

The event, which was attended by more than 80 participants from Distribution Companies (Discoms), IPPS, SLDCs, Captive generators and other stakeholders from the market, threw light on crucial topics – Key aspects of Draft Power Market Regulations 2020, Decision support tools for Real-Time Market (RTM), Significance of market coupling and dual price discovery, Efficiency and convergence of prices.

Dr. Kirit S. Parikh, Chairman, MAC & Independent Director, PXIL, in his opening remarks emphasised on the need of converging prices in the collective segment, congratulated the market participants for having demonstrated the need to have competition between exchanges, and, finally, on the benefits, the proposed market coupling is likely to bring to the market and market participants.

He further added that the Government has been promoting competition in the procurement of various services. The electricity sector, in general, and electricity procurement, in particular, falls under the guiding principles to foster competition and transparency. In the opening remarks, while talking about market coupling, pricing and need for market participation, Prabhajit Kumar Sarkar, MD & CEO, PXIL said that the rapidly changing framework of the entire power sector demonstrates the key role that power markets have to play.

The underlying need for competition in the power markets is, therefore, gaining acute significance in the industry. “A competitive marketplace can thrive on a strong foundation of an enabling market structure like market coupling, fair rules that allow competition to thrive and ensuring ease of participation on various marketplaces.”

CERC Grants Approval for Third Power Exchange in India The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the petition filed by Pranurja Solutions Ltd, a company promoted by BSE, PTC Ltd and ICICI Bank, to establish what will become the third power exchange in India after Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL).

Power exchange facilitates over-the-counter sale and purchase of power via different types of contracts — day-ahead, termahead, renewable energy certificates, and recently introduced real-time electricity market.

At present, PTC holds a 49 percent stake in Pranurja Solutions, a major niggle with the existing two exchanges, as PTC is itself a major trader in the power market. A trader

owning nearly a big chunk of the exchange would be a major conflict of interest because it could trade only on the exchange it owns.

BSE also owns a massive 41 percent stake in the firm, while ICICI Bank holds 9.9 percent, respectively.

In line with this, the CERC has put a condition on the license for setting up of the power exchange. The shareholders will have to dilute their stakes to own not more than 25 percent each, within eight weeks of the order issuance (which was July 31, 2020).

Pursuant to which, the promoters have already initiated the process to reduce their stake in the exchange to meet the criteria of 25 percent or less, which is in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Power Market Regulations, 2010.

Electric Bus Garage in London to Feed the Grid in Largest Ever Trial A bus garage in London housing 28 fully electric buses is set to become a virtual power station in the what will be the world’s largest trial to see if the stationary electric buses can feed power into the grid from their pooled batteries during periods of high demand, and in turn, help Britain meet its 2050 net-zero climate change target.

From November this year, the trail of the government-funded Bus2Grid project will take energy from the 28 parked zeroemission electric buses and feed it into the grid during times of high energy demand for a period of three years, in an attempt to make the electricity network more efficient.

London has one of Europe’s largest electric bus fleets with more than 200 vehicles, and drawing from the proposed success of the trial run, if the government-funded project is rolled out across London it could power an estimated 150,000 homes.

Energy firm SSE Enterprise will lead the project, backed by Bus2Grid project in a partnership including the mayor of London, Transport for London, bus operator Go-Ahead London and the University of Leeds. The Bus2Grid project claims the Northumberland Park garage will be the

“world’s largest” vehicle-to-grid site.

Niall Riddell, smart systems innovation sector director for SSE Enterprise, told British media that “Central to the challenge of decarbonising our transport and achieving climate change targets is how we can optimise the existing flexibility within the energy system. Developing a charging infrastructure that operates in two directions so that batteries can give back as well as take from the grid is an important part of this.”

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 25

STORAGE UPDATES

BHEL Tenders for Commissioning of BESS for TERI at 3 Sites in Delhi Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has issued a tender, inviting bids from eligible firms for setting up of 410 kWh Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) at 3 sites in Delhi. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the survey, planning, design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, insurance, supply, installation and commissioning of the BESS projects along with comprehensive maintenance under an AMC on turnkey basis. The bidders will be totally responsible for the desired performance of the offered BESS systems. Under the UI-ASSIST initiative, TERI in-association with BRPL (BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd) conducted a detailed feasibility study within the BRPL licensee area in the NCT of Delhi and has identified few selected locations to demonstrate operational use cases of grid-scale BESS on pilot-basis.

The details of BESS application(s) and size for specified locations are: 1. Category-A: 990-kVA DT in Taimoor Nagar, New Friends Colony – BESS will be used to manage the overload of a Distribution Transformer (DT) serving mainly residential consumers. BESS to be installed on the LT side of DT will be charged when the loading of DT is lower than a particular threshold level and discharged when loading exceeds the defined threshold level.

2. Category-B: Dwarka (Ispatika Apartments) – Herein, the proposed application of BESS is to supply the back-up power to common/ critical loads (loads such as lift, water pump and

lighting load) of gated group housing society during power outages. The system will be charged from grid power and also from existing rooftop solar PV installed as and when available.

Additionally, there should be a provision to charge the BESS from DG power, DG synchronisation if required.

3. Category-C: TERI-School of Advanced Studies (SAS) is an institution with TOD tariff applicable for five months. In this case, BESS will be charged during off-peak hours and discharged during peak hours. This application aims to demonstrate BESS operations with a difference in prices during a day at a constant rate. During remaining times of the year, BESS operations may be used for research work within technical constraints of the battery technology

GE Joins 500 MW Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Australia GE Renewable Energy and Walcha Energy have signed an agreement to jointly develop the 500 MW Dungowan pumped hydro storage project in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Under the agreement, GE Renewable Energy’s Hydro Solutions business will provide Walcha Energy with technical and commercial support to accelerate the development of the Dungowan pumped hydro storage power plant which plays a pivotal role in the energy transition for New South Wales and Australia.

“The Dungowan Pumped Hydro Storage Power Plant will help facilitate new wind and solar projects and provide firming and grid support services at a critical point on the Australian National Electricity Market. The project represents a unique opportunity to tap into a high-head site, in close proximity to an existing reservoir.

It is strategically located between retiring coal capacity to the south and emerging wind and solar capacity to the east, west and north,” said Simon Currie, Managing Director at Energy Estate, one of the partners in Walcha Energy.

Overall, the Walcha Energy Project has the potential to produce more than 4 GW of stable electricity from renewable sources. The Dungowan pumped hydro storage power plant is intended to anchor the broader development and ensure that the additional 26 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

wind and solar resources can be reliably and safely fed into the grid.

The New England REZ is one of the largest renewable energy zones in Australia and has been designated as a strategic priority by the NSW Government. The Walcha Energy project has the potential to provide up to 15 percent of NSW’s power requirements. The Dungowan pumped hydro storage power plant would provide about 2 percent of that power, enough to supply roughly 125,000 households with electricity.

STORAGE UPDATES

Tesla and PG&E Break Ground on 182.5 MW BESS System in California Tesla and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) have announced that construction work has begun on the 182.5-megawatt (MW) lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at PG&E’s electric substation in Moss Landing in Monterey County, California. The system will be designed, constructed, and maintained by PG&E and Tesla, and will be owned and operated

by PG&E. Construction is expected to continue into early next year.

PG&E aims to have the system energised in early 2021 and fully operational in the second quarter of 2021. Once operational, the Moss Landing substation system will be one of the largest utilityowned, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the world.

“Battery energy storage plays an integral role in enhancing overall electric grid efficiency and reliability, integrating renewable resources while reducing reliance on fossil fuel generation. It can serve as an alternative to more expensive, traditional wires solutions, resulting in lower overall costs for our customers,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president, Energy Policy and Procurement, PG&E. “The scale, purpose and flexibility of the Moss Landing

Megapack system make it a landmark in the development and deployment of utility-scale batteries.”

PG&E forecasts the Moss Landing BESS will save more than USD 100 million over the 20-year life of the project when compared to the forecasted local capacity requirements and associated procurement costs that would have been necessary in absence of the BESS. The BESS was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in November 2018 and by the Monterey County Planning commission in February 2020.

Both Growth and Evolution Hand in Hand in Lithium Storage A report by energy analyst firm Wood Mackenzie’s has predicted a fourfold rise in global lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity to reach 1.3 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2030 compared to 2019. The firm has based this estimate on 119 battery manufacturing facilities that are operational, under construction or announced by more than 50 vendors worldwide.

The main component, lithium is a $5 billion specialty chemical industry with roughly 300,000 tons of lithium compounds produced and sold this year. Demand for lithium chemicals is projected to grow to as much as 1 million tons by 2025 – primarily driven by lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles.

China dominates this market like few others, be it lithium itself or the batteries. Of course, besides lithium itself, other components like cobalt and nickel, used in the batteries, are also very problematic, in terms of sourcing and processing them, in terms of its environmental impact.

The ‘traditional’ leaders, mostly Asian manufacturers like – CATL, LG Chem, BYD, SK Innovation are are predicted to lead to 2030 too, followed by the emergence of a

for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way,”. Now Wood Mackenzie has predicted lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) will overtake lithium-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) as the dominant stationary energy storage chemistry.

That means at least one problematic material, cobalt, could see reduced demand, as the new LFP battery doesn’t need it.

From 10% of the stationary storage market in 2015, LFP batteries could go to 30% of the market in 2030, says Wood Mackenzie.

The push for an alternative to NMC batteries strong European cohort led by Northvolt and has been there ever since a shortage ACC (JV established by Saft and PSA Group). threatened the market in 2018. The volatility China of course dominates the pipeline in process, and high dependence on China, capacity and is expected to double its has pushed a search for more options. capacity from 345 gigawatt-hour (GWh) in With both mobility and storage sharing the 2020 to more than 800 GWh by 2030. Other same battery chemistry, the rise for storage foreign manufacturers in China such as LG capacity also impacted demand, and prices.

Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation LFP batteries are particularly attractive have also been adding new lines after they for mobility based solutions, as they have became eligible for subsidies from the shown themselves to be out performers Chinese government in 2019. on extended cycle times, or long duration Stakeholders in the sector like Tesla CEO storage. Here too, the Chinese have taken Elon Musk, have gone on record saying the lead, which will ensure faster spread that “Tesla will give you a giant contract globally now.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 27

FINANCE UPDATES

Tata Power Reports Q1 FY2021 Results, to Merge Solar EPC Business

Tata Power, one of India’s largest privatelyowned power producers has announced its first quarter (Q1) FY 2020-21 results.

The firm has reported that for the quarter, consolidated PAT (profit after tax) after exceptional items was up 10 percent at Rs 268 crore as compared to Rs 243 crore in Q1 FY20. And that it will be merging three of its wholly-owned subsidiaries in Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd (TPSSL), Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd. (CGPL), and Af-Taab Investment Company Ltd (AfTaab) with Tata Power. The Company stated that it maintained stable performance despite lower profits from Solar EPC businesses mainly on account of lower financing cost and stable performance across all clusters.

And that the consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 2,037 crore for the first quarter, which also included Renewable EBITDA of Rs 588 crore.

The renewable business saw a drop in the quarter, represented by the lower EBITDA as compared to Rs 663 crore in Q1 FY20 mainly due to delay in the solar EPC projects due to COVID 19. The firm has also reported that unlike its consolidated PAT, the standalone PAT after exceptional items stood at Rs 45 crore as compared to Rs 297 crore in Q1 FY20 due to higher dividends from subsidiaries.

And that consolidated revenue stood at Rs 6,671 crore as compared to Rs 7,567 crore in Q1 FY20. The firm also announced that it won renewables bids totaling 220 MW during the quarter and that its solar EPC order book stands at Rs 8,700 crore including GST. On the merger, the firm stated that the three wholly-owned subsidiaries in Tata Power Solar Systems, CGPL and AfTaab are proposed to be merged with the parent company for greater synergies in the financing, compliance, and oversight.

28 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

Azure Power Reports Q1 Financial Results, Revenue of Rs 394 Crore Azure Power Global Limited, a leading independent solar power producer in India, has announced its consolidated results under the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for the fiscal first quarter (Q1) 2021 ended June 30, 2020. The firm has reported a revenue of Rs 394 crore for the quarter, an increase of 16 percent over the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

The firm also highlighted that its Operating Megawatts (MW) at the end of the quarter were 1,809 MW, an increase of 12 percent over the same quarter last year. Further, the Operating and Committed Megawatts were 7,115 MW an increase of 112 percent over the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

The firms committed megawatts include the 4,000 MW capacity it had won in the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI)

landmark tender for setting up solar projects along with module manufacturing facilities in the country. Azure had decided to exercise its greenshoe option under the tender which increased its project capacity from 2 GW to 4 GW. The firm has received Letters of Award (LOA) for the project, but the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have not yet been signed. PPAs for these 4,000 MWs will follow only after the sale of power is contracted by SECI under a power sale agreement (PSA).

The firm also reported that the net profit for the quarter was Rs 4.6 crore. During the quarter, its results were negatively impacted by a one-time charge of Rs 26.4 crore related to debt refinancing. The non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 329.8 crore, an increase of 29 percent over the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

3 Firms Pitch for Equalisation Levy on Solar Equipment Supplies From SEZs A group of three domestic solar energy firms has pitched for an equalisation levy on solar equipment supplies from special economic zones (SEZs) for domestic use, so as to bring them at par with manufacturers in non-SEZ areas. The government is contemplating imposing basic customs duty (BCD) on solar equipment to discourage imports, mainly from China. Once the BCD is imposed, it would also apply to domestic solar equipment manufacturing units located in SEZs. The industry is pushing for an equalisation levy of 1-2 percent on solar equipment supplied to the domestic market from SEZ units, whereas the BCD could be in the range of 15-20 percent.

The equalisation levy would bring the solar equipment manufacturers in SEZs at par with those in the domestic tariff area (DTA) which have not got the tax and other incentives received by the former, the companies said in a statement. The

three companies include RenewSys, Webel Solar and Vikram Solar, all three firms have units located in SEZs. “There was an apprehension that manufacturing units located in SEZ have availed certain benefits in past hence if the BCD is not levied while clearing the products from SEZ to DTA, it will put manufacturing units located in DTA at a cost disadvantage,” Vikram Solar‘s Chief Executive Office Saibaba Vutukuri said in the statement.

“The equalisation levy will set off the benefits availed by manufacturing units located in SEZ while setting up the facilities,” he added. “We second this proposal for imposition of an Equalisation Levy, as it will ensure that the manufacturing units located in DTA and SEZ are placed on a similar footing in terms of customs duties.”

FINANCE UPDATES

KfW Grants Rs 600 Cr Loan for 125 MW Solar Project in West Bengal

German state-owned development bank KfW has granted a Rs 600 crore loan to the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) for the work on the first phase of a 125 MW solar PV power project in the Purba Medinipur district of the state.

The news was confirmed by state Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay. The project to be executed by the WBSEDCL, on completion, will double the state’s installed solar capacity in the state, he said.

The 15-year loan will carry an interest rate of 0.15 percent and cover 80 percent of the total project cost of Rs 750 crore. “For the first phase of the 125 MW solar park at Dadanpatra in Purba Medinipur, the major cost is being funded by the KfW totalling Rs 600 crore at a marginal interest rate of 0.15 percent. We will fund the rest. The total project is of 200 MW,” Chattopadhay told local reporters.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has given its clearance for the loan from the German state-owned development bank.

The project will require 1,000-acre plot of which 600-acre has been arranged and the rest is in the process of acquisition, he said.

WBSEDCL will pump in the remaining Rs 150 crore as equity.

Asked whether the project is facing delay due to COVID-19 pandemic, the minister said, cyclone Amphan and coronavirusrelated disruptions had pushed the project but the state was trying for laying the foundation stone for the plant before Durga Puja.

Sterlite Power Sells 14.7% Stake in IndiGrid for Rs 840 Crore Sterlite Power, a leading global power transmission player, has announced that it has sold 14.7 percent stake it held in India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) for Rs 840 crore (unit price of Rs 98) to institutional and high net worth individual (HNI) investors. Sterlite Power is the sponsor of IndiGrid, India’s first infrastructure investment trust in the power sector which saw its initial offer in 2017.

Pratik Agarwal, Managing Director, Sterlite Power, said, “Sterlite Power is proud to have played a role in creating India’s first power sector InvIT which has grown over the years with participation from marquee investors.

We will now focus on our core business as the developer of power transmission assets. Were main committed to executing asset transfers of about Rs 6500 crores as per the framework agreement with IndiGrid.” “We firmly believe that InvITs will remain a powerful platform to meet the large-scale financing requirements

of the Infrastructure sector. The global financial markets will remain in yield-seeking mode for a considerable period, and this will provide enough capital supply to wellmanaged REITs and InvITs”, he further added.

Sterlite Power will continue to be the sponsor of IndiGrid and remains a shareholder of Sterlite Investment Managers (SIML), the investment manager of the InvIT. Having built a successful platform and completing the required lock-in period, the company will now focus on its core business as a developer of transmission assets in India and Brazil – two of the world’s largest markets for greenfield projects. It enjoys a leading position in both these geographies.

The company is increasingly focusing on transmission assets designed to evacuate renewable energy, and many of its assets under development connect the national grid to clean and green sources of power.

Vestas Reports 67% Increase in Revenue for Q2 2020 Global wind energy major Vestas has issued its interim financial report for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2020.

The firm has shown a strong performance in spite of a challenging environment, reporting that it generated revenue of EUR 3,541 million – an increase of 67 percent compared to the year-earlier period.

The firm has reintroduced its full-year guidance with an unchanged outlook for revenue of EUR 14-15 billion, and an updated EBIT margin before special items of 5-7 percent.

It has reported that EBIT before special items decreased by EUR 94 million to EUR 34 million. This resulted in an EBIT margin before special items of 1 percent, compared to 6 percent in the second quarter of 2019.

The decrease was primarily a result of extraordinary warranty provisions made in the quarter of EUR 175 million, covering a specific repair and upgrade of a confined number of blades already installed;

excluding these provisions, the underlying margin was 5.9 percent. Free cash flow amounted to EUR (78) million compared to EUR (75) million in the second quarter of 2019.

The quarterly intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to 4,148 MW. The value of the wind turbine order backlog was EUR 16.2 billion as of June 30, 2020. In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, at the end of June 2020, the firm had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of EUR 18.9 billion. Thus, the value of the combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at EUR 35.1 billion – an increase of EUR 3.6 billion compared to the year-earlier period.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 29

FINANCE UPDATES

Ørsted Reports Strong First Half for 2020, Operating Profit of $1.5 Bn The Board of Directors at Ørsted has approved the interim report for the first half (H1) of 2020. The firm reported an operating profit (EBITDA) of DKK 9.8 billion (USD 1.5 billion), an 11 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The firm also revealed that its earnings from offshore and onshore wind farms in operation increased by 17 percent to DKK 8.2 billion driven by the ramp-up of power generation from Hornsea 1, Lockett, and Sage Draw together with high wind speeds.

Net profit amounted to DKK 2.5 billion (USD 393 million) and return on capital employed (ROCE) came in at 11 percent.

The firms’ green share for its heat and power generation increased from 82 percent to 88 percent.

Key Project Milestones during the period: The firm signed the largest ever renewable corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with Taiwan-based TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry.

TSMC will offtake the full generation from

our 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farm. The firm commissioned the 230 MW onshore wind farm Plum Creek in Nebraska ahead of schedule and on budget, and received tax equity funding from our partners.

It acquired the 227 MW solar PV project Muscle Shoals, located in Alabama.

When completed, expectedly in Q3 2021, it will be the largest solar farm in the southeastern US. The firm has reiterated its EBITDA guidance of DKK 16-17 billion in 2020. But has lower its expectation on gross investments by DKK 2 billion to DKK 28-30 billion in 2020 due to changed timing of payments.

sustainability notes at record-low rates last week, the largest-ever from a corporation.

The San Francisco-based firm plans to use the proceeds from the green tranche to finance projects that meet eligible categories, including green buildings, renewable energy, sustainable water and wastewater management and projects that support sustainable living behaviours. The firm in January had said that it had reached its goal to

use 100 percent renewable electricity by 2020 through energy sources like solar and wind as part of its sustainability commitment across its operations, including 131 offices in 76 countries and four global processing centres.

“At Visa, we see both a responsibility and an opportunity to make broad shifts toward a sustainable and inclusive future,” Al Kelly, chief executive officer of Visa Inc said at the time.

Visa Sells its Green Bonds at Record Low Yield, Will Fund Green Projects Leading consumer finance company Visa Inc has announced that it has successfully completed the sale of its green bonds at a record low yield, as it becomes the first company in its field to issue debt to fund environmentally friendly green projects. According to Bloomberg, the world’s largest payments network, sold USD 3.25 billion of debt in three parts. The shortest portion of the deal is a sevenyear green note with at 0.75 percent coupon, sliding past Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s record-low 0.8 percent from last week on an ESG debt sale with a similar maturity. Visa’s USD 500 million security due 2027 marks the first dollar-denominated green bond from the consumer finance space, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Google parent Alphabet Inc sold USD 5.75 billion of 30 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

TECHNICAL FEATURE

Perovskite Solar Cells, Coming Soon To a Product Near You Perovskites, named after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski who discovered the base material over 170 years ago in the Ural Mountains of Russia are found abundantly in the earth’s mantle and sometimes, surface deposits even. They have now found an interesting and potentially breakthrough application in solar power generation technology. Different from the traditional silicon wafers that make up solar cell and panels of today – Perovskites have a unique crystallographic structure that makes them more effective at converting photons of light from the sun into usable electricity.

Perovskites have generated excitement because solar cells that have a coating of Perovskite are delivering energy efficiencies of 25 percent and over in lab conditions, with just under 10 years of research in the sector. That’s a big jump over the 16 to 25 percent efficiency that is currently offered by the silicon based models that are on the market currently and have over half a century of research behind them. More interestingly, due to their extremely thin nature, they open up applications across roofs, mobile phones, vehicles and glass walls.

Perovskite solar cells are thus touted as the next big hope to increase efficiency and lower the cost of solar energy. Perovskite PVs indeed hold promise for high efficiencies, as well as low potential material & reduced processing costs. Perovskite PVs achieve their higher efficiencies by reacting to a much broader range of wavelengths of light, which lets them convert more of the sunlight that reaches them into electricity.

Moreover, they offer flexibility, semi-transparency, tailored form factors, light-weight and more. Naturally, electronics designers and researchers are certain that such characteristics will open up many more applications for solar cells.

All these research developments that made them a “potential” highefficiency, low-cost solar technology, finally have a real world case.

Actual mass production of Perovskite layered solar cells.

A 40-hectare factory invested by Microquanta Semiconductor has begun operation in Quzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province.

The firm claims that the factory will produce more than 200,000 square meters of Perovskite photovoltaic glass before the year-end.

The announcement has been a bit of a surprise because until now, the mass production of Perovskite glass was considered another two years away, due to the early stages of commercialization compared with other mature solar technologies, besides other key concerns. These includedOverall cost as the product is still in the research phase and multiple components of the cells are expensive materials – For instance, the most common electrode material in perovskite solar cells is gold.

Another drawback was that the cheaper perovskite solar cells have a short lifespan. As Perovskite PVs also deteriorate rapidly in the presence of moisture and the decay products attack metal 32 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

electrodes. Heavy encapsulation to protect perovskite can add to the cell cost and weight.

Scaling up is another issue - reported high efficiency ratings have been achieved using small cells, which is great for lab testing, but too small to be used in an actual solar panel.

Another major issue is toxicity - a substance called (Lead Iodide) one of the breakdown products of perovskite. This is known to be toxic and there are concerns that it may be carcinogenic (although this is still an unproven point). And then there is the issue of using lead in many options, a massive pollutant.

In April this year, working with leading domestic solar companies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds at the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Toledo had formed the U.S. Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium (US-MAP), which is working to accelerate commercialisation of perovskite technologies.

For now, Microquanta is basking in the limelight, after stealing a march to mass production. “The wide use of perovskite photovoltaic cells will halve the cost of power generation,” said Yan Buyi, Vice President of Microquanta Semiconductor. The firm has also stated that the colour of the new material is also controllable, thus the photovoltaic power generation module can be tailored according to individual needs.

Earlier this month Microquanta had announced that it had passed IEC stability tests in 2019 for its Perovskite solar modules, the first time in the world. The firm claims that its 20 sq. cm. module had passed the 3000 hour damp heat test (3 times the IEC standards) without degradation of efficiency. The module also showed a degradation of less than 2 percent after 100 kWh UV preconditioning test which was 6.5 times the standard. These results of rigorous and demanding tests demonstrate the market readiness of perovskite technology from Microquanta and a product lifetime of over 25 years.

The firm states that it has optimised the composition of its perovskite materials to increase resistance to the tough environment. The firm has also made a great effort in encapsulation processes to better protect the perovskite materials.

The Microquanta product, if it achieves its promise and delivers on price, could open up a while new race for going solar by 2024, as production possibly ramps up elsewhere. That could have massive implications for the growth of solar, and the phase out of fossil fuels even faster.

MODULE UPDATES

Seraphim inks 150 MW Module Supply Agreement With Raystech at SNEC 2020 Jiangsu Seraphim Solar System (Seraphim), a leading solar product manufacturer, entered into a 150 MW photovoltaic module supply agreement with Raystech Group at the SNEC PV POWER EXPO 2020 in Shanghai. Raytech is a leading wholesaler and importer of solar and electrical products in Australia and New Zealand.

The firm stated that after signing a 50 MW solar modules supply agreement in June of this year, it has set another example of how both companies are focusing on the global distribution market, thereby promoting the development of global clean energy.

“The long-term friendly cooperation between Seraphim and Raystech has laid the foundation for their joint exploration of the global distribution market,” said Polaris Li, president of Seraphim, adding that “Raystech has brought efficient and attractive Seraphim products with professional and appropriate services to the various regions via its distribution network in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Europe. We are very optimistic about this cooperation.” Seraphim will supply to Raystech its S3 series half-cell modules with power capacity up to 440W combined with a conversion efficiency exceeding 19.78 percent. The S3 series half-cell modules integrate 166mm silicon cells with multi-busbar and half-cut cell technologies. The multi-busbar shortens the current transmission distance between the thin grid fingers, further

reducing resistance loss. The half-cut process further reduces the internal electrical loss and mismatch, and also increases the overall conversion efficiency of the module by more than 5 percent, claims Seraphim. The module also reduces the impact of hidden cracks and hot spot effects, thus improving performance, reliability and being ideal for large-scale industrial, commercial and ground-based power station projects in a wide range of developments.

CEL Tenders for Supply of 2 Million Multi-Crystalline Solar Cells Again Central Electronics Limited (CEL) has once again issued its tender for the supply of 2 million multi-crystalline solar cells. As per the tender, the acceptance criteria for the solar cells will include – PERC (5 Bus Bar), Size 157x157mm+-0.25mm, and efficiency > 19.6 percent.

The last date for bid submission for the first tender was July 9, 2020, with the technocommercial bids set to be opened on the same date. However, in the new tender, the bidders will have until August 12, 2020, to submit their proposals and the bids will be opened on the same date. CEL has offered a period of only 7 days for bidders to submit bids under the tender as almost all of the conditions under the new one match the old one.

As per the provisions of the tender, only original domestic manufacturers complying with MNRE notification regarding domestic content requirement (DCR) for domestically manufactured solar PV cells or their authorised representatives are eligible to

submit quotations. The supplier will also need to confirm that the supplied modules manufactured using the suppler cells conform to IEC standards, and the same shall be tested by government accredited labs. And the vendors should have a minimum of 5 MW per annum in-house production capacity.

As per the tender, CEL reserves the right to enhance the quantity of material ordered by amending the purchase order(s) within a year, if any, awarded on the basis of this tender at the rate and terms and conditions mentioned in such purchase order(s) depending on the production requirement and delegation of power authorised.

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MARKET UPDATES

Wind and Solar Met 9.8% of Global Electricity Production in H1 2020: Report A new report has put the spotlight on how fast wind and solar energy have expanded over the last few years to become major sources of electricity generation in most countries around the world and have almost singlehandedly reduced coal burn throughout the world. The rise has been so rapid, that in the first half (H1) of 2020, wind and solar generation rose 14 percent compared to H1-2019, generating 9.8 percent or nearly one-tenth of global electricity.

The data was revealed in a new half-year analysis issued by Ember.

It aggregated national electricity generation for 48 countries making up 83 percent of global electricity production.

The report found that in the 48 countries analysed, wind and solar generation rose from 992 terawatt-hours in 2019 to 1,129 terawatthours in H1-2020. That meant wind and solar’s share of global electricity has risen from 8.1 percent in 2019 to 9.8 percent in H12020; and their share more than doubled from 4.6 percent in 2015, when the Paris Climate Agreement was signed.

The two sources generated almost as much CO2-free power as nuclear power plants, which generated 10.5 percent of global electricity in H1-2020 and whose share remained unchanged from 2019. The report then goes on to add that many key countries now generate around a tenth of their electricity from wind and solar.

China (10 percent), the US (12 percent), India (10 percent), Japan

(10 percent), Brazil (10 percent) and Turkey (13 percent). The EU and UK were substantially higher with 21 percent and 33 percent respectively; within the EU, Germany rose to 42 percent. While at the other end of the spectrum, Russia is the largest country so far to shun wind and solar, with just 0.2 percent of its electricity from wind and solar.

Change-in-law Payments Worth an Additional Rs 4000 Cr for Solar Sector: CRISIL Recent commencement of Change in Law payments by state power distribution companies (Discoms) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for Goods and Services Tax (GST) to solar power projects, comes as a shot in the arm for the sector.

Together with safeguard duty (SGD) reimbursements, which also qualify under ‘Change in Law’, the payments will lead to Rs 4,000 crore cash inflow for the sector. This can restore project returns by as much as 220 basis points (bps) and is positive for credit quality, according to CRISIL. Earlier, the research and ratings agency had said that the imposition of SGD on import of solar cells and modules had increased the implementation cost of ~5.4 gigawatts (GW) projects by as much as 15 percent and compressed the returns of developers by 160 bps.

Add to this the hike in GST levy on modules and balance of the plant, and returns reduced by a further 60 bps.

While Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) was quick to recognise the SGD imposition as a Change in Law event, uncertainty prevailed over the timeliness and mechanism of its reimbursements.

Now, counter-parties including SECI and Discoms such as Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) have started making payments towards GST reimbursements for their respective projects. To ensure returns don’t diminish because of delays in payment, the reimbursement is in the form of a 13-year 34 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

annuity and also factors in a carrying cost of 10.4 percent on a retrospective basis, in line with the CERC’s latest tariff orders.

Manish Gupta, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings said “these annuity flows are not conditional upon project performance and receipt of payments by central counter-parties from the underlying Discoms.

This lends more stability to these cash flows and supports the credit quality of these projects.”

MARKET UPDATES

Offshore Wind to Surge to 234 GW by 2030, Create 900K Jobs: GWEC Global offshore wind capacity will surge to over 234 GW by 2030 from 29.1 GW at the end of 2019, led by exponential growth in the Asia-Pacific region and continued strong growth in Europe, according to a new report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

GWEC has released the second edition of its Global Offshore Wind Report, which finds that 2019 was the best year on record for offshore wind, with 6.1 GW of new capacity added globally, bringing total global cumulative installations to 29.1 GW. China remained in the number one spot for the second year in a row for new installations, installing a record 2.4 GW, followed by the UK at 1.8 GW and Germany at 1.1 GW. The report goes on to highlight, that while Europe continues to be the leading region for offshore wind, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the US market are quickly picking up the pace and will be regions of significant growth in the next decade.

It forecasts that through 2030, more than 205 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be added globally, including at least 6.2 GW of floating offshore wind. This represents a 15 GW increase from the forecasts in the pre-COVID forecast, demonstrating the resilience of the sector to play a major role in powering both the energy transition and green recovery.

“The report shows that 900,000 jobs will be created in the offshore sector over the next decade – and this number can only increase if policymakers put in place recovery strategies that can further accelerate the growth of the sector.

Furthermore, 1 GW of offshore wind power avoids 3.5 MT CO2 – making it the most effective available large-scale technology to avoid carbon emissions and displace fossil fuels in many geographies,” said Ben Blacwell, CEO of GWEC.

Retiring old Thermal Plants the 1st Hurdle in Reducing Discoms Debts: IEEFA A new report by IEEFA proposes recommendations to reduce financial and operational inefficiencies across India’s power distribution sector, which as of May 2020 had accumulated massive overdue payment liabilities of Rs 116,340 crore to generation companies while already carrying total outstanding debt of Rs 478,000 crore (in FY2018/19). The report authored by Vibhuti Garg and Kashish Shah at IEEFA, recommends, among other strategies, that Discoms need to work with state governments to retire their old inefficient and expensive thermal power plants as a key pathway to reducing their average cost of power procurement and debts. “We suggest statebased discoms sit down with state generation utilities and review what old thermal power plants they can retire, given the state of surplus capacity,” said Garg. “Many thermal power stations are old and operating at well under half their capacity, yet the states are bound by contracts to continue to pay hefty capacity charges.” While there is no silver bullet to

improve Discoms’ financial sustainability and viability, the report analyses three state-based case studies with respective recommendations on Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, while also focusing on actions the Government of India can make now to reduce the discom’s financial burden, including: • Resolving legacy contracts issues and closing inefficient plants will result in significant savings from fixed charge payments while reducing pollution and carbon footprints.

• Reducing cross-subsidies to decrease the burden on C&I customers and increase healthy competition while allowing for the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs), solar irrigation pumps, and the adoption of policies favouring the uptake of solar rooftop systems.

• Reducing unsustainably high AT&C losses through digitalisation including progressively installing smart and prepaid meters will help discoms manage their load better while reducing metering and billing losses and theft.

ICRA Predicts 120-125 GW RE Capacity in India

by December 2022

which mitigates the risk of intermittent RE supply to some extent.

Sabyasachi Majumdar, Group Head & Senior Vice President – Corporate ratings, ICRA, said “the renewable energy-based capacity is likely to reach 120-125 GW by December-2022, with the solar capacity constituting 50 percent of the overall capacity followed by 38 percent from wind power segment and the balance from other sources.

“While this is lower than the capacity target of 175 GW set by the Government of India (GoI), the incremental capacity addition is estimated to be healthy at 33-38 GW with an investment outlay of more than Rs 2 lakh crore over the next two and half years. ICRA expects this to be supported by a large pipeline of projects awarded by central nodal agencies and state distribution utilities (discoms) and likely improvement in execution timelines. Within the renewable segment, the utility-scale solar segment is expected to be very close to the 60 GW capacity target set by GoI, though there is likely to be a shortfall in the rooftop solar and the wind power segments.”

According to ICRA, capacity addition in the renewable energy (RE) sector is expected to remain subdued at about 8 GW in FY2021 given the continued execution challenges amid COVID-19, because of disruption of the supply chain as well as labour availability issues. This has added to the woes of the sector which continues to remain plagued by issues such as delays in land acquisition and receipt of evacuation approvals, regulatory delays in tariff adoption and obtaining financial closure in a tight financing environment. Nonetheless, the overall medium to long term investment outlook for the renewable energy sector remains strong supported by highly competitive tariffs, policy support and new schemes such as peak supply, round-theclock supply and RE plus thermal blending,

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 35

MARKET UPDATES

COVID-19 Lowers Solar Equipment Imports by 83 Percent The COVID-19 pandemic has left a big mark on the Indian solar sectors’ imports from China, with data from the Ministry of Commerce suggesting that the Indian imports during the first quarter of the fiscal year i.e. in the months of April-June declined by over 83 percent. A role that the central government envisages its new initiatives and duties will have on imports from here on out. As per the Ministry of Commerce, the imports in the first quarter only amounted to USD 69 million (Rs 515 crore), down from USD 399 million (Rs 2970 crore) during the same period last year. These months saw the maximum impact of the pandemic with lockdowns in several parts of the country and economic activity coming to a grinding halt. On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, Indian solar imports fell by 54 percent in the April-June quarter, from USD 150.5 million (Rs 1,120 crore) in the JanuaryMarch period. However, despite the big drop in Chinese imports, the government data still projects that a significant portion of Q1 imports in the solar sector continued from China – as it still accounted for 77 percent of the total imports in the April-June period. China was followed by Thailand at

7 percent, Vietnam at 5 percent, Singapore at 3.5 percent and Cambodia at 3 percent.

China’s presence in Indian solar projects has remained strong despite actual imports falling on account of the pandemic. During the January-March period as well, China accounted for 79 percent of the total solar imports to India.

This is the part where the government wants to interfere as it looks to check imports from

China and boost domestic manufacturing.

The finance ministry has already notified that following the recommendations of the DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies), the government has formally extended the Safeguard Duty (SGD) by a year on Chinese origin solar equipment. The extension, till July 29, 2021, seeks to protect Indian manufacturers from alleged dumping

by Chinese firms.

Using RE to Power LNG Plants Could Reduce Emissions by 8% in APAC: WoodMac Using renewable energy (RE) to power liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Asia Pacific (APAC) could reduce emissions by about 8 percent, according to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie. Asia Pacific produces over a third of the world’s LNG, but also generates over 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) of emissions during liquefaction. Australian LNG projects account for over half or 29 MtCO2e of liquefaction emissions from LNG projects in the region. Many of Asia Pacific’s LNG facilities are located in remote areas, far from the power grid. As a result, feed-gas is used to generate electricity to run the plant and fuel the liquefaction process. Typically, 8 percent to 12 percent of feed-gas is consumed at the plant to run these processes. Older, more inefficient plants, as well as nascent floating LNG (FLNG) vessels operate with far higher losses. “Three main decarbonisation levers could help reduce emissions at LNG plants, namely operational efficiency, design changes, and the use of renewable energy, which could be sourced from the grid or generated onsite,” said Jamie Taylor, Senior Analyst at Wood Mackenzie. Feed-gas is used to fuel gas turbines to generate electricity to power the plant. Replacing these gas turbines with electricity could greatly reduce emissions, assuming the grid 36 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

power is less carbon intensive. The other option is to install on-site renewable power, in particular solar. “If a solar plant or a hybrid solar plus battery storage plant is installed at the LNG facility, backup generators could be switched off and renewable electricity could be used to meet the power load. As costs continue to decline and technology improves, renewable plus battery storage could become an alternative in the future, especially for new LNG plants.

MARKET UPDATES

Solar Capacity Momentum Dies Completely Post Covid in India

Two latest reports by independent research agencies in the Indian renewable energy segment have revealed that the first half of the year (H1 2020) only saw a total of between 1 GW and 1.3 GW of new solar installations in India. While the full year installations expected to reach 3.5 GW (4.5 GW with rooftop) to 4 GW (utility-scale plus rooftop) with a slight jump in installations in the second half of the year.

Solar Installations: The first report by JMK Research has reported that COVID-19 has ravaged installation numbers, with India is expected to commission only about 2.2 GW to 2.5 GW of new solar projects in the second half (H1) of the year. While also adding that the second half would almost double the installations reported in the first half, during which period India only managed to add about 1 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity, a 70 percent drop compared to the same period last year. Total utility-scale installations in the year are expected to reach 3.5 GW, according to the report. The numbers make sense, when one considers how leading developers like Azure Power have reported nil to minimal progress in April-June this year on their projects pipeline.

The second report by Mercom India Research, found that solar installations in the first half of 2020 totaled 1.016 GW (1.3 GW with rooftop installations), witnessing a 59 percent decrease compared to 3.2 GW (total) of capacity added in H1 of 2019.

The report goes on to add that it expects approximately 4 GW of solar to be added in 2020, which was the worst-case scenario laid out in its previous report.

Rooftop Solar: The JMK report also added that the rooftop solar industry is worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, and it has estimated that about 1 GW to 1.2 GW of total rooftop solar is likely to be added in the entire year, however, no numbers were provided for the installations so far in the half year analysis.

The Mercom report found that there were about 85 MW of rooftop solar installations, a decline of 56 percent compared to 194 MW installed in the last quarter, as rooftop installations declined by 71 percent compared to Q2 2019. However, the report has not presented with estimated installations in the segment for the entire year.

Pipeline: The JMK report details all the tenders and auctions issued and completed in the period, with Q2 2020 seeing 27 new tenders aggregating to a total capacity of 5.23 GW of new solar capacity tendered across utility solar, rooftop solar and floating solar segments. It further added that of the 5.23 GW tendered in Q2, 4.49 GW of tenders’ auction was completed; out of which about 4.48 GW was allocated. The report also stated that the current pipeline of projects stands at 47 GW while another 24 GW of projects are under bidding phase where

tenders have been issued but auctions are yet to complete. However, that’s for all solar, wind and hybrid projects.

The Mercom report also mentions that despite the decrease in solar installations, there are currently 41.7 GW of large-scale projects under development, “giving the industry a glimmer of hope for recovery.”

And that there are also another 32.4 GW of projects tendered and awaiting auction.

2021: The JMK report goes on to add that with the recovery in sight and industry picking up the lost pace, the solar installations in 2021 would bounce back from the slump caused

by COVID, and expects 7.7 GW of new solar installations to be added to the grid in the next year.

Mercom report does not include the predicted installations for the next year in its half-yearly analysis.

While the numbers are expectedly poor, care needs to be taken not to blame everything on COVID-19. The fact of the matter is, capacity additions, notwithstanding a bulging pipeline of tendered projects, were already in the slow lane, well before COVID-19 stuck. Installations have been on a downward curve since the peak in 2017, and 2020 has simply made it a steeper drop.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the appalling numbers in rooftop solar, where the target of 40 GW is a joke today. It will need strong policy interventions, as well as a major dent on the discom financial crisis to make things change there.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 37

EV UPDATES

Government Allows Sale and Registration of EVs Without Batteries

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India, has allowed for the sale and registration of electric vehicles (EVs) without pre-fitted batteries. In a letter to Transport Secretaries of all the States and UTs, the ministry has clarified that electric vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certificate issued by the Test Agency. The move has drawn criticism for the issues it creates. Further, there is no need to specify the Make/Type or any other details of the Battery for the purpose of Registration. However, the prototype of the electric vehicle and the battery (regular battery or the swappable battery) is required to be type approved by the test Agencies specified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. “The Government is striving to create an ecosystem to accelerate the uptake of electric mobility in the country. It is time to come together to work Jointly to achieve the broader national agenda to reduce vehicular pollution and oil import bill. This will not only protect the environment and reduce the oft import bill but also provide opportunities to sun rise industry,” the ministry issued in a statement. Furthermore, for the promotion of electrical two-wheelers and three-wheeler vehicles, there were recommendations brought to the notice of the Ministry to delink the cost of the battery (which accounts for 30-40 percent of the total cost) from the vehicle cost. Vehicles could then also be sold in the market without the battery. This will make the upfront cost of the electrical 2 wheeler (2W) and 3 wheelers (3W) to be lower than ICE 2 and 3W. The battery could be provided separately by the OEM or the energy service provider.

38 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

Allowing Sale of EVs Without Batteries not Well Planned: Mahindra Electric Mahindra Electric, the EV business of the Mahindra Group, has criticised the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’s (MoRTH) move to allow sale and registration of electric vehicles (EVs) without pre-fitted batteries, saying no country in the world allows such a system and the step has not been thought through. The government on August 12, 2020, allowed sale and registration of electric vehicles without factory-fitted batteries, which account for about 30-40 percent of the total cost of EVs, and also stated that the batteries can be provided separately by vendors and OEMs. “No country in the world allows registration of EV’s without battery.

We will explain the government that this notification has created confusion,” Mahindra Electric MD and CEO Mahesh Babu said in a statement. Further adding that up to the sale

of the vehicle, the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is responsible for the safety of the vehicle. For a vehicle that is tested, manufactured and sold as an integrated unit, the OEM is responsible for the warranty.

“Either charging or swapping is post-sale charge replenishing methods. Both can exist in the current framework. This move has not been thought through and the industry has not been consulted,” he added. While allowing registration of electric vehicles without prefitted batteries, MoRTH in a letter to Transport Secretaries of all the states and UTs had clarified that vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certificate issued by a ‘Test Agency’. The ministry had also stated that there is no need to specify the make/type or any other details of the battery for the purpose of registration.

technology in this country and now the idea is to make hydrogen fuel cell from biomass.

These are the different types of technology available and we must move to those which are indigenous, and we do not need imports.”

He further added “Government approach is to give support to all new technologies but Make In India is equally important. Our priority is particularly for Li-ion batteries.

Union Minister for Road Transport and We have already given two mines of Li-ion Highways, Minister of Shipping, and the to private people and expecting outcome Minister of Micro, Small and Medium soon. For diesel buses, the cost of fuel is Rs Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari believes India is 150/km but for e- buses it comes to Rs 50/ power surplus so the benefits of e-mobility km, so the capital cost is high, but fuel cost is solutions are very much in the interest of the low. For manufacturers, ‘Make in India’ and country. Speaking at the India e-mobility ‘Made in India’ is equally important, if you Conclave 2020 (IMC 2020) organised by the are importing materials from China and other India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). The countries and assembling that is not of use. minister said that there is a strong need to We need to find an indigenous solution and develop import-substituting, cost-effective, that is very important.” Mr Gadkari’s views indigenous, and pollution-free sustainable come at a time when power demand growth transportation systems in the country, and has refused to return to pre-Covid levels, one of the most important solution is public levels that in themselves were considered well transport on electricity. In his keynote address below projections. That has created a peculiar the minister went on to say that “presently situation power surplus in the country, with we are electric surplus, and we are planning high thermal and gas based power assets, to make generation through solar energy, making it even more difficult for state discoms we have tremendous potential through to commit to more renewable energy offtake. hydropower, wind power also has substantial A big spike in demand from e-mobility could potential, so power is not a problem. Presently, be very useful here, besides being better power is an alternative which is very cheap. for the environment and the country’s fuel We are also making this hydrogen fuel cell import bill.

India is Power Surplus, E-Mobility Solutions in Interest of the Country: Gadkari

EV UPDATES

Delhi’s 2020 EV Policy Sets The Benchmark For EV Push

The Delhi government has launched its new electric vehicle policy aimed at curbing pollution in the national capital, amongst the world’s most polluted cities, and also to create jobs and boost the local economy. For the past few years, Delhi has been facing a recurring problem with air pollution during winter with thick smog cover over many days. Experiments with curbs on vehicles on road with the oddeven rule, stopping all construction work and even banning bursting of crackers during Diwali have had limited effect.

At a presser in New Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that under the new policy, the government will waive registration fee, road tax, and provide an incentive of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for new electric cars and up to Rs 30,000 for e-rickshaws, electric two-wheelers, autos and freight vehicles. Most importantly, the state government incentives will be over and above the central government’s FAME II scheme, he said. The policy also has a scrapping incentive, a first in the country, for buying new electric vehicles where buyers can turn in their old petrol or diesel-run vehicles for a new electric vehicle. Incentives were also announced for commercial users who will get cheaper loans. The government will also install 200 new charging stations across the city and will also set up a dedicated EV cell to implement the new policy, Kejriwal said.

Terming the new policy as the most progressive policy in the country, Kejriwal also said that the policy is for three years and can be reviewed if necessary. “The policy aimed to register at least 25 percent electric vehicles by 2024, up from 0.2% currently,” he said.

Tender Issued for Supply of 50 Electric Buses in Assam The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has issued a request for proposal (RfP), inviting bids from eligible vendors/ Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) for the supply of 50 air-conditioned (AC) and non AC electric buses in the state.

The state has tendered for 40 AC electric buses and 10 non AC versions of similar buses. All the buses must have a seating capacity of 25, including the driver, and must have provisions for wheelchair accessibility.

The buses must come with a two-year or 200,000 km warranty with a five-year warranty on the battery. To be eligible for participating in the bidding process, the bidder shall be an OEM and must submit their experience details related to the supply of EV/Diesel/CNG vehicles in India. And the average annual turnover of the manufacturer during the last three financial year’s i.e.

2017- 18, 2018-19 & 2019-2020 shall not be less than Rs 50 crore. The bidders who fulfill

the technical specifications as required

by ASTC will have to conduct a trial run of the offered Electric bus or its base model variant for a period of minimum 2-3 days within the routes as may be finalised by ASTC during the trials. Successful trial run of the EV is mandatory to be declared as technically qualified and the financial bids of only the technically qualified bidders shall be evaluated. Furthermore, the bidder shall have local dealership support at Guwahati, Assam. The last date for submission of bids is September 1, 2020.

EV Chargers Mandatory for all Future Building Premises in Noida In a bid to promote the adoption and usage of electric vehicles (EV) in the state, the Uttar Pradesh Government has made it mandatory for all future big housing and commercial projects in the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida to have EV chargers on their premises.

In a mandatory provision added to the codes for building regulations, all big-ticket projects coming up on more than 5,000 sq. mt. land in Gautam Budh Nagar will now need to have charging stations on-premises.

CEO of the Greater Noida Authority Narendra Bhooshan told reporters that now on all the apartment complexes, commercial buildings, as well as IT parks seeking permission to develop 5,000 sq. mt. of land in Gautam Budh Nagar will be asked to make provisions for allowing the charging of electric vehicles. “In fact, we have already asked all the fuel and gas stations operating out of Greater Noida to see if it is feasible to add a charging station on their premises.

We have to create an ecosystem to promote

the usage of such vehicles in the next five years,” he said. According to a reports, the push for charging stations in the district came after the state industries department directed the CEOs of the three development authorities — Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway — to take steps to promote the Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Policy.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government launched its new electric vehicle policy with the aim of curbing pollution in the national capital, amongst the world’s most polluted cities, and also to create jobs and boost the local economy.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 39

EV UPDATES

Tata Motors Announces Monthly Subscription Model for its Nexon EV Tata Motors, one of India’s leading automobile manufacturers, has announced the launch of a first of its kind subscription model for electric vehicles (EV). Designed to make EVs more accessible to a rapidly growing base of future conscious citizens, the company is making available its flagship EV, the Tata Nexon at an all-inclusive fixed rental starting at just Rs 41,900 per month.

Discerning customers can select the tenure of their subscription from a minimum period of 18 months (Rs 47,900 pm) to 24 (Rs 44,900 pm) and 36 months (Rs 41,900 pm).

Through a collaboration with Orix Auto Infrastructure Services Limited, amongst India’s top leasing companies, this service is being offered in 5 major cities – Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, during the inaugural phase of the launch.

With no hassle of vehicle registration and

road tax, the entire process of subscribing to the Tata Nexon EV has been made seamless via end-to-end digital engagement.

Additional benefits include comprehensive insurance coverage, on-call roadside assistance plus free maintenance with periodic servicing and doorstep delivery.

Additionally, customers can have their own EV charger installed at their home or office, as convenient.

Post the tenure of their subscription, customers can either choose to extend it or just return the vehicle.

It must be noted here that the car retails for Rs 13.99 lakh – Rs 15.99 lakh upfront, and under the 36-month subscription model the users will pay a combined Rs 15.08 lakh over the three year period. After which they will have to return the vehicle. The 18 and 24 months model is worth 8-10 lakh for the duration of the subscription.

EVage Introduces India’s First HomeBuilt Exoskeleton Structure for EVs Mobility tech start-up firm EVage has introduced India’s first home-built ‘Exoskeleton Structure’ that will provide a common platform for the launch of electric vehicles (EVs) as SUVs, Vans, Delivery Vehicles and Trucks. The team believes their new product is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision Atma Nirbhar Bharat. The disruptive technology innovation, from which as many as seven different kinds of vehicles can be produced, has been put together by a special team including aeronautical engineers who have worked on manufacturing European supersonic planes and world-class missile propulsion systems. The team came together five years back with the aim of easing the pain of manufacturing electric vehicles and bringing them within the reach of the common man in India. “In these last five years of R&D, we have redefined the way 40 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

vehicles are built, we design our EVs like one would look at manufacturing aerospace structures, this is a key differentiator in our approach towards building a ‘new-age’ car company,” said Inderveer Singh, Founder & CEO, EVage. “Our differentiated approach is a result of the kind of team we built,” he said.

“Our team of highly specialised experts has proven the efficacy of this first-of-its-kind ‘Exoskeleton Structure’ in India. We have built our first vehicle in the logistics sector – a four-wheel commercial van that has done a test run of over 100,000 km,” added Singh.

EVage is a mobility tech start-up conceptualised in 2014 with the endeavour to disrupt the mobility industry. Its first product is in the 4 wheeler commercial vehicle segment. It currently employs around 30 people at its R&D centre in Mohali, India.

Mercedes-Benz and CATL Expand Partnership on EV Battery Technology Mercedes-Benz and Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) have entered the next stage of their strategic partnership and will create cutting-edge battery technology in support of the highvolume electrification of the MercedesBenz model portfolio.

The Stuttgart-based luxury carmaker is accelerating its “Electric First” strategy with advanced, CO2-neutrally produced battery cells, modules and systems supplied by CATL, a technology leader in lithium-ion batteries. The agreement covers the full range of battery technologies, from cells across modules for Mercedes-Benz Cars to entire battery systems for Mercedes-Benz Vans in promising innovative technology configurations. This also includes the CATL cell-to-pack (CTP) design, which eliminates conventional modules and integrates the cells directly into the battery.

“We intend to lead in battery technologies, so we are now combining our own research and development expertise with bold partners. We will integrate cutting-edge battery systems to create luxury cars with outstanding range, charging speed, safety and sustainability. Working with CATL will see us accelerate our transformation towards carbon-neutrality,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and MercedesBenz AG, responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO. “CATL will be a major supplier securing capacity for the next generations of our EQ products in the years to come. “ Through its strategic partnership with CATL, Mercedes-Benz will advance its development of current and future bestin-class lithium-ion batteries. The two partners have already started working on future battery generations to be introduced in a number of vehicles within the next few years. The clear goal is to shorten development cycles, significantly increase the ranges of future batteries through advances in energy density and reduce charging times.

STARTUP NEWS

ION Energy’s Data Analytics To Power 581 MWh esVolta Storage Project

Randolph Mann President & Founder esVolta

Lizette Moses

Director, Asset Management esVolta

Akhil Aryan

CEO and Co-Founder ION Energy

Mumbai-based battery management firm ION Energy has scored a major win for its data analytics platform, Edison Analytics. The firm has been selected by esVolta, a global utility scale energy storage company with a portfolio of battery energy storage projects across North America. ION Energy also develops infrastructure for EV's, besides battery storage.

The focus of this project will be on improving the efficiency of a total of 581MWh of battery storage for esVolta in North America.

ION Energy claims that its platform will save esVolta an estimated rupees three crore annually,on its contracted portfolio of 581 MWh of energy storage projects.

For ION Energy, its Edison Analytics is a battery analytics platform combining ION Energy's expertise in batteries with that in data analytic and cloud computing. The firm claims that unlike generic platforms, Edison is designed to improve operational efficiency of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by reducing battery degradation and maximizing energy trading revenues.

All batteries undergo ageing which reduces their capacity to supply energy to the grid, resulting in a decline in dispatch revenues for battery operators. Some ageing in batteries is cyclical and normal, however, abnormal ageing is detrimental to battery health and affects the profitability and reliability of the project.

Edison Analytics analyzes battery data and identifies the causes of abnormal degradation of the batteries. It simulates the batteries’ operational performance and suggests charging/discharging schedules that will result in minimum degradation of the batteries.

Additionally, the platform plugs into the energy market managed by the local Independent System Operator (such as California ISO) and helps BESS operators optimize their bidding strategy. By syncing between the optimum charging schedule and forecasting the best possible dispatches into the market, Edison Analytics will help BESS operators take data-driven decisions on timing and number of daily cycles to run.As part of a pilot study, Edison Analytics worked with the esVolta team on improving the efficiency of one of their sites, the Millikan BESS project - a 8 MWh battery system located in Irvine, California. Using the data from the site, it was able to simulate

the number of cycles the batteries could safely undertake per day without excessive degradation. Based on the pilot study, Edison Analytics estimates savings of Rs. 3,00,00,000 (Rupees Three Crore) annually for esVolta by reducing excess battery degradation through improved heating and discharge management. Seeing value in the platform, esVolta has decided to deploy Edison Analytics across their entire portfolio of energy storage systems across 10 locations in North America. Randolph Mann, President of esVolta, says, "Edison Analytics helps us keep an eye on the operational and financial performance of our portfolio. While scaling up, we felt the need for a data analytics platform that was developed, keeping the needs of a BESS business in mind, and that's where Edison fit in perfectly."

Lizette Moses, Director of Asset Management at esVolta, said, "We initially didn't see a need for complex analytics, but the business needs are changing. Not only is it important to optimize our bidding strategies, we need the ability to do so while protecting the health of our batteries. Edison helps us achieve this by simulating battery health under different dispatch conditions.”

Akhil Aryan, CEO & Co-founder, ION Energy on this landmark deal, said, "Battery storage is an emerging technology that is becoming an indispensable component in the energy market and will help generate renewable power on a much larger scale. We are elated to have partnered with esVolta and demonstrate Edison’s capability to improve the profitability of BESS. This partnership has offered us immense potential to grow and deliver the best solution in all the markets we serve. It bolsters our core offering and defines our leadership in the battery analytics space."

This partnership with esVolta is a significant milestone for ION Energy, proving the value of data analytics to developers of BESS in the US and around the world. Launched in September 2019, this is the biggest win by far for the Edison Analytics offering.

The deal with esVolta comes barely three years after ION Energy was launched. The firm had raised an indislosed amount of funding from senior professionals in multiple sectors at the time of launch, and also acquired a french battery management firm, Freemens SAS in February, 2018.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 41

INNOVATION UPDATES

Scientists Identify new Catalysts for More Efficient Hydrogen Electrolysis A team of scientists led by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has discovered the parameters that determine the efficiency of a class of low-cost catalysts called spinel oxides – a discovery that breaks a bottleneck in the extraction of hydrogen from water through electrolysis, the process of splitting water with electricity.

A major challenge of this process lies in the energy loss as the chemical reactions involved in water electrolysis take place, driving up the cost to produce hydrogen through this method. Catalysts are therefore necessary to speed up these chemical reactions. Spinel oxides, which are typically made of cheap transition metals, have garnered interest in recent years as a stable, low-cost catalyst that could overcome this challenge, but the design of high-performing spinel oxides has been hampered by the lack of understanding of how they work.

Now, NTU Singapore’s Associate Professor Jason Xu Zhichuan and his team have made two important advances. They have unravelled, at the atomic scale, how spinel oxides work to speed up water electrolysis. Primed with that new understanding, the team then used machine learning to select new spinel oxides with increased

catalytic activity, making water electrolysis more efficient.

The water electrolysis process takes place in an electrolyser, where two main chemical reactions take place as water is split: one results in hydrogen production, while the other leads to oxygen production and the two gases are kept separate by a membrane.

Based on key parameters that the team had identified, the team trained a machine learning model with a dataset of over 300 spinel oxides in order to screen and predict the efficiency of any spinel oxide catalyst in a matter of seconds. Using this method, the team found that a new oxide comprising manganese and aluminium was predicted to show superior catalytic activity. This was validated experimentally.

Design Breakthrough can Spur Advances in Solar Lasers and Hydrogen Generation Solar-pumped lasers convert sunlight into laser beams, which can be used to produce hydrogen—a clean type of fuel that can help to tackle the current environmental crisis.

But, these lasers usually require bulky optics and solar-tracking systems, which makes them inconvenient. Now, with the new developments and with its thickness of a few millimetres and great scalability, this design breakthrough may herald the widespread adoption of eco-friendly solar-driven lasers.

In spite of some progress in this field, all existing solar-pumped laser devices require large lenses or mirrors to concentrate as much sunlight as possible into a small area. In fact, the minimum threshold of solar light intensity that can generate a laser in existing devices is approximately 10,000 times that of natural 42 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

sunlight. In addition to the sheer bulkiness of the telescope-like lenses needed, complex solar-tracking mechanisms are required for these devices. To make things worse, these lasers cannot use diffuse sunlight, meaning that they would not work on cloudy days at all. These serious limitations have greatly hindered the adoption of solar-pumped lasers.

Fortunately, in an effort to revolutionise this field, a team of scientists from Toyota

Motors and Tokai University, Japan, led by Dr. Masamori Endo, have recently published a study in Communications Physics on their latest development: a fully planar solarpumped laser. This solar-pumped laser does not require complex light-concentrating systems and—by virtue of being fully planar and having a thickness of only a few millimeters—can be easily deployed like traditional solar cells.

INNOVATION UPDATES

NMAMIT Team Transforms ICE Vehicle to Electric Vehicle A team of students and teachers of the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering at the NMAM Institute of Technology (NMAMIT) in Karnataka have transformed a petrol-based internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle into a pollution-free, energy efficient & eco-friendly Electric Vehicle.

The power electronic converters designed and developed by the team successfully drive the electric motor and charge the battery array of the vehicle.

NMAMIT principal Niranjan N Chiplunkar launched the electric car at the campus recently and appreciated the efforts of the team.

Project Mentor, Dr. Suryanarayana K, Professor, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering explained that a microcontroller unit designed and developed in the research and innovation centre of the institute controls the electric vehicle with Semikron power electronic stack, an array of 25 batteries of 12V, 45Ah each, and a three-phase 7.5HP induction motor.

The team has not only developed a microcontroller system with algorithms and required controls, but also has designed a battery charging circuitry. Consistent endeavours of the team for about nine

months in converting the engineering theory into practice resulted in the successful execution of the electric vehicle with a peak speed of 50 kph and estimated the distance of 80 kms with the batteries fully charged.

IIT Kharagpur Team Awarded for Generating Power From Wet Clothes A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Kharagpur has been conferred with the ‘Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award 2020’ for clean energy research for their work on developing a mechanism for generating power from wet clothes left under sunlight to dry. Another team from the institute was separately granted the same award for addressing the problem of energy conservation and thermal management in wearable and flexible electronic devices.

IIT Kharagpur Director Prof Virendra Tewari said, “we still have sectors which need sourcing and efficient management of clean energy to meet our augmented power requirements, even in the remote areas.”

The spokesperson of IIT KGP said that Professor Suman Chakraborty, Professor Partha Saha and Dr. Aditya Bandopadhyay from the Department of Mechanical Engineering have been awarded for their work – “Electrical power generation from wet textile”. While Professor Sunando Dasgupta and his team from the Department of Chemical Engineering have also been awarded for their work – “Smart, flexible, and multi-functional thermal and energy management systems for next-generation

electronic devices”. The novelty of the first innovation, the nano- electricity generator, is in its frugal means instead of energy harvesting from complex resources, the spokesperson said. The device has been tested in a remote village where around 50 wet clothes were left for drying by washermen. These clothes were connected to a commercial supercapacitor which discharged electricity of around 10 volt. This

stored energy is enough to glow a white LED bulb for more than an hour.

“The clothes we wear are made from cellulose-based textile which has a network of nano-channels. Ions in saline water can move through this interlace fibrous nano-scale network by capillary action inducing an electric potential in the process,” explained the researchers from the department of mechanical engineering.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 43

OPINION UPDATES

Explaining India’s 175 GW Renewables Target.

The Big Change Making It Possible Over the last few months, Mr. R.K Singh, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, has faced what must seem like a tiring question to him. He has been asked about the impact on India’s ambitious renewable energy targets for 2022, be it from the safeguard duty issues in 2018, issues linked to the GST disruption in 2017, or the plain cussedness of India’s famous bureaucracy, besides the vindictiveness of a key state government and payment delays by discoms. These are issues that have tangled up many renewable energy projects and firms too. Through it all, Mr Singh has remained steadfast in his message. The 175 GW target will be met, and met in time. The only ‘concession’ during this time that the MNRE has clarified on is that 2022 means December 2022.

So why the skepticism around the number? Why have industry analysts practically moved on to the period beyond 2022 already?

It is important to close this issue formally. This is important, purely from the perspective of the solar and wind energy sectors, the two sectors that offer the highest potential, and have the most to lose in the new scheme of things.

Lets’ start with the original 175 GW target. The good news is, the target was always considered an ambitious ‘stretch’ target, seen more as a government challenging itself and industry to get there. Incredibly, when Prime Minister Modi first announced the target back in 2015, even he may not have imagined how quickly things would change on the ground to make this a real possibility, for a while at least. From a drop in equipment and material prices, to a strong global and private sector interest, it all came together to enable the country’s solar and wind sector actually dream about getting close. Till a combination of all of the challenges highlighted above laid them low. So why is the minister adamant that the 175 GW number will be met? Large Hydro. The original target was broken down by the MNRE itself as made of 100 GW Solar (with 40 GW of rooftop solar within that), 60 GW of wind energy, 10 GW of bio mass powered RE, and finally, small hydro, which was Hydro under 5 MW of capacity.

Large hydro changes the picture completely.

Sometime in 2019, India quietly followed the rest of the world and started counting large hydro too, in the new number crunching. Something analysts and other industry watchers, especially in the solar and wind energy sectors are loathe to do yet. While large Hydro was ostensibly added to support the sale of the power from some of the larger plants plants, by making their power sales eligible under the Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation (RPO) of discoms, thankfully a separate category for solar has also been created. This has added the heft of a power source with close to 45 GW of existing capacity to the mix, with a further 15 GW under construction. And thereby hangs the tale.

The Hydro addition makes the achievement of the 175 GW target almost a certainty. In Solar , 34 GW is already up and running, with a further 24 GW in the pipeline(under 44 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

construction or beyond PPA signing stage), with a possible 24 GW likely to be bid out by 2022. With wind expected to end up at around 45 GW by 2022 end, that means Solar will end up at just around 60 GW, a number that is eminently doable. While covering up for the massive expected failure of rooftop solar, which had a share of 40 GW out of 100 GW, and is likely to end up at under 10 GW now.

So who takes the hit here? It is obvious that Wind Energy, which has truly struggled for the past two years, has been hit. Solar, which has received a lot of support, especially in the past 12 months after slipping off the growth horse from 2018 onwards, still has enough momentum behind it. That might even explain the delay in the widely expected announcement of basic customs duties on solar imports from China, as the ministry grapples with the impact it could have on projects in the pipeline, and the final cost of solar power in the future. After all, the lower prices are the biggest reason why utility solar eventually made its own case and attracted investments.

Many environmentalists will tell you that the biggest hit has been taken by the environment and ecology of many areas where the country remains bent on making large hydro projects, despite a very questionable record if Hydro costs and success. But that’s a separate story altogether.

Like any excellent salesman selling a rosy future over a troubled present, the government has already started talking about the target for 2030, an even more daring 450 GW, this time in the hope that domestic manufacturing will rise to the occasion by 2022-23 to make the next part of the journey more acceptable.

With the buffer of large hydro factored in, there was a time last year when even 225 GW was spoken of as the 2022 target, but that has tailed off after the sharp drop in both solar and wind additions.

In any case, the 2030 target certainly looks doable, if we follow the same tactics as those fir 2022. There is a solid 63 GW of carbon free nuclear capacity that is targeted by then.

OPINION UPDATES

Renew-SECI Tussle At CERC Indicates Further Trouble For Wind Energy

India’s wind energy sector has been stuttering, even as solar has managed to escape the worst of the slowdown blues. So much so that multiple developers that were invested in growing both Wind and Solar energy projects, have quietly moved away almost exclusively to solar now, other than the odd Hybrid project that comes up.

An indicator of this trend is a recent case that came up at CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission), where ReNew Wind Energy (TN) Private Limited (Renew) has pitched to prevent the encashment of its bank guarantees by SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), for a wind power project that is still stuck in Tamil Nadu.

Renew Power has cited force majeure clause to cancel the project. The project, part of the fourth tranche of SECI auction for 2,000 MW of wind power held in April 2018, when the second lowest wind tariff of Rs 2.51/unit was discovered.

Ever since, it has been stuck due to multiple force majeure events, according to Renew

Power’s contention. According to the petition, these have ranged from (i) delay in allocation of revenue land for the Project, (ii) delay in commissioning of transmission system, (iii) delay in adoption of tariff on the part of SECI, and (iv) outbreak of Covid-19, have delayed the Petitioner’s Project for more than 20 months and the said delays are continuing till date. Accordingly, on 26.7.2020, Renew has terminated the PPA on account of these ‘force majeure’ events.

SECI has predictably denied the invocation of force majeure, and stuck to its line that the bank guarantee should be encashed as the project has missed the SCOD) Scheduled Comissioning Date) as per the PPA. In fact, it has relied on an SC judgement to claim that “With regard to invocation of Bank Guarantee, it is a well settled position of law that courts should not interfere with enforcement of bank guarantee except in cases where fraud or special equity is prima facie made out to prevent irretrievable injustice

to the parties”. Renew has disputed the application of the SC judgement in this case.

While this case is yet to reach a conclusion, it is no secret that the dice is loaded against the project itself progressing, not just because of the Corona pandemic right now, but also due to the changed situation on the ground. Not only is Tamil Nadu against further wind capacity addition, Renew itself is probably having strong second thoughts on the low tariffs that were a key reason for the project win, back in 2018.

SECI, facing long delays on over 40 percent of the projects bid out since 2018, faces a tough choice. Even though it has offered some sort of mediation if Renew does not act unilaterally, chances are that the discussions will be too complicated to ensure a fruitful result, in the form of a viable project at the end of it all. Expect many such cases to make it to the CERC in the coming months, especially for the bids in the range of Rs 2.44 to Rs 2.55 per unit.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 45

OPINION UPDATES

With SGD Extended by 1 Year, Manufacturer’s Eye BCD Announcement in August

Following the recommendations of the DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) late in July, the government has formally notified the extension of the Safeguard Duty (SGD) by a year on Chinese origin solar equipment. The extension, till July 29, 2021, seeks to protect Indian manufacturers from alleged dumping by Chinese firms. Interestingly, there is no mention of Malaysia in the new notification, a country that was specifically included along with China in the previous run of SGD. The new duty level is 14.9 per cent on imports from July 30, 2020 to January 28, 2021, before it is reduced to 14.5 percent for the remaining period of six months. The duty applies only to solar modules and cells.

The extension has been a bit of a surprise, as industry was widely expecting SGD to be retired, in favour of BCD, or basic customs duties. For now, it does seem like the two duties will run concurrently for one year, 46 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

although, the BCD will be much lower than was demanded probably. The SGD , which was introduced in 2018 with a graded reduction over two years from 25 percent to 15 percent, has been widely panned as being ineffective. in meeting its objectives of stimulating domestic manufacturing.

With no BCD announcement made till the time of filing on August 20, it is clear that the government is grappling with the consequences of each decision carefully now.

Even the current extension for one year is a little surprising in that respect, and perhaps indicates a desire to keep BCD levels at a low enough rate in year 1, while offering extra protection via the SGD route for year 1 to domestic firms looking to establish manufacturing facilities. Over 10 GW of manufacturing plans have already been announced by major domestic players, ranging from Renew Power, to Adani Solar,

to Vikram Solar and Azure Power and even Tata Power.

Keep in mind that power minister R.K. Singh, while indicating a BCD level of 20-25 percent in industry interactions over the past month and more, has also made it clear that BCD levels would rise after year 1. That will provide for the time taken to set up domestic manufacturing, as well as closure of projects where PPA’s have already been signed. The existing pipeline of solar projects under implementation is well over 20 GW, in terms of actual project execution stage.

While another 16-20 GW plus has been allotted after bidding.

The extension notice also omits mention of any “grandfather clause”, which would have allowed developers to claim the difference in costs arising from the duty, on equipment prices when they signed their PPA’s till now.

Expect a clarification on this issue when the BCD notification comes..

OPINION UPDATES

5 Reasons Why Rooftop Solar Needs to Make The Technology Jump India’s ambitious solar targets of 100 GW by 2022, and 450 GW by 2030, are largely built around massive ramp ups in large scale deployments, or ‘utility scale’ solar. These comprise designated solar parks, even ultra large parks, and other hundred MW plus installations that will feed into the grid directly. But the country has a clear problem. The whole focus on going large was driven by expected economies of scale, and consequently, lower costs per unit of power. Quite simply, that might have built us one of the world’s largest and possibly most outdated solar capacity network so far. Based on polycrystalline solar for instance, even as the rest of the word moves on to Mono Perc and beyond. Rooftop Solar, on the other hand, is a whole new world, with completely different requirements. Be it comparisons with expensive grid power, or space constraints, its role as a primary or supplementary energy source, or the owners own investment into the plant, thinking short term here is a recipe for disappointment here. We list down 5 reasons why you should be looking hard at module technology first when it comes to your rooftop requirements.

1. Rooftop Solar is not Stifled With Price ‘Ceilings’. While a large part of the residential rooftop segment is wedded to a controlled pricing regime due to its linkage with central subsidies and state agencies that approve vendors, a significant part, the commercial and industrial segment (C&I), is free of such controls.

Here, decisions are being taken today on cold numbers, and solar is still winning regularly, thanks in no part to very high grid tariffs for this consumer. With better prices and models like RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) or opex, it has been in the interest of developers to make quality a key factor when it comes to modules, and that has shown in the results.

2. It can actually support domestic upgrades. The FAME 2 guidelines for electric vehicles is a case in point. By shifting subsidies towards lithium ion batteries from regular lead acid batteries in electric vehicles, it has forced domestic industry to start the shift faster. Rooftop solar subsidies too need to nudge buyers towards a technology upgrade, from polycrystalline modules to newer versions. If that means a pause in lowering of rates, it is a worthwhile investment for long term energy production during the service life of PV plants. Most importantly, it will give domestic manufacturers a bigger market to target, and consequently invest in a product upgrade themselves. This will also mean that we are in line with the rest of the world where the Residential and commercial segment has already adopted newer technologies like bifacial modules, for instance.

3. The 25 year life acquires real meaning here. In developed markets, a solar rooftop is supposed to add to the real estate value of the house. In India, owners need to see it as an appreciating asset, that can actually generate higher returns YoY considering the upward, trajectory of grid power costs.

Performance degradation in residential rooftop has regularly outstripped utility scale plants, for reasons related to subpar quality of equipment and installation. Studies done by PV Berlin, or the IIT Mumbai backed NCPRE both point to a massive gap in the quality

of installations across the country. That kind of short term thinking needs to be junked.

4. The current component manufacturers have cleverly pivoted the discussion around Wp, where higher is better. Whereas, for a rooftop owner, the discussion needs to go from buzzwords like Wattpeak (WP)of the module- what matters is how the modules are performing in real-conditions backed by real data from ground and what is the PR i.e Performance ratio and energy density. In this case, it is the owners own money at risk, itself a strong case to consider quality with a critical eye.

5. Future Proof against forced upgrades. For a 25 year investment, it is critical to go with technology and service standards that can deliver. Firms offering a high level of service support backed by a real record on the ground are signalling their commitment to the market. Go with those.

International manufacturers like the REC Group, a Norway-based firm have built their whole model on this assumption in India, where they focus exclusively on the commercial and industrial segment. The firm, which builds its full line of products completely in Singapore, has shifted to next-generation technologies like HJT (heterojunction technology) in their panels, to stand out from the crowd with discerning customers. According to Rohit Kumar, Head of Indian Subcontinent (REC Solar), “HJT or heterojunction technology has been around for some time, but what we have done is that we have adopted it and commercialised it. It’s incredibly innovative as it builds upon the proven track record of thin-film and N-type Mono cells- combining both of these to give you an end product which not only gives you higher energy output but the energy yield is consistently high throughout the 25 years lifetime, and therefore a very good ROI for a homeowner or business who is looking for maximising the output and potential of their rooftops.

You can not only power more panels in your existing space but also have a much lower degradation with modules performing at 92% at the end of 25 years. With REC we back this with an unparalleled product warranty of 25 years along with Labour warranty and performance warranty- giving you a complete peace of mind” At just over 5.5 GW today, rooftop solar in India has a long runway to 40 GW, its original target for 2022. To truly take off, its customers need to make the right choices now.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 47

WEEKLY TOP X SERIES

India’s Top 5 Power Producers And their Renewable Energy Plans In the broader developed economies, the push for renewable energy has already gone well past the stage for policy pushes, with many firms and power producers making decisive, long term shifts even as pressure, both public and from the government, still builds up.

That is one reason why coal fired plants are shutting down faster than most experts had projected 5 years back.

Driven both by falling renewable energy prices and higher costs/ penalties for pollution and handling coal, the shift has been remarkable, and still building pace. It seems absolutely safe to say that if not 2030, by 2040 definitely almost every developed country in the G 20 would be primarily green power driven. Even China, which along with India, burns and has plans to keep burning coal for a long time yet, might make a faster transition if some of the nuclear power improvements hit the market quickly enough.

But the story in India is quite different. With an energy sector that is still massively coal powered, we decided to look at India’s top 5 power producers, spread across the public and private sector, and all listed in the stock markets, to see just where they stand with their renewable energy plans. Keep in mind that sluggish growth in overall demand, plus the covid impact, besides the support for the coal sector makes it a much tougher call than most other markets to shift to renewable energy in India, even today.

Interestingly, each of these firms have a play on the distribution (discom) side too, giving them a strong opportunity to consider expansion there, instead of renewable energy, as a couple seem to have decided. Even NTPC, which has hitherto stayed out of the distribution side,has thrown its hat into the ring for a possible entry with a buyout of the Delhi discoms. But that’s a story for anther day.

For now, lets look at the list.

Starting off at the top of the list is NTPC Limited, the largest by far.

Currently, With a total installed capacity of 62910 MW, NTPC Group has 70 Power stations comprising of 24 Coal, 7 combined cycle Gas/Liquid Fuel, 1 Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 Subsidiary & JV Power Stations. But it is the future where NTPC makes for interesting reading.

While it has not formally announced a complete halt to its coal 48 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

expansion, it has given enough indications that it wont be adding any fresh coal capacity plans for its future capacity additions.

Instead, NTPC has gone ahead and announced its ambition to add 10 GW of solar energy capacity by 2022.That’s a massive jump over its 920 MW capacity right now. It also has a long term plan to become a 130 GW company by 2032 with 30 per cent non-fossil fuel or renewable energy capacity. That’s close to 40 GW of renewable capacity.

NTPC is well placed to achieve those numbers, as the renewable energy implementing agency appointed by the MNRE to facilitate the application of connectivity and long-term access (LTA) in the interstate transmission system network. That means, as an intermediary, it will procure power from renewable energy generating stations and sell it to one or more distribution licensees too.

Following NTPC is the largest private sector power producer, the Adani Group. The group, present across the power sector be it thermal, renewables, manufacturing or transmission, is a power giant that can influence the renewables shift like few can in India.

With close to 14 GW of thermal capacity, the group declared 89 percent plant availability for the long term PPA’s linked to these, explaining just why it wont be getting out of thermal anytime soon. Group firm Adani Green Energy Limited is its big push into renewable energy, and by Q1 this year, it reported operational solar capacity of 2,198 megawatts.

Along with its operational wind capacity of 247 MW at the end of June, AGEL had total renewable capacity of 2,595 MW for the first quarter of fiscal 2021. That’s an impressive number by any stretch, especially when you add its recent win for 8000 MW solar capacity.

Besides that, it already had a total of 11,395 MW capacity under implementation, 8,425 MW of which is solar PV capacity, 1,280 MW is wind capacity while the remaining 1,690 MW is hybrid wind and solar capacity.

At 1690 MW, it claims to have the largest hybrid renewable (solar and wind) portfolio in India. Add to this mix its leadership in solar cell and module manufacturing, and the group is a very formidable

WEEKLY TOP X SERIES In doing so, it has brought in its experience as a generator as well as distributor of power in key Indian metros to the rooftop solar segment. It also has a small manufacturing capacity for 400 MW of modules and 300 MW of solar cells, most of which is used for internal consumption. Expect a possible expansion here too.

It has also opened up opportunities in solar pumps, a key growth market, besides solar microgrids where its firm – TP Renewable Microgrid Limited (TPRML), in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation is the world’s largest microgrid developer and operator.

Tata power also remains the only top power producer which has made an unequivocal commitment to renewable energy, by announcing a decision to move away from fresh thermal capacity creation. It is also dabbling in battery storage and electric charging, thanks to its distribution reach, through joint ventures or own efforts in these sectors. Dogged by its poor experience at its largest and most ambitious 4000 MW coal power station at Mundhra, the firm seems to be a full convert to the renewable economy, and can be expected to back it strongly. presence indeed in the future of renewable energy in India.

Of course, the big mystery with the group remains its attachment to coal, especially Australian coal, where it has made a huge bet in Queensland’s Carmichael mines, coal from where will be imported by 2021 end presumably. Especially at a time when fresh power demand can easily be met by renewable energy capacities coming up, or coal sourced domestically from an under performing Coal India limited. However, with a stated ambition to become the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the largest renewable power company by 2030, the Adani group continues to ensure that it sets the direction, and does not follow others, in renewable energy now.

India’s Big 5 Company

Revenues (cr, 2019-20)

Total Capacity (MW)

Renewable (MW)

NTPC

1,00,478

62910

920

Adani Group*

30471

15,000

2595

Tata Power

28948

12742

2637

JSW Energy

8559

4559

10

Torrent Power

13641

3879

787

As of May, 2020. Figures for Adani Group have been combined for Adani Power and Adani Green Energy Limited.

The third largest power producer is the venerable Tata Group’s Tata Power. The 105 year old firm, together with its subsidiaries & jointly controlled entities, has an installed capacity of 12,742 MW. With clean and green including renewable energy assets including solar and wind accounting for 36% of the company’s portfolio at 3883 MW, This has 932 MW Wind, & 1705 MW Solar.

The firm has also made by far the most aggressive push into rooftop solar too, across residential, institutional and commercial segments.

Following closely in the list is JSW Energy, from the Jindals. JSW Energy, which has been in the news recently for backing out from a deal to acquire GMR Energy’s thermal plant, currently has an installed generating capacity of 4,559 MW, out of which 3,158 MW is thermal power, 1,391 MW is hydropower and 10 MW solar power.

While the GMR buy would have added 1050 MW to its portfolio, the thermal addition would have made the firm look even more incongruous in the list of top power producers and their renewable plans. In its 2019 annual report, the company has cited its strong balance sheet to highlight its plans to grow its power portfolio to 10 GW, with incremental additions to primarily come from renewable energy opportunities that it spots. Whether that means acquisitions of existing assets, or fresh capacity build up, only time will tell.

Finally, we have Torrent Power from the Gujarat based Torrent group. The firm is an interesting firm in the sense that it has a high share of gas based power generation, that it counts as clean energy too. So out of the 3879 MW of capacity it has, it claims that only 10 percent is coal based, while 70 percent is gas based (2730 MW), with renewable energy making up the remaining 20 percent (787 MWSolar 138 MW, Wind-648 MW)).

Interestingly, the firm hasn’t yet had a very fulfilling experience with its renewable energy forays, with its 2019 report declaring that 615 MW of renewable energy projects under development are likely to be abandoned due to unforeseen issues, including land allotment.

The firm has put a pause on its bidding for fresh renewable projects accordingly, focusing instead on possible investments into solar and wind projects to service Renewable Purchase Obligations of its distribution entities.

Especially in key cities in Gujarat, its home state where it holds distribution licenses for industrial cities including the capital Ahmedabad, besides Surat and Dahej. it also holds licenses for Bhiwandi in Maharashtra and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

In this report, we have kept out NHPC Limited, India’s largest hydro Power based firm, which has an installed capacity of over 6.7 GW. As its mandate is primarily Hydro based, we decided to keep it out for now, although even NHPC, through the intermediary route, has diversified into Solar power with its recent 2 GW ISTS connected auction.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 49

MILESTONE UPDATES

Maharashtra has Achieved 9.7 GW of its 22 GW by 2022 RE Target Maharashtra has a renewable energy potential of 75 GW, which is 8.3 percent of the country’s total potential. As per the state’s National Electricity Plan 2018, Maharashtra has a renewable energy target of 22 GW to be achieved by 2022. And, as of June 2020, the state has an installed renewable energy capacity of 9.7 GW, as per the latest report issued by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). 9.7 GW/ 22GW is a number capable of diverse opinions, as some (notably the authors of the report) believe that it highlights the need for a strong policy and investment drive to achieve the target, while others might see it as glass half full situation with 44 percent of the target achieved with just over two years left on the target deadline. The report goes on to add that to promote the deployment of renewable energy in the state, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has, from time to time, set a renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target. And in the financial year 2018/19, the leading Discom in the state i.e. MSEDCL, which is also the largest in the country with a customer base

of 27 million, was short of its RPO target by 1.5 percent for solar and non-solar energy, respectively. It filled the gap by buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) worth Rs 150 crore.

The state announced an integrated Renewable Energy Policy in 2015, with a focus on developing renewable energy

capacity in the state. The policy also emphasised development of hybrid and distributed solar projects. The state has also been instrumental in the promotion of renewable energy by providing various incentives such as an exemption of electricity duty and a capital subsidy for selected technologies under this policy.

bp Shifts Focus; Planning for 50 GW Renewable Capacity by 2030 bp has introduced its new strategy that will reshape its business as it pivots from being an international oil company focused on producing resources to an integrated energy company focused on delivering solutions for customers.

Within 10 years, the firm aims to have increased its annual low carbon investment 10-fold to around USD 5 billion a year, building out an integrated portfolio of low carbon technologies, including renewables, bioenergy and early positions in hydrogen and CCUS. By 2030, it aims to have developed around 50 GW of net renewable generating capacity – a 20-fold increase from 2019 – and to have doubled its consumer interactions to 20 million a day.

Over the same period, its oil and gas production is expected to reduce by at least one million barrels of oil equivalent a day, or 40 percent, from 2019 levels. Its remaining hydrocarbon portfolio is expected to be more cost and carbon resilient. By 2030, the firm aims for emissions from its operations and those associated with the carbon in its upstream oil and gas production (addressed by Aim 1 and Aim 2 of its net-zero ambition) to be lower by 30-35 percent and 35-40 percent respectively. One interesting example is how, unlike Reliance in India, it plans to divest its chemicals portfolio at some stage in the future, soon.

The firm has also set out a new financial frame to support a fundamental shift in how it allocates capital, towards low carbon 50 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

and other energy transition activities.

“Energy markets are fundamentally changing, shifting towards low carbon, driven by societal expectations, technology and changes in consumer preferences. And in these transforming markets, bp can compete and create value, based on our skills, experience and relationships. We are confident that the decisions we have taken and the strategy we are setting out today are right for bp, for our shareholders, and for wider society,” said Helge Lund, chairman.

MILESTONE UPDATES

Danske Signs 15-Year PPA With World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Equinor’s energy trading arm – Danske Commodities has announced that it has signed a 15-year offtake power purchase agreement (PPA) with the world’s largest planned offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank.

Under the agreement, Danske Commodities will be responsible for the trading and balancing of 480 MW capacity of the project.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is owned by Equinor (50 percent) and SSE Renewables (50 percent) and is located 130 km off the coast of Yorkshire in the UK. With a total capacity of 3.6 GW, the project is set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm and will provide 4.5 million British households with renewable electricity.

The wind farm consists of three phases; Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C. Each phase accounts for 1.2 GW of the farm’s total capacity of 3.6 GW. Danske Commodities will offtake power from the first two phases, Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B. “Signing a long-term PPA with the world’s largest offshore wind farm cements Danske Commodities’ position as a leading energy

trading company. We are constantly growing our market position in the renewables space to support the energy transition with our expertise in trading and balancing,” said Danske Commodities’ CEO Helle Østergaard Kristiansen. This agreement adds to Danske Commodities’ growing presence in the PPA

market. Last year, the energy trader inked a 20-year PPA with Hywind Scotland wind farm (the world’s first floating wind farm), a 15-year PPA with Sheringham Shoal wind farm and a 15-year PPA with Dudgeon wind farm as part of a planned novation from owner Equinor.

Record Low Price in Latest Onshore Wind Auction in Greece In its latest onshore wind auction, Greece has awarded 20-year contracts for more than 472 MW of onshore wind energy projects, including one at a new record low price. Greek project developer Ascent Power was successful with its bid of EUR 53.86/MWh which now holds the record for the lowest ever bid in a Greek onshore wind auction. This bid, as per WindEurope, continues the latest cost reduction trend with the previous record also set in a wind energy tender concluded earlier in the year.

With a total of 15 projects awarded, the prices of all successful bids ranged between EUR 53.86/MWh and EUR 57.70/MWh with a weighted average of EUR 55.67/MWh. In terms of geographical distribution, most capacity was awarded to Arcadia in southern Greece (102 MW), followed by Boeotia in central Greece (94.5 MW), and Kozani in the north (81.6 MW). It has also been reported that the interest in the tender round was much greater than the last few rounds, with a total of 25 projects worth around 748 MW in generational capacity that were submitted in the bidding round.

This interest indicates a higher level of competition than in previous tenders. According to WindEurope’s latest publication “the impact of COVID-19 on Europe’s energy sector” Greece installed 287 MW of new capacity in the first six months of 2020. Total installations now stand at 3.9 GW. More than 14 percent of the European nations’

electricity demand was covered by onshore wind in the first half of the year. According to the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) it aims to increase its wind energy capacity to more than 7 GW and to reach a 35 percent share of renewables in final energy consumption by 2030.

Saur Energy International n August 2020 n 51

MILESTONE UPDATES

Portugal Solar Auction Sees 1 Rupee Barrier Broken Portugal, which held the title of the world’s lowest Tariffs at Rs 1.22 ($16.54/Mwh) approximately after the first round of its solar auctions last year, is set to break the 1 rupee barrier in the second round of auctions, results for which are to be announced today.

The earlier record had been eclipsed by Qatar’s 800 MW auction this year, when the lowest rate from a consortium of French energy major Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni, at a rupee rate equivalent to Rs 1.16 ( $0.1567/Kwh). Of course, since then, Abu Dhabi also saw a record low auction price of $0.0135/kWh (Rs 1 /Kwh) submitted by French energy group EDF and China’s JinkoPower in a 2 GW tender last month.

The current auction round in Portugal, for 700 MW, attracted 35 bids for the ten lots, with the final auction set to take place on August 24 and 25. This round was postponed twice due to the various reasons, including the Covid pandemic after March. It finally started in June this year.

News stories have already surfaced, claiming that the lowest bids received on August 24 have broken the previous record for large

scale solar, at $0.0132 (98 paise).

The Portugal auctions are part of plans to push for a PV expansion in installed capacity from 572MW (2018) up to 1.6GW (2021) and 8.1GW-9.9GW by 2030. The first round had a ceiling price of $50/MWh or Rs 3.70 at present exchange rates. The price cap for this round was $46.13/MWh, or Rs 3.42/Kwh. These auctions come with an interesting 15 year PPA structure, at the end of which developers can sell the power produced at merchant rates for the remaining 15 year life of the project. It is this second half of the project where calculations have been based, on getting an ‘in’ to the grid at these

low prices, to presumably recoup profits in the second half of the project life cycles.

That is one reason many analysts have called some of these bids ‘speculative’, although the government of Portugal is hardly complaining, as long as the projects come up. The main issue, as many developers in India will wistfully agree, is that there is a degree of certainty to government policy, capacity commitments and overall stability, once a bid is won. That gives long term planning of the sort done in these bids, a solid base to work on. Keep watching this space to get a final update on whether the 1 rupee barrier was finally broken !

Vestas Surpasses 1 GW Order Intake in China in 2020 With two new Orders Global wind major Vestas has announced that it has received two new orders for the supply of wind turbines for wind energy projects in China which have taken the manufacturers’ order intake in the country well over the 1 GW mark for the year 2020.

The first order is for the supply of turbines worth 101 MW for a project that includes the supply of 42 V120-2.2 MW wind turbines delivered in 2.4 MW Power Optimised Mode, as well as a 20-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement.

Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2020, with commissioning planned for the same quarter.

With this order, the firm reached an order intake in China in 2020 of more than 1 GW. The second order Vestas has received is for the supply of 150 MW of wind turbines for a 52 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

project in China. It includes the supply of 53 V120-2.2 MW in 2.4 MW Power Optimised

Mode and seven V155-3.3 MW turbines as well as a 5-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement.

With deliveries expected to begin in the third quarter of 2020, with commissioning planned for the same quarter.

This order took the order intake in the country to over 1150 MW for the year.

Recently, the firm issued its interim financial report for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2020. It has shown a strong performance in spite of a challenging environment, reporting that it generated revenue of EUR 3,541 million – an increase of 67 percent compared to the year-earlier period. The firm has also reintroduced its full-year guidance with an unchanged outlook for revenue of EUR 14-15 billion, and an updated EBIT margin before special items of 5-7 percent.

PRODUCTS SolarWindow Electricity-Generating Coatings PRODUCT BRIEF: The SolarWindow transparent electricity-generating coatings produce energy when exposed to sunlight, indoor light, low light, reflected light, and even shaded light sources. The firm recently released first-person video footage demonstrating its new, highly transparent electricity-generating glass using its coating.

PRODUCT FEATURES: Once the coating is applied in ultra-thin layers, ordinary glass becomes an electricity-generating SolarWindow. Nearly invisible wires transport the electricity to edge of the window, which can be routed to power devices, either directly from SolarWindow itself or through a building’s electrical system.

APPLICATION: Solar Power Generation PRODUCT BENEFITS: The potential applications for the product are limitless with uses for transparent electricity-generating coatings include building facades, balcony railings, curtain walls, skylights, and shading systems, as well as automotive, truck, marine and aircraft applications, various consumer products and military uses.

AVAILABILITY: The firm has officially released the product in August.

Solgaard Solar Boombox PRODUCT BRIEF: The Solarbank Boombox is a 3-in-1: Powerbank, Bluetooth Speakers, and Solar powered unit. It can charge your phone, play your music and can be topped up with natural solar light when outside.

PRODUCT FEATURES: The Boombox battery contains enough charge in one cycle to charge a mobile phone five times, or 90 hours of music via Bluetooth. The 10,000 mAh battery takes 4 hours of charge in sunlight to power one phone.

APPLICATION: Power bank and Music Speaker PRODUCT BENEFITS: The Solarbank boombox can be charged using micro-USB, or let it bask in the sun to top it up using its solar panels. 1 hour of sun = 2 hours of music. The product is also compatible with the firms’ Lifeback backpacks.

AVAILABILITY: The product is available for purchase on select e-commerce websites and the firms’ website and retails for ~ USD 125 dollars

EyeCube Solar-Powered Wireless Security Camera PRODUCT BRIEF: For both indoor and outdoor use, the EyeCube solar-powered security camera which boasts of 1080p HD vision, very easy installation and portability because of its miniature size equivalent to an apple.

PRODUCT FEATURES: The camera is 100 percent wire-free and is able to absorb sunlight 270° with easy installation and uninstallation. Fully charged, the built-in 3000 mAh battery allows the camera TO work well for more than 3 months without any cable charging. And it can absorb sunlight and transfer to about 10% (100-400mAh) of the electricity per day.

APPLICATION: Security Camera PRODUCT BENEFITS: The camera also has the PIR low consumption mode, it allows the camera to only be activated when something appears within the capture range, and only consumes 30-40 mAh per day.

AVAILABILITY: The product is in the fundraising phase and will be launched officially soon.

54 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

PRODUCTS Harbor IP65 Wireless Solar Power Bank PRODUCT BRIEF: The waterproof Harbor wireless solar power bank comes with an IP65 rating and a massive 30,000 mAh battery that can charge 6 devices simultaneously.

PRODUCT FEATURES: The Harbor 3.6x faster PD 3.0 port, built-in Solar Charger, 10W Wireless Charger, 30 hours LED Light, and SOS Flashlight, which makes it a great everyday power companion anytime anywhere.

APPLICATION: Power bank PRODUCT BENEFITS: Dust proof and water proof the product is designed to be portable and essential for adventures. The integrated solar panels on the device are capable of charging the battery and the flashlight for up to 30 hours. The product can also be paired with a 10 W foldable solar panel to recharge the battery faster.

AVAILABILITY: The product in the fundraising phase but product deliveries of the first batch have begun, retailing for Rs 5300.

HSBC ‘Green Deposit’ for Corporates PRODUCT BRIEF: HSBC has launched its Green Deposit product in India for its corporate clients. The first-of-its-kind product for the Indian market, the Green Deposit will enable the bank’s clients to support greener more sustainable projects.

PRODUCT FEATURES: The fixed tenure deposits through the product will go towards financing eligible businesses and projects that promote the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable economy.

Like any other deposit, it will offer stable and pre-agreed returns.

APPLICATION: Green Energy Financing Term Deposit PRODUCT BENEFITS: The money collected under the product will be exclusively used to finance green initiatives such as renewable energy, clean transportation, green building, sustainable water, etc. Corporates looking for the inclusion of sustainability agenda into their treasury activities or those that have limited opportunities for investment in environmentally beneficial projects can find this product relevant AVAILABILITY: The term deposit is available for corporate client of the bank.

Slim Smart Wallet with Solar and USB Recharge PRODUCT BRIEF: The Slim smart wallet is the World’s first wallet that comes with solar and USB recharge and two way tracking for phones OR wallet.

PRODUCT FEATURES: The wallet has a RFID chip that is used for the two way tracking of the users phone or the Walter itself. The wallet comes with a retrofitted panel that can be used to power devices like mobile phones, bluetooth headphones on the go with the use of sunlight.

APPLICATION: Wallet/ Wireless Power Source PRODUCT BENEFITS: Solar Wallet is a modern interpretation of the classic bi-fold wallet, providing +10 extra hours of charge and tracking features when you need them most. And most importantly: without taking up any of your personal space.

AVAILABILITY: The product has been backed by 1421 people’ investing’ USD 177,151 for the project, and the product is now available for preorder.

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OPPORTUNITIES Team Lead - Application Engineer at Siemens Limited Siemens Limited (India) focuses on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalisation in the process and manufacturing industries. The firm is looking for a candidate for the position of team lead application engineer.

approval requests; • Assist in asset and portfolio valuations; • Ability to liaise on behalf of the company with external parties such as transaction advisors, lenders, due diligence consultants, OEMs and other such parties; and • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Eligibility Criteria: • Business, Finance or related course graduate • CFA, MBA, Master’s in Finance, etc. would be an advantage Job Description: • Up to 5 years of overall work experience. Minimum 1 to 3 years • Technical evaluation of customer’s specification during sales rigorous financial / investment modelling experience is a must. support and project execution.

• Project finance modelling experience of 1 to 2 years for power / • Technical document preparation and approval from customer infrastructure sector will be preferable • Engineering and modeling of network in EMS, ADMS and AGC in • Understanding of power sector in India preferably renewables Spectrum products market • Preparation and execution of Factory Acceptance Tests, Site • Knowledge on Accounting, Finance, Capital Structure & Acceptance test and customer approval Valuation • Delivering the training in Spectrum product applications to customers Apply here: https://www.venaenergy.com/all_careers/investment• Testing of features and reporting the bugs in Clear Quest tool senior-associate/ • Coordination with SAG Head Quarter for bug fixing, explaining the project specific requirements Staff Technical Product Manager at • Preparing customer demos for supporting sales team GE Renewable Energy • Technical discussions with customer to understand the GE Renewable Energy is a USD 15 billion business which combines requirements and convincing customer to adopt to Siemens one of the broadest portfolios in the renewable energy industry to specifications provide end-to-end solutions for our customers demanding reliable and affordable green power. The firm is looking for a candidate for Eligibility Criteria: • M.Tech in Power Systems and B.E./B.Tech in Electrical Engg with the position of staff technical product manager.

9-10 years of relevant experience.

Job Location: Karnataka • Strong power system knowledge and fundamentals.

• Good knowledge in SQL queries and SQL developer and Job Description: ability to analyze and write the C, C++, Fortran, Python, perl • Technical Lead for Renewable Intelligent Process Automation programmes.

(RPA, Chat Bot, Process mining) and next gen (AI, Voice & Text • Enthusiastic about latest trends in power systems and emerging recognition) technologies like electrical vehicles, renewable energy, energy • Be the Subject Matter Expert for new technologies including but conservation and etc. not limited to RPA, Chatbot & Automatic Speech Recognition.

• Knowledge in operating practices in electrical Utilities.

• Lead and coordinate the domain technical and business discussions relative to future architecture direction across the Apply here: https://jobs.siemens.com/jobs/206481?lang=en-us product portfolio or product line.

• Analyze design and develop a roadmap and implementation plan Investment Analyst at Vena Energy based upon a current vs. future state in a cohesive architecture (Senior Associate) viewpoint. Review and/or analyze and develop architectural Vena Energy is a leading independent power producer (IPP), requirements at domain level within product portfolio or team; and renewable energy developer in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Development: act as a member of Automation CoE Team Headquartered in Singapore, its portfolio consists of solar energy representing the face of high-quality design and development and wind energy assets producing over 11-gigawatts in operation, practices (especially with Third party partners) construction and development. The firm is s looking for a candidate for the position of Investment Analyst (Senior Associate).

Eligibility Criteria: • B.S. Degree in Computer Science or in “STEM” Majors Job Location: Delhi • Minimum 2 years of professional experience.

• Strong programming skills.

Job Description: • Experience and expertise of the Agile methodologies (e.g., • Develop and maintain financial models to support investment Scrum, Kanban, etc.) and financing decisions; • Prepare detailed investment documents and investment Apply here: https://invent.ge/32aP4pw Job Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra

56 n August 2020 n Saur Energy International

EVENTS THE 15TH ASIASOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INNOVATION EXHIBITION & COOPERATION FORUM website : www.asiasolar.net START DATE : 03-SEP- 2020 END DATE : 04-SEP- 2020

Location : Hangzhou, China Phone : +86 512 53986898

RENEWX 2020 website : www.renewx.in START DATE : 04-SEP-2020 END DATE : 05-SEP-2020

Location : Hyderabad, India Phone : +91 98707 46073

E-mail : intl@pgo-china.com

E-mail : sheetal.rathod@ubm.com

SNEC 14TH (2020) INTERNATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION AND SMART ENERGY

6TH SMART CITIES INDIA 2020 EXPO

website : www.snec.org.cn

START DATE : 10-OCT-2020 END DATE : 12-OCT-2020

Location : Shanghai, China Phone : +86 21 33685117

website : www.solarindiaexpo.com START DATE : 20-OCT-2020 END DATE : 22-OCT-2020

E-mail : info@snec.org.cn

E-mail : ravim@eigroup.in

THE 12TH CHINESE RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

PV OPERATIONS USA 2020

website : www.crecexpo.com START DATE : 04-NOV- 2020 END DATE : 06-NOV- 2020

Location : Wuxi, China Phone : +86 510 81827276

Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 11 4279 5000

website : events.newenergyupdate.com/pv-usa/ Location : San Diego, USA START DATE : 12-NOV- 2020 Phone : +44 207 4224358 END DATE : 13-NOV- 2020

E-mail : liuyang@crecexpo.com

E-mail : tobias@newenergyupdate.com

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDIA 2020

INTERSOLAR INDIA 2020

website : www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com Location : Greater Noida, India START DATE : 10-DEC- 2020 Phone : +91 93792 29397 END DATE : 12-DEC- 2020

website : www.intersolar.in START DATE : 15-DEC- 2020 END DATE : 17-DEC- 2020

E-mail : Pankaj.sharma@ubm.com

E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

INTERSOLAR NORTH AMERICA 2021

POWERGEN INDIA 2021

website : www.intersolar.us START DATE : 12-JAN-2021 END DATE : 14-JAN-2021 E-mail : ISNAsales@divcom.com

Location : California, USA Phone : +1 207 8425621

website : www.powergen-india.com START DATE : 27-JAN-2021 END DATE : 29-JAN-2021

Location : Mumbai, India Phone : +49 7231 58598206

Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 97114 33860

E-mail : clarionenergy@clarionevents.com

SAUR ENERGY www.saurenergy.com

July 2020 | 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 4 l ISSUE 11 l TOTAL PAGES 64 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

Time to Look at

SOLAR STRUCTURES Inside-

RIDING THE SUN.

The Solar Inverter Market Report

RIDING THE SUN

Solar Inverter Market Outlook in India JULY 2020

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Novasys | Pennar | Energy+Meteo | Renew Power | NREL

Compiled by Saur Energy Research Bureau Group Editor: Prasanna Singh For Queries, contact us at info@saurenergy.com