Saur Energy Magazine July 2019

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SAUR ENERGY JULY 2019 | Rs. 200

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DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 l VOL 3 l ISSUE 11 l TOTAL PAGES 64 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

Still Elusive.

Solar Manufacturing in India

Inside:

Amruth Puttappa Founder | ThingsCloud

Integrating Wind & Solar in Grid Effectively Budget 2019: A Mixed Bag for Solar Industry

del2infinity | INSOLIGHT | BLOWHORN | ZiP EV | ETRIO | IESA | TERI | SUNTUITY | STFI

Private TreatySOLAR TenderPRODUCTION LINE Solar Thermal Heating Production Plant & Intellectual Property Rights to Thermomax DF400 / HP400 and Varisol DF Wilsons Auctions have received instructions from Kingspan to seek offers for a Solar Thermal Heating Production Plant, including all intellectual property rights, relating to Thermomax DF & HP and Varisol DF & HP products by way of Private Treaty Tender. Receipt of Tenders by Thursday 1st August 2019 at 12 noon GMT This sale is being conducted by way of Private Treaty Tender (sealed bids). Potential purchasers are invited to submit their best bid to Wilsons Auctions. A tender pack is available by emailing solarthermal@wilsonsauctions.com to request it, alternatively it can be downloaded from our website.

Download the tender pack from our website THERMOMAX HP400 The perfect hot water solution for home or business. A dry heat pipe collector designed for ease of installation and maintenance with unique Dual limit temperature Limitation device for added system protection.

THERMOMAX DF400 A Highly efficient Direct Flow fully pumped ‘Wet system’ offering flexible Horizontal, Vertical and sloping installation as well as on flat roofs and facades.

Contact:

Robin Murphy

VARISOL The revolutionary design of the Varisol collector offers a modern and flexible alternative to the rigid manifold system.

Quick and easy to install, Varisol allows individual tubes to be simply clicked together to create solar collectors of varying sizes.

solarthermal@wilsonsauctions.com

+44 (0) 2838 336 433

For more information visit www.wilsonsauctions.com

FROM THE EDITOR

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

The first full budget of Modi 2.0 just came and went, and PRASANNA SINGH unfortunately for the renewables sector, many questions still prasanna@meilleurmedia.com remain unanswered.

Be it the issue of speeding up growth again, an impetus to DIRECTOR MARKETING manufacturing, or even easier access to funding, nothing PRATEEK KAPOOR substantial was announced in the budget. prateek@meilleurmedia.com So, what does this mean for the solar sector? For one, it clearly means that it is now up to the relevant ministry EDITOR and departments to ensure that the momentum MANAS NANDI and interest the sector generated does not get lost. manas@meilleurmedia.com Potentially threatening moves like the Andhra Pradesh ASSOCIATE EDITOR government's retrograde steps on renegotiating PPA's MANU TAYAL need to be contained. manu@meilleurmedia.com The tariff walls going up in key markets like the U.S. for Indian solar exports need to be contained as well, STAFF WRITER with effective negotiations.

AYUSH VERMA Our cover story this month looks at all these and editorial@meilleurmedia.com more, at a time when the safeguard duty starts the first step of its wind down from 25 percent.

MANAGER- MEDIA SOLUTION Where the budget did surprise on the positive GIRISH MISHRA side was the slew of incentives for the EV sector. girish.mishra@meilleurmedia.com That certainly signals a strong resolve on the part of the government, even though it’s too DESIGN HEAD early to call out the impact of these moves.

SANDEEP KUMAR Finally, with key industry events like the REI WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Expo and the government's own REinvest JITENDER KUMAR just months away, one hopes that the government will make the right moves WEB PRODUCTION in the coming weeks to shift the ruling BALVINDER SINGH sentiment of apprehension to a more optimistic mood.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Somewhat like our national cricket KULDEEP GUSAIN team, the solar sector can rightfully subscription@meilleurmedia.com claim to have set itself up for a strong run now. A few bad decisions should Saur Energy International is printed, published, edited and owned by Manas Nandi and published from 303, 2nd floor, Neelkanth Palace, Plot No- 190, Sant Nagar,East of Kailash, New Delhi- 110065 not derail those plans.

(INDIA),Printed at Pearl Printers, C-105, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi.

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

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

CONTENT PAGE

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AMRUTH PUTTAPPA Founder ThingsCloud

INTEGRATING WIND & SOLAR IN EXISTING GRID EFFECTIVELY

COVER STORY

22

Still Elusive: Jumpstarting Solar Manufacturing in India POLICY

08 India to Establish 500 GW RE Capacity by 2030 MP Government Working on State EV Policy

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JULY 2019

Andhra Govt Sets up Panel to Review RE PPAs SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

MARKET

42 EVs Emit 67% Less Than Conventional ICE Vehicles China: the Largest Storage Market in APAC by 2024

CONTENT PAGE

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BY WHEN DO YOU THINK THE ROAD TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION IS REALISTIC?

INSOLIGHT IN SPOTLIGHT WITH CLAIMS OF 29% EFFICIENCY FOR SOLAR PANELS

30

UNION BUDGET 2019: A MIXED BAG FOR THE SOLAR INDUSTRY

PROJECTS

FINANCE

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Ostro, Adani Win SECI's 1200MW Wind Auction

Encourage Capital’s Rooftop Fund Closes at $40 MN

Engie’s RE Capacity in India Exceeds 1.5 GW

Sembcorp’s Rs 516.9 Cr Equity Infusion for RE Push

Guj Tenders for Sourcing 750 MW Solar Power

SunEdison to Acquire 2 RE Firms VOL 3 l ISSUE 11 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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JULY 2019

POLICY UPDATES

INDIA TO ESTABLISH 500 GW RE CAPACITY BY 2030 India is planning to add 500 GW of renewable energy to its electricity mix by 2030 according to MNRE secretary Aanand Kumar.

Speaking at the 17th meeting of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council being held in Abu Dhabi, the MNRE Secretary said, “India would have installed 175 GW of RE capacity by 2022 without taking into account large hydro and 225 GW including large hydro. By 2030 India plans to establish 500 GW of Renewable Energy capacity.�

In his speech at the IRENA meet, Aanand said that fighting against climate change and adoption of renewable energy is a matter of faith and commitment for India. He also shared efforts being made by India for de-dieselisation of the farm sector.

India, the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to cut emissions and have clean energy account for at least 40 percent of its installed capacity by 2030, up from 21.4 percent now, while looking to manage its energy appetite as its population becomes more prosperous.

Emphasising the need to develop synergy in working between

various international agencies, Kumar suggested that IRENA should work to enhance capacity of RE Institutions in member countries and focus on innovation and new areas like hydrogen as energy carrier, storage.

The ministry official also said that India is willing to help other member nations in development and deployment of Renewable Energy. He invited IRENA members to 3rd Edition of RE-INVEST to be held in NCR of Delhi in October.

1.5 GW SOLAR PROJECTS BY 2020 IN UTTAR PRADESH

DRC TAKES SHAPE AS POWER MINISTRY SELECTS MEMBERS

Uttar Pradesh is planning to commission 1500 MW solar capacity power plants by next year, state minister for the department of additional sources of energy, Brajesh Pathak, said.

The Centre has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power. In this regard, the state government of Uttar Pradesh has set a target of producing 10,700 MW renewable energy by 2022. "We are confident of meeting our target in time. We aim to generate 4300 MW through rooftop solar installations. At present, solar power plants (totaling) 150 MW are running successfully. Tenders for 1500 MW solar plants have been done and by next year they will be commissioned as well," the minister said. Besides, a 32 MW solar project is coming up at Jalaun in the state.

The minister further said that there is immense investment potential in the state while inviting investors to invest in Uttar Pradesh in the area of renewable energy. To boost the use and generation of green energy, the state government has launched Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy 2017, he said.

The policy aims to encourage the participation of the private sector and provide investment opportunities to set up solar power projects in the state. It also aims to support in providing environmentally friendly and affordable power for all, he added. "Another objective of the policy is to promote research and development, innovations and skill development in the state and achieve the target of 8 percent solar renewable purchase obligation (Solar RPO) by 2022," he added.

In a major decision to facilitate the solar and wind energy projects, R K Singh, union minister of state for power and new &renewable energy, has approved the formation of a three-member Dispute Resolution Committee to consider the unforeseen disputes beyond contractual agreement between solar and wind power developers, and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

In its last order, the MNRE has observed that there is, in fact, a need to erect a transparent, unbiased Dispute Resolution Mechanism, consisting of a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). The ministry after careful examination of the issues involved has issued the following committee: (1) S hri MF Farooqui (former DOT Secretary/ Heavy Industry Secretary, EX IAS, TN:1978) (2) S hri Anil Swarup (former Coal Secretary/ School Edn. Secretary, EX IAS, UP:1981) (3) S hri AK Dubey (former Sports Secretary, EX IAS, Kerala:1982) The Solar and Wind Industries have been demanding for setting up of Dispute Resolution Mechanism by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to resolve expeditiously unforeseen disputes that may arise beyond the scope of contractual agreements.

Emphasising the importance of this step, Singh said that the move will give further fillip to the smooth implementation of solar and wind energy projects in India. It fulfils a long pending demand of the industry to resolve expeditiously, any unforeseen disputes that may arise.

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

POLICY UPDATES

MP GOVERNMENT WORKING ON STATE EV POLICY The Madhya Pradesh government will soon come up with an e-vehicle policy in a bid to increase facilities for electric vehicles and bring down pollution levels, state’s urban administration minister Jaivardhan Singh said.

According to the minister, the government would also emphasise on introducing electric buses and vehicles in public transport in the future. And, the electric vehicles would be initially operated in big cities like Indore and Bhopal.

The upcoming policy would also regulate e-rickshaws and other vehicles besides developing required facilities for such vehicles, Singh told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) has said 90 percent of 19 lakh public transport buses in the country are being run on tradition fuel - diesel.

“According to our estimation, 19 lakh

buses, including 1.5 lakh buses in the government sector, are being run in the country, and 90 per cent of them

operate on diesel engines but the number of electric vehicles is very less,” said Prasanna Patwardhan, president, BOCI. “Though awareness has increased, there is still lack of adequate infrastructure for these vehicles. A large number of charging stations need to be built across the country so that these buses can be charged, especially during night hours,” Patwardhan said.

Listing the challenges in operating e-buses, Patwardhan said: “it takes a long time to charge batteries of e-buses as per the existing technology.

Secondly, even after fully charging the battery, an e-bus can be run up to 150 kms.” In such conditions bus operators are forced to use conventional fuel like diesel.

He, however, hoped that basic infrastructure for the e-buses would be improved by the year 2030.

INDIA TAKES ADVANTAGE OF DISTRIBUTED NATURE OF RE The Secretary in the ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Aanand Kumar, has said that India has been able to take advantage of distributed renewable energy sources like off-grid solar and mini & micro grids to provide electricity to all of its households.

Speaking at the 17th meeting of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council which was held in Abu Dhabi on 25 & 26 June, Kumar said: “India has been able to provide electricity to all its households with the help of standalone solar household systems, mini & micro grids. India has taken advantage of the distributed nature of Renewable Energy”.

He further said that off-grid solar solutions are used for providing electricity to various public institutions where grid has not reached. “Today, off-grid solar is being used for heating, cooling, dryingbesides cooking,” he said.

He also mentioned that solar thermal is being used for mass cooking in many places and 200 families have been provided with PV based induction cooking solutions with the aim to save forest wood

and improve women health. India can help training manpower for distributed RE through its institutions like National Institute of Solar Energy, he added.

In his speech, Aanand stressed that

fighting against climate change and adoption of renewable energy is a matter of faith and commitment for India. He also shared efforts being made by India for de-dieselisation of the farm sector.

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POLICY UPDATES

PSM FOR POWER PURCHASE BY DISCOMS APPROVED RK Singh, union minister of state for power and new &renewable energy, has approved the proposal to make it mandatory for discoms to open and maintain adequate Letter of Credit (LC) as Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) under Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).

Speaking about the decision, the minister said that “this will change the system and the sector will become viable.”

Theministry of power directivesaid that the PPAs have the provision regarding maintenance of adequate PSM mainly in the form of Letters of Credit by the Discoms orprocurers of power. A robust Payment Security System requires adequacy and validity of LC to cover the payments due on account of drawal of power.

The directivealsosaid: The NLDC & RLDC shall dispatch power only after it is intimated by the generating companies and Discoms that a LC for the desired quantum of power has been opened and copies made available to the concerned gencos.

The intimation to NLDC and RLDC shall specify the period of supply.

RLDC shall dispatch electricity only up to the quantity equivalent of value of LC. The dispatch shall stop once the quantum of electricity under LC is supplied.

However, it has been observed that despite the above provisions, the Letters of Credit are not being given and there is huge outstanding on account of unpaid power bills. This makes it difficult

for the generators to pay for the fuel, which has to be pre-paid, to continue generation.

If this situation persists, the power generating companies will not be able to pay for fuel/transportation leading to shortfall in generation of electricity. There will thus be wide spread load shedding on account of lack of generation.

ANDHRA GOVT SETS UP PANEL TO REVIEW RE PPAs

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In a new order, the state government of Andhra Pradesh has established a HighLevel Negotiation Committee (HLNC) to review and renegotiate the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed by the state discoms for purchase of wind and solar power during the TDP regime.

“Discoms in the state are in financial crisis with huge power purchase dues amounting to about Rs 20,000 crore as on date. One of the major reasons for this is the issue of abnormally priced wind and solar power purchase agreements entered in the recent years,” the state government said in its order.

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy had recently announced his plan to look into irregularities in PPAs entered into by the TDP government, and has now announced the formation of the nine-member HLNC. The nine-member committee includes: I. B.Rajendranatha Reddy, Minister for SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

IV. Ajeya Kallam, Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, V. S.S.Rawath,IAS, Principal Finance Secretary, Finance Department, VI. N.Srikant,IAS, Secretary to Govt, Energy Department, VII. D Krishna, Special Secretary to Chief Minister, VIII. Gopal Reddy, former CMD, APSPDCL, IX. Joint Managing Director, APTRANSCO, Member- Convenor.

Finance and Legislative Affairs, II. B.Sreenivasa Reddy, Minister for Energy and EFS & T Department, III. S. Sriram, Advocate General, A.P.High Court,

The functions and powers of the HLNC shall be to review the high-priced wind and solar agreements, and then to negotiate with those who are selling wind and solar energy to discoms and bring down the prices.

The committee has been granted a 45day period for completing the review and negotiations of the renewable PPAs and submit a detailed report with the state government.

POLICY UPDATES

HP EYES RS 85K CR INVESTMENT FOR RE, INFRA, TRANSPORT The Himachal Pradesh government has set a target of attracting investments to the tune of Rs 85,000 crore and has already succeeded in signing memorandum of understanding worth Rs 22,964 crore, according to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Presiding over a review meeting on the investment target of the state, the chief minister said the government has set a target of attracting investments of Rs 85,000 crore, which include Rs 20,000 crore funding in hydro and renewable energy, real estate, urban development infrastructure, transport and logistics.

The signing of MoUs worth Rs 22,964 crore over the last 18 months shows the government's intention to make the state an industrial hub of the country, the minister said. As many as 164 MoUs have been signed and uploaded on Him Pragati website, which is a platform for investors

to raise their issues. In May, the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) set the generic levelised tariffs for solar PV projects in the state for a period of six months between October 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.

The Commission felt that in view of the geographical and topographical conditions in the state and in order to promote smaller capacities of solar PV plants at

different locations across the state, it may be appropriate to create a separate category of solar PV projects upto 1 MW capacity. The capacity of such projects in the second category is proposed to be limited to 5 MW, as the commission expects that for higher capacities, the discoms shall preferably purchase solar power through SECI or else through the competitive bidding route.

GUJARAT TARGETING 30 GW RE CAPACITY BY 2022

INDIA’S GRID-TIED SOLAR CAPACITY APPROACHING 30 GW

In the state’s budget announcement, the Gujarat government announced its plans to increase its target for power generation capacity from renewable sources to touch or surpass 30 GW in the next three years.

The announcement was made by the state’s Finance Minister Nitin Patel while presenting the budget for the current financial year. The minister said that in 2013, renewable energy capacity in Gujarat was 4,126MW, which has risen to 8,885MW today.

The government, which has allocated Rs 1000 crore for a new rooftop solar power generation scheme, has set its sights on tripling its renewable generation capacity over the next three years, and also envisions selling close to 10,000 MW of the generated power to other states.

“We plan to increase capacity to 30,000MW by 2022. Of this, 20,000MW will be used in Gujarat and 10,000MW will be sold to other states,” Patel said in his budget speech.

Patel also announced a new rooftop solar generation scheme that aims to cover 2 lakh families.

Scheme beneficiaries will get a 40% subsidy on the costs of generations systems of up to 3KW and a 20% subsidy for systems with capacities between 3KW and 10KW. Gujarat has an installed capacity of 6,000MW at wind farms, according to the Socio-Economic Review 201819. According to the National Institute of Wind Energy, Gujarat’s estimated installable potential at 80m height is 35,000MW.

The cumulative grid-connected installed solar power capacity in India is fast approaching the 30 GW mark with the installed capacity at the end of May of 2019 being 29,409 MW, a written response to a question in parliament by the Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, showed.

The Government of India have set a target of 175 GW renewable power capacity to be installed in the country by 2022. This consists of 100 GW from Solar, 60 GW from Wind, 10 GW from Biomass and 5 GW from Small Hydro. In his response, the minister wrote that in order to achieve the target of 100 GW from Solar, the Government has launched various schemes like the “Solar Park Scheme” which is targeting over 40,000 MW of projects. And that at present, the installed grid-connected solar capacity in the country due to these schemes is just shy of 30 GW. According to the data provided in his response, the leading states when it comes to installed solar capacity connected to the grid are: 1. Karnataka with 6134.90 MW installed capacity.

2. Telangana with 3598.80 MW of grid-tied projects.

3. Rajasthan with 3551 MW of projects.

4. Andhra Pradesh with 3290.76 MW capacity.

5. Tamil Nadu with 2812.05 MW installed capacity.

Recently, the minister while answering a question in the Lok Sabha, had said that the government will not only achieve the target of installing 175 GW of renewable power by 2022 but also cross that milestone.

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POLICY UPDATES

MNRE’S 5-YEAR ACTION PLAN BODES WELL FOR RE The ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently presented the five-year vision document for the two ministries, charting the way forward for the country’s power sector. The document aims at developing a sustainable and competitive power sector to facilitate economic and social development.

The “Vision 2024” document came out with a warning for thermal power producers to prepare for a scenario in which there will be a larger scale grid integration with renewable energy. Clearly stating that it expects total power demand to be met by a higher share of renewable energy requiring thermal power producers to brace for impact and amend their operations accordingly.

The two ministries said that in a scenario of 130 GW of installed renewable energy generation capacity by 2022, the Plant Load Factor (PLFpower generated vs installed capacity) of coal plants during peak summer months could drop to 3540 percent.

A lower PLF signals tougher times for coalbased power producers as preference for renewable energy would eat into

their business. In order to better integrate renewable energy, it has been proposed to do away with the exemptions for renewable energy transmission. Speaking at the session, Minister of Power, and New and Renewable Energy, R K Singh, said that the agenda is to treat all power at par in the transmission network. “The plan is to move towards a source-neutral

transmission network,” he said.

However, while the country’s overall generation has been on the rise, especially with the growth in solar and wind projects, an adequate transmission network has always been and is still the biggest challenge leading to grid congestion and curtailment.

ROLE OF DISCOMS IN 12 GW SOLAR CPSU SCHEME

12 JULY 2019

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a notification regarding the modalities and role of distribution companies (DISCOMs) to ensure the smooth implementation of the second phase of the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) program.

The Government of India, through MNRE, approved the implementation of CPSU Scheme Phase-II for setting up of 12,000 MW grid-connected solar PV projects

by CPSUs, State PSUs, government organisations, with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support for self-use or use by government or government entities, either directly or through discoms.

Under the CPSU program, the usage charges should not exceed Rs3.50/ kWh and will be exclusive of any other third-party charge such as wheeling, transmission, and the likes. The Solar SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is the implementing agency for the program.

MNRE has clarified the role of discoms in different scenarios of generation and consumption Scenario I: The discoms are to facilitate

'Open Access' to Government Producers intending to use solar power generated by themselves through open access. Or, those intending to supply power to other identified government entities through open access.

Scenario II: The discoms are to facilitate supply of power by government producers to other user government entities, by ensuring that the billing reflects "usage charges" not more than Rs 3.50/unit, in addition to other charges.

Scenario III: PSU Discoms themselves become Government Producers Power produced can be utilised for supply to other government bodies or noncommercial sectors like agriculture, local urban bodies, etc., or to identified/ unidentified government entities by ensuring that the billing reflects similar usage charges.

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THE CONVERSATION

AMRUTH PUTTAPPA Founder, ThingsCloud

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SHOULD CONTINUE TO SHOW DESIRE FOR THE COMMENCED PROJECTS Recently, the Indian solar market bounced back from the sluggish year of 2018. With the climate agreement in place and an estimated global investment of $2.8 billion in Q1 2019, there is no doubt that there is a huge scope. We are going through a positive phase. All government bodies are working towards our ambitious target of 100 GW. If things are going at the same pace, it’s not a big deal. Government agencies should continue to show the desire for the commenced projects, believes Amruth Puttappa, Founder, ThingsCloud, a Bengaluru-based CleanTech IoT startup developing smart power electronics and artificial intelligence (AI) products. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Associate Editor, Saur Energy International, Puttappa shared his views on a variety of topics which the power sector is currently dealing with, the product portfolio of his company and their future expansion. Following are the excerpts from the exclusive interview.

Q

How has the ThingsCloud journey been? Key milestones so far? Do highlight the Make in India perspective too.

Our journey has nothing been short of a revelation and constant learning. We are aware of the repercussions of climate change and since the government is taking gigantic steps towards curbing global warming and other ecological adversities, we thought why not be a part of this noble cause and resolve climate change through a pragmatic and innovative manner.

During the first 4 years of our journey, we were learning, and only learning. This proved to be a great step as we gained clarity about the solar industry, the technical infusion of the Indian solar energy scenario, and also, the global solar energy scenario. In addition to climate change, we are also passionate about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’. As a result, we now develop, manufacture and supply smart solar grid inverters which was earlier mostly the domain of foreign players.

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Our expertise lies in: • 1-5 kw grid tie inverters • 1 - 5 k w g r i d h y b r i d inverters • Customer friendly IoT monitoring platform SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

for both mobile and desktop • MNRE certifications • We have achieved an order log of 19K inverters • Supplied around 1000+ inverters to various customers • Scaled up to production capacity • Developed & Supplied 10000+ home UPS to our OEM partner • Developed EV motor controllers • Signed agreement with 2 OEM partners for EV motor controllers after field trails • 1 000KM achieved by using our motor controllers • Started development of 3phase inverters • Started development of EV charging Stations

Q

What prompted you to enter into this segment?

What are your latest product offerings?

Team at ThingsCloud has been in the solar field since 2010 and the era then was about off-grid inverters. Because of various reasons, 2014 onwards, the traction was towards grid tied systems and all were depending on traditional players whose product innovation was not up to the mark.

People started using external circuitry as safeguard and without much of

THE CONVERSATION

a service support. changes we can look forward to?

That prompted us to develop an indigenous product which Yes, of course. The coming years are all about AI and its can solve customer’s pain points. On hindsight, we are happy applications. As we all know, in terms of inverter efficiency, to have a solution which solved all major pain points. When we achieved at max and tariffs have reached a record low. we started the development, we were very clear about Now we should concentrate more on O&M. Even though product features and quality and the value the product research is going on, improvisation of PV panel efficiency should provide to customers. So, we incorporated AL & ML and its commercialization may take some time. Our focus is to offer least manual intervention and maximum yield out on operations and maintenance of solar power plants. Major of systems. Now we reached next level of the AI which can issues are longer service downtime and dip ingeneration. offer more flexibility on operation and Even though trackers and cleaning maintenance. robots are in place, sudden changes Our new products are grid hybrid in the climatic conditions may lead to inverters from 1Kw to 5KW. Also, we are energy loss. As tariffs are very low, even developing 3 phase inverters ranging saving 1 unit makes a lot of sense. Our AI from 5KW to 30KW. We would like to inverters,which continuously communicate deploy a million inverters by 2021. with trackers and cleaning bots, ensure Our products can be classified into maximum yield from the system. Also, it the following: reduces the service downtime with wise • ThingsWiFi: Smart switch connecting and timely notifications. traditional electrical equipment How do you see the market till 2022?

• Thingslo: Leveraging data analysis for Do you think the government will solar plant and solar energy synthesis or should domore to reach the 100 GW • ThingsApp: A user-friendly app that solar target? keeps the customer updated with The Indian solar market has just bounced ongoing solar activities back from the sluggish year of 2018. With • ThingsHiFi: Blending AI and Machine the climate agreement in place and an Learning with solar energy estimated global investment of $2.8 billion in Q1 2019, there is no doubt that there is APPLICATIONS: a huge scope. We are going through a 1. I nstead of letting all the energy positive phase. All government bodies are generated by the inverter go to the working towards the ambitious target of grid, we can balance the amount 100 GW. If things are going at the same of generation and consumption pace, it’s not a big deal. Government and therefore, avoid wastage of agencies should continue to show support energy. This is the idea of ZERO for the commenced projects. export. We have deployed this in educational institutes that run only What is the current efficiency rate during day time, commercial spaces, of your smart solar inverters? and spaces where there is heavy As it is a smaller capacity, we are able reliance on diesel generators. to achieve an efficiency of 98%+. Smart 2. R oof top solar installations for Solar Inverter can generate 15% more residential as well as commercial use. power than traditional inverters over a Why is the inverter market still period of time. dominated by China-based What is the biggest challenge you brands? How does ThingsCloud plan face as a startup in the sector? to compete?

Chinese invasion was the first challenge As I mentioned earlier, in the beginning we faced. The second challenge was only Chinese players were there. Even the quality was minimal and people were forced to depend getting the customer’s trust in our products. Many people on them. But now people’s mindset has changed and they questioned us about the experience of the company. are buying Indian products which can give more features and Anyhow, we overcame these issues and people have started service support. Our strength is innovation and understanding accepting us. of Indian customers. So, I would say our systems are far ahead Do you have any plans for expansion infootprint? of the current technology.

Yes, definitely. We are expanding to Indian subcontinental In your view, will the new generation of AI-powered Smart countries and South-East Asia by 2020. Also, we will have a Solar inverters lead to major changes? What are the big global presence by 2022.

Q

Q

We are expanding our self to India Subcontinental countries and South-East Asia as well by 2020.

Also, we will have a global presence by 2022

Q

Q Q

Q

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POINT OF VIEW

BY WHEN DO YOU THINK THE ROAD TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION IS REALISTIC?

After the Union Budget 2019, it is quite clear that Modi government 2.0 has fastened its seatbelt to take a ride on Electric Vehicles, but its transition speed needs to be made clear. Here are some views from a few industry veterans.

Mithun Srivatsa Co-Founder & CEO Blowhorn

“The Government has been consistently pushing forward the EV mobility agenda and making efforts towards driving the shift to an EV-led transport and logistics ecosystem.

While a transition to electric vehicles by 2030 is a daunting challenge, it is not impossible if all stakeholders come together to make it feasible as electric vehicles are gradually gaining growing popularity among people and corporates alike. There is a considerable buzz created around the feasibility of charging stations, but after close observations and studying the market and its endless possibilities, there are solutions to this problem too. We can look at battery swapping at fuel stations as an effective and easy solution.

I am highly optimistic that India will see a massive transition towards EVs.”

Dev Dwibedy

Founder, MD ZiP EV - Automind 360 LLP “Shift to electric for <150cc two wheelers is possible by 2023 as specified only with strong push from Govt and the popular 2W manufacturers. Only when that milestone is achieved can we have a realistic chance of achieving complete electric transformation by 2030.”

M. Ragavendra

Operations Manager Etrio Automobiles Pvt Ltd “As per business viability 2050 will be the year to achieve the goal...Even the government knows that the average speed of commuter in metros is 30 km/hr, but still consumer is not ready to accept EVs. Speed and recharge flexibility is lacking for customer as per our survey, The next game changer will be bringing in more EV Units and bring the price down as well.”

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JULY 2019

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- MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM

GRID UPDATES

STERLITE DOUBLES TRANSMISSION CAPACITY IN LUCKNOW Sterlite Power has announced the successful uprate and commissioning of five, 132 kv lines in the heart of Lucknow, the capital of the most populous state in India, Uttar Pradesh The project was completed in record time, doubling the transmission capacity of these five existing lines without any major change to existing infrastructure.

These lines, which normally carry an 8085 MW load, will now be able to carry a load of over 160 MW after the uprate.

Manish Agarwal, CEO, Solutions Business, Sterlite Power, said, “our solutions of upgrade and uprate of transmission lines solve key constraints around Time, Space and Capital. These solutions have the potential to solve transmission congestion challenges in all States including Uttar Pradesh towards ensuring 24/7 reliable power.”

All urban transmission lines running through Lucknow were feeding substations of important areas. These lines were over 40 years old and passed through densely populated settlements. With growing population and development, ground clearances were not enough to match transmission requirements. With exponential growth in demand for power,

transmission congestion challenges also manifested in excess load, leading to frequent power outages.

These lines supply power to areas likeMartinpurwa, Gomti Nagar, TRT, Sarojini Nagar and Sonie, which house Government offices, the Governor’s Residence, Chief Minister’s residence, Secretariat Nirman Bhavan, Indra Bhavan,

Raj Bhavan, Vidhan Sabha Mar, Rajaji Puram, Alambaug, RDSO, Bangla Bazar, Ambedkar University, Mohanlalganj & Hospital SG-PGI etc.

With this uprate, the transmission network capacity in these areas has been doubled and will impact the lives of nearly 20 lakh people residing in these areas, the company statement said.

PANASONIC INTRODUCES URBAN MICROGRID FOR INDIA

18 JULY 2019

Panasonic, a diversified technology company, has launched urban microgrids: a hybrid Energy Storage Systems (ESS) with end to end solutions for the Indian market.

The integrated solar power microgrid’s feature efficient, reliable and intelligent power storage solutions can power up urban residential and commercial areas.

The solution allows grid interaction, remote monitoring and data analytics that helps in optimising the energy usage.

Microgrids would enable uninterrupted power supply and enhance operational flexibility for distribution utilities, which are facing challenges in coping with the increasing demand and network stress, poor power quality and losses.

Consumers will become "Prosumer" by directly integrating solar energy into their system, reduce dependency on costly SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

diesel generators, get maintenance free operation, leading to significant reduction in their energy bill. And eventually, providing support to utility companies for grid and congestion management and grid stabilisation.

Atul Arya, Head, Energy Systems, Panasonic India, said: “we have made significant investments for competency building in terms of development of high

capacity solution range, compliance certifications and automation & data analytics. We have already deployed this product at BSES Yamuna and in Jharkhand with an aim to make energy accessible to the local communities and they have seen considerable improvements in efficiency and better management of power supply. We are in talks with similar other players to deploy our solution.”

Panasonic microgrid will consist of Li-ion batteries, hybrid bi-directional inverters, solar charge controllers, EMS and other supporting equipment.

Solar system is DC coupled and along with the battery system, will make the critical backup for the auxiliary load wherein solar system would primarily be used for charging the batteries or directly feeding the load.

GRID UPDATES

DELHI’S PEAK POWER DEMAND HITS 7,241 MW Delhi's electricity demand touched an all-time high of 7,241 megawatt (MW) on July 1. This is the highest peak power demand recorded in any Indian city.

"Delhi's peak power demand clocked an all-time high of 7241 MW, today. BRPL and BYPL also successfully met all-time high peak power demands of 3132 MW and 1629 MW in their respective areas.

Incidentally, today is the raising day of Delhi discoms”, BSES Delhi said in a tweet.

This year's demand broke the previous record of 7016 MW recorded on July 10 last year and according to the electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) the electricity consumption is expected to go up to 7400 MW in the ongoing summer season. BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) were able to successfully meet the all-time high peak power demand.

Delhi's peak power demand first crossed the 6000 MW barrier in 2016 (6216 MW on July 1 of 2016). The city’s peak power

demand is more than thrice that of Kolkata and is also more than the power demand of Mumbai and Chennai put together.

Running of air conditioners, coolers and fans is the main reason behind the increase in power demand in the national capital,

according to experts.

BSES and other companies have invested heavily over the years to build the necessary infrastructure for providing electricity to consumers around the city with minimal losses in distribution.

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INNOVATION UPDATES

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO ADVANCE TURBINE RECYCLING WindEurope, Cefic (the European Chemical Industry Council) and EUCIA (the European Composites Industry Association) have created a cross-sector platform to advance novel approaches in the recycling of wind turbine blades.

In 2018, wind energy supplied 14% of the electricity in the European Union with 130,000 wind turbines and this number will only grow in the coming decades.

Wind turbine blades are made up of a composite material which boosts the performance of wind energy by adopting lighter and longer blades. Today, 2.5 million tons of composite material are in use in the wind energy sector.

In the next five years, 12,000 wind turbines are expected to be decommissioned.

Broadening the range of recycling options is critical for the industry’s development.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dicksonsaid: “wind energy is an increasingly important part of Europe’s energy mix. The first generation of wind turbines are now starting to come to the end of their operational life and be replaced by modern turbines. Recycling the old blades is a top priority for us, and teaming up with the chemical and compositors’ industries will enable us to do it the most effective way.”

Composite materials are being recycled today at commercial scale through cement co-processing, where the

cement raw materials are being partially replaced by the glass fibers and fillers in the composite, and the organic fraction replaces coal as a fuel. Besides recycling through cement co-processing, alternative technologies like mechanical recycling, solvolysis and pyrolysis are

being developed, ultimately providing the industry with additional solutions for end-of-life.

Learnings from wind turbine recycling will then be transferred to other markets to enhance the overall sustainability of composites.

INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF CELLS WITH MAGNETIC FIELD

20 JULY 2019

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad have developed a way to increase the efficiency of third generation solar cells using a magnetic field.

Working with dye sensitised solar cells (DSSC), the team led by Jammalamadaka Suryanarayana, associate professor at thedepartment of physics at IIT Hyderabad, has shown that the incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) in the anode can enhance light-to-power conversion efficiencies.

There is much promise for dye sensitised solar cells because of cost and environmental benefits possible and SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

it is expected that with improvements in performance, DSSCs could outdo mature silicon-based solar cells. The worldwide DSSC market is projected to reach USD 60 million by 2023, but such a market can be tapped only with efficiency improvements, researchers said.

The research, which was published in the journal Solar Energy, can contribute towards global efforts to bring DSSCs into real-life applications.

“Photovoltaic or solar cell technology has been around since 19th century and we are now seeing the third generation of cells," said Suryanarayana. “The first-generation silicon-based cells,

with energy harvesting efficiency of about 26 percent, continues to be costly. Second-generation thin film solar cells based on semiconductors like CdTe and CdSe have comparable efficiencies, and not much lower cost.

The third generation of DSSCs can significantly lower the costs of solar cells while being environmentally friendlier than the earlier generations.”

However, the team believes that the efficiencies of DSSCs need improvement to translate to practical products. The efficiency of these cells continues to hover around 13 percent and there is considerable research all over the world to improve its performance.

COVER STORY

Still Elusive: Jumpstarting Solar Manufacturing in India

Manish Aggarwal Managing Director Enkay Solar Power

Vineet Mittal Director Navitas Solar

Sunil Rathi Director Waaree Energies

T

he government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rarely misses an opportunity to highlight the success of its renewable energy push, when given an opportunity. And it has good reason to do so. Besides taking installed renewable capacity (wind +solar) from barely 25 GW to an estimated 70 GW plus till now, the government has also been the proud founder of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), perhaps its biggest global initiative, ever, along with France.

But in recent times though, it is becoming

P. Vinay Kumar Founder & CEO Varp Power

Pinaki Bhattacharyya CEO AMP India

K.R. Harinarayan Founder & CEO U-Solar Clean Energy

Abhik Kumar Das del2infinity Energy Consulting

increasingly clear that the achievements are not necessarily being celebrated in quite the same way by other industry stakeholders.

And one of the biggest reasons for that has been the vexed issue of Make in India, when it comes to solar. Manufacturing in India, and low costs, these two seemingly contradictory issues have led to a series of policy tinkering in recent years, none of which has quite achieved its objective, and left the sector struggling today, from all accounts. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with the biggest policy move of 2018. The Safeguard Duty on Solar

imports, which was imposed on July 30, 2018, the 25 percent duty was meant to encourage Indian manufacturers, over a two year period, where it would gradually be phased down too.

Now, even as the safeguard duty starts makes its first wind down to 20 percent from the current 25 percent from July 30, 2019, it has failed to make any significant impact on the demand for Make in India products.The reason being the short term nature of the duty, as well as the nature of the industry itself.

COVER STORY

Notably, after a levy of 25percent safeguard duty on import of solar equipments from China and Malaysia, products from these countries are being re-routed via Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and other neighbouring countries. Secondly, imports dropped 40 percent in the first three quarters of FY18 due to slower capacity additions in the country, and not just because of a rise in domestic sales or imposition of safeguard duty.

Manish Aggarwal, Managing Director at Enkay Solar Power, a domestic manufacturer with a manufacturing base in Greater Noida and having a capacity of 50MWp, says “indigenously made solar panels and cells constituted just 10 percent of Indian solar projects in 2014-15”.

According to latest government estimates, the figure was 15 percent.

“Manufacturers like us, who are working under Indian government’s ambitious Make in India program, get stiff competition from Chinese and Malaysian manufacturers.

SGD has not made any impact on our sales as still 90-95 percent modules are imported from China”, Aggarwal added.

Making a pitch for shifting the government’s focus to long term measures, Vineet Mittal, Director, Navitas Solar, an Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) services provider and manufacturer of solar modules with a base at Surat and having a capacity of 200MWp, expressed his concern and said “the safeguard duty on import of solar equipment will drop by 5 percent from next month in line with the timelines laid out at the time of implementation of these duties. The government implemented it with a rationale to support the fledgling domestic solar PV manufacturing sector and prevent cheap quality dumping from China. Both of the primary objectives remain unfulfilled due to a lack of investment in these areas”.

But it’s not been all gloomy for domestic manufacturers.Mittal says that “the SGD duty created an arbitrage between duty on solar PV cells and duty on solar PV modules. This in turn bridged the gap in price difference between domestic and imported PV modules to an extent and provided a level playing field to compete with foreign manufacturers for domestic producers. The gradual waning of SGD will erode that benefit for sure as Chinese manufacturers get direct state support giving them an unfair advantage”. In

short, he makes the case for a longer view with policy clarity as the need of the hour to encourage investment into domestic manufacturing.

Sunil Rathi, Director at Waaree Energies, one of the largest domestic players with a solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing base at Surat and Vapi and with a capacity of 1.5 GW, says that “in recent times, the demand for solar modules has been stable owing to the various declared tenders. With India’s goal of achieving the 175 GW target, the demand for solar modules is likely to grow in the country in the coming years.

However, the reduction of the safeguard duty to eventually 0percent over the next year, is sure to dampen this demand from domestic manufacturers thereby putting definite pressure on their growth potential.

The short-term duration of the duty is also a clear indication of the lack of long-term planning from the government. The loss of duty will diminish the cost advantage that domestic manufacturers have in the market, and this, coupled with the loss of U.S. as a potential market for growth, will adversely affect the Indian manufacturers to a large extent.”

P. Vinay Kumar, Founder and CEO of Varp Power, which develops and maintains solar power plants, offered some clarity and said “currently, if SGD is suffered on the imported modules, the landed price differential between domestic modules and imported ones is negligible. So the developers should theoretically be agnostic to a purchase preference between domestic and imported modules. However, this is theory and merits a closer look at the fine print.

For one thing in pure capacity terms the domestic market is miniscule compared to the volume of imports. Notwithstanding this, a substantial part of the domestic module and cell manufacturing capacity is in SEZs and the applicability of SGD on domestic tariff area (DTA) clearances of modules and cells to the Indian market has been fraught with legal interpretation and consequently duty risk. Customs assessments from these SEZs to the DTA market are apparently being done provisionally, and the risk of SGD liability devolving on the domestic manufacturers when these provisional assessments are finalised is not entirely ruled out. Just how much of this burden of an adverse assessment orders will be shared by the developers and other customers

of the manufacturer is at this time a point of conjecture. This risk alone will make the developers shy away from domestic modules on scale and for larger orders.

Given the uncertainty on how this will play out in future, developers winning bids will continue to prefer imported modules by paying SGD and some will optimise by sourcing from countries other than China and Malaysia.

The reduction of SGD by 5percent will probably make the domestic manufacturers drop prices by a similar quantum to match the lower landed cost. They may even have to drop it further, to compensate for the risk premium on assessments discussed above.”

Elaborating on the type of projects impacted on the back of safeguard duty, Pinaki Bhattacharyya, CEO, AMP India, a project developer company, said “a decrease in duty would naturally mean relatively lower cost of modules which in turn would reduce the cost differential between domestic and imported modules and create greater competition from their Chinese counterparts in terms of reduced demand. Keep in mind however that with 15-18 months implementation period for utility scale projects, developers have already taken this into account while bidding for capacity over the past two to three quarters. However, non-utility projects where implementation periods may be shorter could potentially see an immediate impact.”

And there are the hopefuls. Solar EPC services provider U-Solar Clean Energy’s Founder & CEO K.R. Harinarayan expressed hope that “since the duty change will only be a drop of 5percent, and the duty will still be quite significant at 20percent, we do not expect the import of modules to increase significantly, or consequently, the demand for domestic modules will continue to be strong after the reduction of SGD.” It is imperative to note that the demand for domestic solar products would be driven mainly on the back of three key factors: government’s Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme (if implemented as per the mentioned timeline), off grid and rooftop sectors (as sometimes government mandates use of domestic modules), and lastly exports. In the CPSU scheme, government mandates the use of domestic cells and modules. Besides these, the government has provided non-

COVER STORY

24 JULY 2019

tariff support to domestic manufacturers by giving preference in KUSUM scheme.

Thus, it is right to say it’s a government created demand.

In such a scenario where cost pressure on domestic manufacturing is likely to grow when the safeguard duty is brought down or completely abolished, Vineet Mittal of Navitas Solar said, “of course, it will increase cost pressure as imported products become cheaper and domestic manufacturers will be forced to match the price as market doesn’t differentiate and works on the principle of demand and supply”.

“Our expectation from the government is to sustain the SGD levels until the time Indian manufacturing sector becomes self-sufficient in the whole manufacturing value chain. A quick stop solution will not help”, he added.

This view was backed by Sunil Rathi of Waaree Energies too. He said that “the reduction in safeguard duty will definitely increase the cost pressure on domestic manufacturing. What the local manufacturing industry needs is a clear cut directive from the government that supports their growth. A clear plan capped with attractive incentives for the new tenders linked with domestic manufacturing, is the need of the hour. The Indian solar industry has witnessed a substantial growth in the past decade to achieve the aggressive renewable target of 175GW. However, keeping in mind the current trajectory, we will currently be able to achieve only 70percent of the target by 2022. Thus, it is integral that a clear and favourable set of policy and regulatory changes are issued to propel the industry to achieve the remaining 30percent.”

In order to compete with international prices, Manish Aggarwal of Enkay Solar Power believes that “safeguard duty should only be imposed on solar modules. Solar cells should be exempted from SGD then only domestic manufacturers can compete with international suppliers in prices.”

While Vinay Kumar of Varp Power believes that “the lowering of the tariff wall from 25 percent to 20 percent will mean some stress for domestic manufacturers who supply to the Indian market. However, a bulk of the “subsidy” driven rooftop market demand, which is met by domestic manufacturers, would be inelastic and immune to this change. It is difficult to get dis-aggregated numbers on how much of the sales of SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

domestic manufacturers is for the subsidy and the non-subsidy markets. The cost pressure would entirely be a function of this breakup. Also the upcoming CPSU tenders would take up a significant portion of domestic capacity.”

“The role of the government and its Ministry of Commerce is not much at this juncture.

However, there is a crying need to give visibility to the bidders and developers on how the SGD will play out after the sun-set clause. Right now, bidders are keeping fingers crossed,” he said.

However, K.R. Harinarayan of U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions believes that “imported module shipments have fallen 40percent since the introduction of the SGD duty and imports will be at these lower levels for the foreseeable future. Even after the change in the SGD duty from 25percent to 20percent, the domestic manufacturers will have a significant cushion of 20percent to operate with. Cost pressure on domestic modules are more from developers who need lower cost modules rather than due to import competition.”

While on further implementation of safeguard duty, Pinaki Bhattacharyya of AMP India was of the view that “yes, decrease in SGD would mean lower duty on imported panels which would result in reduced solar panel prices. Hence, the domestic panel manufacturers would have to offer competitive/ lower rates to capture greater market share. The imposition of Safeguard Duty by the government was designed to give the domestic manufacturing industry time to catch up to global peers. From our view once this period is complete, the government should let market forces drive the market going forward.”

All the views above make sense, till you reconcile them with the government’s single minded obsession with lower cost power.

That obsession has already made India a global leader in low cost solar power, but the price of such low costs is yet to play out fully, as issues like quality of inputs and more play out over the coming years. More importantly, with China remaining the key supplier, any hopes the government had of cutting down dependence there, are nowhere closer to being realised.

Recently, tariffs dropped to Rs 2.48/kWh from approx Rs 2.6/kWh in SECI auction. In 2018, tariff had dropped to 2.44/kWh. With India now producing the world’s cheapest

solar, is quality going to be an issue at these low costs? India’s greater share of module mix is still dominated by polycrystalline. If the low cost push continues, India risks becoming a dumping ground for poor quality material.

So, the answer to why the government’s measures to stimulate manufacturing have failed couldpossibly be that there’s a steep scarcity of high technology capability of upstream manufacturing for ingots, cells, wafers, etc. to compete with international players at competitive prices. In order to change this scenario, the industry needs significant investments with the government intervention. It’s almost a case of one time viability gap funding at scale If we don’t want to miss the opportunity of solar manufacturing andwhen it comes to living the government’s dream of Make in India, it is a long road ahead with acrying need toestablish a duty structure that can protect the interest of domestic manufacturers in the long run withgovernment support in bringing in latest technology to the country, and with significant investment.

Besides, the industry needs a complete overhaul with rapid expansion of manufacturing facilities for cells and modules to meet the domestic solar demand in the country.

On the exports front, the trade war brewing between India and the United States has begun to hurt after U.S. removed India from the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) trade programme, which in turn increased tariff on Indian solar exports excluding a few. However, in a tit-for-tat reaction, India too imposed retaliatory tariff on 28 U.S. products. And then the World Trade Organization ruled in favour of India in a case pertaining to subsidies being offered in eight U.S. states.

And adding to India’s woes, U.S. President Donald Trump continues his combative stance on trade with India and the terms therein.

In such a scenario, Vinay Kumar of Varp Power’s view was “given that close to 80percent of India’s cell and module capacity are in SEZ with an export orientation, this is a more worrisome development than the minor blip in the SGD which comes into effect from July 2019. With U.S. becoming un-attractive, Indian manufacturers will have to look at the European and African markets

COVER STORY

to compensate. This will require some nimble footwork and pain-staking market development in newer markets.”

Sunil Rathi of Waaree Energies echoed the same sentiment and said “USA is one of the most important markets for Indian manufacturers since 47 percent of the modules produced in India are exported to the U.S.. However, with the removal of India from the GSP trade programme, Indian solar exports now have to face increased tariffs, which are eventually an offset in the price of the exports, mainly for the endcustomers. This phenomenon has led to the loss of the cost advantage that Indian manufacturers enjoyed in the U.S. market, thereby dissuading the purchase of Indian modules. Therefore, manufacturers who were focused on the U.S. market for growth, now have to either shift their exports to other countries, or focus on domestic markets. Although there is an exemption on bifacial modules, there is a lack of clarity regarding the duration of this exemption, because of which, there is great uncertainty among the Indian manufacturers.”

Navitas Solar’s Vineet Mittal believes that “these two developments are separate from each other. Removal from U.S.’ GSP trade program will impact export of solar modules as 50percent of total Indian exports were to the U.S. From now, the modules will be under the U.S.’ SGD of 25 percent which is going to reduce 5 percent Y-o-Y. However, the impact is not going to be very significant as the Indian market still remains a big chunk of the pie for domestic manufacturers.

The WTO ruling is against eight states in the U.S. offering subsidies and making domestic content mandatory as it is against WTO rules and India lost a similar case earlier against the U.S.. This decision prevented further erosion of exports on top of U.S. Safeguard Duty on Imports of solar products.

These decisions serve as a warning that Indian manufacturing cannot be dependent on developed countries for preferential policies and will have to adapt to standard international trade practices.”

AMP India’s Pinaki Bhattacharyya was of the view that “while the WTO has ruled in India’s favour, the U.S has the option of approaching the appellate body to challenge the same. Considering the current global situation and the U.S. stance on

trade movements, it is unclear if the U.S. will continue to pursue this matter or not. If we assume that the WTO ruling is upheld, it will definitely be positive for domestic module manufacturers. However, it may be noted that although the U.S. accounts for almost half of all module exports from India, the overall quantum is fairly small, around USD 60 million or about 12.5 percent of India’s annual domestic production. This shows that the WTO ruling would provide tailwinds to Indian module manufacturers in the U.S. market, increasing their competition.”

K.R. Harinarayan of U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions was also of the same opinion and said “the export of Indian modules to the U.S. was very minimal to begin with so there won’t be any impact whether or not the duty is imposed on U.S. imports.”

Recently, tariffs dropped to Rs 2.48/kWh from approx Rs 2.6/kWh in SECI auction. In 2018, tariff had dropped to 2.44/kWh. With India now producing the world’s cheapest solar, is quality going to be an issue at these low costs? India’s greater share of module mix is still dominated by polycrystalline. If the low cost push continues, India risks becoming a dumping ground for poor quality material.

U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions’ K.R. Harinarayan said that “quality and longevity of solar plants, where the tariffs are low, are still a question that is yet to be answered.

Most plants have come up in the last 3 to 4 years; how they will be performing (in terms of generation) in after another 5 to 10 years is still a question. Quality of existing plants is still a large open question.”

“The predatory tariffs put pressure on every aspect of the value chain which affects quality of a generating asset.

Being a developer, albeit in the rooftop solar segment, we consider base values, which if compromised, will result in an imbalanced trade-off between cost and quality. The paramount objective is to secure returns on the investment. This kind of hyper aggressive tariff situations demand less-and-less cost of creating asset and this pressure negatively impacts generation and it leads to nothing but failure of assumptions and lower returns.

This is not beneficial for any stakeholder in the long run and will do nothing but depreciate confidence on solar energy among investors and off-takers,” added Navitas Solar’s Vineet Mittal.

Waaree Energies’ Sunil Rathi had a warning

though and said “currently, the price of solar PV is expected to hover around Rs 2.75 to 3.00 per kWh. However, a thorough evaluation to check the quality of all the materials used in a plant is extremely important. While materials of BoS can be evaluated visually for non-conformity to quality standards, the same is not applicable for PV modules. With the cost advantage now being lost, a stringent check on module quality is necessary for Indian manufacturers to maintain competitiveness in both international and domestic markets. Some of the raw materials including, encapsulant and backsheet, cannot be gauged visually. Since the quality can only be determined after a few years of operation, compromising on the quality would directly hamper the commercials of the solar plant.”

With a counter view, Vinay Kumar of Varp Power said, “tariff is the end result of a mix of assumptions, in a constrained optimisation model and is predicated on a number of assumptions related to debt cost, return expectations, EPC cost assumptions, site specific generation assumption, module tech, degradation and O&M cost assumptions. Of all these variables, the financial model which churns out the tariff, is most sensitive to generation assumptions and to EPC costs. Relentlessly low tariffs is driving down EPC costs. This is cutting both ways. It is spurring a lot of innovation in engineering, design and construction methods to meet the new aggressive cost targets. It is also resulting in dilution of quality standards in a few cases. One would like to believe that, no developer would consciously factor in quality compromises in his financial model while bidding. The compromise is usually the end-result during execution where willy-nilly, compromises are made to “meet the numbers”. There is no easy answer to this. It is akin to the problem of causality in economics – “if B happens after A, it does not mean it happens because of A”.

Similar is the equation between tariffs and quality. If poor quality happens after lower tariffs, it does not necessarily mean, it is a consequence of lower tariffs.”

Manish Aggarwal of Enkay Solar reacted by saying: “Certainly not. The reasons for such low bids are expectation of drastic module price declines in China due to recent policy changes, amendment of competitive bidding guidelines that extended the timelines for financial closure, VOL 3 l ISSUE 11 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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land acquisition, and the commissioning timeframe and the increase in maximum allowable bid capacity by a single company to 1,800 MWs. So quality of work will not get affected”, he said.

However, AMP India’s Pinaki Bhattacharyya said that “AMP Energy is focussed on supplying solar power to C&I customers. And since tariff is a derivative of project cost and generation, we believe that a fall in tariff is a combination of reduction in equipment prices and greater competitiveness. Having said that, project quality depends ultimately on the project developer and its focus on providing a superior quality plant that would outlast the PPA term.

AMP Energy focuses on the long term thereby ensuring competitive costs while also securing high quality that delivers expected performance over multi decades.”

Besides, in a bid to provide further boost to the domestic solar manufacturing, schemes like the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme tranche-II for 12 GW and setting up of 7.5 GW plant in Ladakh are expected to make a significant contribution to the sector. In the Ladakh project, for obvious reasons, price bids will be higher. Instead, India should use the size of the project as an opportunity to push for quality here, even if that means a little extra cost. Similarly, for central CPSU scheme too, timelines have to be met or enforced for bidding and installation along with a liberal rooftop policy, to lay the ground for longer term visibility on sales for manufacturers.Vinay Kumar of VarpPower also appreciated the scheme and said “the CPSU tranche would be a demand boost to manufacturers. There is no denying that. I see the Ladakh project as a “moon-shot” i.e., a big hairy audacious project and we need to pull it off, to showcase Indian execution capability of building and rolling out projects on such gigantic scale and in such harsh terrain.”

While Enkay’s Manish Aggarwal was of the view that “setting up large projects in Ladakh is a very good idea as the region has high irradiation, low temperatures and huge swathes of surplus land. We hope 7.5 GW project in Ladakh will achieve that.”

On comparing the status of SEZs with nonSEZs and providing them a level playing field, Vineet Mittal of Navitas Solar said, “we welcome this step by the government to catalyse the solar PV manufacturing SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

ecosystem in India and it is this intent that is required to boost investments into the sector. However, as the policy revolves around government procurement, it will essentially be a system based on L1.

A section of domestic manufacturers based in SEZs enjoy certain benefits which non-SEZ based entities find it difficult to compete against. The imbalance within domestic sector handicaps the overall macro objective of growth of Indian PV manufacturing and it will percolate into battery and EV manufacturing as well.

We urge the government to look into this issue and provide a level playing field to all domestic manufacturers enabling them to compete for the market share under this well-meaning scheme.”

However, K.R. Harinarayan of U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions believes that “there has been almost no impact in the last 5 years in terms of real solar manufacturing addition despite a push from the government and large deployment of several GW in the last few years. Most of the push for Make In India has not yielded any results with only additional module assembly capacity and marginal cell addition coming up.

No significant global player has invested in fresh capacity in India. Nor has anyone move up the value chain (making Ingots and Wafers) whose price and quantity set the price of the end product. So I don’t see any significant changes in value added manufacturing due to the Ladakh or CPSU.” Besides, there are other emerging issues also like Andhra Pradesh’s renegotiation of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). On this, Abhik Kumar Das, del2infinity Energy Consulting emphasized on the need of a proper balancing system and suggested that “the huge financial pressure in Discoms, like at AP, is not only due to the PPA rate of solar and wind, it can be also due to nonavailability of a proper balancing system which also affects the IPPs indirectly. The re-negotiation of PPA of wind and solar at AP is just one way of looking the problem of the financial stress of Discoms. Without a proper balancing system, wind and solar cannot be utilized to its maximum potential and without grid stability the technical and financial stress of Discoms cannot be solved.”

Meanwhile, in a reassuring show of awareness of critical industry issues on the developer (IPP) side, Power Minister R. K. Singh revealedimmediately after the

Budget announcement how his ministry was planning to resolve various issues pertaining to the power sector, including open access, revival of Discoms, consumer protection, tariff policy amendments and subsidy scheme for manufacturers.

The minister said “from the 1st of August, before power can be dispatched, the LoC has to be given… this is a major reform for the power sector. We are coming out with another scheme which will combine the features of UDAY along with the investment which we are going to make, to facilitate the achievements of those milestones towards reducing losses over a timeframe.

Open access permission has to be given in specific timeframe so this will bring more competition. The tariff policy that we are coming out with will be transformational for both the consumer as well as for the generator. So, I think we are changing the power sector. Also, we have set a timeline for switching over to smart prepaid meters.

Prepaid so that the collection comes in automatically and Smart because we want the time of day. So once that happen it will become feasible. We have a scheme for solar manufacturing which is in the works…whereby we will give assistance or subsidies to manufacturers… and that will come out soon.”

Despite various reforms announced by the government such as formation of Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) to settle issues among government agencies and private players; Letter of Credit (LoC) requirement for Discoms, et al, the health of the industry would be brighter only if these reforms will focus on long term solutions for the problems and not just providing temporary relief. The industry has responded in the best possible way it can and has raised pertinent issues of quality, the need to differentiate between modules and cells for duty, and clarifying its stand on the status of SEZ’s. Considering that one of the primary goals was to create more jobs, the SEZ issue should have been obvious, but hasn’t been resolved yet.

The solar sector can grow only with a defined vision and transparentgoalson duties, taxes, and a clear policy from the government onprickly issues like retiring some of India’s oldest thermal plants.

-MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM -PRASANNA@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM n

MILESTONE UPDATES

TRINA SOLAR TOP PERFORMER IN PVEL/DNV GL TESTS Trina Solar, the world leading global PV and smart energy total solution provider, has recently been recognized as the "Top Performer" among global PV module manufacturers by PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) and DNV GL. The company is one of only two (JinkoSolar) PV module manufacturers with worldwide reach to garner the prestigious recognition for the fifth consecutive time since the Top Performer award was founded.

The recognition of "Top Performer" is based on PV Module Reliability Scorecard released by PVEL and DNV GL. The Scorecard is one of the most comprehensive comparisons of PV module reliability test results publicly available in the market today. As an integrated certification program with a focus on module reliability and power generation performance, the test comprises 2-4x IEC thermal cycling, damp heat, dynamic

mechanical load, humidity-freeze and PID attenuation tests.

As part of PVEL’s PQP (Product Quality Program) report, the results presented in the 2019 Scorecard were independently tested in the past 18 months. The top performers selected were modules that exhibited less than 2% degradation for the entirety of the test sequence.

Being recognized as a top performer demonstrates a manufacturer’s

commitment to product quality.

Trina Solar Quality Director Zhao Mengyu said, "it is encouraging to see that Trina Solar has been recognized as a Top Performer for the fifth time in a row.

Rigorous raw materials control and production line management processes ensure the high reliability of our modules.

Trina Solar is committed to providing customers with higher-reliability and higher-value PV modules.”

VESTAS HITS 2 GW MARK IN BRAZIL FOR 4.2MW TURBINES Danish wind energy major Vestas has announced that with a new order for 197 MW of wind turbines, the company has surpassed the milestone of 2 GW of order intake for its V150-4.2 MW turbine in Brazil, nine months after the turbine variant made its debut in the country.

Vestas has received a 197 MW order for the Folha Larga II wind park, which will be located in the municipality of Campo Formoso in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The wind park is an extension of the 147 MW Folha Larga project. Once completed, the wind park willtotal 344 MW of capacity. The order, placed by long-term customer EDF, includes the supply and installation of 47 V150-4.2 MW wind turbines as well as a 20-year Active Output Management (AOM 4000) service agreement.

The V150-4.2 MW turbines are locally produced, creating jobs and expanding Brazil’s wind energy industry and supporting the government’s initiative to promote renewables and a more sustainable energy mix.

“We are really proud to achieve this 2

GW milestone in such a record timewhich underlines the V150-4.2 MW turbine’s excellent fit with Brazil’s wind conditions and its unparalleled levelised cost of energy. Reaching this goal with our trusted customer EDF underlines our strong partnership in Brazil and we look

forward to taking the next steps forward together”, said Rogerio S. Zampronha, Vestas managing director for Brazil and Southern LATAM. Turbine delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2020, whilst commissioning is planned for the first quarter of 2021.

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Integrating Wind & Solar in Existing Grid Effectively

ABHIK KUMAR DAS

28 JULY 2019

del2infinity Energy Consulting SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

OPED

The green initiatives in Union budget 2019 focus on renewable energy, air pollution, water, and solid waste management for a sustainable future. That makes the integration of renewable energy like solar and wind in existing national grid a must to achieve India’s target of 175GW in renewable energy capacity by 2022.

But the variability and intermittency in solar and wind energy generation is a challenge to the proper utilization of these energy options in the grid.

Hence, to stabilize the grid properly, accurate Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) regulation is required to bring grid discipline. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and other State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) have accordingly designed the Forecasting & Scheduling (F&S) regulations.

The PSS (Power System Simulators) level forecasting and scheduling is absolutely necessary in balancing the demandsupply of energy, without which most of the energy cannot be evacuated properly and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) face the prospect of a back down.

Besides revenue losses, it is the loss of energy which must be minimized. The regulation aptly states the requirement of F&S at PSS levels to stabilize the grid and to minimize the cost of maintaining grid-stability. Interestingly, only 2 SERCs out of 12 SERCs, namely Karnataka &Andhra Pradesh (AP), are reluctant to accept the requirement of forecasting at PSS level for grid stability or grid discipline, and considers the geographical integration of different PSS. Aggregation of different PSS does not increase the accuracy of forecasting,

nor does it help with grid discipline. It only reduces the error by dividing a value with large available capacity. But does it really reduce the cost of maintaining grid-stability? Will aggregated forecasting help to resolves the issues like (i) frequent failure of grids, (ii) non-availability of grids for smooth evacuation, (iii) backingdown by State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), (iv) increase of cost & frequency of maintenance of grid (v) higher transmission losses, which will affect the IPPs in the long run? Interestingly, APSLDC is considering the aggregation of different PSS; and now the question comes then how they are maintaining the balance in the grid system.

If the balancing of the system is not properly available, renewable energy generation cannot be in ‘must run’ condition leading to frequent failures of grids, backing down, the increase of cost and frequency of maintenance of grids, are inevitable. This will lead to inevitable loss in generation and affect distribution. When proper balancing of the system is under question in aggregated forecast, the maximum utilization of non-conventional energy in a state is also under threat. The huge financial pressure in discoms like at AP is not only due to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) rate of solar and wind, it can be also due to non-availability of a proper balancing system which also affects the IPPs indirectly.

The re-negotiation of PPA of wind and solar in AP is just one way of looking at the problem of the financial stress of discoms. Without a proper balancing system, wind and solar cannot be utilized to its maximum potential and without grid stability, the technical and financial stress of discoms cannot be solved. Solar and wind are the future and we have to nourish its generation, transmission and distribution with ‘must-run’ conditions. And for which, F&S at PSS level is required to optimize the variability and intermittency.

If maximum utilization of solar and wind is not available, the re-negotiation of PPA will hardly solve the larger issue of existing grid stability. Maximum utilization of Renewable Energy (RE) in existing grid can be the key to distressed discoms and a proper balancing system would go a long way in helping the country meets its RE targets too.

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THE CONVERSATION

2019

A Mixed Bag for the Solar Industry

30 JULY 2019

As expected from Modi Government 2.0, India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had few eggs in her basket for the renewables sector. Here’s how the key stakeholders of the solar industry, including policymakers, think tanks, leading private players, have reacted to the government’s Budget for FY19-20: After the budget, Power Minister R. K. Singh explained how his ministry is planning to resolve various issues pertaining to the power sector including open access, the revival of Discoms, consumer protection, tariff policy amendments, and a subsidy scheme for manufacturers. In an interview with CNBCTV 18, he said: “We are coming out with a tariff policy, it will come out in the next few days, which will be transformational. Now some of the transformational steps we have already taken.

From the 1st of August, before power can be dispatched, the LoC has to be given… this is a major reform for the power sector. We are coming out with another scheme which will combine the features of UDAY along with the investment which we are going to make, to facilitate the achievements of those milestones towards reducing losses over a timeframe. In the tariff policy push, the consumer will be in the forefront and it will bring out for the first time the rights of the consumers; that you don’t have a right to do load shedding as and when you want, if you do load shedding you have to pay a penalty.

There should be a relationship between the cost of the power purchase of the Discom and what the Discom charges from the consumer as the consumer has a right to pay which is warranted. Open access permission has to be given in specific timeframe so this will bring more competition. The tariff policy that we are coming out with will be transformational for both SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

the consumer as well as for the generator. So, I think we are changing the power sector. Also, we have set a timeline for switching over to smart prepaid meters. Prepaid so that the collection comes in automatically and Smart because we want the time of day. So once that happens it will become feasible. We have a scheme for solar manufacturing which is in the works…whereby we will give assistance or subsidies to manufacturers… and that will come out soon.”

The Government of India’s policy think tank NITI Aayog’s CEO Amitabh Kant has welcomed the budget by tweeting “#Budget2019 proposals to give additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans taken for #EVs is timely!”

He further added that “pathbreaking proposal in #Budget2019 to setup Mega Manufacturing plants for sunrise & advance tech areas including Li-Ion batteries, semiconductor fab, PV, laptop computers, etc. Investment-linked tax exemptions will boost @makeinindia & #FutureofMobility” Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has tweeted its President Sandeep Somany’s reaction: “The #UnionBudget2019 is good & takes forward the plan that was laid out by the government during the Interim budget.”

While highlighting e-mobility move of the government, Manish Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic India, reacted via the FICCI twitter account: “the big story of the #UnionBudget is govt announcing a clear strategy for implementation of electronic mobility ecosystem.”

On the investments front, Ramesh Nair, CEO, Adani Solar – Mundra Solar PV Ltd - a solar PV manufacturing arm of Adani

INDUSTRY REACTIONS

Group, said by tweeting, “encouraging investment in sunrise sectors is definitely a welcome move. India needs investment in manufacturing and restructuring GDP growth more on manufacturing.”

While on the government’s plan for improving the financial health of Discom’s, India's largest renewable energy Independent Power Producer ReNew Power’s Chairman and Managing Director Sumant Sinha via his twitter handle said, “changes in National Tariff Policy, review of Uday and reforms of Discoms are welcome intentions announced in the Budget speech.”

Jaideep N. Malaviya, Secretary-General, Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) expressed hopes that for:

Solar Thermal

"Hon’ble Fin.Min. has laid emphasis on clean cooking for all rural households by 2024. Solar thermal cooking can best meet the requirements and it is worthwhile to note that India is the global leader in solar cooking. To boost rural agriculture, dairy cooperatives will be set-up and solar thermal heating will get a fillip to meet the heating needs in dairy processing.

Solar Power

Solar photovoltaic based battery charging is set to become a big business with a slew of incentives under electric vehicles.

Increasing the scope of Section 35AD to include investments in semiconductors, solar PVs, lithium batteries, etc. will provide the necessary impetus to the renewable energy sector.

The One Nation One Grid, with relief in undesirable on open access sales duties, will also facilitate intra evacuation of solar PV power from feasible sites to high demand regions.”

On the Electric Vehicles front, Shailesh Chandra, President – Electric Mobility Business and Corporate Strategy, Tata Motors Ltd said: “the incentives announced by the Finance Minister, in terms of additional interventions and steps to support the EV adoption, reinforces a strong commitment by the government to steer electrification on a faster trajectory. The proposal to lower the GST rate for EVs to 5% and reduction in duties of EV components, which we are studying, is a welcome step.

It will help in further narrowing down the cost of ownership gap against ICE vehicles. Additionally, private buyers, who were earlier not considered for a subsidy through FAME 2, will now have a reason to seriously consider an EV with the tax exemption of up to Rs. 1.5 lacs.

Tata Motors has been proactively participating in EV ecosystem creation, aligned to the government’s vision of achieving a high EV penetration by 2030. Today’s announcement further emboldens our resolve and we will further accelerate our efforts.”

However, solar PV modules manufacturer Waaree Energies' Director, Sunil Rathi, has raised his concern on the Budget and said, “While we appreciate the Government’s focus on environmental reforms, it is imperative to focus on the solar segment as a key contributor for clean energy, which is missing from the Budget. With the economic viability of the solar power coupled with the fact that conventional energy sources now have to match solar parity, it would have been heartening to see more focus on the solar segment to promote ecological stability. The infusion of Rs 70,000 crore in the PSBs

to stabilize the economy will in-turn benefit the NBFCs, which, in the absence of a recognized banking unit to support small – mid-scale solar financing will provide an impetus to the solar project financing. However, the invitation to foreign PV manufactures to set-shop in India, without prior stabilisation of the domestic manufacturing market, is premature and may prove to be counterproductive for the demand in the sector, which will render the NBFC financial support redundant.

The Govt. has been indicating some changes in the solar segment for a while; however, we believe that there are critical gaps that need to be plugged. On one hand, while the safeguard duty provided the industry with interim relief, the short-sighted implementation of a year holds the proverbial sword of uncertainty in the industry. Moreover, a lack of tangible movement on the anti-dumping policy has dampened the business projections in the segment. The only silver lining in the budget is the progressive movement towards the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the incentives being offered to the end consumer. With the promotion of clean energy through the use of EVs is likely to boost the demand in the segment, thus providing impetus to achieve economies of scale and

in-turn create a viable ecosystem.”

While publicly-traded company Visaka Industries' Joint Managing Director Vamsi Gaddam said: “Budget declaration of 2019 brings in welcoming norms for manufacturing, renewable energy, and infrastructure development sector. The progressive announcements done today will increase business development opportunities for the manufacturing industry. It will be a sight to witness how mid-size Indian companies grab the opportunities provided by our government. I believe, there are three key benefits for us this year.

• F irstly, the proposal of investing INR 100 lakh crore for infrastructure development over 5 years will open doors to pitch-in products which are smarter and enhances the infrastructure levels of the country.

• Secondly, the implementation of 'One Nation, One Power' grid in the power sector, to ensure power connectivity to states at affordable rates and power connectivity to all willing families by 2022 will boost the new building construction processes like installing an integrated solar roofing system that generates energy, instead of a traditional roof.

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(MRO) industry showcases the commitment provided to Indian manufacturers. It will bring in a transparent environment for the ones in this business.”

On Electric Vehicles, Maxson Lewis, Managing Director, Magenta Power said, “The budget is a positive push for the adoption of Electric Vehicles in India and is in line with the series of steps taken and announcements in that direction.

Namely on 4 counts – 3 direct and one indirect aspect are important from that perspective. While the total cost of ownership was always in favour of EV, the announcement in the reduction of GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5% reduces the upfront higher cost as against an ICE engine and improves the buying decision in favour of EVs. The additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles is a bonus and the industry had not anticipated that. Credits to the government for this innovative idea to push for EV. A day ahead of the budget 2019, the government lowered customs duty on import of parts and components. This will drive domestic assembling of electric vehicles, which today is plagued by Chinese imports and is actually hurting the EV industry. The EV industry primarily belongs to startups and will not be the domain of large monoliths. The push to simplify and support the Start-Up ecosystem will in effect push the EV growth a lot faster.”

On attracting FDI’s and job creation, Guru Inder Mohan Singh, Director and Chief Operating Officer, Amplus Solar said, “The focus on attracting investment in advanced technology area is a welcome move. Technology is typically born in Universities in Europe and the USA, and then commercialized in China before it reaches India. By promoting advanced technology manufacturing here, India can short circuit this process and attract FDI, especially in the background of the US-China trade war. This promotion will also generate SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

employment and slow down India’s brain drain. The vision of India being a global hub for manufacturing of electric vehicles is a pleasant move too. In the past, India has lost to China in the solar manufacturing space. A concerted effort on battery manufacturing will ensure that India does not lag far behind China, despite them having already secured the pole position.”

However, on the policy direction for Indian solar PV module manufacturing, Vikram Solar's Chief Financial Officer, Rajendra Kumar Parakh, expressed his concern by saying that, “I would like to congratulate Hon'ble FM, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting her maiden budget. The industry was expecting a policy direction from the government to promote the manufacturing through Make in India program, especially in the renewable energy sector. Government announcement to launch a scheme aimed at encouraging global companies (through competitive bidding process) to set up mega-manufacturing plants in sunrise and advanced technology sectors appears to be a step forward in that direction.

We welcome this move as it will boost the Make in India programme. Having said that, setting up mega manufacturing plants of solar photovoltaic cells and modules require a larger support structure in the form of soft loans, export credits in order to compete globally, etc.”

The research think tank The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has welcomed the green initiatives of the Union Budget 2019.

Referring to the announcements made towards renewable energy, air pollution, water, and solid waste management, Ajay Shankar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI said: “The Union Budget presented demonstrates the government’s vision of putting India on the path to sustainable development and takes forward the government’s commitment to a cleaner environment as was highlighted in the interim budget.”

INDUSTRY REACTIONS

Gautam Seshadri, Head of Strategy, Blowhorn said, “The conscious effort towards strengthening the electric vehicles ecosystem by the Modi Government 2.0 in its first budget presentation is a welcome move. Promoting and helping build the infrastructure is the need of the hour for India to realise its vision of '30% EV mobility by 2030'. Further incentivising EVs and batteries will prove to be beneficial for both commercial and private EV owners. A reduction of GST on EVs from 12% to 5% is again a positive move. This is undoubtedly a pro-EV budget and will not only drive the adoption and manufacturing prowess of EVs but also contribute to the realisation of the Government's Smart Cities project. The mobility sector is expected to gain considerable momentum if the proposed schemes are actioned.”

While, Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India, a clean energy company whose focus in India is on EV charging infrastructure, Solar, NOx reduction solutions for thermal power plants and Bio-ethanol, commented, “The Union Budget presented by the Hon’ble Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today clearly demonstrates the government’s vision of putting India on a growth trajectory. Fortum India appreciates the various steps taken by the government in addressing the issues related to tax and duties in the renewable sector and electric mobility.

As Fortum India proceeds in setting up fast-charging EV infrastructure in India, the reduction in GST and import duties will accelerate the deployment and usage of electric vehicles in India. We now see a lot of action in the electric mobility, charging and storage space in line with the government’s green vision, which is very encouraging for the industry.

We at Fortum wish to collaboratively work with vigor towards the government’s aim of having 30% electric vehicles by 2030, by continuing our investments in recycling the capital.”

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said, “On Electric Vehicles: the GST reduction from 12% to 5% is a welcome move. The income tax deduction up to Rs 2.5 lakh (~$3500) on the interest of the loan to purchase EV will speed up the EV revolution. Govt has set an objective to make India a global hub for manufacturing of EVs including solar electric charging infrastructure.

Exemption from customs duties for EV components such as e-drive, onboard chargers, etc. will help reduce the cost of EVs on road, at the same time, the Phased Manufacturing Plan announced by DHI will also incentivise manufacturers to invest in domestic localisation of EVs over next 3 years.

Allocation of Rs 10,000 Cr for FAME II incentives to reduce the upfront cost of EVs will have an immediate impact on boosting the sales of 2W, 3W, Cars and Buses with advanced batteries in India.”

On mega-investment in Sunrise and Advanced Technology areas, Dr. Walawalkar said: “It’s a welcome step by GoI to facilitate the setting up of mega manufacturing plants of Liion batteries and solar chargers. This is a very important step to ensure energy security for India to avoid over-reliance on imports of key components of EVs. We expect that setting up these Giga factories will also help us in expanding the market for stationary energy storage projects for supporting renewable integration and reducing the usage of diesel for

backup power generation. At the same time, IESA urges the government to expand the incentives to other advanced energy storage technologies including thermal storage, flow batteries, metal-air batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors and mechanical storage technologies such as gravity storage.

We are happy that the government has identified key raw material supply issues and have reduced custom duties on Cobalt mattes, a key ingredient for advanced Li-ion batteries from 5% to 2.5%.

The new announcement on section 35 AD of income tax act can help in developing of cutting-edge energy storage technologies in India. This should create opportunities for exporting Made in India advanced energy storage technologies.”

On start-ups, Dr. Walawalkar said, “The government’s announcement on the continued push for start-ups can give a huge impetus on the startup ecosystem and MSME’s to diversify into EV & storage ecosystems. This is a welcome step and sufficient budget allocation should be provided to them.

The focus should also be in removing bureaucratic hurdles that can help entrepreneurs to focus on bringing innovative solutions to market.

A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE) Support for technology incubators under ASPIRE scheme will create opportunities for domestic innovators as well as help attract the return of Indian entrepreneurs from around the globe. IESA is working with DST for creating a focused innovation system for industry and academic collaborations around EV and energy storage. Also setting up of National Research Foundation & various incubators can help in commercialisation of indigenous technologies.

Swachh Bharat Mission/ Recycling Li-ion batteries We urge the government for expanding the focus of Swachh Bharat Mission to include e-waste management and also focus on recycling of Li-ion batteries. This will further help in securing the raw material supply chain for the manufacturing of li-ion batteries in India.

UJALA Yojana Govt’ s intention to promote the use of solar stove & battery chargers will create a huge demand for advanced batteries and support the push for getting Giga Factories in India. At the same time, this initiative will help to promote sustainable energy for all. IESA is working with various government agencies to ensure that these proposed products can be designed to ensure that such solar stove and batteries can also help improving power quality and reliability in rural areas.”

Meanwhile, Suntuity Renewable energy India's Director Imaan Javan said: “We believe in championing green energy. This year’s budget looks promising in promoting green energy in India. Today, the Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, welcomed global companies to set up manufacturing plants in the solar sector in India which will promote solar energy. This initiative taken by the government will enhance the solar energy segment and will promote the growth and development of clean energy in our country as well as provide employment opportunities within the country.”

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EV UPDATES

GST ON EV CHARGERS BROUGHT DOWN TO 12% The Goods and Services Tax (GST) council meeting held on June 21, 2019, has approved the reduction of GST on electric vehicle chargers to 12 percent, down from 18 percent previously.

Led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the council sees the move as a boost for both manufacturers and consumers, and hence promoting the e-mobility segment. The decision definitely comes as a relief for manufactures of electric vehicle chargers, however, the impact on customers as well as EV manufacturers are not expected to be significant.

For manufacturers there is still one kind of charger that is being used within the vehicles, and that is still taxed at an 18 percent rate.

Thus, not offering any respite. Moreover,

customers also pay a fixed tax for using charging services, which again is still at 18 percent.

The automobile sector has sought

urgent measures to boost demand, after recording the steep decline in sales.

Electric vehicle sales reached 7.5 lakh units in Financial Year (FY) 2018-19, as it has registered a growth of record 31.8 percent. Further to this, SMEV’s analysis reveals that post implementation of the FAME II scheme there has been a drastic brought down in the sales of electric vehicles for the month of April of current financial year due to lack of incentives for private EVs. The decision that could perhaps greatly influence the e-mobility sector in the country is if the GST councils proposal to reduce the GST on electric vehicles is approved. A decision that was expected at the end of the latest council meeting, however, that proposal is still under consideration.

MG, FORTUM SET UP 50 KW ECONOMIC SURVEY: EMPHAFAST CHARGING EV STATIONS SISE ON EVS & POLICIES

34 JULY 2019

As part of its commitment towards sustainable mobility, MG Motor India and Fortum Charge & Drive India have undertaken the first step towards creating DC Fast Charging infrastructure (50 KW) in the country. The carmaker has announced a tieup with leading Finland-based clean energy major Fortum to install the country’s first 50 KW DC fast-charging EV stations, ahead of the launch of its debut EV in India, the MG EZS pure electric SUV, later this year. Rajeev Chaba, President & Managing Director, MG Motor India, said, “The upcoming launch of MG eZs is aligned with the government’s long-term objective to have more electric vehicles on the road in the next few years. We are delighted to be partnering with one of the leading EV Charging service provider in the global EV space to set up charging stations at MG dealerships in select cities to begin with.” Under the partnership, Fortum will install 50 KW CCS/CHAdeMO DCfast Public Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles across MG’s showrooms in 5 cities including Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad by September this year to begin with. One such charging station will come up at MG’s state of the art flagship showroom in Gurugram.

The smart chargers can be accessed by an EV user, having cars compatible with CCS/CHAdeMO charging standards by registering with Fortum Charge & Drive India through its Mobile App. Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India, said, “We are happy to collaborate with one of the world’s leading automotive companies to bolster the adoption of EV which has been greatly promoted by Government by bringing out various enabling policy measures and guidelines.”

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The country must emphasise on electric vehicles (EVs) as these represent the next generation in sustainable mobility and appropriate policy measures are needed to lower the overall lifetime ownership costs to make them an attractive alternative to consumers, according to the latest Economic Survey that was tabled in parliament on July 4, 2019.

It further added that India can emerge as a hub of EV manufacturing; and a policy push is required to devise universal charging standards for India as a whole and to provide adequate charging infrastructure.

“As electric vehicles represent the next generation in sustainable mobility, India must emphasise on them,” it said.

Stating that it may not be unrealistic to visualise one of the Indian cities emerging as the Detroit of EVs in the future, it said, "Appropriate policy measures are needed to lower the overall lifetime ownership costs of EVs and make them an attractive alternative to conventional vehicles for all consumers," it said.

"While various incentives have been provided by the government and new policies are being implemented, it is important that these policies not only focus on reducing the upfront costs of owning an EV but also reduce the overall lifetime costs of ownership," it said.

Quoting the Niti Aayog, it said that if India reaches an EV sales targets by 2030, a saving of 846 million tonne of net CO2 emissions and oil savings of 474 million tonne of oil equivalent (MTOE) can be achieved.

EV UPDATES

INDIA'S STATES PIVOT TO E-BUSES, CHALLENGES SURFACE In just the past two months, announcements have been made for over 2000 electric buses from states across India, be it Delhi, Kashmir, Maharashtra or Punjab.

It is important that local state transport authorities realise that an electric bus purchase is much more than just buying a bus that runs on electricity. Earlier this week, news reports said that 20 recently acquired electric buses are sitting idle in Srinagar as there were no charging points.

In Bengaluru, the state government has actually decided to shift their young fleet to longer routes, as the buses are simply not able to run effectively in the clogged city. Incidents such indicate

the niggles that crop up with charging and other infrastructural problems in the push toward EVs. China, home to 99% of the world’s electric bus fleet, is actually the best place to know what to do, and what not. Shenzhen, the city in China that grabbed headlines for its all electric fleet, is a good example for the sheer amount of investments and efforts it took to ‘prep’ the city for electric buses.

A report from the World Resources Institutes points to just that challenge, and how cities and states need to learn. Giving the Shenzhen example, the lead author of the report Camron Gorguinpour writes about Shenzhen’s long process in setting up the charging

infrastructure to support more than 16,000 electric buses.

In the case studies featured in the WRI report, the price of a new e-bus was a major factor, something we are discovering in India too. With prices being quoted in the range of Rs 2 to 4 crores even after stripping them down for India – as compared to an average price of say 4 crores plus in the US – the financial challenge is real.

For cash strapped local governments, the high initial cost trumps life time cost in terms of savings in fuel, pollution benefits, etc. This could mean further delays in the adoption process, or the sort of tentative pilots that we are seeing with ultra small fleet buys of 10-200 buses.

FAME-II FOCUS ON ELECTRIFI- ROLEC PROVIDES 1K EV CATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT CHARGING POINTS FOR KIA The second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme will focus on supporting the electrification of public and shared transportation over the next three years, the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Arvind Ganpat Sawant has said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.The scheme will support through subsidies 7,000 electric buses, five lakh electric three wheelers, 55,000 electric four-wheeler passenger cars and 10 lakh electric two-wheelers to provide affordable and environment-friendly public transportation options for the masses. With budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore, the scheme which initiated on. April 1, 2019, will support the creation of charging infrastructure in select cities and along major highways to address range anxiety among users of electric vehicles, according to the statement. So far, five automobile manufacturers have registered to avail benefits of the scheme. The first phase of FAME India scheme was launched for two years on April 1, 2015, but due to several extensions was operational for a period double what it was planned for, when it ended on March 31,2019. About 2.78 lakh electric and hybrid vehicles (xEVs) were supported with a total demand incentive of Rs 343 crore. Besides, 465 buses were sanctioned to various cities and states. FAME India is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 with a vision and roadmap for faster adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country. This plan has been designed to enhance national fuel security, provide affordable and environmentally-friendly transportation and enable the Indian automotive industry to achieve global manufacturing leadership, Sawant said in his written reply.

Rolec EV, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of electric vehicle charging stations and equipment, has announced that it has manufactured and supplied over 1,000 electric vehicle charging proints for KIA Motors UK’s Head Office, dealership network and domestic EV customers.

The company issued in a statement that KIA had a requirement to implement a nationwide EV charging network, to be deployed across over 160 dealerships and offices, as well as the facility to offer standardised EV home charge point installations to its EV customers. To accommodate these requirements, Rolec EV, via its ‘enquiry to installation’ charge point management portal, was selected to design, manufacture and project manage the installation of a range of custom KIA branded EV charging pedestals and WallPod chargers.

Rolec’s MD Kieron Alsop said, “We were delighted to have been chosen by KIA Motors UK to supply our branded range of EV charging solutions to their Head Office, dealership network and domestic EV customers. Our EV charge point installation portal proved invaluable in managing and coordinating the large scale EV charge point rollout across the UK.” In March, we reported that online retailer Amazon and South Korean automaker Kia had teamed up to provide one-stop shopping for chargers, in what is just the start of the retail giant’s reach toward EV and hybrid buyers. Kia electric vehicle buyers can now order at-home charging units and schedule home installation through Amazon. Kia believes that making the process simple and seamless is a good way to encourage more people to join the electric car revolution.

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EV UPDATES

HERO WORKING ON MULTIPLE EV PROJECTS The country's largest two wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has revealed that it the company is already working on multiple electric vehicle projects, company chairman Pawan Munjal said in the company's Annual Report for 2018-19.

The company is fully geared up for the EV challenge, and has asked the government for a more cautious, clear and realistic roadmap towards the adoption of such technology in the country.

“The entire world is adopting the global mobility trends of electrification (EVs), shared mobility and connected twowheelers. The company is working on several EV projects and is fully geared up for this challenge,” Munjal said.

The company has made a sizeable strategic investment in the electric twowheeler manufacturer Ather Energy, which has already launched a range of electric scooters, he added. "Hero intends to enhance its participation in the EV space by pursuing its internal EV programme in addition to partnering with Ather.”

The company has an ongoing project exclusively dedicated to develop EVs at its Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur.

Munjal said the company appreciates and whole-heartedly supports the

government's vision of a more sustainable and environment-friendly future. “We, therefore, propose a more cautious, clear and realistic roadmap towards the adoption of EVs. The scale and timing of the adoption need prudent deliberations and we will gladly support all stakeholders

in this process,” he added.

The two-wheeler industry continues to grapple with slowdown and one significant step which government could take to revive sales would be the removal of two-wheelers from the highest GST slab of 28 percent to 18 percent slab.

INDIA AS GLOBAL HUB MANUFACTURING EVS?

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The Union Budget has outlined various proposals for giving a boost to manufacturing of electric vehicles and developing India as a global hub for the same.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the union budget for the financial year in Parliament, and from initial assessments the budget holds a lot of positives for renewables and especially the Electric Vehicles sector.

In her maiden budget speech, Sitharaman highlighted that under Phase-II of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) India Scheme, only advanced battery and registered e-vehicles will be incentivised, with a greater emphasis on providing SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

affordable and environment friendly public transportation options for the common man.

She further added that in line with these incentives for buyers, the Government has already moved GST council to lower the GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5%. Also to make electric vehicles affordable to consumers, the Union

Budget says the government will provide additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.

“This amounts to a benefit of around Rs 2.5 lakh over the loan period to the taxpayers who take loans to purchase electric vehicle,” she added.

The Finance Minister further said that the inclusion of solar storage batteries and charging infrastructure in the FAME scheme will give a boost to manufacturing, which is needed for India to leapfrog and become a global hub for manufacturing of these vehicles. To further incentivise e-mobility, customs duty is being exempted on certain parts of electric vehicles.

MODULE UPDATES

CHINA’S BIGGEST PV GLASS WALL PROJECT Hanergy has announced that it has completed the installation of what it is claiming is the biggest Photovoltaic (PV) glass curtain wall project on a single building.

The HanWall project at China Pharmaceutical International Innovation Park (PIIP) has hit the list of top landmark green buildings of Nanchang city in the Jiangxi Province. As part of the project, Hanergy has applied 6000 square meters of its innovative BIPV product, HanWall Oerlikon modules, on the façade of the building. Measuring 1200mm by 1130mm, each module has the capacity of 100 Watts. The project installs a total of 4600 electricity-generating units, with an overall capacity of 460 KW. A perfect demonstration of the green system solution, the project is aimed at generating electricity that will mostly be used to provide power for indoor lighting, ventilation system, and air-conditioning, making the building’s reliance on the national grid substantially negligible.

Zhang Bin, Hanergy’s senior vice president, said “at Hanergy, we’re delighted for having set the standard for future ecological buildings and upping the ante in the BIPV segment with the introduction of our par-excellence

skyscraper product- HanWall.”

According to the company, its BIPV products are being applied in more buildings nationally and internationally, one being the OCT Building in Heyuan, Guangdong Province. The 18-floor

building is 85-meter tall and installed with 2823.67 square meters of solar curtain wallwith a yearly capacity of 210,000 kWh, equivalent to the environmental benefits of planting over 10,000 trees.

BHEL SEEKING MANUFACTURERS FOR 36 MW SOLAR CELLS

38 JULY 2019

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has issued a tenderinviting quotations from eligible bidders for manufacturing and supply of 157 mm multi solar cells as per BHEL technical specifications.

The scope of work for the selected bidders and vendors will involve the manufacturing and supply of 157 mm multi solar cells with their wattage required to fall within the range 4.604.75 Wp. The delivery quantity set by the country’s largest power equipment manufacturer is 36,000 kW. The last date for bid submission is July 15, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the same date.

The date and time of price bid opening will be intimated to the technically SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

accepted vendors later.

As per the BHEL specifications, the cell dimensions can be within the range of

156.75 to 157 (plus or minus 0.25 mm), side to side. The cells should be square in shape with the finished cells having a thickness greater than 200 microns.

The number of bus bars should be five each on the front and back of the cell.

The cells should classify under class ‘A’ solar cells without any visual defects.

The cells need to be potential induced degradation (PID) free.

Price is to be quoted on per Kilowatt basis and the purchase order will also be placed on a kilowatt basis. L1 (Lowest Price) vendor shall be evaluated by BHEL on price per kilowatt basis. BHEL requires delivery of 6000 kW/month commencing from the date of the purchase order.

MODULE UPDATES

TALESUN SUPPLIES 99.5 MW MODULES FOR BELGIUM PROJ In the largest PV solar project finished in Belgium, Talesunsaid that the company provided all PV modules for the project, which is its multi-crystalline type PIPRO TP672P, 72 cells poly modules. The total module amount of the project counts for 99.5 MW and makes the project a new scale record for Belgium.

Sonia Benard, General Manager of Talesun’s European branch, highly praised the project and the role the firm played.

“We are pleased to be part of this historical project in Belgium and help to push the world cleaner. For the long term, Talesun devoted to the market of PV solar energy in Europe and played a more and more important role.

After several years of cooperation with ENGIE in the European market, we are excited to be continuing our partnership with ENGIE, who has proven to be an important and strong partner to have in developing the solar industry in Europe,” she said.

This big size project was initiated by a local Flemish Investment Company, LRM NV, and EngieFabricom a subsidiary of

the French energy giant Engie took the EPC role. The ground-mounted solar field is comprised of 303,000 Talesun modules and covers an area of 93-hectare.

The grid-connected system is expected to generate approximately 85,000

megawatt-hours of electricity annually and offset roughly 140,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The project started construction last autumn and will provide clean energy to Nyrstar, a zinc manufacturing company.

JINKO MODULES TOP MODULE RELIABILITY SCORECARD JinkoSolar, one of the largest module manufacturers in the world, has announced that it was ranked as a top performer for the 5th consecutive year in the 2019 PV Module Reliability Scorecard, published by PVEL in partnership withDNV GL. The PV Module Reliability Scorecard ranks PV modules and manufacturers using independent test data and is considered one of the most comprehensive publicly available comparison of PV module reliability test results.

As part of PVEL's PQP (Product Quality Program) report, the results presented in the 2019 scorecard were independently tested in the past 18 months. The top performers selected were modules that exhibited less than 2% degradation for the entirety of the test sequence. Being recognized as a top performer demonstrates a manufacturer's commitment to product quality.

Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar, said “I am extremely proud that JinkoSolar has once again been recognized with this award. It is a great compliment to the groundbreaking work we do and allows us to stand out as the preferred brand for customers, investors, and banks. Our R&D team is committed to revolutionising the industry using technological innovation and continues to set new industry benchmarks in these rigorous test regimes for quality checks. We believe that only reliable

and highly efficient products will meet the global demand from our customers and generate value for our shareholders.”

Recently, the company announced that the maximum conversion efficiency of its cheetah size cells and N-type cells reached 24.38% and 24.58%respectivelyduring testing conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in March 2019.

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Insolight in Spotlight With Claims of 29% Efficiency for solar Panels Insolight, the Lausanne, Switzerland based company, has said that its pre-production modules have set a new efficiency standard of 29% for commercial solar panels. The results were validated by the Solar Energy Institute of the UniversidadPolitécnica de Madrid (IES-UPM), setting the stage for large-scale industrialization, a company statement said.

While Solar capacity has grown exponentially in the past decade, with the past 5 years being an especially frenetic time for growth, the industry’s recent troubles have caused doubts over prospects in the near term. Insolight’s breakthrough will go a long way in surmounting the challenges.

Though it will take time to take the product to market in a meaningful way, it is reassuring to note that a key objective of Insolight has been to reduce residential solar costs.

Founded by Laurent Coulot (CEO), Mathieu Ackermann (CTO), and Florian Gerlich (COO), Insolight has been backed by investors including ZurcherkantonalBank, 3wVentures, and others.

So how does its tech work?

40 JULY 2019

For starters, it claims to have a radically new design. Insolight claims that its photovoltaic modules rely on a unique patented SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

AVERAGE EFFICIENCY FOR COMMERCIAL PV PANELS

Insolight

29% Technology * 30%

20%

10%

11%

12.5%

13%

18%*

16%

14%

Standard silicon panels

2018

0% 1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2030

*source: UPM-IES report *source: Fraunhofer ISE PV status

technology called planar optical micro-tracking. Embedded under the cover glass, an optical layer funnels concentrated

MODULE UPDATES

INSOLIGHT’S PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM Thanks to its novel optical design, Insolight brings space grade solar cell’s power to the consumer market, reaching an efficiency of over 29%.

Glass protective layer

Space-grade solar cells 1 mm2

Embedded lenses

Standard frame

Mobile layer: Horizontal movements of a few mm per day keep the cells aligned with the lights beams Hexagonal lenses concentrate light beams by 200x

COMBINING INSOLIGHT TECHNOLOGY WITH PV SOLAR PANEL Since it only covers 0.5% of the total backplane surface, Insolight system can be easily combined with standard PV technology by adding a few stages at the end of an assembly line.

1

Assembling the optical glass

2

Mounting the space grade cells array onto a PV backplane

Glass cover Optical array

Space grade cells and interconnections

Glass assembly

PV backplane

3

Final assembly

Standard Frame (45 mm)

light beams directly onto an array of high-efficiency solar cells.

The integrated tracking system keeps each cell in focus

regardless of the Sun’s position. The resulting flat panel combines very high efficiency with ease of mounting on any standard rooftop or ground-mounted installation.

Where this gets interesting is the efficiency claim, where the firm says that the technology allows unprecedented results for a flat solar panel, with a peak efficiency close to 30% at a time when mainstream modules are averaging close to 18%.

According to Insolight, since the solar light input is optically boosted, its modules can reach an optimum efficiency with only 0.5% of the surface covered by solar cells. This approach dramatically decreases the cost of space grade photovoltaics and enables its use in a consumer product.

With its novel architecture, Insolight targets to reduce solar electricity costs by 30% on rooftops by significantly boosting the energy yield and the return-on-investment well beyond the capabilities of mainstream PV modules.

And, the company claims that its modules are compatible with existing technology, saying that its system can be assembled as an overlay on top of mainstream PV modules.

A hybrid approach that can be especially useful to maintain energy harvesting under cloudy conditions. The firm says that the technology involves a few module-level assembly steps which can be added at the end of existing production lines, taking leverage of production capacities already in place. No complex cleanroom processes are required, the statement said.

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MARKET UPDATES

EVS EMIT 67% LESS THAN CONVENTIONAL ICE VEHICLES A new report has revealed that a typical mid-size electric vehicle (EV) can generate up to 67 percent lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than a petrol-driven internal combustion engine (ICE) car on a well-to-wheel basis but the location in which they are driven is a crucial factor.

Consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie has revealed that an EV can only displace up to half of the GHG emissions of an ICE gasoline car based on the existing electricity generation mix in developing economies such as China and India which are still heavily dependent on coal for power generation.

“Comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from an EV and an ICE car is not straightforward. It's worth noting that, even though EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, they are not GHG emissions-free when evaluated on a well-to-wheel basis,” said Aman Verma, a research analyst at WoodMac. “When there is a high share of coal or other fossil fuels in the power mix, typical in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, the competitiveness of EVs versus ICE cars decreases.”

The new research considers a number of factors; how the fuel is produced in refineries, where the crude oil is sourced from, mileage of the car, how the electricity is produced, and the energy use associated with vehicle and battery

manufacturing and charging.

According to the report, decarbonisation of the power sector is the most crucial factor in sustaining the current advantage for EVs and as gasoline ICE vehicles become more fuel efficient, the power mix must comprise more renewables for EVs to remain GHG competitive.

EUROPE TO CROSS 250 GW SOLAR CAPACITY BY 2024

U.S. RENEWABLE TO OUTPACE COAL FOR ENTIRE 2Q 2019

According to a new report, new solar installations in Europe will double in the next 3 years to reach a level of approximately of 20 GW/year. And, the total installed capacity in the region will surpass 250 GW by 2024.

The report ‘Europe Solar PV Market Outlook 2019’ by consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables says thatGermany will remain the continent’s largest solar PV market, installing 21 GW between 2019 and 2024. Spain will come a close second, with almost 20 GW of mostly utility-scale capacity expected. And a total of 7 European countries will install at least 5 GW during the period, while eighteen will install more than 1 GW. Tom Heggarty, senior analyst at WoodMac, said: "solar PV is growing in Europe against a backdrop of rapid power sector decarbonisation. Several EU member states have already committed to 100% renewable power or zero-carbon power targets, while the EU is discussing the adoption of an economy-wide net-zero emissions target by 2050. Over 170GW of gas, coal and nuclear capacity will be displaced from the market by 2040. Solar PV’s share of generation will reach 13% by 2040 up from 4% today.”

The report noted that Feed-in tariffs and subsidies will be withdrawn from many markets within the next 5 years, creating pressure on profitability and cost. Most investors will see their exposure to wholesale power prices increase and with that price cannibalisation will become a growing issue as renewable energy penetration increases.

According to a new analysis, utility-scale renewable resources in the U.S. generated more electricity than coal for the first time in April, and the trend will likely persist through the entire second quarter of this year.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA’s) latest analysis noted that if the projection comes to pass, it would mark the first-time renewables have outpaced coal-fired generation in the U.S. on a quarterly basis.

The totals for the milestone month of April, predicted one month ago and registered formally this week by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), were 68,481 thousand megawatt-hours (MWh) of generation for renewables (including wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass) and 60,099 thousand MWh for coal.

These numbers add to evidence of a fundamental shift described by the EIA in its latest Short-Term Energy Forecast.

Specifically, the EIA estimates that renewable generation from April through June will average 2,324 MWh per day while coal will total 2,301 MWh/day.

Now with changes sweeping through the sector, that prediction has the ring of inevitability. The forecast indeed may not pan out this quarter but as companies continue to shutter their coal plants, reduce the output of the plants that remain online, and bring new renewables, natural gas andincreasingly, storage resources onto the grid, a long-term crossover point is coming and there is reason to believe it is coming soon.

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MARKET UPDATES

OFFSHORE WIND SECTOR COULD BE 200 GW BY 2030 A new report, ‘Global Offshore Wind Report’, by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has predicted that the global offshore wind sector could expand to over 200 GW by 2030 if it lives up to its potential.

The global offshore market has grown by an average of 21% each year since 2013, reaching total installations of 23 GW. More than 4 GW of new capacity was installed each year in 2017 and 2018, making up 8% of the total new installations during both years. For the first time, China was the largest offshore market in 2018 based on new installations, followed by the UK and Germany.

In the report, GWEC Market Intelligence provides a market outlook representing a

“business-as-usual” (BAU) scenario which does not incorporate further technical development or further opportunities for offshore wind, and an upside scenario which captures the additional potential.

The BAU scenario expects double-digit growth for the global offshore market based on current policies and expected auctions and tenders. This scenario makes

annual installations of 15 to 20 GW after 2025 realistic based on growth in China and other Asian markets, amounting to 165 GW of new installed capacity globally between now and 2030. This would bring the total installed capacity to nearly 190 GW. The upside scenario captures additional potential such as the advancement of floating technology, increased cost competitiveness and therefore greater volume in mature markets, as well as the opening up of new offshore markets.

Based on this scenario, a more positive outlook of over 200 GW new installed capacity between now and 2030 is possible, totaling approximately 210 GW installed capacity.

SOLAR MARKET PREDICTED TO 100% RENEWABLE U.S. GRID REACH 4767 GW BY 2026 COULD COST $4.5 TRILLION According to a new report, the global solar power market will derive growth from increasing awareness regarding conservation of conventional energy sources and reducing environmental pollution, and will grow to 4766.82 GW over the next 7 years.

The report, "Solar Power Market: Global Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2026", published by Fortune Business Insights has estimated the solar market to be at 680.22 GW in 2019. And it predicted that the market will reach 4766.82 GW by 2026thereby exhibiting a CAGR of 30.7%.

The advancements in photovoltaic technology in recent years have boded well for the global market. Growing awareness of the adverse effects of pollution and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to the growing demand for solar power across the world. “Increasing efforts towards ensuring optimum solar energy consumption will aid the growth of the global solar power market in the forthcoming years. The increasing investment in the development of solar power and related energy generation devices from private as well as government organizations has contributed to the growth of the global market,” the report added.

The awareness towards climate change and several initiatives taken to minimise the consumption of non-renewable energy sources has created the need for efficient solar energy harnessing devices. As a result of climate change, governments across the world have made active participation in the form of investment as well as subsidies.

As a result of the outcry for environmental preservations, companies have capitalised by introducing newer products and concepts that will aid in harnessing solar energy efficiently.

A new analysis has revealed that the transition to a 100% renewable U.S. power grid will need investments of up to US$4.5 trillion over the next 10 to 20 years.

The analysis from consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie estimates that about 1,600-gigawatts (GW) of new wind and solar capacity would be needed to produce enough energy to replace all fossil fuel generation in the U.S. Dan Shreve, head of global wind energy research, said: “the mass deployment of wind and solar generation will require substantial investments in utility-scale storage to ensure grid resilience is maintained.” About 900 GW of new storage will also be needed to ensure windand solar-generated power is available exactly when consumers need it. The scale of the challenge is unprecedented, requiring a complete redesign of the power sector. “The challenges of achieving 100% renewable energy go far beyond the capital costs of new generating assets. Most notably, it will need a substantial redesign of electricity markets, migrating away from traditional energy-only constructs and more towards a capacity market,” Shrive added. The current U.S. power grid has about 1,060 GW of nameplate capacity, including about 130 GW of wind and solar capacity. Aggressive 2030 climate targets would require more capacity to be installed every year for the next 11 years, than the total capacity put in place over the previous 20 years. However, extending the time horizon to 2040-2050 would allow new technologies to develop and reach commercial scale. Allowing 20% of the power mix to come from existing natural gas-fired generation would also reduce renewable energy costs by roughly 20%, and energy storage costs by at least 60%, the consultancy firm said.

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CHINA: THE LARGEST STORAGE MARKET IN APAC BY 2024 A new analysis has revealed that China will become the largest energy storage market in the Asia Pacific (APAC) by 2024.

Consultancy and rating agency Wood Mackenzie has revealed that the cumulative energy storage capacity in China is projected to skyrocket from 489 megawatts (MW) or 843 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017 to 12.5 gigawatts (GW) or 32.1GWh in 2024. This represents an increase in the installed base of 25 times.

According to the firm, policy incentives have been the main drivers behind the country’s rapid growth in storage deployments in 2018, already pushing it to become the second-largest market behind South Korea in terms of annual deployment. The market deployed 580MW (1.14GWh), reaching a cumulative market size of 1.07GW (1.98GWh) last year. Frontof-the-meter (FTM) storage led growth, up five-fold in terms of installed power capacity compared to 2017.

State Grid Corporation of China, a stateowned utility company, itself deployed 452MWh of grid-connected FTM pilot

projects, which accounted for 83% of FTM market growth nationwide last year.

These pilot projects were supported by government research grants.

Dr. Le Xu, senior analyst, said, “Based on current project economics and without policy support, utilities have limited incentive to scale-up investment in FTM storage as part of grid infrastructure.”

This is set to change next year. According

to China’s NEA, the ancillary services market will be transitioning from a basic compensation mechanism to a market integrated with spot energy prices by 2020. That, along with maturity in technology and subsequent cost reduction, are key factors that will contribute to the exponential growth in the nation’s energy storage market through to 2024.

INDIA’S ROOFTOP PV CAPACITY CROSSES 4 GW MARK

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The Indian Solar Rooftop market crossed 4 GW in total capacity by Mar 31, 2019, reaching a total of 4,375 MW according to Bridge to India’s (BTI) India Solar Rooftop Map 2019. The lion’s share of this capacity comes from the industrial segment that contributed 2,140 MW to the total while 926 MW came from the commercial segment.

Despite government’s push, the residential market continues to lag behind – it added 690 MW - although it fared a tad better than the public sector that pooled in 619 MW by the reporting date. Out of the total installed capacity, 29% of systems are more than 1 MW in size.

As per the report, CAPEX remains the most popular form of project development in this segment with more than 3 GW development activity taking place in the space, followed by the OPEX model that accounts for 1,320 MW. Yet compared to 2013, the OPEX model has increased its YoY share from 3% back SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

then to 37% in FY 2019. The report also says that the share of rooftop is increasing consistently and currently is close to 30% of the total solar market in India.

The states of Maharashtra (618 MW), Rajasthan (393 MW), Gujarat (314 MW), Karnataka (298 MW) and Tamil Nadu

(365 MW) are listed as the top 5 states by annual installation, accounting for a 60% share of the total rooftop solar market.

In FY 2019 (April 2018 to March 2019), India added 1,836 MW of rooftop solar power capacity, according to BTI.

OPINION

EVs AND THE CHALLENGE OF RANGE ANXIETY Even as Electric Vehicles begin to make their presence felt on Indian roads, the biggest challenge remains to be tackled -range anxiety.

The electric mobility transition has slowly but steadily taken off around the world, more strongly in developed countries which are witnessing mass adoption of such vehicles. However, a big hurdle for the mass adoption of thesevehicles, which should’ve perhaps been an instant success thanks to the rapidly deteriorating air and environment around us, has been range anxiety amongst the buyers.

How long will the battery last?

An important question, that when answered emphatically can jumpstart the sales of electric vehicles.

Why is range anxiety such a big issue in India? Or is it simply an obvious issue across the world?The good news is that range anxiety, or the fear that your battery-powered electric vehicle will die out midway, is a common challenge across the world. But it's a challenge that has been effectively surmounted in large parts through simple and

intuitive solutions. In India, a primary factor thoroughly investigated before buying an ICE vehicle is its‘mileage’ or fuel efficiency. How many kilometers to the liter? And it’s a valid and important question with petrol and diesel prices now above a dollar per liter in many cities and towns of India because of added state and central taxes. But the severe scarcity of charging infrastructure for EVs

in the country does not ease the issue of range anxiety in potential buyers of electric vehicles, proving a deterrent in the adoption of green mobility options.

The transition is underway with the challenge realized, intent shown and policies getting implemented. But it will take time to develop an infrastructure keeping the needs of the future and not the present when building.

AP’S NEW GOVT HURTING RE INVESTMENTS ACROSS INDIA? After his resounding victory in the assembly polls, this is one promise industry wishes new CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy wouldn’t keep. But to the alarm of many, the Chief Minister seems to be serious about his threat to relook all the previous tenders, including solar and wind energy tenders, signed by the previous government, especially post 2016.

Jaganmohan Reddy’s grouse has been that the prices are artificially high due to corruption and hence there is a case for renegotiation. A contention he makes despite the fact that an auction process was followed, and rates agreed to have the approval of both state and central authorities. In fact, the centre had actually moved to limit any damage from the CM’s announcements by writing to the AP government with a clear message to honour the PPA contracts signed earlier.

The answer from the Andhra state government has been a high-level negotiation committee constituted to review and renegotiate the signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with wind and solar power developers. As of now, it seems that all contracts with prices above the range of Rs 2.50 to Rs 2.60 might be up for a relook. Irrespective of the final outcome of the this committee’s investigations, the fact remains that this has already started damaging the prospects of developers at both state and national level.

For the firms involved, this is the equivalent of a force majeure risk as new governments tearing up old contracts, or sitting on payments while they renegotiate, is hardly the sort of risk most factored in while bidding in tight auctions.

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EVENTS PV 2019 PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR EXHIBITION & FORUM website : www.pvfair.jp START DATE : 10-Jul-2019 END DATE : 13-Jul-2019

Location : Yokohama, Japan Phone : +81 3 52978855

THE 11TH GUANGZHOU INTERNATIONAL SOLAR PV EXHIBITION 2019 website : www.pvguangzhou.com START DATE : 16-Aug-2019 END DATE : 18-Aug-2019

Location : Guangzhou, China Phone : +20 2918 8152

E-mail : info@pvfair.jp

E-mail : janicepv2018@gmail.com

INTERSOLAR SOUTH AMERICA 2019

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDIA EXPO 2019

website : www.intersolar.net.br START DATE : 27-Aug-2019 END DATE : 29-Aug-2019

website : www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com Location : São Paulo, Brazil Phone : +49 7231 58598218

START DATE : 18-Sep-2019 END DATE : 20-Sep-2019

E-mail : info@intersolar.net.br

E-mail : Pankaj.sharma@ubm.com

THE BIG 5 SOLAR

INTERSOLAR INDIA 2019

website : www.thebig5solar.ae START DATE : 27-NOV-2019 END DATE : 29-NOV-2019

Location : Greater Noida, India Phone : +91 99 90962410

website : www.intersolar.in Location : DUBAI Phone : +971 4 445 3609

START DATE : 27-NOV-2019 END DATE : 29-NOV-2019

Location : Bangalore, India Phone : +49 7231 58598215

E-mail : jessicascopacasa@dmgevents.com

E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

SIGMA SUMMIT 2020

THE ENERGY EXPO

website : https://sigmasummit.com START DATE : 06-FEB-2020 END DATE : 08-FEB-2020

website : www.theenergyexpo.com Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 93549 33450

START DATE : 12-FEB-2020 END DATE : 13-FEB-2020

E-mail : Info@middleeastelectricity.com

E-mail : mail@TEE2019.com

MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY 2020

THE SOLAR SHOW MENA 2020

website : https://www.middleeastelectricity.com START DATE : 24-APR-2020 END DATE : 25-APR-2020

Location : Dubai, UAE Phone : +971 4 4072470

Location : Miami, USA Phone : (305) 412-0000

website:https://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/solar-show-mena START DATE : 13-APR-2020 END DATE : 14-APR-2020

Location : Cairo, Egypt Phone : +971 4 4402535

E-mail : Info@middleeastelectricity.com

E-mail : Abdelbasset.hfd@terrapinn.com

RENEWX 2020

6TH SMART CITIES INDIA 2020 EXPO

website : www.renewx.in

website : www.solarindiaexpo.com

START DATE : 24-APR-2020 END DATE : 25-APR-2020

Location : Hyderabad, India Phone : +91 98707 46073

E-mail : sheetal.rathod@ubm.com

START DATE : 20-MAY-2020 END DATE : 22-MAY-2020 E-mail : ravim@eigroup.in

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

FINANCE UPDATES

TATA POWER PLANS RS 16K CR RENEWABLES INVIT TO TRIM DEBT Tata Power, one of the country’s leading integrated power companies, has said that it plans to establish an infrastructure investment trust (InViT) for its renewable energy portfolio of nearly 3 GW in assetsto reduce its debt on its balance sheets by almost a fourth and then raise growth equity from prospect investors.

InViTs are instruments which work like mutual funds and enable direct investment of money from individual and institutional investors in infrastructure projects to earn a small portion of the income as return.

The firmhas assets rounding up to 2549 MW in 14 states across the country and another 400-500 MW of renewable projects in the pipeline. A majority of the company’s assets are solar largely due to the $1.4 billion acquisition of Welspun Energy’s assets aggregating to nearly 1.1 GW in June of 2016.

At the company's 100th annual general

meeting held recently in Mumbai, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran alluded to the debt reduction strategy and said, "on the debt level side, we did close a couple of transactions to sell some of the cross holdings that Tata Power had in some of the Tata Group companies. We continue to find ways in which we can bring debt

level further down primarily by selling non-core assets.”

According to sources close to the development, the plan is to hive off the operating assets in the InVIT along with Rs 10,000 crore of debt. The company is seeking to raise Rs 6,000-7,000 crore ($750 million-1 billion) of equity from infrastructure-focused investors.

VIVINT SOLAR RECEIVES $100 MN TAX EQUITY FINANCING

CLEANMAX INVESTING RS 600 CR FOR 150MW SOLAR PLANT

Vivint Solar, a leading full-service residential solar provider, announced it has received commitments for an additional $100 million of tax equity financing, which will enable it to install more than 55 megawatts (MW) of residential solar energy systems. “We believe this tax equity raise, along with the recent $360 million multi-party forward flow funding arrangement, reflects the capital markets' and our investors' continued confidence in our sustainable growth model," said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar. "We are committed to not only delivering results to our investors but also helping more homeowners access our solar energy systems.”

The syndicated tax equity commitment comes from RBC Capital Markets and co-investors arranged by RBC's Tax Credit Equity Group. The investment commitment is expected to allow the Utah-based company to design and build low-cost, clean energy systems for over 8,000 new residential customers.

"Vivint Solar has a leading residential solar platform that we are pleased to support with our tax equity capital alongside that of our co-investors," said Julian Torres, a director at RBC. "This transaction is a credit to the teamwork across the RBC platform and highlights our unique capabilities of direct investing in and syndication of renewable energy tax credits.”

The residential solar solutions provider operates in 22 states and has raised more than $4.6 billion in cash equity, tax equity and debt from institutional investors, private equity firms and major Wall Street banks since its inception in 2011.

Cleanmax Solar, one of the leading solar energy solution providers in the country, is setting up 150 MW of solar farm under its group captive model in Haryana with an investment of Rs 600 crore, according to the co-founder of the firm.

The solar farm will be developed in Sirsa district on a stretch of 600 acres of land which is well situated for grid stability and to achieve high solar power generation.

“In line with our target to set up nearly 400 MW of solar capacity this fiscal, nearly 80 percent would be met by private solar farms. We are developing this 150 MW project on group captive model as a part of this plan, which will entail an investment of around Rs 600 crore," said Andrew Hines, Co-Founder, Cleanmax Solar.

“The project will be funded through a combination of debt and equity. The equity component of Rs 200 crore will have to be contributed by the captive users to the extent of 26 percent, while the rest Rs 400 crore will be funded through debt,” he added. “This investment will also help the state to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, decarbonize its power sector, and also generate significant skilled employment in the area.”

The firm has received the sanction for the solar farms from the state's Renewable Energy Department (HAREDA) and in-principle feasibility from the state transmission company HVPNL earlier this year, based on its technical and financial eligibility.

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FINANCE UPDATES

ENCOURAGE CAPITAL’S ROOFTOP FUND CLOSES AT $40 MN Encourage Capital, LLC, an impact investment asset manager and advisory firm, has announced the first closing of a new private equity fund, Encourage Solar Finance, L.P. at $40 million. The fund will invest in specialised financial institutions in India that can develop and scale commercial rooftop solar finance solutions for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Prominent mission-aligned investors have participated in the first closing, including KfW, Capricorn Investment Group, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environment Trust and the Sant Foundation.

Recognising the vast potential of its solar resources and the increasing energy needs of a rapidly growing economy; the Indian government has set a target to deploy 100 GW of solar by 2022 (including 40 GW of rooftop solar). According to an independent study commissioned by the firm, the rooftop solar market for MSMEs in India has a 15 GW potential, resulting in a $9 billion lending opportunity for financial institutions.

"With increasing energy demand, high electricity prices and decreasing costs of solar, MSMEs can find rooftop solar to be an attractive, low-carbon solution for their electricity needs, but

financing is still a key barrier," said Adam Wolfensohn, Managing Partner and Chairman at Encourage Capital. "Our fund aims to address these barriers by partnering with specialised financial institutions and providing them with growth capital and the operational assistance they need to develop and deploy innovative and commercial financing solutions to scale rooftop solar for this market.”

By providing much needed financial solutions to address important investments in clean energy, the fund believes that there is a unique opportunity to achieve compelling economic returns.

ADB LOAN FOR 100 MW KAZAKHSTAN PV PROJECT

PFC RAISES $300 MILLIONN THROUGH SYNDICATED LOANS

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement for a $30.5 million loan in tenge (the currency of Kazakhstan) equivalent to M-KAT Green LLP—a special purpose vehicle created for the project—to build and operate a 100 MW solar plant to ease power supply shortages and boost the share of renewable sources in Kazakhstan’s energy mix.

M-KAT Green is 100% owned by Total Eren SA, a leading French-based Independent Power Producer (IPP). The project is co-financed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and is ADB’s first project in Central Asia with Total Eren.

The 100-megawatt (MW) power plant is already under construction in the country’s southeast, near the town of Shu in the Jambyl Region. It will cover 500 hectares and is scheduled to be operational by the end of this year.

ADB supported the project jointly with EBRD, building on a successful partnership between the two organizations in financing renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan.

Coal-fired power plants account for 80% of electricity generated in Kazakhstan.

In 2013, Kazakhstan announced a plan to transition to a green economy and boost the share of clean energy to 50% of total power generation by 2050.

The power plant will help the country fulfill its nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement on climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Power from the project will be sold under a 15-year power purchase agreement between M-KAT Green and the Financial Settlement Centre for Support to Renewable Energy Sources, a limited liability partnership 100% owned by the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company.

The Power Finance Corporation, a state-owned non-banking financial company (NBFC) that funds power sector projects, has announced that it has raised $300 million through a three-year syndicated loan from the State Bank of India, Honk Kong and MUFG Bank, Singapore.

The financing firm has announced in a regulatory filing that this is the second foreign currency borrowing it has secured in the current quarter. Earlier, the company had raised $1 billion through issuance of Reg-S bonds which was the biggest bond issuance overseas by a government owned. NBFC. The NBFC further highlighted that by concluding the current $300 million deal, it has already mobilised $1.3 billion indicating investor’s confidencein PFC post its buyout of the 52.63 percent government shareholding in Rural Electrification Corporation Limited.

It is believed that the company is planning to finance power transmission projects awarded to private transmission project developersthrough tariff-based competitive bidding.

In December of 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given its ‘In Principle’ approval for the strategic sale of the government’s existing 52.63% of total paid up equity shareholding in REC to Power Finance Corporation along with transfer of management control. Later in February, the Competition Commission of India had approved PFC’s acquisition of the 52% stake in the REC. In May, PFC reported a twofold rise in its standalone net profit to Rs 2,117.56 crore for the March 2019 quarter, mainly on the back of a reduction in the cost of funds and retiring of high-cost loans.

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FINANCE UPDATES

SEMBCORPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RS 516.9 CR EQUITY INFUSION FOR RE PUSH Sembcorp Industries has announced the infusion of equity worth Rs 516.9 crore into its India arm Sembcorp Energy India (SEIL) to support its renewable energy business in the country.

The equity injection is funded through a mix of internal funds and borrowings, Sembcorp has said in a filing to the Singapore stock exchanges.

The equity infusion results in the subscription to 275 million additional shares in SEIL by Sembcorp's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Utilities (SCU), the company statement said.

With this infusion of about Rs 516.9 crore into SEIL to support the growth of its India renewable energy business, Sembcorp's effective stake in the energy arm has increased from 93.73 percent to 94.05 percent, it added. The balance of the shares in the SEIL is owned by SCU's local partner, Gayatri Energy Ventures.

SEIL is one of the leading independent power producers (IPP) in India with a balanced portfolio of thermal and renewable energy assets totaling approximately 4.37 GW capacity in operation and under construction. With operating assets across seven states in India, SEIL owns 100 percent of Sembcorp Green Infra, which has a wind and solar power portfolio of more than 1,700 megawatts.

In October 2018, SEIL became the first company to deliver a 250 MW wind farm project ahead of schedule. SEIL and Suzlon completed the 250 MW wind power project, which was the first among all SECI auctioned wind projects to achieve full completion in India. The company is currently working on the development of two additional wind power projects, SECI 2 and SECI 3, which it had won in nationwide wind tenders by SECI.

SUNEDISON TO ACQUIRE 2RE FIRMS

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Chennai-based renewable energy company SunEdison Infrastructure Limited (SIL, formerly YKM Industries Limited) has announced that its board has considered and approved the majority acquisition of Megamic Electronics Private Limited and Enrecover Energy Solutions Private Limited.

SunEdison, which is into the installation of solar water pumps andsolar rooftop panels, announced of the development in a BSE filing. The company is hoping that the acquisition will help SIL in delivering high-performance solar assets to the customers with improved customer service and visibility. SIL will acquire a 51 percent majority stake is Megamic Electronics, which works in the development of Remote Monitoring Solutions with performance analysis and control solutions. These solutions can be used in Solar Plant (>50 Kw) that needs monitoring, EPC companies, O&M companies, and Solar Pump Monitoring.

As per the audited financials of FY 201718, the turnover of the company was Rs 63.05 lakh. SIL will pay Rs 1 crore and give up 0.3 percent equity shares in SIL in exchange of the majority stake in the SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

solar monitoring firm.

Enrecover Energy Recover Solutions was founded in 2017 in Pune by 3 promoters who had graduated from Vellore Institute of Technology. The design and engineering company is involved in the business of heat recovery. SIL will pay

Rs1.12 crore for acquiring a majority stake in the company.

According to the regulatory filing issued

by SIL, the acquisitions will go through only after the execution of the shareholder agreement and the estimated timeline is 2 months.

PROJECT UPDATES

OSTRO, ADANI WIN SECI's 1200MW WIND AUCTION Ostro Energy Pvt. Ltd. and Adani Green Energy Park (Gujarat), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL), have emerged as winners in the 1200 MW ISTS-connected wind power projects under Tranche-VI. According to the Nodal agency for renewables in the country, bids aggregating to 2325.60 MW were received in response to the tender for 1200 MW of and projects. Along with Adani Green Energy Park and Ostro Energy, three other bidders also quoted the winning (lowest) tariff rate of Rs 2.82/kWh in the e-reverse auction conducted by SECI. According to the results issued by SECI, Adani Green Energy Park has been awarded 250 MW, Ostro won 300 MW, Srijan Energy won 150 MW of project capacity, Powerica won 50.60 MW, and Zentaris Renewable Energy won 125 MW. SBESS Services Projectco, a subsidiary of Softbank-backed SB Energy won a project capacity of 324.40 MW after submitting a bid for 600 MW at a fixed tariff rate of Rs 2.83/kWh. SECI has also revealed the results of its

1200 MW ISTS-connected wind power projects tender under the Tranche-VII. SECI has awarded a total of 480 MW capacity to four bidders after it received technical bids for development of just 600 MW wind projects in response to its 1200 MW tender (Tranche-VII). Betam Wind

Energy Pvt. Ltd. has been awarded 200 MW capacity after quoting the lowest tariff of Rs 2.79/kWh. Ostro Energy won 50 MW capacity with a bid of Rs 2.81/kWh, and Sprng Vaayu Urja Private Limited won 100 MW capacity at a tariff rate of Rs 2.82/kWh.

ENGIE’S RE CAPACITY IN INDIA EXCEEDS 1.5GW

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French multinational electric utility Engie has announced that following a series of successes, its total renewable capacity in India now exceeds 1500 MW. The company said in a statement that it had won a 200 MW onshore wind project in the state of Gujarat from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and that it will sign a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the central government entity.

This success follows an earlier award to the group by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for a 280 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the state as part of the Raghanesda solar park, currently under development. Under the scope of the project, Engie will also sign a 25-year PPA with GUVNL, the state power distribution company.

The French utility has also finalised commissioning one week ahead of schedule, 80% of the 338 MW Kadapa solar PV project located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, followed by commercial operation in early June.

Paulo Almirante, ENGIE’s executive vice president and group COO said “these successes demonstrate ENGIE’s capability to accelerate the development of its renewable energy portfolio and meet the ambitious target of adding 9 GW of additional renewable capacities over the next 3 years.”

Engie has been present and active in India for well over 40 SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

years. The Group employs approximately 1,000 people in the country in power generation, engineering and energy services.

In May, we reported that Engie and EDP signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to create a cocontrolled 50/50 joint-venture (JV) in fixed and floating offshore wind projects.

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SMD Mounting Machines Solar Lanterns Solar Lights / Solar LED Solar Forms / Cities / Homes / Villages Solar Street & Billboard Lighting Solar Software Solutions Solar Cells Manufacturers Photovoltaic (pv) Modules Project Consultants Manufacturing Equipment Vendors Materials And Equipment Monitor, Mounting Systems, Trackers Traffic Lights Equipment Smart Grid Technologies LED Chandeliers , Crystal Lights etc LED Displays LED Assemblies & Products LED Software Solutions LED Manufacturers LED Screen / Video Walls LED Encapsulation Materials LED Manufacturing equipment LED Machinery LED Applications & Lighting LED Signage & Displays LED Components / Chips LED Accessories & Raw Materials LED Products & Fixtures

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2/3/4 wheel electric and hybrid vehicle manufactures Commercial, Cargo, Passenger and Personal Electric Vehicle Indian/International Electric Vehicle parts and component Battery Technology companies Charger Manufacturer Accessories Manufacturer Government sector and Departments / Nodal Agencies Homologation/Testing Agencies Banks and financial Institutions Insurance Companies Research and Training Institutes Body/ Chassis Fabricators Solar Power Technology Companies Branding Solution Providers E-Vehicle Manufacturers Automotive and Parts Manufacturers Components manufacturers & suppliers Material suppliers Engineering services / Consultants Testing, R&D and Education Institutions Connectors /Cables Wires and Harness manufacturers and suppliers Manufacturer & Suppliers of Auto Ancillaries Machinery & Equipment Manufacturers Design and simulation Charging station manufacturer Power management companies

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PROJECT UPDATES

GUJ TENDERS FOR SOURCING 750 MW SOLAR POWER The Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for procuring 750 MW of solar PV power through competitive bidding process (followed by reverse e-auction) from projects solar PV projects located in the 1000 MW capacity Dholera Solar Park (Phase-VII).

In order to fulfill the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) and to meet the future requirements of Discoms, GUVNL intends to procure 750 MW solar power from the projects to be located in 1000 MW Dholera Solar Park through competitive bidding process (Phase VII) on “Build Own Operate” basis. GUVNL is re-tendering the 750 MW capacity which remained unallocated in the previous solar tender (Phase-V) invited in January this year, wherein a pre-bid meeting was held on

January 30, 2019.

The last date for bid submission is July 24, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened one July 25, 2019.

The financial bid opening has been scheduled for August 1, 2019, which will be followed up by the e-RA. The bidders selected by GUVNL based on this RfS, shall set up solar power projects in Dholera Solar Park on BOO 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. The maximum tariff payable to selected bidder and that a bidder can quote at any stage during the bidding process shall be Rs 2.75 per unit.

INOX CONNECTS POWER EVACUATION SYSTEM IN GUJ

NV ENERGY ANNOUNCES 1.8GW IN PV & STORAGE PROJ

Inox Wind Limited, one of India’s leading wind energy solutions provider, has announced the commissioning of the common power evacuation facilities at Dayapar site in District Bhuj in the State of Gujarat. The common power evacuation systems for the wind park comprise of a 220 KV Sub-station, a 220 KV double circuit transmission line and associated infrastructure.

This common infrastructure is capable of supporting power evacuation of over 600 MW. This will enable commissioning of projects won under various SECI auctionswith the firms 2 MW & 3.3 MW wind turbines. Inox Wind presently has more than 1400 MW of developed and under development projects in the state of Gujarat and more than 2.6 GW installations all over India. With one of the largest project site inventories in the country across wind rich states, the company has several projects which are currently under development as part of its turnkey solutions for clients. The company offers its clients total wind power solutions including wind resource assessment, acquiring land, developing site infrastructure, building power evacuation system, long term operations and maintenance services as well as post commissioning support.

In January, the wind developer received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from Adani Green Energy, a part of the Adani group and a leading Independent Power Producer (IPP) to develop its wind project. The company announced that building on its strong partnership with Adani Green Energy in the renewables sector, it will now supply, erect and commission Adani’s 501.6 MW of wind power projects, across projects that the energy giant won under SECI auctions.

Nevada-based power utility NV Energy has announced the addition of nearly 1,200 MW of new solar PV generation to be built in the state, along with 590 MW of battery storage to aid in the company’s plan to provide its consumers with 100 percent renewable energy.

The renewable energy will come in the form of three projects that will be located in southern Nevada. With the addition of these new projects, NV Energy will also exceed the promise made to its customers last year to double its renewable energy by 2023.

Arrow Canyon Solar Project - 200 MW solar photovoltaic project with a 75 MW,5-hour battery storage system (BESS). The project will be located in Clark County, NV, 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas on the Moapa Band of Paiutes Indian Reservation.

It is being developed by EDF Renewables North America.

Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Center – 300 MW solar array that includes a 135 MW,4-hour Li-Ion BESS. The project will be built in Clark County, NV on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 30 miles north of Las Vegas. It is being developed by 8minute Solar Energy.

Gemini Solar + Battery Storage Project - 690 MW solar photovoltaic array coupled with a 380 MW AC battery storage system. The project will be located in Clark County, NV 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas on approximately 7,100 acres of federally-owned land under the management of the Bureau of Land Management.

Each of the three announced projects are expected to be completed and serving customers by the end of 2023.

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PROJECT UPDATES

SECI AMENDS 2 GW CPSU SOLAR TENDER The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued amended its Request for Selection (RfS) for setting up of 2000 MW gridconnected solar PV power projects in India (Tranche-I) under the CPSU scheme phase-II (Government Producer Scheme).

SECI had issued the RfS document for the selection of Solar Power Developers (SPD) for the 2000 MW solar projects in March.

The last date for bid submission is July 15, 2019.

The projects under the latest RfS issued by SECI will be developed on a Build-Own-Operate (B-O-O) basis. And, the power generated from these projects shall be solely used for self-use or use by Government/Government entities, either directly or through Discoms on payment of mutually agreed usages charges of not more than Rs 3.50/kWh. The nodal agency has made the following key amendments to the RfS: 1. Each bidder will now have to submit a fixed bid processing fee of Rs 5 lakh (+GST) for each response to the RfS, unlike the previous provision which varied processing fee between Rs 3 and 10 lakhs based on the project capacity.

2. The minimum capacity allocated to a bidder shall be 1 MW (10 MW earlier) and the maximum allocation to a

single bidder shall be 2000 MW. The SPDs shall demonstrate the awarded allocation to SECI, prior to disbursement of second tranche of VGF. 3. As per the provision of the earlier RfS, the projects can be located anywhere in India. However, it has been clarified that the projects may be implemented as ground mounted or rooftop mounted or floating or canal top/canal bank etc., or a combination thereof, as per the requirements of the SPD.

MAHARASHTRA TO GET 500 MW FLOATING SOLAR PLANTS

EESL TENDERS 100 MW SOLAR PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

Maharashtra is all set to get floating solar power generation plants in four dams, state Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan said in the state’sLegislative Council.

In a written reply to a question raised by NCP MLC Hemant Takle, Mahajan said the backwater of Wardha, Bebala, Khadakpurna and Pentakli dams has been selected for setting up the floating solar panels as per the Swiss Challenge method. He said the estimated investment per MW is Rs 4.45 crore, with a total installed capacity of 500 MW. A committee headed by executive director of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) is currently scrutinising the detailed project report and drafting the tenders, the minister said. The work to set up the plants is under progress as permitted under the Maharashtra Infrastructure Development Enabling Authority Act, he added.

Recently, in an investor brief, Vedanta Resources had also said that it is focusing on renewable energy and its group firm Hindustan Zinc plans its “first pilot floating solar to be completed in next 2-3 months.” The plant will be located at Ghosunda Dam, near Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

Earlier in February, Vikram Solar, a leading domestic module manufacturer and solar & EPC solutions provider had announced that it has bagged the project order for a 1 MW Floating solar plant from Hindustan Zinc Limited. The floating plant will contribute to saving water evaporation loss, thus resulting in conservation of water, reduce the development of algae, maintaining the cleanliness of the water, and obviously land.

The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs of Ministry of Power has issued a tender, seeking bids from eligible bidders for developing solar power systems worth a total of 100 MW at various sub-stations and locations inMaharashtra. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testingand commissioning of 100 MW of solar power generating systems (SPGS) ranging from 1 MW to 2 MW or higher in rare cases at various sub-stations and locations in Maharashtra. The selected bidders will also be required to provide comprehensive operation and maintenance services for the projects.The last date for bid submission is July 9, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the same date. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for July 1, 2019, to address the concerns raised by prospective bidders. All bidders must submit an Earnest Money Deposit of Rs 62.54 lakh along with their bids.

To be eligible, the bidder should: i. Have successfully installed or commissioned or maintaining projects within the last three years that are similar to the proposed contract, where the cumulative capacity of the bidder’s participation exceeds 10.5 MW, of which 1 plant.

Should be of 1 MW capacity or above. ii. Have an average annual turnover of at least Rs 32.83 crore for the immediately preceding three financial years. iii. Be profitable in the last financial year 2018-19, and in one of the previous two years.

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PROJECT UPDATES

ABB BAGS INVERTER ORDER FOR OFFSHORE WIND FARM ABB has won an order from Vestas to supply 100 energy-efficient and compact WindSTAR transformers for installation in wind turbines in the North Sea. Under the project agreement, the transformers will be supplied for Moray Offshore Renewable Power’s Moray East offshore wind project. The wind farm will have a capacity to generate 950 megawatts (MW) of renewable wind power in Moray Firth (an inlet of the North Sea), 22 km off the coast of Scotland. The farm will be capable of providing enough clean energy to power up to a million households and could save up to 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, compared to coal generation. The 295 sq.km. wind farm will contain enormous wind turbines with the capacity to generate 9.5 MW of electricity at 66 kilovolts. This will be made possible by the transformers that are compact enough to be placed inside the wind turbine. They

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will increase the voltage of the turbinegenerated electricity to enable efficient transmission with reduced losses.

The high power and voltage are critical in generating and transmitting power efficiently, as part of an important cost-reduction strategy which will ensure the future of clean, offshore wind generation. As such, Moray East will deliver power at £57.50 per MWh,

less than half the cost of power generated by comparable offshore wind farms that are under construction presently.

“ABB transformers are a critical factor in offshore wind electricity generation, helping to ensure an economically feasible and sustainable future for the industry,” said Laurent Favre, managing director of ABB’s Transformers business line.

TIRUPATI AIRPORT SWITCHES ON SOLAR POWER

SECI TENDERS FOR 6 GW SOLAR PROJECTS

The temple town of Tirupati has successfully joined the league of solar-powered airports in South Indiaalong with Cochin, Trivandrum and Vijayawada. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) inaugurated a 1 MW solar plant at Tirupati’s Renigunta International airport, which was commissioned by a leading distributed solar developer, Fourth Partner Energy. S Sreekumar, regional ED, AAI, turned on the plant and said “our aim is to ensure that Tirupati, along with all airports across South India operate completely on solar power within three years. We will also be commissioning 8 MW plants at Hubli and Kadapa airports shortly.”

The ground-mounted solar plant has been installed across 4 acres of land, parallel to the airport runway and its isolation bay. “Tirupati enjoys bright, sunny weather most of the year; the usability of solar power increases at daytime when the plant can meet over 75% of required electricity; at night, this airport is currently non-operational. Fourth Partner Energy ensured a thorough and efficient execution of this project.

Switching to Solar power under this company’s expertise was a great experience,” added S Suresh, Airport Director at Renigunta, Tirupati.

AAI has also provisioned for expansion of this airport, aiming to soon make it operational 24x7; following which the developer will scale up the power generated from the solar plant. Excess power generated at Tirupati airport will then be routed back to the national grid.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for selection of solar power developers (SPD) for setting up of 6 GW ISTS-Connected solar PV power plants linked with setting up of 2 GW (per annum) solar manufacturing plant.

As part of the Government of India’s targets of achieving a cumulative capacity of 100 GW Solar PV installation by the year 2022, the nodal agency has invited proposals for setting up of the solar projects (for an aggregate capacity upto 6GW) linked with setting up of solar manufacturing plant on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. SECI shall enter into Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the successful Bidders selected based on this RfS for purchase of solar power for a period of 25 years based on the terms, conditions and provisions of the RfS. As per the provisions of the RfS, the SPDs selected by SECI be required set up cumulative annual solar manufacturing capacity of 2 GW, which shall be setup over a maximum period of 2 years. The SPDs shall be provided assured PPAs up to 1500 MW against 500MW of manufacturing plant.

The last date of bid submission (online and offline) is August 28, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on August 26, 2019. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for July 10, 2019, to address the concerns raised by prospective bidders. SECI has set a ceiling tariff for the PPA at Rs 2.75/kWh for the 25-year duration of the agreement.

JULY 2019

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

PROJECT UPDATES

DELHI POLICE GOES GREEN, SET UP 200 ROOFTOP SYSTEMS Delhi police has announced that it plans to set up rooftop solar energy systems in over 200 of its buildings across the city. It has signed a pact with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for assistance in the implementation of projects.

Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said that the Delhi Police has always been at the forefront in adopting new technology and innovative practices in all spheres of its working. Adding that he hopes that the project will be completed soon in a phased manner with active cooperation between the two agencies.

Under the pact (MoU), SECI will support the implementation of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic systems on the establishments of Delhi Police.

According to Delhi Police, it has more

than 200 establishments spread across the city and their electricity requirements are quite significant. The project intends to utilise vacant roofs of their buildings to harness solar energy and to cater part of their electricity demand through the generated green energy. With this

project, it is estimated that rooftop solar systems of total capacity of about 3-4 MW will be implemented across various police buildings.

In addition to this, it would result in a significant reduction on electricity bill payments of the Delhi Police, the officials added.

Lauding the green initiative, MNRE secretary Anand Kumar said solar energy is economical as well as environmentally friendly. He emphasised that this is a landmark beginning in the capital city of the country where the premier police force of the country has come forward to adopt this solar power technology all across its establishments which will not only reduce their electricity bill but also further the cause of 'Clean Energy’.

LIGHTSOURCE BP ACQUIRES 1.9GW SOLAR PROJ IN BRAZIL Lightsource BP, a global leader in the funding, development and longterm operation of solar projects, has announced the acquisition of nearly 2 GW of solar PV projects in a major foray into the Brazilian solar market. The firm has acquired 1.9 GW of solar projects from Enerlife, almost doubling its current solar portfolio.

The 1.9 GW is spread across an undisclosed number of projects all over Brazil and in various stages of development. The portfolio includes 180 MW of distributed generation capacity – made up of arrays with no more than 5 MW capacity each – and 440 MW of utility scale projects described by the purchaser as auctionready or in late stage development.

“This move creates a very firm footprint for us across the region and bringing the Enerlife team on board significantly enhances our local capability and experience,” said Lightsource BP Group chief operating officer Kareen Boutonnat.

“These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil.”

The transaction will see Enerlife CEO Miguel Lobo and other senior executives move to Lightsource to continue managing the portfolio in question.

“Whilst we have identified an incredible opportunity in Brazil,” said Vlasios Souflis, director for international business development for Lightsource BP, “we need to ensure we have the right capability on the ground to realize our ambitions.” The

executives joining Lightsource from Enerlife are said to have more than 50 years’ combined experience in developing PV projects in Brazil and other Latin American countries, as well as in Europe and the United States.

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PRODUCTS

1. Seiko Prospex Analog Solar Watch Product Brief: The Seiko Prosper solar is a sustainable, adventure-ready analog watch powered by natural energy. It is designed with a blue/black dial that comes with sufficient luminescent charge capabilities and easy to read chronograph subdials.

Product Features: The watch can be charged by directing sunlight toward the dial of the watch. In addition to sunlight, the watch also charges when any other light strikes the dial. The product is water resistant up to 200 meters and is specifically designed for those who love sporting activities.

Application: Wearable Technology Benefits: The watch is available in many designs with different straps which offer high rigidity, and performance. Well built for surviving outdoor performance and weighs only 12.8 ounces Availability: The product is available for purchase on the company’s official website and through e-commerce websites. Price starts at USD175.

2. Casio Master of G Solar Watch (Rangeman) Product Brief: For the Casio Master of G (Rangeman) Solar Watch, the desert, jungle, snowy mountain terrain or wilderness, becomes a field of activity. It is built to achieve the ultimate toughness that G-SHOCK pursues using solar operation of every function.

Product Features: The Rangeman comes with high specifications for shock, dust/mud and water resistance, and advanced survival features ranging from GPS signal reception to Triple Sensor, all of which is powered by solar power.

Application: Wearable Technology Benefits: The watch comes with Bluetooth communication to enable linking with smartphones. The watch comes in three colour options: Red, Green and Black. It is designed to take a hit and still function effectively.

Availability: The product is available for purchase on the company’s official website and through e-commerce websites. Price starts at USD 800.

3. Gosun “Go” Portable Solar Oven

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Product Brief: GoSun Go is one of the most portable and affordable solar ovens. Weigning in at 0.9kg, sun oven is versatile and durable enough to take anywhere and comes with the power to boil water.

Product Features: The oven, which is the size of a small speaker, is ultra portable. It is ready for adventure on land and sea, during summer or winter months. It cooks a meal in as little as 20 minutes, reaching temperatures up to 550°F (290°C) in full sunlight.

Application: Cooking Benefits: The GoSun is effective at capturing ultraviolet light and holding its heat. The company’s patented solar cooking technology absorbs a broad spectrum of radiation. As long as the user has a bit of sun, they can cook a meal. The product comes with a durable evacuated glass tube oven, 2 parabolic reflectors, EVA frame, stainless steel cooking tray, GoSun Dial, silicone cooking pans, universal action mount, cleaning brush, user manual and mini cookbook to help users get started.

Availability: The product is available for purchase on the company’s official website and through e-commerce websites.

Priced at USD 139.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

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PRODUCTS

4. Gosun ‘Brew’ Solar Water Boiler Product Brief: The Gosun Solar Water Boiler ‘Brew’ can make hot drinks and dehydrated foods with this 400ml stainless steel water-boiling accessory that works with the company’s solar powered cooker, the GoSun Sport.

Product Features: The stainless steel thermos can be fitted with the solar powered cooker which can then be used to heat and boil hot drinks in very little time.

Small and portable, the product is ideal for rehydrating and boiling water, and making drinks without using any fuel.

Application: Outdoor Camping, Heating Food and drinks Benefits: The thermos can boil water using only solar power from the cooker in under 30 minutes, perfect for tea and coffee. It can accommodate 400ml capacity and at most, two-servings of dehydrated and freeze dried meals.

Once heated up, the thermos holds the temperature for more than three hours.

Availability: The product sells as an accessory for the company’s solar powered cooker “sport” and retails for $39.

5. Solsource ClassicSolar Power Grill Product Brief: The Solsource Classic is a powerful backyard solar grill that heats up 5x faster than charcoal by using parabolic mirrors that direct the sunlight with precision. The cooker offers 100% pollution free cooking and operates with direct sun light.

Product Features: The product is easy to use, clean and safe, and the cookware in the middle heats up five times faster than traditional charcoal. The cooker uses no gas, no charcoal, no biomass – just inexhaustible solar energy.

Application: Cooking Benefits: The cooker is made out of 100 percent recyclable material.

The users can adjust the number of reflective panels on the cooker based on the amount of heat that is needed. The cooker can heat up to 550F/350C and can boil 1 quart of water in 10 minutes.

Availability:The product is available for purchase on the One Earth Designs website and is priced at US $648.

6. Lightyear One

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Product Brief: The Lightyear One is the first long range solar powered car recently unveiled by Dutch clean mobility company, Lightyear. The electric vehicle is covered in solar panels, and the company plans to start delivering it to European consumers in 2021.

Product Features: The firm claims that the car will get 725 km of range from its built-in battery. The real draw is the car’s five square meters of solar panels, which cover its roof and hood and can charge the car’s battery with up to 12 km of range every hour. Lightyear claims these solar cells are 20% more efficient than traditional models, and they’re encased in safety glass to protect them from damage.

Application: Vehicle Benefits: The car can also be charged like a more traditional plug-in electric vehicle. It reportedly will support up to 60kW of fast charging, giving it 507 km of range per hour of charge. The car has a total of four electric motors which will allow it to accelerate from 0 to 100 kmh in under 10 seconds.

Availability: Lightyear is taking preorders for the first 500 Lightyear One cars now for a reservation price of €119,000 (around $135,000). The car itself is expected to have a starting price of €149,000 (around $170,000).

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 11

OPPORTUNITIES

1. Substation Design Engineering Manager - Sterling The selected candidate will have the following responsibilities: and Wilson 1. Monitor and assess environmental regulations and trends.

Sterling and Wilson, a group company of Shapoorji Pallonji, and one of India's premier MEP service provider, is looking for Substation Design Engineering Manager in Delhi.

The qualification criteria for eligible candidates is a degree in electrical engineering with a minimum experience of 10 years in substation design engineering. Additionally, experience in solar project for developing and reviewing constructiongrade engineering packages, and in renewable energy (Solar & Wind) projects for performing substation studies and analyses, including rigid bus analyses, grounding analyses, corona calculations, etc. will be preferred.

The selected candidate will have the following responsibilities: 1. Provide engineering services during the proposal, design, and construction stages of AIS and GIS substation projects, with strict adherence to the project contract.

2. Notify the project lead of any difficulties encountered in engineering and design that may adversely impact safety, reliability, quality, cost, or schedule of the project deliverables, and provide recommendations for solutions.

3. Work with the project lead engineer to develop the Design Criteria and the Document Deliverables list for the project.

4. Work with the project lead engineer to develop single line diagrams, layout & section drawings, grounding systems and bills of materials specially for solar power plant of the substation design packages.

5. Perform technical, cost savings, and constructability reviews of electro-mechanical design packages from internal engineering, outsourced sub-contractor engineering, and equipment factories.

The salary package for selected candidates has not been disclosed by the company.

Apply here - https://tinyurl.com/y5pkosmt

2. Environmental Initiatives Program Manager - Apple

Apple is offering the position of Environmental Initiatives Program Manager in Apple's Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Environmental Initiatives Team with a specific focus on India and the Middle East.

The qualification criteria for eligible candidates is a business, sustainability, science and/or engineering degree in a direction relevant to the position offered. And must have minimum 8 years of relevant working experience in the environment space, preferably in IT or wider electronics industry.

2. Establish, develop and maintain dialogue with selected external partners (e.g. local authorities, academia, research organizations, leaders with vision, etc.).

3. Manage environmental leadership programs together with internal and external partners.

4. Develop and manage contacts with industry associations and environmental regulatory agencies in India.

5. E ngage with a large variety of Apple internal multifunctional teams like sales, corporate communications, legal, government affairs, product marketing, environmental technologies, procurement, corporate recycling and finance.

6. Providing solutions to day-to-day environmental issues 7. Establish projects on environmental priorities for Apple in country and regionally as required.

The salary package for selected candidates has not been disclosed by the company.

Apply here - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1344390065/

3. Project Management Specialist (Electrical Commissioning) - GE Renewable Energy

GE Renewable Energy, a global leader in the wind energy and solar energy segment, is looking for a Project Management Specialist (Electrical Commissioning) in Vadodara, Gujarat.

The qualification criteria for eligible candidates is a university degree and 3-8 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in Protection system & BOP Commissioning in power plant field. Additionally, the candidates should have knowledge of interfacing protection system with SCADA system through different open protocols.

The selected candidate will have the following responsibilities: 1. Perform the tests and final adjustments of the equipment during the overall tests 2. Manage the non-conformity raised during the commissioning activities and report it through the NCM database 3. Issue weekly report to the Commissioning Manager and the Head of Commissioning department including progress of works and forecast 4. Issue the final test reports and manage to have it signed by the Client / Engineer 5. Provide feedback of experience to the Head of commissioning department.

6. Issue or take work permit as per site PTW norms for the erection / commissioning activities.

The salary package for selected candidates has not been disclosed by the company.

Apply here - https://tinyurl.com/y5pp5ayz VOL 3 l ISSUE 11 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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TURNKEY SOLUTION PROVIDER SOLAR & POWER

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Corporate Office: CBIP Building, 2nd floor, Plot No. 21, Institutional Area, Sector 32, Gurugram, Haryana, India-122018|Tel : +91(0124) 4986400-416 | Fax : +91(0124) 4986405 Email : pv@bergengroupindia.com |Web : www.bergengroupindia.com