Saurenergy International Magazine June Issue 2021

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June 2021 | `200

DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 | VOL. 5 | ISSUE 09 | TOTAL PAGES 64 | PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

Make or Break.

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL VOL 5 | ISSUE 09

GROUP EDITOR

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

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From the

Group Editor SAUR ENERGY

DIRECTOR

Prateek Kapoor prateek@meilleurmedia.com

EDITOR

Manas Nandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

STAFF WRITER

Soumya Duggal editorial@meilleurmedia.com

STAFF WRITER Bhoomika Singh

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

DESIGN HEAD

This is as good a time as any to settle one issue for good. There is no denying it anymore, and the MNRE of all sources, needs to accept it too.

We are not going to be meeting our 175 GW target for 2022 end.

Sandeep Kumar

Frankly, even stretching it to March 2023 won’t work. However, rather

WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

how to do better. Solar, where we will probably get close to 65 GW best

Jitender Kumar

WEB PRODUCTION Balvinder Singh

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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

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

than live in denial, it’s a good time to consider just where we will be, and case, is probably where the biggest slippage will happen. With a target of 100 GW. Ironically, despite that, it remains the area of greatest achievement too in the past 5 years.. But in the past 2 years, protectionist instincts, a relentless obsession with cost, and issues at state level have meant a major slowdown.

It’s time we set out a roadmap to fix these issues, for the period between 2020 and 2030 has even more ambitious goals, with a target of well over 25 GW each year to get close to our 2030 target. And unlike the 2022 target, by 2030, those numbers will matter a great deal more, as pressure to cut back on thermal power would be much, much higher.

It will take a lot of efforts, from multiple stakeholders, to get there.

Expect at least a few firms, whose names we have not heard of yet, to make an impact, as they should. At SaurEnergy, starting this issue, we will also be bringing you a lot more interviews, to give you a first hand sense of what these potential disruptors are thinking. Happy reading!

PRASANNA SINGH

Group Editor

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CONTENTS VOL. 05, ISSUE-09

J UN E 2021

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Policy and Legal

Delhi’s Draft Master Plan 2041 AIms At 50% RE

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Grid and Transmission

Vattenfall Collaborates with Eramet Norway to Support the Norwegian Electricity Grid

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Projects and Tenders

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Legal

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Module

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Storage

Coal India Invites Empanelment For Its Floating Solar Plans

PVEL Flags Serious Issues With Module Quality

CERC Approves NHPC Tariffs for 2GW Project, Disapproves of NHPC Attitude

Renew Power In Collaboration With Stanford’s Storage X

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Finance

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Opinions

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SNEC

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Hydrogen

IEX Q4 FY21 Results: ‘Unprecedented Performance’; Rs 100 Cr Revenues

Solis And Booth E7-001 At SNEC. An Enduring Partnership

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Solar Energy Market: Paradigm Shift in India’s Power sector

Fusion Fuel Green Partners With CCC to Develop Hydrogen Plant

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COVER STORY 20

India’s Three Battles To Lose

40 CONVERSATION

Harmanjit Nagi, EDF India

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44 CONVERSATION

AK Shukla, Sanvaru Technology JUN E 20 21

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Delhi’s Draft Master Plan 2041 AIms At 50% RE

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elhi's Draft Master Plan (MPD 2041) for the next two decades has been released for public feedback and attention . The MPD is relevant, simply because it lays the roadmap for the city's development for the next two decades.

Previous masterplans have suffered various amendments and changes, almost all driven by political necessities. Basic necessities, such as water availability and housing have been ignored, despite ground realities that demanded attention. Statehood has changed that somewhat, with an elected government trying hard to elicit responses from the ground too. Delhi, or the national capital territory of Delhi is the largest city in the country by area, spread across about 1,486.5 sq. km. It comprises 367 villages, most of which are declared urban. There are 11 districts, 33 tehsils/sub-divisions, 272 wards and five local bodies handling civic administration – North DMC, South DMC, East DMC, New Delhi Municipal Council and the Cantonment Board. Delhi is divided into 18 planning zones for ease of planning and management. The MPD is a ‘strategic’ and ‘enabling’ framework that will guide city planners for the next phase of growth while building upon lessons from the previous plans in 1962, 2001 and 2021. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is the anchor agency for the master plan. There is a high focus on the environment, and pollution, two of the biggest negatives for the city in the last decade. An emphasis on affordable and rental accommodation and land pooling, and redevelopment of old areas of the city. For the first time, private developers will be allowed to offer housing in land-pooling schemes.

The city's current energy demand, set to break new records this summer, gets 80% of supplies from polluting coal-fired thermal power plants. The MPD proposes a “Renewable Energy Plan” that identifies potential energy generation areas within the city along with strategies and projects to meet the targets outlined by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy.

The MPD also mandates all agencies to adopt strategies to manage peak load demand.

“Promote mixed use, permit select commercial/recreational spaces to function for 24 hours and promote night economy. Set up large public screenings of sporting and other events etc. Examine feasibility of shared

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heating and cooling systems. Use vacant office buildings/ schools etc., for night parking and EV (electric vehicle) charging. Promote EV battery swapping during peak hours and permit EV charging only during non-peak hours,” it states.

Solar power generation has expectedly, come in for special attention. However, it seems to have overlooked the complete failure of the city to make serious progress vis a vis its solar policy of 2016, calling instead for more of the same and a better incentive structure for using farming land too. The latter has been a virtual non starter, since being announced first in 2018. “Delhi has a number of canals that can be utilised for harnessing solar energy as per feasibility. The canal owning agencies may leverage this potential for the generation of solar energy. Government buildings and institutional campuses with a rooftop area above 500 sq.m to install solar PVs (photovoltaics) as per Delhi Solar Policy 2016 and Net Metering Regulations, 2014. Largescale public facilities such as airports, Metro stations, railway stations, interstate and citylevel bus stations/depots, stadiums etc., may progressively meet the majority of their power requirements through solar and other renewable energy,” the document said. That's the easy part, we believe. What Delhi probably needs is a special push for sourcing renewable energy, ensuring its discoms meet their Renewable Purchase Obligations starting now, and enable pooled buying by market associations and even groups of industrial clusters. In fact, one could argue that there is a strong case to mandate higher RPO's for large cities across the country, especially those with a population over 10 million people. As dense and relatively affluent consumption centres, India's largest cities offer the best opportunity for higher renewable share, balanced with large storage batteries where required. That will drive renewable adoption as well as help achieve numbers.

MNRE’s Updated Guidelines for 12,000 MW CPSU Phase-II Project

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he ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has released the newly amended scheme guidelines for implementation of Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme Phase-II (Government Producer Scheme) for setting up 12,000 MW grid-connected Solar PV power projects by the Government Producers.

These 12,000 MW projects will be produced by the government producers with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support for self-use or use by Government/ Government entities, either directly or through Distribution Companies (DISCOMs).

The amendments declare that now the power produced by the government producers can be used on payment of mutually agreed usage charges of not more than Rs. 2.45/unit for self-use or use by government/ government entities, either directly or through DISCOMS. However earlier, the charges were not more than Rs. 2.80/unit.

Under new guidelines, the maximum permissible VGF has been kept at Rs. 0.55 cr./MW, while earlier it was at Rs. 0.70 cr./MW. A VGF is provided to cover the cost difference between the domestic and imported solar cells and modules. The actual VGF to be given to the government producer will be decided under a bidding process using the VGF amount as a bid parameter to select the project developer.

The new timelines for project commissioning after amendments is a period of 30 months from the date of the letter of grant/award for the solar power projects under this scheme.

However, to expedite the implementation of the Scheme and to give impetus to domestic solar PV manufacturing, a shorter timeline can also be specified by MNRE.

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Industry Welcomes Cabinet Approval for PLI Scheme for ACC Battery Storage

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ndia Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), India’s leading alliance on energy storage & e-mobility and its member companies, have welcomed the Cabinet’s approval on the proposal by the Department of Heavy Industry for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’ for achieving manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh of ACC and 5 GWh of “Niche” ACC with an outlay of Rs 18,100 crore. ACCs are the new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.

Consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftop, etc. which are major battery consuming sectors are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years. It is expected that the dominant battery technologies will control some of the world’s largest growth sectors. Chairing the Cabinet briefing, Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar said, “Today, many things are stuck due to a lack of battery storage. India imports Rs 20,000 crore of battery equipment from outside. In such a situation, the government has now announced PLI, due to which the import will be reduced. ACC battery storage will be manufactured in India. To promote the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the National Programme on ACC Battery Storage is expected to attract investment of Rs 45,000 crore.” Welcoming the approval, Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, IESA said, “This is a dream come true for theIESA team, which has been working hard since 2016 to bring focus to advanced manufacturing capabilities and believes that India has the potential to become an R&D & manufacturing hub of advanced energy storage technologies.”

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CERC Sets Stage For large Storage With Draft Ancillary Services Regulations

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he Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has drafted the Ancillary Services Regulations, 2021, whose express purpose is to ensure reliability, safety and security of the grid.

Ancillary Services in relation to power system operation, the document explains, means the service necessary to support the grid operation in maintaining power quality, reliability and security of the grid and includes four kinds: Primary Reserve Ancillary Service, Secondary Reserve Ancillary Service, Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Service, active power support for load following, reactive power support, black start and such other services as defined in the Grid Code. We had covered the role of revenues from such services, for large sized battery storage projects viability, based on a UK case here.

The regulations specified in the draft aim to provide mechanisms for procurement, through administered as well as marketbased mechanisms, deployment and payment of Ancillary Services for maintaining the grid frequency close to 50 Hz, and restoring the grid frequency within the allowable band as specified in the Grid Code and for relieving congestion in the transmission network, to ensure smooth operation of the power system, and safety and security of the grid.

These regulations will be applicable to regional entities, including entities having energy storage resources and demand side resources qualified to provide Ancillary Services and other entities as provided in these regulations.

The draft also gives details regarding procurement, assessment, and compensation for SRAS and TRAS, which are open to entities with energy storage or demand response resources connected to the transmission system. Some key details are as follows: A generating station or an entity having energy storage resource or demand side resource, connected to inter-State transmission system or intra-State transmission system, shall be eligible to provide Secondary Reserve Ancillary Service, as an SRAS Provider, if it (a) has bi-directional communication

system with NLDC or RLDC, as per the requirements stipulated in the Detailed Procedure by the Nodal Agency; (b) is AGC-enabled, in case of a generating station; (c) can provide minimum response of 1 MW; etc.

A generating station or energy storage resource or demand side resource connected to inter-State transmission system or intraState transmission system shall be eligible for participation as TRAS Provider, if (a) it is capable of varying its active power output or drawl or consumption, as the case may be, on receipt of despatch instructions from the Nodal Agency; and (b) it is capable of providing TRAS within 15 minutes and sustaining the service for at least next 60 minutes, etc.The commission has invited comments and suggestions on the draft regulation from stakeholders and interested parties, the deadline for which is June 30, 2021.

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Coal India Invites Empanelment For Its Floating Solar Plans

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n a tender notice on May 17, Coal India Limited has invited expressions of interest from relevant firms to get empaneled with it for its floating solar plans.

The Maharatna firm has set a target of 3 GW of solar plants, aligned to its broader goal to be a net zero energy emissions firm by 2024. Two categories have been created: For Category (i) : (less than 100 MWp) Applicants are required to have successfully designed, supplied, erected /supervised erection, and commissioned / supervised commissioning of Solar PhotoVoltaic-based grid connected power plant(s) of cumulative installed capacity of 60 MWp or higher in the last five financial years including the financial year in which the Application has been submitted, out of which at least one plant should have been of 10 MWp or higher capacity installed at a single location. The reference plant of 10 MWp or higher capacity must have been in successful operation for at least six (6)

months prior to the last date of submission of application for empanelment.

For Category (ii) : The Applicant should have successfully designed, supplied, erected /supervised erection, and commissioned / supervised commissioning of Solar PhotoVoltaic-based grid connected power plant(s) of cumulative installed capacity of 150 MWp or higher in the last five (5) financial

years including the financial year in which the Application has been submitted, out of which at least one plant should have been of 50 MWp or higher capacity installed at a single location. The reference plant of 50 MWp or higher capacity must have been in successful operation for at least six (6) months prior to the last date of submission of application for empanelment.

Suzlon Wins 252 MW Project From CLP India

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uzlon Group, has secured an order for developing a 252-megawatt (MW) wind power project from CLP India.

The project is part of the bid won by CLP India in SECI’s VIII tranche of wind projects, some of which have been delayed significantly due to land availability issues in Gujarat.

This particular project will be based at Sidhpur in Gujarat.

CLP India had won the bid with a price of Rs 2.83 per unit. The project is the largest renewable project at a single site for CLP India.

Suzlon will be involved in the supply, foundation, erection, and commissioning of the project and will also provide comprehensive operation and maintenance services after commissioning.

Suzlon will provide and install

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120 S120-140m HLT wind turbines with a nominal capacity of 2.1 MW each. With a completion date of 2022, work will need to pick up fast.

The S120-140m wind turbines

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feature Dual Feed Induction Generator (DFIG) technology that integrates wind turbines into the utility grid to meet grid requirements. These are also designed to perform at higher

altitudes, and are capable of working at low-wind sites at viable levels.

CLP India is owned by CLP Group, one of Asia’s largest investor-owned energy companies, and Caisse de dépôt et location du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group.

Since its founding in 2002, it has grown to become one of the largest foreign investors in the Indian energy sector. Its diversified portfolio comprises more than 3,000 MW of electricity generating capacity, including wind and solar power projects in seven states, as well as transmission assets.

For Suzlon, this is the first major project announcement after its last round of debt restructuring, making it a critical step towards complete rehabilitation financially.

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SJVN Wins GUVNL’s 100 MW Solar Auction Again at Rs 2.64/kWh

Tata Power Solar Wins 210 MWp Solar Projects From NTPC

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JVN Limited has announced that it has once again emerged as the winner in the auctions conducted by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) for 100 MW solar projects to be developed in the Raghanesda Solar Park. SJVN won the project capacity at a tariff of Rs 2.64/ kWh. In September 2020, SJVN had emerged victorious in the auctions conducted for the same project at a higher tariff of Rs 2.73 per unit.

In the auction conducted for the 700 MW projects in August 2020, GUVNL had awarded the capacity to five bidders. With Tata Power and Vena Energy submitting the winning bids (Lowest Bids – L1) for 100 MW capacity each of Rs 2.78/kWh. Followed by ReNew Power which secured 200 MW project capacity with its bid of Rs 2.79/kWh. SJVN Limited was also involved in the tender process and came in with the L3 bid of Rs 2.80/kWh and secured 100 MW capacity while TEQ Power secured the remaining 200 MW capacity with its bid of Rs 2.81/kWh. In December 2020, the state had set a new benchmark when the latest round of auctions conducted by GUVNL, for 500 MW worth of solar projects in the state, set a new record for the lowest solar tariff in India.

With L1 tariffs reaching Rs 1.99/kWh, the auction beat the recently set record of Rs 2/kWh which was set in November.

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ata Power Solar, India’s largest integrated solar company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has received “Letter of Award” (LoA) to build 210 MWp of Solar PV projects for NTPC. The total order value of the projects is approximately Rs 686 crore.

The commissioning date has been set for November, 2022.

With this addition, the order pipeline of Tata Power Solar’s EPC book stands at approximately 2.8 GW with an approximate value of Rs 13,000 crore, thereby cementing its position as India’s leading Solar EPC player. The firm has had regular success winning NTPC contracts, on the back of its scale and experience.

The scope of work includes land, transmission, engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the solar projects. The NTPC project site is located in Gujarat.

Speaking on the achievement, Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, “We are pleased to announce the new win of this large solar EPC contract from NTPC. Tata Power Solar is the leader in producing solar energy across the country and this further validates Tata Power Solar’s excellent execution skills in solar projects.”

Tata Power Solar has been and early entrant in the solar market, and is the

leading rooftop EPC player too.

The firm has a solid track record of executing large projects such as the 250 MW Ayana at Ananthapur, 50 MW Kasargod at Kerala, 56 MW Greenko, 30 MWp Solar Power Plant in Lapanga, Odisha and 105 MWp of Floating solar at Kayamkulam.

The firm has built up the largest rooftop solar presence in the country among EPC’s, and is probably one of the few truly national players, in a market dominated by regional players. With its own cell and module manufacturing facilities in place, Tata Power Solar has also announced expansion plans in manufacturing. That should provide it with greater flexibility in sourcing as well as control, at a time when the market has been more volatile than usual.

With a strong presence across generation, distribution, manufacturing and EPC, the firm has been one of the biggest success stories from the legacy power firms in the country. The firm targets 80 percent clean energy capacity by 2030. As a generator, it has set itself a target of 2 GW of solar each year, to take its portfolio size to 15 GW by 2025, and 25 GW by 2030. In 2021, the firm has also initiated its participation in the Water Disclosure Campaign of CDP, one of the few power firms to do so from India.

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Adani Wind Commissions 150 MW Project Months Ahead of Schedule

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dani Wind Energy Kutchh Three Limited (AWEKTL), a subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), has announced the commissioning of a 150 MW Wind Power Project located in Kutchh, Gujarat, 9 months ahead of its Schedule. This is the 6th project commissioned before schedule by the company over the past 12 months. Wind Energy projects have been a particularly quick execution from the firm. That will easily be a record of sorts, which will stand for some tie, considering the challenging situation faced by the sector in the past 15 months due to the covid pandemic and related disruptions.

The project has a 25 years Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at Rs. 2.82/kwh. It seems to have been part of its project win from SECI’s Tranche VI ISTS connected Wind Energy win. With this commissioning, AGEL’s total operational renewable capacity moves to 5,070 MW. The firm has a stated ambition to get to 25 GW capacity by 2025, a number it looks set to achieve well before its target date, thanks to a slew of recent acquisitions too.

AGEL has total renewable capacity of 24,294 MW(1&2) (including asset under acquisition & projects where AGEL has emerged as L1 bidder). With this 150 MW, AGEL has added total operational renewable capacity of 2,525 MW (including 1,750 MW of operational assets under acquisition) during the challenging COVID-19 outbreak. In terms of wind energy, AGEL has an operational wind generation capacity of 647 MW now. Like all its other assets, operations and maintainance (O&M) for the newly commissioned plant will be managed in house Energy Network Operation Centre (ENOC) platform that gives AGEL complete centralized visibility and an ability to manage its renewables assets on pan India basis. AGEL is one of the large developers in India that have so far gone with its own O&M on renewable assets.

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Ciel & Terre Installs India’s Largest Floating Solar Plant in Tamil Nadu

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iel & Terre India, a subsidiary of Ciel & Terre International, a global leader in floating solar, has successfully completed the plant engineering, float supply, supervision of the 14.7 MWp floating solar power plant at Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) Limited, in its water storage pond in Thoothukudi in the state of Tamil Nadu. Hydrelio patent Equato floats, which were locally manufactured under the “Make in India” campaign were used to mount 37,632 photovoltaic panels with 390 Wp capacity, over an area of 15.6 hectares.

This plant will produce competitive electricity and avoid more than 18686 tons of CO2 emissions – the company claims.

C&T India Managing Director, Deepak Ushadevi said “a captive project like this will benefit the industry from a competitive

price compared to the grid and we can replicate the same model on other industrial reservoirs such as steel, thermal, fertilisers, cement, chemical, etc. Since we have high valued investors to finance similar projects, industries should utilise such benefits.”

In 2019, the firm had commissioned its first pilot 452 kWp project at CIAL Cochin, followed by the second project 5.4 MWp at Sagardighi thermal power plant, West Bengal last year being the biggest gridconnected floating plant in India, presently.

Currently, C&T India is executing the mega floating project to the size of 75 MWp in South India and is expected to commission

by October 2021, the Hydrelio floats are being produced from a 150 MWp/year production capacity factory by the firm in Kerala.

ReNew Power Goes with Gujarat For Solar Component Manufacturing Plant

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eading renewable energy firm ReNew Power has announced that it will be going to Gujarat for the development of a solar cell and module manufacturing plant. The manufacturing plans had been announced by ReNew Power last year, and it has picked the Dholera Special Industrial Region (DSIR), about 100 km away from Ahmedabad. Gujarat, as a frontline state for renewable energy in India, has also got some of ReNew’s biggest existing and future projects. Plus it offers the advantage of multiple ports for easy access to imports and exports.To that extent, expect the state to win quite a few of the fresh manufacturing that is being planned, along with Rajasthan possibly.

According to ReNew, the greenfield plant will produce 2 GW of solar cells and modules annually using state-of-the-art monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter & Rear Contact) and large wafer technology. The new project has been given 100 acres of land by the Gujarat government, assuring adequate availability of land for future capacity expansion.

The manufacturing of solar cells and

modules and plant operations are expected to begin from the fiscal year 2023 (FY23).

The manufacturing capacity being set up will incorporate ReNew Power’s sustainability initiatives and ensure decarbonization of manufacturing processes and supply chain to create a ‘Green Factory’ of the future, as per the company’s claims. The manufacturing plant is expected to generate 2500 jobs in the state. The plant will probably qualify for the PLI scheme for solar manufacturing easily.

CEO of ReNew Power, Mr. Sumant Sinha said, “ReNew plans to manufacture both solar cells and modules in the Dholera manufacturing facility with the goal of creating a globally competitive manufacturing unit.”

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Tata Motors & Tata Power Inaugurate India’s Largest Solar Carport in Pune

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ata Motors and Tata Power today jointly inaugurated India’s largest gridsynchronized, behind-the-meter solar carport at the Tata Motors car plant in Chikhali, Pune. The 6.2 MWp solar carport deployed by Tata Power will generate 86.4 lakh kWh of electricity per year and is estimated to reduce 7,000 tons of carbon emissions annually and 1.6 lakh tons over its lifecycle. Spanning over 30,000 square meters, this carport will not only generate green power, but will also provide covered parking for finished cars in the plant.

Envisioned as part of its net zero carbon goal for 2039, Tata Motors had entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tata Power on August 31, 2020, and the project was finished within 9.5 months. Mr. Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “We have always been conscious of the need to conserve energy and are committed towards achieving 100% renewable energy source for all our operations. Our partnership with Tata Power to deploy India’s largest solar carport at our car plant in Pune is a step in that direction.”

“As One Tata initiative, we are proud to partner with Tata Motors and inaugurate India’s largest solar carport. Our partnership is a testament to our collective efforts to lower

the carbon footprint and provide innovative and future-focused green energy solutions.

We will continue to explore new ways to harness clean resources and offer them to our partners and customers.” Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said. In FY20, Tata Motors generated 88.71 million kWh of renewable electricity which is over 21% of its total power consumption (up from 16% in FY19). This helped prevent the equivalent of 72,739 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The company further intends to source renewable energy more rigorously to meet its aspiration of sourcing 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Tata Power has successfully executing multiple large solar solutions in the past, including the world’s largest rooftop (16MW) at a single location at Radhasoami Satsang Beas (RSSB), Amritsar; 2.67MW at Cochin International Airport; world’s largest solar powered cricket stadiumCricket Club of India (CCI) with 820.8 kWp capacity; unique installation of solar vertical farm (120kW) at Dell Technologies at Bangalore and 1.4MW floating solar at Tata Chemicals, Nellore. In addition, Tata Power is carrying out an extensive pan-India residential rooftop program to make people aware on the benefits of savings through solar energy.

Lightsource bp Acquires Solar Projects Totalling 156 MWp in Italy

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ightsource bp in Italy continues to boost its utility scale solar portfolio by acquiring three projects from Horizon Firm, a trusted developer specialized in solar, totalling 156MWp across the country. Two of the projects are based in Sicily, in a low solar plant massification density area, in the province of Agrigento: the Canicattì project (40.9 MWp) and the Torre di Mastro project (58.2 MWp). The third project, Manfredonia (57.4 MWp), based in Apulia, will be developed as an Agri-PV with the aim of virtuously integrating agriculture and renewable energy.

These projects cast light upon the two regions’ strategic roles for the development of RES in line with the national objectives of energy production and decarbonisation. Horizon Firm’s expertise has been instrumental in identifying and selecting solar project sites

that can be developed responsibly to protect local ecosystems and continue agricultural practices. Lightsource bp has also entered into an exclusivity agreement with Horizon Firm to acquire an additional 130MWp of solar projects and aims to complete this transaction in the next few months. Also, for these projects, the companies will explore the potential benefits of adding an energy storage system. As well as maximising clean energy production this could also help support the island’s electricity grid infrastructure.

This latest partnership with Horizon Firm brings Lightsource bp’s Italian solar development pipeline to over 1.5GWp, providing a significant contribution to the country’s longterm commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. These three projects are expected to reach ready-to-build status in 2022.

UPNEDA Moves To Initiate 106 MW Solar Plants Under PM KUSUM

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he Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) has issued a tender inviting bids for 106 MW of solar plants under the PM KUSUM scheme.

The scheme, while primarily focused on solar pumps initially, was expanded later to include solar plants too. The tender invites bids for plant sizes ranging from 0.5 MW /1 MW/ 1.5 MW / 2 MW (AC) capacity on Barren/ uncultivable or agriculture land, Pasturelands and Marshlands of farmers falling within a radius of 5 KM from selected 33/11 KV substations.

The tariff based competitive bidding process requires bidders to participate in the Request for Selection (RfS) for installation of Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic Power Projects on BuildOwn- operate (B-O-O) basis under the scheme. With 24 substations and their neighbouring areas on offer, the tender expressly forbids a single bidder for bidding beyond 2 MW. The last date for submitting bids is June 15, with an EMD requirement of Rs 5000 per MW plus GST. (Rs 5900 per MW). A firm land lease agreement with a farmer or group of farmers /farmer bodies is a prerequisite, with the state discom taking no responsibility for arranging land or enforcing such agreement.

The UPNEDA move comes at an interesting time, with the state still under grave threat of seeing a massive impact from the second wave of corona pandemic. To that extent, one is not really certain to that extent key project deadlines will be met, and with bidding effectively limited to smaller firms, one wonders about their ability to lobby effectively in case of issues faced.

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Massachusetts Invites Bids for 1600 MW Offshore Wind Projects

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assachusetts electric utility companies have opened their third offshore wind solicitation, releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 1,600 MW of offshore wind power, twice the capacity they contracted in the previous rounds.

The Baker administration announced the RFP on Friday, for which confidential bids are due by September 16 and public proposal submission deadline is September 23. The winning bid(s) will be decided by December 17 and the contracts will be filed with the Department of Public Utilities by April 27, 2022. The 140-page document explains that local distribution companies will seek to procure at least 400 MW and up to 1,600 MW of projects. The individual proposals can range from 200 MW to 1,600 MW and the bidding price should not exceed USD 77.76 per MWh, which must be designed to recover all costs associated with the proposal, including but not limited to the cost of Offshore wind energy generation, cost of offshore delivery facilities, cost of network upgrades, and, if applicable, energy storage systems. The evaluation team will consider proposals of at least

200 megawatts, and there is no preferred bid size.

In late March, governor Charlie Baker signed a climate change legislation allowing the state to acquire an additional 2,400 MW of offshore wind by 2027, causing the required authorisation by the said year to rise to 4,000 MW. As part of the legislation,

Massachusetts committed to attain netzero emissions by 2050. The recent offshore solicitations are part of efforts to achieve this goal, including the Vineyard Wind and Mayflower Wind proposals, with a combined capacity of around 1,600 MW, which were approved in the previous two rounds.

GEDA Tenders For EV’s

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he Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has invited EOI (Expression of Interest) for Authorization of Manufacturers for marketing & distribution of battery-operated, low Speed & high-speed Two and ThreeWheelers with Lithium-Ion battery, under Gujarat’s GEDA BOV scheme.

GEDA has invited separate EOIs for battery-operated 11000 two-wheelers and 5,417 three-wheelers (E-rickshaw) under the subsidy for the year 2021-2022 from interested reputed manufacturers only.

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Also, the manufacturers registered during 2020-21 can submit their bids for their new models only. The last date for interested manufacturers to submit their EOIs is 21 June 2021, and the offer opening will happen on the same day at the GEDA office. Manufacturers of low and high-speed, batteryoperated, two-wheelers with li-ion battery have to pay an Ernest Money Deposit (EMD) of Rs. 7,50,000 while the manufacturers of batteryoperated E-rickshaws with li-ion battery, have to pay an EMD of Rs. 15,00,000. However,

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both of them have to pay a nonrefundable tender processing fee of RS. 10,000.

The work should be completed within the completion period i.e. 31 March 2022, and no work assigned to the manufacturer shall be carried forward to the next financial year. The Manufacturer needs to comply with all rules, regulations, laws, and bylaws enforced by local and State Govt. and also the organization on whose premises the work has to be done. Back in January 2020, in its effort to promote electric vehicle adoption in the state,

GEDA implemented a program for the distribution of batteryoperated vehicles (BOVs) especially two-wheelers and E-rickshaws with a subsidy of RS. 10,000 and 40,000, respectively.

GEDA has assigned a criteria of ‘reputation’ in the market too, with the threat of summarily dismissing from contention manufacturers who donot have a solid reputation.

While that might be based on fly by night importers of chinese made equipment, it risks being misused to dismiss newer start ups in the sector too.

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PVEL Flags Serious Issues With Module Quality

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olar's huge rise has been matched with an even bigger expansion in capacity, primarily in China, and now, the rest of the world too. With manufacturing capacities rising from 25 GW in 2015 to over 400 GW today. These have driven costs lower, even as incremental innovations across the value chain have also helped. For modules, perhaps the most obvious indicator has been higher output, and hence, larger sizes. Now, PV Evolution labs, (PVEL), a leading independent test lab for the downstream solar and energy storage industry, has rung the alarm bells on a possible risk to the sector, from quality issues.

Its 2021 PV Module Reliability Scorecard which came out last week, names 117 model types of PV modules from 26 manufacturers as Top Performers in PVEL’s testing. While applauding the widespread adoption of technical advances that increase PV module power output and reduce the cost of solar power, it flags reliability issues that could trip up performance gains, if not fixed early. One in three participating manufacturers failed to implement basic quality controls that protect end users from safety failures.

“An unprecedented expansion of PV module manufacturing capacity is underway. New factories and production lines are vital as demand for solar power soars, but buyers must be vigilant to avoid the risks inherent to rapid growth,” commented Jenya Meydbray, PVEL CEO. “The preventable safety failures observed in this year’s Scorecard underscore the complex challenges that manufacturers face as they race to meet demand in a highly dynamic global market.” The output comes from the PV Module Product Qualification Program (PQP), a comprehensive testing regime established by PVEL in 2012 to provide empirical data for PV module supplier benchmarking and project-level energy yield and financial models.

“As PV manufacturing capacity expands, mega-scale, 100+ MW projects financed by risk-averse traditional investors are the new norm. Yet the most innovative technologies are unproven in the field. We trust PVEL for the technical data we need to de-risk Primergy’s 2GW project pipeline,” said Adam Larner, Chief Operating Officer of Primergy Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a global investment manager with $8B invested in 19GW of power generation.

Notable findings in the 2021 Scorecard include:

Twenty-six percent of the bills of material (BOMs) eligible for this year’s Scorecard had at least one failure as compared to 20% in

2020. One in three manufacturers tested experienced safety failures due to junction box defects versus one in five in 2020. The majority of these failures were observed prior to testing.

Five manufacturers received their first Top Performer listings in this year’s Scorecard.

The report includes two new Top Performer categories that showcase modules with superior results in PVEL’s mechanical stress sequence and minimal susceptibility to light-induced degradation and light- and elevated- temperature induced degradation.

The greatest number of failures occurred during the mechanical stress sequence, a test PVEL recently added to the PQP to address durability concerns, especially for extreme weather.

“From glass to junction box, PVEL’s latest Scorecard again demonstrates that the quality of a PV module depends in part upon the materials it contains – yet many buyers never request BOM details from suppliers,” noted Tara Doyle, Chief Commercial Officer of PVEL. “Between supply chain instability and the ever-present push for lower prices, one cannot assume that every module sold under a given model type uses tested BOM components.

Buyers must specify their desired BOM in supply contracts to achieve this.”

Participation in PVEL’s PQP and Scorecard is voluntary for manufacturers and only topperforming module model types are named in the Scorecard. To date, PVEL has tested over 450 BOMs from more than 50 manufacturers for the PV Module PQP. The views underscore the fear among many industry veterans that the new projections built by developers and private equity investors leave very little margin for errors, or delays caused by issues beyond policy impact. That can be dangerous, as an overwhelming part of the PV capacity in existence has been built in the past 6 -7 years, which means we will start seeing issues vis a vis warranties only now, and in the coming years.

PVEL has highlighted how they are seeing degradation rates of upto 15 percent in cases. Similarly, while modules with one type of encapsulant degraded just 4.9% on average after 35 years, modules with two other encapsulant formulations exhibited much higher mean degradation rates of 19.1% and 26.1%.

All this, when expectations are of a minimum useful life of 15 years , going up to 25 years. A significant performance degradation could seriously impact those projections.

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Longi Claims 3 World Records For Cell efficiency

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i’an-headquartered major solar PV manufacturer LONGi has consolidated its leading role in R&D innovation in the global PV industry by setting new cell efficiency records for N- and P-type TOPcon and HJT. The company announced in April its record of 25.09% for N-Type TOPCon solar cell efficiency and, one month later, testing at the Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH) in Hamelin, Germany, has confirmed that the conversion efficiency of N-type monocrystalline bifacial TOPCon solar cells developed at LONGi’s Cell R&D Center has now reached 25.21%.

The Cell R&D Center has also achieved an innovative breakthrough in highefficiency P-type monocrystalline solar cell product technology. Again

tested by ISFH (Calibration Mark: 001592), the efficiency of a commercial size P-type monocrystalline bifacial TOPCon solar cell exceeded 25% for the first time, setting a world record of 25.02% in the process.

ISFH has also been able to confirm that the conversion efficiency of a commercial size monocrystalline HJT solar cell produced by LONGi’s New Technology R&D Centre

reached a record of 25.26%, additionally placing the company at the forefront of HJT related technology.

“With the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves, our approach is to stay close to the essence of technology by selecting the best technical route, maximizing product performance potential and proactively ushering in the changes needed to achieve the technical transformation,”

commented Dr. Li Hua, Vice President and Head of LONGi Solar’s Cell R&D Center.

The development of new energy technology is one of the critical factors in achieving China’s two goals of ‘peaking’ carbon by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 and LONGi’s highefficiency cell and module technology and resultant products enable the company to maintain its leading position in the industry in terms of efficiency, performance, quality and cost, contributing significantly to reaching these objectives LONGi produces monocrystalline silicon wafers and modules, delivering solutions for distributed and ground mount power station systems, promoting the development of the global PV industry and driving energy transformation.

Former leader Yingli Solar Strives For Comeback

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ingli Solar, which was once the largest manufacturer of solar panels in the world and the first Chinese company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup TM, has announced plans to make a serious comeback.

The Hebei province-based firm, which slipped from a peak turnover of over $2.4 billion in 2011 to less than $650 million by 2018, was declared technically bankrupt in 2018, with a huge debt overhang and falling sales. The deficit attributable to shareholders of Yingli Green Energy amounted to US$ 1.9 billion in 2018, while its deficit in working capital amounted to US$1.7 billion. This, while not counting multiple bank loans where the firm had defaulted.

Yingli Green Energy, the holding company that was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), was liquidated, unable to repay long-term debt owed to

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Yingli China. Now, in April 2021, the restructured company’s first general meeting of shareholders and directors was held, and a new board of directors and management team was announced and approved. As a sign of the company’s change in direction, its debt-to-asset ratio has dropped to 59.26%. This ratio will continue to decline, as new capital injections are expected. The debt with financial creditors has been converted entirely into equity. The local government owned investment platform has contributed US $ 312.8 million. The company has also engaged with strategic investors who are willing to invest US $ 625.6 million.

“After the restructuring, Yingli Solar has become financially healthy again,” said Xulong Yin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, who also added “Even during the most difficult periods of debt, Yingli

Solar still maintained high sales volumes, delivered with all the guarantees, and offered an exceptional level of customer service. This is solid proof of the incredible caliber and dedication of the Yingli Solar staff, and we see a bright future for the business.”

In 2020, the firm claims that Yingli Solar has distributed 2 GW of modules around the world and has continued to invest funds in R&D. It has announced expansion of its cell production capacity to 5 GW and photovoltaic modules to 10 GW, with a two year plan to take it to 15 GW. The firm now faces a tough market, where its erstwhile smaller competitors have all grown manifold while it slumped, and the market is back to being volatile, with prices see-sawing. In its second coming, it should be instructive to see how Yingli thrives.

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First Solar To Expand US Manufacturing

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he leading American manufacturer of solar panels and PV power plants, First Solar Inc. has announced its plans of expanding its American domestic photovoltaic (PV) solar manufacturing capacity by 3.3 GWDC (gigawatt direct current) annually, with an investment of USD 680 million. This investment is representing an implied capital expenditure of approximately USD 0.20 per watt. The move follows nudges from US admin officials to firms to cut dependence for solar imports on China.

The company is initiating the construction-based developments of its third new manufacturing unit in America’s Lake Township, Ohio. This new manufacturing is expected to take the company’s Northwest solar portfolio up to 6 GW in the future. The Ohio factory is expected to start production by the first half of 2023, after getting permissions of pending approval of the various state, regional, and local incentives.

Speaking of their new developments, CEO of First Solar, Mr. Mark Widmar stated, “This facility will represent a significant leap forward in photovoltaics manufacturing, a true factory of the future. It will leverage our advantaged position at the intersection of efficiency, energy yield, optimized form factor, and cost competitiveness while leading our manufacturing fleet in delivering the highest efficiency and wattage, and the lowest cost per watt.”

As per the company’s claims this facility will be one of the most advanced of its kind in the solar industry, allowing it to produce an anticipated average of one module roughly every 2.75 seconds across its three-factory Ohio footprint once it achieves its full

production capacity. Designed and developed at its research and development (R&D) centers in California and Ohio, First Solar’s advanced thin-film PV modules set industry benchmarks for quality, durability, reliability, design, and environmental performance. Each module features a layer of Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) semiconductor that is only three percent the thickness of a human hair and the company continues to optimize the amount of semiconductor material used by enhancing its vapor deposition process.

Additionally, Besides its Ohio manufacturing facilities, First Solar also operates factories in Vietnam and Malaysia.

JinkoSolar’s N-Type Mono-Si Solar Cell reaches Record 25.25% Efficiency

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hanghai-headquartered solar panel manufacturer JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. announced yesterday that the maximum solar conversion efficiency of its large-area N-type monocrystalline silicon solar cells reached 25.25%, setting a new world record for large-size contact-passivated solar cells.

This result has been independently confirmed by the National Institute of Metrology, China (NIM). It is the third time that JinkoSolar has broken this world record since July 2020.

Dr. Hao Jin, Chief Technology Officer of JinkoSolar Co., Ltd., said, “We are very proud to have set three world records for the

most advanced large-area N-type cell in the world in less than one year. Maximum cell conversion efficiency improved from 24.79%, to 24.9%, and now to 25.25%” The company states that it has made industry-leading iterations in silicon wafers, solar cells and solar modules over the years. Material upgrades integrated into the cell process and fabrication on a practical size of 267.4cm2 of high quality monocrystalline Czochralski (CZ) silicon substrates allowed JinkoSolar to produce 25.25% cell efficiency.

To attain this extremely high solar cell efficiency using ultrathin polysilicon, several

advanced technologies have been implemented including JinkoSolar’s high quality N-type wafer, passivating contact technologies, advanced diffusion system, surface passivation, metallization of crystalline solar cells and other innovative technologies. The company believes that this breakthrough will allow it to mass produce N-type TopCon cells.

Mr. Limin Xiong, Researcher of NIM, said, “As China’s highest research facility of measurement science, and CNAS Capability Verification provider for solar cells and modules in Electrical Parameter Testing, NIM is committed to providing JUN E 20 21

consistent, accurate and reliable data for scientific and technological progress. At present, it has accounted for 80% market share in thirdparty calibration services for standard solar cells and innovative solar cells (including perovskite cells).”

He added, “China aims to reach carbon emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, so the PV industry has been gearing up for even faster growth with LCOE and solar cell efficiency being the most important factors. I am glad to witness this new world record, and our teams will continue to cooperate and contribute to the industry through R&D.” SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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India’s Three Battles To Lose

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hat, and how India sets about achieving climate goals in the decade to 2030 matters. Not just for the impact it will have in contributing to our impact on global warming, but also for what it does to shift the country decisively away from our current energy pathways.

The decade to 2030 also seems to be growing more relevant due to the rate at which the world is being forced to reconsider targets set for say, 2050.

Suddenly, those targets don’t seem ambitious enough, considering the damage extreme events linked to climate change have started causing. Consider the unprecedented assault on coal and thermal power, where, thanks to developments in solar, wind and storage, many countries will achieve their goals to reduce by 2025 by 2022 itself. That means the pressure will soon shift, as it has by way of restrictions on financing fresh coal projects, to developing countries like India.

The good news is that India’s performance, outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, based on the estimated present reduction of emissions intensity by 21% over 2005 levels is on track, for now.

Even the Emissions Gap Report 2020 of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) includes India among nine G20 members who are on track to achieve their unconditional commitments under the Paris pact, based on preCOVID-19 projections. These targets are based primarily on twin pillars of renewable energy and expanding our forest cover to act as a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes by 2030.

But challenges loom. As the country seeks to kickstart a massive effort to industrialise, urbanisation has picked speed, even as

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agricultural land continues to command a premium to feed a vast population. That means higher energy needs, and targets like expanding forest cover will be increasingly harder to reach.

DEMAND PROJECTIONS According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy use has doubled in India since 2000, with most of that demand met by coal and oil. This is set to grow about 35 per cent until 2030, down from 50 per cent before the coronavirus pandemic. IEA predicts primary energy consumption almost doubling to 1,123 million tonnes of oil equivalent as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expands to USD 8.6 trillion by 2040. By 2030, India will overtake the European Union by 2030 to move up to the third position in energy consumption, worldwide. With imports accounting for 84 percent of its oil consumption for fuels and related sectors, for the country, finding greener, better options is not just good for the environment, but a very strong economic case too.

India’s Response Today, it has become clear that India is responding to the challenge with a mix of strategies. Right on top is the ascendance of solar power, which, together with wind, will be competing on equal footing with thermal power for share of contribution to the national power mix. Second, and equally important, are two multi billion dollar initiatives, that seek to not only cut down the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and its import bill, but also achieve multiple objectives along the way. These are the

Ethanol blending targets for 2025, and the Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) initiative to have 5000 CBG plants by 2025. Track progress on these three, and it’s safe to say, you have a marker on India’s overall progress towards its climate goals. So let’s go right in.

Solar Power: Why It Matters, and The Risks According to the Ministry of New And Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s solar capacity at the end of May was at 41.09 GW, with Wind Energy at 39.44 GW. The report adds that 50.89 GW of projects are under implementation, while 29.52 GW are under bidding process. Those numbers bely the actual state of affairs by a margin. A significant part of the projects under implementation are suffering from huge delays, while projects under bidding process are in even deeper trouble.

Readers will notice that adding up all the numbers above takes us very close to the 160 GW that was the original solar+wind target for 2022. That target, which was looking eminently doable in 2017, 3 years after being declared, is now simply not going to be met. Blame that on a huge miss in the rooftop solar category, where, against a target of 40 GW , we stand at barely 6 GW today.

That is not the primary cause for concern though. The bigger issues that we have covered extensively in previous issues, is that the underlying reasons for the delays have yet to be tackled in any meaningful way. This includes our policy on protecting and encouraging domestic manufacturing , while not doing it at the expense of solar growth. Or weeding our inefficiencies in

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the existing power purchase environment, which has forced discoms to try an beat down solar prices beyond levels that would have been considered impossibly low when solar targets were set. That is taking its own toll on long term quality and sustainability.

These issues, along with various state level issues, have combined to make financing for large solar projects difficult for all but the largest developers, domestic or foreign, forcing a consolidation in the sector that is too early , and unhealthy. Fewer players, be it on the developer side or the manufacturing side, risks making policy making hostage to their needs, at the cost of the end consumer. That will never be an optimum solution.

With almost 20 GW per annum of fresh capacity and installation needed for the next 10 years, solar’s challenges for the next decade need to be fixed now, before the 2030 target also looks ridiculously over-ambitious.

Compressed Bio Gas If Ethanol attacks India’s dependence on petrol, CBG tries to take the battle to that other automotive fuel, Diesel . On paper, the government has set a very ambitious target of 5000 CBG pants by 2025, entailing an investment of 200,000 crores, or Rs 40 crores per plant. To produce 15 MTA of the gas, which is about 40 percent of current CNG consumption, generating direct employment for 75,000 people and producing 50 million tonnes of bio-manure.

Being equivalent to CNG, where we already have a well developed ecosystem and infrastructure, CBG integration is likely to be the easiest to manage. A huge bonus from an optics perspective on CBG is that it can also use up residues that are otherwise burnt, and cause very visible air pollution.

CBG, though similar to CNG, offers better calorific value and can be used as green fuel in automotive, industrial and commercial sectors. With a procurement price of Rs 46 per unit till 2024, along with a buying commitment for 10 years, it has a lot going for it. All of this is under the National Biofuels Policy 2018 and Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative.

CBG production necessarily is expected to be lower cost, lower scale and more spread out. By using agri residues and other bio waste, it also promises to make a serious contribution to the Swachh India

Movement. However, this segment has probably taken the biggest hit from the covid pandemic. That means the existing targets are not going to be met. Even though the Petroleum and Natural gas ministry reports that Letter of intent for 600 CBG plants have already been given and MoUs for 900 more plants signed, a total of 1500 CBG plants are at various stages of execution. Rs 30,000 Cr of investment is envisaged in these 900 plants.

A typical period for manufacturing these plants would be 15-18 months according to industry players we spoke to. This includes the time taken to get environmental clearances, which can go upto 6-9 months.

One area where the government can work more proactively to speed up the process.

Like Ethanol, CBG has the advantage of enough firms that can supply the machinery, and the technology. Be it Indian firms like Praj Industries, to global experts like Evonik, which has a large Indian presence. The Reserve Bank of India has done its bit too, by making financing of CBG plants part of priority sector lending .

The Ethanol Rush The Ethanol blending program, which just saw a major push after Prime Minister Modi brought forward the target to achieve 20 percent blending with petrol to 2025, from 2030 has two key objectives. To cut down imports of fossil fuels, and to provide a remunerative option for farmers from agricultural residues, especially sugarcane.

Of course, ethanol, when used as a blend with petrol, also helps cut down pollution, since it does not release any carbon.

The current blending level for ethanol in India has crossed 7.4% .The new target is expected to create a demand of additional 10 billion litres of ethanol per annum. On a current production base of 4 billion litres.

In a key move to encourage ethanol production, permissible feedstock options have been expanded by adding starchy feedstocks to the list in the form of surplus grains. That means, states like Bihar and Chhattisgarh have introduced state specific ethanol production policies to attract investments. That is welcome in a situation where just three states, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka were looking set to dominate ethanol production. More importantly, it changes the nature of the industry from a location driven, seasonal production sector to one that is potentially more spread out, with supplies through the

year. A huge plus for the ethanol push is the fact that it has been entrusted to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC’s) to establish production as well as support other producers with long term purchase agreements. Prices, at Rs 62 per litre are also considered remunerative enough to raw in investors willingly, although interest subsidies have also been provided. The OMC’s, that are usually cash rich, provide a strong measure of comfort to the biggest investors , sugar firms that will expand or build fresh capacities now. With clear demand visibility for the next 5 years, the pathway is really clear, and in this case, has every chance of being achieved, with significant positive impact across states .

Surprisingly, a challenge might come from the third key pillar of self sufficiency, namely CBG. With CBG plants being much more cheaper to build, and using up a large part of the same residues, Ethanol plants might find themselves outpriced in time.

Already , the OMC’s have shifted from trying to build massive 2G ethanol plants to 1G plants, which are much more low cost to build. 1G plants are optimised to use sugarcane residues better, while 2G plants can use cellulose and hemicelluloses. These are found in feedstocks such as wheat straw, corn, wood, agricultural residues and municipal solid waste. This extra flexibility comes at a much higher cost though. Oil firm officials inform us that the cost for a 1G plant are around Rs 120 crores for a 5000 litre per day capacity. As opposed to that, a 2G plant can cost over Rs 1000 crores to set up, distorting the reward-returns matric significantly.

Conclusion We fund it worthwhile to highlight, and

place on record the importance of these three initiatives, as a proxy for India’s progress on its climate goals. All three are linked deeply to sectors that are decisive to ensure India moves ahead. All three make their own case for support, and offer benefits that go beyond just cost savings, import substitution, or a cleaner environment. Interestingly, with Ethanol and CBG impact primarily on the transportation sector, they will eventually run by, possibly as early as 2035 or before, against another key transition into its early days here. The move to electric transportation. In the intervening period, that means their impact on fossil fuels will only accelerate with time, if they deliver on their promise.

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IEX Q4 FY21 Results: ‘Unprecedented Performance’; Rs 100 Cr Revenues

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n announcement revealed yesterday that Denmark’s state-owned fund IFU and United Nations Office for Project Services’ S3i have acquired 39% and 10% stake respectively in Acme Solar Holdings Ltd’s 250 MW solar project in Rajasthan.

Acme Solar, a leading Solar IPP in India, holds the majority 51% stake in the project, which has a total investment requirement of euro 150 million and was awarded by staterun Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI). Once in operation, the solar plant is expected to provide clean electricity to the equivalent of 500,000 households. It is also estimated that the project will create some 225 jobs in the construction phase, and 75 jobs while the plant is in operation. Myra structured the transaction.

In addition to its equity investment, S3i will be playing an operational role in the project with a major emphasis on social impact measurement. The total value of the project is the equivalent of just under US $200 million, of which about a quarter is financed through

the medium of equity contributions by three co investors with UNOPS’ share being 10 per cent.

“Providing clean and green power is at the forefront of global commitments to address climate change. We need an urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. UNOPS are proud to support India’s climate targets and all of the partners in this landmark renewable energy project” said Grete Faremo, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director. “We are delighted to have had this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the government and people of India and show that we care and are willing to take risks while the country is working so hard to combat the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.” said Vitaly Vanshelboim, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive of Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3i).

“This is a historic partnership agreement and we are very excited to have UNOPS S3i and IFU as our partners and co-investors in India for the development of solar projects.

ACME will jointly develop world-class solar plants using the experiences of our partners in social impact measurement while optimizing operations and energy generation.” said Manoj Upadhyay, Founder and Chairman, ACME Group.

It is estimated that reaching the SDGs by the year 2030 would require an additional five to seven trillion US dollars’ worth of investments. SDG goal number seven sets out the promotion of investments in energy infrastructure and clean technologies, targeting increased access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

While there’s been great improvement in access to electricity across the world, much more needs to be done to improve access to clean, safe and sustainable energy for 2.8 billion underserved people. More than 60 per cent of India’s energy is produced with fossil fuels. With the growing population and rapid urbanization further increasing demand for electricity, the Indian government has made renewable energy a high priority.

Hyundai Motor Group to Invest $7.4 billion in U.S. EV industry by 2025

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n a press release dated May 14, 2021, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), comprising Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation, announced its plan to invest $7.4 billion in the U.S. by 2025 to produce future EVs, enhance production facilities and further its investments in smart mobility solutions. The group’s investment will enhance overall product competitiveness by prioritising future mobility technologies, including electrification and hydrogen energy.

The Seoul-headquartered global automotive manufacturer will invest in growing its EV manufacturing footprint to scale production

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and satisfy U.S. market demands, as well as monitor the market conditions and U.S. government EV policy to finalise its plan to enhance its U.S. production facilities and gradually expand its local EV production. Hyundai Motor will offer a suite of American-made electric vehicles to U.S.

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consumers starting next year.

HMG also states that it is committed to fostering a hydrogen society to create new business opportunities for a sustainable future, and will expand the U.S. hydrogen ecosystem in collaboration with local private and public partners. The group signed an

MOU with the U.S. Department of Energy in February 2020 to cooperate in hydrogen fuel cell technology innovation and global expansion. This included the installation of a hydrogen refuelling station and providing NEXO SUVs. U.S. President Joe Biden, who has recently called for $174 billion in new spending to boost electric vehicles and charging, is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington next week to talk about North Korea, COVID-19 vaccines, and other issues.

HMG’s new announcement about investing in EV deployment in the US certainly comes at an interesting time.

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ArcelorMittal Invests $10 M in RE Tech Company Heliogen

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rcelorMittal S.A., a Luxembourgish multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City, announced yesterday its initial investment of $10 million in US renewable energy technology company Heliogen, marking the completion of the steel producer's first XCarb™ innovation fund investment since launching the initiative in March 2021.

Heliogen’s technology will harness solar energy by using a field of mirrors which will act as a multi-acre magnifying glass to concentrate and capture sunlight. The sunlight will then be subsequently converted into heat (HelioHeat™), electricity (HelioPower™) or clean fuels (HelioFuel™).

The company aims to ‘unlock the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels’.

All three Heliogen products have the potential to be applicable to the steelmaking process and support the steel industry’s

transition to carbon-neutrality. HelioHeat™, for example, could be used to increase the temperature of air blown into a blast furnace, offsetting the use of fossil fuel. The Heliogen technology will also be capable of creating 100 per cent green hydrogen, which Heliogen is working to develop as its first HelioFuel™.

Hydrogen sits at the heart of ArcelorMittal’s Innovative-DRI technology pathway, which involves using hydrogen instead of natural gas as the reductant in the production of direct reduced iron.

In addition to the $10 million investment, ArcelorMittal and Heliogen have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which aims to evaluate the potential of Heliogen’s products in several of ArcelorMittal’s steel plants.

Commenting, Pinakin Chaubal, Chief Technology Officer, ArcelorMittal, said, “The partnership we have established with Heliogen goes beyond investment. The MoU

we have signed means we are actively exploring working with them to deploy their technologies in our steel plants, enhancing our ongoing programme of decarbonisation initiatives. Establishing partnerships of this kind has an important role to play in ensuring we succeed in our ambition to lead our industry’s efforts to decarbonise, and reach carbon-neutrality by 2050.”

Bill Gross, CEO and Founder, Heliogen, added, “We’re also excited to begin working with ArcelorMittal to explore how our technology can support its significant decarbonization efforts. Heliogen’s Sunlight Refinery™, which will cost-effectively deliver 24/7 carbon-free energy in the form of heat, electricity, or hydrogen fuels at scale for the first time in history, was designed for use by a spectrum of industries, including steel.

Together, ArcelorMittal and Heliogen can meaningfully help the world achieve carbon neutrality.”

ADB Supports India’s Covid-19 Response Through Record Annual Lending

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anila-headquartered Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently revealed that it has committed $3.92 billion in sovereign loans for 13 projects to India in 2020, including $1.8 billion in projects to support the Government of India’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response.

This is ADB’s highest-ever annual lending commitment to India since the start of its lending operations in 1986. ADB, also committed $356.1 million through its nonsovereign operations to India, including three COVID-19 support projects.

As part of its pandemic support to India, ADB provided emergency assistance to contain the disease and establish social protection measures for relief to the poor and

other vulnerable groups. The bank also approved financing to help the government improve equitable access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas. The bank has said that throughout

2020, it continued its regular assistance to energy, transport, urban development, and public sector management in India.

Among the new projects committed in 2020 included $500 JUN E 20 21

million to build a modern, highspeed 82-kilometer Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit system corridor; energy sector loans to strengthen distribution network in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Meghalaya; and to build a 120-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Assam. In the urban sector, ADB approved loans for sustainable urban development in secondary and smaller towns in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The bank also committed funds to support the Government of West Bengal’s fiscal consolidation program. Through its project readiness financing, it committed funds to provide Tripura and Himachal Pradesh with capacity development support for planning and designing.

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Solis And Booth E7-001 At SNEC. An Enduring Partnership

he SNEC PV Power Expo is the Global Solar Industry’s largest professional PV event held annually in Shanghai, China. Over the years, SNEC has emerged as the pre-eminent platform where stakeholders in the solar sector have been showcasing the latest achievements of intelligent manufacturing and innovation that will set the trends for the industry. It is also where firms pull out all stops to make an impact, as any visitors can testify.

Solis has marked its presence at SNEC for 9 consecutive years now, matching the event’s amazing growth with its own growth milestones. In doing that, the company and its Booth no E7-001 have become a destination of sorts for visitors to the exhibition.

While this is where Solis has been showcasing the best innovations and

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solutions it has to offer each year, the firm;s own growth an evolution over the years, besides the many interactive activities at the booth have made Solis a favourite with visitors each year. Like every year, this year too the firm promises that visitors can look forward to something new, be it a new record, start of new trend, or business opportunities that are well worth the time for those inclined.

Highlight 1

Make a stunning appearance At the 543m2 booth of Solis, keep your cameras handy, because the sea is roaring on the big screen! With the naked-eye 3D visual effects so amazing that you won’t be able to resist snapping off a selfie with the amazing background.

Solis will showcase its full range of hit

products here. That means, one of the world’s most versatile and awarded lineup of string inverters from 700W to 350kW. Expect to get an insight into Solis’s scientific research technologies and its brand charm too!

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Launch Of new products It is well known that the three major PV application scenarios respectively correspond to Solis’s residential ace model, C&I flagship model and annual blockbuster model. The full range of products are much favored by customers for their advantages in system-friendliness, intelligent operation and maintenance, efficient power generation, safety and reliability, as well as full-cycle solutions.

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320kw product launch

New product ① G6-GU320K-EHV

G6-GU320K-EHV is the representative product of the booth themed by “high current and high power”. It makes higher power and lower LCOE possible. With a single maximum power output upto 352kVA, this new arrival is one of the largest single string inverters in the world at present.

Guided by China’s strategic goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, the new product provides a strong boost to the economic, safe, intelligent and stable development of PV energy. In addition to using 1500VDC voltage on the DC side to support both sides, the AC side has also been fully adjusted to allow access to the maximum 400 mm2 aluminum cable.

Needless to add, the advantage does not stop at cost reduction. It’s really good in boosting production. It can work at a temperature ranging from -30℃ to 60℃ and support full-power output at 45℃. In extreme conditions, its 25-year yield is about 3.4% higher than other solutions.

According to calculations, the use of G6-GU320K-EHV for a 100MW power station can help the system lower the LCOE

by nearly 3% each year.

Furthermore, it features a maximum input current of 45A per MPPT. Therefore, it is currently the string inverter with the largest single MPPT current in the same power segment on the market. The DC breaking scheme with electronic decoupler is introduced on the DC side, which greatly improves the system safety. Meanwhile, the excellent grid compatibility and the integration of digital technology will undoubtedly make it one of the main forces in building every new power system with renewable energy behind it.

New product ② Flexi-ONE, a PV energy storage integrated energy conversion device

Another product being premiered by Solis at the Expo is Flexi-ONE, a PV energy storage integrated energy conversion device. It is designed to provide an intelligent and convenient solar PV-ES solution. The inverter, battery, switch and the like are integrated in just 0.5 m3, which makes it easier to install on site and maintain afterwards.

Flexi-ONE can continuously support 5kW power output and 6kW peak power output within 30 seconds. This makes it suitable for most households. Its MPPT efficiency is

greater than 99.9%, with a maximum efficiency of 97.5%. This enables it to provide higher output. Moreover, it is compatible with a variety of brands of batteries, offering you more flexibility of choice.

Flexi-ONE is extremely safe and reliable.

It has quite a few technological breakthroughs in both software and hardware, including the integrated backup bypass switch and the new-generation electrical structure design which is composed of the latest improved full-bridge LLC topology, the latest application of SiC technology, strengthened overall protection logic, ripple suppression technology and the application of independent tunnel cooling technology.

All these, together with the application of redundant protection technologies such as AFCI , fuse + circuit breaker and the like, fully demonstrate Solis’s concept of extreme safety for energy storage. We believe that this product with a modern and stylish appearance will impress you with its powerful performance and innovative approach.

Highlight 3

The SNEC runs from June 2-5.

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Huawei At SNEC- Off Grid Solutions, Mytileneos Tie-Up and More

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uawei, always a towering presence at SNEC Shanghai as the largest inverter seller in the world, has marked the 2021 edition with a slew of announcements and launches.

Doing the honors early was Peng Jianhua, President of Site Power Facility, Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd. He released the full series of comprehensive offgrid fuel removal power solution iPowerCube to the global audience. Serving as an inclusive power supply in all scenarios, the solutions seek to provide cost-effective, green, and reliable power for domestic and industrial users in off-grid and unreliable grid areas, helping bridge the energy divide.

This provides megawatt-level power supply capability and applies to industrial production scenarios such as mines, factories, and campuses, as well as livelihood scenarios such as large villages, islands, and resorts.

Compared with the traditional AC coupling solution, the iPowerCube-P uses the DC coupling architecture, which reduces the number of energy conversion times, improves the efficiency, reduces the investment, and

lowers the LCOE. In Cameroon, over 25 MW PV plants and 60 MWh energy storage systems adopt the Huawei off-grid solution, powering 350 remote villages and benefiting about 50,000 households with approximate 300,000 residents.

Next we have the Medium-scale off-grid fuel removal solution iPowerCube-S, that provides 100 kW-level power supply capability and applies to livelihood scenarios such as small villages and islands as well as industrial production scenarios such as oil and gas wells, checkpoints, and transportation stations. Compared with the traditional split-type solution, Huawei iPowerCube-S adopts pre-integration and does not require distribution network reconstruction, which shortens the deployment period and reduces the investment. Finally, you have the Small-scale off-grid fuel removal solution iPowerCube-M, that provides 10 kW-level power supply capability and applies to residential scenarios (such as apartments with no/poor mains power supply and rural villas) and industrial and commercial scenarios (such as shops,

restaurants, and business outlets). Compared with the traditional solution with combined gasoline generator and batteries, Huawei iPowerCube-M solution features more flexible deployment, ultra-quiet design, higher reliability, and lower LCOE. Besides these, Huawei also announced that it is extending its business partnership with Greek firm MYTILINEOS globally, signing a memorandum of cooperation regarding the supply of Huawei string inverters, for PV plants including but not limited to the UK, Uzbekistan, Spain and Cyprus.

Huawei also had news on the quality front, with its Huawei smart string energy storage system (ESS) for residential use, the LUNA2000, receiving 2PfG 2511 and VDEAR-E 2510-50 certificates from TUV Rheinland, a Germany-based testing and certification service provider. Li Weichun, Global Head of Power Electronics Business Segment and General Manager of Greater China Solar & Commercial Products at TUV Rheinland and Zhou Tao, Vice President of Huawei Smart PV, were present at the award ceremony.

LONGi Unveils Hi-MO N Module & ‘Lifecycle Quality’ Standard at SNEC ’21

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i’an-headquartered major solar PV manufacturer LONGi turned heads at the The 15th International Photovoltaic Electricity Generation and Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition (SNEC 2021), which opened on June 3rd in Shanghai, China, releasing a new module called Hi-MO N and a “Lifecycle Quality” standard for its products.

In this premier industry exhibition, LONGi unveiled its Hi-MO N – the first bifacial module with N-type TOPCon cellswhich is said to maintain the optimal 182mm cell and 72c module size and adopt the company’s proprietary HPC technique based on N-type TOPCon (High Performance Cell with Hybrid Passivated Contact).

The conversion efficiency is up to 22.3% and power reaches 570W in mass

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production. Designed to deliver ultra-high value and lower LCOE to utility-scale PV power plants, Hi-MO N is expected to be the flagship product leading an industrial breakthrough in module efficiency and energy yield.

With LONGi HPC technique based N-type TOPCon, the device can achieve higher bifacial gain, better temperature coefficient and low irradiance performance, lower working temperature, better LID and PID performance. Energy yield is 2-3% higher than that of mainstream P-type bifacial modules. In tandem with “Zero” cell damage, the Hi-MO N is PID-free under irradiance.

The initial year degradation is under 1% and linear degradation is under 0.4%.

Calculated on a 30-year lifecycle, the conversion efficiency of Hi-MO N modules

will be 2.45% higher than that of other mainstream products in the market. The company claims that the energy yield and system cost savings during Hi-MO N lifecycle will deliver higher values for customers, when compared to mainstream P-type bifacial modules in the market.

With the release of Hi-MO N, LONGi’s portfolio now includes the “Hi-MO N”, “HiMO 5” and “Hi-MO 4” product families.

At the same event, the Chinese company also released the industry’s first “Lifecycle Quality” standard. Based on the concept of “customer value first”, “LONGi Lifecycle Quality” is meant to ensure that LONGi products will perform reliably throughout the lifespan and help their customers realise high returns on investment throughout the entire lifecycle of their PV power plants.

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Vattenfall Collaborates with Eramet Norway to Support the Norwegian Electricity Grid

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nergy sources such as wind and solar power put new demands on the electricity system. As more weatherdependent energy increases, larger reserves are required. Nordic system operators have therefore agreed to trade in synthetic inertia or fast frequency reserve (FFR) to ensure electricity network stability. This solution means that substantial electricity consumers such as Eramet Norway can quickly reduce their electricity consumption and help to achieve stability in the power grid when there is an imbalance. Vattenfall’s goal is to enable fossil-free living within one generation. “It’s a win-win situation. The customer contributes to a fossil-free society and gets paid for it,” says Viktor Gårdö.

Statnett, the system operator of the Norwegian power system, has bought 119 MW to be used for frequency control (at a value of approx. NOK 22.5 million). Of these, Vattenfall as the single largest operator is responsible for 58 MW, together with technology supplier Sympower. The deal is worth approximately NOK 11.5 million. Eramet Norway, an electricity

customer of Vattenfall, produces alloys for the world’s industrial industry. They have an FFR readiness of about 400 hours.

“This is a new, forward-looking technology that is at the same time challenging for a basic industry like ours,” says Baard Aasrum, Senior Specialist at

Eramet Norway. The power system depends on a balance between production and consumption. When the system is in balance, the frequency is 50.00 Hz. If there are major disturbances in the frequency, it can cause faults in electronic equipment and power failure.

Power Grid Raises Rs 2736 Crore Through its PGInvIT

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he Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has announced that it has received Rs 2,736.02 crore through the sale of 27.41 crore units in the PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT) offer for sale which was created to monetise its assets. The initial portfolio of assets in the InvIT comprises five special purpose vehicles (SPVs) — PowerGrid Vizag Transmission Ltd (PVTL), PowerGrid Kala Amb Transmission Ltd (PKATL), PowerGrid Parli Transmission Ltd (PPTL), PowerGrid Warora Transmission Ltd (PWTL) and PowerGrid Jabalpur Transmission Ltd (PJTL).

PGCIL, under the process of

monetisation of assets through the InvIT, has transferred 74 percent of its shareholding to the PGInvIT, it said in a regulatory filing. In lieu of consideration of shareholding so transferred, units were allotted by PGInvIT to PGCIL.

Out of the total 410,650,900 units allotted to PGCIL, 136,500,100 units (15 percent of total units of PGInvIT outstanding post issue, to be locked-in from the date of listing of units pursuant to InvIT Regulations) were JUN E 20 21

retained by PGCIL. The remaining 27,41,50,800 units were sold by way of Offer for Sale (OFS). In April, we had reported that the Power Grid Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) had fixed a price band of Rs 99-100 per unit for its Rs 7,735 crore initial share sale, which opened for public subscription on April 29, 2021.

The issue will close on May 3, 2021, and the bidding for anchor investors opened on April 28, 2021.

The proceeds from the offer will be utilised for providing loans to the initial portfolio assets for repayment or prepayment of debt, including any accrued interest, and for general purposes.

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CERC Approves NHPC Tariffs for 2GW Project, Disapproves of NHPC Attitude

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HPC’s largest solar tender to date, the 2000 MW ISTS connected tender, which it concluded in July 2020 by allotting LOA’s (Letter of Award) to the 7 final successful bidders, has got tariffs for the projects adopted finally, after a slight delay. But what should have been a standard procedure turned into a slightly embarrassing dressing down for the PSU, when the central regulator, CERC made its displeasure known and on record, for the PSU’s lackadaisical attitude to the process.

Timeline So far

What Irritated The CERC?

The regulator picked on two issues. One, NHPC’s failure to advertise the RFS for the tender in two national papers. Instead, NHPC used its own web portal, besides one International paper edition, namely, The Asian Age, since the project called for international competitive bidding. The CERC let this pass, as a circular by the MNRE on 21.1.2019 allowed bypassing the two newspaper requirement, despite it being there in the standard tender guidelines from earlier.

Now, post the whole process of bids (by 9 entities), followed by reverse auctions, a final list of five winners was arrived at. Along with their final bid prices.

“….12.1.1(g) In case of change in Law on account of Antidumping Duty and/ or Safeguard Duty and/or Custom Duty on Solar PV Modules, the Solar Power developer shall be entitled for increase/ decrease in tariff. This increase/ decrease in tariff shall be for an amount equivalent to 0.5 paisa/kWh for every increase/ decrease of INR 01 (one) lakh per MW of impact on cost of Solar PV Modules, which shall be effected based on documentary evidence submitted to the concerned authority, which shall inter-alia include Bill of Lading (BL), Bill of Entry (BOE) at the Port of arrival, duty paid at the port of arrival, Lorry Receipt (LR), Goods Receipt (GR), insurance Papers/etc/ upto the Project Site.

This increase/ decrease in tariff due to this change in cost of Solar PV Modules shall belimited upto 150% (One hundred & fifty percent) of the Solar Project Capacity allocated to the Project Developer.”

And just like that, it ran afoul of the commission. The CERC noted that not only did the CPSU fail to inform it in time, it also made the mistake of filing an affidavit claiming no deviation from the guidelines, while contradicting itself with the two deviations made. And worse, it did not even request for a condonation of the two deviations.

The Buyers List The Final Five: Winners With NHPC

Now, NHPC, between July 15 2020 and October 19, 2020, managed to complete the signing of PPA’s and PSA’s with the bidders, and the respective discoms that committed to buy power from the project(s). And this is where NHPC slipped up.

It inserted a change in the PPA, without taking permission from the CERC, as the guidelines specify. The change, namely”

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Thus, even while adopting the tariff, the regulator asked NHPC to go back to the developers to arrive at a fresh arrangement for the clause disallowed by it, for subsequent permission by the CERC. It should be interesting to see if removal of the said clause, and the turmoil in the market right now in terms of prices being much higher than anticipated, lead to further issues or further delays for commissioning.

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Delhi HC Asks DGTR To Take Feedback On Anti Dumping Investigation Till July 19

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n the now familiar tussle between domestic solar manufacturers and solar power developers, the Delhi High Court has set a new date. July 19.

That is the new date for feedback on the anti dumping investigation launched by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), for imposing anti dumping duty on panel imports from China, Thailand and Vietnam. The earlier date for feedback was June 26.

The timing of this investigation was considered very relevant, considering the end of the safeguard duty (SGD)of 14.50% that is scheduled to end by the end on July 29. Many industry leaders have opined privately that this latest investigation is one way to justify a penal duty on imports, till the new customs duties come into force on April, 2022.

These developers have also opined that there might be a case for a zero duty breather between July and April next year, to allow developers to order for projects that have been delayed due to

covid, and other projects that are facing a price shock due to the unexpected spike in import costs in any case. We have reported earlier on how even confirmed orders have been cancelled, besides the 15-22 percent hike in costs of imports in the past 4 months. At best, they hope that following norms, the government will extend the safeguard duty at a lower rate, as mandated by the exim rules.

The Delhi High Court was responding to a petition from the Solar Power Developers Association (SPDA), according to a member developer we spoke to.

The DGTR had launched its investigation on May 5 this year, based on the petition filed by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA). ISMA had filed the petition on behalf of Mundra Solar PV (Adani) – a unit in a Special Economic Zone; Jupiter Solar Power, a unit in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA); and Jupiter International Limited (DTA).

The SPDA in its petition requesting a stay on the investigation, has contended

that “Promotion of inefficiencies of one industry should not be allowed to adversely affect the other user industry” They have also complained about the lack of modern technology options available domestically. As dates come and go, the key date to watch is July 29, when SGD is supposed to end. With an extension looking unlikely, a DGTR pronouncement, if allowed to proceed uneventfully from here, could still take until August end or later to come now. Keep in mind that ramp of domestic solar manufacturing will not begin to show results until 2023 possibly. We have already seen multiple government schemes that mandate use of domestic equipment slow down, due to ‘shortages’. In that context, and keeping in mind the increase in import costs seen recently, it really will take some exceptional work for the DGTR to make a strong case for dumping in India. Unless of course, it is the low technology, low cost equipment that the SPDA claims it no longer wants to use.

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CERC Judgement on SB Energy’s 300 MW Bhadla Project Compensation

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plea by SB Energy at the CERC, with SECI and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam as respondents, was disposed of by the commission with a now predictable template on most of the contentions. In doing so, the CERC has served to iterate what seems to be well established rules for such situations. The final order gives a full perspective in that sense.

The case, involving a 300 MW solar project won by SB Energy at Bhadla in Rajasthan that was allotted in 2017, came up for final hearing and judgement on May 13, with the order being posted a day later.

SB Energy’s key contentions were for compensation owing to launch of GST and then, the Safeguard Duty, as both fall within the ‘change in law’ definitions, besides extra costs for its O&M which it outsourced to Sterling and Wilson Solar, and finally, interest costs and carrying costs for the period of delay in receipt of payments.

Some of the CERC’s conclusions are as below: (i) The enactment of the “GST laws” is

squarely covered as “Change in Law” under the first and last bullet in seriatim of Article 12 of the PPA and entitles the Petitioner to relief under Article 12 of the PPAs. (ii) The imposition of Safeguard Duty qualifies as “Change in Law” under the PPAs and entitles the Petitioner to relief under Article 12 of the PPAs.

(iii) The liability of payment on account of GST Laws and imposition of Safeguard duty on procurement of Solar PV panels and associated equipment by the Petitioners shall lie with the Respondents till the Commercial Operation Date (COD) for the contracted capacity and energy as per Article 4.4 of the PPAs.

CERC Methodology For Computing Escalation For RE Projects

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n a suo moto (An order decided of its own accord, without a petitioner), the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has decided on a key aspect of Renewable Energy projects.

That is, the methodology for Computing the Escalation Rates and other Parameters for the Purpose of Bid Evaluation and Payment for Procurement of Power from Renewable Energy Projects Complemented with Firm Power from any other source through Competitive Bidding. This is important, because unlike renewable power tariffs which

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are fixed, non renewable fuels like coal and gas are subject to multiple other factors that can impact prices.

That, plus issues of calculating return on projects, cost of equity and debt also matter, on specific base assumptions like 70 percent debt and 30 percent

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equity, for instance. Thus the methodology truly matters, as it can have significant impact on specific projects, now that we have an increasing number of RTC + other fuels projects being built, with more in the pipeline.

Renewable+ other fuels projects are also being pushed in India

to support stranded capacity, besides the obvious reason of making RE based supply more predictable.

The order is part of CERC’s mandate, and follows a staff paper on the same issue that was released on February 23 this year for feedback and suggestions by the commission, followed by a meeting of stakeholders on April 12, 2021.

Many of the relevant firms in the sector attended the meeting.

The CERC received a plethora of suggestions from firms , and chose to go with a few of them in its final order.

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AP High Court Throws Out 6.4 GW State Solar Auctions

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he Andhra Pradesh High Court declared yesterday that the state government’s 6.4 GW solar project auctions were bad in law, and quashed the request for selection (RfS) and power purchase agreement (PPA) for the same.

The move follows a petition filed by Tata Power Renewable Energy in January this year, where it was contended that the initiation and process of selection contravened rules as laid down in the Electricity act (2003).

The Andhra Pradesh Green Energy Corporation (APGECL) was the specially designated state agency that carried out the process in January 2021.

The key issue where the state process tripped up was the dispute resolution clause, where the state government was the declared arbiter, instead of the state power regulator or even central regulatory authorities or courts. This was always considered a shambolic way to sidestep oversight, and has reached a predictable outcome. The state now has a chance of starting up the whole process again, with amended agreements, or making this a political catfight . Shri Venkatesh of SKV

Law Offices, that represented Tata Power said, “Electricity Act, 2003 is a complete code and issues such as competitive bidding must be in terms of Act and the Regulator has an intrinsic role to play in such transactions. In this case however, AP had carved out a method outside the Act and also outside the scope and powers of Regulator, which in our view is not permissible. This is what has been held by the Hon’ble High Court as well.”

The auctions, where the final award of tender was on hold pending the high court proceedings, had seen Adani Green Energy (AGEL) emerging the big winner , winning over 3 GW in the 10 projects of 600 megawatt (Mw) each under the tender.

NTPC, a surprise participant , had won a single 600 Mw package in the auction The auctions were notably given a miss by some of the biggest developers who had been caught up in the earlier state government decision to cancel all agreements signed by its predecessor in 2019, affecting almost 9 GW of projects in the state. Not only did the state government try to force developers to agree to lower rates, it also tried to put pressure on them

by delaying payments owed for operating power projects in the state. The state has faced repeated setbacks on that decision too, with both the MNRE and courts tending to rule with the aggrieved developers. Consequently, the state government made its own new 6.4 GW bids a prestige issue, pulling out all stops to ensure that it not only got a response, but that the new prices would be lower that the ones it had cancelled earlier. And on doing so, keep all its concessions and related issues outside the purview of stricter scrutiny. It was a plan that was always a very high risk one, and to its credit, they almost pulled it off with the bidding process and the prices they discovered. However, it is worth highlighting that SECI auctions held after this particular auction did reach prices as low as Rs 2 also, from the same bidders (NTPC) in some cases.

However now, it appears clear that all it will achieve finally is an unnecessary and expensive delay in capacity addition of at least 2-3 years minimum. Andhra Pradesh, from being one of the leading states in renewable energy, will probably be left ruing what could have been.

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Voltalia Wins a Mixed Photovoltaic and Battery Storage Power Plant in French Guiana

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oltalia is the sole winner of the fifth period of the CRE 4 tender for non-interconnected areas for ground-based solar power plants in French Guiana.

The project, called “Parc Sable Blanc”, combines a five-megawatt photovoltaic power plant with a lithium-ion battery storage facility with a capacity of 5 megawatts and of 9.3 megawatt-hours.

Located in the commune of Mana, in the heart of the very dynamic Western Guiana, close to the ocean coast and the border with Suriname, “Parc Sable Blanc” was designed to produce during the day thanks to excellent sunshine and inject its production on the Guyanese electrical grid during the peak from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. after sunset.

Fully developed by Voltalia, the “Parc Sable Blanc” project will also be built and operated by its teams. It will benefit from a guaranteed selling tariff for 20 years. Once commissioned in 2023, “Parc Sable Blanc” will increase the power of the Toco complex to 19.3 megawatts with a capacity of 25.6 megawatt-hours.

Voltalia currently operates solar, hydraulic, biomass and storage power plants in French Guiana with a combined capacity of 31 megawatts, allowing the coverage of nearly 10% of the main electricity grid consumption. Sébastien Clerc, CEO, concludes: “We are very proud to have won this new project which once again strengthens our presence on the territory that saw the birth of Voltalia 16 years ago. “Parc Sable Blanc” will produce green electricity at a more competitive cost than thermal electricity.”

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Renew Power In Collaboration With Stanford’s Storage X

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eNew Power, one of India’s leaders in renewable energy, is collaborating with the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University and its StorageX Initiative. StorageX is an academic-industrygovernment initiative that aims to solve the most pressing real-world challenges in battery storage. ReNew’s collaboration with StorageX will focus initially on challenges surrounding grid level battery usage and performance in India, with an eye toward optimizing the performance of storage assets, and ultimately driving stable and firm power delivery to the grid. ReNew will participate in StorageX through the Stanford Energy Corporate Affiliate (SECA) program, which facilitates interactions between organizations and Stanford faculty and graduate students across the full range of energy-related topics. Through its membership in the SECA program, ReNew will have access to world-class research and opportunities for collaboration on research, education and training.

It is relevant here that in January 2020,

ReNew bid on and won India’s first auction for renewable power generation combined with energy storage for guaranteed peak power supply capability. The 300 MW project was awarded by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. Additionally, ReNew has also won a tender to provide 400 MW of “Round-the-Clock” power, through renewable sources. This tender, held in May 2020, was India’s first to require “Round-theClock” reliable power generation from renewable sources. This project will use a combination of wind and solar renewable generation assets, along with storage technology, to provide annual capacity utilization of 80% - approximately double that of regular renewable energy generation projects. The ability to deliver reliable power from renewable sources at peak and off-peak hours is critical to power distribution companies’ plans to meet obligations for purchasing renewable power. That makes grid scale batteries a key part of the puzzle for solving the future energy needs of the country.

Battery Firm ESS to be Publicly Listed; Value Expected to Cross $1 Bn

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SS Tech, a manufacturer of longduration iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications, and ACON S2 Acquisition, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, have announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that will result in ESS becoming a publicly listed company.

Founded in 2011 with a mission to develop the cleanest, lowest-cost long-duration energy storage systems on the market, ESS developed an iron flow battery technology with innovative technological breakthroughs that is built to transform the utility grid by enabling safe, environmentally-friendly, long-duration storage. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries that are made from hazardous and costly materials, ESS’ patent-protected battery solutions use abundant iron, salt

and water, making them environmentally safe and cost-effective energy storage systems. The business combination values the combined company at a USD 1.072 billion pro forma enterprise value. The transaction will provide approximately USD 465 million of pro forma net cash to the combined company, assuming no redemptions by ACON S2 shareholders. As part of the transaction, ACON S2 raised a USD 250 million fully committed PIPE from institutional investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, SB Energy Global Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., Breakthrough Energy Ventures and BASF Venture Capital.

Renewable energy deployment is increasing dramatically, with installation records set each year and now surpassing other forms of new generation coming online.

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StoreDot Announces New Framework Agreement with EVE Energy to Manufacture Silicon-Dominant Extreme Fast Charge Battery for EVs

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toreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), has recently announced a new framework agreement with its strategic battery manufacturing partner EVE Energy Co., Ltd (EVE) to support the commercialization of StoreDot’s silicon-dominant anode XFC FlashBattery for EVs. The first samples will be available later this year, with a plan for mass production via conventional lithiumion battery manufacturing lines in 2024.

EVE, which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is one of the top tier suppliers of EV and electricity storage system (ESS) batteries in China. The scope of the new framework agreement includes scale-up activities of StoreDot’s XFC technology, followed by the production of engineering samples targeted at showcasing the technology to EV clients. The framework agreement also covers the intention to set up a joint venture for mass production. The new deal builds on the existing framework agreement signed by StoreDot and EVE Energy in 2018 to collaborate on a small form factor of StoreDot’s XFC technology.

In 2019, this XFC battery was used to demonstrate the world’s first full live charge of a two-wheeled EV in just 5 minutes (see video). In January 2021, another major milestone was reached when StoreDot released the first engineering samples of the small form factor produced at EVE Energy’s facility in China. StoreDot’s revolutionary XFC

FlashBattery technology redefines the chemistry of lithium-ion batteries, taking EV charging times from hours to minutes.

This breakthrough is achieved primarily by replacing graphite in the cell’s anode with metalloid nano-particles, such as silicon, to overcome major issues in safety, cycle life and cell swelling during the charging process.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids Provides Battery Storage Tech to Thailand

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witzerland-headquartered Hitachi ABB Power Grids Ltd. recently announced its selection by Impact Solar Limited, a subsidiary of Impact Solar Group, to provide Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and controls technology to a “smart industrial park” project in Thailand, which is a part of the country’s largest private microgrid at Saha Industrial Park in Sriracha.

Once commissioned, the park will have a total generation

capacity of 214 MW from a combination of co-generation gas turbines, rooftop solar, floating solar, and battery energy storage systems.

The advanced microgrid is digitally-enabled to integrate the electricity produced from distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar, and simulates a utility scale power system. Using real-time automation information, the microgrid will manage and optimise the power output of

DERs from across the entire industrial park. The microgrid also balances energy fluctuations resulting from the intermittent availability of sunshine and will provide back-up power to the park’s data centre and other tenants who rely on grid stability for their businesses.

This project builds on Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ global Grid Edge Solutions footprint of more than 500 MW and 200 references. The business’ technology has enabled JUN E 20 21

customers to create economic, social and environmental value by unlocking new revenue streams, maximizing renewable integration, and lowering carbon emissions.

In November last year, Hitachi ABB Power Grids India, Ashok Leyland and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) announced a partnership to run an electric bus (e-bus) pilot to support sustainable in-campus commuting by IIT-M’s students and staff.

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Solar Energy Market: Paradigm Shift in India’s Power sector - Gautam Das, CEO and Co-founder, Oorjan Solar’s Time Economy and the environment have to go hand in hand for sustainable growth. We have paid the price for economic growth at the cost of environmental damages. Fossil fuels, like petroleum and coal, are highly polluting and depleting at an alarming rate.

Global warming and escalating pollution levels have endangered our future. Climate change and natural calamities are becoming new normal! This is the time to act before it escalates and impacts our future further.

Solution comes from renewable energy and solar energy is one of the most viable sources of energy. However, the solar energy ecosystem in India is new and evolving fast and still there is a long way to go. All partners like Discoms, solar power producers, financiers and consumers need to be part of the opportunity to make it grow fast. There have been significant improvements in efficiency and commercials of solar energy technology over recent years. The cost of production or procurement of solar energy is as low as Rs 2.5/ unit for ground mount solar. For rooftop, the consumer may enjoy a healthy return on investment as high as 40% depending on the existing tariff category.

Adoption of solar is both commercially viable and environmentally responsible. It fetches healthy returns for the investor and/ or consumers, and adoption of solar energy should be facilitated by the government and authorities.

The Discom Challenge Discoms, in spite of having near monopolies over power procurement and supply for years, are financially weak and feel threatened by new energy sources primarily Solar. Financial health of these discoms are poor not because of solar or renewable energy but primarily for – 1) large capital investment in power generating infrastructure and maintenance with unviable economics, 2) subsidy burden to supply power to priority sector or segment at lower unit rate, 3) managing suboptimal utilization (scheduling) of generating facility vis-a-vis demand, 4) operational inefficiencies – to mention a few reasons.

Discoms should not feel that solar will make their financial health poorer because solar is

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not the cause of their troubles in the first place. In fact, Discom should try to procure more power from solar IPP (Independent Power Producers) to reduce the average power procurement cost and avoid direct capital investment in generating facilities.

Power sourcing at lower cost from IPPs would improve Discoms’ financial health and burden of higher capital investment in power producing facilities. So, collaboration between IPPs and Discom is a better way to move forward and co-exist.

Transmission is easier With today’s advancement in technology, the procurement and transmission of renewable energy is anyway efficient. In the longer term, the distributed solar generation will increase operating efficiencies of the energy market as the procurement and supply can be better managed in smaller circles and transmission loss can be optimised. Discom at best may charge a reasonable fee (say less than Rs 1 / unit) for exported units in case of rooftop projects to move forward rather than opposing net-metering.

Achieving Solar’s Potential India has been highly dependent on import of crude oil and has a high current deficit.

Adoption of solar energy will improve the trade deficit, create new jobs and also boost the made in India mission. However, the new businesses (solar) are facing a few challenges like lack of uniform and predictable policies. Net-metering policies and timeline, and open access charges are unpredictable if not unfair today! We would appeal to the governments and/or nodal energies to make it pro-consumers and new businesses.

Solar energy has the potential to fuel the economy to a new height while protecting the environment, and we must adopt it. Power sector is witnessing a shift where dominance of discoms will go away, and collaboration amongst all partners like power producers, discom, financiers, consumers and co-existence will be the mantra to move forward. It’s just a matter of time and the earlier the better.

As Renewable Firms Prepare For Appeal, Its ‘Progress’ Vs Species For the Great Indian Bustard

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t has become clear in recent weeks that the relevant solar developers and their associations will shortly file a review petition in the Supreme Court, for an order on April 19, where the court declared that power lines in the area considered native for the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), must be built underground, to prevent deaths of the bird from overhead powerlines. The other bird involved here, the lesser florican also faces extinction.

For Solar developers that hoped to develop projects in the region, spread across Rajasthan and up to Gujarat, the order came as a rude shock, as underground power lines for the projects planned in the area would take up costs by upto Rs 30,000 crores by some estimates. And places almost 20 GW of solar and wind projects at risk.

Developers involved range from Adani Green Energy, ReNew Power, Acme Solar and O2 Power to many more who hoped to build in the area. For the Ministry of New and renewable Energy (MNRE), usually supportive of developers, the issue is a piquant one, as it had also supported the move in an earlier order in Feb 2019.

The power line issue came up due to the GIB’s unique traits. Ata height of 1 metre, and weighing upto 18 Kgs for adults, GIB’s can fly, but do so without the agility of smaller birds, and combined with poor frontal vision, that makes them at higher risk of hitting aerial objects, or in this case, power lines or wind energy blades. Both usually turn out fatal for the bird.

With the species on the verge of extinction (numbers are claimed to be under 50 now), the SC was constrained

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to order drastic measures, and hence the move to shift power lines underground by a three judge bench of SS Bobde, AS Bopanna, and V Ramasubramanian. The order also mandated diverters for existing lines, with a committee to decide on the feasibility of the underground option for all upcoming lines. The committee itself is a three member body consisting of a member each from the MNRE, The Corbett Foundation, and the Wildlife Institute of India.

The court judgement went in to great detail to lay down ground rules for what have been described as priority and potential areas in the region for the bird’s habitat. While priority areas require fencing to protect the bird eggs (it lays them on the ground) from predators, the potential areas is where the court has decreed underground lines as priority. Technical objections have been brushed aside, with the example of the 10 km underground power lines by GETCO for the safety of Greater Flamingos in the Khadir Region of Kutch.

So what is the probable way out here? It is obvious that an extended legal tussle will do as much damage, considering the time it would take developers to apply for and get compensation by citing a ‘change in law’ event. Price increases of upto 20 percent have been estimated, should developers need to build transmission underground where feasible.

As seen by the court’s approach to existing overhead lines, where ‘diverters’ have been mandated, it is obvious that the court is actually quite willing to be ‘pragmatic’ about the issue, having touched upon financing the whole exercise of fencing too, from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which has enough funds.

However, the fact remains that to many people, the poor bird will be seen as a cost to pay for progress, and in this case, green energy, that makes it a stronger case in their view. Plus, they will contend that this will hardly close the chapter for good, as not only is survival of the GIB species susceptible to many other risks, other development pressures like more roads, railways etc will not abate in the near future.

Countering that is a view that the whole approach of viewing grasslands as ‘wastelands’ effectively, that do not need to be seen from the prism of environmental impact is incorrect, as these arid and semi-arid grasslands do support a wide variety of unique flora and fauna. That is an issue where even the court has been consistent with previous court attitudes, which frankly do not quite appear to be as convincing on the weight of scientific evidence.

The GIB species, on a per member basis, has probably become one of the most prized species in the country. There is a strong case for a much better funded, targeted conservation effort here.

One hopes that a quick solution, which requires all stakeholders to cooperate, will involve ‘abatement’ of some costs at state and central government level, matched by slight increases allowed to developers (bids have been amongst the lowest for projects in this region) , and yes, use of the CAMPA funds as they were meant to be. It is no one’s case that with extreme climate events increasing in intensity, underground infrastructure is not necessarily simply a more expensive option.

It can also be more resilient, and in doing so, preserving a prized bird species that has been under assault for centuries should be considered a bonus.

Is India on a delusional path to progress?

-Dr. Hitesh Doshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Waaree Group

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ith the advent of the novel Coronavirus, the Indian economy is witnessing a major slowdown. While the nation is fighting the virus with all its might, businesses across sectors are reeling under the tremendous pressure of sustaining themselves. The ground reality of the Indian solar sector is no different. Even though the country has the potential to disrupt global frontiers in the long run, prompt measures need to be taken to provide immediate respite to the presently crippled domestic solar manufacturing sector.

While we appreciate the Government’s measures to aid the homegrown solar module manufacturers with various favorable policies and schemes like Atmanirbhar Bharat, PLI Scheme and the introduction of Basic Customs Duty, we believe that the Government needs to urgently ramp up domestic production of raw materials to enable us to increase manufacturing capacities.

Additionally, we also need to invest in R&D to introduce innovations that will help us increase output without impacting manufacturing costs. Presently, the country lacks a holistic manufacturing ecosystem to produce raw materials at competitive prices locally.

Uncertainty may even discourage domestic players from purchasing Solar modules from Indian manufacturers ahead of the expiry of Safeguard Duties in July 2021. As the BCD comes into effect in April 2022, with no duty barriers on imports for 9 months, India will become a dumping ground for solar modules. Moreover, it is imperative to protect the present interest of the domestic manufacturers and infuse confidence among them.

While we are positive about the government’s support to the sector, transparency and clarification on existing policies will go a long way in bringing the manufacturers at ease.

Furthermore, while the recently announced PLI Scheme guidelines aims to uplift the sector by boosting manufacturing of high efficiency PV modules locally and generate employment, but the allocated amount of funds is inadequate. To completely discourage dependency on imported modules, more funds need to be sanctioned, which will allow the manufacturers to set up local units and achieve economies of scale thereby helping the country fulfill its ambitious target of 175 GW by 2022.

The solar sector is recouping from the headwinds caused due to the second wave and requires immediate measures to bounce back to business. At the grass root level, we are in dire need of policies that are reassuring and corrective. If reforms are not implemented, it will lead to a shutdown of units in India and risk 300,000 jobs.

The solar sector implores the government to stimulate the sector on its path to progress by first paying heed to our struggle to survive.

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How The Pandemic Hastened Move To Last-Mile Delivery Through EV In India

Akash Gupta

Co-Founder & CEO of Zypp Electric

Introduction

The sudden and rapid increase in the demand for e-commerce in recent years has been a catalyst for the surge in last-mile services countrywide. The surge in COVID19 cases all across the world and growth in the numbers of online shopping has pushed the importance of last-mile to the forefront of the overall supply chain process. Among all the industries of the country which were impacted by the pandemic, e-commerce

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and last-mile delivery showed the most resilience and recovered strongly in no time. With the surge in online shopping, last-mile delivery firms have adapted to this ‘new normal’.

The Covid Effect

The two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments continue to dominate the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry. Even after the Covid-19, the EV market will recover

swiftly. In the EV segment, E-rickshaws, e-autos and e-two wheelers are the most promising segments for electrification in India and are expected to account for over four million units by 2025.

Pressure to do more for the environment, higher taxes on fossil fuels, digitally connected EV’s and a much better power grid has meant that the conditions for shifting to EV’s have coalesced for Ecommerce firms. The shift to electric

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mobility and last-mile delivery through EV has become necessary now. Market and governments both have succeeded in demonstrating that electric vehicles could deliver the practicality, sustainability, safety, and affordability characteristics expected from them. Mobile internet, automation, the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, advanced analytics, renewable energy are some areas of innovation and technology have been adopted to bring about changes in ways of traditional systems of functioning especially this time when the whole world is suffering from the pandemic.

EV Last-mile delivery market During Covid-19 Pandemic

Last mile delivery consists of almost twofifths of the total logistics costs and this ensures the leading players will have to come up with newer innovative solutions.

Adoption and Implementation of many modern technologies in last-mile delivery has been accelerated during the pandemic and it will continue to do so in the aftermath creating a competitive advantage among key players in the industry.

Government bodies have also helped to adopt the EV last mile delivery during this time . India emergence as one of the the fastest growing economies in the world, where last-mile delivery of goods and services have played a crucial role in unlocking the growth potential, where we can expect a steady rise in consumer spending in the post-COVID-19 world.

Last mile delivery companies have to take major steps in this direction to fast-track EV adoption for last-mile delivery with EV fleets. During the pandemic as well as after the pandemic, to build an EV-led last-mile delivery ecosystem will have to face many challenges like high cost, range anxiety and scarcity of charging stations that need to be addressed first. During this time, improvement in the infrastructure has also pushed to witness faster adoption and deployment of EVs for last-mile delivery.

And the situation will continue to improve even in a post-pandemic world.

One of the key enablers for growth in the market during Covid-19 has been the supply chain infrastructure built by last-mile delivery players and third-party new-age logistics players (3PL). The customers from tier-2+ cities and urban towns have been able to place orders online due to the growing impact of these players. Even before the pandemic, India was the fastest-

growing last-mile delivery market and COVID-19 furthered the trend. It has disrupted the market and today, even after cities opened up, a large number of consumers are not going back to the old normal. Enterprise-focused EV last-mile delivery services have emerged to serve this market. COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for contactless, unattended and autonomous delivery technologies, these factors also helped in the surge in the demand for EV last-mile delivery. Increased EV penetration occurred due to regulation and reduced battery costs, producing a positive total cost of usage (TCU).

EV last Mile delivery in the post pandemic World

The COVID-19 impact in this scenario also includes the emergence of new hybrid business models. In today’s world, customers usually prefer to have control over deliveries in the last-mile delivery.

This trend has strengthened during the pandemic.

Now, last-mile delivery is no longer about offering tracking details. Customers now want facilities to interact with the service providers so that they can go for lastminute changes.

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Fusion Fuel Green Partners With CCC to Develop Hydrogen Plant

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green hydrogen technology company, headquartered in Ireland, Fusion Fuel Green PLC has announced that it has partnered with Consolidated Contractors Group S.A.L. (CCC), to develop a green hydrogen plant in the Middle East.

CCC and Fusion Fuel, both have agreed to collaborate on projects that involve the production of green hydrogen. Then the produced hydrogen can be used by the potential clients in the refining and petrochemical industries in order to reduce their carbon footprint.

Both the companies are planning to develop some demonstrator plants in various countries in the region, particularly Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Fusion Fuel Green is dedicated to making zero-emissions green hydrogen commercially viable and accessible. The firm has created a revolutionary proprietary electrolyzer solution that allows it to produce hydrogen at highly competitive costs using renewable energy.

Recounting the partnership, the Head of Business Development at Fusion Fuel, Joao

Wahnon says, “We are delighted to be partnering with the CCC to open this new market. The Middle East represents a big opportunity and a very promising region for us, given the high levels of solar exposure, strong appetite for green hydrogen projects, and strategic geographic position between

Europe and Asia.”

“We are excited to bring Fusion Fuel’s revolutionary technology to the Middle East,” Joao added. CCC is an engineering and construction company in the Middle East, which has a worldwide turnover of over USD 4 Billion.

India H2 Alliance Makes Six-Point Submission to Create ‘Bharat H2’ Supply Chain

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ndia H2 Alliance (IH2A), the industry-led energy transition coalition, has submitted a six-point agenda to the Government of India for creating a domestic ‘Bharat H2’ supply chain and to build hydrogen systems at scale.

The six points are as follows: The Government of India should immediately constitute a Public-Private Bharat H2 Taskforce to prepare a milestone-based national hydrogen roadmap and build a hydrogen economy at scale.

The Bharat H2 Taskforce and

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roadmap should aim to tap India’s potential to create a national electrolyser installed capacity of 15-20 GW and promote domestic manufacturing through a National Electrolyser Manufacturing Mission, aligned with the government’s FAME II Scheme. India should create a national H2-themed Energy Transition Fund, with co-funding partnerships with sovereign partners, multilateral agencies, clean energy funds and industry, with the aim to raise USD 1 bn by 2030

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for deployment towards national hydrogen projects of a certain scale.

A uniform set of globallyharmonised and inter-operable Bharat H2 standards for hydrogen storage, transport and dispensation need to be finalized quickly, so that hydrogen adoption is accelerated across different sectors and use-cases.

India should prioritise prefeasiblity studies of at least 10 national Bharat H2 Hydrogen Valleys or H2 Hubs – large-scale demonstration stage projects

with participation from industry consortia, incentives and off-take agreements guaranteed by the government.

India should form a Bharat H2 Industrial Group to leverage hydrogen for de-carbonisation efforts in steel, refineries, fertilizers and cement industrial clusters, and a separate Bharat H2 Heavy-Duty Freight Transport Group for hydrogen commerciaisation in railways, trucking and shipping, recognizing the different hydrogen infrastructure requirements in both groups.

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Include Hydrogen Fuel Cell EVs in FAME-II: Delhi HC Directs DHI

Germany’s Enapter Prepares AEM Multicore for Green H2 Production

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he Delhi High Court has ordered the Department of Heavy Industries to acknowledge including Hydrogen Fuel Cell electric vehicles (EVs) and Hydrogen refueling infrastructure under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME-II) scheme.

Fuel Cell India, an initiative dedicated to promoting Renewable and Hydrogen Energy & Fuel Cells in India has filed a plea stating that the FAME India Scheme endeavors to encourage domestic manufacturing of EVs along with creating and expanding the Indian EV market.

Although under FAME I the hybrid EV is defined as a vehicle using a consumable fuel and hydrogen fuel cell qualifies it, yet there is no inclusion of hydrogen fuel cell in FAME II. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of reactions.

The main purposes of the FAME scheme are to make Indian producers independent of petroleum resources, to check the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles’ impact on the environment, and to push the adoption of alternate fuels including EVs in the automobile industry of the country.

The Delhi HC has also taken the opportunity to direct the government to consider allocating unused funds from the FAME II scheme for promoting hydrogen fuel cell EVs in the country, along with the construction and operation of refueling stations.

According to the HC, if hydrogen-fueled vehicles fall under the FAME II scheme and take the benefit of incentives, manufacturers like Hyundai and Toyota could think of bringing their vehicles like the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo to India. Currently, vehicles running on hydrogen fuel cells offer a greater driving range in comparison to battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

ermany-headquartered Enapter, a hydrogen generator manufacturer, has recently announced that it is expanding its product portfolio to the megawatt-class with the AEM Multicore electrolyser. The final development of the new model has started, further tapping into the innovative potential of Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) technology.

The AEM Multicore will be introduced to the market next year, enabling low-cost, flexible and reliable green hydrogen production. The company has already started taking orders.

Enapter states that it will cut the cost of green hydrogen by mass-producing standardised products. The AEM Multicore is no exception: It will feature 440 mass-produced electrolyser core modules – the “AEM stacks” – in a complete system that can produce ~450 kg of hydrogen per day. This is the energy equivalent of around 9.5 barrels of crude oil. With this modular approach, it offers a lower–cost alternative to traditional megawatt-class electrolysers while also proving highly responsive to the fluctuations of renewable electricity supply. The product’s multi-core approach also offers reliability advantages compared to conventional systems. If one stack module fails, it can be replaced in a few simple steps, while the “balance of plant” system that supports hydrogen production also has built-in redundancy. Its unique modularity allows the AEM Multicore to flexibly adjust production levels in reaction to changes in renewable energy supply.

AEM is widely considered by scientists to be the most cost-efficient electrolysis technology. According to Enapter, it is getting closer to realising AEM’s full potential to accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen energy, with construction of its “Campus” massproduction facility in Saerbeck set to begin in autumn this year – and planned to reach completion and operation in 2022.

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The Euro 69 Billion French energy major EDF is one of the few unapologetic champions of nuclear energy, seeing it as a critical support for the world to achieve its climate ambitions. The firm produces over 75% of its energy from nuclear power, with a recent focus on other renewable sources too. In India, the firm has big plans for both, and on solar, it has made faster progress, thanks to the nature of the process. In an interview, Harmanjit Nagi, Managing Director, EDF India,lays out the firm’s progress and plans for India.

HARMANJIT NAGI

Managing Director, EDF India Can you give a brief overview of EDF’s global portfolio?

Harmanjit Nagi: The EDF-group is a France-based electricity utility

company with global presence in generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading, and energy services. EDF is among the world leaders in low-carbon energy and has developed a generation mix consisting of nuclear power, hydropower, and renewables-based power. The EDF Group has operations in over 20 countries, with about 38 million customers.

EDF is a European leader in the development of renewable energy (RE) sources. It creates, builds, and manages RE power plants across the globe, and is the fifth biggest player in the world in this respect.

Wind and solar photovoltaic power are the mainstays of EDF’s growth. The company also has strong presence in other areas of the RE sector, such as energy storage, and a very strong foothold in offshore wind power. EDF has always been strong in the RE markets of Europe and North America. The company now sees big opportunities for growth in emerging markets such as the Middle East, Brazil, China, and India. EDF had a RE generation capacity of 28 GW in 2015 and aims to achieve 60 GW by 2030, while tripling its business outside of Europe. These goals are aligned with the company's raison d'être (corporate purpose) of contributing to a net zero energy future with low-carbon electricity and innovative technologies and services.

Can you please elaborate on EDF’s presence in India?

Harmanjit Nagi: The EDF Group has been present in India for more

than 25 years and aims to support the country’s energy transition

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towards low-carbon sustainable future by leveraging innovative solutions. India is one of the main growth market for achieving two strategic goals: tripling EDF’s business outside Europe and doubling its global RE capacity by 2030. With the steps and policies announced by the government in recent years, India has become a very important market for RE projects, especially solar and wind. With the recent expansion of our RE portfolio and our presence across the value chain in areas that are crucial for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, EDF is now among the top 15 solar and wind project developers in India.

We have achieved a secured portfolio of 2.8 GW of RE capacity in less than four years and procured major smart-metering (Automated Metering Infrastructure, AMI) contracts in India. In solar energy, we have 207 MWp operating plants, 450 MWp under construction, and over 1350 MWp under development in the country, as of 2020. In addition, we have 269 MW of operational projects and 300 MW of wind energy projects under construction. We have also had successful discussions with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and recently submit them our binding techno-commercial offer for the development and construction of the biggest nuclear plant in the world, with six EPR units totaling almost 10,000 MWe at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. The recent contract by EESL to install five million smart meters in India has opened a new chapter in the development of our business in India. This is one of the two five-million smartmeter contracts awarded by EESL in India. In terms of number of smart meters, such contracts are very important. Ours is, by far, the most competitive and the most innovative AMI solution in India.

Did you have to adapt the timeline of your projects, for instance in renewables or the 5 million smart meters project? How much delay are you expecting due to the ongoing pandemic Harmanjit Nagi: Like with most businesses, the Covid-19 crisis has

impacted the execution of our projects to a certain extent. Our priority is to protect our employees and contractors, and we encourage them to abide by the strictest preventive and safety measures. The energy sector, meanwhile, has bounced back fairly quickly, and this makes us hopeful about the future. We are confident of our ability to make up for the lull we witnessed during the lockdown. I firmly believe that the energy sector can play a major role in reviving economic growth and investments after the Covid-19 crisis through its potential for creating quality jobs, especially in areas such as RE, smart cities, energy efficiency, and others. At the same time, we need to address the climate emergency, to ensure that growth and development are sustainable.

Please give a brief overview about your plans for smart meter expansion in India.

Harmanjit Nagi: The smart meter market in India is projected to

grow to 300 million units. EDF currently holds one of the two largest

smart-meter implementation contracts in India, for a total of five million smart meters, with Bihar alone accounting for almost half this number. We have completed the first stage already, with the installation of more than 100,000 smart meters in Bihar. The contract was awarded to EDF in association with Accenture Solutions Private Limited (India) in 2019. This is the first of its kind large-scale prepaid smart metering solution to be deployed in India.

We have deployed more than 85 people full-time on this project - a number that will eventually rise to more than 120. So far, we have employed 27 Indian engineers while our IT subcontractors have assigned 30 staff for the project. The operational teams in Bihar are qualified to mount meters. The deployment of five million smart meters is expected to crate over 3,000 jobs in the region. Meanwhile, the smart-meter project in New Delhi, which was commissioned in January 2019 (with NDMC, involving 75,000 smart meters) has been completed and the system is fully operational.

We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to expand in India. We aim to be one of the key partners in the country’s ambitious energy development program, which lays strong emphasis on building low-carbon electric systems. We are also in the process of bidding for smart-meter projects across many Indian states as a part of our expansion efforts.

Are there any plans to expand your solar energy portfolio in India?

Harmanjit Nagi: Solar is a dependable, low-carbon, cost-effective

energy choice. Moreover, the solar segment is growing quickly on the back of technology advancements and lower generating costs.

EDF has a lot of experience with solar energy as the company is established in 13 countries with major projects. The 800 MWc project with Dubai Electricity & Water Authority; the 146 MWc project with Bolero in Chile; and the 400 MWc project with Pirapora in Brazil are some of our big ventures. Last summer, our subsidiary EDF Renewables won the Al Dhafra project (2 GW), the world's most efficient photovoltaic power plant, in Abu Dhabi.

In October 2020, EDEN Renewables India – a joint venture by EDF Renewables and Total EREN – signed 25-year long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for four solar power projects in Northern India totaling 716 MWp of installed capacity. With the support of its experts in New Delhi, EDEN Renewables aims to expand its solar photovoltaic production in the Indian market with competitive tariffs.

EDF participated in solar PV tenders last year and won three projects totaling 1350 MWp, which will be completed by 2022.

We aim to help the Indian government achieve its target of 220 GW of non-fossil generation by 2022. The EDF Group currently has a portfolio of 2.8 GW of RE projects in India in various stages – operational, under construction, and in development. This makes us one of the top 15 players in the market. We plan to continue our rapid growth, fueled by the local experience and support of our shareholders. We will also expand our team and hire people with high-level skills.

What is your view on the government policies for the solar sector?

Harmanjit Nagi: EDF is a natural partner as India converts its energy

ambitions into reality. We applaud India's efforts in the fight against global warming, and its energy policies which aim for a carbon-free energy mix by 2030 with 40% of nuclear and RE sources.

We are particularly excited about solar energy, as we have a lot of experience in that area. Recently, solar tariffs in India dropped to Rs 2/kWh in SECI’s auction, and we are confident that they can be further reduced if the price of equipment decreases and as long as the Indian economy continues to perform with a strong Rupee, low inflation, low interest rates, and if no new taxes are imposed on the sector.

To achieve the most competitive tariffs in India, the cost of investment must be continuously optimized. This will allow the implementation of improved technologies such as bifacial and higherefficiency solar panels, more performant wind turbines with higher capacity and larger diameter, and innovative solutions such as molten salt storage solutions for solar electricity or wind-solar hybrid installations combined with energy management systems. Such solutions are presently being experimented by EDF among others.

Are there any partnerships/ collaborations that the company is planning in India?

Harmanjit Nagi: EDF’s commercial momentum in the countries

where the company is established pursues the objective of establishing itself in the long term by partnering with the local economic and industrial fabric of the countries. We believe that the most adequate solutions to address India's issues are thought out by local businesses and start-ups. Thus we are constantly looking for new partners. This is what we are already doing in current projects by bringing in local companies.

This is the meaning of the EDF Pulse India program launched last year which allows Indian entrepreneurs/startups to present their technological or commercial business ideas to a jury of energy experts. The finalists are selected to be accompanied financially and technically based on the relevance of their solutions with local issues.

Existing in several other countries, the Pulse Start-up Awards aims to identify innovative low-carbon local players who are fully aligned with the country’s energy challenges and EDF’s values.

EDF Group has already joined forces with companies within joint ventures or consortium with international industrial companies to develop large-scale projects in India. This is the case with the 4 solar power plant construction projects in northern India jointly developed

by Total EREN and EDF Renewables as part of the EDEN Renewables joint venture.

Explain your company's expansion and investment plans for the Indian market?

Harmanjit Nagi: India is one of EDF’s focus markets, a crucial part of

the company’s goals of tripling its business outside Europe and doubling the RE capacity worldwide by 2030 and EDF aims to be one of the key partners in India’s energy development program. To achieve this, we intend to hire many engineers and technicians – in both solar and wind energy business – by 2021 and keep looking for promising Indian start-ups to partner with. We are keen to implement solutions that best fit the Indian context. For this, it is important to be connected to the economic fabric and support innovations. And that’s what the “EDF Pulse India” challenge is all about. EDF Pulse has been launched in the UK, France, Brazil, Africa and China .Since the launch of EDF Pulse in 2014 more than1,800 start-ups have applied for the awards, and approximately 60 projects have been supported by the EDF Group. In India, the initiative aims to meet the country’s energy challenges and to build a sustainable, resilient ecosystem for future generations.

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StoreDot Joins Pioneering Research Mission on ISS to Test Extreme Fast Charging in Space

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toreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), has announced that together with the Israeli Electric Company (IEC), it has been approved by NASA to conduct the first space-based research and development program into new battery materials. As part of the Israel Space Agency and The Ramon Foundation’s pioneering RAKIA mission to the International Space Station in February 2022, StoreDot’s XFC technology will undergo two weeks of rigorous testing in zero gravity conditions.

The results are expected to pave the way for a new generation of advanced lithiumion batteries and accelerate the time to market of StoreDot’s ‘5-minute’ charge battery by bringing energy density and cycle life into line with the requirements of EV OEMs. In a specially-devised experiment, coin cells of StoreDot’s silicon-dominant anode XFC battery will undergo hundreds of charge and discharge cycles, with the results collected by means of a computer contained within the enclosed unit. Once the experiment, which was designed in collaboration with and funded by the IEC, is returned to earth, StoreDot’s team of scientists will undertake extensive analysis of the data, as well as examine the battery itself to note any physical or chemical changes that have taken place during the experiment. In particular, StoreDot will use the experiment to gain new insights into the chemical reactions that cause silicon to expand during the fast-charging process. This will be achieved by using zero gravity conditions to identify irregularities in the silicon surface of the anode. Importantly, the findings from the research will be incorporated into the first engineering samples of StoreDot’s silicondominant anode XFC battery for EVs, which will be available for testing by the end of 2022.

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Liverpool Uni Researchers Develop Stable Electrolyte for Li-O2 Batteries

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esearchers at the University of Liverpool, in partnership with Johnson Matthey PLC and Loughborough University, are working on developing stable and practical electrolytes for lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries (or lithium-air battery). They have advanced new theories on the subject, whose execution can create greater energy storage capacity than that offered by the conventional lithium-ion battery. In a new paper entitled ‘Design Parameters for Ionic Liquid–Molecular Solvent Blend Electrolytes to Enable Stable Li Metal Cycling Within Li–O2 Batteries’ published this month in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the scientists characterise and develop electrolyte formulations that significantly minimise side reactions within the battery to enable improved longer cycle stability. According to the lead author of the paper, Dr Alex Neale, the research demonstrates that the reactivity of certain electrolyte components can be switched off by precise control of component ratios. He says that the ability to precisely

formulate the electrolyte using readilyavailable, low volatility components enabled him and his colleagues to specially tailor an electrolyte for the needs of metal-air battery technology that delivered greatly improved cycle stability and functionality.

The partnership between the two University research groups in Liverpool and Loughborough and Johnson Matthey PLC was supported by an Innovate UK Grant. The latter enables industry and academia to work together to manage research challenges in technology. Besides Neale and Goddard, the authors of the paper include Ryan Sharpe, Stephen R. Yeandel, ChihHan Yen, Konstantin V. Luzyanin, Enrico A. Petrucco, and Laurence J. Hardwick.

Maxeon’s New Silicon-based Solar Panels Coming Out This Summer

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eadquartered in Singapore, solar manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. has announced that it will release a new line of frameless, thin, lightweight, glass-less, and flexible silicon-based solar panels this summer called Maxeon Air. The panels will be made available in select European markets in the second half of 2021, before a general global release in the first quarter of 2022.

Maxeon states that the new panels, which are structurally advanced but equivalent to standard solar panels in terms of efficiency and performance, to be a result of five years of research, development and testing. Maxeon Air solar panel will be presented to the public during “The Smarter E Industry Days” on July 21-23. The company claims that Maxeon Air solar panels are conformable, ultra-light, robust and fire-certified panels that can be adhered directly to the roof without the need for racking or other mounting systems. The

first product introduction using the technology will target installation on roofs that are not engineered to support the weight of conventional solar systems. In Europe alone, the company estimates that there is an unserved annual market for low-load roofs of over 4 GW. Jeff Waters, CEO of Maxeon Solar Technologies, said, “For close to fifty years, the solar power industry has almost exclusively utilized glass superstrate panel construction. As solar panels have increased in size, and the cost of solar cells has been dramatically reduced, the cost of transporting, installing and mounting large glass panels has become a relatively larger portion of total system cost.” He adds that with Maxeon Air technology, the company can now develop products that reduce these costs while opening up completely new market opportunities such as low-load commercial rooftops.

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UK Researchers Use Compressed Air for Cooling and Cleaning PV panels

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n a paper entitled ‘Study on the Cleaning and Cooling of Solar Photovoltaic Panels Using Compressed Airflow’, published in the journal Solar Energy in June 2021, U.K. researchers from the University of Warwick made a case for using the airflow produced from compressed air for cleaning and cooling solar panels simultaneously.

The researchers made use of a mathematical model to analyze how dust adhesion on the PV panels’ surface is removed through the airflow and how the air also has a positive impact on the panel operating temperature. On the basis of the consequent findings, a pilot cleaning and cooling system is built based on a compressed-air unit which was made of a compressor, an air tank, and an airflow regulation valve, and a series of nozzles

with a thickness of 5mm. The scientists claim that all the components are cheap and standardized products.

They explain: “Compressor is directly powered by the PV panels and the release of the compressed air from the tank is regulated by the valve to meet the mass flow requirements of cleaning and cooling.

The spreading air from the nozzles installed at the edge of panels overlaps and forms a flake shape airflow then carries away the dust and heat from the panel surface.”

Air can be transmitted over the panels through a pipe assembly that can be moved across an installation to clean and cool its parts when it is more needed. The authors of the paper include Dacheng Li, Marcus King, Mark Dooner, Songshan Guo, and Jihong Wang.

Solar Cell Deposition Method At Lower Cost

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esearchers led by the Technical University of Ilmenau in Germany claim that if silicon dioxide (SiO2) films are deposited at room temperature without complex vacuum systems, they can be a good, cost-effective candidate for use in commercial c-Si solar cell production lines. SiO2 deposition is used as a passivation layer or a protective layer in various types of silicon PV cells.

In a paper entitled 'Application of Hydrosilane-free Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of SiOx Films in the Manufacture of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells', published last year in the journal Thin Solid Films, the scientists developed a new process for the deposition of silicon dioxide layers during cell production. Without the need for high pressure, flammable gases, or vacuum conditions, the process could lead to cost reductions for cell manufacturers, provided it can be developed and applied in a largescale production setting.

"In this work we present SiOx films deposited in cost-effective laboratory scale

three-dimensional printed atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition setup," the scientists say. The group notes that plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is the most common process used with this material, but requires both high temperatures and a vacuum.

The quality of the deposited films was investigated as to their integrity, conformity with various surfaces, and post-treatment resilience such as stability against etchants and annealing.

Several applications of the SiOx film prepared with the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) were discussed.

In one application, the APCVD SiOx was utilized to effectively promote single-side texturing of Float Zone and Czochralski Si wafers by coating only one side with SiOx and subsequently annealing prior to texturing in an alkaline aqueous solution.

Another application was to exploit the APCVD SiOx as a plating mask for silicon heterojunction solar cells.

Vestas Leads IndustryAcademic Wind Blade Recycling Coalition

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anish wind turbine company Vestas Wind Systems, along with Olin Corporation, Danish Technological Institute, and Aarhus University, announced today that a coalition of industry and academic leaders has developed a new technology to enable circularity for thermoset composites, the material used to make wind turbine blades. To enable the adoption of this new technology, and to advance a circular economy across the wind industry, a new initiative entitled CETEC (Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites) has been established. Within three years, CETEC is aiming to present a fully scoped solution ready for industrial adoption, based on commercialisation of the novel circularity technology. Vestas will be spearheading the CETEC, which is partly funded by Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD). Other members of CETEC include Olin, the world leading producer of Epoxy, the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), and Aarhus University.

Developed by DreamWind, an innovation initiative driven by the same partners, the new CETEC technology consists of a two-step process. Firstly, thermoset composites are disassembled into fibre and epoxy. Secondly, through a novel chemcycling process, the epoxy is further broken up into base components similar to virgin materials. These materials can then be reintroduced into the manufacturing of new turbine blades, constituting a new circularity pathway for epoxy resin. Vestas recently slipped down to the third position from its former first place in a new ranking of top wind turbine manufacturers for 2020 released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The company also made headlines in February 2021 when it appointed Purvin Patel as Regional President of its Asia Pacific branch in order to strengthen the firm’s presence and market position in the region.

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Five years is a very long time

in the battery business Sanvaru Technology CEO and founder AK Shukla seems to love doing the unconventional. From starting up a battery business when it wasn’t really the obvius thing to do, to setting up headquarters in Sonipat, Haryana. Today, the firm claims to be the leading manufacturer of Li ion/ Lifepo4battery pack for Solar/Electronic equipments /Medical equipments/Home lighten System & Off-Grid Solar Systems (ESS). It has alsopioneered the design of customized Lithium Ion Batteries for the off-grid solar systems for defense, telecom & railway projects under the name of Sanvaru & Li3 in India. Shukla is the driving force behind the firm, with his lithium battery experience going back all the way to 2007. We caught up with him for a short interview.

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Renewable Integration supply chain and continues to explore new market segments. While I'm proud of the achievements we've had over the years, I'm proudest of the culture we've developed at Sanvaru as visible by the core values our team embraces every day.

I look forward to the next many more years with our Sanvaru Family as we create a better future and help our clients and stakeholders deploy storage solutions, Electric Mobility and Urban Infrastructure worldwide. We firmly believe in “Energy storage serves as a central catalyst for modernizing and creating a more reliable and resilient, efficient, sustainable, and affordable energy/ grid in the domain of stationary Storage, Urban Mobility and Modern infra”.

AK SHUKLA

CEO, Sanvaru Technology

Describe your 7-year journey so far in the lithium-ion battery sector?

AK Shukla: Seven Years ago, after and amid the worst financial

crisis I had seen in my life till then, I founded Sanvaru Technology in Delhi NCR, India with a vision of clean, green energy and to create Jobs for the young youths and to bridge the gap of gender inequality. Since 2014, we've grown to a team of 72 team members across all states of India and supported over multi-MWh of projects in all segment of Energy Storage. Our team has expanded our portfolio of services to include the entire energy storage and

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Over the next 5 years, considering the awareness and momentum that the renewables and sustainable energy segment has gained in India, where do you see your firm how are you planning to move forward?

AK Shukla: Sanvaru and many more companies around the world

are working to accomplish one vision that is to solve our climate crisis and, to that end, we are working to massively accelerate decarbonization, electrification, and resilience. We are rapidly expanding our business network across India and supporting partners to deploy clean energy products and solution including e-mobility, urban Infrastructure and microgrids. We have launched a Social and CSR program to streamline our collaboration with non-profits creating clean energy microgrids.

Aside from cost reductions and accessibility to emerging energy storage technologies, there are other key drivers to the recent uptake. These include an increase in the cost of electricity, the falling cost of renewables and a desire to be less dependent on the national grid. The combination of these drivers has seen many people look to develop their own power supply based around renewable generation and an energy storage system.

Also, Sanvaru is working on many new and emerging Battery Storage Systems Wherein Our Priority is to develop large

integrated solutions in the stationary segment with best in quality, warranty management Systems and After Sales Services with the least TOT. • The Next Level of engagement would be in the field of Battery cell research and production Centre • Cell development plant for the battery industry- Through Technical Collaboration of institute of repute like NREL- US, IIT’s and other battery Innovation Institute • Part of the industry consortium contributing to the plant set-up and operation.

Five years is a very long time in the battery business; however, we have not yet seen anything yet that is in production to replace more typical Li-ion chemistries, and certainly there are many who argue that this won't change for quite a while.

Can you please define the key characteristics of your technology for the readers?

AK Shukla: We know that the fastest, cheapest way to decarbonize,

especially over the next 10 years, is clean electrification: shifting the grid to carbon-free sources and shifting other sectors and energy services onto the grid.

Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) have become essential for many applications. Li-ion cells have many desirable characteristics, such as high efficiency, a long cycle life, high energy density, high power density and high charge/ discharge capability. Due to these characteristics, Li-ion based battery systems have been used in many applications over the last few decades, such as consumer goods, industrial applications, electric vehicles (EVs), and more recently in energy storage applications, to make renewable energy more versatile, whether for houses with PV systems or utility-scale systems to manage the energy of a small city.

At our design & Innovation center, we are fulfilling the SDGs of the UN, COP and Paris Climate Agreement, development of IOT, IOE and AI, Blockchain through Energy Exchanges.

Our innovative Business Model of EaaS, PaaS and RaaS energy storage platform are vertically integrated and purpose-built solution for the demands of utility-scale, residential, commercial and industrial, Data Centers and micro grid applications.

• First of its Kind to Announce the Bankable Energy Storage Solutions Under the Concept “Power for All- 24 X7” under Net Zero Model.

• Results based Business Case: Data Centres, Telecom Towers, C & I Customers, Mini and Micro Grids

How has the market evolved? In terms of costs, technological changes, etc?

AK Shukla: The energy storage industry is always evolving, and new and improved battery options for every segment come out

constantly. We all know Energy Storage is the "NEXT BIG THING". the storage of energy is vital to shift intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar to baseload reliability.

But a big question how to get involved?

Start of this year we launched many more innovative solutions, a solution for small and mid-scale microgrid applications. To develop, we took our innovations from many industry experts, key learnings from previous generations of our product, and feedback from the field. The motivation was to improve the customer experience with our smaller and mid-scale solution. We made a product that’s faster and simpler to install for our market technicians. We also upgraded the materials, design, and software to provide customers a premium-quality product that is easy to use, reliable, and durable.

There needs to be a technology change to make batteries a success.

It's not just improvements in performance that are required, it's the development of battery recycling or the development of battery technology that allows for easy recycling, without which I fear we're creating an environmental time bomb.

How do you see the potential in the Lithium battery market?

Size, growth and opportunities?

AK Shukla: The market for Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is projected to grow at a CAGR of 35% with an increase from 2.9 GWh in 2018 to 132 GWh in just over a decade. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020, enhancement in renewable power generation capacity as well as the recent SOPs to the EV sector sets up the industry for aggressive growth even with shaved off projections on account of the pandemic.

The current share of LIB used in the EV sector is around 35%, with telecom, power sector, localised storage applications, consumer electronics, data centres and others making up the rest. The share of the battery market for the EV sector is expected to grow from 35% to about 80% by 2030 based on projected growth in EV sales at 71% CAGR. The market in India, buoyed by lower LIB prices, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 34.8% between 2021-2024 (Global News Wire).

This might be troublesome considering only 269,000 tonnes were mined in 2018 while projections of 1.637M tonnes of LI will be needed to match the demand by 2025.

Tapping of the Opportunity: We feel and have confidence that with the data mentioned above for the globe and in line with India, we would like to sharpen our sword for the next level of business and with new innovations. We want to have a larger pie in the segment of EV, Data centers, integration of renewable energy technologies for smart power generation & transmission, Large Storage LIB Systems and would like to place our self in the top ten of the ESS and RET companies under all verticals of RE and EC. JUN E 20 21

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UL Acquires Solar Analytics Firm Clear Sky Analytics

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L, a global safety science leader and one of the world’s top advisors on the development, evaluation and optimization of renewable energy projects, today announced the acquisition of solar analytics company Clear Sky Analytics’ proprietary software platform and related assets. Clear Sky Analytics co-founders Ajay Saproo and John Corson will also join UL. Clear Sky Analytics specializes in distilling and interpreting operating PV solar plant data to improve performance by providing actionable insights.

The proprietary software platform analyzes solar asset performance and provides prescriptive insights. This acquisition expands UL’s solar offerings and the overall depth of its solar and wind renewables expertise which includes advisory services across project life cycle and supply chain, from due diligence to project development, certification, testing and inspection, asset management and reporting.

“We are delighted that Clear Sky Analytics platform is now part of UL and will help create a safer, more secure and sustainable world,” said Jennifer Scanlon, president and CEO, UL Inc. “With solar power as an emission-free, reliable source of energy, increasing and optimizing its supply enables communities globally to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce global warming emissions. The Clear Sky acquisition

furthers how UL is applying human, brand and financial capital to help our customers deliver positive actions that benefit our planet, its people and the prosperity of future generations.”

Founded by solar industry veterans Ajay Saproo and John Corson in 2017, Clear Sky Analytics specializes in distilling and interpreting operating PV solar plant data to improve performance by providing actionable insights. Clear Sky Analytics’ proprietary software platform integrates data quality management, performance modeling and analysis algorithms to generate a comprehensive and quantitative accounting of energy produced and energy lost to specific causes. Saproo happens to be a BITS Pilani graduate from 1991, who went on to do his masters in the US post that.

Before starting Clear Sky with John Carson, he was working at SunEdison as Head, reliability and Energy Analysis, where co-founder John Corson was also handling Reliability. Corson is a BA (Physics) from Harvard University, followed by a PhD in Physics from University of California, Berkeley.

“Enabling our customers to plan, finance, build, operate and manage solar energy projects is key to the overall transition from our fossil fuel energy present to a renewables intensive future,” said Jason Fischer, president, Enterprise and Advisory at UL. “Clear Sky Analytics’ cutting-edge prescriptive insight in the

fast-growing solar market is the ideal complement to UL’s advisory, certification and testing services. We are pleased to welcome Clear Sky Analytics to UL and are confident their deep expertise within solar will help drive continued innovation that will benefit our global customer base.’

Since Clear Sky’s inception in March 2017, the company has provided development and operational insight for more than 150 solar projects that span diverse geographies and designs. This includes collaborations between Clear Sky and UL. Engagements have included UL advisory and laboratory and field inspections services combined with Clear Sky’s plant performance data analysis that have resulted in optimized solar plant performance and substantial operator cost savings.

“We are thrilled to be part of the UL family to help customers globally mitigate risk and optimize returns from their solar projects” said Ajay Saproo, founder and CEO, Clear Sky Analytics. “Having previously partnered with UL on various projects, we are confident that our combined capabilities will create value for our customers and drive technological advances in navigating the complexities of managing solar plants over the project lifecycle.” The transaction closed on May 17, 2021. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

LONGi Wins at “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress 2021

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hina-based leading solar PV manufacturer LONGi recently announced that it has once again received recognition at the 2021 edition of the TÜV Rheinland “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress, with its Hi-MO 4 and Hi-MO 5 high-efficiency modules winning awards for PV Module Outdoor Energy Yield (Monofacial Group) and PV Module Energy Yield Simulation (Bifacial monocrystalline group) respectively.

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The AQM award is awarded after an objective evaluation process which comprises an authoritative selection mechanism. It has become a well-reputed honour and a competitive stage for companies in the PV industry.

Energy yield simulation is assessed on the basis of samples randomly selected from massproduced modules, with performance tested and energy yield simulated under different environmental conditions across numerous countries.

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LONGi has now won awards for Energy Yield Simulation in 2017 and 2018, Outdoor Energy Yield in 2019, and Outdoor Energy Yield (Monofacial Group + Bifacial Group) in 2020. Dennis She, Senior Vice President at LONGi Solar, was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion at the congress on the opportunities and challenges faced by the solar PV industry in contributing to China’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and

achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. The development of new energy and the transformation of energy structure is being undertaken at an accelerated speed to achieve carbon neutrality. Facing the challenges presented to the PV industry in terms of capacity expansion, She said that LONGi will continue to develop its product leadership strategy, keep investing in R&D and turn highvalue research results into mass production, so as to contribute to the carbon neutrality target.

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India and the EU Commit to Energy Connectivity Partnership

India, Israel, UAE Sign Maiden Trilateral Trade Agreement

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n May 10, 2021, India and the European Union agreed to bring the EU-India Roadmap 2025 in action and foster new synergies to jointly contribute to a safer, greener, cleaner, more digital, resilient and stable world. The day saw two key events- ‘India-EU Leader’s Meeting’ and ‘India-EU Business Roundtable’- being held simultaneously so that alliances in climate, digital and healthcare could be ensured.

Experts predict that India’s demand for energy will increase more than that of any other country over the next two decades, directly increasing GHG emissions. While India has been adding large scale renewable power to its energy composition as part of its commitments; the deployment of the same, a sustainable and just phase out of coal and improved financial health of distribution companies are some necessary next steps to be made in the context of the energy sector.

While the declining cost of solar PV and the volume of solar installations in the country are reassuring, a lasting transition to RE away from fossil fuel, especially coal, requires decreased costs of storage as well.

Both the EU and India are on pathway to decarbonize, and the sustainable measures agreed upon by both on Saturday are aimed at exploiting their shared aspirations and abilities. India recently announced an ambitious target of setting up 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and is working on a roadmap to achieve this target. The EU has led many of the early efforts to build demand for wind and solar PV and experience from these can be instrumental for catering to India’s needs for clean energy generation for clean development.

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t a recent event organised by the International Federation of IndoIsrael Chambers of Commerce (IFIICC) to discuss the ongoing business collaborations being pursued through IFIICC’s leadership across sectors, India, Israel and the UAE signed their maiden trilateral agreement.

The partnership has been initiated by IFIICC, as part of which an Israel-based company, Ecoppia, is producing an innovative robotic solar cleaning technology in India for a landmark project in the UAE. The company claims to be the world leader in robotic solutions for photovoltaic solar, offering a connected platform that cost-effectively maximises the performance of utilityscale installations worldwide. Its manufacturing base is in India, and its global projects span 2,700 MW. The announcement of the trilateral agreement follows the completion of the

Abraham Accords agreements between Israel, the UAE and the US last year in April, which ensured the possibility of enhancing bilateral relations and business partnerships between Israel and the UAE, in the future.

The head of the Israeli mission in Dubai, Ambassador Ilan Sztulman Starosta, noted that India being friends with both Israel and UAE “is clearly the preferred partner to leverage the global potential of the UAE, Israel and India Trilateral.” Further Israel and India have “pegged the innovation and international business potential of the UAE, Israel and India Trilateral to be $110 billion by 2030.”

Attending diplomats and members of the business community agreed that the trade among the three countries can propel to a high of USD 110 billion by 2030 by tapping into their mutual strengths.

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IHS Renewables Markets Attractiveness 2020 Rankings: US #1; India #6

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ondon-based American-British information provider IHS Markit Ltd has released the results of another Global Renewables Markets Attractiveness Rankings for the period ending December 2020, which tracks the world’s countries’ attractiveness for investment for non-hydro renewables (offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV). As the Biden Administration aims to significantly increase federal investment in renewable energy under the American Jobs Plan, the United States already ranks as the most attractive market for renewables investment in the results of the new IHS rankings.

The United States claimed the top spot on account of sound market fundamentals and the availability of an attractive— though phasing down—support scheme.

Mainland China, which accounted for

over half of the world’s total non-hydro renewables additions last year, ranked third on the attractiveness ranking—just behind number two Germany—as difficulties in accessing the market weighed down its overall score.

According to IHS Markit, its Global Renewable Markets Attractiveness Rankings utilise an integrated proprietary methodology to provide comparable

views of 35 markets that are expected to account for 90% of non-hydro renewables capacity additions to 2030.

The ranking evaluates each country on the basis of seven subcategories that include the current policy framework, market fundamentals, investor friendliness, infrastructure readiness, revenue risks and return expectations, easiness to compete and the overall opportunity size for each market. Each market is scored in individual categories for solar PV, onshore wind, offshore wind and an overall renewables score is calculated.

The overall country rankings are based on a combined score for offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV that weights the different technologies based on their expected levels of installations over the next decade.

RECAI 57th Edition Out: $5.2 Trillion needed for ‘Net-zero’; US #1; India #3

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piece of positive news has come from Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), which recently released its 57th Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), granting the third position to India due to its continued progress in solar energy.

The biannual RECAI ranks the world’s top 40 markets on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.

The rankings reflect assessments of market attractiveness and global market trends. The US retains top position on the 57th index and is expected to hold its position under President Biden.

While India’s performance is commendable, it may not tell

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the whole story about the country’s advancement in renewable energy in recent times. In the last five years, India’s position in the RECAI

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has fluctuated many times, including the slip from the 2nd position in 2017 to the 4th position in 2018. Last year, the country moved up from the 7th

to the 4th position in the 56th EY RECAI as a result of installed solar PV capacity skyrocketing, reaching more than 35GW. This year, the country has climbed up one more position, with the market’s solar sector expected to grow significantly and with generation from solar PV forecast to exceed coal before 2040. Let us hope that the upward trend continues.

In 2020, global renewable energy capacity investments grew 2% to US$303.5 bn, the second-highest annual figure recorded to date despite the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. But the RECAI 57 shows that an even greater investment is required for the world to achieve its net zero goals as per schedule.

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Australia Installs Record-breaking Number of Rooftop Solar Panels: CSIRO

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enerate, a leading provider of sustainable infrastructure, recently announced that it has put the first six of up to 23 New York State community solar projects into service under an innovative multi-year facility with Starbucks Coffee Company. The projects are expected to supply solar energy for local Starbucks stores and up to 24,000 households, small businesses, nonprofits, churches, universities and stores in multiple geographies, including those designated as under-served communities.

In addition to clean energy, program participants will receive a discount to their current electricity rates under New York State’s Community Distributed Generation program, making clean energy access more affordable.

The solar projects will provide more than 119,885 MWhs of clean energy to Starbucks New York stores and the surrounding community annually, supporting Starbucks’ multi-decade commitment to becoming a resource-positive company by

storing more carbon than it emits and reducing carbon by 50% by 2030. Starbucks has committed $97 million of tax equity to the community solar projects, in an innovative collaboration with Generate and Churchill Stateside Group.

The projects represent some of the first community solar and storage projects in New York State’s fast-growing community solar market. Generate is a leading owner and operator of community solar and storage projects in New York State, with more than 182 MW of New York community solar projects owned or in construction. 38 Degrees North collaborated with Generate on the projects and financings.

Starbucks made the investment through a fund established by financial services company Churchill Stateside Group.

Additionally, Starbucks is receiving renewable energy credits from the projects, which are expected to offset over 70% of Starbucks electricity usage within the state.

JinkoSolar Awarded the Best HR Strategy of the Year Data from the Clean Energy Regulator analysed by CSIRO shows that in 2020, around Australia, over 362,000 rooftop solar PV installations were issued with small-scale renewable energy scheme certificates (STCs) under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

This is an increase of 28 per cent from 2019, when 283,991 installations were issued STCs, with the majority of installs under the scheme being residential, and a smaller number for commercial and industrial properties.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said the analysis showed a strong appetite for science-led innovation in Australia.

“CSIRO has analysed and projected energy futures for more than two decades, and over that time we have accurately forecast and tracked the reduction in cost of renewables, and the development of battery storage options, including our own UltraBattery,” Dr Marshall said.

He added that science had made renewables cost competitive with conventional power, letting market forces take over to drive a global transition to lower emissions.

According to him, Australia’s solar advantage creates an economic opportunity for the country on the world stage and an environmental benefit for the globe – even better when it’s powered by Australian science and research.

CSIRO researchers use the Clean Energy Regulator data as the best indicator of PV installations around Australia, and is just one of the five sources of data collated by CSIRO’s Australian Housing Data Portal.

Launched in 2019, the Australian Housing Data Portal centralises a vast amount of energy efficiency data that underpins key decision making, training and awareness.

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Renewables Powering Through the Pandemic: IEA

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enewable sources of electricity such as wind and solar grew at their fastest rate in two decades in 2020 and are set to expand in coming years at a much faster pace than prior to the pandemic, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. The growth in Europe and the United States will be even brisker than previously forecast, compensating for China’s transitional slowdown after exceptional 2020 growth. According to the IEA’s latest market update, the amount of renewable electricity capacity added in 2020 rose by 45% in 2020 to 280 gigawatts (GW), the largest year-on-year increase since 1999. That extra power is equal to the total installed capacity of ASEAN, a grouping of 10 dynamic SouthEast Asian economies. The increase in 2020 is set to become the “new normal”, with about 270 GW of renewable capacity on course to be added in 2021 and almost 280 GW in 2022, despite a slowdown in China after an exceptional level of additions last year. Those forecasts have been revised upwards by more than 25% from the IEA’s previous estimates in November as governments around the world have auctioned record levels of renewable capacity and companies have signed record-level power purchase agreements, even as the pandemic spread macroeconomic uncertainties and suppressed demand.

Shifting power generation to renewable sources is a key pillar of global efforts to reach carbon neutrality, but CO2 emissions are set to rise this year because of a parallel rise in coal use, underscoring the major policy changes and investments in clean energy needed to meet climate goals.

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Amit Jain Is New Global CEO At Sterling & Wilson Solar

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ndia-based Global Solar EPC leader Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited (SWSL) / Company) (BSE Scrip Code: 542760; NSE Symbol: SWSOLAR), has announced the appointment of Amit Jain as Global CEO. He succeeds Bikesh Ogra, who relinquished the position with effect from 31st May 2021. Ogra will continue as a Director on the Board of the Company.

Amit Jain has been associated with Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited since January 2019 as the Country Head for US and Australia. He has been instrumental in developing US and Australia as key markets for the Company.

The firm has recorded some of its biggest project wins during his tenure in these markets. He will take over the global operations of the Company and report to the Board of Directors. He will now be responsible for business development, market growth and the P&L for SWSL that has its operations across 25+ countries. He will continue to operate from Dubai.

Commenting on his appointment, Jain said, “I am humbled to take on this new challenge and dedicated to meeting the high expectations that our customers, partners,

employees and other stakeholders have for SWSL. I am deeply passionate about the renewable industry and look forward to making valuable contributions to the green energy transition in the world. Jain is a veteran in the EPC sector with over 29 years of experience in various industries such as Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas, Chemical/ Process plants, Power Transmission and Telecom Infrastructure. His expertise lies in developing new markets as well as the management and execution of mega projects in challenging environments. He is an Engineer from Delhi University and holds an MBA degree in International Business from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. He takes over at a time that, as leader, he has to see as full of possibilities. Besides the unprecedented growth in solar worldwide, the firm has also identified opportunities in storage, data centres and other related sectors to move into. At the same time, for a large EPC, its a time for a relook at their pricing and prediction models, as the markets are in a period of high price volatility and supply challenges. Something that looks set to continue in the foreseeable future.

Highest-ever Boom in Copper Amid Clean Energy Transition: Bloomberg

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ccording to recent analysis by Bloomberg, a New York Cityheadquartered data and media company, copper surged this week to its highest-ever and copper futures prices rose as high as $10,440 a ton in London. This follows the boom in copper spread over the past year, which caused prices to double in the period.

The year 2011 saw the previous copper record being made, when the commodities supercycle peaked, resulting from China’s rise to economic heavyweight status owing to a huge availability of raw materials. According to investors today, because copper is vital for the world’s upcoming clean energy transition, demand will surge and prices are set to go up.

Even though China is responsible for 50% of the world’s copper consumption and has majorly contributed to copper’s surge, it recorded a decrease in demand this year. The

reason why prices have still gone up is partly due to evidence of recoveries in other major industrial economies, with manufacturing output surging in places like the U.S., Germany and Japan. But, the analysts believe, investors have also been piling into copper on a bet that global efforts to cut carbon emissions are going to mean the world needs a lot more of the metal, putting a strain on supply. New mine production may be slow to arrive, as mines are hard to find and expensive to develop.

Bringing electricity from offshore wind farms to national power grids is also a copperintensive exercise. Governments around the world have announced ambitious infrastructure investment plans, much of which involves construction, green energy, or both. These factors, among others, explain the recent rise in copper prices.

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GAIL Jumps Into Solar Bandwagon

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as Authority of India Limited (GAIL), the largest operator of gas pipelines in the country, has announced plans to enter solar power development. GAIL commands ~70% market share in gas transmission and has a Gas trading share of over ~ 50% in India.

GAIL and its Subsidiaries / JVs also have a formidable market share in City Gas Distribution. In the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market, GAIL has a significant portfolio.

In the new effort to go 'green', GAIL joins virtually every Public sector Undertaking PSU in the energy space, that is already in, or has announced plans to add solar to its portfolio. Gail's immediate plans are to bid for a 400-megawatt (MW) capacity along with partner Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) in a state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (Seci) tender, said a top executive on Wednesday. BHEL is also considering manufacturing of solar cells and panels.

Manoj Jain, chairman and managing

director of Gail said that besides bidding for its own projects, the firm would also actively consider acquiring operational solar assets if possible. The firm has very low debt, and the gas business has recovered somewhat after the lockdown induced slowdown from 2020. Gail has announced a net profit for the fourth quarter ended March fell of ₹1,908 crore from ₹3,018.2 crore in the year-ago period.

Turnover was at ₹15,472 crore in the quarter. The PSU had reported a net profit of ₹4,890 crore for 2020-21 on a turnover of ₹56,529 crore.

GAIL has been trying to make an impact

in renewable energy for some time now. An earlier deal with the fraud ridden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) involved buying ILFS's 874 MW operational wind energy portfolio to the state-run gas utility for ₹4,800 crore. The deal was dropped when NYSE listed Japan’s Orix Corp. acquired these assets to add them to Hyderabadbased Greenko’s portfolio, with a $980 million in Greenko Energy Holdings.

While the solar sector broadly welcomes these diversifications from PSU's, considering the fact that energy PSU's tend to be much better managed and cash rich, for investors in these firms, it has been a mixed experience. Lack of experience and vision in many times has led to unrelated diversifications according to some, severely hitting valuations vis a vis private sector counterparts. As of now, the cumulative PSU commitments for Solar seem to be well over 20 GW, for the period ending 2025.

And 30 GW plus by 2030. With power major NTPC leading the pack.

Electric Vehicles to Cost Less Than ICE Vehicles in EU by 2027: Report

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lectric Vehicles and vans will be cheaper to make than fossil-fuel vehicles in every light vehicle segment across Europe from 2027 at the latest, according to a new BloombergNEF study commissioned by Transport & Environment (T&E).

The research found that battery electric vehicles could reach 100 percent of new sales across the EU by 2035, if lawmakers introduce measures like tighter vehicle CO2 targets and strong support for charging infrastructure. T&E called on the EU to tighten emissions targets in the 2020s and set 2035 as the end date for selling new polluting vehicles.

The report found that the falling battery costs, new

vehicle architectures, and dedicated production lines for electric vehicles will make them cheaper to buy, on average, even before subsidies.

But the early build-up of EV production and sales will be crucial to drive down costs and generate consumer buy-in for further adoption in the future, JUN E 20 21

BNEF found. Only stricter CO2 targets for vehicle-makers in the 2020s, including a new 2027 target, can ensure that, T&E said.

The research further details that battery electric vehicles and vans could reach 100 percent of new sales by 2035, even in southern and eastern Europe, if lawmakers increase vehicle CO2 targets and ramp up other policies to stimulate the market such as a faster roll-out of charging points. If left to the market without strong additional policies, battery electric cars will reach only an 85 percent market share, and e-vans just 83 percent, in the EU by 2035 – missing Europe’s goal to decarbonise by 2050.

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Global EV Market To Reach $802.75 Billion By 2028: Report

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recent study report by Market Growth Report says that the electric vehicle (EV) market is expected to reach USD 802.75 billion by the year 2028, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.6 percent during the forecast period, 2021 – 2028. This market size was estimated to be valued at USD 273.31 billion in 2020.

The report has extensive data on emerging trends, market drivers, growth opportunities, and restraints that can change the industry’s market dynamics. It gives the analysis of the market segments which include products, applications, and competitor analysis. According to the report, the growth of the commercial vehicles segment is associated with the rising adoption of electric buses in developing countries such as India and China for their public transport networks. Various countries are focusing on replacing their existing fuel-based buses with electric buses.

The rising trend of replacement of fossil fuel-based vehicles with electric buses is likely to boost the market. Also, the growth of logistics, shared mobility, and e-commerce is expected to propel the market during the forecast period.

Altogether, the electric twowheelers segment is expected to expand at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period, as the rising petrol prices encourage consumers to adopt EVs. Earlier in 2020, In its report, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has forecasted that in its base case scenario – India’s EV market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44 percent between 2020-2027, and is expected to hit 6.34-million-unit annual sales by 2027.

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IEA Report Advises Shutting Out Fossil Projects Now, To Reach 1.5C Target

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he International Energy Agency (IEA), one of the premier energy modeling agencies and until recently, a key backer of the perception that fossil fuel’s still have a future (of sorts), has finally changed track. In a recommendation that will surprise many people, and please even more who have been calling for the same, the agency says that all future fossil fuel projects must be scrapped if the world is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to stand any chance of limiting warming to 1.5C. In its special report, titled ‘Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector’, made for negotiators at the crucial COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, the IEA has made the case for a 2040 deadline for the global energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality.

Something it needs to consider, given the sharp decline that is imminent in fossil fuel consumption, according to the report. The special report has been described by the IEA as the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth.

It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The IEA recommendations and predictions come at a time when the agency seems to be keen to shake off the widely held accusation of being too conservative on renewable energy growth.

How Cities Can Take Action to Drive the Energy Transition: IRENA

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new report published on May 17, 2021, by IRENA, outlines ways in which cities can catalyse the shift to a low-carbon future – in turn supporting regional and national governments with the achievement of sustainable energy targets and the realisation of global climate objectives. Cities can be target setters, planners and regulators. They are often owners and thus operators of municipal infrastructure. Cities are always direct consumers of energy and therefore aggregators of demand, and can be facilitators and financiers of renewable energy projects.

Renewable Energy Policies for Cities also presents case studies from small- and medium-sized cities in various regions, demonstrating that cities are already stepping up to the responsibility. Examples from China, Costa Rica, and Uganda show that despite limited access to financing and policy support, the clear benefits of sustainable energy in an urban context have inspired action.

In Kasese, Uganda, for example, the municipality recognised its significant potential for solar energy, in turn leading to the establishment of Kasese’s Municipal

Sustainable Energy Strategy in 2017.

IRENA contributed to Kasese’s journey in deploying solar energy with its SolarCityEngine, a web-based application to assist homes, businesses and municipal authorities in evaluating the prospects of electricity generation using rooftop solar photovoltaics. The online simulator allowed the municipality to assess the costs of incentive, affordability, and the total volume of investments.

Examples presented in the report showcase best practices for other cities working towards a decarbonised energy supply. What they emphasise is the importance of strong alignment between local and national governments, and of proactive local resident, community group and business engagement. For the global race to zero to move at an accelerated pace, the world’s urban environments must be empowered to take meaningful actions.

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UP Women Make Solar Lamps for Kids Facing Power Cuts in Rural Parts

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n our country, rural areas suffer the most because of power cuts. Activities which require a regular flow of electricity, such as studying or cooking indoors, especially at night, are plagued by disruptions. A little relief from such problems has arrived as the Uttar Pradesh Government has launched a project to manufacture and distribute solar lamps to children in rural areas of the state at low costs.

With the help of the government and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund, women in rural UP, belonging to self-help groups, are making solar lamps.

These solar lamps are being made available to school children by the government for Rs 100 per piece while the same are being sold for Rs 500 per piece in the market.

As part of the Prerna Ojas Programme of Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods

Mission (Rural Development Department), this initiative helps women of self-help groups to become independent and socially and economically empowered. Over 35 women from 18 groups were selected to receive training in manufacturing cheaper solar lamps and selling them, while a unit was set up at Paraunkh village of President Ram Nath Kovind in the first phase of the Prerna Ojas program.

In the past, the UP government has distributed 28 lakh solar lamps made by 4,000 women to school children across 30 districts.

Interestingly, earlier in March, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), had invited bids for seeking private participation on a revenue-sharing basis for distributing 10 million LED Lamps under its Gram Ujala program.

CESL expects to obtain 70 lakh 12-Watt LED lamps for Rs 75 per bulb and 30 lakh 7-Watt lamps for Rs 42 for a bulb. The company said it will guarantee payment of 50 percent of the last discovered price, giving private companies assurance of a floor price. The company announced that under this program it will distribute highquality LED lamps at an affordable cost in rural areas.

Fimer Launches Two New Platforms For Utility Segment

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IMER, a leading global player in the production of photovoltaic inverters and charging solutions for electric mobility, opened the company’s ‘virtual’ doors to the world for the first time. The company is inviting customers and partners from over 100 countries to participate in a truly innovative 360 ​​° Virtual Tour on 22 June.

Virtual visitors will be able to visit FIMER’s zero-impact headquarters, its production sites, as well as experience workplaces up close and touch, even if only “virtually”, the quality of FIMER solutions.

To register for the Virtual Tour, Link to the 360° Virtual Tour homepage: https:// discoverus.fimer.com/it/home/ On 22 June, FIMER will also launch two new innovative platforms for the Utility

segment, a rapidly growing market for which the company has recently announced plans to create a dedicated Research & Development Center in Italy, which will enable FIMER to increase its focus on solutions innovation while enhancing its responsiveness to customer

needs. The new platforms have been designed to meet the market demand for high power density solutions and easy integration with storage.

Filippo Carzaniga, Chairman at FIMER, said: “The past 12 months have seen FIMER cement its position as a leading JUN E 20 21

global inverter manufacturer.

Our commitment to developing the best solutions for our customers means we have also adapted our business model to reflect customer need. This includes the appointment of a new senior team to drive innovation across our four core lines of business – utility-scale, commercial, and residential solar, and EVI – and the launch of our new R&D Center of Excellence for the utility sector in Italy.

“In addition, we will be launching a new and unique-tothe-market platform and solution for the utility segment on 22 June. This truly is an exciting time to be part of the solar sector, and we are looking forward to sharing our plans with our customers and key stakeholders from across our key global markets.”

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As RE Continues to Expand, India’s Battery Storage Market a Sleeping Giant: IEEFA

Enphase To Establish Installer Network In India

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rid integration of large-scale variable renewables will be one of India’s biggest challenges as it aspires to decarbonise its power economy through deployment of 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) by 2030. Reaching this target from the current installed renewable capacity of 93 GW will require average annual renewable capacity additions of ~35 GW. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) India Energy Outlook 2021 suggests India could further double its renewables capacity to 900 GW by 2040. With record low solar tariffs of below Rs 2.00/kWh (USD 27/MWh), renewables in India are now extremely cost competitive with coalfired power and are set to be the dominant source of power supply for decades to come.

Currently, renewables form 10 percent of India’s total power generation and that share will increase to 31 percent by 2030 with 450GW coming online. While integration of large-scale variable renewables is one of the biggest challenges for the transition of India’s power market, leaders in large-scale renewable penetration – Germany with 46 percent, South Australia with 60 percent and California with 36 percent of total generation coming from renewables – show that it can be done.

As the share of variable renewable generation continues to increase, India’s power system will have to evolve and modernise to respond to grid stability challenges. There is a need for an accelerated deployment of assets such as utility-scale battery storage in order to store power when it is available in abundance and provide firm power later, during the evening.

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nphase Energy, one of the early pioneers and specialist in microinverter-based solar-plusstorage systems, has launched its Enphase Installer Network (EIN), now being expanded into India. Enphase has been in the news recently for a string of partnerships in the space, both with storage firms and module firms.

Exclusive or trained installers are becoming increasingly important for major firms, as products become more complex, and perform more functions. Solar with storage for instance is a huge opportunity, where high capex requirements means the need for a quality vendor. Enphase clearly gets it, and has plans to maintain its reputation with its established network in India too.

Being part of the EIN network will give selected installers access to exclusive tools and other benefits, besides being able to offer the assurance of quality warranties to homeowners who opt for Enphase-based solar systems. These include exclusive access to new products, executive sponsorship, tradeshow invites, priority in product allocation, zero cost leads, discounted product warranty extensions, co-branding and promotion opportunities.

Homeowners, can look forward to quality service and a platform to locate premium installers in their area, using an installer

location tool. Enphase has created a three tiered system for membership of EIN, Enphase Platinum, Gold, or Silver installers. These are based on a system of performance benchmarks including product certification status, relationship duration, and homeowner satisfaction ratings.

As one of the oldest and well established names in the business, Enphase in India enjoys wide recognition and acceptability.

That should mean a fast enough opportunity to scale up, considering the latent demand in the rooftop systems market, besides commercial markets, where Enphase has done well. While the firm has not shared any numbers on how big it wants the network in India to be, we have been given an indication of a number upwards of 200 by an existing solar inverter dealer. Coming up soon could also be more detailed and comprehensive warranties.

In recent months, service quality is being drummed as a key differentiator, to get out of the commoditised mindset of sola buyers, who are simply quoted costs in price per watt or Kilowatt by many installers, without details on brands being provided in the package. Premium, established brands like REC Group in modules, and now Enphase in inverters, obviously want to counter that with real differentiators.

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Potential for 1.5M Jobs in Clean Energy In India

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ultinational professional services network Ernst & Young Global Limited, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), has released a report entitled "Accelerating post-pandemic economic recovery with clean energy infrastructure and jobs in India", which highlights concrete policy recommendations for balancing economic recovery and climate neutrality goals in the post COVID stimulus efforts by Government of India.

The report emphasises the need for new energy infrastructure to boost economic recovery and self-reliance without reversing the trends of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, air pollution and other climate change related shocks in the post COVID economic recovery era.

The EY – FICCI report has identified over 600 ‘shovel-ready’ low carbon investment opportunities in the pipeline with tremendous potential for post-pandemic economic recovery and job creation in India.

Somesh Kumar, Partner and National Leader, Power & Utilities, EY India, says, “Over 600 ‘shovel-ready’ low carbon investment project pipeline identified by us has the potential to accelerate ~INR 2 Lakh crore of equity and ~INR 4 Lakh crore of project finance debt but more importantly support close to ~15 lakh fresh jobs in the immediate future. Further, the stimulus measures recommended can help advance the clean energy project pipeline and help frame the next leg of postpandemic stimulus action.”

He further adds that policy makers need to reflect on the urgency of the challenges posed by COVID-19 and leverage on the existing clean energy programs for quick economic recovery. Also, labour intensive ‘shovel ready’ low carbon infrastructure projects having strong interactions with the hard-hit construction industry must be at the focus of the post COVID green stimulus efforts.

The EY - FICCI report throws light on what is at stake in terms of the economic development, capital mobilisation, selfreliance, jobs and environment in the following critical thematic areas of clean energy infrastructure, while specifying their project pipeline and impact as well as stimulus action efforts: Utility scale Renewable Energy (RE) power generation: Stimulus action: Clarity on waiver of inter-state transmission charges and losses on supply of solar and wind power beyond June 2023; set up a mechanism to rediscover tariffs for stranded projects without power purchase agreement (PPA); establish a robust coordination mechanism between Central off-takers and State governments toward firming up long term power procurement plans. Project pipeline and impact: 332 projects; 84 GW of pipeline capacity; 4,109 MT avoided CO2 emissions.

Rooftop solar PV deployment: Stimulus action: Boost demand for rooftop solar deployment in the institutional sectors,

especially rural health centres and schools; promote net metering in all categories of consumers up to 1 MW of sanctioned load; promote third party owned business models for accelerated RTPV capacity addition in the domestic category. Project pipeline and impact: 166 projects; 18 GW of pipeline capacity; 622 MT avoided CO2 emissions Decentralized RE power generation: Stimulus action: Generation based incentives for decentralized grid connected solar PV systems co-located with crops on agriculturally productive land parcels; Dedicated financing facility for improving farmer access to low cost debt funds and boosting commercial viability of 1-2 MW scale ground mounted Solar PV projects on CAPEX mode. Project pipeline and impact: 44 projects; 14.5 GW of pipeline capacity; 550 MT avoided CO2 emissions.

Original RE equipment manufacturing: Stimulus action: Boost demand for high efficiency solar PV modules and Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) battery solutions; formulate and target new Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes toward coal dependent states. Project pipeline and impact: 12 projects; 40,000 fresh jobs.

EV charging infrastructure: Stimulus action: National / state level policy frameworks to promote and incentivise electric utility investment in EV charging infrastructure; restructure markets to create alternate revenue streams for EV charge point operators and investors.

Project pipeline and impact: 4,180 stations; 13,263 fresh jobs.

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Top 10 Solar Tracker Firms

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solar tracker is a device deployed along with solar panels, directing the latter towards the sun. Trackers not only maximise the energy capture but also further boost the efficiency of the overall power generation process through minimising the angle of incidence - or the angle that a ray of light makes with a line perpendicular to the surface - between the incoming light and the panel.

There are two kinds of solar trackers: 1.

The single-axis solar tracker, which rotates on one axis moving back and forth in a single direction; 2. The dual-axis tracker, which continually faces the sun since it can move in two different directions. This device can also be combined with other panel technologies like parabolic troughs, fresnel reflectors, solar panels, and lenses.

Top 10 Solar Tracker Firms in the World 1. Nextracker (United States): Nextracker has been the number-one global market-share solar tracker company for several years running, according to research firm WoodMackenzie. The firm claims to have delivered more than 50 GW of smart solar trackers for projects on five continents, including some of the largest solar farms in the world. Their TrueCapture and NX Navigator smart monitoring and control software platforms are highly valued tracking systems.

2. Array Technologies (US): Headquartered in the US, with offices in Europe, Central America, and Australia, the company has over 28 years of experience in manufacturing robust, reliable, and innovative tracking solutions guaranteed to deliver the lowest cost of ownership.

Array Technologies tracking solutions can be used for residential, commercial and utility applications alike.

3. Soltec (Spain): Global manufacturer and supplier of single-axis solar trackers, the company has manufacturing facilities in Argentina, Brazil, China, and Spain. Its SF7 Bifacial collects light both on the front and on the rear side as it captures sunlight reflected from the surface under the solar tracker. With the right

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conditions, yield will be increased up to 16 percent. Soltec manufactures and supplies cost-effective horizontal single-axis solar trackers.

4. Arctech Solar (China): Arctech trackers are solutions to high returns on investment and make solar projects economically profitable under cost pressure. In particular, Arctech redundancy horizontal single-axis trackers are attractive solutions in terms of profitability and reliability.

The standard horizontal single-axis tracker is suitable for relatively low latitude while horizontal single-axis tracker with tilted modules and tilt single-axis tracker are normally used for higher latitude.

5. Convert Italia (Italy): Founded in 1981 as an electrical plant engineering company, the company has since diversified its operations and developed the Single Axis Tracker Convert TRJ, aiming to maximize the energy and the economic efficiency of the pv plant: Up to 25% energy increase with a simplified design at a similar cost to fixed array.Operation of a single-axis is based on the movement of photovoltaic modules on a single North-South axis so as to automatically track the sun's EastWest movement during the day. The backtracking system checks and ensures that a string of panels does not

shade other adjacent PV modules.

6. PV Hardware (Spain): Founded in 2011, the company has supplied more than 10 GW to photovoltaic plants operating in many countries around the world. Axone,PVH’s multi-row single-axis tracker, is able to move 20 rows with up to 64 solar panels each one with just one motor. Durable and reliable, Axone helps you optimize the performance of the solar plant from the first day. Monoline is PVH’s singlerow solution for large-scale PV plants, able to move up to 90 panels in one row and suitable for bifacial. Monoline is easy to install and requires minimum maintenance, making it the ideal solution for irregular or hilly terrains 7. STi Norland (Spain): A major utilityscale solar manufacturers of solar trackers and fixed-tilt structures, the company has subsidiaries in Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States, serving the European, American, Middle Eastern, and African markets.

It claims that its STI-H1250TM is a highly efficient solar tracker with less than 5 drives and 20 meters of underground pipeline for every MWp installed. Its actuator is said to have a high-performance geared motor with 250 W of power. The STI-H250TM is the first dual-row tracker on the

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R |E |P |O |R |T |S| market and allows adaptation to uneven terrain with N-S slopes of up to 10% and unlimited in the E-W. 8. Ideematec (Germany): This firm provides high performance solar tracking systems and claims to have an international track record of over 2.2 GW and more than 12 years experience and 50 patents. The core component of its Horizon L:TEC® is the patented locking technology, offering maximum stability for utility-scale solar installations. The tracker is designed to secure XXL modules and withstand the highest wind loads, protecting solar installations against extreme winds.

By pairing the locking mechanism with our signature decouple drive technology, the weight of the system on the drive unit places weight directly into the foundations. This results in a longlasting strong system.

Future Growth Opportunities in Solar Tracker Global Markets The global solar tracker trade comprises of significant markets in North America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Europe. While North America holds the largest share in the market, Latin America and Asia Pacific also account for sizeable chunks.

According to a forecast by Fortune Business Insights, Latin America is likely to grow notably in the future due to its rising adoption of renewable sources of energy in many countries, particularly Mexico and Brazil, which has increased the demand for solar trackers.

A recent report by Global Market Insights Inc. on the solar tracker market estimates that the market valuation for the device will cross US $4.5 billion by 2027. The industry's steady growth owes to the current global drive towards cleaner technologies across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The solar tracker industry size was valued at USD 3 billion in 2020 and is expected to record a CAGR of about 5.3% over 2021-2027.

Major Indian solar tracker manufacturers include Amberroot Systems, Ephysx Technologies, Greenera Energy India, Hyquip, and Nordic (India) Solutions.

2019-27 to See 32.5% CAGR For Drone Services Market

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xperts working at Transparency Market Research (TMR), an Indian market intelligence company, predict a healthy growth period for the drone services market during the tenure of 2019-2027, expecting a whopping 32.5 percent CAGR during such assessment period.

The global drone services market is extrapolated to reach a value of ~US$ 33 bn by 2027, the end year of the forecast period.

From supporting military operations to helping hobbyists in exploring their passion, drones are playing a vital role in every aspect. This factor serves as a turning point for the growth of the drone services market. Commercial organizations, government bodies of numerous countries, and many individuals altogether have realized the importance and benefits of utilizing drones for numerous purposes, which will further bring extensive growth for the drone services market.

Some of the key findings of the report are as follows:

• Thriving E-Commerce Industry to Accelerate Growth across the Drone Services Market: Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce industry is observing great demand.

Warehouse and inventory management plays a crucial role in e-commerce management. Identifying and tracking a large number of orders mechanically is a tedious task. Therefore, drones are being deployed for scanning the items in a warehouse. Walmart is testing the deployment of drones in the warehouses for managing and checking inventory. The company states that

drones can conduct a full inventory check in a day while doing the same task manually will take a month's time.

Thus, such developments prove to be fruitful for the growth of the drone services market.

• Drone Services to Acquire a Permanent Seat in the Wireless Internet Connectivity Sector:

Technology giants like Facebook and Google are testing the use of drones in improving internet connectivity.

Facebook is researching Aquila, a large solar-powered drone that has the potential to stay in the air for days and months to provide good internet connectivity to remote or rural areas.

These factors will bring significant changes to the growth structure of the drone services market.

• Drone Services Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Drones have

served as the supporters of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. From surveillance of large areas to delivering medical products, drones are supporting many individuals and organizations in the fight against COVID-19. Telangana, a state in India is a part of the Medicine from the Sky project initiated by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Under this project, drones will be under trial for delivering COVID-19 vaccines and then launched for public use. These factors will maintain the growth rate of the drone services market even during the pandemic.

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EVs Covers 1.3% of Vehicle Sales in India in FY 20-21

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lectric Vehicle (EV) adoption and hence its manufacturing has been the prime focus of our country for a few years now. The central and state governments are bringing new policies and incentives every year so far.

According to a recent report by techARC, a new-age technology market research firm, EVs took over 1.3 percent of total vehicle sales in India in the fiscal year (FY) 20-21.

The report says that “the promotion of EVs in India will lead to a double positive impact on the Trade Deficit of India.”

The report highlights that Indian imports crude oil over USD 100 billion a year, of which 47 percent is used for passenger cars and trucks alone. India is the 3rd largest importer of crude oil, importing over 84 percent of its total crude oil requirements.

EV adoption will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels hence positively impact the Balance of Trade by reducing the trade deficit. According to the numbers given in the report, India sold 2,36,803 EVs in FY

20-21, which makes 1.3 percent of the total vehicles sold during the period. Talking about the sale under EVs, electric twowheelers (E2Ws) sweeps off 60.7 percent of the total EV sales.

However, E2W and E3W, both saw a decline in sales primarily due to macroeconomic sentiments whipped by

Covid-19, E4W (Electric 4-wheeler) segment registered 52.9 percent growth in sales over FY 19-20. Through the period, 4,588 E4Ws were sold in India. The driving force behind the growth in E4W was considered to be the Fame-II scheme which provisions for electric buses for various states.

For 20 Lakh EV’s by 2026, 4 Lakh Charging Stations Needed

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ccording to a new report

by Grant Thornton Bharat-Ficci, India needs around four lakh charging stations for 20 lakh electric vehicles (EVs) by the year 2026. The report that came on Sunday said that to achieve its target of 100 percent electric mobility by 2030, India needs to focus on key points, including increasing government support, decreasing the cost of technology, and distressing pollution levels to accelerate this transition.

The report shows some numbers as per the EV industry body, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, there are 1,800 charging stations in India as of March 2021 for approximately 16,200 electric cars, including the fleet

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segment. The report suggests that the EV infrastructure is tightly coupled with the EV and charging station characteristics, battery technologies, and electricity markets, overall.

Also, more than half of the stakeholders, as part of a survey in the report, have recommended the involvement of discoms in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) deployment and classification of EV charging infrastructure as corporate social responsibility.

Furthermore, the survey in the report proposed design simplifications, partnership during the transition, and optimization of urban mobility as effective cost reduction levers for bringing down EV costs in India. Talking about EV manufacturing at a global level,

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the report says that the global manufacturers have spent millions to improve the availability and efficacy of EV chargers, and as a result the fastest ones today take no more than 15 minutes to recharge a vehicle. Also, the global sales of EVs in 2020 increased by 39 percent year on year to 3.1 million units, whereas the total passenger car market dipped by 14 percent.

While the diesel and petrol segments were the worst hit, one sector showed surprising resilience to the pandemic, which was EVs.” After striving to turn the pandemic-induced crisis into an opportunity, the Indian government has pushed for massive penetration of EVs towards green fuel and

electricity. Moreover, to align the sustainable development goals (SDGs), aggressive targets are set for rolling out EVs and new commitments are being announced regularly, EVs are finally showing implementation in India to a marked extent.

“One of the key enablers for the rapid uptake of EVs is the development of widespread charging infrastructure.

Overall, there is a need for the industry stakeholder to come together and lay the groundwork to increase the adoption of technology and establish a smooth, effective infrastructure for a truly smart and e-mobilized country in the future,” said Saket Mehra, Partner, Automotive Sector leader, Grant Thornton Bharat.

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EMERGING O&M As Solar OPPORTUNITY-SOLAR Takes Lead, Moment

of Reckoning For Wind Energy O&M market could be the next big opportunity in solar With an ever growing base of solar installations, the solar

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ELEPHANTBOAT® Solar Fountain Pump

PRODUCT BRIEF:

Solar-powered water fountain that makes your garden more dynamic and beautiful.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The solar fountain pump floats on

water without needing electricity. The water fountain runs automatically when the sunlight hits the solar panel as it’s powered by solar energy.

When the fountain is not in water or impurities are stuck in the pump, the latter will automatically stop working.

As a result, it is prevented from being burnt out due to running dry, which prolongs the service life of the fountain.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

The pump starts working within seconds once exposed to sufficient sunlight and

is perfect for functioning as a bird bath, fish tank, small pond, pool, and garden decoration.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

A solar-powered water fountain has 7 nozzles, each of which provides a different water flow pattern. The fountain purifies the air and increases humidity, bringing a touch of nature to your outdoor fish tanks.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 1,599

DARK FIGHT Vicco Solar Home Light Set 6 Volt PRODUCT BRIEF:

Solar mini-home light unit (6V), manufactured by Perfect Power Solutions, is a full-featured userfriendly and environment-friendly multipurpose product, which is often used for activities like camping, working and studying. It also functions as an emergency light and is used for home decor and making travel convenient.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The product comprises: a solar charging battery backup of 16 hours; a strong metal powder coating body; a USB

socket for mobile charging; 3 LED lamps, each with a separate socket and switch, a 5-meter wire, pins and 400 sq. feet of coverage area. Charging options are either 6 V 3 W solar panel or 7.5 V 600 ma smps.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Use the solar panel for charging the device. It comes with a specialty base and the package includes 1 home light unit with 6 volt battery + 1 3w solar panel with 5 meter wire + 3 2w dc led bulb with 5 meter wire + 1 7.5volt ac adapter.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

A solar-powered, home light package for emergency and other needs.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 3,100.

Sun King Home 60 Solar 3 Ceiling Mounted Fixed Lamps PRODUCT BRIEF:

The Sun King Home 60 comprises 3 overhead lamps with individual wallmountable switches to control light intensity. With it, also comes a USB charger for mobile phones and other media devices.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Sun King Home 60 System uses a detachable 6W solar panel with a junction box and a six-meter cable.

The phone charger is equipped with high energy storage capacity and a USB charging port. The charging meter displays charging power from 1 to 5 to

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help place the solar panel properly for optimised charging.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

High production quality and attention to durability ensure that Sun King Home 60 customers can enjoy reliable performance for years around the world.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

It provides LED light, using a USB charger as a storage device, while running without electricity.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 4,899

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Sun King Table Solar Fan Set (20 W) PRODUCT BRIEF:

The Sun King Solar Fan is the perfect solar emergency fan that you can rely on during power cuts.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The Sun King Solar Fan uses Brushless DC Motor (BLDC), creating a uniquely quiet, user-friendly and flexible design.

By delivering a long running time of 18 hours on a single charge, it displays high performance.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Its 3-wing, polymeric blades are noncorrosive, and they minimise vibration for quiet operation. Its lightweight design reduces motor resistance for increased performance and reliability.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

It is a solar-powered fan which you can use without electricity, and it is easy to carry outside the home in places such as lawns and the backyard.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at a retail price of INR 4,999

Reliable Solar Generator Designed for the Modern Home Generark HomePower ONE PRODUCT BRIEF:

The Generark Solar Generator is the first emergency power supply designed specifically for the modern home.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

It includes a backup battery power station (HomePower 2) and all-weather portable solar panels (SolarPower 2). The solar panels collect the sun’s rays and convert them into energy, which is then stored in the backup battery power

station. The backup battery power station can store and hold the electricity for at least a year. When power is needed, it supplies electricity to other devices and appliances via the standard AC output (110V) and various DC outputs (USB-A, USB-C, and car outlet).

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

It gives portable, emergency power whenever and wherever it is needed. With an emergency power supply lasting up to seven days,

Generark is the source of energy you can rely on in power-deficient times to keep vital home appliances and devices running without interruption. It also powers critical medical devices, power tools, and communication devices, which help survive a power outage during times of disaster and the consequent period of recovery.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

You can enjoy power at your

home even during power cuts.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/generark/reliablesolar-generator-designed-forthe-modern-home

Solar Watch V3: High Grade Light-Charged All-Titanium Watch

PRODUCT BRIEF:

Exquisite eco-friendly solar watch made by a clock craftsman with 40+ years of experience.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Unlike quartz watches or automatics sold by other companies, Solar Watch V3 is powered by sunlight. It works by turning solar power or light into electricity, and the remaining electricity is stored in the secondary battery for use later on. Since there’s no need to purchase a replacement battery, it’s convenient and efficient.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Charging just for 2 minutes under the sunlight enables immediate usage and keeps it operating all day long. You can use it for 90 days with a full charge, and

charging with periodic exposure to light allows for semi-permanent use.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Weighing half of what the standard metal watch does, it is widely used in spacecraft, airplanes, and golf shafts too. The matte silver colour also features a unique shade that only titanium can produce.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available in different variants at retail prices of $180, $200 and $350 JUN E 20 21

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Software Development Engineer (GE Renewable Energy) For more than 125 years, GE has invented the future of industry, and today the company’s dedicated team, leading technology, and global reach and capabilities help the world work more efficiently, reliably, and safely. GE’s people are diverse and dedicated, operating with the highest level of integrity and focus to fulfill GE’s mission and deliver for its customers. The firm is recruiting for the position of Software Development Engineer and the role is based in its Indian branch. Job Posted: June 11, 2021.

Location: Hyderabad Job Description: Working in an Agile Scrum environment, the Software Developer will be reporting to the Software Development Manager. The role will require working with the Scrum development team and product management team to create and execute code for product releases.

Essential Responsibilities: • Back-end developer to develop systems based on web technologies and micro-services.

• Participate in end-to-end, hands-on, development activities from story point estimation through to release management • Work effectively in a team without constant supervision.

Eligibility Criteria: • Bachelor’s Degree in an Engineering or Computer Science discipline or equivalent.

• Preferably 5+ years of experience as a full stack software developer.

• Hands on experience in: Back-end software development in Web based applications using; Micro-services; Spring Framework; spring Boot; docker; Java; NodeJS; PostgreSQL; Timescale DB; AngularJS • Expertise in: n-tier architecture; Object Oriented Design principles; Software Engineering Principle; Unit Testing • Excellent communications skills both oral and written.

Apply: https://jobs.gecareers.com/renewableenergy/global/en/job/ R3569259/Hydro-Should-Cost-Leader

Knowledge Analyst - Energy - Hydrogen (BCG) BCG’s Energy (EN) Practice Area helps companies navigate an increasingly complex business climate. They cover the oil & gas and power sectors, including all “green energy” sectors, and work with the full range of players in the industry: integrated international oil companies (IOCs), national oil companies (NOCs), petrochemical producers, etc. The Knowledge Team (KT) is a group of functional and/or industry experts leveraging deep domain knowledge to enable insight for case teams and clients. They are recruiting for the position of Knowledge Analyst - Energy - Hydrogen.

Location: New Delhi Job Description: This role requires an understanding and passion to work in Energy space, specifically in the upcoming topic on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell technology.

The candidate will join the company as a Knowledge Analyst within the BCG Knowledge Team. The candidate is expected to support the EN Practice area through: • Managing and processing research requests and assisting consultants with industry specific problems • Working closely with case teams and providing analysis to drive insight into specific client issues • Getting staffed on cases and working from client-site or BCG office for a duration of couple of months Eligibility Criteria: • 1-2 years of relevant topic experience and understanding in Hydrogen and Fuel Cell topic.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent – in Power Technology, Chemical, and Oil & Gas will be preferred.

• Understanding and grasp of macro factors impacting the Energy industry is an added advantage.

• Demonstrate analytical and conceptual rigor.

• Strong organization and prioritization skills, and ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Apply: https://careers.bcg.com/job/12928BR/Knowledge-Analyst-EnergyHydrogen?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_ apply&utm_medium=organic

Renewable Energy procurement leader (Amazon India) Amazon, the largest e-commerce company in the world has set a target of being 100% renewable energy powered by 2025, by developing potent renewable energy strategies that can become industry standard and further execute power purchase agreements in complex energy markets.

In line with which Amazon Data Services India Private Limited (ADSIPL) is looking for a result-oriented individual to join the ADSIPL Infrastructure Energy Team in India.

Location: Maharashtra Job Description: In this role, the candidate will develop strategies for delivering cost-effective, renewable energy for the Amazon portfolio.

The candidate will need to be able to

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identify key opportunities in India to deliver on ADSIPL’s renewable energy procurement strategy in support of our renewable energy goal. Further, they need to structure power purchase agreements (PPAs) that reduce cost, minimise risk and leverage opportunities that benefit ADSIPL and work with utility regulators to develop policies and guidelines that enable broader AWS strategies and objectives.

Eligibility Criteria: • Excellent analytical skills: comfort with financial modeling, developing valuation tools for energy assets, utility tariffs, and power contracts.

• Experience working with developers, utilities, renewable energy auctions

• Experience working with public utility commissions and other energy regulators in APAC countries • 8+ years in structuring PPA negotiations for renewable energy project for large projects (at least 50 MW) • 10+ years of experience working in energy/ renewable energy developer/trading/utility industry • Strong background in wholesale power markets, regulations and market operations in India.

• Bachelor’s degree (BA/BS) required – Engineering/Economics/Business/Finance.

Apply:https://www.amazon.jobs/en/ jobs/1355356/renewable-energyprocurement-leader-india