Saurenergy International Magazine March Issue 2021 by Saur Energy International

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL VOL 5 | ISSUE 07

GROUP EDITOR

Prasanna Singh prasanna@meilleurmedia.com

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From the

Group Editor SAUR ENERGY

DIRECTOR

Prateek Kapoor prateek@meilleurmedia.com

EDITOR

Manas Nandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

STAFF WRITER

Ayush Verma editorial@meilleurmedia.com

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

DESIGN HEAD Sandeep Kumar

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Kuldeep Gusain subscription@meilleurmedia.com Saur Energy International is printed, published, edited and owned by Manas Nandi and published from 303, 2nd floor, Neelkanth Palace, Plot No- 190, Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, New Delhi- 110065 (INDIA), Printed at Pearl Printers, C-105, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi. DISCLAIMER: Editor, Publisher, Printer and Owner make every effort to ensure high quality and accuracy of the content published. However he cannot accept any responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor and publisher. The information in the content and advertisement published in the magazine are just for reference of the readers. However, readers are cautioned to make inquiries and take their decision on purchase or investment after consulting experts on the subject. Saur Energy International holds no responsibility for any decision taken by readers on the basis of the information provided herein. Any unauthorised reproduction of Saur Energy International magazine content is strictly forbidden. Subject to Delhi Jurisdiction.

s a tumultous financial year comes to an end, it is quite amazing what all has been achieved despite the massive disruptions caused by the pandemic, which is still around. When I look back, I can’t help but admire the tremendous effort that has been made by almost all stakeholders, including the MNRE, in the the aftermath of the lockdowns to continue business as ‘usual’. The bad news is, we still haven’t seen the last of the lockdowns, seeing the risk of a third wave. On the other hand, the industry has learnt its lessons, and with a little luck and due to circumstances, there is every possibility that 2021 could be a record year for solar installations yet. The circumstances are the announcement of the basic customs duty from April 1 next year. What that means is that we will see the sort of building ( and imports) rush markets like the US and China have seen as subsidies were phased out. With no grand fathering of projects allowed, pending projects will have to be completed . Projects bid out will also be placing a lot of import orders to beat the deadline. All of this will have many foreseen, and perhaps some less foreseen consequences, which our cover feature, done by Senior Reporter Ayush Verma has delved into,

PRASANNA SINGH Group Editor

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CONTENTS VOL. 05, ISSUE-07

M A R C H 2021

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Policy and Legal

419.74 MW Installed in February, Renewable Capacity in India at 92.97 GW

Projects and Tenders

SECI 750 MW Tranche X Wind Auctions- Adani Bids Rs 2.77 to win, Ayana at Rs 2.78

Finance News

Milestone

EV Updates

Innovation

Feature

Module

Report

Storage

ICRA Accredits Waaree Energies with Highest ‘SP1A’ Ranking

Zero Emission Solar Powered EV Charging Station Developed at IISc Bangalore

Uberization of energy storage: a potential solution to India’s grid integration challenges

Renewable Energy Integration is India’s Next Big Challenge: IEEFA

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Adani Greens Kamuthi Project Turns Water Positive, Signals The Future for Large Projects

SSN-COE Team Gets Rs 12 Cr Grant from DST for Solar Ingot Manufacturing Tech

Longi Solar Top Module Supplier to India In 2020, Says Report

Energy Storage Market Breaks Quarterly Deployment Record in the US

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COVER STORY 22

The BCD Calculus Will It Deliver The Right Outcomes?

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419.74 MW Installed in February, Renewable Capacity in India at 92.97 GW

NRE in its monthly summary has detailed that with 419.74 MW installed in February, total renewable energy capacity in India has reached 92.97 GW. The monthly report detailed that solar made up 39.08 GW of the total, closely followed by wind at 38.79 GW and then 10.31 GW from Bio-power and finally 4.79 GW from small hydro projects. The ministry has revealed that projects of 50.15 GW capacity are at various stages of implementation and that 27.02 GW capacity currently under various stages of bidding. This is only the second month in India’s renewable energy history when solar capacity has been ahead of wind in the grid, after it took a narrow lead for the very first time in January 2021. Becoming the leading source of renewable energy in India. The ministry has also revealed that an expenditure of Rs 2565.52 crore has been incurred up to February 28, 2021, which is around 71.44 percent of the total revised estimate for the ministry for the full fiscal of 2020-21. Recently, the Standing Committee on

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Energy had presented its ‘Demand for Grants 2021-22’ report for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in the parliament. Based on its findings and observations, the parliamentary panel was of the opinion that that variation in budgetary allocations at the stage of revised estimates and low utilisation of even the decreased allocated amounts under various heads are symptomatic of poor financial planning by the Ministry. In its findings, the committee did observe that the Gross Budgetary Support to the Ministry was substantially decreased at the time of revised estimates. The allocation was reduced by about 26 percent during the year 2019-20 and about 38 percent for 2020-21. However, to its disbelief, it also found that the Ministry had not been able to fully utilise even the decreased allocations during the previous years. It could utilise 86.97 percent, 91.53 percent and 69.78 percent of revised budgetary allocations during the years 2018-19, 201920 and 2020-21 (upto January 2021 - now 71.44 percent upto February 28, 2021) respectively. Other highlights:

• The Ministry vide order dated February 04, 2021, had issued amendments in Specifications and Testing Procedure for Standalone Solar Pumps. • The Ministry of Power vide Gazette Notification dated February 05, 2021, had issued amendments to the Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Round-The Clock Power from Grid Connected Renewable Energy Power Projects, complemented with Power from any other source or storage. • The Ministry vide order dated February 09, 2021, issued clarifications regarding Time Extension in Scheduled Commissioning Date of Renewable Energy (RE) Projects considering disruption due to lockdown due to COVID-19. It has been clarified that further extension beyond 5 months can be granted by implementing agencies in exceptional cases. • The Ministry vide order dated February 25, 2021, has discontinued the benefit of Concessional Customs Duty in respect of items imported for initial setting up of solar power projects.

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MNRE Releases List Of Module Makers for Government Contracts

Borosil Renewables To Benefit As Duty on Solar Glass Imports Notified

he ALMM list, to be updated monthly, will be valid for two years. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in an office memorandum released yesterday, announced the names of 23 Indian firms those products would be eligible for use in government contracts for solar plants. The list is for module manufacturers right now. The word "Government" shall include Central Government, State Government, Central Public Sector Enterprises, State Public Sector Enterprises and Central and State Organizations / Autonomous bodies. The Approved Models & Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules (ALMM) order shall be applicable on all such bids whose last date of bid submission is on or after 10.04.2021. With a validity of two years, the government has also promised to update the list on monthly basis, keeping the opportunity open for other manufacturers that qualify in the intervening period. Approvals are done based on inspections by NISE (National Institute of Solar Energy) and a special effort was made to weed out manufacturers that were claiming production of modules done elsewhere, as the ministry puts it. Probably referring to manufacturers adding their own badge to products after importing them or buying them locally from other Indian manufacturers even. The list will be welcomed by industry, as it makes a start on what is likely to be a very crucial upcoming period, as far as government sponsored contracts go. As we have been highlighting, a significant part of growth in the coming years will come from government led initiatives fronted by its PSU's, besides the regular auctions mechanism through SECI and other state governments. Coming a day after clarity on the BCD issue, one hopes that the new wave of purpose will sustain long enough for the industry to find its feet again.

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ndia's Ministry of Finance has formally notified the levy of a countervailing duty (CVD) on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value on the imports of textured and tempered (whether coated or uncoated) glass from Malaysia. the move follows a recommendation from the country's DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) in December last year, when it had recommended a 9.71 percent CVD following a complaint by Borosil Renewables Limited. Borosil is the country's biggest glass maker for the solar industry. It had filed an application before the DGTR for the imposition of countervailing duty on imports of textured toughened (tempered) glass from Malaysia, alleging that the producers of tempered glass in Malaysia had benefitted from subsidies provided at various levels by the government of Malaysia and other public bodies. Interestingly, there has been a global shortage of solar glass for some time now, and Borosil itself has been a big beneficiary, turning around from losses to solid profits recently, and has also see its stock price shoot up. The latest notification from the Ministry of Finance will do much to give strength to the new found levels of the firms stock price. the firm has also announced major capacity expansion plans. The CVD imposed under the notification

would be applicable for five years (unless revoked) from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and would be payable in Indian currency. The notification states that the duty is applicable if: • The tempered glass has been exported to India from Malaysia at subsidized prices • The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to the subsidization of tempered glass • The material injury has been caused by the subsidized imports of the tempered glass originating in or exported from Malaysia. For the Indian solar manufacturing industry, duties will play a decisive role in terms of survival or profitability, thanks to the high competition from China in general, and Malaysia in this case, for solar glass. Some level of protection has been accepted as necessary to ensure self sufficiency for the country in the sector. The largest industry grouping, for solar modules, is already looking forward to better times by the end of this year, as the order cycle for modules by then has to take into account the expected hike in Basic customs Duties to 40 percent on them from early next year. The union budget has already increased the duty on a third vital component, solar inverters, from 5 to 25 percent.

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MNRE Issues Amended Draft Policy for Promoting DRE Livelihood Applications

he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a revised draft of its policy framework for developing and promoting Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) livelihood applications. The ministry has invited comments/suggestions from stakeholders on the draft framework with a deadline of March 23, 2021. The driving force behind the policy framework remains the wave of innovators and entrepreneurs that have come up with a variety of DRE livelihood applications, which are not only energyefficient but also economically viable. These include a myriad of solutions such as solar dryer, solar or biomass powered cold storage/chiller, solar charkha, etc. The modular design of such DRE livelihood applications ensures scalability without large investments. Besides, the Energy efficiency of such solutions is also important, as it in turn, determines their economic viability by reducing the size of the generation and storage (if required) asset. Thus, the draft policy framework is being proposed to provide a conducive environment for the development and large-scale adoption of these applications.

Need for Renewable Energy Based Livelihoods

DRE-powered livelihood solutions have the potential to reduce and eventually eliminate the reliance of livelihoods on diesel and can supplement the grid supply. There are successful pilots and business models of DRE livelihood applications in agriculture, agroprocessing, dairy, poultry, fisheries, tailoring, etc., which have been tested at the field level by various agencies and have the potential to be replicated in larger quantities. However, this is still only a small fraction of the overall spectrum of livelihood activities throughout India. Against this background, there is a need to: a. Scale-up the currently available DRE livelihood applications b. Support development of new DRE livelihood applications Scope and Objectives of the Framework DRE livelihood applications can be

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defined as applications powered by renewable energy which are used for earning livelihoods directly such as solar dryer, solar mills, etc. The scope may also include DRE applications operating in hybrid mode with grid as long as the system is capable of running standalone in the off-grid mode as well. Livelihood applications powered by mini/micro-grids would also form part of the scope of this policy, provided such livelihood appliances are energy efficient. The applications with end-use in education and healthcare centres are also eligible under this framework, as these provide livelihoods to teachers/ instructors and healthcare workers. To promote DRE livelihood applications, the policy would focus on the following objectives: • Enable a market-oriented ecosystem to attract private sector for the development and deployment of DRE based livelihood applications • Unlock easy access to end user finance to increase adoption of DRE-based livelihood solutions by linking DRE to

existing financing schemes or through new innovative financial instruments. • Leverage quality control standards and a strong monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure longterm performance sustainability of DRE-based livelihood solutions and to assess their impact on different populations including marginalised groups and women. • Promote skill development for strengthening the service infrastructure at the local level • Encourage innovation and R&D to develop efficient and cost-effective DRE livelihood applications • Collaborate with other ministries to include DRE based livelihoods applications in their programmes • Support creation of livelihood opportunities in technology innovation value chain of DRE applications • Support and incentivise adoption of DRE livelihood technologies among women and other marginalised sections such as Scheduled Caste and

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Scheduled Tribes Furthermore, in the draft framework the ministry has proposed the following seven steps to be taken up for the promotion of DRE livelihood applications: 1. A ssessment of Demand: Assessing the possibilities or potential of deployment of DRE livelihood applications across sectors of the rural economy and across regions. 2. R esearch & Development and Standardisation: Innovation, research and development of DRE technologies to offer tailor-made solutions is important for widespread adoption. 3. Pilot and Up-scaling of DRE livelihood applications: Piloting and field demonstration of new DRE livelihood applications is vital to ascertain the success of any technology innovation on the ground. 4. A ccess to Finance: MNRE will pursue with financial institutions for credit facilitation. 5. Skill Development & Capacity Building: DRE livelihood applications have the potential of creating new local job opportunities in operations & maintenance and installation/ fabrication. 6. Public Information and Awareness: Awareness about the appropriate DRE technologies and related services amongst the relevant stakeholders is required for taking the necessary decisions. 7. VII.Programmes of Various Ministries/ Departments: It is pertinent to identify and exploit opportunities for DRE livelihood applications under schemes of various Ministries and Department of Central/State Government. In the new draft, the ministry has also proposed that schemes of different Ministries/Departments are being implemented by various central /state agencies. The State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) for Renewable Energy having expertise for the RE sector will coordinate with these implementing agencies to provide technical support for DRE livelihood applications. SNAs may form a State Implementation Cell for DRE based livelihood applications bringing the State Departments engaged in the implementation of such applications on the common platform.

No Concessional Custom Duty on Imported Items for Initial Setting up of Solar Plants

NRE will be discontinuing the benefit of Concessional Custom Duty for items imported for the initial setting up of solar projects The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has notified that it will be discontinuing the benefit of Concessional Custom Duty in respect of items imported for the initial setting up of solar power projects. In a memorandum, the Ministry stated that a new Ministry of Finance customs order has superseded its 2011 customs order and thereby, the ministry is withdrawing the benefit of concessional customs duty on the items imported for the initial setting up of the solar power projects with effect from February 2, 2021. In compliance with the said Notification, MNRE has stopped the processing of all the applications (submitted to its online portal scms.gov. in) seeking Concessional Customs Duty Certificates in connection with the solar power projects w.e.f. February 2, 2021, i.e. the date on which the new notification from the Ministry of Finance (Revenue Department) came into force. "Consequent upon rescission of the said notification, all the procedures laid down by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through its communications issued from time to time in the matter also cease to be operational with effect from 02.02.2021,” MNRE stated. The ministry has now requested Solar

Power Developers to upload the reconciliation reports in respect of CCDCs issued before 02.02.2021, on the portal scms.gov.in within the prescribed time limit after commissioning of the respective projects. Unused CCDCS may be returned in original to this Ministry within fifteen days from the date of issue of this OM. Earlier in February this year, the MNRE had announced that renewable energy (RE) projects under implementation as on the date of lockdown, i.e. March 25, 2020, through RE Implementing Agencies designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of the ministry can seek to get further extension beyond 5 months if granted by the implementing agencies in exceptional cases. The ministry has specified that the additional extension for the projects will be granted by the implementing agencies after due diligence and careful consideration of the specific circumstances of the case, and if allowed in terms of the provisions of the relevant contract. The ministry stated that it had since received requests for further extension beyond 5 months on account of COVID19. After examining the request, the ministry decided that since it has already issued instructions for a blanket extension of 5 months on account of COVID-19 without case-to-case examination and without asking for any documents/evidence.

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Ayala Backed Sitara Solar Achieves Financial Closure for 100 MW Rajasthan Project

ICRA Accredits Waaree Energies with Highest ‘SP1A’ Ranking

itara Solar, backed by the Philippines based Ayala Solar subsidiary AC Energy and UPC Renewables China Holding, has announced financial closure for its 100 MW project in Rajasthan. The firm had won the project in SECI's 750 MW solar auction just over a year back, by bidding at a price of Rs 2.48/ KwH. The project was its first major investment in India. The other winners in the auction were Acme Solar, Fortum Solar, and Palimarwar Solar. With this closure, the firm expects the project to be be online soon, in the first half of 2021 in fact. An interesting aspect of this auction was that all power is being procured for the state of Rajasthan, with the state providing transmission infrastructure land availability. That was cited as a key reason why bids had been lower, relatively for this project at the time. It has been a well established trend for overseas firms now to stick to auctions by mostly central government agencies, especially SECI or NTPC< rather than state government auctions, after the fiasco with Andhra Pradesh in 2019. Sitara Solar has estimated the project cost at US$67 million. The construction of the solar farm started last year. Sitara Solar has secured a 20-year loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to be funded through a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme. The JV between AC Energy and UPC Renewables has about 450MW of projects under development in India, with an initial target of GW for the region. UPC Renewables formed companies have developed more than 73 operating wind and solar projects with a total installed capacity of 4,500MW and an investment value of over US$8.4 billion.

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aaree Energies has been assigned SP1A ranking by ICRA emphasizing strong performance capability and financial strength to undertake solar projects One of India’s leading solar solutions firms, Waaree Energies has been assigned the highest-ranking of SP1A by the Investment Information and Credit Ranking Agency of India (ICRA) under System Integrator Grading. The ranking SP1A emphasises that the company’s superior performance capability and highest financial strength to undertake solar projects. Valid for two years, it reiterates Waaree’s position as the most efficient and trusted player in the solar manufacturing space. This also makes the brand one of the most preferred partners among stakeholders owing to its robust project financing caliber and sound technological infrastructure. It assures customers timely completion of projects, well-rounded project development skills, expert rooftop solutions, adept power production and superior ability to orchestrate large-scale solar projects contributing to India's mission of 175 GW by 2022 in the larger scheme of things. Waaree has already executed over 600 MW solar projects and has a record of executing a 50 MW solar

project in Vietnam in 100 working days, becoming the first Indian solar company to achieve this feat. Dr. Hitesh Doshi, CMD, WAAREE Group said, “We are honoured to have been affirmed with the prestigious SP1A ranking by ICRA. We are also thankful to our stakeholders for their trust and confidence has helped us accelerate our growth journey and scale new heights. We will continue to be committed to customercentricity, uncompromised service quality and affordable pricing. These recognitions push us to continuously innovate, improve and thrive.” The ranking derives its strength from the company’s well-nurtured and established a professional relationship with stakeholders, positive customer feedback on projects executed and excellent aftersales service. It is also reflective of Waaree’s well-trained manpower with exceptional experience in the EPC service. WAAREE was recently recognized as 'India's Greatest Brand' in Solar Industry by AsiaOne for FY. 2019-20. WAAREE has maintained its position as the Bloomberg Tier 1 manufacturer for the last 24 quarters. WAAREE serves over 5000 customers globally which illustrates the trust gained by the company over a period of 32 years of its existence.

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Nexamp Secures $440 Million in Debt Financing for Solar and Energy Storage Portfolio

argest financing deal ever for community solar assets, a model that provides equitable access to clean energy Nexamp, Inc., a leading renewable energy generator and community solar provider, has closed a $440 million senior secured credit facility for a 380-megawatt portfolio of solar and energy storage assets, the largest debt financing of its kind. The diverse portfolio spans five state markets and consists of nearly 100 community solar projects, including energy storage capacity totaling 120MWh. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. served as the Coordinating Lead Arranger for the syndicated financing, which included participation from an expansive group of market-leading lenders. Nexamp has emerged as the largest owneroperator of community solar assets across the sector's fastest growing markets, and this financing reflects the company's position as a market leader with a proven track record of renewable energy financing and asset deployment. Equitable access to clean energy is a hallmark of Nexamp's mission; this announcement affirms the success of the company's innovative community solar platform that makes solar an option for

anyone, with no credit checks for individuals, no up-front fees, nothing to install and no long-term commitment. "The strong lender interest in response to this portfolio demonstrates the momentum behind the renewable energy industry and is a clear validation of Nexamp's approach," noted Peter Tawczynski, Chief Financial Officer, Nexamp. "We have built the most progressive and accessible community solar model available today, removing many of the traditional barriers and making it simple for customers to partner with Nexamp. As we bolster our solar portfolio with energy storage solutions, we look forward to launching new products in more geographies and delivering savings to our expanding customer base." The financing arrangement, combined with Nexamp's integrated business model, positions the company for accelerated growth in the coming year. Nexamp develops, acquires, builds, owns and operates its solar

and storage projects, while securing and managing a rapidly growing customer subscriber base of more than 25,000 homes and businesses. With nearly 300 new solar and storage projects in the pipeline, this financing recognizes Nexamp's unrivaled capacity to make clean energy accessible quickly to more communities. Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai said that "This financing enables Nexamp to double down on our own urgent mission to deliver sustainable energy options for our customers in an equitable manner." "Distributed power generation—and community solar in particular—is a growing segment of the renewable energy market that plays a vital role in reducing carbon emissions with the participation of a wide range of community members, and Nexamp is a reputable market leader in this field," says Takaki Sakai, Managing Director of MUFG's Project Finance team that led the financing. "MUFG is honored to help Nexamp advance its continued growth through the successful closing of this landmark debt financing—one of the largest to have been provided to a community solar portfolio—and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership."

Israeli Solar Cleaning Firm Airtouch Raises $18 Million in IPO

srael-based cleaning solutions provider for solar panels, Airtouch Solar has joined the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. It completed an Initial Public Offering (IPO). It raised USD 18 million at a company post-money valuation of USD 124 million, primarily from leading institutional investors in the Israeli capital market. The company said that the IPO was led by Poalim IBI Underwriters, the law firm of Goldfarb Seligman and its accounting firm was BDO. Recounting their achievements,

the Founder and Chairman of the Board, Yanir Alloush stated, "We are proud of the company's revenues and achievements this far but believe that the market is just getting started. Robotic cleaning for the PV panels is a game-changer, bringing important advancement to the solar energy world. Airtouch will continue to develop smart and precise robotic solutions for solar developers." Speaking of stepping into the stock market, the CEO of Airtouch, Nick Lanir Brown said, "The company's IPO represents an important milestone in the

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company's development. With the funds raised, we plan to continue investing in R&D, to enter additional global markets, and to significantly increase sales and services in light of the growing demand for the company's products. We thank our investors, partners, and growing customer circle for choosing Airtouch Solar as the preferred system for cleaning solar panels." Alongside founder Allouche, the company's shares are held by its strategic partner, the Meshek Energy Holdings Ltd., by Kibbutz

Revivim, and by a company affiliated with Alpha Investment Fund, and by Poalim I.B.I Underwriters Ltd, the release noted. Airtouch IPO The company claims that the solar panel efficiency decreases by 30 percent in dusty areas making it a true pain point for utility-scale PV solar field developers. However, Airtouch recognizes and addresses this problem by developing innovative, environmentally friendly, and economical cleaning solutions that ensure maximum solar panel output.

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Zero Emission Solar Powered EV Charging Station Developed at IISc Bangalore

reenEnco under the IfCA programme of the Energy System Catapult, UK, has developed a solar PV powered EV charging station at IISc, Bangalore UK-based GreenEnco under the Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) programme of the Energy System Catapult, UK, has developed a solar PV powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. The custom-made off-grid system comprises a solar photovoltaic (PV) module, hybrid inverter, battery storage and an EV charger. It has been revealed that the project was taken up under the Indo-UK collaboration to fight against climate change, as the IfCA programme aims to support Indian and British firms in curbing pollution at the source in Bangalore. The charging point is located at the JRD Tata Memorial library on the campus, with solar panels on the library's rooftop. Vikram Solar has supplied its prospective building modules while Italian firm Fimer provided

the inverter, battery storage and EV charger. "The zero-emission EV charging station powered by solar cells has been designed and developed at our sustainable transportation lab by the UK-based GreenEnco Ltd under the Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) programme of the Energy System Catapult, UK," an IISc official informed in a statement. As a renewable energy advisory firm, GreenEnco provides strategic and risk management consulting services across the solar PV project lifecycle, energy storage and zero-emission infrastructure projects. "An impact assessment of the charging facility will be conducted at the lab with GreenEnco's support under convenor Ashish Verma's supervision," the official continued.

The sustainable transportation lab at IISc was set up to contribute to research and teaching in transportation systems engineering (TSE). The areas of interest of the lab include sustainable transportation planning and policy, integrated public transport and management, quality of life and climate change. Solar powered EV charging stations are one of the most attractive possibilities from the decarbonisation of transportation, as this will take care of one of the biggest challenges for EV’s, as far as detractors go. Avoiding power created using fossil fuels. Earlier this month, the “ChargeGrid Flare” street lamp integrated EV chargers, a unique initiative by HPCL and Magenta, was launched at HPCL Bandra Kurla Complex outlet in Mumbai and Nitimarg T&E outlet in Delhi. This class of electric vehicle (EV) charging points are first in India, to incorporate within energy-efficient street lamp columns, which will encourage EV adoption for flexible and low-cost charging solutions.

Sterling and Wilson To Launch EV Charging Infrastructure, Partners With Enel X

ngineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) major, Sterling and Wilson will soon be entering the Indian electric mobility segment with the launch of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The company has announced its 50-50 partnership with Enel X, a subsidiary of Enel Group, innovative products, and digital energy solutions provider, to make the move into e-mobility. This joint venture endeavors to boost the private e-mobility ecosystem by providing worldclass products and software platforms to support the EV charging infrastructure build-up across the country. The joint venture between Sterling and

Wilson and Enel X will be incorporated on April 1, 2021, and will start operating from the second quarter of 2021. Speaking on their new venture, the CEO of Sterling Generators, Sanjay Jadhav stated, “As part of our commitment to sustainability, we are happy to announce our entry into the electric mobility segment through a joint venture with Enel X, providing end-to-end services for electric vehicle charging stations across India." Explaining how EV charging will help to fight climate changes, Sanjay added, "The quick electric charger will be a game-changer for the EV sector in the country and is in

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line with the national vision to combat fossil fuel pollution and associated climate change through accelerated electrification of private and public transportation as a prime lever. The JV will help create direct and indirect employment through local manufacturing and operations & maintenance services of the charging infrastructure.” For both SWPL and Enel X the move is a key aspect of their efforts to benefit from India’s EVtransition, and bring to market ENEL’s latest electric vehicle chargers. Recounting the partnership, “This partnership represents an

important step forward in our energy transition strategy. We are leading the spread of electric mobility in several global markets, including Europe and North America and we are thrilled to work with Sterling and Wilson, marking our entry into the Indian market," said Francesco Venturini, Enel X CEO. "We will support the JV by bringing electric mobility solutions to market that are fit for local needs, accessible, and convenient for all drivers, significantly contributing to the decarbonization of the transport sector across India and subsequently South East Asia," he further added.

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Indian E-Rickshaw Market to Expand to $1.39 Billion by 2025: Report

ndia witnessed an exponential growth of electric rickshaws (e-rickshaw) since they first entered the Indian public transportation network. An E-rickshaw has always been an easy to go and cheaper option for the short-distance daily commute. Their cost effectiveness has also made e-rickshaw the preferred option for an ever larger section of society. Now, according to a recent report titled, 'India Electric Rickshaw Market' by Prescient & Strategic Intelligence, the Indian e-rickshaw market is expected to grow exponentially and reach a market value of USD 1,394.2 million by 2025, advancing at a CAGR of 33.3 percent during the forecast period (2020–2025). In 2019, it was at USD 786.2 million. That immense growth is the result of a growing acknowledgement of the advantages these e-rickshaws bring, in terms of cost of ownership and maintainance, which has led to increasing incentives by the government and moves by manufacturers for the design and

development of more efficient and affordable rickshaws. However, Covid-19 has impacted the unorganized and local players operating in the market severely. It is also estimated that 30 percent of these manufacturers/ assemblers will permanently shut down their business post Covid-19. The sales figures are expected to reach the 2019 level in 2022, with the market gradually recovering thereafter, according to the report. The report suggest that the changing dynamics between India and China have also been propelling the localization of e-rickshaw manufacturing in India itself. This may cause an increase of 8-10 percent in the price of passenger e-rickshaws in a short term. Consequently, the share of load carrier e-rickshaws is projected to increase significantly during the forecast period, on account of the need for the last-mile transportation of logistic goods, including fruits and vegetables. According to the report, passenger

carriers dominated the Indian electric rickshaw market during 2014–2019 and are expected to continue covering a larger market share, in terms of both value and volume, in the future too. The market for this category is also driven by the rapidly increasing urban population in the country. Additionally, the report tells how Delhi was the largest market for e-rickshaws during 2014-2019. As the sales of e-rickshaws have picked up here since 2013, in response to the increasing levels of air pollution in the capital, the Delhi government has also announced a subsidy of INR 30,000 on the purchase of e-rickshaws. This, in turn, has led to the increase in their demand in the city, further benefitting the market. During that period, rickshaws of 1,000– 1,500 watt, motor power contributed the largest revenue to the Indian e-rickshaw market, accounting for more than 50 percent in 2019. This can be ascribed to the optimum benefit–cost ratio offered by these vehicles. There was one more reason that elevated the e-rikshaw market, and that is the unorganized category, lack of a regulatory framework, the availability of lowcost electric rickshaws, and their less complex powertrain. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh is expected to be the largest e-rickshaw market in India during forecast period of 2020-2025, primarily due to the growing demand for these rickshaws in Tier-1 cities, Tier-2 cities, and the ruralurban periphery. Besides, other states such as Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam are witnessing a significant demand for these rickshaws.

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COGOS to Deploy 1000 EVs in its Logistics Fleet, Partners With Altigreen

Prasad Sreeram, Founder & CEO, COGOS with the brand new EV fleet

ntra-city logistics company, COGOS has announced its partnership with Altigreen by deploying 1000 EVs in its fleet, a step to further strengthen its commitment towards electric mobility in the country. The partnership has materialised at an opportune time as the budget 2021 and the later impositions of green tax and new scrap policy, extensively showed the government’s intent to enhance EV adoption in India. COGOS would initially operate across all metros in India including Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, before expanding to Tier 1 and 2 cities. COGOS plans to bring in at least 30 percent of its revenue from green technologies by 2023 and this agreement paves the path to reach their sustainable goals. COGOS will provide multiple

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offerings including a scalable, sustainable, and cost-efficient solution to its end users. With a load capacity and enhanced range that compares well with existing ICE options, COGOS will give customers a significant edge in efficient and responsible distribution and last-mile delivery solutions. Prasad Sreeram, Founder and CEO of COGOS said “we are very excited about this partnership because Altigreen exemplifies our collective vision of the Future of Mobility – to create a sustainable ecosystem that transforms the logistics industry with the right R&D and support the Make in India initiative. Altigreen indigenously developed this product with many global patents to its kitty.” “With the growing demand for last-mile services in India, we believe electric

vehicles provide an ideal long-term solution for the emerging imperatives around sustainability and cost-effectiveness. We will continue to transform city logistics with our tech platform which has improved the service levels and efficacy of Enterprises and Transporters. Now with EV, we are bringing in world-class renewable technologies to the city logistics play to further our mission to make Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he further added. COGOS Altigreen EVs In Phase 1, COGOS is focused on deploying a fleet of 1,000 vehicles. The initial focus will be on three-wheeler cargo applications and the company will primarily utilise Altigreen three and fourwheelers that are custom-designed with high-quality components and custom-built software that delivers high energyefficiency and long life.

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Uberization of energy storage: a potential solution to India’s grid integration challenges

ndia is currently the 4th largest electricity market in the world. The growth in overall electricity demand in the next two decades is expected to be double that of the overall energy demand. However, there are supply and demand side considerations that challenge the prime objective of a stable electricity grid – matching demand with generation at all points of time.

Coupled with other factors like adoption of gross metering rules and increasing electricity intensity of C&I customers, various strategic and operational challenges emerge for players across the value chain: generators, TRANSCOs, DISCOMs and consumers alike. Energy Storage Systems (ESS) hold promise to effectively solve most of the problems through the various value stacks offered by ESS technologies: frequency control, resource adequacy, energy arbitrage, spin / non-spin capacity and T&D capacity augmentation deferral. The applicability of the value stream depends on the location of the ESS in the value chain and the customer segment served. The value streams have varying levels of attractiveness. The total value creation also varies by the customer segment.

Preliminary assessments reveal that renewable IPPs and C&I customers are the most attractive customer segments. The demand from renewable IPPs is being driven primarily through structured RE tenders issued by SECI for solar power with advanced requirements like round-the-clock power and peak power. Due to rapidly falling battery costs, the LCOE of rooftop solar + storage projects are already comparable to retail electricity prices for C&I customers in major industrialised stated like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Adoption of gross metering rules and subsequent reduced realization on the excess electricity transferred to the grid is expected to make the

Suman Jagdev, Director & Lead – Strategy Consulting GCA Corporation, Mumbai. case for ESS stronger – prosumers can store the excess electricity produced and use it during peak hours thus avoiding time-of-the-day charges. Electricity intensive sectors like data-centres are also looking to decarbonize their consumption through adoption of ESS. Similarly, establishment of short-term markets like Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) and Real Time Market (RTM) is expected to boost the demand for ESS from both the customer segments as a platform to take advantage of energy arbitrage. Though initial investments are being mobilised in setting up ESS projects, customers by and large are still hesitant to commit capital investments. In such a scenario it presents an opportunity for existing and aspiring ESS companies to disrupt the market through innovative business models. The traditional asset based model involves setting up an ESS project for a particular customer. This leads to a longer payback period because of limited applicability of value streams and limited instances of application for a particular customer. On the other hand, a service led model that uses a tech-enabled aggregated ESS platform provides on-demand services to various customer segments in return for a pre-determined tariff. The aggregation model ensures higher asset utilization and cost recovery for the ESS company. In the aggregator model, the weighted average capital cost of the total system reduces as incremental storage capacities are added at lower costs (due to fall in technology cost). This results in reduction in tariffs for the customers, thus creating a win-win for both the ESS company and its customers. While the initial focus in India appears to be on the asset – led model, we expect the service-led model to gain traction as the market matures, similar to developed markets such as US and Australia. However, a suitable regulatory framework is necessary to provide adequate certainty to players in this industry and enable development of a market for ancillary services like frequency and voltage control. The DISCOMs have a history of poor cost recovery. Also, the tariff structure is skewed towards variable charges which make recovery of fixed investments on ESS difficult. Provisions pertaining to recovery of investments on ESS by DISCOMs would be needed to enable market creation. Regulatory provisions that incentivise the installation of ESS through clearly defined norms on power quality would also help in market creation. For example: The US Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission allows a separate tariff structure favoring fast acting resources like battery storage over traditional thermal power plants for frequency control. This has helped in mobilizing investments in ESS by TRANSCOs and DISCOMs. We believe that a close understanding of customer needs, identification of relevant value streams and a supportive regulatory framework will enable players to develop bespoke business models in India. Learnings from the regulatory framework and business models in international markets can also serve as a useful reference point for stakeholders. MA RC H 20 21

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The BCD Calculus 22

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s expected, once it did arrive, India’s Basic Customs Duty plan for solar cells and equipment has managed to create just the sort of furore that the government claims it seeks to avoid. After all, for once, this was a decision that was long in coming, with intent having been announced last year itself, followed by enough loud thinking and leaks to ensure the surprise element was all but taken out. Thus, when the ‘decision’ finally came, to implement it from April 1, 2022, issues have been raised on the many missing gaps, instead of the announcement itself. But first, let's quickly track the route to the announcement of the firm date of April 1, 2022. On that day, 25% BCD on solar cells, and 40% BCD on solar modules, will supposedly start, marking by far the strongest direct push for manufacturing these in India. At SaurEnergy, we have regularly pointed out that the odds of the BCD being deferred to at least 2022 if not beyond, were always high for two very basic reasons. One, that domestic capacity is simply not enough to meet demand, making high duties counterproductive. Two, even with the support of manufacturing with incentives that work, fresh manufacturing capacities would take at least 18 months or more to come online, making a case for a staggered approach to protection. Beyond these, many pros and cons have been discussed regularly, some of which have become even more relevant now, as we will see.

New Duty Cycle

The new customs duty will replace a 14.5% safeguard duty currently imposed on imports from China and Malaysia. A duty which the ministry feels is “not helpful for domestic manufacturers as they are not willing to put up new plants,” an MNRE representative stated. The planned duty structure, the government hopes, will finally put the country back on the map as a serious manufacturer of solar equipment, a situation that existed till 2010, besides cutting the high import dependence. Moving forward, the ministry has advised all renewable energy implementing agencies and other stakeholders in the country, to take note of the above trajectory and to include provisions in their bid documents, so that bidders take the trajectory

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into account while quoting tariffs, in all bids where the last date of bid submission is after April 1, 2022. Put simply, the long notice period before the imposition of BCD as per the above trajectory means that BCD when it starts from Aril 1, will not be considered as change-in-law. The ministry believes that it had faced a similar problem when safeguard duty was imposed. “This time we do not want to repeat such kind of thing. So, we have proposed to the Government to impose Basic Custom Duty with a future date i.e. April 2022, so that all existing projects can be commissioned before that,” an MNRE representative said.

Planning

In July 2018, the government had imposed a safeguard duty for two years on the import of solar cells from China and Malaysia, which was set to expire on July 29, 2020. A 25% safeguard duty was imposed from July 30, 2018, to July 29, 2019, which was reduced to 20% from July 30, 2019, to January 29, 2020, and at 15% starting January 30, 2020, to July 29, 2020,* (now extended until July 31, 2021) Through March - July 2020, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was conducting a probe on whether to continue with the imposition of safeguard duty on solar photovoltaic (PV) cells following an application made by domestic companies for the same. In its probe, the DGTR had concluded that after a decline in imports in 2018-19 due to the imposition of safeguard duty on “solar cells whether or not assembled in modules or panels”, imports had again increased during April-September 2019 period then the rate of the safeguard duty had reduced on July 30, 2019. The commerce ministry in the first half of 2020 had proposed imposing a 25% customs duty on solar modules from August 2020, which could be raised to 40% from April 2022. On solar cells, it has proposed a 15% duty, rising to 25% in 2022. While the success or failure of the first two years remains up for debate, the ground situation clearly pointed to a failure on the

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manufacturing side. Local manufacturers clearly believed the SGD to be inadequate. Even as solar bids at auctions continued to go down, primarily based on dropping imported module prices But with the government and local industry firmly in favour of protecting the local market and protecting the domestic industry from injury from imports, the strong division between module manufacturers and project developers has slowly been waning as more and more developers announce their entry into the manufacturing segment. However that divide hasn’t completely vanished as Pinaki Bhattacharyya, CEO & MD Amp Energy India, a pure play developer explains “this move will slow down the race towards the 175 GW target by 2022 i.e. next year. Although this removes considerable uncertainty but the rates are too high and will increase the cost of solar power for discoms and consumers alike. This will increase the cost of manufacturing power as well as other industries in India. We understand that the intent of the government is positive and they want to encourage domestic manufacturing but the method should have been different. The government should have provided direct manufacturing subsidies to manufacturers to help them scale up their capacities and this would have been beneficial to the sector.”

Manufacturing in Solar Sector - so far

According to data obtained from MNRE, it is common knowledge that domestic manufacturing capacities are limited in India. At

present, the manufacturing capacity is only 2.5 gigawatts (GW) for solar cells and 8.8 GW for solar modules, if one goes by MNRE’s own ALMM list. (Approved List of Module Manufacturers). Some industry players have pointed to the ALMM list as final vindication on the numbers around India’s installed capacity. The ministry claims that the demand in the sector is set to go to 30 GW. Even though recent history gives no reason to believe that number with the maximum capacity that has been installed in the country over the last three years (grid-tied utility-scale projects) being 6529.20 MW in 2018-19 against the 11,000 MW target. The number then dropped to 6447.14 MW in 2019-20 against the reduced target of 8500 MW and has further dropped to 4166.28 MW (as of January 31, 2021) for the current fiscal. While COVID-19 provided a fig leaf for 2020, the truth is that targets were going awry well before that, with COVID simply providing the coup de grace that has forced MNRE to go for drastic measures, including BCD, as it turns out. Thus, going by installed capacity which has remained lower than 9-10 GW per annum, an onlooker might believe that domestic manufacturers are on par with the actual demand of the solar sector in India. However, they do fall behind, by some distance, when the expected demand is considered concerning the elusive target of installing 100 GW solar capacity by December 2022, with just under 39 GW (38.79 GW) installed currently. And with this huge gap in demand and supply, another key figure that must be considered is the 21 to 22% cost difference between MA RC H 20 21

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domestic solar cells and solar modules that are imported specially from China. And with the current duty being under 15%, developers can save roughly 7-8% per module while importing what many believe to be technologically superior products. Solar modules account for a massive 60% share of any solar project cost. And the numbers above show why developers prefer importing modules instead of procuring them from local manufacturers. A preference that has seen imports accounting for nearly 80-90% of the overall demand in the country, as multiple government initiatives — spanning from 2010 with the Domestic Content Requirement to 2018 with the Safeguard Duty — have more or less been unable to stimulate the domestic manufacturing segment.

Manufacturing in Solar Sector - going forward

However, it seems that the government has finally found the right track to follow if it wants to boost its local manufacturing performance :- The trio of (1) BCD with the recently updated (2) Approved Models & Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules (ALMM) list which announced the names of 23 Indian manufacturers whose modules would be eligible for use in government contracts for solar plants, and the (3) Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 1.956 lakh crore — which was approved in November 2020, to encourage manufacturing in key sectors including 'High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules’ which was assigned Rs 4500 crore. MNRE believes that the “Rs 4500 crore for ‘High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules’ will help bring scale and size in Solar PV manufacturing.” One firm firmly in favour of the move is Vikram Solar — one of the leading solar module manufacturers and solar solutions providers in the country. Gyanesh Chaudhary, Managing Director at the firm told us that the firm has “BCD implementation will provide the necessary impetus to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for solar equipment manufacturing in India, job-creation and reduce solar imports.” Another positive stemming from this trio is the new initiatives being taken by Indian project developers in announcing firm action

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plans for undertaking manufacturing in the country. The trigger in this was the manufacturing-linked tender that was awarded by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to Adani and Azure Power. The nodal agency awarded 12 GW of solar generation capacity via projects — 8 GW to Adani and 4 GW to Azure — and with it a linked 3 GW pa mandatory manufacturing portfolio which was also shared between the two firms (2 GW for Adani and 1 GW for Azure). This was followed by announcements from ReNew Power which stated that along with chasing the target of 25,000 MW capacity in the next 5 years, it will also be entering the manufacturing sector with plans to initially set up a solar cells plant with a capacity of 2 GW pa. Vikram Solar, has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government of Tamil Nadu to set up a 3 GW solar manufacturing facility in the southern state. Interestingly enough, the facility will be involved in the production of solar cells and modules but also solar wafers. A welcome sign of backward integration, in an industry where critical parts of the chain-like wafers and ingots remain almost completely hostage to imports with China dominating 95% of the global market. The regulated impact of the trio is expected to have a positive impact on the local manufacturing performance, where the government is ready to accept higher project costs and tariffs in lieu of boosting the domestic performance.

Impact and Uncertainty

The biggest impact of this announcement will be first witnessed with the commissioning of a large portfolio of solar power projects in the country in the coming fiscal as developers rush to conclude power purchase agreements (PPAs) and then sign equipment orders before the new implementation date sets in the new duty cycle. This will also be substantiated with the hike in the solar product procurements from the cheaper Chinese manufacturers over the following year. Moving on from project installations to project bidding and tenders, a new analysis by rating agency ICRA has found that despite the imposition of the BCD on solar cells and modules

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having an overall positive impact on the domestic equipment manufacturers, in the near term future it will result in an increase in solar tariffs. According to Girishkumar Kadam, co-group head, ICRA ratings, BCD is expected to result in an increase in the capital cost for a solar power project by 23-24%, which in turn would result in an increase in tariff by about 45-50 paise per unit. “However, the bid tariff trajectory is likely to remain well below Rs 3 per unit and thus, would continue to remain cost-competitive from the off-takers perspective,” he said. According to Vikram V, sector head, ICRA Ratings, based on an imported module price level of 18 cents per Watt and prevailing rupee-dollar exchange rate, the domestic modules are costlier by 12-15% without the impact of BCD. He believes that the imposition of BCD would bridge this gap and make the modules from a domestic manufacturer competitive against the imported modules. Furthermore, the extent of benefit would be higher for manufacturers having backward integration into cell manufacturing. However, the agency also believes that there is a need for clarity on a few matters. The most critical of which is the applicability of the customs duty on imports of cells/ modules from manufacturers located in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a large portion of the manufacturing units in India are at present located in these regions. Gyanesh Chaudhary, MD at Vikram Solar, a firm that stands firmly in favour of the new customs duty also said that the firm wants MNRE to “consider exempting BCD levy on manufacturing units located in SEZs. Considering that 43% of solar panel manufacturing units and 63% of solar cell manufacturing units are located in SEZs, imposing BCD on SEZ units will impact the domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem. The imposition of BCD on SEZ units will make them highly uncompetitive resulting in underutilisation of capacities, loss of investment, and jobs. There will be a question mark on the very existence, and survival of module manufacturers in SEZ units.” Some experts have theorized that with solar costs comfortably below coal-powered generation today, the broader thinking in the government is that a cost increase of Rs 25 to 35 paise per unit, the likely impact of the 40% duty, would be an acceptable price to pay for the drive to Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the power sector. With investments of USD 20 billion per annum expected for meeting the country’s renewable energy requirements for the next decade, it's a view that has some real weight.

What Could Go Wrong?

Industry players have regularly pointed out, that despite the ‘high’ duty structure, there is much that can still go wrong with government plans and expectations now. Top of the list is the issue of backward integration. Leading Chinabased firms we spoke to point out that Solar Cells and Solar Modules are just a part of the broader solar supply chain. Other components, from polysilicon to silver paste, to EVA and even solar glass are equally concentrated in China. Global module major Jinko Solar, in a surprising public release on March 18, 2021, placed its view on the future for solar prices, by pointing to the price escalation already seen in polysilicon prices, besides the disruptions seen in the market for EVA, silver paste, and solar glass. Jinko felt the need to announce that it was simply not possible for it, and other "quality" manufacturers to hold prices, or even consider dropping them. Their release adds that “ Silicon for monocrystalline products rose to about 114.2 RMB/kg and the price

for multicrystalline products has reached 63.3RMB/kg. Consequently, wafer and cell prices ramped up by 25% over those of last year. The outlook for module prices is also clear, several major players have anonymously adjusted their pricing strategy and confirmed that increases are inevitable which has been witnessed in the latest bids in China.” In other words, if someone offers modules at the same price as six months ago, or lower, worry about quality. It’s a view that has been endorsed in so many words by other vertically integrated module makers. The next argument is on capacity. Global manufacturers exporting to India point out that far from having the capacity to meet internal demand, the few Indian manufacturers that do make quality solar cells and modules actually prefer to export them! Because, for historical reasons, they have had a strong presence in the US and even European markets. In fact, the Ministry of Commerce itself has shared numbers that confirm that India’s exports of solar cells, with or without module assembly, jumped 157% to Rs 1,330 crore in the first eight months of 2020-21. Exports for the whole of 2018-19 stood at Rs 847 crore and in 2017-18, Rs 913 crore, according to the Ministry of Commerce. To remove any misgivings about collusion among Chinese majors, these players point out how bids in China itself have trended up in recent weeks, pointing to a scenario of rising prices. What that means is that developers who were planning to take a chance, and the interest cost, to order in bulk by the third quarter of this year (December 2021), may not be able to do so at the scale they wished for, as the low-cost advantage may not be as high as thought. A typical order takes upto 12 weeks or even more sometimes, depending on volumes, to be delivered from China. An interesting observation that indicates a reason for further tightness in the market comes from another large China player. “Large capacities in China do not mean that those capacities can be requisitioned for Indian orders. Sometimes only a proportion of our plants are BIS certified which can further reduce the window for servicing truly large orders from India, should they materialise,” he adds. This source points out, that Indian developers would need to be careful to place their orders with truly integrated players in this period, as other smaller players are likely to see more price volatility due to material shortages etc, which will lead to possible cancellations, delivery delays and more. Projects won on the assumption of using polycrystalline modules run an even greater risk going forward as those capacities are dwindling fast in China, and buyers risk being left at the mercies of smaller players with suspect quality. He predicts more pain ahead for projects that are already delayed significantly if they can’t wrap up faster now.

Conclusion

For the government, the BCD announcement tried to meet multiple conditions that it hopes will make it a successful gambit. From enough advance warning, to a level that it believes will drive a significant shift to local manufacturing, at acceptable cost. What it may not have planned for is the tightness in global prices, that puts projects pending completion at serious risk. This pipeline was one of the key reasons for the long lead time to start of the new BCD regime, with the government making it very specifically clear that all projects from the day after the announcement, ie, March 10, 2021, will need to plan for the new regime accordingly. Multiple projects in the implementation pipeline of almost 30 GW stand to be impacted at different levels. MA RC H 20 21

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Renewable Energy Integration is India's Next Big Challenge: IEEFA

ccording to a report from Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), India already has 93 GW of on-grid variable renewable energy (VRE) capacity as of January 2021. Now, one of the next big challenges for India’s electricity sector is battery storage, green hydrogen, and flexible coal-fired power generation into the electricity grid i.e. renewable energy integration over the next decade. However, there are opportunities for cross-learnings as some of the renewable energy-rich Indian states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu could have renewable generation increased to 50 percent by 2030, the reports suggested. To do such a large-scale integration, India requires policy support for a time-of-day (ToD) pricing mechanism that incentivizes investment into a multitude of technology solutions for flexible, peaking power delivery. “The transition to low-cost, variable renewable energy generation requires a flexible grid that can respond rapidly to changes in power demand dynamics,” says the report’s author IEEFA Research Analyst Kashish Shah. The report stresses that the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) optimum generation mix report projects India’s solar and wind to form 420GW of capacity, 51 percent of the total installed capacity, by 2030. That will provide 31 percent of the total generation (biomass and small hydro will add another 30GW to the total installed capacity). Also, in a recent India Energy Outlook 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that by 2040 India could add 900GW of renewable capacity with renewable energy becoming the dominant source of power supply in India’s electricity system. The report focused on technology and enabling policies that incentivize investments into some of the key grid firming options such as battery storage, green hydrogen, and flexible coal-fired power generation. Battery Storage: The report gives the numbers regarding the cost of standalone

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lithium-ion battery systems globally has fallen from USD 1,100/kWh in 2010 to USD 137/kWh in 2020. BloombergNEF (BNEF) proposes a further decline in the cost to USD 58/kWh by 2030. IEA’s India Energy Outlook 2021 foretells that India could have 140-200GW of battery storage capacity by 2040, the largest of any country. IEEFA concludes that despite the cost sensitivity of large parts of the Indian market in the face of current high battery costs, grid-scale batteries are not a distant dream for India, particularly for the commercial and industrial, and high-end consumer segments already paying an excessive cross-subsidy. “Battery storage can provide a solution to help the grid manage massive amounts of intermittent wind and solar, provide dispatchable power during peak demand periods, and other essential grid services. And battery cost deflation is now making utility-scale battery storage projects possible for India," Kashish Shah added. Green hydrogen: Electrolysis of water using electricity, one of the two most common methods of hydrogen production, which is now moving towards being competitive by the end of this decade, encouraged by the growing availability of ever-cheaper VRE. According to The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) recent analysis, the cost of alkaline electrolyzers is projected to drop 56 percent from around Rs6.3crore/MW today to around Rs2.8crore/MW by 2030.

Improving efficiencies of electrolyzers will play an important role in driving the costs of green hydrogen below Rs150/kg by 2030 versus Rs300-440/kg as of today. The report suggests that India can look to green hydrogen as a lower cost, zero pollution domestic alternative to using imported LNG. Hydrogen gas peakers might prove another key tool to managing VRE integration but again, only when supported by ToD pricing. Flexible coal-plant operation: Coal, which is likely to be the dominant source of Indian electricity generation for some time to come, is playing a vital balancing role in integrating large-scale variable renewables. However, the best way to capture the value of more flexibility, coal-fired plants would require retrofitting, operational and regulatory amendments. This report has discussed the findings of a couple of pilot studies on flexible coalfired plant operation in India, optimizing sunk investments to help the transition. According to the report, under the current structure in India, plants with the lowest variable charges get dispatched first. In IEEFA’s view, this metric going forward should evolve to a highly flexible, dynamic ToD pricing to incorporate the flexibility parameters of coal-fired power plants in support of VRE integration. “India’s strategy should be to plan in advance and be prepared to ride the energy storage wave when it arrives," Kashish Shah commented.

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Only 18% of Announced Recovery Spending can be Considered ‘Green’: Report

n analysis of spending by leading economies has found that only 18 percent of announced recovery spending can be considered ‘green.’ One year from the onset of the pandemic, recovery spending has fallen short of nations’ commitments to build back more sustainably. An analysis of spending by leading economies, led by Oxford’s Economic Recovery Project and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), finds that only 18 percent of announced recovery spending can be considered ‘green.’ The report, ‘Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending’, calls for governments to invest more sustainably and tackle inequalities as they stimulate growth in the wake of the devastation wrought by the pandemic. The most comprehensive analysis of COVID-19related fiscal rescue and recovery efforts by 50 leading economies so far, the report reveals that only USD 368 billion of USD 14.6 trillion COVID-induced spending (rescue and recovery) in 2020 was green. Brian O’Callaghan, lead researcher at the Oxford University Economic Recovery Project and the report’s author said that “despite positive steps towards a sustainable COVID-19 recovery from a few leading nations, the world has so far fallen short of matching aspirations to build back better. But opportunities to spend wisely on recovery are not yet over. Governments can use this moment to secure long-term economic, social, and environmental prosperity.” The report emphasises that green recovery can bring stronger economic growth, while helping to meet global environmental targets and addressing structural inequality. To keep decades of progress against poverty from unwinding, low-income countries will require substantial concessional finance from international partners.

It raises five key questions for the road to sustainable recovery:

• What is at stake as countries commit unprecedented resources to recovery? • What spending pathways could enhance economic recovery and environmental

sustainability? • What is the role of recovery spending in addressing inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19? • What kind of recovery investments countries are currently making to tackle climate change, nature loss, and pollution? • What more needs to be done to ensure a sustainable and equitable recovery? On the whole, so far global green spending “has been incommensurate with the scale of ongoing environmental crises,” according to the report, including climate change, nature loss, and pollution, missing significant social and long-term economic benefits.

Key findings of the analysis in terms of recovery spending:

• USD 341 billion or 18 percent of spending was green, mostly accounted for by a small group of high-income countries. Global recovery spending has so far missed the opportunity for green investment. • USD 66.1 billion was invested in low carbon energy, largely thanks to Spanish and German subsidies for renewable energy projects and hydrogen and infrastructure investments. • USD 86.1 billion announced for green transport through electric vehicle transfers and subsidies, investments in

public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure. • USD 35.2 billion was announced for green building upgrades to increase energy efficiency, mostly through retrofits, notably in France and the UK. • USD 56.3 billion was announced for natural capital or nature based Solutions (NbS)– ecosystem regeneration initiatives and reforestation. Two-fifths was directed towards public parks and counter pollution measures, notably in the US and China, improving quality of life and addressing environmental concerns. • USD 28.9 billion was announced in green R&D. Green R&D includes renewable energy technologies, technologies for decarbonising sectors such as aviation, plastics, and agriculture, and carbon sequestration. Without progress in green R&D, meeting the Paris Agreement targets would require far-reaching pricing and lifestyle changes. Professor of Environmental Economics at Oxford, Cameron Hepburn said “this report is a wake-up call. The data from the Global Recovery Observatory show that we are not building back better, at least not yet. We know a green recovery would be a win for the economy as well as the climate - now we need to get on with it.”

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US Solar Industry Installed Record 19.2 GW Capacity in 2020: Report

he US solar industry grew 43% and installed a record 19.2 GW of capacity in 2020, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2020 report The US solar industry grew 43 percent and installed a record 19.2 gigawatts (GW dc) of capacity in 2020, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2020 Year-in-Review report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. For the second year in a row, solar led all technologies in new electric-generating capacity added, accounting for 43 percent. According to Wood Mackenzie’s 10-year forecast, the US solar industry will install a cumulative 324 GWdc of new capacity to reach a total of 419 GWdc over the next decade. “After a slowdown in Q2 due to the pandemic, the solar industry innovated and came roaring back to continue our trajectory as America’s leading source of new energy,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “The forecast shows that by 2030, the equivalent of one in eight American homes will have solar, but we still have a long way to go if we want to reach our goals in the Solar+ Decade. This report makes it clear that smart policies work. The action we take now will determine the pace of our growth and whether we use solar to fuel our economy and meet this climate moment.” The report further highlighted that the 8 GWdc of new installations in Q4 2020 marks the largest quarter in US solar history. For perspective, the solar market in the country had added 7.5 GWdc of new capacity in all of 2015. New capacity additions in 2020 represent a 43 percent increase from 2019 and break the solar market’s previous record of 15.1 GWdc set in 2016. By 2030, Wood Mackenzie is forecasting that the total operating solar fleet will more than quadruple. “The recent two-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) will drive greater solar adoption through 2025,” said Michelle Davis, senior analyst from Wood Mackenzie. “Compelling economics for distributed and utility-scale solar along with decarbonisation commitments from

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numerous stakeholders will result in a landmark installation rate of over 50 GWdc by the end of the decade.” The report found that California, Texas and Florida are the top three states for annual solar capacity additions for the second straight year, and Virginia joins them as a fourth state installing over 1 GWdc of solar PV. In 2020, 27 states installed over 100 MWdc of new solar capacity, a new record. Key Highlights: • Residential deployment was up 11 percent from 2019, reaching a record 3.1 GW. This was lower than the 18 percent annual growth in 2019, as residential installations were significantly impacted by the pandemic in the first half of 2020. • Non-residential installations declined 4

percent from 2019, with 2 GW installed. The pandemic impacted this segment through delayed project interconnections and prolonged development timelines. • There was a historic 6.3 GWdc of utilityscale projects installed in Q4 2020, bringing the annual total just shy of 14 GWdc. • A total of 5 GWdc of new utility solar power purchase agreements were announced in Q4 2020, bringing the volume of project announcements in 2020 to 30.6 GWdc and the full utilityscale contracted pipeline to 69 GWdc. • The 2-year extension of the ITC in the final days of 2020 has led to a 17 percent increase in deployment in our 2021 – 2025 forecast.

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6GW Offshore Wind Capacity Added Globally in 2020

ccording to the latest data released by GWEC Market Intelligence, the global offshore wind industry had its second-best year ever in 2020 installing over 6 GW of new capacity, keeping growth on track despite the impacts of COVID-19 felt in other energy sectors. This growth was driven by a record year in China, which lead the world in new annual offshore wind capacity for the third year in a row, and installed over half of the new offshore wind capacity globally last year. The market report shows steady growth in Europe, which accounted for the majority of the remaining new capacity, led by the Netherlands which installed nearly 1.5 GW of new offshore wind in 2020, making it the second-largest market for new capacity in 2020 after China. Other European offshore wind markets

also experienced stable growth last year, with Belgium (706 MW), the UK (483 MW), and Germany (237 MW), all installing new capacity in 2020. The slowdown of growth in the UK is due to the gap between the Contracts for Difference (CfD) 1 and CfD 2. In Germany, the slowdown is primarily caused by unfavorable conditions and a weak short-term offshore wind project pipeline. The report highlighted that outside of China and Europe, two other countries recorded new offshore wind capacity in 2020: South Korea (60 MW) and the US (12 MW). Overall, global offshore wind capacity now exceeds 35 GW – a 106 percent increase over the past 5 years alone. China has now surpassed Germany in terms of cumulative installations, becoming the second-largest

offshore wind market globally with the UK remaining in the top spot. Feng Zhao, Head of Market Intelligence and Strategy at GWEC said “the continued growth of the offshore wind industry globally throughout the pandemic is a testament to the resilience of this booming industry. Although China was hit first by the COVID-19 crisis, the impacts on the offshore wind sector were minimal, resuming ‘business-as-usual’ as early as March 2020. China’s record-breaking growth is expected to continue in 2021, driven by an offshore wind installation rush to meet China’s Feed-in-Tariff deadline by the end of this year. “While Europe remains the largest offshore wind market globally, Asia Pacific will play an increasingly important role driving industry growth as major economies such as Japan and South Korea have recently established ambitious offshore wind targets. The US will also become an increasingly important market for offshore wind, as the new administration has made it clear they are working to accelerate the growth of this crucial industry.” According to the Q4 2020 Wind Energy Auction Update by GWEC, nearly 30 GW of new wind power capacity was awarded globally through auctions in the second half (H2) of 2020, which is a slight increase compared to the 28 GW awarded during H2 2019. With the surge in new auctioned capacity being touted as the signal of the industry being back on track after COVID-19.

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25% of Urban Population Lives in a City with RE Target, 18% in India: Report

new report has found that 25% of the urban population lives in a city with a renewable energy (RE) target, lowering to 18% in India. The latest Renewables in Cities 2021 Global Status Report shows that more than 1 billion people – about 25 percent of the urban population – live in a city with a renewable energy (RE) target and/ or policy. With the number lowering to 18 percent for Indians living in urban cities with a renewable energy target and/or policy. The report by REN21 found that city governments around the world are increasingly using renewables to help fight energy poverty, reduce air pollution, tackle climate change, and improve public health and well-being. They have installed, purchased and contracted for renewable energy to meet the demand of their own buildings and vehicle fleets; adopted renewable energy targets and implemented policies to incentivise local renewable energy generation and consumption; and supported urban community energy projects; and facilitated co-operation among stakeholders. And that urban commitments to directly support renewables are increasing. In 2020 alone, more than 260 cities either set a new renewable energy target or passed a new policy. As of the end of the year, over 830 cities in 72 countries had adopted renewable energy targets. More than 600 cities worldwide having targets for 100 percent renewable energy. Cities have also taken action away from fossil fuels: by 2020, over 10,500 cities had adopted targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and around 800 had committed to net-zero emissions. That’s an eight-fold increase on such commitments from 2019. Cities are home to 55 percent of the global population (and growing) and generate more than 80% of global GDP. Urban energy use has also grown significantly over the past decades. Today, cities are responsible for an estimated 3/4 of global carbon dioxide emissions. This makes cities a high-impact location for climate action, decarbonising the energy system and accelerating renewable energy investments, helping cities to achieve their own objectives as well as global goals. “With their impact at scale, cities are our best bet to plan, develop and build a renewable future. But all too often their potential for transformation remains massively underused,” explains REN21’s Executive Director, Rana Adib. The report goes on to add that although target-setting in cities has focused on the power sector (around 75 percent of the targets), city-level policies and investments go beyond power to include heating, cooling and transport. By the end of 2020, around 800 municipal governments had in place regulatory policies, fiscal and financial incentives, as well as indirect support policies which enable the uptake of renewables in buildings and transport citywide. In some cases, city targets and policies are more ambitious than those set by higher levels of government.

India

In Asia, the report found that much of the city-focused activity has occurred in India, where several “smart cities” have embraced renewables. In 2018, Diu Smart City became the country’s first city to operate on 100 percent renewable electricity, thanks in part to a

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9 MW solar PV park and solar panels installed on 79 government buildings; several other smart cities issued tenders in 2019 and 2020 for local solar PV capacity atop buildings, canals and sewage treatment facilities. In Delhi, solar PV installations on government and educational buildings totalled around 105 MW in 2019, with another 5 MW on residential buildings. By the end of 2019, the industrial city of Pune had more rooftop solar capacity (130 MW) than any other Indian city. Across India, the higher electricity rates, readier access to financing and larger rooftops for industrial versus residential users have encouraged the industrial adoption of solar PV. The report also highlighted that in Asia, China and India account for most of the renewable energy investment. However, it also found that investment in renewable energy capacity in India fell 14 percent in 2019, to USD 9.3 billion. Financing for renewables in Indian cities originates from three main sources: national and state-level schemes (such as the 100 Smart Cities Mission), which have increased in scale and number

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over time; international financing agencies and development banks, with many of these projects being small and experimental; and local private capital, for which very little information is available. Although municipal bonds have been used to a limited extent for infrastructure projects in India, they have not been adopted for renewable energy projects to date. Historically, Indian cities have not been at the forefront of financing renewables, in large part because energy governance in the country remains constitutionally with the central and state governments. In 2015, however, the government launched the 100 Smart Cities Mission, creating a new vision for the role of cities in renewable energy projects. Subsequently, around 100 cities in India created plans for investing in energy distribution and supply, including solar PV, waste-to-energy and wind energy (to a limited extent), as well as electric mobility. Of the first 60 approved proposals, around 10 percent of the budget – a total of Rs 13,161 crore (USD 1.8 billion) – was for such energy projects, with the remainder directed towards other infrastructure projects such as water, buildings, transport and waste management. As per the report, the cities allocating the most of their proposed budgets to solar PV were New Delhi (Rs 535 crore or USD 73 million), Mangalore (Rs 311.85 crore or USD 42.5 million) and Vishakapatnam (Rs 305.83 crore or USD 41.7 million), whereas the cities allocating the most to waste-to-energy were Jaipur (Rs 200 crore or USD 27.3 million), followed by Kalyan and Surat. The cities allocating the most to e-mobility were Chandigarh (Rs 163.15 crore or USD 22.3 million), followed by Pune and Dharamshala. The report then goes on to add that the world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. While renewables have grown in the power sector, the shares of renewables in heating/cooling and transport remain low (around 10 percent and 3 percent respectively). Action is urgently needed – together, these sectors account for over 80 percent of global final energy demand. And cities are critical to decarbonise these sectors, and they’ve started to take up the challenge. Cities are leading by example, procuring renewables for their own operations, while scaling up renewable energy generation on public buildings and for municipal fleets.

Humanising Energy Agenda Emerges From 12th Global Energy Leaders’ Survey

he 2021 edition shows that energy leaders’ perceptions of areas of risk, opportunity, and priorities for action have radically changed. The World Energy Council has published its annual World Energy Issues Monitor. Now in its 12th year, the report provides a forward-looking assessment of the global energy agenda based on the views of more than 2,500 energy leaders from 108 countries. The 2021 edition shows that energy leaders’ perceptions of areas of risk, opportunity, and priorities for action have radically changed over the last 12 months. While economic turbulence stemming from the ongoing reverberations of COVID-19 is the biggest area of uncertainty, with uncertainty around economic trends increasing by a third over the previous year, there is also a growing focus on the social agenda associated with a faster-paced energy transition. The report details an increased awareness of the societal and human impact of both recovery and the wider energy transition and shows that the issue of energy affordability has rapidly risen up the industry’s priority list, with its impact and uncertainty perceived 20 percent larger than a year ago. Energy affordability affects society across all geographies ranging from city dwellers in developed countries to the rural poor in developing ones. Simultaneously the report details the emergence of a new generation of digital energy services and energy entrepreneurs. More agile, disruptive technologies have taken advantage of the social upheaval to gain market share at the expense of supplycentric energy solutions. There is a growing focus on customer-centric demand-driven solutions and fastchanging patterns of global and local demand. Dr. Angela Wilkinson, SecretaryGeneral of the World Energy Council, said “even before the onset of Covid-19, we had already begun to see the rise of the social energy agenda. A consequence of this health crisis is that it has put people at the centre of the conversation on global energy transition and given humanity a clearer voice in an otherwise polarised

and fragmented debate. “This edition of our World Energy Issues Monitor clearly shows a growing awareness among energy industry leaders of the unavoidable truth that we must humanise our energy systems and address new energy justice concerns to be successful. “While there are still diverse views on recovery and different signals about the impact of recovery plans on the speed and direction of transition, the growing acceptance of a holistic view of energy to enable global human and sustainable development suggests we are moving in the right direction.” The report findings also indicate that carbon abatement technologies have emerged as another major area of uncertainty, with 40 percent of respondents identifying the issue as highly or very highly uncertain. With large-scale carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) deployment yet to take off, and a wide-ranging spectrum of national and corporate net-zero commitments, there is significant uncertainty about how to strike a balance between decarbonising the global economy while simultaneously ensuring that human needs are met during the recovery. Regional and country-level differences in both issues of critical uncertainty and action priorities reinforce the need for multiple energy transition pathways rather than a onesize-fits-all approach. Dr. Wilkinson, concluded, “the global imperative to secure more energy and climate neutrality is the key to enabling whole societies to recover and flourish. It is vital, that the connections between Planet and People are maintained and whole-energysystem change implications are thought through. “There is no single ‘race to zero’, there are in fact multiple pathways being progressed with tremendous geographical and technological diversity. This 12th Issues Monitor once again shows that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to addressing energy challenges and progressing clean, affordable, reliable, socially inclusive and just energy transition.”

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Renewables not Coal & Gas Should be Focus of Vietnam’s Latest PDP: IEEFA

ietnam’s draft PDP8 has failed to acknowledge the need of developing a more flexible system that can accommodate a changing technology mix Vietnam’s recently published draft power development plan for 2021-2030 (PDP8) has failed to acknowledge the importance of developing a more flexible system that can accommodate a changing technology mix, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). “After a decade filled with disappointments from the fossil fuel industry, planners successfully tested the dynamism of renewable energy in Vietnam’s fast-growing market,” says report author IEEFA Director of Energy Finance Studies Asia, Melissa Brown. “Many conventional coal and gas-power projects failed to progress during the development process, only managing to meet half of the targeted capacity for 2016-2020. “Solar power developers however overdelivered by five times, and they have done so in a fraction of the time. This evidence would surely inform the next

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stage of Vietnam’s power development,” Brown added. The authors of the report believe that unfortunately, planners have instead opted for generation-centric decisions in shaping the recently published draft PDP8. And thus, instead of acknowledging the importance of developing a more flexible system, baseload coal and gas-fired power will continue to dominate 57 percent of the pipeline to 2030 in the draft PDP8. As the government reviews plans for PDP8, IEEFA’s new report outlines four issues that deserve attention if Vietnam hopes to diversify its generation mix, meet new demand for sustainable power, and control power tariffs, with renewables arguably playing a bigger role in PDP8, and not less.

1. Technology cost assumptions face high forecasting risk

PDP8’s usefulness as a roadmap will be limited due to the rapid pace of energy transition globally.

2. B aseload fossil fuel options come with risks that must be acknowledged and mitigated

Vietnam’s high reliance on coal power

projects, which are subject to frequent delays, has put Vietnam on the brink of serious power shortages on more than one occasion.

3. Failure to account for real costs of fossil fuel power will hurt ratepayers in the long-run

O ne of the most important take-aways from the rapid shift in global power markets is that power sector planners are increasingly vulnerable to fatal design errors if they fail to account for the real costs associated with different technology and fuel choices.

4. U nderestimating the need for green power will threaten GDP growth

Over the past two years, Vietnam’s economic growth potential has diverged sharply from what IEEFA has observed elsewhere in Southeast Asia. “Vietnam must take bolder steps to win the confidence of high-value foreign investors that are working hard to meet the needs of their global customers,” concluded Brown. “The market’s appetite for renewable energy investment is already there. Now it’s time to realize steady cost improvements.”

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SECI 750 MW Tranche X Wind Auctions- Adani Bids Rs 2.77 to win, Ayana at Rs 2.78

ife returned to the Wind Energy pipeline with the first pure wind energy auction by SECI in over 18 months. With a reserve price of Rs 2.99, Adani Renewable Energy walked away with a 300 MW allocation at Rs 2.77/ kWh, while Ayana Renewable Power won 300 MW at Rs 2.78. Evergreen Power ventures Mauritius won 100 MW by quoting Rs 2.78 too. It is worth noting that not a single

substantial wind energy auction was concluded all through 2020, even as solar bidding continued. Interestingly JSW Energy (Rs 2.78 for 600 MW), Azure Power and O2 Power all bid at Rs 2.80 or under, indicating the demand that exists at a price under Rs 2.80, widely considered the optimum price for Wind Energy bidding in ost parts of India. The bids in this auction are

considerably lower than those in Tranche IX, when JSW Solar had won with a bid of Rs 3.01 per unit for 1,000-Mw, Vena Energy Vidhyut (160-Mw) at Rs 3.17 per unit tariff and Inox Wind Infrastructure with 50-Mw at Rs 3.41 per unit bid. The results will come as a relief to wind energy operators, where the overall situation has been dull to dire, depending on who you speak to. Manufacturers have made

multiple demands, from including it in the PLI scheme to a special subsidy to allow and accept price bidding that is a little higher than solar, where rates have fallen much faster in recent years. Due to a far longer lean period, wind energy operators have also felt the pain of common issues, be it delay in payments from discoms, or disruptions from the Covid 19 lockdowns, far more keenly.

SECI Issues Deadline Extensions for 2 Solar Tenders in Tamil Nadu and Himachal

ECI has extended the bid deadline for tenders for 50 MW solar PV project in Tamil Nadu and 15 MW floating solar plant in Himachal. The first is the extension in the deadline for its tender seeking bidders for commissioning of 50 MW (AC) solar PV project with land having 10 years plant O&M at Tamil Nadu. And the second tender, for which SECI has now issued the ninth extension, is the call for bids for developing a 15 MW grid-connected floating solar PV power plant at the Nangal Pond in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. For its tender for 50 MW solar projects in Tamil Nadu, SECI has extended the bid submission deadline from March 15, 2021, to April 5, 2021, and the technical bids will be opened on the new bid closing date. The

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date and time of opening of the price bids will be intimated to the shortlisted bidders from the technical round. The tender was issued in the first week of January, with SECI seeking developers for the execution of green energy technologies by way of implementing a ground-based solar plant of 40 MW capacity with a 10 MW Agro PV system in the southern state. The second tender for the selection of a project developer for setting up of 15 MW grid-connected floating solar PV power plant in Himachal Pradesh has seen its deadline extended from March 15, 2021, for online bid submissions to April 30, 2021. And from March 17, 2021, for offline bid submissions to May 4, 2021. The technocommercial bids will now be opened on May 5, 2021.

The tender for the floating solar project was first issued in July 2020 and SECI had conducted an online virtual pre-bid meeting for the tender on July 17, 2020. The project will be developed on a BuildOwn-Operate (BOO) basis and power generated by SPD from the above project has been provisioned to be sold to the Buying Entity, i.e. Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). BBMB will enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the successful Bidder selected by SECI based on this RfS for the purchase of floating solar power for a period of 25 years. As per the Request for Selection (RfS), the maximum levelised tariff payable to the Project Developer is fixed at Rs 3.41/ kWh for 25 years.

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NCRTC Tenders for 11 MW Rooftop Solar Systems on Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor

CRTC has tendered for 11 MW rooftop solar projects on RESCO Model along its Delhi-GhaziabadMeerut RRTS Corridor. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation Ltd. (NCRTC), a joint venture company of the Government of India and participating states (NCT of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), which is mandated for implementing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project across the National Capital Region (NCR), has issued a tender for the commissioning of 11 MW rooftop solar PV projects and associated support structure works on RESCO Model on stations, depots and other buildings along the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor of NCRTC. The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, engineering, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the rooftop solar systems on RESCO mode. The developers will have a period of 4 years to complete the work on the project. The

developers will also be required to provide comprehensive Operation & Maintenance services for the rooftop systems for a period of 25 years from the date of successful commissioning. It has been clarified that the net metering and grid connectivity of the rooftop solar PV system under this scheme would be the responsibility of the Bidder in accordance with the prevailing guidelines of the NCRTC and/or CEA or State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) or Discom in the respective area.

NCRTC could facilitate connectivity, however, the entire responsibility lies with the bidder only. To be eligible for participating in the bidding process, the bidders' net worth for the last financial year should be positive, and their minimum average annual turnover should be at least Rs 19.8 crore. Furthermore, the bidder should have completed during the last 10 years the work of commissioning of gridconnected solar PV project of at least 10 MWp cumulative having provision of comprehensive operation and maintenance under RESCO Model which is under successful operation for at least the last 3 years. For rooftop solar, the bidder must have a similar experience for at least 1 MW capacity. The last date for bid submission is April 8, 2021, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the following date i.e April 9, 2021. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for March 18, 2021, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders.

Inox Wind Bags Wind Project Orders Worth 92 MW From Integrum Energy

nox Wind has signed a binding agreement with Integrum Energy to supply, erect and commission 92 MW of wind power projects. Inox Wind, a leading domestic wind energy solutions provider, has announced that it has signed a binding agreement with Integrum Energy Infrastructure Private Limited to supply, erect and commission 92 MW of wind power projects comprising of 2 MW (113 metre rotor diameter turbine combined with 92 metre hub height) turbines with a combination of total turnkey and limited scope supply. Under the agreement, Inox has been roped in to supply,

erect and commission the turbines at various locations in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu by Q3 of FY 2022 for captive customers. The agreement also includes a turnkey order of 26 MW for which Inox Wind will provide Integrum Energy with end-toend solutions from development and construction to commissioning and providing long-term operations and maintenance services. The firm stated that this is a repeat order from Integrum Energy within a short period of 3 months which consisted of a 20 MW of turnkey wind project in Karnataka.

In February, we had reported that the firm had received orders for the supply and installation of wind turbine generators of 62 MW capacity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and retail customers spread across various industries for thirdparty sales and captive consumption. The projects will be executed on a turnkey basis across locations in Gujarat and Karnataka. The contracts include supply and commissioning of 2 MW DFIG 113 meters rotor diameter Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) as well as providing comprehensive operations and maintenance services for the MA RC H 20 21

lifetime of the project. Prior to that, the firm had issued its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, reporting a higher revenue from the previous quarter and from the same quarter in 2019, however, the firms’ net loss also widened to Rs 51.97 crore from Rs 27.47 crore during the same quarter last year. According to a corporate filing, the firms’ total income rose to Rs 209.44 crore in the quarter ended December 2020 from Rs 179.76 crore a year ago. With revenue at Rs Rs 204 crore in Q3FY21 against revenue of Rs 171 crore in Q2FY21. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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Rs 30,000 Crore Solar, Wind Plus Pump Storage Project to Come up in Rajasthan

leader in renewable energy potential and uptake, the state of Rajasthan is all set to develop a new Rs 30,000 crore hybrid clean energy project that will enable the solar and wind energy rich state to store excess energy generated by clean energy sources. The state government has been advancing to establish the first of its kind Hybrid Project that will have solar, wind to generate clean and green energy and pump hydro storage project to store the energy. The state has been promoting power storage solutions under the Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy 2019. And the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RRECL) has received several proposals for energy storage projects following the policy incentives. The corporation has accepted the proposal made by Greenko to develop the hybrid project which will consist of a 3600 MW solar project(s) and 900 MW wind asset which will be paired with a 2520 MW Pump Hydro Storage Plant. The solar and wind projects will be set up in Pali and Jaisalmer; and Pump Hydro Storage will be set up in Shahpur, Baran District of the state. The total cost of the project as per RRECL is Rs 30,000 crore, of which the pumped hydro storage project will be constructed at the cost of Rs 11,882 Crore. Dr. Subodh Agarwal (IAS), CMD of RRECL said, “among the projects seeking the policy advantage is a hydropower-based

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storage project proposed to be developed in Baran district of the state. The excess solargenerated electricity will be used to pump water in a reservoir at a designated height. The potential energy of the water will be reclaimed using turbine-driven generators. It will be the first of its kind integrated project in the country with a combination of solar, wind and hydropower for uninterrupted power supply.” The storage facility will be a Standalone pumped storage project of 2520 MW. It will use 1.7 TMC of water but will not be consuming water as the same will be cycled between the top and bottom reservoirs. Even as the storage facility is fractional of the production capacity, it brings a new dawn to the solar energy sector. The stored energy can help bridge over the intermittency of the electricity supply capacity from solar power and wind power farms which can vary with the varying weather conditions. The storage unit will help as a backup and help in ensuring incessant supply. Also as and when required, the stored units can compensate for low electricity production in evening hours. Anil Chalamalasetty, Founder, MD & CEO of Greenko Group said, “the firm is thankful to the Government of Rajasthan for recognising the importance and potential of Pumped Storage solutions and the numerous benefits they would bring to the state besides offering lowest cost energy storage solutions compared numerous

technologies globally available today. The Project when completed by 2023-24 would be “World’s Largest Renewable Energy Asset” and strengthen and contribute immensely to Rajasthan’s efforts as a model state in the adoption of solutions for a sustainable future.” Further adding that “GreenKo’s vision for a sustainable Indian energy future is based on Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Projects (IRESPs) that combine Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Pumped Storage capacity with Intelligent Energy Platforms deployed as a sharing platform to transform the renewables into a firm, schedulable and dispatchable new energy thus paving the way for achieving energy security for Rajasthan and India. The IRESPs will ensure achieving long-term stability and reduction of electricity prices by ~20 percent nationally while enabling grid stability, security and feasibility for a future of deep decarbonisation of the Indian energy sector.” Notably, the Rajasthan Government has set the target of 30,000 MW solar power projects upto 2024-25. The generated power will be used by Discoms or other entities to meet their demand and for the fulfilment of the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) as determined by RERC under the solar policy. The state also aims to develop solar power projects for the sale of power to parties other than Discoms of Rajasthan and for captive consumption, within and outside the state.

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SECI Issues RfS for its 1785 MW Solar Tender in Rajasthan (Tranche - IV)

ECI has issued the RfS document for the selection of SPDs for setting up 1785 MW solar PV projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-IV). The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has now issued the Request for Selection (RfS) document for the selection of Solar Power Developers (SPDs) for setting up 1785 MW grid-connected solar PV power projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-IV). Earlier in February, SECI had notified that it wishes to invite proposals for setting up grid-connected solar PV projects in the state of Rajasthan on a “Build Own Operate” (B-O-O) basis for an aggregate capacity of 1785 MW. SECI shall enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the successful bidder selected based on this RfS for purchase of solar power for a period of 25 years based on the terms, conditions, and provisions of the RfS. The SPD shall set up the solar PV project including a dedicated transmission network

up to the interconnection/ delivery point, at its own cost and in accordance with the provisions of this RfS document. All approvals, permits, and clearances required for setting up of the project and/ or dedicated transmission network upto interconnection/ delivery point (including connectivity and LTA, as applicable) including those required from state government and local bodies shall be in the scope of the SPD. The developers will have a period of 18 months to complete the work on the project. The last date for bid submission is April 19, 2021, (April 15, 2021 - for online submission) and the bids will be opened on April 20, 2021. A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for March 19, 2021, to address the concerns raised by the prospective bidders. Power procured by SECI from the above Project has been provisioned to be sold to the Discoms of Rajasthan, which shall be the Buying Entities under this RfS. The Buying Entities shall procure power under

the RfS through Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (RUVNL), which is the authorised representative for signing the Power Sale Agreement, on behalf of the Rajasthan Discoms. SECI shall be an intermediary nodal agency for procurement of power generated by the SPD and sale of such power to the Discoms of Rajasthan, entirely on a back-to-back basis based on due performance by the SPD as well as the Buying Entities. It has been specified that the projects selected under this RfS shall be of minimum individual capacities of 10 MW and shall be set up in integral values. The maximum capacity shall be 1785 MW. To be eligible, the bidder must have a minimum annual turnover of Rs 41.4 lakh per MW of the quoted capacity during the last financial year. And their net worth should be at least Rs 80 lakh/ MW of the bid amount as on the last date of the last financial year.

SECI Reschedules Pre-bid Meeting for its 1785 MW Rajasthan Solar Tender

he Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has notified that it has rescheduled the pre-bid meeting for its tender for the selection of Solar Power Developers (SPDs) for setting up 1785 MW grid-connected solar PV power projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-IV). The pre-bid meeting has been moved from March 19, 2021, to March 22, 2021, and will be held online via video conferencing. The last date for bid submission for the tender remains the same for now, with bids expected latest by April 19, 2021, (April 15, 2021 – for online submission). Earlier this month, SECI had issued the Request for Selection

(RfS) document for the tender. After initially notifying in early February that it wishes to invite proposals for setting up gridconnected solar PV projects in the state of Rajasthan on a “Build Own Operate” (B-O-O) basis for an aggregate capacity of 1785 MW. SECI will enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the successful bidder selected based on this RfS for purchase of solar power for a period of 25 years based on the terms, conditions, and provisions of the RfS. The SPD shall set up the solar PV project including a dedicated transmission network to the interconnection/ delivery

point, at its own cost. All approvals, permits, and clearances required for setting up of the project and/ or dedicated transmission network upto interconnection/ delivery point (including connectivity and LTA, as applicable) including those required from state government and local bodies shall be in the scope of the SPD. The developers will have a period of 18 months to complete the work on the project. Power procured by SECI from the above Project has been provisioned to be sold to the Discoms of Rajasthan, which shall be the Buying Entities under this RfS. The Buying Entities shall procure power MA RC H 20 21

under the RfS through Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (RUVNL), which is the authorised representative for signing the Power Sale Agreement, on behalf of the Rajasthan Discoms. SECI shall be an intermediary nodal agency for procurement of power generated by the SPD and sale of such power to the Discoms of Rajasthan, entirely on a back-to-back basis based on due performance by the SPD as well as the Buying Entities. It has been specified that the projects selected under this RfS shall be of minimum individual capacities of 10 MW and shall be set up in integral values. The maximum capacity shall be 1785 MW. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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Adani Greens Kamuthi Project Turns Water Positive, Signals The Future for Large Projects

he announcement of the groups most prestigious and early large project turning water positive will set a benchmark for almost all future projects to follow Adani Green Energy's 648 megawatt Kamuthi Solar plant in Tamil Nadu, has been declared the first of its scale to be water positive. The announcement is a welcome step by large developers to set a benchmark for the broader industry to emulate . AGEL — the world’s largest solar power developer by total projects — has a portfolio of over 14,815 MW of projects at various stages of development. Independent global assessment and certification agency DNV has issued the certification following an audit conducted on the plant’s water management in 2020-21. Being water positive signifies that the project is conserving more water that that consumed to operate the solar plant. As one of the worlds largest single location solar plants, the Kamuthi project is spread over 2500 acres, and is located in a relatively dry part of the state of Tamil Nadu. According to the DNV certification, the plant created a water credit of 52,982 m3

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(cubic metre) which is more than its water consumption for the year 2020-21. The company became water positive bydesilting of community ponds and development of additional rainwater harvesting potential in the neighbouring villages of Sengappadai, Pudukottai and Thathakulam. “This initiative has resulted in substantial increase in the storage capacity of water bodies. Besides the intervention on the grounds, we also introduced robotic solar modules cleaning technology to reduce water usage to a significant extent,” said an AGEL spokesperson. AGEL is aiming to be in the top 10 companies of the world in ESG Benchmarking of Electric Utility Companies by 2022. These measures were introduced in addition to a robust water conservation framework already in practice at the site. According to this framework, the company optimised its water requirement under ISO 14001, through various initiatives including robotic cleaning of solar panels, rainwater harvesting and use of drips among others. For large utility solar parks, the search for high irradiance and clear area frequently leads to locations in dry landscapes, and water use had been flagged a major

challenge very early on. With cleaning technologies evolving to become waterless, the next stage in the evolution is to actually support water conservation by ensuring the right practices, be it water harvesting or supporting surrounding areas with conservation and access. Massive planned parks like the 41 GW Kutch project have already drawn protests regarding their environmental impact. Firms will need to take voluntary initiatives to manage the blowback, even as the government has waived many environmental norms for renewable energy. AGEL's own project in Rajasthan was under the HC lens last year. The ultimate target of course remains allowing the land to be used for at least some other productive activity, be it agriculture, grazing or more. That effort will gain increasing focus as parks seek to balance the need to stay closer to transmission grids versus using barren lands. Other major challenges, like recycling of solar equipment is also not far off, and we expect strong progress to be made there in the coming years, in time to tackle the flood of obsolete equipment that will start entering the market from the pre 2010 plants.

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Hero Electric Delivers 50,000 Units in 2020, Tops the Segment

pioneer and market leader in the Indian Electric Two-Wheeler industry, Hero Electric announced that it has sold over 50,000 electric twowheelers in 2020 consequently retaining the top slot in the segment. According to PTI, the company also announced that its sales network has crossed the 600 touchpoint mark covering 500 towns and cities across the country, hence offering the widest service network offered by any brand in the segment. Speaking on their achievements, Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill stated, “As we come out of an extremely challenging year, we at Hero Electric are extremely proud of what we have achieved. When we were faced with the situation, we had two options at hand, and I am glad we chose to fight it out with our experience and support from each and everyone connected to us. We are proud to have achieved our goals despite all challenges.” And now, this year the company is looking forward to presenting an exciting lineup of products, Sohinder added. Consequently through 2021, Hero Electric is planning to expand its Ludhiana-based manufacturing facility from a current capacity of producing 70,000 units per year to 2.5 lakh per annum. Additionally, the company is endeavoring to close the Fiscal Year 2021 with a growth of 15 percent over the last year, with a combination of online and offline sales. Furthermore, the company further declared that it has added 1,500 new EV charging points through 2020-21 across various cities. In order to facilitate its irresistible growth in terms of sale numbers, last year in August 2020, Hero Electric partnered with OTO Capital, India’s first vehicle leasing startup to provide consumers with affordable and flexible financing options to own their electric scooters and bikes. The partnership allowed consumers to save up to 30 percent on their e-scooter by paying monthly OMIs (OTO Monthly Installments) compared to other financing options in the market. The partnership was meant to be live across 16 Hero Electric dealers in Bangalore and Pune, with a focus to expand across India in a few months.

GE Renewable, Goldwind Relegate Vestas To Third Place in Wind Rankings

new ranking of Wind turbine manufacturers for 2020 from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has turned up a shake up at the top. GE Renewable Energy and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd have moved up to take the first two spots, pushing the erstwhile Danish leader Vestas Wind Systems A/S to third place. Vestas had been on top for the past 4 years. For Vestas, the drop has been even steeper in the offshore wind market where Siemens Gamesa renewable Energy retains its top ranking, with Vestas dropping to seventh place, behind Chinese manufacturers Shanghai Electric, Mingyang, Envision, Goldwind and CSSC. However, with a new lineup, Vestas hopes to make a strong recovery in this market. Siemens had total offshore installations of 1.91 GW of turbines in 2020, and will likely maintain its lead, going by its current order book, according to the BNEF report.

Overall leader General Electric Co installed 13.53 GW in total last year, all of it onshore wind. Goldwind is catching up fast with 13.06 GW of turbines in total, of which 12.75 GW were onshore. Vestas delivered 12.40 GW of total installations, with onshore accounting for 12.16 GW. The rise of Chinese manufacturers in Wind Energy was a foregone conclusion, and their rise in offshore in particular signals a big boom in offshore, as a large domestic market will allow these firm to grow faster and invest more in catching up with the European champions. With a 1200 GW target for the decade upto 2030, it is widely expected that China will actually target higher numbers than these, if progress of domestic manufacturing firms in Wind Energy keeps pace. The latest rankings indicate that is happening. GE, Goldwind, Vestas and Envision accounted for 51% of the total turbine capacity deployed in the record-setting 2020.

The top 10 turbine supplier ranking for 2020

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Mainspring Launches new Power Generation Technology; Announces $150 Mn Agreement with NextEra

ainspring Energy has launched the Mainspring Linear Generator, the first product in a new category of power generation technology for commercial and industrial buildings, utilities, and microgrids. The Mainspring Linear Generator at work in California, delivering fuel-flexible, resilient power, saving cost, and accelerating the transition to the net-zero carbon electric grid. The growing mandate for a reliable, affordable, and low-carbon electric grid is driving demand for new power generation technologies that can enable greatly increased use of renewable energy while providing improved resilience against natural disasters, increased flexibility, and lower cost than the electric grid. Mainspring's breakthrough technology, based on research originally conducted by the company's co-founders in a thermodynamics laboratory at Stanford University, is designed to meet these demands by delivering dispatchable, fuelflexible power that substantially reduces cost and carbon today, while accelerating

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the transition to the net-zero carbon grid. The company also announced it has entered a $150 million agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to purchase Mainspring units and finance customer projects starting in the first half of 2021. A major national supermarket chain, one of the Fortune 500 customers in Mainspring's pilot program, has signed an agreement to expand deployment of Mainspring Linear Generators to power up to 30 grocery stores. Mainspring began shipping pilot units to multiple Fortune 500 customers in June 2020 and expects to begin commercial product shipments in mid-2021. Mainspring has shipped products to big-box retail, grocery, and utility customers and is in talks with other Fortune 500 companies in shipping, logistics, telecommunications, and 100% biogas wastewater treatment facilities. "Mainspring is excited to bring our new solution to market with world-class partners like NextEra Energy Resources and our initial Fortune 500 customers," said Shannon Miller, founder and CEO of Mainspring.

"Their industry expertise, insights, and validation are valuable assets in meeting our goals: to help our customers reduce electricity costs and carbon output, improve resilience against natural disasters, and accelerate the transition to the net-zero carbon grid of the future." "Many commercial and industrial customers as well as utilities want clean, reliable power generation, with the capability to switch to 100% renewable fuels like biogas and hydrogen as they become available," said NextEra Energy Resources President and CEO John Ketchum. "Mainspring is able to integrate clean onsite generation with both renewables and the grid and we're pleased to support bringing this innovative product to market." Onsite power generation provides power where it's needed without the use of the electric grid transmission and distribution infrastructure. Mainspring's generators are designed to produce electricity with utilityscale performance in the size of a parking space, while meeting the strictest emissions standards in the world.

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SSN-COE Team Gets Rs 12 Cr Grant from DST for Solar Ingot Manufacturing Tech

Dr. Ramasamy, Dean (Research)

esearchers at SSN-COE have been awarded a Rs 12 crore grant from the DST, for tech they believe can catalyse India’s solar ingot and wafer manufacturing abilities SSN College of Engineering (SSN-COE), Chennai has announced that a team of its researchers led by Professor P. Ramasamy, Dean (Research) have been awarded a grant of Rs 12 crore by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, towards Directional Solidification (DS) technology that has the potential to catalyse India’s solar wafer and ingot manufacturing abilities. Wafers and ingots are the building blocks for manufacturing solar cells and modules and are essential to India’s clean energy plans. Globally, solar wafer and ingot manufacturing is dominated by China followed by countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and S. Korea. The research features an indigenously designed Directional Solidification (DS) technology system for growing highperformance multi-crystalline silicon ingots. This, the team believes, will aid the production of cost-effective, nextgeneration solar wafers and ingots and paves way for domestic manufacturing of large and better-quality silicon (mc-Si) ingot with enhanced efficiency of solar cells.

Dr. Ramasamy, Dean (Research), SSN College of Engineering, Chennai said, “multi-crystalline silicon is an important material used in production of low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. Our indigenously designed Directional Solidification (DS) technology system will allow us to grow high-quality mc-Si ingots suitable for the fabrication of solar cells. We also aim to transfer this technology to industries to indigenously manufacture highperformance mc-Si solar cells, taking a crucial step towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.” The team designed and developed mathematical simulations to use on industrial Directional Solidification (DS) system to produce high-quality silicon (mcSi) ingots. They studied – melt- crystal interface shape, impurities, and von mises stress under different temperature profiles to achieve better quality silicon (mc-Si) ingot. Further, transient global heat transfer model was used to optimise the temperature profile of the Directional Solidification (DS) process. It is the most efficient simulation to receive a slightly convex interface shape with lower thermal stress, and lower impurities in the silicon (mc-Si) ingot. The research has been published in the journal Material Letters. SSN-COE Solar

Ingot Manufacturing Grant Dr. Kala Vijayakumar, President, SSN Institutions said, “This research by our faculty has the potential to help our country realize its renewable energy goals and at the same time encourage local manufacturing to become more self-reliant.” Currently, India has a domestic manufacturing capacity of only 3 GW for solar cells and is heavily dependent on imports to meet its requirements. In 201819 alone, India imported USD 2.16 billion worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, panels, and modules. Chinese companies dominate the Indian solar components market, supplying about 80 percent of solar cells and modules used in the country. This breakthrough research, the team claims, has the potential to enable the country to reduce its dependence on imports and become more self-reliant. However, with the technology-focused on multi-crystalline cells, there is the issue of efficiency improvements to consider too. Keep in mind that global manufacturers have gone off multicrystalline manufacturing, and even in India, mono PERC modules overtook multi-crystalline in 2020, according to some reports. Thus, any further investment into mc will be at a huge risk of investing in old technology.

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'Chillermill' World's First Hybrid Renewable Energy Powered Freezer for Covid-19 Vaccine

yderabad-based commercial cold chain appliances manufacturer Rockwell Industries Lmt. launched the world's first-ever storage chiller and freezer that runs completely on the hybrid renewable energy source (wind and solar energy) on Thursday. The all-new Off-grid vaccine chiller/ freezer 'Chillermill' is useful to store COVID-19 vaccine at the required temperatures, ranging from Rs. 40,000 to 1 Lakh. The entire system is certified by the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) Hyderabad. Also, the company has rolled out its new Covid-19 vaccine freezer series. Consolidated with a unique patent of wind & solar energy the ‘CHILLERMILL’ range powers up of itself. The freezer comes with two high capacity variants (FR170 & FR240) and brings down the operational and energy cost to zero. A new world chilling technology with up to 72 hours of enhanced autonomy. It runs on 100 percent hybrid renewable energy with unique

patented wind & solar energy Brand “SOLARMILL”. Speaking to ANI at the launch of the product, Prateek Gupta, Director of Rockwell Industries Ltd said, "The vaccine storage chiller and freezer called 'Chillermill' is the first of its kind as it runs on hybrid renewable energy, which takes its source from solar as well as wind. This chiller/freezer gets its required power from the renewable energy source." "The Chillermill fits the Covid-19 vaccine temperature requirements. This chiller/ freezer can provide a temperature setting up to -20°C. This has been approved by the

World Health Organisation. Some vaccines need temperatures to be between 2°C to 8°C while some other need temperatures to be at -20°C," Prateek added. Ashok Gupta, the Managing Director of Rockwell Industries Ltd said, "Now we have decided to enter the medicine segment. We have developed a Cold chain supply system for the vaccines to be delivered and stored at the right temperatures called 'Chillermill', which is both a freezer and a chiller." "The cost varies from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 Lakh plus the energy source," Gupta added. Explaining their plans to circulate the freezer at a large level, Gupta said, "We are also planning to partner with the government to provide these freezers to the hospitals and health care units of rural areas, where there is a need for such machines. Under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds expenditure, these machines can be purchased and donated to the hospitals when needed," he added.

TG Hylift Develops A Robotic Cleaner For Floating Solar Modules

German engineering manufacturer has developed a cleaning robot optimized for installed floating solar modules. It can also be used for solar modules installed on land. The robotic cleaner uses only water without any detergent and works with batteries, maikig it an optimum option for floating solar plants by avoiding any water pollution. With floating solar just coming into its own, with projects over the crucial 50 MW size making an appearance, the need for solutions like this was long felt, and the latest innovation will probably spur more such announcements soon for the growing segment. The robot is now being tested

in a floating photovoltaic installation by Isigenere, a Spanish engineering company, and supplier of floating photovoltaic structures. The company has tested its new cleaning robot in a 500 kW floating installation built on an irrigation pond in the province of Mérida, in southern Spain. The cleaning robot named, hyCleaner black Solar facelift, has a modular design and uses only water without any detergent or chemical additive to clean the panels. The robot uses water from an existing irrigation reservoir in the facility in Spain. However, its manufacturers claim that you can also use rainwater, tap water, and recycled water, as

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well as all kinds of water preparation systems. The water supply is connected via a connecting link, and power is supplied by incorporated lithium-ion batteries. The robot is simply placed manually in the first row of modules and can be driven by an operator, via remote control with a range of more than 100 meters. Its design ensures minimal disturbance when moving around the installation, and its large track wheels increase movement between the different photovoltaic modules. Interestingly, the cleaning robot also has an edge detection system, which automatically stops it when it reaches the edges of the module.

Depending on the type and intensity of the dirt, the robot can be operated at different speeds. The rotating wash brush has a width of 1100 mm and modifies perfectly according to the width of the module. It cleans the surfaces of the modules and frames in a single operation. The robot can also be used in inclined installations, claims the manufacturer. Moreover, Isigenere perceives that since their Isifloating design does not have maintenance aisles between rows, cleaning robots like this one is an ideal solution. "In this way, large continuous photovoltaic surfaces are created," says the company.

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1st Ever Indigenous HEMT That Could Revolutionise EVs, Transmission

new High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) has been developed that is a normally OFF device and can find use in EVs, power transmission, etc. A team of scientists from Bangalore has developed a highly reliable, High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) that is a normally OFF device and can switch currents up to 4A and operates at 600V. This first-ever indigenous HEMT device made from gallium nitride (GaN) is useful in electric vehicles (EVs), locomotives, power transmission and other areas requiring high voltage and high-frequency switching would reduce the cost of importing such stable and efficient transistors required in power electronics. Power electronic systems demand high blocking voltage in OFF-state and high current in ON-state for efficient switching performance. Specific transistors called HEMTs made of aluminium gallium nitride/ gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) provides an edge over silicon-based transistors as they allow the systems to operate at very high voltages, switch ON and OFF faster, and occupy less space. Commercially available AlGaN/GaN HEMTs use techniques to keep the transistor in normally OFF state, which

affects the stability, performance and reliability of the device. Therefore, to meet this need, Prof. Mayank Shrivastava, Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, his co-investigators Prof. G. Narayanan, Prof. Digbijoy Nath, Prof. Srinivasan Raghavan and Prof. Navakanta Bhat, from Department of Electrical Engineering, and Centre for Nanoscience & Engineering, and their students, all from Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc), have developed the new kind of HEMT, which is in the OFF state by default and works like any other commonly used power transistor. Such transistors are called e-mode or enhancement mode transistors. Supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, they developed the new technology and device architecture using an Aluminium titanium oxide gate. The developed technology is a first of its kind, which uses a type of chemical called ternary oxide (composed of two different metal ions combined in an oxide matrix or Al, Ti and O), which behaves like material having larger positive charge concentration (p-type material). It does away with intrinsic reliability and performance issues of the in-use industrial techniques for

e-mode HEMTs, allowing the development of efficient power switching systems. This device will now be taken up for the prototype development and field-testing level (TRL 5). The scientists used aluminium titanium oxide as the gate oxide, where the percentage of aluminium could be controlled during the fabrication process. Since aluminium titanium oxide is stable, it resulted in high reliability of the transistor. The projected overall power device market is set to cross the 18 Billion $ mark by 2020, out of which the market for HEMTs is projected to cross the 5 Billion US$ market. So, GaN HEMTs will acquire a major share of the power device market. With a growing market for electric vehicles in India, such an indigenous development can make India self-reliant for transistor technology. The paper “Positive Threshold Voltage Shift in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs & E-mode Operation by AlxTi1-xO based Gate Stack Engineering” was published in the IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices. The team of students that worked on the project, research include Sayak Dutta Gupta, Ankit Soni, Rudrarup Sengupta, Heena Khand, Bhawani Shankar, and Nagboopathy Mohan.

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Longi Solar Top Module Supplier to India In 2020, Says Report

hina's LONGi Solar, a global leader in high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules, has been named India's market leader based on module shipments in 2020, according to a recent study by Gurugram-based research firm JMK Research. For LONGi, the numbers will be gratifying, as it has taken the firm just over 2 years to make its presence felt loudly in a market that is as competitive as it gets. The numbers attributed to the firm give it a 15 percent market share in the modules segment for 2020. Based in X’ian, China, LONGi supplied over 1,500 MW (DC) of modules in 2020 according to the report. It adds that in addition to its number one position in utility projects,

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LONGi has also gained a good market share in the rooftop solar market. In terms of overall capacity, LONGi was targeting to complete 2020 with well over 23 GW of module manufacturing capacity, and targets to take this to 40 GW by 2021 end. Total module shipments in 2020 for India have been estimated at 9478 MW. Jinko Solar, another Chinese major was in second place, followed by Adani, with 12.7% and 10.2% market share, respectively. "2020 will be a memorable year for LONGi’s business in India. We sincerely thank all our partners and customers who made this possible. In 2020, LONGi was also ranked number one in terms of global shipment. LONGi is the highest spender on R&D in the PV industry and we work

tirelessly to provide our customers with the best technology for their projects.” said Pradeep Kumar – Director India and Sri Lanka for LONGi’s Solar division A significant piece of news in the report relates to the much awaited shift from multi crystalline to mono PERC modules. 2020 was the first year where the shipment of high efficiency mono PERC modules in India overtook that of multi crystalline modules. This has been long anticipated by us, especially considering the narrowing of price differences, the fact that major Chinese manufacturers like Longi, Jinko and others had stopped manufacturing multi crystalline cells altogether, besides the entry of developers that have already shifted to these elsewhere globally.

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JinkoSolar Tiger Pro - Creating a New Benchmark for PV Module Safety

ecently JinkoSolar announced that according to the Global PV Installer Monitor 2020/2021, the company has maintained its leading position as the most well-known PV module brand in the Australian market in 2020 and achieved the most purchased module brand among the surveyed installers in Australia. The Survey is jointly initiated by EuPD Research, a highly specialized European research company, in cooperation with SunWiz, a leading provider of strategic consulting to Australian solar industry. The report also shows that JinkoSolar is still dominating the Australian market in terms of brand positioning, being the most exclusive brand in Australian installers’ portfolios, and occupying the industry’s leading position in the distribution market. According to customized statistics, JinkoSolar topped the Australian market in 2020 with 16% of the total market share, and ranked first in the Australian distribution market with the market share of 16.6%. Compared with large-scale utility projects, residential projects in the distribution market have higher requirements and attention to the safety of PV modules. As the junction box is the only channel of the output current of the PV module, its reliability and safety are particularly important. The emergence and rapid development of large size cells and high-power modules have put forward higher requirements for the adaptability of PV junction boxes. Large current carrying capacity, small dimensions and excellent heat dissipation performance have become the R&Ds main target. The design of the junction box should ensure the continuous and stable output of the module throughout the product life cycle, while avoiding excessive shielding caused by its installation on the back of PV module, which would affect the utilization of light. JinkoSolar PV R&D team focuses on solving industry problems and actively promotes the quality of R&D work. Through simulation analysis, product prototype verification, manufacturing process development, reliability verification and other stages, JinkoSolar launched 30A high-current module split junction box, to ensure its

stable and reliable operation in high-current environment. The junction box has been applied for the national patent, escorting JinkoSolar Tiger Pro series modules to become mature and highquality products in the global PV manufacturing industry.

The data of actual power plant project shows that the greater the current of PV module is, the more demanding the safety of the PV junction box is. The junction box connected with Tiger Pro module series has already taken the safety perspective into account to the greatest extent, where the 30A high-current module split junction box can achieve 25% safety margin, leaving enough space for future applications of new technologies such as battery efficiency improvement or new efficiency enhancement technologies. Moreover, it also has the following advantages: • The "+" shape design on the outer wall and the arc-shaped design on the upper cover of the junction box, larger space for heat dissipation; • Module encapsulation, better safety; • Single core or multi-core, meeting different current requirements; • Special chip, better reliability; • Module diode patch, excellent heat dissipation; • TUV/UL Dual authentication guarantee. Currently, this junction box and the supporting components have been mass-produced, providing reliable power and security for the steady development of Tiger Pro module series. MA RC H 20 21

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Energy Storage Market Breaks Quarterly Deployment Record in the US

Credits: Wood Mackenzie and US-ESA

,156 MWh of new energy storage systems were brought online in the US in Q4 2020, making it the new record quarter for US storage. According to Wood Mackenzie and the US Energy Storage Association’s (ESA) latest ‘US Energy Storage Monitor’ report, 2,156 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new energy storage systems were brought online in Q4 2020. This is an increase of  182 percent from Q3 2020, making Q4 the new record quarter for US storage. As prices fall and barriers to storage deployment are eroded, front-of-the-meter (FTM) storage is taking off in the US. Four out of every five megawatts (MW) deployed in Q4 were FTM storage. The segment contributed 529 MW out of the total 651 MW of storage deployed in Q4. California saw the lion’s share of Q4 FTM deployments, according to the report. It states that at 90.1 MW deployed, residential storage projects made up 14 percent of the MW total for Q4. After gradual growth in deployments over the first three quarters of 2020, Q4 saw a

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notable residential spike, driven in large part by homeowner interest in California. “2020 is the first year that advanced energy storage deployments surpassed gigawatt-scale – a tremendous milestone on the path to our aspiration of 100 GW by 2030,” said Jason Burwen, US Energy Storage Association Interim CEO. “With continuing storage cost declines and growing policy support and regulatory reform in states and the federal government, energy storage is on an accelerating trajectory to enable a resilient, decarbonised, and affordable electric grid for all.” Massachusetts led the non-residential segment in Q4, which is growing more slowly than the other two U.S. storage segments and deployed 76.5 MWh during the quarter. California and Hawaii also saw several new projects come online. In 2020 overall, 1,464 MW / 3,487 MWh of new storage came online in the US 179 percent more storage was added in 2020 than in 2019 in MW terms. And the report expects the US storage

market will add five times more MW of storage in 2025 than was added in 2020, with FTM storage continuing to contribute between 75-85 percent of new MW each year. “The data truly speaks for itself,” said Dan Finn-Foley, Wood Mackenzie Head of Energy Storage. “The US installed 3,115 MWh of storage from 2013 through 2019, a total that 2020 beat in a single year. This is the hallmark of a market beginning to accelerate exponentially, and momentum will only increase over the coming years. The new largest battery in the world, the 300 MW / 1,200 MWh system newly installed at Moss Landing, likely won’t hold the title for long.” The report highlighted that Q4 was the most eye-catching quarter to date for the residential market. California contributed most residential storage deployments in 2020 and Hawaii was also a very active market, while states in the Northeast, the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast are forecast to see growth over the next few years.

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Rosatom's Storage Division Takes 49% Stake in Korean Energy Storage Firm RENERA LLC a part of Rosatom State Corporation, has concluded the deal to acquire a 49 percent share of Enertech International Inc, a South Korean manufacturer of electrodes, lithium-ion storage cells, and energy storage systems. RENERA manufactures energy storage systems based on lithium-ion batteries for special equipment, telecommunications systems, uninterruptible power supplies, energy storage systems, electric transport, railways, and other areas. The signed agreement also involves building a facility for producing lithiumion cells and energy storage systems in Russia, with at least 2 GWh production capacity by 2030. The first stage of production is scheduled for 2025. Russian Lithium-ion batteries will be applied in electric vehicles (EVs), special equipment, and power grids. Partnership with the Korean partner is a part of ROSATOM’s strategic development of non-nuclear businesses. Energy storage is an end-to-end technology in ROSATOM’s portfolio of new businesses. Speaking of the partnership, President of TVEL Fuel Company, Natalia Nikipelova stated, “The alliance with the technological partner is a strategically important milestone for the development of Rosatom’s energy storage business. This will increase production capacity, significantly enhance our expertise and applications based on lithium-ion batteries and also facilitate access to foreign markets. "In addition, local manufacturing content in Russia means not just new technologies and products, but also new jobs”, Natalia added. The establishment of a world-class battery production enterprise in Russia would also become a landmark event for the national automotive industry, the company claims. The deal has been obeyed with the aim to reduce dependence on imports, associated commercial risks, and as the result, lower cost of the final products could become an incentive for production growth and widespread introduction of Russian-made electric transport. According to Bloomberg forecasts, the annual demand for lithium-ion batteries in the next 10 years will grow 10 times and by 2031 will amount to more than 2,000 GWh.

Europe To Become World's Second Largest Li-ion Battery Manufacturer By 2025

urope is all set to become the world's second-largest manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cell by 2025, said a European Commission (EC) vice-president, although some key challenges need to be addressed. In a high-level ministerial meeting of the European Battery Alliance (EBA), to support the continent’s multinational drive for a huge domestic production base and supply chain. The EC vice-president for inter-institutional relations and foresight, Maroš Šefčovič, announced that almost 70 industrial projects are being supported by the Alliance, expected to create as many as four million jobs by 2025. "EC had met with 'Ministers from leading Member States' as well as with the European Investment Bank to assess how much progress has been made through the multi-billion Euro alliance but more significantly, to discuss the way forward," said Maroš in a speech. Šefčovič has been leading The European Battery Alliance’s mission since 2017, to create a battery value chain that is innovative, competitive, resilient, and sustainable. Speaking on those 70 industrial projects, Maroš Šefčovič said, "While many of those 70 or so projects have advanced of expected schedules and decided to raise their scheduled output capacities beyond initial plans, covering areas from raw materials supply to digital technologies to support batteries in the field, the most progress has been made in the production of lithium-ion cell batteries." He further added, "Despite the pandemic, Europe continues to be a battery hotspot, closing the investment gap to our major Asian competitors, and in moving fast towards its open strategic autonomy in this critical sector." "Many of the battery investments have recently advanced their timelines and raised their expected output capacity. The production of lithium-ion cell batteries has shown the most progress – and by 2025, we are now set to become the second-largest battery cell producer in the

world, behind China," Šefčovič spoke about their goals. As we are talking about Europe's battery storage systems, we must highlight one of Europe’s largest energy storage factories to be established with Northvolt's investment of USD 200 million. Entering into production in 2022, a new factory will have an initial annual output of 5 GWh, and a potential future capacity of 12 GWh. According to the EC, The Ministerial Meeting’s participants embraced several policy initiatives adopted by the EC including; Regulations for the battery supply chain proposed in 2020 including sustainabilityfocused standards on carbon footprint and recycling mandates. The Critical Raw Materials Action plan, which added lithium to a list of materials deemed necessary for Europe to secure supply of in September. Cooperation between the Member States has also been strong, with France and Germany and others working together to progress Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) related to batteries worth more than EUR 20 billion over the past year. However, there will be some key challenges as mentioned by Maroš Šefčovič and Europe has to overcome those. Also, in January this year, European Commission announced a new Green Deal worth EUR 1 trillion to achieve the target of becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050. The European Green Deal’s Investment Plan – the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan – presented recently will mobilize public investment and help to unlock private funds through EU financial instruments, notably InvestEU, which would lead to at least EUR 1 trillion of investments.

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Noon Energy's Breakthrough Renewable Energy Storage Technology Lands $3M Seed Investment

oon Energy Inc., developer of a revolutionary ultra-low-cost battery technology for longduration energy storage, closed a $3 million Seed stage investment. Prime Impact Fund led the round and was joined by At One Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and Xplorer Capital. "Long duration storage is the missing link to a fully renewable electric grid. This is a difficult challenge because storage times must be increased from the 4 hours typical of today's batteries to 100 hours or more. No other efficient battery chemistry comes close to Noon's low cost because it uses only the abundant elements carbon and oxygen to store the energy. It was once thought impossible to build a battery using only these elements. Thanks to Noon's breakthrough technology, that is no longer the case." – Dick Swanson, Founder of SunPower, and Director on Noon's Board. Today's widely used batteries store energy in relatively expensive metals like lithium, cobalt, and vanadium. In contrast, Noon's battery stores energy in the ultra-low-cost elements carbon and oxygen—storage media that cost well below $1 per kWh capacity, less than the cost of their containers. It does this at double the roundtrip energy efficiency of hydrogen. "Noon Energy offers a fundamentally

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novel battery technology with an extraordinarily low-cost entitlement. The technology could be substantially lowercost than lithium-ion batteries at long durations, enabling intermittent renewables to be 100% 'on-demand' power. We are really excited by what Chris and the team are building, and are proud to have led the Series Seed round." – Amy Duffuor, Principal at Prime Impact Fund, and Director on Noon's Board. Noon's battery will provide long-duration stationary storage at a 10x lower storage cost than lithium-ion batteries, enabled by its earth-abundant materials and simple reaction chemistry. Sized at the 100+ hours storage capacity needed, it will make intermittent solar and wind power on-demand, 24/7 year-round, at a lower cost than fossil fuel generation and with zero emissions. Applicable to both gridscale and smaller applications, Noon gives solar-plus-storage days to weeks of reliable storage capacity, increasing critical grid and site resilience. Additionally, its high energy density (double lithium-ion at full system level) will enable longer-range electric ships, trucks, and other vehicles. "We have been looking for a sustainable battery solution with disruptive unit economics for a while and believe we have finally found it with Noon. By storing

energy in the most earth-abundant elements, Noon not only reduces the cost of energy storage drastically, but also our reliance on mined metals like lithium and cobalt posing major social and environmental problems today. We are thrilled to partner with Chris and the team to bring this solution to the market." – Laurie Menoud, Partner at At One Ventures. "Noon team members and I had laid the groundwork at Columbia University and the Technical University of Denmark, where we developed CO2-to-fuels electrolysis technology to store renewable electricity in the form of hydrocarbon fuels. Noon's novel battery is based on the same core technology, with key modifications we invented. We have pulled together a world-class team and we are excited to partner with this awesome group of investors to bring our breakthrough storage technology to market." – Chris Graves, founder and CEO of Noon Energy. The same core technology is also currently on-board NASA's Mars Perseverance rover and will soon begin producing oxygen for the first time by electrolysis of the CO2 atmosphere on Mars. Noon's founder helped develop this device as part of the NASA "MOXIE" science team since 2014.

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Solar the Star For Attracting Investments in India’s Energy Sector A suitable geographic terrain, supportive Government policies, future energy demand, and environmental concerns make a strong case for solar energy

Vishal Yadav

CEO and Founder, FDI India

ising population, an emerging economy with exponential growth ambitions, and urbanization are some factors contributing to India’s increasing energy demand. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), India will be the main driver of rising demand for energy over the next two decades, accounting for 25 per cent of global growth. The country is set to overtake the European Union as the world’s thirdbiggest energy consumer by 2030 source. While, in order to meet this pertinent demand, India remains dependent on a volatile global fossil fuel market, the need to develop a stable homegrown ecosystem for renewable energy is felt more than ever. Not only for existing energy needs, but also to ensure the decarbonisation of sectors like transportation and others with green energy. Among various forms of renewable energy, solar has shown sustained growth and the most promising future. Given the country’s geographical terrain and proximity to the tropic of cancer, solar power can be produced more efficiently and almost around the year. The share of solar power in India’s installed power capacity mix reached 10.3%, exceeding that of wind-based power sources for

the first time in 2021. In other words, the rise has been about 11 times between 2014-19. Moreover, the projection also suggests that solar energy will witness exponential growth and match coal’s share in the Indian power generation mix by 2040 or earlier. As it happens, the share of coal is expected to decline from 44% in 2019 to 34% in 2040. Considering the massive opportunity, there has been a robust FDI inflow in India’s non-conventional energy sector. According to the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), this investment stands at over US$ 42 billion since 2014 (source). The biggest catalyst for this investment is the Government's impetus on developing clean energy sources through various large-scale sustainable power projects. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of 225 GW by 2022, of which about 114 GW is planned for solar. This will be done through various models including publicprivate partnership. Moreover, the Government has also extended the production led incentives (PLI) scheme in Solar PV manufacturing with financial outlays of Rs 4,500 crores under Atma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0. This is an important move towards enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports, especially at a time when the country is aiming to bridge the gap in balance of payments, with the rest of the world. All these policy measures have made solar power an attractive investment avenue for foreign director investors. Apart from bridging the energy deficit, developing solar power infrastructure also has the potential to create many employment opportunities at all levels, especially in rural areas. Thus, it also aligns well with the Government’s agenda of inclusive growth. Last but not the least, boosting the solar power production augurs well with India’s commitment to the Paris Climate Accord that aims to substantially reduce the risks and impacts of climate change on the world. With the increasing focus of investors on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) oriented business, the sector has all the boxes ticked to draw a major chunk of FDI in the country. MA RC H 20 21

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No More Energy Poverty - The Bacha Way Awanish Somkuwar

e have got rid of energy poverty. The days of painful suffering from energy-deficiency are over. We have already become India's first solarenergy rich village, says Anil Uike a tribal youth who is a solar energy ambassador of Bacha village in tribal Betul district. Bacha is a small village of Khadara Gram Panchayat in Ghodadongri tehsil of Betul district. Bacha has gained an iconic status across the country as Solar Energy Rich Village. It is predominantly a tribal village with 450 plus population mostly of Gond families. "All of 75 households are using solar energy operated equipments. We are determined to make Bacha totally selfreliant in energy requirement switching over to solar energy, says Sharad Sirsam Pancha of Khadara Gram Panchayat. Just

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Deputy Director (PR), Department of Public Relations Government of Madhya Pradesh , Bhopal. three years back IIT Bombay and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation came to help tribal families of Bacha gain self-sufficiency in energy needs. The social acceptance of solar energy technology has changed the scenario.

Freedom from Smoke

All 75 households are now solar-powered. They have energy storage system and solar energy operated kitchen. Using induction stove has made female members technology-friendly. "For years our families had been using earthen chulhas. Opening fire, eye-burning, inhaling thick smoke and constant coughing were horrifying things. informs Shanti Bai Uike Panch of Khadara Gram Panchayat. Now we are accustomed to using induction stove. We can easily cook anything on it. Even though we have

cooking gas, its use is becoming occasional, she adds. "The traditional chulha was really a menace. I am now comfortable with the induction stove. It is operative any time. says Smt Radha Kumre.

Biotic Pressure on Forest Reduced

"The impact of harnessing solar-energy can be clearly measured from decreasing biotic pressure on adjacent forest, says Heeralal Uike who heads - Van Suraksha Samiti (Forest Protection Committee). Elaborating the primary tasks of Van Suraksha Samiti, he informs that all 12 members of the Committee guard the forest wealth and are watchful so that none harms the jungle. We have to be alert about illegal tree-felling and poaching activities. Earlier, female members used to visit the forest

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regularly for collecting fuel wood and naturally fallen twigs. It was a common practice. Now it has stopped and we are greatly relieved." "I am the oldest native of this village. I have closely seen how things have changed, says Shekhlal Kavde who is in his 80s. His family depends on three acre agriculture land for livelihoods. He recalls how Bacha had no road. It was without electricity. No cleanliness at all. Today, Bacha is totally changed. I am happy to have enjoyed joyous moments in my lifetime." Sharing the collective feeling of Bacha people, Anil Uike says that everyone is happy because of reduced electricity bills. The simple reason is that electricity consumption has drastically reduced. Solar power operated LED bulbs are enough to meet energy requirements.

A Source of Inspiration

"Bacha has inspired surrounding villages, says Rajendra Kavde Sarpancha of Khadara Gram Panchayat. He says that adjoining Khadara and Kevlajhir villages have also evinced interest. Kevlajhir is just 1.5 km. from Bacha while Khadara is 2 km.

"I feel honoured as Bacha has made me known not only in the district but nationally. People greet me warmly wherever I go. Similar is the feeling of Arun Kavde a BSc final year student of Shahpur Government College, which is 15 Km from Bacha. His father owns four acre agriculture land. "We are gradually switching over to solar power as the grid-supplied electricity is becoming costlier he says. The second big reason is that it is environment-friendly, he adds. "I feel proud when my friends request me to visit my house and see how my mother is using solar-powered kitchen with induction stove. Almost all of them have visited my place, he says. A local person Devasu takes care of solar panels, induction stoves, bulb connections, storage battery and other technical aspects. He keeps asking family members if there is any problem. He immediately repairs minor faults.

Change in Social Behaviour

"All this began in 2017 when IIT Bombay picked-up Bacha for this project, informs Rumi Dallu Singh Dhurve - member of

Janpad Panchayat Ghodadongri. He informs that the IIT Bombay helped installation of solar panels while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) provided induction stoves. Asked about the change in Bacha's social behaviour, he informs that the positive changes are clearly visible. For example, villagers have become techno-friendly. They are exhibiting scientific temperament in dealing with social problems. They are more adaptive to newer technologies. The youngsters are even more enthusiastic and ask about how solar energy can make life more comfortable. I personally feel that Bacha model is extremely feasible and easily replicable. Dhurve appreciates the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He believes that the vision can be realized through such community-driven initiatives at micro level. Mohan Nagar of Bharat Bharti Shiksha Samiti working for integrated development of rural areas in Betul says - if Bacha can achieve self-sufficiency in energy, there is no reason others can't do.

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Credit Quality Of Large Indian Renewable Players Intact, Says Moody's

oody's Investor Service, the global credit ratings firm, has been reported to have declared that the credit quality of Indian renewable energy firms remains intact, post the end of the 2019 and 2019 financial years. Or till the period ending March 2020. The firm's report has included 5 of the largest rated renewable firms in its ambit. Notable exceptions like Tata Power and large state owned firms like NTPC in any case will pass muster. This was despite 15-20 per cent of wind and solar power projects underperforming during 2019-20, according to the report. Portfolio diversification, besides growth of 20 percent over the past five years ha ensured that these firms survive to look at the larger opportunities that will come up now. Abhishek Tyagi, a Moody’s Vice President and Senior Analyst has been quoted as saying that "About 15-20 per cent of Indian wind and solar projects did not meet capacity utilisation targets in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 because of wind generation curtailments and lower irradiance for solar projects, which were

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responsible for 56 per cent and 68 per cent of the underperformance respectively,”. As a result, rated renewable energy companies’ EBITDA declined 2-5.6 per cent in fiscal 2020, said the report. The Moody’s report has been based on an analysis of 176 projects totaling 11,462MW across five rated companies — Greenko Energy Holdings, ReNew Power Private Limited, Adani Renewable Energy, Azure Power Energy Ltd, and Azure Power Solar Energy Private Limited. Interestingly , three of these 5 firms have been in the news in just the past few weeks for fund raising from foreign partners, be it Renew's SPAC listing, Adani's deal with TOTAL, or Orix investing into Greenko. In other words, every single one of the firms considered by Moody’s has benefited from either access to capital through a market listing , or jointly with foreign partners. Interestingly, the report stops at the period ending March 2020, just when the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic would have started. As we are aware, the pandemic has done more to make stronger firms stronger, while culling weaker firms, than almost anything

else. And it remains one of the less understood and researched outcomes of the year long disruption. Especially the first six to nine months. In India, we have seen it reflected in the bidding for renewable projects, where smaller firms have all but bowed out in recent months, and the ongoing liquidity crunch that continues as discom dues refuse to go down to the 60 dpd(day past due) that should be the norm. 180-270 days has become the new norm, hurting all players, especially smaller players. Thus, that effectively means that the larger renewable energy firms, with powerful sponsors will still get to participate in the far larger opportunities that will open up in this decade, a key feature of renewable energy growth, which would be the presence and opportunity for smaller firms to jump in, might not be as strong in the next 10 years. Moody's has also flagged the presence of powerful sponsors as one positive that will ensure these firms continue to do better than one would expect normally, considering the credit challenges posed by the power sector in India.

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BCD Decision Sparks Predictable Reactions, Costs To Go Up By 50 p/unit

hree days after the formal confirmation of government plans to impose an enhanced Basic Customs Duty (BCD) of 25 per cent and 40 per cent on imported solar cells and modules, respectively, the reactions have started coming in thick and fast. Dedicated developers, both those on record and off the record, have expressed their views strongly, calling the move not 'planned through', 'predictable;, and of course, inflationary. Now, ratings agency ICRA has come out with the first of what should be many predictions on the impact on actual power costs. Girishkumar Kadam, co-group head, at ICRA ratings has been reported saying that BCD is expected to result in an increase in the capital cost for a solar power project by 23-24 per cent, which in turn would result in an increase in tariff by about 45-50 paise per unit. Thus, as expected, prices are expected to stay under the unofficial 'discomfort' level of Rs 3 per unit and above, even after the duty starts kicking in. Sub Rs 2.70 per unit is the unofficial limit on solar power today, and that could yet be managed with domestic supplies eventually. Though issue will remain around quality, as recent procurements have shifted decisively towards Mono-PERC and even Bifacial modules in some projects, while domestic capacity is still dominated by polycrystalline output. Ritu Lal, Senior VP & Head - Institutional Relations, Amplus Solar, speaking on the MNRE notification, says "High import duties will certainly lead to a significant increase in the cost of generation across all solar segments. Import barriers can only be temporary measures. Eventually, Indian manufacturing will succeed only if we are able to compete in the global marketplace in terms of price, technology, and scale". Pinaki Bhattacharyya, CEO & MD Amp Energy India adds that “This move will slow down the race towards the 175 GW target by 2022 i.e. next year. Although this removes considerable uncertainty but the rates are too high and will increase the cost of solar power for discoms and consumers alike. This will increase the cost of

manufacturing power as well as other industries in India. We understand that the intent of the government is positive and they want to encourage domestic manufacturing but the method should have been different. The government should have provided direct manufacturing subsidies to manufacturers to help them scale up their capacities and this would have been beneficial to the sector.” For the government, making the shift to the higher duty structure, even while the fate of the SGD of 14.9 percent (expected to be phased out once BCD starts) has not been clarified yet, will depend on a series of players in the solar ecosystem moving seamlessly. From fresh domestic manufacturing capacities, to regulators moving faster on pending cases that are to come up before 2022, to clarity on the status of SEZ based manufacturers, who remain the dominant presence in

manufacturing. What seems highly probable is that buying from China and other low cost sources abroad will speed up massively by the end of 2021, as developers stock up for avoiding delays, should they have to go to regulators for getting the benefits of a change in law event from BCD imposition, for their projects awarded earlier. Of course, this being India, we won't be surprised if many developers actually do the reverse, if their projects are already behind schedule due to other causes, as such delays have usually been condoned by regulators and tribunals. For Indian manufacturers, the 15 percent price gap they face vis a vis China origin imports, even after SGD in some cases, will finally be bridged, giving them a price advantage, though the final difference will be depend on whether Chinese manufacturers drop prices further.

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Siemens Commissions India’s First HVDC Power Transmission Link

iemens has successfully commissioned India’s first highvoltage direct current (HVDC) link between Pugalur and Thrissur. Siemens Limited has announced that it has successfully commissioned India’s first high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link featuring voltage-sourced converter (VSC) technology. The 2,000 megawatts (MW) electricity transmission system, consisting of two links between Pugalur in the state of Tamil Nadu and Thrissur in Kerala, supports the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) to counter the power deficit in India’s southern region and improve the grid stability. The ±320 kilovolt (kV) HVDC system was realised by Siemens Limited in association with a consortium of Siemens Energy (Germany) and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Japan and features for the firsttime the integration of High Voltage Direct

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Current XLPE Cable with overhead lines in India. This VSC-based system features integration of HVDC XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) cable with overhead lines which saves right-of-way as well as has a 35-40 percent less land footprint compared to conventional HVDC system. Major HVDC equipment such as interface transformers and IGBT-based power converters, and other high & medium voltage AC equipment such as gas-insulated switchgear, air-insulated switchgear, control and relay panels, etc. have been supplied from Siemens Limited’s factories in India. Gerd Deusser, Executive Vice President and Head, Energy, Siemens Limited, said, “we take great pride in partnering PGCIL in this landmark HVDC project. It supports the major initiatives of the Government to achieve ‘24×7 Power for all‘ in the country by ensuring reliable power supply,

improving the grid’s stability, and facilitating the efficient use of renewable energy. The project reinforces our purpose of driving the energy transition to more sustainable, reliable, and innovative systems.” Earlier in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had officially inaugurated the link that has now been put into commercial operation and enables the exchange of electricity in both directions. It had been revealed at the time that the project was built at cost of Rs 5070 crore. At the time PM Modi had also dedicated to the nation the 50 MW Kasaragod solar power project. The project has been developed under the National Solar Energy Mission. Set up over 250 acres of land spread across Paivalike, Meenja and Chippar villages of Kasaragod district, it has been built with Central Government’s investment of around Rs 280 crore.

SAUR ENERGY www.saurenergy.com

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DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 | VOL. 5 | ISSUE 06 | TOTAL PAGES 64 | PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

As Solar Takes Lead, Moment of Reckoning For Wind Energy

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ECOENERGY

SNEC PV POWER EXPO 2021

website : feiraecoenergy.com.br

website: www.snec.org.cn Location: Shanghai, China Phone: +86 21 33685117

START DATE: 2 Jun 2021 END DATE: 5 Jun 2021

START DATE : 8 Jun 2021 END DATE : 10 Jun 2021 E-mail : info@fieramilano.com.br

E-mail: info@snec.org.cn

AGRIVOLTAICS 2021

ENVEX 2020

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

website : www.envex.or.kr

E-mail : info@agrivoltaics-conference.org

E-mail : envex888@epa.or.kr

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

SOLAR PV WORLD EXPO 2021

ASIASOLAR 2021

website:www.pvguangzhou.com

website : www.asiasolar.net

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

Location : Sao Paulo, Brazil Phone : +55 11 55854355

Location : Guangzhou, China Phone : +86 4006 258268

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

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

Location : Hangzhou, China Phone : +86 512 53986898

E-mail : intl@pgo-china.com

E-mail : 1009472995@qq.com

6TH SOLAR AFRICA 2021

THE 13TH CHINESE RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

website : www.expogr.com/tanzania/solarexpo

website : www.crecexpo.com

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

Location : Tanzania Phone : +971 4 3721421

INTERSOLUTION 2022

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

E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

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Location : Wuxi, China Phone : +86 510 81827276

E-mail : liuyang@crecexpo.com

E-mail : expo@expogr.com

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

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

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

Location : Ghent, Belgium Phone : +32 9 3857719

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AQUACOOL Air Coolers Solar Fan Set Product Brief: First time in India MIST fan cum water cooler which runs without electricity on solar panel and battery backup.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

It has a solar panel , battery back up to 4-5 hours ,easily operated by a remote, has up-to 7 hours timer

mode plus runs on electricity as well. It also got a 2.2 litre water tank and the water lasts in the tank for 8 hours.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Can be used for sanitising purpose as well which will keep your houses and offices protected. It can also be easily operated by a remote.

A solar powered water cooler which gives cool fresh air with mist waving goodbye to summer heat and power cuts, that has an adjustable height up to 4 feet.

AVAILABILITY:

The Product is at INR 11,299 on retail at: https://cutt.ly/PxwYnpQ

LiONCooler: The World’s Smartest Portable Solar Freezer Product Brief: LiONCooler is the first smart, app-controlled, rechargeable, solar fridge freezer.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

It keeps food and beverages cold without ice and works like a regular household refrigerator, but on-thego! LiONCooler chills to -4°F and is equipped with quality LG compressors to ensure performance.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

It has a 173Wh Rechargeable and replaceable battery which takes 4-6 hours to fully charge. Battery has a 10hour life to keep the chill. The luggage-style design makes LiONCooler easy to move without having to lift. Use AC, 12-volt DC in the car, or solar panels to charge the freezer.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

A solar powered, portable freezer you can take wherever you go and adjust the cooler’s temperature using the digital LCD display or remotely with the free Bluetooth App available for iOS or Android

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available in various options on retail; https://www.kickstarter.com And on the firm’s website; https://lioncooler.com/

GoSun Brew | Travel Coffee Maker and Portable Solar Power Bank integrated heater. Brew fresh coffee in just 15 minutes, you just have to add water, plug in Brew to power, heat for 10 minutes (wait till auto shut-off and LED indicator), add coffee grounds and steep, add Lid and French Press, and the coffee is ready.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Product Brief: Stainless steel cup, French press & heater in one, makes tea or coffee anywhere. Plus, solar power from a compact, portable power bank.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL M A R C H 2 02 1 SAURENERGY .C O M

An all in one cup you can take anywhere which runs on solar power. Featuring a 130W Heater and integrated French Press, this 16oz, doubledwalled mug will not only brew your drink.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

GoSun Brew makes coffee easy, deploying 100 year old French Press tech with an

Insulated mug holds 16oz (473ml), so you don’t have to be stingy. Stainless-steel mug is BPA free & dishwasher safe. GoSun Brew can also reheat beverages and food, Make instant meals like oatmeal, ramen noodles, soups, and more. It can maintain your drink’s preferred temperature.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available in various options; USD 99; USD 149; USD 199; up to USD 1,799. It is available at firm’s website; https:// gosun.co/products/brew

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KVAERN - SOLAR POWERED E-BIKE PRODUCT FEATURES:

Product Brief:

KVAERN is the easiest, coolest and most sustainable way of transport which runs on solar power.

The KVAERN bike has an impressive frame that provides exceptional control. The front suspension provides a smooth ride on every surface. Advanced, lightweight materials are used throughout, to reduce overall weight to ensure a sporty feel with comfort on any road. It can give a 0 to 25 km/h speed in just 4.5 seconds. Equipped with a powerful motor and smart torque sensor technology. Runs on an off-the-grid solar power pack, comes in a cool design.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

KVAERN bikemakes city riding more

relaxing with pedal assist. This feature provides electric power when you need it. It has a built-in removable battery, KVAERN+ power pack is a solar power pack system designed for your KVAERN bike.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

The KVAERN bike is a new type of e-bike, designed around you. It will help you go further, faster, longer, and can help keep you fit, It can help save you money.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available at INR 129,922 on the retail and firms website; https:// kvaern.com/

ABFOCE: Ultra Foldable Solar Panel & Wireless Charger Kit gets multiple devices fully charged fast.

PRODUCT BRIEF:

4-Fold solar panel packable in a box with a 10000mAh removable wireless USB charger supports QC3.0, PD3.0 & faster charging protocols having LED display.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

The ABFOCE solar recharging kit compacts to an extremely portable size while ensuring wherever you are your gadgets are juiced up, prepped and on. The magnetic USB charger attaches itself to panels and just as readily releases, allowing for inside use too. Equipped with fast charging USB-A, USB-C outlets and a Qi-compatible wireless mat, the ABFOCE

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

Made with the most powerful and attractive mono-crystalline panels available, the ABFOCE’s four solar panels readily absorb more solar energy. Not only that, the panels are filled with fluoropolymer, the best light transmission that can be found in the market.

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

With superb green credentials, ABFOCE delivers a natural power source to just about any and all of your compact electronics: smartphones, e-books, SLR cameras, GoPro Series, drones, in fact,

just about any portable electronics you need on demand. All of this and more, as ABFOCE also effortlessly provides multiple electronics with charging power.

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available on retail

Wireless WiFi/4G Solar Powered CCTV Camera PRODUCT FEATURES:

PRODUCT BRIEF:

A solar powered security camera which run by fully wireless solar and battery power to offer you non-stop wire free security.

Fully wireless CCTV camera with both WiFi and 4G solution available for which no electricity is needed and 100% solar powered. It has 1W/2.5/3.3W/5.5W solar panel capacity with different battery variants like; 3400mAh/ 5200mAh/5600mAh/10400mAh built-in LiFePO4 battery. The camera is IP66/ IP67 Waterproof protection and has a 2MP 1080P HD resolution with

a 3.6mm/4mm auto focus lens. Equipped with Famous brand chip Hisilicon/Ingenic and TF card. Support 64GB/128GB and cloud storage. You can operate it with Mobile APP for remote monitoring.

PRODUCT APPLICATION:

It can be used at various locations like, Home/villa, Garden/orchard, Cattle farm/ poultry farm, Fisheries, and Playgrounds. MA RC H 20 21

PRODUCT BENEFITS:

Product Benefits: You can use this solar powered CCTV camera without electricity and grid connection which makes it cost effective. It is Customized OEM/ ODM and comes with a 1 year warranty

AVAILABILITY:

The product is available in different variants at the firm’s website

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

S AUR E N E R GY. C O M

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Assistant Manager(Sales and Marketing)

Senior Executive (Sales and Marketing)

Position: Assistant Manager–Sales and Marketing (Solar PV Business)

Position: Senior Executive – Sales and Marketing (Solar PV Business)

Superior: Lab Manager

Superior: Assistant Manager –Sales & Marketing

Location: Delhi, India

Location: Mumbai & Hyderabad, India

Job Purpose • Marketing and brand promotion. • Business Development for Solar Advisory Services (testing services – BIS and others, technical due diligence services, consulting services).

Job Purpose • To assist the ‘sales and marketing’ function for successful execution of the strategies. • To assist in business development process, marketing process & other lab related activities.

Roles and Responsibilities: 1.Marketing of Lab services • Execute marketing strategy for promoting Mitsui Chemicals brand to developers, manufacturers and govt. bodies. • Participate in important conferences and seminars for brand promotion activities. • Build relationships with various stakeholders. 2.Business development and Sales • Execution of sales strategy and sales promotion. • Track of tenders for bidding. • Periodically reporting of the development activities. 3.Sales & Marketing Strategy • Gather market information and marketing insights. • To create marketing strategy based on customer profile and industry. • To design pricing strategy after analysing all factors. 4.Leadership • To co-ordinate with team members and align sales process. • To contribute towards development of skills of fellow employees. Job Requirement: • Post-graduate/ Graduate engineering degree in a relevant technical area (B.E / B.Tech or M.Tech) • Business Management graduateswillbepreferred. • Professional experience of 2-4 years of sales, marketing & business development in solar testing, advisory and consulting industry. • Excellent presentation skills and understanding of the business. • Knowledge in the certification, production and testing of PV modules • Computer skills in MS Office and general documentation tools. • Excellent team player. • Must be proficient in English. • Ability to work according to industry norms and standards to ensure high level of quality. How to Apply : Interested Candidates can directly share their resume on Email:Jayeshwari.bamezai@mitsuichemicals.com , shortlisted candidates will get a call or email from HR Team for further interview process.

Roles and Responsibilities: 1. Sales &Business Development • Meeting customers for execution of sales strategy and sales promotion. • Manage key accounts of the territory. • Develop relationships with influencers and decision makers. • Periodically reporting of the development activities. 2. Marketing strategy • Gather key market information of customers, competitors and govt. bodies (BIS, MNRE etc.) • Participate in branding activities at conferences and seminars. • Support in creating marketing tools such as brochures, presentations which aligns marketing strategy. 3. Other Responsibilities • To assist and learn from customer meetings, interactions, visits etc. • To get involved in all the processes followed in the lab (technical & commercials) Job Requirement: • Post-graduate/ Graduate engineering degree in a relevant technical area (B.E / B.Tech or M.Tech) • Business Management graduateswillbepreferred. • Professional experience of 1-2 years of sales, marketing & business development in solar testing, advisory and consulting industry. • Excellent presentation skills and understanding of the business. • Must have good technical knowledge, should be an initiator. • Self-motivated and must have willingness to learn. • Computer skills in MS Office and general documentation tools. • Must be proficient in English. • Ability to work according to industry norms and standards to ensure high level of quality. How to Apply : Interested Candidates can directly share their resume on Email: Jayeshwari.bamezai@mitsuichemicals.com , shortlisted candidates will get a call or email from HR Team for further interview process.

Cybersecurity Engineer - ABB This is a Cybersecurity Engineer role, reporting to the Technical Manager in business area Industrial Automation (IA) located in Bangalore. You will be working at Ability Innovation Center (AIC), home to the largest technology and engineering pool in ABB globally and is a part of ABB Global Industries and Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of ABB. It is based in Bangalore, the silicon-valley of India. Its unique infrastructure places research, development, engineering, and service teams under one roof, increasing collaboration and reducing time to market, with no compromise on quality.

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Qualifications: ME/M.Tech/B.E/ B.Tech form reputed institution with Information Technology or Computer Science stream. Experience: Required 5+ years of experience in product development, engineering or similar. Location: Bangalore, Karnataka (India) Responsibilities: •A rchitecting and designing of the collaborative operations center (COC) solutions, such as developing use cases for cyber security. •D elivering analytics dashboards, reports, alerts, site audit/assessment, creating reference architecture from data sourced.

•C reating Architecture from Manufacturing site like PLC, DCS, HMI, SCADA, engineering tool and infrastructure based on SIEM software such as IBM Qradar, Splunk, Forescout, etc. Your Background: •S hould have sound Experience in cyber security threats and defense options (technology, procedures). •S hould have knowledge of ABB/Non-ABB manufacturing offering (products, systems and services). How to Apply : https://global.abb/group/en/ careers

Providing

Turnkey Solutions From Sand to Energy India's Most Experienced Fully Integrated, Technology, Application and Knowledge Engineering Group with end to end O & M Capabilities. MODULE

CELL

INGOT POLYSILICON PLANT

WAFER

POLYSILICON HJT CELL LINE

MODULE LINE

Bergen Solar Power and Energy Limited

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

Saurenergy International Magazine March Issue 2021

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