Saur Energy Magazine February 2019

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SAUR ENERGY FEBRUARY 2019 | Rs. 200

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

DCP LICENSING NO. F.2(S-29) PRESS/2016 l VOL 3 l ISSUE 6 l TOTAL PAGES 64 l PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

Final Budget Wish List

SAUR ENERGY

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR THIRD DIMENSION

I N T E R N A T I O N A L EDITOR MANAS NANDI manas@meilleurmedia.com

“Making India a pollution free nation with green Mother Earth and blue skies is the Third Dimension of our Vision. This India will drive on MANAGING EDITOR Electric Vehicles with Renewables becoming a major source of PRASANNA SINGH energy supply. India will lead the world in the transport revolution through electric vehicles and energy storage devices, bringing prasanna@meilleurmedia.com down import dependence and ensuring energy security for our people” said Piyush Goyal in his budget speech.

DIRECTOR MARKETING Well we have spoken to lot of veterans post this speech in PRATEEK KAPOOR parliament and received a mixed response. Particularly to prateek@meilleurmedia.com mention that the rooftop players were not too happy about this year allocation of -35% from last year for off grid.

In addition, the government plans to install over 3 lakh SUB EDITOR solar street lights to under AJAY Ph-II. Also, 20 MW projects MANU TAYAL of Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology will be manu@meilleurmedia.com undertaken in the new fiscal.

Overall, the budget has allocated Rs 4,960 crore for both SUB EDITOR grid-interactive and off-grid or decentralized renewable AYUSH VERMA power for 2019-20. This is a marginal 1 per cent increase editorial@meilleurmedia.com over the allocation of Rs 4,903 crore based on the Revised Estimate for current fiscal.

But I feel the government’s intent is clear and is positive MANAGER- MEDIA SOLUTION towards this industry. In a nutshell let’s check the GIRISH MISHRA budget allocations in the following sector:

girish.mishra@meilleurmedia.com

Budget Solar Power On Grid Solar Power OFF Grid TOTAL FOR SOLAR SECTOR

2018-2019 2019-2020 2157.24 2479.9

% Change 14.96

812.5

525

-35.38

2969.74

3004.9

1.18

Well right now I have a lot of interesting and informative articles inside for you.

Happy Reading!

DESIGN HEAD SANDEEP KUMAR WEB DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JITENDER KUMAR

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

ManasNandi manas@meilleurmedia.com

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

Cover Image: Created by jannoon028 - Freepik.com

India Solar Expo Stall No: C3 15th-17th Feb’19 Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

Solar Today Expo Stall No: 152 28th-2nd Mar’19 Kathmandu, Nepal

CONTENT PAGE

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30

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NEELESH GARG

ASHISH KHANNA

Director Saatvik Green Energy

President Tata Power (Renewables)

MBJ POST SHIPMENT AND POST INSTALLATION INSPECTION REPORT

COVER STORY

18

WISH LIST FOR THE FINAL 2019 BUDGET POLICY

08 President Sanctions Implementation of 1 GW VGF Scheme Govt Lowers Import Duty on EV Components

06

FEBRUARY 2019

Gujarat Frames Land Policy for RE Projects SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

MARKET

58 Impact of Solar Lanterns on UP, Bihar Households Corp Clean Energy Buying Surged in 2018: BNEF

CONTENT PAGE

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12

REVIEW OF A PV PLANT FEATURING SINGLE-AXIS TRACKERS

COMPANY FEATURE SOLARMAXX

44

THE URGE FOR "LI" VAULT PROJECTS

FINANCE

22

32

GE to Digitize Tata Power’s Renewable Fleet in India

Vibrant Gujarat: MoUs worth over Rs 1 Lakh Cr Inked

BESCOM Floats Tender For 100 EV Charging Stations

Tata Power’s Renewable Biz Shines in Q3 FY19

MNRE Issues Scheme for Solar with Storage in Ladakh

Leap Green Inks Rs 1700 Cr MoU with TN Govt VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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FEBRUARY 2019

POLICY UPDATES

PREZ SANCTIONS IMPLEMENTATION OF 1 GW VGF SCHEME The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued an order for the implementation of a subset of existing 5 GW Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for setting up of 1 GW of grid-connected solar PV power projects in northeastern states including Sikkim under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).

The scheme will be implemented through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), as per MNRE guidelines of the VGF Scheme issued first in 2016. The latest scheme envisages to set up 1 GW of solar photovoltaic power projects on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis by the Solar Power Developers (SPDs) in northeastern states including Sikkim.

Features of Subset of existing 5 GW Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme will be as under:

This Sub Scheme of 5 GW VGF Scheme will be valid for only NE States including Sikkim.

The total aggregated capacity under this Sub scheme shall be 1000 MW. Bidding would be conducted by SECI with capping the tariff at Rs 3 per unit, with

a maximum VGF of Rs.1.0 Crores/MW. The minimum size of the project will be kept as 5 MW due to the land constraint in N-E states. Commissioning of solar projects will be kept within 21 months from the date of singing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

The funds for this proposal may be disbursed by re-appropriation through 2552.318.01.02.35 NE Head under Grid Interactive.

VGF will not be given to any private party for private consumption.

All other terms and conditions of the 5000 MW VGF Scheme will remain the same.

The subset of the scheme will be operative up to the financial year 2018-19 and work towards meeting the targets of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).

GOVT LOWERS IMPORT DUTY ON EV COMPONENTS

DGTR SUGGESTS ANTI DUMPING DUTY ON TEMPERED GLASS

To promote domestic assembling of electric vehicles, the government has lowered customs duty on import of parts and components of such vehicles to 10 to 15 percent. Until now, vehicle parts and components imported for assembly in India attracted an import duty of 15 to 30 percent.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has carved out a separate category for parts and components of an electric vehicle for which customs duty has been lowered to 10-15 percent.

Further, the CBIC has removed customs duty exemption to battery packs for electric vehicles and also doubled the duty on battery packs for mobile phones.

The new rates of duties will come into effect from Wednesday, the CBIC said.Henceforth, import of battery packs for electric vehicles will attract 5 percent tax. Customs duty on battery packs for mobile phone has been doubled to 20 percent.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said, “These customs duty rate rationalisations while may increase the cost of import of these goods, but should definitely boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.”

Recently, A government panel led by cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has proposed an array of incentives for electric carmakers as well as buyers of electric vehicles in an effort to push e-mobility in the country from both the demand and supply side.

The panel had recommended lowering the basic customs duty on components besides a lower GST rate to encourage manufacturers to take up large-scale production of e-vehicles.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has issued its final findings for the anti-dumping duty investigation concerning the import of textured tempered coated and uncoated glass from Malaysia.

The DGTR has recommended levy of anti-dumping duty of $114.58 (Rs 8,161) /metric ton for a period of five years.

After reviewing the submissions made by the parties and stakeholders, the DGTR noted that tempered solar glass has been exported to India largely by one producer, namely Xinyi Solar, whose exports are evaluated as non-dumped, and the Directorate found their exports to India to not be liable for an anti-dumping measure.

According to the directorate, “The domestic industry has suffered a material injury during the injury period and period of investigation. This injury has been due to various factors including imports of tempered solar glass from Malaysia.”

“The domestic industry has suffered a material injury on account of price suppression and undercutting by imports from Malaysia.

The financial parameters on profitability and return on investment (RoI) are also noted to be adverse,” read the DGTR statement.

The non-cooperating producers for whom dumping margin and injury margin have been evaluated will be charged with the levy of anti-dumping duty.

The matter came under investigation after Gujarat Borosil filed a petition requesting the imposition of an anti-dumping duty.

Gujarat Borosil stated that the dumping of cheap products from Malaysia was causing material injury to its business, claiming to be the only solar glass producer in India.

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FEBRUARY 2019

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

POLICY UPDATES

GUJARAT FRAMES LAND POLICY FOR RE PROJECTS Gujarat has released its land policy for renewable energy projects, which seeks to set up wind parks and windsolar hybrid parks in the state, similar to solar parks. A welcome development for wind developers who want to set up their projects in Gujarat.

Land had lately been a bone of contention between project developers and the Gujarat government, with the latter reluctant to lease land for wind projects auctioned by central agencies like the Solar Corporation of India (SECI), while providing such land for similar projects sanctioned by the state agency, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL).

Many developers, who had won SECI projects and intended to set them up in Gujarat, which has some of the best wind energy producing sites in the country found themselves stuck as a result. Gujarat officials had stated that

leasing of land would resume once the state’s land policy on the matter had been finalised.

The government has clarified that henceforth all Central projects will have to be built inside these parks.

“All future solar, wind and solar-wind hybrid projects will be subject to this,”

a top official said.

A total area which can accommodate 30,000 MW of renewable energy will be sanctioned for these parks, with each park large enough to install a minimum of 1,000 MW. (Of the 30,000 MW, 10,000 MW will be set aside for projects initiated by state PSUs.) “We will decide the exact location of the parks in consultation with developers,” the official told ET. “The idea is not to have projects dispersed all over the state, with wires running everywhere. Evacuation will also be easier.”

Wind projects need around 0.75 acres per megawatt, while solar projects require 5-6 acres. But sites with wind speeds high enough to produce power are limited. Gujarat, which already has a number of solar parks, is keen that the new parks come up mostly in the Kutch area.

MNRE ISSUES QUALITY CONTROL ORDER ON SPV GOODS

SOLAR BRINGS ELECTRICITY TO COASTAL VILLAGE IN ODISHA

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the BIS Act has notified the Solar Photovoltaics Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order 2017 for quality assurance in SPV Power Projects. It includes SPV modules, inverters and battery storage for SPV applications.

As per the order, no person shall manufacture or store for sale, import, sell or distribute goods, which do not conform to Indian Standards specified in the Order. Manufacturers of these products are required to apply for registration from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) after getting their products tested.

The substandard or defective goods which do not conform to the specified standard mentioned in the schedule shall be deformed beyond use and disposed of as scrap by the manufacturer or by any agency authorized by the manufacturer as its authorized representative in India.

As the products are of varying sizes, ratings, varieties, etc. the products in each category are to be grouped for submitting samples to test labs and shall be granted series approval for series of products based on testing of representatives models.

Domestic module manufactures whose annual module production capacity is less than 50MW are exempted for BIS certification for two years till September 4, 2019, provided they have valid IEC Certification.

For the Charigharia village located inside the Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) in Gupti gram panchayat under Rajnagar block in Odisha, access to electricity was a distant dream.

But now under a new initiative by the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA), the 106 households of Charigharia are getting electricity from off-grid solar power systems.

The village had not seen any development as it is located inside the national park and as the forest department used to object to most projects. “There is no road to the village and power distribution lines have not come here. Water is also scarce. Here people lead a simple life of farming, cattle rearing and fishing,” said Babuli Moharana, a villager of Charigharia to PNN. But finally, the government provided solar energy to the families of Charigharia under the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with the Centre’s help. OREDA would maintain each household’s solar cells for five years, said Panchanan Tripathy, Assistant Director of OREDA. The agency has installed three LED bulbs (5 watts), a tube light (18 watts), a solar fan (30 watts) and a mobile phone charger in all homes. Each house has a 200 watts solar module and battery which costs nearly Rs 65,000, Tripathy said. OREDA has also provided solar power to 28 households in Dolaka village and eight households at Nandagala in Cuttack district, according to Tripathy.

VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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FEBRUARY 2019

POLICY UPDATES

GOVT TO LAUNCH TECH CENTRES ON SOLAR IN CHENNAI The Department of Science and Technology is launching three technology centres in Chennai. The three centres will be located at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and will promote solar energy and water treatment.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests and Climate Change is set to inaugurate the three centres.

The DST-IITM Solar Energy Harnessing Centre will focus on a wide range of research and technology development activities such as silicon solar cells that promise high efficiency and are suited for Indian conditions.

The network of researchers engaged in centre comprised of scientists from IIT Madras, IIT-Guwahati, Anna University, ICT-Mumbai, BHEL, and KGDS, which will be further expanded. The objective is to create a platform that can be extended

readily to strengthen knowledge ecosystem. The consortium will be duly poised to address the sustainability requirements in the spirit of ‘Make in India’.

The DST-IITM Water Innovation Centre has been established with an aim to undertake synchronised research and training programs on various issues related to wastewater management, water treatment, sensor development, stormwater management, and distribution and collection systems.

The Centre will provide a unique opportunity for the various groups in different premier organisations working in the area of wastewater management, water treatment, sensor development and stormwater management to collaborate and work in synergised manner to ensure adequate, safe, reliable and sustainable sources of drinking water for rural and urban India and process water for highly polluting and water-intensive industries, through research, technology development and capacity building.

The third centre is the Testbed on Solar thermal desalination solutions which is being established by IIT Madras and Empereal KGDS as solution providers in Naripaaiyur with the aim to deliver customised technology solutions to address prevalent water challenges in the arid coastal village located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

GOA AMENDS SOLAR POLICY TO GRANT 50% SUBSIDY

MSEDCL TO HIRE 23,000 VILLAGE ELECTRICAL MANAGERS

To further incentivise the generation and adoption of solar power in the state, the Goa government has approved the amendments to the Goa State Solar Policy 2017. The solar policy with proposed amendments was issued last month inviting comments and has now been approved.

According to the new amendments, small and large prosumers (producers and consumers) will now receive a 50 percent subsidy instead of the earlier proposed interest-free loan that was recovered in installments.

For Small Prosumers such as Residential, Institutional and Social Sector category having solar plants up to 100kW size, the State Government shall provide subsidy of 50% (Central share 30% and State share 20%) of the capital cost or the benchmark cost provided by MNRE or cost arrived through tendering process by GEDA whichever is lower.

The central share will be credited to the prosumer as per the guidelines of MNRE. The State subsidy shall be released upon completion of 06 months of the solar power injected into the grid.

As per the 2017 policy, prosumers were to be provided a grant of 50 percent of the capital cost as an interest-free loan, which was to be recovered by way of installments after six months from the time the power flows into the grid.

All prosumers who have carried out installation after December 21, 2017, will receive the subsidy and incentives in the amended policy. The policy was notified in December 2017.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd. (MSEDCL) has announced through an official release that it will appoint power managers in 23,000 villages to attend to the complaints related to electricity and its theft.

The MSEDCL will appoint 23,000 ‘village electrical managers’ one at the gram panchayat level. They will attend to the power-related complaints and electricity thefts, the release said. During a programme held in Nagpur recently, Energy Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule distributed certificates to candidates, who have completed ‘Gram Vidyut Vyavasthapak’ training jointly initiated by the MSEDCL and Maharashtra State Skill Development Society.

He suggested that the course will open employment opportunities for the youth in rural areas, as the ‘village electrical manager’ will work for the MSEDCL at the gram panchayat level.

“Similarly, these power managers will also be given the responsibility of implementation and creation of awareness on solar energy installations in hospitals, schools, farms and homes,” Bawankule said.

Recently, The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) floated a tender for purchasing electricity from 1,000 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power projects on a long term basis. Setting a ceiling tariff of Rs 2.80/ kWh, the distribution company will sign a power purchase agreement for a period of 25 years with the successful bidder.

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FEBRUARY 2019

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

POLICY UPDATES

FARMERS CAN APPLY FOR SOLAR PUMPS ONLINE The state government of Maharashtra has discontinued providing solar-powered agriculture pumps to farmers through the district level committee and has instead asked applicants/ farmers to register online on the MSEDCL website.

“As per the government decision, the district-level committee, headed by the district collector, has now been relieved of the responsibility of selecting the beneficiaries for the distribution of solar pumps. The work has now been allocated to the superintendent engineer,” Chief Engineer, Nashik, MSEDCL, BK Janvir said.

The state government has plans to provide all the farmers with solar-powered pumps, 3 HP pump set for farmland less than 5 acre and 5HP pump set for bigger farms, which have enough power to lift water for use on a farm.

“A farmer has to pay only 10 percent of the estimated cost of the pump and the MSEDCL will install the same through its authorised contractor,” Superintendent Engineer, Nashik, Praveen Daroli said.

“The primary condition to be eligible for the scheme is that the applicant should not have any kind of conventional power connectivity previously. Besides, the source of the water should belong to the applicant. When these conditions are fulfilled,

the SE will sanction the connection. The consumer can choose the approved contractor for the job. Once approved, the MSEDCL is responsible for ensuring that the connection is set up within a fortnight,” Sandeep Darwade, Malegaon SE, said.

The applications have been sought via the website. The MSEDCL has already asked its staff to collect maximum numbers of applications before January 31.

DHBVN OFFERS SOLAR TUBE WELLS FOR FARMERS

MNRE SEEKS VIEWS ON DRAFT WIND ENERGY LEASE RULES

The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has rolled out the facility of solar-powered tube wells for farmers across the state. At a price point which will be nearly 40 percent less than the conventional systems received with the grid connection.

Since 1,703 applications for new connections up to 10 BHP are pending in the district, the authorities are now issuing letters to these farmers seeking their choice between offgrid solar connections from the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) or grid connections from the discoms.

Superintending Engineer, Faridabad, Pradeep Kumar Chauhan said it was for the first time that such an option had been given to farmers. Further adding that the applicants had been asked to submit their choice as soon as possible.

However, no deadline for the same had been announced by the authorities so far.

According to sources, 75 percent cost of the solar connection will be borne by the state government in the form of subsidy.

After which the applicants will have to pay Rs 1,52,500 for a 10 BHP connection against the total cost of Rs 6.10 lakh.

Similarly, those opting for 3 and 5 BHP connections will have to pay Rs 58,750 and Rs 83,250, respectively.

The cost of a 10 BHP connection from the traditional grid is Rs 2.50 lakh. While the minimum cost of a grid connection is Rs 1,25,000. While the supply from a solar connection will be free, it is 10 paise per unit for the grid one.

The National Offshore Wind Energy Policy provides only a basic framework for the development of offshore wind energy in the country. And now the Ministry has opened its new Draft Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules for comments/suggestions/views from various stakeholders.

As per the policy, the offshore wind energy blocks are to be allocated to successful bidders through international competing bidding only and the lease fees are to be collected by the designated nodal agency i.e. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai.

The Central Government has issued a draft set of rules to regulate the grant of leases, which belongs to the Central Government, to the developers for development of Offshore Wind Energy projects along the coastline of India up to 200 NM (Nautical Miles) within the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).

As per the new rules, no person/entity shall install or commission offshore wind energy project except in pursuance of an offshore wind energy lease granted under these Rules. A lease in respect of any offshore area/zone within the territorial waters or continental shelf within EEZ of India vested in the Union shall be granted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (Government of India).

The Ministry has provided a timeline until February 25, 2019, for interested stakeholders to submit their suggestions.

VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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FEBRUARY 2019

THE CONVERSATION

REVIEW OF A PV PLANT FEATURING SINGLE-AXIS TRACKERS

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FEBRUARY 2019

Soltec, a leading manufacturer and supplier of single-axis solar trackers and related services in large-scale projects, supplied 162 MW of complete tracker equipment to a PV power plant located in Northeast Brazil. The project counts with 5,368 units of the innovative independent-row tracker.

Eliminating array-gaps at all pile mounting locations, SF7 achieves complete tracker module fill to enable the greatest yield on the market today. By reducing parts count and installation labor, SF7 also achieves a lower installed first-cost. The net result is a greater benefit/cost ratio that defines Soltec’s principal innovation criteria to increase tracker cost-effectiveness.

Other key features of SF7 include: fewest piles per MW, greatest installation tolerances on steep-slope and irregular land, and the greater site-fill options offered by a short tracker that mounts twice the modules per independent row tracker length.

The PV power plant is able to provide energy equivalent to the demand of 171,000 Brazilian households, avoiding the emission of 203,500 tons of carbon dioxide.

According to PVsyst simulations, this project will generate 322,711 MWh of clean energy annually and a performance ratio of 79.9 percent. The month with is highest energy injected into the grid would be August (30,436 MWh), even though the highest global irradiation is presented in October (194.9 kWh/m²). The highest performance ratio is taking place in June (82 percent), being also the month with the coolest average temperature (26.17°C).

On the other side, the worst performance ratio is for October (78.8 percent) and the lowest energy injected into the grid takes place in February (22,135 MWh).

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

“Soltec has proven to be a reliable partner in large-scale projects. Soltec’s strong manufacturing and supply capacity in Brazil enables customer project success,” said Carlos G. Mena, Regional General Manager Brazil.

Soltec manufactures locally in Brazil in compliance with FINAME accreditation regulations granted by the Brazilian Development Bank. The certification enables Soltec to supply equipment under attractive financing arrangements, and to help grow local economies.

“Key features of SF7 that our customers value highly include fewest piles-per-MW and greater installation tolerances on steep-slope and irregular land,” stated Raúl Morales, CEO of Soltec.

Soltec’s global operations and workforce of over 750 people blend experience with innovation. The company has manufacturing facilities in Argentina, Brazil, China, and Spain, as well as offices in Australia, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. With a strong commitment to renewable energy and the environment, the company is dedicated to innovation, product standardization, and customer success.

THE CONVERSATION

ASHISH KHANNA President, Tata Power (Renewables)

NEEDS EFFECTIVE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR WATER PUMP NETWORK Our policymakers will have to create an effective regulatory framework for the development and installation of a widespread solar water pump network. It will be largely beneficial if our farmers are made aware of the many benefits that come along with the adoption of solar water pumps as well. Policymakers can also incentivize the use of solar water pumps, so farmers are more encouraged to make the switch, believes Ashish Khanna, President, Tata Power (Renewables), part of $145.3 billion Tata group and a leading player in the electric utility space. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Sub Editor, Saur Energy International, Khanna shared his views exclusively on solar water pumps sector, its bottlenecks which the sector is currently dealing with along with its future growth opportunities. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

India being an Agrarian country and you being a solar water pumps manufacturer, what scope do you see in the next few years in India?

With more than 50% of the population directly engaged with agriculture, it is safe to say that India is primarily an agrarian society. The agriculture sector alone contributes to nearly 18.33% of India’s electricity consumption. Currently, there are an estimated 26 million water pumps for irrigation purposes in the country, nearly 38.5% of which run on diesel. The remaining 16 million installed irrigation pumps are connected to the electricity grid. Unfortunately, developing a grid system is an expensive affair, particularly because most rural villages are located too far from grid lines. Solar water pumps can help address these concerns. With solar water pumps, farmers have access to high-quality power that can be available throughout the day. These water pumps can be transported in pieces and reassembled at the preferred location for installation. We see a lot of scope in the next few years particularly because our solar water pumps are a more sustainable alternative. It is also an efficient and convenient solution for grid-isolated rural areas. They are also a more cost-effective alternative.

Our solar water pumps are a low-cost solution that enables farmers to spend more time increasing their income by growing crops, instead of ferrying water from miles away.

Q

How solar water pumps can revolutionize India’s farm sector?

Our farmers rely heavily on the monsoon for watering crops, but an effective irrigation system like solar water pumps can help increase crop yields by four times. Solar water pumps today have emerged as a clean and reliable source of water. Firstly, unlike conventional irrigation pumps that run on fuel, solar water pumps run on solar energy, which can be accessed throughout the day.

This way, farmers will not be required to depend on fuel, which is also expensive. Secondly, the maintenance costs for solar water pumps are much less, with a long operating life, as opposed to conventional irrigation systems. These photovoltaic pumps are easy to transport and install and are more cost effective. Solar water pumps can help save time and increase productivity as well. Farmers will no longer have to struggle for water. Additionally, it can open doors for new jobs, particularly in the rural areas. Women and children will benefit largely as well. We are well aware of how they walk miles each day for clean drinking water. Installing solar water pumps can address this issue and bring them respite.

Q

The government’s ambitious target to initiate wide-spread usage of solar pumps is a positive indication of the growth of the solar pump industry, what more do you expect from Are there any challenges/ difficulties do you face these the Indian policymakers in order to further boost the sector? days in acceptance of your product line of solar water pumps?

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is actively working towards deploying 30,000 solar water pumping systems every year, Farmers need to be made aware of the benefits of solar water for agricultural and irrigation purposes. Our policymakers will have pumps. Even today, farmers are highly dependent on rain. to create an effective regulatory framework for the development They need to be educated about the benefits of solar energy and installation of a widespread solar water pump network. It will and solar water pumps. Cost is one of the major challenge be largely beneficial if our farmers are made aware of the many initially, as it is high, but most, if not all, can be recovered over benefits that come along with the adoption of solar water pumps the course of time. In addition to this, solar water pumps are as well. Policymakers can also incentivize the use of solar water vulnerable to theft. pumps, so farmers are more encouraged to make the switch.

Q

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FEBRUARY 2019

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

THE CONVERSATION

An effective irrigation system like solar water pumps can help increase crop yields by four times.

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FEBRUARY 2019

OPED

DAIRY INDUSTRY EXEMPLARY TO EXPLOIT SOLAR PROCESS HEAT At 176.4 million tonnes annually, India is the global milk and milk products producer. There are over 1,200 large, medium & small dairy industries. The dairy industry is dominated by the co-operative sector with 60% of the installed processing capacity in this sector. Milk processing in India constitutes around 35% of total milk production, of which the organised dairy industry accounts for 13% of the milk produced while the rest of the milk is either consumed at farm level or sold as fresh.

Energy plays a major role in processing milk and milk products.

In a dairy, primary energy sources such as furnace oil, etc. are used in boiler for generating steam which in turn is used for heating applications like pasteurization, evaporation, drying of milk. Nearly 30% of overall manufacturing cost is spent on purchase of furnace oil, electricity, which is substantial. Typical dairy plants derive about 70% of their energy requirements in the form of thermal energy and the remaining 30% is consumed in the form electricity.

As a part of the Indo-German cooperation project “Solar Payback” for accelerating Solar Heat for Industrial Process (SHIP) the study undertaken by Solar Thermal Federation of India has identified Dairy processing as topmost potential sector as shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 : Identified potential industries for industrial process heat

in the dairy industry which demand water at temperatures <120 °C.

Figure 2: Process wise heat demand and share of energy consumption in the dairy industry

Table 1 shows the mapping of various diary processes with different solar technologies.

Process

Energy/Fuel being used

Application media

Temperature required OC

Washing and Cleaning

Electricity, furnace oil, gas and agriculture waste

Hot water

40-60

Chilling/Cold Storage

Electricity, gas and diesel

-

<5

Pasteurisation

Fuels like furnace oil, coal, gas and agriculture waste

Process heat

70 - 80

UltraPasteurisation

Fuels like furnace oil, coal, gas and agriculture waste

Process heat

125 - 140

Sterilization/ Evaporation

Fuels like furnace oil, coal, gas and agriculture waste

Process heat

100-120

Spray drying

Fuels like electricity and gas

Hot air

100 - 140

Butter makingdrying/ evaporation

Fuels like furnace oil, coal and gas

Hot air

70 -110

Thermal Energy Consumption Break Down

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The total amount of heat energy generated by boiler is divided into various processes as per requirement. The process wise thermal energy consumption is represented in Fig. 2 below.

Maximum amount of thermal energy generated is consumed for chilling and cold storage. Followed to this sterilization and spray drying consumes equal amount of energy. Chemical processes carried out at dairy requires smallest amount of energy of total energy generated. Solar thermal systems can enormously contribute to driving the various thermal processes SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

OPED

Table1: Solar technology mapping in the dairy sector There is however no latest study available on the estimated replacement potential of fuel oil/biomass using solar thermal energy. PricewaterhouseCoopers had undertaken an analysis on the percentage wise use of fuels in a typical dairy processing unit using Annual Survey of Industries database as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Percentage-wise fuel consumption in a typical dairy processing industry (Source: PwC analysis, based on ASI database 2007–08)

Figure 3 indicates that electricity drives most of the processes in the industry, followed by petroleum products and other fuels such as rice husk, firewood, etc.

The assumption is crucial for a conservative and pragmatic estimate of the energy replacement potential considering the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) available in different parts of the country. Fig. 4 below is the map of DNI over India.

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), a national Institution to support policies for growth of farmers has already implemented 15 pilot SHIP projects in the country and are showing promising results. There have also been several learnings on the grey areas. Dilip Rath, Chairman NDDB said “solar thermal is idyllically win-win for a typical dairy processing in India. Mandatory heat demand supported with higher subsidies for renewable energy technologies will positively attract dairies. Close to 9GW of demand exists for chilling in all dairies in India where solar thermal can be useful.”

India is blessed with reasonable Direct Normal Irradiance, which makes ideal platform to explore solar heating optimally in the dairy processing industries. The ball can be set rolling to establish SHIP as the emerging renewable energy technology.

In a volatile fuel oil pricing scenario investing in sustainable energy technologies assumes significance to improve cash flows and lowering overall production costs.

The project Solar Payback suggests a six-point action plan to further the development of SHIP in dairy processing • Formulate a committee involving NDDB, MNRE and STFI that will draft a policy paper specific to dairies to accelerate SHIP in dairies. Capital subsidy to be the driver but linked

Fig. 4.: DNI Map of India, source : Solargis s.r.o. https://solargis.info/

to performance.

• M andate a certain percentage of solar heat energy generation hence create market demand.

• Explore Viability Gap Funding to bring down the payback to three years to make it financially viable.

• Analyse the Energy Service Company (ESCO) concept that will become less burden for dairies to invest up-front.

• Investigate the multilateral agencies that can fund under Climate Change programmes for solar energy project development mitigating greenhouse gases • Undertake awareness workshops in locations with high concentration of dairies and at reasonably good DNI locations thus share the benefits of using SHIP. n

Jaideep N. Malaviya

Secretary General & Chief Project Executor - Solar Payback, India

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WISH LIST

In

a year when the country heads for general elections, the renewable sector has reason to look forward to a good final budget, from whoever comes to power. This is because the renewables sector has been an undisputed success story for India, and no government should be doing anything to slow it down.

For the current government too, from growth in capacity to the establishment of the International Solar Alliance, the renewables sector has provided a lot to be proud of.

So, this time we decided to explore the Modi government’s last Budget (or interim budget) which was tabled recently in the Parliament.

In our journey of gathering the views of industry stakeholders on this Interim Budget of the Modi government, from Jaideep N. Malaviya, Secretary General, STFI; Tulsi Tanti, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group; Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies; Animesh Damani, Managing Partner – Artha Energy Resources; Ashit Maru, Co-Founder, MYSUN; Manish Aggarwal, Managing Director, Enkay Solar Power; and Pranesh Chaudhary, Founder and CEO, Zunroof Tech; they discussed openly about their expectations from the Modi government’s last interim budget and the hope that some of the unfulfilled expectations will be addressed by the policy makers in the Final Budget in July after formation of the New Government…

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Wish List for The Final 2019 Budget SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

WISH LIST

JAIDEEP N. MALAVIYA

Secretary General & Chief Project Executor - Solar Payback, India

Animesh Damani

Managing Partner Artha Energy Resources

Tulsi Tanti

Founder, Chairman & MD Suzlon Group

Sunil Rathi

Director Waaree Energies

Ashit Maru

Manish Aggarwal

Pranesh Chaudhary

Co-Founder MYSUN

Managing Director Enkay Solar Power

Founder and CEO Zunroof Tech

How do you see Modi government’s Interim Budget 2019 for the Sunil Rathi renewable sector? Are your expectations fulfilled?

The Interim Budget 2019 laid out the Government’s vision for the Jaideep N. Malaviya coming decade and it was reassuring to see Renewable Energy as a core dimension of the same. Given the focus on domestic Nothing significant as an announcement although it was trade and services and PSUs now sourcing from local entities, the expected to address the issue of a uniform GST for any solar emphasis is now going to be towards growth of domestic solar energy system. An incentive package for DISCOM’s to accelerate manufacturers. This will help in job creation in the solar sector and rooftop solar PV and solar water heaters could have helped in achieving economies of scale for domestic manufacturers. achieve the ambitious target set.

We applaud the Government's 2030 vision of reduced dependencies on foreign entities for fossil fuel and believe that Animesh Damani given a sustainable ecosystem for domestic solar manufacturers, solar energy will be a prime source of energy. This in turn, will This budget has let down the renewable sector again. There reduce imports, thus strengthening the Rupee denomination has been no announcement on incentives or ease in policy. and contributing to the nation's GDP. Overall, the renewables sector is left to fend for itself.

With technological evolution leading the sustainable efforts of the country, we are confident that, if implemented, the proposed Manish Aggarwal vision will help attain energy security and generate employment.

Modi government’s interim Budget 2019 was largely based on farmers/poor community nothing for middle class Business or MSME. We have stopped expecting from our government which is mainly focused on Big Industries and small people nothing for middle business.The budget failed to cater to the needs of the renewable energy sector, as no subsidies and incentives were announced. In a situation where there is scarcity of financing options for renewables and manufacturing units are dying a slow death, the Budget provides no ray of hope.

What are the challenges you think that need serious attention and should be attended to by the government through the final Budget in July?

Sunil Rathi The Government needs to focus on minimising or eradication of dumping of low quality imported solar equipment, which leaves little to no scope for domestic manufacturers to focus VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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WISH LIST

their efforts towards enhancing their capabilities or capacity. deliver.

Instead, Indian manufacturers have to direct their efforts towards In addition, technologies like floating solar and flexible module competing with these low quality products at unsustainable have the potential to further the penetration of solar in the prices. With a focused and universalanti-dumping measure, country, and we foresee verticals like Rooftop solar and coupled with Safeguard Duty that extends to Thailand, Energy Storage Solutions play a big role in this transition by Vietnam and other neighbouring countries, the demand of bringing solar energy to the masses. solar products will shift to domestic manufacturers. This will, as a result, act as a boost to the domestic solar manufacturing AnimeshDamani sector.

In addition, the stability in the imposition of GST across the No.Our roof-top target failure is a forgone conclusion. On the Utility front, we should get close. country will help in the execution of more projects.

Animesh Damani

Manish Aggarwal

It is very clear that utility scale project does not require any The ambitious target cannot be achieved by 2022 as after support whatsoever as the developers are bidding at tariffs implementation of safeguard duty all the big projects had close to the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectation. The sector that is come to a halt as big EPC players or developers mainly struggling is off-site Captive plants and roof-top solar. We procure solar modules which are 60% of the cost of EPC need to bring back accelerated depreciation at 80% for project from China. But after implementation of safe guard both these segments to boost the confidence of consumers duty project which was quoted by developers cannot and investors who are currently shying away due to lack of accommodate duty so project has to come to a halt. Till incentives. RESCO developers are clearly the growth engine date no decision has been taken by the government to see for roof-top solar in the country. Subsidy for the residential what is the solution of this problem. sector has not resulted in major capacity addition. Hence, it would be more prudent to focus resources on segments that Jaideep N. Malaviya are already working and could do wonders with a boost.

Hence, I propose, for C&I roof-top solar, 80IA benefits should Targets are good to accelerate the market but merely achieving the targets at the cost of quality will be deterrent. be made available to RESCO developers.

Country has the potential to achieve much beyond the set Manish Aggarwal target provided conducive policies are in place as we are sunlight rich country and technologies are competitive.

MSME should be offered some compensation on interest rates paid to Bank. Solar industry should be exempted from any As an industry expert, what do you think is the one single taxes as it was before GST. thing the government can do to boost manufacturing?

Jaideep N. Malaviya

Sunil Rathi

A three-year plan to remove cross subsidisation of electricity tariffs will make rooftop solar targetsa possibility. Also, with higher tariffs masses will opt for solar thermal heating instead of electrical heating. Unfortunately the solar thermal is grossly ignored and it would be prodigious if aggressive demand is created for industrial process heat since it has the potential to reduce the fuel oil thus save on precious foreign exchange.

Given that the Safeguard Duty is currently implemented in select countries, imports are being re-routed through Thailand, Vietnam and other neighbouring countries that are exempted.

This makes it easy for low quality solar modules and cells to be dumped in the Indian market. A universal anti-dumping policy can change that and allow an equal platform for domestic manufacturers to innovate and compete with global counterparts on a level playing field.

At this rate, can the country achieve the ambitious target Manish Aggarwal for the renewable?

Sunil Rathi

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The target of 100 GW to be generated through solar power is definitely ambitious and while it might be difficult, it is not impossible to achieve. Given the vision of the Government which focuses on and supports the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transition to sustainable energy, we foresee more incentives and schemes that can create a conducive environment towards achieving the targets. However, for this, domestic manufacturers need to become active partners and need the right platform to SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

Government should stop the import of solar modules for the promotion of make in India. All units should come on one platform and there should not be any difference between SEZ (who are selling their products in DTA) and DTA manufacturing units. Safeguard duty on import of solar cells should be waived off as this will help local manufactures to give competitive rates compared to China market. Loans should be provided on low interest rates to solar manufacturers which will invite more people to start manufacturing.

WISH LIST

Jaideep N. Malaviya This is crucial and concerning issue. Unless domestic manufacturing is not made attractive renewable energy will be last in the race for creating jobs. Higher anti-dumping duty, easy finance from lending institutions and tax rebates to individuals can boost demand hence manufacturing.

AnimeshDamani I don’t believe we can develop the scale, cost, efficiency of the Chinese manufactures. They have already gone long ahead in that race and it is foolish for us to join that race now. Instead our focus should shift towards battery manufacturing and ensuring all kinds of incentives are made available to make India the hub of battery manufacturing in the World.

Besides, a few other industry veterans - Tulsi Tanti, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group; Ashit Maru, Co-Founder, MYSUN; and Pranesh Chaudhary, Founder and CEO, Zunroof Tech said that:

Tulsi Tanti

- RE sector is growing, however cost and availability can potentially impact viability, hence concessional rate/ preferential rate of Finance is required with 2% rebate.

Overall the measures on ease of living, job creation, encourage consumption, digital, clean and green India, it is definitely a well thought out budget.

Ashit Maru While prices for solar have continued to drop over the last year, it is the lack of financing options for solar projects that have hit the industry hard. And the 2019 interim budget has missed addressing that challenge yet again.

We have been suggesting that solar loans should be treated like home loans, as an instrument for individuals to claim a tax rebate. But it seems like the solar industry will have to wait for things to proceed in this direction.

There still may be some consolation with the announcement that MSME units registered with GST can now get a 2% interest rebate on fresh or incremental loans up to a limit of Rs 1 Cr. This may incentivise some of these MSMEs to utilise this facility to install solar systems on their rooftops, thereby reducing their energy bills.

With the country targeting 40% of power generation from non-renewable sources of energy by 2030, the potential for solar energy is immense in India and its adoption should see an exponential rise in the coming years. The government has observed that this is the right time to invest in solar infrastructure, citing an investment potential of approximately Rs. 80,000 crores, which would not only help save a significant amount of electricity but will also contribute to a balanced ecosystem. However, the government needs to allocate a lot more dedicated attention and resources to the sector. Awareness, financial assistance and simplification of regulations need to be given top priority for the solar industry to live up to India’s Vision 2030.

Overall, it is a very positive budget for the farmers, the middle class and the small traders/industries, with an eye on the upcoming 2019 general elections.

The interim budget is pro-growth and provides a massive boost to propel domestic consumption through a) Income Tax sops for nearly 30 million income taxpayers b) Improved financial health of 120 million marginal farmers. The budget also gave a boost to ‘Make In India’ by focusing on manufacturing and enhancing infrastructure and rural connectivity. It is aligned to the objective of overall economic growth, Nation building and job creation.

This budget, takes into account various stakeholders across the spectrum, right from the agriculture sector, social sector, industry, young India and the senior citizens.

The RE industry welcomes the government’s focus on clean energy being the major source of energy security for the country.

Prime Minister’s mission of bringing an Electric Vehicle revolution to India by 2030, where renewable energy will be used to power EVs to tackle the issue of climate change is a great initiative and will boost the clean energy market. Also, we hope that with the Pranesh Chaudhary capital infused in the banking sector and banks coming out of PCA will help in infusing more funds to renewable energy projects. My views are heavily biased towards solar rooftop as that is the only sector we are currently focused on. So, I think the budget not However, it will augur well for the industry if the FM will consider having any big announcements/changes on subsidies/duties/ etc is a welcome move on easing out the government role. the following in the full Budget: • Re-introduction of Accelerated Depreciation and 80IA for Government needs to gradually ease out policies around net renewable energy projects - Accelerated depreciation @80% metering (single window approvals are needed) and market and 80-IA benefits should be re-introduced for windmills and dynamics will take care of the rest. Additionally, they can solar projects to retail investors with project size less than 25 MW. liberalise electricity tariffs a bit like introducing time of day billing This will also benefit Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). for residential customers too so that energy efficiency becomes • GST Related - GST on services relating to setting up, power a talking point. evacuation and operation & maintenance services (OMS) But to summarise, we are fairly satisfied with the way government of a Renewable Energy Project should also be kept at 5% agencies have ushered in solar rooftops and how they are (that is the same GST rate as applicable on renewable energy moving forward. India is very near to an inflection point and will meet the right targets in the next few years. equipment) from the present 18%.

• Export incentive - To achieve manufacturing target of 10,000 MW+ per annum, by increasing export incentive from 2% to 6%, to make Indian exports competitive in the global market. -MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM n • Concessional Rate / Preferential Rate of Finance – 2% Rebate VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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GE TO DIGITIZE TATA POWER’S RENEWABLE FLEET IN INDIA General Electric (GE), an American Multinational Conglomerate has announced that it will implement the first Predix Asset Performance Management (APM) solution in India for Tata Power’s thermal and renewable business.

This is one of two deals that GE won in India to optimise approximately 8 GW of Tata Power’s thermal and renewable energy power portfolio using digital solutions. GE is implementing the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) solutions for Tata Power’s thermal assets across nine sites for a period of seven years, while the renewable deal is nearing completion.

Commenting on the significance of the announcement, Andrew DeLeone, Managing Director, GE Power India Ltd. said, “We are excited to partner with Tata Power in extending our range of digital solutions to the company’s fleet of power plants. Given the enormous potential of digitisation and IIoT to drive operational performance, this technology will help improve asset reliability and availability while reducing O&M costs. GE remains committed to improve India’s thermal assets, thereby moving the country forward in its journey towards cleaner power.”

GE is supporting Tata Power’s ambitious program to drive operational excellence

across its entire fleet—from traditional generation to renewable sources. This includes the implementation of RCM on their thermal assets, which was launched two years ago by Tata Power to increase the reliability of all its equipment with a proactive approach of the daily operation and maintenance. GE’s solution will help Tata Power reduce its operations & maintenance (O&M) expenses, optimise availability, reliability, reduce risk, and reduce costs through intelligent asset strategies, as well as improve maintenance planning for its power plants.

Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, “Our aim is to continue to be the leading power company in India and globally by constantly upgrading our assets with state-of-the-art technology and provide our customers with quality and reliable power. GE has provided a noteworthy contribution to fulfil our vision of digitising our thermal and renewable assets.”

In addition, this agreement includes GE’s Renewable Energy Digital’s lifecycle and APM solutions on their wind and solar assets. GE has also been chosen to provide a digital wind and solar APM solution to manage Tata Power’s wind turbine and solar inverter assets across 10 additional sites in India. The wind sites covered by

this agreement include 7 different OEM wind turbine models totaling 1 GW. GE’s APM employs holistic and risk-based intelligent asset strategies to balance performance and cost by considering design, operational procedures, and maintenance plans for all assets. These solutions can be applied across GE or non-GE assets. The Predix-operated APM helps reduce unplanned downtime and increases availability and reliability by helping to ensure that critical assets and systems are monitored and protected from emerging threats.

“The TATA win is a solid milestone in the evolution of GE’s digital strategy in energy. From the inception, this deal was driven by TATA’s own operational strategy and success measured in outcomes.

The combined offering of our digital and lifecycle solutions will position TATA for the future in managing unplanned maintenance costs, reducing risk and ultimately increasing revenue, across not only their GE but also non-GE assets” said Anne McEntee, CEO of GE Renewable Energy Digital Services. “Digital also enables flexibility. The power market transformation is a race for flexibility. As TATA’s generations sources diversify, the integration and orchestration across assets become even more critical.”

MNRE ISSUES SCHEME FOR SOLAR WITH STORAGE IN LADAKH

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The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the order of the President of India has launched a new scheme for setting up Solar PV Projects with aggregate battery storage capacity in Leh & Kargil.

The scope of work under the program guided by the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015 for Jammu & Kashmir, through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will include the setting up of 14 MW Solar PV Project with aggregate battery storage capacity of 42 MWh (capacity of 7 MW solar projects with battery storage of 21 MWh each in Leh & Kargil at different locations.

The salient features of the Scheme are as under: The lands for setting up of solar SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

projects with battery storage will be facilitated by Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) and Kargil Renewable Energy Development Agency (KREDA) in their respective regions.

The scheme would be implemented by the SECI which will also act as a Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the entire project, including finalisation of DPR, selection of solar project developer, project management till project testing, commissioning and execution of the project by the project developer.

SECI will be responsible for fund management i.e. release of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and will also monitor the performances post commissioning of the projects.

The project shall be implemented in Developer Mode with a fixed tariff of Rs 2 per unit with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support.

Maximum Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support of Rs.182.00 crores will be provided to Solar Project Developers for setting up the project.

The project will be selected through a process of open competitive reverse bidding on VGF to make available generated solar power at a pre-fixed tariff of Rs 2.0 per unit. The upper limit of VGF is Rs 13.00 Crore for 1 MW solar PV project with battery storage of 3 MWh. The Ministry has put a timeline between 2019-20 and 2020-21 for the completion of the project.

PROJECT UPDATES

BESCOM FLOATS TENDER FOR 100 EV CHARGING STATIONS The Bangalore Electrical Supply Company (BESCOM) has recently issued a tender for setting up of 100 electric vehicle charging stations in Bengaluru. With this, it joins other neighbouring states which have started pushing out for EV charging in key cities, notably Hyderabad in Telangana. While the average rate in those cities seems to be closer to Rs 6 ( see is Rs 6 the new default tariff for EV charging?), at this stagte, it does look like Bengaluru might be a little higher than those.

The brief scope of work for the winning bidder will include the location survey, estimation and obtaining work orders from the concerned division, supply, testing, erection and commissioning of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) along with associated civil and electrical works.

The successful bidders will also be responsible for the comprehensive operation and Maintenance (O&M) of the EV Charging infrastructure for a period of three years from the date of commissioning. And will also be required to provide a guarantee for the EVSE equipment and materials for a period of 12 months from the date of operational acceptance by BESCOM. To be eligible, a bidder must either be an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of EVSE or authorised agency for OEM of EVSE. If the bidder is an OEM, they should have designed,

manufactured, supplied and installed at least 15 units of EVSE cumulatively in India during Financial Year (FY) 2015-16, FY 2016-17, FY 2017-18 up to September 2018.

If the bidder is an authorised agency of the OEM, the agency should have supplied, installed and commissioned at least 15 units of EVSE in India during FY 2015-16, FY 2016-17, FY 2017-18 up to Sep-2018 cumulatively.

Additionally, the annual turnover of the bidder has to be at least 25 percent of the amount put to tender in any of the preceding three financial years.

The last date of bid-submission is February 20, 2019.

NLC INDIA TO SET UP 1 GW OF SECI AND HPPC SIGN PSA FOR SOLAR PROJECTS IN TN 590 MW OF WIND POWER NLC India (NLCIL), state-owned mining and power generating company, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government to develop 2,640 MW of lignite-based thermal power projects and 1,000 MW of solar energy projects in the state.

NLC India through the MoU will invest close to Rs 23,800 crores in the state.

The investment will include setting up lignite mines with a capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), a 2,640 MW lignite-based thermal power project, and a 1,000 MW solar PV project in the state.

The envisaged investment in the projects would approximately generate direct employment for 1,250 persons and indirect employment for 7,500.

The MoU was signed between NLCIL and the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) on behalf of Tamil Nadu Government. As per which, the Tamil Nadu government has agreed to provide facilitation and support to NLC India in the form of necessary infrastructural support for setting up these projects.

NLCIL already has 492 MW of renewable energy projects in Tamil Nadu, while 909 MW solar projects are under implementation. Besides Tamil Nadu, the company is adding mines and power capacity in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the North Andaman Island, among other places.

The Haryana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC) has announced the signing of a Power Sale Agreement (PSA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for procuring 590 MW of wind energy. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nodal agency for renewables announced via a tweet.

The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) has also issued a tender for selection of bidders for commissioning a 20 MW rooftop solar PV in Haryana under the RESCO mode. Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCO) have been invited to submit bids for the supply of solar power on RESCO Mode by installation and commissioning of GridConnected Rooftop Solar Power Plants with a net metering facility of the tentative capacity of 20 MW on Government buildings in the state. The last date of bid-submission for the tender is February 15, 2019, and the technical bids will open on the same day. Recently, The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) had issued an order approving the power purchase agreements (PPAs) of solar projects after a common petition was filed by Haryana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC) and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).

The commission approved the PPA of solar projects totalling 23 MW, which the HPPC had signed with four solar project developers. Earlier this month, SECI signed an agreement with BSES Yamuna (BYPL) for the sale of 100 MW of wind energy to the Delhi discom.

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EUROPEAN COs SET RECORD FOR WIND POWER DEALS As wind power becomes competitive on price with conventional energy in many countries, big companies have rushed to secure renewable energy to manage costs and reduce their carbon emissions, while boosting their image with customers.

According to Industry body WindEurope, new wind deals through corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed in Europe last year for 1.5 GW of capacity, up from 1.3 GW in 2017. European companies bought a record amount of wind power capacity last year, as energy-hungry businesses like aluminium producers and IT giants looked for greener ways to drive their machinery and data centres.

The aluminium sector was the most active

accordi3ng to the industry body, with Norsk Hydro and Alcoa signing big deals in Sweden and Norway. Pharmaceuticals and automotive also did their first PPAs, with Mercedes-Benz announcing deals in Poland and Germany. The latter will see wind energy powering Mercedes’ electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

Nordic countries still have the most PPAs. But 2018 saw Germany, Spain and Poland all get their first PPA. France and Italy are looking into it as well. The EU Clean Energy Package will help: it requires governments to remove outstanding regulatory barriers to PPAs. WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said, “Corporate PPAs are booming.

Industrial consumers across a range of sectors have now bought nearly 5

GW of wind energy via PPAs. 2018 saw a record number of new deals, and the first PPAs in the automotive sector and in pharmaceuticals – and the first in Germany, Spain, and Poland. In Germany, Mercedes are now going to use wind to power their EV and battery factories.”

“It shows industrial consumers see wind power as competitive and reliable. And it’ll help allow the industry to reduce its energy costs. The CO2benefits are big too: industry accounts for over half of Europe’s electricity consumption. But some countries still have barriers to PPAs. They’ll have to remove them under the EU’s Clean Energy Package. And they should say how in their National Energy Plans this year,” he added.

KAZAKHSTAN LAUNCHES SOLAR PLANT IN CENTRAL ASIA

EGYPT BUILDING ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR PARKS

The opening ceremony of the SES Saran solar power plant was recently held in the industrial center of the Saran, Kazakhstan.

With the commissioning of the plant, the SES Saran became the largest solar power plant in Central Asia.

The 100 MW solar plant, implemented in a short time was developed using 300,000 solar modules from Canadian Solar, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project was the result of coordinated work of central and local authorities with a group of foreign companies from Germany, the Czech and Slovak Republics, as well as the EBRD. The project “Construction of a 100 MW solar power plant in Saran” was initially presented in the Kazakhstan pavilion at the International Specialised Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017.

Before the opening ceremony, the parties signed a Memorandum on the development of the SES Saran project, which enables investment of up to 500 million dollars.

Kazakhstan, being the largest Central Asian republic, has great potential for solar energy.

The official opening ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, who held talks with the authorities of Saran, Karaganda region and the German company Goldbeck Solar.

Agreements on the further involvement of economic diplomacy in the promotion of regional projects with the participation of European investors and the involvement of their technologies had been reached, according to the release.

By 2020, the Karaganda region is planning to commission another 6 new “green energy” facilities, the total capacity of which will be about 261 MW

One of the world’s largest and most ambitious solar energy projects is underway at a site in the Western Desert, some 650 km south of Cairo.

The Benban Solar Park will produce enough electricity to power one million homes. But more importantly for Egypt, is this whole new strategy for infrastructure projects that will enable the government to work with private enterprises.

The park is expected to go live this year, and on completion, it will house 32 power stations across the 37 sq. km. site and will be able generating close to 1,650 MW of electricity. Going a long way towards Egypt hitting its goal of having 20 percent of its energy needs met by renewables.

Egypt is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and almost all the country’s power facilities have been built and owned by the government.

It also runs a series of costly fuel subsidy schemes, which add up to more than it spends on education, health care, and social welfare combined. But on the contrary, the Benban project is being created by a consortium of 13 private enterprises working in conjunction with the Egyptian public sector.

According to Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation: “Egypt is moving forward with a very bold and ambitious economic reform program. One key pillar is promoting private sector participation.

“And what really matters about this project is how it will help bring quality services to lagging regions,” she says.

The World Bank has been one of the ongoing supporters of reforms to the Egyptian energy sector. It provided a $3 billion loan to help with that undertaking, as well as provide the framework and financing for the Benban project.

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GE EXPANDS RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO GE has announced that it intends to intensify its focus on the growing renewable energy market by consolidating all of the company’s renewable and grid assets into a single, simplified Renewable Energy business.

GE Chairman and CEO, H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., said, “This strategic realignment positions GE to lead in the fast-growing renewable energy market. This move will help our Renewable Energy teams to better support their customers in leading the energy transition by simplifying the way they can access innovative products, integrated solutions, and services that reflect the evolution of the clean energy marketplace.”

The proposed move is a part of the firms ulterior motive to position itself to meet the evolving needs of the power market, including the growth of

renewable energy.

The company plans to implement the following as a part of its proposed move: Moving GE’s grid solutions and hybrid renewables (including solar and storage systems) technologies into the GE Renewable Energy Business, complementing its existing onshore wind, offshore wind, LM Wind Power, and hydro offerings.

Complementing all offerings with digitally enabled services Streamlining its Onshore Wind structure, eliminating its headquarters layer and elevating its current regional teams— Americas, Europe/Africa, MENA, and APAC — to improve competitiveness, speed, customer focus, and local execution in the Onshore Wind business.

GE Renewable Energy CEO Jerome Pecresse said, “With the unique diversity

and scale of this portfolio and the combination of expertise, technology, and local reach, we will create enhanced value for all our customers seeking to power the world with affordable, reliable green electrons. Our team is excited by the possibilities this new structure creates to help us lead the energy transition for GE.” The proposed moves will enable GE Renewable Energy to drive more local and integrated solutions, simplify its structure, and improve performance. The business will be capable of supporting customers from project development to equipment and services, to full turnkey solutions. It will have the most diverse and broadest renewable portfolios in the industry, enabling customers to bring green electrons to the grid or to power their operations.

TN PLANNING TO BID 250 MW FLOATING SOLAR PROJECTS

INOX GETS LOI FOR 501.6 MW WIND PROJECT FROM ADANI

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco) is planning to float bids for setting up floating solar plants on three dam reservoirs in the State.

Floating solar projects have been preferred in the present state of the market by investors with land acquirement and related costs not involved. The department is looking to bid out for projects worth 100 MW, 100 MW and 50 MW at the Mettur Dam, Bhavanisagar Dam, and the Vaigai Dam respectively.

“We have received proposals from Tangedco to set up 100MW capacity in Mettur dam, 100MW in Bhavanisagar dam and 50MW in Vaigai dam. All the three proposals are still at scrutiny stage for feasibility,” Additional Secretary, MNRE, Praveen Kumar said.“In the near future, all tenders for renewable power beyond 100MW capacity will include storage too.

Storage costs are coming down and since renewable power is infirm it will help the discom as well as individuals to store solar or wind power for later use,” the official said.

“There are several opportunities for wind power companies to invest in the state as India wants all the renewable power equipment to be manufactured within the country. As of now, we are importing not less than 85% of the equipment, mostly from China or other Southeast Asian countries,” he added.

State Energy Secretary Md Nasimuddin said the government will be releasing a solar energy policy in a week. “For encouraging people to set up solar panels on rooftops of residences, we will bring in more incentives such as cheap loans and other facilities in the solar energy policy,” he said.

Inox Wind Limited, one of India’s leading wind energy solutions provider, has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from Adani Green Energy, a part of the Adani group and a leading Independent Power Producer (IPP) to develop its wind project.

The company announced that building on its strong partnership with Adani Green Energy in the renewables sector, it will now supply, erect and commission Adani’s 501.6 MW of wind power projects, across projects that the energy giant won under SECI auctions.

The project is scheduled to be executed over the next 15 months at Kutch District in the state of Gujarat.

Inox Wind will supply, erect and commission its latest 3.3 MW Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) with 145-metre rotor dia and 100/120 metre hub height. These turbines will be amongst the highest rated turbines with the largest rotor dia to be made available in the Indian market.

Adani Green Energy is one of India’s largest renewable energy IPP (Independent Power Producer) with a consolidated renewable portfolio exceeding 2.2 GW, targeting a renewable energy portfolio of about 10 GW by 2021.

Recently, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited, in order to fulfil its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for the procurement of power through competitive bidding from 350 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic projects with an additional option of 350 MW power under Greenshoe option.

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REPORT

MBJ POST SHIPMENT AND POST INSTALLATION INSPECTION REPORT In order to realize the module test on site at the highest technical level, MBJ and there worldwide partners need the right testing equipment. MBJ invented and consistently improved the Mobile PV Laboratory for the efficient on-site testing of solar modules, so that today it works on the technical level of conventional stationary laboratories.

Test systems for recording EL images on installed modules achieve the highest image quality. All systems are developed within the MBJ Group and also produced in Germany. MBJ Services has developed a unique expertise in the production of test equipment for on-site use within the last 5 years.

REAL REPORT FROM A REAL TESTING Picture of the Mobile Lab

ON SITE TESTING WITH MOBILE LAB AND MOBILE EL

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MBJ Services GmbH was commissioned for the post shipment and post installation inspection of polycristalline modules from the type MBJ12P-325 and MBJ12P-330 in the MBJ Test Site. From each of the 137 delivered containers one pallet was chosen and 10 modules out of each of the 137 boxes was tested. Always the first (M1), the last (M10) and nine modules out of the middle (M2 - M9).

MBJ tested in total then 1370 modules in 6 working days with the Mobile Lab. The first 580 lab tested modules of the 325 W class were directly installed very carefully from a dedicated mounting team. These modules were tested afterwards in-situ at night with the Mobile EL to compare the module quality from after delivery to after mounting.

There was 220 in situ tested modules in addition, which were not checked with the lab before. The original idea of testing panels been installed during normal installation and check them randomly was not doable, because the normal installation of the site had not been started at that time the on-site module testing was performed. Therefore, the team doing the installation of panels to be tested was a dedicated installation team selected by the EPC. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

For reasons of controlling 10 modules out of the 325 W class was selected on site and send to the stationary lab of the TĂ&#x153;V Rheinland to reconfirm/check the nominal power measured. The 10 modules was divided into 5 reference panels which were all lower power modules and 5 control/ check panels which were all higher power modules to cover or verifying the whole power range of all modules.

This short report first shows the power statistic and then it compares the results of the EL tests. The next step is the closer comparison of some of the most marked panels. The end gives a short summery and conclusion.

Power statistics Out of all 1370 measured modules were found in total 3 modules of the 325 W class and 1 out of the 330 W class from which the internal electric from cell to cell were interrupted. The diodes of all these modules were ok but the connection check fails. The flash test gave only 2/3 of the nameplate power from 3 modules with the support of the diodes and in one case no power at all. The results of the electrically defect modules will not take into account for the following statistics.

REPORT

325 W class

330 W class

Figure 1: Power histogram of the 325 W modules

Figure 2: Power histogram of the 330 W modules

The average power of the 1247 modules of the 325 W class is 325.3 W (+0.1 %). The max negative deviation is -1.9 % or 318.7 W. The max positive deviation of the power is 3.1 % or 335.1 W.

The average power of the 119 modules of the 330 W class is 326.4 W (-0.9 %). The max negative deviation is -2.9 % or 320.3 W. The max positive deviation of the power is 1.0 % or 333.3 W.

COMPARISON OF MEASUREMENTS FROM TÜV RHEINLAND AND MBJ Table 1 shows the results of the power from the 5 reference modules and 5 control/check modules of the 325 W class. The 5 lower power reference modules were tested several times at standard test conditions (STC). The 5 higher power check modules were tested like all other modules only once at ambient temperatures to verify compare the STC results to the ambient temperature results.

The power results of TÜV Rheinland are given with a measurement uncertainty of ± 2 %.

Table 1: Results and comparison of measurements from TÜV Rheinland and MBJ

The total average deviation of the power of the MBJ measured power in comparison to the TÜV measured power is 0.6 %. Table 1 shows as well the average deviation of the power of the 5 control/ check panels to the TÜV values with 0.7 % and the average deviation of the 5 reference panels to the TÜV results with 0.6 %.

The small total average power deviation in comparison to the TÜV results confirms the MBJ uncertainty of ± 3 %.The comparison of the average deviation of the reference modules to the average deviation of the control modules shows that the measurement of the at ambient temperature measured modules is in the same range as the measurement of the STC measured modules.

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REPORT

EL STATISTICS OF ALL LAB TESTED MODULES AND ALL IN SITU NIGHT TESTED MODULES

Figure 3: Comparison of the total statistic from lab testing (left) to the total statistic from in situ night EL (right)

The overall EL judgement in Figure 3 shows that the in situ tested modules have more “B” an d less “A” rated modules then the out of the box tested modules.

EL STATISTICS OF SAME LAB TESTED MODULES LIKE IN SITU NIGHT TESTED MODULES

Figure 4: Comparison of statistic from lab testing (left) to statistic from in situ night EL (right)

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Figure 4 gives the comparison of the judgement from the same lab tested modules like tested after installation. The distribution of the “A” and “B” modules is quite similar like in Figure 3. In this case, 47 modules (≈ 6 %) of class A were changing to class B. SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

REPORT

COMPARISON OF THE EL IMAGES For the image comparison of lab tested and in situ tested modules, 10 of the panels with the most marked cells where chosen. The new cracked cells are marked with yellow stars on the EL images of the in situ system (bottom).

There are no seriously damaged modules or cells found after installation. Only green or yellow rated cells were growing in addition. The new green and yellow cells do not showing an appearance of a crack caused by an single impact like a hit with a tool or similar. They are probably caused due to mechanical stress from normal handling and mounting the modules to the tables.

Most serious findings are backsheet scratches like shown in Figure 12. These damages occur if the module slides with the sensible backsheet over a sharp object. The only indication to wrong handling. In total was found 6 modules (1 %) with backsheet scratches after installation.

Picture of the Mobile EL head

SN: F109936253002269

SN: E108736243005841

Figure 5: Comparison of EL images SN: F109936253002269 (Top: Mobile Lab 2.0 / Bottom: Mobile EL Professional)

Figure 6: Comparison of EL images SN: E108736243005841 (Top: Mobile Lab 2.0 / Bottom: Mobile EL Professional)

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Regarding the average power of the modules, there is no reason for concerns. All results were inside the measurement uncertainty around the nameplate power of the modules.

The found micro crack damage of the modules tested after delivery/unpacking, is on comparable low level.

The EL testing of the modules after installation shows that the amount of found micro cracks is increasing with the installation to the racks. After the comparison of the EL images, the most likely root cause of new cracks is normal mechanical stress.

However, even if the mounting personal knows that tests are starting after installation, backsheet scratches occurred. The installers should be sensitized again to the fragile backsheet before finishing the whole installation of modules.

Due to the sensible handling of the modules and the appearance of the cracks it seems that the modules are not as robust as the ideal module should be.

We would recommend in order to estimate the real impact of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;normalâ&#x20AC;? installation of the panels, to do again an night time in-situ EL measurement, when the site has been fully installed, and compare the results to the previous ones. As we are not sure if the panels are robust enough to withstand normal to slightly increased mounting stress, this would be a good measure to do.

Also it is important to educate the mounting teams in order to handle modules as carefully that there are no back sheet scratches / damages happening anymore during the installation.

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THE CONVERSATION

NEELESH GARG Director | Saatvik Green Energy

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INDUSTRY IS IN QUESTION I feel its unhealthy competition, which is driving the entire industry into a black hole. It starts right from the developers, to goes down till the manufacturer of small components. Sustainability of the industry is in question, because if people start using sub-standard products to match the cost, it will lead towards an unsustainable future for the industry. In terms of technological innovations and advancements, such as bifacial modules, micro-inverters, energy storage systems, electrical charging infrastructure, sure, we are progressing towards a better future, believes Neelesh Garg, Director, Saatvik Green Energy, whose mission is to lead the global transition to solar energy solutions in India. In conversation with Manu Tayal, Sub Editor, Saur Energy International, Garg shared his views on various issues which the power sector is currently dealing with along with his company’s future plan of action in the renewable energy segment. Following are the excerpts from that exclusive interview.

Q

Kindly tell us something about Saatvik’s manufacturing the quality and reliability of module produced. This ensures and R&D facilities of solar PV modules. precision in our production for highest quality products.

Q

As government already implemented safeguard duty, Saatvik employs the most advanced machines available now in present scenario, is there any module cost-price to operate its 500 MW annual production capacity, which includes several in-line quality checking procedures to change you see in the domestic market? ensure the best final output. At Saatvik, we are engaged in R&D at the module level, constantly working on our BOM The industry has not been able really understand the aftermath and process to reduce CTM, use new technology such as of the safeguard duty implementation, I am not sure about optimizers, MONO PERC, and have also tested Bi-facial the cell manufacturers, as they are still not competitive in terms of price and quality. Most of them have shut their modules on our machines. facilities. Developers are still getting modules from China, What are the quality checks that your company follow due to bank-ability issues, and favourable financing options. while manufacturing solar modules?

Module prices have gone lower, since China reduced its prices, to be competitive. If someone has benefited from Since People are the most crucial part, and define the this situation, it’s Vietnam and Thailand. quality of the product manufactured, we conduct regular In your view, what are the main challenges domestic training and personal guidance sessions for all our staff, to solar industry is currently facing and where do you see ensure that they are satisfied both at work, and outside work. If processes are well defined and easy to understand, the future of the Indian PV market? it leaves no room for error. Not only do we comply with ISO, but we have also implemented SAP H4 HANA which I feel its unhealthy competition, which is driving the entire helps in automating a lot of manual processes, for superior industry into a black hole.

It starts right from the developers, to goes down till the records and quality implementation.

If your people and processes are sorted, precision comes manufacturer of small components. Sustainability of naturally, and we are a very quality conscious company, the industry is in question, because if people start using hence precision plays a very important role. To assist our sub-standard products to match the cost, it will lead people and processes, we have all necessary quality control/ towards an unsustainable future for the industry. In terms inspection equipment such as dual EL testers, sun simulators, of technological innovations and advancements, such as visual check stations. Further, in the laboratory, we have bifacial modules, micro-inverters, energy storage systems, all equipments to test our incoming raw materials, such as electrical charging infrastructure, sure, we are progressing cells, backsheet, EVA etc. as well as various tests to reflect towards a better future.

Q

Q

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Q

Can you highlight some of your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key achievements in the recent past?

As a brand, we are getting more visibility and acceptability among a larger audience, and the fact that we have already supplied over 150 MW in less than 2 years in a proud achievement for the team.

Q

What are Saatvikâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans for 2019?

Are there any new products the company is planning to launch in this New Year?

In 2019, as we will have a larger production facility, we aim to be more aggressive in the market, and have already started working on tieups and long term agreements with strategic clients and projects. We also plan on setting our footprint in the global market by capturing the export market.

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FINANCE UPDATES

VIBRANT GUJ: MOUs WORTH OVER Rs 1 LAKH CR INKED In an effort to provide further boost to the renewable space, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) proposing investment of more than Rs 1 lakh crore were inked on the final day of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS).

Post completion, this is expected to create over 10,000 jobs by 2020 and 2021, said officials.

Moreover, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has signed a pact with Gujarat Power Company (GPCL) for setting up 1,000 MW offshore wind power project at Pipavav worth Rs 15,000 crore.

Besides SECI, The Dholera SIR

Development Authority (DSIRDA) has also inked a pact with GPCL for 1,000 MW solar power project with an estimated investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

Additionally, it has inked another deal for 4,000 MW plant with SECI for an approximate investment of Rs 20,000 crore.

Further, wind energy giant Suzlon Energy has proposed an investment of Rs 25,000 crore for developing renewable energy hybrid projects in Kutch and Saurashtra.

The officials further added that, Adani Green Energy proposed an investment worth Rs 30,000 crore for similar projects

in Kutch.

Torrent Power has signed an agreement to invest Rs 5,325 crore for creating wind power generation capacity of 750 MW in Kutch. It also proposed investment of Rs 3,150 crore in power distribution network in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Surat. It also added that it will invest Rs 1,000 crore for power distribution network in Dholera.

As per the senior official, these projects were a part of Rs 10,000 crore investment commitment made by Torrent Group Chairman Sudhir Mehta at the inaugural session of Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

TATA POWER’S RENEWABLE BIZ ZUNROOF RAISES 3RD ROUND SHINES IN Q3 FY19 OF ANGEL FUNDING

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Country’s one of the leading integrated power company, Tata Power’s renewable energy business showed impressive growth during the October-December quarter of FY19 as its consolidated EBITDA grew by 9 per cent to Rs 511 crore.

The company has reported an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of Rs 471 crore in Q3 FY18, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.

However, it has reported a slump in its consolidated net profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 205 crore during the third quarter of FY19, from Rs 628 crore in Q3 FY18 mainly on the back of lower profits from coal business, as previous year included an exceptional gain of Rs 299 crore for deferred tax on sale of investment.

During the quarter, its consolidated revenue rose by 16 percent at Rs 7,571 crore as compared to Rs 6,506 crore last year.

The power giant further added that, its renewable business added 356 MW of capacity over previous year and its solar EPC order book stood at 1255 MW. Commenting on the company’s performance, Tata Power, CEO & Managing Director, Praveer Sinha said, “All our businesses continue to perform well. Our renewable business has added 356 MW over previous year and have a healthy order book of 1255 MW. The Trombay PPA with BEST has received an extension for 5 years and through the Resurgent platform taken up 1980 MW Prayagraj power plant in U.P. We have also launched residential solar rooftops in several cities now such as Mumbai, Delhi, Ajmer, Bhubaneshwar and Bangalore. PAT is adversely affected due to coal companies profitability that is under pressure due to domestic market pricing obligation and increase in fuel prices.”

“With regard to CGPL, we are in discussion with various state governments and state discoms and are expecting a resolution for it soon. The proposal will then be submitted to CERC,” Sinha added.

SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

Gurgaon-based Rooftop Solar solutions provider Zunroof has announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its third round of angel funding from Livspace founder Ramakant Sharma and Arun Diaz of IntelleGrow, along with lead investors off previous rounds, Pradeep Tharakan, Gaurav Gupta, Vismay Sharma and others.

Pranesh Chaudhary, CEO, Zunroof said that the funds would be used to scale their tech offerings and expand the team.

“We have a very potent and unique mix of VR, ML and Image Processing backing our operations which has led us to already the highest number of solar rooftops in India and we aim to build on this lead further.”

Gaurav Gupta, Partner & Asia Director, Dalberg Advisors, said in the company statement, “In a crowded market, the key for investors was to see a team with really strong execution capability.

ZunRoof had a track record for not just having strong tech skills, but quickly bringing them to market and thereby staying way ahead of the competition” The team is actively looking to add IoT engineers and Data Scientists to its Tech team according to Pranesh, “We will deepen our operations in North India. We are now present in over 30 cities and aim to double this in 2019.”

The company has already opened offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh this month.

Pranesh further commented, “This funding round comes at the exact right time for us as we are at a clear inflection point to grow at unheard-of speed in solar rooftops. We have a very potent and unique mix of VR, ML and image processing backing our operations which has led us to already the highest number of solar rooftops in India and we aim to build on this lead further.”

FINANCE UPDATES

AFDB APPROVES $25 MN FUND FOR RE PROJECTS IN AFRICA The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an equity investment of up to $25 million in ARCH Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARPF), a US$ 250 million private equity fund for renewable energy projects across SubSaharan Africa.

ARPF will provide equity for the development and construction of 10 to 15 greenfield renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding approximately 533MW of installed energy generation capacity from renewable sources in the region. This will provide both base load and peak load power in underserved markets.

ARPF projects will focus on mature technologies including wind, solar PV,

small to medium hydro, geothermal and biomass. These would include grid-connected independent power producers (“IPPs”), and decentralised energy projects (commercial & industrial solar, mini-grids, and solar home systems companies).

The Fund’s strategy is to prioritize projects with a clear timeline to financial close, with emphasis on de-risking early stage greenfield projects.

AfDB’s presence is expected to act as a catalyst for other investors to commit a further $60-75 million equity from nonDFI sources. The Bank would also ensure that the highest environmental and social standards, together with climate change and gender considerations, are

applied to the ARPF’s projects.

“Energy investments in Africa are constrained by limited well-structured, bankable projects, as well as by unavailability of risk capital. Renewable technologies require additional support to be fully competitive over fossil fuel-based energy generation,” said Amadou Hott, the Bank’s Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate Change & Green Growth.

“ARPF will expand the pipeline of bankable energy projects in Africa, and complement and deepen the work of the Bank in this critical area. This is vital for economic growth, and to foster a transition to low carbon across the continent,” Hott added.

LEAP GREEN INKS RS 1700 CR MOU WITH TN GOVT

UAE’S YELLOW DOOR ENERGY RAISES $65 MILLION

Tamil Nadu-based renewable energy company Leap Green Energy has signed an agreement with the state government for generating 250 MW from a wind power plant project.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Tamil Nadu and Rajeev Karthikeyan, Founder and MD of Leap Green Energy during the 2nd Global Investors Summit held on January 23 – 24, 2019.

The Government of Tamil Nadu organised the summit with an aim to showcase potential business opportunities to attract investments from 12 key sectors including renewable energy.

As per the deal signed, the total investment slated for the project will be Rs 1700 crore in the coming year, the company said in a statement.

Leap Green Energy is one of the largest producers of wind power in the state. Commenting on the deal, Leap Green Energy, Founder and MD, Rajeev Karthikeyan said, “We have been fortunate to have a long standing relationship with the government of Tamil Nadu.

The MOU will help in implementing and achieving our vision of having an installed capacity of 2 GW by 2020. The future of the country is undeniably in harnessing green renewable energy. We are happy to contribute towards this and in achieving the development goals of the state. We are proud to be part of this progressive initiative and the long term vision of Tamil Nadu.”

Meanwhile, the MoU also stated that the company will employ 85 people directly or indirectly from the state of Tamil Nadu and government to offer regulatory facilitation and infrastructural support to the company during the project.

Yellow Door Energy, a UAE-based leading solar developer, announced that it has raised $65 million in Series A financing to scale its investments in solar energy and energy efficiency solutions in the Middle East and Africa.

This is one of the Middle East’s largest private placements in distributed solar.

The investment comes from International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank member, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Equinor Energy Ventures, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), and UAE-based Adenium Energy Capital, the founding investor of Yellow Door Energy since 2015.

Jeremy Crane, CEO and Co-Founder of Yellow Door Energy, said, “The funding validates our company’s vision of powering emerging economies reliably, efficiently and sustainably. It enables us to scale our energy platform from the Middle East to Africa and Asia. We aim to build 300 megawatts of solar in the next 2 years, benefitting hundreds of businesses and the broader economy. We are excited that prestigious global investors believe in our company’s credibility, commitment and customer-centric offerings.”

The funding marks an important milestone for Yellow Door Energy, which has doubled its revenue since last year and has an impressive portfolio of customers including multinational corporations in consumer goods, retail, logistics, among many others. Gareth Burns, Equinor’s Vice President and Managing Director, said, “Our investment in Yellow Door Energy secures an early entry in the company driving the growth of distributed solar in the Middle East and Africa. Together with our coinvestors, we look forward to supporting Yellow Door Energy in achieving their ambitious growth plans.”

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FINANCE UPDATES

UKCI PLEDGES TO INVEST R500 MN FOR RE PROJECTS IN AFRICA The U.K. Climate Investments (UKCI) has announced that it will invest 500 million Rand (Rs 250 crore) in Revego Africa Energy Limited, an investment vehicle dedicated to renewable energy projects in Africa.

The primary objective of the investment vehicle will be to acquire equity in operational renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa. In a region where energy poverty is a major inhibitor of economic development, the investment vehicle aims to accelerate the installation of new clean ge 7). UKCI Pledges to Invest R500 Million for Renewable Projects in Africa 3neration capacity by helping developers to unlock and recycle capital in established green energy projects.

Richard Abel, Managing Director of UKCI said, “More than half of the world’s population currently living without access to electricity are in sub-Saharan Africa.

By helping to facilitate the recycling of development capital into new renewable energy projects, this green finance initiative represents an exciting opportunity to accelerate the deployment of clean generation capacity for the region.”

Harriet Baldwin, UK Minister of State for Africa said, “The UK is a world leader in tackling threats to our natural environment.

Since 2011, UK climate finance has helped over 47 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, and provided 17 million people with improved access to clean energy.”

“Africa is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The partnership between UK Climate Investments and Investec, which will unlock capital in estab lished green energy projects, is a great example of the UK private sector working to attract green finance investors to help realise the potential of African economies while tackling climate change,” he added.

Investec Bank Limited, a founding shareholder of Revego Fund Managers Ltd, the manager of the investment vehicle, has also confirmed a conditional commitment of R500 million to act as a cornerstone investor. Both UKCI and Investec’s commitments will realise once the investment vehicle is listed.

With an intention to seek a listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the first half of 2019, the investmentvehicle aims to demonstrate the investment potential of the region’s renewable energy sector.

EU OKAYS POLAND AID FOR EV BATTERY PLANT

EBRD DEVOTED 36% TO GREEN FINANCING IN 2018

Poland’s €36 million (Rs 293 crore) investment aid to chemical company LG Chem, a part of one of Korea’s biggest company the LG Corp for a new electric vehicle batteries plant to be developed in Poland has been approved by the European Commission.

The investment aid will support LG Chem’s €325 million investment in a new vertically integrated manufacturing plant for the production of lithium-ion batteries in Poland. Which upon completion is expected to provide around 80,000 batteries for electric vehicles in the European Economic Area (EEA).

The project is expected to create more than 700 direct jobs.

The manufacturing plant is located in the Dolnoślaskie region of Poland, an area eligible for regional aid.

The Commission said it assessed the aid measure under the Guidelines on Regional State Aid for 2014-2020, which enable Member States to support economic development and employment in the EU’s less developed regions and to foster regional cohesion in the Single Market.

According to the Commission, without the public funding, the project would not have been carried out in Poland or any other EU country. Moreover, the aid is limited to the minimum necessary to trigger the investment in Poland rather than outside the EEA and the investment aid will contribute to job creation as well as to the economic development and to the competitiveness of a disadvantaged region.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has devoted 36 per cent of its total investments to the green economy in 2018.

The bank said in a statement that, it is well on the way to meeting a target of dedicating 40 per cent share of investments to the green economy by 2020.

It underscored its green credentials with the launch of a new energy strategy that pledges to scale up investment in renewables, completely rule out financing for coal and restrict financing in upstream oil to exceptional projects, which reduce harmful greenhouse gases.

The EBRD also quadrupled the size of its Green Cities programme in support of environmentally friendly municipal investments to almost EUR 1 billion.

The EBRD Green Cities programme addresses challenges that are particularly urgent in the regions where the Bank operates.

EBRD Green Cities grew in 2018 after a first EUR 250 million of funding, designed to last five years, was mostly committed within just two years. In October, the EBRD approved a further EUR 700 million of funding, expanding the number of cities that can be supported.

For 2019, the EBRD set ambitious goals in support of the global development agenda, with climate finance a major component.

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REPORT

IN RENEWABLES, IT’S NO LESS THAN A ‘REVOLUTION’ UNDERWAY IN INDIA. WSDS 2019

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At the World Sustainable Development Summit, India’s renewable push came up for appraisal, with everyone agreeing that it was no less than a revolution when seen from most metrics.

At a panel chaired by Ajay Shankar of TERI, Anand Kumar, Secretary, MNRE, Vineet Mittal of the Avaada Energy Group representing the private sector, David Nelson of the Climate Policy Initiative for a view on energy finance and Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Group, the mood was distinctly upbeat, with clarity on the challenges faced by Renewable energy, now that it is quite simply a mainstream option, not an investment for the ‘future’.

The panel started off with a special video message from Rachel Kyte, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, and a Special Representative of the UN SecretaryGeneral for Se For All. Kye expressed the hope that the progress on the RE front was more a cause for guarded optimism than anything else.

Ajay Shankar set the ball rolling by recalling how, as recently as 2010, India had set itself a target of 20 GW by 2020 in renewables, it was seen as a rich country pursuit. Today, with the country already at 76GW of capacity, and still focused on reaching 175GW by 2022, and possibly 500 GW by 2030, it was nothing less than a revolution.

Anand Kumar, Secretary, MNRE spoke about how the energy transition today was the biggest disruption underway for the country and the world. Speaking about the many policy initiatives the government had taken, he also acknowledged that India was looking not to repeat the mistakes it had made earlier. He specifically spoke about manufacturing, where despite every effort, manufacturing in India has been stifled by Chinese competition, making it clear that the next big challenge, storage, was one where the government was very keen to ensure a robust base for the country. Hailing the role of private investment, he mentioned how 30 GW of solar and wind would need to be tendered out every year from now to reach the target of 500 GW by 2030. Thus establishing SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

a clear trajectory for the industry.

The two biggest challenges for the RE sector, namely land and transmission infrastructure are under active consideration, with state governments being roped in to enable a simpler process for land acquisition by pooling etc, and higher investments in a modern transmission grid. Pilot projects with distributed solar projects are on at village level, which will help the government identify bigger opportunities globally, be it through the International Solar Alliance (ISA), or otherwise.

Lord Turner shared his perspective on how renewables would be making a massive impact, sooner rather than later, with many developed economies looking to cross the 50% mark and much higher, by 2025 itself, as the relentless drop in solar, wind and storage prices accelerate plans. In this, he hinted at opportunities for countries like India, which, by virtue of sheer size and population are set to have a massive impact on climate change with their policies. Be it the efforts being made on the cooling front, where India has started pushing out plans to ensure in a warming world, demand for cooling does not overwhelm other efforts to prevent emissions. Together with their members and supporters, which include the Tatas and Dalmia cement in India, he was hopeful of the world exceeding on its Paris targets, to enable a zero carbon economy what would also deliver the increase in energy supply that a country like India or China still needs. With demand going from 23 TW hours to 80 TW hours by 2060, technology innovations would need to step in to ensure electricity can be decarbonized. He declared that rather than 40% capacity, 45% generation was possible by 2030 for India, based on their latest report’s vision document.

Vineet Mittal of Avaada Energy minced no words in discussing the need for a better understanding, and the challenges faced by the private sector in executing India’s massive renewables push. A job it has done admirably in a competitive market environment so far. Highlighting how the industry was fortunate to have a higher purpose handed to itself in this

case, be it its contribution to arresting climate change or even conservation of the environment to serve society.

He questioned the need to look out for solutions when our challenges were at a scale not seen elsewhere.

Giving the example of the top 10 polluted cities globally being in India, he stressed on the need for a much higher urgency in our perspective, especially when it comes to comparing renewables with the mainstay of the generation so far, thermal.

He claimed that thermal subsidies were actually much higher than believed, by quoting how Coal India supplied coal to thermal plants at 1200 per tonne, even as other industries were provided coal through e-auctions at 2500, the price last week. Thus, there was a huge implicit subsidy being given to thermal generation in this country, in the ‘lakhs of crores’. Vis a vis that, renewables have barely got budget support worth a few hundred or a thousand crores, and the sector today actually operates by bidding on reverse auctions. This policy disconnect needed to be addressed, by backing words with action.

Asking for a level playing field, Mittal pointed out the need to look at a massive area like captive power, that is close to 80,000 MW today. He wondered why this huge sector, using mostly coal and fossil fuels inefficiently thanks to a smaller scale, cannot be given a sunset clause that asks them to shift to renewables by say, 2015. Not only would this give a fillip to renewables, but it would also ensure cleaner energy at a competitive cost today.

David Nelson of CPI spoke about the financing options coming up for funding renewables, with special stress on the huge challenge of funding a grid that can handle the variability of renewable power. His key takeaway was that financing was becoming more accessible, but also on the need to look at managing existing demand smartly, be it shifting agricultural demand to ‘lean’ hours, or even manufacturing, areas that had not been explored adequately when costing grid enhancement costs so far.

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FORECASTING OF

WIND & SOLAR POWER

GENERATION

Abhik Kumar Das

UNDER LITMUS TEST

del2infinity Energy Consulting With the publication of DSM (Deviation Settlement Mechanism) penalty by various SLDCs (State Load Despatch Centre) in India, the forecasting of variable renewable energy like Solar and wind is under the litmus test. To optimize the effect of unscheduled fluctuations in case of large scale penetration of solar and wind, ‘forecasting and scheduling’ of the solar and wind power generation is an essential requirement for grid management. Hence CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission), FOR and SERC (State Electricity Regulatory Commission) regulations propose the mandatory requirement of forecasting the solar and wind power generation to maintain the grid stability.

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To minimize the probable economic effect of IPPs (Independent Power Producers), the regulation also proposed for the creation of QCA (Qualified Coordinating Agency) at PSS (Power System Stabilizer) unlike the earlier regulations where the thrust area was the plant level forecasting.

Interestingly, even aggregated forecast at PSS at various SLDCs have not solved the problems of forecasting for variability, but created a ‘threat’ in grid as well as for the IPPs. Now the inability of forecasting by QCAs or by third parties may be disguised in the name of the following arguments: 1. All generators at the PSS have not submitted their actual generation due to non-availability of proper infrastructure or data. (But interestingly AvC of the PSS remain same) a. M any QCA have been collecting F&S (Forecasting and Scheduling) service charges/fees from IPPs (Independent Power Producer) for providing accurate F&S services for more than last 2 years, if there was no SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

data available, (neither from IPP nor SLDC or anyone), then what QCA were forecasting till date for last few years. b. V arious Minutes of Meeting stated that QCA has represented before CEA (Central Electricity Authority) confiming the fact that QCA were receiving more than 90% data from all the IPPs and have nearly 99% accuracy (& increases in every month), now at the time of calculation of the DSM Penalty the same QCA is stating that QCA does not have sufficient data for correct forecasting; 2. SLDC has not incorporated all revisions (The question remains, can SLDC be burdened with unnecessary revisions?)

3. F orecasting uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) based algorithms, hence required more data to learn the machine. (If the machine cannot be learned with more than six months data, there is a critical problem in machine learning methodology) even if more time is provided in the software, it will not be able to learn the technique of ML.

1. Data-Insufficiency at PSS level It is an interesting case, QCA started arguing about data unavailability after DSM penalty is out. No one even talked about data-unavailability till DSM penalty was out, QCA had an argument that QCA has to maintain a larger AvC to divide the deviation to show a minimum error.

Interestingly, the impact of forecast errors on individual plants is not as severe but the occurrence of bad generation of one plant affects the error of a plant having stable generation in case of

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aggregation. Now, to find a middle way QCA are forced to propose that DSM penalty should be de-pooled as per installed capacity.

2. Revise the Forecast when it requires

A good forecasting methodology is not only a solution having the high forecast accuracy and low penalty due to the deviation, but a solution to maintain the similar or better accuracy in the minimum number of intra-day revisions. Multiple revisions are useful when those are necessary, but unnecessary submission of an intraday revision in every one or two hours proves the incapability of having proper pattern recognition techniques in forecast models. When same or better forecasting solution is possible in lesser number of revisions, providing intraday revision in every one or two hours can increase the indirect cost of power generators; and if this revision requires real time data availability, multiple revisions are not an economic viable option for solar and wind plants. (new MERC regulation attracts INR 2000/ per revision so 8 revision costs IPPs~INR 16000/per day ~INR 480,000/pm or 16 revision ~ INR 32000/ per day ~ INR 960,000/pm). Though there is an argument that intraday revision increases the forecasting accuracy, but the proper generation of patterns using DNN (Deep Neural Network) optimizes the number of revisions if the expectation of unscheduled fluctuations is low. Intraday revisions are useful only when there is high possibility of ramping events or the forecasting is using some simple nonlinear models. Hence power generators must utilize the ‘revision strategy’ intelligently using better forecast models which give similar or better accuracy in the minimum number of intraday revisions.

3. AI based Forecasting

AI is not solely historical data dependent. If the machine learning algorithm only focuses on generating new patterns depending on its historical data, then it is nothing but follows the historical patterns only. Data is required to teach the system, but over dependency of data is a failure of the forecasting system.

The regulation states that each power plant needs to produce its forecast schedule of daily generation. It is a simple requirement to maintain the grid. Interestingly, this simple requirement got complications with the unnecessary inclusion of third party as QCA. The argument was if one can aggregate the forecast at PSS, then the error will be reduced without considering that the forecasting of different plant at the same PSS is done by the same algorithm. Hence, if one plant gets Type-I error, all other plants get the similar Type-I error,

and as a whole the aggregation actually increases the error possibility. Moreover unavailability of one plant data in same PSS is creating unnecessary complications in forecasting scenarios. It is the SLDC’s job to do the aggregation at their level to reduce the overall error at PSS, but they are bypassing this simple requirement by forming a third party QCA or asking to do this aggregation by the lead generator(s) at that PSS. Since SLDCs are calculating the DSM penalty and require the forecasted data for grid maintenance, they must not burden IPPs. Sometime it is more interesting that few SLDCs openly publish the DSM penalty with proper actual and schedule generation data, whereas some SLDCs are reluctant to produce the same for open scientific analysis. Hence, if the average penalty per unit generation due to the scheduling error varies drastically in different states, it also creates the questions on uniformity of working procedures at different SLDCs under the similar regulations.

All SLDCs are trying to solve the same problem of grid stabilization since the cost of stabilization is high, but few states are creating an interesting methodology of geographical integration on the basis of QCA’s total available capacity. Now it is the time to open the analysis of the SLDCs how the geographical integration is helping them to stabilize the grid and how the average penalty due to the scheduling error varies drastically in different states.

It is quite obvious that there is a cost associated with inaccurate schedule submitted by IPPs due to the threat at grid maintenance. The actual cost can be calculated using computational methods using historical data. But a fixed rate of penalty (INR 0.50 per unit in 15%-25% error) for all IPPs having a different PPA rate is probably not a good solution. If PPA rate is more than INR 5.00, it is a good economical choice as it does not affect the IPP much, but with a very low PPA rate in recent times it is required to look back the initial proposition of regulations where penalty rate can be considered as 10% of the PPA rate per unit in 15%-25% error or some other choices of penalty rate using proper calculations which is absent in the regulations or any other studies.

With the large scale penetration of wind and solar power, forecasting and scheduling of variable energy generation are requirements to maintain the demand-supply and grid stability, but it must done in a simpler way without creating the unnecessary complications at IPP as well as SLDC levels.

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A GUIDE TO CHOOSING INVERTER:

CENTRAL OR STRING?

The solar PV (Photovoltaic) module is known to produce DC (Direct Current) power. In order to convert this DC power into AC (Alternating Current) power, an inverter is used in the power plant (as shown in Figure 1). However with increasing demand in conjunction with up-gradation in technology, the role of an inverter has expanded. Considered to be the brain of the power plant, an inverter is also responsible for communication, grid management, safety, monitoring of energy to name few responsibilities. While such responsibilities have increased, the category in which an inverter can be classified has remained more or less the same i.e. a central inverter and a string inverter. With the continuous tumbling down of solar energy prices, the plant designer has to be cautious on what components actually go into the power plant. This is because the product in place should both be technically compatible and commercially feasible as changes in any of these conditions could render the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s viability. This makes their selection crucial. With the two available categories, the selection between central or string inverter in a power plant is always a challenge to the designer. Given the advantages and disadvantages of each of this type of inverter, we believe that such challenge would not end soon. Thus for a novice, it becomes crucial that he understands these different types of inverters and further also the considerations which go into selecting them. This blog hence aims to educate its reader the basics of and comparison between central & string inverter.

It would also act as a guide for a novice in the solar field who intend to set up a PV power plant.

Sunil Rathi

Director Sales & Marketing Waaree Energies ltd

Central Inverter

A central inverter is the one where DC output from numerous PV strings are taken into single combiner box and fed into it.

This DC power is converted to AC power. This power is further converted to grid compatible power with the help a medium voltage transformer (arrangement shown in Figure 2). A central inverter is generally placed in protected environment (conditioned environment to be specific) which is also near the main electricity service panel. While the operating voltage range of central inverter are comparable (to string inverter), their input current would range to around 4 kA. Central inverter are known to be installed in utility scale power plants in ranges from few 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of MW to GW scale plant.

Figure 2: A typical layout of plant with central inverter (Source: ICF)

STRING INVERTER

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Figure 1: A typical solar PV power plant (Source: Google images)

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A string inverter (as shown in Figure 3) as the name suggests is usually connected to fewer strings of PV array. This AC power from various inverters are pooled at the AC combiner box which may be grid compatible or a transformer may be used to convert it to low voltage grid compatible power.

String inverters can be installed almost anywhere near their subsequent strings. Their power ratings start from as low as 2kW and go all the way up to around 80kW. Such inverters could be used both in small, medium and utility scale power plants.

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loss at plant level. Whereas in case of plant housing string inverter, only a portion of power plant would experience such loss. Additionally with failure in inverter itself, a central inverter would take down the entire plant with it however only a portion of plant would be non-performing in case of shutdown in string inverter.

Figure 3: A typical layout of plant with string inverters(Source: ICF)

With a basic understanding of these inverters, let us now move forward to points to be considered while selecting an inverter.

1) Capital cost: With the market being inclined more towards highly efficient technology at comparable cost, its consideration in selection of inverter is crucial. It is known that the price on inverter depends on its power capacity. This means that the string inverter should be more costly than a central inverter (which was a case before years). However the cost of string inverters have been falling and it is expected that they would match the prices (or be slightly costlier) with the central inverters by 2020. Such reasons can be attributed to economies of scale of manufacturing along with increased demand of string inverters.

4) Interaction with modules: String inverters are generally known to be transformer-less while central inverters have galvanic isolation transformer built in them. Such isolation in central inverter gives a chance of negative grounding of PV strings.

Such negative grounding is not possible when using string inverter which may lead to PID-s (Potential Induced Degradation - as we explained to you in our article “What’s and why’s of PID!”).

However with PID free modules available in market today, such situations could be offset.

While with all these and other factors give upper hand to one technology over other, the fact that the industry was dominated by central inverter cannot be ignored. However with the advancement in technology, the share of string inverter over central inverter is poised to increase in next few years (as shown in Figure 4).

SHARE OF CENTRAL VS STRING INVERTER

2) Operation & Maintenance (O&M) and replacement: The next most important consideration is O&M and replacement.

A central inverter needs a separate room for its smooth operation. The power modules which handle such huge DC power and convert it to AC power needs active cooling (with dust free air). The fans and filter used for such operation required periodic cleaning. Additionally, the power module along with certain boards may need immediate replacement after end of its life or in case of failure. All such spares are required to be maintained by the O&M team which could add to cost. The much smaller string inverter eliminates the need for cooling and other components required. Deemed to be maintenance free, a string inverter leads to direct replacement in case of failure. However, if not maintained in stock, a slight deviation in technology of replaced inverter (say communication technique) could require certain upgradation to power plant.

3) Plant performance: The performance of power plant (if all the other parameters are kept same) may be gauged by efficiency of the inverter used. Both central and string inverter have efficiency well between 98~99%. Thus the energy output of both the plant ideally remains same. However when in operation slightest variation in any parameters (say variation in tilt angle, orientation between different strings, shadow on few strings, etc.)may lead to mismatch in power output within strings. Such variations when experienced in plant housing central inverter would expedite the power

Figure 4: Share of central vs string inverter (Data source: Bridge to India)

Waaree Energies along with supplying PV (photovoltaic) modules of international grades is also supplying inverters. They, similar to our modules are certified by various agencies for quality and safety standards. The inverters range from single phase 1 kW to 75 kW three phase inverters. You can find more details of our inverters at https://www.waaree.com/inverters.

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

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REPORT

DISPELLING THE MYTHS ABOUT RURAL ELECTRICITY IN INDIA

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The session titled ‘Rural Electricity access in India: Taking a leap from grid availability to customer service’ was moderated by journalist Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV, although the real anchor seemed to a be a special research report based on a survey of rural households, that was conducted across Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The research report itself came up for some questioning, thanks to the incredible speed of change in rural connectivity even as the report was being compiled, which meant that the numbers for UP, for instance, have already changed significantly between the survey in October and today. However, that didn’t detract from the basic message of the report, especially when it comes to discom performance and opportunities to improve and plan better for these markets.

Sidharth Vermani, Senior Director, SmartPower India set the tone for the session while introducing the report. Pointing out that there were quite a few rural myths that the report busts, or challenges. From the myth of cheap, subsidized power in rural areas, to the myth of rural people being unwilling to pay for power.

This was a point developed further by Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, who spoke about the need to fill in the gaps, in our understanding of rural power demand and access. He pointed to customer satisfaction as a key area, or the need to treat rural customers as customers, rather than ‘beneficiaries’. Or how micro-enterprises still have wide gaps in access, depending instead on DG sets or other expensive power sources. Discoms needed to step up their game in these areas, as poor billing practices make a bad situation worse in rural areas. With bills being dumped on 3 or 6-month basis, with poor servicing of queries, was the single biggest problem out there. With customers carrying the burden of the poor numbers this reflects. This led to paradoxes like 34% people believing power was ‘affordable’ mainly because of the backup measures consumers were forced to resort to once they move to a lifestyle where electricity is an essential component.

Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI made a point about connectivity not being equal to supply. He stressed on the role distributed grids, or independent microgrids still have to play in filling rural demand and need for electricity. He highlighted how the report had discovered that consumers were actually willing to pay a premium for reliable power, a rarity in large parts of rural Indian today. He urged industry to look at energy efficient appliances as well to prepare for the next wave of demand that will come with better access.

Mohua Mukherjee, Program Ambassador, ISA made a strong pitch for distributed solar in rural India. She highlighted the many solar powered options, be it chillers, solar pumps, fans, lights etc that are now available in the market. She urged the government and industry to step up to enable a bigger market for these, by enabling a stronger distribution network and making them more affordable. Referring to the massive drop in LED prices after the government stepped in through EESL, she spoke about the 4 key markets they see. Personal SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

Household markets, Community markets where productivity enhancement options like milk chillers, oil expellers, grain milling etc needed to be affordable for the community to benefit. Third, public service delivery establishments like rural schools, healthcare centres etc with reliable lighting and fans and possibly even TV’s running on solar power. Finally, public safety, with options like solar street lights, public drinking water facilities etc, that will serve to deliver critical public goods with transformative potential. India’s intermittent grid, an abundance of sunshine ensures that with affordability, demand can explode in rural areas. That means a need for appliances that run on AC power when the grid is available, and DC when it isn’t, through solar power. There is an opportunity for India to become a global hub in this area, with 4 billion people market out there.

KK Mishra, Ministry of Power highlighted the fact that the report was not too different from their own learnings at the ministry, and to that extent, serves to validate their views well. He urged people to appreciate the effort that has gone into providing access, which is a critical starting point. The next target will be 24X7 power from April 1, 2019, which will require intense work with state governments. He also expressed surprise at a recent international report which indicated that electricity is not providing the kind of utility to rural poor as expected.

Mishra was a votary of grid power over microgrids clearly, as might be expected, representing the government as he was.

RP Gupta, Additional Secretary (Energy), Niti Ayog was more focused on the cost of energy, stressing that grid power is cheaper over other options. Thus, for him, making the grid power more reliable was a key objective, especially as the share of renewables in the grid inches up. He welcomes the report for removing perceptions like willingness to pay while giving the example of Gujarat, where the experience has been very positive in terms of people paying well for quality power. With a major impact on the rural economy.

A key takeaway from the session was clearly about the need to consider the elephant in the room, namely the discoms.

Without fixing the many issues plaguing them, it will always be a challenge to deliver rural electricity meaningfully. Political distortions like free power, poor billing, lack of action against theft, or even lethargic maintenance of the grids, are major issues that are all contributors, and hopefully on the radar, and not under it, as India looks to empower all its citizens with a right to electricity supply.

MILESTONES UPDATES

PRANAV R MEHTA BECOMES 1ST INDIAN TO HEAD GSC A visionary in the field of Solar Energy and the chairman of National Solar Energy Federation, Shri Pranav R Mehta, has taken over as the president of Global Solar Council (GSC) from January 1, 2019. The GSC has its headquarters in Washington D.C., USA. The Global Solar Council (GSC) was launched on December 6, 2015, following the historic United Nations Climate Change Conference (UN COP 21).

The GSC came into being as International Coalition of more than 30 nations, utilising maximum solar energy, decided to harness the renewable energy for the greater good.

Mr Mehta has been invited by over 15 countries in the last two years to share his vision and experience in India’s impressive solar growth. The visionary started his solar journey way back in 2006 when India was at Zero Megawatts solar capacity and is credited with having played a catalytic and pivotal role in opinion building, emphasis and awareness about the importance of solar energy, integrating the efforts of all solar energy stakeholders including government and private sector as well as the intellectual inputs. Today, India is placed amongst the Top 5 solar players in the world and is third largest solar market. But the suave and low profile attributes the credit to the political will and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in equal measure to solar industry players and all stakeholders including the government.

“India’s impressive growth would not have been complete without Prime Minister and his government’s enabling policies, role of proactive bureaucracy and significant contribution of solar industry players in terms of capital investment, technology deployment, employment generation, skill development, innovative financing and above all, achieving cost reduction,” opines Mr Mehta, who is well known for his work in the area of sustainable development and outgoing environmental and social concerns.

Recognising his contributions to the solar sector across the world, Shri Pranav Mehta who has been keeping the Indian flag flying high in the solar arena, has been conferred with the ‘Visionary Disruptor Award’ by Solar Future Today, which he will be receiving on 15th January, 2019 at the sidelines of World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking about GSC’s future plans, Mr Mehta stated, “My heart goes out to the energy have-nots. Moreover, solar energy has a vast potential for poverty alleviation.

We at Global Solar Council will thus strive to achieve not only growth but spread of solar energy globally and reach out to those who have no access to energy. To this end we will – together with and in consultation with ISA, IRENA, World Governments and like-minded positive organizations – strive to achieve 1.0 Trillion Mini Grids ensuring decentralized energy, 1.0 Trillion Solar Homes, and 10.0 million jobs by 2030.

Of course, we will aim at 1.0 million of each of the above items and then scale it up deploying new storage and other technologies.”

NDMC BECOMES 1ST DISCOM WITH 100% SMART METERING The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), working under the Ministry of Power announced the completion of its project with the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). The project concluded with the replacement of 50,000 conventional electricity meters with smart meters in the NDMC area. As a result of which, NDMC became the first distribution company (DISCOM) in the country to implement 100% smart metering.

Minister of Power, New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh, during the inauguration of the project said, “The Government of India is accelerating the adoption of smart meters to ensure efficient management of electricity by checking data-entry

errors, billing inefficiencies, and cutting the costs of manual meter reading through the web-based monitoring system. Smart Meters will revolutionize the power sector through their vast cascade of benefits including reduced AT&C losses, better health of DISCOMs, incentivization of energy conservation and ease of bill payments.”

Within a short duration, 50,000 smart meters have been installed and integrated with the NDMC IT legacy system. The adoption of Smart Meters will lead to a total annual savings of Rs 12.47 crore to the corporation which include revenue due to improvement in billing efficiency.

The AT&C losses are estimated to be

12.63 percent. (Source: DERC Tariff Order FY2018-19) EESL has funded and built the Smart Metering (AMI) Solution in the project area. It will also operate and manage the system enabling NDMC to benefit from smart meters with zero upfront financial investment. The discom’s repayment to EESL will be through the monetization of energy savings, resulting from enhanced billing accuracy, avoided meter reading costs and other efficiencies.

EESL and NDMC also signed a MoU to install public e-charging stations. The initiative is undertaken to collaborate on promoting Electric Vehicles (including two-wheelers) in the area.

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THE CONVERSATION

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SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

The URGE for

"Li" Vault Nowadays, power storage has become vital on the back of its rapid response even at the time of peak demand, as most of the power storage technologies began transmitting power back to the grid within milliseconds.

Moreover, storage technologies not only help in bolstering the use of electric vehicles but also help in reducing carbon emission to a significant extent. The use of such technologies will also offer cheaper, clean & green energy along with energy independence. Hitherto, energy storage helped governments’ in shrinking overall cost of providing power.

In my journey of exploring about another promising area linked with solar & renewable i.e ‘Storage’ a few among the well known industry veterans - Naveen Sharma, Vice President – Sales & Strategic Planning, Exicom; Debi Prasad Dash, Executive Director, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA); and Sachin Bhalla, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Luminous Technologies discussed extensively about various opportunities related to storage, bottlenecks, future scope, emerging technologies etc..

Naveen Sharma

VP – Sales & Strategic Planning Exicom

Debi Prasad Dash Executive Director, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA)

Sachin Bhalla

Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Luminous Technologies VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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STORAGE

As Indian rooftop solar contains ample opportunities for storage, with the help of transparent policy guidelines to give a big what trend do you expect with respect to cost-price factor? boost to the sector.

Naveen Sharma

Debi Prasad Dash

It is just a matter of time when Battery storage will be mandatory and become essential part of full Solar PV system. With the year on year declining price trend of solar and energy storage technologies, the time is not very far when not only commercial and industrial customers but also residential customers would become prosumers where they will produce and consume the electricity in-house and this will be possible with the hybrid solution of solar and storage.

Though, solar has already reached grid parity in India with tariff going as low as INR 2.44/kWh which has been a result of Government’s push for renewable energy; energy storage is not very far behind from reaching the grid parity in the years to come as the prices of energy storage technologies specially preferred Lithium-Ion batteries are going to see further downward trend due to push from the electric vehicle, grid scale storage projects and huge investment in the technology not only in India but across the globe as well. The prices of Lithium-ion batteries have fallen more than 40 percent continuously since last five years which is a significant decline.

The storage business has grown 25 per cent and according to projections, it would grow by 20-25 per cent in the next 10 years. There is a huge market potential. Opportunities are coming from different aspects such as EVs and microgrids in villages.

Another market which will grow in the near future will be second life of the battery where the batteries (after few modifications) from the electric vehicles after their life can be used for the solar applications which will further reduce the solution cost of solar plus storage.

MNRE has drafted national energy storage mission to strive towards leadership in the energy storage sector by creating an enabling policy and regulatory framework that encourages deployment, innovation and further cost reduction through multiple strategies. The challenges facing by the Energy Storage Industry and our recommendations to face these tough challenges are • Provide a 2-3 year window where imported energy storage and EV components can be offered at lower import duties to fuel demand. Government can layout a clear roadmap for increasing import duties over 3-5 years as it can provide incentive and time for companies to set up domestic manufacturing for key components such as li-ion cells, BMS, power electronics and EV drive train components.

• To encourage electrification of transportation, the current structure mandates 12% GST on the sale of electric vehicles.

But the most expensive component in an electric vehicle is the (advanced) battery which attracts GST at the rate of 18% which is more than that on an EV. Hence, reduction of GST on batteries from 18% to 12% for usage in such business models creates an even playing field for all thus fostering higher EV adoption.

• MNRE and CERC have also released regulations to encourage hybrid wind - solar – storage farms, which can offer better grid reliability and power quality to the grid, while reducing the investment required in transmission capacity. We request the ministry to consider allowing stationary energy storage systems used in the hybrid projects to avail the 5% GST allowed for renewable energy devices and spare parts including solar power generating system and wind mills and wind operated electricity generator.

• Tax benefits on R&D expenditure, duty concessions for R&D imports • TADF (Tech acquisition development fund) incentives to be extended across all applications of energy storage deployment

Sachin Bhalla In the lead acid battery segment, not much is expected to change, however, lithium ion storage shall see a significant drop in prices with rise in scale.

Are there any challenges/ bottlenecks which this sector in Sachin Bhalla India is currently dealing with?

Naveen Sharma

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Biggest challenge with Lithium Ion Storage is the price which is more than three times as compared to the lead acid batteries.

Other than this its availability, customization of all the linked components and scrap policy are the major challenges which needs to be dealt before it is adopted in mass scale.

The non-clarity on policies and a number of mixed signals from policy makers have prevented major investments to flow in India for the energy storage sector as the companies could not take decisive action relating to long-term investment goals.

The government should work on policies to create a conducive Currently, how do you see the future/ scope of storage in environment for the growth of renewable energy and also the entire spectrum including EVs in India? ancillary market. This includes amendment to the connectivity regulation, energy storage and other developmental activities. Naveen Sharma The government should bring new policies and further create incentives for indigenous manufacturers to support ‘Make in The Indian energy storage market looks promising with India’ initiatives by means of import subsidies and providing opportunities for both stationary and EV applications, clear market access & guiding them with a solid way forward particularly with the government’s push towards EV segment.

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STORAGE

With supporting policies and investments at the right time, it is very likely that India will become one of the leading markets and a manufacturing hub for energy technologies, not just for domestic production but for various export markets as well.

Debi Prasad Dash India has the potential to deploy over 300 GWH of energy storage by 2022. Electric vehicles, behind the meter and grid scale energy storage are key applications to help the Indian government meet wind and solar targets as well as meeting the energy access goals. We are already seeing the inflection point for deployment of energy storage in commercial EVs such as eRickshaws and distributed applications to displace diesel usage. EV market would be driven by 3 wheelers and commercial transport vehicles during next 5 years

infrastructure. Policy interventions, including mandates and incentives that promote investments in developing local EV targets, will also be needed.

There is also a need to scale up the rollout target by focusing on shorter and pre-defined routes as well as by providing charging stations at multiple locations which would further enable the cost of storage to drop.

Debi Prasad Dash

â&#x20AC;˘ Various Indian accompanies have already entered the cell to Pack assembling. But there is a huge opportunity in India for Li-Ion cell manufacturing. There are some discussion happening in the industry on raw materials availability. The Government should also take an active step for bilateral agreements with Lithium and Cobalt rich nations like Bolivia, Chile, and Australia or to faster the R&D and exploration of raw material mines in India. Apart from Li-Ion technology Sachin Bhalla India should look into other technologies like flow batteries, sodium based batteries, Zinc-Air, Aluminium Air and other There is a lot of potential in this storage segment. With the emerging technologies. advent of EV charging stations in India, energy storage is â&#x20AC;˘ We urge the Government to take swift action in launching going to witness a boom. the National Energy Storage Mission in order to support the development of an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem for On the policy front, what are your key suggestions for the energy storage and EVs. government?

What do you think, which technology will drive the storage Naveen Sharma market in India in the years to come?

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Energy storage is central to the successful growth of renewable Naveen Sharma energy and EVs which are at the priority of Indian government.

Thus, government of India should put in place the Electrical Currently lot of technologies are under discussion and deployment under various stages of product maturity, however Energy Storage Mission same as National Solar Mission.

Incentivizing indigenous manufacturers by means of import clear winner looks to be, Li-ion based technologies which subsidies, providing clear market access and guiding them will drive the battery market due to the ease of availability, with a solid way forward with the help of transparent policy positive cost of ownership, high energy density, large number guidelines will give a big boost to the sector. Government of cycles and hence long life. Li-ion technology can meet should also give preference to Indian companies with a a niche between short-term and long-term duration back local manufacturing base alongside the weightage on local up applications including aiding in renewables integration, deployments & local R&D. Besides, the Goods and Services providing grid support services, supporting C&I segment and tax (GST) on batteries must be taken in the same way as creation of big role in facilitation of early adoption of electric solar. Import subsidies in importing raw material and creating vehicles. manufacturing facility should be provided.

Our country needs to set up mid & large-scale, lithium-ion Debi Prasad Dash battery manufacturing capacity and reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries used in such storage applications. We Energy storage technologies have huge potential to significantly should strive and become an export hub for lithium-ion battery contribute to the transformation of the Indian electric grid towards a greener, resilient and reliable grid within next production.

India is already a leading manufacturer of the lead-acid decade. Advanced energy storage technologies can play batteries that are used for both automotive and stationary an important role in renewable integration, energy access, applications. With energy storage demand expected to reach electric mobility and smart cities initiatives by the Indian 70 GW by 2022, it is expected that India will also become Government. one of the largest markets for advanced energy storage SachinBhalla technologies in the next decade.

The government also has played a significant role in setting standards and regulations for charging infrastructure and Li-ion and Li-ferro-phosphate and other combinations of Li-ion. providing incentives for electric vehicles. The government should also encourage research and development, localization, and -MANU@MEILLEURMEDIA.COM n training to improve energy access to developing charging SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

REPORT

SOLAR POWER COST TO DROP TO RS 1.9 PER UNIT BY 2030 The cost of generation of solar power is set to fall to as low as Rs 1.9 per unit over the next decade through 2030 in India with new technologies boosting efficiency levels, a joint study by TERI and US-based think tank Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) has revealed.

“By 2030, we project that the cost of wind and solar will be between Rs 2.3-2.6 per Kilowatt hour (kWh) and Rs 1.9-2.3 per kWh, respectively, while the cost of storage will have fallen by about 70 percent,” the report launched today said.

According to the analysis, the required investments in electricity generation capacities are going to be substantial,

at about Rs 1.65-1.75 lakh crore per year.

This is slightly above the investment rate achieved over the past 10 years, around Rs 1.40-1.50 lakh crore per year. This will represent a substantial financing challenge given the current stresses on the Indian banking system. The study estimate that by 2030 solar electricity could be as cheap as Rs 2.30/kWh and even cheaper solar costs are possible, in the order of Rs 1.90/kWh, if the widespread deployment of tracking technology raises the capacity utilisation factor of new plants above current levels.

Similarly, for wind, with mast heights increasing from the current level of 80 meters to 100 and

even 120 meters, the baseline projection for 2030 for the levelised costs of wind at Rs 2.58 per kWh could be as low as Rs 2.26 for projects with higher capacity utilisation factors.

The report titled “Accelerating India’s transition to Renewables: Results from the ETC India Project” also states that in the high renewables scenario by 2030 the share of variable renewables including wind and solar will reach 30 percent of total generation by 2030, and 390 GW of capacity. The capacity could reach 420 Gw if small hydro and biomass-based projects are also considered.

INNOVATION

SCIENTISTS DEVELOP NEW MATERIAL TO SAVE ENERGY

NEW WATER SPLITTING CATALYST TO GENERATE SOLAR FUEL

Scientists of the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), together with Russian and foreign colleagues, have developed samples of nickel mesoporous film structures, which have a useful surface area up to 400 times greater than their solid analogue. This new material can be used in many energysaving applications, and more importantly in increasing the capacity of Solar cells.

According to Alexander Samardak, an associate professor of the Computer Systems Department at the School of Natural Sciences of FEFU, the creation of magnetic porous systems is an up-and-coming field, which is yet poorly studied. The structure of nanoporous materials is similar to a conventional sponge, which can accommodate significant volumes of substances. Thus, the useful surface area of the sponge is much larger than its size.

“The pores we obtained are very small, four to five nanometers, but thanks to them the total surface area of the material is increased 400 times. These unique properties grant the wide potential application of the material. Using such materials, one can create filters for cleaning and adsorption of ultrafine magnetic particles, media for storing substances, in particular, for hydrogen engines, where fuel storage cells are needed.

In the future, they may be applied in the production of solar cells and batteries, in nanoelectronics and the automotive industry,” said Samardak.

The unique material is obtained via electrodeposition of nickel particles on an artificial framework of a surfactant (SAS), which gives a structure of nanotube array composed by micelles. After electrodeposition, the framework dissolves in water and leaves behind only mesoporous nickel.

A Research team, led by Louis Piper, Associate Professor of Physics, Binghamton University and researchers from Diamond Light Source and Brookhaven National Laboratory, figured out how “doping” (or adding metal ions) into vanadium pentoxide (M-V2O5) nanowires raises the highest filled energy levels for more efficient hole transfer from the quantum dots to nanowires i.e. separation of the photo-excited electrons and holes. “The key idea is to generate a solar fuel: hydrogen gas, which can be burnt to release energy on demand without releasing carbon dioxide,” said Piper. “For water splitting, we use visible light to generate photo-excited negative electrons and positive holes that are then separated in order to catalyse water into oxygen and hydrogen gases. Storing gases is more straightforward (and cheaper) than employing battery set-ups, so this approach has the benefit of clean energy harvesting and storage.”

“If you don’t dope, then there is a buildup of positive holes that corrode the quantum dots (referred to as photo-corrosion),” said Piper. “Using computation and chemical intuition, we predicted doping with Sn2+ ions would result in excellent energy alignment and efficient charge separation. We saw a ten-fold increase in the amount of solar-harvested hydrogen we obtained.” The researchers are now working with their collaborators at the University of Buffalo and Texas A&M University to enhance the hydrogen gas evolution by decorating the quantum dots with platinum. “We expect platinum to improve things by acting as a catalytic site for the electrons, but our ultimate goal is to find less costly alternatives to decorate with,” added Piper.

Their study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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EVENTS INDIA SOLAR EXPO 2019

FUTURE ENERGY EXPO 2019

website : www.aiss.org.in START DATE : 15-Feb-2019 END DATE : 17-Feb-2019

website : www.futureenergyexpo.in Location : Lucknow, India Phone : +91 522 2720090

Location : Faridabad, India Phone : +91 129 4323518

START DATE : 22-Feb-2019 END DATE : 24-Feb-2019

E-mail : info@niss.org.in

E-mail : info@futureenergyexpo.in

NEPAL SOLAR TODAY EXPO

MENA NEW ENERGY 2019

website : www.solartodayexpo.com START DATE : 28-Feb-2019 END DATE : 02-Mar-2019

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal Phone : +91 98201 30615

website : events.newenergyupdate.com/mena/ Location : Dubai, UAE START DATE : 26-Mar-2019 Phone : +971 4 2170000 END DATE : 27-Mar-2019

E-mail : info@solartodayexpo.com

E-mail : rwatt@newenergyupdate.com

SMART ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2019

RENEWX 2019

website : www.smartenergyexpo.org.au Location : Sydney, Australia START DATE : 02-Apr-2019 Phone : +61 1300 768204 END DATE : 03-Apr-2019

website : www.renewx.in

E-mail : info@smartenergy.org.au

E-mail : julian.thomas@ubm.com

4TH SOLAR INDIA 2019 EXPO

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

website : www.solarindiaexpo.com START DATE : 22-May-2019 END DATE : 24-May-2019

Location : New Delhi, India Phone : +91 9711 737395

E-mail : kulbeerg@eigroup.in

website : www.snec.org.cn START DATE : 04-Jun-2019 END DATE : 06-Jun-2019

website : www.pvfair.jp Location : Yokohama, Japan Phone : +81 3 52978855

E-mail : info@pvfair.jp

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

INTERSOLAR INDIA 2019

website : www.renewableenergyindiaexpo.com

website : www.intersolar.in

E-mail : Pankaj.sharma@ubm.com

Location : Guangzhou, China Phone : +20 2918 8152

E-mail : janicepv2018@gmail.com

RENEWABLE ENERGY INDIA EXPO 2019 START DATE : 18-Sep-2019 END DATE : 20-Sep-2019

Location : Shanghai, China Phone : +86 21 53893020

E-mail : info@snec.org.cn

PV 2019 PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR EXHIBITION & FORUM START DATE : 10-Jul-2019 END DATE : 13-Jul-2019

Location : Hyderabad, India Phone : +91 99404 59444

START DATE : 19-Apr-2019 END DATE : 20-Apr-2019

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

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

Location : Bangalore, India Phone : +49 7231 58598215

E-mail : feth@solarpromotion.com

PROFILE

COMPANY FEATURE – SOLARMAXX

INTRODUCTION 1. About us

SolarMaxx, established in 2008, is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high efficiency Solar PV Modules suitable for Solar power plants of utility as well as rooftop scale. SolarMaxx is a proud leader in its regional market of Rajasthan and is rapidly expand across India. Creating and delivering clean energy, cost-effective Solar power is our top priority; not a side project to other business interests!

Our promoter and founder Saurabh Bhandari, a Swiss banker turned Entrepreneur, led to the foundation of our brand “SolarMaxx”. A small idea from a milk vendor led to the founding of this current solar venture. SolarMaxx indulged in import and distribution of Solar lamps for rural India before diversifying into manufacturing of Solar PV Panels, Solar Water Heating and related Solar Energy equipment.

At SolarMaxx:

We believe in manufacturing in the markets we serve.

We believe in leading a sustainable future.

We believe that Solar will make a better world.

2. India’s Solar manufacturer

We do not import finished goods just to be dumped in our location market. We work to Make in India, create local jobs, support the communities we serve, provide relief from the rising energy costs and make the Earth a better place.

SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are a renowned quality offering that undergo multiple stages of stringent quality checks and tests during production before being packed for delivery.

Needless to mention our modules are duly tested and approved and hold required IEC and TUV certification from world’s one of the most prestigious certification agencies. SolarMaxx Solar PV modules are also MNRE tested and are an eligible offering for various state and national tenders.

SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are available in wide range of sizes and wattages. Even though our main focus is to produce high efficiency 325+W modules for utility and rooftop sectors, we can also cater to customised requirement for modules from 40W and above.

Made from the highest quality materials Solar cells are the engines that power solar panels, which is why we do not trust just about anyone to supply them to us.

We source them from some of the best manufacturers known for quality. To guarantee peak performance and reliability, we apply our stringent quality requirements on all our raw materials; then we manufacture our own solar panels right here in India.

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SolarMaxx believes in manufacturing in the markets we serve.

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Benefit from maximum energy output

PROFILE

SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are designed, tested and manufactured with attention to every detail. The result: maximum energy output for your solar investment.

Designed for the real world In the real world, it rains and the wind blows! Our product design is artfully configured to increase performance during years of exposure to real-world conditions. This is exactly why our panels are actively converting sunlight to energy all over – on ground and on rooftops!

3. SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules – technical composition

connectors and cables

4. Consistent quality and industry leading EPC services

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

We at SolarMaxx guarantee timely execution and completion of our solar projects. Our main objective in the EPC space is to provide top end quality services. Our team has the required knowledge, the best industry contacts and the appropriate vendor leverage to get the projects built in time at reasonably acceptable price.

SolarMaxx Solar PV Modules are amongst the best PV panels available to multiple customer segments such as developers and EPCs and industrial, institutional, commercial or residential users.

SolarMaxx has progressively introduced automation in its manufacturing processes to avoid human intervention as much as possible in the entire production process. This has positively led to augmented “quality” output of modules.

Wide module range: Module range – 40W and above Multiple configuration – 36, 60, 72, 144 cell modules for varied needs PID resistant, high efficiency Poly and Mono crystalline cells Positive power tolerance upto 3W UL, IEC certified raw material for product longevity and power consistency: Certified EVA and backsheet from certified manufacturers ARC coated, low Iron tempered glass with adequate thickness and strength Screwless hollow section, anodised aluminium frame with appropriate design for easy and quick installation Use of world’s well renowned Junction Box with MC4 type

Choose long-term performance over cost • Many manufacturers are touting for efficiency (rated power per square meter) as the most important feature of a solar panel. However, making a panel excessively efficient may actually limit its long term performance, yielding less energy over the life of your system.

• We ensure that a system will produce energy for several years by using tested, reputed and renowned components rather than going for those that may come at a cheaper price tag at the start but may require repeated services or part replacements over its lifetime.

• We use our panels in our EPC services as we are confident of their performance. Our purchase decisions for various other components are based on long term system performance; not how much a single system can generate in optimal lab conditions.

• Think all solar manufacturers are the same? Think again! A solar system should last for years. We have been doing Solar for a decade as pioneers in this industry. With investments in manufacturing, we are here to stay to honours our guarantees and more importantly our commitments.

• We control all aspects of our projects. From manufacturing of Solar Panels to directly sourcing components from renowned manufacturers from around the world. With confidence of using our modules, we quite comfortably offer generation guarantees to our clients. n VOL 3 l ISSUE 06 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

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EV UPDATES

PORSCHE BUILDS 1ST ZERO IMPACT FACTORY FOR EVs German automobile major, Porsche, which specialises in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, says that it is building a new “Zero Impact Factory” at the Porsche headquarters in StuttgartZuffenhausen, Germany to build its first Electric Porsche Car. Porsche says that the facade of its new factory that will build the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle, is coated with a material able to absorb nitrogen dioxide – a pollutant diesel cars were actually emitting.

The German automaker built the facade of the plant made of aluminium coated with titanium dioxide, which acts as a catalyst and breaks down the absorbed pollutant particles into the harmless substances water and nitrate when exposed to sunlight and with only low air humidity.

Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG, said, “Sustainability is a big picture that is made up of many individual elements, we are therefore continuously thinking about the measures that we can implement to ensure greater sustainability in our actions – throughout the entire value chain. A new factory is currently being built at the Porsche headquarters in

Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen for the first electric Porsche, which will make its debut towards the end of the year. Production of the Porsche Taycan will be CO2-neutral. We are consistently pursuing our objective of sports car production completely without any ecological footprint.”

This Facade design is said to doing the work of ten trees in an area with a size of just ten parking spaces. “If the evaluation of the results confirms our expectations, nothing stands in the way of using nitrogen oxide-absorbing surface technology on other buildings and surfaces,” added Reimold.

Porsche is reportedly doubling the planned production capacity for the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle, to a massive 40,000 units per year. At 40,000 units per year, it would become one of the company’s largest vehicle programs.

CATL TO OPEN GERMAN PLANT FOR EV BATTERIES

LIBERTY GLOBAL TESTS BROADBAND INFRA FOR EVs

The world’s largest EV battery maker, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) plans to produce 60 GWh of battery storage by 2026 from its battery plant in Germany, its first production site in Europe.

The company will focus on next-generation nickel-rich batteries, which are cheaper to make and have longer life-spans. CATL’s battery cell factory in Erfurt, Germany is set to start production in 2021, which will bring it closer to the world’s largest EV markets in Europe as well as close to European car makers.

The company currently makes NCM 523 batteries with 50% nickel, 20% cobalt and 30% manganese. CATL’s regional president for Europe, Matthias Zentgraf, said the company’s battery cell factory in Erfurt would start production in 2021, creating about 600 jobs. Based in Fujian province in southeast China, CATL already has strategic agreements with carmakers including SAIC Motor Corp, Geely, BMW and Volkswagen.

CATL’s battery plant in Germany is expected to ease a forecast negative impact in the country’s automotive industry.

According to the IG Metall labour union, the growing adoption of EVs is likely to add 25,000 jobs by 2030, though another 75,000 positions in engine and transmission making are likely to disappear, the study shows.

On July 9, 2018, German prime minister Angela Merkel and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang met to sign an agreement that will bring a CATL battery factory to the east German city of Erfurt.

UK-based Liberty Global, the parent firm of Virgin Media is testing a secondary use for its broadband infrastructure using street-side boxes that link internet connections from exchanges to homes and businesses to build electric vehicle charging stations in the U.K. The telecommunications company is testing the concept using Virgin Media’s cabinets and cable ducts. The existing infrastructure means that, if the trial run goes well, Liberty could set up charging stations at thousands of its cabinets.

In the trial phase, the company will build the charging points next to cabinets rather than converting them. And has partnered with startup Connected Kerb to build the first test station, which will open in Southwark, London. Liberty hopes to have up to six trial charging points set up by mid-April. It’s also planning tests in Belgium through its Telenet network, while the stations could download data from cars since they’ll be connected to Virgin’s broadband network. Jason Simpson, head of Liberty Global’s global energy and utility business, said, that the residential infrastructure owned by telecoms companies could help to solve an issue for the electric vehicle market, which is how people can charge cars if they don’t have a dedicated driveway.

Using a street cabinet to link to charging units, connected via underground ducts that run up and down the street, could provide an option. “It’s like an iceberg. Most of it has to go underground,” he added. The charging hubs could also be used to download information using Virgin’s fibre. Over time, the data generated by autonomous vehicles is expected to dwarf that of the consumer smartphone market.

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EV UPDATES

IKEA TO BE EQUIPPED WITH SOLAR ROOFTOP IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, has announced that its future store in Norfolk, Virginia in the US will be equipped with a rooftop solar system and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations when it opens Spring 2019.

The store will feature a 180,000-squarefoot solar array, which will consist of a 1.26 MW system, built with 3,654 panels, and produce approximately 1,743 MWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 1,233 metric tons of carbon dioxide or the equivalent of the emissions of 262 cars or providing electricity for 215 homes yearly.

“We are excited to further our sustainability commitment with the

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installation of the largest solar rooftop array in the area and EV charging stations at our future IKEA Norfolk store,” said Lisa Davis, Sustainability Manager, IKEA U.S. “At IKEA, we want to have a positive impact on people and the planet, and these investments support our objectives to reduce our emissions and achieve energy independence by 2020.”

This installation will represent the 56th solar project for IKEA in the U.S., and contribute to the company’s solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation of more than 56 MW. In addition to the rooftop system, the store will have three Blink electric vehicle

charging stations. To charge an EV at the future IKEA Norfolk, drivers can tap their Blink InCard to the reader below the screen, initiate the session directly from the Blink Mobile application, or use a guest code provided via Blink.

In August last year, IKEA announced that it will introduce a fleet of electric rickshaws to its delivery fleet for its Hyderabad store.

The solar-powered auto rickshaws will be run by electric motors which will source energy from batteries which will be charged at the Ikea’s solar facility fitted with around 4,000 rooftop solar panels. Excess energy will be used by the store inside.

CAB AGGREGATORS URGED TO LAUNCH E-TAXIS IN GUJ

VOLKSWAGEN TO DEVELOP EV CHARGING STATIONS

The Gujarat Government has asked cab aggregators the likes of Uber and Ola to launch electric taxis in the state. As the government plans for a big push for e-mobility in Ahmedabad and other major cities in the state, with its new state electric vehicle policy.

Speaking to reporters, Saurabh Patel, the state energy minister said, “To promote the use of electric vehicles by private owners, we had a meeting with taxi service providers like Ola and Uber and have asked them to start electric vehicle services. The government may give some incentives to them to promote the use of EVs.” Patel said, “We are bringing a new policy to promote the use of electric vehicles in Gujarat. The policy will be declared in a few days.”

“The new proposed policy will focus on motivating the people at large and recharge station promoters. The government will announce incentives for recharge stations, where charged batteries are made available in a few minutes taking no more time than an ordinary car takes to refuel at a petrol pump,” he said while highlighting the need for a stable and viable battery charging infrastructure.

“The state public transport department is buying electric buses to ply between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. Also, local Ahmedabad bus services may begin using EVs as soon as the proper charging stations are ready on their premises,” he further added. On the government’s proposed transition to electric vehicles in the state, he said, “The government has also decided to buy new electric cars for government use in Gandhinagar and other major cities where it’s easy to develop a charging network.

Gujarat will probably be the first state to give incentives to use electric vehicles. We will be the top state in investing in renewable power as well as the use of electric vehicles.”

Volkswagen Group has announced that it plans to start mass production of flexible and fast electric vehicle charging stations by 2020, and the first step in the company’s e-mobility transition is converting its existing Hanover car components plant to build EV charging stations.

The assembly will begin in 2020, in the part of the factory that currently produces heat exchangers. And will form a part of the engine and foundry business area.

Thomas Schmall, CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, said, “The development of charging infrastructure will be a key factor in the success of e-mobility. The flexible fast charging station developed by Group Components can make a key contribution in this area. This is confirmed by the considerable interest shown by potential partners. The charging station is an element in the end-to-end responsibility of Group Components for the high-voltage battery – from the development of cell production competencies through to recycling. At the same time, the transformation of heat exchanger production at the Hanover components plant will provide sustainable prospects for the future in the new e-mobility business area.”

In technical terms, the charging station is based on the battery package of the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) and is designed to use its cell modules. This station, based on the principle of a power bank, can charge up to 4 vehicles at the same time and also be used for the interim storage of eco-power.

Later, the charging station will provide a second life for batteries from electric vehicles. When a vehicle battery has reached a defined, reduced residual capacity, it will be replaced. If this battery subsequently passes a thorough analysis, it can be reused in a mobile charging station.

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MARKET UPDATE

IMPACT OF SOLAR LANTERNS ON UP, BIHAR HOUSEHOLDS A recent study undertaken by IFC’s Lighting Asia/India Program in partnership with d.light analysed the impact of solar lanterns on rural households in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The study titled, “Impact of Solar Off-grid Lighting Solutions on Rural Households in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar”, found that in addition to a reduction of the households’ dependency on kerosene for lighting by 75 percent, the average time spent by for children to study increased by one hour daily.

The two-and-a-half-year-long study, completed in 2016, involved an extensive, three-stage (baseline, midline, and endline) data-collection process.

Households that participated were separated into two groups: treatment households, which acquired a solar lantern, and control households, which did not. The impact of the intervention was assessed by comparing the data measured across time, as well as across treatment and control groups.

The key findings of the report found that the intervention of solar lanterns had a significant positive impact on educational and economic parameters among the beneficiary households.

With a significant decline in the number of households using kerosene as the primary source of fuel for lighting, and

an associated decrease in patterns of kerosene consumption.

Treatment households’ dependency on kerosene for lighting reduced by 75 percent, from four hours per day to one hour.

The overall perception of treatment households, as reported, was that the main benefits of solar lighting included a brighter light source, longer hours of study for children, and increased

health and safety for family members.

A significant number of these households also identified the solar lantern’s portability and cost savings as key benefits.

With the study being over 2 years old now, it only makes a stronger case for using such off grid solar interventions to meet energy access requirements in rural areas more aggressively. One reason why CSR as an option was regularly heard.

We hope corporates are listening.

CORP CLEAN ENERGY BUYING SURGED IN 2018: BNEF

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BloombergNEF has revealed in its 1H 2019 Corporate Energy Market Outlook, that around 13.4 GW of clean energy contracts were signed by 121 corporations in 21 different countries in 2018. This was up from 6.1GW in 2017, and positions companies alongside utilities as the biggest buyers of clean energy globally.

Jonas Rooze, head of corporate sustainability for BNEF, said, “Corporations have signed contracts to purchase over 32GW of clean power since 2008, an amount comparable to the generation capacity of the Netherlands, with 86% of this activity coming since 2015 and more than 40% in 2018 alone.”

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More than 60 percent of the global activity in 2018 occurred in the U.S., where companies signed PPAs to purchase 8.5GW of clean energy, nearly triple the amount signed in 2017.

Facebook spearheaded a contingent of experienced U.S. corporate energy buyers, purchasing over 2.6GW of renewables globally in 2018, primarily with utilities in regulated U.S. markets through programs known as green tariffs.

This was three times that of the next biggest corporate energy buyer, AT&T. Kyle Harrison, the lead author of the report, said, “The aggregation model has heralded in a new generation of corporate clean energy buyers. These

companies no longer need to tackle the complexities of clean energy procurement alone. They can share risks associated with credit and energy market volatility with their peers.”

In the Asia-Pacific region, still a nascent market for corporate procurement, companies signed a record 2GW of clean energy PPAs, more than the previous two years combined. Nearly all of this activity occurred in India and Australia, with roughly 1.3GW and 0.7GW of clean energy purchased, respectively.

Both markets allow companies to buy clean energy at a large scale through offsite PPAs, making them rarities for the region.

MARKET UPDATE

RE INVESTMENT GROWTH DIP DUE TO GRID LIMITATIONS A brief report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, authored by Tim Buckley and Kashish Shah has revealed that India’s grid transmission infrastructure needs urgent modernisation to not limit the growth in renewable energy investments.

The report highlighted that during the FY 2018/19, India was unable to capitalise on the momentum of the previous year in which a record 12GW of renewable capacity was added. With the safeguard duty, policy uncertainties etc playing a part in the decline. However, the lack of power evacuation and transmission infrastructure has been a key reason developers remain disinterested in recent auctions.

According to the report, India’s growing renewable energy additions are outgrowing the grid capacity.

Transmission network capacity grew at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 12% between FY2013/14 and FY2017/18. With wind power commissioning slowing down over the last two years, in large part due to the current structural limitations in India’s national transmission grid.

“As an accelerated investment in renewable energy capacity needs to be matched with equivalent investment in grid capacity expansion, the challenge now for India’s electricity market is grid integration of large amounts of variable

renewable energy while minimising integration cost,” the report stated.

While suggesting that, even though tariff-based competitive bidding for projects has allowed the private sector to actively participate in the expansion of India’s transmission grid in recent years, an investment of US$ 60-80 billion will be needed in the next five years to keep pace with growing generation capacity.Grid infrastructure is as much an investment opportunity as the renewable energy sector is in India, both of which are critically important for the country’s sustained economic

growth and to reduce India’s excessive reliance on fossil fuel imports.

An efficient and robust grid network is crucial in minimising grid curtailments for renewable power and ensuring that renewable assets do not face the financial risk of asset stranding, as is currently occurring in the Indian thermal power sector.

However, with the state of discoms being almost uniformly poor financially, this opportunity is a threat to renewables growth now, till a slution to the the discoms financial mess is discovered and implemented.

CHINA'S RE CAPACITY GREW BY 12% IN 2018: REPORT

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FEBRUARY 2019

According to official numbers, China’s renewable energy capacity increased by 12 percent in 2018 year-on-year compared to 2017. The leading country in the world for both solar and wind installations saw its total renewable capacity rise to 728 GW by the end of 2018.

According to the data issued by the National Energy Administration (NEA), China connected around 20.59 GW of new wind power capacity to its grid in 2018. New solar energy capacity reached 44.3 GW, slightly higher than a figure given by an industry association earlier this month, but still down compared to SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL | VOL 3 l ISSUE 06

2017 following the mid-2018 decision to slash subsidies.

The country also added 8.54 GW of hydropower capacity, mostly in the nation’s southwest, bringing total hydropower to 352 GW by the year’s end.

Total capacity, including hydro and biomass as well as solar energy and wind power, rose to 728 GW by end-2018, the NEA said during a briefing. Taking the cumulative renewable capacity in the country’s energy mix up to 38.3 percent, up 1.7 percent over 2017 and around 7 percent higher than at the end of 2015.

China’s “energy revolution” has also

involved the installation of new emissions control technology at its coal-fired power plants, still the dominant form of energy in China. Around 810 GW or 80 percent of the country’s coal-fired capacity was employing “ultra-low emission” technology by the end of 2018, according to the Chinese Environment Minister Li Ganjie.

But despite China’s efforts to cut coal consumption and promote renewable energy domestically, it has been criticised for backing new coal-fired projects overseas that use obsolete equipment no longer permitted at home.

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